Chapter 189

"A wise choice," Chen Ce praised, then turned to look at Swain was curled up in the corner, barely alive.

"Like you, I still have some people's lives to use, so I won't trouble you to add more dishes after you return to the Death Realm."

"Do as you please..." Mordekaiser couldn't care less about just one or a few mortals.

Since Chen Ce asked for it, he gave it to him.

The offerings of these ghosts are not a problem.

"Today's reckoning has pleased me... I am very satisfied..." Mordekaiser looked down at his armor, the distorted space around him pulling at him.

His armor and figure became increasingly blurred.

Through the connection with the Immortal Bastion, he can stay in the material realm for longer, but there is still a time limit.

In fact, he could complete the final step of his plan right now... retrieve what he had deliberately "sealed" by the ancient Black Mage, and then permanently return to the material realm.

But he felt the time wasn't right.

The empire of the Death Realm has not yet reached its full peak; it still needs some time.

"From now on, the Immortal Bastion will be your responsibility to clean up... Bring me here when we need to make a deal... The Noxus emperor will order Noxus people to expand his territory and slaughter other races... I need more undead..."

"No problem." Chen Ce smiled and watched the other party leave until the enormous figure completely disappeared into the distorted passage between the two worlds.

"It's a pleasure working with you..."

News of Noxus changing hands for the second time spread quickly.

Not only the capital, but even the most remote and secluded border towns learned of this news, and it sparked much discussion.

But Chen Ce, the "mastermind," didn't care.

After healing and imprisoning Swain using Rhaast's masterful blood magic, he sat alone in the ruined Immortal Bastion, drinking the wine that Darkwill had left behind.

Hmm... it's nowhere near as good as the fine wines of Gragas.

But perhaps Darius would like it.

Click, click... The sound of heavily armored footsteps echoed through the equally dilapidated corridor.

A tall figure walked in from outside.

"You spared Swain's life?" the newcomer asked directly, without any preamble.

"Yes, my esteemed Hand of Noxus," Chen Ce replied without hesitation, gesturing to the drinks beside him.

After a moment's hesitation, Darius took his seat.

Then he drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

As was his usual practice, he would never drink alcohol when discussing serious matters—drinking would lead to mistakes. This was especially true for a great general like him who commanded the empire's largest army.

But things are different now.

Or perhaps this glass of wine carries a different meaning.

"Why not nip it in the bud?" he continued after finishing his drink.

"Because we cannot deny Swain's talent," Chen Ce answered without reservation. "Keeping him around can bring greater benefits to the empire... Besides, I don't think you would want yourselves to fight each other."

"Brothers killing each other?" Darius almost instinctively wanted to retort, "How could Swain and I Swain?", but he quickly understood what the other person meant.

The "brother" here does not refer to Swain, but to his brother Draven.

Swain Draven a favor—though not a huge one—but this cunning strategist "brainwashed" Draven.

Draven considered him a confidant, a mentor, and even a talent scout who discovered his abilities; if he were to rashly execute Swain...

Even with a perfectly legitimate reason, Draven would likely harbor resentment.

"Let's keep Swain for now, it's fine." Chen Ce also drank a glass of red wine. "When the time is right, you can ask him for advice on how to reform the empire's corrupt system—even if he hates you, he will share everything he knows as long as it benefits the empire."

Swain... calling him the embodiment of the Imperial will is indeed no exaggeration.

If they weren't each acting in their own self-interest, perhaps he could have been a good friend.

Chen Ce shook his head with a sigh.

"So..." Darius mused.

After a moment, he stood up. "Well then, let's leave it at that for now... There's still a lot of finishing work waiting for me to take care of."

"Okay, please go ahead." Chen Ce waved goodbye.

The Immortal Bastion has returned to its former silence.

The ruins were deserted, the piles of bones a stark contrast to the clamor outside. An unprecedented reshuffle was underway in the capital, and perhaps soon a new leadership would be established... members of the Black Rose, the Assassin Guild, and Darius. They all played crucial roles in this upheaval.

The uproar has continued for several days, and the conflicts in various regions have intensified, escalating into bloody riots.

But Chen Ce didn't care much about those things.

He hid in the ruined Immortal Bastion, avoiding the turmoil of the outside world, and only met with Darius, Katarina, and LeBlanc.

Only now has he almost finished dealing with the crucial task of deciding the nobles' transfer to the throne.

Finally, he had some free time.

He took out a scroll made of unique materials from his cloth bag.

It's pale yellow, looks somewhat old, and appears to be made of sheepskin... The writing on it is dense, all ancient symbols incomprehensible to humans, with a strange magical energy flowing between the characters, exuding an aura of evil...

[Demon of Secrets' Bargain Contract]

What I "got" from Swain.

Something that doesn't exist in the Rift —something that shouldn't even exist in this world.

He had previously shown this to Mordekaiser, but the latter seemed uninterested—Saen Uzul had come into contact with the Spying Demon before his death, but he had failed to reach an agreement with it and did not think much of this demonic power—or rather, did not want to.

