Revelry and Long-Term Plans

When Xueya led the main force of the Wolf Tribe back to the Green Grain Tribe camp, the people left behind had already prepared a victory celebration—or rather, a wild and unrestrained party.

Dozens of bonfires were set up in the camp, the aroma of roasting meat mixed with the smell of blood filling the twilight air. The female prisoners were forced to keep busy: some were roasting whole pigs and sheep, some were cooking porridge in pots, and others were milking sheep.

These women had vacant eyes, mechanical movements, and tear stains on their faces, but no one cared about their feelings—in the eyes of the Wolf Tribe warriors, they were no different from freshly roasted meat, spoils of war.

"The leader is back!" someone shouted.

The people in the camp erupted in thunderous cheers. "Chief! Chief! Chief!"

Looking at the scene before him, Xueya felt all his fatigue vanish. He raised his bone knife and brandished it in the setting sun. "Brothers! Today we've defeated the Fish Tribe! This land belongs to the Wolf Tribe from now on!"

"Wolf Tribe! Wolf Tribe!" The cheers grew even louder.

As Xueya approached, someone immediately brought over a roasted, golden-brown, and juicy pig's leg, along with a full bowl of goat's milk wine. He took the pig's leg, took a big bite, and the oil dripped down his chin.

"Eat everything! Drink everything!" he mumbled incoherently. "There's plenty tonight!"

The camp suddenly became lively as the soldiers began to eat and drink heartily, boasting to each other about their achievements during the day.

Xueya quickly finished eating, wiped his mouth, and got up to walk towards his large house. Two Wolf Tribe warriors guarded the door—this was Xueya's rule that no one else could touch his "spoils of war."

Upon opening the door, the two young female captives from the Green Grain Tribe immediately shrank into a corner, their faces filled with fear.

Xueya grinned; he was in a great mood and needed to "celebrate" properly.

He quickly walked towards the two women...

Half an hour later, Xueya walked out of the house feeling refreshed. As soon as he reached the campfire, he saw Yexiao, Shichui, and Duyan returning with the team that had cleaned up the battlefield.

Although these people were exhausted, they all had excitement on their faces. Behind them were dozens of horses, their backs laden with captured weapons, armor, and supplies.

"Chief!" Yexiao strode over, his face beaming with barely suppressed joy. "A huge Fengshou! A truly huge Fengshou!"

Xueya nodded, gesturing for them to eat first. "Go and eat your fill, then go and collect your share according to the rules."

The Wolf Tribe has its own distribution system: the chief receives the most, followed by the Xiaotou, and ordinary soldiers and vassal troops are distributed according to their battle merits. As for the female prisoners, they are first chosen by the chief and Xiaotou, and the rest are distributed to these people for their own amusement.

The camp erupted in noise again as the soldiers lined up to receive food. After eating and drinking their fill, they went to collect supplies and choose women according to their battle merits. The camp was filled with the screams of women and the wild laughter of men, mixed with the crackling of the campfire, creating a wild and cruel scene.

Xueya watched all this with great satisfaction. After Yexiao Owl and the others had eaten and drunk their fill, he beckoned them over. "Come here, let's discuss something."

Several leaders immediately gathered around and sat down by the campfire. Someone brought over several bowls of goat's milk wine and placed them in front of them.

Yexiao spoke first, his tone excited. "Chief, the spoils this time are incredible! There are over two hundred sets of complete leather armor left behind by the Fish Tribe's elite soldiers alone! And even more bone knives, Shifu, and short swords! All top-quality stuff!"

He paused, then continued, "There were also about a hundred leather armors left behind by the able-bodied men, though they were of lower quality. In addition, we salvaged some from the battlefield..."

Shichui downed a large gulp of goat's milk and laughed heartily, "That was a really satisfying fight today! Those cobbled-together young men in front of the Fish Tribe scattered in one charge!"

He wiped his mouth. "The stupidest thing is that they charged recklessly into their own rear, helping us break down the Fish Tribe's formation!"

Duyan chimed in, "Those soldiers from the Fish Tribe headquarters aren't as formidable as the legends say. I cut down two of them in a single exchange today!" He held up two fingers, his eyes gleaming with ferocity. "I don't even remember how many I've killed this time."

The other Xiaotou chimed in, boasting about their achievements, and the camp was filled with the smugness of victors.

"Chief!" a Xiaotou stood up excitedly, "The Fish Tribe has suffered such heavy losses this time, they definitely won't dare to come out again! Let's just go and wipe out their Fish Tribe in one fell swoop!"

"Yes! Take down the Fish Tribe!"

"Take their women and food!"

The calls for battle rose and fell; these leaders had just won a major battle and were in high spirits, eager to wipe out all the tribes immediately.

