A Person in the League, but with the Taiwan Server System

"I made a fatal mistake. Please punish me."

At that, Chen Ce immediately understood why she had come. The "mistake" she meant was obviously the bad intelligence from before.

Samira had written that the Noxian warband landing south of Wuju would be carrying a large number of alchemical weapons, but it had turned out to have none at all. That had merely been a smokescreen, a ruse.

The idea was to make Irelia send some of her troops to Wuju, allowing another legion "led" by Sion to land openly on the eastern side of Fae'lor Island, then press straight inland and attack the Placidium.

He had to admit, they had almost gotten away with it.

"This mistake you mentioned... was it deliberate, or an accident?"

"An innocent mistake." Samira still kept her head lowered, her eyes fixed on the floor. Beads of cold sweat had formed on her forehead. Her voice sounded calm on the surface, but she was clearly nervous.

She knew exactly what standing she held in Chen Ce's eyes now.

Execution would be getting off lightly.

"An innocent mistake..." Chen Ce said, staring intently at her as he appeared to ponder the matter.

In that brief, yet seemingly endless, half-minute, he thought about many things.

From Samira's background to her actions so far, from the Black Rose's bid to seize power to the defense of the Placidium, he considered almost everything.

In the end, he simply smiled gently. "I believe you, Miss Samira. Everyone makes mistakes. Just be more careful next time."

"Hm...?" Samira didn't quite know how to react to his trust.

She had considered that he might choose to believe her, but she had never imagined it would be so easy...

Given his ruthless way of doing things, shouldn't he at least have strung her up and tortured her?

Could this trust be nothing but a lie before the torture? A little seasoning to make his show of benevolence more satisfying...?

At the thought, Samira shuddered, unease and suspicion filling her eyes.

"If you're going to punish me, or even execute me... please do it soon... That's why I came here... I only ask that you spare Captain Indali..."

After a brief pause, she added through trembling teeth, "Even if you want to torment me in some crazy or perverted way, that's fine... You can deceive me or do it outright... I only ask that you spare Indali..."

Chen Ce gave another meaningful smile. "Who said I was going to do that? Didn't I say I believe you?"

"..." Samira remained suspicious. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was lying to her, waiting for her to let down her guard and become grateful before doing something perverted, to make the punishment all the more effective.

Noxian interrogators used exactly that sort of trick on prisoners.

Of course, he might also just be doing it to satisfy his own perverted desires...

The more Samira thought about it, the more certain she became.

Under immense psychological pressure, she took the initiative to remove her coat, trying to show her sincerity.

She wore only a thin set of undergarments beneath it, which could barely cover her full breasts. Her perfect abdominal muscles and plenty of other scenery were exposed, leaving large swathes of skin on display.

Of course, there were also scars left by years of fighting. They didn't detract from her beauty; if anything, they added a distinctive allure.

It had to be said: the famous Desert Rose was beautiful, both in her face and her figure.

"I can offer you anything... No one has ever touched my body... You don't need to worry that it's unclean..."

As she spoke, she even placed her hands on her remaining undergarments, a trace of hesitation appearing on her face, as though she couldn't decide whether to remove her last covering and let him confirm her purity.

"..." Watching this, Chen Ce wanted to stop her. He really wasn't interested in that sort of thing!

But... if he wanted Samira to fear and respect him, he had to keep pretending to sit calmly where he was, wearing an expression of indifference and even contempt for everything. If Samira stopped respecting him, there was no telling whether she'd still give her all for him—or even keep working for him at all.

She might even try to run away with Indali.

If that happened, it would only mean more unnecessary trouble...

"I'm not interested in your body." Chen Ce propped his head up with one hand, contempt in his eyes and a cold edge to his voice. "And I wasn't lying to you. I really do intend to give you another chance."

"Really...?" Samira still sounded doubtful. "You trust me so easily...?"

"I trust myself." Chen Ce walked up to her and gently lifted her chin, the contempt in his eyes unchanged.

He looked her body over without restraint. He seemed every bit the wicked, irredeemable madman, pervert, and demon.

