Martha's split-leg moves were still astonishingly impressive, so flexible it made one wonder if her bones were somehow soft.

  Especially when she supported her body on the parallel bars, her position was just a bit lower than Draven's waist, creating a striking visual impact.

  After not seeing each other for several days, meeting her again made it hard to stay calm.

  Back in Village No.1, Draven first greeted Bran. Hearing that Baldric had taken the hunting party out, he wasn't in a hurry.

  He had originally planned to casually talk to Martha about the progress of the engineering work, but before he could even start, somehow he got pulled into her stone cave.

  Martha hadn't been idle these past few days; she had thoroughly studied those fitness machines and even invented quite a few new ways to play with them.

  She treated it entirely as fun, even though these devices were supposed to be for exercising! Draven was panting heavily, gripping the iron rings tightly with both hands.

  Martha hung on him like a fluffy stuffed toy, becoming extra weight for him to carry.

  Only then did he realize a fact: in terms of physique and physical ability, Martha was actually no weaker than Thalia.

  After the workout, both of them were drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

  Draven lazily sank into the wooden barrel bath, his mind blank, every muscle protesting.

  Yet Martha still had the energy to help scrub his back— after all, she was just passive extra weight hanging on him, not exerting much effort.

  After resting enough, they lay down on the bed. Martha's antlers lightly pressed against Draven's chin, softly rubbing— it was a bit ticklish but also quite comfortable.

  She played with Draven's rough palm while starting to report on the construction progress in Village No.1.

  The first batch of houses in the village was already half built, but many demi-humans preferred the stone caves on both sides of the cliff.

  Even the later-arriving Black Tiger tribe all settled into the caves and didn't come out, practically reverting to wild mountain dwellers.

  Draven didn't say much about this, just smiled. For now, let them live as they like; after further construction is completed, the living arrangements will be unified and adjusted.

  Progress at Acorn Oak was also smooth. Trees in the canyon were being gradually cleared out, and Big Bear's group had stockpiled plenty of timber and firewood.

  But this task was destined to be long-term. Such a large forest couldn't be cleaned up quickly.

  Martha knew this well. She had already started having the Rhinoceros Men lay foundations, preparing for future wall construction.

  The Gold-Devouring Demon Ant cut quite a bit of stone every day. Although the speed wasn't fast, the work was steadily progressing.

  "If only we could recruit more Rhinoceros Men," Martha said, flipping over and snuggling into Draven's arms, her hair playfully brushing his nose.

  Draven grabbed her mischievous hand and pulled her closer. Kissing her forehead, he wasn't in the mood to talk much.

  After feeling physically and mentally drained, one really needs some genuine warmth. Martha noticed his fatigue but wasn't about to let him just rest quietly.

  She lay on his chest, gently swaying her body, her eyes full of teasing. Draven decisively closed his eyes, pretending to fall asleep.

  Martha giggled, burying her face in his neck as if she had succeeded. When he opened his eyes again, evening was near.

  Baldric and the others were probably about to return. Draven patted Martha's butt, signaling her to get up and dress.

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  Once dressed, he took out the deer-whip wine from his storage bracelet and gulped down several mouthfuls. His legs finally regained some strength, and he couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

  Martha leaned in for a sip, but Draven stingily refused.

  Come on, he was nearly drained by her already— letting her keep piling up effects? That would be reckless.

  The two of them bickered and joked all the way to the village gate, only resuming serious demeanor once in front of others.

  After all, one was the village chief of Village No.1, and the other was the lord of Black Flag Territory. Who would have guessed how crazy they were in private?

  At least Bran didn't dare to think too much. He just showed a sly grin and immediately got kicked by Draven, spinning around twice.

  Ignoring Bran's resentful glances, Draven called over Baldric and the hunting team to gather and prepare for the report.

  Thanks to the Rhinoceros Man's day-after-day efforts, Village No. 1 finally had its own council hall, catching up to the progress of Village No. 2.

  The newly built council hall still retained the traditional style of the demi-human tribes: a round structure with thick, sturdy stone walls that looked solid and reliable.

  The roof was designed with a larger skylight, allowing sunlight to pour in during the day and illuminate every corner.

