Battle of the Two Cities: Begins with the Mage

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A roar of hooves galloped down the smooth road.

Looking at the approaching village, Jarvan breathed a sigh of relief.

This was the first village he encountered when he entered Demacia, which belonged to Nokemuch, a principality under Demacia, on the border with Noxus.

In his homeland, he no longer had to worry as much as he did in Noxus.

But as the village got closer, Jarvan's face suddenly turned ugly.

The smoke from the village before was not cooking smoke at all. It was the smoke from the fire burning the wooden house.

"Array, be careful!"

Hearing Jarvan's solemn order, the 80 Light Shield Barriers quickly lined up and got ready to go.

"Ow!!!"

Suddenly, an earth-shattering dragon roar sounded, and a huge red dragon rose from the village.

Seeing this giant dragon, everyone's expressions were a little solemn.

Dragon, this is not a good match.

However, Jarvan noticed that the size of this fire dragon was a little small, and it was slightly different from the traditional giant dragon.

and...

With Jarvan's eyesight, he could clearly see a corpse gripping the fire dragon's claws.

Jarvan easily identified that person's identity... Mage!

Nokmurch is a Demacian vassal state. Usually, magic seekers don’t come here, and Demacian mages also flee here, so Jarvan is not surprised that mages are here.

"Shoot!" Jarvan shouted when he saw that the fire dragon was about to leave.

Injuring the innocent of a village, how could he let it escape easily.

Swish! Swish!

The sound of nearly a hundred arrows breaking through the air sounded almost at the same time, and the dense arrows fell towards the fire dragon like rain.

Most of the arrows hit the fire dragon. The arrows used rune steel as arrows. Most of the arrows pierced through the scales of the fire dragon, and blood-red blood gurgled out.

The fire dragon roared a few times in pain, the dragon's claws couldn't help loosening, and the mage's body fell from the air.

"Ow!!!"

The fire dragon had a hideous face, and when he opened his mouth, a ball of fire rushed towards Jarvan.

Facing the sudden attack, Jia Wen and others were not afraid at all.

"defense!"

Hearing Jarvan's command, the soldiers pulled out silver-white shields from behind.

boom!

With unstoppable power, the fireball slammed into the shields raised by the soldiers. Facing the shield formation composed of nearly a hundred shields, the fireball made an explosion sound.

But at the same time, red lights were lit up on the shields, and the fireball was slowly shrinking.

The shields of the Light Shield Barrier are made of forbidden magic stones, which can not only block most physical attacks, but also absorb magic.

After a while, the fireball disappeared.

But at this time, the fire dragon has already spread its wings and flew far away, flying in the direction of the east.

Jia Wen was unwilling, but he knew that this time should not be extravagant, so he had to give up and order the soldiers to clean up the battlefield.

This kind of thing happens from time to time. Demacia is a high mountain in the north and south, and there are countless ferocious and powerful monsters in it. Like today's dragon-like creature attacks, it has to happen several times a year.

Jia Wen handled it with ease. He asked the soldiers to perform their duties, some went to the village to put out fires, some rescued the wounded, some collected the corpses, and some wanted to report to Nokmorchi.

While the soldiers were leaving busy, Jarvan himself took time off.

For some reason, Jarvan subconsciously walked towards the mage.

When he came closer, his eyes flashed when he saw a blood-stained book that fell out of the mage's body.

He didn't hesitate for a long time, and after confirming that there was no one around, he carefully took it into his arms and hid it.

During this process, he used his peripheral vision to scan the name of the book:

"Power of the Earth"!

A few days later, after many twists and turns, Jia Wen and others returned to Xiongdu.

It was not until he saw that the silver-white city was close at hand, Jia Wen's tense heart completely let go.

He is back!

Just as he approached the magnificent city gate of Xiongdu, Jarvan's eyes narrowed slightly.

At the gate of the city, stood a burly figure with a huge sword on his back.

"Gallen!"

"Gavin!"

A few dozen meters apart, the two had already shouted each other's names.

Jarvan rolled over and dismounted with a smile, and hugged Galen.

"Just come back." Galen sighed.

"I won't come back as you said." Jia Wen scolded with a smile.

"Hahaha, I still agree with your strength. After you report to the parliament hall, let's have a drink together." Galen laughed.

"Okay!" Jarvan nodded happily.

The two seemed to be the same as before, and there was nothing strange about meeting each other.

"Let's go, His Majesty and the ministers are ready, just waiting for you to go." Galen said.

"I know. The soldiers of the Light Shield Barrier are handed over to you."

Jarvan nodded, knowing what Garen meant by being here.

There are some things that he needs to report to the parliament hall by himself.

"Don't worry, leave it to me, I will settle them. Now you are the hero who made the two countries stop the war. At least we can live a peaceful life in the future." Galen looked complicated.

sigh.

