Panic Spreads and an Unexpected Development

As dawn broke, the Wolf Tribe's camp came alive. Xueya kicked off the Green Grain Tribe woman who was pressing down on him, got up and put on his leather armor. He had slept soundly last night; the fatigue from the continuous battles and the effects of the victory celebration had given him a good night's sleep. But upon waking, he immediately reverted to his cold and ruthless leader persona.

"Get up, all of you!" He strode out of the main room, his voice piercing the morning silence like a knife. "Prepare to depart!"

A commotion erupted in the camp as the Wolf Tribe warriors and their vassal troops scrambled to their feet. Xueya quickly scanned the camp; traces of yesterday's revelry were still visible, the embers of the campfire were still smoking, and several unconscious warriors were kicked awake by their comrades.

"Duyan!" Xueya shouted.

The Duyan ran over quickly.

"You take three hundred wounded soldiers," Xueya, pointing to the mountain of supplies piled up in the camp, "And the dozens of brothers who stayed behind to escort all the supplies and prisoners back first."

"Yes!" the Duyan replied.

"Be careful on the road," Xueya added.

The Duyan man grinned. "Don't worry, Chief. Even if most of us are wounded, we're not someone those small tribes can mess with."

Xueya nodded and turned to look at the four hundred men who had already assembled. These men were divided into two groups: more than one hundred Wolf Tribe's own warriors, all of them in high spirits; and more than two hundred were vassal soldiers, whose formation was loose, but whose eyes were flashing with ferocity—yesterday's great victory had given them Tiantou.

"Yexiao! Shichui!" Xueya summoned the two leaders.

Yexiao and Shichui immediately stepped forward.

"You two come with me," Xueya said, "We'll go 'visit' some of the smaller tribes."

A cruel smile curled at the corner of his lips, "They should have already heard about the Fish Tribe. Let's go 'greet' them and see if they know what's good for them."

The group set off quickly. Duyan led the wounded and the supplies back, while Xueya led about four hundred people toward the settlements of the dozen or so small tribes.

Yexiao led a troop of cavalry to scout ahead in the afternoon.

Xueya led his team to rest in a hilly area. The warriors took out their rations and water to replenish their strength. They had been traveling for most of the day since leaving the Green Grain Tribe. According to their plan, they should be able to reach their first target—a small tribe called "Little Leaf"—tonight.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from ahead, and Yexiao returned with several cavalrymen.

"Chief," Yexiao Owl rode up to Xueya, his face grim, "the Little Leaf Tribe's camp is just ahead... and it's empty."

Xueya frowned. "Empty?"

"Yes," Yexiao Owl nodded, "There's no one here. The huts in the camp are still there, but all the food has been taken away. Judging from the mess, they must have fled in a hurry."

Xueya's face darkened. He stood up and kicked away Shitou at his feet. "Damn it! A bunch of cowards! They run faster than rabbits!"

Shichui spat beside him. "He's probably scared out of his wits after hearing that the Fish Tribe."

Xueya paced a few steps in the open space, then suddenly stopped. "Forget it, let's spend the night at the Little Leaf Tribe's camp. At least we'll have somewhere to shelter from the wind and rain."

The group continued onward and arrived at the Little Leaf Tribe's camp at dusk.

Just as the Yexiao had said, the camp was deserted, with simple thatched huts scattered along the stream and some worthless items strewn about.

"Search!" Xueya ordered, "Check for any hidden grain!"

The soldiers immediately dispersed and searched each straw hut, but the result came quickly—not a single grain of food was left.

"These poor bastards, they ran away so easily!" Shichui was so angry that he kicked over the wooden pillar next to him.

Xueya was also annoyed, but remained relatively calm. "They knew we were coming, so they must have taken everything they could."

He glanced at the sky. "We'll rest here tonight and head to the next tribe early tomorrow morning."

