In the alliance, the more they attack me, the stronger I become!

He even rushed forward and drew his sword when people were immersed in grief.

If Marukolo still had a glimmer of hope, the heavy bleeding after pulling out the sword completely destroyed his last hope.

"Cheng Xiao!!"

One of the elders could no longer bear it and immediately swung his weapon at Cheng Xiao.

The latter dodged nimbly, looking unrepentant as if he had only done something insignificant.

Of course, he also knew the importance of a doctor to the Icefield Tribe.

But he understood even more the harm a traitor could do to the Avarosa tribe.

If Marukolo was allowed to continue hiding in the Avarosa tribe as it did in the original timeline, the tribe would not only lose a doctor, but the entire tribe would be dead with only Ashe left.

In the original timeline, War Mother Glenna, despite everyone's dissuasion, including Marukolo, insisted on going to find Avarosa's inheritance, and she was in the right direction and very close.

By then, Marukolo, knowing that he could no longer persuade the Avarosa tribe to retreat with soft means, would take the last resort - to slaughter the tribe directly.

He put on the black armor that symbolized Drakron, and brought a large number of top-tier ice bloodlines with him, and had a head-on conflict with the Avarosa tribe under the iceberg.

As for the final result...

Glenna, her blood allies, and her tribesmen were all killed in the battle, leaving only Ashe, who escaped and cut off the wooden bridge under Glenna's desperate protection.

Such a tragedy... Cheng Xiao doesn't want Ashe to experience it.

"Cheng Xiao, speak!"

Another person shouted loudly, interrupting Cheng Xiao's thoughts.

"I have nothing to say," Cheng Xiao said calmly, "I discovered his secret as a traitor, so I killed him. Do I need any other reason?"

"You have no evidence at all! You are acting recklessly!" the elders cried indignantly. "You have violated the traditions and moral principles of the Freljord! You have brutally murdered your own people!"

"We want you to...pay—"

"That's enough." A majestic voice interrupted the elders' words that Cheng Xiao should pay with his life for his murder.

Glenna frowned and walked in front of Cheng Xiao, her tall and strong shadow almost covering him completely.

"Cheng Xiao, you did something inappropriate in this matter."

"Yeah." Cheng Xiao nodded, still looking indifferent.

Glenna was a little displeased, but Ashe beside her prevented her from getting angry - she was not the kind of young and naive young woman, so of course she could see what her dearest daughter was thinking.

No matter what she did, her daughter would definitely plead for Cheng Xiao.

"But since it has already happened... Cheng Xiao, I don't need you to explain anything, nor do I want any verbal remedies, do you understand?"

"Of course." Cheng Xiao said.

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Just do one thing." Cheng Xiao cleared his throat and finally acted serious.

He placed the bloodstained iron sword against his chest, bowed slightly, and performed a traditional ceremony like the Freljord people.

"I will help the Avarosan tribe find the legacy of Avarosan."

After this was said, some people stopped criticizing, but some became even angrier:

"How can you help? Can an outsider like you be as useful as a frost priest? What if our soldiers get injured on the road? What if our people get infected with the plague?"

"Then you guys better stay away." Cheng Xiao replied calmly.

This made the elders even more furious.

But before they could get angry, Cheng Xiao said, "This isn't a mockery or boasting. My meaning is very clear - you can wait here. I will go and help you retrieve Avarosa's legacy."

"How shameless!" The elders couldn't help but say, "Do you know what Avarosa's legacy is? No one knows! If it were just some items, it would be fine, but what if it's something you can't take away? What's more, who knows if you'll keep Avarosa's legacy for yourself!"

"If I give you the map, you might even give it to the Noxians! Outsiders like you have no right to lay your hands on the secrets of the Freljord!"

"You might as well kill someone and pay with your life!"

It's hard to satisfy everyone, but Cheng Xiao's attitude is firm.

"I helped the tribe take down the bandit camp. The food, firewood, and livestock here are enough for the tribe to survive this winter. You can wait here for me until next spring. If I don't come back, you can set off as planned."

"I won't take the original map either. Just show it to me."

"I have minimized the risks. If you still don't trust me, you are welcome to come with me."

After saying that, Cheng Xiao lowered his head and began to wipe the blood off the sword, as if saying, "I am like this, believe it or not."

Of course, this doesn't mean he has no choice but to give up.

But he knew that this proposal would definitely be accepted by the elders of Avarosa.

Being familiar with the history of Runeterra, he knew that the vast majority of the Avarosa tribe did not want to follow Glenna in search of inheritance—they had had a conflict before.

They didn't want to go when food was scarce, resources were limited, and they had to gamble everything. Now that they have supplies to survive this cold winter, they naturally don't want to go even more.

In the development of the original timeline, Ashe's aunt, War Mother Glenna's younger sister, even challenged Glenna to a duel in order to stop Glenna from continuing to be "obsessed", trying to end this farcical journey by seizing the position of War Mother.

But unfortunately, she failed and almost died on the spot.

At that time, Glenna had almost lost all the support of the people. The people listened to her only because they were afraid of her rather than respecting her.

And now, she is gradually losing everyone's trust due to her repeated tough and forceful orders.

No one except Glenna wanted to look for any treasure.

They didn't want to in the original timeline, and they won't want to now.

Cheng Xiao's words, however, struck a chord with them. Since they had already assumed the inherited treasure didn't exist, what good was it to let Cheng Xiao go? Even if the treasure did exist, and he had gone through untold hardships to obtain it and keep it all for himself, what loss would that bring to the tribe? They simply wouldn't gain anything extra.