"Yeah... just don't know how long."

Jarvan nodded to Garen, got on his horse, and quickly ran towards the council hall in the center of the city.

Galloping on the emergency official road inside Xiongdu, Jia Wen could feel the grateful glances from the people around him, and many people even gave him a military salute.

Word had spread that he had led a party to Noxus for peace, although he and the Lightshield Bulwark were humiliated by Demacia's defeat by the Trifarian Chapter.

But here is different from Noxus after all, strength is not the criterion here, and the deeds of the reconciliation are enough to greatly enhance Jarvan's prestige in Demacia.

Buildings built with white stones, neat and intact roads, simple and kind people...

Everything here made Jarvan, who was on the move, arrive cordially.

Although Demacia is not as strong as Noxus, there are no miraculous floating structures above the capital.

But every brick and every tile here is built by his ancestors and the people together, and it is something that they need to protect with their lives from generation to generation.

"drink!"

Jarvan pulled the reins lightly, allowing the horse under him to gallop at a faster speed.

He was a little anxious about the upcoming report.

Pass through the grand and solemn, white stone plaza, and walk down the path leading to the Castle of Dawn.

Under the leadership of the light shield barrier soldiers, Jarvan entered the castle of dawn where the royal family lived, tightened the scroll in his hand, and entered a side hall.

Here... it is the parliamentary hall where Demacia discusses state affairs.

When he pushed open the door and entered, he instantly felt nine pairs of eyes shot on him.

Jarvan took a deep breath and raised the scroll in his hands:

"Fortunately not humiliated!"

"His Royal Highness Jarvan, thank you for your dedication to Demacia." Chancellor of the Exchequer Bristow praised.

War is spending money, and soldiers are paid pensions when they die. Demacia and Noxus have been fighting for decades, and the treasury is going to be empty.

Now, there can be at least a few years of peace.

"This is what I should do."

Jia Wen said honestly, and handed the scroll of the signed peace treaty to the eight officials for their circulation.

"The above content is consistent with what we promised." Grantham, the Executive Secretary, nodded.

"We need a lot of money lately, and I suggest selling a lot of Forbidden Stones," Bristow said.

The peace treaty only said that the trade of forbidden magic stones would be opened, but the number was not clearly marked.

That's the way Noxus has signed contracts, and they never thought they'd get anything less.

Trade is linked to politics, and military is the capital of political negotiation.

"Marquis of Bristol, you are capitalizing on the enemy." Eleanor Light Shield, the aristocratic director, frowned.

"Princess Eleanor, don't be so ugly. The kingdom needs a lot of money now, and now is a good opportunity. Besides, the Forbidden Stone is useless to us." Bristow retorted.

In addition to absorbing magic, the Forbidden Stone is not as good as Rune Steel in its own defense.

Tiana said solemnly: "Marquis of Bristol, you have to tell us the financial gap, which determines how many resources we need to sell."

In the previous meeting, the general plan has been finalized.

Now it's just a process to talk about the details, and by the way, distribute the benefits.

Open trade has advantages and disadvantages. Although the market within the kingdom will be affected, it can also exchange a large amount of resources in a short period of time.

Demacia was in a lonely place, with towering mountains to the north and south, and it was difficult to sail to Ionia from the west. They wanted to trade, and Noxus was a hurdle.

The families present here are not clean, more or less they have set up a chamber of commerce behind the scenes in Piltover to buy supplies from Noxus.

Such trade is not only dangerous, but also spans more than half of Valoran.

But now, open trade means that all nobles and even kingdoms can reap a lot of money, which is what Demacia desperately needs.

And at least half of this fund is the amount to be distributed to each noble in the future.

"We need another 500,000 Trefary Gold Coins," Bristow said hesitantly.

Since Trifali came to power, Trifali gold coins have quickly become the most accessible currency in Runeterra.

Just because this kind of gold coin has the endorsement of Noxus, and Noxus provides a lot of channels to exchange unsmelted gold and silver.

Even they had to admit that only Noxus on the continent could do this.

Especially after Kyle was defeated, the status of the new coin was more secure, not inferior to the golden siren used by Bilgewater for sea trade.

Hundreds of principalities and city-states have declared it their official currency. And Demacia trades with Noxus in Trefary gold, which is a supplement to the peace treaty.

"500,000? That's how you manage the kingdom's finances?" Eleanor's eyes widened.

Although it includes the interests of the nobles, this number is still beyond everyone's expectations.

The purchasing power of Trifali gold coins is not weak, and one can buy 1 kilogram of livestock meat. The ration of an ordinary Demacian soldier is only a few hundred gold coins.

"What can I do?" Bristow looked ugly, "Recently, the people's emotions need to be appeased, and I objected to Duke Grantham's proposal. Now that it has been officially implemented, the effect has not been seen, but the daily cost is Money is like running water."