Meanwhile, the defeated soldiers of the Fish Tribe were struggling to retreat. Julang led the way, his steps heavy as if filled with lead. His leather armor was torn in several places, and there was dried blood on his face. Behind him were less than 150 people. The original force of 800 had been reduced to this few.

Shentan walked beside Julang, glancing at Julang's expression from time to time. Julang had barely spoken since its defeat yesterday, and its usually bright eyes were now frighteningly empty.

"Leader of the Julang," Shentan whispered, "There's Little Water a bit further ahead; we can rest there for the night."

Julang seemed not to hear and continued walking mechanically forward. Shentan sighed. He knew that Julang was in pain. As the number one warrior of the Fish Tribe, he had never lost so badly. He had come with the determination to take revenge, but he was beaten so badly that he was almost killed.

When the group passed through a small village, the scene inside stunned them. The village was undergoing a great migration, with men, women, and children hurriedly moving towards the Fish Tribe camp.

They were initially startled to see the large group of people, but after recognizing them as members of the Fish Tribe, several elders immediately surrounded them.

"Leader of the Julang! Leader of the Julang!" A white-haired tribal chief grabbed Julang's arm. "I heard the Wolf Tribe defeated you, is that true?"

Julang's lips moved, but he didn't speak.

Shentan quickly stepped forward. "Old chief, we really... we never fought the Wolf Tribe."

The old chieftain's face turned deathly pale instantly. "Then... is the Wolf Tribe coming soon?"

"Probably not for now," Shentan said. "They just finished a battle and need to rest."

But this consolation was clearly useless. The old chief of the small tribe turned to his people and shouted, "Quick! Let's go! The Wolf Tribe might be here tomorrow!"

The entire tribe immediately sped up, and even the children who couldn't walk were carried on the backs of adults.

Looking at all this, Shentan felt a sense of powerlessness. The defeat of the Fish Tribe had not only resulted in heavy losses for itself, but had also shattered the morale of all the tribes in the region.

"Chief Julang," he urged Julang again, "We must return to the tribe immediately. Chief Canglan is still waiting for news. And..."

He lowered his voice. "We need to strengthen our defenses immediately. The Wolf Tribe's next move will likely be aimed at our Fish Tribe's camp."

The Julang finally reacted; it turned its head, looked at the Shentan, and for the first time, its eyes regained focus.

"Yes..." his voice was hoarse, "We have to go back... we have to defend the camp..."

This was the first complete sentence the Julang uttered after its defeat. Shentan Pool was overjoyed and quickly nodded, "Yes! Let's go back first! As long as the camp is still there, the Fish Tribe still has hope!"

The group continued onward, and along the way they encountered three or four small tribes that were preparing to migrate. They were convinced that the Wolf Tribe had defeated the Fish Tribe, and without saying a word they began to pack up and run away. Fear spread like a plague across the land.

Early the next morning, Xueya led his team away from the Little Leaf Tribe's camp, preparing to continue their sweep, but the situation was similar to that of the Little Leaf Tribe —the next two small tribes they encountered were completely deserted.

"Damn it!" Xueya finally couldn't hold back any longer, "These bastards, are they rabbits? They're all running faster than the last one!"

Shichui was also furious. "Chief, this won't do! No matter how fast we run, we can't catch up with those who escaped first."

Yexiao remained calm. "These tribes probably saw the routed troops from the Green Grain Tribe and the Fish Tribe, knew we were coming, and ran away beforehand. They must have gone towards the Fish Tribe —thinking the Fish Tribe could still protect them."

Xueya, his face grim and furious, said, "Keep going!" He gritted his Xueya, "I refuse to believe that all the tribes have fled!"

The caravan continued on its way, but after a short while, they suddenly heard the rapid sound of horses' hooves ahead.

Everyone became Jingjue. The Wolf Tribe warriors immediately drew their weapons, and although the vassal army was in a panic, they also formed a defensive formation.

Soon, a troop of cavalry came into view, about thirty men, all covered in dust, their horses exhausted and foaming at the mouth.

