"So I think Demacia's attack is a good opportunity for us."
Katarina picked up from where Talon left off and continued, "Solving surface-level problems will never change Noxus. If the true root cause isn't dealt with, Noxus will only rot further."
She had once witnessed the purge Demacia carried out. Many people died in a single night, and it had been firm and decisive.
She felt that Noxus needed the same.
"Darkwill clings to royal power. For the sake of so-called immortality, he'll stop at nothing. He's caused endless war along the borders and left the people with no way to live."
As Katarina spoke, killing intent rose in her eyes. "Since I am the leader of the Assassins' Guild, I must set an example and purge the pests myself."
Talon listened in silence and understood what Katarina meant.
Clearly, she wanted to overthrow Darkwill's rule.
But that was indeed the case. From the moment the Assassins' Guild openly criticized Darkwill, there had been no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides.
Perhaps Katarina had already prepared herself back then.
If this had been before, her idea would have had no chance of success.
But now, there truly was an opportunity.
After thinking for a while, Talon said, "There are too many pests across the entire country."
"Then we kill them all, until there are none left." Katarina answered without hesitation, then looked at Talon. "I have that resolve."
"I believe you."
Talon responded softly, then said, "Since I've decided to follow you, I will support every decision you make."
"Thanks."
A smile appeared on Katarina's face. She stood up. "There's no time to waste. We start now. This is our best opportunity. Go gather the core members of the Assassins' Guild."
"Yes."
Talon answered. After thinking for a moment, he still spoke. "If you're determined to do this, I think you should meet someone."
Katarina asked, "Who?"
Talon calmly said, "Swain."
Katarina froze slightly and asked in confusion, "Isn't he..."
She stopped and waited for Talon to give her an answer.
"He isn't dead, and he has already returned to Noxus." Seeing the doubt in Katarina's eyes, Talon continued, "I learned this by chance while I was investigating information on Melli."
"After I discovered him, I hid and followed him for some time. In the end, he noticed me. Or maybe he noticed me from the very beginning. I had that feeling."
When Talon said this, his gaze grew faintly serious. He considered his own ability to hide fairly strong.
But when he remembered the way that man had lifted his eyes and looked toward him, fear still spread through his heart.
Katarina continued asking, "Why do you want me to meet him?"
Talon thought for a moment and answered seriously, "If you hadn't said those things just now, I would have treated my meeting with Swain as a secret known only to me. But now I think I need to tell you."
"I once met Swain before, before he went to Ionia. At first glance, I knew his reputation was well deserved."
"My instincts tell me that experiencing death this time seems to have made him even stronger. Now that he has returned to Noxus, he will never be content to remain unknown."
"After he discovered me, he did not attack. He seemed to sense that I had no ill intent. So I told him my identity as a member of the Assassins' Guild."
"After that, we didn't talk much. I promised him I would keep his secret. He seemed willing to trust me, and then we soon went our separate ways."
Talon finished speaking briefly and fell quiet.
He did not know why Swain had been willing to trust him, but he had a feeling that if they had fought back then, he would not have been Swain's match.
Katarina fell into thought. She understood.
Talon had handed her a choice. She could still act with the Assassins' Guild alone, or she could meet Swain and confirm his position.
Because she had exposed the Black Rose incident, and the one who had exposed the Black Rose back then had been Swain.
He had even personally executed the leading representatives of the Black Rose at the time.
Now there were rumors that Darkwill had actually been colluding with the Black Rose in secret all along. If so, the reason he sent Swain to Ionia was probably not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
It was very possible that Darkwill had done it deliberately to get rid of Swain, who targeted the Black Rose and whose achievements threatened his authority.
If that was the case, once Darkwill learned that Swain had returned to Noxus, he certainly would not let him go easily.
If it were Swain, what would he do?
"I understand. I'll go meet him."
Katarina made her decision quickly.
She felt that she truly needed to meet Swain, if he was really still alive.
It was hard to imagine how he had survived a hopeless situation.
In truth, she had met Swain before, but that had been when she was young.
In her memory, it had been a banquet hosted by a noble, and Du Couteau had taken her with him.
