The Wolf Tribe's Frenzied Release

That day, during the great battle near the White Pig Tribe, when Xueya shouted "Retreat!" and grabbed a dwarf horse to run away, his heart was pounding in his throat. He practically kept his eyes closed and whipped the horse's rump wildly until he felt the horse slow down and could no longer hear the shouts of battle behind him. Only then did he dare to rein in the Jiangsheng and look back, still shaken.

As the dust settled behind them, only a few leaders who had also managed to seize a horse— Shichui, Duyan, Yexiao, Tujiu, and five quick-thinking Xiaotou —caught up, panting heavily. The others had vanished without a trace.

"Damn it..." Xueya spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, both shocked and furious. He composed himself and roared at Yexiao, "Yexiao! Take a few men and go back to check! Gather everyone you can!"

Yexiao's face was pale. He had been terrified by the Jianshi and almost lost his life. How could he dare to go back? He hesitated, his hands trembling as he gripped the Jiangsheng.

"Hurry up and go! Do you want to die?!" Xueya's eyes widened, revealing a fierce glint, and his hand was already on the hilt of his knife.

Yexiao jolted, knowing that if he didn't move, Xueya would really dare to kill him on the spot. He quickly pointed to a few men. "You, you, and you, come with me!" After saying that, he steeled himself and led the equally terrified cavalrymen, turning around and cautiously making his way back the way they came.

The two Wolf Tribe Xiaotou, on horseback, dared not approach too closely. From afar, they saw the Fire Tribe clearing the battlefield and treating the wounded, seemingly not organizing a pursuit. Only a few groups occupied the outer high ground, keeping watch. Upon seeing this, the two slightly bolder Wolf Tribe cavalrymen quickly rode back to report to Yexiao.

"Chief, the Fire Tribe isn't chasing! They're cleaning up the battlefield!"

Yexiao finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his back soaked in cold sweat. "They know what's good for them..." he muttered, forcing himself to stay alert, and led his men to gather the terrified Wolf Tribe remnants, who were running around like headless flies, one by one, in the woods and behind the hills on the outskirts of the battlefield.

After a long day of frantic work, piecing together a little over a hundred remnants of the army, they were all covered in dust and dirt, their eyes still gleaming with fear. Many were wounded, their armor and weapons scattered, looking utterly disheveled. Yexiao felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at this "team," but he had no choice but to steel himself and lead them to join up with Xueya.

In a distant mountain hollow, Xueya looked at the hundred-odd defeated soldiers Yexiao had brought back, and his heart felt like it had fallen into an ice cave. But he knew that he was the leader, and no matter how frustrated he was, he couldn't show it too obviously in front of his men.

He took a deep breath, straightened his back, and tried to make his voice sound as fierce as ever, "Everyone, stay alert! The Fire Tribe was lucky this time! I'll remember this grudge! Next time, they'll pay a hundredfold!"

He glanced at the dejected crowd. "Rest here for fifteen minutes! Then, let's head a little further into the mountains, away from the river, so the Fire Tribe's boats don't catch up!"

While his men rested, Xueya called Shichui, Duyan, Yexiao, and Tujiu aside. These usually fierce and domineering leaders were now subdued, their faces showing lingering fear.

Xueya cursed the tribe as useless inwardly, but he was also still shaken. He spoke first, his voice low. "The Fire Tribe... is indeed not to be trifled with."

Upon hearing this, several leaders couldn't help but nod in agreement, even the most impetuous Shichui remained silent.

"Last time at Wild Boar Gully, they outnumbered us and won, so we were still a little resentful," Duyan muttered. "This time... they outnumbered us, but in the fight, our men were no match at all. Those Fire Tribe warriors, they all wore strange-looking rattan armor, and they were incredibly tough! Their teamwork was excellent, and their attacks were ruthless and precise."

Yexiao added, still shaken, "Yes, I observed them closely. Even without their rattan armor, they're incredibly fierce. I think... they're much harder to deal with than those 'water ducks' (a derogatory term for the Fish Tribe Fish Tribe)!"

Tujiu's face was even more grim. His arm was still wrapped with a strip of cloth, from the cut he'd made by Wang Yan's spear. "That brat named Yan, he looks young, but he's really tough! My personal guards were all killed by him in the blink of an eye... If I hadn't run fast..." He didn't finish his sentence, but the fear in his eyes was obvious.

Shichui and Duyan exchanged a glance but remained silent. They had witnessed the terror of Jianshi at Wild Boar Gully before, and this time they experienced firsthand the despair of being overwhelmed by Jianshi in a four-on-one fight. Yexiao had previously thought that Xueya was making a mountain out of a molehill by sending the four of them to deal with Jianshi, but now, thinking about it, a chill ran down his spine. One person against Jianshi? They probably wouldn't even have a chance to escape!

