Twin Cities – Piltover Parliament Building
Li Ke was sitting in Jayce's office eating snacks, waiting for Jayce and Mel. In the meantime, he glanced at the documents on Jayce's desk.
Just like himself, Jayce is now delegating all of Zaun's affairs to Silco, and he is also leaving family, trade, and political matters to Mel.
Therefore, Jayce's desk was covered with experimental manuscripts, which recorded the research and inventions of Jayce, Jinx, Viktor, Singed, and others during this period.
Singed attempted to combine the Shimmer with the Void, and in this process, Singed discovered an element: the Shimmer seemed to inherently possess a certain connection to Void creatures.
It wasn't just because the Shimmer was a purple potion, but because the main components of Singed Shimmer were similar to some of the elements Singed extracted from Rek'Sai's body. After much thought, Singed concluded that the geology of Zaun's underground had altered Zaun subterranean life forms.
After all, the Shimmer was extracted from the bodies of those creatures, so Singed believed that if the Shimmer wanted to continue evolving, the next step would have to rely on Void creatures.
However, Singed had another concern: the enhanced Shimmer, due to the addition of a large amount of Void creature components, might cause harm to the human body, making it somewhat like a weakened version of the Darkin?
Therefore, Singed was considering whether to conduct human experiments. To this end, he specifically gave his notes to Jayce, hoping that Jayce would communicate with Mel to select volunteers from the death row inmates of Stillwater Prison, in exchange for their consent in exchange for reduced crimes and certain compensation.
"This clearly violates the current rules of Twin Cities," Li Ke thought with a headache as he put Singed's report aside. It wasn't surprising that Jayce had placed the report at the very bottom.
Li Ke could imagine how distressed Jayce must have been when he saw the report.
That guy's obsession with cleanliness was even greater than Li Ke's. If Li Ke thought it was inhumane to use human bodies for experiments, then Jayce would have an even greater problem.
"Forget it, let them worry about this. Why should I worry about it? I'm dealing with just as much trouble as they are right now," Li Ke muttered, then looked at another report.
This report was sent back by Jax two days before Li Ke departed for Freljord.
In his report, Jax noted two things—
The first thing Jax and his party did after arriving in Shurima was accompany their guide, Taliyah, to her homeland. After demonstrating her abilities, Taliyah explained her current work and identity to her people. Her people then made a request to Taliyah, hoping that the tribe could receive help from the Twin Cities. Therefore, Taliyah hoped that the Twin Cities would accept her tribe, who had a strong expertise in making clothes and weaving silk.
The second thing is that Jax and his group discovered Xerath's trail. When they arrived in Faraj'e, Karma sensed powerful arcane energy, enough to destroy a nation or city-state. She immediately recognized that the other party was likely Xerath. They are now tracking Xerath, Jax believes that by following Xerath's trail, they can find Azir.
Below the report, Jayce had signed his name, agreeing to the Twin Cities accepting Taliyah's tribe.
Yes, just like mentioned earlier, if the mastermind behind Zaun is Li Ke, then the mastermind behind Piltover is Jayce.
After all, Piltover is currently operating on Hextech, and as the creator of Hextech, Jayce's wealth is immeasurable. As long as Runeterra continues to use Hextech, Jayce's coffers will be overflowing with riches.
Therefore, Jayce certainly has the right to sign off on his pretentious act.
The third report.
"Sarah?"
Li Ke looked at the third report. Sarah had written this report in two capacities. In the first paragraph, Sarah wrote the report as the head of the Zaun Navy. In the report, Sarah explained in detail the current situation of Bilgewater, that she had subdued the pirates on the island, and that the negotiations with Illaoi had gone smoothly, successfully severing the connection between the Buhru Islands and Bilgewater.
Therefore, Bilgewater officially became a vassal state of the Twin Cities, Sarah arranged for a group of Zaunite to be stationed on the surrounding islands to help Bilgewater defend against the sea monsters.
In the second paragraph, Sarah writes from the perspective of the Queen of Bilgewater, the Empress of the Sea.
