Chapter 108

After three seconds, a faint magical mark appeared on everyone's bodies— Heartsteel had been activated.

Then, he warmly stepped forward and shook hands with each of the "heroes" who had fought the previous night, except for Ahri, Syndra, and others, and patted them on the shoulder as well.

Ding ding ding, ding ding ding~

What a beautiful sound!

"Hiss..." Yasuo, the weakest of the group, frowned. "Brother, I know you're happy to see me, but maybe you could take it easy on me..."

"Haha, sorry, sorry." Even without any intention to attack, the Heartsteel can still cause a tiny bit of damage, and there's nothing Chen Ce can do about it.

One person takes one hit; that's fair.

Once his vitality had been significantly enhanced, he warmly invited everyone to sit down.

He certainly didn't gather everyone here today just to stack steel—otherwise, Lee Sin and Udyr, who had come all the way from the Hirana Monastery, would definitely have killed him.

"I've invited you all here today to discuss some matters with you."

Chen Ce used a standard opening remark to signal everyone to be quiet, and then slowly began to speak:

"First, let's talk about the future of the Resistance Army —I'm sure you all know that the Resistance Army will naturally disband after the war ends. At that time, the First Lands will likely become leaderless again, with each province having its own autonomy."

"This may not seem like a problem, but I must remind everyone of a very important point—we must be wary of those extremely ambitious radicals."

"Leaving aside the Order of the Shadow for now, the Brotherhood deserves everyone's vigilance—they have always wanted to establish an independent army on the First Lands to defend against potential future wars or invasions—the starting point is good, but I cannot agree with their style of doing things."

"They are brutal, radical, and ruthless, and are likely to unleash a bloodbath on this First Lands in the near future... and may even become a new threat."

As he spoke, Chen Ce glanced at Irelia, seemingly unintentionally.

What he just said was not his unfounded conjecture, but an inevitable event in the development of Runeterra according to the original timeline—after the war, the increasingly ambitious Brotherhood stop at nothing to achieve its goals, even resorting to the despicable act of sending someone to assassinate Irelia.

"Therefore, I will discuss the second agenda item of this meeting with you all—to maintain the strength of the Resistance Army as much as possible."

After receiving a thoughtful look from Irelia, Chen Ce continued:

"Of course, the term 'Resistance Army' will definitely cease to exist in the future—I envision the Resistance Army existing in another form, which could be an organization or a group similar to monks; in short, it is absolutely necessary for its existence—to counterbalance the Navori Brotherhood."

"And this requires everyone's support."

"Hirana Monastery, Gale Swordsmanship, the steadfast Resistance Army fighters, the Underground Fighting Pit's henchmen... we need to recruit anyone willing to swear allegiance."

"And you who are here—you will be responsible for playing the roles of 'mentor' and 'general,' leading everyone."

"This is not something to be forced, but rather a..."

Chen Ce stood up and bowed to the crowd again.

"Ask."

After the words were spoken, there was a moment of silence, and then several people raised their hands— Irelia, Karma, and Yasuo.

"I have no objection," the three said in unison.

Following suit, Yone, Lee Sin, Udyr, and others also expressed their willingness to give it a try.

The war is over, and the peace in this First Lands is hard-won; they all want to preserve this peace.

They are all part of the First Lands.

Soon, everyone agreed to the proposal.

Only Samira, who wasn't from Ionia, lazily stretched and said, "Looks like this is none of my business. You guys chat. Just pretend I'm dead."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ce suddenly shifted his gaze to the Shurima mercenary from Noxus.

"No, you also have things to do."

"What is it?" Samira frowned reluctantly.

"Come with me."

"Huh? Where to?"

"Go..." Chen Ce said, turning his head to look at the conference room door.

There stood a pale-skinned, alluring woman.

But before I could greet her, there was a third item on the agenda—

Collect the interaction rewards from all the [heroes] whose favorability is close to fifty.

