"Are you sure you want to go this way?"
Looking at the route Caleb had chosen, even Sejuani could not help feeling a little doubtful.
"Is it dangerous?"
Caleb looked at Bristle, who was swaying its head a little.
And Yuumi, who was beside Bristle, copying its head-swaying.
"It does look dangerous."
Kai'Sa also came closer and looked at the map in Caleb's hands.
"With this route, we'll only pass through a small tribe. Why would it be dangerous?"
Caleb did not quite understand.
Although his business sense and negotiation skills were both pretty good, when he looked at this densely packed map, he honestly felt a headache coming on.
Even so, Caleb did not think there was anything wrong with his choice.
"But this tribe has survived under the troll tribes for decades."
Ashe's words instantly made Caleb's body go a little cold.
"They have even increased their population."
Caleb could hardly imagine the weight behind those words.
What kind of village was this? How fierce did it have to be to successfully protect itself while living under the raids of troll territory?
"No, we still have to go take a look."
Originally, he had only wanted to find a decent place to rest. Now that he had learned how unusual this tribe was, Caleb's curiosity only grew stronger.
"Have any of you ever been there as guests?"
Caleb asked everyone around him, and the answers he got were all no.
"Then that settles it. We'll go talk to them and see if we can stay for the night."
Caleb made up his mind. As long as it was something strange in the west, he wanted to see it for himself.
This land was the truly important part of the Freljord, because of the existence of that old witch Lissandra.
After living for so long, her abilities had probably already crossed the true threshold of Tier 2.
Otherwise,
the Frostguard, the Frost Priests, and the Ice Children tribe Caleb had destroyed this time.
All of them worshiped Lissandra, a human, rather than any demigod.
That alone was enough for Caleb to feel fear and awe.
His opponent was someone at that level, someone who had lived through thousands of long years.
And she was not like Volibear.
Lissandra could weaken Volibear's strength, perhaps even when he was at his peak.
That meant her methods were absolutely beyond ordinary mortals.
Having to deal with someone like that, and even open the Void dungeon together with her, Caleb truly did not feel very confident.
It was still more practical to bring along allies, as many as he could get.
That was also the meaning behind Caleb's so-called "search for Ornn."
"Aren't you supposed to be visiting that god of forge and craft?"
Olaf could not help asking.
"That was a lie. Well… not completely a lie."
Caleb's words startled everyone.
"What? You're not going to look for Ornn?"
Udyr also fell into confusion and shock.
"Of course I said that because I don't trust those Frost Priests. You might have told them the news."
Caleb said it casually.
"Frost Priests follow the tribes. That is tradition!"
Even Ashe felt somewhat indignant when she heard Caleb question Frost Priests who had contributed so much.
"Tradition doesn't mean it's right!"
Caleb's words were even sharper, and they instantly blocked off what Ashe had wanted to argue.
"Have you never suspected, not even a little, that those Frost Priests might not be good people?"
"Are there people in this world who do good deeds for free? Actually, I suppose there are."
Caleb's words made everyone except Kai'Sa feel a chill.
In the Freljord, Frost Priests already had thousands of years of history.
People believed that they helped the entire tribe and gave Warmothers more correct decisions.
Divination, medicines, prayers… there was nothing Frost Priests could not accomplish.
But what if all of that was one enormous lie?
"In the resource-poor Freljord, when they could have united and become a powerful force, they instead broke themselves into pieces, went to every tribe, and started offering free service. Does that sound normal to you?"
"What are you trying to say?"
Sejuani had seen too much slaughter and too many schemes. From Caleb's words, she caught a scent.
A bloody stink.
"I'll say one more term and you'll understand."
Looking at the others, who were still a little confused, Caleb sighed inwardly. In a world of ice and snow, apparently people's brains did not run that well.
"The Frostguard."
They guarded the Frostguard Citadel closely and only appeared as cavalry from time to time.
In this region, the appearance of the Frostguard often meant something bad.
They were made up of abandoned children, loyal to Lissandra, and their occasional appearance was enough to throw the tribes of the entire Freljord into panic.
Every time they marched out, it meant death.
Even the Avarosan tribe had once been affected by the Frostguard.
"I heard that Frost Priests occasionally deal with certain babies, saying they're ill omens or something like that."
"Yes." Ashe's answer was somewhat quiet.
She had already realized why that kind of thing happened.
"Lissandra is afraid. She's afraid that the bloodlines of her other two sisters will rise, and that she won't be able to handle them afterward."
"So she has those children executed, the ones rumored to be from the other two Iceborn bloodlines."
After Caleb spoke, Ashe and Sejuani felt as if they had suddenly awakened from a dream.
In the west, in the Frostguard Citadel, there was actually such a hidden secret.
"Are you really an outsider? You know more about this kind of thing than we Freljordians do?"
Tryndamere was stunned as well, looking a little dazed.
"In a certain sense, I'm not entirely an outsider."
Caleb stretched out his arm. Since these companions would have to face demigods with him later, Caleb knew it was time to show some sincerity.
"I knew it!"
Ashe was also somewhat delighted. She really had not misjudged Caleb after all.
A bone-piercing chill covered the cold wind and flying snow. Even Olaf, who maintained his body temperature through his fury, had only one feeling at this moment, perhaps his fury was about to go out.
A long arrow appeared in everyone's sight. The aura of True Ice on it was even thicker than the one on Sejuani's weapon.
"What is this?"
The animal spirits around Udyr all crouched down, either on guard or showing respect.
"Serylda's Grudge."
Caleb calmly stated the name of the weapon inside his body.
And everyone understood it the moment they heard it. A weapon this powerful, combined with Serylda's name, definitely came from Serylda, one of the Three Sisters.
"It's very friendly toward you, which means you count as one of her descendants."
Caleb said this to Sejuani.
"Me?"
Sejuani froze for a moment, then raised the corners of her mouth high.
"Then the Winter's Claw doesn't lose to the Avarosan tribe either!"
Sejuani had always carried a small regret in her heart. That was also one reason she had established the Winter's Claw and continuously expanded her manpower.
Now, she could finally stand as an equal to her childhood playmate.
"You never lost to them in the first place, did you?"
Caleb smiled and pointed toward the village halfway up the mountain.
"We're here. Now it's time to see what's really going on."
"Watch your mouths."
Before they started climbing, Caleb warned everyone.
Ashe and Sejuani were manageable, but the rest had worse tempers than the last.
If one of them really let something slip and got killed for it, Caleb did not want to be the one collecting their corpse afterward.
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