The Curtain Falls, the North Unifies, Little Golden's Grand Discourse on What Constitutes a Nation!

"Alright, then Rilfen, I'll leave the rest to you and Jie. With Bai in tow, the three of you ancient gods should be fine, right?"

Rilfen and Jie had signed the contract. Hearing this, he nodded helplessly, while Jie remained silent, clearly angry.

Rilfen asked, "And what about them?"

"They have other things to do," Li Ke replied.

Ahri and her companions were almost out of time; they didn't have time to find a second or third Old God to coerce them into signing an agreement. Karma and Swain also had to return to their respective countries.

Janna was the same; she had been working hard all day, and her faith power was almost depleted. She had already transformed into a little bluebird and was dozing off on Li Ke's shoulder, clearly needing rest as well.

As for Lissandra, Li Ke didn't command Lissandra. Although the sisters seemed to be very obedient to him now, Lissandra had other things to do and therefore couldn't participate in the Old God Hunt.

Upon hearing this, Rilfen hesitated.

With just him and the three Deity, Lissandra and Anivia, they could roam freely in Freljord. After all, Ornn was currently in hiding, Anivia had disappeared, Volibear had fled, and the Supreme Lissandra was still "one of their own" on the surface. But capturing the Deity and forcing them to sign a pact would be a difficult task.

Because a powerful being like the Iron Boar was determined to escape, Rilfen knew they couldn't stop them.

At this moment, Lissandra spoke up, "I will intervene if necessary."

Upon hearing Lissandra's words, Rilfen immediately nodded. "Okay, I understand."

This wolf is incredibly pragmatic, far too pragmatic.

Li Ke smiled at Karma and clapped his hands, "Well then, that's enough for now, Karma. Thank you for coming to help. If you need anything next time, just let me know. It's anything."

"Could you please help me fight Noxus?" Karma suddenly asked.

"?" Swain had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them and gave Karma a big question mark.

Li Ke also fell silent.

After a moment, Karma smiled slightly and said, "I was just kidding."

"Alright, I'm going back now. If you need anything, Janna can contact me."

"Gurgle~" On Li Ke's shoulder, Janna raised one wing to indicate that there was no problem.

After Karma left, Swain also left a message: "Darius has returned to Delverhold. Thank you for this, Li Ke. Although I really don't understand, I only asked you to help find Darius, and only asked you to come to Freljord and make contact with the Winter's Claw."

How did you manage to get things to this point? But I'm still grateful to you. Darius is very important to me. So, if you need anything, come find me in Noxus."

After saying this, Swain, with a complicated expression, also left.

He had previously collaborated with Li Ke because he knew that although Li Ke was very powerful and protected by the Deity, he could also control Li Ke. Noxus could use Zaun to become stronger, thereby achieving Swain's goals. He trusted his own intellect and the information he had obtained.

But Swain doesn't think that way now.

Because in the face of absolute power, all plans are nothing but empty talk.

After a giant lotus flower emanated from between Li Ke's eyebrows, Ahri knew it was time.

They grabbed Tristana, Ahri, Riven Tristana, who were still somewhat reluctant and hadn't had enough fun, and returned to Soul Blossom.

Rilfen had just taken up his post, and Li Ke didn't know what this ancient Demigod was thinking. He had just been coerced into signing the agreement, so logically he should be very unhappy.

He probably felt coerced but had no choice but to become a bandit, but this guy was different; he was too dedicated. He turned around and took Jie and Bai to find a Deity who looked like a mink.

After thinking it over, Li Ke realized that this guy was probably the type who thought, "If I'm in trouble, nobody else will be either!"

Yeah, Rilfen is probably that kind of guy.

"Then, Lissandra, let's go."

Li Ke looked at Lissandra and spoke.

A hint of worry appeared on Lissandra's usually cool face, a worry that hadn't even appeared during her battle with Volibear. But after a moment, she spoke, "Let's go."

Worrying is useless; what's meant to happen will happen.

As Li Ke said, Freljord should have been united a long time ago.

A divided Freljord can do nothing, but a united Freljord unleashes its power.

Just imagine, Freljord where no one dies in winter, a Freljord where geniuses can live well, the number of powerful Iceborn born on this land in the future will exceed everyone's imagination.

There's no such thing as a genius who has to endure hardship to become one. Many geniuses die in their childhood due to a lack of protection. After all, tell me, how can a teenager possibly defeat Demigod?

For example, Demacia is a good example.

