By late September, the Demacian army was stationed in Qualthala, the city above the river mouth in the Varju Mountains.
Over the past half month, the army had crossed the peaks of the Argent Mountains and continued marching east. This morning, they had taken Qualthala.
With this, Demacia had seized almost every Noxian town in the western mountain range.
An entire stretch of the Argent Mountains was by no means a small region.
After all, the army alone had spent months crossing mountains and rivers.
Rain had fallen two days ago as well, and with late autumn already here, the sky was wrapped in a gray haze. After the battle, the empty world seemed to carry a sense of desolation.
Luke stood atop the walls of Qualthala, cool wind blowing against his cheeks.
Far in the distance, he saw a Noxian army slowly approaching.
Then Quinn jogged up from the stairway behind him and reported, "Your Highness, this is a letter from the Noxian army."
She had not opened it and handed it intact to Luke.
After taking it, Luke did not think too much. He slowly opened the letter, took out the paper, and began reading its contents.
The first thing that entered his eyes was a familiar name.
Jericho Swain.
Seeing this name, Luke revealed a thoughtful gaze.
Since Swain was able to write to him, that meant their plan had already succeeded. It seemed the one in charge of Noxus now was no longer Darkwill.
And the letter did indeed explain all of this.
They had overthrown Darkwill's rule and changed the political situation in Noxus.
In order to settle the grievances between Noxus and Demacia, he requested a meeting with Luke.
The wording in the letter was very polite and respectful. Clearly, care had been put into it.
The choice was Luke's. If he chose to ignore this letter, then that meant continuing the war with Noxus.
After finishing the letter, Luke thought briefly and told Quinn, "Reply to Noxus. Tell them I agree to the meeting."
"Yes."
Quinn answered without hesitation and left.
Luke's gaze turned toward the Noxian army in the distance, watching calmly.
Half an hour later, the gates of Qualthala opened. A group slowly entered the city. They wore black armor, but carried no weapons.
The person at the head had white hair and wore a black robe. His gaze did not wander. It was Swain.
Even though he had only brought a few people into Demacia's main camp, he did not show the slightest trace of panic. His expression remained calm as he slowly looked toward the young man across from him, whose appearance was handsome and whose bearing was exceptional.
At just the first glance, his intuition told him this person was Demacia's second prince, Luke.
Seeing him, Swain's eyes flickered slightly. Judging from the aura on his body, was this man the same kind as himself?
Very quickly, he rejected that thought.
Unlike himself, this man also possessed considerable demonic power within him, but it was not a symbiotic relationship.
With only a slight perception, Swain immediately recognized that this prince before him was anything but simple.
"Everyone, please move to the meeting room."
Luke swept his gaze over the few people Swain had brought. Then his eyes paused for one extra second on one cloaked figure before he withdrew his gaze.
Then he turned and led the way.
For this meeting, he had specifically prepared a meeting room.
Heavy troops guarded the surroundings. Soon, everyone entered the meeting room.
Tianna and Lev sat beside Luke.
Opposite them, only Swain sat.
Luke had already told Tianna and Lev about Noxus's coup. Both of them knew the man sitting across from them was now Noxus's current speaker.
At the same time, they did indeed admire his courage. He dared to risk coming into Demacia's main camp.
Seeing the silent atmosphere in the meeting room, Swain was the first to speak. "I proposed this meeting for only one purpose. I hope to establish a truce with Demacia."
Luke asked, "And your reasons?"
"There are many reasons." Swain looked at him. "For example, meaningless casualties need not increase any further."
"I have come with sincerity for this truce. Demacia is still holding tens of thousands of Noxian citizens captive. For the elderly, women, and children, I am willing to redeem all of them at a price of two hundred gold per person. As for young and middle-aged men, three hundred gold per person."
"At the same time, as a representative of the Trifarix, I will announce to all of Noxus that the truce was proposed by me, and I will also make the truce treaty public."
Swain finished speaking slowly.
Luke could naturally hear that Swain's words essentially represented Noxus softening in a disguised way.
After all, such a vast empire naturally could not admit defeat.
Their dignity would not allow them to do so either.
After thinking for a moment, Luke said, "Demacia has come here victorious all the way. If that is all you have, it is not enough."
