Sitting next to the bonfire in the ice cave, looking out at the vast ice and snow, the purple-skinned bald mage Ryze couldn't help but recall his long life.
It's been almost a thousand years.
That was when the Noxus Empire had just been established, and the foundation for all magic in Runeterra was derived, and the world runes were discovered.
The Rune War broke out as a result. Countries big and small fought to obtain the world runes and master the power of the world runes. The world runes were abused, and the energy contained in them easily caused the land to sink, and millions of innocent people died.
.
At that time, Ryze was just a young mage from Blessed Island. In order to protect the world, he followed his master on the road of collecting world runes. In the blink of an eye, more than 900 years have passed.
He had personally killed his master who had become twisted due to the attraction of the rune power, he had been reluctant to say goodbye to old friends, and he had been sad and silent for his disciples who had gone astray. This changed appearance and long lifespan
It really can't be called a gift from the world runes, it's more like a curse.
But he never stopped.
There are only the last few left that have not been found. Find and seal the last few world runes, and I will disappear with them!
This time he came to Freljord not because he captured traces of the world's runes, but because he accidentally discovered some actions of the Sentinels of Light.
For the current Ryze, in addition to the world runes, there is probably only his original hometown of Blessing Island. Now the Shadow Island can make his mood a little fluctuating. He has also encountered the soul-eating night and the undead. Even the bad situation there is
He felt some headaches.
Is it time to have to solve it?
From the mouth of the couple who came to the ice field to look for the Winter's Claw tribe, Ryze learned a lot of news, including the active actions of the Light Sentinels around the world, and even Sevier, a rising mage from Piltover.
He decided to pay attention and provide some help when necessary.
Of course, the premise is that he does not find any clues about the world's runes during this period, and he will not forget to delay his 'job'.
"Where are they?"
Breathing out a long white mist from his mouth, Ryze suddenly looked shocked and cast his gaze to the distant south. The will in his body that always resonated with magic seemed to have caught an extremely familiar wave just now.
Gone in a flash.
There are some deviations from the world runes he has come into contact with, but they are definitely the same kind. He will not admit his mistake!
"Disappeared...but you finally appeared again. The location is approximately...Noxus?"
The bonfire in front of me went out with a roar.
With a flash of lightning around Ryze, he teleported hundreds of kilometers. In just a few seconds, he walked from the ice field to the land of Noxus, standing in the border city and looking around.
Where have you gone?
Was it hidden by someone?
…
The magic in the staff is absorbed, and time is like going back. The targets that were damaged due to the dagger test quickly returned to intact with the repair of Ji Xing's magic. But compared to what was revealed before, this 'simple' repair technique
It was no longer worth asking Eugenie and Caterina.
Katarina carefully put away the six daggers, made them turn invisible according to her skin-colored pants, and took a deep breath.
"Mage Sevier, thank you for the weapons you forged for me. Do they have names?"
"Leave it to you to get it yourself," Ji Xing said.
Catalina nodded. Many mages are willing to name their masterpieces after themselves, but Ji Xing in front of him obviously has no such intention. Maybe the dagger that took him a day to make is really nothing in his eyes.
Bar.
She thanked Ji Xing again, and her sincere look made Eugenie curl her lips. When the three of them left the equipment testing place, Catalina said again:
"Mage Sewell, Commander Swain also wants me to tell you two things. He already knows that you were invited to the arena by Draven. That guy has merit for helping the Commander, and he is Noxar."
The younger brother of Si's Hand often doesn't know what's right and what's important. He may have some bad thoughts because of your rejection.
The Grand Commander cannot directly restrain him, because that will only have the opposite effect. He wants me to tell you that if Draven takes any bad actions in the future, you can teach him a lesson, but I just hope you will not kill him."
"I know." Ji Xing replied without any surprise: "Where's the second one?"
Catalina continued: "It's about a pair of sisters who were born in Zaun, Wei O'Lai and Explosive O'Lai. Do you know them?"
