Three days later, at dusk, beastkin residents from several villages began arriving at Village No. 2 for a general assembly.

  Even the residents of the farthest Village No. 4—comprising Serpentfolk and Hyena-men—hurried back under the leadership of Gregor and Sardon, covered in dust and fatigue from travel.

  Despite their exhaustion, everyone wore expressions of barely contained excitement.

  Over the past three days, orders personally signed by Chieftain Draven had been delivered to each village. As the village chiefs read and explained the content, all realized that their lives were about to undergo a sweeping transformation.

  After much deliberation, Draven had introduced two new incentive-based systems, built upon the old rationing policy:

  The Work Points System and the Merit System—marking the beginning of a new phase in Black Flag Territory's governance.

  From now on, all free villagers—excluding the elderly, the underaged, and those in servitude—would no longer receive food unconditionally.

  Instead, a labor-based work point system would determine distribution. Though more detailed than before, the system remained easy to use in practice.

  Work points were divided into five tiers and awarded based on the intensity and duration of labor. For example, a villager who participated in a full day of hunting would receive 5 points, while someone who spent all day foraging for mushrooms in the forest would earn 1 point.

  Even the lowest tier of 1 point was enough to exchange for one person's daily staple food.

  However, villagers could not simply pick tasks at will. Someone might think,"If I hunt every day and earn the maximum 5 points, I can take several days off later. Perfect, right?"

  Such opportunism was strictly forbidden. All labor assignments would be centrally managed by superiors to ensure fair and efficient task distribution.

  The group of maids personally trained by Viola had finally found a new purpose—they were deployed to each village as scorekeepers, a critical role.

  Their responsibilities included not only recording each villager's work points but also assigning them to roles that best matched their strength, skills, and performance.

  To further improve oversight, each village chief would also appoint team leaders from among the villagers to manage daily supervision and prevent idleness.

  Of course, a system must go beyond mere rules on paper—work points had to be spendable, or they'd be meaningless.

  Thus, Black Flag Territory simultaneously launched an exchange system, giving work points tangible value.

  1 point could be exchanged for a day's supply of cassava rations.

  20 points could buy fresh meat.

  100 points could purchase one pound of magical beast meat.

  If a villager worked hard and saved up, 500 points would earn them a slave spouse. And if they managed to save 1000 points, they could even apply for a private house of their own.

  Take members of the hunting parties, for instance—with diligence and frugality, building a family and securing a home within two years was no longer an unreachable dream.

  However, this system was designed primarily for ordinary freefolk—those who had not yet entered the transcendent ranks. As for Bloodline Warriors, they were subject to a different set of rules.

  Draven had deliberately allocated the bulk of the territory's resources to support these awakened individuals.

  Bloodline Awakened did not need to worry about securing a spouse or home. The work points they earned carried greater value and offered more options for exchange.

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  For instance, they could trade points for rare transcendent materials such as enchanted liquors, specialty honeys, rare organs from magical beasts (excluding magic cores), and certain classes of rare potions.

  Take bloodwine as an example: a single horn-shot of diluted (1:1) bloodwine required 3 work points.

  The system also applied—though in much harsher terms—to slaves. While they performed the same labor, they earned only half the work points of a free person.

  For instance, a full day spent picking mushrooms in the mountains would earn a free villager 1 point, while a slave performing the same task would receive only 0.5 points.

  Although slaves didn't need to use work points to exchange for food, the daily rations they received were only at the bare minimum standard—nowhere near as plentiful as the food available through point exchanges. In fact, they weren't even allowed to enter the exchange halls.

  For slaves, work points had only one purpose—to earn their freedom.

  Draven had no intention of keeping them forever imprisoned in cages. On the contrary, he opened a door to freedom for all of them.

  As long as they could earn 1,000 slave work points, they would be allowed to redeem their status and escape a life of servitude.

  According to the system, a physically strong slave capable of full-time hunting would only need to complete 200 tasks to be eligible for freedom.

  At first glance, 200 tasks seemed like a lot, but when taking into account the effects of weather, magical beast activity, and seasonal shifts, the process would still take at least two years.

  Yet to many slaves who had spent most of their lives in chains, two years was finally within reach. For the first time, freedom was no longer an impossible dream.

  Of course, not everyone had the luxury of waiting two years. And Draven didn't make waiting the only option.

  Black Flag Territory offered slaves a second path—to join armed units and participate in battles. If selected, and if they charged into war and returned alive, they would also be granted their freedom.

  Just like this time: among the expedition force sent north, the slaves who had departed with Titus and Bran—if they returned alive, they would no longer be slaves.

  They would gain full citizenship as free people, and their names would be officially recorded in the household registry of Black Flag Territory.

  To make this incentive system more clear and fair, Draven established a Merit Point System in addition to the work point system.

  The merit system used a separate point structure. In each battle, any slave who survived would earn 1 merit point.

  This point could be immediately redeemed for freedom. And for free citizens, earning merit points allowed them to exchange for a slave laborer.

  In terms of conversion value, 1 merit point equaled 500 regular work points, or 1,000 slave work points.

  This exchange was one-way—regular or slave work points could not be converted into merit points.

  Why? Because merit points symbolized the cost of life and honor. The resources they could purchase far surpassed those available in any other point system: magic cores, rare potions, bloodline weapons, magical beast mounts, spell scrolls, and even personal instruction from elite-level warriors.

  To make sure everyone understood that the merit system was not just empty promises, Draven personally had a Merit Warehouse established in Village No. 2.

  Inside were large quantities of transcendent resources, including accumulated inventory from Black Flag Territory over the years, and war spoils seized in past battles.

  Viola oversaw the cataloging herself, transcribing the records onto beast-hide scrolls, which were then distributed to all beastkin with transcendent potential.

  As the work point, merit, and exchange systems gradually rolled out, a new sense of vitality began to sweep through the entire Black Flag Territory.

  Whether former slaves or newly surrendered villagers, nearly everyone began to feel hope for the future.

  Of course, Draven knew well that the system still had many details to refine. But the framework had already been built—now it just needed ongoing adjustments and improvements.

  He was the master of Black Flag Territory. If he wanted to change something, all it took was a word.

  Before nightfall, Village No. 2 was already buzzing with activity.

  In the village square, a group of younglings gathered, curiously watching Big Bear lead a team of carpenters as they engraved text onto large wooden boards.

  The words were based on samples handwritten by Viola. The carpenters simply had to trace the outlines and apply paint.

  Nearby, a little Black Wolf cub named Arnold was reading the contents of the three major systems aloud, word by word. Whenever he encountered a character he didn't recognize, he'd frown and look to the older cub next to him.

  That older cub, embarrassed, averted his gaze—after all, he didn't know as many words as Arnold did.

  His flustered reaction set off a burst of laughter among the other younglings. But when Arnold turned his head to look at them, they all suddenly became very interested in the sky or stared intently at the ground—none dared meet his eyes.

  The once lively scene quieted in an instant. Big Bear looked up and couldn't help but laugh—this little guy really was sharp.

  As he kept carving, he found himself thinking: Once my Snake-girl gives birth, I hope our cub turns out as clever as Arnold.

  With that thought, it was as if all his strength had been rekindled.

  Snake-girl... Big Bear still wasn't sure why he liked that cold-blooded, hairless creature so much. Maybe it was precisely because he was so hairy that she seemed special?

  Draven stood at the edge of the square, watching the scene in calm silence. Standing beside him were Sethric and the Goldmanes, each with a different expression on their face.