"What I am about to say is not a threat. I only hope that we can both consider it seriously."
Swain's slightly focused gaze fixed on Luke as he said, "If Demacia is prepared for both sides to suffer devastating losses against Noxus, then please ignore the truce I have proposed."
The "both sides suffer" he spoke of did not mean both sides would merely be badly injured in the end.
It meant that if Demacia insisted on continuing the war, then this would become a fight to the death.
In the end, only one of Demacia and Noxus would remain.
And the one that survived would not be in good shape either.
Everyone seated there naturally understood what he meant.
This was indeed not a threat. After all, at the negotiating table between nations, how could there be such a thing as threats?
Every word spoken was based on each side's conditions.
Tianna smiled faintly at this moment and said, "Aren't you being a little too confident? The final situation may not be one where both sides suffer."
Swain looked at her and shook his head slightly, a trace of seriousness in his eyes. "No. This is not confidence, but resolve. Confidence can no longer influence the situation. Only resolve can. Everyone has the conviction to sacrifice everything for what they believe in. I believe no one understands that better than you Demacians."
Tianna fell silent.
Indeed, no one understood resolve better than Demacia.
It was precisely because generation after generation of Demacian forebears had possessed the resolve to dedicate themselves to the collective that Demacia had stood in Runeterra for so long.
When Swain said those words, what flickered in his eyes was also unwavering resolve.
Perhaps he did not believe the final result would necessarily be mutual destruction, but he would act with that resolve.
Tianna had seen such eyes before.
For someone like this to become the leader of Noxus, he was indeed not simple.
In the end, Tianna did not express an opinion, because she knew the one who should decide was not her, but Luke.
If Luke wanted to fight, then she would accompany him without hesitation and continue fighting.
Lev beside her thought the same.
The same was true of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the city at this moment.
They had long since possessed the resolve Swain spoke of. If Luke chose to continue fighting, not a single one of them would hesitate for even a moment.
Even if it meant giving their lives.
"I will give you an answer tomorrow. For now, everyone should rest here for the night."
Luke looked at Swain and spoke.
Swain gazed at him, then nodded. "Very well."
The meeting did not last long. In total, it probably did not even take twenty minutes.
Because although it was called a meeting, it was really just an opportunity for both sides to assess each other's strength.
Before this meeting began, both sides already understood enough about one another.
Swain and his few attendants were temporarily kept there, but they were also given a certain degree of freedom and could move within a fixed area.
However, they would still be watched closely to prevent them from taking the chance to cause trouble.
But Luke knew that Swain's purpose in coming this time was probably genuinely to negotiate peace.
After leaving the meeting room and walking along the street, Luke asked, "Aunt, what do you think?"
Tianna smiled. "You already have an answer in mind, don't you?"
"Looks like you really do understand me, Aunt."
Luke smiled, his gaze looking toward the distant horizon. "We've already tasted enough sweetness. There's no need to go taste the parts that aren't sweet."
Luke had actually expected this day to come all along.
Whether Noxus's current speaker was Darkwill or Swain, this step would arrive sooner or later.
Only, Swain handled matters far more decisively than Darkwill.
After taking power, he did not hesitate for even a moment and quickly found the best way to resolve this problem.
For that, he did not hesitate to personally come to negotiate peace.
If it had been Darkwill, that arrogant, self-important Grand General would probably only have realized what to do next after truly feeling Demacia's heavy blow and paying countless sacrifices.
For both sides now, a truce was indeed the best choice.
After all, even for Luke, his goal from the start had not been to destroy a nation. He had merely calculated the timing and found the most suitable moment to attack.
During this period, Darkwill had just invested a large number of troops into Ionia, his heart was filled with thoughts of the elixir of immortality, and the Black Rose had been completely exposed to the public eye. At the same time, a major political shift had been brewing in the dark.
One could say that during this period, Noxus as a whole appeared especially busy, with everyone busy with their own affairs.
For Demacia, this was naturally a rare opportunity.
But now things were different. Swain had seized power, and Noxus's entire political situation would be reshuffled.
When everyone's gaze aligned toward one person, that was also when the collective's cohesion would be at its strongest.
