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

"I see them! It's Ashe, the Warmother!"

A group of people walked quickly towards us in the wind and snow.

Leading the group were Warmother Glenna and Frost Priest Malukolo, accompanied by some elders and powerful Iceborn warriors.

When they saw the two of them, they first showed a look of relief, and then were extremely surprised.

"Ashe, my dear daughter... I'm so glad to see you're okay." Glenna stepped forward and hugged her daughter tightly.

The others looked at Cheng Xiao in surprise - they never thought that this young man could come back alive.

Although he looked a little disheveled with his body wrapped in bandages, it was a miracle that he came back alive.

At first, they all believed that Cheng Xiao was going to die - a ridiculous death for a ridiculous reason.

Facing the bandits alone...

"Did you fight those bandits, kid?" An elder looked at Cheng Xiao curiously. "Didn't they eat you alive?"

"This is simply a miracle..." The others also exclaimed in amazement. "How on earth did you do it? Did you sneak attack their outer sentry towers instead of going inside? Otherwise, I really can't imagine how you escaped."

"It's impressive that you managed to escape. Those bandits' mounts are not slow at all."

"He's young and promising... and he's also good-looking."

"Are you interested in meeting my daughter? She has big muscles."

Everyone was amazed at Cheng Xiao's feat, but everyone also assumed that Cheng Xiao escaped rather than walked out proudly after winning.

He attacked one or two watchtowers and then escaped after being injured... That was probably the case, and he did it with the help of Ashe.

Of course, this is also very impressive.

But some people don't think so - the Frost Priest Malukolo.

He frowned at Cheng Xiao, feeling confused and unhappy.

How come those bandits can't even deal with a single Noxian? They were quite capable of robbing Noxian cargo ships before...

He actually escaped...

I had originally thought that after he died, I would take Glenna to rescue Ashe, and then let Glenna die there too, leaving Ashe alone...

tsk...

"Thanks to our Ashe." A flicker of displeasure flashed across Marukolo's face, but he quickly regained his usual composure. "Mr. Cheng Xiao's courage and strength are certainly worthy of our recognition, but let's not forget Ashe's tireless efforts in helping him."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. "Indeed, Cheng Xiao was able to return today thanks to Ai Xi's rescue... So, Ai Xi, did those bandits chase us?"

"No." Ashe shook her head.

"That's good." One of Glenna's blood allies breathed a sigh of relief. "But no matter what, your actions today were truly too risky. How could you escape alone? The War Mother was worried sick."

"Yeah, this almost caused our action plan to change." Another person said.

Under the influence of Marukolo's words, everyone gradually felt a sense of fear, and some even blamed Cheng Xiao - if it weren't for Cheng Xiao, how could Ashe go out alone in the middle of the night to take risks? How could they have almost encountered those bandits earlier?

He didn't dare to do the job without knowing how to do it. If Ashe hadn't come to his rescue, he would have been killed long ago.

He is quite strong and a good person, but he almost hurt everyone.

"Since the threat from those bandits remains unresolved, we must proceed as planned tomorrow," Marukolo said, looking at Ashe with a gentle gaze. "You should stay in camp tomorrow and get a good rest. After all, you've already gone through a lot of unnecessary trouble tonight."

Everyone agreed with the proposal.

But Ashe showed a hint of disgust towards Marukolo's concern.

She was still very close to Cheng Xiao, with the backs of their hands almost touching. She didn't look directly into Marukolo's eyes, but just waved her hand impatiently:

"No need, tomorrow's plans can be canceled, we can just move on."

"What does this mean?" Everyone couldn't understand.

"Because those bandits not only didn't chase us, they..." Ashe took a deep breath and solemnly lifted up one of Cheng Xiao's hands to show respect.

"When I arrived, they had already been repelled by Cheng Xiao alone. They didn't even take the supplies in the camp. We can go there and pick them up for free tomorrow."

Everyone was even more stunned.

They initially thought Cheng Xiao was determined to die in order to show off in front of Ashe, which was ridiculous;

Later, they were surprised that Cheng Xiao had managed to escape alive. Although it was thanks to Ashe's help, it was not easy. Apart from being a bit harmful, it was still passable.

Later, they thought that since Ashe was not injured, Cheng Xiao's move proved his bravery and strength, which was quite good.

As for now...

"Him? Alone?" Everyone was in disbelief. "Ashe, don't say that. Reporting lies will bring big trouble to the tribe!"

"We understand your desire to protect Cheng Xiao, but you really can't talk about this kind of thing casually."

Everyone found it hard to accept for a moment, and Marukolo even said bluntly, "How is this possible? Ashe, he said that himself, right? I think you must have been deceived by him. You know how brutal those bandits are."

As he spoke, he stepped closer to Ashe, as if wanting to grab her shoulders and question her.

Ashe frowned slightly and took a step back.

Marukolo wanted to follow.

At this moment, Glenna used her broad body to stand between the two of them.

"I believe my daughter will not deceive me."

Glenna pressed down Marukolo's bone staff with one hand, and the powerful force prevented the latter from moving forward even a little bit.

"Also, please do not slander our brave warrior, the Frost Priest."

Now that Mother Zhan has spoken, everyone should shut up even if they have any doubts in their hearts.

Glenna always believed in her beloved daughter.

I also believe in Cheng Xiao, this brave and beautiful little boy.

