Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Demacia's army marched east all the way. In half a month, they took several cities in succession.
Noxus's border defenses were fundamentally incapable of withstanding the Demacian army's full offensive.
Basically, once the army reached the city walls, it would not take long for the city to fall. The defensive forces were limited, and after seeing Demacia's grand army, most officers chose to abandon their cities.
If they were only using cold weapons, it was not as if the Noxian soldiers could not hold them off.
But now Demacia was using artillery to attack cities, taking them without losing a single soldier, making defense extremely difficult.
In a direct battle, they were not Demacia's match either.
And the reinforcements sent from the Immortal Bastion still needed quite some time to arrive.
This led to the current situation, every step Demacia's army took along the border, the defending soldiers took one step back.
As a result, the progress could be described as extremely smooth. In half a month, they had also advanced quite a long distance.
August 20.
Demacia's army set up camp in a certain area.
Tianna had not been sleeping much recently. Every day, as long as she slept for five hours, she could welcome the day feeling refreshed.
Perhaps it was because she was in an excellent mood after seeing Demacia's army grow stronger by the day.
Whenever she thought of the army's current achievements, she could not help sighing inwardly. Sure enough, heroes came from the young.
Who could have imagined that the brat who once lay in bed like a salted fish and was unwilling to even go to the Royal Academy would, in the blink of an eye, stir up such an enormous storm?
After this wave of attacks, by now, it could be said that every Demacian had been allowed to hold their head high with pride.
Looking at that boy, even she often found herself thinking that perhaps she really was getting old.
This battle would definitely leave its mark in history. On the day they returned to Demacia, that boy would surely be covered in glory.
"Lev, what do you think Demacia will become in the future?"
Inside the tent, Tianna, who was drinking hot tea, suddenly asked this.
Lev, who was beside her, was slightly stunned when he heard it. He had not expected Tianna, who had always focused only on the present, to ask such an unrealistic question.
After thinking for a moment, he replied, "It will surely be even more prosperous than it is now."
After answering, he suddenly understood why Tianna had asked that.
Many figures could not help flashing through his mind as well. Luke, Jarvan IV, Garen, Fiora, Lux, Wenward, Frey... so many that he could hardly count them all.
Under the leadership of these people, what would the future Demacia become?
Even he grew somewhat curious.
"Prosperous, huh..."
There was a hint of a smile on Tianna's face as she leisurely drank her hot tea.
"Aunt!"
Just then, Lux happily ran in from outside the tent, greeting her with a beautiful smile. "Good evening."
"Good evening."
Tianna nodded with a smile in response. Looking at Lux's graceful and pretty appearance, she felt somewhat relieved.
This girl had also matured quite a bit recently. Although her personality was still as mischievous as ever, she was clearly more sensible now and no longer made people worry so much.
After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Where is that boy? Is he still not back?"
Lux shook her head. "Nope. Aunt, could you not just ask him on the Secret Key?"
"I cannot be bothered."
At the mention of the Secret Key, Tianna's expression immediately soured. She was clearly rather angry.
Just bringing this up annoyed her.
Some days ago, she had accidentally seen the note that boy had set for her. The three words "old woman" had been painfully glaring.
In a fit of anger, she had directly blocked that brat, and she had not added him back even now.
Two days ago, who knew what had gotten into that boy, but he suddenly said he had to go out for a while.
This was Noxian territory, yet he casually said he needed to go out for a while, leaving everyone at a loss.
He was leading an army in war, and while the war was going perfectly well, the commander suddenly abandoned the army and ran off somewhere unknown.
Looking through all of history, this was probably the first time such a thing had happened.
However, with the army as it was now, Luke truly did not have much to do. With her and Lev present, even if Luke was absent, nothing would go wrong.
What Tianna was more worried about was that the boy would stir up trouble somewhere.
After all, this was Noxus's territory, and who knew where he had run off to.
But after thinking about it, Tianna relaxed again.
That boy was extremely capable now, and he was also someone with his own plans. Since he wanted to go out, he clearly had a reason.
The army had been marching continuously for so long. It was time for them to properly rest for a few days anyway, so they could use this chance to find an area and set up camp.
At that moment, she suddenly remembered something and asked, "Lux, what note did you set for me on your Secret Key?"
