"Next time, if I hear something that sounds wrong…"
As Kai'Sa spoke, she bared her teeth slightly at Caleb, showing him those sharp little fangs.
"I don't want to know how many Void creatures those teeth have bitten through."
Kai'Sa gave him a beautiful smile, then walked into the tent.
"Wait, that's not right!"
Looking out over the vast camp, Caleb suddenly realized something.
"Where the hell am I supposed to sleep?"
Judging by the look Kai'Sa had just given him, if Caleb went in there now, he was probably going to get a full serving of Icathian Rain.
Mm… Should he sleep outside for another night?
No, no, no… The wind was already this strong out here. If he slept outside for a night, Caleb figured he would freeze solid.
Caleb decided to start with that yordle cat instead.
He roasted a large sea fish by the campfire and sprinkled it with spices he had brought from Piltover.
"Who's tempting people with food in the middle of the night?"
A shout rang out like thunder on flat ground. Yuumi did not come, but Olaf did.
"Why are you eating extra food in the middle of the night?"
Olaf was poking his head out from his tent.
"Mm… Forget it…"
Caleb thought for a moment. This guy relied on anger to keep his body warm. Chances were, the smell inside his tent was pretty intense.
He might as well go find Kai'Sa.
Yuumi, who had poked her head out after smelling the food, was immediately locked onto by Caleb. He grabbed the grilled fish and slipped straight into Yuumi's tent.
Sure enough, Kai'Sa was sitting inside too.
"Well…"
Seeing that Kai'Sa was not saying anything, Caleb felt a little awkward.
"Want some grilled fish?"
Under Yuumi's resentful gaze, Caleb handed over the perfectly roasted fish in his hand.
"You don't have a tent?"
Looking at Caleb's expression, Kai'Sa guessed most of it.
Caleb and Kai'Sa could be considered the two odd ones in the forward group. Ordinary Iceborn would not light a fire inside a tent unless it was for extra food. Caleb and Kai'Sa, on the other hand, were the type who slept more comfortably when there was a campfire inside the tent.
Sitting around the fire, Caleb finally felt his hands and feet, which had grown somewhat numb from the cold wind outside, begin to loosen up again.
"Then tonight…"
Kai'Sa's face flushed slightly, and her next words became too quiet to hear clearly.
Caleb pulled up his hood, wrapped himself in his cloak, and immediately sank into sleep.
Sure enough, he felt much more at ease in a tent with a fire.
Watching Caleb fall into a deep sleep, Kai'Sa also fell silent.
This time, Caleb had truly escaped death, just like that girl who had fallen into the Void many years ago.
But what Caleb had faced was even stronger, even more despair-inducing, a demigod.
Kai'Sa also knew that Yaanogel had returned to Shurima.
Did Caleb perhaps still have that many life-saving tools on him?
Kai'Sa did not know. But seeing Caleb sleep so soundly, she guessed that he had not slept well these past few days either.
That was only natural. Even if he had escaped from a demigod's grasp, he still had to fear the pursuit that could arrive at any moment.
Kai'Sa had witnessed true demigod power before, in the vast deserts of Shurima.
Yaanogel's fighting style, which focused entirely on offense and never defense, had also left a deep impression on Kai'Sa.
In that earthshaking battle, Kai'Sa had come to understand her own weakness far too clearly.
Seeing Caleb's breathing gradually become even, Kai'Sa stroked Yuumi, who was gnawing hard at the grilled fish, signaling for her to be quieter.
The wind howled, and snow drifted through the night.
Overnight, the camp was covered in white once again.
When Caleb opened his eyes, the entire camp had already begun to bustle.
The soup in the great cauldron appeared every day, but even a cauldron large enough to stew Bristle in would only be enough for each person to drink one shallow little bowl.
"Our stored food is still being consumed nonstop."
Sejuani let out a long breath.
Bristle beside her also twitched his nose twice, only to spray out a puff of white mist.
"What are you planning to do?"
Caleb moved his body a little, then put on his cloak.
After all, in this camp, he still counted as an outsider.
"We have to survive the winter one way or another. Since the weather is cold, then let the Children of Ice perish."
Sejuani mounted Bristle and lightly shook the reins woven from fur.
Caleb raised his eyes and looked at the dark clouds in the distance, feeling somewhat worried.
This time was different from Shurima, and also different from the Twin Cities.
What he had suggested was the destruction of an entire tribe.
Caleb was no saint. He did not have some spotless moral obsession.
However, even though Caleb had stepped into the threshold of T3 long ago and was already stronger than some at the peak of the mortal world, he still viewed every life equally.
"Do you know why the Children of Ice gave their tribe that name?"
Perhaps seeing Caleb's worry, Sejuani spoke.
"Yes."
Caleb had to consider whether he could truly take responsibility for the lives that would be sacrificed.
"There are many tribes in the Freljord, and every tribe believes in different creeds."
Caleb did not fall behind either, pushing that huge cauldron along.
Kai'Sa silently used Supercharge and walked to Caleb's side.
"And the Children of Ice emphasize that everyone in their tribe must be pure-blooded Iceborn."
As she said this, even a rare flicker of anger appeared in Sejuani's eyes.
After all, during those days around Avarosa, she had heard quite a few rumors.
"The Children of Ice do not treat hearthbound or those of mixed blood as people. They treat them like slaves and livestock."
As she spoke, a trace of killing intent also entered Sejuani's voice.
"So they're very strong, then?"
Caleb felt slightly more at ease. Looking at it this way, those Iceborn could be captured first and slowly persuaded afterward.
When the time came, if they stubbornly continued to insist on their beliefs, then death would be used to prove them wrong.
The Winter's Claw excelled at raiding. From Demacia to Noxus, the range of their raids had continued to expand.
However, the rise of Avarosa had given many weak tribes protection.
Naturally, the relationship between the Winter's Claw and Avarosa had become utterly hostile.
"Their strength cannot be underestimated."
Sejuani's voice remained heavy.
The Children of Ice could be considered another powerful force outside the three major powers, one capable of contending with them.
After all, reproduction between pure-blooded Iceborn, along with the strong encouragement of it, could strengthen the tribe's combat power. At the same time, those of mixed blood and the hearthbound no longer had any way to live as people.
"The raids of the Children of Ice are different from those of the Winter's Claw. Whether the conquered tribes resist or not, they take in the Iceborn and hearthbound among them."
"In other words… forced absorption?"
Caleb felt a little confused listening to it, but he still understood what Sejuani meant.
"Then what about those who would rather die than submit?"
Caleb suddenly thought of that.
"The Children of Ice do not respect their wishes."
With that simple sentence, Caleb's thoughts began to race.
"We're almost there."
Sejuani's words instantly put Caleb on alert.
"Are we about to fight?"
Caleb asked in a low voice.
"No."
Wearing the helmet forged from True Ice, Sejuani looked far into the distance.
"Chief."
Vrynna hurried over from the flank and quietly asked for instructions.
"We did not come here to fight them this time."
Sejuani gave her orders.
Caleb looked at the longbow totem and secretly broke into a cold sweat.
The Winter's Claw and Avarosa were now practically face-to-face.
Could these two tribes truly coexist peacefully?
Not long afterward, Caleb saw that graceful figure he had so often seen in the beginner tutorial walking slowly toward them.
Of course, there was also a burly man carrying a massive blade.
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