Ambition

Halfway up High Pointed Mountain, in the core area of the Wolf Tribe camp, the largest wooden house was bustling with noise.

In the center of the room, several rough pieces of wood were bundled together and piled high with food: large chunks of roasted meat, mushy broth, a few barely recognizable root vegetables, and even fresh goat's milk and some well-preserved sweet berries.

The core leaders of the Wolf Tribe — Xueya, Xueshou, Shichui, Duyan, Duzhu, Yexiao, Tujiu —sat around, their faces flushed with excitement. They laughed loudly, spittle flying as they boasted of their "great achievements" during their northward expedition. Beside each of them (except for Duzhu) were two young female captives. Most of these women were beautiful, specially selected by Xueya from the nearly one hundred women captured this time to "reward" the leaders. They wore thin, ill-fitting linen or leather clothing, their faces forcing stiff smiles as they carefully served their "masters," pouring goat's milk, handing them meat, and wiping their greasy hands. Deep in their eyes, however, was an undisguised fear.

"Hahaha! Shichui, I heard you took down that Niujiao Tribe leader this time? Well done! That guy looked pretty strong last time, but I didn't expect him to be so weak!" Duyan gulped down a mouthful of goat milk and patted Shichui on the shoulder.

Shichui proudly raised his chin, grabbed a large piece of mutton and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling, "Of course! He was knocked down in one hit! These shepherds look intimidating, but they're all weaklings!"

The Duzhu, the only female leader of the Wolf Tribe, was not tall, but her eyes were as sharp as a viper's. She slowly picked at her nails, a cold smile playing on her lips, "What good is just being good at fighting? If it weren't for Tujiu's accurate scouting and Chief Xueya's clever arrangements, would we have gotten away so easily?"

The Tujiu sat a little further away, carefully gnawing on a leg of lamb. Hearing this, it merely nodded slightly, not taking credit. It was more like a silent and efficient falcon.

Yexiao squinted, enjoying the woman massaging his legs beside him, his gaze flickering in the flickering firelight in the distance, as if he were calculating something.

Xueshou, as Xueya's younger brother and the tribe's second-in-command, treated everyone to food and drinks, bringing the atmosphere to a fever pitch.

Once the goods were mostly gathered and the boasting had subsided, Xueya looked at his greasy-faced, spirited leaders and knew it was time to get down to business. He clapped his hands, the sound not loud, but clearly drowning out the noise in the room.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down."

The leaders gradually stopped talking and focused their attention on Xueya. The women serving them also stopped what they were doing, lowered their heads, and dared not breathe.

"You guys," Xueya waved to them, "Go down and wait."

The women, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly got up, bowed their heads, and hurried out of the wooden house, leaving only the core members of the Wolf Tribe inside.

Xueya cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "This northward journey was tough, brothers, but the harvest was plentiful." He spoke slowly, his tone less arrogant than at the victory banquet, instead carrying a hint of seriousness. "Food, supplies, horses, women... our camp is overflowing. It seems our Wolf Tribe is becoming more and more 'prosperous'."

He paused, then abruptly changed the subject. "But, is this enough?"

No one answered immediately. Shichui and Duyan- Eyed's excitement subsided slightly, while Duzhu and Yexiao showed thoughtful expressions. Tujiu remained silent, and Xueshou frowned slightly.

"Not enough!" Xueya answered himself, his voice growing more forceful. "Far from enough! What's the Fire Tribe in the south like now? How many people do they have? They've absorbed those tribes from the south, and now their numbers are at least twice that of the Fish Tribe! How many warriors do they have? With our current resources and manpower, can we really go toe-to-toe with the Fire Tribe?"

Mentioning the Fire Tribe and Jianshi, the expressions of several people in the room who had directly or indirectly fought against the Fire Tribe, such as Duyan, Shichui, and Yexiao, turned somewhat grim. They had personally experienced the power of the Fire Tribe warriors, especially Jianshi, who was practically a nightmare for Xueya and several of his old subordinates, and they were reluctant to mention him easily.

Seeing their reactions, Xueya understood and continued, "We can't afford to offend the Fire Tribe for now. What about the Fish Tribe to the west? Last time at the Pottery Salt Tribe, we didn't suffer any losses on land, and even gained a slight advantage. But they have more people and more boats. If we really push them too far, they might join forces with the Pottery Salt Tribe and the Hundred Crafts Tribe to cause trouble, and we won't be in good shape either. And then there's the Horse Tribe to the north. They have many horses and their men are fierce. If we really anger them and they come out in full force, even if we win, we'll be badly hurt! What's even more frightening is that if these tribes think we're a menace and unite against us..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant: the Wolf Tribe is fierce and ruthless now, but its foundation is shallow and it has many enemies. Once it becomes the target of everyone's attacks and is besieged by several powerful tribes, the consequences will be unimaginable.