Lux froze for a moment and immediately replied, "Dear Aunt, of course."
"Is that so?"
Tianna drank her tea and glanced at her.
Lux immediately took out the Secret Key, opened the panel, and showed it to her. "Of course it is!"
Seeing that the note really did say "Dear Aunt," Tianna's smile finally returned.
While she was not paying attention, Lux let out a huge breath of relief.
Fortunately, she had learned from someone else's mistake. After seeing that guy get caught on the spot, she had immediately changed the note.
She had finally escaped disaster.
At this time, the sky was already colored by dusk, with a little while still remaining before night arrived.
The light of the setting sun spilled across a town called Noxando.
Luke had disguised himself and done some simple makeup. Wearing a gray-black cloak, he walked along the street.
At this moment, carriages rushed quickly along the town streets, seeming extremely anxious. There were no small number of pedestrians carrying luggage and dragging their families along with hurried, chaotic steps.
This once-stable city now looked like a complete mess.
"Hurry up and pack. We leave tonight!"
"This place is no longer safe!"
"Merchant convoy transport, full protection the entire way. Starting at three gold, guaranteed safe delivery to other towns!"
"Has Demacia already attacked?"
"Not yet! But soon. I heard they've already reached the Silverrun Plain. In another four or five days, they'll probably attack this place!"
(TN: The Silverrun Plain is supposed to be in Ionia, but the author placed it here.)
"In short, Noxando is not safe anymore. Run if you can!"
"What about our defenders?"
"Come on. Demacia has already breached so many cities. How could this small garrison possibly hold Noxando? Once Demacia attacks, the defenders will definitely retreat again."
"But I heard the higher-ups have already sent a large number of reinforcements."
"Who knows when that will happen?"
Chaotic voices rang out constantly on the street. Many civilians living in Noxando had chosen to flee to other cities as refugees because of the incoming Demacian attack.
It was said that Demacia did not kill prisoners. Even if someone was captured, they would be ransomed back.
But even so, no one wanted to be caught.
Even though Demacia's army would not arrive for several more days, the people in the city were already scrambling anxiously to escape.
However, there were also some who believed Demacia might not necessarily make it here, and they had no plans to leave yet. They were still watching the situation.
Wearing his cloak, Luke walked calmly down the street. He did not exactly seem out of place.
He also saw that some bold people were already using the chaos of war to make huge profits.
Prices in the city had soared. Bread, food, clothes, even clean water could be sold for money.
Unless Demacia was truly about to attack, people like this would not leave easily.
Luke's destination on this trip was an inn called the House of Night. His gaze swept around, and he quickly found the inn.
The entrance looked very empty, without a single figure in sight.
During wartime, businesses like inns that provided lodging suffered a massive blow.
Luke walked into the shop. Behind the counter sat an old man with a worried face, his expression filled with confusion about the future.
Demacia was about to attack, and all his capital had been invested into this inn. Leaving the inn now would be the same as abandoning everything he had built in the first half of his life.
No one would pay for his loss.
It made him nearly want to die.
This was the cruelty of war. It could easily destroy a person's life.
Luke did not care what the old man was thinking and asked, "Has anyone rented room 205 upstairs?"
Only then did the old man notice Luke had entered. Hearing this, he froze for a moment and instinctively replied, "No, sir. You are the only guest who has come these past two days..."
Luke nodded and, without saying another word, took out a gold coin and placed it on the counter. "Then I will rent it."
After saying that, he walked straight toward the second floor.
The old man stared blankly at his back, not expecting someone to come deliver money at a time like this.
This gold coin was practically an unexpected windfall for him.
After all, renting one room would not normally cost this much.
But he was not happy for long before he could no longer smile. Compared with his inn, this one gold coin was still far, far too little.
Luke did not care about that one gold coin. In any case, it would not be long before he earned back tens of thousands of times more.
He arrived on the second floor, walked along the wooden corridor, and found room 205. It was not locked, so he directly pushed the door and walked in.
The room looked somewhat empty. There was only one bed, one wardrobe, sheets, a quilt, a pillow...
Inns were basically like this. Luke was not too particular. He quietly sat on the bed and removed his cloak.
