Ornn, the Chosen One, a treasure from ancient times!

Chapter 99 Digging the Bridgehead

"How could you—how could you make such a vow to someone so casually—"

Garen sat in the room with his head down. Zhao Xin pointed at his nose and scolded him with a mixture of disappointment and hesitation.

But his insults lacked conviction.

Having heard the news, Herren quickly arrived at Garen's dormitory. As soon as he entered, he couldn't help but smile.

Seeing his smug look, Zhao Xin was furious.

"Helen! Look at you—why didn't you say something so important sooner?"

"Oh dear, it's my fault, it's my fault—I thought you'd find out eventually, but who knew our Lord Garen Crownguard would be so charming, winning over the hearts of young girls in just a few days?"

Speaking of this, it's quite a strange story—the Demacia delegation has been here for a week, and the training of the troops is already on track.

The warriors, personally selected by Sejuani, are all outstanding in the tribe, including many powerful female warriors.

The Demacian Vanguard Squad consisted entirely of nobles, pampered and well-bred, with neat and clean-cut appearances. During their training, they displayed a level of warrior discipline never before seen by the people of Freljord.

Among them, the outstanding Garen naturally stood out, captivating the young female warriors who were just beginning to experience love.

With his strong, handsome build and upright character, Garen soon attracted bold girls who confessed their love to him and asked him to make a vow.

Garen had no idea about this thing; his first thought was of the oath he took when he joined the Dreadnoughts.

To uphold honor and protect the weak—he habitually categorized the women of Freljord as "weak" as well, and immediately made a solemn vow.

They said things like "I will definitely protect her" and "I will protect her with my life," which were very touching.

It wasn't until that night, when someone came with blankets and asked to sleep with Garen, that Garen, even with his slow reaction, finally realized something was wrong. Garen anxiously rubbed his messy hair, while Miss Laksana, who loved watching the drama unfold, teased him with a smile.

"Brother? Am I going to have a sister-in-law?"

Lux! Go play somewhere else!

Lux stuck out her tongue, made a funny face, and happily went to play with the bunny-eared older sister.

She made new friends in Winter's Claw.

After driving Lux away, Garen sighed deeply. Although it was a misunderstanding, Garen still took the blame upon himself and felt very guilty.

The Freljord people do indeed value oaths very much. When she heard Garen deny it outright, the girl felt like her world had collapsed. She was about to commit suicide on the spot, but thankfully someone stopped her.

Garen had never seen anything like this before; he was so terrified that he didn't dare go out.

The resolute Garen was now feeling a pang of homesickness.

"Fine, Garen, there's a girl willing to die for you—"

"Stop laughing at me, Herren—help me think of something!"

Zhao Xin hurriedly urged, "We've only just arrived in a foreign land, and such a big thing has already happened—it might be quite serious."

"If it were anyone else, I might even try to match them up, but Garen belongs to the Crown Guard family—it's not easy to explain to the Grand Marshal."

"Ha ha----"

Herren's face was practically splitting with laughter as he shook his head.

"Oh! It's no big deal. Don't worry, it's just a misunderstanding. As long as Mother Zhan steps in, everything will be resolved."

The oath is sacred, but the authority of the War Mother is above all else; this is fundamental to the survival of the people of Freljord.

Everything will be alright as long as Sejuani explains—after all, it's just a misunderstanding, and Garen isn't really a heartless man.

The matter itself is easy to resolve, but the incident itself will make Herren laugh for the rest of his life.

Hearing Herren's assurance, Garen finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling less tormented.

"Herren—take some time to tell us about the rules of your Freljord. I don't want to experience this again."

"Okay, okay—hahaha~"

Garen was still shaken; it left a huge psychological scar on his still-naive mind.

Hearing that it wouldn't cause any diplomatic repercussions, Zhao Xin finally relaxed and could now casually tease Garen.

"What, Garen? You really aren't interested in that girl?"

"Hmm—she's a good girl, and pretty, but for me—she's too strong."

Garen scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, thinking he'd probably be more interested in girls who evoked his protective instincts.

Garen's shy appearance immediately made Horen and Zhao Xin burst into laughter.

After laughing, Herren stopped laughing, straightened his expression, and said more seriously.

"By the way, I'm not just here for this; I have other business to attend to."

"Important business? Is there anything more important than Garen's life-changing event?"

"Stop insulting me, Master Xin—if you keep doing this, I'll have to go deaf."

"Ha ha----"

Herren gestured vaguely in a direction, roughly northeast.

"Over there in the tribe, there is a mountain range. I'm not sure what the exact name of that mountain range is, but one of the lower mountains is called Juwo Mountain, where trolls live."

"Trolls? What are trolls?"

"You can think of them as—a strange-looking but very strong human being; of course, most people here regard them as monsters."

"oh----"

Zhao Xin nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"So, what's the important matter you're talking about? Did those trolls come down from the mountain to raid?"

"Hehe, if they cause trouble, we don't mind letting them learn their lesson."

Herren curled his lip in disdain.

Trolls are creatures that everyone hates, because humans can raise livestock and grow crops, but trolls cannot. They live in caves and rely entirely on plunder for food and drink, and many people have suffered as a result.

If given the chance, Herren would love to lead a group of men and wipe out this band of robbers.

"Things are even worse. Our scouts have brought news that the troll tribes on Mount Juewo have been driven down the mountain—their troll king has been defeated."

"Hmm—then I guess the desperate trolls might invade your tribe, right?"

"Yes, that's one problem, but there's an even bigger one—it was the Noxians who drove out the troll tribe, and the one who defeated the Troll King was Darius, the Hand of Noxus."

Darius?!

Zhao Xin narrowed his eyes; he was no stranger to the name of this rising star of the Noxian Legion.

"Yes, Darius—by the time our men discovered this, they had already established a foothold in the valley of the Direwood Mountains. Ah, that's a good place."

Herren made a downward gesture.

"If they want, they can go directly into the heart of our tribe on a good day—we might not even have time to react."

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