In her report, she explained her deal with Illaoi and pointed out the crisis that Bilgewater would face in the future. This crisis required the help of the Twin Cities because Bilgewater alone, with Illaoi as Buhru, could not truly drive away the Black Mist of the Harrowing Bilgewater. It could only block it on the sea, but even so, a large number of Bilgewater people were still attacked by the Black Mist of the Harrowing.
Therefore, Sarah hoped that the Twin Cities could establish Hextech outpost on Bilgewater to defend against the Harrowing with Hextech magical barrier. She knew that this would require a large number of Hextech Gem and a lot of resources. Therefore, instead of shamelessly asking for permission as the Admiral of the Zaun Navy, she applied for the deal as the Sea Empress.
"Hmm, the Harrowing," Li Ke thought as he looked at the report, contemplating the major events to come, and realized that it really wouldn't be long before it happened.
But the Harrowing isn't that difficult to deal with. Neither Mordekaiser nor Viego is, at most, Demigod. At most, they are among the best of the Demigod, powerful Demigod.
But here's the question: no matter how powerful Viego and Mordekaiser are, can they possibly be as powerful as Lissandra?
That's impossible, of course.
In terms of sheer charisma, Viego and Mordekaiser are at a disadvantage. After all, even if you only consider their lifespan, the combined lifespan of Viego and Mordekaiser multiplied by five still wouldn't surpass that of Lissandra. Not to mention their motives. Mordekaiser is alright; at least he wanted to be a tyrant and returned to Runeterra for revenge. But what about Viego?
Viego... well, aside from his immense strength, he has absolutely nothing to do with being cool or sophisticated.
Therefore, Li Ke didn't consider the Harrowing in Bilgewater a big deal.
To put it bluntly, if you drag Thresh out and beat him up, the Harrowing will behave himself. Although Black Mist didn't produce the Black Mist Thresh, he did contribute to its Thresh. Viego is stupid but strong. Apart from his Isolde, his spirit and will are not firm. Being fooled by Thresh is as easy as eating and drinking.
Thinking of this, Li Ke almost laughed.
Ha, I can't beat Thresh with Soul Blossom, but surely I can beat Thresh with Runeterra?
Just then, the door to Jayce's office was suddenly pushed open.
Jayce, dressed in a white suit and casually pulling at his collar, visibly paused as he strode in. He looked at Li Ke, then smiled and asked, "Have you been waiting long?"
"No, I was just waiting a little while." Li Ke smiled, reached for the report on the table, and shook it at Jayce. "Besides, time flies when you've been looking at these."
Jayce walked to the desk, picked up a pastry from the table, put it in his mouth and chewed it. Then he sat up on the desk, picked up the cup on the table and drank water in big gulps.
"I'm exhausted. Renata plans to bring a large number of Noxus half-human clans into the Twin Cities, and Mel and I were just negotiating with the Noxus for that." Looking at Li Ke, Jayce explained what he had just been doing.
"How's the situation?" Li Ke asked Jayce.
"That's how it is. Noxus definitely doesn't want to annex the half-human clan to our side, but they can't afford to completely break ties with us right now. Swain didn't even show up; he sent an envoy, but that Noxus minister didn't cause us any trouble." Jayce thought for a moment, then continued, "None of the conditions that guy proposed were unreasonable. Put yourself in Noxus's shoes; of course, I wouldn't want to give the half-human clan to someone else either."
"The minotaurs are a powerful race. To this day, they may be the only half-human race left. The Vastaya don't count. Although the Vastaya are also half-human and half-beast, their situation is special. To put it bluntly, they are hybrids born from magic. But the minotaurs are different; they cannot reproduce with humans," Jayce added.
The half-human race, a race that gradually disappeared from history after the rise of humanity, like the Yeti, faded from the stage of Runeterra.
Long ago, Runeterra was home to all sorts of creatures. However, due to the incredible adaptability and rapid reproduction rate of humans, as they emerged from Freljord and settled in Runeterra, gradually becoming its masters, the living space of these ancient creatures and races was squeezed, and eventually, they became Runeterra.
