"Do you really think searching like this is going to work?"
In the farthest reaches of the Freljord's north, on a mountain ridge near the northern tundra, a young Avarosan warrior had an energy bar clenched between his teeth, crunching away as he scanned the area with the thing in his hand called a telescope.
And honestly, it really was useful. They'd gotten it from Zaun, and with it, it felt like having eyes that could see for miles. If they'd had something like this earlier, the Avarosans never would have needed to station so much manpower along the border. They would only have needed to build two tall watchtowers and have people stand on top with telescopes, watching the surrounding land.
And right now, that was exactly what he was doing with it, searching for the target they'd been ordered to find: a humanoid creature bigger than a polar bear, with bull-like horns.
"Enough with the chatter. The Warmother has already reached the front. If you keep slacking off and it affects her plans, I won't let you off," the middle-aged warrior beside him snorted coldly.
"I'm not slacking off. I'm just... not used to this. I never thought we'd really form an alliance with the Winter's Claw," the young warrior muttered.
That earned him a hard glare from the older man. Seeing it, he immediately shut up and turned to look into the distance.
There, a long column was moving through the forest.
Squinting, the young warrior made out the scene at the front.
That outlander, the man both Ashe and Sejuani were treating as an honored guest, was riding a massive moose. Behind him was a blue-haired girl with her arms wrapped around his waist, her fluffy blue head bobbing lightly as if she were asleep.
On either side of Logan were Sejuani and Ashe. The two Warmothers seemed to be discussing something with him.
"Lissandra can't take action herself, but Fura and Raelna will help us. That's still a good thing."
"According to Tryndamere, Aatrox was active around this area a few months ago. So right now, I think there are only two possibilities. One, Aatrox is still in the region. Two, he's already headed south."
"The specifics depend on whether there have been any barbarian uprisings nearby, and what condition the surrounding clans are in."
As they moved through the forest, Logan spoke quietly to the two Warmothers beside him.
Ashe lowered her head and gave a soft hum in response. Riding her white wolf, dressed like a ranger, she had Tryndamere behind her some distance back, also mounted on a wolf.
Sejuani, on Logan's left, spoke up instead. "Why can't she act? If she made a move, that Aatrox you're talking about wouldn't stand a chance against her, right?"
"Mm..." Logan fell into thought after hearing Sejuani's question.
For an Ascended, becoming a Darkin was not a form of empowerment, but a weakening.
Corrupted by the Void and turned into a Darkin, that was a curse.
And among them, Aatrox had once been one of the greatest even before he was diminished. In his Ascended days, he had been one of the absolute kings among them. Aside from the Ascended warrior-queen Setaka, Aatrox could practically be called the foremost of the Ascended. Logan had even seen people online say that some developer once claimed Ascended-era Aatrox could go toe-to-toe with Ornn.
Whether that was true or not, whether a developer had really said that, Logan didn't know.
But at the very least, he could infer one thing from it: people understood that Darkin Aatrox was weaker than he had once been. In his current state, he would no longer be Ornn's match.
As for why he had become so much weaker after becoming a Darkin, that was because Aatrox was not skilled with blood magic. Without a good body or a suitable host, his strength dropped sharply. Even so, he was still terrifyingly powerful.
Looking at it that way, Lissandra might actually be able to defeat Aatrox.
As for why Lissandra could not intervene...
"There's no helping it. If Lissandra takes action, it'll trigger chaos across the Freljord," Logan said after a moment of thought.
Sejuani considered that for a moment, then hesitantly said, "Because of Volibear?"
"Yeah. Lissandra can't move. The second she does, there's a very high chance Volibear will show up," Logan nodded.
But a moment later, Logan sucked in a cold breath and said through gritted teeth, "Though honestly, I've got a feeling that even if Lissandra doesn't act, Volibear's still going to show up when the time comes."
And he wasn't just saying that.
Volibear was a war fanatic. In the official lore, the big bear was a somewhat blunt, prideful, battle-loving demigod with a stubborn streak.
There was no need to say much about the prideful part. Thanks to humanity's praise and faith, Volibear had helped humans kill quite a few demigods, carving out a place for the first humans in the world. The official lore made it very clear that Volibear liked being worshiped, praised, and remembered by mankind.
And there was even less need to say much about his love of battle. In the ancient Freljord, if Volibear wasn't fighting, then he was on his way to a fight.
Which meant that if the campaign against Aatrox caused too much of a disturbance, then Volibear showing up...
Heh. That would be completely normal.
Logan rubbed his chin. But when he remembered that Lissandra would still appear when the time came, he relaxed a little.
Then he heard movement.
Looking over, he saw two Avarosan scouts approaching.
