Peril in the Snowy Plains

After saying goodbye to Fiora, I had to honor my promise and help Darius, so we set off back the way we came.

When we left the eastern mountains, I had to pay Alvin another toll. Even the Dauntless Vanguard were tempted by money. Demacia's future was truly worrying.

Darius had me drive while he lay atop the cargo, humming a little tune with a relaxed expression. I took the opportunity to ask:

"Why are you so willing to come with me to Demacia? Aren't you afraid I'll sell you out?"

"Tam said you wouldn't."

"..."

Tam was still as baffling as ever. Darius was certainly a man of courage, too. I couldn't tell whether he trusted Tam's words or his own strength.

"If Fiora had asked me to stay, I might really have revealed your identity."

"Is that what you call loving her? A man's dreams shouldn't end there. If you truly love her, you should care about the things she loves, too. She loves honor, so protect her honor. She loves her family, so help her protect the Laurent Family. She loves Demacia, so protect Demacia."

"If she loves Demacia, how can I serve you?"

"Those things don't conflict. I love Demacia, too, in a way."

Darius loved Demacia?

That was the most ridiculous thing I'd heard since coming to Runeterra. "You sound like you're joking. Why don't you stay in the army instead of wandering around?"

"The army? I stopped belonging to it a long time ago. I was discharged after the invasion of Demacia failed ten years ago. Thanks to that, I gained a much broader perspective."

"A broader perspective? What do you need me to do?"

"Just follow my arrangements. Oh, and make good use of the weapon Fiora gave you. You'll be in a tough spot when you face mages otherwise."

"Of course."

Halfway there, Darius got up and took the reins and whip from me. "Go lie down in the back. I'll drive. We're not going back to Doco yet."

"Then where are we going?"

"To meet an old friend. This disguise should help us keep a low profile."

Darius had shed his usual laziness. He whipped the gray horse pulling the cart, urging it forward at a brisk pace. Watching him from behind, I could almost see him in his younger days, galloping across the battlefield.

We headed north, and the temperature kept dropping. We only slowed when we reached a frozen wasteland. Thankfully, the cart was loaded with furs. Otherwise, we would've frozen to death.

"Strange. I remember there being a trade route around here. How come we haven't seen it after all this time?" Darius wondered.

"We're lost."

Gazing across the endless snowfield, I thought of the Man-eating Bear we'd captured earlier. There were only two of us now. If we ran into another beast like that, we'd be in serious trouble.

I also remembered that Darius had been there during that fight. He ought to know something. "You watched me fight the Man-eating Bear. Can you tell me what happened at the end? Why did it suddenly stop moving?"

"Stop moving? Of course you killed it. What, did you expect it to mistake you for its brother? Hahaha..."

Darius burst into laughter. If that was what he thought, the spectators in the stands probably thought the same. But I'd clearly sensed the bear's fury. It wouldn't have gone down easily, and its eyes had been filled with fear at the end.

If I hadn't imagined it, that fear had been a primal reaction. Was there some creature that could frighten a Man-eating Bear?

Darius shook his head at my question. "The only thing that could frighten a Man-eating Bear is the legendary Freljordian giant ram. They live in the far north, so there's no way one could've shown up in an arena."

"Have you ever thought about what we'd do if we ran into a beast here?"

"We won't. Man-eating Bears rarely come this close to towns. Last time was just a fluke."

"I'm not talking about a Man-eating Bear. Look behind us."

While we were talking about giant rams, I suddenly noticed several animals following us from a distance. I couldn't make them out clearly, but they looked like wolves. Darius confirmed my guess.

"Oh, damn it. Northland Giant Wolves. These beasts are even more troublesome than Man-eating Bears. Hang on tight. We'll be safe once we reach my friend's territory."

Easy for him to say, but dusk had already fallen. The gray horse had been running all day. It had no strength left. Before long, it slipped and fell.

"We're out of options. Let's hope the horse buys us a little time. Run!"

We took off running. We didn't need to look back to know the gray horse had been torn apart. But trudging through the snow was exhausting, and the wolves caught up to us before long.

Darius stopped. "We can't keep running. We'll die of exhaustion before they eat us. Damn it, let's kill them!"

"Looks like we have no choice but to fight!" I raised my spear.

