Chapter 374: Movie King Swain and Director Levi
The movie ends sadly with Swain's disabled and old back.
The ending song sung by Seraphine sounded melodiously, followed by a long list of credits, which lasted for several minutes.
During these few minutes, Catalina, like other viewers, was immersed in the story of the movie and couldn't extricate herself.
Everyone knew that Swain's journey was over. He was a ruined man, no longer able to continue his legend.
But the end of the Black Rose is far from over. The enemies that the Leader will face in the future are them——
If, they really exist.
then……
The moment the lights in the screening room came on, the eyes of almost everyone present, as well as the camera lenses of Zaun reporters, were focused on Swain.
There was also a big figure who was a leader, who appeared just in time as the movie ended and walked slowly towards Swain.
The person who came was Levi.
"President Levi!" the audience exclaimed.
"Haha, everyone, don't look at me." Levi smiled and directed everyone's attention: "I'm not the protagonist today."
As he spoke, he seemed to have been waiting for this moment for a long time, and walked in front of Swain under the watchful eyes of everyone.
"Mr. Swain," Levi asked him in public, "What do you think of this story I wrote?"
“You…” Swain’s face turned pale and he was unable to speak.
Everyone's looks suddenly became more strange.
Because of his abnormal behavior that was almost inappropriate, it almost confirmed the authenticity of the movie.
Finally, after a strange silence, Swain finally organized his words and tried to refute: "This, this is all your imagination, President Levi! The whole thing is just a story you made up. It doesn't mean anything at all!"
The rebuttal was made, but the words were extremely pale.
Everyone could see that Swain's mind was in a state of confusion.
At this time, Levi continued to question: "Mr. Swain, I know that you are loyal to the Empire and to your Majesty."
"But do you really think that everything in this story is false? Don't you want to confirm it——"
"Is it true that His Majesty Darkwill, to whom you swore allegiance, is controlled by the Black Rose?"
“I…” Swain’s breathing was rapid and his face was pale.
Levi's murderous questioning continued: "You should be able to see that the content of this movie is true. It's just that there are some secrets that even you are kept in the dark."
"Then, if His Majesty Darkwill is really just a prisoner controlled by the Black Rose as I said..."
"Then why are you so secretive and afraid to find out the truth? Are you serving the empire or betraying the monarch who once trusted you?"
"Enough! I won't allow you to slander His Majesty and Noxus!" Swain roared angrily.
He seemed to have been completely overwhelmed by the movie, and he couldn't even maintain his superficial calm.
The audience at the scene saw this scene, and the reporters' cameras also recorded the moment he broke through the defense.
Finally, Swain couldn't take it anymore.
"Let's go!" He stood up and left with his guards, escaping in a panic.
His back as he left looked so hunched, weak, and ridiculous.
Who would have thought that such a clown who couldn't even face the truth was once the high-spirited pillar of the empire in the movie.
"General Swain..." Katarina watched him disappear from her sight.
She instinctively wanted to keep this former hero, but she felt powerless. Then the lines from the movie quietly echoed in Catalina's mind.
"The Empire..." she murmured, "cannot win this battle."
…
A few minutes later, on the rooftop of the cinema.
Swain, who had just fled in a panic in front of everyone, appeared here again with a calm expression.
The person standing next to him at this moment was none other than Levi, the leader’s president.
It’s just that... the relationship between the two is not at all as tit-for-tat and tense as what the audience just saw.
A crow stood on Swain's shoulder, and a bluebird stood on Levi's shoulder. The two stood side by side on the railing of the rooftop, just like two bird lovers exchanging pet-raising experiences.
"Thank you for playing such a role," Levi said, "Comrade Swain."
“I act every day, it’s nothing,” Swain replied calmly.
"Haha." Levi laughed, and then asked with concern: "But, are we too hard in our performance today?"
"Being broken in public because of a movie is not in line with your character as the wise general Swain."
“A wise general? Haha…” Swain also laughed, and his laugh was full of disdain: “I am no longer a wise general.”
His character has collapsed long ago.
In the eyes of ordinary people, he is just an old loser who can't even beat a 14-year-old girl.
In the eyes of the Black Rose and the aristocratic families, he was a retired old man who had become disabled and lost all his energy, and was just waiting to die.
Only the soldiers who knew the truth about Presidium's defeat, his former students and trusted generals, would still respect him.
Since he has fallen to this point, it is not surprising that his defense would be broken.
"Also, we don't need to convince the enemy of our performance. As long as the Noxian soldiers are willing to believe it, that's enough."
“And they…” Swain paused: “They will definitely believe it.”
"That's true." Levi nodded.
The rumor that there is a deep state in the empire sounds ridiculous , but the soldiers of Noxus will definitely believe it.
Because what the soldiers need is not the authenticity of the story, but an enemy that allows them to vent their conflicts.
In the past, this enemy was Demacia, Ionia, Shurima... and so on.
But in the past two years, the empire has been unable to fight.
