The next day.
Luke woke up groggy. If there had been more time, he might even have considered resting in Wrenwall for another day.
By contrast, Miss Crownguard, who only had to close her eyes and open them again for it to be the next day, was in excellent spirits. Early in the morning, she already looked full of energy.
As they packed up and prepared to leave Wrenwall, she had long since gotten used to Luke's sleepy face and constant yawning.
Only this time, Lux still gave Luke's face a few serious looks.
Her direct little stare made Luke feel a little uncomfortable, and he turned his head to ask, "What are you looking at?"
"Did you secretly make some kind of skincare potion for yourself?"
Lux eyed him suspiciously and reached out with her small hand, wanting to pinch his face.
Luke leaned back and dodged, staring at her. "What grown man uses that stuff?"
"Weird." Lux still looked doubtful.
After spending so much time with him, she could naturally tell at a glance that Luke's face seemed a little different from usual.
It was not that he looked different, but that the feeling he gave off had changed.
Or rather, he looked a little more pleasing to the eye.
Usually, just seeing him sitting there made her want to punch him. Now, before punching him, she might even feel a little pity in her heart and think that it would be a shame to ruin that face.
Yes, that was about it.
Lux rubbed her chin with her small hand, analyzing it in her mind for a long while.
"Maybe this is just my irresistible charm with nowhere to go."
Finally, when the corner of Luke's mouth curled into a Dragon King smile and that narcissistic expression appeared once again, she came to a conclusion.
He was still just as punchable!
In truth, it was not only her. The others had naturally noticed this as well. The change simply was not especially large. He only made people want to look at him one more time than usual.
Lux looked around at this moment, but she did not see Vayne, so she could not help asking, "Where did Vayne and the others go?"
"Oh, they have an urgent mission."
Luke then roughly told them what had happened last night.
Lux and Kahina slowly listened to the whole story, their eyes widening as they were left a little stunned.
The two girls had not expected that because they overslept, they had actually missed something like this.
Luke had indeed not told them about the demon in advance. He felt there had been no need.
Last night, they had searched the nearby area and had not found Evelynn's whereabouts. Frey had also sent a letter, explaining that Evelynn had already left Wrenwall and that they would pursue her all the way.
An old demon hunter with abundant qualifications and experience, a Sentinel of Light with limitless promise, and one hundred and fifty reliable people.
Luke could entrust this mission to them with peace of mind.
Vayne also hoped that she would be the one to personally end the hatred from back then.
Lux and Kahina, who already knew Vayne's background, expressed their support after hearing this, and they believed Vayne would definitely succeed.
When the sky brightened, Luke's group had already left Wrenwall and set out in the direction of Terbisia.
They spent a little more than a day on the road, even faster than when they came.
And when they stood at the harbor, looking at one ship after another, Lux's little face turned deathly pale as she finally remembered the nightmare of being ruled by seasickness medicine.
Standing on the ship, her face had already put on a mask of suffering.
Luke watched as she forced herself to drink the prepared seasickness medicine, her brows twisting together and her face looking miserable, and found it rather funny.
He patted her shoulder and told her that days like this would probably continue for about five more days. Then he turned and prepared to sleep for a while.
Life on the ship was rather boring. To sum it up, there were not many things one could do, and it felt as if every day was being repeated in the same way.
But life itself was like that, counting monotonous days as they passed one after another.
Perhaps one day, someone would suddenly think, "This kind of life isn't the life I want."
Then they would resolutely prepare to begin a brilliant, exciting life.
Unfortunately, Luke's mind would probably never produce such a thought.
He even liked his current life quite a lot. He liked this feeling of wasting time in a boring life, carefree as he felt time slowly passing by.
The ship traveled along the river for around five days, finally returning from the distant border to the center of the kingdom.
The closer they got to the capital, the stronger the sense of security in his heart became.
December 27.
On this rather clear day, Luke's group arrived at the gates of the capital.
At the gates of the capital, countless civilians had already received the news and were waiting here for the triumphant return of the troops.
