LOL: Summoner of Goddess Janna

While the Shurima Empire is resurrecting in the yellow sands, the Far North, the Freljord.

Larkstark is the sanctuary of the three sisters Avarosa. It is also one of the few human settlements on the Freljord Icefield that can be called a city.

This city is located in a fertile, warm and humid land in the south - from the perspective of the Freljord people, as long as there are a few months a year that are not blocked by heavy snow, they can plant a season of snow barley or potatoes, and they can grow If pasture is provided to support cattle and sheep, it is considered a "fertile, warm and moist" land.

In short, this land is already a rich land in the eyes of the Freljord people, a treasure that only the strong can possess.

At this moment, this land belongs to the resurgent Avarosa tribe and to the great leader of the Southern Tribe Alliance, Ice Archer Ashe.

On this day, the sky was full of wind and snow, and the night was like ink.

Ash finished his busy day and walked slowly towards his home in the light of the campfire.

The Horde Guards along the way looked at their leader with reverence, or as the Freljord people say: "War Mother!"

Ai Xi nodded to these warriors one by one with a calm expression, showing her strong and kind side as the leader of the tribe.

It wasn't until she left everyone's sight and returned to the door of her residence that her delicate face finally showed a hint of fatigue and a hint of the fragile beauty of a girl.

It is not easy to be the leader of a large tribal alliance.

Just balancing the interests of the tribes under her command and eliminating all kinds of contradictions and conflicts between these independent tribes that did not belong to each other in the past, she had to spend infinite energy.

Ashe's ultimate ideal is to unify the entire Freljord and bring peace to this land that is constantly fighting.

This too lofty ideal destined her to face many enemies and troubles.

"Ai Xi, you're back." The door opened while thoughts were swirling.

A man came out.

He looks ordinary.

Although he is tall and has a strong body, this kind of stature is just a common basic configuration for the Freljordians who are Berserkers per capita.

If there was anything special about this man, it would be his handsome face.

But this thing is worthless in Freljord. Compared with a good-looking face, what people admire more is a thick arm.

Therefore, from a Freljordian perspective, this man is generally unremarkable.

And this "ordinary" man is none other than Ashe's blood alliance companion:

"Tryndamere." Ashe called out her husband's name.

It's not quite accurate to say husband.

In Freljord, a matriarchal clan, the top leaders of the tribe are all women like Ashe.

They are respected as war mothers.

The blood alliance companion is the male partner of the war mothers.

A war mother can have many blood alliance partners, and the status of male blood alliances in front of the war mother is often relatively humble.

They are often either political marriage partners from other tribes, or "good guys" selected by the War Mother to help the War Mother give birth to good offspring.

Of course there is true love in it. But...even with the blessing of love, the status gap between the blood alliance and the war mother cannot be challenged.

So, if you have to make an analogy:

Tryndamere cannot be regarded as Ashe's husband, but can only be regarded as Ashe's "concubine".

However, Ai Xi only has such a "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 according to ordinary people's perception.

"Go in." Ai Xi walked into the house greeted by her husband.

The fireplace in the house had already lit a charcoal fire, bringing a touch of warmth to the stone house in the wind and snow.

Dinner is also ready. The food is very simple, nothing more than a few kinds of dried meat that are common on the ice sheet. But they are all what Ai Xi likes to eat.

"Tryndamere." Ashe put the ice bow aside casually, a smile appeared on her cold face: "Thank you."

"It is 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 been through the winter. You are already recognized by me as a unique blood alliance."

She originally chose Tryndamere because she thought that this boy had killed his whole family and had no background. Marrying him would not cause the tribes under his command to become "jealous" and lead to repeated infighting.

But after a year of getting along, some real feelings have developed between the two.

Therefore, at least in her own home and in front of Tryndamere, Ashe still hopes to get along with her like an ordinary girl.

"Yes." Tryndamere nodded, with a hint of tenderness secretly in his eyes.

But there was no less respect in his eyes.

The people of the Freljord believe that Ashe is the divine incarnation of Avarosa, one of the three ancient sisters.

It is precisely because of this deeply rooted legend, coupled with Ashe's powerful strength and extraordinary charm, that she successfully united the southern tribes of Freljord and became the leader of this polar snowfield for generations. Leader of the largest tribal union.

Tryndamere didn't believe the legend at first.

But as he spent more time with Ashe, he also began to believe the whispers of others—that she was truly the divine incarnation of Avarosa herself.

Therefore, Tryndamere loves and respects Ashe.

