Chapter 453: Ashe's "Male Lover"
As the Shurima Empire was reviving in the yellow sands, in the far north, Freljord.
Rakstak is the sanctuary of the three sisters Avarosa and one of the few human settlements on the Freljord glacier that can be called a city.
The city is located in the fertile, warm and humid land in the south. From the perspective of the Freljord people, as long as there are a few months in a year that are not frozen by heavy snow, they can plant a season of barley or potatoes and grow pasture to feed cattle and sheep, it can be considered a "fertile, warm and humid" land.
In short, in the eyes of the Freljord people, this land is already a fertile land and a treasure that only the strong can possess.
And at this moment, this land belongs to the revived Avarosa tribe and the great leader of the Southern Tribal Alliance, the Frost Archer Ashe.
On this day, the sky was filled with wind and snow, and the night was as dark as ink.
Ashe finished a busy day and walked slowly towards her residence in the light of the campfire.
The tribal guards along the way all looked at their leader with reverence, or as the Freljord people say, "War Mother!"
Ashe nodded calmly to each of the warriors, showing her powerful yet kind side as the leader of the tribe.
It was not until she left everyone's sight and returned to the door of her residence that her beautiful face finally revealed a hint of fatigue and a hint of the fragile beauty of a young girl.
It is not easy to be the leader of a large tribal alliance.
She would have to spend endless energy just to balance the interests of the tribes under her command and eliminate the various contradictions and conflicts between these independent tribes that were previously not under each other's jurisdiction.
Ashe's ultimate ideal is to achieve the unification of all of Freljord and bring peace to this war-torn land.
This overly ambitious ideal destined her to face many enemies and troubles.
"Ashe, you're back." While I was lost in thought, the door opened.
A man came out to greet them.
He looks very ordinary.
Although he is tall and strong, this body type is common to the Freljord people, who are all berserkers.
If there was anything special about this man, it was his handsome face.
But this thing is worthless in Freljord. People admire a thick enough arm more than a good-looking face.
So, from a Freljord perspective, this man is generally pretty unremarkable.
And this "ordinary" man is none other than Ashe's blood partner:
"Tryndamere." Ashe called out her husband's name.
Saying husband is not quite accurate.
In the matriarchal Freljord, the highest leaders of the tribe are women like Ashe.
They are honored as War Mothers.
The Blood Alliance Companions are the male companions of the War Mothers.
A War Mother can have many blood allies, and the status of male blood allies in front of the War Mother is often humble.
They are often either political marriage tools sent from other tribes, or "good guys" chosen by the War Mother to help her give birth to excellent offspring.
Of course there is true love among them. But... even with the blessing of love, the status gap between the Blood Alliance and the War Mother cannot be challenged.
So, if we have to make an analogy:
Tryndamere cannot be considered Ashe's husband, he can only be considered Ashe's "concubine".
However, Ashe only has this one "concubine", and she has no intention of finding more "male favorites", so the two of them can still be regarded as a husband and wife relationship in the common sense.
"Come in." Ash walked into the house greeted by her husband.
The charcoal fire in the fireplace was already burning, bringing a touch of warmth to the stone house in the wind and snow.
Dinner was also ready. The food was simple, just a few kinds of dried meat commonly found on the ice field. But they were all what Ashe liked to eat.
"Tryndamere." Ashe put the ice bow aside and smiled on her cold face: "Thank you."
"It's my honor to serve you," Tryndamere said seriously.
"You don't have to be so respectful to me, Tryndamere." Ashe shook her head helplessly: "Our union has lasted for a whole winter. You are already my one and only blood sworn brother."
She chose Tryndamere at the beginning simply because this guy had lost his entire family and had no background, and marrying him would not cause jealousy among the tribes under her command and lead to internal strife.
But after a year of getting along, some real feelings have developed between the two.
So, at least in her own home and in front of Tryndamere, Ashe still hopes to get along with him as an ordinary girl.
"Yeah." Tryndamere nodded, with a hint of tenderness in his eyes.
But the respect in his eyes was no less.
The people of the Freljord believe that Ashe is the divine incarnation of Avarosa herself, one of the three ancient sisters.
It is precisely because of this deeply rooted legend, coupled with Ashe's own powerful strength and extraordinary charm, that she successfully united the southern tribes of Freljord and became the leader of the largest tribal union in this polar snowfield in several generations.
Tryndamere did not believe the legend at first.
But as he spent more time with Ashe, he began to believe the whispers of others - that she was truly the divine incarnation of Avarosa herself.
So, Tryndamere loves and respects Ashe.
This delicate situation of marrying... no, marrying a real goddess formed a special mode of getting along between the two of them, where they respected each other as equals.
"Okay..." Ash was used to her husband's attitude.
She sat down in front of the dinner that Tryndamere had prepared long ago.
