Legends of Runeterra

"What does our commander-in-chief have in mind?"

"Hehe~! Ideas? Lord Li En, Swain admires you very much!"

Ram flapped his wings from the shadows and landed on the pen holder on the table.

"Appreciate it?"

"Of course, but Master Li En, why don't you just let me forcibly control his body? Just a..."

"There's no need, Ram. The reason a conspiracy is a conspiracy is that once it's exposed, it won't be much stronger than a ball of bubble."

"Uh, but..."

"I know what you're thinking, but are you really sure that you know everything about Swain over the years?"

"I..."

Faced with Li En's question, Ram hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head humbly.

"Yes, Lord Li En. Due to the contract I signed with Swain, I was unable to find out what he did when he made the request."

"Hmm, so based on Swain's personality, do you think he would be the kind of person who would become obsessed with power that doesn't belong to him, and wouldn't be at all prepared against a demon, hoping that a so-called contract would solve everything?"

"...Of course not. If Swain was that kind of person, I wouldn't have found him."

"Over the years, we are not entirely sure how much Swain knows about the 'Lord of the Underworld'.

But just as the villagers of Ionia cannot imagine what the life of the nobles in Noxus is like, Swain must also have some errors in his understanding of this existence, in order to avoid situations like Swain trying to adopt a strategy of "driving away the wolf and swallowing the tiger".

The safest way is to let Swain get the necessary part of the 'truth'.

Otherwise, Ram, the 'Lord of the Underworld' who died twice, do you think He would be a fool?"

"Of course not. Even my 'compatriots' have been enslaved by Him. I know only too well how terrifying He is."

“Well, it’s good that you have this understanding.

Alright, Ram, go back to Swain first."

"As you command, Lord Li En, I will take my leave."

“Puff! Puff! Puff!”

Gently flapping his wings, Ram's figure melted away again and disappeared into the shadows.

Quietly watching where Ram disappeared, Li En showed a faint smile.

...

Since Noxus landed, small-scale frictions have never stopped, but they have never advanced further into the inland cities.

And anyone with a discerning eye could see that although Noxus mobilized more troops this time than last time, they were too dispersed, and almost only occupied the coastlines of various provinces and islands.

This strategy of holding the position and not advancing rashly was certainly sound, but it also inevitably delayed the army's efficiency in capturing cities and seizing territories.

And when everyone thought that this war would change from the previous one and become a protracted stalemate.

"Have all the 'flying doors' been debugged?"

"Reporting to the General, we have confirmed that all the 'Flying Gates' are functioning normally!"

Kino stood in front of Darius, bowing to report on the situation of the "Hexgate". As for Victor and Jayce, they were invited by Li En to go to Presidium as soon as all the "gates" were installed.

"Well, notify everyone, prepare your troops. From now on, exactly two hours later, all will enter the Hextech Flying Gate and teleport!"

"Yes, General!"

The generals behind Darius saluted in unison in response, then quickly left.

"Kino Midarda."

"My subordinate is here!"

"Be prepared to teleport with me."

"Yes, obey!"

As Darius's orders were passed on to each legion by the mages, the soldiers in each garrison, who had been suppressed by the day-after-day wait and were increasingly eager to fight, were mobilized at the fastest speed.

Two hours later.

Darius, holding the sharp axe called 'Black Cleaver', stood in front of the 'Hexgate'.

next moment.

"Om~!"

A brilliant blue light bloomed, and the transmission channel opened under Darius's gaze.

Seeing this, Kino was about to take a step forward when Darius's personal guards stopped him.

"Da~!"

Without any hesitation or suspicion, Darius, holding a giant axe, strode into the transmission channel first.

"A general always leads by example. Remember this, boy from the Midalda family."

"Yes, thank you for your suggestion."

The general who whispered a reminder to Jino nodded slightly, and then followed him into the transmission channel.

In the distance, more soldiers were constantly walking into the Hextech flying gates.

...

In just a moment of trance, Darius found himself walking out of the portal.

Looking around, houses were lined up in rows, and their architectural style seemed to be similar to that of Noxus. But at just one glance, Darius realized that this was a special magical creation of the Ionians.

It was forcibly twisted into this shape just to cater to the aesthetic of the empire. It has neither the original harmony and naturalness nor the solemnity and murderousness of Noxus.

Not far away, a figure in a luxurious cloak was watching him quietly. Darius immediately stepped forward and saluted.

"Meet the Commander-in-Chief."

"Well, come with me, Darius."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."

Following Swain all the way, the two soon arrived at the tallest building accompanied by his personal guards.

“Plop~!”

"Nishimura Ryusuke, I pay my respects to the Supreme Commander!!"

Faced with these people who suddenly knelt in front of them, the guards had already raised half of their axes, but at Swain's wave of his hand, the guards put away their weapons.

"Haha! You did a good job, Nishimura Ryusuke, in establishing this base for our army."

"Yes, thank you for your approval, Commander-in-Chief."

Ryusuke Nishimura stood up respectfully from the ground, bowed and made way, allowing the group to pass by him.

“Crack~!”

The door closed, and Swain raised his hand to gesture for Darius to sit across from him.

"People like Ryusuke Nishimura are very useful. Without them, this base wouldn't have been established so quickly."

"Commander-in-Chief, when do we launch the attack?"

"Not urgent."

"But every second that passes makes it more likely that those 'ninjas' in Presidium will discover us!"

"Don't be impatient, Darius and Presidium have already discovered us."

"Ok?"

Seeing Darius's expression stiffen, Swain waved his hand calmly.

"Prepare the troops and be ready to attack in one hour!"

"Commander-in-Chief, I don't understand..."

"Do as I say, Darius, for Noxus!"

"... ...

Yes, Commander-in-Chief!"

After a brief silence, Darius stood up, saluted, and then left quickly.