Disdain, of course, has its reasons.
The twenty-three people in front of him, although they are also wearing beast skin clothing and beast skin boots, have a noticeable disparity in workmanship, style, and even fabric compared to those of Great Xia.
The types of Cold Beasts that Great Xia can hunt now amount to as many as twenty-one, with even more if you count the intermediate levels. The camp obtains a large variety of pelts, both in quantity and richness.
On this basis, the Craftsmen Department has begun to process the pelts more finely, and the clothes made from them not only have more colors but are of better texture than before.
For example, Yue Feng himself is wearing a brown cloak, while Li Yuankun and the others wear colors of brown, yellow, black, and blue, which are far richer than their opponents;
Not just in color, the texture and workmanship are visibly better as well.
Of course, it’s not just the clothing; the difference in weapons is even greater.
The seventeen people on Yue Feng’s side not only each have a main weapon of different styles but also have short swords and daggers at their waists and a set of ten-stone Iron Core Bows on their backs.
However, among the twenty-three on the opposing side, although they also carry weapons, it’s usually just a main weapon, unlike Yue Feng and his team, and only ten carry bows, which is less than half of their total.
"I am Lu Sheng from the Hive Camp Hunting Team. May I ask, which camp’s hunting team are you, and why are you here at the Mirror Immortal territory?"
With such a huge gap in clothing and weaponry in front of their eyes, not only could the people of Great Xia see it, but the other side wasn’t foolish either.
Upon hearing they were from the Hive Camp, Yue Feng wasn’t too surprised.
Mirror Valley is generally located southeast of the Pingxi Plain, and to the north and west are the territories of the Hive Camp. It’s not surprising that after Mirror Immortal Camp was wiped out over a month ago, they came to investigate.
"Luckily, Lord Minister was foresighted, and let us prepare in advance and come to Jing Valley frequently. If they had come a bit later and the Hive Camp sent people to occupy it, we would have suffered a great loss."
Yue Feng thought to himself, keeping the bowstring tight in his hand, he said to Lu Sheng with a deep voice: "Mirror Immortal has now fully merged into our Great Xia Camp. From now on, Jing Valley belongs to us. Didn’t you see the monument we erected when you entered from the northern passage?"
Lu Sheng’s brows furrowed; indeed, he saw a monument engraved with the words ’Great Xia’ when he first came in, but at this moment, he wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to this.
When did another Great Xia Camp emerge around the Arrow Bamboo Forest?
And actually annexed the Mirror Immortal Camp!
The leader once said, He Yuanhun and Yuwen Hu are not simple characters. Mirror Immortal has these Cold Resistance Level experts and three to four hundred Earth-digging Realm warriors, their strength wasn’t weak. How could they be inexplicably swallowed up by Great Xia?
This strength of Great Xia...
Lu Sheng looked up, seeing the seventeen on Yue Feng’s side with their well-equipped attire and everyone armed with three weapons, his face eased immediately, and he smiled: "I see, it was a misunderstanding. Today was the scheduled trading day between us, Hive, and Mirror Immortal. When night fell and I didn’t see anyone from Mirror Immortal Camp, I thought something might have happened, so I brought people over to check."
Yue Feng didn’t inquire further, he just stayed alert, continuing to watch Lu Sheng.
Seeing the seventeen didn’t lower their bows and arrows, Lu Sheng realized something, turned to his side, and said to his companions, "Put the stuff down..."
After saying this, he turned back to Yue Feng and smiled: "I thought these were ownerless goods, my apology for any offense, and I hope you will forgive us."
Though he had not entirely dropped his guard, Yue Feng relaxed seeing the courtesy and release of the Cold Beasts by the others, lowered his bow, and cupped his hands, saying:
"Great Xia Mountain River Team, Yue Feng!"
After speaking, Yue Feng gestured towards Li Yuankun and the others.
The group immediately understood and all laid down their bows and arrows.
"Brother Yue, since Mirror Immortal has merged into Great Xia Camp, could your camp continue the trades with our Hive?"
Recalling the barter meetings at Five Ape Mountain, Yue Feng roughly guessed the nature of the trading day, and after hearing Lu Sheng’s request, he thought for a moment before saying:
"I’m afraid I can’t make that decision. I need to report back first. If Brother Lu doesn’t mind, come back in five days, and I’ll give you an answer!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Sheng looked at Yue Feng, a hint of something flickering in his expression, before nodding in agreement.
"If that’s the case, I won’t intrude any longer. Today’s incident was a complete misunderstanding, and I hope Brother Yue won’t take it to heart."
Yue Feng shook his head, indicating it was no problem, watching as Lu Sheng and his group headed for the northern passage. He noticed two individuals with bulging bags, which made a crisp clinking sound as they walked, causing his brow to furrow, and he said in a deep voice:
"Please tell Brother Lu to convey a message, Mirror Immortal has merged with Great Xia, so its territory belongs to us as well. Please advise the Hive Camp people not to trespass into Jing Valley. This first time, I’ll pretend I didn’t know, but if it happens again, it won’t be so easy."
Lu Sheng paused momentarily, turned back with a smile, cupped his hands, and said: "Rest assured, Brother Yue, I will relay the message."
Watching the more than twenty people all exit through the northern passage, Li Yuankun finally couldn’t hold back any longer, and said: "Captain, it’s obvious that the bags are filled with iron ore. These guys must have been stealing from the eastern iron mine."
"They definitely were. Those two bags must weigh tens of thousands of pounds. They must have started mining as soon as night fell, and it was organized by more than twenty people, likely with tools, but they hid them, not daring to let us see."