Chapter Summaries

Yan divided the Fire Tribe’s six thousand cavalry to attack the Wolf Tribe’s southern-bank camp from the front, flank, and retreat route while Shibang led three thousand more to encircle Yexiao’s force on the northern bank. Both forces hid near their targets and waited for the Wolf Tribe to evacuate.

• Yan sent Julang with a thousand cavalry to ambush the road to Stone Ridge Mountain and ordered Daya to attack the eastern side of the southern-bank camp.
• Yan led the main force toward the southern-bank camp, where scouts reported that the Wolf Tribe was still loading carts and gathering to leave.
• Gubang and Jia Li told Shibang that the Wolf Tribe was preparing to evacuate both camps and that Yan had launched an attack on the southern bank.
• Shibang boarded three thousand cavalry onto the fleet, crossed the Fish River, and advanced toward the northern-bank camp.
• Shibang hid his force in woods near Yexiao’s camp and ordered his men to wait until the Wolf Tribe had evacuated before attacking.

The Wolf Tribe’s evacuation plan was exposed when subordinate tribespeople surrounded its supply convoy and demanded food and a place in the evacuation. After Xueya ordered an attack that left many people dead or wounded, the Wolf Tribe began its departure toward Stone Ridge Mountain.

• Heitou led subordinate tribespeople to confront the Wolf Tribe’s convoy, demanding to see Xueya and asking why they were being left behind without enough supplies.
• Duzhu told Heitou and Baipi that the Wolf Tribe had left food in the storehouse and that the grain on the carts was payment for protecting the camp’s autumn harvest.
• As the crowd pressed toward the carts and reached for grain, Xueya accused Heitou and Baipi of rebellion and ordered his guards to cut down the people surrounding them.
• Xueya’s mounted guards attacked, wounding Heitou, breaking Baipi’s leg, and killing dozens before the crowd scattered.
• Xueya told Duzhu to evacuate east through the south gate and meet Yexiao’s group at Stone Ridge Mountain; Duzhu organized the convoy, and the Wolf Tribe departed.

After learning that Xueya’s guards had killed people from the Wolf Tribe’s subordinate tribes, Yan prepared the Fire Tribe’s cavalry to attack the Wolf Tribe’s departing convoy. He waited for the entire column to leave camp and enter the eastern road before giving the signal to strike.

• A Fire Tribe scout reported that subordinate tribespeople had surrounded the Wolf Tribe’s transport convoy and that Xueya’s guards had killed dozens while driving them away.
• Shinian urged Yan to attack immediately, but Yan explained that the Wolf Tribe’s violence would make it easier for the Fire Tribe to win over the subordinate tribes and chose to wait until the convoy was exposed on the road.
• Yan promised Shinian he could lead the charge to block the convoy while Yan and Daya attacked from both sides.
• Yan ordered the chiefs and leaders to prepare their horses, weapons, and arrows in silence and advance toward the camp.
• Yan marked positions on a tablet and watched as carts and people streamed from the south gate onto the eastern road, waiting for the whole column to leave before attacking.

Yexiao led the Wolf Tribe’s north bank convoy out toward the northeast after learning that affiliated tribes had delayed Xueya’s group on the south bank. Shibang watched the convoy depart and prepared three thousand cavalry to strike Yexi and his people.

• Yexiao learned from Xueya’s messenger that affiliated tribes had blocked the south bank convoy and ordered the north bank group to leave without waiting.
• Yexiao ordered the convoy to take remaining supplies from the camp and set out toward the northeast, planning to regroup after the ferry crossing.
• The Wolf Tribe’s families, carts, livestock, and cavalry departed the north bank camp while affiliated tribes watched from afar.
• Shibang spotted Yexiao and the convoy leaving, then sent a warrior to order his forces to mount and assemble.
• Shibang rode toward the assembly point, where three thousand cavalry waited to attack Yexi and his people.

Yan sent Shinian to attack the Wolf Tribe’s supply convoy while he prepared to support him, and the two forces met in a violent cavalry clash. The battle left Xueya’s warriors under heavy pressure as they fought to protect the convoy.

• Yan ordered five hundred cavalrymen to seize the Wolf Tribe’s abandoned camp and sent Shinian with two thousand men to attack the convoy.
• Duzhu spotted Shinian’s approaching cavalry, organized the carts into a makeshift barrier, and then withdrew east with five hundred cavalrymen escorting the convoy.
• Xueya kept his remaining cavalry behind to block Shinian, while the Fire Tribe’s improved bows outranged the Wolf Tribe’s weapons and inflicted heavy casualties.
• Shinian led his cavalry in a charge, and Xueya ordered his men to meet them head-on rather than abandon the supplies.
• The Fire Tribe and Wolf Tribe cavalry collided on the eastern dirt road, fighting amid heavy casualties, dust, and clashing weapons.

