Each Strives

Sejuani left, taking the looted food with her, and disappeared into the snowy forest.

Ashe gripped her longbow tightly, snapped out of her daze, and looked at the group of hearth dwellers, a strange sense of unease rising within her.

Although she appeared very determined in front of Sejuani, she herself was unsure whether she could actually do it.

This feeling intensified as the group of furnace workers approached her and knelt before her.

"Your mercy... I am Zura Axe Handle of the Ibrahto tribe."

The leading man bowed his head to Aisha.

Seeing the men and women kneeling in a row, Ashe looked at Herren with some helplessness.

Herren looked at him, but offered no encouragement, no doubt, and was utterly devoid of emotion, as if he were merely witnessing something.

Ashe took a deep breath. At that moment, she finally felt something pressing down on her shoulders, and it wasn't just hot-blooded talk.

She composed herself and spoke loudly.

"I am Ashe of Avarosan, daughter of Glenna, I am the Longbow!"

"Glenna..."

The Avarosa tribe has been a powerful tribe in the North for many years, and Glenna is the most powerful ice bloodline in many years. Countless people have challenged her, but she has never been defeated.

Hearing this title clearly made the group of furnace operators even more convinced.

"We are at your command, Aisha of Avarosa."

Ashe stepped forward and helped Zula up.

"Rise... Whether you are of the Frostblood lineage or the Hearth-Born, I will not treat you as slaves. I acknowledge you as Avarosan, my closest and dearest relatives."

Aisha's voice was indescribably warm, and her youthful face was very gentle. She looked down at Zula, which made Zula feel a little dazed.

"Fate must have chosen you to save us..."

Ashe smiled without saying a word, only looking at Herren.

Herren smiled back.

……

……

"The tribe has a boat, we can head to the Ice Sea by noon today... We don't have enough food, we need to hurry."

As Aisha watched the tribespeople of Ibrahim busily searching for things to take with them amidst the ruins, she walked over to Heron and spoke.

"Even though there are no oarsmen and food is scarce,... the strong should do the impossible, right?"

In front of the hearth dwellers, Ash tried his best to appear composed, like a steadfast leader, giving these poor people who had just lost their homes confidence.

But in front of Herren, she could at least show some vulnerability.

She had no confidence at all, relying only on the saying "the strong do the impossible." Similarly, she believed that crossing the icy sea was probably impossible.

"Don't worry, Ashe, you will succeed, and you will rebuild the Avarosan Horde, and it will be an even stronger Avarosan... You will be an excellent Warmother."

Herren gave his answer decisively, his tone full of certainty.

Even without the backing of a storyline, just looking at Ashe's performance, he felt that Ashe was capable of achieving great things.

But his eyes were always fixed on the direction Sejuani had gone.

"What's wrong? Are you... feeling sad?"

"Me? No, I haven't known her for very long, and our relationship isn't that close yet... But what about you?"

Upon hearing this, Ashe's eyes dimmed, she sighed, and after a long while, she spoke.

"No matter what, I will never see her as an enemy... She is my sister, always will be."

"..."

Herren didn't reply, but just rubbed his hair, clearly hesitating about something.

The meticulous Ashe also noticed this, and after thinking for a moment, she said.

"Actually, you don't need to come with me... The Warmother of Winter's Claw won't accept me, but that doesn't mean she won't accept you. You'll have stable accommodation and food there, and Sejuani will take care of you..."

"No, that's not what I was thinking..."

Herren has never been afraid of hardship. Back when he transmigrated, it was a truly earth-shattering start.

Is it really that hard to survive on the icy sea? Well, maybe you could try experiencing the Freljord winter naked when you were five or six years old.

Following Ashe isn't a hardship, it's a blessing.

"Ashe, you're a good person, a good person in the literal sense. I can help you, but I don't need to change anything about you... But Sejuani is different."

Herren nodded his head.

"She's stubborn. You stopped her killing today, but what about tomorrow? What about when she becomes a War Mother? If she's destined to achieve nothing, that's fine... but I'm certain she'll become a powerful leader in the future. Then, what will happen to the furnace-makers and ordinary people under her command?"

Harren knew the general plot development: in the future, Avarosan would rise, as would the Winter's Claw, and the two tribes would rival each other, ruling Freljord together with the Frostguard.

Ashe will create an Avarosan where warriors, iceborn, hearth dwellers, and even the old and weak are treated equally, and this will be achieved even without Harren.

But the Winter's Claws will become a brutal and plundering tribe...

When tragedy strikes like today, without Ashe, who will stop it?

Udyr? He's not bad, but he's also a traditional Freljordian. Ashe is just an anomaly among anomalies... Udyr wouldn't reject the Freljord's millennia-old law of the jungle either.

