Departure

"What kind of madness are you pulling in the middle of the night? Do you have any idea how many days it's been since I've had a decent night's sleep?"

Sitting in the carriage Li Ke had practically forced him to buy, Shen looked thoroughly displeased as he was made to plaster spirit charms all over the vehicle.

He had finally been ready to take a hot bath and get some rest, but not only did Li Ke keep him up until the dead of night, he had kicked his front door open while Shen was half-asleep—anyone would be annoyed by that!

Li Ke simply put on a mysterious, inscrutable expression, stroking Yone's wife—his sword—as he replied to Shen.

"Because I sensed something ominous. The Spirit of Ionia is sending me a warning."

As if I wouldn't know whether or not you've been blessed by the Spirit of Ionia!

Shen looked at Li Ke, who possessed not a shred of magic, and let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"What a coincidence. I've also received a revelation from the Spirit of Ionia: a revelation that I must beat you up in a moment."

Li Ke rolled his eyes, knowing the other man was irritated, and continued his charade.

"I have a premonition that on the path ahead, there is a squad of Noxians planning to massacre a village. I cannot quell this intuition, so I must go there."

At these words, Shen's dissatisfaction vanished instantly. Jokes were jokes, and bickering was bickering, but when it came to a swordsman's intuition—even the intuition of a swordsman without magic—Shen decided to believe him.

Because as he spoke, Li Ke's heartbeat and breathing hadn't changed in the slightest; it was clear he was telling the truth.

Without a word, Shen silently recited an incantation and slapped a charm onto the carriage. Instantly, the mediocre carriage began to move with the speed of a high-end model. Though the ride became much bumpier on the roads of Ionia, it had to be said that the speed had indeed increased.

Li Ke looked at Shen, but Shen merely crossed his arms with a reserved expression.

"I'll trust you this once!"

Li Ke smiled at him, and Shen let out a cold huff.

This actually violated the teachings of the Balance Order, but for some reason, he felt that Li Ke had become more approachable. He had even used magic to check for anything suspicious, but found nothing. The amulet his father had given him didn't react either, so it was clearly not the work of any magic.

It was simply that he and Li Ke had hit it off.

"Thanks. Also, there's a book in my bag. You can take a look, but you must never tell anyone else about it after reading it."

Li Ke thanked him and began to focus on steering the carriage. Inside his bag was the result of his second choice: the Ionia Five-Year Plan.

Although choosing vitality would have increased his strength, this was different. The Ionia Five-Year Plan could help him in many ways, and it was the key to turning a two-year war in Ionia into a one-year war.

He didn't intend to rely on Zed's power this time, so to avoid any oversights in his plan, he had chosen this.

"What's with all the secrecy..."

Shen didn't care much; if Li Ke didn't want him to tell anyone, he wouldn't. He casually picked up the book from Li Ke's bag and, under the light of the rising sun, flipped through a few pages.

He read the first few pages.

"How strange. What kind of whimsical nonsense is this? This is too stupid, isn't it? If we did this, we'd be the ones cleaning up the mess. You'd better not do anything foolish..."

He read a few more lines.

"Wait? This actually makes some sense?"

He read a few more pages.

"How did we never think of such a simple solution before?!"

Shen slapped his thigh hard and exclaimed.

His father, and indeed the vast majority of Ionians, felt a headache whenever the relationship with the Vastaya was mentioned, because there simply seemed to be no way to resolve it.

But if the Five-Year Plan in this book could be implemented, the issues between the Vastaya and humans would no longer be issues at all.

The problem with the Vastaya was that human settlements could not contain too much magical energy, as these elements made humans strange and even led to them being attacked.

Yet, the Vastaya grew stronger because of these very things.

Li Ke's book detailed a way to utilize the natural magic of the world by dividing it into specific zones. While it didn't differ much from the traditional method of using rituals to bind magic, the difference was subtle, and that was where the genius lay.

The book didn't choose to bind the excess magic that was harmful to humans; instead, it rearranged the planning of residential areas and farmland to concentrate the magic in specific zones within the cities.

There were no artificial traces; it was simply guided according to the forces of nature.

And if Vastaya lived in those areas, the power of the magic would automatically correct itself, creating a steady-state equilibrium. Any excess magic would be bound using the old methods, turned into power to drive other things.

In simple terms, this new method was like adding a series of small dams and buffer lakes to a dam that could only be opened or closed.

These small dams and buffer lakes were the places in the plan where the Vastaya could live, and in the environmental planning, these areas were designated as parks, training grounds, office districts, and farmland.

They were exactly the places that required large amounts of magic.

Poor Vastaya could live in the farmland and outskirts, while wealthy Vastaya could live in the plazas, parks, and office districts.

It naturally served as a form of social stratification.

But there was one thing...

"This requires a powerful organization, doesn't it? Do you want to become a king, Li Ke?"

Shen looked at Li Ke with a complex expression. He didn't want to see his friend corrupted by power, but if the other man could truly accomplish this...

It wasn't entirely out of the question.

"Not at all. The first thing someone like me would do as king is implement the droit du seigneur in Ionia."

Li Ke answered Shen's question very seriously, and Shen...

He listened intently to Li Ke's heartbeat and breathing.

He realized that Li Ke was serious!

But before he could say anything, Li Ke dealt another blow.

"And I only have the time for the pretty ones; I wouldn't even glance at the ugly ones."

Shen's lips trembled twice before he finally spoke.

"As expected of you..."

"Right?"

Li Ke chuckled; being a king or whatever was just too much trouble.

Just then, they passed by a village, and Shen hurriedly tucked the book away to avoid being discovered.

At that very moment, both he and Li Ke spotted a noble girl with delicate, beautiful features, draped in fine silk. Shen recognized her and spoke instinctively.

"Irelia? Out practicing your dance so early?"

He knew about Irelia's situation, which was why he recognized her.

But the next moment, he was stunned.

Because upon hearing his words, Li Ke steered the carriage straight toward Irelia, and to the shock of both her and Shen, he reached out an arm and yanked the beautiful noble girl onto the carriage!

"No time to explain! Get in!"