The entire Crown Guard family was like a tightly wound clock, everyone moving to their own rhythm without pause, racing against time and never stopping.
Patriarch Peter Crown Guard went to Dawn Citadel almost every day, staying from morning until evening to discuss Noxus with Jiawen III.
Judging by the current situation, a direct war between the two nations seemed unlikely. Darkwill was taking a hard line, but showed no intention of massing troops at the border.
Besides, the Green Tooth Peak–Gate of Sorrows defenses had only just been repaired. If the Noxians chose to attack now, they would be kicking an iron plate.
So, after much discussion, Demacia settled on a strategy of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys.
Put simply, they would pressure the small nations caught between Demacia and Noxus, which served as a buffer between the two, and sweep aside a few unlucky fools who had sided with Noxus as a show of force.
The Fearless Vanguard had already begun mobilizing. Its elite forces could charge out of Green Tooth Peak Fortress at any moment, pass through the Gate of Sorrows, and give the nearby small nations with close ties to Noxus a "necessary warning."
As one of the Fearless Vanguard's commanders, Tiana Crownguard had now returned to the barracks. Though she had been married for less than a year and was still a newlywed, she had temporarily said goodbye to her husband, who served in the Magic Seekers unit, and gone to the battlefield at the King's command.
The day after handing the magic-penetration rod to Lux, Tiana—who had only managed a hurried glance at her younger brother's funeral—led the Fearless Vanguard's elite troops away from Demacia's Imperial Capital.
As for Ogesha... As the lady of the house, she had to be fully alert to deal with the power vacuum left by the family's loss of an important member. To outsiders, Ogesha was a proper, respectable noblewoman. She was tactful and popular, but never interfered in family affairs.
In truth, however, Ogesha was the one who called the shots within the family. She made nearly every decision regarding the family's social connections and business. Peter Crown Guard might look imposing and decisive, and he was an expert when it came to marching and fighting, but at home, he could only meekly defer to his wife.
Among the next generation, Garen trained every day alongside Jarvan IV under the Grand Marshal of Demacia. Though this usually taciturn man hailed from Ionia and was more skilled with a spear, while Garen himself preferred a greatsword, Xin Zhao—once Noxus's champion gladiator—had no trouble teaching Garen the fundamentals of swordsmanship.
After all, looking after one sheep was no different from looking after two. It was both a lesson and a way to give Jarvan IV some company.
As for the family's youngest, Princess Lux, everyone else thought she had the easiest, most carefree life of them all.
But in truth, she was probably the busiest person in the entire Crown Guard family.
From the moment she got up in the morning, she had to do endurance runs and stair-climbing exercises under Karya's supervision. Only after a quick shower could she have breakfast. Then, after a walk in the garden, she would head to the reading room.
Of course, reading was just for show. Her main task in the reading room was to listen and remember everything Karya taught her—from the principles of magic to controlling magical power, from spell models to enchantment techniques. Karya's knowledge was like a vast ocean, and Lux sailed across it in a tiny boat.
She had four lessons in the morning, then two more after a short break at noon. Once she had completed all six lessons, Lux would move on to sword training under Karya's guidance, working through it step by step.
She started with the most basic sword swings, laying a solid foundation one step at a time.
This disciplined routine naturally caught Ogesha's attention. She was pleased to see Lux studying diligently and applying noble etiquette with ease, but she worried about Lux's "wild sword-swinging."
Though the decorative sword was mainly meant to conceal the magic-penetration rod and had no edge, letting a nine-year-old girl wield a blade was still somewhat dangerous.
So Ogesha simply suggested hiring Lux a private tutor to help her exercise.
In Ogesha's view, the family no longer needed another general. Peter and Tiana were both trusted by the King and practically had control of the entire Fearless Vanguard. Garen and Jarvan IV were close friends, and their futures looked bright. There was no need for the Crown Guard family to advance any further in military affairs.
Putting more effort into the military now would only invite trouble.
By contrast, the family was short-handed in business and civil affairs.
The Crown Guard family was no small family, after all. Besides the main branch living in Demacia's Imperial Capital, it had many branches in Silvermine City.
But although the family had plenty of people, Ogesha felt that most of the branch members were merely diligent and dependable. Very few of them were truly clever.
