Elira, the leader of the Leopard Tribe, stood in the center of the room, her hands hanging loosely at her sides, her expression tense. She did not hold back, openly revealing all the details about the Leopard Tribe.

  She explained that the tribe's food reserves were not abundant, barely enough to sustain them for two to three months. This was slightly better than the Hyena Tribe, but far from plentiful.

  However, what surprised Draven was that over the past few years, the Leopard Tribe had managed to accumulate a considerable amount of magic cores and magical beast materials. Even their stockpile of rare potions exceeded that of the Hyena Man.

  Listening to her, a smile involuntarily grew on Draven's face. This trip had definitely not been in vain; the gains were at least not insignificant.

  Though most of the Leopard Tribe's warriors were female, they were not easy opponents—each one a fierce veteran of many battles.

  As a higher-tier demi-human race, they held a significant advantage over opponents of the same level. If it weren't for Draven—an abnormal black werewolf—winning against them wouldn't be easy.

  As soon as Elira finished briefing, Bran jumped up excitedly. He shouted that they should take advantage of the momentum and conquer the last Black Tiger tribe in the north as well.

  Liliana, of course, was quick to join in, mocking,"See? If I hadn't stepped in, would the Leopard Tribe have surrendered so obediently? All the credit should go to me."

  Draven pushed both of them back into their seats. He knew very well that things weren't that simple.

  Though the Leopard Tribe's willingness to submit was partly due to the gap in strength, the key factor was that their weakness had been exploited: their people's lives were under Black Flag Territory's control, forcing them to bow their heads.

  Not all demi-human tribes would submit so easily. Faced with ruthless leaders, some would rather abandon their entire tribe and flee than surrender.

  In such cases, if a defeated tribe launched a retaliation, Black Flag Territory would pay a price.

  Draven's biggest worry was the two Black Tiger tribe leaders—one a high-tier chief, the other mid-tier. Leaving either alive could cause serious trouble.

  He wasn't afraid of anyone coming after him personally, but the problem was that the slaves and tribespeople in his territory needed to go out to gather, hunt, and farm. If enemies lurked in the shadows, the situation could spiral out of control.

  Assassinations targeting chiefs couldn't be prevented by patrols alone.

  So, as usual, he immediately dispatched the Dorian brothers' squad to scout the Black Tiger tribe, trying to uncover their stronghold and distribution of forces.

  As for the Leopard Tribe, now that they had surrendered, the elderly, children, and supplies had to be sent to Village No. 2 for centralized accommodation.

  Draven was not one to trust surrender lightly. He ordered the relocation of the elderly, weak, and reserves.

  Nearly two hundred Leopard Tribe warriors were reorganized under the command of the Serpent Men's divisions. Although Elira and Thalia retained their titles as leaders, they no longer held any military power, becoming temporary figureheads.

  The stone houses originally belonging to the Leopard Tribe in the village were cleared out, with Draven and his group taking priority occupancy. They needed a stable and secure residence to consolidate command and coordination.

  To prevent incidents at night, he decided to temporarily station the leopard warriors—except for Elira and Thalia—in camps outside the village.

  Though this arrangement might cause dissatisfaction among the leopards, under the current uncertain situation, it was the safest course of action.

  The Leopard Tribe's low morale gave the Hyena Man tribe a sense of superiority. They began to feel that joining Black Flag Territory was a good choice.

  Once bowed low to survive, they now had a chance to hold their heads high. Witnessing this contrast, Draven couldn't help but laugh bitterly while also gaining new ideas about managing a territory inhabited by multiple races.

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  Perhaps not everyone needed to be close friends. Proper competition could sometimes be more effective than superficial harmony.

  After the arrangements were settled, Draven gathered the core members inside for another meeting. The clear topic this time was the Black Tiger tribe.

  Among the three northern tribes, the Black Tiger tribe had the strongest leadership: two leaders, one high-tier and one mid-tier. Even fighting one-on-one, Draven had to be cautious.

  However, their population was the smallest, with fewer than two hundred people in the entire village.

  This was a common issue among demi-human tribes: the stronger the power, the weaker the reproductive ability. Conversely, lower-tier races tended to multiply rapidly.

  If the Black Tiger tribe had a larger population, their threat would be much greater. But in reality, they had not occupied this hilly land for long.

  Like the Leopard Tribe, they had settled here before the succubus tribe conquered the region, but they could never be considered true natives.

  This fact also limited the speed of their clan's expansion.

