Kill the Chicken to Scare the Monkey and Cross the Sea Under Camouflage

The entire Crown Guard family was like a tightly wound clock, with everyone operating at their own pace, ceaselessly, racing against time, never stopping.

Patriarch Peter Crown Guard went to Dawn Citadel almost every day, from morning till night, discussing matters concerning Noxus with Jiawen III.

From the current situation, direct war between the two countries should not break out. Although Darkwill's attitude was tough, he had no intention of massing troops at the border.

Moreover, the Green Tooth Peak - Gate of Sorrows defense line had just been renovated. If Noxus chose to attack at this time, it would be like kicking an iron plate.

Thus, after much deliberation, Demacia confirmed the strategy of "killing the chicken to scare the monkey."

In simple terms, it meant applying pressure to the small nations situated between Demacia and Noxus, acting as buffers between the two countries, and sweeping away any unfortunate souls siding with Noxus as a show of force.

The Fearless Vanguard had already begun its mobilization, with elite units ready to charge out of Green Tooth Peak Fortress, cross the Gate of Sorrows, and deliver a "necessary warning" to the surrounding small nations that were too close to Noxus.

As one of the commanders of the Fearless Vanguard, Tiana Crown Guard had already returned to the military camp. Although she had been married for less than a year, and could still be considered newlywed, at the King's command, she had temporarily bid farewell to her husband, who served in the Magic Seekers unit, and embarked on the battlefield.

The day after handing the magic penetration rod to Lux, Tiana, who had only taken a hurried glance at her brother's funeral, led the elite of the Fearless Vanguard and departed from the Demacian Imperial Capital.

As for Ogesha... As the matriarch of the family, she had to be on high alert to face the power vacuum left by the loss of an important family member. To outsiders, Ogesha appeared to be a very proper and dutiful noblewoman, adept at handling social situations and well-liked, yet she never interfered in family affairs.

But in reality, Ogesha was the one who called the shots within the family. Almost all decisions regarding the family's social interactions and business were made by her. In contrast, Peter Crown Guard, who appeared burly and full of ideas, was an expert only when it came to marching and fighting. At home, he was often meek and submissive to his wife.

In the next generation, Garen spent his days training with Jarvan IV under the tutelage of the Grand Marshal of Demacia. Although this man, originally from Ionia, was usually taciturn and more skilled with a spear, while Garen himself preferred a greatsword, as a former ace gladiator of Noxus, Xin Zhao had no difficulty mentoring Garen in swordsmanship.

After all, whether it was one sheep or two, the task was the same; this served as both instruction and companionship for Jarvan IV.

As for the youngest princess of the entire family, Lux, to others, she should have been the most leisurely and carefree.

But in reality, she was probably the busiest person in the entire Crown Guard family.

From the moment she woke up in the morning, she had to undergo endurance long-distance running and stair climbing training under Karya's supervision. After a quick shower, she could eat breakfast, and after a stroll in the garden, she would head to the reading room to study.

Of course, studying was just for show. In the reading room, her main task was to attend lessons, to memorize everything Karya told her—from spell principles to magic control; from spellcasting models to enchanting specialties. Karya's knowledge was like a vast ocean, and Lux, in a small boat, navigated through the sea of knowledge.

There were four class periods in the morning, and after a short lunch break, another two periods. After completing six periods of study, Lux would engage in swordsmanship training under Karya's guidance, progressing step by step.

Starting with the most basic sword swings, she would lay a solid foundation.

This regular routine naturally caught Ogesha's attention. She was happy to see Lux diligently studying and skillfully applying noble etiquette, but she was deeply worried about Lux's "random sword dancing."

Although this decorative dress sword was primarily to conceal the magic penetration rod and was not sharpened at all, it was still somewhat dangerous to let a nine-year-old girl wield a sword.

Therefore, Ogesha proposed hiring a physical education tutor for Lux.

In Ogesha's view, the family no longer needed another general. Peter and Tiana were both trusted by the King and practically controlled the entire Fearless Vanguard, while Garen and Jarvan IV were close friends with bright futures. Therefore, there was no need for the Crown Guard family to advance further in military matters.

Investing strength in the military at this point would only lead to trouble.

Instead, in terms of business and administrative matters, the family was short-handed.

