First, take down the Sword Demon, then save Runeterra.

Above the new Immortal Fortress, a faint shadow has already fallen from an unseen perspective.

Ato felt something was wrong, and after learning more about the situation, he left.

He had a bold idea to discuss with others.

In the temporary office of the Trifalli Council west of Immortal Fortress, the four councilors and three cult leaders sat down together once again.

"Why are you in such a hurry to summon us? Have you come up with a good strategy?" Jie asked, leaning back lazily in his chair.

Atto shook his head slightly: "I don't know if it's a good strategy, but perhaps we need to make a decision as soon as possible."

Noticing the unusual tone in his voice, Swain said seriously, "We're currently worried about the lack of progress, and any ideas should be actively discussed. What are your thoughts?"

Ato sighed and said, word by word, "If the underworld hasn't descended into reality in a few days, let's voluntarily recite that person's name."

The scene fell silent; everyone stared at him with wide eyes and incredulous expressions.

LeBlanc, draped in a hooded black robe, said in a trembling voice, "Are you insane? I just said his name is taboo. If you dare to utter it, disaster will erupt. Do you want to detonate it prematurely?"

Instead of answering directly, Ator asked, "How is the evacuation of the Immortal Fortress going?"

Swain summoned the clerk, whispered a few instructions, and the clerk left the meeting room, returning quickly with a stack of documents.

"The Immortal Fortress has a total of 5,172,600 registered residents. As of yesterday, the new Immortal Fortress has a registered population of approximately 2.4 million."

"We don't have any records of where the rest of them went. Maybe they've gone abroad or stayed with friends in other parts of Noxus. In short, apart from the military, there's not much left here."

After hearing such a detailed report, everyone was still confused, not understanding what it had to do with actively reading out the Tin Man's name.

Ato sighed: "Have you been to the New Immortal Fortress? Have you seen the living conditions of the people there?"

Swain said, “Darius and I went there once. The Pale Lady was busy monitoring the seal and couldn’t get away, and the three leaders haven’t been there since they just arrived. I discovered the problem, so I issued a lot of new regulations to maintain order, and so far everything seems to be normal.”

“We can wait for the Underworld, but we can’t.” Ato narrowed his eyes. “Although I believe the Lord of the Underworld won’t let go of the opportunity to descend into reality, we can’t gamble on when he will come out.”

"If things continue like this, something bad will happen sooner or later. I only have one question for everyone: since the Immortal Fortress is practically an empty city, what's the difference between starting a war with the Underworld today and starting a war a month later?"

The group looked at each other, seemingly... there really was no difference?

Initially, there were concerns that Mordekaiser's abilities would allow him to slaughter all five million people in the Immortal Bastion and push the undead army to the tens of millions.

But this concern seems to have been resolved, as no one has noticed it all along.

Since learning of the anomalies in the underworld, they have been under immense pressure, to the point that they have overlooked the simplest truth.

"But that's irrelevant to what I'm about to say. If this drags on too long, who knows when the two million-plus people in the New Immortal Fortress will run into trouble?"

Before anyone could ask, Atto began to explain his guesses in great detail.

Why is the true name of the Lord of the Underworld so important? Only demons fit this description, and judging from the level he has demonstrated, he is likely one of the ten primordial demons.

Because the secret demon Ram within Swain, and the lost fire demon Tibbers of Noxus, were once subordinates of the Lord of the Underworld.

According to Swain, Ram was completely unable to resist him and was always thinking about breaking away. He only found an opportunity when Mordekaiser was sealed away more than a thousand years ago, which further increases the possibility of him being the original demon.

Ator had personally experienced the feeling of being influenced by a primal demon. In Freljord, Volibear called out the real name of the Joyful Demon Osiris, and Ator was caught in the crossfire. Fortunately, Osiris was in poor condition and had just been beaten up by Ator, so there was no further trouble.

The most dangerous moment was when he called out the true name of the fear demon Fiddlesticks. If it weren't for the fact that a fat man carrying the fear of tens of thousands of people had attracted most of his attention, everyone present would probably have been entangled by Fiddlesticks until they suffered a mental breakdown and were ultimately devoured.

Ato discovered that primal-level demons seemed to represent certain emotions in the world, such as joy and fear. If Mordekaiser was indeed one of the primal ones, he should also be related to emotions.

He couldn't think of a word to perfectly describe the emotions Mordecais represented. Sadness, jealousy, arrogance—none of them seemed accurate. Anger might be somewhat related, but it didn't quite fit either.

Whatever it represents, it can definitely be a negative emotion.

A unified, negative sentiment associated with Mordekaiser is spreading through the new Immortal Bastion, and if it continues to spread...

It's important to understand that the Void Queen, who embodies the fear of tens of thousands of people in Bervis, can make Scarecrow relentlessly pursue her, even ignoring everyone else around her.

After hearing Ato's guess, everyone fell silent. Even LeBlanc, who was most easily stressed, had to admit that what Ato said was indeed very likely.

Swain's expression was conflicted: "I never imagined that my decision to build a new city would become a breeding ground for negative emotions, providing a feast for the devil."

Ato nodded: "You understand what I mean. Most people are actually in a state of confusion right now, not knowing what will happen in the future, and are just moving in accordance with the council's orders."

"The longer it drags on, the more panic and distrust will grow. If we reveal the true name of the Lord of the Underworld and trigger the disaster prematurely, the people will feel that staying in the shelter is the safest option. When those who cause trouble see the army of the dead, what do you think they will choose?"

Master Yi suddenly realized, "They will be glad that they left the center of the vortex early and hope that the soldiers and other powerful people can stop the army of the dead. As long as they have hope, they will not let negative emotions take over."

After Yi's summary, everyone understood everything.

Atto's crazy idea seems to be becoming an inevitable choice.

Just like Zolani back then, the situation was too passive, and they could only wait for the other party's actions to elicit a response.

Darius and Swain understood one thing very well: to become the victor in war, taking the initiative was of utmost importance.

Instead of waiting passively, take the initiative!