"Stand still, all of you! Don't move!"
The leader, speaking a slightly awkward Valoran language, rode atop a massive boar and charged out from the cavalry ranks.
Judging by her appearance alone, this person was a girl who was probably not yet an adult. Her straw-like hair was simply tied up at the back of her head, and her pale, youthful face showed signs of immaturity, as if she were malnourished. However, her emerald eyes were bright and piercing.
Strangely, in such weather and environment, she was wearing very little clothing, only animal hides covering her frail body's private parts.
Behind the girl was a huge, chipped Steel Saber. She was not short, about 1.7 meters tall, but compared to the Steel Saber, she looked small and thin.
The barefoot girl, wearing leather gloves and holding the reins, dismounted from the wild boar and looked at the caravan with one hand on her hip.
"Li Ke, isn't she cold?" Jinx whispered to Li Ke, standing on tiptoe.
Although this is not yet the interior of Freljord, the temperature in the Freljord border area is at least minus twenty degrees Celsius after crossing the snow-capped mountains. The permafrost here never melts, and the trees are always covered with ice and frost, not to mention the thick, ice-like snowfields.
Stepping on it barefoot... Ouch! Jinx couldn't even imagine how her feet would freeze if she did that.
Frozen pig's trotters?
Keep in mind that she was wearing a thick cashmere coat, with three layers underneath for warmth, and even had hand warmers on her back. But even so, Jinx still felt cold.
Where in their lives have these Zaun natives ever seen such a harsh environment as Freljord?
"Her constitution is very special." Li Ke looked at the girl and answered Jinx's question with narrowed eyes.
Yes, this girl was one of the few people in the group who was dressed very lightly.
When it came to this kind of person, a related term immediately popped into Li Ke's mind—"Iceborn."
Iceborn is a special physique found in Freljord. Those who possess this physique have physical abilities and a sensitivity to magic far exceeding those of ordinary people. Based on the concentration of Iceborn in their bodies, the physique of these individuals even surpasses that of the most elite troops in Valoran, the Dauntless Vanguard.
In terms of military skills, the Dauntless Vanguard definitely outclassed this group, but when it comes to potential and strength, the Iceborn is far superior.
Regarding the Iceborn, it's important to know that while it's a rare but not uncommon physique, it's not something only Ashe and Sejuani possess, contrary to popular belief.
In Freljord, there are many Freljord with the Iceborn. What makes Ashe and Sejuani special is that the concentration of their bloodline is far higher than that of ordinary people, not to mention the rumors that they are "reincarnated".
Therefore, seeing the girl dismount and walk up to John, standing five meters in front of him, Li Ke knew that this girl was Winter's Claw, and a minor leader at that.
As for why Li Ke thought the other party was Winter's Claw and a minor leader.
Ah, that's because in Freljord, the only force capable of riding boars on a large scale is Winter's Claw.
Sejuani's mount is named Bristle, a Drüvask Boar. Unlike other wild beasts in Freljord such as frost wolves, moose, and yaks, Drüvask Boar possess a rare Deity bloodline, and Bristle is among the best of them all.
In other words, the Drüvask Boar of Freljord, tracing their origins, are descended from Deity.
Therefore, apart from the Winter's Claw, no other tribe could tame the Drüvask Boar, and this girl was the only one in the group who was lightly dressed and could ride Drüvask Boar.
Secondly, she was the leader and the first to rush out. If she wasn't the leader, then who was?
Li Ke looked at the other person, then at John.
John was lucky, having helped him and Jinx with his kindness, and now it was Li Ke's turn to help him.
Li Ke came to Freljord to rescue Darius, and to rescue Darius, he couldn't avoid dealing with the Winter's Claw. Even without John, Li Ke would have sought out the Winter's Claw, but now, the Winter's Claw has come out on his own.
Do John a favor and prevent his goods from being lost; consider it a way of repaying him for letting Jinx ride in the RV.
Thinking about it, Li Ke prepared to step in.
But just as Li Ke was about to take a step, he stopped.
He overheard the conversation between the Winter's Claw tribe girl and John ahead.
"Where did you come from?"
John quickly replied, "Greetings Winter's Claw. I have returned from the small kingdom of Bering."
"What did you transport?" The girl nodded and asked again.
