With the spontaneous response of aspiring soldiers from all over the country , the sinister plan of the illegal Black Rose political group to manipulate and hold the Emperor hostage and conspire to seize the supreme power was finally completely shattered by the loyal army led by General Swain.
His Majesty Darkwill was successfully rescued, but he voluntarily abdicated for recuperation due to health reasons.
With the unanimous recommendation of all generals, General Swain established the Trifarix Council to exercise the highest power of the empire, and successfully took office as the first Speaker of the Trifarix Council and Grand Commander of Noxus.
Swain's faction had won a decisive victory. At this point, everything seemed to be settled.
However, at this moment:
"W-what?!" The faces of the generals gathered in the palace in front of the Immortal Fortress suddenly changed.
Because they all felt two unprecedentedly powerful magical fluctuations suddenly erupting from the depths of the peaceful Immortal Fortress.
A magical power was filled with rich fire elements, making the air in this huge palace city become scorching hot.
The other magic is like an endless night and a dark abyss, which makes people feel inexplicably cold in their hearts and spines.
It was as if some terrifying creature beyond imagination was hidden in the mysterious forbidden area of ​​the palace.
They are unscrupulously wielding their terrifyingly powerful strength, unabashedly announcing their existence to the world.
"Teacher Swain?" Lester and others looked at Swain nervously.
“Don’t be nervous.” Swain frowned slightly, but his expression remained gentle.
He had already guessed the instigator behind this: "This is just that woman showing off her power to us."
"That woman?" Everyone was thinking: "Could it be... Leblanc?"
Thanks to the strong promotion of the Leader, LeBlanc has become one of the most famous mages in Runeterra today.
There were many young officers from the Piltover garrison present, and some even collected limited edition LeBlanc skin cards produced in Zaun.
So, knowing that the Black Rose really existed, everyone thought of the Deceiver without any difficulty.
"Yes, it's me." Amid everyone's vigilant and surprised gazes, Leblanc emerged from the shadows with a smile.
Anyway, the whole world knows who she is now, so she just stepped directly from behind the scenes to the front of the stage.
“LeBlanc…” Darius’ eyes flashed with murderous intent: “You have been manipulating His Majesty Darkwill all these years, right?!”
"Yes." LeBlanc blinked guiltlessly.
As she spoke, she also said to everyone present with a playful look: "Darkwill's dignified exit is my gift to everyone."
"If you are not satisfied, I can still make him 'wake up' and then pass the throne to General Swain... No, I should call him Commander Swain."
"Bastard! How dare you do such a thing!" Darius' face was gloomy.
When he thought of the hardships he had experienced in the Freljord in recent years and the imperial soldiers who had died in vain in the successive Northern Expeditions, he was filled with hatred for the woman in front of him.
The same was true for Lester and the others. When they recalled their desperate experience of being betrayed by Black Rose in Presidium, they raised their weapons to the woman in front of them without hesitation.
"Calm down, everyone." Leblanc said lightly, "I admit that I have had some conflicts with you in the past."
"But the past is the past, and the present is the present. In the words of the leader, the main contradictions we each face have changed— "
"Now we can sit down and have a good talk about cooperation."
"Cooperation?" Darius's murderous intent did not diminish: "Perhaps you can go to the underworld and 'cooperate' with those soldiers who were killed by the Black Rose!"
"At this point, what qualifications do you have to say this to us?"
"Of course I'm qualified," LeBlanc said with a smile.
As she spoke, she gently waved her staff, and two small "drops of water" that were sealed in a crystal bottle quietly appeared beside her.
One of the drops glowed brightly, like liquid fire.
The other drop was like a miniature black hole, silently devouring the surrounding light.
Although the magic power they exuded was weak, so weak that it could only barely penetrate the body of the crystal bottle, the magical fluctuations felt exactly the same as the powerful aura that everyone had sensed before.
"This is..." Everyone tensed up in alert.
“The sealed demon,” Swain answered coldly.
"Fire demon, Tiberk;"
"The Shadow Demon, Antarkan."
