Camille spoke for a long time and covered a lot of ground, but if Li Ke were to summarize it, it would be this: Noxus is getting anxious.
Moreover, things were chaotic and urgent. Noxus was currently rife with internal conflicts, and Darkwill's incompetence was obvious to everyone. Anyone could see that the aging Darkwill had completely lost his mind.
In his quest for immortality, Darkwill ordered the entire nation to search for the elixir of life, which inadvertently sparked the ambitions of some nobles.
Originally, Darkwill didn't care about the small city-state of Piltover, because Noxus ruled countless city-states, large and small, in Valoran. In his later years, Darkwill didn't even know how much profit and wealth Piltover could bring to Noxus. Now, all he cared about was immortality.
Blinded by his will to survive, he was unaware of how many nobles and generals in Noxus had amassed a fortune in Piltover behind his back.
Of course, these nobles wouldn't be foolish enough to tell Darkwell how great Piltover was; after all, if Darkwell knew, how would they make money?
Therefore, right under Darkwill's nose, this group treated Piltover as their own, sending their men there whenever they needed money to fleece this fat sheep, thus gaining unimaginable wealth.
But now, Piltover has suddenly and unilaterally severed trade with them and refused entry Piltover their people, which is certainly something they cannot tolerate.
However, if Darkwill found out about his unauthorized military action and the pressure he had put on Piltover, and the city-state's wealth was exposed, they could all imagine what this tyrannical monarch would do when the truth came out.
But what if we try a different approach?
Since Darkwill is willing to try anything and believe anything in order to achieve immortality, they could easily deceive Darkwill into giving up the pursuit of the elixir of life and instead using technology to prolong his life!
As a result, the Hextech Chemtech of the two cities, along with various documents from the Noxus nobles, were sent to Darkwill. These people really raved about the technology of the two cities, causing Darkwill to change his mind and shift his focus from sending troops to attack Ionia to starting to pay attention to Piltover.
To put it bluntly, these nobles are no longer afraid of Darkwill. What they are doing now is trying to make another fortune while the president is still in power and Noxus is still relatively "stable".
These military nobles are now preparing to quickly seize territory and become powerful warlords after the empire collapses.
Noxus has seen its fair share of uprisings and rebellions in recent years.
Everyone knows this country is doomed.
Therefore, what Camille said is truly important.
This made Li Ke think of something: what if Swain really died in Ionia, Irelia hadn't just shattered his kneecaps, but had instead severed his head? Would Noxus then simply become a chapter in Valoran's history?
Without Swain, Noxus would be doomed. Right now, Noxus is like a dynasty in its final days, with an incompetent monarch, disunity among its people, and its policy of sustaining itself through war being hampered. The entire country is teetering on the brink of collapse.
Noxus has hundreds of chapters, the most elite of which is naturally the Leather Guard. However, according to Camille's words, nearly half of the chapter leaders are already waiting for the empire to collapse so they can take a piece of its flesh.
Among them is the Medarda family, who have already withdrawn from the scene due to their association with Zaun.
Looking back now, a big reason why Ambessa came to Piltover was that she was secretly planning to take over Piltover ahead of time, to acquire wealth and military weapons, and to prepare for the future collapse of the empire.
Therefore, Swain, who was able to rein in Noxus and prevent it from collapsing and breaking down, is truly a hero sent from heaven.
You could say a thousand bad things about Swain, but even as an enemy, you have to admire this kind of iron-willed soldier who fought for his country.
He has a really strong personal charm.
This is probably why so many people know what Noxus is like and like Noxus —because they believe that under the leadership of someone like Swain, Noxus will only get better and better.
Originally, the members of parliament had planned to enjoy the banquet and ball tonight, but after hearing Camille's words, none of them were in the mood anymore.
Silco and Vander immediately stated that they should take down the mountain behind Piltover as soon as possible and build New Zaun, but that place would not be in a hurry to be inhabited, but rather used as the first line of defense.