"Kerosene, charcoal, baking soda, and some food," John reported truthfully.
The girl raised her hand behind her back and waved it gently. The two Winter's Claw warriors riding the snow wolf dismounted, walked towards the tall moose, and then lifted the gray cloth to inspect the goods.
Just a moment later, they called out, "Donna, it's fine. It's just some cookware; no swords or knives."
Upon hearing this, the girl Donna looked at John, raised her chin, and said again, "Do you know the rules?"
"I understand, sir. Look, what do you need?"
Li Ke listened, frowning.
"Everyone's been having a tough time lately. Noxus launched a war against us a while ago. Although they were defeated, many people are still in their territory. Not to mention, the Frostguard Tribe has started to move again. You know them, right?" Donna said to John.
John nodded, his body hunched over, and said, "Yes, sir, I know. I am very grateful for the sacrifices the Winter's Claw has made for us."
He agreed with Donna in his heart.
The Winter's Claw a bandit tribe, but most of the time they don't persecute traveling merchants. They only wage war against each other and absorb other tribes. Therefore, for traveling merchants, encountering the Winter's Claw might be bad luck, but encountering other bandit tribes would be even worse.
Sejuani is a shrewd and great Warmother. She forbade the Winter's Claw from slaughtering the traveling merchants of Freljord because Sejuani knew that it was because of these merchants traveling all over the world that Freljord possessed some good things.
But Sejuani knew that other Warmother were different. In Freljord, where resources were scarce and the living environment was harsh, many small tribes disappeared into history every winter.
To survive, these people would do anything. Encountering the Winter's Claw might only result in the loss of some goods, but if they ran into other bandit tribes, they could lose both their goods and their lives.
The Frostguard Tribe is even more taboo in Freljord. These people obey the orders of a great figure who exists only in legends, and every time they appear, they plunge Freljord into turmoil.
Recently, Frostguard Citadel has started operating again, and for traveling merchants like John, encountering them means certain death.
And at times like these, the only ones who can protect these itinerant merchants are indeed the bandits of the Winter's Claw.
Therefore, John now feels both fear and respect for Donna, but he does not dislike Donna.
"How's your harvest?" Donna asked with a smile, seeing that John was well-mannered.
Her face was really pale, the kind of sickly, malnourished pallor. It wasn't just from her skin tone that you could tell; you could also tell from the bulging veins on Donna's slender arms and the protruding ribs on her taut abdomen that Winter's Claw must have been having a very bad time lately.
"Sir, how many do you want?" John asked tentatively.
Donna was taken aback, then said speechlessly, "I really hate thinking the most. Fine, let me think about it."
Hearing these conversations, Li Ke abandoned his idea of intervening.
Winter's Claw seems a little different from what I imagined?
It seems the Winter's Claw act as protectors of the traveling merchants, and their role is merely to collect "taxes" from them?
After all, Li Ke could see that John didn't object to some of the goods being taken away, which shows that it was a case of one party willing to give and the other willing to receive.
What was the meaning of Li Ke's sudden outburst?
But to be honest, Li Ke originally thought Winter's Claw would be a villainous character, since he found Ashe's Avarosan Tribe more Li Ke than Sejuani's Winter's Claw.
Ashe and Sejuani, one is an idealist, the other a conqueror.
Given Li Ke Kehua's mindset, he would naturally lean towards idealists.
After a moment, Donna raised her head and said, "All I want is food. Just give me 20% of the food from your goods."
John was somewhat surprised. "Why is it only 20% this time?"
John had assumed Donna would ask for 50%, but 20%?
Winter is just around the corner, and winter in Freljord is a test for every tribe, including large tribes like the Winter's Claw.
I remember last year when I passed by, John was surrounded by Noxians. It was Winter's Claw who repelled the Noxians and then took all the food from the caravan. Of course, he only took the food.
And this time, only 20% of Winter's Claw?
"You weren't in danger. If you had been attacked by the Noxians, the Frostguard Tribe, or any other tribe, and we arrived, I would definitely have asked you for 80% of the food after I rescued you. But right now you're just passing through," Donna said earnestly. "Hey, this winter hasn't been easy for us, and it hasn't been easy for you either."
"Since everyone is having a hard time, let's just get by and try our best to get through this winter together," the girl said with a smile.