Just as Swain had said, Demacia's current strength did indeed seem stronger than Noxus's.
But Noxus had likewise stood in Runeterra for centuries.
Such a powerful empire had deep enough foundations. In other words, they could afford a war where lives were traded for lives.
And the current Noxus was surely still hiding several trump cards.
Leaving aside anything else, the one living beneath the Immortal Bastion alone would obviously not sit back and watch Noxus be beaten into destruction.
Demacia had fought its way here while paying very few sacrifices, yet gained such a large stretch of the Argent Mountains. It could be said they had already made a truly bloody profit.
Even if they continued fighting from here and might still win, it definitely would not be as easy as it had been until now.
Luke had no need to pile up victory with human lives. Every Demacian warrior's life was precious.
What they should actually do now was slowly digest these lands and thoroughly make them Demacia's own.
Having reached this point, Luke felt it was also time to begin the next step of the plan.
Evening arrived.
On the city wall.
Swain stood quietly atop the wall, looking out toward the direction of Noxus. He could not help sighing softly in his heart.
Standing in a city that had once belonged to Noxus, looking toward his homeland, this feeling was deeply helpless and powerless.
But there was indeed no way around it.
If he could have returned a few months earlier, perhaps the current outcome would have been different.
Perhaps this was fate.
That prince gave him a feeling of being anything but simple. And after personally seeing Demacia's powerful soldiers and generals, he understood even more what kind of enemy Noxus was facing.
Unlike all the enemies he had encountered before, Demacia was the most special among them.
At present, under Darkwill's rule, Noxus had spent years waging wars in all directions, investing massive amounts of troops and resources.
On top of that, in this battle against Demacia, they had lost hundreds of thousands of troops for nothing, as well as countless money and resources.
After such losses, they truly needed some time to recover.
If the war continued, it would probably only turn into the worst possible result.
They could not gain any advantage against Demacia. This was something they had no choice but to admit.
Looking across the history of Noxus, this might also be the first time such a thing had happened.
Swain's mood was especially heavy. He stared toward the direction of Noxus for a long time without looking away.
Night soon arrived.
The nighttime temperature grew a little cooler, and a light breeze blew.
On top of a tall tower, Katarina sat quietly, her absent eyes looking into the distance as her red hair drifted with the wind.
At this moment, she thought of nothing. She only looked at the scenery before her eyes, lost in thought for a long time.
Then she sensed a figure land behind her, but she did not turn around and remained sitting quietly.
Only when he sat down beside her did Katarina turn her head and look at that gentle, handsome face.
"You left so quickly last time. We didn't even get to talk much."
Luke spoke slowly in the cool wind.
Katarina was silent for a moment before saying, "There doesn't seem to be anything left for us to talk about."
"There is. We have one right now, don't we?"
Luke smiled and said, "The truce Swain proposed. Do you think I should agree to it?"
Katarina stared at him, but she did not give an answer.
Naturally, she hoped he would agree. That way, they would no longer be enemies.
But could she truly guide Luke's will?
Clearly not.
After thinking for a moment, she still turned her head and looked forward, saying coldly, "Why are you asking me about something you should decide yourself?"
Hearing this, Luke looked at her with complicated eyes, sighed softly, and revealed an apologetic expression. "The grievances between Demacia and Noxus can't be resolved so easily. I'm sorry, I…"
Hearing his words, Katarina's heart ached as if she already knew something.
Before Luke could finish speaking, she suddenly leaned up and blocked his mouth with her own, cutting off his words. Then she quickly separated from him.
In the blink of an eye, she had already risen and retreated, standing atop the tower. Hazy moonlight spilled over her body, and her emerald eyes carried a trace of sorrow and resolve.
"I was born Noxian, so I will fight for Noxus." She looked at Luke and cruelly drew her dagger. "Our positions are different, so from now on, we are enemies."
On one side was her homeland, Noxus.
On the other was Luke, the one who stirred all her joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. During the months she had not seen him, she had long since understood her own feelings.
His face always flashed through her mind, and she would think of everything about him from time to time. This made Katarina realize that she had fallen in love with someone she should not love.
And he had led troops to attack Noxus.
Before Darkwill was overthrown, she could still find reasons and excuses.
