Bloodbath at the Highland Tribe

That evening, Xueya and Yexiao led their men to the vicinity of the Highland Tribe. This tribe, numbering about three hundred, was located on the outermost edge of the Great Boulder Tribe's territory and was a semi-subordinate tribe of the Great Boulder Tribe.

Yexiao Owl frowned slightly and said, "Chief, this Highland Tribe is a semi-subordinate tribe of the Great Rock. Will our attack provoke an overreaction from the Great Boulder Tribe?"

Xueya sneered, "Our operation this time was covert; even the Great Rock discovered it too late. Besides, those newcomers haven't seen blood yet. We need to let them see blood. Only by cutting off their escape route will they wholeheartedly follow our Wolf Tribe."

Yexiao understood. With the able-bodied men from five tribes of two hundred each, plus those from before and the remaining personnel from the Mound Tribe, the Wolf Tribe now had about five hundred warriors. However, the two hundred new recruits had never killed anyone or shed blood. They were with the Wolf Tribe now because they were afraid and because there was meat to eat. But if they lost their fear or ran out of meat, they might run away. They needed to get their hands dirty. Once they did, there would be no turning back.

The Highland Tribe's camp was built at the foot of a mountain. It was quite large, with at least three hundred people. It was surrounded by a wooden fence, and a shallow moat had been dug outside the fence. It looked more presentable than other tribes.

Xueya reined in his horse, raised his hand to signal it to stop, and ordered, "Everyone, hide and rest for now. We'll make our move at daybreak tomorrow."

The Wolf Tribe's group silently disappeared into the nearby woods. Many of the newcomers sat down against tree trunks, some closed their eyes and pretended to sleep, and some stared blankly into the darkness. No one spoke, and no one ran away.

As dawn broke, Yexiao led his men into the Highland Tribe's camp. Leading the charge were veterans of the Wolf Tribe, each one as fierce as a wolf, hacking and slashing at anyone in sight. Many Highland Tribe members were awakened from their sleep, some falling to the ground before they could even react. Most of the sixty-odd able-bodied men of the Highland Tribe were cut down while still asleep, and the few who resisted were instantly felled. Yexiao stood in the center of the Highland Tribe's camp, directing the battle.

He looked around and nodded in satisfaction. The veterans of the Wolf Tribe had done a great job. Although the new recruits hadn't made a move, they hadn't panicked either, and were obediently standing guard on the perimeter to prevent anyone from escaping.

The battle ended in less than half an hour. All the able-bodied men of the Highland Tribe were cut down, and the old, weak, women and children were driven together, trembling. Gao Cai, the chief of the Highland Tribe Gao Cai brought before Yexiao. He was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a burly build. At this moment, he was covered in blood, but his eyes were wide open, as if he wanted to eat people.

Yexiao glanced at him, ignored him, and turned to walk out of the camp. Xueya was leading the new recruits to the Highland Tribe camp. His gaze swept over the corpses scattered on the ground, and he nodded in satisfaction. He trusted Yexiao's work.

Gao Cai brought before Xueya, still struggling desperately, repeatedly cursing, "You damned bastards! We are a subordinate tribe of the Great Boulder Tribe! The Great Boulder Tribe will not let you get away with this!"

Xueya glanced at him, sneered, and said, "No matter how fiercely he screams, he's just a dying man!" He turned around and looked at the people behind him, the five small tribal leaders who had recently been coerced— Quanbo, Genshu, Shanmu, Songzi, and Tengsheng. They stood behind Xueya, their faces pale and their bodies trembling. In the past few days, they had followed the Wolf Tribe, eating meat and drinking wine, but their hands had not yet been stained with blood.

Xueya's gaze swept across their faces as he slowly spoke, "Call them over here, let them see Blood."

Yexiao understood and pushed the five leaders in front of Gao Cai. Gao Cai was still cursing, spittle flying, his eyes bloodshot. The five leaders stood there, their legs trembling. They dared not look into Gao Cai's eyes, nor into Xueya's. Yexiao threw five bone knives at their feet. The sound of the knives hitting the ground was very soft, but it was like a thunderclap, making them tremble all over.

"Pick it up," Xueya said.

No one moved. Yexiao's face darkened. He placed his hand on the hilt of his knife and took a step forward. The five leaders trembled in fright, quickly crouching down and picking up their knives with trembling hands.

"Cut," Xueya said again.

Quanbo's hand trembled the most, almost dropping the knife. He glanced back and saw Xueya staring at him with icy eyes. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and plunged the knife into Gao Cai's chest. Gao Cai screamed, but didn't die; he continued cursing. Genshu also closed his eyes and swung the knife down, followed by Shanmu, Songzi, Tengsheng! One slash, two slashes, three slashes... Gao Cai's curses grew weaker and weaker, finally turning into groans, then silence. He fell into a pool of blood, his eyes still open, dying with unresolved grievances.

The five leaders slumped to the ground, their knives lying beside them, their hands covered in blood. Some began to gag, some stared blankly at their hands, and some huddled together, clutching their heads. Xueya didn't look at them; he turned to the newly recruited young men—about two hundred men—standing there, some pale-faced, some trembling, and some with their heads bowed, unable to look at the corpses on the ground.

"Make your move," Xueya said.

Yexiao, leading the veterans of the Wolf Tribe, drove the newcomers to the controlled elderly and weak. Some were so frightened that they backed away, only to be kicked back by the veterans; some were too weak to stand and were dragged over; some closed their eyes and slashed wildly; some vomited after slashing; and some were so trembling that they couldn't hold their knives.

