Great Wilderness Demon Lord

Almost instantly, several options flashed through his mind:

Option 1: Exterminate the tribe to eliminate future troubles, but there is no real benefit and it may provoke a more intense retaliation from the Wolf Rong.

Option Two: Capture some of the jackals and use them as forced laborers to build city walls, dig trenches, and transport supplies...

Xiao Yunlan deliberately guided his thoughts, letting the strategist's "scheming" overpower the killer's "impulse".

Building city walls requires labor, digging trenches requires manpower, and transporting supplies requires hard work...

These jackal captives are more resistant to the cold and more familiar with the northern environment than convicts. If they can be used, they can greatly improve the efficiency of the Ice City's defenses.

He could even go further and deduce that among the captured jackals, those who were artisans or had special skills could be utilized; the elderly, weak, women, and children could be used to exchange for supplies or intelligence…

The chilling calculations, like a cold current, washed away the burning killing intent brought by the demon of slaughter.

Two demonic thoughts formed a subtle struggle within the dantian.

Xiao Yunlan opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright.

He knew this was merely a short-sighted solution—using the Demon of Wisdom to suppress the Demon of Slaughter, while simultaneously feeding both demonic motives. But he had no other choice.

He rose and walked out of the main tent.

A cold wind swept across my face, carrying the stench of blood and burnt flesh.

Throughout the city, survivors are moving bodies and repairing walls.

Zhao Meng, Tieshan, and Shi Biao had completed the formation as ordered. Although all of the more than one hundred men were injured, their eyes no longer showed the numbness they had before, but instead a fierce look of someone who had survived a disaster.

Xiao Yunlan walked to the front of the group and glanced at everyone.

"Those who can still wield a knife, step forward."

More than a hundred people stepped forward in unison.

"Alright." Xiao Yunlan nodded. "Follow me out of the city and wipe out the jackal tribe."

There were no grand pronouncements, only simple commands.

But everyone understood that this battle was about survival.

-----------------

The team set off in the afternoon.

Xiao Yunlan personally led the team, with more than 30 veteran soldiers in the front and more than 70 recruits in the middle. Lin Zhong's 150 cavalrymen were divided into several groups, patrolling and guarding the flanks and rear.

On the snow-covered wasteland, the team stretched out in long lines, moving silently and swiftly.

An hour later, the outline of a jackal tribe appeared ahead.

It was a settlement situated on both sides of a dried-up riverbed, with hundreds of animal-hide tents scattered haphazardly around a simple wooden fence, though many parts of it were damaged.

Several watchtowers stand at the four corners of the tribe, and figures can be vaguely seen on the towers.

Just as Xiao Yunlan had expected, the tribe was unusually quiet, with hardly any young men in sight. Only a few women and children were moving between tents or gathering at the water source to fetch water.

Lin Chong rode forward and stood beside Xiao Yunlan, whispering, "It seems indeed deserted. There are only one or two people on the watchtower, and the broken wooden fence has been left unrepaired."

Xiao Yunlan nodded and said to Zhao Meng behind him, "Divide into three teams. You lead twenty men to cut in from the left flank, Tieshan leads twenty men from the right flank, and I will lead the main force to break through from the front. Commandant Lin's cavalry will blockade the perimeter; kill any who try to escape."

The order was conveyed swiftly.

The group dispersed silently, using the undulating terrain and sparse juniper bushes as cover, and approached the tribe.

Three hundred steps, two hundred steps, one hundred steps...

The jackals on the watchtower finally noticed something amiss. A sharp bone whistle rang out, and the tribe immediately erupted into commotion.

But it was too late.

Xiao Yunlan drew his curved sword and shouted sharply, "Charge!"

The three teams launched an attack simultaneously.

At the front, Xiao Yunlan took the lead, followed by more than seventy recruits who pounced on the tribe's gate like wolves and tigers.

The so-called "gate" was nothing more than a frame made of two thick logs with a few pieces of animal hide hanging on it, offering no defensive capabilities whatsoever.

Several elderly jackal men who remained behind frantically raised their bone spears to try and defend themselves, but they were no match for the charging defenders.

A flash of light, and blood splattered five steps away.

Xiao Yunlan rushed into the tribe, his cold gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

Many jackals rushed out from between the tents—mostly women, the elderly, and even some teenagers.

Armed with bone knives, stone axes, and wooden clubs, their eyes filled with fear and madness, they still roared and charged forward.

"Kill the resisters!" Xiao Yunlan's voice was as cold as iron.

The recruits, armed with swords and spears, fought against the jackals.

Although these remaining jackals were fierce, they were not warriors and their fighting ability was limited.

Under the organized attack of the defending troops, they quickly fell in droves.

But there were simply too many of them.

The entire tribe has more than two thousand people. Even though most of the able-bodied men have been drawn away, there are still nearly two thousand women, children, the elderly and weak left.

They surged in from all directions, desperately resisting with rudimentary weapons, even biting and grabbing with their teeth and hands.

A recruit was tackled by three jackal women, stabbed repeatedly with bone knives, and died screaming in agony.

His companion, his eyes reddened, swung his knife and cut down the three men.

Elsewhere, several jackal children hid behind a tent and used slingshots to throw stones, hitting an old soldier on the forehead and causing him to bleed profusely.

The veteran roared and charged forward, only to step into a hidden trap, his calf caught in a snare.

The battle quickly turned brutal and chaotic.

Xiao Yunlan charged through the crowd, each swing of his curved blade sending up a spray of blood.

Deep within his dantian, the dark red flames of the Slaughter Demon surged violently. Every drop of blood that splattered, every dying scream, only fueled its excitement and thirst.

Kill them all.

A voice whispered in my consciousness.

The entire tribe was slaughtered, the land stained with blood, and fear etched deep into the marrow of every survivor.

Xiao Yunlan cleaved an old jackal man who lunged at her with a single stroke, and then beheaded a jackal woman who tried to attack from the side.

Warm blood splattered on his face, carrying a sweet, metallic smell.

The lust for slaughter spread like wildfire.

But he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay calm.

They cannot be exterminated.

Prisoners...we need prisoners...

He once again stirred the devil of cunning.

A deep blue halo swirled, and the cold computing power began to analyze the battlefield: the jackals were fiercely resisting, but lacked organization, and their casualties were rapidly increasing.

At this rate, the resistance will collapse in no more than half an hour.

How many people can be captured? How many troops will be needed to guard them? How much labor can these prisoners perform? How much can the efficiency of building the city walls be improved? ...

A series of cold numbers and deductions, like cold water poured over his heart, temporarily suppressed the urge to kill.

Xiao Yunlan took a deep breath and raised his voice to order, "Capture them alive if possible! Kill those who resist fiercely!"

The order was given, and the garrison began to consciously hold back, attempting to subdue rather than kill.

But this is not easy—even the old and weak jackals are still ferocious, and many would rather die in battle than surrender.

The battle continued for another fifteen minutes.

The jackals' resistance finally began to crumble.

When the casualties exceeded five hundred, the survivors' courage collapsed. They began to scatter and flee, trying to break out of the tribe.

But there were Lin Zhong's cavalry on the outer perimeter.

One hundred and fifty riders galloped back and forth around the tribe's perimeter, raining down arrows that felled the fleeing jackals. A few who managed to break through the encirclement were also caught up and killed by the cavalry.

Despair spread like a plague through the tribe.

Finally, the first jackal threw down his weapon and knelt in surrender. Then came the second, the third…