Way of Overlord
Chapter 197: Ashina the Son of Winter

Chapter 197: Ashina the Son of Winter

But when Aeryon hear the story of the four wolves, he is not sure whether the story is just myths or whether it is the truth

Because the world Aeryon is living in, is a world that once had magic.

The evidence of that magic could be seen everywhere all over the Steppe.

From the Empatarah river that defies rules and from the many large caves near the mountain of Yindu, from the many other unexplainable forbidden places in the world.

So, he could not be sure that the stories are just stories or it might that they might be true

The story goes that there was a child called Ashina. Ashina was the son of winter. And he was raised by wolves.

No one knows the parents of Ashina. Hence in many stories, he is called the Son of Winter, for his story began in a winter snow, when the wolves found him and adopt him.

When he is a child he spoke with the wolves and when he could stand, he wrestles with wolves and bears.

He walk with four limbs before meeting a human who tries to capture him and from then Ashina learns to walk with two feet and fight with two hands.

He defeated all the wolves in the Winter Mountain and the wolves obeys him. The bears are his friends and he eats raw meat and when he swims he eats the largest fish.

He swam in winter and never get cold and he built himself an ice residence, his body is impenetrable by cold and fire.

Because of this amazing feat, the stories always spoke of him like he is born from a divine ancestry.

When he is already grown, he had great strength and he come down the mountain

Coming down the mountain, he met people and he sees the world. And those who set foot on the world could not help but be involved in the matters of the world

Hatred, love, good and evil, he could not escape from all of this

The problems of the world is many, some hidden in the dark, some are open and bright

And he solves it with the same way.

With force.

His strength could not be compared to many people and there is many stories where he break the scheme against him using his superior power

he fought against people with the strength of a thousand men. Heaven and Earth could not conquer him. And when Death came, he beat Death and so he lives long

He was fierce and when he went to war he never loses until he met a giant.

This giant and him fight against each other, Heaven and Earth were split apart and their battle split the world

The giant was left in another continent and he was hurled into a land of vast grass and wherever he looks there is only land and no sea.

Here, he met the people of the grassland. As Ashina is a great warrior and lust for battle, he fought against the great warrior of the grassland

There are battle he won and there is battle he loses. Ashina is amazed at the resilience of the grassland people and he admired them as the grassland people also admire the strength of Ashina

Ashina is a long lived being for he fought Death and won. One might wonder why does Ashina could fight against Death and won yet he was defeated by mortals and giants alike?

This matter is also debated many times by the Ashana. Some said that the story is merely exaggeration of the long lived Ashina.

Maybe the phrase defeating death is not to be taken literally.

At that era, there is many elixirs and herbs that could prolong life and gain longevity so it might that Ashina ingested one of this herbs or drink one of this elixir and gain longevity

So, defeating death might simply be a figurative literary words instead of taking it literally

Whatever the case, Ashina lived among the people of the grassland.

The people of the grassland and Ashina shares many similarities and culture and so it is very easy for them to accept each other.

Ashina then marries a daughter of a chief. At that time, a horde of gigantic beast roams the grasslands

The warriors of the grassland fought against these gigantic beasts. When they won, they would skin and drained the blood of these gigantic beast.

The skin they would make as their clothes. Their meat, they eat. And their blood, they drink

Because of this, the people of the grassland are very powerful and could fight against these beasts.

But the battle has always been a stalemate.

Ashina after decades considered himself as the people of the grassland. His sons and grandson also fought against these monsters

Some battle they won and some battle they lose.

But Ashina could tell that the monster reproduces quickly and the cubs of these monsters are powerful since birth.

But humans have to grow up before they could become strong.

Ashina also fight against these monsters but the monster would always reproduce and it almost seems like this would be an eternal battle that could never be resolved

One day, one of the Ashana got a vision.

There is a divine being descending! That is his conclusion after counselling with the Ashana

Ashina wanted to find this divine being and ask for guidance to solve the matter of the beast.

So, he prepared himself for journey.

He took the feather of a dying crow, he took the bones of a brave man, and he took the hair lock of a woman he loves.

And so, he went to a journey and his journey brought him to a land of winter.

And as destiny comes full circle, a winter wind blows him down a cliff.

There is another journey then where he uses the feather of a dying crown, the bones of the brave man and the hair lock of the woman he loves

And only then he met a red wolf in a cave of blue crystal glistening like the shining sun in the sky

The Red Wolf speak and he spoke

"Come to me, the Son of Winter" And so Ashina came and the Red Wolf mane become flames. A flaming red wolf that washes away the coldness of winter.

The Red Wolf ask Ashina to choose among the blue crustal behind his back.

When Ashina ask for what reason, the wolf simply said

"to forge a divine weapon"

And so Ashina choose one the largest and the thickest of them all and he laid the crystal down in front of the Red Wolf

The Red Wolf spits on the blue crystal, the blue crystal melt and it was moulded by the element of the world to become a sword.

"This sword is granted to take peace from the world. In the presence of this sword, mortals would slay one another"

And this great sword was given to Ashina.

It is said the sword is as blue as the sky. And this sword was used to end the chaotic times, drives back the monsters and pacify the Great Steppe.

In another story, during the age where Magic receded and Ashina is about to die, he cast out his sword into a river

Some said it is the Empatarah river where he cast out his sword.

Some said it was the Sea, the Roma Sea. Some said, that he found a cave filled with blue crystal just like when he first met the Red Wolf and he throws his sword into one of the rivers in that cave

But when people tell the story of Ashina, they remember the Red Wolf

The Great Wolf That Summon War! The Red Wolf

Aeryon choose the Red Wolf as his banner for this reason. And one of the tribes under him choose the banner of the White Wolf.

And so, Aeryon combines the two. The banner of the Brolgadhr is a White Wolf. But when they went into battle and kill their enemies, the soldiers closest to the banner would smear the blood of the fallen enemies into the banner

And so, with this, the warriors under his men all wanted to kill and gain honour by smearing the blood of the fallen to the banner

Wherever his banner holder went into the battlefield, the battle there would be so intense that it is hard to believe.

The northern area of the city is conquered and the banner of the Brolgadhr tribe is fluttering in the air, signifying their presence.

Aeryon did not sit in his laurel.

With the key locations of the city secured and the essential resources safeguarded, he wasted no time in deploying his trusted commanders—Durka, Mayeux, and Belarion—to reinforce the efforts in the southern area of the city.

Their mission was twofold: to aid in stabilizing the newly conquered territories and to assist in potentially capturing the city lord, if possible.

Aeryon command highlighted the importance of ensuring control and order in the recently acquired regions while also recognizing the strategic value in apprehending the city lord.

However, Aeryon instructions came with a pragmatic approach.

Understanding that chasing a fleeing city lord might not always yield worthwhile results, he emphasized that if the city lord had already escaped the city, there was no need to pursue him relentlessly.

Balance aggression with prudence, focusing efforts where they could be most impactful without needlessly exhausting resources in a pursuit that might yield limited gains, this is Aeryon approach now that they already secured one part of the city

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