Chapter 212

"I suppose you're not from Demacia? Where are you from? Noxus? No... Shurima? Or Ionia?"

"I've also lived in Ionia Noxus."

"Your experience is truly remarkable. The 'power' within you... is not permitted in Demacia. Why have you come here?"

"With the same goal as you."

"The same?" Jax instantly thought of some kind of deformed creature, his eyes lighting up. "You mean... those? You've seen them too? The rift in Icathia... a passage to another world?"

"I've never been to Icathia, but I've seen the same things in Freljord," Chen Ce whispered. "Those tentacle-covered, deformed monsters...they're not easy to deal with."

Hearing this, Jax, whose suspicions had been confirmed, became even more excited.

He had only intended to find a powerful enough warrior to be his companion here—he would tell the story of the Void in the future... but now, there was no need for explanation.

Only those who have seen the Void know how terrifying Void is, and understand that only by risking everything can they possibly defeat it!

The young man before me... he's only in his early twenties, yet his skills have already reached such a level, not to mention the hidden magic within him... all sorts of energies... he even knows about the Void... he even has experience fighting against it...

A perfect partner!

"If the magic power within you is fully unleashed, I think your combat strength will be no less than mine!" Jax became excited—he was never jealous of others' strength; on the contrary, he hoped that others would be as strong as possible.

Only by being strong enough can one protect oneself and one's family in a bleak future!

"I really want to see your true strength... Chen Ce, you are the most outstanding young man I have ever met! When we have the chance, let's have a private match again. I think you will definitely surprise me once again!"

"You flatter me." Chen Ce cupped his hands in greeting. "My strength is inferior to yours; I can only be considered... not bad?"

His words were meant to be humble, but they weren't exactly modest—he genuinely admitted that he was inferior to the other person.

At least in terms of direct combat, he is probably no match for Jax.

Without the help of Mordekaiser and Rhaast, relying solely on himself—even with the added demonic power from Raum —he probably wouldn't be a match for Jax.

The overwhelming defense and internal energy attacks provided by [Grandmaster's Might] are beyond the resistance of ordinary people.

To truly defeat Jax, one must borrow Rhaast's power to become Darkin, drag him into Realm of Death, and then use demonic power to probe his weaknesses.

The title of "King of One-on-One the Rift" is well-deserved.

"Anyway, I'm looking forward to it." Jax laughed heartily, then pulled a hard-boiled egg from his pocket. "Here, take this. There are a lot of things we can't discuss right now, but I'll definitely talk to you privately when I have time."

"No problem." Chen Ce took the boiled egg and slowly walked off the bridge under the apologetic look of the other party. Jax wanted to find companions who could fight against the Void together, not just "just one companion."

The more the better.

He needs to stay on this bridge a little longer and find a few more capable or promising young talents.

As for their private matters... there will be plenty of time in the future. We're all in Great City, and there will be many opportunities to discuss them in detail in private.

Chen Ce sheathed his sword and left the bridgehead.

As soon as he stepped off the bridge, many people cast admiring or surprised glances at him—he was the only "challenger" in the past few days to walk down the bridge standing up.

Although the final decisive moment was as frustrating as being blocked at the peak of a craftsman's skill, it did not diminish the fact that people could see his extraordinary ability.

Everyone exclaimed in admiration.

Several Mageseekers, led by squad leader Jonathan, immediately surrounded them.

"How was it?" Jonathan asked immediately. "Did you use the Petricite? Did you feel anything?"

"Yes, I used it," Chen Ce replied. "Whether or not the Petricite is used won't have much impact on this outsider. It can be basically determined that he is not Black Mage who uses despicable and cunning tricks to defeat others."

Upon hearing this, Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief—if Jax wasn't a magician, it wouldn't matter to them no matter how much he occupied the bridge, and there wouldn't be any trouble.

"Fall back, fall back!" He waved his hand, preparing to return to the barracks for tea.

But Chen Ce did not leave with the others.

"What's wrong?" Jonathan asked. "We can pack up and leave now, what are you waiting for?"

"I have something to take care of." Chen Ce glanced at a girl in the crowd—wearing a coat and hood. She was also looking at him. "I'll ask for half a day off; I won't be going back today."

"Taking leave... Okay." Jonathan waved his hand generously, indicating his agreement to grant leave. With the connection to the Crownguard family, as long as Chen Ce didn't do anything too outrageous or illegal, he wouldn't interfere.

I... don't really dare to interfere.

The rich guy used connections to Mageseeker Order for a taste of life; surely no one's actually stupid enough to go and discipline him?

"Thanks, Captain." Chen Ce gave a military salute and watched the other party leave with his men.

Then, a girl in the crowd immediately came running over with joyful steps.

"Pretty good, Mr. Chen!"

"It's an honor to receive praise from Miss Lala," Chen Ce said with a smile.

"You're such a chatterbox." Lux stuck out half of her pink tongue, her cute and playful expression making you want to pinch her beautiful cheeks. "I was worried you might get beaten up... but it seems you're really quite strong!"

How good is it?

"Just as Garen said, that's quite right."

"How good is that?"

"Hmm... they're almost on par with Garen!" Lux put her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and looked very youthful and lively. "That guy on the bridge is probably about the same as Garen, pretty good!"