This would be an extremely substantial gain.

"Tomorrow, to Noxus."

Chapter 113 Syndra: It's still me who finishes Volume One.

After the meeting, Chen Ce should pack up and prepare to head to Noxus.

But before that, he had two things to do—first, collect all the interaction rewards; second, determine his companions to travel to Noxus with.

Things had to be done one step at a time, so he first knocked on Lee Sin and Udyr's door.

The two monks, sharing a similar plight, were meditating in their room, trying to find true inner peace. Lee Sin, knowing he couldn't control the Spirit of the Dragon with his mortal body, was seeking a way to coexist, while Udyr had already mastered the power of the beast spirits, was trying to control them.

But of course, there's no rush.

They stopped Meditation the moment Chen Ce entered the room, their faces showing respect.

"Is there anything else, Mr. Chen Ce?" the two asked simultaneously.

"Nothing important, just came to say goodbye to you two." Chen Ce smiled and returned the greeting, while secretly checking the level of interaction between the two.

Their interaction level had already reached forty back at the Hirana Monastery, and now it has only increased—the news of the Placidium Resistance Army defeating the Noxus invaders had already spread far and wide.

[Lee Sin, the Lee Sin: Current Interaction Level 48]

[Udyr, the Spirit Walker, current interaction level: 45]

Both of them are approaching fifty.

Moreover, all of these interactions are based on positive feelings of gratitude.

Saving the Hirana Monastery was a wise choice—well, even without the interaction bonus, it would have helped anyway, since I was the one who lured LeBlanc there, not to mention the elder of Shojin was almost killed trying to help me.

It's a form of mutual help.

"I'm leaving soon," Chen Ce said in a low voice—it sounded like a final farewell, somewhat exaggerated, but not overtly affected. "The journey ahead will be arduous, and I don't know when I'll be able to return to my First Lands..."

"Mr. Chen Ce..." Clearly, the straightforward Lee Sin had been moved by the deliberately sentimental atmosphere. "Don't worry, we will be your strongest support—leave Ionia to us! When you return, this will still be the Ionia you know!"

"If you encounter any trouble, you can always let us come and help you!" Udyr added from the side.

"Good brothers!" Chen Ce decisively grasped their hands, his expression one of deep emotion, as if he wanted to swear an oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden. "I will never forget you!"

After a brief pause, he added, "By the way, regarding the Hirana Monastery, I plan to discuss with Irelia sending some people there to help you rebuild and strengthen its defenses, so as to prevent it from being attacked again in the future."

"Huh? Really?" Upon hearing this, Lee Sin immediately showed a joyful expression— Shojin and the Hirana Monastery had always been a knot in his heart. He wanted to make amends for the mistakes he had made before, but he really didn't know where to start.

If it's about helping him rebuild the ruins... that's a great idea!

[Hero [Lee Sin, the Lee Sin] Gratitude +5, Current Interaction Level 53!]

As the system notification faded, Chen Ce nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Udyr beside him.

This ascetic from Freljord has little to do with Hirana Monastery; to increase his favorability, you can't start with the abbey, but rather...

He started by exploiting his complicated family relationships.

Others might not know some of Udyr's secrets, but Chen Ce knew them all.

"After I've sorted things out in Noxus, I might make another trip to Freljord —your homeland."

"Hmm?" Udyr looked puzzled.

"Perhaps I will help someone there... a young girl." Chen Ce tried to be as subtle as possible. "I heard she lives in Winter's Claw now, but the Warmother of Winter's Claw is not her mother... She may not be doing too well there."

After hearing this, Udyr seemed a little confused. "What? I don't quite understand?"

This reaction was exactly what Chen Ce had expected.

The other party had no idea that he actually had another one...

Daughter—though not my biological child.

"There was an Iceborn ...you shared a close time with her, do you remember? You left her, and she left her daughter for you."

