Ye Weida watched as the Jade Pendant Space grew larger and larger, accommodating all the oil fields and mineral resourcesâhis spoils this time were bountiful.
If he wasnât afraid of attracting pursuit, heâd want to laugh out loud.
His method of acquisition was quite unique: he collected the oil and mineral resources from the fields, leaving behind parched land and the once-covered top.
The row of fields was still there; who would suspect that the resource they secretly guarded was stolen without their knowledge?
The area with the resources was surrounded by numerous patrols; to protect these resources, many soldiers and patrol teams were stationed there.
Ordinary people simply couldnât enter, as access required passing multiple checkpoints; how could regular personnel get in?
If they saw strangers, they would also capture them.
Not only was Ye Weida invisible, but he could also fly into the resource area under the watchful eyes of these people.
Before entering the resource area, he placed the camels, exhausted from a whole day and night of toil, into the Jade Pendant Space ranch.
Once his work was done, he wasted no time lingering there.
He left the area quickly; if he didnât leave, would he wait for others to hunt him down and attack him?
Ye Weida was heading to another tribe; he first wanted to plunder one tribe after another, leaving them impoverished.
Finally, it would be their Imperial Capitalâs turn.
He first arrived at a tribe that seemed quite nice, where agricultural products were abundant, though they hadnât dug any fish ponds.
The tribe was situated in an oasis, with a small lake, rivers, and lush green grass.
The people of this tribe relied on farming and husbandry to make a living and prosper.
Ye Weida arrived invisibly at this place, and saw no one in soldier attire; perhaps the young men in the tribe would become the so-called soldiers, or warriors, during battles.
He didnât speak the language of this tribe, but upon arriving, he saw them debating with other newcomers.
Usually, leaders spoke with other leaders, while others faded into the background.
However, the people of the tribe frowned at the newcomers, all wearing expressions of worry.
While the leaders discussed matters, they worried about their sons, the cattle, sheep, and horses for their livelihood.
They worried about their limited family grain, worried they might not have enough to eat and could not keep warm in the future, and that families might not reunite.
Could they conquer another place? Could they become more affluent?
Some were ambitious, and of course, wanted to be wealthier.
Yet some of the local indigenous people, who had never traveled outside, felt that life here was already quite goodâbetter than that of other tribesâand even without venturing out, life was good here at home.
Only the ambitious fought for fertile land, and soldiers had to be recruited from among the tribes and a few villages.
They even had to donate horses, grain, and people, and had to support the battle.
Before, they couldnât protest, and in fact, many supported it; every tribe had a leader, and when their countryâs king conquered another, their tribal leaders might bring some of their people along to rise in status and wealth.
The price was the deaths of many warriors.
In the past, many supported it because their warriors were strong; they despised the cowardly people of Country X, believing their robust physiques were much stronger than those scholars.
After losing the battle, when another levy came for grain, horses, and even took their sons,
the countryâs population was already not very high compared to others, and due to environmental issues, they could only live in oases or areas with a bit of water.
There was lots of desert land, where no one could live.
Those who dared to live there faced harsh conditions.
The people of these tribes had a hard time buying resources from other countries, buying resources they lacked.
Because they had to traverse desert regions with little water, thereâs the risk of perishing in the desert.
Ye Weida couldnât understand their language, but from their passionate expressions and gestures, he could tell that ordinary people didnât dare protest but were gossiping.
The first battle was a crushing defeat; they lost so much grain, so many resources, and people, without even having breached the first city gate.
To breach the first city gate, they might lose even more people.
If it was as they previously thought and predicted, as long as they breached the city gate, they would secure victory.
Even though their troops were inferior, their confidence as warriors made them believe they were stronger than othersâ forces.
Ye Weida quietly observed from a distance, then quietly entered the tent of some leader.
Though he couldnât understand their language, having spent a long time at the border defending his own country, he learned to speak as the others did to keep his homeland secure.
They, too, learned othersâ languages, be it the written characters or the spoken language.
But this countryâs dialects were numerous, and they differed from those spoken by nearby city dwellers.
Though they frequently entered the city and engaged closely with their country, even if their spoken language wasnât very standard or fluent, they could guess from othersâ speech what they were saying.
At this moment, Ye Weida could only rely on guesswork, as many generals had died and food resources were lost due to his sabotage.