Xueya’s Wolf Tribe cavalry suffered a devastating defeat in its head-on clash with Shinian’s better-equipped, battle-hardened Fire Tribe forces. After losing around a thousand men, Xueya looked back at the fallen as the battle left him unable to breathe.

• Xueya led the Wolf Tribe cavalry into battle, where Fire Tribe archers and elite warriors inflicted heavy losses.
• Shinian led his personal guards in a wedge that broke through the Wolf Tribe formation and drove its cavalry back.
• Xueya brought his three hundred personal guards forward, but Shinian’s men continued to overpower them.
• Shinian and Xueya briefly exchanged blows as their forces rode past each other.
• The first cavalry clash left the Wolf Tribe with around a thousand dead and most survivors wounded, while the Fire Tribe lost fewer than two hundred.
• Xueya reined in his horse and stared at his fallen veterans, guards, and young warriors, gripping his blade until his knuckles turned white.

Yan arrived with fifteen hundred cavalry and joined Shinian in attacking Xueya’s disorganized Wolf Tribe force. Xueya escaped east with more than a hundred riders, while Yan pursued him and Shinian stayed to finish off the surrounded remnants.

• Shinian reformed his cavalry after their first clash with Xueya’s troops, while the Wolf Tribe’s ranks fell into disarray.
• Yan arrived with fifteen hundred elite cavalry and ordered an attack, prompting Xueya to abandon the supply convoy and lead several hundred men toward Shinian’s line.
• Shinian split his forces to surround the scattered Wolf Tribe cavalry and block Xueya, but Xueya broke through with more than a hundred riders.
• Yan reassured Shinian, ordered him to finish off the Wolf Tribe remnants and pursue their supply convoy, then rode east with two hundred guards after Xueya.
• Shinian led his men in surrounding and killing the remaining Wolf Tribe fighters.

Daya ambushed and defeated Duzhu’s five hundred Wolf Tribe cavalry, capturing her and securing the convoy. He left men to collect the scattered supplies and led six hundred cavalry west to support Yan, while Xueya remained uncaptured and the battle continued.

• After hearing Yan’s ox horn, Daya led a thousand cavalrymen out of the eastern woods to attack the Wolf Tribe convoy.
• Duzhu rallied her five hundred riders to charge Daya’s force, and the two cavalry groups clashed on the road.
• Fire Tribe elites overwhelmed the Wolf Tribe riders, and Daya led a second charge that broke their remaining resistance.
• Daya knocked Duzhu from her horse and wounded her, after which the surviving Wolf Tribe riders were killed or surrendered.
• Daya counted fewer than a hundred losses, ordered more than three hundred men to gather the convoy’s supplies, and led six hundred cavalrymen west to support Yan.

Xueya led the surviving Wolf Tribe cavalry through repeated charges against the Fire Tribe, but his force dwindled as he tried to escape. After finding Duzhu’s convoy destroyed, he broke through another Fire Tribe line with only five riders and fled toward Stone Ridge Mountain to reach Xueshou.

• Xueya rallied his exhausted cavalry and charged Daya’s six hundred Fire Tribe riders, slipping through the first clash as most of his men were cut down.
• Daya’s second cavalry wave attacked, and Xueya broke through again with only twenty-odd riders remaining.
• Xueya found Duzhu’s cavalry nearly wiped out and the supply convoy scattered and plundered.
• Fire Tribe cavalry guarding the supplies formed a hurried defensive line, but Xueya led his remaining riders through it, leaving only five survivors beside him.
• Xueya fled northeast toward the Wolf Tribe stronghold and Stone Ridge Mountain, intent on reaching Xueshou.

Yan pursued Xueya after Daya’s forces defeated the Wolf Tribe convoy, and he left Daya to secure the captured supplies and tribes. Yan rode east with five hundred cavalrymen toward Stone Ridge Mountain to destroy the Wolf Tribe’s lair.

• Daya reported that Xueya escaped with five riders after breaking through his lines twice, while Duzhu and her five hundred cavalrymen were killed and the Wolf Tribe’s supplies were captured.
• Yan praised Daya’s success and ordered him to hold the southern bank, manage the captured camp and subordinate tribes, and send Shinian and Shibang to Stone Ridge Mountain.
• Daya selected three hundred cavalrymen to join Yan’s two hundred personal guards for the pursuit.
• Yan rode east with five hundred cavalrymen, while Daya stayed behind to organize the battlefield cleanup and care for the wounded.

