Chapter 464 Sejuani: Picked Up a Dad
Time goes back to half a month ago. On a distant ice field, amidst the vast snow.
Sejuani's main force was now temporarily stationed on this endless barren snowfield.
More than a decade ago, the Winter Claw was still a sister tribe of Avarosa, and Ashe was still Sejuani's childhood friend, not her biggest rival.
Now, more than a decade has passed. Under Ashe's leadership, the Avarosa tribe has grown into a united alliance, and Ashe has become the Ice Queen in the eyes of many Freljordians.
She successfully brought the powerful southern tribes under her command, led Avarosa to gain a firm foothold in the "warm" southern part of the ice field, and embarked on the successful path of farming, grazing, and self-sufficiency.
Sejuani, however, took a completely different path.
The Winter Claw has no land to cultivate and no pastures to graze, only fierce fangs and deadly claws.
They have been the most ferocious raiders on the ice field since ancient times, relying on hunting and raiding to support their tribe.
This is how the Winter Claw survives.
After taking over as Warmother, Sejuani undoubtedly successfully carried forward this tradition.
She led the Winter Claw to attack and plunder everywhere, achieving one glorious victory after another. She also allowed the Winter Claw tribe to successfully absorb dozens of other clans and the entire Stonefang Tribe, eventually growing to its present size.
Now Sejuani is a true war mother - she has thousands of blood warriors, heavy infantry, mammoth riders and ice bloods under her command.
She vowed to prove that she alone was worthy of ruling the Freljord.
"War Mother! War Mother! Let us sing a song for you~" The children's intimate call brought Sejuani's thoughts back to reality.
The ambitions in her heart disappeared in an instant, and the grudges with Ashe were temporarily put aside.
Sejuani looked down at the children surrounding her.
These children are the new generation in the tribe, and the oldest is no older than 5 years old. After all, those over 5 years old are considered little adults who can help with chores, and they can no longer play happily in the "nursery" as carefree as they do now.
Yes, Winter's Claw does have a "nursery".
The severe pressure of survival made every adult in the tribe busy and unable to take care of their children on their own; many parents died tragically in those brutal battles shortly after giving birth to their children.
Therefore, whether it is the Winter Claw or other tribes, everyone can only do socialized raising and bring the children together to raise them together.
Sejuani always likes to come here to take a look.
After all, the tribe is a big family, and the children are the future of the family.
As the war mother of the tribe, Sejuani is of course also the loving mother of all the children in the tribe.
"Let us sing a song for you~" The children also like her as the young "mother".
"..." Sejuani fell silent again.
She lowered her eyes and looked at the children. These little ones were as thin as snow rabbits after hibernation, with pale faces and thin bodies, and some were even skin and bones.
Although the tents made of mammoth skin were thick enough, the merciless cold wind still seeped in through the gaps, making these skinny little guys tremble when they spoke.
"Warmother? Do you want to hear us sing?"
"Hmm..." Sejuani finally nodded with a heavy heart.
So the children huddled together excitedly, singing in sweet voices the old nursery rhyme that she had sung when she was a child: "La~ They work hard to plow the fields and sow seeds silently~ We do what we want and burn everything~"
This song is sung with great spirit.
But the children were so thin that their cheeks were sticking to their faces, which still made Sejuani feel distressed.
"Ogai." She couldn't help but turn to the female war priest beside her and said, "How long do we have left with our food reserves? Can we give more to the children?"
“War Mother…” Ogay pursed his lips and said, “The harvest from the last raid has been almost consumed. The few hunting teams we sent out recently didn’t have any big gains.”
"Unless we are lucky enough to encounter a migrating herd of animals, even if we save on food, we can only hold out for another month and a half at most."
Sejuani remained silent upon hearing this.
She raised her lips with difficulty: "But children are the future of the tribe. If they don't have enough food, they won't grow up to be reliable warriors."
"I know." Ogay remained calm.
She looked at a skinny baby lying in the corner of the tent and said, "My daughter is starving, too. I know."
