Chapter 111
"If you have the power, you can get everything, right? I know that 'tradition'." Chen Ce shrugged.
"Yes, but you should also be careful that everything you gain may betray you—they will not hesitate to switch sides in the face of someone stronger." As she spoke, LeBlanc glanced at Syndra beside her.
"But with this person around, you probably don't need to worry about that problem... but you might also miss out on other women, haha."
"That's perfect, I wasn't planning on that anyway." Chen Ce said sternly, while also stealing a glance at Syndra.
The latter pretended not to have heard anything, but her slightly cold expression said it all—she wasn't as easy to talk to as Irelia and Ahri. If Chen Ce dared to do anything to offend her, she would make him fly in the sky 24/7.
The three walked side by side, led by LeBlanc, into the inner circle of Noxus's capital. Compared to the chaotic environment on the outskirts of the capital, the streets and houses here were very orderly, but it was also filled with an atmosphere of money and decadence.
"Enough with the small talk, let's get down to business."
When the three reached the [Boulder Plaza] beneath the Immortal Bastion, LeBlanc suddenly stopped.
"Next, we just need to go directly to the conference."
"Hmm." Chen Ce had no objection.
But before that, LeBlanc had one more thing to do. "Only Chen Ce needs to attend, Miss Syndra. Would you please come with me to rest somewhere else?"
Upon hearing this, Syndra frowned slightly, looking displeased, but instead of directly refuting him, she looked at Chen Ce with a questioning gaze.
After a moment's thought, the latter agreed, "We're not familiar with anything in Noxus yet, so let's follow LeBlanc's arrangements for now... I'm sorry to trouble you, Syndra."
"I just wanted to take a break." Syndra didn't outwardly object, but her tone turned somewhat cold.
LeBlanc didn't bother with her little tantrums and immediately waved her hand to summon a clone.
"My clone will take you somewhere to rest, Miss Syndra. Mr. Chen Ce, please come with me to the meeting."
The spacious hall now appeared somewhat empty.
Swain dismissed all the nobles, including General Du Couteau, leaving only two: Darius, the Hand of Noxus, was one of them, and the other was the representative sent by the Assassin Guild through joint discussions—"The Faceless."
A genderless "strange person" completely concealed under a coat, hood, and mask.
Yes, in Noxus, where might reigns supreme, even assassins lurking in the shadows have the right to attend meetings—meaning they will have a place in the future [Trifarix Council].
All three were present, but the meeting was delayed.
To maintain the mystery, the Faceless didn't rush to ask questions, so the "task" naturally fell to Darius, who was already quite dissatisfied with Swain.
"Didn't you say there was a meeting? Everyone's here, why haven't you started yet?" The blade of the giant axe gleamed with a dangerous, cold light, reflecting the majestic and ruthless face of its owner.
"No...not everyone has arrived yet." Swain shook his head, his gaze fixed on the tightly closed door. "There's one more important person."
"Who?" Darius was even more displeased—he was already annoyed that the establishment of the Trifarix Council hadn't been discussed with him beforehand, and now the addition of another person made him even more unhappy.
"Who else is qualified to stand at the top of the empire? The Minister of Finance? Or the council of the old aristocratic groups?"
"Neither." Swain shook his head again.
"Could it be that damned underground magic society? Are you really going to try and compromise with them?"
"No, not really... Please calm down, my brother. I'll explain it to you if there's a chance in the future."
"Don't even think about letting anyone take away the power that belongs to the empire until you explain yourself clearly to me!"
"No, you misunderstand. I never intended to have a fourth person join the Trifarix Council." Swain patiently gestured with his hand. "I only wanted him to attend meetings, not to join the council... It was just an olive branch; I hoped he would fight for you, for me, for us."
Upon hearing this, Darius calmed down slightly and stopped arguing, but his expression remained unpleasant.
Swain fell silent, simply gazing at the gate.
Finally, he heard a soft sound of footsteps.
The door was pushed open, and two figures came into view.
There were two men.
One is young, the other is middle-aged.
The young man wore a strange fox mask and carried a magnificent longsword on his back—upon closer inspection, one could see that the blade constantly emanated a magical aura, suggesting it was an enchanted sword worthy of being a national treasure.
The middle-aged man was nothing special; he was tall, overweight, and always wore a deliberately dignified expression—the typical degenerate aristocrat.
"Welcome, General Whipples, and..." Swain stood up warmly, his weathered and cunning eyes silently sizing up the young man.
"Friends who have come from afar."
"It is a great honor, my esteemed Commander." The middle-aged man named Whipples returned the greeting respectfully, and then sensibly withdrew from the hall.
Only the young man, Chen Ce, was left to face the two most powerful and prestigious generals in the entire empire alone.
Chen Ce showed no outward emotion, but inwardly he felt some doubt and displeasure.
The "General Whipples" we just heard was actually LeBlanc... and she left immediately after bringing him here, without giving any instructions beforehand.
As originally agreed, she was supposed to say or do something at the meeting—even if she wasn't officially authorized to attend.
But now...
Chen Ce could only deal with things as they came.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Swain descended the steps, his face beaming with warmth. "I've long admired your reputation; it's an honor to meet you in person."
"..." Chen Ce remained silent, his mask concealing all his expressions.
Swain know him? Did LeBlanc leak this information to him? Why didn't LeBlanc mention it before?
Or is LeBlanc also unaware of this? If so, why would she send her to the meeting at this time?
That's not right... LeBlanc's alter ego seems to be an old acquaintance of Swain...
Before Chen Ce could figure it out, Swain had already warmly greeted him.