"Warmother!"
The two men sprinted to Ashe's side and called out respectfully.
"What did you find?" Ashe asked with a nod, her voice gentle.
One of the scouts hurriedly replied, "About an hour ahead, we found a small clan that had been destroyed. Dozens of corpses were piled in the central square, stacked together. The scene... it was exactly as Lord Tryndamere described."
Behind Ashe, Tryndamere's breathing grew heavier, turning rough and ragged.
The other scout added, "The blood at the scene still hasn't darkened. The blood trapped between the bodies is still warm."
That single sentence carried a huge amount of meaning.
Ashe looked toward Logan, her expression grave. "Looks like we weren't wrong. The Aatrox you mentioned is still in the Freljord, and he's nearby."
Logan nodded. "Call all your people back. Don't spread out anymore. I'm not underestimating the warriors of the Avarosans or the Winter's Claw, but that thing is not an opponent you can handle."
Both Ashe and Sejuani nodded.
Over the last two days, Logan had told them a great deal about Aatrox. Even someone as proud as Sejuani clearly understood just how terrifyingly strong Aatrox was. She naturally wasn't about to gamble with the lives of her people.
"Narrow the search. Keep moving forward!"
Ashe raised the ice bow in her hand high and shouted.
"Yes!"
The Icestone clan was a small clan with only a few decades of history. Though it had been founded recently and was small in number, it had still managed to survive quite well in the northern reaches of the Freljord.
The reason was simple: the Icestone clan possessed excellent fishing and hunting techniques. They lived beside a frozen river, and throughout the year, the clan's main food source was fish. When the river's surface froze over, they could rely on the skills passed down through their family line to fish and hunt on the ice.
And this winter, the Icestone clan had enjoyed a good harvest.
Naya Beaver was one of the clan members, and as the daughter of the clan's Warmother, she had been designated from a very young age as the clan's next Warmother.
In winter, the river ice was as hard as iron. The Icestone clan had laid out the fish they had prepared early, hanging them on racks. In the bitter cold, there was no need to worry about food spoiling, and row after row of fish had been set out, making Naya smile.
"Naya, good afternoon!"
One of the older men in the clan greeted her, his broad smile full of happiness.
How could he not feel happy?
The northern clans suffered greatly under the Winter's Claw, but the Icestone clan hid in the forest, living beside the frozen river. Because they kept no contact with the outside world, they had no need to fear the Winter's Claw at all.
After all, the Winter's Claw would never come here. The place was too remote, and more importantly, there were no wolf packs or other beasts nearby, making large-scale hunting impossible.
For the Winter's Claw, that was a bad thing.
But for the Icestone clan, it was a blessing.
There were only a little over thirty people in the entire clan. If there really were wolf packs and wild beasts nearby, they would pose a massive threat to the clan's safety.
Because of that, the clan members could not help but praise their Warmother's wisdom. It was her wisdom that had allowed the Icestone clan to survive so well.
Naya smiled sweetly and nodded to the older man.
"Naya, are you going to perform something at tonight's celebration?"
"Of course not. I'm the young Warmother," Naya answered, scrunching up her little nose.
She was only thirteen this year. The adults in the clan all still treated her like a child, but she wanted to grow up quickly and become a real Warmother.
Like her mother, Roaldo Beaver, to become someone the whole clan respected.
"Oh, come on!"
"Go get the firewood ready already! We need it for tonight's celebration!" Naya said, cheeks flushed red, as the old man wailed in mock complaint.
There was no way she was going to perform.
The more she performed, the more everyone treated her like a little kid!
Hmph. She didn't want that kind of life at all!
The clan was lively and full of noise. By the time the sky had darkened and night was about to arrive, a huge bonfire had already been built in the central square. Her mother moved through the clan, followed by the warriors of the tribe.
There were eleven warriors in total. Wearing heavy clothing, they laughed loudly behind Roaldo, warmly greeting each member of the clan.
"Light it!"
As the Warmother's command rang out, Naya, as the clan's young Warmother, picked up a torch, stepped forward, and tossed it into the stacked wood.
Whoom—
Flames surged upward, the temperature spiked, and under the cozy yellow glow, the people of the Icestone clan gathered together.
They skewered fish, then went to the sandy ground near the fire and planted the skewers in a row around the bonfire, waiting for the fish to cook.
A smile rested on Naya's round face as she sat down beside her mother.
This year, the Icestone clan would make it through the winter well. Not a single clansman would die to the cold, and not a single clansman would die while searching for food.
How wonderful that was.
In the warm firelight, after a long day of work, Naya hugged her knees and began to doze.
