Counterattack

The arrival of the Fire Tribe reinforcements was like a long-awaited rain after a drought, instantly bringing the Pottery Salt Tribe camp, which had been shrouded in tension and fear for days, to a boil over.

Jia Li was so excited that his face was flushed. He immediately ordered that the best food stored in the tribe—fresh fish, meat, newly harvested rice, and even a small amount of precious honey—be brought out to warmly entertain the warriors of the Fire Tribe who had come from afar. After the feast, the core leaders of the Pottery Salt Tribe and the chiefs of the Fire Tribe gathered in the largest wooden house in the center of the tribe.

Jia Li stood up first, bowed deeply to Jianshi and Yan, his voice trembling with emotion. "Brother Jianshi, and all the warriors of the Fire Tribe! You have come from afar, the first and most timely reinforcements for our Pottery Salt Tribe! We, the Pottery Salt Tribe, will never forget this kindness!"

Jianshi waved his hand and said Chenwen, "Brother Jia Li, you flatter us. The Wolf Tribe is vicious by nature and is our common enemy. It is only right that we help each other. What is the situation now?"

When the topic turned to business, Jia Li's joy faded, replaced by a serious expression. "The Tujiu of the Wolf Tribe, with about fifty cavalry, have been harassing our camp since yesterday, attacking our isolated tribesmen and even trying to burn down our outlying huts. Fearing they would cause trouble nearby like last time, we had our Biaotou escort) lead men to force them back outside Wolf Fang Valley. They're still roaming outside the valley with their cavalry. The problem is, the Wolf Tribe's cavalry is growing in number and highly mobile; our scouts dare not approach. We don't know what they're up to, and we haven't seen the Wolf Tribe's Xueya or their main force yet."

Upon hearing this, Jianshi and Yan exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and confusion in each other's eyes.

Logically, if Xueya of the Wolf Tribe was truly determined to attack the Pottery Salt Tribe again, given his current strength—with hundreds of vassal troops under his command—his main force should have followed closely behind the vanguard cavalry, rapidly advancing and creating an overwhelming force. Why is it that only a mere fifty cavalrymen are harassing them, while the main force remains nowhere to be seen?

Yan pondered for a moment before voicing his guess, "Uncle Jia Li, Father, when I Small Gathering Valley Outpost, I heard from the small tribes who had fled that the Wolf Tribe acted very swiftly this time, taking advantage of the smaller tribes. They didn't gain any advantage against the Pottery Salt Tribe last time, but easily extorted a large amount of supplies from the Marsh Tribe and Green Grain Tribe. Could it be... that Xueya's primary target this time wasn't actually the Pottery Salt Tribe? He sent Tujiu with cavalry to harass us here, making us think he was coming to attack Pottery and Salt, but in reality, his main force has quietly shifted to deal with the Shuize or Green Grain Tribe? After all, Xueya of the Wolf Tribe has always been a bully who preys on the weak."

This conjecture is reasonable, and after a moment's thought, both Jia Li and Jianshi felt it was highly likely. Xueya is cunning and ruthless, but he has always been a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong, choosing targets that are easier to obtain, which is entirely in line with his character.

Jian Shi nodded and said in Jianshi voice, "That's possible. We can't let those fifty cavalrymen lead us by the nose." He looked at Jia Li, "Brother Jia Li, besides the three hundred elite soldiers who arrived by boat first, our Fire Tribe has another two hundred cavalrymen following us north along the Fish River. We expect to reach the vicinity of the Pottery Salt Tribe within the next day or two. On my way here, when I encountered the messenger you sent to us for help, I already had our men return by Xiaozhou to search for our cavalry along the riverbank and inform them to pay attention to the movements of the fifty cavalrymen from the Wolf Tribe."

A sharp light flashed in his eyes. "If the main force of the wolf tribe really doesn't come, or can't come in a short time, as soon as our two hundred cavalry arrive, we can eat the fifty vulture cavalry together with the men and horses of the escort leader!"

"There are two hundred more cavalry?!" After Jia Li heard this, his spirits were boosted again. He almost jumped up and said, "Great! Brother Jianshi, your Fire Tribe is really... so interesting!" He was so excited that he was a little incoherent. He quickly turned to the leader of the money bag next to him and ordered, "Qian Bao! You bring a few people with you immediately. Go to the Wolf Fang Valley to find the escort leader! Tell him that the leader of the Fire Tribe, Sharp Stone, has personally brought a large army to help, and two hundred cavalry will arrive soon! Let them be prepared. Once the Fire Tribe cavalry arrives in the next two days, they will immediately cooperate with the Fire Tribe cavalry and beat up those wolf pups! Tear off the vulture's dog head!"

"Yes, leader!" The Qiandai perked up and immediately took the order and left.

Jianshi turned to Yandun and instructed, "Yandun, spread the word that our warriors should rest well and conserve their strength. Also, tomorrow morning, have our fleet's sailors sail back the way they came."

"Return?" Yandun was taken aback.

"Yes," Jianshi explained, "the Small Gathering Outpost still has two hundred warriors, led by Shimao and Liebao, escorting food supplies and equipment, slowly making their way overland. Letting them travel by land is too slow; let our fleet go back and pick them up, then transport them by water to the Pottery Salt Tribe. It's faster and safer. We don't need that many ships here for the time being."

