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

Chapter 106 Tearing Off the Mask

Jessica, who was at the Black Crow Merchant Guild's headquarters, was completely baffled. She couldn't understand what had gotten into Herren.

Are you kidding me? Why are you so angry? All we did was occupy your little hillside, and you're already throwing a tantrum?

Jessica naturally couldn't take Herren's relentless condemnation seriously; she assumed Herren simply harbored resentment over what happened at Digwo Mountain.

Speaking of which, Jessica recently received a message from the Ionian front lines, or more precisely, a private letter from Lord Jerry Swain.

Since the outbreak of the war, Jessica had not received a letter from that man for a long time.

And this letter is strange in every way.

Even though Presidio had already been captured, and Svetlana should have been riding high, a letter requesting supplies was sent to Jessica from thousands of miles away.

The letter requested a large supply of weapons and equipment—which puzzled Jessica. Did the Empire not have enough supplies to provide to the Presidium front?

But from Swain's words, Jessica also realized one thing—the front lines were in dire need of supplies, and that man never exaggerated.

Just as Jessica was about to expand her weapons orders, she received a notice from Winter's Claw that it was terminating all trade relations with Noxus.

Isn't this ridiculous?!

Jessica grew anxious and sent people to Winter's Claw several times, but each time she was turned away. Left with no other choice, Jessica had to condescend once again and go to Winter's Claw herself.

"You are betraying our promise!"

Jessica said indignantly, while Herren, sitting opposite her, nonchalantly drank the tea that Zhao Xin had given her.

"That doesn't count, does it? I've sent so many warnings through Demacia—who told you not to listen?"

"us?"

Jessica narrowed her eyes.

"You serve the Emperor, don't you? So since trade with Noxus is being severed, your Black Raven Merchant Guild is naturally included as well."

Jessica suddenly realized that Harren already knew he was a war stonemason—or Harren didn't know exactly what he did, only that he wasn't an ordinary merchant guild member, but rather someone who served the Empire.

There's not much difference between the two, at least for Jessica.

"Since you put it that way, then I must tell you, Helen—"

Jessica calmed down immediately and spoke in a gentler tone.

"I've known for a long time that there are Demacians in your tribe—you'll admit it, won't you? I've known about this for a long time, but out of friendship, I didn't report it. I just didn't expect—again, out of friendship, I advise you to stop now."

Jessica asked with certainty.

"What did the Demacians promise you?"

"Don't get me wrong, the Demacians are merely our guests. We are not Demacians' vassals, nor Noxus's—we are the Winter's Claw, children of Freljord. We've seen what you did in Ionia, and now you've invaded Freljord's lands. Who knows if we won't be the next Ionia?"

"Heh heh—if we really wanted to invade Freljord, what you're doing now is nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot."

In Jessica's view, Winter's Claw has only two outcomes: either an open, equal trade, or being occupied and treated like a dog by the Empire when it has the time to act—and turning against the Empire is nothing but self-destruction.

Herren simply shrugged helplessly at this.

"What else is there to say? Come on, we'll be waiting."

Seeing that Herren was unmoved, Jessica's patience finally ran out. She stood up with a sullen face, turned and left without even saying goodbye.

Herren's voice drifted from behind.

"By the way, if the map is not wrong, your Black Raven Merchant Guild's headquarters is also Freljord territory."

"—What do you mean?"

"Ha—in your words, out of friendship between us, I'm giving you advance notice, so you'd better pack your things as soon as possible to avoid bloodshed."

"...

""

Jessica paused for a moment, then coldly uttered harsh words.

"Then I'll answer you with your own words—come on then, we'll be waiting!"

Jessica spoke with a tough attitude, but when he returned to the camp, she actually lost her temper and started packing her belongings.

Because he sent a letter to Darius, the only person he could rely on in the Northern Legion, and upon returning, he received a reply from Darius.

The letter was very short, summed up in just one sentence.

"No backing up! But—you can back up just a little bit."

This letter shattered Jessica's last remaining illusions; Darius, at least for now, had no intention of engaging the Freljords in a real battle on the flat mountain pass.

He preferred Jessica to make a slight concession—it was just the barren land of Freljord, wasn't it? A small concession, retreating to the mountain passes within Noxus, organizing a defensive line, waiting for the war in Ionia to end, for the Empire to move troops and supplies westward, and then considering a large-scale offensive.

Before that, try to avoid unnecessary sacrifices.

Jessica was extremely frustrated. Hadn't the Empire won? Then—didn't the Empire win for nothing?

Although reluctant, Jessica knew that without the support of the Northern Legion, his soldiers, whose fighting strength was similar to that of the caravan guards, would probably not be able to withstand the Freljords. He still vividly remembered the terrifying battle between the War Mother and another powerful warrior that night.

All he could do before leaving was to destroy the entire encampment, leaving the Freljords with only ruins, a pathetic little act of revenge.

Therefore, when Harren and Udir arrived at the Black Raven Merchant Guild's headquarters, they found it in complete disarray, almost completely razed to the ground.

"These Noxians are really good at destruction—if it weren't for the fact that these logs can't be moved, I would have thought that I was dreaming when I came here before."

Harren chuckled and teased Udyr, who scratched his head in response.

But it's all good in the end; this crucial mountain pass has been so easily taken over by the Claws of Winter.

"What do we do next?"

"What should we do? Since we've already taken it, we can't just take it for nothing—go to the tribe and call for help, call as many people who are able to move as possible."

Herren looked around at the surroundings. The terrain of this pass was flat, surrounded by towering, continuous mountains. Apart from Juwo Pass, this was the most vulnerable place to invasion.

"Establish a defensive line here, as solid as possible—it can't be like their chamber of commerce headquarters, which is just a military camp."

Herren estimated the distance between the two mountain ranges and roughly gestured to make it clear.

"It would be best to build a Great Wall to completely seal off this area."

"The Great Wall? Did I hear that right? You're going to block the entire mountain pass with a wall?"

"Yes, is it difficult?"

"Hmm—I'm not sure, after all, no one in Freljord has ever done something like that."

"But I'm sure I can do it."

Herren nodded firmly, as if he had seen it before.

"Don't be afraid of difficulties. If the Noxians really come, this is the main battlefield—the stronger the defenses, the less blood our soldiers will bleed."

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