Shibang’s three thousand Fire Tribe cavalrymen defeated Yexiao’s thousand Wolf Tribe riders on the north bank and forced Yexiao to flee into a dense forest with about thirty men. Shibang halted the pursuit, guarded the forest, and began gathering prisoners and supplies while planning to meet the others near Stone Ridge Mountain.

• Shibang surrounded Yexiao’s Wolf Tribe cavalry on three sides, and the outnumbered, poorly equipped riders were crushed by the veteran Fire Tribe troops.
• Yexiao tried twice to break through toward Stone Ridge Mountain but was driven back, then led about a hundred men north toward the forest.
• Fire Tribe arrows and pursuit reduced Yexiao’s group to thirty-odd riders by the time they reached the forest.
• Yexiao ordered his men to abandon their horses and follow him into the dense forest, intending to hide until night and make for Stone Ridge Mountain.
• Shibang refused to send cavalry into the forest, leaving a hundred men to guard its edge and ordering the rest to collect prisoners, grain carts, and supplies.

Yan joined Julang after Xueya escaped the ambush and learned that the Wolf Tribe's forces and supplies had largely been defeated. They led fifteen hundred cavalry toward Stone Ridge Mountain to reach its southern foot before Xueya and ambush his survivors.

• Julang waited in ambush on the road to Stone Ridge Mountain, but Xueya and his survivors never appeared.
• Yan arrived with five hundred cavalry and told Julang that the Fire Tribe had seized the Wolf Tribe's supplies, killed Duzhu and her cavalry, and was besieging the north-bank camp.
• Yan explained that Xueya had escaped with five riders by taking a remote trail toward Stone Ridge Mountain.
• Julang warned that Xueya could join Xueshou at the mountain lair and become difficult to defeat.
• Yan and Julang gathered fifteen hundred cavalry and set out by the main road to ambush Xueya at the mountain's southern foot.

Yan and Julang learned that Xueshou was bringing nine hundred Wolf Tribe cavalry toward the Great Rock River and prepared a valley ambush. The Fire Tribe forces took their positions and waited for Xueshou's men to enter the trap.

• Xueshou led nine hundred Wolf Tribe cavalry west to meet Xueya after receiving his call for help.
• A mounted scout reported Xueshou's approach to Yan and Julang, giving them time to prepare.
• Yan identified a narrow valley as an ideal ambush site and assigned archers, cavalry, and his own force to attack from multiple directions.
• Julang led four hundred archers to the cliffs and five hundred cavalry around to the far side of the valley.
• Yan waited with six hundred cavalry near the valley entrance for Xueshou's force to arrive.

Xueshou led nine hundred Wolf Tribe cavalrymen into a Fire Tribe ambush in a narrow valley, where stones and arrows killed or wounded most of them. Yan killed Xueshou at the valley exit and led his cavalry into the valley to hunt down the remaining Wolf Tribe stragglers.

• Huibao warned Xueshou that the valley might be an ambush, but Xueshou whipped him and ordered the cavalry to keep moving.
• Xueshou led all nine hundred Wolf Tribe cavalrymen into the valley, where Yan and Julang's ambush attacked them with stones and arrows from the cliffs.
• Xueshou rallied the surviving riders and charged toward the exit, but Yan met them with six hundred Fire Tribe cavalrymen.
• Yan struck Xueshou with his spear, killing him, and the Fire Tribe cavalrymen cut down the riders who had escaped the valley.
• Yan left three hundred men guarding the exit and led the rest into the valley to kill the remaining Wolf Tribe stragglers.

Yan and Julang’s forces destroyed the Wolf Tribe remnants in the valley, while Huibao surrendered and offered to guide the Fire Tribe to the Stone Ridge Mountain stronghold. Yan agreed to spare Huibao and his men if they served the Fire Tribe, leaving them committed to helping capture the stronghold.

• Julang and five hundred cavalrymen blocked the Wolf Tribe remnants’ retreat and killed the trapped survivors.
• Yan led three hundred cavalrymen into the valley, where Huibao and more than twenty men surrendered.
• Huibao offered to guide Yan through the Stone Ridge Mountain stronghold’s defenses and said only four hundred warriors remained there.
• Yan promised Huibao and his men freedom after five years of service, with a shorter term for meritorious service.
• Huibao and his men accepted Yan’s terms and pledged to work for the Fire Tribe.

Yan led a disguised force up Stone Ridge Mountain and captured the Wolf Tribe’s three checkpoints by deceiving their guards. After Huibao killed Qinglang at the main stronghold’s gate, Yan’s men overwhelmed the defenders and secured the stockade.

