Chapter 182

The culprit is these ice crystals that are impossible to break no matter how hard you try.

The True Ice are indestructible; taking such a small piece could not possibly have been done by breaking it. It could only have been offered up by the person who created them.

"Perhaps your solution is somewhat unique..."

"Yes, so please believe me." Chen Ce smiled again, "And please give me a little more time."

Darius remained silent for a long while, his tightly furrowed brows finally relaxing into a sigh.

"Fine, fine... I have no other choice now."

"Thank you very much." Chen Ce responded with traditional Freljord etiquette.

After a moment, he added, "Now it's my turn to gather information—what changes have occurred in the empire while I was away?"

"It's roughly what happened before you left— the Trifarix Legion was formed, Swain held absolute power within it," Darius said.

"It sounds alright."

"Hehe, are you alright...?"

"What's wrong?"

"Swain's ambitions are becoming apparent."

"Explain in detail."

"A conflict has broken out at the Gate of Mourning, and he has already dispatched an infantry regiment of the Trifarix Legion there."

"The Gate of Mourning?" Chen Ce was taken aback upon hearing this name.

He knew this place all too well...

The area where Demacia borders Noxus.

The Rift that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, belonging to Demacia, and a strategic location that Demacia kings throughout history have always had to defend.

As for what role this place played in the original timeline...

It was around that place that Sion killed a Demacia king.

The past is not the most important thing; the future is.

The conflict between Demacia and Noxus at the Gate of Mourning...

This directly led to the rise of the demon-hunting frenzy!

"But shouldn't this have happened years later...? How could this be..." Chen Ce stroked his chin, lost in thought.

"What do you mean, a few years from now?" Darius didn't quite understand.

"It's nothing..." Chen Ce shook his head, then asked, "How long ago did that conflict happen?"

"It's been almost three weeks," Darius replied.

"Three weeks... where is Trifarix Legion now?"

"We should have reached the Gate of Mourning by now."

"Tsk..." Chen Ce sighed inwardly upon hearing this reply.

Three weeks... then some things are already beyond repair.

This is terrible.

But... since it has already happened, there's no point in regretting it now.

What needs to be done now is to solve the problems at hand and in the future.

"I see."

Chen Ce tidied up the things on the table and strode out of the conference room.

Darius looked completely bewildered.

"Hello...!"

"You can keep that giant ice beast as a pet."

"I mean... hey!"

Darius watched the other person's back recede into the distance...

Syndra waited at home for several more days.

Bored out of my mind, I could only watch the little ants play all day.

But today, she has things to do.

She practically jumped out of bed, and then a powerful magic instantly swept through the entire room.

Under the influence of dark energy...

The entire closet of socks was neatly arranged beside the bed.

She furrowed her brows slightly and began carefully selecting from various black and white stockings, over-the-knee stockings, thigh-high stockings, and sheer and opaque pantyhose.

After a good half hour, covered in sweat, she picked out a pair of white stockings that were reasonably transparent but not quite translucent.

The white stockings were about five centimeters long, just above the hem of her skirt. They were very tight, making her full thighs look slightly fleshy. The lower part of the stockings was also very supportive, showing off her beautiful leg curves to the fullest. Her perfect jade feet also fit perfectly, and the slightly transparent view was incredibly alluring.

White stockings. jpg

She wasn't wearing shoes; she just dangled her legs halfway off the edge of the bed, her calves and feet swinging rhythmically in mid-air.

She deliberately messed up the blankets on the bed and hugged the pillow to her chest, obscuring part of the beautiful scenery and creating an alluring effect while making it seem as if she had just happened to be in that position, without any deliberate intent.

Finally, she even used magic to "summon" a row of ants to the corner of the wall, pretending that she was observing them.

After doing all this, her heart was pounding rapidly beneath her full breasts.

Yes, she sensed it...

That familiar energy fluctuation...

Getting closer... it's almost here...

One hour... half an hour... fifteen minutes... five minutes...

Three minutes... one minute...

Forty-two seconds...

Twenty seconds...

Three...

Two...

One...

Clang.

The door was pushed open just as the countdown ended.

"I'm back, Syndra." The familiar voice echoed in her ears, and Syndra was instantly filled with joy.

But she didn't look towards the doorway—she was still staring at the row of ants in the corner, as if she hadn't heard anything at all.

"I'm back," the young man standing by the door repeated, even drawing out the last syllable of each word.

But Syndra still didn't react.

They disappeared for so long without a single word, and now they're back just like that?

I'll just ignore you...

Snort...

The girl in white stockings kept her eyes glued to the ants, seemingly oblivious to everything around her.

But Chen Ce had already seen through everything—the ants were all swaying back and forth under the influence of magic.

Some of them even floated up.

Clearly, someone was pretending to be watching the ants intently, but their attention had wandered off somewhere else, so much so that they didn't even realize their magic was controlling the ants as they flew around.

"Looks like Miss Syndra is very busy and hasn't even noticed me... Well, I should go back to work then—for ten days or half a month? Hmm, about that..." Chen Ce seemed to be talking to himself.

Syndra panicked instantly.

When she heard footsteps again, she finally couldn't hold back anymore.

But just as she was about to call out to the other person in an annoyed tone...

Those familiar, large hands encircled her.

"What, are you angry with me?" Chen Ce's smiling face made the girl puff out her cheeks.

The latter then realized that the footsteps he had just heard were not Chen Ce actually leaving; it was just... him standing still, deceiving himself!

"Snort..."

"Are you really angry?" Chen Ce asked with a grin.

Syndra was inwardly delighted, but outwardly displayed a strong sense of displeasure. "Hmph...!"

Why do you keep humming?

"Snort!"

"Oh, I know, you're imitating a pig."

"..." Syndra pursed her lips, her slender, fair fingers waving to the side.

Thump! Chen Ce was immediately flung against the wall by the powerful magic.

But it didn't hurt at all.

It wasn't because he was thick-skinned, but rather...

"You can't even bring yourself to hit me, so you're just pretending to be angry?"

"She's really angry...!" Syndra crossed her arms, turned her head away, and her body floated up.

But from that height, Chen Ce could easily reach out and pull her back into his arms.

The latter offered no resistance—or rather, only a token resistance.

"If it weren't for the fact that I've run out of magic power these past few days... I would have thrown you out long ago...!"

"Looks like I've really hit the jackpot." Chen Ce reached out and ruffled the girl's silver hair; the familiar fragrance made him feel very warm.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Hmph..." Syndra gradually relaxed, her delicate nose resting against the crook of the other's arm. "You don't miss me at all..."

"Think."

"I definitely don't want to..."

"I really want to."

"Hmph... Then I won't eat tomorrow, and I'll throw Katarina into the river to feed the fish."

"Huh? Why throw Katarina away?" Chen Ce was taken aback.

"You really didn't miss me!" Syndra bit the other's arm, looking displeased. "You didn't even ask me why I didn't eat tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ce was taken aback again.

Then she burst into laughter, "You've learned to be cute now, Miss Syndra."

"Acting cute... who's acting cute with you...!" Syndra blushed and turned her face away to the other side.

But this time Chen Ce won't "indulge her".

He pointed directly to the deliberately messy bedding on the bed and the various stockings peeking out from the wardrobe, and laughed:

"You've been preparing for this for a long time, haven't you? You spotted me half an hour before I got home... or even an hour before?"

"Who, who prepared this...!" Syndra was still stubbornly insisting.

Until a hand was placed directly on her jade-like feet, which were wrapped in white stockings.

Then...