The Hungry Wolf Changes Course
Under the cover of night in Wolf Fang Valley, Xueya led the remnants of the Wolf Tribe, like wounded yet even more dangerous beasts, silently retreating into the deeper darkness. He dispatched thirty cavalrymen to guard the rear of the column, guarding against possible pursuit, and sent ten of his most skilled scouts ahead to scout the road ahead and the surrounding area.
Soon, the scouts reported that there was a small tribal camp not far ahead, but it seemed that the people inside had already fled and the camp was deserted. Xueya did not mind and immediately led his men to occupy this simple but at least sheltered camp as a temporary place to catch their breath.
After settling in, Xueya began to tally the losses. From the siege of the Pottery Salt Tribe to the two bloody battles in the wilderness, and then to the ambush and counterattack in Wolf Fang Valley, the Wolf Tribe had suffered nearly a hundred casualties in the fierce fighting. This number made Xueya's heart bleed, especially since some of them were old brothers who had followed him for many years. But when he tallied the spoils (mainly a small number of relatively good weapons and leather armor stripped from the dead of the Fish Tribe) and assessed the results of the battle, a twisted sense of pleasure mixed with the violence in his heart.
Especially in the Battle of Wolf Fang Valley, although they also lost nearly twenty men and failed to decisively defeat the Julang's forces, they severely dampened the Fish Tribe's morale and avenged the previous humiliation! More importantly, this battle made Xueya realize some things: those ducks of the Fish Tribe, though well-equipped, were not invincible! They were just as afraid of death and as calculating of gains and losses; in a hard-fought battle, they might not be as ruthless as the Wolf Tribe!
"As long as we're ruthless enough and willing to fight to the death, the Fish Tribe has nothing to fear!" This thought, like a poisonous weed, grew wildly in Xueya's heart, diluting some of the gloom of defeat.
Although the losses were considerable, Xueya felt that the trip was not entirely fruitless. At least, he had figured out the limits of resistance and strength of the Pottery Salt Tribe and its allies (Hundred Crafts and Beast Taming), and had established the Wolf Tribe's fearsome reputation. More importantly, he had verified that the strategy of "using war to sustain war" and forcing small tribes to submit through fear and violence was still effective.
"We can't go back empty-handed!" Xueya said to the leaders who had surrounded him— Shichui, Duyan, Yexiao, and Tujiu (who had already retreated from Wolf Fang Valley)—his eyes still gleaming with ferocity. "The Fish Tribe is there with the Pottery Salt Tribe, so they can't take them down anytime soon. But here... there's more than just the Pottery and Salt Tribe as easy prey!"
He pointed in another direction. "Green Grain Tribe, Marsh Tribe! These two are farmers, and although they're not as rich as Pottery and Salt, they must have plenty of grain! They're close to the Fish Tribe, but we have horses now, so if we act quickly, we can grab them and run! The Fish Tribe just suffered a loss, and Julang hasn't returned with his main force yet, so they might not dare to chase us immediately. Even if they do, they might not be able to catch up on land!"
The leaders, exhausted from a bloody battle, were still driven by their primal instincts and desire for savagery. Hearing of a new target that seemed easier to deal with than the Pottery Salt Tribe, they all grinned and agreed.
"Damn it! We can't have come all this way for nothing!"
"Qinghe and Shuize, I heard the harvest is good this year too!"
"If we seize the grain, we can explain things to the brothers when we get back!"
With the plan settled, early the next morning, Xueya left behind about fifty wounded men who were seriously injured and unable to walk, instructing them to find their own way back to their stronghold at High Pointed Mountain. He himself led nearly three hundred men, who had rested overnight (though exhausted, their ferocity remained) and were still capable of fighting, towards the direction of the Green Grain Tribe.
To boost morale and vent the pent-up ferocity from days of fierce battles, Xueya launched a surprise attack on two tiny tribes of only a few dozen people as they passed through. Overwhelmed by sheer numbers and the rapid charge of their cavalry, the two small tribes' feeble resistance was instantly crushed. The men were slaughtered, and the women became the objects of the Wolf Tribe warriors' lust. After a brief frenzy of looting, the camp was reduced to ashes, and the few survivors who managed to escape were caught up by the Wolf Tribe's cavalry and mercilessly slaughtered.
Blood and fire, violence and plunder acted like a shot of adrenaline, reigniting the ferocity and fervor of the Wolf Tribe. They seemed to have forgotten their defeat at the foot of the Pottery Salt Tribe's camp walls, transforming once again into the fearsome plunderer army they once were.
A few days later, the Wolf Tribe's forces appeared outside the Green Grain Tribe's camp. Although everyone in the Wolf Tribe looked exhausted and their armor was stained with blood and torn, the ferocious aura they exuded, having just been tempered by blood and fire and had just carried out a massacre, was even more chilling than when they arrived.
