The Glory of Noxus

Dawn of the second day.

The crimson glow spread across the plain, like thousands of boiling furnaces of molten steel pouring down, and fell on the palace complex in the center of the Immortal Fortress.

The long triumphal staircase, with uniformed Noxian guards standing on both sides of the stairs every twelve steps.

As soon as the sky dawned, many figures appeared on the triumphal stairs.

Wearing luxurious brocade clothes and with cold eyes, they were walking slowly along the steps towards the palace.

Whoosh!

The biting cold wind blew, and the crimson imperial flag was rolled up, watching the nobles continue to climb the stairs.

Instead, the howling cold wind was mixed with the smell of coal smoke and workshops.

No forge in Noxus is cold.

After a while.

These nobles walked to the dark palace. The heavy door had already been opened, and there were two rows of soldiers in full plate armor guarding the door.

They gripped their axes and halberds, stood at attention, and wore dark red cloaks.

Trifari legionnaire.

When many nobles saw these Trifari Legion soldiers, their usual aura and arrogance disappeared.

Also at this time, with the sound of flapping wings, more than ten crows flew over the heads of the nobles.

Pass through the huge gate of the palace.

The nobles entered the audience hall and first saw the thrones of the Noxian emperors.

It was a huge object, carved from a single block of obsidian, rough and angular.

Countless flags hang down beside it, tall pillars form sharp angles, and candles burn on the candlesticks. Everything is directing the guests' attention to the throne.

It is the only master of the entire space!

But the throne was empty.

The audience hall is very spacious, enough to accommodate a thousand people.

However, even with the participation of nobles, it still seemed a bit empty.

Because a considerable number of people became victims in the previous coup, and their families disappeared completely.

The nobles looked at the high platform at the foot of the throne. There were three figures gathered around a simple marble table.

In the middle is the new commander-in-chief, a famous far-sighted man——

Jericho Swain!

A pair of eagle eyes stared at the many nobles in front of them.

Although many nobles still called him a usurper, because he was the one who dragged the crazy Brown Darkwill off the throne, no nobles dared to say it to their face.

Sitting on Swain's right is the legendary Hand of Noxus——

Darius!

He is the commander-in-chief of the Trefari Legion and commands the armies of the entire empire.

He is the physical embodiment of force!

Compared to Swain, who was sitting upright, Darius leaned on the back of the chair slightly casually, beating drums on the wooden armrests of the chair with his armored-gloved hands.

He had thick arms, a serious expression, and a hint of anger hidden in the corners of his eyes.

To Swain's left is a man wrapped from head to toe in a large, layered robe.

He is a representative sent by the Assassin's Guild. The nobles call him the "Faceless One", which is a complete mystery.

This person sat there motionless, wearing a black mask with no expression, cold eyes, and smooth texture. Even the small holes exposing the eyes were covered by black silk mesh, completely obscuring this person's identity.

The man's hands were not exposed, they were all hidden in the sleeves of heavy fabric.

However, many nobles vaguely saw the shadow of female features on the mask, or it might just be a problem with the lighting.

"Everyone, this is the third meeting."

Swain looked at the many nobles under the high platform and gestured for them to sit on the seats in the audience hall.

"Originally, I was planning to postpone the meeting, but something happened in the Immortal Fortress last night."

Swain's eagle-like eyes inspected the sitting nobles, and his long hair mixed with gray silk fell down on his shoulders.

An atmosphere of silence filled the audience hall.

The nobles looked at the commander in front of them and felt some irresistible coercion and strength from his body.

"Yes, respected Lord Swain, last night a transcendent from the Northland Battle Group broke into the Immortal Fortress and openly slaughtered the nobles, causing a very bad impact."

Count Athol Jafari stood up and his eyes fell on Darius.

"I hope General Darius, the commander of the Northland Battle Group, can give an explanation."

"Explanation?" Darius looked at Count Athol, his cold voice was like a black wolf's low growl when warning the enemy.

"What do you want to say?"

"What about the Imperial Pension?!"

Earl Athol's expression changed slightly when he heard Darius's words, and his eyes fell on Swain.

"According to the laws of the empire, citizens who kill nobles for no reason shall be punished with death!"

"Citizen?" Darius said, leaning his upper body forward onto the smooth marble table.

"Who said he was a citizen?"

He pulled out a parchment scroll from his arms, engraved with the red symbol of the Noxus Empire, and handed it to the Trifari Legionnaire beside him.

"Huo Jixing, the extraordinary person you call him, is an officially conferred baron, and he had received the approval of the Trifali Council before yesterday."

Earl Athol took the parchment handed over by the soldiers of the Trifari Legion, raised his eyebrows slightly, and returned it after reading it.

Although things have changed, they are still within the expected range. Earl Athol thought to himself.

"Even nobles cannot kill other nobles without reason, according to the laws of the empire."

pat!

Before Earl Athol finished speaking, a clear voice sounded on the clean floor of the audience hall.

It's a brown wooden box.

As the wooden box fell to the ground, letters covered with handwriting fell all over the ground like dancing dandelions.

The nobles lowered their eyes, and many of them bent down to pick up the letter on the ground. Then their expressions suddenly changed, and they were a little panicked.

"Count Athol, why don't you take a look at what's written on those letters?" Darius said solemnly, his dark eyes staring coldly at the nobles below.

After receiving the letter handed over by the nobles around him, Earl Athol looked a little embarrassed.

"These have not been verified and cannot be used as evidence."

Seemingly lacking in confidence, Earl Athol looked fiercely at some of the nobles behind him, and his tone gradually weakened.

"Already verified!"

Under the flickering dim candlelight, Darius turned sideways and looked at the 'Faceless Man' who had always remained silent.

"The Assassin's Guild has verified all the information on the letter last night."

"Now, you should give me an answer." Darius stood up and looked around at all the nobles present with a fierce expression.

"Why dare you touch the empire pension!"

Facing Darius, who was almost ready to devour anyone, the nobles looked at each other and remained quiet.

Earl Athol also lowered his eyes.

Although many nobles looked down upon Darius.

But the ability of the Noxus capital to maintain the current order does not rely on the consciousness of everyone, but on the Northland War Group and the Trifari Legion under Darius.

"General Darius, one thing is another, and what we are discussing now is Huo Jixing's blatant massacre of nobles."

Gulans walked out of the crowd of nobles and looked directly at Darius.

"No, they are the same thing!"

Darius looked deeply at Gulans, then looked at Swain in front of him, and spoke in a solemn voice.

"In Noxus, no one is born nobler than another."

"That's what you said, Swain!"

boom!

The noise suddenly started.

The audience hall seemed to be transformed into a vegetable market.

The nobles started shouting with red faces, and a few people's eyes fell on Swain, including Gu Lansi.

Born into a noble family that was one of the founders of Noxus, Swain was destined to live a life of privilege.

His family played a key role in Brown Darkwill's rise to power.

Although Swain eventually executed his parents for some reasons, he was still regarded as a representative of aristocratic power.

This is also one of the important factors why Swain was able to complete the overnight coup.

He has the support of some nobles!

"That's enough!" Swain looked at Earl Athol and waved his hand to signal them to leave.

"We will inform you of the specific regulations later!"

Looking into Swain's cold eyes, the nobles stopped arguing and slowly left the audience hall.

In the end, there were only three figures gathered around a simple marble table.