"Haha." Chen Ce laughed again.

Comparing Garen and Jax... well...

I'll probably get whipped like a spinning top, right?

"By the way, what brings you here, Miss Lala?"

"Stop calling me by that name..." Lux rolled her eyes at the other person. "I'm here for the same reason you're here."

"That sounds familiar... so what's the purpose?" Chen Ce asked again.

"Then what is your purpose in coming here?" Lux countered.

"Of course I'm here to verify whether Jax is a magician."

Me too.

"Um?"

"What, is that not allowed?" The girl put her hands on her hips, her thick coat unable to conceal her shapely figure. "Don't you know? I'm a member of the Illuminators!"

"The Illuminators... but what does this Illuminators?"

"Of course, we're afraid someone here might get hurt!"

"Oh~" Chen Ce nodded.

He knew that the girl's words, on the surface, meant she was afraid that ordinary people would be harmed by magicians, but in reality... it might be a two-way street.

She feared both ordinary people being harmed by magicians and innocent magicians being harmed by others.

That's the real reason she's here.

Because she is also a "magician".

"There are quite a few Mageseekers places like this," Chen Ce hinted. "If a magician were to appear here, they'd probably be spotted immediately, right?"

"Um... yes..." The young Lux immediately looked a little hesitant.

Chen Ce then asked, "Speaking of which, why are you dressed like this? Did you sneak out?"

"Sneaking away... No way..."

"If there really isn't one, then I'll have to call you~~~~"

"Shh!"

Lux quickly covered the other person's mouth, afraid that someone would hear her real name.

"Actually, I... well, I didn't sneak out... Oh, never mind!"

"What a strange person." Chen Ce shrugged and didn't press further. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. I still have a little trouble to deal with."

Sona is still waiting at home... I need to go find Lady Lestara first and get you some clothes.

"Go ahead, go ahead," Lux waved her hand generously. "I'll... be busy for a bit longer. I'll go back by myself later."

"Okay, goodbye then?"

"Okay, bye-bye~" the girl waved goodbye.

Chen Ce didn't linger; he waved and prepared to leave.

But just as he took his first step, the girl behind him suddenly changed her expression—she saw a group of familiar military horses in the crowd.

The woman on horseback... frightened her.

"Chen Ce!" Lux grabbed the hem of the Mageseekers Hunter uniform.

"What is it now, Miss Lala?" Chen Ce turned around helplessly.

"Um... you're really skilled!"

"Huh...? What are you saying?"

"I mean..." The girl's beautiful eyes darted away, her signs of preparing a lie all too obvious.

She hesitated for a long time, only managing to utter a clumsy lie:

"Can you take me to catch rabbits...!"

Chen Ce was inexplicably taken to the outskirts of the city by Lux.

Moreover, they did so through "illegitimate means"—instead of going through the city gate for inspection, they used Chen Ce's exceptional skills to scale the city wall.

Lux said she didn't want anyone to know she was going to catch rabbits—she insisted she hadn't sneaked out, she just didn't want anyone to know she was going to catch rabbits.

Chen Ce saw through her little lie at a glance, but he didn't expose her—accompanying this magical girl out for a stroll was quite nice, and it would be a good opportunity to boost her favorability.

I only approached her for the treasure chest... to earn rewards, it's not shameful.

How can you refuse an opportunity to "strengthen relationships" that is offered to you?

"What kind of rabbit do you like?" Chen Ce asked with a smile, pointing to a large meadow in front of him. "White, gray, brown? I can catch any color for you."

"Um... this... anything is fine...?" Clearly, Lux hadn't even thought through the lie she'd managed to come up with after all that effort.

She's not a girl who's good at lying.

"Then what do you want to do with the rabbit?" Chen Ce asked again, deliberately smiling.

"Um... it is... it is..."

"Oh, I see, you want to catch it and roast it, right?"

"Eh...? No, no...! Bunnies are so cute, how can you eat them!" Lux quickly waved her hands.

"The bunny is so cute, it must taste really good with extra chili, right?"

"It smells good... wait a minute!"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

"What are you laughing at!" Lux puffed out her cheeks, looking very unhappy.

Chen Ce then casually reached out and patted the girl's head—she instinctively resisted at first, but accepted it after realizing that the gesture was not malicious.

But she was still a little resentful. "Why did you touch my head... I'm not a child anymore..."

"I just think you're very cute, Miss Lux," Chen Ce said with a smile.

"Cute and all that... why are you suddenly saying that..." The girl seemed a little awkward. "Even if you compliment me, I won't do you any good..."

"The biggest favor you can do for me is letting me come out for a walk with you."

"... loquacious."

The two began chatting and strolled along the meadows and woods on the outskirts of the city.

Chen Ce told Lux a lot about Ionia, and she listened with great interest—she had never left Demacia and longed for the beautiful land of Ionia.

She also wanted to see the rainbow over the Eclipse Valley, the elk in the Forgotten Garden, and the blooming flowers of the Placidium Plains.

She had only seen a little of these things in books—and even then, she had only read them secretly.

As the daughter of the House Crownguard, she was forced to receive various etiquette training from a young age, and the books she read were all "dead books" about history, peace, and social interaction, which were very boring.