Chapter 181

"So, it seems professional tasks should indeed be left to professionals..."

Syndra sighed helplessly and stopped massaging.

She turned and looked out the window.

She began to imagine Chen Ce's life now.

She's not in the North, and neither are her legs... Chen Ce must be so bored, right?

Chen Ce must miss her every day, and want to massage her every day...

Poor Chen Ce...

"How pitiful..."

Syndra shook her head with pity and put her feet back on the blanket.

Those nimble, jade-like feet kneaded the quilt until it formed an upward-pointing tip.

Then rub it back and forth on that point.

Up and down, left and right, up and down...

Her cheeks suddenly flushed for no apparent reason.

That's it...

Swain has already sent Trifarix Legion to the front lines.

In the months since he "succeeded" to the position of Grand Master, he has ended the war with Ionia and recalled Darius's army, which had been fighting in the far north.

But then he targeted Demacia.

A small-scale conflict broke out a few days ago at the Gate of Mourning on the border between the two countries. Although the number of casualties was small, it was a trigger for the already extremely poor relationship between Noxus and Demacia.

Once, a Demacia king died at the Hand of Noxus. Naturally, the Demacia would not tolerate this any longer—they value honor above all else and have never tolerated provocations from enemy nations.

And that's exactly the result Swain wanted.

There have been rumors that this conflict was a long-planned conspiracy by him, which has had some impact on his reputation... but it's not a big deal.

The empire is in dire need of rebuilding, and all sectors urgently require development resources. However, this barren land cannot support such a large demand, so... it is necessary to "borrow" some resources from other countries.

The Northwest Delverhold is practically in the bag; their king will soon pledge allegiance to the Empire and become an insignificant marquis—while the Empire gains vast mineral resources in return.

Those iron ore, silver ore, and saltpeter will become the empire's weapons to pry open the gates of Demacia.

"Press forward relentlessly, employ flanking maneuvers, and seize resources..."

At the top of the Immortal Bastion tower, Swain pulled out his arm, which he had been hiding under his coat.

A scarlet glow... like the Raven's Eyes.

It's like the power of a demon.

"Noxus is about to rise..."

"Dinner's ready, kids!"

A gentle voice rang out in the vast duplex mansion, followed by two sets of footsteps.

"Hey, we're not children anymore!" a disgruntled female voice rang out in the stairwell—equally clear and melodious, belonging to a young girl. "I'm a qualified knight now, Metiel even praised me today!"

"But in my eyes you are still just a child—you were before, you are now, and you will always be." The elegant lady setting the plates smiled gently, her every gesture exuding maturity and beauty.

"Also, you should address Ms. Metiel as 'Mentor'—'Ms' is how I address her, you should be mindful of that."

"Yes, yes, yes..." The girl walked down the spiral staircase and quickly arrived at the dining table.

Then, she and her mother Lestara, looked at another girl who was coming downstairs.

She had long blue hair tied into pretty pigtails; she was very slender and petite, but her chest was exceptionally full; she was still very young, yet she exuded the mature charm of an older sister.

"Come and sit down, dinner is ready." The noblewoman Lestara Demoiselle, whose youth had faded but who remained beautiful, said, gesturing with her hands.

She was using sign language.

The beautiful girl with blue twin tails in front of her could hear, but she couldn't speak.

"We have your favorite strawberries today!"

[Thank you, my dear mother.] The mute girl responded in sign language, her smile gentle and beautiful, as if she had inherited it from Lady Lestara.

Although they are not related by blood.

"Come sit here with me," said Lady Lestara's biological daughter, Knight Kahina, warmly inviting her sister to sit beside her.

Then, when the other person wasn't looking, she playfully poked her full breasts.

"Oh my, you've grown so much! I'm so envious!"

[Sister Kahina...!] The girl blushed instantly.

"Mind your table manners." Lestara slapped Kahina's outstretched hand, and the latter stuck out her tongue and stopped fooling around.

Then, Lestara added, "Your father has been at the front for over two weeks. Let's pray for him together after we finish our meal."

"Yes, yes! I believe Father will definitely return safely!" Kahina was full of confidence in her brave and strong father.

[Okay, please let me play the prayer piece later.] The blue-haired girl did the same.

Lestara nodded with satisfaction.

"Then I'll have to trouble you later, Sona."

Chapter Fifty-Three: The Arrogant Head of State, Sind, in White Silk.

Chen Ce set off anyway.

Of course, this is by no means a final farewell—it's not even the kind of separation that will last a long time.

There's a Control Ward planted beneath the Howling Abyss, and with teleportation available, returning to Freljord is just a matter of seconds, as if it were only a few dozen meters away.

Just like neighbors.

Hmm... but going back to Noxus will be a bit of a hassle—even though the Freljord Alliance's camp is located in the south, it's still quite a distance from Noxus.

