The plunder of the heavens begins with the Spirit Cage.

When he rode Ikaran to the direction from which the gunfire came, he saw a group of unfamiliar Na'vi firing at them.

Four fingers, not Avatar.

The weapons in their hands looked fierce, but they were all single-shot bolt-action rifles.

"Catch them!"

Before the unfamiliar Na'vi could advance, Jack and his companions immediately launched a counterattack.

Before long, under the firepower of fully automatic rifles, the dense rain of bullets instantly suppressed the enemy's offensive.

In addition, a large group of their clansmen, along with their families, were controlled and threatened.

The leader of the Stone Ridge Alliance had no choice but to grit his teeth, raise his hands, and surrender.

Jack hovered in mid-air aboard the Icarus, surveying the group of people who had surrendered without resistance, his brow furrowed.

They didn't come from the bridgehead, and their weapons were... outdated, yet perfectly suited to the Na'vi's physique.

"This is the territory of our Omatikaya tribe!"

Who are you people?

Where did these guns come from?

Why did you shoot at us?

After Jack asked three questions in a row, he realized it was a misunderstanding.

The Stone Ridge Alliance members saw that some of them were wearing bulletproof vests and carrying firearms.

They thought it was the Ash Kingdom people chasing and intercepting them here, which is why they fired the guns!

"The Ashes... Kingdom? The Na'vi have established a kingdom?!" Jack's pupils dilated in disbelief as he listened to the Alliance leader's account.

In his view, the Na'vi are just a group of people who love harmony, and the concept of a kingdom should not exist!

However, given the outdated bolt-action rifles, he had to accept this fact.

Chapter 116 Grudges

"I need better weapons!" Varang sat in his newly built palace, slamming his fist on the table and glaring at John Hart below.

"You sold better weapons to Navel, and to that Phantom Knight who appeared out of nowhere!"

“Queen Valanciunas,” John Hart, wearing a filter mask, straightened his suit.

He said calmly, "I've already said it, your territory is big enough."

"Advancing without a sufficient population will only deplete your soldiers."

"You are clearly trying to stop me from expanding!"

Nalway is!

That figure named Jack, even from behind, was one too!

Those despicable sky people!

If it weren't for needing these people to realize his ambitions, Walang would really want to flip the table over with them right now!

"The tribe led by that Jack completely overwhelmed our firepower!"

Our bulletproof vests couldn't withstand more than a few bullets!

John Hart frowned upon hearing this. As the person in charge of the handover between the Narway Caravan and the Ash Kingdom, he did not recall selling any fully automatic weapons.

The arsenal at the Pandora forward base is fully automated with AI printing, making it impossible for anyone to engage in any underhanded tactics.

"I don't recall ever selling these weapons."

"Then where did they get their weapons?!" Varang stared at him with disbelief.

"You'll have to find out for yourselves." John Hart couldn't be bothered with the affairs of these natives.

As an Anglo-Saxon, it would be good enough if I could offer her some advice on how to govern the country.

However, speaking of the east, he had indeed heard some things recently.

Ignoring Valang's anger, he opened his wrist terminal and quickly found the information he wanted.

“Perhaps…” John Hart looked up at Varan, “I know why.”

He showed footage of the collapsed train ruins, saying, "Do you remember that group of Skyman bandits that were circulating among yourselves?"

"They provided it to the Stone Ridge Alliance?"

"No, they stole it."

"..."

"You mean those sky bandits with guns were robbed by a group of primitive people with bows and spears?" Varang could hardly believe his ears.

How bad must this dish be?

If that's the case... Varang narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking that he might also be able to take over the territory of those sky pirates.

"Your Majesty, those bandits have been eliminated by our people."

"That's our territory now." John Hart quickly warned, sensing the meaning in the other's eyes.

He further assured, "With our intervention, this kind of thing will not happen again."

"Don't worry, the automatic weapons and ammunition used by the Na'vi will be replaced once they're gone."