After all, the Crown Guard family was not a small one. Besides the main branch living in the Demacian Imperial Capital, the family had many branches in Silvermine City.

Despite the large number of people, in Ogesha's opinion, the members of those branches were diligent and honest, but few were truly sharp-minded.

In her opinion, Lux's best path would be to develop her social and business skills, helping her manage the family's affairs.

Peter, who always doted on his youngest daughter, and Garen, who cherished his sister, were unwilling for Lux to become a female warrior. Thus, it was a consensus within the Crown Guard family to have Lux manage the family's affairs. Even though Lux was only nine years old, Peter was already considering which family would be worthy of his precious daughter.

This was not a matter of "lack of freedom in marriage," but a basic obligation of a Demacian noble. All Peter could do was to choose the best possible match from among eligible families for Lux.

Therefore, regarding Lux's sword dancing, Ogesha always believed, "It's good to exercise like this, no need to overexert yourself."

It was precisely because of this that after Lux stated, "I'm just practicing in my spare time after studying, to stretch my body. I don't need a teacher and won't do anything dangerous," Ogesha was relieved.

After instructing the butler to keep a closer eye on her, Ogesha let it be.

Exercising the body was a good thing, after all. Since there was no tutor, as long as Lux didn't hurt herself, they would let her be.

The shrewd and capable Ogesha obviously did not know that Lux's swordsmanship training was completely different from what she imagined.

In her eyes, Lux was merely dancing alone in the garden every afternoon until evening. No matter how she swung her light, decorative dress sword, she could never become a sword master.

But unfortunately, Lux had a tutor, and a tutor specializing in education at that. Although it seemed Lux was merely choosing a posture each day and continuously swinging her dress sword, in reality, these various stances—thrusting sword, lifting sword, chopping sword, wiping sword, twirling sword, flicking sword—were part of the basic swordsmanship instruction meticulously designed by Karya.

Furthermore, by altering her own center of gravity, Karya had integrated strength training and skill training. Within these seemingly casual sword swings, Lux was laying a solid foundation for her martial path.

Finally, after the Fearless Vanguard completed its assembly, the sweep codenamed [Operation Cleanse] officially commenced on the Valoran Plains east of Green Tooth Peak.

Demacia, having lost its Ranger General, used the pretext of searching for Noxian spies to forcibly sweep through numerous city-states leaning towards Noxus, and "conveniently dealt with many bandits lurking on the trade routes," thereby "greatly upholding Valoran's trade freedom."

Faced with Demacia's might, the various small nations naturally dared not speak out—compared to Noxus, which would seize a piece of land at the slightest excuse, the Demacians were considered quite reasonable. They had lost a Ranger General, so let them vent their frustrations.

After all... they had no interest in lands beyond the Nullstone domain. Taking a loss was a loss, but so be it.

At worst, they could increase taxes and make their citizens suffer a little. Once the Demacians calmed down, it would pass.

They were, after all, just pawns.

Thus, [Operation Cleanse] was a great success. The Fearless Vanguard personally handled many smugglers and mercenaries working for the Noxians, exposed numerous spies, and even caused many small nations to shift their allegiance to Demacia. More importantly, during this period, Noxus attempted to intervene several times but was thwarted by the coordinated actions of the Ranger units. In this regional confrontation, Demacia achieved a resounding victory!

What Grand Commander Darkwill, indeed, he was just a paper tiger, all bluster and no substance!

Then, before Demacia could even compose an ode to this victory, astonishing news reached the Demacian Imperial Capital.

Just as Demacia was gathering its strength and executing [Operation Cleanse], Noxus dispatched its Sea Watch Fleet, along with over twenty legions, to advance eastward into Ionia.

Noxus was not a paper tiger; they had set their sights on Ionia!

All the previous posturing was merely strategic deception by the Noxians. The supposed "several failed interventions" were nothing more than a bluff, and the troops gathered at the Dragon Gate turned around and boarded ships, heading straight for Ionia.

Thus, while the Demacians were flexing their muscles across Valoran, Noxus was redeploying its forces. Simultaneously, the Western Theater reinforced the Trivell and Dalmore Defense Lines, awaiting a potential Demacian offensive.

Demacia was trying to kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

The Noxians, however, simply crossed the sea under camouflage.

Upon hearing this news, Jiawen III felt as if he had been struck hard on the head.

