The battle finally came to an end with the victory of the leader.
People were cheering and celebrating for this hard-earned victory.
Especially for the local Ionians such as Irelia, Zed, and Yi - after this battle, the main force of the Noxian Empire in Ionia was almost completely wiped out - their dream of completely driving the Noxian invaders out of their homeland finally had hope of being realized.
So this bloody and messy battlefield immediately turned into a sea of ​​joy and happiness.
But Levi did not join in.
Because an uninvited guest had been waiting for him in secret for a long time.
He had just finished fighting with Vladimir, and before he had time to remember falling back to the ground, he noticed that on the hill at the edge of the battlefield, there was a strange figure standing alone, staring at him quietly.
She was a young purple-haired woman with a charming, mysterious and elegant temperament, pale skin and a pretty face.
She was openly releasing magic through the staff in her hand, and she raised her head high, staring at him in the air.
"It's you?" Levi knew that this woman was inviting him.
And her identity is self-evident.
"Ms. Loveland." Levi flew over as promised and slowly landed in front of her.
"You have been hiding here, waiting for the outcome of this battle?"
"Yes, President Levi. Or rather..." Leblanc nodded slightly to him respectfully, and when she raised her head, she did not forget to wink coquettishly: "My master."
She kept a low profile.
But Levi frowned when he heard it: "Master?"
"Yes." Leblanc looked at Vladimir's broken body in the distance and said humbly, "You have proved with your strength that you are capable of becoming my new master."
“In the future war against Mordekaiser, you will need my help. And I, too, will need the protection of you and the goddess Janna.”
Her attitude was sincere and humble, as if she truly wanted to offer her loyalty to the leader.
"Stop!" Levi didn't buy it at all: "Don't call me master. The Leader doesn't want to be anyone's master."
"Besides, I haven't forgotten how you gave back to your previous 'master'."
"It was because Mordekaiser was too cruel and ruthless that I had to protect myself." Leblanc looked pitiful: "I have been wandering for half my life, and I only regret that I have never met someone like you..."
"Enough!" Levi didn't want to hear such polite words at all.
Since Leblanc came to surrender this time, he just wanted to know: "What can you bring to the Leader?"
"All of mine." The Deceiver's expression finally became serious. "The spies and mages I trained in the Black Rose, the two secret mage schools, and the 15 imperial clans and their warbands that I directly control."
"Of course, you know, there is also His Majesty Darkwill who is under my control. He can also be my gift to the Wind Leader Association."
Leblanc said a lot in one breath. The power she directly controlled could almost empty half of the Noxian Empire.
This gift does sound heavy enough.
But Levi's attitude remained lukewarm.
He only asked in a subtle tone: "You are the leader of the Black Rose, the true master of the Noxian Empire, Leblanc."
"Are these really the only resources you have?"
LeBlanc is the true emperor of Noxus.
The emperor surrendered and only handed over a dozen regiments. Is this reasonable?
"But this is really all I can offer." Leblanc said helplessly: "Mr. Levi, you also know that the Black Rose is just a loosely structured underground wizard association."
"As a leader elected by everyone, my words are only effective in normal times. If something serious happens that affects the vital interests of all parties, those nobles may not listen to me."
"Just like you, Mr. Levi—"
"If you order all the Wind Leaders to surrender to the Noxian Empire now, will they do it obediently?"
Of course not.
If Levi had issued such a crazy order, the leaders would have immediately held a meeting to remove him from his post and sent him to Zaun Mental Hospital to share a room with Dr. Mundo, who was also receiving treatment there.
"So, you should be able to understand my difficulties, right?"
"Even though I know that those who know the times are the wisest, there are still many people in the Black Rose who are unwilling to give up their privileges and want to continue to fight against the leader."
LeBlanc's tone was very sincere, as if there really was a problem that she couldn't solve.
"That is to say..." Levi paused: "There is still a powerful aristocratic force in the Black Rose. These privileged groups do not want to give up their power, and will they continue to fight against the leaders in the future?"
"Yes." Leblanc sighed: "I can't do anything about those greedy imperial nobles."