This delicate situation of marrying...no, marrying a true goddess has created a special relationship between the two of them, where they raise eyebrows and respect each other as if they were guests.

"Okay..." Ai Xi was also used to her husband's attitude.

She sat down in front of the dinner Tryndamere had prepared.

But before sitting down, Ai Xi noticed a small, square box placed 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 the eye-catching blue bird emblem, but also has several buttons with unknown functions and the logo of Demacia written on it.

This look is like something from outside the Freljord.

"Play...play?" Unlike most people in the Freljord, Ashe, who is born with ice and snow, is not illiterate.

Because it is located in the south of the ice sheet with a relatively warm climate, unlike the primitive hunting tribes in the extremely cold places in the north, the Avarosa Tribal Alliance's means of survival include not only hunting, but also farming, herding, and communicating with the Dema further south. West Asians do business.

Because she had several unpleasant interactions with Northland merchants in Demacia, Ashe also recognized Demacia's writing.

But even if she understood the buttons, she still didn't understand: "What does this little box do?"

"The ditty," Tryndamere said.

As he spoke, he reached out and flipped the switch on the Hex speaker.

The expensive and reliable Hex magic battery slowly started up, and the blue magic light dimly lit up.

Then, a melodious and sweet female voice accompanied by beautiful music came clearly from the small box.

"Well..." Listening to this exotic music and looking at the blood pact couple who had carefully prepared all this for her, Ai Xi couldn't help but feel a bit of romance.

But the leader's rationality soon returned.

She moved her gaze away from the Hex speaker, and then looked at Tryndamere curiously: "Is this magic box also brought back by the caravan from Demacia?"

"Yes." Tryndamere nodded: "Because Demacia has completely liberalized foreign trade, this caravan has brought back a lot of good things -"

"You must know this, Ash."

Of course Ash knew about this big deal.

The former Kingdom of Demacia officially prohibited foreign trade.

Especially against the barbarians in the northern ice fields. As one of the southern countries that has suffered from barbarian raids all year round, Demacia has been implementing a trade blockade policy against the Freljord for hundreds of years.

But just like the Ming Dynasty that imposed a sea ban and turned itself into a country with a net inflow of silver...

The final result of this embargo policy was to promote the rise of Demacia's private smuggling trade in the northern ice plains, fattening up a large number of local nobles and smugglers who depended on this for food.

And with so many mouths to eat, and such a large trade cost added in the middle, it is destined that after the Freljordian goods are transported to northern Demacia, they will not be able to sell them for much, nor can they buy them. I can’t afford many good things.

But this time...

"Demacia has somehow completely liberalized 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 for business. The money that used to be earned by smugglers and local nobles is now earned by Demacia officials.

This was done, on the one hand, to further suppress and weaken the aristocratic power in the country, 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 truly benefited these Freljord people.

"Without the restrictions of the embargo policy, and without those greedy noble middlemen who want to make a profit on taking cards, our caravans going south can not only trade freely with the Demacians, but also sell the same goods for more money than in previous years. The price was several times higher.”

"So they brought back a lot of good things from Demacia this time - including this gadget called a 'sound box'."

Tryndamere said in a happy tone.

In his opinion, the tribe's goods were sold at high prices, and more precious commodities from the south were bought back. 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 a gratifying progress after all.

"Isn't it?" Tryndamere's smile gradually faded.

Because he noticed that Ai Xi frowned slightly and didn't appear very happy.

"Are you...in trouble again?" Tryndamere asked carefully.

"Yeah." Ai Xi nodded.

"Is it related to our trade with Demacia?" Tryndamere asked again.

As a wise helper to Ai Xi's mother, he looks rough but is actually very careful.

"Yes." Ai Xi sighed, and his eyes fell back on the Hex speaker shipped from the south.

Then, she told the bad news: "The Gravel Tribe has defected from the alliance."

"What?" Tryndamere also frowned.

He knew the Gravel Tribe. It was a small tribe located in the southernmost part of the alliance territory.

They live on the border of Demacia.

From there, across a mountain range that separates the north from the south, you can enter the Demacia Basin with a pleasant climate from the Freljord Icefield.

"Where did they defect to?" Although he had a vague answer in his heart, Tryndamere still couldn't believe it.

Until Ashe gave the exact answer: "They went to Demacia."

This was something that was unthinkable before.

Because Demacia has been entangled in the basin shrouded by the Forbidden Stone Forest for hundreds of years, and their land is not enough for themselves, so how can they accept the barbarians from the north?

