"No longer with Ornn? Who would be bold enough to do that?" Caleb could not help falling into confusion as he listened to Sejuani.
They continued walking forward, and had already reached the central gathering area of the Iceborn.
There were not only berserkers like Olaf, but also Vulpine Wanderers skilled in scouting.
There were Frost Priests who had joined the group for reasons no one knew, yet clearly served an important purpose.
There were also Wildclaw Shamans responsible for guard duty and battle, as well as longbowmen for ranged attacks.
"Supposedly, it was confiscated by Volibear…"
Sejuani's words made Caleb suck in a sharp breath of cold air.
Unlike Ornn, the "firstborn" of the Freljord, Volibear, the "second son," had an extremely warlike nature.
Brutality and bloodshed were the true guiding themes followed by those who worshiped Volibear.
"But we formed an alliance with the Ursine before. We cannot defy Valhir."
Valhir was another sacred name of that storm god. Only the oldest tribes called him Volibear.
Sejuani had learned Volibear's true name because of her previous alliance with the Ursine.
Those who offered their minds and souls completely to Volibear would gain a bear-like appearance.
They could also receive a tiny portion of Volibear's power.
Although those lightning strikes were already much weaker compared with the true god himself, to ordinary people, they were already a mighty force.
A tribe made entirely of the Ursine naturally possessed terrifying combat strength.
That was also why the Winter's Claw had allied with them before.
But now, if they went deep into Volibear's territory and took that divine artifact without permission, it would basically be no different from declaring war.
"We cannot send too many people. If we don't make it back, have Vrynna take over the Winter's Claw."
"The Second Claw is already on her way to join us," the Frost Priest at the side said in a deep voice.
Caleb frowned slightly. Every time he saw a Frost Priest, that uncomfortable feeling only lingered more strongly.
"Right."
Caleb had already guessed why they were letting him hear all this.
They were absolutely trying to drag him into the job!
"The food still has to be distributed evenly. We can't let the hearthbound suffer too many casualties."
Sejuani naturally had two plans for this trip.
First, if they could successfully steal that great cauldron, and if the rumors were true, then everyone would be happy.
Second, the Iceborn might suffer heavy losses in this battle.
If that happened, the hearthbound casualties afterward would become something the remaining Iceborn could accept.
This operation could naturally be described as a near-certain death sentence, so almost no Iceborn were willing to take part.
Placing the tribe's hopes on an illusory legend was not something Freljordians could easily accept.
But now, there was no better option left for them.
The villages that could originally be raided had now all fallen under the Avarosans.
Within the Winter's Claw's range of activity, there probably would not be any ships carrying abundant supplies for a while.
The sea was about to freeze over, and goods could only be transported here once icebreakers arrived.
Even if they crossed layer upon layer of mountains and went to the harbor to try their luck, they would probably find nothing.
All of this had already been explained in the divination of the deer spirit walker.
"I'll go with you!"
Olaf was the first to agree.
"If I can kill a few Ursine to my heart's content, then get killed by a demigod of that level, that would truly be a legendary way to die."
Caleb narrowed his eyes and looked at this guy, whose brain did not seem entirely normal.
Should he bring Yuumi?
That was the issue Caleb needed to consider most right now.
The advantage of bringing Yuumi was that no matter how terrible the situation became, one teleportation circle would most likely let them get away.
But the downside was obvious as well. Under such wide-range attacks of storm and lightning, even Caleb was not confident he could protect Yuumi properly.
"Yuumi, what do you think?"
Caleb looked at Yuumi, while Kai'Sa's eyes were also filled with worry.
In truth, Caleb could simply let Sejuani go on her own and quietly head to the Avarosan tribe instead.
But the long arrow hidden inside Caleb's body kept giving off a desire to help Sejuani.
Caleb more or less understood then, Sejuani should be Serylda's descendant.
In this harsh environment, the bloodlines of Avarosa and Serylda, Lissandra's sisters from long ago, were already on the verge of extinction.
And unlike Ashe, who had already chosen Tryndamere as her bloodsworn, Sejuani had no husband.
In the Freljord, although women held superior status, generally speaking, marriage was still between one man and one woman.
There was only one exception, the Warmother.
As the strongest woman in a tribe, she usually had several husbands, all of them top-tier Iceborn.
This ensured the excellence and safety of her descendants.
And a Warmother's partners were called oathfathers.
The oathfathers would give everything, even their lives, to protect the Warmother and her children.
Sejuani had not even confirmed her bloodsworn yet, so naturally she had no child either.
In that case, if Sejuani died, the Iceborn bloodline descended from Serylda would likely be severed.
Since Caleb had borrowed the power of Serylda's weapon, he naturally could not just let her go off to die.
After all, the heroes here did not have protagonist armor.
As someone who had personally killed heroes, Caleb naturally knew that better than anyone.
"I think that's a very dangerous decision," Yuumi said, sounding troubled too.
High-intensity lightning strikes could paralyze a person's body, or even make them pass out.
Although the yordle cat was skilled at magic, when lightning came crashing down at her, she would have no way to open the Book of Thresholds.
"You and Kai'Sa stay here, then. Wait for news from me."
Both of them understood what Caleb meant beneath those words.
"If you need to, you can seek refuge with the Avarosan tribe. Their Warmother is kindhearted. She'll let you stay until spring."
"When the time comes, use my name and return to the Twin Cities."
Of course, Caleb was raising a flag as he said all this.
The main reason was that this time, they were going into a demigod's domain.
This was different from Xerath, an arcane energy body that had stolen Ascended power, and different from Renekton and Nasus, who shared Ascended power.
This time, the one they had to face was Volibear, unquestionably ancient and brutally violent.
Although the battle plan was to steal the great cauldron and then run immediately, Caleb did not think this matter would be simple at all.
"This is the only method we have left."
Looking at the sparse number of participants, Sejuani gritted her teeth and spoke.
It was not as though the others could be blamed for not going. First, they had previously allied with the Ursine, and second, the power behind the Ursine was Volibear.
Meanwhile, the Winter's Claw had no backing at all. Otherwise, why would they be worried about food?
In deep winter, even hunting would probably yield very little.
Seeing that the others still remained silent, Sejuani sighed softly.
This trip was truly even more dangerous than their previous raid on the Noxian fleet.
She patted the massive boar beside her, the one named Bristle, and said with iron resolve, "At dawn tomorrow, we head for the territory of the Ursine."
"We will obtain that great cauldron, no matter what it takes, and save our people's lives!"
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