roccoschili Chapter 286: There’s Always Going to Be an Accident
Chapter 286: There’s Always Going to Be an Accident
In the evening, inside a private room at Zaun's Forgen Tavern, Logan, Lissandra, Jax, and Master Yi, who had just arrived in Zaun from Ionia by hextech airship today, sat around a table, drinking, eating fried snacks, and digging into braised chicken and duck.
"This little thing is delicious. How do you Zaunites even do it? I've been to so many places, and there really isn't anywhere whose food can compare to Zaun's." Jax picked up a piece of duck with two thick fingers, lifted his helmet, then stuffed the duck into his mouth. As he chewed, he praised it sincerely.
It was not because he was close to Logan that Jax was buttering him up about Zaun's food. It was simply the truth. He had traveled all over the world and had lived for more than a thousand years, but if they were talking about good food, it really had to be Zaun and Piltover.
Zaun's meats were in a league of their own, while Piltover's cakes and desserts were just as exceptional.
Lissandra elegantly picked up a piece of fried frog meat with her chopsticks and placed it in her mouth. Fried frog meat had a texture different from frog meat served raw or boiled. It was chewy, carrying a spicy, numbing fragrance, and Lissandra liked both the taste and the mouthfeel.
After all, there were no peppers in the Freljord. Before she met Logan, Lissandra had not even needed to eat, but now she still indulged her appetite from time to time.
What else was she supposed to do? Let the three men sit there eating and drinking while Lissandra stood beside them like a cold, aloof statue?
Still, speaking of frog meat, Lissandra still could not understand why Jinx's sister liked eating frog meat with that slick, slippery texture. Was that thing really fit for human consumption?
Thinking of this, Lissandra lifted her head, looked at the bright incandescent light on the ceiling, and thought again that it would be wonderful if this thing could be introduced to the Freljord someday.
Compared to the Twin Cities, calling the Freljord's current situation primitive was already a compliment. Even now, the people there still relied on sheer grit to get through the cold, used torches for lighting, and did not even have proper ways to deal with sewage and filth.
"I'm not bragging, but when it comes to seasonings, Zaun is unmatched anywhere in Runeterra." Logan was eating too, chewing a fragrant piece of duck while opening a bottle of rum and pouring himself a glass.
After downing it in one gulp, Logan continued, "In the past, it was because we had no money and no resources, so we could only rely on seasonings to raise our quality of life. Now, we have everything, but seasonings definitely can't be abandoned."
As for health, there was no need to worry. With the Twin Cities' current technology, let alone replacing organs inside a human body, to put it bluntly, if Viktor wanted to, he could even swap out someone's head.
So, under that level of technology, the negative effects of seasonings were barely worth mentioning.
They ate and chatted idly, but before long, the conversation shifted to serious business.
Jax first let out a drunken burp, then picked up a napkin from the side and wiped his mouth. Only after finishing that did he speak. "It's exactly as you thought, Logan. After Yi and I went to Shurima, we did indeed sense the presence of powerful beings. Stronger than us."
"Was it Nasus?" Logan asked.
While he and Lissandra had been in the Freljord, Jax and Yi had served as supplemental combat strength for the Twin Cities, and during that period, they had made a trip to Shurima.
Logan was very clear that the Void was indeed a major problem, the final boss, but before the final boss, there were still plenty of other bosses.
For example, Mount Targon. For example, the Shadow Isles. And for another example, Shurima.
Aspects, undead, Ascended, those people were not going to stand on the same side as humanity. Because of that, Logan was worried that while they were dealing with the Frost Watchers, these guys would jump out and cause trouble.
Especially Shurima. If Azir was revived, his strength would definitely not be inferior to Lissandra's. After all, Aatrox at his peak had been comparable to Ornn, and as the Ascended Emperor, Azir's strength naturally needed no explanation.
Among the Ascended, the most perfect one was Setaka. Logan was not sure who would be stronger between the Ascended Warrior-Queen and Aatrox, but he imagined that even if Setaka was weaker than Aatrox, she would not be weaker by much. In a fight to the death, strength on paper was not worth using as a reference.