"I'm confident you wouldn't dare deceive me. No matter where you and Indali hide, I'll find you, then kill Indali in front of you—with the most cruel methods."

"..." At that, Samira could no longer keep her nerves and muscles taut. Her whole body trembled with fear.

If she had ever considered assassinating him before, after today's battle, she had abandoned the idea completely.

She knew what Chen Ce had done in southern Wuju and heard about his fight against Sion today... She had heard it all...

That kind of power was beyond anything she could stand against...

He really could find her and Indali, even if they hid at the ends of the earth...

Watching Samira tremble in terror, Chen Ce kept his expression calm, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had managed to steady the situation... Thank goodness.

Of course, his trust in Samira had nothing to do with the so-called "confidence." He knew something about Indali that even Samira didn't.

The intelligence had probably been wrong not because Samira deliberately meant to set him up, but because Indali had set Samira up.

Indali... was actually a member of the Black Rose.

This blunder was probably because Samira had told Indali everything about how he had threatened her, and Indali had then reported it all to the Black Rose.

After that, the Black Rose had deliberately arranged for Samira to learn the "classified intelligence."

The end result was... he thought he had intercepted Noxian intelligence and planned to turn their scheme against them, only to have the Black Rose—who had seen through everything from the start—turn his scheme against him in turn.

He had lost this contest, no question.

LeBlanc's cunning was beyond what most people could imagine.

Fortunately, the final outcome wasn't too bad... aside from that strange magical mark.

He could only say that he had been careless before. For a moment, he hadn't managed to fully work out what sort of chain of consequences the connections between Samira, Indali, LeBlanc, and Emystan could bring about. In the end, LeBlanc had used a "traitor" to turn the tables on him. Well, most of all, he hadn't expected LeBlanc to spend so much effort on a "small fry" like Emystan.

As for Samira...

Indali had hidden her connection to the Black Rose from Samira, seemingly hoping to use or even control her in some way. Samira herself knew nothing about Indali's dealings or ties with the Black Rose... He couldn't tell her about it yet.

If she learned about Indali's connection to the Black Rose, at best she would slip completely out of his control and throw in her lot with Indali and the Black Rose. At worst, the Black Rose would silence her on the spot.

Either possibility would be a loss for him.

But he couldn't let her stay in Noxus to gather intelligence anymore. Under the Black Rose's watchful eyes, at least nine-tenths of what she learned could be false, or even planted to lead her astray—just like the Reef Strait incident.

"You don't need to go back to Noxus for now." Chen Ce gave her a new order. "Put your investigation into the client on hold. I need you to stay in Ionia."

"Ionia?" Samira had calmed down a little.

"Yes. I have new eyes and ears in Noxus, so you'll gather intelligence in Ionia instead."

"Yes."

"Stay here for the next couple of days and wait for my instructions. Remember to cover your face. Don't let anyone recognize you."

"As you command."

With the business concluded, Chen Ce pointed at her body, still largely exposed, signaling for her to get dressed and leave.

But even after she had put her clothes back on, blushing with shame, Samira didn't leave right away.

"Is there something else?"

"Yes..." Samira nodded. "I have one more piece of intelligence to give you."

"Hm? Why didn't you say so just now?"

"Because I thought you'd kill me for losing your trust. In that case, I naturally wouldn't have given you this information." Samira spoke sincerely. "But since you've chosen to believe me, I'll give you everything I know."

At that, Chen Ce smiled from the heart.

That way of thinking proved that she still hated him. If she was going to die, she wouldn't give him even the slightest benefit.

That was good.

If she kept hating him, her [Interaction] could increase a little more.

"Go ahead."

"Yes." Samira straightened her coat and spoke earnestly. "I heard from a Noxian noble that your Resistance Army's Third Legion Commander once met with an outsider."

"An outsider?" The keyword immediately reminded Chen Ce of something. Before setting out to look for Yasuo and Riven, the Second Legion Commander had said that Third Legion Commander Glick had secretly met with a mysterious person. That was why he suspected that Glick or his "partner" might be the traitor hiding within the Resistance Army.

"Do you know who that 'outsider' was?"