But now, caught between the two, she had no choice but to make a decision.
In the end, she still could not abandon Noxus. It was the place where she had grown up since childhood, and the affection planted there was difficult to sever.
Her heart ached faintly. She had never felt this before, as if it had been cut open by a knife. The pain pierced straight through her heart.
Katarina knew she was no match for Luke, so she wanted to end this sinful bond between them here and now.
"This is getting as dramatic as a soap opera."
Luke looked at Katarina's wavering eyes under the moonlight and smiled. "I hadn't finished talking yet. Can you not get so worked up?"
Katarina froze for a moment and stared hard at Luke.
Luke continued where he had left off. "I already went to find Swain earlier and agreed to the truce."
The moment his words fell, Katarina froze. "What did you say?"
"I already agreed to the truce."
"Then why did you say sorry?"
"Can't it be a habit?"
"A habit, you…"
Katarina forcibly swallowed the rest of her words, gritting her teeth and glaring at Luke as she felt the fire in her chest surging upward.
A familiar feeling. A familiar flavor.
This damn bastard had been messing with her on purpose just now, hadn't he?
"Don't glare at me like that." Luke showed an innocent smile. "Didn't you just take the chance to harass me?"
"Me? Harass you?"
Katarina asked in disbelief, her eyes practically spitting fire as she stared at this guy.
Damn it. She really had gotten a little carried away just now.
She had even been planning to end her own life.
"Forget it, forget it. I forgive you." Luke revealed a smile that made one want to punch him, then continued, "Although I agreed to the truce, I also made a demand of him. From now on, you must continue serving as my bed-warming maid. The moment Swain heard it, he agreed immediately."
Hearing this, Katarina's brows immediately furrowed, and she said angrily, "What gives him the right to make decisions for me?"
She immediately prepared to move and go argue with Swain.
But then she thought again and looked suspiciously at Luke.
"That's right. I just wanted to tease you."
Luke acted as if he did not see Katarina grinding her teeth and smiled. "You're one of the leading figures of the Trifarix now. Having you come warm my bed as a maid would be too much of a waste of talent."
Katarina did not answer. To be honest, she did somewhat miss that time from before.
Seeing her still standing there, Luke patted the space beside him. "Don't be so tense. After the truce, we won't be enemies. In the proposed treaty, Demacia and Noxus will enter a period of peaceful coexistence for some time."
Hearing this, Katarina finally remembered that. She put away her dagger and sat beside Luke again.
But very quickly, a bit of awkwardness crept over her entire body.
After all, just one minute ago, she had still looked like she was ready to die.
Between Noxus and Luke, she had chosen the word or.
After all, no matter which choice she made, she would definitely regret it in the end.
So she had thought she might as well fight Luke here, and after losing, end it with her death.
In the end, this bastard had deliberately spoken in a tone that invited misunderstanding.
Yet at this moment, Katarina felt relieved in her heart, as if the boulder pressing down on her shoulders had suddenly been lifted.
Even if it was indeed as Luke said, the grievances between Demacia and Noxus could not be easily resolved.
At least for the coming period, they would no longer be enemies, wouldn't they?
Perhaps, during this time, she could find a way to reconcile the two sides.
In that case, they would never have to become enemies.
While distracted, Katarina suddenly felt another hand cover hers, then hold it inside.
She instinctively struggled once. After failing to pull free, she gave up.
Feeling the warmth coming from that large hand, her heart was soon occupied by a strange sensation that suddenly rose within her.
It felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest.
She clearly knew this guy was no good, but before she knew it, her mind and heart had both been occupied by him.
"You looked pretty cool just now."
Luke smiled as he spoke.
"Don't mention it."
Katarina glanced at him irritably. "You're proud of pushing me that far, aren't you?"
"I don't mind. Besides, I just wanted to tease you. Who knew you would react so strongly?"
Luke said very innocently.
Seeing Katarina's eyes gradually grow cold, he immediately said, "Fine, this one was my fault. To express my apology, I willingly volunteer to be harassed again."
Hearing this, Katarina actually laughed in anger and spat coldly, "You really have no shame."
The next second, she raised her head and swiftly leaned over.
Under the bright moonlight, atop the tower, this kiss seemed especially long.
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