Attacking the Heart
After the Wolf Tribe warriors had taken turns filling their stomachs and resting briefly, Xueya, fueled by the resentment of his failed attempt to probe the enemy and the urgency to quickly turn the tide, made a decision.
He left several dozen men at the camp to guard the supplies, along with fifty Yexiao guarding the retreat route in Wolf Fang Valley, and twenty light cavalry near Tujiu Fish River. Xueya still had over three hundred mobile troops at his disposal. He gathered all these men together, a dark mass, and pressed towards the Pottery Salt Tribe's camp once again.
This time, it was no longer a probing small-scale harassment, but a show of force and pressure with the main force deployed.
The heavy footsteps, the scraping of weapons and armor, and the suppressed heavy breathing and growls merged into a heart-pounding sound wave, gradually approaching the fence of the Pottery Salt Tribe. The soldiers on the camp wall immediately tensed up, their spears pointed forward, and everyone's heart was in their throat.
However, the Wolf Tribe's forces slowly came to a stop just before they reached the edge of the camp. Xueya, riding his horse and surrounded by a group of fierce leaders, stepped out from the crowd and stopped at a relatively safe position where he could be heard clearly from the camp walls.
He took a deep breath, mustered all his strength, and roared towards the camp wall, "Jia Li of the Pottery Salt Tribe! Come out and speak!"
The voice was loud and clear, carrying an overbearing air, echoing between the two sides.
On the camp wall, the defenders looked at each other, wondering what the wolf leader was up to. Soon, the news reached Jia Li, who was in the center of the camp directing supplies and boosting morale.
Jia Li's heart tightened. He didn't know what Xueya was up to. He adjusted his clothes and armor. Under the escort of the escort leader and several personal guards, he climbed onto the section of the camp wall facing the main force of the Wolf tribe. He stood on a specially raised wooden platform to make himself more conspicuous and to stabilize the morale of his own troops.
"Xueya!" Jia Li's voice was equally loud, filled with obvious anger and condemnation, "Wasn't the lesson I taught you last time enough?! You still dare to bring people to my Pottery Salt Tribe to cause trouble!"
These words were spoken not only to Xueya, but also to everyone inside and outside the walls, intended to emphasize their past victories and moral superiority.
Enraged by Jia Li's preemptive stance, Xueya sneered, his voice rising even higher and filled with threat. "Jia Li, you old bastard! Last time I was careless and fell into your trap! I remember that debt clearly! And my brother Shouhou's life will also be settled with you!"
He waved his hand towards the dark mass of men behind him, his voice suddenly turning fierce. "See that? I've brought so many brothers here to demand justice! If you know what's good for you, open the gates now, come out and kowtow to admit your mistakes, bring out grain, salt, and the best stuff from your warehouses to compensate our Wolf Tribe! And offer us dozens of women! Maybe I'll consider sparing your lives!"
He paused, his tone turning utterly chilling. "If you dare utter a single word of dissent, once I breach your dilapidated camp, I'll leave no one alive! I'll kill all the men, capture all the women, and throw the old and children into the fire! You'll regret it then!"
This blatant threat, humiliation, and extortion, like poisoned ice water, was poured onto the walls of the Pottery Salt Tribe's camp. Many of the defenders, especially those who had hastily armed themselves, showed fear on their faces, and their hands gripping their weapons began to tremble. They seemed to already see the bloodshed, the destruction of their homes and families.
Jia Li's heart sank. He knew the most crucial moment had arrived. Xueya was attacking their morale! He was dismantling the will to resist that the Pottery Salt Tribe had just mustered! If he showed the slightest weakness, hesitation, or bargaining attitude, the spirit he had finally mustered would instantly deflate, and morale would immediately crumble. Not only would his own tribe lose its fighting spirit, but the reinforcements from the nearby Hundred Crafts and Beast Taming Tribe would also feel that the Pottery Salt Tribe was unreliable, and if they faced another crisis, perhaps no one would come to their aid.
Taking a step back means falling into an abyss! Only by fighting to the death might we have a glimmer of hope!
Thinking this, the last trace of hesitation in Jia Li's eyes vanished, replaced by a resolute determination to go all out. He straightened his back, his anger intensified, and his voice suddenly rose, almost a roar:
"Xueya! Stop spouting nonsense and twisting the truth! Last time, it was your Wolf Tribe that invaded first without cause! I advise you to retreat immediately and go back to your High Pointed Mountain! Otherwise, the Fish Tribe's reinforcements will arrive soon! At that time, they won't let you, a lame wolf, escape so easily as they did last time!"
He completely ignored Xueya's attempts to offer compensation or admit wrongdoing, immediately steer the conversation towards reinforcements and future punishment, his tone resolute. "If you want to fight, then come at me now! The warriors of my Pottery Salt Tribe are ready to fight to the bitter end! If you want to retreat, then take your men and get out of here immediately! Stop wasting your breath and making yourself a laughingstock!"
Having said that, Jia Li didn't give Xueya a chance to speak again. He suddenly waved his hand and roared at the messenger beside him, "Throw Shimao! Throw Shitou! Let these ignorant jackals taste their own power!"
"Put!"
The well-prepared defenders also threw out the stones and short spears they had prepared!
Although the distance was relatively far, most of the attacks landed on the open ground in front of the Wolf Tribe's position, with only a few scattered stones causing negligible interference. However, this sudden attack and Jia Li's unwavering stance conveyed an extremely clear signal: the Pottery Salt Tribe will never yield! The door to negotiations is closed!
Xueya was completely taken aback by Jia Li's decisiveness; before he could even finish speaking, the other man attacked! Startled, he quickly reined in his horse and retreated, while his guards raised their makeshift wooden shields to block. A fist-sized Shitou nearly struck his horse's leg.
"Damn it!" Xueya was both shocked and furious, his face turning ashen. He retreated further under the protection of his men before daring to turn back, spitting a thick wad of phlegm towards the Pottery Salt Tribe's camp. "Jia Li! You've got guts! Just you wait! When I break your turtle shell, I'll tear you to pieces!"
After uttering those harsh words, Xueya knew his psychological warfare had completely failed. Jia Li's toughness and sudden attack might have further boosted the morale of the defenders. A direct assault? Looking at the noticeably increased number of men standing ready on the camp walls, and recalling the defeat of Duyan's probing attack, Xueya knew that a head-on confrontation would be too costly.
With a grim face, he led his more than three hundred men back slowly to the temporary camp. Along the way, one could sense the low morale of his subordinates due to their leader's humiliation and the other party's tough stance.
Back at camp, Xueya immediately ordered, "Send word to Shichui to speed up the felling of trees! Not just for building camps, but also for finding thick, straight, long logs—the more the better! Also, send men to search the surrounding area for any giant logs that can be used to ram doors, or anything that can be stacked up to climb walls!"
He gazed at the Pottery Salt Tribe, which resembled a hedgehog, his eyes flashing with a fierce light, yet also tinged with a hint of irritation and helplessness.
"That old man, Jia Li, is a tough nut to crack... Looks like we'll have to prepare for a protracted battle, or maybe we should think of another way."
A direct assault failed, and psychological warfare proved ineffective. The Wolf Tribe's seemingly fierce first all-out attack crashed against the Pottery Salt Tribe's impenetrable defenses, yielding nothing. The battlefield fell into a brief stalemate, but the stench of blood in the air grew even stronger.