Marukolo's breathing became heavier, but there was no way he could do anything else now.

He could only lower his head and step back, apologizing aggrievedly: "I'm sorry, I was prejudiced... but I was just worried about the tribe."

As he spoke, he silently looked at Cheng Xiao with a fierce look.

The latter also happened to meet his gaze.

Then, Cheng Xiao approached Ashe with a smile in her eyes.

Marukolo saw the intimacy between the two and was almost furious to the point of exploding on the spot.

The feeling of being cuckolded made him want to kill someone.

In order to maintain his image, he had to leave before he could bear it any longer.

By the way, when passing by Cheng Xiao, he quietly said something harsh:

"Tomorrow... be careful. I won't let you live past tomorrow, you dog of Noxus..."

Chapter 7 It’s okay, I still have zombies, brothers

Without the trouble of bandits blocking the way, the Avarosa tribe's "expedition plan" can proceed smoothly.

Before dawn, War Mother Glenna summoned all the warriors in the tribe and prepared to set off to the Frost Valley to confiscate the supplies left by the bandits, and by the way, arranged the future separation of the tribe.

The journey is long and difficult. It is almost impossible for the hearthkeepers without special cold resistance to reach the end, so the tribe must split into two parts today.

Glenna asked her two blood allies and some ice warriors to stay where they were to continue protecting the Luhu tribe.

Others are about to embark on a journey from which they may not be able to return.

Ashe didn't know if this counted as abandoning the Hearth dwellers and forcing the Ice Bloodline to a dead end... but no matter what, she had to follow her mother.

Although she actually did not agree with this plan in her heart - like most Freljord people, she felt that the so-called "Legacy of Avarosa" was just a beautiful fairy tale to deceive children.

The continuous blizzards made it difficult for the Avarosa tribe to survive and also overwhelmed the tense nerves of War Mother Glenna.

She began to pin her hopes on something illusory, trying to save the tribe from danger with something that most likely didn't exist...

"Don't worry, the boat will straighten out when it reaches the bridge."

Just when Ai Xi was feeling melancholy, Cheng Xiao suddenly patted her slender shoulder.

The face that always had a smile on it also made her feel at ease.

"I told you I would definitely help you find Avarosa's legacy."

"You're really optimistic..." Ash smiled helplessly, "How can you be so sure that thing really exists?"

"That's what War Mother said."

"But mother... no, it's nothing."

"Now that we've decided to leave, there's no need to fret." Cheng Xiao pointed toward the horizon, where the valley was littered with the remains of a bandit camp and a wealth of supplies. "Besides, we're off to a pretty good start, aren't we?"

"That's right." Ash took a deep breath and cheered himself up.

The group walked into the valley and began to collect supplies.

Although the bandits would not stay in one place for too long and would not store too much supplies, it was more than enough to supply the Iceborn warriors for one or two months.

Everyone dispersed to collect any usable tools, firewood or food.

At the same time, Cheng Xiao was also quietly paying attention to Marukolo's movements - other people in the Avarosa tribe would not be wary of this frost priest, but he knew his true identity.

This traitor doesn't want Glenna to find Avarosa's cenotaph, so he will naturally try every possible means to stop her.

Since his original plan to use bandits to delay or even kill Glenna failed, he would definitely do something else.

"Cheng Xiao, look, there's a can of meat here! You can't find this kind of thing in Freljord. These bandits must have robbed those Noxian merchant ships... Cheng Xiao?"

Ai Xi, who was holding a pile of cotton clothes and dry food, suddenly noticed that Cheng Xiao had not joined her in looting supplies since some time ago.

"What are you looking at? Anything good over there?"

"No." Cheng Xiao withdrew his gaze from Marukolo and finally exchanged glances with him.

"Ashe, have you ever thought about a question...what if, I mean what if."

"What?" Ash tilted his head in confusion.

"What would you do if a traitor appeared in the tribe?" Cheng Xiao whispered, leaning close to Ashe. "And what if that person happened to be someone everyone in the tribe trusted? What would you do then?"

"A traitor must be ruthlessly eliminated," Ashe said without hesitation. "The more people trust him, the more ruthless they will be when they discover him."

"But what if you are the only one who discovered him, and others don't believe he is a traitor?"

"Eh? In that case... well... it would probably be very troublesome. After all, it would be very sad if everyone didn't trust me and chose to trust a traitor."

"I think so." Cheng Xiao smiled and took the full barrel of dry food from the girl's arms. "Then if I found a traitor and no one else in the tribe believed him to be a traitor, would you believe me?"

This question made Ashe stunned again.

But soon, she answered firmly: "As long as you are not talking about my mother, then I am willing to believe you - at least I will definitely stand by your side until the truth comes out."

"Do you trust me so much?" Cheng Xiao smiled.

"After all, you are the best warrior I have ever seen." Ashe also smiled, "Oh, except for mother."

Cheng Xiao nodded in agreement, and at the same time raised her head and glanced to the other side.

Marukolo, who was standing at the edge of the valley just now... is gone.

Oh?

Cheng Xiao looked around, but could no longer see the thin figure.

At this moment, the resounding cry of an Iceborn warrior echoed throughout the valley:

"Enemy attack——!"

In an instant, everyone stopped what they were doing and took out their weapons from their backs.

Warmother Glenna leaped to a high place with two axes in hand and looked out, recognizing the group of enemy troops rushing towards her at a glance.