"Chief, nothing unexpected has happened in the country I investigated. In my opinion, Rona II is a wise ruler. He has laid off a large number of soldiers and is preparing to send them to Twin Cities for work and study. Furthermore, before the ministers sent to Twin Cities returned home, he was already working on building roads and was no longer wary of Noxus."
"My situation is similar. King Baibu plans to send all the scholars in the country to Twin Cities. In this group, I think the most important person to protect is an expert with great insight into minerals. He should be of great help to Councilor Talis."
"My situation is similar."
"I encountered a bit of an unexpected situation, but it wasn't that the king there was unwilling. Rather, when I arrived, he had already been sidelined by the nobles in the country, so I need to wait a while longer."
After listening to the various reports from her subordinates, Camille analyzed them and realized that most of the tasks under her responsibility had been completed. Only then did she feel relieved and put down the wine glass she was swirling in her hand.
Squinting, Camille looked in another direction and saw a masked man clad in various Hextech gear bow his head and speak respectfully:
"Based on my investigations over the past few days, Zaun's Akali isn't any faster than ours."
A hint of pleasure flashed in Camille's eyes.
But that pleasure soon vanished.
Because the other party spoke again.
"But Akali isn't slow either. It looks like she'll catch up with us soon." The spy trained by the Clan Ferros said with a complicated expression.
Camille was somewhat displeased upon hearing this, not because she had any issues with Akali or Zaun, but Camille's pride wouldn't allow her to lose to others.
Losing wealth and power is one thing, but to lose in the profession of espionage, which one has pursued for decades—what kind of situation is that?
So-called spies gather intelligence, disrupt enemy camps, and exercise extreme caution—these are the so-called professional skills.
She knew that the girl named Akali was exceptionally skilled, after all, she was someone Li Ke had personally brought back.
Look at all those guys Li Ke personally brought back—was there a single weakling?
But no matter how strong she is, she works as an assassin, and how old is she anyway?
Furthermore, Zaun's intelligence department was only established in the last year, while Ferros has a history of over a century.
If Camille were to lose to her opponent, she would naturally feel she had lost face.
But she didn't react angrily; instead, she asked softly, "What's the reason?"
"It's violence." The agent looked up, his eyes filled with bitterness, and said in a low voice.
Yes, it's violence.
Camille's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this.
The spy volunteered to explain, "Akali's Shadow Guard organization is responsible for nine small countries, while we are responsible for ten. Currently, the leaders of seven of the nine countries she is in charge of have already signed the agreement. The Shadow Guard is also infiltrating the remaining two small countries, and it seems that it won't be long before it's all over."
"Of these seven countries, only three leaders genuinely wanted to join the Twin Cities Federation; the rest resisted. In response to this resistance, Zaun's secret guards carried out decapitation and assassination operations."
"The number of kings who have personally died at Akali's hands has reached four."
Camille rubbed her temples after hearing this, and after a long pause said, "This must be Silco's idea."
Li Ke would never issue such an order, and in Zaun, the only person capable of giving Akali such an order is Silco.
What about what people are saying from the outside world?
Camille asked again.
She wondered if Akali's actions would have a negative impact on the Twin Cities, but the spy went on and on about it.
The gist of it is that Akali's Shadow Guard doesn't kill indiscriminately, but rather takes down some and wins over others, using status, power, and money to bind and influence the internal affairs of the country.
After hearing the spy's words, Camille became even more certain of her guess.
This was definitely Silco's idea!
What else?
You say that teenage girl is very good at fighting? That's no problem. Of course she is very good at fighting. Whether it's Zaun or Piltover, there are very few people in both cities who can beat her.
Even a fully armed Camille would find her troublesome, because those so-called ninjutsu and secret techniques could actually hurt Camille.
But if you're saying she has that kind of political insight, Camille doesn't believe it.
Finally, Camille simply said, "Have everyone speed things up. I need a response from the last country in five days at the latest."
The spy nodded vigorously and shouted, "Yes, sir!"
The spring sun was bright but not hot. The density of the transient population on the streets of Piltover was noticeably higher. People wore all sorts of strange clothes and had different skin colors and faces. But what they had in common was that after entering Piltover, they all had a small booklet in their hands and were looking down at it, searching for their way.
Upon closer inspection, you'll find that the booklet is titled "Federal Guide."
That's right, a month ago when Zaun sent Akali and Piltover sent Camille, Mel had already prepared this booklet in advance.
