The Glory of Noxus

The edge of the frozen river.

Noxian soldiers, led by war masons, quickly built military facilities with strict styles based on trenches.

Buildings such as watchtowers, ramparts, tents, etc. rise from the ground and stand on the ice field.

In the center of the camp.

Darius stopped in front of the heavy fur tent and looked to the north.

Faint starlight illuminated the high slopes of Winterthorn Mountain Road.

He could see a bonfire burning above, smoke rising through the canopy, the advance guard of the Winter's Claw tribe.

They are waiting!

Darius smelled the strong smell of blood coming from his nose, turned around and saw Captain Farong and Oluo Shining Horn returning.

"General, what are you looking at?"

Oluo Shining Horn walked behind Darius. His tall body could bring him a farther field of vision. He also saw the Winter Claw tribe stationed there.

"Do you want me to lead my soldiers to deal with these bastards?"

The victory just now seemed to arouse Shining Horn Oluo's desire to fight. He looked at Darius eagerly, wanting to rush towards the enemy again.

"Need not!"

Darius shook his head and refused, looking at the world covered in ice and snow, the biting cold soaking the clouds.

"Isn't this mountain road after the avalanche the place for the decisive battle we long for?"

"I don't think Sejuani will refuse!"

Darius' expression became more solemn as he thought about the failure of the First Battle of Freljord.

He needed victory in this war to restore the glory of the empire and suppress the chaos within the empire, especially the Separatists, who couldn't wait to see the empire fall apart.

"Pass my order, and all battle groups will assemble towards Dongshan Mountain Road!"

"Yes, General!"

Behind Darius, the scout cavalry who heard the order responded respectfully and immediately turned and left.

After a while, the neighing of the war horses gradually disappeared on the snowy mountain road in the cold winter night.

The leaves of the pine trees high up were all the color of blood, in stark contrast to the pale snow around them.

Udyr watched a scarlet leaf fall and realized how much he had misunderstood the color red.

In his hometown, this color would only splash on the white snow.

But in the Freljord, red symbolizes violence and the approaching death.

But in fact, red symbolizes life. Anyone and any animal, as long as they are alive, contain red in their bodies.

Udyr opened his eyes.

The meditation candle burned a red spot in his sight, and the rain hissed on the dying campfire.

The strong wind shook the sagging leather tent of the cabin, as if intending to blow it down before daybreak. Cold rain seeped through the gaps between the fur rugs inside the tent.

Only then did Udyr realize that he was not sitting cross-legged with the monks on the remote top of Ionia, a corner of Sejuani's camp.

This is my home! Udyr felt a bitter pride in his heart.

It took several weeks for Udyr to meditate successfully again, but he couldn't be happier now.

As soon as he started to see his surroundings clearly... the voices came back.

Thoughts of nearby Enuk, Juvask boar, and horses overwhelmed his sense of self, filling his mind with foreign sensations—

The sound was as loud as thunder, and only he and the most powerful beast spirit walkers could hear it, and they could not be silenced.

Next come human emotions, a thousand fragmentary thoughts mixed together: anger, fear, resentment, callousness, etc.

Udyr dug the silver thorn into his palm repeatedly again. The impact of the metal amplified the pain thousands of times, but he was willing to bear any price in order to drive away those sounds.

Any price!

"Your Excellency Shaman, War Mother, please come over!"

The sound outside the tent brought back Udyr's thoughts. He looked down at his bloody palm, wiped it hastily, and stood up to go out.

Following the Blood Alliance warriors in front of him, Udyr came to Sejuani.

Compared with the relaxed atmosphere before, the War Mother of Winter's Claw looked solemn as she sat on the saddle of Steel Mane.

Perhaps sensing something, the huge Juvask wild boar snorted nervously, the ice around its paws shattered, and its huge eyes stared into the distance into the night.

There, in front of a burning bonfire.

The aide of Spirit Bear waved the bear paw pattern across his chest, and the many oath-singers surrounding him began to respond.

Countless voices overlay each other and sing different tones simultaneously, creating an unnatural vocal dirge that resonates harmoniously with the roar of the fire.

This voice made Udyr feel the mental hesitation again.

As time passed, Sejuani formed a horn formation along the woods along the river bank.

Everyone has their weapons ready, waiting for the arrival of the bear tribe.

As veterans, the blood warriors beat their shields and beat their war drums.

It's a Freljord custom: you have to prove yourself a friend before you can lay down your weapons.

Small sparks of static electricity began to appear on the warriors' armor, swords, and battle axes.

Udyr saw the warriors bewildered by the strange phenomenon. Arcs of electricity continued to dance between their weapons. He could feel their fear.

At the front of the army, Sejuani waved her cloak off.

There is no doubt that she is reminding their tribe that this war mother is the true blood of ice.

The power of ice flows in her blood, and fighting is the only warmth she needs. Even the spirit bear cannot make her afraid.

Udyr followed Sejuani to the edge of the woods. His face began to elongate and deform, and his teeth stretched outward to form huge fangs, then retracted back to their original appearance.

The hair on his skin rippled, flowing to all parts of his body, covering his whole body, and receding like the tide in a small inlet, as if responding to some unknown wave.

He growled and barked, saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth.

Suddenly, Udyr's eyes widened and he said in a solemn voice: "They are coming!"

Silence swept over everything.

The first bear-men emerged silently from the shadows between the trees—the savages.

Their skin was stained brown with blood. Their hair was stuck together with dirt. Some were naked, others were covered in bearskins or rags.

Next came the beasts, mostly bears, of varying sizes and coat colors.

Some species Udyr recognized, others he had never seen before.

They were all once spirit walkers, now trapped in the form of ruthless giant bears.

They have long forgotten that they were ever human.

Next comes the monster.

They are all weird hybrids of bears and other creatures, the stuff of legends, nightmares and folktales.

And they were all once human beings.

But now it has been completely swallowed by the true beast spirit, and it has long lost the appearance of a normal animal.

The Ursines stood in a messy row opposite Sejuani's army. They did not assume an offensive posture, did not make any sound, and were just waiting.

Udyr's tight breathing gradually slowed down, and his trembling turned into a swaying. He recognized many souls from the opposite front: students, masters, and former Oathsingers.

There are clan shamans he met while drinking, and there are warriors he met on the battlefield.

They retain little sense of self, and most have forgotten that they were ever human.

Some people have even torn their souls apart until the only emotion left is the unyielding spirit bear, an infinite self-confidence that is close to rage.

A man emerged from the woods, wearing only a huge crowfeather hood and a bearskin cloak.

Hunting Lord!

"Why did you summon us, Winter's Claws?"

"I ask for the strength of the Ursine." Sejuani took a deep breath and spoke word by word. "I ask you to fight alongside my tribe, Lord of the Hunt."

The Hunting Lord looked at Sejuani, his dull eyes motionless in his sockets. It wasn't until he saw Udyr beside him that a touch of color appeared in his eyes.

"You asked the wrong person. I'm just conveying Volibear's voice."

"As his representative, I can accept your promise——"

"I can't represent him, I'm just his tool." The Hunting Lord interrupted her. He seemed to be staring into the distance behind Sejuani.

“Our Lord goes with us.”

Udyr was the first to feel its power before anyone else present.

Those voices, those animal spirits in his mind, those consciousnesses that would never go away... all began to weaken.

Even Sejuani couldn't sense it so close, and the annoyance and impatience surrounding her faded away.

Thunder sounds!

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