Best Friends Break Up

Traveling along the winding mountain road of the Ornkar Mountains, avoiding snowdrifts that could potentially cause landslides, a small team of only a few people rode their Juvask scooters swiftly through the snow.

"I don't think...we're going hunting, are we?"

Herren also realized that these people were well-prepared and had a clear destination, so they didn't look like they were going hunting at all.

Upon hearing this, Sejuani turned around and explained.

"That's right, we've tried hunting before. That Grufin was the biggest I've ever seen in my life. We can't find any prey with more weight... We're going to raid another tribe and take their food out of their mouths."

"Huh? We're going to rob someone?"

"That's right."

Sejuani nodded.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Hmm...it's alright."

To be fair, Herren comes from the 20th century, so he naturally finds this kind of robbery quite repulsive.

But he also knew that Freljord was still a primitive tribal society with extremely scarce resources, and it was still a brutal version of tribal conflict where the strong preyed on the weak. Naturally, he could not persuade a group of hungry ghosts to accept their hunger and live in harmony.

Don't forget there's also the Freljord Great Mother in the team; Ashe is used to this kind of behavior and doesn't have any objections.

They walked for a long time until the moon hung high in the sky, and finally they saw a small tribe not far away.

There were no lights in the village, indicating that everyone had gone to bed, making it an opportune time for a surprise attack.

"Erkas, you take your men in first, be quiet... The three of us will hide here. If anything goes wrong, come back and we'll protect you."

It sounds a bit funny that two sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls want to protect several burly men, but it's the most common thing in Freljord.

Iceborn, or those with the bloodline of ice, are usually found among women. Ashe and Sejuani are the purest examples of ice blood, and their combat power is naturally stronger than that of the strongest ordinary men.

After agreeing on the terms, Urkas and the others set off first with the oil, while Heron and the two sisters stayed behind to provide backup.

"This is the Ibrahim tribe; they share hunting grounds with us..."

Rivals are common among competitors, let alone those who share the same pot of rice. Sejuani's choice of target is quite reasonable.

"If Urcas and his group successfully obtain the supplies, will we be able to leave unscathed?"

Helen still harbored some illusions about the robbery, but Sejuani remained silent upon hearing this.

Just as Herren was about to ask more questions, he caught a glimpse of firelight in the distance.

The tribe, which had already blended into the night, was engulfed in flames within a few breaths, and with the help of oil, the fire quickly spread and surrounded the entire tribe.

"What the hell? Urcas and the others are in trouble?"

"No, everything is going according to plan."

Sejuani said solemnly, then urged Juvask to head towards the tribe to provide support.

Heron stared at the firelight, his brows furrowing. He turned to look at Ashe, only to see that Ashe also looked at him with astonishment on her face.

"..."

"My gut feeling tells me this isn't going to be good..."

Ash nodded with mixed feelings, and the two quickly followed.

The closer you get to the tribe, the louder the cacophony of shouts, screams, war cries, and weeping becomes.

The climate of Freljord has instilled in its people the habit of sleeping fully clothed. Not long after the fire started, many people had already escaped the fire, and the Winter's Claw warriors, led by Urkas, could be vaguely seen chasing after them.

Helen did not see any strong warriors. Looking around, he could only see a few men who were not physically strong resisting. Their heavy clothes were proof of their weakness.

"What are you doing?!"

Ashe asked in surprise, but Sejuani only gave a cold reply.

"I'm just solving the tribe's food shortage problem..."

In the chaos, the children and the elderly of the Ibrahim tribe had gathered together and hid behind several strong men. The tribal chief, who was leading the group, recognized Erkas's face immediately.

"Bastards! You treacherous bunch! We were allies!"

"No longer, you old man!"

"alliance?!"

Ashe and Horen looked at Sejuani, who showed no surprise; this was part of her plan. She simply said coldly.

"Ercas, leave no survivors!"

"Sejuani! Are you insane? You're actually going to betray our alliance?"

Ashe stared at her in disbelief. She had thought Sejuani was going to raid an enemy tribe, but she never expected that the target of the raid was an ally of the Winter's Claw.

The oaths of Freljord are sacred, like those of Avaros and Winter's Claw... Even though Ashe's mother and Sejuani's grandmother had a very unpleasant falling out, the two tribes only severed ties and did not have any overt conflict.

Breaking an alliance is a shameful thing.

"An alliance? No, they were just those black-robed men who forced my mother to be allies with these parasites. I'm here to break that agreement... I know it's not honorable, so I can't leave any survivors... unless I inherit power from my mother."

If Sejuani were the Warmother of Winter's Claw, she could easily bear the consequences of breaking the alliance herself; it would be a simple matter of a word, and there would be no need to go to such extremes... But she is not now, and only by making things irreversible can she force her mother to abandon the alliance.

"I only saw a group of fire-starting households that posed no real threat."

Helen looked at the group of tribesmen dressed in heavy clothing, with blacksmithing tools piled up next to the burning houses; this was clearly a furnace-making tribe.

"No threat? Their very existence is the greatest threat to our tribe!"

Sejuani said loudly.

"My tribe is starving, yet I have to share food with them! Without them, the food hunted in the hunting grounds would surely sustain Winter's Claw, and no one would starve to death! Is it really necessary to even think about choosing between watching your own tribe starve to death or letting them die?"

Ashe was momentarily speechless. Although she couldn't bear to watch a group of innocent Hearthstone dwellers being slaughtered, she also couldn't refute Sejuani.

From her perspective, this does seem to be a very good option.

"Alright! Urcas! Let's do it!"

Sejuani then issued another order. Although she valued Ashe, she always felt that Ashe was being overprotected and that she was teaching Ashe a more ruthless lesson, so she did not take Ashe's opinion seriously.

However, she did not realize that although Ashe was gentle, she was not weak... At this moment, she felt a chill coming from her ear.

She turned her head in astonishment, only to see that Ashe had already taken down her True Ice Longbow, drawn the bowstring taut, and an arrow made of ice crystals was formed within it.

Helen jumped off Juvask, unleashing his entropy power and slamming it heavily towards the fire in the direction of the Ibrahim tribe.

A fierce cold wave swept in, mixed with razor-sharp ice shards and biting wind. The fire-makers hurriedly turned to protect the children, while Urcas and the others, who were the first to be hit, were almost knocked over by the cold wave.

The flames that were spreading behind them were suddenly extinguished by this airflow, and a layer of ice crystals appeared on some of the charred buildings.

Urkas and the others finally managed to stand up, staring blankly at the fire behind them that had been extinguished, and looking in astonishment at Heron, who was holding a warhammer.

"I advise you not to move, big guys."