Legends of Runeterra

When the last wisp of black mist merged into Dukuer's body, the luxurious silk robe that was originally supported by strong muscles now looked extremely shriveled.

His pale face covered with black veins was now as thin as a skeleton, with only a thin layer of human skin attached to his skull.

"Hoo~!"

The human-skin skeleton opened and closed its jaws, and as a faint black mist was exhaled, the flesh and blood under the human skin quickly expanded like a balloon, restoring its face to Dukor's, which was covered with flesh and scars.

Slowly opening his eyes, Dukor's eyes, which were shining with a faint green light, met the beating soul fire of Karsus.

next second.

"Bang~!"

"Thank you, Your Holiness, for your cultivation!"

"Oh! Mr. Dukouer, thank the great 'Lord of Life and Death'. This is His recognition of you."

"Yes, praise the great and merciful 'Lord of Life and Death'!"

Dukouer maintained a prostrate posture and praised the 'Lord of Life and Death' with emotion.

"Very good, Mr. Dukouer, now that you have received this 'gift', continue to do what you should do."

"Yes, Your Holiness, rest assured, the 'Order of the Reborn' will attract the attention of all Ionians!"

"Haha! Go ahead, Mr. Dukouer."

"Yes, I'll take my leave!"

He slowly stood up from the ground and respectfully stepped back a certain distance.

"Om~!"

As the space fluctuated slightly, Dukuer's figure twisted and dissipated in the space.

Calmly gazing at the direction where Dukor disappeared, the soul fire in Karsus' eyes flickered with a breathtaking light.

Then Karsus tapped the staff in his hand lightly at his feet.

"Om~!"

The magic circle lit up with a faint green light.

"Huh~~!!"

Endless black fog suddenly rose up, twisted and changed, forming a portal.

The next moment, the 'portal' suddenly lit up, and a magnificent and eerie hall built of piles of bones appeared in the picture.

Without continuing to watch, Karsus slowly knelt down like Dukor before, and lowered his head deeply with great respect.

"How did things go?"

"Great Lord of Life and Death, everything is proceeding smoothly according to your will..."

...

On the other side, Dukouer appeared in a secret room in the 'mixed zone'.

“Hiss~Hoo~~!!”

“Tear it up~!”

Taking a deep breath, Dukouer roughly tore open the robe on his chest and looked at the suspicious dark and winding veins under his chest skin in the mirror. His ferocious face changed several times.

"Dong dong dong~!"

"Sir, the time you ordered has come. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, come on down!"

"Yes, my lord."

Ignoring the receding footsteps, Dukouer raised his hand and gently stroked the dark veins beneath the pale skin.

Dukouer did not feel any pain or discomfort, as if these dark veins were naturally present in his chest.

However, precisely because of this, Dukouer's already gloomy eyes became even more sinister.

"Damn Swain, even if I have to bear this curse, I will definitely kill you..."

Since successfully escaping the battlefield of Presidium, Dukor has been staying as far away from the province of Navoli as possible while gathering the remaining Noxian troops.

When the number of people reached a certain level, they decisively headed to the provinces controlled by Noxus before the war.

Just when he was planning to integrate more troops to stabilize Noxus' decline and demonstrate his abilities in front of the commander-in-chief, the news of Noxus's earth-shaking changes came unexpectedly.

Like a siege hammer, it smashed Dukouer's plan, which had not yet been fully built.

From then on, the famous General Dukor immediately changed his appearance and hid his whereabouts with his men until he came into contact again with the Noxian nobles who were liquidated by Swain.

The two hit it off and reached a cooperation. Dukor provided intelligence and a place to stay, while the Noxian nobles provided funds and manpower. While the two plundered Ionia's resources in various ways, they planned to establish the so-called "mixed zone" together with the equally ambitious local forces.

It was not until the "Pope" came to him and Dukouer finally saw hope of revenge in the power he displayed.

The Noxian nobles could not accept such a commander-in-chief who "competed with the people for profit".

As for the local forces in Ionia, the war launched by Noxus not only brought them conquest and plunder, but also injected them with Noxian ambitions.

Under the leadership of Karsus, the three became an organization dedicated to the return of the great 'Lord of Life and Death'.

After staring quietly at the dark veins on his chest in the mirror for a while, Dukouer slowly took off the tattered robe and put on an equally luxurious silk robe.

Even if there is a price to pay, as long as Swain can be pulled down from that position, then everything will be worth it.

What's more, things haven't reached the worst point yet. With the ambition and vision of the 'Lord of Life and Death', he might have a chance to sit in that position.

Only Swain can sit here, but Dukor can’t?

“Crack~!”

The heavy door of the secret room was slowly raised by a mechanism, and Dukouer strode away.

"grown ups."

"Well, how's the situation over there?"

"My Lord, everything has been arranged according to your instructions."

"Okay, let's go and take a look."

"Yes, my lord!"

...

"Alright, the last Hexgate has been installed correctly."

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Victor."

"Nothing much. By the way, Mr. Kino, the new batch of Hexgate core components you mentioned a few days ago landed at this city's port, right?"

"Uh... yes, according to the scheduled time, the ship will arrive at the port in an hour."

"Well, that's perfect. Without further ado, let's go straight over there."

"Well...how about you take a break, Mr. Victor, and let me take care of landing the cargo?"

"No need for that. The most important thing is to complete Lord Li En's arrangements as soon as possible."

"Okay, Mr. Victor, please follow me."

The two of them boarded an ordinary carriage and soon arrived at the port, which was crowded with people and bustling with activity.

"Mooring No. 172, this is it."

Not long after, an ordinary ship sailed into the port.

"Bang~!"

Heavy, thick wooden boards fell from the deck onto the shore. Before Kino could step forward to identify himself, a figure that looked particularly familiar to Victor walked down from the deck.

"Jace!?"

"Wow! What a coincidence, Victor."

"What a coincidence! Why are you here?!"

"Mr. Jace, could it be that Mel..."

Kino also looked at Jace in surprise, frowning slightly as he looked over his shoulder to the deck, afraid that he would see his sister coming down from above.

"Please don't worry, Mr. Gino. I came here alone this time. Mel is still in Piltover."

"That's it, that's good."

Kino nodded, then stood aside with confidence.