But before sitting down, Ash noticed a small square box on the table.
The entire box is made of a strange material that is neither gold nor jade, hard yet thin.
The box is not only branded with a striking bluebird emblem, but also has several buttons with unknown functions and Demacia logos.
This looked like something from outside the Freljord.
"Play...play?" Unlike most Freljordians, Ashe, who is naturally very intelligent, is not illiterate.
Because it is located in the relatively warm climate south of the ice field, unlike the primitive hunting tribes in the extremely cold northern lands, the Avarosa Tribal Alliance's means of survival include not only hunting, but also farming, grazing, and doing business with the Demacians further south.
Because Ashe had several unpleasant dealings with Demacia's northern merchants, she also recognized the Demacia language.
But even if she understood the buttons, she still didn't understand: "What exactly does this little box do?"
“A ditty singer,” said Tryndamere.
As he spoke, he reached out and fiddled with the switch of the Hexagon speaker.
The expensive and reliable Hextech magic battery slowly started up, and the azure magic light lit up faintly.
Then, a melodious and sweet female voice, accompanied by beautiful music, came clearly from the small box.
"Hmm..." Listening to the exotic music and looking at the blood-bound couple who had carefully prepared all this for her, Ashe couldn't help but feel a bit of romance.
But the leader's rationality soon returned.
She turned her eyes away from the hexagonal speaker and looked at Tryndamere curiously: "This magic box, was it also brought back by the caravan from Demacia?"
"Yes." Tryndamere nodded. "Because Demacia has completely opened up foreign trade, this caravan has brought back a lot of good things—"
"You must know this, Ash."
Of course, Ashe knew about this big event.
In the past, the government of the Kingdom of Demacia strictly prohibited foreign trade.
Especially against the barbarians in the northern ice fields. As one of the southern countries that has suffered from barbarian plunder for many years, Demacia has been implementing a trade blockade policy against Freljord for hundreds of years.
But just like the Ming Dynasty, which imposed a maritime ban and turned itself into a net inflow of silver...
The ultimate result of this embargo policy was the rise of Demacia's civilian smuggling trade to the northern ice fields, which enriched a large number of local nobles and smugglers who made a living from this trade.
With so many mouths to feed and such huge trade costs in the middle, it was destined that the Freljord people's goods would not be sold at much price after being shipped to the north of Demacia, and they would not be able to buy many good things.
But this time...
"For some reason, Demacia has completely opened up its foreign trade."
Of course, Tryndamere didn't know that this was a small reform made by Prince Jarvan after he came to power in Demacia.
Open the country to do business. The money that was previously earned by smugglers and local nobles will now be earned by the Demacia government.
This was done, on the one hand, to further suppress and weaken the domestic aristocratic forces, and on the other hand, to accumulate as much start-up capital as possible for Demacia's subsequent industrial transformation.
In short, Jarvan and others did not consider the interests of the Freljord people when formulating such a policy, but this policy has actually benefited these Freljord people.
"Without the restrictions of the embargo policy and the greedy middlemen of nobles who take advantage of the price difference, our caravans heading south can not only trade freely with the Demacians, but also sell the same goods at several times higher prices than in previous years."
"So they brought back a lot of good stuff from Demacia this time - including this little gadget called 'speaker'."
Tryndamere said in a happy tone.
In his opinion, the tribe's goods were sold at a high price and more precious commodities were bought back from the south. This was undoubtedly news that made him happy for Ashe.
Although trade cannot completely solve the food problem of this large tribal alliance, it is ultimately a welcome progress.
"Isn't it?" Tryndamere's smile gradually faded.
Because he noticed that Ash frowned slightly and didn't look very happy.
"Are you... in trouble again?" Tryndamere asked carefully.
"Yeah." Ash nodded.
"Is it related to our trade with Demacia?" asked Tryndamere again .
As the good helper of Ashe and War Mother, he looks rough but is actually very careful.
"Yes." Ash sighed, his eyes returning to the Hextech speakers shipped from the south.
Then, she broke the bad news: "The Stonebreakers have defected from the Alliance."
"What?" Tryndamere also frowned.
He knew the Stonebreakers, a small tribe located in the southernmost part of the Alliance territory.
They live in the border area adjacent to Demacia.
From there, you can cross a mountain range that separates the north and the south, and enter the Demacia Basin with a pleasant climate from the Freljord Icefield.
"Where did they defect to?" Although he already had a vague answer in his mind, Tryndamere still found it a little hard to believe.
Until Ashe gave a definite answer: "They went to Demacia for refuge."
This was something we couldn't even think about before.
Because Demacia has been trapped in the basin shrouded by the magic-forbidden stone forest for hundreds of years. They don't even have enough land to divide among themselves, so how can they accept the submission of the barbarians from the north?