And as Setaka's descendant, as well as the one who had ruled Shurima at the height of its power, Azir's strength likewise needed no explanation. More importantly, the most troublesome thing was that Azir was not merely a noble and martial symbol like Setaka. Azir was an emperor with brains and wisdom.
After all, Azir had gone from prince to emperor, experiencing countless trials in between. As the youngest prince and the least favored, the throne had been incredibly distant from him, but in the end, Azir became Shurima's final emperor.
Because of that, Azir was a character whose cunning was comparable to Swain's, while his strength completely surpassed Swain's.
"It wasn't Nasus." Jax shook his head. He could recognize Nasus's scent. After all, during the battle against the Aspects, Nasus had appeared, and Jax had captured his presence then.
Beside him, Yi hesitated for a moment. His spiritual power was stronger than Jax's, so his perception was naturally more outstanding. Then he said, "After the battle you created in Shurima, the residual power left behind destroyed many restrictions across Shurima and released many powerful beings. When Jax and I went there, I sensed four powerful presences."
Yi thought back, closed his eyes, and said, "One presence was like sunlight, overbearing and blazing, but that presence had only just awakened and was very weak. Of the other three, one was very similar to the Aatrox beside Logan. Another was an energy body so powerful that sensing it made me dizzy. The last one was an unknown presence."
"Logan, that unknown presence Yi mentioned should also be an Ascended," Jax said.
"Ah, then I understand." Logan sighed. Sure enough, the unexpected had still happened.
Unlike the situation in the original universe, Azir's revival had not been caused by Sivir. At the moment, Noxus was no longer as fractured internally. Although Logan had no idea where LeBlanc was hiding while cooking up schemes, on the surface, she indeed no longer dared to make trouble for Swain.
Another point was that LeBlanc had no need to create trouble for herself either. What had she been planning for a thousand years for? Wasn't it to deal with Mordekaiser?
And now, with Logan and Swain standing in front of her, LeBlanc naturally would no longer worry over these matters the way she used to.
Because of that, there was no incident of the Black Rose sending people to Shurima to rob tombs and excavate ancient weapons. Katarina's younger sister, Cassiopeia, was also still in Noxus living as her noble lady self, and would no longer become a half-human, half-snake monster.
But even so, the ones who were supposed to appear still appeared.
That was right. The stage had already been built. How could the major players not come out?
"Who are those people?" Jax asked.
Lissandra also looked at Logan.
Even Lissandra had to admit one thing, ancient Shurima had come within a hair's breadth of sweeping across Runeterra and unifying north and south.
The witch was very strong, but she was still no match for ancient Shurima.
More than a hundred demigods, including quite a few immensely powerful beings. With that level of strength, even in the celestial realm, they would have been an incredibly powerful force.
To a certain extent, the power of ancient Shurima's Ascended had been granted by the Aspects of Targon. But later, Shurima had already broken away from the Aspects' control. If Icathia had not caused the war between the Ascended and the Void, Shurima might very well have turned back against the Aspects at the time. Would they have torn down Mount Targon?
Even after the Icathian War, hadn't the remaining Darkin still made the Aspects wary? The Aspects could only helplessly send the former Aspect of Twilight, Myisha, to scheme against the Darkin.
"The blazing, overbearing presence like the sun that Yi mentioned, if nothing unexpected happened, should be Azir," Logan said seriously.
Jax froze, rarely showing a trace of nervousness as he pressed, "Azir, the Hawk Emperor?"
"That's him."
"He died!"
"He was indeed betrayed while undergoing Ascension, but the power of the Ascended still entered his body. Besides, if someone dies, does that mean they can't be revived?" Logan looked at Jax speechlessly.
"How is that possible? How could that be possible? If it really is him, then Shurima…" There was a hint of panic in Jax's voice. "He will definitely unite Shurima."
"It won't be that simple." Logan understood what Jax meant, but he was still a little confused.
The thing was, Icathia was already gone. Jax could be considered the last Icathian, right? Even Kai'Sa, who shouted "Icathian rain" before unleashing a spray of light missiles, was actually Shuriman.
All he could say was that Icathia and Shurima's tangled love-hate history made Jax unable to let it go.
"If Azir wants to revive Shurima, Zaun won't agree. After all, once he unites Shurima, the next thing he'll do is take back Va'Zaun. This place was once Shuriman territory too."