After all, strife has nurtured Freljord, that's Udyr's own words.

If Harren needs to change anything, then Winter's Claw is the place that truly needs him, not the destined-to-be-glorious Avarosan.

"So, you're still going back to Winter's Claw?"

Ash understood what Harren meant, but she wanted to do everything she could to keep him. Unlike Harren, she didn't have any foresight; she only knew that without Harren's company, she wouldn't feel as confident as she did now.

"Otherwise what? You're there to protect the Hearth of Avarosa, but what about the Claws of Winter? We can't rely on Sejuani."

Herren smiled.

"Although it would certainly be more comfortable to follow you, as you said... the strong should do the impossible."

Aisha was silent for a moment, then lowered her head slightly... She naturally wanted Herren to stay by her side, but she couldn't bring herself to ask him, nor could she nod in agreement.

"This will probably be very difficult, Heren... May the gods bless you."

"It's nowhere near as difficult as it is for you, Ashe. Although I'm confident you can do it, to be honest... I can't figure out how you did it either."

It's truly unbelievable how Sejuani went from leading a group of Hearthstone warriors to becoming the Mother of Avarosa... Sejuani will have Udyr and Olaf later on, but what about Ashe? Even when Tryndamere came to her for help, Ashe had already established her own empire.

Herren took a ring off his finger and handed it to Ashe.

"This can give you more energy and make things a little easier on the icy sea."

Ashe raised an eyebrow as she looked at the familiar ring that Herren handed her.

So there's more than one of these?

"Don't be discouraged, believe in yourself, Ashe."

Ashe looked into Herren's eyes, her eyelashes fluttering, and finally made up her mind, slowly accepting the ring.

"Avarosa will always be your friend, Heron of Hearthland."

……

……

Sejuani walked at the very front of the procession, riding on her guivask, her head bowed so that no one else could see her.

Even though she hated being called a crybaby, she couldn't help it... She cried again, and despite her eyes stinging from holding back her tears, she couldn't stop them from flowing.

Ash was her only childhood friend, but they parted ways just hours after becoming best friends.

What about Herren? Although the two had only known each other for a little over a week, Herren gave her a strange feeling. It was as if he knew everything, knew her shortcomings, and had witnessed her embarrassing moments, yet he strangely and firmly believed that she would become an excellent war mother and recognized her abilities.

This inexplicable trust and acceptance was something Sejuani had never experienced from her family, and she cherished it deeply.

But now, she has lost both of them.

Urkas and the others dared not approach Sejuani, for fear of angering her, and could only silently follow behind the group.

Just then, someone noticed the figure in the distance.

"Boss! Someone's here!"

"..."

"Is it...is it that furnace maker?"

"!!"

Sejuani immediately turned around and saw that it was indeed Harren carrying a warhammer, walking quickly toward them.

He had no mount, but his feet never sank into the soft snow, and he still moved with incredible speed.

A flicker of surprise crossed Sejuani's face, but she quickly recovered, hurriedly wiping away her tears and adopting a serious expression.

Sejuani spoke coldly only after Heron walked up to them.

"What are you doing here again? I'm not giving you any more food!"

"Ha... The War Mother has approved of this warhammer. You are not the War Mother yet, so you have no right to drive me away, Sejuani."

Helen said with a smile, walking over to the Juvask that Erkas was leading, which was piled high with looted supplies.

"Erkas, move the goods up there. Catching up with you guys is exhausting."

Urkas looked at Sejuani with a blank expression, and seeing that Sejuani still had a cold face, he assumed that Sejuani disagreed, so he did nothing.

Seeing that he didn't move, Sejuani gave him another stern look, which startled Urkas, who was momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Fortunately, Helen didn't stand on ceremony and went about organizing the goods on her own before climbing onto Juvas's back... and Sejuani didn't stop her either.

Urcas was somewhat helpless, hoping that Herren would stop involving him... He couldn't be sure what his boss was thinking.

"Heh... What? You're not following Ashe anymore? Or have you finally realized how foolish she is?"

Upon hearing this, Herren immediately defended himself to Sejuani.

"No, she's not stupid. On the contrary, I trust her completely, to the point that I'm certain she can protect the furnace dwellers just fine without me... But you might not be so sure. I think it's better for me to stay with you."

"Hmph, I don't need anyone telling me what to do."

"Oh... shall I go then?"

Sejuani was momentarily speechless. Being proud, she was too embarrassed to change her mind, so she could only say something forced.

"You wouldn't mind running back, it's too far..."

Seeing Harren's teasing gaze, Sejuani's face flushed red, and she turned to look at Urkas.

"Who told you to stop! Weren't we supposed to be back before dawn?!"

Urcas: ...