From the moment they entered the city gates to when they passed through each street, both sides of the roads were packed with people. Garlands and cheers sounded continuously, and the lively atmosphere made it seem as if today were some kind of holiday.
Just like that day in Wrenwall, Luke rode on horseback at the very front, basking in people's gazes as he slowly advanced.
After stepping onto the familiar streets, his mood also returned to calm.
At this moment, Katarina, who had not expected to enter the capital of Demacia so smoothly, followed within the group and looked around at the capital's scenery.
In truth, she had already seen it on the road. Now that she had arrived in the capital, she was even more certain of it in her heart.
Demacia and Noxus were absolutely the two most different countries.
From the architecture, to the local customs, to the people, not a single thing was the same.
If Demacia was a country with very strong discipline, then one could see that just by looking at its capital.
There were people everywhere on the streets, but it did not feel chaotic. No matter how many people there were, basic order was still maintained.
And on every person's face, what she could see were genuine emotions from the heart.
Perhaps the atmosphere was too celebratory, causing even Katarina to feel somewhat uncomfortable at this moment.
Her gaze swept around, and she could not help thinking that her father might be in some corner of this very city right now.
No matter what, she had to find him and stop the tragedy from happening.
Riding on horseback, Luke went straight to the palace with his group of personal guards.
Lux, whose heart had already flown home, had long since been unable to wait and returned home. Kahina and Sona were the same.
Poppy, meanwhile, followed Luke and went to the palace with him.
After arriving at the palace entrance, he arranged for a portion of the people to enter with him, while the rest waited outside.
Yurna and Katarina were also arranged to stay outside.
At this moment, Katarina was also observing the palace, thinking that the king of Demacia was currently inside.
The palace was decorated with great majesty. The walls, stone pillars, and statues were all cast from petricite. The traces of history existed upon them, telling of the palace's long and ancient feeling.
Looking at the guards patrolling all around, watching every corner in a seamless net of surveillance, Katarina felt that there was probably no assassin who could succeed under this level of defense.
Luke, meanwhile, had already entered the palace and headed straight for the council hall.
When he pushed open the doors to the council hall, the ministers seated within all stood up in unison.
Even the few seated at the octagonal table stood solemnly to welcome Luke's return.
Looking at the ministers' grand welcoming ceremony, Luke smiled at Jarvan III, who had also stood up with a kindly smile on his face. "Father, I'm back."
Jarvan III strode over and embraced Luke. After letting go, he looked at him with pride on his face. "Well done. I am proud of your achievements."
Tianna stood behind them, also looking at Luke with a smile.
Seeing this young man, who was even taller than Jarvan III and looked no different from back then, now become the foremost contributor to Demacia's great victory over Noxus, she felt an inexplicable emotion in her heart.
She did not think that this was because of the credit she had earned back then by forcing this boy a little.
What she was thinking was that even without her, this boy Luke would probably still be standing here today.
The father and son did not chat for too long. After all, there were still so many people present.
Afterward, Luke roughly explained the matters at the border. Many things were already known to those present, but hearing them from Luke, the person directly involved, naturally felt different.
"What did that dragon look like?"
One minister, hearing the matter of the dragon, could not help asking curiously.
Even among those present, not a single person had ever seen a living dragon.
"It could be described as enormous. When it opened its mouth, it could swallow a person whole."
Luke's description sounded somewhat exaggerated, but he quickly added, "This time, I brought back the dragon's skull. Everyone will understand after seeing it."
As soon as his words fell, the curiosity of everyone present was instantly hooked.
Very soon, the soldiers who had entered the palace with Luke carried the dragon's skull inside.
And the instant the dragon's skull appeared, even though it had already become stark white bone, the atmosphere of the entire council hall still sank.
Just by looking at it, people could almost imagine the majesty and terror of this dragon when it had still been alive.
It could bring such pressure even after death. People could not help wondering just how terrifying the pressure of the dragon had been while it lived.
Afterward, the heavy dragon skull was placed on the octagonal table, directly taking up the whole thing.
The ministers around it all gathered curiously. The few seated at the octagonal table also observed and examined it up close.