Chen Ce requested a giant ice beast of superior bloodline for the journey.

A full week later, he finally saw the continuous, towering city wall on the barren land that had replaced the ice plains—the border of the empire.

Countless Noxus soldiers are stationed here, ready for battle.

They soon discovered the behemoth that was definitely not from Noxus —the soil of the Empire could not nurture such a massive, hairy white creature.

After a whistle blew, the soldiers swarmed out, looking like a swarm of ants emerging from their nest on the horizon.

There were no fewer than a hundred black dots, as dense as an ant colony.

Chen Ce even recalled the scenes from his time in Ionia... those wars where lives were sacrificed.

He almost instinctively placed his hand on the weapon, but quickly shook his head.

"Who goes there!" The lead guard rode up on horseback, his angry roar clearly audible.

The soldiers behind him all drew their bowstrings taut; those sharp arrows could probably take many enemy lives.

But Chen Ce simply put his hand, which was resting on the hilt of the sword, into his bag.

His nimble fingers quickly drew a token from his waist.

Then, it was thrown precisely at the feet of the defenders from a distance of 100 meters.

Tell Darius I'm back.

Thump thump thump... thump thump thump...

The heavy, resonant sound of his thick-armored boots on the wooden floor accompanied the tall man's hurried journey to the military camp's meeting room.

To speed up his pace, he didn't even bring his giant battle axe.

The person he was about to meet was dangerous, but he had absolute trust in the young man—at least for the time being.

Until the situation in the empire stabilizes, they are all in the same boat.

And this grasshopper had been waiting for another grasshopper for a long time.

Bang!

Darius rudely pushed open the door, his brow furrowed above his panting nose.

He saw that cunning young man... the man who had worried him for so long.

Of course, it wasn't that they were worried about the other party's safety, but rather that they were concerned the other party might not be able to keep their promise—their agreement was to quell the unrest in the far north.

"You're really fast." The young man in the conference room—who was naturally Chen Ce —had a relaxed smile on his face.

In contrast, the somewhat disheveled Darius was furious.

"You won't even write a letter when you come back?" He stepped forward, suppressing his anger, but his deliberately forceful gait betrayed his dissatisfaction. "Do you know how far the capital is from here!"

"Because I believe in your speed, my esteemed Hand of Noxus." Chen Ce maintained his smile, but his gaze drifted to the icy behemoth outside the window—the slightly humid climate here was unsuitable for this beast from the extreme cold, and perhaps it would soon perish.

"Besides, you know what I'm trying to do."

"Intention..." Darius frowned and pondered for a moment, but ultimately did not viciously grab the other's damn collar.

Indeed, he had already thought of that. He was just a little angry.

Swain's spies—even his own "eyes"—are spread throughout the Empire, and any messengers sent back rashly are likely to be intercepted by him.

This border region, far from the capital, was also the perfect place for them to discuss some "private matters."

But this journey... took him a full day and night...!

Four good horses were ruined! Four of them!!

"Don't be angry, have some water first." Chen Ce said with a smile, handing over a glass of water.

Darius glanced at the color of the water, then drank it all in one gulp. "Let's get down to business!"

"Speaking of serious matters... I don't think you want me to go on and on about everything that's happened these past few months, so I'll keep it brief." Chen Ce sat back down and said simply:

In short, the situation in the north has been resolved.

"Are you sure?" Although Darius already had a vague answer in his mind, he still felt a little incredulous.

"Yes, from now on, imperial caravans passing by will no longer be attacked by the Freljord."

Chen Ce poured himself a glass of water, paused briefly, and then continued:

"But similarly, the Imperial armed forces can no longer attack the tribes of Freljord —I need you to draft the document and have the proclamation read it to the army."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Darius's brows, which had just begun to relax, furrowed again. "Instead of taking Freljord now, you want me to order a ban on attacking them? What are you thinking?"

I have a plan.

"What plan?"

"Keep it confidential."

"... How can you expect me to believe you?" Darius's tone turned hostile. "I'm starting to doubt whether you've even solved the problem in the North... maybe you just went there for a few months of tourism?"

"If I can bring these back from my trip," Chen Ce chuckled, taking a small cloth bag from his waist.

Thud. The cloth bag that had fallen onto the table came loose, scattering its contents all over the table.

Many Freljord tribes possess Warmother tokens—such as tokens, hair, and weapon fragments.

There was even a piece of azure blue ice crystal.

True Ice.

"You also led troops to attack Freljord, so I think you should be familiar with these things." Chen Ce scattered the various tokens on the table and then picked up the unique ice crystal.

"Especially this... True Ice."

Darius fell silent.

Indeed, he remembered most of the things here... especially that supposedly unmelting azure ice crystal. His army had suffered a devastating blow from some powerful magic in northern Freljord.