Chapter 219

This was Chen Ce's first time visiting the Hall of Valor in Great City of Demacia.

As the hall where the Demacia royal family handled state affairs, the decoration here is grand enough, but not too extravagant—it must be said that the Demacia monarchs throughout history have all deserved to be called "wise rulers".

From Jarvan I to Jarvan IV, they all personally went to the battlefield to fight against the enemy, and they were all very compassionate towards the hardships of the people.

They have done almost nothing to wrong this country.

Aside from... the recent excessive strengthening of the ban on magic.

This is already an overcorrection.

"Remember to bow later... You should know the Demacia etiquette, right? That's all..."

Before crossing the last corridor, Garen kindly gave a reminder and even personally demonstrated the proper way to bow.

"Understood." Chen Ce nodded and continued forward.

Soon, two fully armed royal guards opened the gate for them.

A more spacious area and a silver throne came into view.

There was also a man who looked to be about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.

He stood upright beside the empty throne, his expression solemn.

It means in the name of the king.

And those who have this power...

There's only one left in all of Demacia.

Jarvan IV, Prince of Demacia.

At Garen's signal, Chen Ce and Garen bowed simultaneously.

"You're Chen Ce?"

Jarvan IV's voice was so loud that it even echoed in the spacious hall.

"Yes, Your Highness," Chen Ce replied, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

Then a moment of silence fell over the hall.

Jarvan IV scrutinized the young man before him with a critical gaze, his slightly furrowed brows revealing his inner wariness.

Chen Ce felt that he might be suspected—he wasn't quite sure why the other party was looking for him, but he could roughly guess that it wasn't anything good.

The atmosphere became somewhat heavy.

Just as Chen Ce was about to do something, Jarvan IV spoke first.

Moreover, it uses a kind of...

The tone of voice should be like a child's excited reaction to seeing a favorite toy:

"Where did you get that Head & Shoulders tech gun? Can it be mass-produced?"

"... It's Hextech, Your Highness."

Chapter 80 really liked a quote from an Alliance player.

Regarding giving the Hextech Revolver to Garen, Chen Ce's initial thought was this:

First, in order to get close to Garen and use him as a springboard to join the Mageseeker Order, but at that time he really didn't have anything to offer—not that he was too poor, but rather... he was too rich.

The situation was that he needed to "pretend to be a poor kid from Ionia who came to Demacia seeking an opportunity, a skilled fighter with nowhere to use his abilities." Therefore, gold coins were definitely out of the question; he had to give items—but what did he have on him at the time?

A nearly new Muramana, a Heartsteel that I would never give away, a Control Ward that can be used for teleportation and scouting, and a Hextech Revolver I hardly ever use anymore.

It's immediately clear which one to send.

Secondly, there was another idea behind giving Garen the Hextech Revolver: if Garen were to fight Sylas and get completely crushed as things unfolded in the original timeline, this gun would definitely allow him to turn the tide. With Sylas's limited knowledge, let alone Hextech Revolver, he probably hadn't even seen a regular handgun. Such a powerful weapon would definitely catch him off guard.

These two points were the reasons why he gave the Hextech Revolver to Garen.

At the time, it wasn't unexpected that he would show the gun to his good friend Jarvan IV, but this development... was completely unexpected.

I thought Jarvan IV wouldn't stoop to using such "crooked little toys," but I never expected him to be so interested.

"Chen Ce?"

In the Hall of Valor, Jarvan IV called out the other person's name again in a puzzled voice—he hadn't received a response to his question for several seconds.

When the other person looked up, he quickly asked, "That Hextech Revolver you mentioned, can it actually be mass-produced?"

He could barely contain the excitement in his voice.

The last test with Garen... the power of that gun...

The terrifying power to annihilate the entire suit of armor in an instant...

If mass production were possible... if every soldier in elite units, or even the entire army, could be equipped with one...

Then Demacia will be invincible!

"Our Demacia army is highly disciplined and obeys orders without question, and its numbers are enormous. If we could also equip it with such weapons... Hiss...!" Jarvan IV was already daydreaming before he even understood the problem.

Now, it's time for fantasy!

However, he was soon brought back to reality by a bucket of cold water—his dream hadn't even reached the point of breaching Noxus's gates.

"Mass production... is probably not realistic," Chen Ce replied. "The Hextech Revolver is difficult to manufacture, and it can even be said to have a huge element of luck involved—if nothing unexpected happens, there will only be one in the world."

"Only one?" Jarvan IV couldn't hide his disappointment, but still asked with a last glimmer of hope, "Where did you get it?"

"Piltover." Chen Ce's statement was half true and half false—the truth was that only Piltover could produce high-tech weapons of this caliber, but the falsehood was that he had never actually been to Piltover.

"Hmm..." Jarvan IV nodded, then glanced at Garen beside him—this was the same explanation Garen had given him before. "Then can you tell me which craftsman made it? I'd like to pay a hefty sum to have him come over."

"This... I'm afraid that won't work either."

Why?

"Because I got it on the black market."

"The black market? Didn't you say you were broke?" Jarvan IV certainly remembered everything Garen had told him back then—he clearly remembered that the young man in front of him had given the gun to Garen because he was broke.

He felt he had found the key point, and his eyes became even more cunning and wary.

Unfortunately, Chen Ce still had an excuse. "Yes, I don't have money to buy it, but this gun is free—it's a reward for a commissioned task. I helped my employer solve a problem, and he's using this gun as payment."

"What mission?" Jarvan IV asked again.

"Find the outlaw scientist who's been conducting unauthorized alchemical weapons research in Piltover," Chen Ce replied.

"You found it?"

"Found it."

