After the Battle

After the Shishan tribe of the Great Boulder Tribe, with its four thousand men, retreated, the Wolf Tribe's camp on Stone Ridge Mountain erupted in jubilation. Warriors rushed out of their hiding places, some standing on the cliff edge, waving their fists and shouting, "Get out! Get out! Never come back! If you do, we'll beat you again!"

Some jumped up, bouncing and laughing like children, clapping their hands as if celebrating the New Year. Many of these people were young men recruited by Xueya and his men. They all came from small tribes nearby and grew up hearing about the might of the Great Boulder Tribe. In their memories, the Great Boulder Tribe was invincible, unchallengeable, the ruler of this region, the king of this region, a being like the heavens. Their fathers and grandfathers had lived in the shadow of the Great Boulder Tribe for generations, never daring to resist, never daring to say no. They had a natural fear of the Great Boulder Tribe, a fear that was engraved in their bones, dissolved in their blood, and instilled in them from childhood, like a brand that could never be erased.

Now, they followed the Wolf Tribe in committing atrocities, killing the people of the Great Boulder Tribe, robbing the belongings of the Great Rock Great Rock's subordinate tribes, and burning down the houses of the Great Boulder Tribe would retaliate fiercely and kill them all, but what happened? The Great Boulder Tribe not only failed to strike at the Wolf Tribe, but also suffered heavy losses, with nearly five hundred men killed and two core subordinate tribes, the Great Black Stone Tribe and the Black Wood Tribe, lost. Even Shishan's deputy general, Shi Ya, was killed this time. In the end, the people of the Great Boulder Tribe had no choice but to retreat, like a pack of stray dogs, slinking away in disgrace.

This thrilled, excited, and proud the newly joined warriors. They felt like they were dreaming. They imagined working with the Wolf Tribe meant they would eat delicious food, have meat to eat, drink wine, and have women—it was better than being a god! They were also told that meritorious service would bring abundant rewards: food, weapons, horses, women—everything they could want. This was far more comfortable than their previous life as farmers. Before, farming meant working themselves to the bone year-round, from sunrise to sunset, barely getting a full meal, and only eating meat once a year during festivals. Now, they could eat meat and drink wine every day, do whatever they wanted, rob whomever they wanted, and fight whomever they wanted.

Someone shouted, "The Wolf Tribe is invincible! The Xueya Chieftain is invincible!"

Then someone else shouted, "Xueya Chief is invincible! Wolf Tribe is invincible!" The voices rose in waves, like a tide, echoing through the valley, shaking the leaves and causing rocks to fall from the cliffs.

Xueya stood on high ground, hands on his hips, watching the cheering warriors. A slight smile of satisfaction played on his lips. His gaze swept over their excited faces as if inspecting his army. On those faces were various expressions: excitement, agitation, pride, admiration, gratitude—but they all shared one thing in common: they were all looking at Xueya as if he were a god. He secretly calculated that these people's morale had risen, their fear of the Great Boulder Tribe had vanished, and their identification with the Wolf Tribe had been established. Next, he would train them well, making them true Wolf Tribe warriors, making them true wolves.

Halfway up Stone Ridge Mountain, in the Wolf Tribe's camp, in the council hall, the firewood in the hearth burned brightly, crackling and sending sparks flying, tracing brief arcs in the dim light like shooting stars. The room was warm and cozy, dispelling the chill of late autumn and making one drowsy. Several animal skin maps hung on the wall, marked with crooked charcoal lines, marking the distribution of tribes in the area, like a child's scribbles. In the corner, some captured bronze weapons were piled up.

Xueya sat in the main seat, a bowl of hot wine in front of him, steaming and fragrant. He picked up the bowl, took a sip, and felt the wine burn as it went down his throat, like a fiery snake swimming in his stomach, dispelling the chill from his body. His face showed some fatigue, and there were dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes shone brightly, like two balls of fire.

Xueshou sat to his right, drinking and eating heartily, his mouth greasy. His bronze sword leaned against the chair, its blade still stained with dried blood, gleaming a dark red in the firelight, as if it were rusted. He had a smile on his face, his eyes narrowed into slits, his mouth stretched to his ears, revealing a set of yellow teeth, clearly in a very good mood.

Yexiao sat to his left, holding a wine bowl and slowly sipping it, like he was savoring tea. His face was expressionless, like a stagnant pool, but his eyes gleamed, as if he were calculating something or worrying about something.

Duzhu sat at the lower end of the table, with the same fair-skinned young man beside her, obediently pouring her wine and serving her food, like a docile cat. Her face wore a sinister smile, like a snake flicking its tongue, or a spider weaving its web. Her eyes were long and narrow, with upturned corners, gleaming eerily in the firelight, like two cat's-eye stones.

The Duzhu spoke first, "Chief, we've looted a lot of supplies this time, filling the camp's warehouses to overflowing, so we have to pile them up outside."

She paused, counting on her fingers one by one, as if counting precious treasures, and said, "These supplies are more than enough for our Wolf Tribe to get through this winter comfortably."