This booklet lists the various types of manpower needed in the two cities, as well as the talent that can be cultivated. It also provides various suggestions for those who are confident in themselves and want to find ways to advance and improve themselves.
The book also contains a record of Void creatures written by Jax and Kai'Sa.
Jax had seen large Void creatures, but he didn't directly participate in the Void Wars, so his description was only general. Kai'Sa, however, was different. She had lived among the lower Void for years, and throughout Runeterra, few humans knew more about the Void than she did. Therefore, what she wrote was extremely detailed, even down to how many mouthparts Void worm had and how many teeth it contained.
At noon, the Hex Gate were in constant operation, with cargo-laden gates continuously departing from Piltover for destinations around the world, while airships carrying people returned to Piltover.
The flying portal made a lot of noise when it flew through the portal, but everyone had become familiar with it, so they were no longer surprised by the blue halo and roaring sound during the day.
Just now, another Hex Airship took off, its blue light illuminating the towering buildings of Piltover. From the top floors, one could see directly to the port and docks from the windows.
Sunlight draped the harbor like a veil, and in the golden light, grey and white seabirds circled around the huge ships, flying in chaotic arcs. These creatures waited for the people on board to feed them. Having lived here for years, the ship horns no longer bothered them. Some of the bolder ones even dared to land on the deck, fold their wings, and waddle among the crowd, cooing and cawing as they waited to be fed.
Right now, on a large ship, Li Ke is sailing towards the center of the sea with the leaders of the two cities.
Jinx is standing on the deck.
Today she wore a practical windbreaker, a yellow one over her favorite tactical vest, and tight-fitting black trousers for easy movement.
Her long hair was tied into pigtails, and she wore a sun hat. Her outfit wasn't exactly ladylike, but she was full of energy and vitality. However, at this moment, she was holding a seabird by the neck with one hand, strangling it tightly. In her other hand, Jinx was holding a small bottle and pouring a potion into the seabird's mouth.
Kai'Sa, Taliyah, whom Jinx had summoned Lux, followed her, all curiously watching what she was doing. Was this Jinx's punishment for the seabird?
The three girls, of course, had no idea that this was not punishment, but an experiment.
Rek'Sai's corpse had already been handed over to Singed Li Ke disposal; the Void Beast's flesh and bones were a treasure to Singed.
Even the well-traveled Singed, who claimed to know a great deal about the creatures of Runeterra, had never seen a creature with a structure like Xer'Sai's.
With a large head, long body, wide claws, and a small tail, it looks like a crane from the front. Especially Xer'Sai sensory organs, which are somewhat similar to the sonic abilities of bats, but different. This inspired both Singed and Jinx.
Singed planned to analyze Xer'Sai and see if this "sensory organ" could be added to a human, while Jinx discovered an idea from this organ.
That means using it on your own drones, so that the drones can capture sound and thus detect the enemy.
As for why they're catching seagulls now, it's because Jinx is helping Singed; most of the scientists in Zaun are now helping Singed.
For tasks like this, the Piltover people obviously couldn't offer much help. After all, in alchemy, the Zaunite completely outclassed the Piltover people. Therefore, both Ekko and Zeri received potions from Singed to conduct various experiments on animals and then record the data for Singed.
This is the job Jinx is doing right now.
On the other side--
"Li Ke, the matter concerning the Federation is now complete. All the countries you can name have joined us. The intelligence from the Void is being disseminated worldwide by law enforcement officers, who are also distributing pamphlets for propaganda purposes."
Silco looked out over the middle of the sea. Ironically, this was probably his first time at sea. Yes, as the underground king of Zaun, Silco had never actually been to sea. He delegated all business matters to his subordinates; he certainly wouldn't show his face.
Therefore, looking at the vast and calm sea, Silco felt a sense of emotion.
Li Ke nodded, looking out at the sea Li Ke surveyed the area.
"Fiora and Katarina have also returned to Demacia and Noxus. Jarvan III wrote that Demacia can help with manpower, as the warriors of the Dauntless Vanguard are incredibly strong, and he will send three hundred men to Piltover. Swain, on the other hand, said in his letter that Noxus currently has no manpower to contribute, but we can use Noxus's ore and sand." Mel stood to the side, also looking at the sea, and said after thinking for a moment.
"Everyone, this is even more insane than what Zaun did three hundred years ago. Are you sure you can succeed?" A sharp voice rang out, and everyone looked down to see Professor Heimerdinger, who had not appeared for a long time.