In her view, Lux's best option was to hone her social and business skills and help her manage the family's affairs.
Peter, who had always doted on his youngest daughter, and Garen, who cared for his younger sister, were both reluctant to see Lux become a female warrior. So nearly everyone in the Crown Guard family agreed that Lux should manage the family. In fact, even though she was only nine, Peter was already considering which family might be worthy of his precious daughter.
This wasn't a matter of "having no freedom to choose whom to marry." It was simply a basic duty of a Demacian noble. All Peter could do was choose, from among suitable families, someone who would treat Lux well.
That was why Ogesha had always felt that Lux's sword practice was fine as long as it was "just a bit of exercise, without overdoing it."
And so, after Lux explained that she was "only practicing on her own to get some exercise between reading sessions, didn't need a teacher, and wouldn't do anything dangerous," Ogesha let her worries go.
After reminding the butler to keep an eye on her, Ogesha left Lux to it.
Exercise was a good thing, after all. Without a tutor, Lux could do as she pleased—as long as she didn't hurt herself.
The capable and shrewd Ogesha clearly had no idea that Lux's sword training was nothing like she imagined.
In her eyes, Lux simply practiced alone in the garden every afternoon until evening. No matter how much she swung that light decorative sword, it couldn't possibly turn her into a sword master.
But Lux did have a tutor, and one who specialized in teaching, at that. Though it looked like she simply chose a stance each day and swung her sword over and over, the thrusts, lifts, chops, slashes, circles, and sweeps were all part of the swordsmanship fundamentals Karya had carefully designed.
What's more, by adjusting her own weighting, Karya had combined strength and technique training. Through those seemingly casual sword swings, Lux was laying a solid foundation for her martial arts.
At last, after the Fearless Vanguard had assembled, the sweep codenamed Operation Cleanse officially began across the Valoran Plains east of Green Tooth Peak.
Using the search for Noxian spies as its excuse, Demacia—now without its Ranger General—forcefully swept through a large number of city-states that leaned toward Noxus. Along the way, it also "dealt with many bandits who had been preying on trade routes" and "greatly safeguarded Valoran's trade freedom."
Faced with Demacia's show of force, the small nations were naturally furious but dared not speak up. Compared to Noxus, which would seize a piece of your land the moment it found an excuse, the Demacians were already fairly reasonable. They had lost a Ranger General, so they could make a fuss if they wanted.
After all... they had no interest in land beyond the Nullstone domain. A few losses were just a few losses.
They could always raise taxes and make their own people suffer a little. Once the Demacians had calmed down, it would all blow over.
They had been pawns from the start.
In this way, Operation Cleanse was a great success. The Fearless Vanguard went out in person, dealt with many smugglers and mercenaries working for the Noxians, uncovered plenty of spies, and even won over several small nations. More importantly, when the Noxians tried to intervene several times, the Ranger forces operating alongside the Demacians stopped them. Demacia had won a resounding victory in this regional confrontation!
Grand Commander Darkwill? He really was nothing but a paper tiger, all bark and no bite!
Then, before the Demacians could compose a victory anthem, shocking news reached Demacia's Imperial Capital.
Just as the Demacians were gathering their strength and carrying out Operation Cleanse, Noxus had sent its Sea Watch Fleet, along with more than twenty legions, eastward to Ionia.
Noxus hadn't been all bluster. They had their eyes on Ionia!
All their earlier displays of strength had been a strategic deception. Their supposed failed attempts to interfere had merely been a show, and the troops assembled at Dragon Gate had turned around, boarded ships, and headed straight for Ionia.
While the Demacians swaggered across Valoran, Noxus had moved its troops. Meanwhile, the Western Theater had taken the opportunity to strengthen the Trivell Defense Line and the Dalmore Defense Line, preparing for a possible Demacian attack.
Demacia had been killing the chicken to warn the monkeys.
The Noxians had simply crossed the sea by deception.
When Jiawen III heard the news, it felt as if someone had smashed him over the head with a mallet.
In hindsight, Demacia's earlier show of force had been a complete joke.
The cunning Noxians had launched an even greater war while he was basking in his own success!
Fortunately, Jiawen III was a man of great composure.
Realizing that the Noxians had thoroughly outmaneuvered him, the King forced down his anger.
