The mountain road was rugged, with loose stones digging into their feet.
Ti Meis son Ti Mei was panting heavily, his face caked with sweat and dust.
His chest heaved violently, each breath burning.
He had never been so frantic.
He dared not stop; Plainsmen had been tracking his party, like shadows, the entire time.
This meant one thing: the Plainsmen army behind him did not intend to let him go!
The High Mountain Clan had lived in the High Mountain for generations, skilled at moving through rugged, roadless, dense forest terrain.
But now, a vanguard of Plainsmen could even keep pace with his clansmen.
At least a hundred Plainsmen in the vanguard.
If his party rested even briefly, leaving an opening, those weak Plainsmen would cling to them.
And once the main army arrived...
They would be torn limb from limb!
He knew how he treated the Plainsmen!
And he also knew how the Plainsmen would treat him!
"Red Hand! Let the clansmen rest!" a Burning Men Tribe wildling rasped, his lips cracked and eyes bloodshot, urging him.
Ti Meis son Ti Mei spun around, his gaze fierce like a rampaging grizzly bear: "Stop? Do you want those Plainsmen to catch us?!"
He raised his voice, his tone growing more agitated: "The Plainsmen are right behind us! Like hounds, we can't shake them! Can't shake them! Can't shake them!!!"
He didn't know how the Plainsmen did it!
Moving faster than him in rugged, roadless, dense forest terrain!
He had never experienced such a thing; a helpless fury choked his chest!
Ti Meis son Ti Mei looked at his party.
The party was scattered, many wildlings wounded.
Everyone hung their heads, morale at rock bottom.
In their escape, they had abandoned the spoils of this large-scale raid.
They had left everything at Stone City, unable to take it with them.
They were wolves of the High Mountain, viewing the Plainsmen as sheep.
Now they were the sheep, and the Plainsmen had become the hunting hounds.
They had failed!
A complete failure!
"Ti Meis son Ti Mei!" a Burning Men Tribe warrior stumbled over, his face filled with panic:
"The Stone Crow Tribe and Heier Tribe aren't with the party!"
"Some clansmen said they ran off on their own during the chaos of the siege!"
Ti Meis son Ti Mei's pupils contracted sharply. He grabbed the Burning Men Tribe warrior, lifting him up:
"What did you say? Tell Ti Meis son Ti Mei again!"
Among the High Mountain Clan, the Burning Men Tribe was the strongest, followed by the Stone Crow Tribe and Heier Tribe.
He was shocked by the two tribes' unannounced departure during the siege, followed by immense fury.
The Burning Men Tribe warrior, lifted into the air, struggled for breath, speaking incoherently:
"They left when we were attacking the city!"
"Didn't say anything! Left without a word!"
"And they took their share of the plunder with them!!!"
"Cowards!! Traitors!!!" Ti Meis son Ti Mei violently threw the reporting clansman to the ground, his chest heaving, veins throbbing on his forehead, his bloodshot single eye even more terrifying!
Ti Meis son Ti Mei roared in furious madness, "Cowards!! Traitors!! Traitors!!!"
It was bad enough that the Stone Crow Tribe and Heier Tribe didn't fight hard.
They even preserved their tribes' strength.
And!
They let the Burning Men Tribe become the target to attract the Plainsmen army for them!
To buy them time!
Allowing them to successfully take their share of the spoils back to the High Mountain!
While the Burning Men Tribe got nothing!
He looked around; the surviving clansmen's eyes were filled with exhaustion and bewilderment.
He roared, "How many of us are left?"
The wildling, badly thrown, stood up and tremblingly replied, "Red Hand! The Burning Men Tribe only has a little over a hundred people left! Including the other tribes, there are only a little over three hundred people left!"
"Only a little over three hundred people left!" Ti Meis son Ti Mei muttered to himself.
This number felt like drinking a cup of scorching hot water.
Burning his body, his internal organs.
He remembered the scene when he led over a thousand High Mountain Clan warriors down the mountain!
The High Mountain Clan had never been so united.
Such a large army.
Now, only these less than four hundred broken remnants remained.
The immense disparity and sense of defeat almost drove him mad.
He couldn't explain this to the tribe!
He let out an unwilling roar to the sky: "Ah——————!!!!"
The mighty roar echoed through the mountains and forests, startling countless birds, fish, and beasts.
Just then, the wildling scouting ahead ran back in a panic:
"Ti Meis son Ti Mei! Ahead... ahead, there are iron-clad Plainsmen from the valley blocking the way!"
"Their markings are exactly the same as the Plainsmen who found us before!!"
"How many?!" A fierce light flashed in Ti Mei's eyes, and his anger was reignited.
He was extremely furious now, wanting to tear the valley Plainsmen who gave him false information into a thousand pieces.
"Only four! Riding horses! Wearing iron armor!"
Ti Meis son Ti Mei was so angry he almost burst out laughing; they actually dared to come find him!
A feeling of extreme humiliation surged through him: "Go! Capture them! Ti Meis son Ti Mei will burn them alive!!"
Although the wildlings were exhausted, hearing an opportunity to vent their anger,
A hint of savage light rekindled in their eyes.
They had failed for too long.
They needed to vent!
Moments later, four Plainsmen in luxurious armor, riding strong horses,
Were dragged off their horses! And roughly pulled before Ti Meis son Ti Mei!
"Ti Meis son Ti Mei!!" A slightly older man, clearly the leader of the Plainsmen, shouted, "What are you doing!!!"
"Light the fire!!!!" Ti Meis son Ti Mei sneered. "This is the consequence of you deceiving Ti Meis son Ti Mei!"
The wildlings excitedly tied the four Plainsmen to thick tree trunks.
Soon, dry firewood was piled at their feet.
Torches were brought close, and the dry branches and leaves quickly ignited, crackling.
"No! Don't burn us!" The leading Plainsman lost his previous composure, and urine seeped from his luxurious armor.
"I came to tell you news! Ti Meis son Ti Mei!" The flames scorched his thighs, making him let out a desperate shriek, "Ti Meis son Ti Mei! Mercy! Mercy! You've been fooled! You've all been fooled!"
"Fooled?" Ti Meis son Ti Mei frowned, signaling the other party to speak quickly: "What do you mean?!"
The fire grew larger and larger, and the four cried out in agony.
But to seize the chance to live, the leading Plainsman, as if grasping a lifeline, shouted rapidly:
"The Riverlands people!"
"There's no army at all!!"
"House Deddings only sent a little noble, only sixteen years old, to come here!!"
"Named Arthur!!!"
"He's only sixteen years old!!!!!"
"His subordinates! From beginning to end, there were only three hundred of them! All farmers!!"
"The Riverlands didn't send any reinforcements at all!"
Ti Meis son Ti Mei froze, and the surrounding wildlings also fell silent.
Only the sound of burning firewood remained in the air.
Utter silence.
Only the screams of the four poor souls scorched by the flames.