Xueya stood aside, watching all this, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Chop away, spit it out! Once you're done spitting it out, it'll be over. Once you're done chopping, you'll be part of the Wolf Tribe!"

The Highland Tribe's camp quickly turned into a living hell. The old were hacked down, the children were killed, and cries, screams, and pleas for mercy echoed in the air. But gradually, the sounds grew fainter and fainter. Xueya watched all of this and nodded in satisfaction.

Around noon, the massacre ended. The new recruits slumped on the ground, some still in a daze, others having recovered and starting to help move the corpses and pack up supplies. Xueya ordered that all the looted food and meat be brought out so everyone could have a good meal. Fires were lit, meat was roasted, and wine was poured. At first, the new recruits couldn't eat, but the aroma of the meat made their stomachs rumble, and they couldn't resist starting to eat.

Yexiao walked over and sat down next to Xueya, saying, "Chief, there are more and more young men showing enthusiasm now. After a few more rounds, these people will all become true warriors of the Wolf Tribe!"

Xueya nodded, tore off a piece of meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and said, "We've seized quite a few supplies from the Highland Tribe this time. Let's rest well today, and tomorrow we'll transport the supplies and prisoners back to the Mound Tribe, rest there for a couple of days, and then head out again."

Yexiao asked, "So, what's our next step?"

Xueya chewed on his meat and slowly said, "Five hundred men aren't enough. We need at least a thousand to deal with the counterattack from the Great Rock and Great Luwei Tribe."

Yexiao nodded and said, "Understood."

Xueya tore off another piece of flesh, a cold glint in his eyes, and said, "We'll have to face the Great Boulder Tribe sooner or later, but not now. Let's gather enough manpower and train our troops first, then we'll have a proper showdown with them."

Yexiao didn't say anything more. The two ate their meat in silence. Early the next morning, Xueya led his team to set off. They escorted supplies and prisoners, returning in a grand procession towards the Mound Tribe. The new recruits walking in the procession were no longer as timid as before. They still had bloodstains on their bodies, and their eyes were no longer filled with fear, but with a kind of numb ferocity.

As evening fell, the camp of the Mound Tribe came into view. Xueshou and Duzhu had already received the news and were waiting at the camp entrance.

Xueshou's eyes lit up when he saw the even larger group, and he strode forward, saying, "Big Brother! Our Wolf Tribe's force has grown stronger again!"

Xueya dismounted, patted his shoulder, and said, "This time when we went out, we also captured five tribes with about two hundred men each. On the way back, I also made those newcomers see blood. Now these newcomers have no choice but to work for our Wolf Tribe."

Xueshou chuckled and said, "That's great! How many people are there in our Wolf Tribe now?"

Yexiao walked over and continued, "Including those from the Mound Tribe, there are over five hundred warriors now."

Xueshou gasped, then grinned, "Five hundred men! And it hasn't been that long! A few more raids and our Wolf Tribe will have over a thousand warriors!"

Xueya nodded and said as he walked into the camp, "We'll rest for two days at the Mound Tribe. Five hundred men aren't enough; we need at least a thousand to deal with the counterattack from the Great Rock and Great Luwei Tribe."

Xueshou followed behind, nodding repeatedly, "Brother is right, five hundred people are still a bit too few. Those two large tribes can easily muster over a thousand people."

Xueya didn't speak. He walked to the largest wooden house in the center of the camp, stopped, and looked back at the groups entering the camp. From less than a hundred people to five hundred, it had taken less than a month. That speed wasn't slow, but five hundred people weren't enough! The Great Boulder Tribe had more than six thousand people, and the Great Luwei Tribe had more than seven thousand. Their own core tribes alone had more than a thousand warriors, and with their core affiliated tribes, they could quickly gather two thousand men! Five hundred against two thousand was still too few. The Wolf Tribe needed to develop even faster.

He turned and went into the cabin, followed by Xueshou, Yexiao, and Duzhu. The door closed, shutting out the noise outside. Xueya sat down by the fire, Xueshou and Yexiao sat opposite him, and Duzhu sat in the corner.

"Let's give the brothers a good rest these next couple of days, let them catch their breath," Xueya said, his voice Chenwen. "We'll set off again in two days."

"Where should we go next?" Yexiao asked.

Xueya thought for a moment and said, "Further north of the Mound Tribe, there are several tribes with about three hundred people each, which are farther from the Great Rock. Let's take them down first and gather enough men from the Wolf Tribe to reach a thousand."

Xueshou rubbed his hands together, his face full of excitement, and said, "Once we've gathered enough people, can we finally take on the Great Boulder Tribe?"

Xueya shook his head and said, "Not so fast. We have enough manpower, but we still need to train them. Those newbies have only just seen blood; they're far from ready for real battles. They need to be trained for a while longer."

Xueshou was somewhat disappointed, but didn't say anything more.

Xueya looked at Duzhu and asked, "Have we taken inventory of our supplies?"

The Duzhu spider nodded and said, "I've taken stock. We have enough grain for two months, nearly six hundred horses, and quite a few cattle and sheep as well."

Xueya pondered for a moment and said, "That's enough. After we pull off a few more heists, food won't be a problem."

The Duzhu nodded without speaking.

Xueya stood up and said, "Everyone, go and rest first. We'll set off in two days!"