Ok, here's what's going on: Top kingdoms want to be big. They hit people who won't hit back because that benefits their goals. There's fierce competition at the top and they just can't afford to waste a wave to kill a nub. The trick is that they make you think they can and most of the time it works. So if you're getting hit by a kingdom fighting for the land or netw crown, just hit back and they'll offer CF so they can look for easy gains elsewhere because trading acres isn't in their best interest.