Recalling the Past

After my two powerful allies joined Light, we chatted, and Swain told me about his ambitions. ♡👽 🍬🍬

The Swain family played a crucial role in the rise to power of the Last Emperor Brawn Darkwill, and thus held a prominent position. Young Jericho Swain developed an unparalleled fervor for the empire from a young age.

Noxus has always been an inclusive and free country where anyone can rise to a high position as long as they have the ability.

Swain did not want to rely on his father's influence to obtain a position. He concealed his real name and joined the army of the legendary General Du Ccao, and rose to the rank of captain thanks to his brave fighting style.

Later, the commander discovered that Swain not only brave in battle, but also exceptionally intelligent, and his strategies often yielded unexpected results.

With his strong recommendation, Swain successfully became a sergeant major, becoming his superior's most capable assistant.

After becoming a sergeant major, Swain high spirits. He formulated several battle plans and made great contributions. His superior, Duke Dukao, was also appreciated and promoted to general.

Swain made outstanding contributions behind the scenes, was naturally promoted as well. At that time, he was publicly stated to be nineteen years old, but in fact he was only fourteen.

Having just entered the workforce and already achieved great success, most people would have become arrogant and complacent long ago, but Swain was not. He knew he was still young and there were many things he didn't yet understand.

But his superior was different. After becoming a general, he was even more eager to make a name for himself and eventually took on a mission that seemed almost impossible: to attack the Winter's Claw tribe in Freljord.

The conflict between Noxus and Winter's Claw has a long history, which is a major headache for Brawn Darkwill.

If Swain could eliminate Winter's Claw single-handedly, Swain superior would undoubtedly become Dukao's most trusted confidant; the thirst for military glory is a common trait among all Noxus.

And so, the commander set off with Swain, leading a massive force of 20,000 men straight to the north.

War is not a play; it doesn't follow a script. Such overconfidence will inevitably lead to a crushing defeat.

They set off in late spring, so that the deployment would be completed in summer, minimizing the impact of weather factors.

However, the commander underestimated the enemy. After the summer heat dissipated, they didn't even know where the main force of the Winter's Claw was. When they occasionally encountered small groups of enemies, they were always led by the nose.

At this point, Swain advised him to withdraw his troops, saying that if things continued this way, they would be worn down sooner or later, but the commander refused to accept the fact that he had returned empty-handed and insisted on advancing deep into the north.

Ultimately, they couldn't even make it through winter. By late autumn, they were worn down by the agile Winter's Claw. On a blizzard night, they finally encountered the main force of the Winter's Claw they had been searching for, but were mercilessly slaughtered.

"He was too arrogant, mistaking my wisdom for his own abilities, which ultimately led to disastrous consequences." Swain shook his head.

After a difficult escape from the pursuit of the Winter's Claw, less than half of the original 20,000 men remained. The commander, filled with shame, committed suicide and entrusted the troops to Swain.

However, this was only the beginning of a nightmare. They had barely retreated a short distance when the beast army of Winter's Claw, following their scent, caught up with them. These people were extremely ferocious, riding various wild beasts as they charged into the Noxus crowd and began to slaughter them.

Swain was not unprepared; he devised a battle plan to repel the enemy, but the low morale rendered the plan impossible to implement, leaving him no choice but to flee for his life.

Finally, Swain and his guards fell into a snow pit and could only wait to die.

Feeling the bone-chilling cold, Swain was closer to death than ever before. More than fear, he felt a profound sense of loss. Was he going to die here before he could even unleash his talents?

Suddenly, chaos erupted above the snow pit. The sounds of clashing weapons and roaring wild beasts filled the air. Judging from the noise, a battle was taking place. Could it be their reinforcements?

Sure enough, shortly after the two sides clashed, a group of Noxus soldiers threw down several ropes, which Swain and his men grabbed onto as a lifeline and struggled to climb upwards.

After everyone was rescued, the soldier's commander ordered a retreat, as this was Winter's Claw territory and they could not hold out for long.

These people fled for two days and two nights before retreating to the basin on the border of Noxus, which was the location of the Flame Legion. The legion commander personally received them.

The old commander was Brawn Darkwill's uncle. He had been leading troops to defend the Northern Plains Basin. He was an experienced general who knew how to deal with the Freljord.

He knew something was wrong when he learned that Dukao had sent men to attack Winter's Claw, but he could not send the Flame Legion into battle without the Emperor's order.

In fact, even if they all marched together, the outcome would still be the same; victory would not be possible without the combined strength of the entire Noxus.

He kept sending people to scout the battle situation, and when he saw that the situation was not good, he immediately sent reinforcements, but in the end it was too late, and only a few hundred people were saved.

Swain wanted to go back and apologize, but the old commander kept him there because he greatly admired the clear-headed and resourceful young man during their conversation.

Swain thus spent the two most precious years of his life in the Northern Plains Basin, because he met Darius and Rappor there.

Darius and Rappor were the two assault team leaders in charge of the rescue operation. They were brave and led from the front, and were well-known "little guys" in the area.

At that time, no one knew that Rappor was the old commander's nephew, who was also Emperor Brawn's brother, because he had always been an ordinary soldier and had only recently become a captain due to his strong personal abilities.

Darius also joined the army a couple of years ago. At the time, he brought along the skinny Draven, just wanting to feed him. In the end, he settled down through his military achievements and became a squad leader around the same time as Rappor.

This rescue operation marked the first time the two had worked together, and they demonstrated excellent teamwork, each leading five hundred men to hold off the Winter's Claw beast army's pursuit and rescue Swain.

Over the next two years, the three forged a deep friendship. Swain a brilliant strategist, Darius was brave and decisive, and while Rappor could not match them in either aspect, he was still a young hero.

The three of them made great contributions in the battles against the various tribes of Freljord and established a common goal: to help Noxus unify Runeterra.

Although he was happy in the Northern Plains Basin, the shadow of that defeat lingered in Swain's mind. Besides, he had been away from home for too long and it was time for him to go back.

This time, the old commander did not stop him. This was a matter that had to be faced eventually. Darius decided to go back with Swain. Rappor had originally planned to do the same, but the old commander refused.

And so, the three young people parted in tears.