After some brief greetings, Draven didn't waste time on small talk. He directly took out a Selene statue from his storage bracelet. The statue originally belonged to the Leopard tribe but had never truly been put to use.

  The three northern tribes barely valued rituals. In truth, they had never really taken their faith seriously.

  The statue was life-sized, with distinct contours, and its jet-black stone surface reflected a cold, hard sheen under the sunlight.

  Draven placed the statue on the open ground in front of the main house and nodded at Elira."Have the tribe prepare a proper altar and set it up well."

  His tone was straightforward, then he added,"Don't neglect the rituals anymore. They will bring you benefits you never expected."

  These words instinctively reminded Thalia of the towering Selene statue in Village No. 2, where incense burned continuously, people constantly cleaned and guarded the area, and even children knew to bow their heads respectfully.

  Elira and Thalia clearly looked puzzled, their eyes showing confusion.

  Seeing this, Draven turned and walked into the main house, signaling them to follow. Once seated, he slowly explained the true purpose of the statue and why the rituals would bring benefits.

  Elira only smiled lightly after listening, as if hearing some familiar lines."These words were also said when the Succubi conquered the northern lands and distributed their statues."

  Her tone was indifferent, clearly not taking it to heart.

  Draven didn't argue, quietly listening as she continued.

  "It's not that we don't believe; it's just that believing doesn't help. We have always performed the full moon rituals every month, but good things aren't that common. If they could really provide good offerings every day, they wouldn't have targeted the Black Flag Territory."

  Her eyes revealed regret as she said this."In the end, the entire tribe was captured by werewolves."

  Draven understood her helplessness and knew it was the truth. He nodded, but his tone became firmer."I understand, but from today onward, things must change."

  He paused and looked at Elira."You don't need to worry about the offerings. I will arrange for people to deliver them monthly."

  There were hardly any decent magical beasts left around Village No. 3. Expecting them to prepare offerings themselves was unrealistic.

  Hearing this, Elira's shoulders relaxed slightly. But when she realized that their hunting grounds were almost devoid of magical beasts, her brow furrowed again.

  Magical beasts were the key source of power for nearly all demi-humans. Without them, relying on absorbing natural magic was almost like slow poisoning.

  Not to mention, the mana concentration in Village No. 3 was even lower than in their original territory.

  Draven had clearly thought this through carefully and continued,"Now, all the villages in Black Flag Territory submit all their game to a central pool for unified distribution."

  "As long as you submit enough meat, you will receive magical beast meat in return."

  Although this distribution system was hardly fair, it was easy to manage.

  From the start, resource distribution was uneven. Hunting separately only made the weak weaker and the strong stronger. Unified submission and redistribution was the most practical solution for now.

  Of course, Draven never intended to make everyone equal. His system was not egalitarian. Resources naturally went first to the strong—those capable of defending the territory and expanding it.

  Besides the outstanding awakened warriors, the only others receiving special care were children. Ordinary villagers and slaves, of course, had different treatment.

  After hearing these arrangements, Elira's lingering unease gradually dissipated. She no longer had to worry about everything and no longer had to fret daily about what to eat next.

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  Her smile became more genuine, and she seemed visibly more relaxed.

  Draven noticed that she seemed to be sending some kind of signal—her words tinged with flattery, and her eyes showing an unusual warmth.

  But he didn't respond, simply clearing his throat and bringing the focus back to business. After all, her daughter was sitting right beside him, and he had no intention to act improperly.

  He cleared his throat again and changed the subject, continuing with his demands."There's one more thing: your tribe must fix pairings from now on."

  "Males can no longer be shared. Everyone needs to truly establish families. Stop clinging to those messy demi-human traditions."

  At these words, Elira and Thalia froze simultaneously and exchanged a glance.

  Finally, Elira spoke, a little embarrassed:"But our tribe has so few males. If every female has a fixed mate, what happens to the rest?"

  What happens?

  Draven answered without hesitation:

  "Then find others from different tribes—Black Tiger tribe, Black Wolf tribe, Hyena tribe, Kobold tribe. You have options."

