"How is that possible!"
Darius suddenly slammed the table, standing up again and startling everyone around him.
But Chen looked at Darius and said very seriously:
"Quiletta's son."
"What?"
Darius crashed back into his chair. He grabbed Chen's collar:
"What exactly is going on?!"
Chen, however, looked at Darius coldly:
"Don't you understand? He is your son, and Quiletta's son. Count how many years she's been away from you, and how old Decius is."
Darius was a qualified warrior and a qualified general of the empire, but he was definitely not a qualified father.
Darius released Chen's collar, waved his fingers, and calculated the time. The Noxus Hand, which was always harder than steel, was sweating, and his lips trembled slightly:
"The age matches…"
"No! That's not how it is!"
"It's just age, there are many children of similar age!"
"How do you know so much?!"
This was the first time the soldiers had seen Darius so distraught.
Chen stared at Darius and sighed deeply:
"I also came to tell you something else this time. In your hometown, Bessilich, Quiletta has incited a rebellion. They want to secede from Noxus."
Darius clenched his fists:
"That's impossible! She's also a loyal warrior of Noxus!"
Chen, however, shook his head:
"You'll know when you go back, this is true. I have no reason to lie to you."
Darius couldn't accept it at all. First his son died in battle, then Quiletta's rebellion. He couldn't believe this fact:
Darius sat down weakly, muttering:
"Why! Why!"
Chen shook his head:
"Why? Because you personally sent your son to the battlefield and let him stay there forever!"
But Darius still clenched his fists and slammed them on the table:
"Is that the reason? She betrays the empire because her son died? It's not like only our child died on the battlefield!
The rise of Noxus is built on countless wars and the blood of countless sons and daughters. Isn't that the truth we've always believed?"
The 'we' Darius referred to here meant himself and his former wife, Quiletta.
Darius originally thought that by dedicating everything to Noxus, even the lives of his loved ones, from a grand perspective, perhaps he was right, but from a personal perspective, he was completely wrong.
There's a classic saying: If you can't even protect your own family, how can you protect the country?
Chen's ideology was different from Darius's. He did not approve of Darius's actions.
For him, Powder was everything!
Chen also knew that any argument with Darius was meaningless. He just offered one more reminder:
"Do you still love her?"
Darius hesitated for a long time, finally loosening his fists and looking at the skin on his hand, scratched by his nails. He forced out a single word from his chapped lips:
"Love."
"Love, then it's easy. If this rebellion is suppressed by others, Quiletta will surely die. Only you can save her life! Save her, no matter what method you use!"
Chen said to him from the bottom of his heart:
"Her current adjutant is your daughter. You still have a family. I believe you can protect them, just as you protect Noxus."
"Whew…"
Darius let out a long breath, then patted his chest and shouted:
"All troops assemble! Return to Immortal Bastion!"
The soldiers quickly assembled. Darius nodded to Chen:
"Chen, thank you."
After speaking, Darius walked out, organizing his troops, "Return to the capital!"
In an instant, the small tavern emptied, leaving almost only Chen and Powder.
Powder, holding food in one hand, shook Chen's arm with the other:
"How do you know so much?"
Chen hastily pulled out the Black Cleaver:
"Who am I? The next Noxus Hand!"
"My goodness, the Black Cleaver is in hand, combat power has risen another level!"
black cleaver: +450 Health +40 Attack Damage +25 Ability Haste
Carve: Dealing physical damage to an enemy applies 5% Armor Reduction for 6 seconds (up to 30% Armor Reduction).
Rage: Dealing physical damage to an enemy grants 3x the number of Carve stacks on the target as Movement Speed for 2 seconds.
Chen held the Black Cleaver, unable to put it down:
"Over four hundred health, forty attack, twenty-five haste, wow! I'm super strong now!"
Powder turned to glance at Chen and grumbled:
"You're the next Noxus Hand, fine. The previous Noxus Hand was already married to his childhood sweetheart at your age and now has two children. What about you?"
"Hmm?"
Chen tilted his neck. Powder was his childhood sweetheart. Chen always felt Powder was hinting at something, but he still had no evidence.
So Chen retorted:
"The previous Noxus Hand also sent his son to die in battle, his wife lost an arm, and the two broke up, why don't you mention that?"
"…"
Powder was speechless for a moment, unable to say anything more. She grabbed a chicken leg and stuffed it into Chen's mouth:
"If you can't speak, then don't!"
"?"
Chen was physically silenced…
After dinner, there happened to be an airship heading to Demacia, and Chen and Powder hurried to catch it.
Chen said to the airship owner:
"Boss, one room with two beds!"
But the boss scratched his head, embarrassed:
"I'm sorry, our twin rooms are full. How about you book a room with a large bed?"
Chen also shook his head:
"Never mind, make it two rooms…"
Suddenly, Jinx's hand pinched the soft flesh on Chen's waist:
"You're that rich? Can afford two rooms? Huh?"
Then Jinx looked at the boss:
"Just one room!"
Then Jinx nodded in satisfaction, muttering to Powder:
"Seeing how shy you are, I've helped you as much as I can!"
Powder was switched back, her little face flushed, looking adorable.
…
At night,
Chen and Powder played cards for a while, then got sleepy and prepared for bed.
Chen lay on the sofa nearby, his eyes narrowing, ready to sleep.
Powder sat on the bed, anxious. Then Jinx jumped out:
"I gave you a chance, but you're useless! I'll do it!"
Jinx threw back the blanket, patted the mattress, and shouted at Chen:
"There's so much space on the bed, an elephant could sleep there, couldn't it? Can't you fit? Get up here!"
Chen hesitated:
"But…"
Jinx suddenly rushed over, grabbed Chen, threw him onto the bed, covered him with the blanket, then slipped in herself and switched back to Powder:
"Last chance! You're on your own!"
Chen felt the small body beside him, a faint warmth radiating, and his whole body trembled slightly, the places that should be taut instantly stiffened.
The two lay side by side, Chen trying to hold back, but Powder's small hand suddenly wrapped around his arm.
Too close, too close!
Powder's face gently buried itself into Chen's shoulder. Chen trembled again; he was about to lose control.
Powder's leg draped over his, and she turned and hugged Chen:
"That…"
"Damn it! I can't hold back!"
Chen pushed Powder down…
From the bed to the sofa, from the sofa to the floor, back and forth, left and right, from top to bottom, finally back to the bed. The next morning, Powder lay on the bed like a dead fish, unable to move, having fallen into a deep sleep.
As Powder fell unconscious, Jinx appeared. Jinx looked at Chen in front of her:
"No way? It's been a whole night! You're strong!"
But Chen seemed to have no intention of stopping. Jinx incredulously raised her hands:
"Chen! Calm down, stop! No!!! At least let me rest! Powder and I are the same person!"
From the bed to the sofa, from the sofa to the floor, back and forth, left and right, from top to bottom, finally back to the bed, until the next night, Jinx also fell into a deep sleep.
Only then did Chen stop, wiping his sweat:
"The enhancement of my body's stats not only increased my combat power but also my combat power, and it can even stack Conqueror? I'm getting stronger and stronger!"
"Jinx is a bit crazier, Powder is a bit cuter, each has their strengths, I'm tired, I should sleep too!"
Only then did he peacefully embrace Powder and fall asleep…