Swain revealed the names of the two demons, and even their origins:
“They are all demons that once followed Mordekaiser. However, Tiberk can only be regarded as Mordekaiser’s pet.”
"And Antarkan, known as the 'bringer of destruction', is an even more powerful and terrifying existence."
"Did Ramu tell you this?" Leblanc frowned slightly. "As expected of you, you are the host of the Secret Demon. You know more than I thought."
“I am not the host of the hidden demon,” Swain corrected calmly. “I am its master.”
"That's right." The crow on his shoulder nodded spinelessly.
“This…” Everyone looked at Swain in surprise again.
Especially his arm that grew out of thin air and the red-eyed crow standing on his shoulder.
Only then did everyone know the source of Swain's power - it turned out that he had tamed a powerful ancient demon!
However, even so, the situation still seems to be in Leblanc's favor.
Swain only has one demon, but LeBlanc has two.
And from what Swain said, the shadow demon Antarkan is even more powerful than ordinary demons.
“But you can’t control them perfectly, can you?” Swain called out LeBlanc’s bluff.
He looked at the two demons that were firmly sealed in the crystal bottle and maintained their weak "droplet" form, and said:
"If you can use them as you wish without worrying about losing control, then there is no need to seal them up as dangerous items."
"Yes." Leblanc admitted frankly: "The power of the devil is not so easy to control. I am not willing to use it unless it is the 'critical moment'."
She emphasized the words "critical moment".
Obviously, this is the critical moment.
If Swain was unwilling to give her a chance to live, she would certainly not hesitate to release these two ancient demons at the risk of losing control.
After realizing this, Lester and the others were forced to put aside their hatred and murderous intent and listen to Loveland patiently.
"Very good." Leblanc nodded with satisfaction: "Now, we can talk seriously about cooperation."
“What do you want?” Swain asked directly.
"Cooperation, literally." Leblanc said, "I am willing to lead the remaining forces of the Black Rose and join this empire that will be led by you in the future."
"And I only have two conditions—"
"First, I must have a seat in the future imperial hierarchy, the Trifaree Council that you just founded."
"This is impossible!" They have already successfully seized power in the empire, so why should they divide the cake back to their enemies?
Everyone instinctively wanted to object.
But when they looked up, they saw the two drops of demon essence floating next to Leblanc and her meaningful look.
“……” There was silence at the scene.
Everyone realized that Leblanc should indeed have a place in the future top echelons of the empire.
If for no other reason than the two "nuclear weapons" in Leblanc's hands - based on this strength alone, she is qualified to invest with capital and continue to be her thousand-year tumbler in the new dynasty.
"And the second point." Seeing that everyone was calm and no longer objected, Leblanc smiled and talked about her second condition.
"This second point is more of a win-win cooperation than a condition. You will definitely be happy to hear it—"
"I hope that we can gather all the forces we can as soon as possible and launch an all-out decisive battle against the Leader."
As soon as these words were spoken, Lester, Amystan and others immediately showed an interested look.
Except for Swain who looked calm and unreadable, Darius who looked cautious and didn't express his opinion, and Draven who didn't know anything and just thought about when he could kill someone...
Almost all the officers and generals present were moved by Leblanc's conditions.
"The Wind Leader is my enemy, and your enemy as well."
"If you are not stupid, you should be able to see clearly that the Leader Association is now rising rapidly in the entire Runeland at an unstoppable trend."
"Today, their faith is limited to the Twin Cities and is just beginning to spread to Ionia."
"But what happens next? As long as those weak but unwilling to be humbled people still exist, the faith of the Wind Leader will sooner or later penetrate into every corner of Runeland like an all-permeable virus!"
"At that time, facing a goddess with hundreds of millions of believers and countless fanatical leaders armed with faith..."
"General Swain, how will you and your new Noxian Empire cope with the situation then?"
Leblanc described a terrible future to everyone present - an extremely terrible future for all the imperial generals present:
They seemed to be able to see that Janna's faith was like a raging fire, burning across Noxus.
The manors and fields that they had managed to snatch from the old nobles would be divided up by the peasant serfs who had risen from the status quo.
