Chapter 104: Shooting Oneself in the Foot

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Shooting Oneself in the Foot

Zerev turned to leave but was stopped by Tyler. He shot him a look of dissatisfaction.

"If you don’t have the guts to go yourself, don’t stop me."

Tyler shook his head. "You have no proof. Even if you go, they won’t admit it.

"If a scene is caused, it will actually hinder the Princess from establishing her prestige as Clan Leader."

Tyler was telling the truth. The Fuzu Tribe had just been established, and this was the crucial moment for Ophelia to build her authority as Clan Leader.

If word got out that their rice paddies had been stolen from, what would the neighboring tribes think—especially those already dissatisfied with having a female Clan Leader? They would think that a little female indeed couldn’t be a Clan Leader and was incapable of protecting a tribe. People might even come to trample all over them day after day.

The Fu Clan would then become an easy target that anyone could push around at will. Therefore, this matter couldn’t be blown out of proportion.

"Then what should we do now?" As the Crown Prince of the Holy Capital, Zerev had never felt so stifled.

"It’s fine to settle scores with Loki, but not over the rice."

It would be easy to deal with Loki; they just needed to find someone to put a sack over his head and beat him up. Right now, the most critical issue was to deal with the rice planted by the Snow Wolf Clan.

Since people already suspected that the Snow Wolf Clan’s rice was related to theirs, failing to handle this matter properly would create an impression that if the Snow Wolf Clan could steal, other tribes could too. When the time came and too many people were involved, who could they possibly hold accountable?

"Why not just uproot it directly? Why all these twists and turns?" Zerev, who always confronted enemies head-on, truly looked down on Tyler’s cautious behavior.

"That would make the neighboring tribes feel like we are throwing our weight around. It would make them fearful, which isn’t good for the Fuzu Tribe’s reputation."

Listening to them gave Ophelia a massive headache, so she stepped in to mediate.

"Let’s have someone keep an eye on the paddies first. As for how to deal with their rice, we can take our time to figure it out," she said. After all, the rice was already planted there; it wasn’t going to run away.

Seeing her favor Tyler, Zerev felt a bit of discontent. However, he also knew that their partnership lacked an emotional foundation, so he didn’t dare express his dissatisfaction openly.

"I’ll have the males guarding outside the Fuzu Tribe keep an eye on the fields. I’ll make them patrol the rice paddies twice a day," Zerev offered.

Ophelia had been worrying about how she and Tyler couldn’t possibly watch over the fields by themselves. Furthermore, she felt too embarrassed to directly order the twenty males from Ten Thousand Beasts City who were guarding outside her tribe.

Now that Zerev had offered on his own accord, it was exactly what she needed. "Alright, thank you, Zerev."

Seeing Ophelia act so polite with him, a hint of disappointment appeared on Zerev’s face.

"Ophelia, we are partners. Sharing your burdens is what I should do."

Hearing such sudden, earnest words from Zerev, Ophelia didn’t quite know how to respond. However, Zerev wasn’t expecting an answer. After speaking, he simply called for them to head back to the tribe for lunch.

Two days later.

The males who had been guarding outside the Fuzu Tribe came to Ophelia to report.

"Princess, we found that males from the Snow Wolf Clan have been secretly hiding next to the rice paddies every day, peeking at how you cultivate the rice.

"Then, they go back to the Snow Wolf Clan and copy exactly what you do."

Ophelia nodded. So they were blindly imitating; quite clever of them. Since that was the case, things would be easy. She just hoped the Snow Wolf Clan were good students and could replicate everything perfectly.

That afternoon, Ophelia took Tyler and Zerev up the mountain.

Not long after they started their ascent, the two males noticed that someone was indeed tailing them. Judging by the scent, it was undoubtedly a male from the Snow Wolf Clan. Tyler shot Ophelia a meaningful glance, and understanding the cue, she pretended not to notice.