  According to Elira, over the years, the two leader brothers of the Black Tiger tribe had frequently approached her and her daughter for talks. They repeatedly proposed that the Leopard Tribe and Black Tiger tribe unite, claiming it would help both grow stronger and that merging would make the combined tribes more powerful.

  It sounded like it was for everyone's benefit, but they knew very well it was just a takeover proposal disguised as cooperation.

  The Black Tiger tribe was a male-dominated clan, and they simply could not accept a tribe ruled by females. The so-called fusion actually meant the Leopard Tribe handing over their power and land to become subordinate to the Black Tiger tribe.

  Elira naturally refused such an arrangement. Moreover, since the Black Tiger tribe did not have an overwhelming strength advantage, why should she let her tribe become a vassal under someone else?

  Draven listened thoughtfully. This piece of information actually gave him some ideas. Sitting inside the stone house, he met with several core members to discuss the plan, and a strategy gradually took shape.

  Just like how he dealt with the Hyena Man Sardon before, this time Draven planned to attack psychologically and structurally, letting the enemy expose their weaknesses themselves.

  Although Elira and her daughter appeared calm on the surface, they knew very well that Draven was no ordinary person. He was meticulous, showing fairness and reason while carefully laying traps step by step.

  Yet even though they understood this, they kept nodding and showing strong agreement with Draven's plan. After all, staying under his leadership was much safer than falling into the hands of the Black Tiger tribe.

  After finalizing the plan, Liliana was originally arranged to accompany Bran, Titus, and others to escort the Leopard Tribe's elderly, children, and supplies back to Village No. 2. Liliana had a magic bull mount, so the travel efficiency would be high.

  But unexpectedly, Liliana glanced at Elira and Thalia and suddenly changed her expression, refusing to go no matter what.

  Draven had initially planned to have her leave temporarily to avoid her interfering with the upcoming operation against the Black Tiger tribe, even considering replacing the Ghost-faced Owl's position with her.

  However, Liliana seemed to see through his plan, giving him a knowing look, forcing Draven to shrug in resignation.

  Although somewhat annoyed, he had no choice but to let it go. After all, the bear-riding warriors needed actual combat training, so this time he let Gregor lead the escort team.

  After the team was reorganized, the group set off for Village No. 2. Meanwhile, changes were quietly taking place there.

  Hundreds of elderly and weak Hyena Man had just been accepted, and Viola, busy with her female slaves, was overwhelmed. Luckily, having received many slaves before, she was already familiar with the process and quickly arranged everything in good order.

  Viola's commands were sharp and decisive, quickly mobilizing the villagers and female slaves to help the Hyena Man adapt to the new environment as soon as possible.

  What she did not expect was that Sethric and the Monkey tribe leader Goldmanes suddenly came to visit.

  Draven had not yet returned. Viola, a bloodline warrior of the Fire Fox tribe, though capable, felt somewhat nervous facing two leader-level representatives of foreign tribes alone.

  Fortunately, Martha was present, and the Ghost-faced Owl was secretly guarding, which calmed her down a bit.

  However, Martha's expression was not good either. She had already told Sethric that Draven was away, but he pretended not to understand and insisted on entering the village for a look.

  If not for Draven's prior policy to maintain friendly relations with southern neighbors, Martha would have long sent them back the way they came.

  Even so, she arranged for the Gold-Devouring Demon Ant to lie in ambush outside the village, ready to strike immediately if these two made any suspicious moves, showing no mercy.

  Yet Sethric and Goldmanes were completely unaware of all this. They came with no ill intent and had indeed hesitated upon hearing Draven was absent.

  But then they thought it was the best time to observe the true situation of Black Flag Territory.

  If they had notified in advance, what they saw would likely be carefully staged by the werewolf leader, and they would never see the real picture.

  Therefore, they insisted on coming. Their real purpose was to deepen cooperation. Only by truly understanding Black Flag Territory would they dare to engage in some exchanges of interest.

  But as soon as they entered the village, they were stunned by what they saw. Behind tall stone walls, the village was almost entirely composed of elderly, weak, women, and children.

  If it weren't for a few Kobold warriors moving around in the distance, the place looked like an undefended refuge.

  Titus originally had over a hundred Kobolds but had taken away two batches; the remaining ones were basically not combat-ready. Sethric and Goldmanes exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with doubt.

  While they were still guessing quietly, groups of Hyena Man started entering various areas under the guidance of villagers and female slaves.