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

Ai Xi always took the initiative to hold Cheng Xiao's hand. The two talked and laughed along the way. Occasionally, they would have some intimate contact like a couple, just like that night. The slightly ambiguous relationship warmed the coldness of the long journey.

Finally, before the tenth sunset, Ashe saw her familiar hometown on the other side of the horizon.

White smoke was floating above the low houses, and the girl who returned home was already thinking of her mother's cooking skills.

"It's dinner time."

Ashe was smiling widely, her beautiful blue eyes almost curved into crescents.

"We'll sneak back later. Mother will be shocked by us—it's a surprise!"

"She will definitely be proud of you." Cheng Xiao smiled back and followed the girl quietly towards the tribal camp.

During the hundreds of meters, they were not discovered by anyone.

Ashe could almost imagine her mother being startled and blaming her for running away while trying not to hold back her laughter.

She was filled with anticipation.

The distance is getting closer.

Still no one found them.

Ash felt that she could definitely scare her mother.

But... at the same time, she also felt a little strange - there should always be people patrolling the outskirts of the camp, but she didn't see anyone.

She moved on.

The camp was only two or three hundred meters away.

She saw the so-called "curling smoke" getting bigger and bigger.

Too...unnaturally big.

It's like something is burning...

"It's a bit strange..." Ashe suddenly became a little nervous, and her pace unconsciously quickened a lot.

When she and Cheng Xiao completely entered the tribal camp, her ominous premonition came true -

There was no such thing as cooking smoke. The white smoke she saw in the distance was smoke from burning houses...

The outskirts of the camp were deserted, and several watchtowers and surrounding houses had been burned to charcoal...

"this……!"

Ashe hurried into the center of the camp, but saw only more burned houses and some blood splattered around.

The smile on his face disappeared in an instant, and all that was left was panic.

Cheng Xiao also realized how terrible the attack on the Avarosa tribe was during the time they were away.

A bad idea suddenly emerged in his mind...

According to the original timeline, the Avarosan tribe was betrayed by Draco Malukolo on their way to find the Avarosan heritage, and then everyone except Ashe was killed... My appearance changed this.

The people of the Avarosa tribe did not follow in the search for the treasure, and the traitor Marukolo was killed early on. In theory - or so it was thought, these tragedies could be changed.

But now it seems...

Cheng Xiao looked in the direction where Ashe ran away, and vaguely caught a glimpse of some broken "figures" lying in the snow or ruins deep in the camp.

And the girl was already walking back slowly.

Behind her was a fire that continued to burn, and in her hand she held a broken axe handle.

Her face was ashen.

"Everyone... is dead..."

Chapter 22: The Bear People Will Never Be Slaves!

The years of snow and wind in Freljord finally stopped for a few days.

The ice, frozen for millennia, is hard to melt, but the setting sun still casts a beautiful shadow on the glacier. The orange reflected from the ice shines on the distant glacier, outlining the silhouette of the snow.

The flames were dying out, like the setting sun. A pungent smell of burning drifted through the village, the smell of hard wood collapsing into brittle charcoal, mixed with the sickening smell of barbecued meat.

Nameless graves stood in the snow, with silent charred wood stuck on top.

The girl sat in front of the tombstone in front, letting the darkness of the setting sun swallow her gradually lengthening shadow.

At this moment, there was no place for her in the vast Freljord.

The world is bustling with people, but there is no place where she can feel at home.

Cheng Xiao stood aside in silence, and suddenly a cold snowflake fell on her shoulder.

The frozen ground, which had just cleared up, started snowing again.

"Cheng Xiao..."

Ashe called out softly to her last companion, her voice sounding a little hoarse as if something was stuck in her throat.

"I'm very... no, what's wrong?" Cheng Xiao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't say anything comforting.

At this time, any words of comfort or encouragement seem so pale and powerless.

"I was thinking..." Ashe raised her head and stretched out one hand, letting the icy rain fall into her palm.

Her eyes were red, but no tears flowed, they just looked dry.

"If...if I hadn't gone looking for some treasure, could I have prevented all this?"

Cheng Xiao didn't answer.

The girl shook her head again, the heart-breaking pain almost dragging her into the icy sea of ​​despair.

"At least...at least I can stay with my mother...right..."

Cheng Xiao still didn't answer.

