Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Bald He, the former chieftain of the Wild Fox Balut tribe, had never been so disheveled and furious as he was at this moment.

At the Battle of Eagle's Beak Rock, what he thought was an easy prey turned into a ferocious tiger. The suddenly appearing Xuanjia army, like demons crawling out of hell, easily tore apart his last elite troops, forcing him to flee north in panic like a stray dog. Fewer than twenty riders returned with him, all wounded and demoralized. The tribe was already filled with fear and anxiety due to the annihilation of Wuzhu'er's entire army; now, seeing him personally suffer a crushing defeat, with his remaining able-bodied men almost entirely wiped out, the entire tribe was plunged into an abyss of despair.

What terrified Bald He even more was that his old rival to the west, the Ulolan tribe, had indeed taken advantage of his predicament! The very next day after his defeat and retreat to Wild Fox Plains, Ulolan scouts appeared on the border pastures, driving away the scattered cattle and sheep belonging to the Balut tribe in a provocative act. The dozen or so old and weak soldiers remaining in the tribe were powerless to stop them and could only close their camp and plead for help.

"Great Chief! Those bastards from the Ulolan tribe have gone too far! They stole our cattle and sheep from the small spring in the east! They even shot and wounded two of our herdsmen!" A herdsman with fresh whip marks on his face tumbled into Bald He's tent, crying out.

Bald He was drowning his anger and fear in mare's milk wine when he heard this, and he flew into a rage, kicking over the low table in front of him, spilling wine and meat all over the floor: "Useless! All useless! The jackals of the Ulolan tribe! And those Han dogs from the south! They all deserve to die! They all deserve to die!"

His triangular eyes were bloodshot as he paced back and forth in the tent like a trapped beast. The Starfire Fortress to the south had become a major threat, its fighting force formidable, and it seemed to have allied with the red-clad group he had besieged, further increasing its strength. The Uloran tribe to the west was watching him like a predator, ready to pounce and tear him apart at any moment. Within the tribe, morale was low, and food supplies were dwindling; how would they survive the winter?

Despair and violence intertwined, and a mad idea sprouted in Bald He's mind: Since enemies are everywhere, and internal collapse is imminent, why not... fight to the death! Gather all the tribe's still-mobile forces—men, women, even teenagers—drive all the tribe's cattle, sheep, and horses, abandon the Wild Fox Plains, a grassland that can no longer be defended, and head south! To attack Starfire Fortress! If they can breach the fortress and seize food and supplies, perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope; even if not, a desperate battle is better than being slowly strangled by the Ulolan tribe, or being starved and frozen to death on the grassland!

Once the idea took root, it grew like a poisonous weed. Without further hesitation, Bald He summoned all the tribe's chieftains and elders and announced his decision. The tent fell into a deathly silence, which was then broken by fierce opposition and wailing.

"Great Chief! No! That fortress to the south is like an iron hedgehog. We've just lost so many warriors, how can we possibly take it?"

"Taking all the elderly and weak to fight? Isn't that just sending them to their deaths?"

"They're gone, and Wild Fox Plain is gone! The grasslands left by our ancestors!"

"The Uloran tribe is right next door. If we make a move, they'll take over this place immediately!"

Hearing these sounds, Bald He grew increasingly agitated. He suddenly drew his sword and slammed it down on the wooden pillar supporting the tent, producing a dull thud. "Shut up! Do you think we can survive by staying here? Our food is almost gone! The jackals of the Ulolan tribe could storm in at any moment! The Han dogs to the south won't let us go either! If we don't leave, we'll die! A desperate fight might give us a chance to survive! Anyone who dares to make a sound again will be executed on the spot!"

Under his tyranny and the oppressive reality of despair, the voices of opposition gradually weakened. The dilapidated machine of the Barut Department, driven by the madness of Bald He, began its final, desperate mobilization.

Within two short days, the settlement of the Wild Fox Plains tribe was shrouded in gloom and despair. All the men capable of wielding swords and bows, regardless of age, were gathered together, numbering about fifty, mostly fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boys or forty- or fifty-year-old men. The women wept as they prepared provisions for their husbands and sons, stuffing the last bits of dried meat and milk curds into their leather pouches. All the cattle, sheep, and horses were driven together, numbering several hundred; these would serve as rations and bait for the army, and could also be used as obstacles or sacrifices if necessary. The remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled were told to follow at the rear of the column, left to their own devices.

Riding on the only reasonably strong warhorse, Bald He looked at this incongruous, grief-stricken, and desperate army, and a twisted sense of heroism welled up within him. He raised his scimitar high and roared, "Children of the Eternal Heaven! The Han dogs to the south have stolen our pastures and killed our warriors! The Ulolan tribe to the west are lurking jackals! We have no way out! Follow me to the south! Break through that stronghold, reclaim our grain and women! Wash away our shame with the blood of the Han dogs! Forward is life, retreat is death! Kill—!"

His response was only sparse, weak shouts. In most people's eyes, there was only numbness and fear.

And so, a strange group, consisting of over fifty demoralized "warriors," hundreds of livestock, and over a hundred terrified and helpless elderly, women, and children, slowly departed from Wild Fox Plains like a turbid torrent of mud, flowing southwards with tragic and desperate resolve towards Starfire Fortress. They were unaware that their journey would not only completely alter the fate of the Balut tribe but also become another blood-and-fire bond connecting Starfire Fortress and the Murong Mingyue tribe.

Meanwhile, within Starfire Fortress, the initial settlement of Murong Mingyue's troops had been completed. The seriously wounded received treatment from Wang Jian (who had some medical knowledge) and several women skilled in herbal medicine, while the lightly wounded and women and children were distributed to several vacant houses. Li Shu meticulously recorded everyone's condition, noting a total of eighty-seven survivors, of whom only twenty-eight were capable of fighting (including the wounded), the rest being the elderly, weak, women, and children.