Apart from the smuggling trade, the only way for the Germans and the Icemen to interact was to fight each other on the border defense line of the kingdom.
But now...
"They actually accepted the Stonebreakers?" Tryndamere couldn't believe it.
"Yes." Ashe nodded, and then sighed: "And it's not just the Stonebreaker Tribe..."
"As long as you are a human being, they are willing to accept you."
"What?" Tryndamere was even more shocked.
This kind of thing is simply .
In this barren land with extremely harsh climate, one more person means one more mouth to feed.
Except for Ashe, who is determined to unify the ice field, unite her compatriots, and establish order in the Freljord, most other tribes do not want prisoners or even slaves.
The loser will only die. He won't even have the chance to be a dog.
Because the winner doesn't have enough food to feed you.
Of course, the situation in Demacia is ten thousand times better than that in Freljord, but...
"Their population is also ten thousand times greater than ours," Tryndamere said, frowning.
"Why are these Demacians suddenly willing to give up their land and food and accept the Freljord people as their allies?"
"I'm not sure either." Ashe shook her head helplessly.
The world was changing too fast, and even she, the great leader, was beginning to lose track of the situation.
"All I know is that Demacia is opening something called a 'factory' near the border."
"factory?"
"It's just... a large foundry." Ashe tried to understand it in the Ice Man's way.
Thanks to Ornn, who left a mature tradition of craftsmen on this ice sheet, the people of Freljord can barely understand the existence of factories.
"In short, the factory needs a lot of manpower."
"And when these Demacians recruit people, they don't care about their origins or backgrounds. They even treat the Freljordians the same."
The first batch of factories in Demacia were introduced and opened from Zaun under the leadership of Demacia leaders such as Lux.
When a leader runs a factory, he will of course treat everyone equally with a humanistic spirit.
As for why these factories were opened on the border between Demacia and Freljord?
The reason is very simple.
Because the Crownguard family's territory, Silver City, is right on the border of the Freljord region.
Lux wants to conduct an industrialization pilot project in Demacia, and of course she will give priority to doing it in the family territory that she has absolute control over.
This indirectly led to the spontaneous submission of the Freljord people and the defection of the Stonebreakers.
"The Demacians seem to be serious this time." Ashe said in a serious tone: "It is said that not only do they not look at people's background when recruiting, but they also offer extremely generous treatment."
"Food and lodging are provided, and there is enough food."
In fact, salary is the biggest expense.
But for the people of Freljord who have been struggling to survive in the ice and snow all year round, money is not important, food and shelter are important.
Free food and accommodation, enough food - this sentence is a critical blow to the people of the ice field.
Who doesn’t want to have a room in a warm and comfortable place like Demacia and eat all the delicious oatmeal bread every day?
"And the most troublesome thing is that according to rumors, the Demacians don't just give this kind of treatment to the chosen ones."
"As long as you go, they will not chase you away, and will find ways to help you make a living."
The rumors did not specify what specific livelihood arrangements would be made.
But... being able to have a livelihood in Demacia, even if it means digging out manure and picking up garbage, is still more comfortable than starving and eating icicles in the Freljord!
"So, the Stonebreakers defected. And to make matters worse..."
There was a hint of weakness in Ashe's tone: "This 'good' news is still spreading across the ice field."
"This..." Taida Mil immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.
This is indeed good news for the people of Freljord who yearn for a better life.
But for Ashe and the Avarosa Tribal Alliance, this is not good news.
The reason why those tribes, big and small, submitted to Ashe was not only because of her own strength, but also because she was one of the few people on the Freljord glaciers who protected the weak. She could bring unprecedented order and peace to everyone.
Under the banner of Avarosa, people no longer have to fight and plunder each other, but can feed themselves through united farming, grazing and hunting. Weak tribes can also survive under her wings.
However, the land on the ice sheet is too barren.
No matter how hard Ashe tries, what she can give can never be better than what Demacia gives.
Order, peace, and most importantly, food and clothing...
These things that the Avarosan tribe has devoted all its efforts to maintaining are readily available in Demacia.
So, between Ashe and the completely open-armed Demacia, what will the small tribe choose?
"Oh no..." Tryndamere saw that something was wrong.
He finally understood why Ashe, who had always been strong and fearless, looked so powerless.
This is simply an undefeatable enemy.
If this continues, going south to join Demacia will likely become a trend on the ice field.
And Avarosa, which has finally integrated the southern tribes and is the fruit of Ashe's lifelong efforts, is likely to fall apart.
Tryndamere struggled to come up with a solution for Ashe.
But this problem is really difficult to solve. His clever "good wife" has no idea at all.
"Damn it!" He could only clench his fists in anger: "These Demacians are so cruel!"
“They actually distributed food to everyone!”