Ashe slowly buried the half of the battle axe into the ground, and then fell on the grave as if weak.

Her eyes were still open, but she seemed to no longer be able to see anything.

She could not see her mother... ever again...

Cheng Xiao, who was standing nearby, also observed a moment of silence for the sleeping War Mother, paying sincere respects to the most merciful, kind, and powerful Freljord warrior.

Then, it was time for mother and daughter to be alone.

Cheng Xiao did not disturb Ashe anymore, but walked quietly into the tribal camp to observe.

All the people of the Avarosa tribe died... not a single one survived, even the livestock in the captivity were brutally slaughtered.

Someone attacked here with an absolutely overwhelming force—there wasn't even much sign of resistance at the scene. This terrorist attack might have been completely over in just half an hour or even a few minutes.

The attackers burned down all the houses and supplies without looting, which basically ruled out the possibility of a tribal war launched by other tribes in order to seize resources.

Then, there is only one possibility - revenge.

The enemies of the Avarosan tribe killed all the Avarosans in a bloody and brutal manner.

And the one who has a grudge against this peaceful tribe and possesses such power...

Cheng Xiao immediately noticed a broken bone staff in the ruins.

A bone staff crafted from the skull of a werebear.

There was no doubt that it was Drakon's weapon.

"Dracron couldn't stop me, so they destroyed my home..."

Just as Cheng Xiao was thinking secretly, Ai Xi expressed his guess in a cold tone.

The girl has not yet recovered from the grief of losing her loved ones, but as an Avarosan warrior, she forces this grief into anger and hatred.

Only in this way could she temporarily suppress the pain in her heart.

"It's those despicable beasts..."

Ashe stood up in front of her mother's tombstone, and an extremely cold magical aura began to dissipate around her.

The flames burning nearby were extinguished instantly, and the charcoal that was still warm was frozen into ice in an instant.

"When their despicable actions failed... they took cruel and shameless revenge on me..."

Cheng Xiao didn't say anything, but just stood silently beside the girl to accompany her.

Even if it's freezing cold.

After a long time, Ashe retracted her terrifying aura, and her cold little hand gently grasped Cheng Xiao's hand.

Looking at the ruins and graves behind her, her tone was no longer sad, but was replaced by a deeper loneliness.

"I...will have no home anymore."

Hearing this, Cheng Xiao also held the girl's hand tightly.

Gradually, he placed his other hand on top of Ash's head.

He didn't know how to comfort others. He had experienced too many tragedies in the Noxian arena and even made him numb.

He just gently stroked the girl's head.

Then, when the latter gradually relaxed, he said sincerely:

“But there’s always someone waiting for you to come home.”

"Who?" Ash raised her head, her red eyes filled with confusion.

Before she could figure it out, Cheng Xiao had already hugged her, his chin gently resting on her fair forehead.

"If you don't mind...me."

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Ashe is determined to avenge her mother and the entire Avarosan tribe.

The murderer who slaughtered the tribe was undoubtedly the furious Drakron and the mastermind behind the Drakrons - the notorious evil witch, Lissandra.

Ashe turned this hatred, sadness, and anger into motivation.

As for Cheng Xiao...he continued to follow Ashe.

On the one hand, he has nowhere to go now. Freljord is the best place to avoid Black Rose and LeBlanc - it is covered with ice and snow and isolated from the world. The Noxians who are not good at sailing rarely set foot in this resource-scarce ice field.

On the other hand, he hasn't been killed by Ashe yet.

He followed Ashe from the beginning just to have her kill him so that he could gain that powerful magical power.

But now is obviously not a good time... I can only wait a few days to see the situation, or just find a stone and hit myself until I am "low health", and then let Ashe come to "finish the job".

Besides these two aspects, the most important thing is...

Cheng Xiao really wanted to help the girl.

At first he did approach Ashe with a strong purpose, but now his thoughts have changed a little.

He genuinely wanted to help her.

As for the reason...he himself couldn't explain it clearly.

Clearly, the Noxian arena had worn him down to... near madness? Perhaps. He often had some crazy thoughts, and beneath his seemingly calm and normal appearance, he lacked many of his former normal emotions...

But he just wanted to help Ashe.

Even though he knew in his heart that this would be of no benefit to him - as long as he could obtain Ashe's power, anything else would be a pure loss for him.

He just wanted to.