The baby cried loudly because of hunger, but Ogay still looked away resolutely: "But the warriors need food more. If they have no strength, how can we win the next raid?"
Sejuani fell silent again.
She hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "Let those old guys over 35 eat less. Give the extra rations to the children."
"..." Ogay was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded: "Yes."
The Ice People care about children but ignore the old and weak. This is the morality that the winter has taught them.
After calmly accepting Sejuani's order, she couldn't help but say, "Warmother, it's time for you to make a decision."
"Where should we go next?"
"This..." Sejuani pondered in silence.
This is a very important question, and it is also a fatal problem that the Winter Claw, as a nomadic hunting tribe, has to face several times every year:
The ice field is so vast, which direction should we migrate to next to survive?
Go fishing in the icy sea in the north?
But it is close to the North Pole of the planet, and the weather is not only extremely bad, but also unpredictable. A cold wind may blow overnight, and a layer of ice so thick that it is hopeless will form on the sea surface.
So go east and plunder Noxus?
But Noxus is not easy to deal with.
Although the Winter's Claw once defeated Noxus's Northern Legion, it also caused the famous Darius to suffer a humiliating defeat, making him a disgraceful "Icefield Student".
But Sejuani knew that this was only temporary luck.
Noxus is a ferocious beast after all. If you try to rob it, you will easily be bitten back.
Then go west and plunder Avarosa?
Go southwest to invade Demacia?
Or just continue wandering on this ice field, searching for those migrating snow beasts?
…
No matter which option you choose, there are huge risks behind it.
If the wrong decision is made, the tribe will pay a huge price.
The hunger and distress of the Winter Claw at this moment is actually due to a wrong decision made by Sejuani before, which resulted in the tribe's failure to achieve this quarter's KPI and the failure to grab enough food.
“I don’t want any more children to freeze or starve to death because of my decision,” Sejuani sighed.
"But no one can win all the time." Ogay also lowered his eyelids and said, "War Mother, you should be mentally prepared for this."
Sejuani slowly clenched her fists. Indeed, it was time for her to take up her responsibilities as a leader.
So she pondered and prepared to make a decision: "Next, we will go west..."
At this moment, a ranger warrior hurried to the door of the tent and brought her a message: "War Mother, we found a wandering beast spirit walker on the ice field. He said he is your old friend, War Mother."
"Oh?" Sejuani was slightly stunned.
A beast spirit walker who can wander alone on the ice field... he is not an ordinary person.
And, he's an old acquaintance of hers?
"What's his name?"
"Udyr, he calls himself Udyr." The ranger replied.
"Is it him?" Sejuani was a little surprised.
Udyr was her mother's old lover. Although they were not formally blood allies, their relationship was almost the same.
Therefore, Udyr can almost be regarded as her sworn father.
However, this does not mean that their relationship is very close. After all, a Warm Mother often has many blood alliances, and Sejuani naturally has many sworn fathers.
Udyr was just one of her many godfathers, and Sejuani didn't spend much time with him when she was a child.
Later, Udyr was expelled from the tribe by his grandmother because he was unable to control his powerful and dangerous gifts.
And Sejuani had never seen him again since.
The universe is vast, and a separation on the ice field is often a farewell forever.
She never thought that she would meet this old friend again one day.
"Please ask him to come over." Sejuani didn't know why Udyr returned to Winter's Claw after so many years.
But after all, he was an old friend, so she was still willing to entertain him.
"Yes." The ranger quickly turned around and rode on a Juvask boar, and hurriedly rode away.
After a while, a familiar figure appeared at the door of the tent.
He had a big beard, was shirtless, and had arms as strong as iron lumps. He looked like a typical icefield warrior.
"Udyr, you look the same as before." Sejuani's attitude was not very enthusiastic.
After all, Udyr's abilities often get out of control. She had heard about his bloodthirsty and violent deeds when she was a child, and now she is still wary of this powerful and "crazy" beast walker.
But Udyr has completely changed.
