It was a clear morning, and companions were all off to execute their respective tasks. The sound of Airen training new recruits could still be heard clearly even from dozens of meters away.

Avi stayed by the campfire, checking the team's status on the panel. This time, he noticed a brand new special skill on the system: Management.

The mere existence of a special skill was already exciting, but the description of this skill nearly made Avi jump with joy.

Management: This skill directly enhances all positive values related to the stronghold, such as security, loyalty, and prosperity, while reducing the impact of negative factors on the stronghold. (Unlocked after acquiring a stronghold)

The description of the skill was quite vague, but its effects were undeniably powerful. Upon unlocking Management, Avi also discovered a new option on the main panel: Stronghold.

Clicking on this option revealed a plethora of data about their camp on the panel. Each value was relatively low, except for loyalty and security, which were close to maximum.

Prosperity was determined by various factors such as output, population, and security, which in turn determined the output quantity and attractiveness of the stronghold to others.

Loyalty represented the comprehensive support and allegiance of all members within the stronghold towards its owner. High loyalty did not mean the stronghold was without threats—after all, sometimes the rebellion of a single person could destroy a sturdy fortress—while low loyalty indicated that the stronghold was on the brink of collapse.

Security was a value that influenced both loyalty and prosperity and was affected by them in return. It determined the stability of the stronghold and also affected the output and efficiency of the personnel inside. Low security often led to internal discord and conflict. Unlike loyalty, the impact of low security often manifested as increased tendencies towards violence rather than outright rebellion.

In addition, the entire camp's defense works and personnel layout were marked on the panel in the form of an aerial view with legends, resembling a dynamic and detailed military map.

"This is too considerate," Avi exclaimed. "It's just a pity that I confirmed this plan after allocating skill points. Otherwise, wouldn't I soar with an upgrade in Management skill?"

Of course, this issue was merely icing on the cake and not enough to keep Avi distressed for long. His current focus was on equipment, work, and future development, all of which were pressing matters in need of urgent solutions.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the camp. Avi heard many people bustling around and the distant lumber camp seemed particularly noisy.

"It's probably Rafe and the others starting another bout of gladiatorial combat," Avi thought. He had to concentrate heavily when using the system, leaving him no time or capacity to focus on external matters. The recent period of stability had somewhat dulled his vigilance.

After this period of expansion and development, the cheating mercenary group had accumulated a property of fifteen hundred gold coins and ten warhorses. Avi decided to allocate five hundred gold coins to purchase equipment for the new recruits and another two hundred gold coins to fulfill the equipment requirements of several companions.

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The remaining money would be divided equally: half used to purchase materials and tools needed for the daily development of the stronghold, and the other half kept as a reserve for unforeseen circumstances.

In terms of work, the current development of the stronghold and internal work were mainly completed by the villagers who joined them. Members above the rank of "hireling" were mostly sent out to work, with only a few remaining in the camp to guard and defend.

So far, the work teams sent out would return to the camp within three or two days. Now, Avi planned to make some changes.

"It was only due to a lack of money that we had to do it this way before. It can't continue like this in the future," he thought. "The Orcs were severely injured after being defeated last time, which prevented them from attacking us. But when they recover, they will definitely not forget to come back for us."

The recovery speed of the beastmen had always been very fast, and two months was enough time for them to recover from a major defeat.

He decided to limit the work teams to tasks lasting only one day, ensuring that they would set out and return on the same day whenever possible. Money could be earned less, but life could not be risked.

"The immediate priority is to help the farmers settle down here and establish a reliable and stable economic system," Avi thought to himself. "For now, we can't think of anything else. Being able to farm, raise livestock, and gather resources is already good enough. The surrounding resources are abundant enough to support the cycle of agricultural crops."

Part of the felled timber was taken for sale, while the other part was used for constructing the camp. The camp now had a wooden wall, two people high, already built, and watchtowers and drawbridges for defense were under construction.

With everything taken care of, Avi stood up and stretched, feeling his stiff body loosen. He picked up his sword from the ground, intending to observe the terrain around for future planning and construction.

He had just taken a few steps when a black object flew in from the left side. With agile reflexes, Avi almost entirely relied on intuition to dodge the fate of being hit. A blob of black, gooey substance 'plopped' onto the ground in front of him.

"What's this?"

Avi squatted down to take a closer look at what it was, but as soon as he crouched, he was overwhelmed by a strong, foul odor.

"Damn, it stinks!"

Before he could gather his thoughts, similar objects began flying in from all directions. It was then that he noticed the farmers in the camp moving between the tents, cursing as they gathered tools and weapons towards the camp gate.

Meanwhile, outside the camp, there erupted a chorus of majestic battle cries and another group of sharp, high-pitched noises, which sounded somewhat familiar to Avi.

"That's the goblins' cries!" Avi quickly drew his half-sword and headed towards the camp gate. "But how did they get through the Orcs' forest to get here? The Shattered Leaf tribe's plundering camp here has already been destroyed by us!"

"Help—us!"

Urgent cries for help came from outside the gate.

Avi hurried over and found a dozen villagers guarding the gate, looking anxious, but they hadn't turned the winch to raise the wooden gate.

"What's going on?"

"There's a large group of sniveling goblins outside, surrounding our people," one angry villager shouted, "and those bastards even grabbed one of our people and tossed him around at the gate, damn it!"

"Our forces aren't here, what do you want to do?" Avi intended to ask the villagers for their opinions first.

"By the great Yurik above, of course, we go out and kick their damn asses!" a villager yelled, "If it weren't for the others holding us back until they're ready, we would have charged out and smashed those sniveling goblins' heads in long ago, damn it!"

More and more villagers gathered, and Avi also brought his own warhorse.

"It's been a while since we've had a fight. It's a good opportunity to practice with these guys." Avi mounted his horse and ordered the villagers, "I'll ride out first to clear a path. Follow me and charge after me, smash those damn sniveling goblins who don't know any better."

"Damn it, charge up and smash those green trash to pieces!"

"Smash them!"

Fueled by the insult, the villagers led by Miden felt their honor had been insulted and clamored for battle, reaching a peak in morale.

"Alright, open the gate!"

Avi tightened the reins, his sword shining brightly in the sunlight. The camp gate slowly lifted open, with dozens of pairs of eyes on either side, ready to launch an attack behind the gate at the slightest movement...