"This is the capable man General Whipples introduced to me—our friend who has come from afar," Swain introduced to the other two. "I invited him here today so that he could witness our oath and see the legitimate establishment of the Trifarix Council!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Darius and the Faceless of the Assassin Guild both wore thoughtful expressions.
Swain then took the opportunity to give Chen Ce a warm hug.
The latter also still had some doubts.
Until Swain's secret whisper rang in my ears:
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Chen Ce... Whipples introduced you to me and mentioned your interest in collaborating—regarding Ionia and the promises he made to you... For now, please remain silent and keep your Ionia identity a secret."
After saying that, Swain immediately let go of her hand and turned around to face everyone with a big smile.
Chen Ce gleaned a great deal of information from those two short sentences—most importantly, he realized that he had been betrayed by that wicked woman LeBlanc, once again.
Whipples is LeBlanc, and she never mentioned to herself the things Whipples and Swain had discussed...
She hadn't said a word about any collaboration with Swain, and she herself knew nothing about it.
This sudden, silent push to Swain's side—could it be that she wants me to be her spy?
Isn't she truly afraid that Mordekaiser will return to his Immortal Bastion today...?
Chen Ce narrowed his eyes silently, and began to gradually mobilize the power of the Death Realm within his body.
Now, if anyone in the hall does anything that is detrimental to him, he will immediately pull Mordekaiser back from the Death Realm.
He didn't want to work for LeBlanc for nothing.
This latest deception made him extremely dissatisfied.
Of course, Swain was unaware of all these things.
He simply opened his arms to the crowd, as if embracing the entire empire.
"The meeting is now officially open..."
An assassin entered Darkwill's former palace—but now inside wasn't Darkwill, but another man rumored to be "even more brutal."
The guards watching over her were like blind men before this top assassin; her elusive figure moved through the shadows with the agility of someone strolling casually in their own backyard.
She couldn't help but secretly mock the new president's judgment—if even the palace guards were so incompetent, his so-called accomplices were probably nothing but scum.
The slender figure passed through one heavily guarded gate after another. Several unfortunate guards who couldn't get around it lost their lives after seeing a flash of black and red light, without even being able to utter a cry in their dying moments—and their bodies were destined to be discovered only after they had rotted and stinked.
The essence of an assassin is not stealth, but remaining undetected.
The art of covert assassination is an essential skill for top assassins.
Clearly, Katarina has implemented this principle perfectly.
Just like her body, perfected through years of training—soft, slender, yet powerful enough, like a mother leopard lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment, perfectly embodying everything an assassin needs.
She was incredibly confident in her assassination skills, even believing at one point that she had reached the pinnacle—and that was indeed the case.
Otherwise, why would that group assign her such a difficult assassination mission?
[Remove Swain power.]
These six simple words represent the most difficult assassination mission in the world.
Assassinating the Grand Master of the great Noxus Empire is absolutely the most impossible task.
But Katarina believed she could do it, and she had to do it.
As the empire's killing machine, she must unconditionally obey orders and clear all obstacles for the empire—that's one aspect.
On the other hand—and more importantly—she wanted to prove her strength through this mission and gain unparalleled glory.
Once this mission is completed, she will undoubtedly become the undisputed number one assassin in the empire—and perhaps even the world's number one assassin.
She craved glory.
She longed for her entire family to be proud of her.
In Noxus, power is everything, not the political maneuvering her sister learned.
She's very close.
That magnificent palace is right before my eyes.
She could even hear Swain talking loudly.
She remained patiently hidden in the shadows, carefully observing everything— Jericho Swain, her target for assassination, an arrogant traitor; Darius, the Hand of Noxus of the Empire, whose greatest pride was his recent defeat in Freljord; Faceless, the representatives of the Assassin Guild.
Besides...
A young man? Who is he? Why isn't this person mentioned in the intelligence?
Never mind... it's not a problem.
But... he seems to have a very good personal relationship with Swain?
Swain actually made him a witness to the founding of the Trifarix Council... His importance seems to be no less than Darius's.
Second objective...
Chapter Three: Miss Carter is Not Clean
The meeting proceeded as scheduled, with Swain delivering his impassioned speech to Darius and the Faceless.
Noxus's ambitions, its grand schemes, the compensation and privileges given to Darius... it's all so complicated it's drowsy.
Chen Ce, who attended the meeting as a "witness," paid no attention to the lecture and silently observed the three people.
Without a doubt, Swain, who wields demonic power, is the strongest of the three, and his left hand, which he always hides in his coat, is a symbol of his deal with the demon.
Next is Hand of Noxus —Darius this invincible general of the empire may seem like just an ordinary man who doesn't understand magic and only fights with brute force, but in fact, he is not weak at all—he once fought Zed at his peak on the battlefield, and the result was that the two fought to a draw, with neither gaining the upper hand.
And finally... that mysterious Faceless —an assassin who even concealed his gender from the world.
He or she may be a representative sent by the Assassin Guild on the surface, but their true identity is hard to say... They might even be a member of the Black Rose.
The Trifarix Council, composed of these three individuals, appeared to be a united front, but in reality, each harbored their own ulterior motives and harbored mutual suspicion.
Soon, Swain finished his speech and placed a slate flat on the table.
The stone slab is covered with dense text, which roughly describes the operating model, rules, agreements, and powers of the Trifarix Council. Swain's signature is in the lower right corner.
"Sign your names, and the Trifarix Council will be officially established!" Swain proclaimed. "This stone tablet will be the starting point for Noxus's resurgence! It will be kept deep within the Immortal Bastion, forever preserved with all the secrets of the Empire!"
As he spoke, he pushed the heavy stone slab across the table—it slid right in front of Chen Ce.
"Now, please sign the agreement in the presence of witnesses!"