Xueya didn't immediately respond. He picked up the goat's milk, took a slow sip, and waited until the noise subsided before raising his hand to press it down.

"Quiet down." His voice wasn't loud, but everyone immediately shut up.

Xueya surveyed the area and slowly said, "You're right. Right now, no tribe in this region can single-handedly stop the Wolf Tribe."

The crowd's faces lit up with joy, but Xueya's next words brought them back to their senses.

"But," Xueya changed the subject, "Is it really worth it to launch a full-scale attack on the Fish Tribe camp?"

He put down his wine bowl and drew a simple circle on the ground with his finger. "The Fish Tribe has been operating for so many years, their camp is definitely much stronger than the Green Grain Tribe's. Although they lost more than two hundred elites, they still have at least several hundred warriors left. Add to that the able-bodied men from the small tribes near their camp, and they can still muster at least seven or eight hundred men."

He looked up at the crowd. "Although we won today, we lost more than two hundred men and had about three hundred wounded. Now, the number of people here who can truly fight is only a little over four hundred."

Yexiao Owl nodded and added, "The leader is right. I just did a rough count, and our own soldiers have suffered about fifty dead and about a hundred wounded; the vassal army has suffered one hundred and fifty dead and about two hundred wounded. We only have a little over four hundred men that we can immediately commit to the battle."

Duyan listened, and although he was somewhat unconvinced by Yexiao's statement, he still admitted, "Even with only four hundred or so, it's enough for this area. Besides the Fish Tribe, which other tribe has more than four hundred warriors?"

Shichui also said gruffly, "The Fish Tribe is terrified after being beaten today. They're probably hiding in their shells like turtles, too scared to come out. Let's ignore them and deal with the other tribes first!"

Xueya nodded; this was exactly what he had in mind. He then drew a few more dots on the ground with his bone knife.

"My original plan was to lead a group to attack the Pottery Salt Tribe to take revenge," he said, pointing to one of the spots. "But the Fish Tribe arrived too quickly, disrupting my plans."

"Now that you think about it," Xueya continued, "the Pottery Salt Tribe, along with the Beast Taming Tribe and the Hundred Crafts Tribe, are close to each other and have a strong relationship. If we attack any one of them, the other two will definitely come to our aid."

He looked at everyone. "With our current manpower, even if we win against these three tough nuts, the losses will be considerable. And what if the Fish Tribe recovers by then..."

He didn't say what he was going to say next, but everyone understood that if the Wolf Tribe suffered heavy losses, the Fish Tribe would likely take the opportunity to retaliate.

"So, leader, what do we do next?" Yexiao asked.

Xueya drew a line on the ground with his bone knife. "Look, the Pottery Salt Tribe, the Beast Taming Tribe, and the Hundred Crafts Tribe are the three tough nuts to crack here. And between them and the Fish Tribe— " He pointed between two points, "There are about a dozen smaller tribes."

He looked up, a greedy glint in his eyes. "These small fish and shrimp are what we should be eating right now."

Everyone's eyes lit up. Yes, the big fish are hard to eat, so let's eat the small fish first, and then come and eat the big fish when we're fat.

"Tomorrow morning," Xueya began giving instructions, "Duyan, you take three hundred wounded soldiers and the few dozen men who stayed behind at the camp, and escort all the looted supplies and female prisoners back first."

Duyan nodded. "Understood!"

"Tell these wounded soldiers to go back and recover properly," Xueya added. "Once they've recovered, they'll all be veterans next year."

"The remaining four hundred," Xueya continued, "Will be led by me personally to 'visit' those small tribes."

He grinned. "They should have already heard about the Fish Tribe's defeat. Let's go 'borrow' some grain; do you think they'd dare refuse?"

A knowing laugh rippled through the camp; what "borrowing" was clearly robbery.

"Yexiao," Xueya looked at Yexiao, "Send men to the direction of the Pottery Salt Tribe tomorrow and call back Tujiu's fifty cavalrymen. We need all our mobile forces."

"Yes!" Yexiao replied.

Xueya concluded, "We've already made a fortune this time, but it's not enough. I want every tribe on this land to know that the Wolf Tribe has arrived—submit or die."

He stood up, raised his wine bowl, and said, "Next year, we'll go north and recruit more people, then come back and crush these tough nuts one by one! Then, all the food, women, and resources on this land will belong to the Wolf Tribe!"

"Wolf Tribe! Wolf Tribe!" Everyone stood up and shouted fervently.

As night deepened, the campfire still burned. In the camp, the Wolf Tribe warriors, having eaten and drunk their fill, carried their assigned female captives into tents or huts. The cries of women, the laughter of men, and all sorts of obscene sounds mingled together.

Xueya didn't participate in the subsequent revelry. He sat by the campfire, watching the leaping flames, and pondered his actions for tomorrow.