Ji Xing raised his eyebrows: "I know, what happened to them, that they actually came into the sight of you and even Commander Swain?"
"They are very good." Catalina replied: "They entered the selection list of the Trifari Legion, so I, who is currently responsible for the background verification of the Trifari soldiers, discovered them. Because they were born in Zaun, the Grand Commander specially asked me to
Ask Master Sewell if he knows them."
"Oh? Are they going to join the Noxian army? Or the Trifari Army?" Ji Xing said unexpectedly.
"It's also a coincidence."
Catalina said: "Because of their talent and beauty, they were spotted by a small nobleman in Port Anros. They eventually killed the nobleman and surrendered to Besilico's army."
Talent and... beauty? Ji Xing feels a little weird, but when you think about it, it's right. If Jinx is not crazy, she is still pretty good-looking.
He heard Catalina continue: "General Swain was already cleaning up those nobles who did not do anything to oppress the common people. The nobles they killed were also in the next round of purges, and they were only peripheral figures. This case
It's nothing in Noxus. According to the usual practice, a military exploit can basically offset their guilt.
It’s just that because Besilico is the territory of the Hand of Noxus, General Darius’ subordinate Maha saw that they had good talents and directly recommended them to the Trifari Legion.”
Speaking of this, she paused, looked into Ji Xing's eyes and said: "Because they have a crime, the way to review them is no longer a regular assessment, they must show enough potential and strength...
So they were arrested and are now locked in the prison of the arena. Only by winning at the hands of the liquidators and surviving can they join the Trifali Legion. As for failure..."
Nature is death.
This is very Noxian.
But the weird feeling in Ji Xing's heart became even stronger, and he smiled and said: "Don't tell me that the arena where they were imprisoned is the same as the one where Draven invited me to? Well... or tonight?"
"That's right." Catalina said: "Of course, the liquidator they need to face and defeat will not be General Draven.
The Grand Commander also asked me to bring you an extra sentence - 'Countless black roses are planted in the soil of Noxus. I don't know when or where, someone will always be pricked by them.'"
Is this eye drops for LeBlanc?
But this is really a coincidence.
Catalina asked again: "How is the relationship between Master Sewell and the sisters? The commander-in-chief has made an explanation. If you need it, I will bring them here now."
"The relationship...is neither far nor close."
Ji Xing didn't know when there was an extra card in his hand. As his fingertips rotated, the color of the card kept changing, and finally settled on yellow.
‘Proactive’, and ‘mixed surprise’?
"I understand this. You can return to Swain with your weapons, and everything in the arena will be as normal."
He narrowed his eyes slightly, and his figure suddenly disappeared from Catalina's sight, and moved to the entrance of the Magic Academy two seconds later.
There, the strong female warlord raised her voice and said to the apprentice who was guarding the door today: "Go and inform Master Sewell that Mel Myrdal's mother, Ambersa, wants to see him!"
"General Ambesa." Ji Xing smiled and his voice spread: "I'm here. You came just in time. Are you interested in accompanying me to watch a performance in the arena tonight?"
Ambersa looked at it with a look of astonishment on her face. She was fascinated by the dazzling staff for the first time, and then she realized what Ji Xing said.
She grinned: "As expected of a powerful mage, did you know that I would come? Of course I am interested, or I am grateful to Mage Sewell for inviting me to such an occasion!"
The purpose of her risking to come to the Immortal Fortress is to hope that Ji Xing can provide more background support for the Myrdal family. What is a more effective way to declare than for the two of them to go to a place like the arena together and be seen by various warlords and nobles?
But... why did Sewell suddenly go to the arena to watch such a sensational performance?
…
Arena, prison.
"Pfft..." Jinx twisted her mouth and spat out a piece of bone, commenting: "It tastes good. The food here is much better than that of Stillwater Prison."