"Heh heh~" Varang sneered, "Lord John Hart, the Sky Bandits' territory is now yours..."

These Na'vi weapons are related to you; you owe me an explanation!

Having spent a lot of time in contact with humans, she has gradually mastered their communication skills.

"I don't want to use my soldiers to expend their unknown ammunition."

“That’s why I told you to pause your territorial expansion,” John Hart straightened his collar, avoiding the minor issue.

He acted as a strategist, saying, "I already said that before."

All you need to do is bring that rocky mountain in the east into the kingdom's territory, establish an outpost there, and control the gateway between the east and west.

The tribes hiding in the forests to the west are all your people.

"What you need to do now is to pull these primitive people out and incorporate them into your Ash City."

Let them learn how to build and cultivate, let them learn how to use more convenient tools and weapons...

Once these people become accustomed to a civilized and advanced way of life, they will all be your subjects.

On Pandora, not all Na'vi possess flying mounts like the Tree of Souls and Ikaran.

With air superiority and the firepower of ground troops, it is quite easy to achieve this.

Perhaps because of the setbacks experienced by Jack's group, Varang's mind calmed down. "I have already had those surrendered tribes implement your suggestion."

"I will stop the expansion and digest that step first."

But I can't swallow this insult; those people must die!

“Of course, Your Majesty, that’s no problem at all,” John Hart bowed. “It was our mistake, after all.”

"So I will provide you with a batch of bolt-action rifles and better armor in my name."

The current bridgehead colony belongs to them. John Hart knew without a doubt that his superiors would not want a band of robbers who would occasionally harass the trains and mines.

Let the people of the Ash Kingdom handle it, without firing a single shot; it might even be a meritorious deed for us.

Moreover, anyone with a modicum of education knows that the Floating Island Mountains are difficult to conquer without the use of high-powered weapons.

While the two sides fought to the death inside, expending their energy, he was able to free up his hands to cultivate other Na'vi forces.

It would be difficult for the Ash Kingdom alone to bring the entire primitive population of Pandora into modern civilization.

Only by forming a civilization can a union incorporate it into its economic territory.

War, invasion, and gradual encroachment are all last resorts.

They also finalized an agreement for mining rights for a mineral vein and management rights for a lake.

John Hart immediately provided his employer with a pre-prepared skyship.

The ships were naturally the semi-automated wooden spaceships sold to the Wind Merchants.

They were all made with the finest wood from Pandora, and the carvings on the ships were almost entirely in line with the aesthetics of the Ash Kingdom.

For Varang, being able to exchange a few superconductor ore veins for such a powerful air fleet was an absolute steal!

…………

When the colossal mothership, adorned with ash totems, arrived in a neat, dark formation above the Hallelujah floating islands, it brought with it dozens of battleships and escorts.

Jack, who had just convened a meeting of all the tribal chiefs in the vicinity as the Phantom Knight, suddenly realized that he had underestimated the power of the Ash Kingdom.

"Listen up, you men!"

"If you surrender and join the Ash Kingdom, Queen Valan will not pursue your past crimes!"

"..."

The kingdom's soldiers sat in front of the warship's loudspeakers and repeatedly shouted messages.

Unfortunately, they heard about the kingdom's brutality and atrocities spread by the Stone Ridge Alliance, as well as their deep attachment to their homeland.

The Na'vi, who were hiding in the mountains and waiting for their turn, did not respond.

What's wrong with forests?

Abundant herds of wild animals, delicious fruits readily available, and inexhaustible water resources...

Food is everywhere; they have no desire to go to that damn kingdom to mine and suffer!

And so, unsurprisingly, war broke out.

Faced with the fanatical faith and fearless spirit of the Ash Kingdom soldiers.

In a single encounter, Jack's loose alliance was quickly defeated on the main battlefield and began to wage guerrilla warfare in the mountains.

The rugged ravines and dense forests form floating islands with intersecting suspension cables and crisscrossing caves.