As he spoke, Chen Ce gestured with his hands. "Fortunately, her daughter grew up healthy under her grandmother's protection and is now a strong and beautiful young woman."

Upon hearing this, even if Udyr was slow to react, he should have realized what was happening.

"You mean... that girl... I'm the one who caused her to lose her mother's protection...?"

"Yes, but she herself doesn't know either. She only knows that her mother eloped with a man—abandoning her." Chen Ce nodded. "She's probably not doing too well now... well, anyway."

"I... I..." Udyr, who was kind by nature, was instantly overwhelmed by a strong sense of guilt.

Fortunately, Chen Ce comforted him in time, saying, "This is terrible, but perhaps I can help you make up for some... mistakes."

"..." Udyr lowered his head in silence. He wanted to make amends to the Iceborn daughter himself, but he didn't know how to face them.

He left without saying goodbye... He not only betrayed that Iceborn, but also harmed her daughter and the entire tribe.

"Could you... tell me her name...?"

"Of course," Chen Ce nodded, "But you have to agree to one condition."

"What are the conditions...?"

"You can't go to her now—your mother's abandonment has filled her with hatred for you, and she won't forgive you. But maybe I can help you—help you make amends to her and try to explain everything to her."

"This... this..."

Udyr hesitated for a long time, then finally nodded painfully. "Sigh! Fine, I promise you!"

"Thank you for your understanding." Actually, Chen Ce had another purpose in making this request that only he knew—he wanted to ensure that everything developed according to the original timeline, so as to ensure that not too many things in the future deviated from his original understanding.

"Her name is... Sejuani."

[Hero [Udyr Spirit Walker] Gratitude +10, Current Interaction Level 55!]

Alright, both of them have finally met the standard.

All that effort in making empty promises wasn't for nothing...

Over the next few hours, Chen Ce used the same method to collect interaction rewards from several [Heroes] by making empty promises—of course, while it was called making empty promises, he would actually fulfill them one by one in the future.

Examples include helping Lee Sin rebuild the monastery, helping Sejuani out of her predicament, and promoting the Way of the Wanderer.

Unfortunately, not all heroes can raise their interaction level to the required standard just by talking – such as Samira, who harbors resentment, and Yasuo, who has already received the 50 interaction level reward but is still quite far from 100.

Overall, it's pretty good.

There are several treasure chests.

Although the items obtained aren't entirely useful, they can always be kept for later use. At worst, you can combine them into three different items to create something better.

"Needlessly Large Rod... It adds a lot of 'Ability Power,' but unfortunately, I can't use it for now."

Chen Ce glanced at the staff in his hand, which was worth a full 1250 gold coins in the Rift, and then looked at the equipment on the table again.

In total, I obtained a [Needlessly Large Rod], a [Seeker's Armguard], a [Hextech Revolver], and a "Skill" - Firearms Mastery.

The first three pieces of equipment don't need much explanation, but the last one, the "skill," is more noteworthy—this is the first time something outside the Rift has been unlocked.

Firearms Mastery is a skill, but not a hero's skill.

This is the first time I've encountered this situation... but it's alright. At least it won't be like the previous server where you could get Kog'Maw's passive or Sion's passive, those skills that you could only use after dying. Now, you can just get them and have all three of them combined.

Three items that increase spell power... the Needlessly Large Rod is definitely useless, but the Bracers are still usable - at least they can add some armor, and maybe there'll be a chance to synthesize them into Zhonya's Hourglass later, so it's a sure win.

As for the Hextech Revolver, it works quite well with the Firearms Mastery I just learned—it's a perfect match.

Overall, while these treasure chests didn't offer the best skills as the ones we got before, they weren't bad either.

At least they're still usable, or at least there's still a chance to use them, right?

It's impossible to always get exactly what you need.

"That's good. Treat what you don't need right now as investment money..."

After sorting through his fairly substantial haul, Chen Ce hurried off to the group of girls—it was time for the second activity before heading to Noxus.