Leading the group was Tujiu —the cavalry leader who had been sent to harass and contain the Pottery Salt Tribe.

But the Tujiu's appearance surprised everyone; Tujiu, and the cavalrymen behind him were also injured.

"Chief! Chief!" the Tujiu shouted from afar, his voice filled with terror.

Xueya's heart skipped a beat. He went to greet them, asking, "What's going on? Shouldn't you be with the Pottery Salt Tribe?"

Tujiu tumbled off his horse and practically pounced on Xueya: "Chief! Something terrible has happened! The Fire... Fire Tribe is here!"

"What?!" Xueya's pupils contracted.

Everyone heard this and immediately erupted in an uproar. The Fire Tribe —the tribe that had defeated the Wolf Tribe twice, the tribe that Xueya both hated and feared.

"Explain yourself!" Xueya grabbed the Tujiu. "How do you know it's the Fire Tribe? How many of them are there?"

The Tujiu was terrified by Xueya's fierce appearance and stammered, "They're... cavalry from the south! Only the Fire Tribe has so many fine horses and such excellent equipment! We were harassing the outskirts of the Pottery Salt Tribe when suddenly a troop of cavalry charged out, at least... at least two hundred men!"

He swallowed hard and continued, "They came too fast; we didn't have time to react. I... I brought fifty brothers, more than a dozen of whom died, and the rest barely managed to escape."

Xueya released his grip, his face so dark it seemed to drip water. He turned to look south, as if he could see the Fire Tribe's cavalry rolling in from the horizon.

A deathly silence fell over the ranks. The Wolf Tribe warriors, who had been riding high on their recent victories, were now completely silent. Yexiao was the first to react. He walked to Xueya's side and lowered his voice, "Chief, the Fire Tribe's intentions are unclear, but since they've appeared in the Pottery Salt Tribe, they're very likely after us."

Shichui joined in, his previous arrogance gone. "Chief, we only have a little over four hundred men now, most of whom are vassal troops. If the Fire Tribe really has two hundred cavalry, and then infantry behind them..."

He didn't say what he was going to say next, but the meaning was clear—he couldn't win. Xueya knew this all too well; he had just been basking in the joy of consecutive victories, but now he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

Fire Tribe... why now of all times?

He recalled the two times he was defeated by Jianshi, the way he was easily defeated in public and how he fled in a sorry state. He would never forget it, but now was not the time to be reckless. Xueya was arrogant, but not stupid. He knew that with the current manpower and condition, it was likely to be bad luck for the Fire Tribe.

"Yexiao is right," Xueya finally spoke, his voice filled with reluctance, "The situation with the Fire Tribe is unclear, let's retreat first."

He looked at the Tujiu: "How many cavalry do you think they have? Two hundred?"

"At least two hundred," Tujiu said hastily, "And they're all on good horses and well-equipped. They might also have infantry behind them."

Xueya nodded. Two hundred cavalrymen; if there were infantry as well, it would be even more troublesome. Moreover, he had witnessed the fighting power of the Fire Tribe —those disciplined warriors clad in rattan armor were far more difficult to deal with than the Fish Tribe.

"Give the order!" Xueya raised his voice, "Everyone, pack your things immediately and retreat!"

"Boss," Yexiao reminded us, "Should we send someone to inform Duyan? They're carrying wounded and supplies; they're moving slowly."

Xueya thought for a moment, "Send two cavalrymen to chase after Duyan. Tell them to speed up and that the Fire Tribe may be coming. Tell Duyan to be careful."

The order was quickly relayed, and the troops that had been preparing to continue sweeping through the small tribes immediately turned around and began to retreat.

Xueya mounted his horse and took one last look to the south, the direction of the Pottery Salt Tribe and also the direction from which the Fire Tribe had come.

"Fire Tribe..." he repeated the name under his breath, a hint of malice flashing in his eyes, "Just wait, once I've completely unified this region, the next time we meet will be your death day!"