"What's that person's name?"

"Singed sold alchemical weapons to Emystan, the Noxus legion commander, for use in terrorist attacks during the Ionian War."

"Hmm..." Upon hearing this, Jarvan IV secretly gave Garen a look, signaling him to write down this information and have someone check it later.

"So you're from Ionia?"

"Yes," Chen Ce said frankly, "Just as I told Garen, the Swordmaster—I come from the ruined Ionia, seeking opportunities across the world to rebuild my homeland."

"Without a doubt, you are a man of ambition," Jarvan IV praised, but his face showed no particular gleam.

He slowly walked down the steps, his expressionless face and firm, powerful strides making it hard not to wonder if he still harbored doubts.

He walked slowly to Chen Ce, his sharp eyes, which had been used to distinguishing loyal ministers from treacherous ones for years, scrutinizing the man from head to toe, seemingly distrustful.

Just when Chen Ce thought today's meeting would end in mutual suspicion, the young prince suddenly smiled and extended his right hand.

"Please forgive my rude questioning, Mr. Chen Ce."

"Hmm?" Chen Ce was a little puzzled, but still chose to shake hands with the other party.

"Actually, I already confirmed your identity long ago," Jarvan IV continued with a smile. "I have confirmed that you are the Resistance Army warrior from Ionia — Irelia has confirmed it for you. I know her; she is a respectable warrior and leader, and I believe she would not deceive us."

After a brief pause, he said in a slightly apologetic tone, "I hope you can forgive my unauthorized investigation into your distrustful behavior—you know I have to be careful—not only because of my position, but also because of the current... special circumstances."

"I completely understand." Chen Ce bowed to the other person with his hand on his chest.

"That's wonderful." Jarvan IV smiled, his demeanor no longer displaying the coldness and arrogance of before. He was completely unlike a prince of a powerful nation, his gentle attitude more like that of an ordinary friend.

He warmly invited Chen Ce to sit down, and then said, "Actually, I invited you here today not only for Hai Fei... There's something else I'd like to discuss with you regarding the Hextech Revolver."

"Yes, Your Highness, please speak." Aside from the respectful form of address, Chen Ce's composed and confident demeanor made it seem as if he were chatting with an old friend. "If it's something within my power, I will certainly grant it."

"You're too kind... Well then, I won't stand on ceremony, okay?" Jarvan IV sat down in the seat next to him, "I'd like to ask you... to help me gather some intelligence."

"Gathering intelligence?"

"Yes, yes."

Whose is it?

"Many people's."

"Um...?"

"It's just..." Jarvan IV paused slightly, then lowered his voice, "I'd like to ask you to keep an eye on the Mageseeker Order for me... what do you say?"

"Hmm?" This request was even more unexpected for Chen Ce.

Although the Mageseekers' recent actions have become increasingly outrageous, their power...

But it was bestowed upon it by the old king himself.

Is Jarvan IV, the king's own son, going against his own father?

"Surprised?" Jarvan IV noticed the obvious surprise on the other's face and smiled. "There's no need for that... I just want Demacia to be better."

"Demacia is now in serious chaos... You may not be aware of this because you're in the Great City, but the situation in other towns has become extremely bad— the Mageseekers are constantly committing crimes with their suddenly inflated power, even doing many dirty things that cross the line... I've seen it all."

"Everyone is saddened by Uncle Barrett's death... but Father has identified the wrong problem. The Mageseeker Order is now incredibly powerful."

"If we let them continue like this, Demacia will eventually fall to them..."

Jarvan IV paused again, seemingly reluctant to utter the word "treasonous".

"As the prince of Demacia and the heir to the royal family, I cannot stand by and watch them wreak havoc on Demacia."

"I must correct their mistakes, but this task is extremely difficult... I will face tremendous resistance—even the antagonism of half the nation's nobility."

"The excessive power that the king has given them must be curbed and taken back."

"So... I need a helper who is powerful enough and 'clean' enough."

"Mr. Chen Ce."

After finishing his speech, Jarvan IV turned his attention to Chen Ce.

Garen, standing to the side, was completely bewildered—what happened to the plan of investigating Chen Ce? How did it suddenly turn into entrusting him with such an important task?

Didn't His Highness still find Chen Ce suspicious? Didn't he want to thoroughly investigate him? What is going on here?

Garen was completely baffled, so he... scratched his head.

"I understand." Chen Ce nodded thoughtfully— Jarvan IV's words were not difficult to understand.

To put it bluntly, he wanted to suppress the Mageseeker Order, but he couldn't do it openly—after all, the Mageseeker Order's power came from his father, and even as a prince, he couldn't go against the will of his father, who was also the king, right?

So he had to do it secretly.

Gathering internal intelligence on the Mageseeker Order serves two purposes: first, it prevents them from doing anything wrong; second, it allows us to take action against them when the time is right—for example, by collecting "evidence of their crimes" and holding them accountable when the time is ripe.

Even if we can't suppress them on a large scale, we can at least ensure Demacia's safety to some extent.

"So, you want me to 'infiltrate' the Mageseeker Order?"

"How can you call this an undercover agent... this is a promotion—a promotion." Jarvan IV smiled awkwardly but politely. "Think about it, you went from directly taking orders from the Mageseekers squad leader to directly taking orders from me. Isn't that a huge promotion?"

"Ah... that's true." Chen Ce nodded.

Then, the most crucial question was asked:

"Will they give us a raise?"

"...Of course." Jarvan IV looked somewhat helpless, but the wariness in his eyes also lessened.

As the only prince of Demacia, the entire country's money is his money, the royal treasury is his treasury, and the one thing he has no shortage of is money.