In order to divert people's attention, they are no longer suspicious of each other.

Grantham, the Executive Secretary, proposed various grand celebrations to boost morale, demonstrate the strength of Demacia, and restore confidence to the populace.

This part of the money depends entirely on additional subsidies from the ruling family. Demacia had nothing left in her treasury due to years of wars.

"500,000 is 500,000. We should think about how to fill this hole. According to the price that Noxus can accept, about 1 ton of Forbidden Stone is needed." Tiana rubbed her head with a headache.

This price is not low, and each kilogram of Forbidden Stone can be exchanged for 500 gold coins.

Forbidden stone is not a scarce material, it can be said to be everywhere in the forbidden forest, and even the outer walls and some buildings of Xiongdu are repaired with forbidden magic stone.

What Demacia lacks has always been a craftsman who can use the Forbidden Stone to forge weapons. So far, few people have that kind of strength.

"One ton... has little impact on us, but if other regions know about this, they will hate us to death." Foreign Secretary Adair said with a wry smile.

They are not afraid of forbidden magic stones, which does not mean that people in other regions do not use magic. As long as it is magic, it will be absorbed by the forbidden magic stone.

You know, they are not the only enemies of Noxus.

"Can we also sell the Forbidden Stone to them?" Bristow became more and more excited when he said it, "In this way, we will not only not increase the strength of Noxus, but also bring greater benefits to the kingdom. "

"It's a good idea, but not for Noxus," Tiana agreed.

The rest of the people also expressed their intention to agree, and finally all looked at Adair together.

"Lord Adair..." Jarvan III's voice paused, "I'll leave it to you to communicate with other regions. Only you among us can do this in secret. Noxus is getting stronger and stronger, and they don't want to. Sit and wait to be enslaved."

Adair looked at the gazes of his colleagues, and had to bite the bullet and nodded: "Leave it to me."

He actually wanted to shirk this matter to Prince Jarvan, but Jarvan III obviously anticipated his thoughts and took the initiative to block everything.

"I..."

Jarvan hesitated, but finally said:

"I have one more thing to report, about Noxus."

"His Royal Highness, you can speak freely here." Eleanor said calmly.

"On my way back to Demacia, I saw the Trifali Chapter marching towards the Immortal Fortress. The formation was complete, with at least 10,000 people, led by Darius, Vice President of Trifaris." Jarvan looked a little dignified.

The reason for his hesitation before was that he was considering whether it was necessary to speak up.

In his mind, it was just something Noxus made to show them. On the contrary, this news will have a certain impact on Demacia.

Originally signed a peace treaty, the border does not need too much force to be stationed.

Noxus' withdrawal at this time will only ease the tension in Demacia and cause their internal conflicts to erupt.

"Sooner or later, but don't tell the people about this too early," Tiana said.

He knew more than Jarvan, news had come from the border, and the Noxian army had retreated, leaving only the troops stationed on a daily basis.

The Noxian withdrawal was undoubtedly intended to put the Demacians at ease.

Because of the foreign enemy, the Demacians have no intention of caring about what is going on inside, and are always preparing to break the net with Noxus.

Even the use of magic by the God of Flying Wings was temporarily postponed, otherwise Xiongdu would not have only a small undercurrent surging.

Like Jarvan, both Tiana and the rest of the people here understand...

Now that the Noxian army has withdrawn, all internal contradictions will emerge. Even if it doesn't explode, Noxus will fuel it.

"Understood..." Jarvan nodded and said no more.

The high-ranking officials present chatted for a long time, and Jarvan III seemed to have the intention of letting the prince listen in, and he never let Jarvan leave.

The rest of the people didn't mind, just let Jarvan listen, while he was engrossed in discussing every major event that might happen in the future.

At sunset, the eight officials left the Dawn Castle.

The parliamentary hall became unusually empty, and only the father and son looked at each other.

"Father, I heard that the current situation in Xiongdu is very bad." Jarvan mentioned vaguely.

He knew that Jarvan III wanted him to grow slowly, but they were running out of time.

"It's still under pressure, and it will return to calm after a while."

Jarvan III spoke with indifference, but the worry in his eyes was seen by Jarvan.

He gritted his teeth, knelt on one knee decisively, and said sincerely:

"I would like to share your worries."

Hearing this, even the mild-tempered Jarvan III couldn't help frowning.

This is going to be replaced by another king, and he has already raised his guard in his heart.

But Jarvan III knew his prince, his expression quickly recovered, and he sighed slightly:

"You don't have anything to do now. We can only deal with many things unchanged. Let's practice the light shield barrier for the time being."

Hearing his father's words that he meant to hand over the luminosity barrier to himself, Jia Wen couldn't help but feel a little shocked, and assured with a serious face:

"Father, I will not betray your trust."

"Go down."

"Yes!"