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In a small tavern in Delverhold.
The charcoal fire crackled, filling the entire room with warmth.
Darius waved his hand, and the boss personally came over to serve him. Darius glanced at Chen:
"Do you have any dietary restrictions?"
Chen never expected that he was now in an adversarial relationship with Noxus. After just a bit of deception and a fight, Darius believed him, and he was actually able to eat at the same table as Darius:
"Anything is fine..."
Powder, however, was very informal:
"I want to eat magic marsh frog meat!"
Darius was clearly a regular here. He muttered a few words to the boss:
"The usual, but do you have magic marsh frog meat here?"
"No..."
This was expected by Chen; he had already guessed this outcome. Powder looked aggrieved, and she began to miss the magic marsh frog meat from Zaun again.
After ordering, Darius began to ask questions with some interest:
"Boy, what's your name?"
Chen lied without needing to prepare, his face calm, and he immediately made up a story:
"My name is Chen, and her name is Powder. We are from the Immortal Bastion, and I married her, who is from Zaun."
Powder pointed at her head, not knowing what nonsense Chen was spouting, muttering internally:
"Married? Huh? When did he marry me? He hasn't married me yet! I didn't agree at all!"
In Powder's mind, Jinx looked at Powder with disdain:
"You're probably itching for him to marry you, aren't you? Stupid woman!"
Darius was somewhat confused:
"Chen, your name, and your yellow skin - these are all characteristics of Ionian people."
Chen continued to blabber, as Darius currently had no way of knowing if the information was true or false:
"My ancestors might have been Ionian, but I was born in the Immortal Bastion and have never been to Ionia."
Darius actually nodded, believing him just like that:
"Such things are not uncommon..."
Indeed, such things were not uncommon. Many Ionian people had joined Noxus, such as the former Xin Zhao, though Xin Zhao later went to Demacia...
Darius no longer doubted Chen's identity. For Darius, Chen had already proven himself to be a Noxian through his actions. He was now very concerned about one thing, and he looked at Chen:
"You came from the Immortal Bastion?"
Chen continued to lie:
"Yes, but I'm on a secret mission. I can't tell you the specifics of the mission, and we are also preparing to go to Demacia?"
Powder gnawed on a large chicken leg, not listening at all.
Darius didn't ask much about Noxus's mission. He suggested:
"Alright, there's an airship station not far from here. There are merchant ships going to Demacia; that way, it's less likely to be exposed."
Then he stroked his chin and asked Chen:
"You came from the Immortal Bastion. Tell me, did Swain's coup succeed?"
Chen didn't expect Darius to know about this:
"Huh? You know about this?"
"Of course, I know. As a general, how could I not know about such a major event?"
Darius replied confidently, but in reality, he was truly only good at fighting. His mind was only sharp during battles. He was utterly clueless about politics. All those previous matters were handled by Du Couteau. In fact, this matter was told to him by his younger brother, Draven.
Chen's eyes darted around. This was not the time to say the wrong thing; a misstep could lead to death. He directly counter-questioned:
"Do you hope Swain succeeds?"
"Of course!"
Darius replied without hesitation:
"That dog emperor Darkwill doesn't understand how to fight and likes to give blind orders! The war with Freljord was just like that!"
Darius had just returned from Freljord. He still couldn't understand why Noxus had to fight Freljord. That damned place was deadly cold; only the native Iceborn Subjugation people of Freljord could withstand it. Noxians were completely unsuited for living there.
In other words, Freljord was cold and difficult to conquer, and even if it were conquered, it would be meaningless!
But Chen knew even better than Darius that Noxus would never be able to conquer Freljord.
Forget about people like the Barbarian King and Ashe in Freljord, there were also the demigod Bear and Ornn there!
If Noxus insisted on fighting, it would end up being beaten by various gods, just like the invasion of Ionia. Moreover, Ionia was rich in resources, a fertile continent, but what kind of place was Freljord? Ninety-nine percent of it was glaciers!
It was like someone on Earth casually saying they wanted to attack the North Pole, and the North Pole also had a powerful group of alien monsters guarding it?
