"Councilor? No, no, no. Piltover already has eight councilors. I don't think we need another one." Mel's expression stiffened as she repeatedly refused.
If another councilor with a Noxian background were added, her current lofty position in the Council would come crashing down.
Anyone with eyes could see that her status in Noxus was far below Ryan's. Her mother certainly would not stand up for her now.
"Then you'll need to put it to a vote. I'm sure you can handle these matters. Right, Lady Camille?"
"Cowardly, incompetent, noisy, ignorant, stupid. After being away for so many years, I return to find you all still just as worthless."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of blades striking the tiled floor accompanied an ethereal yet mocking female voice.
The Council doors were pushed open once more. The Enforcers at the entrance still did not dare stop her; they even dropped to one knee on either side.
A tall woman with short silver hair entered, mechanical blades serving as her legs. Her face was even colder than Katarina's, and her eyes flashed with a dazzling blue light as they swept over every councilor in their seats.
"You've returned."
Heimerdinger, seated at the head of the Council, let out a sigh.
"If I hadn't returned, Piltover would have disappeared. What a useless bunch of fools." Camille strode forward and stopped beside the female councilor's seat.
"Lady Ferros, Piltover welcomes your return."
The woman rose respectfully and yielded her seat to Camille.
"Who is she?"
Watching Camille sit down with casual composure, Vi quietly asked Caitlyn.
"I don't know either. All I know about the Ferros Clan is that its head is Stevan, who used to be Piltover's richest man." Caitlyn looked just as confused by the domineering woman.
"Have the younger generation truly forgotten my name? How regrettable." Camille raised a brow. "Still, there are quite a few new faces."
She looked around the room and assessed the new councilors one by one.
"Medarda, your mother's blade is too slow. One day, it will grow dull. When that happens, you'll be collecting your foolish brother's corpse."
Her gaze shifted to Caitlyn beside her.
"Kiramman? You look so much like your mother. She looked just like you when she was young—wanting to protect the justice in her heart, yet never carrying it through completely."
"I won't be like my mother. Shouldn't you introduce yourself?" Caitlyn restrained her anger.
"Interesting. It seems your mother rarely told you bedtime stories. Child, my name is Camille—Camille of the Ferros Clan, protector of this city." Blue light flickered in Camille's eyes, which were filled with amusement.
"Hextech!? You implanted Hextech into your body?"
Jayce, who had been observing Camille, could not help crying out. He was the most familiar with Hextech and immediately recognized the source of the blue glow in her eyes.
On the other side, Viktor, standing behind Ryan, had noticed the same thing. He could not help looking at her twice more, then at her mechanical legs, sinking into thought.
Before coming this morning, Ryan had told him that someone who would inspire him would appear at the Council today. Now, he thought he had seen her.
A Hextech core implanted into the body, the flesh replaced with machinery—was there any idea in the world more fascinating than that?
Viktor's gaze flickered with realization behind his monocle, as if a brand-new path had opened before him.
Camille paid no attention to Jayce's surprise. Instead, she studied him with interest and began muttering.
"Oh? Sharp eyes. You're the founder of Hextech—Jayce Talis? Heimerdinger, can you imagine my surprise when I heard in Ionia that Hextech had appeared in Piltover? This is the science you explicitly forbade. How amusing."
Heimerdinger said solemnly, "Camille, I still do not believe continuing this research is right. Studying Hextech is like studying magic. Piltover will be destroyed by it. Now that this power is in Viktor's hands, it poses a threat to Piltover."
"Then you should argue with Talis for an entire day first. Power itself is neither right nor wrong. We need Hextech as Piltover's blade."
Crossing her legs, Camille leisurely addressed Jayce.
"Child, do you know of the Chitin People?"
"The Chitin People? I've never heard that name." Jayce froze slightly.
"See, Heimerdinger? You do not even tell him about the danger, yet all you can do is voice your opposition?" Camille's smile held a teasing edge.
"Councilor Talis, let me explain."
Ryan spoke with a smile, though his gaze signaled to Viktor behind him.
He was ostensibly speaking for Jayce's benefit, but he was also giving Viktor a lesson.
"The Chitin People have an extremely ancient history. They originally came from Shurima. In recent years, they were first discovered in large numbers beneath Zaun, where many crystals formed from Chitin People remain buried even now."
"Crystals?" Jayce seemed to understand something, and his face filled with surprise.
"The Hex Crystals you named are, in essence, Primal Crystals fused with the Chitin People."
Ignoring Jayce and Viktor's shock, Ryan continued his detailed explanation.
"Long before humans set foot upon Shurima's scorching yellow sands, unrestrained primal magical power once filled that desert. Hidden among treacherous cliffs and jagged boulders was a concealed canyon.
"There, the ancient Chitin People excavated Primal Crystals from deep within the desert. Every noble Chitin Person would fuse with a crystal, and after death, their consciousness would remain stored within it for a long time. That is the origin of Hex Crystals."
"So there are a great number of Hex Primal Crystals in the Mines beneath Zaun?" Jayce could not help asking.
The crystals he used for research had initially been funded by the Kiramman's, then supplied by Mel. He had never known their precise origin.
"That's right, child. It was originally guarded by our Ferros Clan, but because of my incompetent younger brother, Medarda took it."
Camille's cold gaze fell upon Mel.
"I heard the mine was lost a few days ago. It now belongs to Zaun."
"Our defensive forces were insufficient. Zaun occupied it." Mel wore a bitter expression.
"How useless." Camille shook her head. "First, according to Piltover's rules, we shall vote. I will represent the Ferros Clan as the Council's ninth councilor. Does anyone object?"
Under Camille's gaze, everyone, including Mel and Heimerdinger, voted in favor.
Soon, another seat appeared at the council table, and she took it.
"She's so impressive. I like her kind of personality. Though she seems to have a problem with Noxus, she can only endure it." Vi whispered into Caitlyn's ear again.
Caitlyn looked puzzled. "You can tell all that?"
"Look. That Noxian has had that fake smile on his face the whole time. He has never properly looked at us. Only when he looked at the new councilor did his eyes become somewhat serious." Vi analyzed.
"I thought all you knew was fighting. What about Councilor Ferros?" Caitlyn teased.
"I was born in the Undercity—oh, right, it's independent now and called Zaun. Without some ability to read people, I would've been schemed to death long ago."
Vi muttered.
"She's even easier to understand. Didn't you notice? She has a forceful personality, yet she still waited until someone called her name before entering. I bet if you were that mage, she'd have sliced your face off with one leg already. The blades on her legs give me an extremely dangerous feeling."
"I'm from Piltover. Why would she treat me like that?" Caitlyn said irritably. "I remember some things about Councilor Ferros now. Judging by her age, I might have to call her Grandma."
"Not surprising. I could tell that head of silver hair was real long ago." Vi nodded as if it were perfectly obvious.
Camille settled into the councilor's seat belonging to the Ferros Clan, rolled her neck, glanced around, and spoke first.
"We have no time to waste. Let's get straight to the point. I propose that we fully develop Hextech and Augmentation Technology, and that I lead a force to destroy Zaun."
Due to transliteration, Viktor had previously been written as Victor. This has now been fully corrected. I hope everyone understands; they sound the same but use different characters, so it will not affect the later reading experience. From now on, the official translation, Viktor, will be used! Thank you all for your support!
Today is the day this book receives its first recommendation. It is only a web recommendation, but it is still a milestone. I truly, deeply thank everyone for your support!
I'm not asking for anything else. Every read and every follow-up you give my book is the greatest support for me! Thank you, everyone!
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