Although his appearance is similar to that of the past, his eyes no longer have the anger and madness that threatened to get out of control at any time.
"Sejuani." Udyr looked at her young face with a hint of kindness in his eyes: "You have grown up."
"Yes." Sejuani was not in a hurry to reminisce. She only asked with concern: "How did you find our tribe?"
It is risky to let people know your whereabouts on the ice field.
"I have many animal friends on the ice field." Udyr smiled.
"I spent a lot of time and effort to find it."
"Troublesome Spirit Walker." Sejuani muttered.
Then she said bluntly: "My mother died a long time ago. If you came back for her, you came for nothing."
"I know." Udyr's expression darkened. "I heard about this from the wild boars in your tribe on the way."
Sejuani was stunned for a moment: "Weird."
"So are you leaving?" she asked directly.
“No.” Udyr shook his head: “I came back not only for your mother, but also for the Winter’s Claw.”
"You want to return to the tribe?" Sejuani looked serious.
She knew how powerful Udyr was, and after many years of absence, Udyr now seemed to have mastered his abilities.
A powerful and rational beast spirit walker is welcomed by all ice tribes.
“Yes.” Udyr nodded: “I hope to return to Winter’s Claw. This is the place where I was raised, and... I swore to protect your mother and everything she cherished.”
"Well... okay." I didn't expect this old guy to be so infatuated, Sejuani thought.
But it was okay. She definitely didn't lose out by getting a powerful beast spirit walker for free .
Just as she was thinking this, she saw Wudi pause, then raised his head and said seriously: "I also hope to bring new opportunities to Winter Claw."
"Opportunity?" Sejuani was slightly stunned.
She said with full vigilance: "Do you have any prey worth snatching that you want to show me?"
"No." Udyr shook his head: "I want to show Winter's Claw a clear path, a path where they will no longer have to suffer from hunger and cold."
"This..." Sejuani felt that he was a little crazy.
No more hunger and cold? Even the richest Avarosa Alliance probably wouldn't dare to say that.
“What do you want to do?” Sejuani asked.
"I want you to come with me to Ionia." Udyr said shockingly.
"Huh?" Sejuani was stunned. This old man is really crazy!
"You want us to cross the vast ocean and rob Ionia?"
The last person to do this was Ivern the Ruthless.
As a result, this ancient warrior who was able to compete with the three sisters never returned after going out to sea, and became a negative example in the myths and legends of the Freljord.
In short, even if we don’t consider the distance issue where people could starve to death on the road...is the virgin land across the sea so easy to grab?
"Don't worry." Wu Dier shook his head and said, "Because I am not taking you to plunder, I am taking you to settle there."
"Settle down? Go to Ionia?" Sejuani was even more stunned. She thought she was listening to a bad joke.
"Yes." Unexpectedly, Udyr was serious: "I have been practicing Taoism in Ionia across the sea for the past few years, and I have also made many friends in Ionia."
He followed an oriental monk named Li Qing to Ionia, just to find a way to completely master the power of the gods.
Unexpectedly, he encountered Noxus' invasion of Ionia as soon as he arrived there, forcing him to follow Lee Sin and serve as an anti-Noxus warrior for several years.
The war continued, and Udyr practiced with Li Qing while defending this land with him.
Then, the leader came...
"I met a lot of friends in Ionia, and they are all very good people." Udyr tried to explain in words that even the people of Iceborne could understand:
"My friends will accept us generously, and let Winter Claw live forever in a harmonious and peaceful land."
"Fertile land, warm sunshine, and endless vegetables and bread will no longer be a dream."
Udyr casually painted a dreamlike and beautiful picture, which stunned the children around him.
But Sejuani was not a child: "You mean, thousands of miles away, there is a group of strangers who are willing to give us land for free and let us live there?"
How many dishes did you drink that you even had such a dream?
"And..." Sejuani's expression was strange: "A harmonious and peaceful life?"
Harmony and peace?
She finally discovered the most abnormal thing about Udyr.
Who is Udyr?
