#1068 - Chapter 1068: Quintuplets, Population Development

"Then tell me, what path should the Nata tribe ultimately take?" The light in the chief's eyes faded, and he seemed to age instantly.

"Treat our own people with righteousness and respect. But when dealing with enemies, any means are justified," the boy replied.

"But how can we dissipate the accumulated resentment within us? If we don't, our descendants will pay the price for our brutality," the chief continued.

"Then we shall conquer the entire world, making everyone our kin. In that way, the world will be one family, and there will be no more war. Without war, the resentment will slowly dissipate," the boy answered.

"The world as one family! Haha, the world as one family! Easier said than done!" The Nata chief shook his head.

"If enemies exist, how can war be avoided?" the boy asked.

"Enough, enough, you may leave," the chief said, closing his eyes and waving his hand.

The boy acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Not long after, the Nata chief died.

In accordance with the chief's command, the boy succeeded to the position of tribal chief, becoming the new chief of the Nata tribe.

After assuming the position of chief, the boy issued his first command: a five-wife system.

This meant that female members of the tribe who were suitable for childbearing and not currently in their reproductive period had to choose a male member to marry. Each male had to marry at least five wives.

If a wife did not bear a child within a year of marriage, she would be expelled. Women in their childbearing period would be supported by the tribe until their child reached the age of six. The more children one had, the more food they would receive, and the higher their status would be.

Under the stimulation of such policies, the Nata tribe's population rapidly grew.

Of course, population growth also depended on one condition: food.

However, the Nata tribe possessed the skill of cultivating edible crops, with harvests almost all year round. Therefore, the food problem was not an issue in the short term.

In addition to this, in order to prevent the Sea Ghost tribe from attacking them from the north, the Nata chief introduced another directive: tribute for peace.

He had his people transport food to the Sea Ghost tribe, requesting that they not attack his tribe.

The Sea Ghost tribe was very happy to receive the food and indeed slowed down their plans to attack them.

After 20 years, the number of male adults in the Nata tribe finally returned to the level of 6,000. However, by this time, the Sea Ghost tribe had become even stronger, with the total number of warriors reaching a terrifying 10,000.

The boy was now in his thirties, and he knew that in another ten years or so, his body would fail him. Now, he had to launch a war to avenge their past grievances.

If he waited a few more years, he might not have the physical strength to do so.

In order to preserve himself as much as possible and eliminate the enemy, the Nata chief came up with a clever plan.

He tampered with the food that was offered as tribute to the Sea Ghost tribe, smearing a large number of locust eggs on it.

Locusts like to gnaw on branches and leaves. If they were to breed in large numbers, all the plants would be eaten bare.

When the Sea Ghost tribe was plagued by locusts, it would inevitably cause famine. At that time, they would not have enough to eat and naturally would not be in the mood to fight.

In this way, the Sea Ghost tribe would inevitably perish.

Sure enough, the Central Plains region occupied by the Sea Ghost tribe suffered a severe locust plague the following year. The locusts were like boundless grains of sand, everywhere. The stems and leaves of the plants were eaten bare, exposing the naked ground.

To make matters worse, not long after the locust plague broke out, there was also a severe epidemic.

Before the war even started, the Sea Ghost tribe was already on the verge of extinction.

The Nata chief was worried that his warriors would be infected by the plague and could not bear to immediately go south, so he waited another two years.

Two years later, the Sea Ghost tribe's plague had basically passed, but their population had already decreased by two-thirds.

The Nata chief believed that the time had come and led his army to attack.

When the Sea Ghost tribe saw the strong and healthy Nata warriors, they had no intention of resisting and surrendered.

The Nata chief occupied all the Sea Ghost tribe's villages at a very small price.

However, this was not the end.

The thousands of Nata warriors who had died, and the old chief who had died in sorrow and resentment, were all waiting for the day of revenge.

Therefore, the Nata chief issued an order: all Sea Ghost tribe males over the age of three were to be beheaded. All women and children under the age of three were to become slaves.

From then on, the Sea Ghost tribe was exterminated.

The Nata tribe had regained the Central Plains region, but the current Central Plains region was no longer as rich and beautiful as before, but a desolate and lonely place.

The more troublesome problem was that the locust eggs had already contaminated the land, and new plants could not grow at all.

What to do? There was only one way: burn it.

The tribesmen had to cultivate the land day after day, year after year, burning the locust eggs, slowly restoring the once rich landscape.