The trio soon arrived at a patch of forest. The rocks here were different from ordinary ones; they were a yellowish-white color, and large craters had already been chiseled out in some places.

Tyler skillfully shifted his hands into dragon claws and began digging at the rocks. Before long, he had dug out a full basket of limestone.

Ophelia shifted the weight on her back and called out loudly to the two males who were still working hard, "Tyler, Zerev, this is enough."

Tyler wiped his hands and walked back. He feigned confusion and asked, "Princess, what do you need these stones for?"

Ophelia blinked playfully and lowered her voice. "These stones are good stuff. The reason our rice seedlings are growing so strong is all because of them."

"These stones actually have such an effect? Then we absolutely can’t let anyone else know." Tyler wore a serious expression, rigidly reciting the lines they had prepared in advance.

Ophelia waved her hand dismissively. "Don’t worry. Aside from the three of us, no one will know.

"And let me tell you, using these stones is the only way to produce more rice."

Watching Ophelia and Tyler acting out this scene back and forth, the corners of Zerev’s lips curled up slightly. He thought, "She is truly a cunning little fox. How could she be so cute? I could never get enough of her."

Talking and laughing just like that, the trio returned to the Fu Clan with the limestone.

At the entrance of the Fuzu Tribe, Ophelia spoke up. "Tyler, it’s too late today. Let’s wait until tomorrow to fertilize the rice paddies."

"Alright. You’ve been tired out all day too, so get some good rest tonight." Tyler affectionately patted Ophelia’s head.

Ophelia smiled sweetly.

The Snow Wolf Clan male who had been tailing them saw them enter the Fuzu Tribe and immediately hurried back up the mountain without stopping. He found the limestone, smashed it a few times—SMASH, SMASH, SMASH—and carried a large chunk of it back to the Snow Wolf Clan.

However, everything he did was seen clearly by a Beast Servant hidden in the shadows.

When the male returned to the Snow Wolf Clan with the limestone in his arms, Loki was busy admiring the flourishing rice in their paddies.

"Ophelia said these stones can make the rice produce more grain?"

The male nodded respectfully. "Yes, Loki Clan Leader."

"But these are just stones. How could they have such an effect?" Loki was somewhat speechless; he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this than met the eye.

"I don’t know either, but we’ve been cultivating our rice exactly as they do, and it’s growing quite well now."

Loki’s gaze swept over the rice paddy, joy blooming in his heart. "How about this: you go keep watch outside the Fuzu Tribe again tomorrow and see exactly how they use these stones."

"Yes, Loki Clan Leader."

The next day, outside the Fuzu Tribe.

Thanks to Tyler’s subtle cue, Ophelia knew the Snow Wolf Clan spy had already arrived. Then, she began her performance.

"Princess, how do we use these stones?" Tyler asked.

Ophelia took a stone from the basket, smashed it to pieces, put it into a watering can, and filled the can with half a bucket of water.

"Just smash the stones like this and add some water. That’s all."

Tyler indicated that he understood, and very quickly, he and Zerev pulverized the stones into powder.

Ophelia crouched on the ground. Because she crouched so low and was shielded by the rice seedlings, the Snow Wolf Clan male couldn’t see exactly what she was doing. Using the rice to block his line of sight, Ophelia secretly swapped the limestone powder for fertilizer she had bought from the System Space.

After filling it with water, she began to fertilize the rice. As she did, she urged Tyler and Zerev to chisel more stones.

Seeing Ophelia actually sprinkle the water over the rice paddy, the Snow Wolf Clan male finally left with peace of mind.

After returning to the Snow Wolf Clan’s rice paddy, he mimicked Ophelia’s actions, grinding the stone into powder and adding water. When the limestone met water, bursts of white smoke immediately billowed out. The male thought this phenomenon was quite novel, but he didn’t overthink it, assuming that this very reaction was exactly why the stones could increase the rice yield.

Soon, the ten-square-meter rice paddy was completely drenched in limewater, and even the rice leaves were coated with a layer of white powder.