As the footsteps in the distance gradually approached and died down, many figures appeared on the rocks .
They surrounded everyone from a high position, turning the place into a desperate situation.
But Irelia no longer cared about these killers from the Brotherhood.
She just looked at Master Qingxia in pain and confusion, and asked unwillingly: "I... am the enemy of equilibrium?"
"Yes." Master Qingxia confirmed calmly.
Irelia was suddenly at a loss.
She never thought that Qingxia, whom she regarded as a mentor, would evaluate her like this.
"Bah!" Xia, who was innocently caught in the trap, didn't buy it at all. She spat with disdain: "Humans are hypocritical. It's obviously just a fight for power and profit out of selfish desires, but they insist on calling it justice!"
Xia cursed very harshly.
But Master Qingxia remained unmoved.
He said: "Justice? No. I never said that what I was after was justice."
"What I pursue is justice and balance. I want to maintain the balance of this nascent land and protect the safety and continuation of all souls and life forms in Ionia."
"In the face of justice, nothing is unsacrificable. Including myself, and also..."
Master Qingxia looked at Irelia: "You."
"I..." Irelia asked in pain, "What did I do wrong? Master Qingxia!"
"Your mistake is that you are too naive to see the situation clearly, but you are also powerful enough to influence it." Master Qingxia no longer concealed his opinion.
He thought Irelia was naive.
It is impossible for Ionia to go back to the past, but Irelia still naively fantasizes that as long as she can kill the "virus" brought by Noxus, she can restore Ionia to the peaceful society before the war just like restoring a computer to factory settings.
"But is this possible?" Master Qingxia questioned, "Ionia has been able to maintain peace for nearly ten thousand years because all forces can maintain a stable balance under the constraints of the Way of Balance."
In the past, there was no country or army in Ionia. All forces stayed peacefully on their own piece of land and implemented regional autonomy managed by clans and sects.
Since the strength of different regions is not much different, they can only coexist peacefully.
Even if one or two ambitious and powerful people occasionally appear and want to start a war and conquer the world...
As long as the scale of the war increases and more people die, this ambitious person will immediately become a historical sinner for destroying the balance and become the public enemy of Ionia.
The people will curse him, his subordinates will betray him, and all forces will compete to attack him.
There are such cultural and traditional restrictions, coupled with the balance of power between the various forces, and the silent sacrifices of the poor peasants and untouchables that most people don’t notice, or don’t care about even if they notice...
Peace was maintained for such a long time.
“But now, things are different.”
"The Noxians changed everything."
The iron hoof of Noxus trampled on the internally balanced local equilibrium, crushed the national anti-war cultural tradition, and destroyed everyone's belief in the way of balance.
In this war that lasted for several years, some clans and sects were wiped out in the flames of war;
Some sects and schools, however, were reborn from the ashes in the war, rose against the tide, and grew into overlords of huge size.
The soldiers and people who followed them were no longer extremely opposed to the war, but actively and fanatically supported it.
Then, the masters suddenly discovered:
War may disrupt the balance and lead to invasion by evil spirits;
But if you don't fight, your enemies will probably kill you before Ionia is destroyed by evil spirits.
What's more, war can bring so many benefits. It can allow them to own more land, more subjects, more resources, and become heroes praised by everyone and kings worshipped by everyone.
"Do you understand?" Master Qingxia sighed, "We can't go back! Ionia has changed!"
Since Ionia is already full of warlords and wars, it has become the second Noxus.
If you want to end the chaos and restore peace, you should learn from Noxus!
More than 900 years ago, when Noxus was first founded, the situation in the Loxhi Plains was even more chaotic than Ionia is today.
So how did they do it?
The emperor used the feudal system to unite a group of powerful tribes, gradually formed a powerful imperial center in the war, and finally used the always strong imperial center to suppress local warlords, forming a stable empire with an immortal fortress as its reverence.
Over the past 900 years, although there were occasional rebellions within the empire, on the whole, peace and stability were maintained.
The Kingdom of Demacia, which successfully lasted for 700 years, and the Shurima Empire, which lasted for 3,000 years, did almost the same thing in history.
With these three precedents of implementing feudal systems and successfully maintaining long-term internal stability, who else can Ionia learn from if not them?
"I..." Irelia was shaken by what she said.
But she still stubbornly retorted: "But the Shurima Empire was eventually destroyed, wasn't it?"
"Shurima did manage to survive for 3,000 years, but after that came the Darkin War, which was launched by Shurima warlords and lasted for 1,500 years and almost destroyed the entire world."
"And we in Ionia have managed to maintain peace for nearly 10,000 years."
Compared to this, it seems that the method passed down by our ancestors is the best.
The systems of Shurima, Noxus, and Demacia don't work, so Ionia should return to tradition.
"Return to tradition?" Master Qingxia only asked her: "How do you plan to return?"