Even then, he truly wanted to teach the Noxians a harsh lesson. But the wars of the past had repeatedly proved that directly assaulting heavily fortified strongholds and interlocking defensive lines was unwise.
Besides, fighting the Noxians beyond Demacia's borders wasn't in the nation's interests. Demacia had fertile land and abundant resources, and it had little desire for more territory. If it went to war with Noxus now, Demacia would gain nothing.
Even though Demacia always prided itself on justice, it couldn't possibly fight Noxus to the death for the sake of the Ionian people.
Of course, that didn't mean Jiawen III would sit back and watch war engulf Ionia. If possible, he was certainly willing to cause the Noxians some trouble.
So, at the next meeting of the Noble Council, Xin Zhao made a rare appearance at the front of the chamber. His speech focused mainly on Ionia.
Xin Zhao wasn't optimistic about the situation in Ionia.
In his view, Ionia had many powerful people, but they were scattered and disunited. After coming to Demacia, he had realized the power of unity. But Ionia as a whole was less a nation than a vast martial world, with every region governed autonomously by a shared culture.
If Demacia was a typical feudal kingdom with a clear divide between the nobility and commoners, then Ionia could practically be called a primitive society. Religion and government were intertwined, written laws were scarce, and there was no standing army. Though the various sects had many powerful fighters, they would likely struggle to resist the Noxians' vast armies...
Because Xin Zhao had lived in Ionia, Noxus, and Demacia, he understood perfectly well that Ionia would struggle to stand against the Noxians on an open battlefield.
From his perspective, then, his recommendation was to send a small force by sea and evacuate as many Ionians as possible before the Noxian navy blockaded Ionia.
He wasn't saying this because he had betrayed Ionia. Back when he lived there, he had been a fisherman who had studied for a time with the sect in his village. He didn't even know how large Ionia was.
Moreover, back then Xin Zhao hadn't had access to Ionia's hidden powers. So, in his eyes, Ionia had little chance of winning this war. Without the protection of the sea, it would be hard for Ionia to fight back.
Xin Zhao's proposal won the Noble Council's approval.
Demacia's nobles weren't going to risk their lives for the Ionian people, so they couldn't launch a direct attack on Noxus's western defenses—especially when the Noxians were clearly prepared for them.
But they were quite willing to cause trouble for the Noxians by taking in refugees.
So, the Demacians sent a small fleet through the Valoran Strait. Before Noxian Admiral Duqur could completely blockade Ionia, they evacuated several groups of Ionian refugees from Kuilin Island, Galin Island, and Zhiyun Island.
And Lux, who had been immersed in her training all this time, knew nothing about it.
Ogesha had originally kept it from Garen to stop him from acting rashly out of an excess of righteousness. She had only kept it from Lux as an afterthought.
It wasn't until the ships carrying the Ionian refugees returned that Ogesha handed Lux an invitation and a formal dress.
"Sweetheart, come with me to a banquet tomorrow evening." Ogesha gazed at her daughter, who sat poised and proper before her, her face full of smiles. "The Buweier family has adopted a little girl. Tomorrow will be her induction ceremony."
"The Buweier family?" At Karya's prompting, Lux quickly put on a look of understanding. "So Miss Kahina will have a new sister? How wonderful... But why did Mr. Buweier and Mrs. Buweier adopt a little girl?"
"She's Ionian... The wicked Noxians invaded her homeland, and our merciful King sent a fleet to take in some orphans who had nowhere else to go. To help them fit into Demacia, the Buweier family will set an example by adopting one of the girls."
"I see..." Lux nodded. "So she's from Ionia. I remember Marshal Xin Zhao is from there too, isn't he?"
"That's right." Ogesha nodded as well. "But he's unmarried, so it wouldn't be proper for him to adopt a child... Anyway, my darling has to make a good impression tomorrow. It'll be your first time attending a Demacian banquet as a noble young lady rather than a child—don't be nervous!"
"Don't worry!" Lux smiled and lifted her chin. "Leave everything to me!"
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Also, although it looks like I only update one chapter a day, each one is around five thousand words! The author is trying to get used to writing longer chapters, so that once the book goes on sale, two chapters a day will mean ten thousand words, haha!
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