The gold, silver and treasures they earned on the battlefield at the cost of their lives would be used to help the poor and save the weak and incompetent who should have been "naturally eliminated";
The titles and positions of lordship they earned by relying on their merits and risking their lives will become worthless under the ridiculous belief of the leader that "everyone is equal".
Even they themselves would be reduced from rising nobles of the empire to prisoners overnight because of the crimes they committed in the past.
If you are luckier, you can use a sewing machine and become "classmates" with other generals.
Those with too many dark histories might be dragged out and hung on street lamps!
this……
This is intolerable, who can’t be intolerable?
"Teacher Swain." When Lester thought of this terrible future, he immediately put aside the past hatred between him and Leblanc: "I think what this woman said makes sense."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Compared to the Black Rose, which has completely lost its power, the Leader is now the enemy that poses the greatest threat to us."
"Yes!" Amystan also agreed.
As the first Noxian general to come into contact with the Wind Leader, she is now afraid of him to the core.
Although she had been happily running a joint venture with the leader and making a lot of money together, she knew very well:
According to the values ​​of the Leader, she is a murderer who enjoys massacres at every turn and is considered by the Noxian people to be an extremely perverted killer. She will be liquidated sooner or later.
Not to mention, Riven, who had a blood feud with her, has now become the president of the Ionia branch of the Leaders.
Once the leader rises completely, her beautiful life will be completely over.
So Amystan quickly agreed: "Captain Swain, the Black Rose still has some strength left, and Leblanc has two ancient demons in her hands, so their strength should not be underestimated."
"If we become her enemy, I'm afraid we will both suffer losses and the leader will gain the upper hand in the end."
"Why don't we just do as she said? Let's put aside our past hatred and join hands to deal with the Leader Association!"
Lester and Amystan's successive statements quickly resonated with the officers and generals present.
Everyone petitioned Swain: "Commander Swain, let's cooperate with the Black Rose!"
Swain remained silent.
He looked at the disciples, officers and generals who had worshipped him like a god not long ago, and asked, "Do you all think so?"
"Hmm..." Everyone looked at each other and nodded hesitantly.
It has been less than a year since the birth of the Windleader, and it has grown from a third-rate force that trembled at the sight of Piltover's law enforcers to a behemoth that can directly defeat the 100,000 elite troops of the Noxian Empire on the battlefield.
If they are allowed to continue to grow like this, even the powerful Noxus Empire will have no chance of winning in the future.
And now, although the Noxian Empire lost all the elite troops of the Ionian army due to the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Baruo.
But as long as the Empire stops its foolish strategy of fighting on four fronts, it can immediately draw elite forces several times more than the one in the Battle of Baloo from the three fronts of Shurima, Demacia, and Freljord.
Most importantly…
"I have the Fire Demon and the Shadow Demon in my hands, and you, Lord Commander Swain, are the master of the Hidden Demon."
"As long as we work together sincerely and gather the strength of the three ancient demons, we may not be unable to win even if we encounter the goddess Janna 3,000 years ago, whose faith spread across the four oceans and had millions of devout believers!"
Leblanc encouraged excitedly. Lester, Amistan and other officers and generals present also echoed her.
She is right.
As long as Swain works together with her and combines the strength of the Noxian Empire and the three great demons, there is every hope of destroying the current leader.
but……
“I refuse,” Swain said flatly.
"What?" Leblanc's smile froze on her face.
She didn't expect Swain to reject this supposedly sure-fire invitation to collaborate.
"Teacher Swain!" Lester and the others also shouted in astonishment. They were shocked and complained in their hearts, but they did not dare to use strong words: "You, you...will you not consider it again?"
Swain looked at Lester and the others coldly: "Have you forgotten?"
"In the Presidium of the past, in the Barue of yesterday, what did the Black Rose do to our fellow soldiers and the soldiers of the Noxian Empire?"
"This..." The generals were suddenly speechless.
Yes, they have a deep hatred for the Black Rose.
