A Battered Return to the Den
Hiding and dodging, hiding by day and venturing out at night, like stray dogs trekking through the mountains and forests for several sunsets, Xueya and his remaining dozen or so men finally managed to get away from the general area controlled by the Fire Tribe. Only when they confirmed that they were at least five "sunsets" away from the Fire Tribe and were on the edge of the forest, far from the main waterways, did they dare to slow down a little and catch their breath, which smelled of blood and earth.
Having escaped the suffocating shadow of the Fire Tribe, their wolfish, cowardly nature began to resurface. On their journey, they attacked two more tribes, slightly larger than before but still small in scale. This time, they were better prepared and more ruthless. Under the cover of night, they raided, seizing food and a small amount of medicine, and forced the tribespeople to clean and bandage their wounds. After several hearty meals of plundered food and simple herbal treatment, the remnants of their army finally shed some of the panic and disarray they had displayed upon their escape, regaining a trace of their former ferocity.
Continuing their journey, when they passed some small tribes with weak strength and fewer than a hundred people, Xueya no longer bothered to hide and went directly to their doorsteps, revealing the name of the Wolf Tribe and engaging in blatant extortion.
"Hand over the food and medicine! Or we'll wipe out your entire clan!"
Although these tribesmen might have harbored thoughts of resistance against the ragged, blood-soaked remnants of the Wolf Tribe —who numbered only a dozen or so and were wounded—the name "Wolf Tribe" had long been associated with intimidation, and the ingrained reputation for cruelty and vengefulness ultimately led them to choose to swallow their anger.
"Here, take it all! Get out of here!" The tribal chief gritted his teeth and handed over the little food and herbs he had left, hoping to get rid of these plagues.
Having obtained their loot, Xueya and his gang swaggered away, leaving behind suppressed curses and angry stares. But they didn't care. Losing to the strong was a disgrace, but bullying the weak remained their way of maintaining their twisted inner balance and obtaining resources for survival.
Finally, on the edge of a forest about two days' journey from the Wolf Tribe's core lair in High Pointed Mountain, they encountered the people who had come to search.
"Leader! It's the leader and the others!" The search team Xiaotou saw Xueya and the others in the distance, rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and then shouted with joy as he rushed to meet them.
This search party was dispatched by Xueya's younger brother, Xueshou, the second-in-command of the Wolf Tribe. Ever since learning that his elder brother, Xueya, had suffered a defeat at the hands of the allied forces at the Pottery Salt Tribe, Xueshou had felt uneasy. Although the Wolf Tribe was fierce, they knew they couldn't afford to provoke too many enemies at once. He tried to contact the main force that had come down the mountain, but received news that his elder brother had actually led the main force away, heading towards the "Fire Tribe," which was said to have grown rapidly in recent years!
This made Xueshou even more anxious. He knew something about the Fire Tribe; they were richer than the Bison White Pig, but that also meant they might be harder to conquer. While he intensified his efforts to gather intelligence about the Fire Tribe, he also sent out the few remaining forces from his stronghold to try to provide support or at least gather information.
A few days ago, even worse news came like Startling Thunder: the main force of the Wolf Tribe was ambushed by the Fire Tribe outside Wild Boar Gully, and almost the entire army was wiped out! The fate of their leader, Xueya, is unknown!
Xueshou felt dizzy and almost fainted. But he forced himself to calm down. That was his elder brother, the soul of the Wolf Tribe! He couldn't afford to panic! He sent out all the able-bodied people on the mountain, casting a wide net to search towards the Fire Tribe. He wanted to find them alive or dead!
Today, he finally met this disheveled but overjoyed team in this familiar mountain forest near his old hideout!
Xueshou personally led his men down the mountain to greet him. When he saw his elder brother, who was being supported by Duyan and Shichui, with a deathly pale face, dull eyes, and a strong smell of herbs and blood on his body, the Wolf Tribe's second leader, who was also known for his ferocity, felt a sudden pang of sadness.
"Big Brother!" Xueshou rushed forward and grabbed Xueya to support him.
"Xueshou... Brother..." Xueya's will, which had been holding on for so long, finally collapsed when he saw his family. He gripped his brother's arm tightly, his cracked lips trembling, and a whimper like that of a wounded beast escaped his throat. Then, this wolf king, who had once struck fear into the hearts of countless tribes, burst into tears in front of all his subordinates, like a child who had suffered a great injustice!