Across several tables, she had seen Swain standing among the crowd, full of confidence and receiving the flattery of the people around him.
Even back then, he had already been surrounded by brilliance.
Talon nodded and said, "Good. I'll tell you how to find him."
Five minutes later.
After confirming the information, Katarina said, "There's no time to lose. We move separately. Also, this stronghold has already been exposed. It can be abandoned."
Talon nodded.
Soon, the two left the treehouse and set out in two different directions.
In the blink of an eye, another day passed.
On Noxus's northeastern coast, in the city known as Khworez.
On a densely crowded street where people came and went, a cloaked figure silently walked forward.
"Have you heard? Demacia attacked."
"Yeah, I only just heard too. Trevale has already fallen."
"Damn, that's scary."
"What's so scary about that? You're acting like we've never fought a war before. But Demacia attacking us really is rare."
"Ugh. They stuffed so many troops into Ionia a while ago. Now they'll probably start conscripting again."
"What's been going on lately? Darkwill keeps making bad calls one after another."
"Hey, keep your voice down."
As the news continued to spread, word of Demacia's advance had already reached this place.
On the street, people discussed it everywhere.
Hearing these comments, the cloaked figure raised his head slightly. A thoughtful look flashed through his wise black eyes, along with a red glimmer that vanished in an instant. As he lifted his head, a few strands of silver-white hair fell out unintentionally.
After tucking his hair away, the figure lowered his head and continued walking.
When he had stood at the edge of death, his hair had turned white overnight. After walking once before the Grim Reaper, he had suddenly understood many things.
Noxus needed a true reform.
And he would be the one to bring it.
The twenty-fifth.
Luke led the army forward while alternating between marching and rest. Although their speed was somewhat slower, it allowed the soldiers to maintain their condition.
In five days, they had already taken two Noxian towns in succession. As for the small towns and villages that had fled long ago after hearing the news, they were not worth mentioning.
They had captured countless prisoners of war and seized plenty of supplies.
Over the past few days, it was clear that Noxus had already taken precautions. The towns had all strengthened their troop numbers. However, it still was not enough. None of them had lasted long before being breached.
And Luke's side was not the only one advancing. To the north, Lev had also led his army in continuous attacks, taking two cities as well as two smaller towns and villages.
Over these past few days, the Noxian border cities on the western frontier had basically all been taken.
In other words, a breach had successfully been opened. What awaited Noxus next would be Demacia driving straight in.
At this moment, the sky had just brightened. Luke and the army had finished resting and were preparing to continue their advance.
"There are more and more prisoners of war. In a while, they'll be several times the size of the Demacian army."
Luke muttered to himself, his gaze turning east. He wondered whether those important figures in Noxus had already received the letter, and how their discussions were going.
Based on the four days needed to deliver the letter, if Luke received no response after three more days, he would have no choice but to deal with a portion of the prisoners first.
However, he believed Darkwill would not make such a foolish decision.
Thinking that today was the day for his monthly sign-in, Luke went to find the little blond.
These past few days, she had traveled with the army. There was not actually much she needed to do, but she had joined the logistics unit on her own initiative.
She had learned quite a lot of pharmacological knowledge some time ago, and now it had come in handy. She could help quite a bit with making healing potions and medicinal powders.
She had also received unanimous praise from the logistics unit.
When Luke found her, she had just washed her face with clean water. Water droplets clung to her clean little face, and after she wiped them away, she looked even fresher and prettier.
Luke walked toward her, calmly stretched out his hand, and rubbed her head twice, messing up her blond hair.
Then, before Lux could get angry, Luke turned and left.
A huge question mark practically appeared above Lux's head. She felt as if her anger had not even had time to rise before the whole thing was already over.
This guy was being his usual irritating self. She expressed her disdain, but she was a magnanimous person and would not stoop to his level. After tidying her hair, she headed to the logistics unit full of energy.
After mooching a wave of Miss Crownguard's luck, Luke went to find Poppy.
As two representatives of great fortune, naturally, Luke had to borrow from both of them.