In Presidium, Black Rose ordered them to "cooperate with reinforcements and bloom in the center", but they foolishly went to the enemy's "center" but never received reinforcements.
In Barue, Leblanc even more sinisterly used them as human batteries to "charge" Iris and Vladimir, deceiving them into becoming sacrifices and cannon fodder.
If they had not defected in time and run fast enough, they would have probably become a pool of rotten meat that had been sucked dry and swallowed!
And this is just their feud with LeBlanc.
Swain himself has a deep hatred for the Black Rose.
When he was young, he fell into Leblanc's trap and killed his parents. Darkwill, who was both his king and friend, was secretly murdered by Leblanc and turned into a mentally ill puppet.
LeBlanc is undoubtedly the greatest sinner in the history of the Empire.
Whether from a personal perspective or from a politically correct perspective, Swain has every reason to refuse to cooperate with LeBlanc.
"You..." Leblanc's expression became much uglier: "Swain, I thought you were a smart man."
"The Leader is our number one enemy now. What's the point of you mentioning those past grudges?!"
"Yes, yes." Lester and the others struggled for a long time, and finally couldn't help but raise their opinions: "Teacher Swain, people who do big things can't care about small details... Let the past be the past."
Unconsciously, everyone was on the same front as their initial enemy, Leblanc.
Swain was left alone, without any support.
But his attitude remained resolute: "I said, I refuse."
"Don't make me do it a third time." Swain's cold eyes swept across everyone present, and in an instant, he suppressed the restless hearts of Lester and others.
His majesty was still there. No one dared to openly oppose his decision on the first day of his appointment as the commander-in-chief.
But LeBlanc doesn't buy it.
"Swain!" she asked unhappily. "What on earth are you thinking? If you don't cooperate with me, do you think you can defeat the Wind Leader alone with the broken Noxian Empire and a hidden demon?"
Yes! Lester and others didn't dare to say it directly, but everyone thought so in their hearts.
Faced with the leader who is gaining momentum, they all felt a little panicked.
Unexpectedly, Swain's answer was as calm as ever: "I have a way."
"What can you do?" Leblanc asked.
“I have no obligation to tell you.” Swain’s eyes were indifferent, as if he was looking at a dead person. “But please don’t forget—until yesterday, I was probably still a useless person in your eyes.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the restless hearts at the scene immediately calmed down.
Everyone then remembered:
Yes! Their leader is the wise general Swain. A wise general, a wise general, can he still play an anti-intelligence operation?
There must be a hidden meaning behind Swain's choice.
Just like he had quietly become the master of the secret demon, quietly accumulating the power to overthrow the Black Rose...
I'm afraid that before launching the coup, Swain had already secretly prepared a trump card to be used against the Leader in the future!
"You, you..." Leblanc was a little panicked.
Seeing Swain's wise and calm eyes, even she couldn't help but think...
Is this guy really hiding some incredible trump card that even the two ancient demons in her hands are not worthy of his attention?
"I won't kill you." Leblanc was extremely nervous. Fortunately, Swain did not immediately play the possible trump card and take revenge on the spot.
He said calmly: "Because I know that you still hold the seal of the Well of Death."
The Well of Death, also known as the Well of Souls, is the true value of LeBlanc's united front.
The so-called Well of Death is a weak gap between the material plane and the underworld, a dimensional channel connecting the world of the dead.
Mordekaiser originally built this Immortal Fortress around the Well of Death in order to protect it.
It was through conspiracy that LeBlanc cut off Mordekaiser's connection with the Well of Death and sealed the source of his power, and then kicked the resurrected tyrant of the underworld back into the underworld.
In other words... Leblanc still holds a seal in her hand that can destroy the world at any time if it is opened.
And this is where her true united front value lies.
Of course, unless she is forced into a desperate situation, Leblanc herself will never open the seal.
After all, compared to Mordekaiser's horrific methods that make people's lives worse than death and never have peace after death... Leblanc would rather accept the Leader's 1,000 years of hard labor.
“So, I won’t kill you,” Swain said calmly, “but I won’t cooperate with you either.”