The council members in Piltover were actually quite frightened after hearing Camille's words. Although they had boasted that the Noxians weren't that powerful, if the Noxians were to actually attack, their first thought would be whether or not to surrender.
But Mel reassured them, explaining that there were too many wolves and not enough meat, Noxians were not currently united. Piltover didn't need to worry about actually facing a Noxus army; Mel believed they would likely face only a few warbands.
If it's just a few battle groups, the two cities are fully capable of putting up a fight, especially if Li Ke and Vander intervene.
The Piltover council members, thinking of the fighting prowess of Li Ke and Vander, relaxed considerably.
Immediately, in light of the intelligence Camille brought back, the two cities began discussing how to deal with the Noxians.
As dusk fell, the Immortal Bastion of Noxus—
As the capital city of Noxus, the Immortal Bastion, a black castle with a history spanning thousands of years, features only two colors.
One is black, and the other is red.
One symbolizes Noxus's ruthlessness, the other Noxus iron will, and right now, a figure is hunched over, taking difficult steps toward the Great Library of the Immortal Bastion.
Leaning on a cane, missing an arm, his gray hair cascaded over his black trench coat. His face was thin, with a high nose bridge and eagle-like eyes that gleamed with shrewdness and competence.
At the library entrance, the guards in red armor and black helmets looked at him with respect, but also with a hint of helplessness.
As he approached, Captain Perin stepped forward, raised his spear to block him, and whispered to him:
"I'm sorry, Mr. Jericho, you are now prohibited from entering the library."
"Although I've been stripped of my military status and demoted to a civilian, I believe I still retain the right to enter the library." The man raised his head, his gaze calmly meeting Perin's. "This library belongs to all the sons and daughters of Noxus, even the commoners, doesn't it?"
His name was Swain, Swain Jericho, a nobleman who had just been court-martialed, discharged from the military, and demoted to a commoner.
"That's right, but this is General Roel's order," Perin said through gritted teeth, then turned to Swain and said, "Please don't put me in a difficult position."
Swain pursed his lips, stood still with his head bowed, then looked up again and calmly said, "Then, could you please go in and bring out a few books for me?"
"."
"Please wait a moment." Perin took a deep breath and nodded.
Even though Swain been demoted and is no longer as powerful as Palin, Perin still maintains respect for Swain.
Because the man before them was once a trusted general among countless soldiers in the Noxus army.
Perin had also served as Swain's soldier, and although he knew Swain didn't know who he was or could recall his name, Perin held no grudge.
It was because he had served as Swain's soldier that he knew what kind of person Swain was.
Emperor Darkwill, the Grand Commander, should not demote this man to a commoner just because of the defeat in the Noxian-Ionian War. Noxus needs him, it needed him before, it needs him now, and it needs him in the future!
It was because of Jericho that Darkwill's rise to power was so smooth, and that Noxus was able to enjoy its heyday. If Jericho hadn't discovered the secret organization hidden in Noxus's shadow and captured and eliminated them, Noxus would have encountered even more trouble.
Not to mention, during that upheaval, Swain personally executed his parents and killed many of his family members. For the sake of this country, Swain did far too much.
Perin was an ordinary soldier, but he also believed that Noxus had failed Swain.
Therefore, Perin readily agreed to Swain's request.
Perin wasn't worried about being punished by General Roel, because someone would take the blame.
Draven, a man of commoner origin who rose to become a military general, and his Darius, who disappeared in the north, are symbols of bravery and fearlessness.
When Swain returned to Noxus and was ostracized and ridiculed by everyone, Draven stood up for Swain and helped Swain out.
This is also why Swain wasn't expelled from the Immortal Bastion; otherwise, Swain wouldn't have had the right to reside there.
The other soldiers on either side of Perin did not speak up to stop him, but silently looked ahead, pretending not to have seen what was happening.
Which books do you need?
"On the first bookshelf, the seventh book in the first row; on the third bookshelf, the thirteenth book in the fourth row."
