This Is Noxus!

What the woman didn't know was that Chen Yi himself was quite surprised.

What had just happened had been entirely spontaneous; Wrath had guided his actions.

Normally, to achieve a heating effect, he had to cast a spell and create flames.

But now, Chen Yi could achieve such an effect with a single thought. His control over Fire Elemental Particles had reached a new height.

Fire Intent LV5: Fire attribute attack damage increased by 65%!

Chen Yi seemed to be gradually breaking free from the limitations of a mage.

He casually found an inn in the Immortal Bastion to stay in. The bandits along the way had sponsored Chen Yi with quite a bit of money.

At the inn, after feeding Fire Dragon, Chen Yi spent most of his time meditating.

He slept for less than four hours.

Sleep could ease mental fatigue, an effect meditation could not replace.

After casually settling breakfast early the next morning, Chen Yi headed to the square. Quite a few people had arrived earlier than him.

Most of them wore armor, while a smaller number wore leather armor and carried longbows.

As time slowly passed, by around nine o'clock, the square was already packed with people. It stretched as far as the eye could see, with an estimated tens of thousands present.

There were no shortage of strong individuals among them. Chen Yi had even spotted several above level 30.

One particular unit stood out. They moved with perfect discipline, wore identical armor, and stood in identical stances.

Amid the noisy square, they alone remained silent, quietly watching the platform.

This was the force Darius had trained.

At that moment, someone stepped onto the platform.

He held a Great Axe and wore heavy armor. A deep scar ran from his forehead down his left cheek, and his entire presence was imposing.

Compared to his unruly appearance, his voice was not aggressive. Instead, it carried a deep, weighty quality.

"Silence! Warriors of Noxus!"

The Great Axe struck into the ground. The booming crash drowned out the entire square and drew everyone's attention, and the noisy plaza suddenly fell silent.

Darius nodded in satisfaction. "I believe none of you are unfamiliar with me, but I will introduce myself nonetheless. I am Darius."

Weapons heavily struck the ground across the square.

"Roar!"

The unified roar shook the heavens.

Having risen from an orphan to the Trifarian Council, Darius was the idol of every young person in Noxus, one of the three figures standing at the peak of Noxian power, and the embodiment of Noxian might!

Darius pressed both hands down, and the square quieted. Only his deep voice echoed through the air.

"Those kings have once again had their minds clouded by power, and I intend to wake them up."

"My goal is clear: to shatter their authority and drag them into the dust."

"To make those blinded by false glory face their own hearts."

"We will not continue tolerating the existence of those cowards."

"And Noxus will rise!"

The Noxians welcomed the coming war. "Roar!"

The soldiers present were divided into six units. The mages alone occupied one unit, and that unit had fewer than fifty people.

Mages of the same level could unleash destructive power far beyond that of warriors.

It was not that Swain had never considered training mages.

But whether someone could successfully grow into a powerful mage depended largely on Talent and luck.

Take Chen Yi, for example. Without the conveniences provided by the Game World—

Even the first step of memorizing those Spell Structures and mobilizing his own Mental power could have stumped Chen Yi for years.

Further growth required memorizing vast amounts of knowledge, understanding Spell Structures, and developing one's own combat system...

Growing from a Mage apprentice into a true mage was a difficult process.

Those Game World mages who relied on Smart Casting had always been looked down upon by the mages of Runeterra.

All their strength lay in their equipment. Once they encountered Demacia's Nullstone, they could not cast a single spell and could only stand there waiting to die.

After the units were assigned, they set out under Darius's leadership.

The massive army left the Immortal Bastion and marched southeast. Their first stop was the Bloodcliff region.

This region alone had flat terrain and lay close to the sea. Its relatively favorable geography had bred even more ambitious men.

On this land, which was not even as large as the Immortal Bastion, there were three regimes!

They had submitted to Noxus's strength and become Vassal States, yet they still could not let go of their power.

This purge was the result of Noxus's patience with those Vassal States reaching its limit.

"You're Player Yi, right?"

As the only player in the mage unit, Darius was curious about what kind of person he was.

Darius knew about the contents of the contract SivHD had signed with that great being.

Powerful players, those of high level, were restricted in their areas of activity, but Chen Yi was not subject to those restrictions.

Unlike how he had been on the platform, Darius seemed very gentle now, though he appeared to have noticed Chen Yi's surprise.

Darius smiled. "As long as you possess strength, Noxus will grant everyone freedom and wealth."

Chen Yi asked, "Even if I'm a player?"

"That's right!"

Darius answered without hesitation.

His voice was not loud, but it carried a convincing force.

And he successfully earned Chen Yi's trust.

Chen Yi smiled.

Darius smiled as well. He saw flames in Chen Yi's eyes, a power unlike that of ordinary mages.

That was why he was greatly looking forward to Chen Yi's performance on the battlefield.

As the Leader of this purge operation, Darius did not have much time to speak with Chen Yi and soon departed.

The other mages all offered Chen Yi friendly smiles.

The army continued onward, and the journey was unusually smooth. No bandits came out to block their path.

There were only citizens watching the army with excited expressions.

Aggression was rooted in their blood. They took pride in Noxus's strength.

Chen Yi's high Constitution allowed him to endure a march of this intensity without showing any fatigue.

Yet the mages beside him, despite being higher level than Chen Yi, could not do the same.

With his abundant experience in marching, Darius naturally knew the mages' weakness. After advancing for some time, he ordered the army to rest in place.

Chen Yi had no intention of speaking with the other mages and found a place to sit alone.

He took out the Poké Ball from his backpack and gently stroked it.

"Fire Dragon, looks like it's your turn to take the stage too."

The Poké Ball swayed slightly, signaling to Chen Yi that it was ready.

At first, Chen Yi had not intended to let Fire Dragon take the field. Before reaching a certain level of strength, flight was an absolute advantage.

But after his brief conversation with Darius, Chen Yi changed his mind.

As long as he advanced fast enough, he would have an endless supply of trump cards.