“As long as we work together to defeat those warlords and careerists who are unwilling to return to tradition…” Irelia said.
"Childish!" Master Qingxia interrupted her coldly.
Irelia’s idea is correct, but it is also a correct method of “putting an elephant in the refrigerator” that has no practical possibility of being implemented.
Because she first has to face a problem:
"Work together?" Master Qingxia asked, "How do you get everyone to work together, to give up the benefits they have already gained, and to follow you to fight for your ideals?"
"Ask Master Ravi, ask them—"
Qingxia ignored Master Ravi's ugly expression and used him as an example:
"Are they willing to work with you?"
“…” Irelia fell silent.
She finally realized that she had overlooked something.
She fantasized that the masters could help her eradicate those ambitious warlords who were destroying traditions.
But the masters and seniors around her are actually ambitious warlords who destroy traditions.
During these years of fighting, the masters have become rich and powerful, and do not want to go the past.
She wants to return to tradition and overthrow these masters and predecessors!
"Why, why is it like this..." Irelia, who is strong by nature, couldn't help but let her tears wet her eyes.
These were not tears of weakness, but of regret.
She looked at Master Ravi in ​​confusion, and at the six seniors with guilty looks on their faces.
The people before her were all heroes of Ionia, masters she once respected and comrades she once trusted, but now, they had all betrayed their past ideals.
"Master Ravi, why?" Irelia wanted an answer: "In order to protect your compatriots and Navoli, you were seriously injured four times, on the verge of death twice, and lost three sons and one daughter..."
"Did you pay such a high price just for land and power?"
Master Ravi was a little embarrassed at first.
But soon, he retorted indignantly: "Yes, I paid such a high price for Ionia—— "
"That's why I should get enough in return, right?"
Tam said he was corrupt, and Irelia also felt that he had changed.
But Master Ravi felt that all this was what he deserved:
"Our Sharma family lost so many descendants in this war and made such great sacrifices. Why can't we get more land and power as compensation for our Sharma family?"
"Why can Noxians earn privileges by working hard, but we can only get worthless honors by working hard?"
"We've been fighting for so many years, so what's wrong with enjoying yourself?"
Irelia: “…”
She looked at Master Ravi, whose temperament had changed drastically, then looked at Qingxia, who had a firm attitude, and the other masters who were also opposed to him.
Suddenly, she asked, "Besides the seven of you, are there any other undercover agents in the resistance?"
"No." Master Qingxia told her frankly.
“But does it matter?”
"Except for the three young men from the Wind Sword School..." Qing Xia glanced at Yi, Yasuo, and Yongen with regret: "The remaining 24 masters are no longer your comrades."
"Even if they don't betray you, they can't continue to accompany you."
“……” Irelia was desperate.
But she did not despair because she was surrounded.
Instead, she finally realized that her ideal was just a joke and a fantasy that could never be achieved.
Even if she survived today and walked out of here, she would not be able to restore Ionia to its previous state.
Times have changed.
Her heart is not with her.
"A new era requires a new balance."
"And Irelia, you are just a remnant of the old times."
At this moment, a deep voice sounded from across the air.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw two men appear in front of them one after another, surrounded by a group of Brotherhood killers.
Everyone knew one of them, the notorious traitor to the Balance in Ionia, the Shadow Lord, Zed.
The other person, who made Jiedu follow him respectfully, was a mysterious old man wearing a mask.
"Master." Qing Xia nodded to him.
"Master!" Ravi and others also said the same.
"He is..." Irelia speculated in her heart: "The leader of the Brotherhood?"
She also had some understanding of the situation of the Navoli Brotherhood.
The founder of the Navoli Brotherhood voluntarily abdicated two years ago and handed over the position of leader to a mysterious and powerful man who always wore a mask.
No one knows the true identity of this new leader. All we know is that he is very powerful and has strong means, which has enabled the Navoli Brotherhood to grow rapidly in the past two years.
Irelia has always been curious about who this master who suddenly appeared is.
Now it seems...
"Master Qingxia, Master Ravi..." Irelia observed their expressions with concern: "You all know him?"
"Yes." Master Ravi sighed softly: "If I hadn't known the true identity of this master, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to make this decision."
They all knew this mysterious leader, and were very familiar with him in the past.
"Since everyone here is one of us, there is no need for me to hide my identity anymore." At this time, the masked old man spoke: "Irelia——"
"Look, who wants you dead?"
As he spoke, the old man took off his mask.
Irelia's eyes widened in disbelief and she instantly fell into the abyss of despair.
Because the old man in front of me...
If even he says that Irelia is the "enemy of the balance", then Irelia herself will think that she is the enemy of the balance who should be eliminated.
Because he is the one who holds the highest authority to interpret , the leader of the Church of Balance, and the former Eye of Twilight.
"Master Kushuo?!"