In the war between the Three Sisters, Lissandra led humanity against Volibear's Old Ways Alliance. The Old Ways was home not only to Demigod, but also to all sorts of strange creatures.
The reason why the Minotaur have survived to this day is that, as a herbivorous race, they have no requirements for their living environment. At the same time, they have incredibly strong fighting power. Furthermore, because of their naturally honest and simple nature, this race avoids humans unless absolutely necessary.
Every Tauren is a valiant warrior, a naturally powerful vanguard.
To put it simply, Demacia trains its Dauntless Vanguard by first selecting talented young soldiers of the right age from hundreds of thousands of residents. These soldiers then undergo a second selection process, experiencing various trials and tribulations before they can become Dauntless Vanguard.
Demacia invested enormous resources and time in the Dauntless Vanguard, but what about the Tauren Chieftain?
Once a person is born, as long as they grow up healthy, they can be given armor and a huge weapon, and on the battlefield they will become an enhanced class of Dauntless Vanguard.
Therefore, Noxus was naturally unwilling to let such a powerful race leave its territory.
This race is easy to control. Give them a place to live and some food, and they will fight for you. Who wouldn't like such a kind, strong, and honest race?
Noxus's resistance is not surprising. Although Noxus and the Twin Cities are currently partners, their interests are essentially tied to each other.
"In short, things are settled. The Tauren tribe will migrate from the Noxus plains to the mountains next to Piltover and become our neighbors," Jayce shrugged and continued.
"Just this one thing?"
"Not only that, of course there are many other things to take care of, otherwise why would Mel have called me?" Jayce rolled his eyes, getting a little angry about it. Looking at Li Ke, he continued:
"You idiot, this is something you should be handling. You weren't there for the league's affairs, so I sent Silco and Mel, but they had other things to deal with. I only went because I had no other choice, okay? Who do you think I went for? Did I want to go?"
"Haha, calm down." Li Ke chuckled and reached for a piece of pastry, handing it to Jayce.
Jayce took it, took a bite, and said irritably, "So how did things go with yours?"
"We're almost on track; a major battle is imminent," Li Ke said after thinking for a moment.
With a sigh, Li Ke continued, "Didn't a Freljord woman come to visit our school a while ago? That woman is Nunu's mother. Nunu has already obtained the power that Lissandra and I wanted; now it's just a matter of seeing when he can control it."
"So, are you going to bring Jax and the others back then? I've seen that report. Shurima be in a lot of trouble right now, right?" Jayce said after thinking for a moment.
He leaned down, placing his large hands on the table, and continued, "I really don't know when we can finally get a real rest. You know, after seeing you get married, I also wanted to get married, but Mel and I did the math, and damn, we simply don't have the time to get married."
"Not to mention Mel is worried about her mother." Jess said with some melancholy, "I don't know where my mother-in-law is now. It's like she's vanished into thin air. Last time Mel asked Janna to help her find her mother, but Janna said she couldn't sense her."
Li Ke was also somewhat helpless. When he transmigrated, he had guessed that Ambessa would become a hero in the Rift, and that was indeed the case. As someone who had so many scenes in the main story of the War of Two Cities, she later became one of the 169 heroes in LOL, as revealed by the Brazilian guy.
But then Li Ke traveled through time, and what exactly happened to Ambessa in the future after the War of Two Cities remains a complete mystery!
"Don't worry too much, Ambessa will be fine. Maybe she, like me, has unintentionally gone to another world," Li Ke said to Jayce after thinking for a moment.
"I don't really care about her; she doesn't seem like a good person," Jayce said. "I just feel like we've all been too busy lately, everyone's on edge, and this can't go on."
"Li Ke, when will all this finally end?"
Li Ke fell silent.
He desperately wanted to tell Jayce that this was only the beginning, but looking at Jayce's dark circles, Li Ke's words changed as they reached his lips:
"It'll be over soon, it won't be long before it's all over."
Under the gloom
This is just the beginning.
But he will pierce through the gloom.
It doesn't matter if you're Void or Celestials, Demigod or a demon.
Screw it all.