Apart from smuggling trade, the only way for Germans and Icelanders to interact is to fight each other on the kingdom's border defenses.

But now...

"They actually accepted the Gravel Tribe?" Tryndamere couldn't believe it.

"Yes." Ai Xi nodded and sighed: "And it's not just the Gravel 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 unimaginable to the people of Freljord.

In this barren land with extremely harsh climate, one more person means one more mouth to eat.

Except for Ashe, who wanted to unify the ice field, unite his compatriots, and establish order in the Freljord, most of the other tribes did not even want prisoners or even slaves.

The defeated only die. Not even a chance to be a dog.

Because the winner doesn’t have that much food to feed you.

The situation in Demacia is of course ten thousand times better than that in Freljord, but...

"Their population is also ten thousand times larger than ours." Tryndamere said with a frown.

"Why are these Demacians suddenly willing to give up land and food and accept the Freljords as their allies?"

"I'm not sure either." Ai Xi shook his head helplessly.

The world was changing so fast that even her great leader began to lose track of the situation.

"I only know that Demacia is opening something called a 'factory' near the border."

"factory?"

"It's...a large foundry." Ashe tried to understand it in an iceman's way.

Thanks to Ornn, she left a mature heritage of craftsmen to this ice field, so that the people of Freljord can barely understand the existence of the factory.

"Anyway, the factory needs a lot of manpower."

"And these Demacians recruit people without looking at their origin or background. Even the Freljordians treat them equally."

Demacia's first factories were introduced and opened from Zaun under the leadership of Lux and other German leaders.

When a leader sets up a factory, he will of course treat everyone equally with a humanistic spirit.

As for why these factories were opened on the border of Demacia and Freljord?

The reason is also very simple.

Because Mithril City, the territory of the Crownguard family, is right on the border of the Freljord region.

If Lux wants to carry out industrialization pilot projects in Demacia, she will of course give priority to the family territory that she has absolute control over.

This indirectly led to the spontaneous surrender of the Freljord people and the defection of the Gravel Tribe.

"The Demacians seem to be serious this time." Ashe said in a serious tone: "It is said that not only do they recruit people regardless of their background, but they also give extremely generous benefits."

"Food and shelter are provided, and there is enough food."

In fact, salary is the biggest factor.

But for the people of Freljord who struggle to survive in the ice and snow all year round, money is not important, food and housing are.

Food and shelter are provided, and food is sufficient - this sentence is a critical blow to the ice people.

Who wouldn't want to have a room in a warm and cozy place like Demacia and eat all that delicious oatmeal bread every day?

"And the most troublesome thing is that according to rumors, the Demacians not only give this kind of treatment to the chosen ones."

"As long as you go there, they will not chase you away and will try their best to help you arrange a livelihood."

The rumors did not make it clear what livelihood arrangements will be made.

But... if you can make a living in Demacia, even if you have to dig out shit and pick up garbage, it will be more comfortable than drinking Mistral Wind and eating ice cubes in Freljord!

"So, the Gravel Tribe defected. And to make matters worse..."

Ai Xi's tone was a little more helpless: "This 'good' news is still spreading across the ice sheet."

"This..." Teda Milton immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.

This is indeed good news for the Freljordians who long for a better life.

But for Ashe and the Avarosa Tribal Alliance, this is not good news.

The reason why tribes large and small submit to Ashe, in addition to Ashe's own strength, is because she is one of the few people on the Freljord Icefield who protects the weak. She can bring everyone unprecedented benefits. Order and tranquility.

Under the banner of Avarosa, people no longer need to fight and plunder each other, but can instead support themselves through farming, herding, and hunting in unity. Weak tribes can also survive under her wings.

However, the land in the ice sheet is too barren.

No matter how hard Ashe tried, nothing she could give could be better than what Demacia had given.

Order, tranquility, and most importantly, food and clothing...

These things that the Avarosa tribe devoted all their efforts to maintain are within easy reach in Demacia.

So, between Ashe and Demacia, who is completely open to arms, how will the small tribe choose?

"Oops..." Tryndamere saw that something was wrong.

He finally understood why Ai Xi, who had always been strong and fearless, was showing signs of weakness.

This is simply an invincible enemy.

If this continues, heading south to seek refuge in Demacia will likely become a trend on the ice sheet.

And Avarosa, which had finally integrated the southern tribes, and which Ashe had worked hard for half his life, was 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" didn't have a clue either.

"Damn it!" He could only clenched his fists in anger: "The methods of these Demacians are so vicious!"

"They actually distributed food to everyone!"