Damn i never thought about that. Even in chess, you lose when your king gets taken. So it makes so much sense that in a teamsquad, the team has to prioritize the leader's survivability for the next battle. The reason it took me so long to realize this is because most action fantasy neglects the teamsquad dynamic.
In a wuxia, the team leader with the highest cultivation level would run first if shit actually hits the fan but it makes sense because of wuxia's power level system and all man for himself society. In manga, its nakama power or everything is op trash.