He is a pure beast spirit walker, a man who wields the power of gods and sticks to the ancient ways of the old gods.
He firmly believes that the mysterious land of the Freljord must be nourished by struggle and conflict.
Harmony and tranquility will only make people weak and unable to resist the fierce wind and frost of the ice field.
Therefore, the ice field cannot be unified, cannot be united, and there can be no harmony or peace.
This would make it too easy for people to survive in the Freljord. It would mean there would be no struggle or growth, and the spirit of the Freljord would not survive...
To put it bluntly, it means that everyone should become savages, the more savage the better.
It's good for everyone to live in a small tribe. Otherwise, if there are too many people playing in a group, the game will become less difficult and boring.
Udyr's philosophy actually has some of Volibear's flavor.
However, Volibear is even more extreme - this ancient god believes that the ice sheet should always remain in its ancient state.
He believed that the people of the ice field should fight and hunt constantly, and even farming and grazing were against the ancestral laws.
He once destroyed a dam built by his followers during one of his descents, simply because he felt that the dam, a creation that could increase productivity and make humans live more comfortably, went against the ancient ways of the Freljord.
Anyway…
In Ashe's eyes, Sejuani is extreme.
In Sejuani's eyes, Udyr is extreme.
In Udyr's eyes, Volibear, who completely denies human civilization, is even more extreme.
Udyr's original extreme level was probably just second to Volibear.
But now he...
"You're talking to me about peace and harmony?" Sejuani couldn't believe it. "You want us to move to a warmer place and live a stable life like those farmers?"
"What on earth have you been through?"
She really couldn't imagine what kind of power could cause such a drastic change in this extreme beast spirit walker.
But Udyr just calmly replied: "Because I met a new god in Ionia."
“She made me understand that unity does not necessarily mean weakness, and peace does not necessarily mean stagnation.”
“The world is constantly moving. The unity of all people will not only not bring stagnation, but will also burst out with incredible power and bring about earth-shaking changes to the world.”
"Hmm..." Sejuani didn't understand. She just felt that he was a little weird.
And this is normal. As the most powerful beast spirit walker in history, Udyr can communicate with the gods and use their power.
She just thought that Udyr had gained some new divine power in Ionia, which affected his brain.
"Okay, I roughly understand what you mean." Sejuani rubbed her eyes, looking impatient.
Then, predictably, she said, "I reject your proposal."
"Winter's Claw will not leave Freljord, let alone go to Ionia."
She must be crazy to lead the entire tribe to migrate across the sea just because of Udyr's few words.
Any normal person would refuse.
"I understand your concerns." Udyr had anticipated this, "But I still hope that you can let me stay in Winter's Claw."
"Perhaps you can give me some time so that I can slowly tell you about what I saw and heard in Ionia."
"By then, I think you will understand me."
"If you want to stay, then stay." Sejuani had no intention of listening to Udyr's chanting, but she didn't turn him away either.
She just reminded: "You can return to the tribe, but you must work for the Winter Claw, hunt and raid with us."
"No problem." Udyr nodded, with patience and a hint of concern in his eyes.
This made Sejuani feel a little uncomfortable.
Perhaps Udyr, due to his old relationship with his mother, regarded her as his long-lost child. But she still couldn't accept this "father" who was picked up halfway.
"I won't go to Ionia." Sejuani couldn't help but emphasize again.
"I won't go east either." She had decided before Udyr came: "Then we will go west and plunder Avarosa or Demacia."
"Udyr, are you still willing to follow?"
"The West? Avarosa... or Demacia?" Udyr was stunned.
The journey from Ionia to the vast ice field was not easy, and finding someone on the ice field was even more difficult.
It took him nearly half a year to cross the sea from Ionia back to the ice field, and then find the Claw of Winter on this vast ice field.
Before he set off, the Demacia expeditionary force had not yet returned home and was still helping with the Shikai in Ionia.
But now... they should have gone back, right?
Thinking of this, Udyr couldn't help but smile: "No problem."
“I will go west with you, Sejuani.”