Her voice rose slightly, tinged with pride, as she said, "We now have over three thousand horses, enough for one horse per person with some spares. Some veterans can even ride two horses each. We've also increased our manpower significantly this time. Including those lost in the recent battles, we now have nearly two thousand men. And these men have all seen blood several times, killed people, looted, and been on the battlefield. They're not greenhorns anymore. Many of the new recruits, after a little more training and development, will become elite troops—one of them can be worth two, two of them can be worth four!"

Yexiao nodded, put down his wine bowl, and said, "This time, our manpower increased to two thousand, we plundered a lot of supplies, and we even wiped out two core subordinate tribes of the Great Boulder Tribe, Great Heishi and Black Wood. These two tribes together had more than four thousand people, and we wiped them out in no time. We also killed nearly five hundred people from the Great Boulder Tribe's main force, which greatly weakened the Great Boulder Tribe's strength and greatly enhanced the prestige of our Wolf Tribe."

He paused, his eyes gleaming, and continued, "This Great Boulder Tribe is nothing special. I used to think they were so powerful because of their impressive reputation, but now it seems they're just a paper tiger, easily broken."

Xueshou spoke up, his voice rough and booming like thunder. "Yes, many of the warriors who joined our Wolf Tribe here were terrified of the Great Rock before. They would turn pale and tremble like mice before a Great Rock at the mere mention of it. But after we dealt a heavy blow to the Great Boulder Tribe Great Boulder Tribe at Great Cliff Ridge, they're not so afraid of them anymore."

He laughed heartily and said, "Look at the helpless state of the Great Boulder Tribe at the foot of Stone Ridge Mountain. Four thousand people are surrounding the mountain, but they just can't break through. They can only stare helplessly."

He paused, his voice tinged with emotion, and said, "These newcomers to our Wolf Tribe no longer need to fear the Great Boulder Tribe. They eat better, dress better, and live better than before. Now everyone has naturally accepted joining the Wolf Tribe, and they all consider themselves members of the Wolf Tribe, not those from the smaller tribes they used to be. Their hearts are already with our Wolf Tribe."

Xueya nodded and said, "Yes, we've basically achieved all our objectives this time. We've expanded our manpower to two thousand, plundered enough supplies, established our reputation, and weakened the Great Rock's strength."

He paused, then continued, "If our Wolf Tribe weren't so weak and lacking in resources to support more people, we could have continued to recruit and expand our forces to three or four thousand, growing like a snowball. But the Great Boulder Tribe has been operating here for decades, deeply entrenched and powerful. Although they can't immediately muster many more troops than we can, with continued mobilization, they can easily mobilize four thousand men to besiege our Stone Ridge Mountain. If they weren't so unprepared with sufficient food, and if our Stone Ridge Mountain weren't so strategically located and easy to defend, our Wolf Tribe would be in serious trouble if we faced them head-on. In a real fight, the outcome would be uncertain."

He picked up his wine bowl, took a large gulp, and continued, "Although the Great Boulder Tribe suffered considerable losses this time, with so many dead and two core subordinate tribes gone, they will definitely find a way to quickly recover their strength after seeing the threat posed by our Wolf Tribe. They won't wait for our Wolf Tribe to attack them; they will recruit soldiers, train warriors, stockpile food, and purchase weapons. Next year, when we go to cause them trouble again, their strength may be even greater than this time. We must be mentally prepared and not underestimate them. We cannot think that everything will be fine just because we won this time."

Yexiao Owl asked, "In that case, we'll need to increase our manpower next year, right? With just these two thousand people, it might not be enough to take down the Great Boulder Tribe. They were able to mobilize four thousand so quickly, while we only have two thousand—a difference of half. Even if each of us is worth two, and two thousand is worth four thousand, it'll still be a narrow victory. What if they mobilize five thousand? What if they join forces with the Great Luwei?"

Xueya nodded and said, "Yes, we will continue to increase manpower and expand our strength next year. This year, because we lacked food and supplies and our foundation was weak, we did not continue to increase manpower."

He paused, raised his voice slightly, and said with a hint of confidence, "After our battle with the Great Boulder Tribe Great Boulder Tribe this time, we've witnessed their strength. Although the Great Boulder Tribe has some power, they are much weaker than the Fire Tribe, Valley Tribe, and Bear Tribe."

He paused, then raised his voice slightly, saying with a hint of pride, "This year, our two thousand men were enough to inflict heavy losses on the Great Boulder Tribe, wiping out two of their core subordinate tribes and killing nearly five hundred of their people. Next year, we'll expand our forces to four or five thousand, and the Great Boulder Tribe will no longer be a match for us. Even if their warriors are about the same number as ours, it won't matter."

Xueshou also spoke up, "Those people from the Great Boulder Tribe can only bully the small tribes around here and scare honest people. If they run into our Wolf Tribe, they're just unlucky."

Xueya said, "Let's give everyone some time to rest and train. Next year, we'll launch a proper attack and strive to wipe out the Great Boulder Tribe and take over their territory by the end of the year."

He paused for a moment and continued, "The territory of the Great Boulder Tribe is fertile and has abundant water resources. By occupying their territory, our Wolf Tribe can truly gain a foothold here and truly grow stronger. In addition, we will also gradually relocate our subordinate tribes to the foot of Stone Ridge Mountain and let them settle down there."

Xueshou, Yexiao, and Duzhu Spider nodded and replied in unison, "Yes!"

The three chatted for a while longer before going off to make their own arrangements.