If he could get it, that would be his ability; they didn't want to risk the lives of the entire tribe to find such an illusory thing.

It’s a big profit to be able to get so many supplies now.

"Alas, things are truly irreversible..." Amidst the silence of the crowd, a rather cowardly elder whispered, "This is a possible remedy... There's no harm in letting him try..."

Everyone calmed down and re-examined the situation. Reason told them that this was indeed the best solution at the moment.

There are so many supplies here...all of them were captured by Cheng Xiao, and now he wants to give all these supplies to the Avarosa tribe.

Add to that his willingness to go out on his own to find treasure that most likely doesn't exist, and it's true...

Marukolo's life... well...

I'll do that again if I have the chance later...

"You go?" Now, the only one who thought this plan was inappropriate was Glenna, who was particularly obsessed with the inheritance of Avarosa.

It's more than just persistence, it can even be said to be an obsession.

She firmly believed that obtaining Avarosa's inheritance would enable the declining Avarosa tribe to revive.

"I will definitely live up to your mission." Cheng Xiao's answer was also very simple.

Glenna thought for a while.

She looked at the young man in front of her, then looked back at the group of exhausted tribesmen - she knew what they were thinking.

If it was a desperate situation like before, they would have followed with a little pressure, but now...

With sufficient food and supplies, they would probably refuse to go.

Every Freljord hunter knows that a well-fed beast loses its desire to hunt.

Glenna was extremely conflicted.

Should he adopt Cheng Xiao's plan, or should he insist on setting off now even if it means standing against the entire clan...

"Mother..." Just as Glenna frowned, her beloved daughter gently held her calloused hand.

"Let's just get through this winter... We'll set off as soon as next spring, okay?"

There was a hint of begging in the girl's beautiful blue eyes, and this was Glenna's most irresistible weakness.

Even though she is a tough girl, she is always surprisingly gentle in front of her daughter.

Finally, after several minutes of silence, she said to Cheng Xiao word by word, "I'll only give you half a season... If you don't come back, or if I hear some bad news, I will go out in person and hold you accountable at all costs!"

Her tone was cold and authoritative, as if she was giving an order that could not be refused.

Cheng Xiao didn't feel offended and just nodded seriously.

"no problem."

After the words were spoken, the tense atmosphere within the clan finally eased a lot.

The crowd gradually dispersed, some continued to pick up things, and some helped Marukolo collect the body.

As the daughter of the War Mother, Ashe naturally had to return to the tribe. She was pulled by Glenna's hand and walked in the opposite direction, leaving Cheng Xiao standing there alone.

Cheng Xiao packed up his things and prepared to embark on a journey alone - to make Ashe a true [Ice Archer] and then ask her to kill him.

The stronger Ashe is, the more power he will gain.

"See you later, everyone."

Cheng Xiao waved to everyone and turned to leave.

But at this moment, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Ashe turning back out of the corner of his eye.

The blonde girl winked her right eye playfully and secretly stretched out two fingers to make a walking gesture.

Those lovely red lips made no sound, but as they opened and closed, they conveyed her words through the shapes of her lips:

"I'll find you later, let's go together..."

Chapter 12: Master Ai eloped with a strange man!

The Frost Witch rarely rests.

Her Frost Castle has stood on this icy plain for a thousand years—or perhaps even longer. Her name should have been buried in the endless river of history, but she didn't die like her two former best sisters.

She had seen the darkness of the abyss, a monstrous aberration that could destroy the world and drive everyone mad. She had saved the world from the brink of destruction, but this also made her bear eternal sin.

The birth of darkness had nothing to do with her, but it was she who guided the direction of darkness.

She had lost her sight in the battle with the savage demigod Volibear, but the nothingness she saw was not even a ten-thousandth of what she had seen before.

Her name was Lissandra. Of course, it had been ages since anyone had called her by her real name.

Every silent night, she always wandered alone in her great Frost Castle, staring quietly at the starry sky outside the skylight with her blind eyes.

There are many windows on the circular ceiling of her secret room, and the runes engraved on it can control the energy of many celestial bodies.

Thousands of black, coffin-like icicles jutted from the snowy ground. Like giant black teeth, they emerged from the deep valley, seemingly reaching to swallow the sky. She knew exactly how deep they reached, where they were rooted, and why they stood there.

Frozen in there are victims one after another. Or...heroes.

Lissandra wandered slowly through this unique circle of ice and stone. Under the frost moon and cold stars, her blind eyes saw a vision so clear that no one who dared to enter this sacred space could reach her.

Although it was as quiet as a mausoleum, she heard a sound that no one else could hear - a half-asleep, half-dead person muttering among the ice crystals and boulders.

Tonight, she ruined another person's [sweet dream].

Just to hold back the monster under the ice.

There is only nothingness in their dreams, and what she has to do is to "lend" them other people's dreams so that their sleep can be maintained... or in other words, to make them sleep more soundly.

It's not easy to coax a monster to sleep.

Today's mission has been completed.

Lissandra sighed softly and removed her hood. Her elegant robes slid past her ankles and fell to the ground. She took light steps toward the other side of the frozen void.

Lissandra ran her fingers across the ice, her long hair framing her face, hiding the lines of time, the scars and hollows where her eyes had been.

Now was not the time to rest. After completing the "hypnosis" of the monster, she needed to get busy for herself and her tribe.