Swain one breath, each placed on a different bookshelf in a different order.
Perin found it a bit strange, but he just assumed it was a number Swain had casually mentioned.
Then, he went into the library, and when he came out again, he was carrying a thick stack of books.
"Here you are, Mr. Jericho," Perin said as he approached Swain.
Swain nodded, took the book from Perin with difficulty, leaned on his crutch with his right hand, and held the book tightly between his arms. He lowered his head and rested his chin on the book to keep it from falling to the ground.
With one knee completely shattered and one hand left behind in Ionia, Swain was extremely inconvenient to move around in.
He walked away from Perin and his soldiers in such a disheveled state, carrying the book with difficulty. Every step he took was slow, but each step seemed to carry great strength.
Watching Swain's retreating figure, Perin's face, hidden beneath his helmet, shifted slightly. After a moment, he let out a soft sigh.
"What a pity."
At night, in the small room lit by an oil lamp, Swain used his teeth to bite the bandage and sling his mutilated left arm up. Then, he used his right hand to tie an iron ring to his left arm, with a fork tied to the front of the ring with a strip of cloth.
He opened his mouth, loosened the bandages, Swain waved his half-arm. He leaned to one side, using his intact right hand to turn the pages of a book, while his left arm held food from a plate. He ate his dinner while reading.
The books he was reading were all chronicles of Noxus, written by different authors, recording every period of Noxus's history over several hundred years. The one he was currently reading was a history book written by Vincent.
It records Noxus's darkest period, the time when it was ruled by Mordekaiser, and what Noxus looked like then.
As Swain looked at the book, his brow furrowed, and he muttered to himself:
Still no.
[Neither the three-eyed raven nor the Black Rose are mentioned in this book.]
Just then, Swain's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, his eyes brightened, and he suddenly looked down at a line of text in the book.
In the very center of the book was a passage of text. It was quite ordinary, merely recording the author Vincent's perspective on this past event. However, Swain noticed something different about it.
He carefully examined the line of text, and then Swain began tapping the table with his hand.
Moments later, Swain discovered the secret within the text.
This is encrypted text.
As he lay dying, Swain saw many secrets unknown to ordinary people in the eyes of the crows that landed on him. Because of this, he understood the encryption, he knew what the secret was, and even knew how to control the existence behind the secret.
But now, what he needs to do is find this existence.
Swain ran his right index finger along the pages of the book, closed his eyes, and began to think.
A moment later, he opened his eyes, a hint of emotion flickering within them.
He took a pen and wrote the encrypted words on a piece of paper. It read, "An inextinguishable flame burning in the darkness is the eye of the devil; it hunts the souls of the dying, devouring their secrets. Yes, I am the prey, but so are you."
"Me too?"
"No, I'm not."
Swain gripped the paper tightly in his right hand, crumpling it into a ball. Then, he opened his mouth, tore the paper off with his teeth, and ate it along with the food on his plate.
That being also tried to devour Swain's secrets, treating him as its prey.
But Swain resisted it and turned against it, thus learning its secret.
Now, Swain has sorted things out.
He finally understood what his parents had been searching for all those years ago, what kind of organization they had joined, and why Darkwill, who had once been so wise and powerful and whom Swain regarded as a benevolent ruler and whom he had willingly served, had become the person he was today.
Raising his head and closing his eyes, Swain's throat bobbed as he swallowed the note. He stared at the oil lamp on the table, his gaze gradually turning sinister.
"Noxus will not be your toy. The more you try to kill me, the more it proves that my path is correct."
He closed the book with his right hand Swain muttered to himself, those words were only meant for his own ears.
"Darkwill, it seems that sitting on the throne only proves you have a perfectly sized ass. This position doesn't belong to someone like you."
"Call--"
He reached out and extinguished the flames; in the darkness, Swain's eyes shone brightly.
His voice whispered in the dark shadows, but no one but him could hear it.
"I will not let Noxus fall."
Absolutely not.