Poppy was not like a certain little blond. No matter how much he rubbed her head, she would not get angry.
And so, after mooching two waves of luck, Luke made his preparations and silently said in his mind, "Sign in."
Sign-in successful.
Detected that this sign-in is a monthly sign-in. Automatically changing to special sign-in.
Congratulations, host, you have obtained Intermediate Magical Comprehension.
Congratulations, host, you have obtained item, Mana Crystal x3.
Congratulations, host, you have obtained high-tier skill, Mana Burn.
Congratulations, host, you have obtained item, War Horn, Marching Speed.
Congratulations, host, you have obtained Basic Skill Upgrade Card x2.
Congratulations, host, you have obtained Intermediate Skill Upgrade Card x1.
System rewards have been stored in the inventory. Host, please check them yourself.
A series of system notification sounds rang out in Luke's mind.
Luke opened the system inventory and began checking them one by one.
The first was Intermediate Magical Comprehension. In a previous sign-in, he had once obtained Basic Magical Comprehension, which had taken him from knowing nothing about magic to the entry stage of magic.
Without hesitation, Luke directly chose to claim it.
In an instant, even more information surged into Luke's mind. Whether it was how to cultivate mental force, how to circulate magic, or how to use magic, Luke gained a deeper understanding.
When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer a mere magic apprentice. His mastery of magic had advanced by a large step.
This put Luke in a very good mood.
Before long, he might also become a grand mage.
Luke looked at the second reward, an item, a Mana Crystal.
It was a blue gemstone that seemed to contain endless magical power. Luke briefly checked the description.
This Mana Crystal indeed contained a considerable amount of magical power, and it could also be used as an item to store magic.
After the magic within it was exhausted, it would automatically absorb magic from the air to replenish itself, though the speed was slow.
Wearing it would also help increase the rate of magical recovery and aid in the cultivation of mental force.
It was quite a good item, and the system had given him three at once.
Luke thought about it and felt he could give one each to Sona and Lux. They were both mages, so they would certainly be able to use them.
He himself did not have much need for one. After all, Luke did not rely on magic to make a living.
Then he looked toward the third skill.
Learnable skill detected, Mana Burn. Learn?
"Learn."
Luke did not hesitate and directly chose to learn it.
In an instant, information about the skill Mana Burn surged into his mind.
After a while, he slowly opened his eyes and revealed a slightly thoughtful expression.
He had just said the Mana Crystals were not of much use to him, and now he immediately had a need for them.
As the name implied, Mana Burn was a skill that relied on burning magical power.
After entering the Mana Burn state, it would directly strengthen every part of Luke's body, but the price was that the magical power in his body would be consumed rapidly.
Magic was tied to mental force, and the result of exhausting mental force naturally did not need to be explained.
At a time like this, having a Mana Crystal could serve as an excellent method of replenishment.
All in all, this was indeed a good skill.
However, for the current Luke, even if he activated it, he could probably only maintain it for a short while.
It could be saved for a critical moment.
Then Luke looked at the fourth reward, another item.
It was called War Horn, Marching Speed.
The name was quite easy to understand. After Luke carefully checked the system description, realization appeared on his face.
"This is good stuff."
He could not help praising it aloud.
After this War Horn was blown, it could directly increase the movement speed of all friendly forces within an area, reduce stamina consumption, and boost positive condition by thirty percent.
The better a person's condition, the more strength they could naturally display.
As for stamina and movement speed, there was no need to say much. They were extremely important.
However, the War Horn could only be blown once per day, and each use lasted only one hour.
It could be used either while marching or while attacking a city. In any case, it was an extremely useful item.
There was not much to look at with the remaining two rewards. Luke used them directly and raised Mana Burn's skill level to LV6.
Today's rewards were truly quite good. Clearly, he had successfully mooched off their luck.
Because of this, Luke's mood was also very pleasant.
After a simple round of organization, the army was ready to set out again. This time, they would drive straight in. What they would face next would be Noxus's counterattack.
Luke naturally was not afraid.
And just like him, tens of thousands of warriors would also press forward without turning back.
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