"I understand." Levi nodded, as if he understood Leblanc's difficulties.
"Then..." Leblanc looked at him expectantly : "Mr. Levi, what conditions can you offer me?"
"First, do 100 years of forced labor." Li Wei said, "You've lived long enough anyway, so try operating a 100-year sewing machine. If the prison industry is upgraded after 100 years, we will give you a new project."
Leblanc: “…”
There was silence.
Leblanc raised the corners of her mouth with difficulty: "Mr. Levi, are you kidding me?"
"No." Levi looked back coldly: "You gave up the opportunity yourself, Leblanc."
"If you surrender before this war, I will do as you wish and give you the status and treatment you want."
"If you surrender after this war, considering your great contribution to the future peaceful liberation of Noxus, I am willing to pardon all your past crimes and give you the opportunity to study in the 'Gongdelin'."
"But--"
"You're not really surrendering now, are you?"
"You..." Leblanc said innocently, "Why do you say that? I have already given you everything I can."
"Really?" Levi interrupted her: "What about the Fire Demon and the Shadow Demon——"
"This is the real trump card you hold in your hand, isn't it? If you really want to surrender, then why don't you hand over these two demons?"
"I don't know about the Shadow Demon. But the Fire Demon Tyberk should still be controlled by you Black Rose, right?"
The fire demon Tyberk is actually the little bear Tibbers of Annie, the "Daughter of Darkness" in the game.
The reason why Annie possesses such extraordinary fire magic is because her mother was once the witch of the Black Rose and the previous host of the fire demon Tyberk.
But now the Ionian War has not ended yet, the future Daughter of Darkness, Annie, has not been born yet, and her mother probably has not yet escaped from the control of the Black Rose with the Fire Demon.
Therefore, the Fire Demon should still be controlled by the Black Rose.
LeBlanc offered a lot of gifts to confuse Levi, but secretly hid the two most important cards, the Shadow Demon and the Fire Demon, in her own hands.
It was obvious that she didn't come here to surrender sincerely.
"You..." Leblanc fell silent.
After a long while, she sighed helplessly: "You know so much, Mr. Levi."
"I guess..." Levi looked at her unceremoniously: "The one who appears in front of me now is just a clone of you. Right?"
"..." Leblanc agreed.
"It seems that the power displayed by the Leader in this war is not enough to convince you." Levi saw through her thoughts at a glance.
The battle just now was grand and magnificent, as if two gods were fighting to the death.
But this is not a real war between gods after all.
Janna's power has not yet recovered to its full potential, and she is still one step away from the realm of demigod.
Although Vladimir inherited some of the power of his Darkin master and absorbed the blood of tens of thousands of people as nourishment, he was ultimately just a false god.
Neither side in the battle displayed true divine power.
Janna hid on Levi's shoulders the entire time and didn't dare to show her true appearance in person.
The reason why the leader was able to win this time was not because of the absolute strength brought by the advent of Goddess Gana, but because of the "vast ocean of people's war."
In other words…
Although the Leader won, the deterrent effect of this victory on LeBlanc was far less than the show performance of the goddess descending on the Twin Cities last time.
As long as the "nuclear bomb" of Goddess Janna is not thrown out, the "nuclear deterrence" of the Leader cannot be truly established.
LeBlanc still holds "nuclear bombs" such as the Shadow Demon and the Fire Demon in her hands. She certainly won't be willing to submit to a leader who is suspected of not having "nuclear bombs".
"You are really good at calculating." Levi said sarcastically:
"Using a worthless clone and a bunch of junk to surrender to the Leader."
"The main body hides behind the scenes again, continuing to manipulate the Black Rose and deal with the Leader."
Those big families are betting on both sides, and they have to send out at least two groups of people each.
LeBlanc is fine.
She can hedge her bets by herself.
One clone serves as Levi's personal consultant, and the other clone continues to control the Black Rose.
In the end, no matter whether the leader wins or loses, she can get stable returns.
"Besides." Levi was not afraid to speculate this woman with the greatest malice: "Your coming here this time may be more than just a simple bet on both sides."