Then he suddenly said, "So how long are you planning to keep secretly watching me?"
As soon as his words fell, with a clatter, the window seemed to be blown open by a gust of wind. Then a slender figure wearing a cloak appeared in the room.
Katarina also removed her cloak. Her red hair spilled down like a waterfall, and there was a hint of confusion in her bright green eyes.
She clearly had no killing intent, and she had hidden herself in advance. So why had this guy still discovered her immediately?
Did this guy's perception have to be this sharp?
She had originally been somewhat proud of the strength she had gained recently.
"Long time no see, Katarina."
Luke turned around and looked at the cold, elegant Katarina standing there. He could also see the travel-worn air about her, and a smile appeared on his face. "You asked me to come, yet I even had to pay for the room."
"You did not have to pay at all."
Katarina was also looking at Luke. She saw the traces of disguise on his face, but she could still recognize his outstanding features at a glance.
It really did feel like she had not seen him in a long time. At this moment, for some reason, an inexplicable feeling surged up in her heart.
Luke sighed. "What can I say? I am someone who follows the rules."
"Heh."
Katarina let out a cold laugh, her voice full of contempt.
This guy following the rules was practically the biggest joke in Runeterra.
Luke acted as if he had not heard it and said, "Let's talk business. Why did you go out of your way to call me here? With our current positions, it is not suitable for us to meet privately one-on-one."
A few days ago, he had suddenly received Katarina's secret letter and had then been invited to this place.
After thinking about it, he had still come.
He felt that even though they had been apart for half a year, she was not so heartless that she would set up a pile of ambushes, right?
"You still came, did you not?"
When it came to serious business, Katarina's expression also became a little more severe. She said, "According to the intelligence I have gathered, Darkwill secretly dispatched a squad of living weapons. He is probably planning to use them to intercept you."
Hearing her words, even Luke was slightly stunned. His eyes were filled with surprise. "Are you preparing to pledge allegiance to Demacia? You traveled all this way just to deliver intelligence. How touching. I will go back and handle your immigration procedures for you."
"You are thinking too much."
Katarina's expression did not change in the slightest. Her cold eyes fell on him. "Next, we will be making a major move. We are preparing to overthrow Darkwill. It just so happens that you can attract his and the Black Rose's attention. If you are defeated by him, it will affect our plan."
She did not mind telling Luke this, because she knew Luke would not leak it.
Luke listened with sudden understanding and smiled. "Still fighting among yourselves at a time like this. As expected of Noxus."
Katarina snorted coldly and said, "Given the current situation, if Darkwill is not pulled down from that position, he will only drag Noxus into an even worse state."
"That is your business."
There was a faint smile on Luke's face. "But you are underestimating Demacia's army a little too much. If we could be defeated that easily, why would I have attacked in the first place?"
Katarina naturally knew Luke's abilities, so she only looked at him and suddenly asked, "How far are you planning to lead your army?"
Hearing this question, Luke asked in return, "When Noxus attacks other nations, does it ever consider that?"
Katarina could not help falling silent, unable to answer.
When Noxus attacked a nation, it had always fought from beginning to end. It did not consider stopping at some point.
Luke's answer was showing her exactly that.
He also had not considered the question of where he would stop.
In other words... he might continue fighting all the way.
Looking at Katarina, whose head had unconsciously lowered, Luke thought for a moment and said, "If your plan succeeds, then next, it seems you will become my new enemies."
Katarina continued to remain silent. She had also thought of this problem.
If they successfully overthrew Darkwill, then they would still have one more problem, and that was the current Demacia.
The positions of both sides were clearly enemies.
For a moment, she did not know what to say.
Given her identity, meeting Luke here was already a very strange thing.
Even the intelligence from earlier was something she had no real need to personally come and tell Luke.
He would definitely have a way to solve it.
But for some reason, she had simply wanted to see him once, and then, as if possessed, she had done this.
When she came back to her senses, she was already here.
What should she do?
Luke was clearly an enemy who threatened Noxus.
Yet she discovered that deep inside her heart, she did not seem to want to be his enemy.
Katarina knew very well how formidable Luke was. Even Swain... might not necessarily be his match.
And beyond that, there seemed to be another reason.
