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

Chapter 100 Digging the Fertile Defense Line

"You can draw? You're quite good at it!"

Aura huddled next to Lux, watching the tiny figure squatting on the ground, drawing with the pen she had brought from Demacia.

Above is a blonde little girl with bunny ears—clearly Lux—holding a staff and defeating a ferocious monster with a beam of light. Next to her is a man holding a sword, his eyes drawn as stars.

"Hehe—I secretly learned it while doing my homework."

Lux smiled sweetly, quite pleased with her masterpiece.

Aurora gently ruffled her hair.

She adored this little girl—this stemmed from their almost identical childhood experiences, their shared magical talents that were incomprehensible to ordinary people, and their lack of friends because of it. However, the difference was that Ara had her grandmother to confide in.

Aura was happy to be someone Lux could confide in.

She had discovered that Lux was not dangerous; on the contrary, her magical talent was beyond imagination.

Just as the two were squatting on the ground chatting, footsteps came from the Demacian garrison next door, and the Freljord warriors who were training nearby also hurried over.

"Grab your weapons! Get ready, men!"

"Hurry, hurry! Get it over with! We're having an extra meal tonight!"

Lux looked up and saw her brother already dressed in armor, and the War Mother, whom she had only met once, was also there.

"What happened?"

At this moment, Garen also noticed Lux. After consulting with Sejuani, he left the group and came to Lux's side.

"Lux, I'm leaving the Horde for a while—maybe a few days, maybe longer. During this time—stay in Winter's Claw and don't cause any trouble."

"ha?!"

Lux's eyes lit up.

"Is war about to break out? Can I go with them?"

As a child, Lux had never experienced life and death, nor could she have gone to the battlefield. Her concept of "war" was limited to the hero storybooks she secretly collected.

This made her not only not worried about Garen, but also somewhat looking forward to being able to follow along.

"I can use magic now! I can help!"

The war demon Laksana is itching to become a war hero.

"No, this is too dangerous—besides, I'm just going on a mission, I might not even be fighting."

Garen ruffled Lux's hair haphazardly and looked at Aura with a hint of apology.

"Lux is in your hands now—"

"Ha, it's nothing -- I like Lux too."

After giving his instructions, Garen returned to his team. By then, Sejuani, Horen, and Xin Zhao had already discussed their plans, but there were some disagreements.

"The Freljord is Freljord land, and the Noxians have invaded it—this is an act of war, and I think we should strike back hard."

Sejuani's attitude was extremely aggressive, and she shouted that she would use force to resolve this threat.

As her tribe expanded, so did her ambition. She had long since brought the surrounding lands under her control. And what was this so-called Troll King? She had already made plans to wipe them out, but the Noxians beat her to it.

Is this still available?

"No, Sejuani—I agree with you, but it's not the right time yet. Our fields are not yet ripe, Harren's new weapons are not fully deployed, and the warriors have not received sufficient training."

Udyr was relatively conservative. He felt that things couldn't just end like this. He wasn't afraid of violence and even believed that struggle was the soul of Freljord, but he didn't want the tribe to suffer losses because of the wrong timing.

Although Herren's new weapons—including the Frost Shield, the Radiant Blade, and chainmail—have been in production for two months, Herren deliberately used more robust materials and more complex processes to differentiate them from the equipment sold to the Noxians, resulting in a slow production rate.

Moreover, they also need to use True Ice—which is a bit troublesome. There is plenty of Cold Iron, but True Ice, as a creation, needs to be constantly collected by the Claws of Winter, which inevitably slows down the production speed.

As for training issues, those are minor problems.

"Don't forget, Sejuani—you've just expanded the tribe these past two months, and there are so many mouths to feed. We can't cut off trade with the Noxians at this time—at least not until our own land can produce food."

"Are we just going to let it go like this?"

Sejuani was somewhat dissatisfied, but she had to admit that Udyr's concerns were valid.

Herren pondered for a moment and looked at Zhao Xin.

Unlike the debate among the three leaders of Winter's Claw, he was focused on studying the map, especially the terrain around Digwo Mountain.

Finally, he spoke.

"I admit that the location of the Dire Mountains is quite good, but only compared to other harsh mountain ranges in Freljord—in reality, it is still a harsh environment there, and I don't think the Noxians will be able to establish a foothold there anytime soon."

Herren patted Sejuani on the shoulder, stopping her from continuing her rant. It's better to listen to the professionals when it comes to these kinds of things.

"I still remember the predicament we, the elite of the Dreadnoughts, faced when we first entered Freljord—but I can say with certainty that the Noxians are no more resistant to the cold than the elite of the Dreadnoughts, nor are they more resistant to the cold than we are. They need time to adapt, time to build fortresses, and time to secure their strongholds."

In the end, Zhao Xin made his conclusion.

"So I think that in the short term, they will just occupy that place and will not, or rather, will be unable to, take any more threatening actions."

"So, if a pack of wolves wants to eat you, you still have to give them time to familiarize themselves with the terrain of your territory?"

Sejuani curled her lip in disdain, but Zhao Xin didn't care and continued speaking.

"Of course we can't do nothing—look here, down from Mount Juewo, it's all flat land, but there's only one way down—we can establish a base at the foot of the mountain first. The Freljords are better adapted to the environment, and the terrain is better than the valley, so we'll definitely be faster. That way, at least we can let the Noxians know that we're prepared."

Zhao Xin tapped the map.

"Even in the worst-case scenario, if the Noxians do invade, we can handle it, and if we're lucky—perhaps the Noxians will give up on Digging Mountain on their own."

Establishing a base in the mountains is very difficult. Transporting building materials is a major problem, and even if it is built, logistical support is extremely difficult, especially in Freljord.

If Winter's Claw's defenses are tight enough that the Noxians see little opportunity, Zhao Xin believes they might feel it's not worth the risk and choose to abandon the Dire Mountain they've already acquired.

Sejuani wanted to say something more, but Herren had already agreed with this person's opinion.

"So, how many people do you think are enough?"

"Hmm—we can't send too many people, around two hundred will be enough. We can also bring in some non-warriors to bolster our numbers, since the Noxians won't be able to tell the difference anyway. The rotated-out warriors can continue training—also, you need to send a reliable commander."