Noxus Glory

Chapter 9 The Broken Outpost and the Frozen Bloodline

Winter nights in Freljord can be quite long.

But as time went by, a ray of light gradually appeared, illuminating the gloomy sky.

Moments later, crimson dawn broke through the clouds, draping the falling snowflakes in a shimmering veil.

Huo Jixing stood up and looked at the distant white horizon, where the brilliant dawn was descending upon the world with unstoppable force.

"Another day, the sun rises!"

Captain Eric, clad in armor, had awakened at some point and stood at the cave entrance.

"Corporal!"

Huo Jixing turned around and looked at Eric in front of him with a slightly respectful expression.

Yesterday's hunt, the scene of Eric fighting off a wild boar in the snow was still vivid in his mind, filling him with awe.

"Wake up those lazybones, I'm going out for a bit."

Eric patted Hojixing on the shoulder and stepped into the snow, braving the wind and snow.

Watching their receding figures, Hojixing and DeWitt each took their assigned tasks.

DeWitt ventured deep into the cave to awaken the sleeping Noxian scouts; while Hojira stood at the cave entrance, casually grabbing handfuls of snow and ice and putting them into the iron pot beside the campfire.

Flames rise, ice and snow melt.

Half an hour later, the snow water boiled and bubbled. He took out the dried wild boar meat he had processed the night before from his backpack, put it in, and cooked a piping hot meat soup.

At the same time, Eric returned covered in snow and, together with the awakened Noxian scouts, hastily ate a simple breakfast before embarking on a new journey.

It was nearing noon in the dead of winter.

The howling wind continued, whipping up snowflakes that blanketed the silvery-white earth.

Huo Jixing wiped the frost off his cheeks, lowered his head and panted heavily, wrapping his fur cloak tighter around himself.

As they ventured deeper into Freljord, the snowstorm intensified, becoming almost overwhelming.

Above the dim sky, the clouds gradually thickened, completely obscuring the light of day. Although the midday sun had risen, the sky remained gloomy.

This is the ninth day of the mission.

Since the last hunt, Alex has led the Noxian scouts deeper into Freljord.

Huo Jixing strained to open his eyes, which were covered with tiny ice crystals, and looked around at the snow-white world. He had traveled so far, but apart from the wild boars he had hunted, he still hadn't seen any other signs of life.

"Freljord!" Hojixing thought to himself.

This desolate and cold northern frozen land stretches as far as the eye can see, all in a silvery-white color.

Far, far away, storms and lightning occasionally sweep across the land, ravaging the heavens and earth.

Walking slowly on this frozen land in the north, Huo Jixing could not feel the passage of time, as if time had been frozen, and he did not know whether it was a few minutes or several hours.

He could only silently follow the group, following Eric's steps, taking one step at a time.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

From noon to dusk, the biting cold wind grew increasingly piercing.

Huo Jixing thought it would be another uneventful day of travel, but as the sun was about to set, the quiet and subdued group suddenly became restless.

Huo Jixing's heart stirred, and he looked up.

Not far from him, in the white snow curtain, clusters of hazy, jagged rocks appeared, like several huge frozen fingers, supporting the hills that sheltered them from the wind and snow.

At the top of the hill, a slightly tilted crimson flag fluttered in the cold wind.

It's a Noxian outpost!

Looking at the crimson banner bearing the image of a double-edged axe, the silent ranks suddenly stirred with a restlessness.

"Be careful!"

At the very front of the column, Corporal Eric raised his right hand and spoke in a deep voice.

As the biting wind and snow swept by, the restless atmosphere subsided, and each Noxian scout quietly tightened their grip on their blades.

Hojixing, who was lagging behind the group, looked serious. Even though they had seen the Noxian outpost, Eric warned everyone to be careful.

Has something unexpected happened? Huo Jixing wondered to himself.

But he kept moving, like all Noxian scouts, closely following Erik's footsteps.

At the forefront, Centurion Eric, draped in a greyish-white cloak, crawled through the snow, slowly approaching the Noxian outpost atop the hill.

Until they approached the hill.

Huo Jixing then noticed that the fluttering crimson banner was somewhat tattered, and the golden double-edged axe mark was stained with specks of blood.

At the same time, he smelled a strong, pungent odor of blood in the air.

problem occurs!

Huo Jixing's heart sank. Not only him, but the Noxian scouts crawling on the snow also realized that something unexpected had happened at the outpost in front of them.

Carefully brushing aside the cold snowflakes in front of him, Huo Jixing peeked out and observed the Noxian outpost.

next moment!

A look of horror and fear appeared on his pale face.

Beneath the jagged, solid rocks, the horrific scene of the Noxian outpost came into view.

The once imposing and solemn dark gray building has mostly collapsed, and the walls that resisted the attack have also been severely damaged, with traces of frost and a lot of frozen blood remaining on them.

Around these collapsed buildings, dozens of naked corpses were carelessly discarded like trash.

Some bodies were dismembered, others had broken limbs, and still others were covered in gruesome wounds.

Piles of mangled corpses were stacked up, and the surrounding blood, once frozen, emitted a strong rusty smell.

Most strikingly, the surfaces of these corpses were covered with layers of glistening frost, transforming them into lifelike ice sculptures, as if proclaiming something.

"They're Iceborn!" DeWitt said in a low voice beside him.

Upon hearing the sound, Huo Jixing, who had been in a daze, suddenly woke up, feeling a sense of unease spreading throughout his body.

Surprisingly, although he was somewhat shocked and terrified, he did not tremble with fear as expected. Perhaps it was due to the influence of his fragmented memories from his previous life, or perhaps it was due to the battle he had fought earlier when hunting wild boars in the snow.

In short, he is rapidly adapting to the changes in Freljord and the brutality of war.

"Iceborn!" Huo Jixing chewed on the familiar words, and some related information quietly surfaced in his mind.

Iceborn, also known as the Ice Bloodline.

It is the extraordinary bloodline unique to Freljord.

Specifically, it can be traced back to the time of the three ancient sisters, Avarosa, Cyrilda, and Lissandra, along with many related events and legends, but the origin of the Frostblood is unknown.

However, one thing is certain: the warriors of Freljord who possess the Iceborn can endure the bone-chilling cold brought by [True Ice] and use it on the battlefield to freeze and destroy all life.

"The Claws of Winter have already reached here; it seems the war is coming sooner than expected."

Huo Jixing turned his head and looked at DeWitt, who was crawling beside him. DeWitt spoke calmly, but his bulging veins on his hands revealed the suppressed emotions deep in his heart.

Not only DeWitt, but Hoji Star observed that all the scouts who witnessed the horrific scene at the Noxian outpost were struggling to suppress their emotions.

The wind and snow howled, and the cold was biting.

The Noxian scouts, clad in greyish-white cloaks, blended into the thick snow, awaiting orders.

"End the mission early and return to camp."

Elric, the clerk who was observing the Noxian outpost and its surroundings, glanced deeply at the snow sculpture piled up in the center of the outpost and spoke decisively.

The deep voice ignored the wind and snow, reaching precisely into the ears of every scout.

"Get moving quickly, we need to get out of here as soon as possible."

Upon hearing the sound, the Noxian scouts immediately sprang into action, pulling their fur cloaks tighter around themselves and slowly retreating.

They didn't get up; instead, like earthworms, they writhed and, with the cover of the wind and snow, slowly left the Noxian outpost and this land of death.

Amidst the swirling snow, Huo Jixing glanced back at the ruins of the Noxian outpost, a shadow of gloom appearing in his eyes.

He had a premonition that the return journey would not be peaceful!

(End of this chapter)