That inexplicable emotion began to surge again, making Katarina's mood grow irritated.
At this moment, Luke studied Katarina's pretty face and changed the topic. "Looks like you have not been resting much recently. The dark circles under your eyes are getting serious."
Looking carefully, it was not hard to see the fatigue on Katarina's face, though she had deliberately erased it with a show of strength.
Katarina raised her head and met Luke's gaze. Then, the next second, she avoided his eyes and said, "There really have been a lot of things to handle recently."
"Eat this."
Luke suddenly tossed out a small bottle.
Katarina instinctively caught it, surprise flashing through her eyes.
"I call it a Vitality Pill. It replenishes stamina and nourishes the mind. It can effectively dispel fatigue."
Luke casually explained, then smiled. "If you trust me, take it. If you do not, just throw it away like trash."
However, Katarina's eyes were full of suspicion, because she had absolutely not forgotten that this man had once drugged her.
And precisely because of that, she had gained many unforgettable memories.
After thinking for a moment, she spoke again. "I called you here for one other thing. You will definitely be interested."
Luke asked curiously, "What is it?"
Katarina looked at him, her bright green eyes flickering slightly. "Intelligence about your mother, Melli."
Luke was slightly startled and said, "Please tell me."
Staring at him, Katarina gave a faint cold smile. "I suddenly do not want to say it. We are enemies, are we not? So what reason do I have to tell you?"
Luke could only say, "That is true. If you do not want to say it, then do not say it."
Katarina observed this guy's expression and found that he really did not seem to care much. She could not help letting out a depressed breath.
After thinking for a moment, she still said, "Melli, full name Melli Losario, was born into a minor noble family in Gukoli. The surname Losario is not very famous, only a small noble family. But I discovered that this noble family has a long history. Leaving that aside, the most important thing is that when I investigated Melli's activities during her time in Noxus, I found something suspicious."
Luke listened seriously, his gaze flickering.
He knew very little about this mother of his.
He only knew that she had come from Noxus. But what had her story in Noxus been?
"She once served as a healer in a church, and her medical skill was quite good. However, it seems she was also doing another job at the same time."
Katarina slowly recounted the intelligence she had sent Talon to gather. "Using her current identity, she collected and passed intelligence for a mysterious organization. Later, on a certain day, she was sent to serve as a healer for an army. I do not know more detailed information than that, but I suspect that organization was very likely..."
"The Black Rose."
Luke finished the sentence and revealed a thoughtful expression.
If Melli had once served the Black Rose, then many things... had suspicious points everywhere.
For example, according to Jarvan III's story, he had "coincidentally" met Melli on the battlefield.
Of course, from Luke's position, he naturally was not suspecting anything.
This was only a reasonable inference.
If Melli's purpose in approaching Jarvan III at first had not been pure, then something must definitely have happened afterward.
Because he could be certain that Russell had been an impersonation by one of the Pale Sorceress's clones.
Based on Russell's reaction at the time, he had definitely known the inside story.
If he knew Melli's identity, then the Pale Sorceress, who also belonged to the Black Rose, would naturally not have thought of ways to drive Melli out of the capital and then kill her.
And in the middle of this, there was another new variable, that a mysterious existence had interfered, causing the Pale Sorceress to fail to notice that Melli had escaped.
If he continued to infer from there, then it was highly possible that Melli had defected from the Black Rose. In order to prevent her from leaking intelligence, the Pale Sorceress had launched a series of attacks against her.
However, Melli had still managed to avoid them and safely give birth to her child, the current Luke.
After receiving this news, Luke was not surprised.
Because he had once imagined this possibility. After all, the Pale Sorceress would not have deliberately targeted Melli for no reason.
Now, even if it was confirmed that Melli had once been a member of the Black Rose, it did not really matter.
Because until her death, that woman had never done a single thing that betrayed Demacia.
Luke could simply let this secret disappear completely.
"It seems you were mentally prepared."
Katarina could tell that Luke did not look surprised and spoke slowly.
"A little."
Luke replied.
After all, how could a woman who had once nearly become Demacia's queen be simple?
It was just that now, the intelligence Katarina provided allowed Luke to gain a truly comprehensive understanding of the truth from back then.
He had known LeBlanc was not telling the truth.
