Morale Soars

Returning to the Sunon Temple, I entered with trepidation. Many people were inside, including two I recognized:

Karma and Irelia.

I knew Karma was a Harbinger, and it seemed she had taken over from the Western Harbinger who died last time.

As for Blade Dancer, I remembered Elder Suma saying she was also a Shepherd and had made great contributions in the last war, though I didn't know which Shepherd she was.

In Ionia, the Harbinger held the highest status, so I first paid my respects to Karma. However, she didn't recognize me, so Irelia quickly introduced me:

"Esteemed Harbinger, this is Elder Suma's disciple, the legendary Master of Wind, Yasuo. He slayed many enemies last time, and after ten years of cultivation, his strength has surely increased. He will be a great help to us!"

Everyone's gaze turned to me. No matter what, I couldn't bring myself to persuade them to give up their resistance. It wasn't out of fear, but rather a reluctance to betray everyone's confidence and enthusiasm. It seemed I could only speak to them privately.

According to Bak, divine positions were chosen at twelve, so Karma couldn't be older than twenty-two now. She was still young and couldn't possibly manage the whole situation.

It appeared Irelia was the one everyone trusted more. So, I found a moment when no one was around and quietly called out to her:

"Esteemed Shepherd, please wait a moment. I have something I'd like to discuss with you. May I take a moment of your time?"

"No need to be so formal, Yasuo. Just call me Irelia like you used to. It's been a few years, and your arrogance has diminished so much. You speak so politely now. It seems Elder Suma put a lot of effort into your training, haha. What is it?"

"I... I want to ask you to persuade everyone to give up their resistance."

Irelia looked confused upon hearing this. "What did you say? Give up resistance? Resist what?"

"I want everyone to give up resisting the Noxian army. I've already met with Swain. He promised me that if we surrender, he will not engage in unnecessary slaughter."

Perhaps my expression wasn't clear enough; even I felt it sounded inadequate, like some treacherous villain trying to persuade others to defect. I could only imagine how Irelia felt hearing it.

"Did I hear you correctly, Yasuo? Not only is your arrogance gone, but your backbone is too? You said you met with Swain. You haven't surrendered, have you? Honestly, I'm very angry, but I want to hear your explanation."

As a leader, Irelia displayed a commendable demeanor. I quickly explained my thoughts to her.

"So that's how it is. I almost misunderstood you. Your courage in going alone to negotiate with the enemy is commendable, but it was too reckless. What if Swain had killed you? We would have lost a powerful ally. As for the path of unification, I don't think it's realistic. Ionia can't even unite internally, so how can we collectively submit to Noxus?"

From anyone's perspective, what Swain and Irelia said made sense. Both desired peace, but their approaches differed: one was eager for unification, the other wished to maintain the status quo.

"Then have you thought about how to deal with the Noxian army? I saw countless well-equipped and spirited soldiers in their camp. The enemies we can fight with martial skill are limited; one cannot fight endlessly."

"That doesn't sound like you, Yasuo. If it were before, you wouldn't have cared how many people they had. You've matured so much in ten years. Honestly, I don't have any countermeasures either, I just hope everyone can unite as one. After all, that's how we won last time. This time, everyone has elected me as their leader, and our unity is even stronger than before."

Irelia was full of confidence. She was already a beautiful woman with an Eastern charm, and now, with her leader's aura, her extraordinary charisma radiated outwards, forming a powerful sense of unity.

Looking at this woman, who was around my age, it was hard to imagine that the fate of all Ionia rested on her shoulders.

It seemed war was unavoidable. Although I supported Darius's ideas and had even wanted to help him seize power, I had never considered joining his quest to unify the world. Moreover, I had promised Elder Suma that I would protect this land. Now that things had come to this, I had no choice but to be his enemy.

I had expected Swain wouldn't act until the army was fully assembled, but unexpectedly, he sent a commando unit to bypass our defenses and attack our homeland behind us, intending to shake morale.

In fact, this tactic was very effective. The Ionian resistance was a hastily assembled force, lacking discipline and any system of rewards or punishments.

The reason everyone gathered here, besides being inspired by Irelia, was primarily to protect their homes. Now that their homes were under attack, how could they focus on fighting? In just three days, nearly half of the people had left the front lines.

Swain was indeed cunning, finding the weakness of these people. With a simple move, he had disintegrated half of the allied forces.

Sometimes, seemingly elaborate schemes are not as effective as such simple ones. The key is to grasp the opponent's psychology.

And so, on the eve of the war, everyone understood, though they didn't say it aloud: this battle was almost certainly unwinnable.

When the Noxian army arrived, Irelia delivered a final rallying cry:

"The heavens have blessed this nascent land, allowing Ionia to maintain its peace and beauty. But the invasion of Noxus has changed this reality. Where they tread, villages are razed, towns are burned, the environment is destroyed, and people are slaughtered. Now they rise again with an unjust army. Even though the enemy is numerous and we are few, we must never let them cross this defense line! Ionia, forever proud!"

"Ionia, forever proud..."

Swain's Black Feather Legion, as one of Noxus's most elite units, was no less formidable than Darius's War Axe Legion, especially with their powerful Battle Mages.

Last time, his magical forces had caused irreparable damage to the environment here, but this time, apart from himself, there were no mages in sight.

The clash between our sides was completely different from our previous encounter in Demacia. Back then, the Dauntless Vanguard and the War Axe Legion were evenly matched, and the battle was exceptionally fierce, the ground quickly soaked in blood.

This time, we didn't intend to confront them head-on. Instead, we used the terrain and pre-set obstacles to bog them down. Although the allied forces lacked discipline, they were not a disorganized mob. There were many unique individuals, and everyone used their skills to resist the enemy, making it impossible for them to advance.

In the first few days of the war, we suffered almost no casualties, while the Noxian army sustained minor losses. Most importantly, their aggressive momentum was curbed; every step forward came at the cost of blood.

In this protracted struggle, our morale grew higher and higher, and they were forced to halt their advance.