-237- The deal

"Alright, Sejuani, we've settled it like this. Prepare for the southward migration in advance. I'll communicate with Demacia, and you can rest assured living south of Freljord."

"Southward migration?"

"Of course, we're not just building one Hextech station there. Besides, we need to build many things there. Dozens of people can't guard it, and it's better for your whole tribe to move there, isn't it?"

"But what you told me before wasn't like this, Linwin. I didn't know I had to bring the Winter's Claw south near Demacia," Sejuani frowned, her tone turning unfriendly. She continued loudly, "If all my people move south, can you really guarantee their safety? And how long can you sustain us?"

"What if you change your mind later and think we're just too much of a pain and just abandon us?" Sejuani said coldly, leaning closer to the Hextech phone.

Caitlyn was stunned on the side, looking at Sejuani's cold face. Suddenly, Caitlyn felt Sejuani was a bit cute.

Linwin immediately replied, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Don't worry, before I stop providing you with food for free, I'll help you find a way to survive in Freljord." Linwin's tone was confident, he chuckled lightly and continued, "I have the ability, honestly, keeping the whole Freljord alive is not a difficult task for me."

Freljord is vast and sparsely populated. Although its geographic area is as large as hundreds of Zaun and Piltover combined, the population is not that large.

Freljord has many small tribes. The Winter's Claw, as one of Freljord's three major tribes, has a population of less than a thousand. From this, it can be seen that the place is indeed not suitable for human survival.

But Linwin remembered that Sejuani's tribe in the future seemed to have tens of thousands of people. At least Linwin had seen in a story that there were thousands of elite warriors under Sejuani's command.

But Sejuani doesn't have that now. Now, Sejuani is just getting started, and the Winter's Claw is gradually absorbing the weak tribes around.

But even so, when Noxus said it was going to attack Freljord, it only lingered at the halfway point for several years. The funniest thing was that Darius, Noxus's hand, was even captured by Sejuani's tribe.

Now Darius must have run away, but from this incident, one can see how strong the Iceborn warriors who overcome the environment and survive against the odds are—because those who are not strong enough have died.

"You can also ask Caitlyn if I'm lying to you."

Caitlyn heard Linwin's words and immediately nodded in agreement on the side, "What he said is true, Sejuani. Your tribe is less than a thousand people, and the fish our Twin Cities' fishing boats catch in a week is enough to feed you for a season."

Sejuani fell silent after hearing this.

After staring into Caitlyn's eyes for a long time, she finally said in a low voice, "I hope you didn't deceive me."

"Don't worry, you'll know in a couple of days," the man on the other end of the Hextech phone laughed heartily.

"Oh, Caitlyn, have Ekko find a good location and then hand it over to Camille."

"I got it." Caitlyn closed her legs gracefully, nodding, she wanted to say something more, but the Hextech phone had already hung up.

The atmosphere became quiet, Vi was sleeping soundly in her sleeping bag, and there were only Caitlyn and Sejuani in the cabin.

After a moment of eye contact, Caitlyn broke the silence.

"Don't worry, I've emphasized it all afternoon; we're really wealthy." Caitlyn felt awkward saying this.

But Sejuani remained silent, just sitting quietly there.

What Sejuani fears most now is raising hope, because she no longer expects anything from this cruel world. Sejuani knew from a very young age that the world of Freljord is cruel; the snow can devour people, beasts can devour people, and even people can devour people.

Growing up in such a place, Sejuani's childhood was short. She has even forgotten what her childhood was like.

A good life?

Sejuani can't imagine what a good life looks like.

Caitlyn's description of the Twin Cities where people can live without worry, where they can use hot water every day, where they don't have to worry about freezing to death in the middle of the night, where they don't have to worry about being attacked by beast, where they don't have to worry about being hurt by enemies... 

Sejuani can't help but wonder if such a world really exists?

"Relax, as long as you agree to this deal, it will definitely continue because, in the end, we're the ones profiting," Caitlyn comforted Sejuani.

"I hope so."

---

In Piltover's airship center, passengers walked on the wide grounds, but they couldn't help but glance at one place in the central square, where a military airship was docked, blue and white, and a group of enforcers were running back and forth on the huge airship, carrying boxes half their size.

A young man wearing the emblem of the Ferros family stood in front of a group of people, holding a notebook.

Whenever he looked up at someone, that person would loudly respond, and he would lower his head, making a mark in his notebook with a pen.

"Frozen fresh fish is ready!"

"Coats and alcohol are ready!"

"Shimmer heaters are ready, along with Hextech brand heaters!"

"Bread and jerky are ready, and there's plenty of dried mushrooms."

"All supplies are ready!"

The young Ferros family member nodded, finally showing a smile on his usually serious face. He hung the pen on his chest and the notebook on the hook on his pants, then clapped his hands forcefully. He exclaimed, "Alright, load all the supplies!"

"Departure in ten minutes!"

"We aim to return before tonight, so we can have a warm meal!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Let's move, let's move!"

Under the mobilization, the airship center became bustling.

At the southern border of Freljord, above the snow-covered ground of the Hextech station, Skite was smoking and frowned when he saw the fierce men circling the Hextech station below.

These people are effective.....too effective..... 

When their Warmother says to guard, they rotate in shifts 24 hours a day without any complaints.

Thinking of this, Skite shook himself and flicked the cigarette ash.

"When will they arrive?"

Ekko was beside Skite and pondered before replying, "If they left in the morning, they should arrive in the afternoon?"

"I wonder what they brought this time," Skite licked his lips.

"Mr. Skite, those resources are for the Winter's Claw," Ekko immediately said seriously, warning Skite not to do anything out of line.

The customs and taxation in the Twin Cities are extremely strict, and anyone trying to profit from tariffs will not have a good result.

Although Ekko is a clerk, he also calls Vander "old man" when discussing matters. Vander doesn't separate Ekko when discussing matters.

So Ekko knows one thing: from the development of the Twin Cities to the present, there have been attempts to profit from tariffs, but the woman who single-handedly ambushed hundreds of Noxian soldiers at the entrance of Zaun Port doesn't tolerate such nonsense.

Stick your hand out, lose your hand. Stick your foot out, lose your foot.

"What did you say? I just hope there's some alcohol, so we can drink together later."

Skite glanced at Ekko.

With that, he looked down again.

In addition to guarding the Hextech station, the Winter's Claw people also cut wood and build wooden houses.

But the houses they build are too rudimentary.

Will they really not collapse in strong winds and heavy snow?