News brought back from the distant front by Imperial Spies swept through the heartland of the Empire like a raging storm.
This was no ordinary news. It foretold that the Empire's peace would be shattered and that the situation across the continent would undergo earth-shaking changes as a result.
Sure enough, when this intelligence was presented to the Emperor and Minister Honest, the entire palace seemed to fall into dead silence.
The writing on the scroll was clear and cold, piercing like a winter wind.
It read: "General Esdeath, the Empire's Strongest Spear and one of the Empire's Twin Pillars, has been defeated in battle against Noxus and captured by the King of Noxus. At the same time, the Imperial Army has been petrified by an unknown Power Stone and is unable to move."
Within the resplendent palace, the shock on the Emperor's and Minister Honest's faces was impossible to hide.
No matter what, they had never expected General Esdeath, one of the Empire's Twin Pillars and the pride of the Empire as its "Strongest Spear," to be defeated by Noxus and taken prisoner.
Minister Honest was even more shocked than the Emperor.
Minister Honest stared dumbfoundedly, unable even to eat the meat he loved most.
He did not care for women, so Shira was his only son. What he loved most was meat—every kind of meat.
That was because he had lived through hard times in the past, when he could not even afford meat. Now, he ate it compulsively to make up for it.
He had always held General Esdeath in the highest regard and trusted her deeply, believing that she was an indispensable pillar of the Empire.
He recalled General Esdeath's many brilliant victories, especially how she had swiftly ended the rebellion of the Northern Tribes not