"You probably still want to use the excuse of surrendering to infiltrate the Leader and take the opportunity to complete the task that Vladimir failed to complete - to find out the true strength of Goddess Janna, right?"
Vladimir and Iris died in vain this time.
Before they could force out Janna, the final boss, they were defeated by the Leader's ammunition depot.
"So you're not willing to give up."
"Even Mordekaiser couldn't gain your loyalty. You are used to being the master of the empire. Of course, you are unwilling to submit to an organization that disagrees with your ideas and even restricts you in every way."
"So you want to find out how much power Goddess Janna has. You also want to know if you can defeat the current leader in one fell swoop if you risk everything and play your trump card."
"If the answer is yes, then you might immediately tear off the mask of peace and launch a fatal attack on the leader. Right?"
"..." Leblanc was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed slyly: "Haha."
"Mr. Levi, you have a very bad impression of me."
"Anyway, the gifts I brought you this time are real. All I want is a position as a personal advisor and a promise to pardon my past crimes."
"Even if I'm hedging my bets and have bad intentions, what's wrong with you using a little bit of your favor in exchange for my gift?"
Levi didn't answer, but just looked at her with disgust.
Then he looked at the bloody battlefield over there.
The entire land was scarlet, stained with human blood that had never dried.
"Do you know how many people died today?" Levi suddenly asked.
"..." Leblanc was silent.
"Do you know how many people will be sent to the battlefield because of your decision today?" Levi asked again.
"..." Leblanc remained silent.
"I told you last time in Zaun - next time we meet, I won't be so polite to you."
"And the facts prove that you are indeed unworthy of the leader's friendship."
"I'm only giving you two choices now. Either you hand over the control of those two demons now, or you wait to be sent to a labor camp for 1,800 years by the Leader, or... die."
"Mr. Levi!" Leblanc finally spoke.
Her tone became serious and sharp: "Since you know that I still have a trump card in my hand, why not leave room for others? Aren't you afraid of..."
"So what if I don't leave you any wiggle room?" Levi looked at her tit-for-tat.
“Heh.” Leblanc sneered, “I am considering the fate of all mankind. In order to retain my strength to fight against Mordekaiser, I am unwilling to use those two trump cards to cause internal friction among humans.”
"But if you push me too far, then..."
"Then you try it." Levi interrupted her with a smile: "If you want to fight, I will fight with you. I will fight with you as long as you want. Until you win completely!"
Although I don’t know how strong the Shadow Demon and Fire Demon are, and how much stronger they are than Janna now.
But the secret of "nuclear deterrence" to scare people is that, no matter what, you must not show any fear of nuclear war.
As expected, before Janna's shadow was even seen, LeBlanc began to feel guilty.
"Oh, right." Li Wei reminded her again: "I forgot to tell you that besides the Leader, you now have a bigger problem to solve."
This is Levi’s real confidence.
LeBlanc and the Black Rose are about to lose control of the Noxian Empire.
Even if they want to fight the leader to the death, they have to solve the internal problems of the empire first.
There is still plenty of time left for leaders to develop peacefully.
"What do you mean?" Leblanc felt something was wrong.
"Have you forgotten?" Levi said, "General Leicester led 50,000 men to desert the battlefield at the beginning of the battle. Do you think that Leicester alone would dare to do such a treasonous act?"
"There may be someone else behind him."
"You mean..." LeBlanc thought of something: "Swain?"
"That's right." At this point, it doesn't matter if I say it out loud.
After the Empire's humiliating defeat today, public opinion has completely turned to Swain's side.
No matter what LeBlanc did, she couldn't stop the inevitable coup.
"Swain will uproot the Black Rose from within the empire and take over power in the Noxian Empire."
"And you, Leblanc - before dealing with the Wind Leader, you should first think about how to deal with this future Noxian commander!"
“This…” Leblanc was still a little bit unbelieving: “Impossible! Swain is obviously already a cripple… A person without power, no matter how prestigious he is, can’t possibly…”
Swain's Oscar-winning performances over the past two years had apparently completely fooled Leblanc, the Deceiver.
"Do you know Ramu?" But Levi suddenly asked her, "Do you know Ramu, who is he hanging out with now?"
