Caitlyn noticed Vi's hesitation.
Striking while the iron was hot, she attempted to correct Vi's misguided mindset. "Vi, the radical route simply won't work."
"Piltover's strength is far above Zaun's. The massive web of interests behind Piltover is firmly tied to powerful empires like Noxus."
"With the Windguides' current strength, it is absolutely impossible to achieve victory through bloody conflict—"
"President Levi and Vice President Viktor both agree on this point."
"Uh..." It would have been fine if Caitlyn hadn't mentioned Levi and Viktor, but the moment she did, Vi's expression turned strange.
Because she knew very well in her heart that Levi was actually a staunch advocate for violent struggle.
All that bullshit about moderate reform was just something he made up to fool people.
Uh... Vi secretly glanced at Caitlyn. Right, it was used to fool noble young ladies exactly like her.
But fooling aside, because President Levi publicly promoted moderate reform, within the current Windguides and in the eyes of moderates like Caitlyn:
The moderate faction was the orthodox path. Radicals like Vi were the ones who had strayed from the right path.
"Vi." Caitlyn assumed Vi's silence meant she was struggling internally. "Think about it carefully..."
She spoke with Vi very patiently, wanting to win her over.
"Haha..." Vi wasn't as articulate as her, and since she couldn't exactly expose the truth and throw Levi under the bus, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep listening.
Finally, someone walked over and interrupted their conversation.
It was Viktor.
Viktor looked quite different compared to a week ago.
He had upgraded the temporary Mechanical Exoskeleton he built a week ago into a set of Hextech Mechanical Armor. It gleamed with a brassy luster, was much lighter and more form-fitting, and provided mechanical assistance to the human body.
He was currently wearing this armor out in public. He didn't look like a university professor at all; instead, he looked like a mechanical warrior.
"Professor Viktor, why are you..." Caitlyn was quite familiar with Viktor, so she couldn't help but ask upon seeing him, "Why are you dressed like this for the meeting?"
"Oh, this?"
Viktor's personality seemed much livelier than when he wasn't wearing the armor.
He opened his hand, which no longer needed to lean on a cane, and stomped his now-agile leg that used to limp.
"This is my walking assistance armor for the disabled, meant to replace my cane."
"..." Caitlyn was speechless.
But Viktor truly wasn't lying.
Ever since he put on this Hextech Mechanical Power Armor and felt the freedom of agile limbs and the power of boundless strength...
Viktor never wanted to take it off again.
He genuinely treated this thing as a walking aid, wearing it as if it were a part of his own body.
The feeling of being an iron man was simply too good.
If possible, he really wanted to replace his entire body with iron.
"Alright..." Caitlyn reluctantly accepted this explanation.
Since Vice President Viktor happened to be here, she pointed at Vi beside her and said to him,
"Professor Viktor, you should say something too."
"This girl is a stubborn radical. She is going completely against the correct route that President Levi insists upon."
"I think that as Vice President, you should step up and make your stance clear to correct the erroneous radical ideology currently trending within the Windguides."
"Uh..." Seeing Vi and several other people nearby looking over with interest, Viktor's expression instantly became awkward.
He suddenly regretted not putting his helmet on as well—
That way, he could have covered his face and saved his terrible acting skills.
"Yes... Caitlyn is right... We still need to fight for our cause through non-violent means..." Viktor tried his best to speak with a straight face.
"Do you understand, Vi? Violence cannot solve problems."
"I..." Vi looked at Viktor's suit of steel armor and the third hand swaying behind his back, feeling that his words lacked any persuasive power whatsoever.
Sure enough, Viktor quickly changed the subject.
"Vi, this is a gift Levi asked me to give you."
"He said this thing suits you perfectly. Perhaps you could try putting it on."
With that, he opened the large suitcase he was carrying.
Inside the case was a pair of steel gauntlets inlaid with Hextech Crystals.
"And what is this..." Caitlyn faintly sensed that something was wrong.
"It's the Hextech Miner Gloves that Jayce and I invented... um, for mining."
"..." Caitlyn was speechless again.
She had indeed heard Jayce mention that these miner gloves were meant for miners.
But handing them over to a Zaunite delinquent... they couldn't possibly be expecting Vi to wear these things and go back to Zaun to mine, right?
"This is a Hextech weapon! Professor Viktor, how could you hand such a dangerous weapon to an uncontrollable radical?"
Caitlyn strongly objected.
Viktor had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain, "Vi is very capable and suited for this weapon. We are giving her a weapon solely to enhance the Windguides' self-defense capabilities... yes, exactly."
"The Windguides' armaments are strictly for self-defense, not military purposes. These weapons are only meant to protect ourselves and cannot be used for external combat..."
"Do you understand, Vi?"
