Chapter 93

"It's nothing... I'm a warrior, getting injured is normal..." Irelia responded to the other's hug, but her hands were still trying to cover her wounds.

"I just hope you won't dislike me... for being so ugly..."

"No, it's not ugly." Chen Ce shook his head. "They're as beautiful as butterfly tattoos... but I also hope you won't get any more 'tattoos,' okay?"

"I... I can't guarantee it..." Irelia lowered her head, still somewhat flustered. "Anyway... let's rest first... don't worry about this anymore..."

"It's time to rest—you should get some rest."

Chen Ce tried to soften his tone, but he didn't lie down.

Before Irelia could utter a sound of doubt, two large hands had already gently placed on her back.

"Chen... Chen Ce...?!"

"Relax," Chen Ce gently moved his palm, controlling every inch of pressure perfectly. "Relax... just rest."

"..." Irelia blushed and buried her face in the pillow.

She knew Chen Ce's personality, and she knew she couldn't go against his wishes.

Since... since that's the case... then let's enjoy it...

Gradually, she stopped being so fixated on the "ugly" scars on her back and began to relax and enjoy the rare massage.

She even adjusted her posture, wrapping her legs around the other person's waist and slightly turning her body to the side.

A small portion of the full, snow-white breasts on the right side was then revealed from the side.

This move is very attractive, but it requires a high degree of flexibility—perhaps only a girl skilled in dance can do it.

"My body is very flexible... I can do many positions... You can massage any part of my body you want..." the girl whispered shyly, buried in the pillow.

Chen Ce understood, and lightened the somewhat heavy atmosphere with a joke, "It's not 'I want to massage this place,' but 'Where do you want me to massage?' right?"

"..." The girl buried her head even deeper without saying a word.

But her actions and words just now are destined to make her make some strange noises tonight...

Late at night, after Irelia had fallen into a deep, contented sleep, Chen Ce leaped alone onto the outer beam at the top of the wooden roof.

Looking out, the First Lands, scarred by the ravages of war, is devastated, and the howling evening wind seems to be the earth's lament.

He had originally wanted to wait until the time was more opportune and the expulsion more thorough, but now it seems...

You can wait, but there's no need.

It's time to speed things up...

"I think Mordekaiser would welcome you..."

"The Noxus invaders."

Chapter 101 Only the cake maker can survive.

The following day, Irelia convened a meeting with Chen Ce and several high-ranking members of the Resistance Army as scheduled.

The three corps commanders and several other high-ranking officers of slightly lower rank sat around the conference table, almost everyone wearing a happy smile—except for the Third Legion Commander Glick.

The members of the Resistance Army's high command had already heard about the events on Fae'lor Island from Irelia, and everyone showed Chen Ce the utmost respect and goodwill.

Of course, they also showed great "respect" to the silver-haired girl beside Chen Ce.

But perhaps there isn't much "respect".

Because of the attitude Syndra showed them... it wasn't just disdain, it was open disgust—a deep disgust.

Rather than "respect," they felt more "awe."

They were certain that if it weren't for Chen Ce, this powerful female mage could have sent them to meet the Spirit of Ionia at any moment.

After a round of mutual compliments and pleasantries, the atmosphere in the meeting room gradually calmed down.

Syndra disdained sitting on the Ionia chairs and had no desire to set foot on this land that disgusted her. So she simply floated beside Chen Ce using magic. But her haughty demeanor made her look less like Chen Ce 'Chen Ce lover and more like his "master".

The others felt something was off, but didn't say anything.

Finally, it was Morse, the Second Legion Commander was closest to Chen Ce —Chen Ce's former superior—who formally began today's meeting with a casual question:

"Chen Ce, I heard from the leader that you were planning to flank the Noxus army from behind. Why have you come back now? Has the plan changed?"

Irelia had asked this question before and received an affirmative answer.

But Chen Ce's next answer was slightly different from what she had heard before:

"The plan has changed slightly, but the encirclement of the Noxus army will still proceed—the night before the full-scale attack, I will have Miss Sin... Stardora fly around to the rear of the battlefield from the sky."