"Therefore," Xueya concluded, "Our current strength is far from sufficient! We must find a way to grow stronger faster! Relying solely on our few hundred brothers to rob and fight is too risky. Everyone, please share any good ideas you have."

After a moment of silence, Duyan spoke first, his thinking direct and brutal, "Isn't it easy to increase our strength? Just bring those small tribes of thirty to fifty or a hundred people around here! We have food, horses, and power now, let's scare them a bit, and wipe out those who dare to disobey! Strength lies in numbers!"

This suggestion was in line with the Wolf Tribe's usual style, but the Duzhu immediately shook its head in opposition, its voice shrill. "Bring them in? They all have families with them. We've plundered a lot this time, but we'll run out of resources. How many people can we support? A few hundred more mouths that just eat and don't work will eat us out of business in no time! In that case, will we control them, or will they eat us out of business?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water, leaving Duyan stunned. Indeed, the looted supplies seemed plentiful, but they were consumed quickly. The Wolf Tribe itself had no stable production, relying entirely on plunder. Supporting the existing five hundred soldiers and prisoners was already a considerable burden; adding a large number of non-combatants would drastically increase the load.

Yexiao spoke slowly, stroking his sparse beard, a calculating glint in his eyes. "The Duzhu is right, keeping them all isn't cost-effective, but the Duyan idea isn't entirely unworkable."

He looked at Xueya: "We can try a different approach. We can find those small tribes and force them—not all of them to join, but to send able-bodied men—to come with us on our raids!"

He explained in detail, "Tell them that if they follow us, they'll get a small share of what we plunder. After we've finished, they can go back to their own tribes and farm or herd livestock as they please; we won't interfere. But next time we need manpower, they must come back!"

Yexiao's smile turned sinister, "The key is, once they've gone out to rob with us even once, their hands stained with the blood of other tribes, and they've stolen from other tribes... hehe, will those tribes that were robbed still tolerate them? If other tribes find out, will they still trust them and take them in? What other way can they go besides following us? At that time, we will be their only 'backer,' and even if this backer only gives them scraps, they won't leave!"

"Brilliant!" Tujiu couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration. He added, "That's not enough to be safe. We can capture some of the children of those small tribal chiefs, or their most cherished relatives, and bring them to our High Pointed Mountain Camp as 'guests,' ostensibly for learning, but actually as hostages! That way, those tribes forced to send people out, even if they're seething with hatred, won't dare to betray us easily, much less shirk their responsibilities!"

Shichui's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh excitedly. "Great idea! This way we don't have to spend much food to feed them, but we can get a group of brave and daring 'foreign aid' for free! We can also use their relatives as hostages to control them! In a few years, won't the number of troops we can mobilize increase several times over? At that time, who will we be afraid of? The Fish Tribe? The Horse Tribe? Even... the Fire Tribe!"

Xueshou was also excited by this insidious yet effective plan. He suddenly stood up and shouted, "Brother! Let's do it! First, let's get those scattered small tribes in the west and north organized like this! Once we have more and more men, we'll go and settle scores with the Pottery Salt Tribe and the Fish Tribe! Finally... we must find the Fire Tribe and Jianshi to avenge our past grievances!"

Mentioning "avenging Jianshi," Xueya's breathing quickened noticeably. The humiliating scene of being easily defeated and kicked to the ground by Jianshi in public was the deepest thorn in his heart. Every now and then, he would wake up from his sleep from that wretched scene, his whole body soaked in cold sweat. His fear and hatred for Jianshi and the Fire Tribe were already etched into his bones.

At this moment, as Xueya listened to his subordinates outlining their insidious plan to rapidly snowball the Wolf Tribe's strength by coercing and controlling the surrounding smaller tribes, he seemed to see the hope of tearing apart the Jianshi and crushing the Fire Tribe. The fear in his heart was replaced by a burning ambition and the flames of revenge.

He took a few deep breaths to calm his turbulent emotions, then slammed his fist into the wood, making the earthenware bowl of food bounce wildly.

"Alright!" Xueya's voice was hoarse, but full of determination. "That's it! Yexiao, Tuguan, you two, think about the specifics and details carefully! Duyan, Shichui, you take your men and inventory the looted supplies. Distribute what needs to be distributed, and store what needs to be stored!"

He surveyed the crowd, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. "I'll give you two weeks! Eat well, drink well, let the brothers heal their wounds, and feed the horses strong! After two weeks, we'll make our move! We'll start with those small tribes in the west! Then... we'll go and cause trouble for the Pottery Salt Tribe and the Fish Tribe!"

"The leader is wise!" the leaders shouted in unison, their faces filled with a fanatical mix of excitement and cruelty.

With the important matter settled, the somber atmosphere inside the room was once again replaced by indulgence. The leaders rose one after another, their bodies slick with alcohol and their lingering lust, laughing as they left the wooden hut to find the female prisoners who had been temporarily driven away and were now anxiously waiting outside, intending to use them to "celebrate" this new and even darker plan.