137 Calling for Backup

Upon hearing Malphite's words, Yuan Chen raised an eyebrow.

This sentence may sound short, but it contains a lot of information.

As one of the greatest enemies of Runeterra... and indeed the entire material world, the Void is an absolutely formidable force, both in the past and present.

Ancient Shurima was amazing, wasn't it? Even the Ascended survived the collapse of the Empire were able to rule humanity for thousands of years. In the end, it was the Aspects of Mount Targon who took action to end the turmoil of that era.

Even during Shurima's most powerful period, with the Ascended Queen leading hundreds of Ascended on a personal expedition, the Void was still not completely eradicated, leaving scars on Runeterra that would never heal under Normal State.

The reason it is said to never heal under Normal State is because Yuan Chen knows of at least three such scars.

The only instance where the Void Rift was seemingly healed, or rather, completely destroyed, was due to the intervention of Aurelion Sol.

The remaining two are located in Freljord and Icathia, now known as the Lost Lands, on the southeastern side of Shurima.

Thinking about it, Yuan Chen couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

If Yuan Chen remembered correctly, long before Yuan Chen and the others went to Piltover, while they were in the mining area, Malphite had already discovered that the underground of Runeterra had been completely occupied by Void Creature.

In other words, in corners unnoticed by most, Void Creature may have already infiltrated the entire Runeterra, but instead of making a move, they have chosen to lie low...

When the time is right, perhaps with just a single command, the entire Runeterra will be enveloped by the Void.

But... a disturbance? What does that mean? Does it mean the Void Creature are already preparing to attack?

With a hint of doubt in his eyes, Yuan Chen asked directly, "What have you been through, what have you done, what has happened during this time?"

Yuan Chen deeply respected Malphite, and this respect stemmed not only from Malphite's power, but more importantly from the fact that Malphite always kept his mission in mind, constantly fighting on the front lines against the Void, silently protecting the entire Runeterra.

Ryze, as everyone knows, only appeared at the end of the Rune Wars. Malphite, on the other hand, began fulfilling his mission as early as the war between Shurima and the Void.

Unfortunately, Malphite's intelligence was too low; it didn't even know how to use its Monolith Core, relying solely on instinct to traverse the underground and crush any Void Creature it encountered.

If his intelligence had been higher... perhaps the Shurima crash wouldn't have happened.

It was precisely because Yuan Chen understood Malphite's level of intelligence that he simply skipped the formalities and opted for questioning instead.

Since their intelligence level is already this high, let's get straight to the point. Don't let their limited intelligence be wasted on understanding polite language.

Perhaps it was precisely because he was spared the calculation of understanding polite phrases that Malphite's reaction seemed much faster; after only a brief recollection, he calmly and forcefully stated:

"After we parted ways in the mine, I went to Icathia."

"I know that land, because that's where I died, and that's where I awoke."

"I kept searching for more of myself, and I found it."

"I've grown bigger, though still nothing compared to who I used to be."

"But by finding those versions of myself, I also recovered some memories from the past..."

As he spoke, Malphite paused, as if what he was about to say was a bit complicated and he needed to take his time to convey it clearly and directly.

These words, which consumed a significant amount of Malphite's computing power, indeed made Yuan Chen involuntarily narrow his eyes.

"I saw you... You are known as... Master."

"..."

Here we go again.

Upon hearing Malphite's words, Yuan Chen took a deep breath, a serious expression appearing between his brows.

It's clear that my past self must have also gone to the battlefield of Icathia. But judging from the result, it was obviously a failure... at least, it was after Monolith Fortress that I went there.

Thinking it over, Yuan Chen quickly asked, "What am I doing? What am I wearing? Who's with me?"

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's series of questions, Malphite remained silent—not to feign profundity or keep him in suspense, but because he needed a significant amount of computing power to understand the questions.

This left Yuan Chen somewhat helpless—it was clear that Malphite's structure was somewhat modular. Stones in different areas carried different functions.

The fragments of "himself" he found so far seem to be related to memory, but he hasn't found any related to intelligence.

After pondering for a full three minutes, Malphite finally understood Yuan Chen's meaning and nodded. Then, after another five minutes of silence, he replied:

"You knelt on the ground, your eyes filled with remorse, as if you were saying something, but I couldn't hear you. You were wearing the robes of the Sun Cult. There were many people around you, and I saw a large number of noble Ascended."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen closed his eyes and fell into thought.

There's no need to dwell too much on the fact that he's kneeling on the ground in remorse... because there could be too many reasons, and the memories Malphite himself retrieved are fragmented. Lacking context, he couldn't possibly come up with anything, no matter how hard he tried.

The Sun Cult...

If I remember correctly, this should be the order that controls the Sun Disc, or rather, determines whether the people of Shurima are qualified to be Ascended. They wield significant influence both officially and among the people of Shurima...

But simply wearing a robe doesn't prove anything. We can ask about the style, pattern, or any other distinctive features of the robe later.

This way, when they return to Ixialia, they can compare the books in the royal library.

As for the Ascended around him... without a doubt, they must be the Golden Army, led by the Ascended Setaka, who personally led the expedition after the failure of the Monolith Fortress operation.

That was the most powerful legion in Shurima, composed of the most elite soldiers, the bravest generals, and the most powerful Ascended.

It's no exaggeration to say that this Golden Army, which gathered hundreds of Ascended, could flatten the entire Runeterra, rebuild it, and then flatten and rebuild it again, even today.

Even under such terrifying military attacks, the Void only temporarily ceased its attacks to recuperate.

As the price for stopping the Void, the Ancient Shuriman Empire emptied almost all of its accumulated resources over its four thousand-year history.

It is foreseeable that once the Void Rift in Icathia is fully restored, the new round of Void Wars will only be more brutal than before.