For Mordekaiser in his mortal days, the power of demons was certainly not weak, but to obtain that power, one had to pay a corresponding price... it was a trade. And Mordekaiser refused to be controlled by anyone.

That was true then, and Mordekaiser now has even less interest in spying on demons.

He couldn't even be bothered to investigate the deal behind the contract.

Then Chen Ce would have to figure it out himself.

"Making a deal with a demon..." He gently stroked the contract scroll; its slightly rough texture without any fuzz made him even more certain that this scroll did not come from the material realm.

After a moment's hesitation, he still reviewed the instructions for using the contract in his mind—he had been considering it for several days.

[Demon of Secrets' Bargain Contract]

[How to use: Donate blood]

[Effect: Unknown]

A very brief introduction.

There are only instructions on how to use it, but no explanation of its effects or precautions... This is precisely why it needs to be treated with caution.

The devil never gets his benefits for free.

Every seemingly generous gift has already been secretly priced.

"Worth a try, if it doesn't work out, we can cancel the deal..." Chen Ce murmured, placing his fingers on the blade of the Darkin Scythe. "If this spying demon refuses to stop, we'll have Mordekaiser beat it up..."

[Is it New Year's?] The moment blood flowed from his fingertip, Rhaast, who should have been asleep, was suddenly awakened.

Fortunately, he didn't consume all the blood; a drop remained on the contract scroll.

Crimson blood seeped into the scroll.

Then it spread outwards like a sheet of paper, until it covered the entire scroll.

Chen Ce suddenly felt dizzy—as if he had lost too much blood.

He is ready to use [Realm of Death] to open the Gate of the Underworld at any time.

Fortunately, the strange dizziness subsided quickly.

Instead, there was a "decline" in consciousness.

Chen Ce could feel the existence of his own body and could mobilize the magic power within him to use skills at any time... but his vision became very strange, as if he were in a unique space.

He was certain he was still sitting in the main hall of the Immortal Bastion, the familiar scent still lingering in his nostrils... only his "consciousness" had entered some strange "space".

The Gate of the Underworld could open at any time, so he decided to wait and see.

Soon, a raven flew by.

Then came more and more ravens.

They perched on the eaves and between the beams, their scarlet eyes staring at him, like hungry scavenging birds of prey... They opened their mouths, their cries sharp and mournful.

Chen Ce calmly met their gazes and saw his own reflection in the crimson glow.

A hoarse voice gradually rose:

"It's you... you found me... you found the devil..."

"Yes, it's me." Chen Ce said without hesitation, "You abandoned Swain in the battle, so I came."

"You also want to make a deal with me... to become my second 'partner'..." Without a doubt, this was the voice of the Spying Demon Raum.

Even though you've witnessed me abandoning a human being...

"Even abandonment has its principles." Chen Ce smiled. "Within the scope of the contract, you shouldn't abandon Swain, right? I think... did he violate some clause at the last moment? Or did he violate it earlier, but you deliberately didn't take back the power you gave him?"

"Who told you these secrets...?"

"Azakana."

Chen Ce smiled and patted the strange mask around his waist.

The Azakana are a race, but also demons.

While demons are evil, they are absolutely trustworthy in terms of the spirit of contracts—or rather, their very existence depends on "rules."

Like the Azakana, its rule is that "if an individual's true name is recited in the Spirit Realm, then it will perish."

Correspondingly, each demon—or rather, every type of demon—has its own unique rules.

As long as it's within the rules, then demons are absolutely trustworthy and can be exploited.

"Perhaps we can discuss terms," Chen Ce said, revealing the contract scroll in his hand. "This contract will form the basis of our agreement."

"Hehehehe..." Raum let out a terrifying laugh. "Swain was the human I chose... You broke the contract between us... And now, you immediately want to replace him as my contractor...?"

"What? You demons pick and choose who to contract? Aren't you only interested in the conditions offered by the contractor?"

"You've misunderstood me, human..."

"Then tell me?"

"What I mean is..." The demon's voice paused for a moment, and a blurry black shadow appeared and disappeared among the flock of ravens.

"We need to add conditions..."

"..." Chen Ce remained silent for a moment.

Are you also a lay Buddhist who pays extra money?

Do demons cost extra money too?

That's really defying the heavens.

But... that's fine too.

Things that can be solved with money are the things you can trust the most.

It's more reassuring to offer more conditions upfront than to hide traps in the contract terms—as the saying goes, it's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark.

If the conditions are really too harsh... then just don't sign the contract.

"Are you hesitating...?" The demon Raum's sinister laughter rang out again.

Chen Ce gave a generous smile and said, "Sure, you can ask."

"As is customary... before stating my conditions, let me first tell you about the deadly temptations that demons can offer to humans..."

"You say."

"I can give you demonic power... I can grant you eyes that see all secrets... You will see the truth of everything..."