"Yeah!" Vi impatiently hugged the pair of gauntlets to her chest, her eyes shining brightly. "I understand!"
"..." Caitlyn stared in disbelief.
'Like hell you understand!'
After Vi put on the Hextech gauntlets, she could barely conceal the ferocious grin on her face.
The more Caitlyn looked, the more uneasy she felt.
She believed that Levi's indulgence of the radical faction's erroneous ideology spreading internally, and even handing Hextech weapons over to radicals like Vi, would sooner or later lead to a massive disaster.
'It seems I need to find an opportunity to have a good talk with Levi,' Caitlyn thought to herself.
But at that moment, Levi had already stepped up to the podium, announcing the official start of the Windguides' general assembly.
Over 500 Windguides, including Vi and Caitlyn, collectively quieted down.
The glowing white threads extending from their bodies were still clearly visible above their heads.
Looking across the venue, a sea of fluorescent light flickered.
The lights varied in brightness, resembling a sky full of scattered stars.
Levi then looked at these Threads of Faith and addressed the crowd.
"I believe everyone has noticed recently that there is an ideological divide between the moderate and radical factions within our ranks."
"Yes!" The crowd nodded in agreement.
Caitlyn straightened her posture with keen interest.
Finally, Levi was addressing this issue!
She waited for him to use his authority as President to clarify the correct route and promptly correct radicals like Vi who had strayed from the path.
Yet, what Levi said next was, "Actually, there is absolutely no need to discuss this issue."
"Because the enemy has already chosen our path for us."
"Huh?" The atmosphere in the venue instantly became tense.
Although Levi hadn't explicitly stated it, the word "enemy" in his speech implicitly revealed a lot.
Sure enough, Levi continued.
"I have some unfortunate news to share with everyone—"
"The Piltover Council has secretly reached a resolution to completely annihilate our Windguide Association through military force."
"The Councilors have explicitly issued a warrant, claiming we have devolved into irredeemable bandits. Anyone associated with the Windguides, regardless of age, gender, or whether they are from Zaun or Piltover, is to be entirely eradicated and killed without mercy."
This horrifying news stunned everyone present the moment it was dropped.
The crowd of over 500 people instantly erupted into chaos.
"No, that's impossible!" Caitlyn stood up from the audience in utter disbelief. "President Levi, are you joking? The Piltover Council is going to encircle and suppress the Windguides? Why haven't I received any news about this?"
"Alas, Caitlyn..." Levi sighed mournfully. "I'm sorry, but what I'm saying is true."
"It seems your family's influence isn't as reliable as you thought."
"This..." Caitlyn's eyes widened, rendering her speechless for a long time.
The others were even more panicked, at a loss, and inexplicably terrified.
"Then... then what do we do?" someone muttered a question. "President, Janna... Goddess Janna will save us, right?"
"I'm sorry." Levi merely sighed. "Janna's power hasn't recovered yet. She cannot save us."
As soon as these words were spoken, the morale of the Windguides instantly wavered, even collapsing.
If they couldn't rely on Janna, were they supposed to rely on themselves to fight the Piltover Enforcers to the death? Did they even have that kind of strength right now?
Thus, in just those few short seconds, the glow of many people's Threads of Faith dimmed, turned ashen, or even vanished completely.
Those already fragile beliefs melted and disappeared in an instant, like butter meeting heat.
And those whose faith collapsed included not only moderates but also radicals.
In the face of the great terror of life and death, everyone, regardless of their background or faction, reverted to being ordinary people.
Only a small minority remained steadfast in their faith, their threads even tempering to become brighter and more radiant amidst this terrifying adversity.
'Just as I expected...' Levi sighed inwardly.
The threshold for joining the Windguides had been set too low.
Having faith, having steadfast faith, and having faith that could withstand trials were completely different things.
It seemed he had made the right decision.
The Windguides had to become a dauntless vanguard capable of leading the struggle, not a social mixer for hobbyists.
"Everyone—"
Just as the scene descended into utter chaos, with some people even unable to hold back the urge to run away, Levi spoke up again.
"None of you need to be afraid. Actually, I was just testing everyone just now."
"The Piltover Council has not sent anyone to encircle and suppress us."
"Huh?!" The crowd was utterly bewildered.
Was a life-or-death matter like this something that could be used to test people? You are the President! How can you speak like a stand-up comedian!
The crowd was agitated and indignant, but Levi merely explained with a solemn expression, "I just wanted everyone to seriously think about this:"
"Moderate struggle is still a struggle, and non-violent non-cooperation is still non-cooperation. Non-cooperation will inevitably offend people in the end—"
"What if, someday in the future, this joke becomes reality?"
"As Windguides, do you all truly have the courage to face such a cruel test?"