The story of Sylas mentions that when Sylas was working as a henchman for the Mageseekers, he passed through a village and discovered someone who controlled lightning and possessed an inexhaustible supply of magic. Judging by the quality of that magic alone, it even surpassed that of the Radiant One. Who is this Radiant One that Sylas speaks of?

It's Lux.

Lux, nicknamed the "King of Kingdoms, "Lux crushes LeBlanc and kicks Syndra. Her magical talent rivals that of the ancients, standing shoulder to shoulder with monsters like Ryze, Syndra, and Karma, whose strength reaches the Demigod.

Lux's only weakness is her age, and the fact that she missed the opportunity to train in magic as a child due to Demacia's ban on magic.

As a result, Lux's magic increased day by day, changing every single day.

Therefore, Freljord should be unified under the utmost.

In the evening, Li Ke met Jinx.

Sejuani led the Winter's Claw back to their tribe. Jinx, accompanied by Donna, walked at the very front of the group. Upon seeing Li Ke, Jinx whimpered twice and then clung to Li Ke.

She didn't feel lonely because of it; after all, Li Ke was only gone for a little over a day. Ultimately, it was just a habit of Jinx's.

After Sejuani met with the tribe's carefree spirit and heard from Udyr about the day's events, she fell silent.

When Sejuani met Lissandra with Ashe, the complex emotions in her eyes intensified.

When they gathered together and began to discuss what Li Ke had said, Li Ke briefly explained the situation.

Sejuani immediately asked:

"I'm not against alliances and unification, but the problem is, after unification, who should everyone listen to? And whose name should the new clan use?"

Ashe really wanted to say to use Avarosa, since Avarosa is the only legitimate one!

However, she discovered that she was the weakest in the entire group, both in terms of personal strength and tribal strength, so Ashe really thought about it.

Lissandra also spoke, her voice calm and indifferent. "I don't care about this kind of thing. You and Ashe can decide. The Frostguard and I will remain behind the scenes. Just let us know if you need us."

Sejuani nodded. Of course, she knew Lissandra wouldn't care about such things, after all, Udyr said that Lissandra had beaten Volibear today.

Therefore, Sejuani also realized a truth: she had always thought that the Winter's Claw was very powerful and could hold her own against the Frostguard, but now she realized that she had been overestimating herself.

If Lissandra really wanted to sleep with her and Ashe, she only needed one night to wipe Avarosa and Winter's Claw off the map of Freljord.

Therefore, Sejuani was quite pleased to see that Lissandra was unwilling to compete for the title.

The same applies to Ashe. If Lissandra doesn't compete, then Ashe has a chance if she competes with Sejuani.

She does cherish her sisterly bond with Sejuani, but that doesn't mean Ashe will back down or give way to Sejuani in this matter.

She is the Warmother of Avarosa, and she leads the largest tribe in Freljord, with several branches alone numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and Avarosa itself boasting a population of over a hundred thousand.

She carries the weight of her people's trust in her; they have entrusted everything to Ashe, Ashe will naturally not back down because of personal feelings.

So, what followed was a showdown between Ashe and Sejuani.

Li Ke and Lissandra listened silently without saying a word.

Li Ke knew this was a necessary step, after all, it was Li Ke who pushed for the merger of Ashe and Sejuani.

However, the interests after the merger were not clearly defined by Li Ke. Lissandra and Ashe were not enemies, so they could not be treated like Rilfen and Jey. Therefore, when they fought, Li Ke, as an "outsider," could not intervene.

Until Jinx, whose lips were stained with white marks from eating yogurt, couldn't stand it anymore.

"What's so good about being the Boss?"

Jinx muttered something to herself.

Ashe and Sejuani both looked at Jinx upon hearing this. Jinx was able to enter this tent, well, of course, because of Li Ke.

Well, Li Ke can command the gods, and even Lissandra listens to Li Ke now. His foundation is so deep that no one can ignore him. As for Jinx, the fact that she can control Li Ke is enough for everyone to take her seriously.

Even though she may seem like just a quirky, odd girl whose mind is always wandering.

Stared at by Ashe and Sejuani, Jinx paused for a moment, then immediately straightened her back, crossed her long legs, and sat up straight, placing her hands on her boots. She continued:

"I'm saying, wouldn't it be better if you all governed together? Just like our Zaun and Piltover, the alliance is just to unite you, not to actually merge Avarosa or Winter's Claw into another clan."

Jinx said, her tone lecturing, "We're human, not beasts. Why can't you understand?"

"Co-governance?" Ashe hesitated. This was somewhat similar to her own idea. Avarosa wanted to unite all forces and build the largest possible clan so that Freljord people could live well.

Ashe hesitated, but Sejuani did not.