Upon hearing the news, Green Grain Tribe leader Uncle Sui was greatly alarmed. He hurriedly gathered less than two hundred warriors from the tribe and forcibly armed about two hundred young and strong women. They climbed the simple camp wall and nervously watched the dark, menacing army outside.
Uncle Sui, steeling himself, stood atop the wall and shouted, "Chief Xueya! My Green Grain Tribe and your Wolf Tribe have never had any enmity, and we've always kept to ourselves! What is your purpose in bringing so many people here today? I've already sent someone to inform the Fish Tribe! The Fish Tribe will not stand idly by!" He tried to intimidate them by mentioning the Fish Tribe.
Xueya, mounted on his horse, burst into laughter upon hearing this, his voice filled with mockery and disdain. "Chief Uncle Sui, you expect the Fish Tribe to help you? Haha! Let me tell you, the Fish Tribe was just routed by us in Wolf Fang Valley, they can barely protect themselves! Do they have time to care about you?"
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and several Wolf Tribe warriors stepped forward and threw several tattered leather armors and weapons, clearly in the style of the Fish Tribe, that they had picked up from the battlefield of Wolf Fang Valley, in front of the Green Grain Tribe's camp gate with a few clatters.
"Look closely! This is the equipment of the Fish Tribe's 'elite'! Now it's in our hands! Do they still dare to come?" Xueya shouted fiercely, while nearly three hundred Wolf Tribe warriors behind him let out bloodthirsty howls in unison, their weapons slamming to the ground, creating a terrifying scene.
Looking at the armor and weapons on the ground that were indeed of the Fish Tribe style, and hearing Xueya words, and seeing the Wolf Tribe's ferocious lineup, Uncle Sui and the Green Grain Tribe members on the wall, their hopes of relying on the Fish Tribe collapsed in an instant. Fear, like a cold tide, instantly overwhelmed them.
The Green Grain Tribe's camp was far less fortified than the Pottery Salt Tribe's, and its warriors were far fewer and less trained. If a real battle broke out, given the Wolf Tribe's desperate fighting spirit and the mobility of its cavalry, the Green Grain Tribe probably wouldn't be able to hold out for long. Even if they could inflict some casualties on the enemy, they would certainly face annihilation.
Overwhelming fear extinguished any courage to resist. Uncle Sui's face was deathly pale, and he exchanged desperate glances with the elders around him. They knew that if they didn't satisfy the wolves' appetites today, the Green Grain Tribe might very well suffer the same fate as the two smaller tribes they had encountered along the way.
"Blood... Xueya leader," Uncle Sui's voice was dry and trembling, "What... what do you want?"
Seeing the other side's fear, Xueya felt smug, but his expression became even more ferocious. "Our Wolf Tribe brothers can't have come all this way for nothing! Hand over one-third of all your tribe's grain! Now! Immediately! Otherwise, we'll go in and take it ourselves! And then, it won't be a matter of one-third!"
The Wolf Tribe warriors rallied once more, assuming a posture ready to attack at any moment.
Under the naked intimidation of force and the psychological offensive of "the Fish Tribe has been defeated," Uncle Sui's last shred of will to resist crumbled. He closed his eyes in anguish, waved his hand, and hissed, "... Give... give them..."
The granary of the Green Grain Tribe was opened, and the warriors of the Wolf Tribe swarmed forward like locusts, unceremoniously carrying away large quantities of grain. Watching their hard-earned harvest being plundered, the people of the Green Grain Tribe were heartbroken, but could only dare to be angry and dare not speak out.
Xueya, brimming with pride after extorting a large amount of grain, immediately turned to his next target— the Marsh Tribe. The same scenario played out once again. Riding on the momentum of his recent "defeat" of the Fish Tribe and his powerful display of force, the Marsh Tribe succumbed to fear and handed over some of the grain.
Laden with the spoils of their plunder, Xueya was finally satisfied and set off with his team back to High Pointed Mountain. Of course, if they encountered any suitable small tribes, they would certainly extort and blackmail them.
Although the Wolf Tribe suffered setbacks and significant losses at the hands of the Pottery Salt Tribe during their southward expedition, they managed to recover some of their losses through subsequent intimidating raids on tribes such as Qinghe and Shuize, and further re-established their image as a ruthless and inviolable force. In particular, the news of their "defeat" of the Fish Tribe (at least that's what they claimed) began to spread quietly across the land, accompanied by fear.
After this ordeal, the Qinghe and Shuize tribes, still shaken, had no choice but to seriously consider how to strengthen their defenses. Since the two tribes were not far apart, and knowing that the other had been extorted by the Wolf Tribe, they went together to complain to the Fish Tribe.