  Moreover, the number of races that Black Flag Territory will accept is only going to increase. Among the demi-human tribes, there are essentially no fertility barriers—no matter which tribes interbreed, they can reproduce normally.

  "Rest assured," Draven said clearly,"forming families is voluntary. No one will force you."

  "You can take your time. I will give you all the time you need to adapt. There's no rush to change."

  He understood that changing a tribe's way of life isn't something done overnight. He wouldn't wave a whip to force them into marriage and childbirth—that would only breed resentment.

  So he chose to wait. As long as the direction was right, gentle guidance would suffice.

  Just after saying this, Thalia, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly looked up and asked,"If our Leopard tribe forms families with other races, which tribe will those families belong to?"

  Draven was caught off guard for a moment, a twitch at the corner of his mouth. Thalia had hit the nail on the head.

  Coming from a matriarchal tribe, she was especially sensitive about the rights to which family belonged.

  He stared at Thalia briefly, then answered calmly,"Aren't they all people of Black Flag Territory?"

  Only then did they truly understand—the real intention of the werewolf leader was not just simple cooperation between tribes, but to have the Leopard tribe fully integrated into Black Flag Territory.

  This was not up for negotiation; it was a planned direction.

  Could they refuse? Obviously not.

  But fortunately, Draven's approach wasn't coercive. He didn't push or command them. He gave them time to accept, to get used to it, even to slowly digest it.

  Some things he didn't spell out explicitly, but anyone who wasn't a fool could see it clearly: Black Flag Territory would only accept tribes willing to cooperate.

  Those unwilling to integrate would have no place to survive.

  "This is not a threat, but reality," Draven's exact words.

  After confirming the issues about rituals and family systems, the atmosphere finally relaxed a bit.

  He planned to send a seasoned team of serpent people to help the Leopard tribe get familiar with the environment of Village No. 3, and also teach them new survival skills.

  Especially fishing—something the Leopard tribe had almost never tried before, but serpent people were experts at it.

  Besides that, he intended, once the Leopard tribe had a firm footing, to assign some elders and female slaves to them, mainly responsible for gathering and miscellaneous chores.

  A village can't survive on hunting alone; someone has to do other work.

  There was also the matter of housing. Originally the place was arranged like a military camp, unsuitable for the current tribal lifestyle. The living environment needed to be redesigned.

  But they didn't need to worry about that; Draven had already made arrangements.

  "There will be some inconveniences for now, but these are only temporary."

  Elira didn't complain much. Demi-human life was never about luxury; as long as they could survive, that was enough.

  With the serious matters mostly discussed, the atmosphere in the big house became more relaxed.

  Draven chatted casually, and casually suggested that Elira should visit Village No. 2 more often when she had time.

  Thalia immediately perked up and leaned toward her mother, excitedly telling her about the things she had seen there.

  Things like well water, flatbread, iron pots, spices—even the roasted meat smelled ten times better than here.

  Watching the two of them, like sisters rather than mother and daughter, Draven suddenly felt a flicker of hesitation.

  Looking at their profiles, a strange thought popped into his mind:

  "This actually isn't so bad…"

  Morality? What morality? If you have any, show me.

  He smiled a little but said nothing, his gaze growing more serious. Unconsciously, the sun had already climbed overhead. Lunchtime had arrived.

  As the tribal leader, Elira naturally had someone responsible for preparing food. A large basin of roasted meat was brought out.

  Thalia took a bite and immediately frowned."Mom, I'm telling you, the roasted meat in Village No. 2 is just so fragrant—it's not even the same taste!"

  Listening to the mother and daughter chatting back and forth, Draven also took a bite of the roasted meat in front of him. The taste was ordinary, even a bit dry, but he had no complaints.

  To him, tribal integration was not something to worry about. As long as there were enough benefits, anyone would be willing to change.

  Once everyone's food, clothing, and housing were roughly equal, the so-called racial barriers would gradually disappear.

  With the arrangements for Village No. 3 basically settled, Draven prepared to set off. In the afternoon, he planned to go to Village No. 1.

  He also wondered how the Black Tiger tribe and the Black Wolf tribe had been getting along so far.