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

Chapter 119 Above the Heavens

When they reached the foot of the mountain, they found that the Vastaya were already waiting for them.

The Lothland Alliance was even "weak" than he had imagined; of the thousand people Murdoch had predicted, only a few hundred had actually appeared.

After all, not every Vastaya can use their innate magic to fight; many, even those with magic, are still non-combatants without any fighting ability.

However, Murdoch was surprised to find a group of soldiers he had never seen before gathered at the foot of the mountain.

They flew axe and sword banners that Murdoch had never seen before, and their formation was impeccable, clearly indicating that they had received proper training. This was in stark contrast to the haphazard and disorganized Ionian armies that Murdoch had encountered before.

Although the number of people was small, it was still very oppressive.

What surprised Murdoch most was the soldiers' extremely sophisticated weaponry.

Leaving aside the swords and shields that emitted an eerie blue light—their armor alone was remarkably similar to the Watcher armor supplied to the elite frontline troops, and each person had a set.

His detachment naturally didn't get to receive such fine armor. Even Murdoch himself only had a brief glimpse of it and could only drool with envy.

He never expected that in a godforsaken place like Ionia, the Noxians would be outmatched in weaponry.

Murdoch frowned. After all, this was a force he had never encountered before, so he decided to try negotiating first.

He spurred his horse forward, stepped out from the crowd, and arrived in front of the troops, shouting loudly.

"Who are you? How dare you stand in Noxus's way?"

After a brief silence, an excessively young man stepped out from that elite unit.

He was shirtless, with a huge hammer on his back, and a humble smile on his face.

"Good day, General. My name is Harren Hearth, from the Claws of Winter."

"Winter's Claw?"

Murdoch was taken aback. He had naturally heard of this name. This tribe had been quite popular recently—because of a statement they had issued not long ago, which had really angered some of the warlords and nobles in the country.

Murdoch, far away in Ionia, had heard about it and, in his spare time, had boasted that after the Ionian War, he would go and teach those barbarians a lesson.

But how did the barbarians of Freljord end up in Ionia? And why are they standing with the Vastaya?

And look at this army—are they fucking barbarians?

"Claws of Winter—I've heard of your arrogant pronouncements. What? You're no longer content with mere words? You want to confront the Empire head-on?"

"Please don't misunderstand, General, we have no intention of being your enemy."

Herren said with a smile.

"But as you can see, this jungle is the last refuge of these Vastaya people. As a tribe that also believes in the spirit of nature, we cannot bear to see them lose their last piece of land."

"Oh? So what? You're going to join them in their corrupt practices?"

"To collude with the corrupt? That's too harsh a word, sir, but as you can see..."

Herren pointed to Xayah and Rakan standing to the side.

"This Vastaya are now protected by the Claws of Winter—please, for our sake, put away your weapons."

Protection? Wasn't it supposed to be an alliance?

Xia was somewhat dissatisfied with this statement, but she didn't say anything at the moment.

Your face? No way—what the hell is Winter's Claw? What face do you have in front of the Noxian Empire?

Murdoch was shocked. He thought the Noxians were already arrogant enough, but he didn't expect that the harsh land could be even more arrogant.

He couldn't help but burst into laughter twice.

"Are you kidding me, kid?"

"Think what you will, Your Excellency, but we stand with the Vastaya."

Murdoch gave a cold laugh, then turned his horse back to the ranks. Not long after, the troops received the order to advance, and the thousands of soldiers marched forward as if they were one.

Logically, Murdoch should have consulted his superiors before making an enemy of a faction—but he didn't really consider the Winter's Claw a threat. Although their equipment was good, they were just a small group—fine, kill them, and all that excellent equipment will be mine!

In Noxian tradition, the victor has the right to control all the spoils of war.

Seeing that the Noxians were about to launch an attack, Xayah's expression immediately turned grim, and he hurriedly prepared for battle.

But when they turned to look at the Claws of Winter, they saw that these guys, facing an enemy several times their size, were not afraid or worried at all. Instead, they were all rubbing their hands together, full of enthusiasm.

The burly man with two axes was so excited he almost jumped for joy.

—Is this truly an army that loves nature?

That's true, human corpses can also be used as nutrients —

Compared to everyone else, Fiona seemed more worried.

She hurried toward Herren.

"Helen—the enemy has too many people; I'm afraid—the casualties will be considerable."

Fiona, a theoretical outsider, was more worried about the Winter's Claw suffering losses.

Herren nodded and took a deep breath.

He didn't want his people to suffer too much loss—and he came specifically to deal with this extreme situation.

Helen slowly closed his eyes. He decided to unleash his divine power as much as possible to gain an advantage and inflict maximum damage.

The magic of the First Flame brewed in his chest, but this time, Heron felt a different sensation as he channeled his divine power—

Whether it was because Ionia's magic was too abundant, or because Heron drew upon divine power from the spiritual world, he inadvertently touched upon the intersection of the two realms. He suddenly felt wave after wave of "air" surging into his body.

No, it wasn't air, it was magical energy, natural magic—it flowed into Heron's body like a trickle.

This process seemed endless, and Heron was getting impatient; it wasn't quite the same as the divine power he needed to mobilize as soon as possible.

After a long while, Helen did not hear the familiar, melodious horn sound, but instead heard a crisp sound, like a hammer striking an anvil.

when-

Herren suddenly opened his eyes, only to find that the food in front of him was completely different.

The world seemed to shrink, and the air was swirled into a deep blue, interspersed with wisps of fiery red.

The once formidable Noxian army now resembled mere ants.

Heron suddenly realized that he seemed to be high in the sky, looking down at this land—

However, from the perspective of the Noxians, Vastaya, and Freljords themselves, the situation is quite different.

They only saw that a vortex seemed to be forming out of thin air in the sky, and the invisible natural magic in the air was transforming into something tangible, condensing into the air.

Murdoch stared blankly at the blue specks of light that were gathering in the clouds and gradually coalescing into two straight lines.

After a crisp hammer strike, the two azure lines were "torn apart," revealing two blazing pupils like two suns, looking down upon the land.

A deep blue outline enveloped crimson pupils, cold and emotionless, like a god gazing down at ants.

Murdoch's back was soaked with cold sweat.