The war between Noxus and Freljord was protracted. After a long period of fighting, it reached a bitter and cold stalemate.
Darius had faced many life-threatening situations, experiencing assassinations, Ambush, and even being captured by the vicious Winter's Claw tribe, meaning he was taken by Sejuani. The endless war of attrition made him weary, so he was now returning to Noxus, to Delverhold, intending to deploy troops and consolidate his forces.
After learning Darius's attitude, Chen's mouth curved slightly. He looked at Darius:
"You don't need to go to Freljord anymore. Swain has already succeeded, and Darkwill is dead."
Darius's mood was hard to calm. He probably couldn't wait to "return to the capital" immediately. He asked again:
"Are you telling the truth?"
"It's true. I cut off Darkwill's head..."
With that, Chen took out a badge from his pocket. It was his trophy, taken from Darkwill, and he didn't expect it to be useful now.
Darius was somewhat astonished:
"Darkwill's royal badge! Besides the crown, this is his symbol!"
Chen waved his hand:
"The crown was melted down. After all, Noxus's traditional 'courtesy' only has this."
Every time Noxus conquered a country or city-state, they would melt down the crown symbolizing the king's authority and make them swear allegiance to Noxus.
"Quickly tell me what exactly happened!"
Darius could no longer bother with eating and eagerly began to question Chen.
Chen's words were half-truths. He claimed to be Swain's subordinate, that he had infiltrated the imperial city and killed Darkwill. Of course, killing Darkwill was true. He didn't mention the struggle with LeBlanc or escaping from Swain.
Later, Chen and Darius ate and chatted, and Chen told him about the Trifarix Council and many of Swain's new policies.
From Darkwill's badge, from Chen's combat power, and from everything Chen said had happened, Darius gradually believed him.
Darius smiled, as if he could already see a stronger Noxus. He patted Chen's shoulder:
"Chen, you're quite something, boy. You're skilled in both civil and military arts, and you can even use magic. With people like you in Noxus, its future will only be stronger!"
"Of course, I'm going to take over your position as the Noxus Hand!"
Gu Chen was still acting; he was already three parts into the role.
But what he never expected was that Darius suddenly stood up and looked at Chen with great seriousness:
"You are indeed the most qualified person to take on this title. You are the only young Noxian who can fight me to a draw! But that will only happen after I die in battle!"
Then he took off the Black Cleaver he was carrying. Chen was stunned and inwardly shocked:
"He's not going to fight me to the death, is he? Are all Noxians crazy?!"
Just as Chen was about to take out his weapon, what he least expected was that Darius actually handed the Black Cleaver to Chen:
"This battle-axe is called the Black Cleaver. It is the legacy of the Noxus Hand, passed down from the first Noxus Hand, Sion, to this day."
"Every generation of the Noxus Hand will pass the Black Cleaver to the next successor they recognize. Although as long as I'm not dead, the Noxus Hand is me!"
"You can fight me to a draw, and you have done so much for Noxus. You are already the next Noxus Hand I recognize. Now I will hand the Black Cleaver to you!"
"Do you accept!"
In an instant, all the surrounding Noxian soldiers knelt down on one knee, and a uniform roar came:
"For Noxus!"
Chen stared blankly at Darius in front of him, swallowed, and his heart was no longer calm:
"I actually tricked Darius, and he's even going to pass the Black Cleaver to me?!"
"Is my acting so superb? Can they not give me this year's Oscar?"
Powder was off to the side, eating and craning her neck to watch the show. She wanted to see how Chen would continue to keep up the act!
"I can't refuse the black cleaver! I'll just lose face today!"
Chen also knelt on one knee, fiercely slamming his right hand over his heart. This was the Noxian military salute, meaning to dedicate everything, including one's heart, to Noxus!
Chen's expression was serious and earnest. He looked solemnly at Darius in front of him:
"To restore the glory of Noxus, it is our bounden duty!"
Chen lowered his head and extended his hands forward.
Darius nodded solemnly, gently stroking the Black Cleaver in his hand:
"Old friend, you've been with me for so long. Now you're changing hands once again. For the future of Noxus, continue to radiate your glory!"
