Fei Cai shouted, "Young clan leader, you're finally awake!"
The simplehearted voice warmed Ma Yingjie's heart. Struggling to sit up, he winced in pain, spat out a mouthful of blood, and asked with difficulty, "Where is this?"
Fei Cai scratched his head and said apologetically, "I don't know where this is either, but I think we escaped the battlefield."
"The battlefield?" Ma Yingjie was startled and immediately asked, "How did the battle go?"
"We lost, young clan leader. Many people are fleeing, and even more have surrendered," Fei Cai replied.
Ma Yingjie's face turned deathly pale. His strong body trembled, and he was on the verge of fainting again, but Fei Cai supported his back.
Zhao Lianyun stood to the side, watching the once brilliant young clan leader of the Ma family now brought to such a miserable state, and she felt a pang in her heart.
"Sigh, Ma Yingjie was actually quite promising for his age, but unfortunately, he ran into the Wolf King Chang Shanyin. It's not that you didn't try hard, but the opponent is too monstrous..."
Ma Yingjie closed his eyes, and two tears silently flowed down.
After a long while, he finally opened his reddened eyes, turned to look at Fei Cai and Zhao Lianyun, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Was it you who saved me?"
Fei Cai and Zhao Lianyun nodded simultaneously.
"Young clan leader, what do we do now?" Fei Cai asked.
Ma Yingjie's face darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "We go back! This battle was a defeat for the Ma family, but in the Warm Swamp Valley, we still have some of our people."
Back then, before the Heroes Assembly, the Ma family conspired to create internal strife in the Fei family, swallowed them up, and occupied the Warm Swamp Valley. The Ma family's higher-ups, just in case, had stationed some of the old, weak, and sick in the Warm Swamp Valley. If the Ma family won, they would be brought over. If the Ma family lost, they would be the seeds for the continuation of the tribe.
"Return to the Warm Swamp Valley? But we have no water or dry rations. We'll have to travel so far..." Zhao Lianyun frowned.
"Hmph, little girl. As long as I'm here, we'll have plenty of water and food. Don't worry," said Ma Yingjie.
The three of them traveled together. Along the way, they encountered many fleeing members of the Ma family, whom Ma Yingjie gathered one by one.
"Young clan leader, I never thought I, Ma Youliang, would get to see you again!" Ma Youliang said, choking with tears when he saw Ma Yingjie.
He was a third-rank elder of the Ma family, now lying on a stretcher, missing one arm and with a broken right shin — severely wounded.
Ma Yingjie looked at him, and his own eyes moistened with emotion. "Elder Ma Youliang, it's so good to see you!"
Although he had gathered many clan members along the way, most were ordinary people. Ma Youliang, though severely injured and disabled, was still a Gu Master.
With this battle, the Ma family suffered a devastating defeat. Before the war, they were a large tribe with such deep foundations that they could challenge super families. But after the war, the Ma family had completely fallen to the status of a small tribe, their strength declining to the depths — a case of peaking and then declining. For the Ma family now, every Gu Master is the most precious strength and hope of the tribe.
"Young clan leader, the old clan leader has fallen in battle," Ma Youliang burst into loud sobs, bringing tragic news to Ma Yingjie.
Ma Yingjie's body shook violently. Despite being mentally prepared for it, upon hearing this news, his heart was filled with endless grief and sorrow. He gritted his teeth, his whole body seeming to turn into an iron statue. After a moment of silence, he forcefully wiped away the tears from his eyes.
"Then from today, I am the clan leader of the Ma family! Elder Ma Youliang, you must pull yourself together. Our Ma family has lost, but we have not been destroyed. Back then, the ancestor Juyang set a rule that the bloodline of the Golden Family cannot be completely slaughtered. The Ma family has already paid a heavy price for this war, and even the Hei family cannot exterminate us. We will return to the Warm Swamp Valley, we will rise from defeat. I believe that the glory of the Ma family will not be dispersed by this."
Ma Youliang stared blankly at the young clan leader before him; through his blurry vision, he seemed to see the figures of Ma Shangfeng and Ma Zun. He stopped sobbing, and hope welled up in his heart again. The next moment, he replied in the deepest voice, "Clan leader, I believe too!"
Victory is king, defeat is outlaw.
While Ma Yingjie was fleeing in misery, in the countless tents of the Hei family's allied army there were celebration banquets, cheering crowds, warm bonfires, and abundant delicacies.
"We won, we won!"
"The Ma family's ambition was too great; they actually dared to try to become a super tribe. That ambition ruined them."
"Congratulations to Lord Hei Loulan, becoming the master of the royal court!"
"Honored Wolf King, please allow this humble one to toast you."
In the royal tent, cups and glasses clinked as well. Apart from fine wine and dishes, there were beautiful and passionate women from the Northern Plains, dancing gracefully. Those present were all the leaders of the Hei family's allied army, strong figures both great and small. Their cultivation was at least at the fourth rank, making them the brightest talents of the current Northern Plains.
Hei Loulan sat in the main seat, and on his left, in the seat of honor, sat Fang Yuan. Originally, Fang Yuan's seat had been pushed back due to the arrival of Taibai Yunsheng and several fifth-rank clan leaders. But after the third great battle with the Ma family, Fang Yuan revealed his peak fifth-rank cultivation, and single‑handedly fought three master enslavement path experts, killing strong fighters like Cheng Long and Wu Ye.