Syndra is, of course, a homonym for the name Syndra.

Irelia and Karma were relatively easy to explain, but the others were not so easy to talk to—many people in the upper echelons and even the entire Resistance Army had heard of Syndra's deeds, and those rumors, which contained far more falsehood than truth, had portrayed her as a powerful, terrifying, and unreasonable "avatar of abomination."

To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and trouble, and to allow Syndra to have a normal and pleasant life in the Resistance Army, let's keep it a secret as long as possible.

Anyway, she won't be staying here for long.

As he spoke, Chen Ce gently patted the silver-haired girl's hand from an angle where no one else could see, as an apology—not being able to introduce her to others openly might have made her feel a little uncomfortable.

But this was indeed a last resort.

If some reckless people find out about this, they'll be in big trouble if they spew nonsense at Syndra in front of her— Syndra might lose control of her negative energy and wipe out the Resistance Army along with the Noxus army.

"In summary, the overall plan remains unchanged, and there is no need to make any temporary changes to the deployment of each battle group."

"I understand," Second Legion Commander Morse answered for everyone, then asked, "And what about you? Will you flank as planned, or stay on the front lines?"

"I'll stay," Chen Ce replied. "Our respected leader and I have discussed it again, and we agree that it wouldn't be very helpful for me to flank with Miss Xingdora—I wouldn't be of much help and might even be a hindrance. It would be better for me to stay on the front lines."

Irelia's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this—she hadn't discussed this matter with the other person at all, and had no idea that the other person planned to stay on the front lines.

She clearly smelled Chen Ce yesterday, and his answer was "going with Syndra."

She was puzzled, but she didn't show any unusual expression on her face—she believed that Chen Ce had his own ideas and would not be foolish enough to undermine him.

"I see..." Morse nodded, then said happily, "Then we can fight side by side again—I quite miss the time when you were under my command, and now you're the leader... cough cough..."

He glanced at Irelia jokingly, eliciting a few light laughs from the crowd, which lightened the atmosphere considerably.

"Even if Mr. Chen Ce didn't do that with the leader, you still couldn't order him around." Everyone joined in the joke. "If Mr. Chen Ce had been born a few years earlier, at least one of us wouldn't be a legion commander now!"

The atmosphere in the meeting room gradually became as harmonious and relaxed as a gathering of old friends.

Syndra was the only one who was more agitated.

After a moment, Chen Ce gestured for Chen Ce to stop, and continued, "Actually, there's another reason why I stayed on the front lines—as everyone knows, the battles on the front lines are mostly fought by cavalry, infantry, swordsmen, and archers, while the number of mage corps is relatively small, which is very advantageous for me."

"As everyone knows, I possess the ability to ignore most physical attacks, but I am helpless against magical attacks. This is why I can play my greatest role on the front lines."

"I will lead an elite squad to the front lines; the results will be far better than me watching from the rear."

"In that case...we trust your judgment." No one objected.

Only one person silently memorized this passage—about the so-called [weakness].

After a few more seconds of silence, Irelia took over the reins of the meeting. "Now, please have the three legion commanders report on the situation of their respective legions."

"Yes!" the three legion commanders responded in unison, and then, in turn, the First Legion commander reported the situation:

"The First Legion has arrived at the front lines in its entirety and has had more than 24 hours of rest; the infantry regiments are ready to attack at any time, and the cavalry and crossbowman regiments began preparing supplies and weapons this morning and are also ready to be deployed."

"Hmm, very good." Irelia nodded, then looked at the second legion commander.

Second Legion Commander Morse immediately rose to report, "The entire Second Legion has arrived south of Wuju, with six hours to rest; the cavalry regiment is ready, and the incendiary arrows are prepared, ready to launch a surprise attack on the Noxus army's flank at any time."

"Not bad." Irelia was very satisfied with the efficiency of the entire Second Legion – they had arrived here from Placidium in less than a week and had completed the pre-battle preparations so quickly.

In addition, it was Second Legion Commander Morse who suggested that the terrain south of Wuju was very suitable for a surprise attack on the flank of the Noxus army.

This veteran legion commander's combat capabilities are indeed outstanding.