John looked at Donna gratefully, raised his hand, and shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Quickly unload the grain for the adults of the Winter's Claw tribe, three or four tenths!"
"Sir, we are willing to give you forty percent of our food," John said, looking at Donna. "Could you please escort us to Nerazag?"
"As you said, the Frostguard Tribe has started appearing again, without your protection."
"Alright, but I'll only take twenty men to protect you. The rest will escort the grain back to the tribe." Donna thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. At the same time, she looked at John and said with amusement, "You little old man, you're not exactly honest either."
John smiled, bowed respectfully, placed his hands on his chest in a Freljord gesture, and said earnestly, "Blessings to the great Warmother of Winter's Claw."
Soon, the Winter's Claw tribe took away 40% of the caravan's grain, a total of nearly a thousand catties.
A single moose could perfectly carry this thousand-pound load of food through the snow-covered mountains, while Winter's Claw divided the food into bags for transport, with wolves, wild boars, and moose each carrying over a hundred pounds of food.
After all, they needed to quickly transport the food back to their tribe. Firstly, Winter's Claw was facing a food shortage, and the 40% of the food here could sustain hundreds of people through the winter. Secondly, they wanted to avoid any unforeseen complications and return to their tribe as soon as possible for peace of mind.
Donna, keeping her promise, accompanied the caravan with a dozen or so people, preparing to escort John's caravan to a nearby town.
Li Ke and Jinx did not return to the carriage, but instead walked with the group.
During this time, Donna noticed Jinx and Li Ke. The girl looked slightly puzzled at these two outsiders who were clearly not from Freljord, but she didn't say anything, after all, this was John's caravan.
"They're both from Zaun, and they're here in Freljord for tourism," John explained, noticing Donna's confusion.
After hearing John's explanation, Donna revealed a mocking smile.
"Travel?"
"Oh, coming to Freljord for tourism?"
"This is insane! Just six months ago we were fighting the Noxians, and in the meantime the Frostguard have been out and about, wiping out several tribes. And now they're coming to Freljord for tourism?"
Donna didn't know how to describe the behavior of the man and woman, but she really thought it was stupid.
From their clothes, their physical health, and their facial expressions, Donna could tell that the two were living happily, without worrying about food or their environment. Since they had happiness, why would they take risks?
I don't understand. I really can't understand it.
Seeing that Donna was looking at her, Jinx, who was already very curious about Donna, took the initiative to step forward, ran to the Drüvask Boar, and looked up to greet Donna.
"Get out of the way!" Donna shouted angrily, grabbing the reins tightly as Jinx approached.
Jinx was taken aback, her brow furrowing as if her temper was about to flare. "Are you kidding me? I, Jinx, am just trying to be nice and you're telling me to get lost?"
It's just that the clothes were too thick for her to pull out her pistol, otherwise Jinx would have pointed it at Donna and said, "Say that again?"
But just as Jinx was feeling unhappy, the Drüvask Boar Donna was riding suddenly went berserk. The unfamiliar scent from outside Freljord enraged it, especially since it also carried the scent of humans it had fought recently, which further fueled the boar's fury.
Restlessly shaking its large head, the Drüvask Boar turned and headbutted Jinx with its massive tusks.
"No, Vana, stop!" Donna cried out in alarm upon seeing this.
Damn it!
But sitting on the boar, she had no chance of controlling the three-meter-tall monster and could only watch Drüvask Boar Vana, Juvask, butted the girl who was wrapped up like a polar bear.
Just as gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd, including Donna, who all thought the girl was about to be gored by the Drüvask Boar and die on the spot, a hand suddenly reached out from the girl's body.
The hand was incredibly white, with long, slender knuckles, and it casually pressed down on Vana's fangs.
The next second, veins bulged on that pale hand, and a man uttered a single syllable in a clear voice—
"Roll."
Donna suddenly felt herself being suspended, and then she landed on Vana's back. All around them were floating, shattered ice floes and snowflakes.
She stared blankly ahead. The girl wasn't hurt, because a dark-haired young man appeared behind her.
He pinned Vana to the ground with one hand and stared intently into Vana eyes with his dark pupils.
"Waaah--"
Everyone then saw the wild Juvask let out a fearful howl.