"Understood! I'll go arrange it right away!" Yandun suddenly understood, admiring the leader's thorough consideration, and immediately went to relay the order.

Jia Li listened with delight. The Fire Tribe had not only sent elite infantry and cavalry, but their logistics were also so well-thought-out—a force of seven hundred! With such a powerful ally, what was there to fear from the Wolf Tribe?

The group discussed some details before finally dispersing to rest late into the night.

The next day at dawn, the Fire Tribe's mixed fleet set sail again, heading upstream to return and support the follow-up troops. Jianshi and Yan Ze personally led fifty elite soldiers, quietly leaving the Pottery Salt Tribe camp to scout the vicinity of Wolf Fang Valley.

They hid in the shadows of the woods and observed from a distance. Sure enough, they only saw the vultures of the Wolf Tribe leading dozens of cavalrymen, cruising leisurely outside the Langya Valley. At the entrance of the valley, the Taoyan Tribe warriors led by the escort leader were waiting in full formation. The two sides formed a stalemate, but no trace of the Wolf Tribe's large group of troops was found.

This discovery further convinced Jianshi and Yan that the main force of Xueya was most likely heading elsewhere. After they returned, Jia Li also told Jianshi and Yan that the messengers sent by the Pottery Salt Tribe to the Hundred Crafts Tribe, the Beast Taming Tribe, and the Fish Tribe to request reinforcements had returned one Jia Li. None of these tribes had sent troops over. Furthermore, Canglan, the leader of the Fish Tribe, discovered that Xueya of the Wolf Tribe was leading a large force to operate not far from the Marsh Tribe and the Green Grain Tribe. Xueya of the Wolf Tribe might lead an attack on these two tribes!

On the morning of the third day, the long-awaited sound of horses' hooves finally rang out from the south. Two hundred Fire Tribe cavalrymen, led by Yingmu, appeared on the south side of Wolf Fang Valley, covered in dust but full of fighting spirit. They had been informed by Jianshi that there were only fifty Wolf Tribe cavalrymen here.

Almost at the same time, the escort leader, who had been holding back his anger and gearing up for a long time, also saw the flag of the Southern Fire Tribe. He immediately got on his horse and shouted to the Taoyan Tribe cavalry and infantry behind him, "Brothers! Fire Tribe reinforcements have arrived! Charge with me! Kill the wolf cub!"

"Kill!"

The warriors of the Pottery Salt Tribe, who had been holding back their anger for several days, erupted with a deafening roar.

At that moment, the Tujiu of the Wolf Tribe was, as usual, lazily wandering outside Wolf Fang Valley with his men when suddenly he felt an unusual tremor in the ground. Looking up, he saw a large cavalry force charging toward him at an astonishing speed from the south! Almost simultaneously, at the Wolf Fang Valley, the troops of the Pottery Salt Tribe poured out like a flood bursting its banks!

"Oh no! We've fallen into a trap! Run!" Tujiu was terrified and no longer cared about harassment or restraint. He immediately turned his horse around and galloped wildly towards the Marsh Tribe. His cavalrymen also woke up as if from a dream and fled on horseback.

"Where do you think you're going!" Yingmu led the Fire Tribe's cavalry like sharp arrows, piercing the flank of the Wolf Tribe's fleeing ranks.

The escort leader also came up from the other side with men and horses from the Taoyan tribe.

A brief chase ensued on the plains outside Wolf Fang Valley. The Wolf Tribe cavalry were focused on escaping and had no will to fight, while the combined forces of the Fire Tribe and the Salt and Pottery Salt Tribe were in high spirits and pursued relentlessly.

However, these cavalrymen of the Wolf Tribe were all desperate outlaws carefully selected by Xueya, and they used the terrain as cover to flee for their lives.

Yingmu chased after them for a long distance, but seeing them getting further and further away, he had no choice but to rein in his horse in frustration and spit out a curse, "Pah! They run faster than rabbits! What a fucking noob!" After tallying up the spoils, he had only killed ten Wolf Tribe cavalrymen who had fallen behind and captured three wounded and dismounted men.

Biaotou /escort) didn't have much success either, only killing two and capturing one.

The two cavalry forces regrouped, quickly cleaned up the battlefield, and then returned to Wolf Fang Valley with the prisoners and their heads.

At the valley entrance, Jia Li, Jianshi, and Yan were already waiting. Upon seeing the allied forces return, Jia Li eagerly went to greet them.

"How is it? Where's that Tujiu Vulture?" Jia Li asked anxiously.

Yingmu dismounted, somewhat annoyed, and said, "He got away! We only killed ten and captured three alive! Those bastards, they're really fast!"

The Biaotou /escort) shook his head and said, "We only killed two and captured one."

Although Jia Li was somewhat disappointed that he hadn't caught the Tujiu, seeing the heads of the Wolf Tribe cavalrymen on the ground and the dejected prisoners made him feel much better. The pent-up frustration and fear of the past few days finally found some release.

Jianshi and Yan were more concerned with the information from the prisoners. Yan walked up to the Wolf Tribe cavalrymen who were bound like dumplings, squatted down, and spoke with a calm yet undeniably authoritative gaze, "Speak, where is your main force? What does Xueya want?"

The prisoners, their faces ashen, quickly broke down under the threat of death, scrambling to confess...