Finally, Irelia looked at the third legion commander— Glick, who had once been the Brotherhood's "leader."

The latter also stood up like the first two legion commanders, but his movements were noticeably slower than the other two—not because he was physically weaker, but simply because he was a bit careless.

"The Third Legion is in position and has rested for more than twelve hours; all battle groups are ready to launch an attack at any time." Even the report was extremely brief.

He even glanced at Chen Ce during his report, his eyes seemingly carrying a hint of ill intent.

Irelia didn't give him much face, not even nodding, but simply gesturing for him to sit down.

The meeting is about to end.

"In summary, everything should proceed as planned." Irelia began by briefly summarizing the meeting's content, effectively concluding the meeting.

"Tomorrow morning, launch the final assault on the Noxus army. The deployment of each legion must be flawless."

"The First Legion will lead the main attack from the front, and try to break through the enemy's formation with its cavalry regiments in the first wave; the Third Legion will then charge, mainly with its infantry regiments advancing and its archers and crossbowmen carrying out a large-scale mopping-up operation; the Second Legion will launch a surprise attack on the enemy's flanks after the first wave, without giving them time to regroup."

"At last..."

Irelia looked at the silver-haired girl beside Chen Ce, her tone devoid of any personal emotion, only filled with respect and seriousness:

"Miss Xingdora, please flank the enemy from behind, annihilate their logistics forces in one fell swoop, and reduce the number of mages as much as possible."

Syndra remained indifferent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

But the fact that she's still here says it all.

The others all stood up and gave Irelia a standard military salute.

"Yes!"

A single day is nothing compared to a war that has lasted nearly three years.

But everyone spent that day in trepidation.

Whether it was the brutal Noxus invaders or the Resistance Army fighters defending their homeland.

This is the final battle.

This claim spread rapidly among various military camps. Although it was not confirmed by any general or high-ranking officer, the lack of denial was tantamount to tacit acceptance.

The Noxus invaders began to miss their families across the ocean. They didn't know if they would ever be able to return on the warships they had come from... Perhaps they would be buried directly in this unfamiliar land, or perhaps they would be turned into small boxes and sent back to their homeland by their comrades.

The Ionia Resistance Army were also worried about tomorrow's battle, but they weren't so worried about themselves—they were thinking, if they lost this war, would their wives, children, families, and friends all die with them? If they failed to defend this last line of defense, who would come to drive out the invaders for them?

This beautiful land, ravaged by war for nearly three years, will it ultimately become a memorial for the Noxus or an eternal homeland for the Ionia?

Nobody knows.

The answer lies in the future.

Everyone had a tough day, but time always passes.

As the sun rose the next day, the sound of metal scraping echoed across the entire plain.

Chen Ce walked slowly through the front-line military camp, his eyes following the Resistance Army soldiers who were about to go into battle.

Instead of rushing to "lead an elite squad to the front" as he had said at yesterday's meeting, he strolled around like an old man with nothing better to do.

Seeing this, even Ahri, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but ask, "My dear, aren't you going to prepare? You're going to war in a few hours... I'm so worried about you..."

"No rush, there are still a few hours left." Chen Ce waved his hand dismissively, like an old man.

"Hmm... is there anything you, my dear, would you like to tell me? I've never been on the battlefield before..."

"It's alright, you don't need to go to the front lines."

"Oh? But... but I want to fight alongside my beloved..."

"I most likely won't actually go to the battlefield."

"Huh...?" Ahri was even more confused.

Chen Ce shook his head again, still appearing indifferent, as if this decisive war meant nothing to him.

"I'm going fishing later, you and Lillia can just stay with Irelia."

"Fishing...?" Ahri's two fluffy fox ears twitched, as if she hadn't heard clearly—or rather, she thought she had misheard. "What time is it, darling, and you're still thinking about fishing...?"

After a brief pause, she hesitated before adding, "After you catch one, could you give me one... just one..."

"You didn't eat enough last night, did you?" Chen Ce glanced helplessly at the empty bottle at his waist, then at his upper arm, which was scratched and bleeding. "You can't eat this fish, little fox."