→

Wolves were social animals, especially when hunting. They worked together remarkably well. Darius and I made up our minds: we'd find the alpha and kill it first.

When the pack drew closer, I couldn't help being shocked. Were these really wolves? They were almost as big as African lions, and there were more than twenty of them!

No wonder someone as big as Jeram had been seriously injured. These wolves were enormous!

The giant wolves quickly surrounded us. Darius and I stood back to back, guarding ourselves, and soon spotted the alpha behind us.

It was a magnificent beast, a size larger than the others, with lighter fur. It sat on a snowbank, proud and imposing.

Darius roared, "You pups picked the wrong man to mess with!"

Before the pack could swarm us, we charged at them. The wolves in front quickly retreated, while those on the other sides pressed in.

It reminded me of the ten-man squad in the arena. They'd surrounded me without attacking, slowly wearing down my strength. These beasts were clever. Maybe humans had learned the tactic from them.

Seeing that things weren't going well, Darius quickly fell back. "There are only two of us. It's too hard to fight with more than twenty wolves surrounding us."

"Then what do we do? You used to command an army. You must know how to fight when outnumbered."

"Let's split up. It might look like a bad idea, but it'll scatter them. Fighting ten on one is better than fighting twenty on two."

"All right. Let's do it."

I was getting restless. Partly because I was under too much pressure, and partly because it was so cold out here. I needed a fight to warm up!

We charged in different directions. In the first exchange, I took down two giant wolves—one with a blow to the head, the other by tearing open its belly with my spear.

Darius was even more of a spectacle. He swung his great axe left and right, leaving many of them gravely wounded, though not dead!

He was the Hand of Noxus, after all. He'd never lost a slugging match! And I, Zhao Xin, had the spirit to charge into enemy lines, even if it meant certain death!

The giant wolves clearly hadn't expected us to be so strong. At the alpha's howl, they quickly regrouped.

"What are these beasts up to now?" Darius wiped the blade of his axe with snow, then sat right down.

"You've got guts, sitting down at a time like this."

"We should take the chance to recover. I'm not as young as you."

"So you do know you're getting old. Hahaha..."

The giant wolves stopped attacking and began to watch us instead. When we advanced, they retreated. When we tried to run, they chased us.

It was undoubtedly the worst possible situation. If we kept fighting, we might win, even if we suffered serious injuries. But if we kept getting dragged into a chase, we'd be doomed as soon as night fell!

"Any other ideas?" I asked Darius.

"The only option is to fight as we retreat, slowly making our way toward my old friend's camp. Hopefully, one of his sentries will spot us and send help."

"How long will it take?"

"I'm not sure. At least a day's walk. But I think two hours should be enough to get within scouting range."

We stood back to back again and slowly made our way toward the camp. But we hadn't gone far when a few dark shapes appeared behind the pack. It was too dark to make out what they were.

Could they be locals? I hoped someone passing by would come to our aid, but when they drew closer, I saw another pack of Northland Giant Wolves!

There were around a dozen wolves, and their alpha was another hulking beast with lighter fur. It looked like they'd been drawn here by the scent of blood.

We had no choice but to steel ourselves and fight. We charged again.

The first pack seemed wary and kept retreating, but the newcomers didn't hesitate. They were full of energy and leapt straight at us.

Using the same tactics as before, we killed four more. Then the new alpha joined the fight. It darted at incredible speed to Darius's side, then pounced while he was in the middle of an attack, jaws snapping for his throat.

Darius twisted violently to dodge the attack, but slipped and fell. I rushed to protect him, only to see the first pack closing in, too. They'd spotted their chance to win!

At the critical moment, a sudden battle cry rang out nearby. There was no doubt this time—it was humans!

We rallied and stood together. We didn't have to rush into battle this time!

Soon, a group of huge men came running over. They wore animal bones on their heads and animal pelts over their shoulders, and carried all kinds of weapons. Even in the frozen wasteland, they were barefoot.

Their arrival immediately turned the tide. They charged the wolves and drove them away.

"Are these your friends?"

"No. I'm looking for the Noxian army, not these savages. This is Noxian territory. They can't be here for any good reason. We might be in even worse trouble if we fall into their hands!"