True Friends

Jeram had already prepared wine and meat, but upon hearing the news of the barbarian attack, I lost my appetite. ∙∙·▫▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫▫·∙∙

After all, the prophecy of the Sage Tabor requires our help, but the Berserker does not need assistance at the moment.

When Jeram heard that I wanted to help the barbarians, he immediately said he wanted to bring some people with him!

"We've all been put through a lot these past few days, everyone's seething with anger. With your strong support, we'll go back! Even if we can't save anyone, we'll at least get our revenge!"

"Thank you for your help, but don't push yourself too hard. Avarosa's strength should not be underestimated. If things go wrong, please take your men and leave immediately."

"Hahaha... A berserker will never abandon his friends."

Before even crossing the mountain range, the berserkers, led by Jeram, turned back. The others were mostly just looking to vent their anger, but Jeram genuinely wanted to help me. Many others were unwilling to go back, but what truly changed their minds was another tribal warrior— Olaf.

Before I could even ask about Olaf, he appeared out of nowhere and smacked Jerem on the head as soon as he saw Jeram:

"You idiot! Did I entrust the tribe to you so you could lead everyone to be bullied?"

Jeram, unconvinced, slapped Olaf again. "What can I do! You never come back, no matter how brave our warriors are, they can't possibly be a match for Winter's Claw and Avarosa!"

Olaf wanted to make another move, but Hris stopped him. "You two, stop arguing. Jeram did the right thing. It's just that the difference in strength forces us to wander from place to place in order to preserve our entire race."

"Alright, let's talk about this later. I've heard that the Winter's Claw have harmed many of us?"

"That's right, Udyr sacrificed our warrior to the Thunder Lord."

"Then let's go back and fight!"

"But Avarosa is equally despicable. They pretended to accept us at first, and then constantly ostracized us. This is not an alliance at all; they want us to submit completely!"

"Those two deserve to die! Now that we're closer to Avarosa, let's take them down! We'll deal with Sejuani later!"

"Walk!"

Olaf's recklessness greatly boosted the morale of the berserkers, who resolved: regardless of victory or defeat, they would take a bite out of the enemy first!

When Olaf heard that his brother had lost to me, his eyes were full of provocation, but due to the circumstances, he didn't spar with me.

"After we crush Avarosa, I will avenge my brother!"

"No problem, if you're confident!"

After the agreement was reached, everyone began their march. However, Hris brought up Riven, mentioning that a member of their tribe had just revealed her identity. "If we all return alive, I want to hear your explanation!"

"I can explain it to you now. I used to be called Blood Warrior, but I've since left the Noxus army."

"You still dare to admit it under these circumstances?"

"Having doubts in your hearts will affect the battles to come, and I don't want anyone to fight like that."

"Alright, whether they're friend or foe, let's join forces and fight a brilliant battle!"

We are not far from the barbarian homeland now, and we will soon reach the foot of the mountain. The Avarosa army has now surrounded the mountain on three sides, leaving only one side for climbing, which is the cliff that Dick led us to climb back then.

I'm not afraid of climbing cliffs, and the Berserkers are all skilled mountaineers. However, to avoid any misunderstanding from the Barbarians, Riven and I will go ahead first.

As I approached the flat area at the summit, I found people guarding the area. They raised stones and hurled them down, but I deflected them with my powerful gusts of wind.

Riven and I quickened our pace and rushed forward. "Stop! It's us!"

The defenders knew us well; not long ago, many of them had escorted us away. "Why are you back?"

"I heard you were in trouble, so I came to help!"

Upon hearing this, Tryndamere rushed over to greet him. He looked exhausted, clearly having not rested for a long time. "I am extremely grateful, but please leave. This battle is doomed to be lost!"

"Can you tell me what happened? Did we anger them by seeing us off?"

"This is just the trigger. Even without helping you, they would still have taken action eventually..." Tryndamere briefly explained the reasons to me:

After their marriage alliance with the Avarosa tribe, they never truly integrated into the community, partly due to differences in customs and partly due to the exclusion by the Uncle Wolf forces.

Just like with the berserkers, they were initially able to accept the barbarians, but soon began to exploit them in every way.

Due to the marriage alliance, Tryndamere had been holding back until recently when he secretly sent people to escort us, which caused dissatisfaction among many people, because I had personally spoken ill of Uncle Wolf.

Avarosa's solution to this problem was that all barbarians, except Tryndamere, should go south to defend against the invasions of Demacia and Noxus.

If everyone worked together to resist a powerful enemy, it wouldn't be a problem, but the elders of Avarosa were sending the barbarians alone, which was tantamount to suicide.

Tryndamere naturally refused, and Ashe's pleas were to no avail. In the end, she even persuaded her husband to accept the decision.

Enraged, Tryndamere led the barbarians away. Although life had been tough before, it hadn't been to the point of being oppressed or even killed.

But they are different from the berserkers, whose tribe originally came from the east and can now return to the east to find a better environment to live in.

The barbarians are native western tribes. Even if they leave the Avarosa tribe, they still live under their noses. Moreover, they have left in a fit of pique. If they join the enemy and turn around and bite back, then it will be a loss for them.

No sooner had the barbarians left than Avarosa organized a large army to conquer them, ostensibly to eliminate the barbarians, a destabilizing factor, as Avarosa faced a formidable enemy and needed to ensure stability within its borders.

"Perhaps that was their goal from the beginning, Ashe was just being used," Tryndamere analyzed.

Why would they turn against you at such a crucial time?

"Perhaps because they saw our friendship, the elders told me personally that you are spies sent by Noxus."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't tell you. We do have an inextricable relationship with the Noxus, but I have a clear conscience towards you!"

"Of course I believe you wouldn't do something so despicable. With your strength, even enemies would fight you fair and square. But they don't see it that way."

It seems that the prophecy of extending a helping hand not only refers to our assistance, but also to the sacrifices made by the barbarians towards us.

A true friend? It seems I've found the right one!