Avarosa Tribe

"Forget that you have no stamina right now." Ato took out his demonic sword again and sliced off a strong hind leg from the wild boar.

"..." Aatrox felt insulted. He, a dignified Celestial Warrior, was being used by a human to cut meat! But he endured it, not spewing out a belly full of complaints.

Ato carried the more than two-meter-long boar hind leg to the crowd. Many people were secretly swallowing their saliva.

For those who hadn't eaten anything for three days, the appeal of fresh meat was unparalleled.

"This, uh, warrior, are you really going to give us this huge prey?" Rugg maintained the most basic vigilance.

"If you don't mind sharing this prey with the Avarosa Tribe, and treating your tribe's 'god' as food," Ato said lightly.

"We don't mind, we don't mind..." Rugg waved his hands repeatedly.

If it weren't for the foolish Frost Priest insisting on worshipping a wild beast as a god, their clan wouldn't have suffered such a devastating disaster! They couldn't wait to eat meat and vent their anger.

As for sharing with other tribes, that wasn't something to consider right now. If they didn't eat soon, even if they survived today, what about tomorrow? And the day after?

They were already too weak to hunt anymore.

"It's yours now." Ato threw the boar hind leg near the campfire. "Remember to save a portion for me."

The long-suffering crowd surged forward. Rugg took a meat knife from the hastily packed luggage and began to butcher the meat on the spot.

Years of hunting life had given every Freljordian skilled techniques for butchering and cutting meat.

Rugg didn't bother with the hair. He made a vertical cut, scraping off the red and white flesh from under the skin, then cut it into smaller, irregular chunks. He threaded them onto branches and handed them to others, who then placed the skewers over the fire to roast.

People here also barbecue? Ato looked at the busy crowd, and a sense of nostalgia welled up.

The injured Tryndamere clutched his chest and slowly sat down by the campfire.

His wound had already scabbed over. With this healing speed, in a few days, not even a scar would be left.

"Am I still human now?" Tryndamere murmured.

"Of course," Ato glanced at his "masterpiece."

"It's just that you have magic inside you that will gradually take effect. I like to trade. You accept one of my attacks and go find the Avarosa Tribe, and I'll give you a piece of prey. It's a fair trade."

"Also, you need to learn to control your emotions in the future. Otherwise, you will experience more pain than death."

"Thank you for the reminder. I will honor the trade and go find the Avarosa Tribe tomorrow."

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment, until the aroma of roasted meat wafted over. Tryndamere subconsciously swallowed.

Self-healing also consumed energy, coupled with the weakness accumulated over three days, he didn't even have the strength to stand up right now.

"Eat." A skewer of freshly roasted meat appeared in his vision. Ato handed the first skewer to Tryndamere.

"...Thank you."

Tryndamere struggled to raise his hand to accept the meat skewer. The marbled meat entered his mouth. There were no seasonings, but Tryndamere felt like crying.

A warm current flowed down his esophagus, soothing a stomach that had been dry for a long time.

He didn't eat too quickly. From a young age, clan leaders had taught everyone that if they hadn't eaten for a long time, the first meal after obtaining food should be eaten slowly.

After more than an hour of busy work, everyone, full and satisfied, lay down on the fur mats.

There was still more than half of the hind leg of the boar left. One could imagine the enormous meat reserves of that Giant Tusker Boar.

In Freljord, the food portions allocated to people in the tribes could barely stave off hunger. Times when they could eat until their stomachs were full were rare.

It was precisely because their staple food was almost always meat, even if the portions were small, combined with physical labor, that the people of Freljord generally had well-developed muscles.

After resting for a while longer, the survivors got up. With renewed strength, butchering the Giant Tusker Boar was not a difficult task for the strong Tryndamere and his clansmen.

They skipped the bleeding stage. Ato had dragged it for a long distance during the day, and the blood had already drained out.

This was also what Ato found strange. With such a strong smell of blood, why hadn't other fierce beasts attacked him?

After a busy night, the entire wild boar was finally processed. Everyone casually placed the unusable bones under an old tree.

The edible fresh meat was cut into regular strips, simply packaged with hemp ropes and coarse cloth, and then loaded onto the trailers carrying their luggage. Three trailers were filled to the brim.

At this time, the eastern sky was showing the first light of dawn, and the sky was about to brighten.

"It's a pity about the pork bones. I can't even imagine how fragrant the soup would be if I boiled them, but these carts really can't fit any more," Ato said, eyeing the large bones with some longing.

"Then we shall prepare to depart. Thank you again for your gift."

Tryndamere pulled the rope of one of the trailers. The wound on his body had already scabbed over and would fall off in a few days, awaiting new skin.

"Avarosa will protect you," Ato said, mimicking the Freljordian way of speaking. "You will find someone there worthy of your lifelong protection."

"I hope your words come true," Tryndamere nodded, then called out to the others and headed west along the river.

But Ato did not leave.

In Freljord, food was the true hard currency.

Tryndamere and his group, pulling three full carts of fresh meat, were bound to attract covetous glances. The threats would not only come from humans; fierce beasts also lay in wait in the shadows for an opportunity.

Ato had to ensure Tryndamere successfully reached the Avarosa Tribe, so he guarded against possible attacks from outside their line of sight.

He was even more eager to witness Tryndamere's first meeting with Ashe. This was a plot point that was only briefly mentioned in the game.

Ashe was a kind person. After she broke ties with Sejuani of the Winter's Claw, she took in a group of Hearthborn and wanderers, forming the initial population of her tribe.

She wouldn't stand by and watch the pitiful Tryndamere continue to wander the ice fields.

"I smell CP," Ato closed his eyes, a fond smile on his face. He prepared to find a spot to secretly watch when the two parties first met.

What even is CP... Aatrox didn't understand and didn't reply.

Tryndamere and the others took turns pulling the cart and resting, their progress not fast. Ato kept following behind, maintaining a distance from them.

Time flew by. After a week of traveling west, they finally saw a village in a flat river valley. A flag fluttered in the wind outside the houses, bearing a symbol.

Tryndamere knew what it was. It was the symbol of the Avarosa Tribe.