"Go away. Don't let me see you again."
"You..." Leblanc gritted her teeth in anger.
She risked stepping on a 1,000-year-old sewing machine to bet on this cooperation!
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but regret that she didn't join Zaun earlier.
After the Battle of Balue, 0 years became 300 years. Now 300 years has become 1000 years...
"Damn it!" Leblanc absolutely couldn't accept it.
Just like those Piltover tycoons who would rather die than protect their industries, and now these Imperial generals who are unwilling to lose their privileges at all costs, LeBlanc has become accustomed to being the master of this world.
She was unwilling to accept a life where her fate was controlled by others.
She was willing to risk her soul falling into the underworld and being tortured by the tyrant for eternity in order to escape from the control of Mordekaiser;
Now, of course, she is willing to risk 1,000 years of forced labor and gamble on a free life without constraints.
Not to mention, for the past nearly 1,000 years, the entire Noxian Empire has been her servant.
Countless Noxian soldiers fought through bloody battles time and time again to collect the ancient relics, rune secrets, and magical knowledge that she desired, and finally satisfied her infinite thirst for knowledge and power.
LeBlanc didn't want to lose all this.
"Swain, since you said you have a way to deal with Windleader, then..." Leblanc calmed down and asked a key question: "When do you plan to take action?"
These words immediately aroused the restless hearts of everyone present.
They are all afraid of the rise of the leader, and of course hope that this war will come as soon as possible.
However, Swain's response was: "No comment."
"..." Leblanc narrowed her eyes.
Then, as she expected, these words aroused concern among the officers and generals.
Although they all trusted Swain's wisdom and decision-making, he refused to reveal anything about his plan to deal with the Wind Leader.
They know nothing about the future. Meanwhile, the leaders are growing rapidly day by day!
"I understand." Leblanc quietly observed the expressions of everyone present, and finally a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"I will give you some time to think about it, Commander Swain. I believe... you will make the most correct choice when I visit you next time."
As she spoke, Leblanc's figure slowly retreated into the shadows and quietly disappeared from everyone's sight.
She left, leaving behind a strange and depressing atmosphere.
Lester, Amystan, and everyone present were anxious and uneasy, some even looked at Swain with hidden dissatisfaction.
Looking at the situation...if it weren't for Swain's intimidating power, they might have been unable to hold back and speak out their true feelings, telling him their dissatisfaction.
"That... Commander Swain." After a moment of silence and thought, Darius also stood up and said to Swain:
"The Leader is indeed a major threat to the Empire." As a typical Noxian soldier, he certainly would not have any good feelings towards the Leader who has already fought with the Empire.
At the same time, he also sincerely suggested to Swain: "If you have a plan, it is better to reveal some of it to everyone. This way, the soldiers will have a clear idea in their hearts."
"Otherwise..." Darius hesitated and looked at everyone present, and finally said bluntly:
"Otherwise, everyone can accept it in the short term. But over a long period of time..."
As time goes by, no matter how great your prestige is, you may not be able to suppress the opinions of the generals.
Everyone hopes to have a decisive battle with the leader as soon as possible. If you delay the battle, then...
“I’ll end up like Darkwill, won’t I?” Swain said.
As soon as these words came out, Lester and the others were immediately frightened out of their wits: "Teacher, I, we have no such intention!"
“I hope so.” Swain was noncommittal.
He knew that the reason why Leblanc could say so confidently that "he will definitely agree to cooperate next time" was because this woman saw through the minds of the generals present.
He also knew that the path he was going to take was destined to be different.
If these generals do not completely change their minds, they will sooner or later side with Leblanc. They may even join forces and force him to compromise with the Black Rose.
At that time, the defeated Black Rose will be completely resurrected in Noxus.
If he doesn't want to be alienated by his friends, he has no choice but to cooperate.
But, that doesn’t matter.
"You're just in time." Swain felt that LeBlanc came at the right time.
He looked coldly at everyone present, his disciples, his trusted subordinates, and even his comrades-in-arms.
"Without going through the test, how can we be sure..."
“Who will make it to the end?”