• Yan split his twelve hundred cavalrymen with Julang, then led four hundred men and Huibao’s surrendered soldiers up the mountain in captured Wolf Tribe armor.
• Huibao used Xueshou’s dagger and a false story about Chief Xueya to persuade the first two checkpoint leaders to open their gates, allowing Yan’s men to disarm the guards.
• Yan’s remaining four hundred men joined him at the second checkpoint, and he left troops to hold the captured posts while advancing toward the third checkpoint.
• Huibao bluffed the hesitant third checkpoint leader into opening the gate, and Yan’s men disarmed the defenders and continued to the main stronghold.
• Huibao lured Qinglang to the main gate and killed him with Xueshou’s dagger as Yan’s men entered.
• Yan’s forces killed the stronghold’s defenders, and Yan ordered his men to search the stockade and secure its storehouses and houses.

Yan’s forces captured the Wolf Tribe’s stronghold and took its stockpiled supplies. He arranged for Julang to garrison Stone Ridge Mountain and discussed the defenses and division of supplies, leaving Yan to prepare to take the rest back to the tribe.

• Yan’s men cleared the Wolf Tribe’s stronghold and found enough food to feed over five thousand people for more than a year, along with weapons and armor.
• Yan ordered Huibao to have Julang bring most of his men up the mountain while leaving two hundred guards below.
• Julang arrived and told Yan that the Wolf Tribe had been driven out, though Xueya had escaped; Yan promised rewards for the fighters and said Xueya would eventually answer for the blood debt.
• Yan assigned Julang to garrison Stone Ridge Mountain, repair its defenses, and keep half a year’s grain while Yan took the remaining supplies back.
• Yan and Julang calculated the supplies and garrison duties until evening, then Yan went into the main stockade to rest.

Yan and Shinian left Stone Ridge Mountain for the camp on the south bank of the Great Rock River after defeating the Wolf Tribe, while Julang stayed behind to guard the mountain. They planned to consolidate their gains and turn their attention to the Tiger Tribe.

• Shinian arrived at Stone Ridge Mountain with two thousand men and carts to transport the supplies seized from the Wolf Tribe.
• Yan left Julang in command of eight hundred men, instructing him to maintain the checkpoints and guard the grain stockade.
• Yan and Shinian led the convoy south toward camp and discussed how the Wolf Tribe's defeat had cleared the way to fight the Tiger Tribe.
• Shinian regretted that Xueya had escaped, and Yan assured him they would have another chance to settle the blood debt.
• Yan and Shinian reviewed their gains, including territory, supplies, and tens of thousands of captives, and Yan planned to report the victory to his father after returning to camp.

Xueya and Yexiao reunited with twenty surviving riders after the Fire Tribe defeated the Wolf Tribe and occupied its stronghold. They decided to flee north across the Long River, rebuild their strength, and eventually return to avenge their fallen people.

• Xueya and Yexiao reached the Wolf Tribe’s temporary hunting site separately and reunited with only twenty riders remaining.
• Yexiao reported that the Fire Tribe had occupied the Wolf Tribe’s stronghold on Stone Ridge Mountain and kept guards on its paths.
• Xueya blamed himself for the deaths of Xueshou and many Wolf Tribe warriors, while Yexiao urged him not to take all the blame.
• Xueya and Yexiao agreed to cross the Long River and rebuild the Wolf Tribe on its northern bank, where they hoped to gather strength and take revenge.
• Xueya counted their arrows and inspected his blade, then led the twenty riders north under cover of darkness.

Yan held a council after the Fire Tribe defeated the Wolf Tribe, reviewing the people and supplies captured and planning defenses against the Tiger Tribe. He left Daya in charge of the camps while preparing to report to his father, with a possible campaign against Tiger Tribe outposts still awaiting approval.

• Daya reported that the Fire Tribe had brought more than twenty thousand people under control on the south bank and selected more than ten thousand willing recruits, while seizing supplies and crops.
• Shibang reported that the Fire Tribe had brought more than ten thousand people under control on the north bank, nearly ten thousand of whom wanted to join, and had captured supplies and fields.
• Yan said the Wolf Tribe had been rooted out and its leaders Xueshou and Duzhu killed, while Xueya and Yexiao had escaped with a few dozen people.
• Shibang said Tiger Tribe boats had investigated the Great Rock River mouth but turned back when they encountered the Fire Tribe fleet.
• Yan assigned Daya to guard the camps on both banks and ordered the outposts to strengthen their defenses while preparing boats, troops, and provisions for possible attacks on Tiger Tribe outposts.