She really was about to fall asleep, but in her drowsy haze, she suddenly heard a burst of chaotic noise.
Groggily, she lifted her head and looked toward the source of the sound, only to see that her mother had already gone over there with the warriors.
Naya yawned.
But in the very next second, a violent gust of wind blew across the bonfire, followed by a voice saying something she couldn't understand.
A string of guttural words spilled out, hoarse and ugly, like a devil crawling up from hell.
"Run!"
Her mother's scream rang out.
"Take the elderly and the children and run!"
Naya instantly snapped awake and shot to her feet.
The moment she stood, a figure flew past her.
Roaldo Beaver's tall body tore through the air and slammed into a boulder. She hit the ground with a muffled groan, and when Naya looked, she saw that her mother's left arm had already been severed. Blood poured from the wound, slowly streaming toward a single spot.
"Mother!" Naya screamed.
"Run, Naya! Run!" her mother roared back.
The warriors of the Icestone clan charged toward one corner of the forest. In the next instant, two of them were split in half, and several more were blasted backward.
Naya began to tremble.
Was it some kind of beast?
No... even if the warriors of the Icestone clan weren't strong enough, and had never mastered the use of True Ice and so could not become Iceborn, they were still brave warriors.
They could fight bears and wolves.
So was it a mammoth?
No, impossible. How could a mammoth appear in the forest? They only lived on the high frozen plains!
Her teeth chattered as Naya saw a towering figure emerge from the forest.
That figure was taller than the trees themselves, black and blood-red all over. There was no skin over its exposed body, only grotesquely shifting flesh. The blood of the fallen warriors on the ground flowed toward that figure, climbing over its body and making it look even bigger.
"#@￥&%"
The devilish voice rang out again as the massive figure stepped from the woods.
Naya's gaze slowly went blank.
Staring numbly at that shape, she saw a creature more than four meters tall, holding a dark greatsword the size of a small hill. It had a humanlike form, yet possessed a pair of curved demonic horns.
Step by step, it walked toward Roaldo, its wicked eyes fixed on its prey with a hunter's gaze.
"A d-demon... a demon!" Naya snapped back to herself, looked at the monster approaching her mother, and then scrambled toward her as fast as she could.
"Run, Naya! Don't come over here!" Roaldo's heart clenched at the sight and she cried out in alarm.
"No, Mother! We're leaving together! We're leaving together!" Naya shouted.
Compared to that huge figure, Naya was like a tiny insect. She ran to her mother's side and tried with all her strength to help her up, trying to take her away with her.
But she couldn't do it.
Her mother had already lost all strength. The weak ice magic she was using kept her from bleeding to death too quickly, but getting back on her feet?
That was impossible.
And the monster saw Naya too.
It glanced at her once, then lifted the greatsword in its hand and slammed it down toward Naya and Roaldo.
"@#@￥@"
As that stream of guttural words spilled out, its evil eyes were full of contempt and cruelty.
"Go!"
Roaldo used the last bit of strength left in her body, trying to shove Naya away.
And Naya was indeed pushed aside.
But then she scrambled right back up, threw herself in front of Roaldo, shut her eyes tight, and spread her arms wide.
"No!" Roaldo let out a shriek of despair.
Naya trembled as she braced herself for death.
The entire Icestone clan had descended into chaos. Amid the screams, the clan that had been peaceful in the daylight now looked like a vision of hell.
But just as the monster's greatsword was about to crash down onto Naya's head and crush her into a bloody paste, three flashes of light suddenly blazed out from another corner of the forest.
Two were blue.
One was green.
In an instant, the green light arrived in front of Naya.
Clang!
Boom!
With a deafening crash, wind exploded outward. A broadsword glowing green was smashed apart by the dark greatsword, and the green figure was hurled backward. Another sword appeared in his hand.
With one hand, he drove the blade down backward into the ground, splitting the frozen earth and carving a long trench through it.
His other arm shielded both the elder and younger Warmothers of the Icestone clan.
Whoosh!
A blue magical ice crystal arrow flew in together with binding chains, slamming heavily into the horned monster. A wash of blue flashed across its body, shards of ice covering it and forcing it back two steps.
But then its body shuddered, and the ice shattered apart.
"@#@￥!" A flicker of surprise appeared in the huge monster's eyes as it looked at the figure protecting Roaldo and her daughter.
In the next instant, that surprise turned into fanatic delight.
Black hair was covered with dew and frost. Logan's right hand trembled as he shook out his wrist. Tilting his head, he looked at the monster in front of him.
"What kind of nonsense are you babbling?"
He planted his feet firmly, lightly swinging the sword in his hand.
"Good evening, Aatrox."
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