"There is one more thing."
Katarina looked at Luke and said, "Melli's father is still alive."
Upon hearing this, Luke was genuinely a little surprised. "My mother's father?"
Katarina nodded. "That is right. Kevink Losario is still alive, and he currently still lives in Gukoli."
Luke lowered his head and began thinking, suddenly feeling something strange.
After all, he had suddenly gained another blood relative.
Although he had never met him, and had not even known such a person existed before this.
Looking at Luke's thoughtful expression, Katarina continued, "This is what I found after returning to the country. At present, I have not gone to make contact with Kevink either."
Luke raised his head and smiled at her. "I understand. Thank you for telling me all this."
"It is only to repay a little of what I owe you."
Seeing this smile, Katarina turned her face away and said coldly, "Next, I will be very busy, so... this is farewell."
As soon as her words fell, she used Shunpo and vanished from the room.
Luke watched her suddenly leave and sat quietly in place, his gaze shifting toward the window.
As for the question Katarina had asked earlier, he truly had not thought about it.
He also did not know where Demacia would stop fighting, but either way, they would not give up easily.
In that case, next time he and Katarina met, they would have no choice but to be enemies.
After thinking for a moment, he let out a breath.
The remaining matters could be considered when the time came.
As for Kevink, Luke felt that if there was a chance, he should still go meet him.
Katarina raced across the rooftops, moving faster and faster, leaving one afterimage after another, as if she did not dare stop.
She left Noxando very quickly, then stopped in a forest. Her full chest rose and fell constantly as she caught her breath.
Only after reaching this place did she look back toward Noxando. Perhaps because she had overexerted herself, her heart was pounding powerfully.
She had not thought about how she should face Luke if they ultimately overthrew Darkwill's rule.
That guy had led troops to attack Noxus. Naturally, they could not keep ignoring him forever, pretending he was not there. The two sides would have to face each other eventually.
Did she really have to become his enemy?
As an excellent assassin, Katarina felt that at this moment, her heart was in turmoil.
She raised her hand. In it, she was still tightly holding a medicine bottle. She stared at it for a long time, then opened the stopper.
She poured out a brown pill, and without hesitation, threw it directly into her mouth.
The next second, her expression immediately changed, and her brows tightly furrowed. It was bitter as hell.
She forced herself to swallow it. Then she opened the water she carried with her and immediately drank several mouthfuls.
The medicine took effect very quickly. She could clearly feel her abdomen begin to warm, and this heat did not make her uncomfortable.
It continued to spread, gradually flowing like a warm spring stream into the other corners of her body.
Her entire body was wrapped in this comfortable feeling. Katarina immediately felt the fatigue in her body visibly dissipate by quite a bit.
By the time this pleasant feeling disappeared, her body had inexplicably become much lighter.
At this moment, for no reason, a feeling of regret rose in her heart.
She felt that she had left a little too hastily. In order to see that guy once, she had practically crossed all of Noxus.
Yet after meeting him, she had not even stayed for half an hour.
But if she had continued staying there, she would not have known how to get along with him.
Staring toward Noxando, she let out a faint sigh. Then Katarina turned around and stepped forward, gradually speeding up.
This time, she did not look back.
Perhaps there would still be a time when they met again.
As for what came next, she would take things one step at a time.
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became, so she simply stopped thinking.
For now, the most urgent task was still to find a way to get Darkwill killed first.
In the inn room.
The light of dusk spilled in through the window, and the room was quiet.
Luke looked outside. After a long while, he stretched lazily and muttered, "Looks like she really left. And here I rushed for two days just to get here."
He stood up and walked outside while thinking over the intelligence Katarina had given him.
Darkwill had sent out a squad of living weapons.
He understood living weapons to some extent. They were just like Sion, powerful creatures created through forbidden magic.
The difference between the two was that Sion had been forcefully revived with dark magic after his death.
Living weapons, on the other hand, were mostly transformed while still alive, one living person after another turned through experiments into weapons that only knew how to fight.
This was probably the handiwork of the Black Rose.
It seemed that after all this time, the Black Rose still could not sit still.
Naturally, Luke had no reason to fear these living weapons. The Demacia of today was not something that could be stopped by sending out a few mad monsters.
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