Within the Walls and Beyond

Before we knew it, we had been defending for more than half a year. Our overall strength had been constantly improving, and our teamwork had become increasingly seamless. ̧̻̩͍̱̗͔̺̀ͅṵ̵̙̻͉̦͙̗̥̉̓̓͊̑̂̑x̸͍̘̳͂͊̂̊̀͊̕͘.̷̹̦̆̆c̶͙͈͚̽̄̈̎̒͜ó̶̧̧̝̳̠͇͕̺̲̹̔̈́̃͝͝m̷̗͓̽̂̌̋̃̌

The good news is that the Void Creatures have never been able to break through the Heart of the Land defenses. Whether they fly in the sky, walk on the ground, or swim in the water, they have all been blocked by us in various ways.

Their numbers are currently relatively stable, without any major outbreaks. There are several relatively strong monsters in each direction, and they are also defended by our strong warriors.

The downside is that we are now surrounded and unable to leave the defensive line to go anywhere else. Even going to Ionia requires going through a teleportation array, Shurima Continent has fallen.

The area where they can now operate is basically the combined border area of what used to be Demacia and Noxus.

Therefore, people travel to Ionia every day because the resources there are insufficient to support so many people.

Actually, the hardest working people during this period were not the soldiers on the front lines, but Camille and her subordinates.

They had to coordinate hundreds of millions of people across various regions, working tirelessly day and night.

Swain also worked very hard, leading his team to study the characteristics of the Void Creatures. Although they did not discover their weaknesses, they verified that the Nullstone had a suppressive effect.

Of course, Nullstone cannot be used directly. Instead, the mineral elements inside must be extracted and fused with the weapon to take effect. This is the famous Nullifying Craft of Demacia.

Originally, this craft was time-consuming and labor-intensive, but thanks to the improvements made by some surrendered mages, the production efficiency of Nullifying Weapon has increased significantly.

Since Sylas's death, his remaining followers no longer harbored any thoughts of rebellion, and with monsters roaming the surrounding area, they had no choice but to genuinely surrender.

Most of these mages use Nullstone, and although they don't understand their secrets, they can help increase the production of Nullifying Weapon.

Initially, they were all under Swain's command, but later they became an independent unit: the Radiant Shield.

Lux is the captain of the Radiant Shield, and she didn't take this position for nothing; she earned it through her own abilities.

Not long ago, she found a handwritten notebook in the mansion, left by someone unknown, which detailed the structure and manipulation method of the Nullstone.

Lux already possessed light magic, and many of her attributes were similar to those recorded in the notebook, so she quickly learned most of it.

As for some of the more complex techniques, she couldn't understand them and planned to ask Swain for guidance.

Unfortunately, as soon as Lux left the mansion and the notebook came into contact with sunlight, it disintegrated and disappeared. Regrettably, Lux could only accept reality.

However, based on what she knows, she is already qualified to be the captain of the Radiant Shield.

In addition to this unit, we also formed a reconnaissance regiment, with Teemo as its captain.

He enjoyed playing this game back in the Yordle world, and he still finds it fascinating now that he's facing real war.

Although it can be a bit worrying at times, the little guy seems to be quite responsible so far, always sending back detailed information before each Void Creatures invasion.

On the Ionia side, many skilled players have also come to support after recovering from their injuries. They are evenly distributed in relatively weak areas, making up for the shortcomings in the defense.

As Evelynn said, Ryze has not reappeared. I don't think he would suddenly become kind-hearted. He's definitely hiding now to prepare for his next move. We can't afford to be careless.

Aatrox did not appear either. Evelynn said he went to the Void Rift alone, but no one knew what his purpose was.

Gu Yang showed up once a month ago; he hasn't given up trying to persuade me to leave, but of course I refused.

I am now completely at peace, and I don't think about anything outside of the war. As for Riven, she can only be a regret.

In short, the situation is relatively stable. Monsters can't get in, and we can't get out. We don't know how long this tug-of-war will last.

Based on the monsters' attack patterns, my life has become very regular: starting at dusk, I defend against the attacks and then rest for a few hours to recover my strength.

I spend most of my time from late night to early morning familiarizing myself with the Aspect Power and refining my swordsmanship. When I feel tired, I go back to my room and write in my diary to pass the time. For the past six months, the contents of my diary have been almost entirely about the Void.

Mornings and afternoons are precious free time. Sometimes I help Teemo go out to investigate, mainly to check out the outside environment.

Based on my several outings, it seems that there are hardly any advanced life forms left in the world outside the Heart of the Land, but it's not as lifeless as the Shadow Isles.

Because the various plants did not die, they mutated, changing from green to black, purple, red, or a mixture of the three colors, and emitting an eerie glow under the sun.

Sometimes I'll visit other outposts, most often the nearby Darius, Fiora, Sejuani, and Jarvan outposts.

Chatting with Darius inevitably involves drinking, and I've never been good at it. Unless there's an urgent battle, he always manages to get me drunk.

Every time I meet Fiora, we have to spar a few times first. Unfortunately, after knowing her for so long, I've never beaten her, not even once...

As for Sejuani, I used to think she was just a tomboy, nothing more than a hothead, all about being heroic and fighting.

After further conversation, I discovered that this was not the case; she had her own unique insights into many things and always inspired me.

I've gotten quite familiar with her wild boar mount now; in the beginning, it chased me quite a bit.

Jarvan is now with Caroline, and the two are fighting side by side, while the children are being cared for by Tiana.

Since stepping down, the head of the House of Lightshield has been unusually idle, neither concerned with war nor with the affairs of the House of Lightshield, and has devoted himself to raising the descendants of the House of Lightshield.

Sometimes other people come to chat or spar with me. Whether it's Wukong, Sword Saint, or Olaf, Garen, or others closer by, they are all frequent visitors to my place.

Garen's progress in the last six months has been remarkable. He has mastered the power within his body, a domineering power similar to Darius's. When it reaches its peak, it would be an exaggeration to say that it can create something from nothing.

Especially the greatsword in his hand, which was originally a family heirloom of the House of Lightshield. After being reforged by Ornn, it became even more powerful. However, this sword was called the B. F. Sword, but now it emitted fire attributes.

Sword Saint and Wukong haven't changed much; they were already very strong, and this would be the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

Sivir didn't come even once. I went to the southern outpost twice to look for her but didn't see her. I heard she went to Ionia to seek advice from Shetaka.

The worst thing is to keep nagging about things. Just today, while I was thinking about this, she came back.