Outside Mantis Town, humans and Beastmen could be seen everywhere. Many were making their way back to the town, while many were departing deep into the desert.

Sandroaches and Dung Beetles had become a common sight in Mantis Town.

Before the opening of Black Water, each Beastmen species was wary of each other. Most especially for the weaker clans, they were wary of each other.

But now, the Mantis Men did not seem to fear other Beastmen trying to take over their town.

With the bloody display of the Crimson Arc Guild, only a fool would dare try to cause any problem in the town again.

News had even spread that some humans had mysteriously vanished outside Mantis Town. No one knew if this news was true or not.

Still, no one wanted to find out.

The memory of the purge was still fresh.

The smell of blood had not completely left the alleys. Each passing day, more were being added to it.

And the sight of Crimson Arc Guild patrols walking side by side with Mantis Men was enough to make many reckless people lower their heads.

Now, the central street was bustling with activities.

Human awakeners turned merchants were shouting and calling for people to buy their wares. Across the street, Mantis Men who had employed humans were also desperately trying to get customers to their businesses.

Food and drinks had become a common sight on the street.

For easier trade, Mantis Town accepted barter and coins. For those that did not have coins, they could trade with their hunted beasts.

Now, everyone knew the importance of powerful beasts.

Previously, beast parts were not that important, but now, they were very sought after. Apart from that, beast parts could be used to make alcohol and wines.

Good alcohol and wines could be exchanged for coins at Black Water. This alone boosted Mantis Town’s commerce.

Previously, there were few coins in circulation, and they were mostly in the hands of humans, but now, more coins were in circulation.

Gold coins, which were rare to catch a glimpse of, were now used. Though it was only in Black Water.

Still, that showed the rapid development of Mantis Town.

In just one week, Mantis Town had become a major hub for everyone. This time around, no one dared to cause trouble.

Even without the Crimson Arc Guild acting up, those that had settled down inside the town would not allow it.

Many people had tasted the benefit of stability.

Merchants could sell.

Hunters could exchange.

Beastmen could trade without being cheated too openly.

Human awakeners could find supplies before going deeper into the Crimson Dunes.

Even weaker parties that once struggled for clean water now found a reason to return to Mantis Town repeatedly.

In this past week, Black Water’s influence had grown beyond the Crimson Arc Guild. Many did not even recognize the Crimson Arc Guild as the ruler of the town, but Black Water.

To them, Black Water was enough to decide the fate of everyone living in the town.

And truly, under the subtle influence of Black Water, ruins were discovered at an alarming speed around Mantis Town.

Why?

For every ruin discovered, the party or individual could earn a massive income at Black Water. Apart from that, Black Water set up a ranking system.

Those with lower rankings could only get limited supplies, while those with higher rankings could get better supplies.

Potions.

Weapons.

Even skill books were not impossible.

With all these mouth watering rewards, how could the humans and Beastmen remain idle?

With the humans and Beastmen working together, the Crimson Dunes were being turned inside out.

Old maps were compared.

Forgotten rumors were dug out.

Unusual beast movements were reported.

Even vague stories passed down among small Beastmen clans suddenly became valuable.

With each ruin discovered and submitted to Black Water, its influence grew.

Now, ruin exploration was easier and carried lower risk. To explore any ruin under Black Water, you just needed to pay a small fee, and everything you found belonged to you.

Why would many submit discovered ruin locations to Black Water?

Simple.

Ruin exploration was dangerous, and no one was sure if they were going to find anything useful in it. Thus, instead of putting their lives in danger, they would rather increase their ranking at Black Water and earn some rewards.

One stone, killing two birds.

Unknown to many, before any ruin was put in public, Thoren and the Crimson Arc Guild would have explored it.

To encourage ruin exploration, Thoren only allowed Crimson Arc Guild member to pick anything related to their trials.

As for weapons, potions, and others.

They were never touched.

With this practice, Thoren and the Crimson Arc Guild were able to find clues about their trials while allowing other awakeners to increase their strength.

This arrangement also made people trust Black Water more.

If a ruin was completely stripped clean before being opened to the public, people would soon stop paying fees.

But when awakeners entered and found weapons, materials, potions, rare stones, or even ancient fragments, their trust deepened.

Every day, more information flowed toward Thoren.

At the top floor of Black Water, Solenne stared intently at Thoren.

"I never thought you were this good..." she said seriously.

Of course, she was talking about Mantis Town’s growing commerce.

She knew their current town situation was all thanks to the silver haired young man before her. She knew he was not someone to underestimate.

Brutal and merciless to his enemies.

Calm and patient when making plans.

Ruthless when ruthlessness could end trouble.

After his return, she had expected he would stay longer than two days before he vanished to complete his trial. But she was wrong.

It had been over a week, and this demon had yet to leave the town.

And this only meant one thing.

He was planning a big move.

A move that might shake the Crimson Dunes.

"Do you know there are other powers beyond the Slave Trade Guild in the Crimson Dunes?" Thoren asked softly.

Indeed, he was carefully planning his next move. This was why he was taking his time.

This time, he was going big.

Listening to his question, Solenne was not surprised.

"Of course, I know. From what I heard, your sister was involved with them before she vanished," Solenne responded.

The moment she said this, the room became quieter.