Military Preparations

The looming turmoil on this continent did not dampen the joy of the Winter's Claw people, or rather, it only affected Heron to some extent.

Sometimes, knowing too much isn't a good thing... Herren was actually a little envious of these guys.

With the delivery successfully completed, Heron also brought good news about expanding cooperation, allowing Sejuani to finally unleash her full potential.

She quickly issued a new directive to her personal diplomat, Udir—a grand alliance meeting, inviting all tribes with whom she had established trade relations to forge friendships.

Whether this friendship is based on equality or on the authority of the Winter's Claw is what Sejuani needs to consider.

As a renowned spirit walker throughout Freljord, Udyr was naturally suited to negotiation.

Meanwhile, Herren returned to his furnace with a heavy heart. This trip had broadened his horizons as he had hoped, but it had also disrupted his plans.

He originally planned to do business steadily with the Noxians while farming and gradually absorbing the surrounding tribes. This process didn't need to be fast; he just needed to maintain stability. After all, Freljord had plenty of time.

But now, things are about to change.

Currently, the First Noxian War is imminent, meaning that Noxus is still under Darkwill's rule.

Any gamer familiar with this villain, who appears in the backgrounds of many hero stories, is probably quite well-known and has heard of him to some extent.

In a sense, he was the last emperor of Noxus. Swain, who succeeded him, abolished the title of emperor through a council of three.

If Heron remembers correctly, Noxus's invasion of Freljord occurred at the end of the reign of Darkwill, the war-mongering emperor. After Ionia's war suffered setbacks, his downfall was caused by his constant warfare that drained the nation's resources.

In other words, Herren must now prepare for a possible Noxian invasion, even though they currently maintain a good relationship.

Herren's other planned projects must be scaled back. The objectives remain the same, but the time required must be reduced, and more time should be devoted to military preparations.

In short, the goal is to focus our energy on the military.

After returning to his furnace, Harren swept the newly forged halberd aside and began studying the equipment specifically designed for Winter's Claw to equip himself.

And the armed personnel can no longer be scattered and disorganized... They need a dedicated fighting force.

He planned to produce the finished product first, and then discuss with Sejuani so that she could personally organize such a team.

……

……

When Harren arrived at Sejuani's tent, Sejuani spoke first.

"One good news, one so-so news—which do you want to hear?"

"Good news."

Harren found a seat and sat down. Sejuani, without any airs, poured Harren a glass of wine and handed it to him personally. The wine jug seemed to have been warmed by the fire, so the wine was warm and cozy, losing some of its flavor but gaining more warmth.

"The good news is that just now, a tribe officially requested to merge with our tribe. Remember 'Heat Ash'?"

"Oh! Them, that's not surprising..."

The Ash Tribe is actually a small tribe, and most of its members are blacksmiths who make a living by forging iron or scavengers who dig for ore in the mines.

Heron was deeply impressed by this tribe because, due to the expansion of the Winter's Claw, this tribe contributed dozens of people to the hearth workers who came to the tribe to work.

With a tribe of just over a hundred people, and dozens of them running away, this tribe was essentially no different from selling themselves to the Winter's Claws.

"Your method worked very well. Their people returned to the tribe with food just yesterday, and their chieftain came knocking on their door today..."

Sejuani's joy was palpable. Although it was just an insignificant little tribe, they had made a good start... Even though they were the Hearthstone tribes that Sejuani had previously looked down upon, she intended to treat them all equally and generously, setting an example for other small tribes.

"But those large tribes might be more difficult to deal with. I've already decided that if necessary, we can take some tough measures."

"You can decide that yourself... So, what about the neither good nor bad news?"

"It's neither good nor bad..."

Sejuani's smile slowly faded, and she sat down.

"That's right, weren't our people sent out to search for mineral veins and contact other tribes? According to the tribes in the south, someone saw traces of the Avarosa tribe under the glacial lake further south..."

"Ashe?!"

Herren's eyes lit up immediately.

Sejuani simply took a slow sip of her drink.

"I never expected that she would actually lead that group of people out of the icy sea... I really don't know whether I should be happy or sad."

Of course, there is happiness. Ashe is Sejuani's only childhood friend. If she disappears for too long, she will most likely die on the icy sea. At that time... Sejuani will be heartbroken.

But Ashe really came out of it, which proved that Sejuani was wrong... The strong should do the impossible, Sejuani didn't do it, but Ashe did.

This made her feel somewhat embarrassed.

"That's good news. I told you she could do it... You don't think Ashe is a threat to you, do you?"

"Ha, how could that be? Their tribe is far away, and they won't have any connection with us in the short term... Even if they do, I won't be afraid of them."

Sejuani said confidently, then with a touch of emotion.

"I made some inquiries... I heard the new Avarosan tribe already has several hundred people, it's unbelievable... How could Ashe, with her cowardly nature, have built up a sizable tribe so quickly?"

"Cowardly? Heh..."

Herren smiled without saying a word. "Kid, you're already shocked?"

In the original timeline, Ashe was a formidable figure who appeared out of nowhere in Freljord, ostensibly a rival to Avarossa and Winter's Claw.

In reality, Ashe had almost unified most of the tribes in the center of Freljord, while Winter's Claw was still putting up a stubborn resistance.

This doesn't necessarily mean Winter's Claw is stronger. Perhaps Ashe is showing consideration for their relationship, or perhaps she doesn't want to use violence. More likely, it's Lissandra's balancing act that's at play...

And so, Sejuani was once so bullied that she could hardly survive.

Therefore, Herren was not surprised at all by Ashe's growth.

"Don't give me that 'as expected' look, even though you were right again this time..."

Sejuani glared at Harren with displeasure. She had originally wanted to complain to Harren about her good friend, since Harren was the only one in the entire tribe who knew about their relationship.

But seeing Heron show approval to Ash made her feel uneasy... even though she somewhat approved of Ash in her heart...

Since they weren't getting along, she simply changed the subject.

"Alright, just tell me what you're here for. My gut feeling tells me you're going to give me a hard time again."

"Your intuition is right, but this is really necessary..."

"Come on... when did you say that?"

Helen ignored Sejuani's complaints, took out the items he had brought from the backpack behind him, and placed them on the table.

A deep blue fur shield and a nearly transparent longsword.