The professor has been working on creating the Hextech Tyrannosaurus. He's almost finished with the body, but the problem now is energy. The current Hextech Gem aren't enough to make the Hextech Tyrannosaurus move, so Viktor has also been busy working on unlocking the maximum potential of the Hextech Gem.
"Of course, Professor, and besides, it's not just a certainty of success, it's a certainty of success," Li Ke said, taking a deep breath.
He pointed to the sea and said in a deep voice, "It's right here, beneath the ocean, that Void passage has been excavated all the way to Zaun. Didn't we just confirm this a while ago?"
Kai'Sa said she didn't know exactly how far the Xer'Sai had dug the tunnel, but Kai'Sa was certain that the area surrounding Shurima had been completely breached by them.
And that was indeed the case. After conducting a geological survey, Zaun dug hundreds of meters down into a mine and discovered stones containing the aura of the Void. These stones crumbled at the slightest touch. Then, when they tried to dig further down, Janna intervened and stopped them.
She had never thought about this before. After all, Janna had many things to do after her power was restored. She didn't have enough time to digest the power of faith, so how could she possibly have the time to specifically investigate the underground of Zaun?
However, after sensing downwards, Janna asserted that if they dug any further down, they would find a maze of interconnected caverns. If they were to accidentally destroy these caverns, Zaun would collapse and be buried underground.
Therefore, land reclamation and opening Shurima is a very important matter.
This not only facilitated trade and opened up new routes, but also prepared for the future relocation of Zaun.
Zaun doesn't plan to hide in the abyss forever.
"Alright, kids, let's do it then." Heimerdinger muttered his agreement after hearing what Li Ke said.
He then stepped forward, clung to the deck, and peered down, saying, "But even for us, it will take quite some time to fill in the sea."
"Reclaiming land from the sea. This is something no one has ever done before." Heimerdinger turned to look at Li Ke.
Jayce clenched his Riot Games upon hearing this, feeling incredibly excited about it.
As Professor Heimerdinger said, three hundred years ago, Zaun wanted to build a bridge through Shurima to facilitate trade, but the project that would have changed Zaun failed, and then Zaun and Piltover came into being.
Now, the Twin Cities are going to do something even more outrageous: Twin Cities want to fill in the sea between Shurima and the Twin Cities!
This event will surely be recorded in future history books!
"There's nothing I can do to help with this, so we'll have to rely on everyone else," Li Ke said with a smile, spreading his hands.
He currently possesses the strength of Demigod, which is impressive, but as for filling in the sea, even if Li Ke worked himself to death, he still couldn't do it!
Furthermore, Jax and Yi are also Demigod, but in this matter, they are not as capable as Li Ke.
What else can Jax and Yi Tianhai do besides being laborers moving stones?
Li Ke can at least use wind magic to help a little, but Jax and Yi are really useless.
Thinking of this, Li Ke glanced at Lux, who was following behind Jinx like Little Tagalong Lux.
Tsk. If only I could trick Lux into bringing Galio over.
If that big guy were here, with Galio's strength and size, moving rocks would be incredibly efficient!
Unfortunately, Jarvan III would not agree to send Galio out. It wasn't that Demacia knew about Galio's special abilities, but rather that the Petricite, as a powerful force for Demacia against mages, could not be lent out.
Even if Zaun and Demacia have a good relationship, they still can't get the Petricite, right?
That's what Demacia relies on for survival and what makes them powerful in Valoran. How could Jarvan III possibly lend it out?
However, the three hundred Dauntless Vanguard were enough to demonstrate Jarvan III's sincerity.
"Then, let's begin!" Li Ke gave the order, speaking in a deep voice.
"Investigate the sea area and its water quality!"
"Select the area and mark it!"
"We don't have much time. In the coming period, Twin Cities will focus all their efforts on the land reclamation project. We want to eliminate the gap between Shurima and Valoran!"
Silco stood quietly behind Li Ke, watching Li Ke give orders from the front.
As soon as Li Ke gave the order, the law enforcement officers, who were already fully equipped, could no longer wait. They jumped off the ship and dived into the sea.
If Mel hadn't stopped him, Jayce would have already donned his gear and gone into the sea to explore.
"The land reclamation project has officially begun!"
In early May of the year 990, the Federation was mobilized, and the Twin Cities of Valoran and Shurima officially began the land reclamation project. This Runeterra had used their own power to change the world.
Humans, spirits, even Demigod and demons, and even Celestials from beyond the stars.
At this moment, all their eyes were focused on Twin Cities.
Land reclamation
Land reclamation!