"I do." There was a hint of pride in Samira's voice. She seemed confident that this intelligence couldn't possibly be wrong—not like the last time, when she had fallen into someone else's trap.

"Forgive my boldness." She suddenly stood and raised both hands over her head, slowly moving closer. In the end, she leaned right beside his ear. Her warm breath tickled his skin, like an intimate whisper between lovers.

"It was someone from the Order of the Shadow—Zed."

Chapter 64: Little Fawn Lillia Was Afraid of Getting into Trouble!

Chen Ce remembered Zed very well.

He was an orphan abandoned by his parents. His story began with a little boy sitting on the cold stone steps outside his home. His home was the Order of the Kinkou.

Under the careful tutelage of Master Kusho, the former Eye of Twilight of the Order of the Kinkou, he grew quickly and became inseparable friends with Shen, the current Eye of Twilight. They often called each other brothers.

It was worth mentioning that Zed had exceptional martial talent and trained hard. With Master Kusho's excellent guidance, it took him only a few years to grow from a young child into a fully qualified member of the Order of the Kinkou.

His strength was on par with Shen's, and he was Master Kusho's most capable assistant.

Even though he was an outsider with no blood ties to them, Master Kusho and Shen never showed him the slightest hint of exclusion. On the contrary, they accepted him wholeheartedly.

He was delighted by this, and did his best to repay their kindness.

But... at certain times, he still felt that he didn't belong.

He had always held the Order of the Kinkou's principles as his highest creed, but deep down... he still couldn't fully accept them. He was more bloodthirsty than the Order's teachings allowed.

That bloodlust reached its peak after a mission with Master Kusho and Shen—

The three of them had set out together to track down the infamous "Golden Demon." When they finally captured the terrifying "monster" that made people tremble at the mere mention of him, they discovered that he was just an ordinary man named Khada Jhin.

The young Zed stepped forward, blade raised in both hands, ready to kill the perverted madman who called his frenzied slaughter "art." But Master Kusho stopped him and ordered them to take Jhin to prison.

[The Kinkou's duty is to maintain balance between the spirit realm and the mortal world, not to interfere in worldly conflicts.]

Zed would never forget those words from Master Kusho.

After returning to the temple, resentment began to bloom inside him, and he found it increasingly difficult to focus on his studies.

The horrific murder scenes Jhin had created kept returning to his mind. At the same time, the growing tension between Ionia and the armed forces of the Noxian Empire accelerated the collapse of his ideals.

By then, Shen had begun learning his father's cold impartiality, while Zed refused to let the Order's lofty principles stop him from punishing evil.

At last, under pressure from both inside and outside, Zed chose to accept himself and obey the voice deep in his heart.

He ventured into the hidden tombs beneath the temple and broke one of the order's taboos. Buried there was an ornate black box that only the order's masters could open, but he still peered inside.

Then he gained a forbidden power.

The power of shadow.

When he returned to the light of the temple, his personality had changed completely. The ancient black magic inside the box had given him immense power, but it had also instilled in him contempt for the weak and deepened his bitterness.

Later, he confronted Master Kusho and demanded that the Order of the Kinkou use all its power to strike at the Noxian invaders, but Master Kusho refused.

After that, he left the Order of the Kinkou.

He gathered a group of warriors willing to follow him in fighting the Noxian invaders, and gradually built his own power along the way.

Not long afterward, he returned to the Order of the Kinkou's temple once more—bringing all his followers with him.

He hadn't come to argue with Master Kusho. He had no interest in hearing any more of that foolish talk about balance.

[Balance is the teacher of fools.]

Zed brutally murdered Master Kusho, all to reclaim the black box buried within the Order of the Kinkou.

Master Kusho was dead, and the Kinkou disciples were powerless against Zed, who had gained the power of darkness. Like a herd of beasts, they fled in panic, only to be slaughtered mercilessly by Zed's followers. He then seized the temple and founded his own order there—

the Order of the Shadow.

Shen led the few surviving Kinkou disciples into a distant forest. The Order of the Kinkou had been all but wiped out in a single night.

Zed's treacherous murder of his teacher and slaughter of his order soon became widely known. Many people in Ionia despised him, while many others revered him.