It was indeed very large. It was hard to imagine that this was actually the skull of a living creature. The ministers who had previously felt that Luke's words were exaggerated now realized one after another how narrow their own vision had been.
"So big and hard…"
"What a savage and terrifying thing."
"Hiss, this feeling…"
The ministers commented one after another while reaching out to place their hands on the dragon's skull. It felt as if they were touching a piece of jade, cool and smooth.
Among those present, quite a few people also sensed the magical elements that still remained within the dragon's skull even now.
After examining it for a few moments, Eldred pondered slightly for a second, then spoke. "Your Majesty, may I take this dragon skull away to study it?"
"I was not the one who slew the dragon. You should ask him that question."
When Jarvan III heard this, he merely shook his head slightly and directed his gaze toward Luke.
Although he could indeed make the decision, he did not want to do so.
Hearing this, Eldred turned to Luke again and bowed. "Your Highness, may I take the dragon skull away to study it?"
For the Mageseekers, this dragon skull indeed had great research value.
The magical elements inside it were an incomparably novel thing to them.
Luke soon gave a response to Eldred's request. "I plan to hang this dragon skull in the capital's military camp to inspire the army's spirit. As for this dragon bone, the ones with greater right to decide what to do with it are also them. In the matter of slaying the dragon, they are the true heroes."
Luke did not intend to take the credit of slaying the dragon for himself. After all, aside from setting up the ambush, he truly had not exerted much strength.
The ones who truly charged at the front were those brave and battle-hardened soldiers, and Shyvana, who had been willing to stake her life to fight the dragon to the end.
Shyvana was still remaining outside the border for now. She had not yet prepared herself to come to the capital. However, after some time, she should return together with Jarvan IV.
If there had to be another reason,
it was that Luke did not want to hand this dragon skull over to the Mageseekers.
Hearing this, Eldred nodded and no longer insisted. "I understand Your Highness's intention."
Very soon, everyone's sense of novelty toward the dragon skull passed.
According to Luke's wishes, the dragon's skull was sent to the military camp, where it would be hung to inspire the army's spirit.
Inside the council hall, Jarvan III gave a certain summary regarding the events at the Gates of Mourning.
Finally, he looked toward Luke and said, "In the events at the Gates of Mourning, Luke's contributions cannot be overlooked. If not for him noticing the dragon's movements ahead of time and making use of them, no one knows how much longer the two sides would have remained in deadlock. During that time, countless innocent people might have suffered. In view of Luke's outstanding performance this time, I intend to promote him to lieutenant general."
Luke did have a military rank in the army. Otherwise, he could not have simply gone to the battlefield when he wanted, nor led troops when he wanted.
Long before this, he had already held the rank of major general. Now, not long after, he was going to be promoted again to lieutenant general.
The speed could be considered quite fast.
But this time, no one opposed it.
Tianna was the first to step forward and say, "I have no objection."
"I second it."
"I second it."
After that, more and more ministers stepped forward to echo her.
Luke's promotion was already set in stone.
This was different from last time, because this time, what Luke had established was genuine military merit.
Together with Jarvan IV, the two of them had slain the dragon, wiped out several hundred thousand enemy troops, recaptured the Gates of Mourning, and beheaded the enemy general on the spot.
This was already an extraordinary achievement.
Most importantly, achievements were not judged solely by how many enemies one killed.
If not for Luke's early decision-making, they would not have been able to proactively respond to Noxus's movements.
In this battle, Demacia had ended the war with such a great victory and such small casualties. It could be said that Luke's contribution was likewise far from small.
Therefore, no one opposed his promotion to lieutenant general.
Luke had returned early, so he alone was rewarded first.
Later, after Jarvan IV and the others returned, there would be another round of rewards.
In this battle, those who had performed outstandingly, aside from Jarvan IV, Garen, Lev, and the others, included Cithria.
On the battlefield, she had been brave and fearless, charging forward to kill the enemy. Such performance was naturally seen by people.
Without a doubt, after her return, what awaited Cithria would be a noble title.
Luke was sincerely happy for her. He had always thought highly of this girl who was forever filled with fighting spirit toward the future.
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