Runeterra at that time... still muster a fighting force comparable to the Golden Army composed of hundreds of Ascended?

Thinking this, Yuan Chen even felt a little desperate—because at that time Runeterra could still continuously select suitable Ascended through the Sun Disc to increase its power.

With the Great Collapse, in the past thousand years, not only have demigod-level beings like Ascended been rarely seen, but even Grandmasters have been extremely rare...

Including Ixialia and Ionia, there are probably two hundred active masters currently existing?

Yuan Chen wasn't sure, or even sure if there could be that many... And even masters are limited by their lifespan; once they reach a certain age, they can no longer fight at full strength.

For example, Lupe, even after taking the Dragon Blood Secret Medicine to recover from his injuries during the Dragon Slayer battle, did not recover much.

At most, it would only extend one's lifespan by a few seconds... and one couldn't even lift a finger, otherwise, one would die a violent death.

Thinking this, Yuan Chen asked, "How large is the scale of the disturbance in the Void?"

"I don't know," Malphite said. "When I returned to Icathia, I discovered that the Void Creature there were gathering towards a certain node. The scale of this gathering was so great that it even caused a void within Icathia itself, allowing me to rediscover a large portion of myself."

"However... there are still far too few."

Malphite said silently, "I used to be able to hear myself calling me from somewhere... but this time, when I went there, I didn't find any trace of myself."

"Although we found a lot, we didn't find many..."

Hearing Malphite's incoherent words, Yuan Chen raised an eyebrow and said, "Not as expected?"

Upon hearing this, Malphite pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes."

Large amounts of Void surrounding Icathia gathered and disappeared, taking with them a significant amount of Malphite fragments...

During this time, nothing unusual happened in Runeterra...

No, it happened.

Yuan Chen seemed to remember something and paused slightly—if things were to be done according to common sense, Runeterra at this point in time would at least appear peaceful on the surface. But with his involvement, Runeterra different from the original timeline.

Not to mention that my future self traveled back in time, my present self alone has already caused a major event—the founding of Ixialia!

Thinking of this, Yuan Chen's gaze gradually became serious— Ixialia, as the country closest to Icathia, had engaged in unfriendly exchanges with the other country Ancient Shurima era.

At the very first moment the Void erupted in Icathia, Ne'Zuk, Ascended from Ixialia, personally led the creation of Monolith Fortress modeled after the relic Vidalion Loom, and launched the first wave of attacks against the Void of Icathia.

Although the result was devastating, it successfully curbed the outward expansion of the Void, fixing the rift to Icathia rather than the entire Shurima or even Runeterra.

From that time onward, a trend of isolationism emerged within Ixialia. After the collapse of Shurima, Ixialia quickly cut itself off from the outside world, continuing its traditions for over three thousand years in the depths of a deserted forest...

Is it because of Ixialia?

Yuan Chen was somewhat uncertain, but there was no doubt that it was highly probable.

So Yuan Chen asked Malphite about his discoveries in Icathia. And as Malphite recounted his experiences, one after another, Yuan Chen's heart sank to the bottom...

If it was just speculation at the beginning, after Malphite revealed the movement routes and swarming directions of the Void Creature, Yuan Chen was basically 70% certain that this Void disturbance was definitely related to Ixialia.

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Yuan Chen began a series of questions. He only stopped after Malphite, with a blank expression on his massive rock face, said, "I have said everything."

Glancing at Malphite, Yuan Chen instructed, "Go and attend to your own business, but stay near Ixialia for the time being and monitor the movements of the Void. If they make any unusual moves, inform me first; do not rush into conflict with them."

Having received Yuan Chen's order, Malphite nodded silently, then turned around without a word, disappearing into the mountainside with a rumbling sound, and heading deeper into the earth's veins.

After Malphite left, Yuan Chen stood there pondering for a long time.

Raising his head, Yuan Chen's eyes no longer held the composure and relaxation he had shown when he left Piltover. As a transmigrator, the butterfly effect he was experiencing had clearly begun to manifest... no, it should be said that it had already begun long ago.

However, before that, it was limited to Ionia.

In the traditional, conservative, and harmony-oriented Ionia, the butterfly effect of Yuan Chen's words and actions is extremely limited. Because most of the time, people simply laugh it off and don't argue with him.

Outside of Ionia, however, it's a completely different story... Not all lands are as fragile and easily broken as the veil between the material and spiritual realms in Ionia.

Without worrying that negative emotions will trigger a crisis, the conflicts in people's thoughts will naturally become more intense, thus further influencing the words and actions of others.

Regardless of the scale of this Void, we cannot afford to be complacent. With this thought in mind, Yuan Chen quickly reached the cliff and, without hesitation, immediately raised his right arm.

With the infusion of magic, the Dawn Mark bursts forth with a dazzling array of seven-colored light.

"... What? Is something wrong?"

Nedeli's cool voice echoed in his mind, and Yuan Chen could vaguely sense a hint of dissatisfaction in it—perhaps because he hadn't contacted her for a long time?

Thinking this through, Yuan Chen didn't try to make jokes, but instead asked, "Do you have time? We need to meet."

Sensing the seriousness in Yuan Chen's words, Nedeli fell silent. After a moment, she said with a hint of amusement:

"What happened? You seem very nervous? Do you need me to help you?"

"Need!"

Inside the Beast Den, upon hearing that Yuan Chen had indeed come seeking help, Nedeli raised an eyebrow and promptly asked:

"Give me the coordinates."

After uploading the coordinates and confirming that Nedeli had already set off, Yuan Chen did not stop what he was doing. Instead, he immediately activated the Oshirresh Mark, located deep within his soul.

Nila, are you there?

.

My family member also has a fever... Could it be hepatitis B surface antigen positive (HBsAg positive)?