"Waaah... Brother... I'm useless! I've let down the brothers who died! I've let down the tribe's decades of hard work!" Xueya was streaming with tears and snot, his words incoherent. The fear, humiliation, regret, and self-blame that had been building up for days poured out like a flood. He remembered the more than one hundred vigorous wolf warriors when he came down the mountain, he remembered the first setback outside the Pottery Salt Tribe, and he remembered the nightmarish defeat outside Wild Boar Gully!
"Jianshi... Jianshi of the Fire Tribe... He... He..." Xueya's voice was distorted with extreme shame and anger, barely able to continue. "He made a fool of me! In front of everyone... like kicking a wild dog... he kicked me to the ground with one kick... I... I didn't even have a chance to fight back! What kind of leader am I! What kind of wolf king am I! Ahhh--!"
He pounded his chest, aggravating his recently healed wounds, causing him to cough violently, with dark red blood seeping from the corner of his mouth again.
"Big Brother! Big Brother, please stop! Stop it!" Xueshou and the surrounding Wolf Tribe warriors rushed forward, grabbing him and holding him down, afraid he would hurt himself again. Xueshou had never seen his brother so distraught, so vulnerable. Even in the early days when the Wolf Tribe was at its most difficult, almost wiped out by other large tribes, his brother always gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with an indomitable flame, leading them to survive time and time again. But the brother before him now had eyes filled with defeat and deep-seated humiliation, as if his entire spirit had been completely shattered by that kick.
"It's alright, brother, it's alright! It's good you're back, it's good you're back!" Xueshou hugged his brother's trembling body tightly, his voice choked with sobs. "As long as the green hills remain, there's always firewood to burn! As long as you're still here, brother, the spirit of the Wolf Tribe lives on! Brothers... brothers won't have died in vain! We'll avenge this sooner or later!"
While comforting him, he hurriedly directed his men. "Quick! Men! Carefully lift the leader out! Use a stretcher! Be careful of his injuries! Help the other brothers up too! Back to the mountain! Back to our own territory!"
The remaining warriors of the Wolf Tribe, seeing their second leader and the companions who came to their aid, finally relaxed completely. Many of them had tears in their eyes, silently supporting their wounded comrades as they followed the group towards High Pointed Mountain.
Xueshou followed beside the stretcher, looking at his elder brother's face, which was tightly closed but still twitching slightly from time to time due to excitement and pain. His heart was filled with heartache and raging anger. He had originally thought that in this area, apart from the behemoth Fish Tribe, which needed to be carefully avoided, the other tribes were not to be feared. Even though his elder brother had suffered a minor loss with Pottery and Salt, he only thought that it was because the other side had joined forces and had the advantage of the terrain, resulting in a momentary blunder.
But now it seems that's not the case at all! This newly risen Fire Tribe is far more terrifying than expected! Not only were they able to crush the main force of the Wolf Tribe head-on, but even a fierce warrior like our leader was defeated so thoroughly and humiliated in front of their chief!
"Fire Tribe... Jianshi..." Xueshou gritted his teeth, etching these two names into his heart.
Back at a relatively secluded and heavily guarded temporary camp halfway up the mountain, Xueya was completely exhausted, both mentally and physically. He barely opened his eyes, grasped Xueshou's hand, and said in a weak but resolute voice, "Xueshou... my injuries... won't heal anytime soon... the affairs of the tribe... for now... I'm leaving them to you... you must... take care of the rest of the people... guard our territory... wait for me... wait until I'm better..."
After saying that, he fell into a deep sleep.
Xueshou nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, Big Brother, I'm here!"
He immediately took over the remnants of the Wolf Tribe. He counted the number of people, treated the wounded, strengthened the defense and patrols of the stronghold, inventoried the remaining supplies, and reassured the people... A series of tedious and heavy tasks fell on his shoulders.
Looking at the sparsely populated and demoralized members of his tribe in the camp, Xueshou felt a heavy weight in his heart. The Wolf Tribe had suffered almost complete annihilation of its elite forces in this battle, its strength regressing by more than a decade! But as he had comforted his elder brother, as long as the core spirit remained (himself and his brother), as long as their nest on High Pointed Mountain remained, there was hope for a comeback. Back then, hadn't he and his brother led even fewer men, carving a bloody path through these cruel mountains and establishing the Wolf Tribe's fearsome reputation?
This time, however, their opponent seems to be stronger and more... unfathomable than ever before.
"The Fish Tribe is tough to deal with because of the great river and their large numbers... but this Fire Tribe..." Xueshou looked southeast in the general direction of the Fire Tribe, his eyes sinister, "What exactly is it that has allowed them to become so terrifying in such a short time?"