Leblanc: “…”
She was silent for a long time before she asked, "Is it too late for me to surrender now?"
"It's not too late." Li Wei said, "I'll break your bones and send you to labor camp for 300 years."
Leblanc: “…”
"You...are going too far!" She was furious and turned around to leave.
"Next time we meet, the starting number will be 1,000. There will be no upper limit."
"..." Leblanc gritted her teeth.
They would send people to labor camps for hundreds of years at any time. Even Modkaiser didn't torture people like this.
She worked so hard to cultivate to become immortal, but she didn't want to devote her infinite life to the even more infinite cause of Lord Gana!
She pondered for a moment, then...
"Oh, Mr. Levi." Leblanc seemed to have found a solution: "Thank you for pointing me out a way."
"What?" Levi was really a little nervous.
He didn't know how he had pointed out the way for Leblanc.
LeBlanc smiled and said, "You think Swain is my enemy, but in my opinion... Swain is not only not my enemy, but will become my ally."
"Because we have a common enemy—you, the Leaders!"
Levi: “…”
He was silent for a long time, and finally admired Leblanc's foresight.
Her plan was good. As a staunch Imperial warrior, Swain would theoretically become an enemy of the Windleader.
If he and LeBlanc could join forces and launch a decisive battle against the Leader as soon as possible, it would not be impossible to defeat the Leader.
However……
"Good luck." Levi watched Leblanc go away expectantly: "I look forward to your cooperation with Swain."
"Of course, don't forget——"
"The next time we meet, it will be 1,000 years later."
…
Not long after, Piltover.
There are now two Imperial Chapters stationed in Piltover, one of which is Amistan's direct Chapter, and the other is Swain's trusted troops.
Amystan's regiment is nominally under the command of Swain, the Governor of Piltover.
But the Twin Cities had always maintained a delicate peace without any war. Therefore, Swain had always followed the unspoken rules of the Imperial military and had not interfered with the daily management of the Amistan Regiment.
But today, I don't know why.
Swain ordered his men to blow the assembly horn, and ordered all the garrison troops in Piltover to rush to the parade ground.
"What is Swain trying to do?"
"Is he going to fight with the people of Zaun?"
Amystan reluctantly led her troops to gather with the principal, feeling even more uneasy.
Ever since Swain took over the position of Governor of Piltover from her, she has been trying hard to find opportunities to completely get rid of the mess in the Twin Cities and be transferred to garrison elsewhere.
However, the Empire wanted to maintain sufficient deterrence on the Piltover front, and needed to maintain a force of at least two regiments here;
On the other hand, apart from Swain, the veteran who was exiled here, no one else in the Empire was willing to take over.
So Amystan took the money and worked in the upper echelons of the Empire for a long time. It was not until now that she finally got through the relationship with the High Command and received the transfer order to leave Piltover...
She finally had the chance to escape, and she didn't want to be involved in the conflict between Swain and Wind Leader again!
Not to mention that she can't beat him, even if she can... there are still so many businesses running well between her and the leader.
It is so good that harmony brings wealth.
Piltover is a commercial city, so when you come to Piltover, you should do business and make money. Why are you fighting a war for no reason?
Amystan was lost in thought.
However, on the parade grounds, Swain suddenly said loudly to everyone present: "Everyone, I have bad news that I must tell you -"
"I just received a spell message from His Majesty Darkwill: From now on, all of us will be transferred from Piltover to support the Ionian battlefield."
"Huh?" Amystan was stunned.
Wasn't it agreed that she would be transferred back to the Empire? Why was she suddenly transferred to Ionia? If she went to Ionia, wouldn't she still be facing the Leader?
Damn it, wouldn't her money be given away in vain? !
Amystan was dissatisfied and suspicious.
The soldiers under her command were even more panicked by the news.
They all enjoyed life in Piltover. Who would want to be cannon fodder on the Ionian frontier when they could stay in this city of civilization and progress?
Everyone was dissatisfied.
At this time, Swain said in a serious tone:
"I have another piece of bad news that I must tell you. That is why His Majesty Darkwill urgently ordered us to leave Piltover and support Ionia."