She said with some displeasure, "That's impossible. In Freljord, there are only conquerors and subjugators."

Jinx was speechless after hearing Sejuani's words. She rolled her eyes and mumbled while biting her yogurt spoon:

"Hey, that's the old Freljord now. You guys are about to make contact with the outside world, aren't you?"

Li Ke told Janna to go back and explain the situation. He said that Silco and Jayce would send a large number of Zaunite and Piltover to help with construction, building bridges, opening up mountain roads, and establishing Hextech bases.

In the future, it will only take you half a day to get to Zaun, and it will also take outsiders half a day to get to Freljord. Are you going to still be wearing animal skins and interacting with the outside world like barbarians?"

"What you need to do now is build a nation, not a larger clan. Please understand this."

A nation can encompass countless tribes. Even if you can't change in a short time, you should at least let others know that you are a nation, right?

Sejuani and Ashe fell silent, while Lissandra looked at Jinx with a hint of surprise on her face.

She hadn't expected that this girl, whom she thought only ate and played, was actually quite intelligent.

If Li Ke knew what Lissandra was thinking, Li Ke would probably laugh at Lissandra.

Are you kidding me? Jinx is just... pretty smart, isn't she?

She's so smart!

She just doesn't want to think about or ponder many things; with her intelligence, she learns everything extremely quickly.

The so-called geniuses are not good at interpersonal relationships. It's not that geniuses are unwilling to be so, but rather that they have no interest in it and feel that they don't need to spend time learning and navigating those social interactions.

Furthermore, as the daughter of Silco and Vander, both of whose fathers had been Boss, with Silco now being the head of the city-state, Jinx didn't need to specifically learn. Every day, Silco would call her over when he missed her, and she would listen to what Silco had done that day. Over time, Jinx naturally understood.

She then corrected her, saying, "In my view, the nation and the clan are two different concepts. You probably don't understand what a nation is, so let me explain it simply."

A nation, simply put, is an organization with the legal right to use violence, possessing its own territory, people, sovereignty, and government. And you're probably going to ask, "What is a government?" Jinx rattled off a long list.

Xiao Jin is not shy at all; on the contrary, she enjoys being watched and is very satisfied with the feeling of being the center of attention.

What is the little madman afraid of?

Li Ke stared blankly at Jinx. It wasn't about these things; even a modern person like him wouldn't really understand them. Although sociology provided some relevant knowledge, Li Ke only skimmed through the textbooks and then forgot everything; how could he possibly delve into them?

And Jinx? What she said makes a lot of sense!

Didn't you see that not only Ashe and Sejuani were listening intently, but even Lissandra next to them was listening with wide eyes and pursed lips?

"Therefore, the difference between a state and a clan lies in law and blood ties, and whether there is government control, rather than in the fact that so-and-so is old or so-and-so is an elder, and can issue orders and control a large number of people."

If age alone can grant orders, then what's the point of having talented people? Just grab a bunch of turtles and ask for their opinions every now and then, wouldn't that solve the problem?

"You don't need to worry about it anymore, Sejuani. I know you'll be unhappy. Li Ke told me privately that you admire savagery and yearn for freedom."

But in reality, what you're doing is also moving towards the direction of a nation-state; it's just a matter of which national path to take—city-state, empire, or ethnicity.

Ashe is following the path of Zaun and Piltover, a city-state system, while what you are doing now, in my view, is heading in the direction of Noxus and Demacia, an imperial system."

"What Li Ke wants you to leave is a nation-state, a nation that encompasses all Freljord people, a nation that belongs only to the North."

"To be frank, Sejuani, all you want is to be an empress, don't you?"

Jinx spoke eloquently, and finally gave her own judgment.

She reached out and grabbed the leg of lamb in front of her, eating it with gusto, her mouth dripping with oil, and said with smacking sounds:

"So even without Li Ke's intervention, you would have faced similar problems in the future, because you are already moving towards the direction of an early nation! Look, from clan to tribe, then to chiefdom, which is what Sejuani is going to do, and finally, to a nation."

"So what exactly are you all agonizing over?"

After Jinx finished speaking, she patted Li Ke's thigh and wiped the oil stains from her hands onto Li Ke's leg.

At this moment, inside the makeshift tent, apart from Jinx eating lamb leg and drinking yogurt, everyone else was completely silent.

Ashe was terrified, Sejuani remained silent, and Lissandra was appreciative.

Only Li Ke was left speechless, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

My Jinx isn't just good at science, she understands sociological concepts too!

Look at this, what is genius?

My Jinx is a genius!