"You really pulled it off!"
Heimerdinger jumped up and thumped Caleb on the back.
The situation just now had made even someone as experienced as him break out in a cold sweat. The strength of the man before them, and the demon inside his body peering into everyone, in truth, they had all felt it. They simply had a tacit understanding not to speak of it. Under that intense unease, even opening one's mouth had been quite difficult.
"It's a good thing you could negotiate with him so fluently."
From the moment Caleb finished his first speech, Mel had understood his intentions.
The Twin Cities did need to become independent, that much was true, but Swain's speed had still exceeded Caleb's expectations. Caleb had thought that, if the other party arrived by ship, then whatever Piltover's military strength looked like by then was hard to say, but Zaun, at least, would have already prepared alchemical fire canisters and all sorts of defensive equipment. When the time came to play urban warfare with an army, the Zaunites, who knew the terrain well, would have countless ways to fight the invading troops.
But now it was different. Swain had come directly to Piltover. That was both a friendly way of interacting and a show of force. If he fully unleashed his demonic power, Janna would probably have to step in before they could stop his assassination attempt. Not to mention Talon was behind him too. Even for Caleb, summoning Yaanogel would not have been a solution. After all, the other side had put all his skill points into offense, which would not help the situation.
If nearly all the councilors died in the Council Hall…
Then Piltover would be pretty much finished.
So all the way until the very end, when Swain left, he had remained in an extremely composed state.
"What about Shurima?"
Lucide's question poured a bucket of cold water over the councilors, who had still been celebrating.
"Uh, about that…"
Looking at the troubled crowd, Caleb sighed along with them.
"I have a way to contact the higher-ups over there. I'll go negotiate with them."
"We'll leave it to you!"
"This young man will surely achieve great things in the future!"
"You truly are the pride of the Twin Cities."
When politicians discovered that there was something they could not solve themselves, passing it off to someone else was the most correct choice. If it succeeded, then it meant they had sharp eyes and trusted the right person. If it failed, well… hehe…
Then, of course, it would be because the other party lacked ability and deceived them into giving him their trust.
Although Caleb was the lord of a city and had astonishing appeal, when it came to building momentum and publicity, he had actually always been inferior to the councilors.
Take the Harrowing brought by the Black Mist, for example. Aside from Zaun's reinforcements, Caleb should have been counted as the one who contributed the most. But in the newspapers, other than headlines praising the Twin Cities as one family, the other important sections were all about the councilors.
For example, Councilor Salo accepted an interview and donated a huge sum of money for rebuilding homes. Or Councilor Mel woke up in the hospital and said words that moved people deeply. There was even Morey setting up a stage, with Seraphine singing on it to inspire everyone's passion.
As for the news that Caleb had gone to Shurima, it stayed in a small corner of the newspaper for only one day. There was not even any news when he returned. Everything depended on word of mouth.
There were also Caleb's embarrassing public moments, like walking all the way down the street with a stupid grin on his face…
When it came to reputation, the major families cherished their public image greatly. Only Caleb was carefree and careless, going wherever the road took him without ever thinking much about that side of things.
"Young man, you really have worked hard."
Before leaving, Heimerdinger silently patted Caleb on the shoulder.
Caleb even had to squat down and do his best to cooperate with him.
In truth, Caleb also knew about these things. Occasionally, when he grew curious about what Silco was reading in prison, he would also support the business of roadside vendors. But he really did not have the time or energy to manage these matters.
If he told everyone right now that there would be a Harrowing that swept across the entire world, probably everyone would look at him as if he were an idiot.
Well… maybe some people would not.
Or, for example, if he told everyone that the thing called the Void in the south would return sooner or later…
Right… those words would be more credible coming from Ryze.
Caleb had always been working to save people from disasters, not to obtain fame or love.
The world was about to end. He did not have the leisure to run his own publicity.
Every day, he worked hard to practice magic, adjust to his weapons, and improve his combat skills. Even if that catastrophe arrived, at least he could protect himself. Maybe he could also protect one or two… three or four… perhaps even ten, a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand other people?
Caleb had always felt that he was a selfish person, a reckless person. But he had experienced peaceful prosperity, so naturally he knew that war would not bring anything good. Only Noxus, a nation whose orientation was almost completely different from everyone else's, would be obsessed with war.
War meant constant loss until one side withdrew.
It did not mean anything else.
Caleb was willing to eliminate war and act boldly, rather than play it safe and enjoy wealth and glory. Otherwise, if he had made a different choice that time and caused the Twin Cities to go to war completely, he might even have been able to sell Hextech weapons for a good price.
"Thinking about something?"
Kai'Sa's face entering his view made Caleb freeze for a moment.
"Why are you here?"
Caleb asked blankly.
"Why can't I be here?"
Kai'Sa raised her beautiful brow and asked back.
"I'm not running away…"
Looking at Kai'Sa's serious expression, Caleb could not help smiling too.
The rumors about him meeting with the Grand General of Noxus were probably too shocking. Even Kai'Sa, slow as she could be, had started worrying.
"Let's go."
Caleb smiled at her, then ran toward Zaun.
He still had things to ask Yaanogel.
"With your situation, explaining it to the emperor should not be a big problem."
Unlike before, when Yaanogel possessed Caleb, this time he simply grew an eye and an ear. From Caleb's left hand, the one holding the spear, two bloodlines stretched out, and the extra eye, ear, and mouth were connected to him by those thin strands of flesh.
"The key is that Noxus will inevitably clash with you. When the time comes, it'll be difficult for us stuck in the middle."
Caleb did not hide anything and spoke bluntly.
"If that Noxus continues expanding blindly, then running into us is practically inevitable."
"When I return, I can explain it to the emperor and ask him to prioritize expanding toward the southern and central territories."
Yaanogel muttered thoughtfully.
He understood very clearly whether the two sides would fight, but when it came to specific measures and foresight, he had no particular opinion.
"That alone is already a huge help."
Caleb also let out a breath of relief.
Shurima, recovering and building itself back up, and Noxus, expanding while fighting on multiple fronts.
At the very least, for a short time, there was no need to worry that a collision between the two would drag the Twin Cities into disaster.
By then, if the computer and Mecha Malphite were rushed to completion, and if the quality had no problems, the Twin Cities could properly declare independence.
According to Caleb's guess, Noxus should not be able to compare to Shurima at its peak. But what level of strength Shurima's expedition could actually achieve would depend on whether Azir, the awakened emperor, governed wisely during this period.
"The road ahead is still long…"
After those sanity-draining organs returned to his body, Caleb could not help letting out a long sigh.
It seemed his journey was still far from the point where he could rest.
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