As he spoke, the red-eyed crow on Swain's shoulder, which had always been treated as an ordinary pet, suddenly opened its beak and spit out a beam of light.
The light condensed into a huge illusion.
What was shown in the illusion was the war that had taken place not long ago in the province of Barue, thousands of miles away.
The horrific scene of the surging blood at the war scene immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.
"W-What is this?! Why did all those soldiers... turn into monsters?!"
The Noxian soldiers present were terrified by the fate of their comrades in the illusion.
"Zombies, spiders, etc..." They suddenly felt that this scene was somewhat familiar.
Especially when the picture freezes on the faces of Vladimir and Iris, showing their appearance and abilities up close.
"Isn't this what was revealed in the Wind Leader comics about the two top Black Rose executives?"
"They... actually exist?!" the soldiers shouted in shock.
"Yes." Swain confirmed in a deep voice: "The Black Rose does exist."
Although the news had already spread in the military camp, the huge impact of hearing General Swain's personal confirmation still shocked the imperial soldiers present.
And if, black roses really exist.
The scene before our eyes is also the real scene that actually happened on the battlefield of Balue.
Doesn't that mean...
"The Black Rose used those 100,000 people as sacrifices and cannon fodder for war?!"
There is no need for Swain to guide you on what happens next; everyone can figure it out on their own.
The Black Rose killed so many of its fellow soldiers, but not only did it fail to defeat the Leader, it was also slaughtered in Ionia and returned in defeat.
Now the emperor wants to transfer them to the Ionian front to accept the command of those "blood-sucking demons" and "spider monsters", then...
"Aren't we going to be the next batch of sacrifices?!"
The soldiers were immediately excited.
Several "soldier representatives" jumped out at this critical moment, like actors who had been arranged in advance.
"This is simply sending us to our deaths!" They shouted in the crowd: "The great Majesty Darkwill, there is no way you can make such a decision!"
"It must be the Black Rose conspiracy group around the emperor that controlled his mind and made him believe the evil words of those two cannibal demons and ordered us to die!"
“……” Everyone became more and more involved in the scolding.
As the topic got more serious:
"Damn it... Going to Ionia means death, and not going is also death, so why don't we die to save His Majesty Darkwill?"
"Yeah! Those bastards from the noble faction stabbed us in the back last time in Presidium. Now that we have finally survived, they actually want us to go back to Ionia to die!"
"General Swain, you can't listen to them this time!"
"The Hexgate in Piltover is directly connected to the Immortal Bastion. Those Black Rose bastards are really going too far. General Swain, why don't we just kill them... and go back to the Immortal Bastion and petition the Emperor in person!
"..." As they were talking, some progressive officers began to give Swain their suggestions in a righteous manner.
Judging from the situation, it seems that if Swain disagrees, they will force Swain with a knife to go to Beijing to "petition".
"Wait!" Amystan finally realized that something was wrong.
Your Majesty Darkwill, did you really give the order for them to support the Ionian front?
After all, she is the Vice Governor of Piltover and the leader of an independent chapter. If there really was such an emergency transfer order, why didn't the High Command notify her directly?
"Swain, you?!" Amystan was about to say something.
But Swain only glanced at her coldly.
Amystan suddenly felt cold all over.
It was then that she discovered with horror: Swain, this retired old man with a broken arm, had somehow regained the spirit of his youth.
His hunched body became upright again, his cloudy eyes became clear and sharp, and his body exuded an aura of a strong man that was so powerful that it was suffocating all the time.
This momentum is not false, but real:
"Magic fluctuations..." Amystan couldn't believe it: "How could there be such strong magic fluctuations on him?"
In an instant, she lost the courage to ask, and even her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"General Amistan." Swain looked over expressionlessly. "Do you have anything to say?"
"I..." Amystan was slightly stunned.
The next second, she clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and shouted indignantly: "The Black Rose won't give us a way to live, and there is no need for us to endure this anger anymore—"
"General Swain, please take us to the Immortal Bastion and petition His Majesty Darkwill in person!"