Wei, who was beside her, glanced at her who was enjoying her meal, ate the cake with normal appetite, and said thoughtfully: "Don't eat too much, we don't know how many tough battles we have to fight tonight."
"You will have strength only when you are full." Jinx spread her hands: "Get out of here quickly, and look for an opportunity to go back and blow Maha's head off!"
Wei sighed: "Didn't you see that this was the assessment given to us by General Maha? She took good care of us during those two days. She didn't look like an inconsistent villain, and she didn't need to use it when she had an army.
Plot against us."
"Yeah." Jinx was chewing food in her mouth, her words were a little unclear: "You can see it, but use a net to knock us out, put us in shackles, and escort us from that port city to this competition in the Immortal Fortress.
A prison... I won’t let her go if she torments us like this!"
Wei shook her head and said in a low voice: "However, looking at this kind of formation, the army we will join after passing the assessment will not be simple. It is most likely... Cui Fali, the core of Noxus."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?"
Jinx said: "Since we want to join the Noxian army, we must join the strongest one, so that we can get more."
"Maybe." Wei was a little uneasy, fearing that it would be easier to get in than to get out, but... we've reached this point, so let's have a go!
At this time, a low-pitched female voice suddenly came from not far away: "Why do you want to join the army? Noxus should have stopped its external wars now, and its military strength is also declining. In Swain
Before taking office, the death rate in the army was getting higher year by year.
Besides...have you ever seen a real war? Do you know what war is?"
The two sisters looked over at the same time.
As early as when they were imprisoned in this prison, they had observed their neighbors. There was a very strange guy in the cell on the left.
As if they were afraid of the sun, they always sat huddled in the corner. They couldn't even see each other's appearance clearly. Judging only from the faint outline and voice, the other party should be a woman slightly older than them.
And this was also the first time in two days that the other party took the initiative to talk to them.
Jinx looked at it for a few times, then withdrew her gaze and continued to eat her food. Wei was somewhat interested in her words and said: "It sounds like... you have participated in a real war? Are you a Noxian or a captured prisoner?"
?”
The woman did not answer, but said in a dry tone: "War is killing, and war is evil. Your knife is going to kill an old man who can't even walk, and it's also going to cut off the head of a young child. Maybe the head will fall to the ground.
At this time, his eyes are still looking at you innocently, because he doesn't understand what happened, nor is he afraid."
Vi's expression froze, and Jinx couldn't help but raise her head again, humming: "It seems that you are a deserter from Noxus? You were captured because you were soft-hearted towards the enemy during the war?"
The woman in the shadow shook her head, nodded again, and did not answer. She just continued to talk to herself: "In war, you have to face countless eyes. Either hatred, despair, or incomprehension.
Or unwilling...
357 people, this is the number of people in my team, I can remember the face of each one, I can remember the name of each one, they are all dead, and I can remember the despair of each one on their deathbed."
Wei and Jinx paused slightly.
"They did not die in the war, nor did they die at the hands of the enemy. They were just abandoned sons of the Noxus Empire. In order to destroy a village in Ionia, dangerous alchemical potions burned a kilometer around to the point where there was no vegetation. I
My men and I were abandoned, and I was the only one who survived."
The figure stood up and finally walked to a place where it could be illuminated by light. The bright light in its eyes made Wei and Jinx feel solemn.
This guy...
They finally saw the woman's face clearly. It was unexpectedly fair and cute. Her short silver-grey hair added a bit of embellishment, but her aura was enough to make people ignore her beauty.
Heroic and heroic, there is nothing more suitable than these two adjectives.
Compared with the Maha they just mentioned, the woman in front of them is obviously more elegant and strong like a female general. Her overall feeling is completely different from the depressing words just now!
Only by looking carefully can we faintly discern the hesitation and confusion hidden by the female general.
"Joining the army is a bad idea," she said, looking at Jinx and Vi.
Before the sisters could respond, someone called out from outside: "General Riven, it's your turn to appear!"