He slowly placed the Black Cleaver into Chen's hands:
"Let us witness the inheritance of the next Noxus Hand!"
At the same time, the surrounding soldiers shouted in unison:
"Welcome the next Noxus Hand!"
Amidst the cheers, Chen's blood boiled. He was completely immersed in the role. He held the Black Cleaver and slowly stood up, raising the Black Cleaver high with his right hand, shouting:
"Long live Noxus!"
Immediately after, Darius also shouted:
"Long live Noxus!"
All the soldiers in the tavern, including the common people, were infected by the power of Noxus at this moment and shouted together:
"Long live Noxus!"
"..."
After a brief moment of fervor, Darius waved his hand:
"Everyone, we have witnessed much today, but our mission is not yet complete. Everyone eat well tonight; we are preparing to return to the Immortal Bastion!"
The veterans who had been away for many years were finally able to return home. They were also very happy, but they suppressed their inner excitement, sat down obediently, and had a hearty meal.
As the charcoal fire burned, the temperature in the room grew warmer. Powder could finally take off her coat. Chen rubbed her cold little hands, helping her warm her body.
Darius looked at Chen and Powder, leaning back slightly in his chair, memories flooding his mind. He sighed deeply:
"Alas, when I was your age, I also had a woman who was always with me. We vowed to conquer the world..."
Then he looked down at the wine glass in his hand. How he wished he could drink a few sips of liquor to forget that woman.
Unfortunately, it contained water, not liquor. As a general in the field, he certainly couldn't drink alcohol, fearing it would jeopardize military opportunities. Darius would definitely adhere to not drinking alcohol.
Darius could only treat the water as wine, draining it in one gulp, and looked at the chandelier on the ceiling, glowing with a warm yellow light:
"Alas, she has already left me..."
Darius also had a past love story. Darius had a childhood sweetheart named Quiletta. They grew up together, joined the army together, and fought for Noxus in various campaigns. Of course, they later became husband and wife.
During the war between Noxus and Ionia, various 'gods' of Ionia appeared, and Noxus was no match for Ionia. So Emystan invited an Alchymist from Zaun, yes, Singed. Singed's Alchemical Inferno turned Ionia's Wuji Village, the hometown of Master Yi, into Ashes!
Afterward, Darius and his wife Quiletta were responsible for cleaning up the Wuji Village battlefield. Quiletta's already injured left arm, under the infiltration of Singed's fierce alchemical poison, could only be amputated.
At that time, Quiletta was determined to die and said to Darius:
"Then let me die! Please!"
But Darius's reply was:
"You cannot die. You must still fight for Noxus."
From then on, Quiletta grew to hate fighting, hated everything about Noxus. She left Darius and returned to her hometown of Bessilico.
And now, Quiletta's son was dead, killed in Freljord because of a Noxian conscription order.
Quiletta could no longer bear it. Taking advantage of Swain's coup and the chaos in Noxus, she instigated a rebellion in Bessilico!
And when Darius returned, he would personally lead troops to quell the rebellion!
At that time, Darius would try his best to persuade her to surrender, but Quiletta would rather die than yield. Her adjutant would kill Quiletta and then surrender to Noxus.
Darius's beloved Quiletta would die in front of Darius.
Chen could see from Darius's current eyes that Darius could never forget the person he deeply loved, but for him, his country Noxus was more important than Quiletta!
Now that I'm here, I think I can prevent this from happening! I also want to preserve Darius's last trace of tenderness.
Chen made up his mind. Darius had even passed the Black Cleaver to him, so now he also wanted to do his part to help Darius keep his beloved:
"Actually, uu reading, I have one more thing I don't know if I should say."
Darius waved his hand:
"Speak!"
Chen looked at him seriously:
"Do you remember a young man named Decius in your army?"
"With so many soldiers, how could I remember..."
Darius crossed his arms, but he gradually recalled that there indeed was a young man with that name:
"It seems so. I remember he looked at me differently from others, always with a hint of resentment and anger. Unfortunately, he was still too weak and died in Freljord."
Chen slowly said:
"He was your son."
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