All of Demacia's recent displays of power now seemed like a complete joke.

The cunning Noxians had taken advantage of their moment of triumph to ignite an even larger war!

Fortunately, Jiawen III was a man of considerable composure.

Realizing they had been thoroughly outmaneuvered by the Noxians, His Majesty the King managed to suppress his rage.

Even though he desperately wanted to teach the Noxians a harsh lesson at that very moment, previous wars had proven that a direct confrontation with heavily fortified castles and interconnected defense lines was unwise.

Furthermore, fighting the Noxians on foreign soil was not in Demacia's national interest. Demacia's lands were fertile and rich in resources; they had little desire for more territory. Engaging in war with Noxus now would yield nothing for Demacia.

Even though Demacia always championed justice, they ultimately wouldn't go to war with Noxus on behalf of the Ionians.

Of course, this didn't mean Jiawen III would simply watch the war engulf Ionia. If possible, he was naturally willing to cause some trouble for the Noxians.

Therefore, at the next Noble Council meeting, Xin Zhao unexpectedly took the stage, his main topic being Ionia.

Xin Zhao was not optimistic about the war in Ionia.

In his view, Ionia had many strong individuals, but they were all scattered and disorganized. Since arriving in Demacia, he had realized the power of unity. However, Ionia, rather than being a unified nation, was more like a large martial arts world, with each region operating under the autonomy of its shared culture.

If Demacia was a typical feudal kingdom with distinct noble and commoner classes, then Ionia was practically a primitive society. Politics and religion were intertwined, there was no written law, and no standing army. Even though each sect had many strong individuals, they would likely be unable to resist the vast Noxian army…

Because Xin Zhao had lived in Ionia, Noxus, and Demacia, he knew very well that Ionia would struggle to contend with Noxus on the front lines.

Therefore, from his perspective, his proposed solution was to send a small force by sea to evacuate as many Ionians as possible before the Noxian navy could completely blockade Ionia.

He said this not because he had betrayed Ionia, but because when he was in Ionia, he was merely a fisherman who had followed his village's sect for a while. He himself didn't know how large Ionia was.

Moreover, back then, Xin Zhao had no access to Ionia's hidden powers. Thus, in his opinion, Ionia had no chance of winning this war. Without the protection of the ocean, Ionia would find it difficult to fight.

Xin Zhao's proposal was approved by the Noble Council.

The Demacian nobility would not risk their lives for the Ionians, so they wouldn't directly attack Noxus's western defenses, especially when Noxus was clearly on high alert.

However, they were very willing to cause trouble for Noxus by accepting refugees.

Thus, the Demacians dispatched a small fleet. It sailed through the Valoran Strait and, before Noxian Admiral Duqur could fully blockade Ionia, evacuated several groups of Ionian refugees from Kuilin Island, Galin Island, and Zhiyun Island.

Lux, who had been deep in cultivation, was completely unaware of all this.

Ogesha had initially intended to keep Garen in the dark, preventing him from acting impulsively due to his overwhelming sense of justice. Keeping Lux in the dark was merely an afterthought.

It wasn't until the ships carrying the Ionian refugees returned that Ogesha handed Lux an invitation and a formal gown.

"Darling, attend a banquet with me tomorrow evening," Ogesha said with a smile, looking at her poised daughter. "The Buweier family has adopted a little girl, and tomorrow is her clan entry ceremony."

"The Buweier family?" With a reminder from Karya, Lux quickly showed understanding. "So, Miss Kashina will have a sister? That's truly wonderful news… But why would Mr. and Mrs. Buweier adopt a little girl?"

"She's an Ionian… The wicked Noxians invaded her home. Our benevolent King sent fleets to take in some orphans who had nowhere to go. To help them better integrate into Demacia, the Buweier family will serve as role models and adopt one of the little girls."

"I see…" Lux nodded. "Someone from Ionia. I remember Marshal Xin Zhao is also from there?"

"That's right," Ogesha nodded. "But he's unmarried, so it's not convenient for him to adopt children… In any case, my darling must behave herself tomorrow. This will be your first time attending a Demacian banquet not as a child, but as a noble lady. Don't be nervous!"

"Don't worry!" Lux replied with a smile, puffing out her chest. "I'll handle it!"