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

Chapter 103 The Condemnation of the Winter's Claw

The meeting ended unhappily, and in Herren's view, there was nothing more to ask; the matter was already quite clear.

Even though Jessica remained very enthusiastic, Herren's reaction was quite cold. He only drank two drinks symbolically before getting up to leave.

On the way back, a dark cloud hung over Herren's heart. He now knew that Darius's actions were on the orders of Emperor Darkwell.

So why would the Noxians suddenly open up a bridgehead that could directly reach the heart of Freljord?

That's so hard to guess.

Despite his bad mood, when Heron returned to the tribe, he still advised everyone to relax and focus on doing business with the Noxians.

It was only when talking to Zhao Xin, Sejuani, and Tryndamere, who was about to go to Dire Mountain, that he deliberately reminded them to be prepared.

Even with foresight, Harren—or rather, the current Winter's Claw—still lacks the confidence to strike first.

However, Harren's foresight was not without its uses; he had already planned for a turning point in the situation—

Over the next few days, Herren kept running to Zhao Xin's location, keeping a close eye on any delayed news coming from Ionia.

Gradually, the messages from Demacia began to extend beyond the Noxians' victories. After all, under Heron's instructions, Xin Zhao was replying frequently, and given the Noxians' unstoppable momentum, there wasn't much more to say about the results.

Therefore, the letter inevitably mentions Ionia's plight:

The Navori Massacre: In order to supply the army's rapid advance, the Noxians forcibly requisitioned almost all resources, without even considering leaving enough food for themselves. To prevent the starving Ionians in the rear from causing chaos, the Noxian army launched a bloody massacre in Navori Province, suppressing the unrest with knives and blood.

If the Navori massacre could be considered a strategic decision made by the Noxians, then the subsequent landing and massacre on Feral Island was pure brutality.

At the start of the war, almost simultaneously with Swain's landing at Navori, Noxian Admiral Duguel landed on the island of Philol in western Ionia.

The Noxians often did business with the island's inhabitants, and when so many people suddenly arrived, the naive Philolians thought it was a "big order" and went to the port to greet them with flowers.

What followed was a bloody massacre that lasted for three days and three nights.

After Dukur occupied the island, he ordered its massacre, and no one knows why.

Finally, there was the Zan family massacre, which was of utmost concern to Herren. The Zan family village in Navori was one of the few Ionian forces that rebelled at the beginning of the war, so naturally, the Noxians wielded their swords most fiercely against them.

The reason this family was specifically mentioned in a letter by the Demacians is because they are considered prominent in Ionia.

Herren was concerned about this because he knew that within the Zan family, there was a young girl who had successfully escaped the slaughter.

These tragic events caused Zhao Xin, who received the letters firsthand, immense pain. His spirits waned, and in recent days, whenever Herren saw him, he always had dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were bloodshot and red.

He kept muttering, "Ionia is doomed."

"It's not over yet, believe me, Master Xin."

"No—you don't understand Swain. Even in a disadvantageous battle, he can turn the tide. With such a huge advantage—"

Zhao Xin was speechless; he simply couldn't bear to see his hometown reduced to such a state.

While witnessing these tragedies, Herren, though still shaken, also had an idea.

After a brief moment of thought, Herren picked up the banknotes and began to write a letter, but after writing a few words, he crossed them out and simply got up and walked over to Zhao Xin.

Such an important matter—he had to report it to Zhan Mu first.

"Master Xin, I need to ask you for a favor."

"What is it?"

Zhao Xin looked up wearily, only to see that Herren's expression was very serious.

"We, the Winter's Claw, have no official channels to make any statements; we are just a tribe—I want to write a few letters of condemnation and forward them through Demacia to condemn the Noxian atrocities."

"Forehead?"

Zhao Xin was stunned, his mouth half-open.

No way—brother, is that your personality?

"Just sign it as 'Winter's Claw,' and Demacia only needs to help make sure other factions see it."

"you----"

Zhao Xin slowly came to his senses, but was very puzzled.

"Are you crazy? You want to provoke the Noxians?"

"Yes, I want to provoke them—just a few mild condemnations, I don't think the Noxians will actually jump up in anger."

"But—what is it all for?"

Zhao Xin gave a wry smile.

"Just to demonstrate your virtues?" Selling weapons to the Noxians while simultaneously advocating for the Ionians?

Zhao Xin not only didn't quite understand Herren's actions, but he also felt more disdain for them.

Indeed, it was just a few harmless barks.

"You can understand it that way—but we're not like Demacia; at least we'll keep our word."

Helen ignored Zhao Xin's dissatisfaction and simply stated firmly.

Finally, under Herren's insistence, Zhao Xin agreed to be the messenger.

And although Zhao Xin felt this was a pointless exercise, like a shrew yelling in the street, he had to admit that there was nothing else he could do.

By helping Herren criticize the Noxians, he's at least making a small contribution to his hometown.

He promised that he would use his reputation and his past relationship with Jarvan III to persuade Jarvan III to agree to the matter.

After dealing with Zhao Xin, Heron went to Sejuani and told her about the matter.

This time the difficulty was much lower. Sejuani wholeheartedly agreed with cursing the Noxians, and she was still holding a grudge about digging up the Feralas.

As for whether she speaks up for Ionia—she doesn't care! As long as Noxians are being insulted, she has to step in.

She even demanded that she draft the document, preferably including a greeting to the production line of that ditch emperor's mother, a concern for the health of the emperor's offspring's excretory pipes, and a eulogy for the wicked ancestors of the royal family.

Heron naturally wouldn't dare let her write it; he just wanted to express his attitude in advance to lay a certain degree of rationality for the subsequent change—if Sejuani really wrote it like that, it would probably be released today and Noxus would be on the verge of invasion tomorrow.

Are you kidding me?!

And so, one letter of condemnation after another, through Demacia, gradually came into view of the continent of Valoran over the course of a month.

As Herren predicted, Noxus's war in Ionia was at a crucial moment, a time to make a final, all-out effort, and they had no time to concern themselves with the petty squabbles of a Freljord clown.

Anyway, the insults weren't too harsh, and they were all true—so what? I did do it, so what?

I'll take that as a compliment.

In the end, it was only through Jessica's words that Heron received a brief, overt warning, which was in fact a serious admonition.

Judging from Jessica's tone—the Empire is about to win a great victory! If you keep acting like this, I'll deal with you! Even with our past relationship, I can't help you then—

Herren just smiled without saying a word, only offering evasive answers.