"And another thing, Azir once bullied Janna. I won't pretend that never happened."
Hearing Logan say this, Jax let out a breath of relief.
The number of gods behind Logan now was not much less than Shurima's.
Not counting the ones Logan kept hidden, just the ones in the open were Janna, Swain, Karma, Yi, Jax himself, Lissandra, several demigods of the Old Ways from the Freljord, and that woman called Nilah, who had only recently linked up with Logan.
Jax admitted that he could not beat Nilah. That woman was a monster.
And besides, Lissandra alone would be enough to give Azir a serious headache.
Thinking this, Jax relaxed.
Logan then continued, "As for that energy body, it's most likely the person who betrayed Azir back then. His name is Xerath, a man who isn't an Ascended, but might as well be one."
"Mm. Azir failed to complete his Ascension back then because Xerath stole the Ascended power?"
"That guy is a major problem. Azir is domineering, but he can still be communicated with. That guy, though? If you see him, just beat him to death immediately. When the time comes, Jax, you and Yi will take Karma to Shurima and look for him. Prevent him from coming out and causing trouble."
"Understood." Jax nodded, and Yi did the same beside him.
"Then there's the one whose presence is the same as Nasus's. If the energy body really is Xerath, then that one is Renekton, Nasus's younger brother. He's an insane Ascended. There's no need to worry too much about him. His mind is gone, so under normal circumstances, he can't bring out his full strength."
Logan was not making that up. After being humiliated by Xerath for more than a thousand years, Renekton had already gone mad. Hatred and shame had made him lose himself. In Renekton's backstory, he had even been bullied by several desert bandits. If his Ascended power had not returned in rage afterward, Renekton really would have been a disgrace among the Ascended.
Mm, even more embarrassing than the Ascended Jax had killed.
"Then what about the last one?" Lissandra asked coldly.
Every time she saw Logan speaking so confidently and at such length, Lissandra became a little speechless.
Just what had she been doing as a hardworking dreamwalking busybee for these ten thousand years? The secrets she knew really were not as many as Logan's.
"The last one…" Logan hesitated.
Logan had always known that unexpected things would always happen in this world. All kinds of unexpected things.
Just like how Aatrox had now become his companion. Before meeting Aatrox, Logan had never imagined such a thing.
And that Darkin, who had likewise escaped from the broken restrictions after being affected by the power from the battle against the Aspects…
"It's hard to say for sure. There are many Darkin. Back then, a harp could be hidden in Zaun's underground world, so in Shurima, there would only be even more Darkin."
The Darkin had been sealed in various places across Runeterra. Demacia, Noxus, Ionia, the Freljord, even Bilgewater all had Darkin.
The one in Demacia was a shield, the one in Noxus was a ballista, the one in Ionia was a bow, Logan was not too sure about Bilgewater's, but the one in the Freljord was a spear.
Because of that, Shurima, as the Darkin's place of origin, would only have more.
So…
"For now, I have two candidates. Barring any unexpected changes, it should be one of them." After thinking for a while, Logan said, "The first candidate is named Xolaani. Among the Darkin, she's also in the top tier. Unlike Aatrox, Xolaani tried to rule the Darkin. If she really escaped, that would be a huge problem."
"As for the other Darkin candidate, her name is Naafiri. This one is even more troublesome, because to some extent, her strength is not much weaker than Aatrox's. Of course, I mean Aatrox in his powerful period," Logan emphasized.
Jax spoke up. "I remember those two names. Back during the Darkin War, the trigger was Xolaani and Naafiri. The former was called the Faceless, while the latter called herself the Empress."
"Naafiri came close to ruling the Darkin. If Aatrox hadn't appeared, the Darkin would still be active across Runeterra now," Jax said seriously.
He had lived through the Darkin War, so of course he remembered these things.
Logan shrugged.
"No matter who it is, our plan cannot go wrong."
"We proceed as planned. Jax, you and Yi take Karma to Shurima. I'll take Janna and Lissandra back to the Freljord."
"Before we deal with the Void, whoever dares to show their face…"
Logan drank down the rum, set the glass on the table, and his tone turned cold.
"I'll deal with them first."
Before the matter of the Void beneath the Freljord was resolved, no one was allowed to come out.
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