Not only did the soldiers fail to successfully divert conflicts through external conquests, but they also paid a heavy price for these repeated failures.
If the contradiction cannot be diverted, it will only explode internally.
"If you ask the soldiers to curse the emperor in public, they will never dare to do so. If you ask them to name and curse the nobles who started the war, they will inevitably be timid."
"But if the 'Black Rose' is used as a target, everyone will be happy to shoot this enemy."
The Black Rose, a conspiracy group behind the scenes, is the perfect target for diverting conflicts.
Also, opposing the Black Rose is only opposing an illegal underground society in the empire, not opposing the Emperor, let alone Noxus.
This makes the soldiers' opposition naturally just and legitimate.
Everyone will actively unite under the banner of "Respecting the Emperor and Fighting the Traitors" and march towards the Immortal Fortress.
"In this way, once public opinion has fermented thoroughly in the military, the coup can be successfully launched," said Swain.
"What about the Black Rose?" Levi was a little worried about Swain's personal safety: "If they see through your performance today, you might get into some trouble."
“Yeah, just some troubles.” Swain didn’t care.
At this point, it doesn’t matter whether Black Rose knows that he is planning a coup or not.
It’s best if the enemy doesn’t know; even if they do, it won’t have much impact.
Because Swain has already taken control of the situation.
"The empire's external expansion has reached its limit. Almost everyone is waiting for an opportunity, an excuse, to stop the mad king in the Immortal Fortress."
"And now, we have given such an excuse - the Black Rose."
At this point, even if Swain did not plan a coup, a rebellion would surely break out within the empire.
Without Swain, there would naturally be Sveco, Skoda, and so on...
"The soldiers' resentment has accumulated to the extreme. It only takes one last spark to completely detonate this powder keg."
Looking at the current world situation, the straw that breaks the camel's back is most likely to occur in:
"The Barue battlefield." Levi smiled knowingly.
If the Empire's most elite 100,000 troops in Ionia were to be wiped out by the Leader's all-out counterattack, the Darkwell regime would probably lose the last of its military morale and be completely overthrown amid the battle cries of "Respect the Emperor and Punish the Traitor."
Noxus can no longer withstand another humiliating defeat.
“That’s right.” Swain nodded slightly.
The fate of the vast empire of Noxus seemed to be decided by the casual conversation between the two.
At this time, Swain mentioned another little thing:
"President Levi, there is something wrong with that girl."
"Who?" Levi was a little confused.
“She.” Swain looked down at the couple who had just walked out of the cinema. “Garen Crownguard’s girlfriend.”
Levi was a little surprised when he heard this: "Garen's girlfriend?"
Galen has a girlfriend?
Wait...isn't Garen's girlfriend Katarina from the aristocratic faction?
Levi did notice Garen in the cinema just now, but he didn't pay much attention to the red-haired girl sitting next to him.
Because the impression he had of Katarina was that of a sexy assassin dressed in cool clothes with a scar on her face; but the red-haired girl he had just seen was a pretty Zaun female student with simple clothes.
So Levi didn't care too much.
He thought that the red-haired girl was just a passerby who happened to sit next to him, and that Garen came to watch the movie alone.
However……
“Lamer told me that it smelled a familiar and unpleasant scent from her.” The red-eyed crow on Swain’s shoulder nodded slightly, agreeing: “It smelled that scent in the Immortal Bastion.”
"This..." Levi frowned slightly.
A familiar yet unpleasant smell, could it be...
"LeBlanc?"
"It could be someone controlled by her." Swain said, "Of course, it's more likely to be LeBlanc's clone."
"She has many clones, each of which can change form at will, and even create more clones like the original body. You know this too."
"What a hassle." Levi sighed helplessly.
Then, he was stunned for a moment...
"Wait!" Levi discovered a blind spot.
He looked at the ground with a strange expression, at the red-haired girl holding hands with Garen: "Is Garen... in a relationship with Leblanc?"
"This..." This plot is too bizarre.
Levi couldn't accept it.
Look more closely at the red-haired girl… Wait, red hair?
"What's her name?" Levi couldn't help but ask.
“Karna.” Swain had obviously been observing Katarina secretly, and she was unaware.
"Kana..." Levi chewed on the name, and said to Cana in his heart: "Jana, help me check this 'Kana'."
The bluebird on his shoulder nodded slightly: "No problem."
She now works part-time as Zaun's smart city manager, and has control over almost everything about the city of Zaun, including the files of every registered resident.
Then, Janna's ethereal and beautiful voice soon rang in his mind:
"Kana, female, 18 years old, a refugee from the Balou War, was sent by the German Expeditionary Force 31 days ago..."
"I understand." Levi seemed to have understood something.
He knew that the Noxian frontline commander in Baloo was Du Kecao. So...
"Keep an eye on her." Levi was about to say this.
But Janna told him: "There is another interesting thing, Levi. I can feel-- "
"This Miss Kana is the leader."