  The interior space was not large; besides a practical long table and a dozen stone stools, there was nothing else. However, a few hand-drawn maps hung on the walls, detailed and evidently drawn by Martha herself.

  Draven sat in the main seat, looking around and feeling quite satisfied with this newly completed council hall.

  Finally, there was a decent place to hold serious meetings. Before, they always gathered around the fire pit, which made him feel like a tribal shaman.

  He first asked about the Black Tiger tribe. With the mark of submission in place, Baldric naturally didn't dare to hide anything.

  But even without the threat, Baldric really couldn't find any fault to pick. The Black Tiger tribe had never encountered luring powder before; after using it, on the very first day, they managed to hunt down two low-level magical beasts, which amazed him greatly.

  Not to mention the Black Flag Territory had a unique blood-wine brewing technique. Drinking it made the blood heat up, giving the feeling of being able to fight one more round. The Black Tiger tribe had never had anything like that before.

  When Baldric first arrived, he did feel uneasy. The village chief was a young female Deer-person?

  Deer-people were considered a lower race, and she was only a novice leader— it didn't look like she could command respect at all.

  Until one day, a swarm of Gold-Devouring Demon Ants, radiating intense magical aura, flew out from the caves.

  The leader was even at a mid or possibly high-level magical insect stage.

  Luring powder, blood wine, and sedatives could be copied, but a commander who could control a high-level insect swarm was a completely different concept.

  Martha might not be a powerhouse, but the group of insects behind her was enough to crush his Black Tiger tribe.

  Once he realized this, his attitude changed completely. In the end, no matter if Martha was Deer-person or some other race, as long as she could keep him, Baldric, in line, that was enough.

  Even Bran, the deputy village chief of Black Flag Territory, was just a bloodline warrior, yet he could order him to go hunting.

  Draven watched Baldric report obediently and smirked a little.

  The Black Tiger tribe was strong, but there was no need to use too much violence now. He didn't plan to start a war, at least not in the short term.

  Their current combat strength was less than two hundred, but excluding the leaders, they might not lose against the entire Black Flag Territory.

  But they happened to encounter Draven, a lord who cared more about development and order— so they were destined to keep a low profile for the time being.

  On the battlefield, they might be killing gods, but in the village, they had to behave and work.

  Draven gave a few simple words of encouragement, told Baldric to keep working hard, and arranged for him to assist Bran in training the village hunters.

  The Black Wolves and Kobolds had performed poorly on recent missions with many problems, so someone needed to oversee their retraining.

  Thorin kept an eye on Village No. 2, so naturally, it was Baldric's turn to contribute for Village No. 1.

  Though Draven spoke gently, Baldric knew it was an order. With no choice, he nodded in agreement.

  After some more casual talk, Draven sent him off to rest. With the mark of submission, he wasn't worried about Baldric acting up.

  Once Baldric left, only their own people remained in the council hall.

  Draven turned to look at Bran, who nodded repeatedly as if he had long known what to do.

  "I get it, I get it. Watch him and learn a thing or two!" Bran grinned, looking like a well-behaved kid.

  Draven couldn't help but laugh at his shameless attitude.

  This guy was like a rubber ball— couldn't be kicked to break, wasn't afraid of being hit, and practically wore a"Needs to be disciplined" sign on his face every day.

  Fortunately, beating him actually worked— if he misbehaved, just beat him a few more times.

  As for Kevin, the Frost Wolf, there wasn't much to report.

  Draven planned to have Viola arrange a few wolf girls for him after returning, to start a family early and help increase the population of Black Flag Territory.

  Speaking of kids, he couldn't help but think of his eldest nephew. Once he did, Bran immediately lit up like he had won the lottery.

  Among the three brothers, he was the youngest, but the first to become a father— truly a proud moment.

  Draven casually asked a few questions, his gaze unintentionally drifting to Martha. After a moment's thought, he finally spoke what was on his mind:

  "Keep an eye on the female bloodline warriors of the Black Tiger tribe and the Leopard tribe."

  "Your two wolf girls are just ordinary tribe members; their bloodline strength isn't enough."

  After hearing this, Bran immediately stopped smiling and nodded seriously.