Xueya looked at the leaders whose morale had plummeted and sighed inwardly. He knew that this time their courage had truly been crushed. But he couldn't let this sentiment spread.

"Alright!" Xueya interrupted their sighs. "The Fire Tribe is a tough nut to crack; we can't handle them right now. Let's put them aside for now!"

His tone shifted abruptly, a fierce glint rekindling in his eyes. "But we can't just slink back to High Pointed Mountain with our tails between our legs, can we? We can't afford to lose face like that! Our Wolf Tribe can't let this go unpunished!"

Several leaders looked up at him. Xueya lowered his voice and gritted his teeth, saying, "We came out here to plunder grain! Although we didn't manage to steal any from the Fire Tribe, most of the grain from the Bison and White Pig has already been transported back by the brothers ahead, so our efforts weren't in vain. Now, we still have over a hundred capable brothers at our disposal!"

He pointed west. "On the way back, there are three small tribes on the outskirts of our territory, not far from the Bison and White Pig Tribe. They don't have many people, only a few dozen or a hundred. We didn't touch them before because we thought there wasn't much to gain, so we kept them as a buffer. But now it's different!"

Xueya grinned cruelly. "I heard that these small tribes often go to that market in the autumn to trade with the Fire Tribe, exchanging flirtatious glances. Who knows, they might just defect to the Fire Tribe one day! Rather than letting the Fire Tribe benefit from us later, becoming their lackeys to fight us, why don't we... go and 'take care' of them now! Steal their food and women! Avenge our fallen brothers! And make up for our own losses!"

Instead of fighting the terrifying Fire Tribe, they're going to bully those pushovers?

Shichui, Duyan, Yexiao, and Tujiu's eyes lit up instantly! The ferocity and greed that had just been suppressed surged back up. If they couldn't defeat the Fire Tribe, could they at least deal with those small tribes of a few dozen people?

"The leader is right!"

That's exactly how it should be done!

"Damn it, I'm so angry, I'll just take it out on them!"

"Rob his mother's!"

The leaders immediately became excited, rubbing their hands together in anticipation. Their earlier fear seemed to have been somewhat diminished by their desire to plunder.

Seeing that morale was high, Xueya immediately gave the order, "Alright! There's a tribe called ' Little Mountain ' not far ahead, about a hundred people. Shichui, Duyan, you take forty men and approach from the left; Yexiao, Tujiu, you take forty men and flank from the right! I'll lead the rest of the men and push forward head-on! Be quick, don't let a single one escape! Old, young, men, leave no one alive! Women... we'll see!"

"Awooo--!"

The order was passed down, and the Wolf Tribe's remnants, who had been dejected, suddenly became energetic and let out wild howls as soon as they heard that they were not fleeing for their lives but going "hunting," and that the target was a small, weak tribe. The courage that had been shattered by the Fire Tribe seemed to have been regained through their cruel imagination of the weaker ones.

Before long, this group, which had just suffered a crushing defeat and was like frightened birds, transformed into a pack of hungry wolves with fierce eyes, eager to tear apart the weak. Led by Xueya, they pounced on the unsuspecting "Little Mountain Tribe".

"Little Mountain Tribe" was a small settlement nestled in the mountains, with only about a hundred people in total. On this day, half of the able-bodied men in the tribe went out hunting, leaving only a dozen or so warriors, the elderly, women, and children in the camp. They never imagined that annihilation was about to befall them.

When they saw the hundred-plus fierce-looking, blood-soaked Wolf Tribe warriors closing in from three sides, their remaining will to resist crumbled instantly. Their feeble resistance was like Langhua crashing against rocks, shattered in an instant. Those who tried to escape were quickly blocked by the other two Wolf Tribe flanking them.

The battle—or rather, the massacre—was over quickly. Except for a few young women who were roughly dragged away, everyone else in the tribe, old and young alike, lay dead in pools of blood. The camp was ransacked, and every piece of food and anything of value that could be found was looted.

Xueya and his wolves feasted in blood and fire, venting their frustration at defeat and their primal lust. Enjoying the howls of the weak and the "replenishment" of supplies, they seemed to temporarily forget the fear of being chased by the Fire Tribe, and rediscovered their "dignity" and "joy" as "wolves."

"Not bad!" Xueya wiped the grease from his mouth, his eyes turning cold as he looked in the other two directions. "There are two more tribes, ' Little Water ' and ' Little Flower.' Shichui, Duyan, Yexiao, Tujiu, you split into two teams, each with forty men, and go 'invite' them over! Remember, the same old rules!"

"Yes, Chief!" The chiefs, who had just tasted the Tiantou, shouted excitedly and immediately mustered their men. Like hyenas smelling blood, they rushed towards the other two small tribes, which also numbered only about a hundred people and were completely unprepared.

What awaits the "Little Water Tribe" and the "Little Flower Tribe" is a fate as tragic as, or even more tragic than, that of the "Little Mountain Tribe."