Battle of the Two Cities: Begins with the Mage

Laxana once heard her teacher say that when a person stands in a different position, the scenery they see is completely different.

Before, she always thought that this sentence was to describe the view from the top. But when she sat on the seat that symbolized the Eight Great Officials, a strange feeling rose in her heart.

Sitting in a slightly higher position will have a different mood...

Laxana's gaze turned slightly downward, and the brand-new bright red carpet under her feet stretched far and wide until it disappeared at the edge of the white stone gate, and the splendid sun poured down from the glass window at the top.

The bright red and the light of the morning light complement each other, setting off the entire hall with splendor and splendor.

The representatives of the various regions were bounded by the red carpet, standing on both sides, and she had never felt that those people were so small, so...respectful.

From the moment she walked into the chamber, the expressions of these people were either inquiring, or curious, or friendly... but never before with such awe.

Laxana blinked, looked away, and glanced at the scepter that symbolized the Eight Great Officials. A strange emotion rose in her heart. She couldn't tell whether it was good or bad.

"Teacher, I always feel...I'm a little different."

Facing Laxana's confusion, she quickly gave the answer in her mind:

"From this moment on, you are no longer that ordinary noble girl, and now you are the Minister of Magic of Demacia, one of the eight high officials, your title is no longer 'Miss Laxana' but 'Mrs. Lord Wei'..."

"The road under your feet is longer than this red carpet, Laxana, you can raise your eyes."

She subconsciously obeyed her teacher's words, raised her head slightly, and could see a short white stone staircase.

"Can it be higher..."

Laxana chewed on the last sentence of the teacher's words. She raised her head subconsciously, and the corner of her eyes swept across the high throne.

So close...

The throne is so close to me...

Just standing below, she looked up and found it difficult.

But now...she just had to look up slightly, and she could see Jarvan III sitting on the throne, the wrinkles on his face...his pale temples...the crown on his head, and the glittering gems on it .

Everything seems to be...

within reach.

Thinking of this, Laxana was horrified, and she was terrified by her own thoughts.

Since when...she became so ambitious?

She squeezed the palm of her hand hard, let out a deep breath, calmly concentrated, and suppressed the thoughts in her heart that should not have been thought or should have arisen.

Thoughts rose and fell like spring water, and Laxana's mood calmed down a little.

She shifted her focus and began to think that she was sitting here, sitting in the position of the eight ministers of magic, for what?

Without a doubt, more prosperity for Demacia!

This was her original intention.

That's right... This original intention has not changed until now!

For this, she will do whatever it takes, even if she becomes the darkest darkness!

After pulling back her thoughts, Laxanna adjusted her sitting posture slightly.

She leaned on the back of the chair, stopped thinking about those messy things, and began to listen carefully to Aunt Tiana about the follow-up to the abolition of the demon ban.

"After the ban on magic is abolished, the newly discovered mages will be summoned. After the official Minister of Magic is elected, he will conduct unified training and management. At present, this work is temporarily in charge of the acting minister of the Crown Guard."

Facing the gaze cast by Aunt Tiana, Laxana was not stage fright. After nodding slightly, she said calmly:

"I will be responsible for this matter, but... what to do with the mages who were arrested before this?"

Laxana thought of the mages she had seen in the Mageseeker's dungeon recently. Although they had taken care of them, they had enough food and warm clothes, and their living conditions were much better.

But she is still worried about the current bad situation of those people. Since the prohibition of magic has been abolished, there is no need to imprison them, right?

In this matter, Laksana seemed a little anxious. She had seen their miserable appearance, and she could even imagine their tragic fate in the future. She wanted to rescue these people as soon as possible.

Facing her question, Aunt Tiana didn't answer, but instead gave her an apologetic look.

Seeing this look... Laksana had a bad feeling.

Boom, boom, boom.

Eleanor on the opposite side of the long table tapped the armrest of the chair, looked at Laxana indifferently, and said coldly:

"Deputy Crown Guard, can you make sure that the mages are not malicious to the Empire? Not only are mages imprisoned in the dungeons of the Mage Seeker headquarters, but there are also many branches in various places. How to identify whether they harbor malicious intentions against Demacia?"

"But..." Laxana frowned slightly, "We have abolished the ban on magic, and they are all citizens of Demacia."

Laxanna straightened her back and maintained her own momentum, but she said these words herself, and she didn't have enough confidence in her heart.

What Eleanor said is indeed a potential risk factor, and she currently has no good solution.

"Citizens are also divided into guilty and innocent, and we should release those innocent citizens."

With a hypocritical smirk on his face, Chancellor of the Exchequer Bristol said with a haha:

"But the demon ban was only abolished today, here

Before, they were all sinners. Not to mention, most of them have resisted capture, causing casualties among Demacian citizens. "

Hearing Bristol's words, Laxana's blue eyes flashed with anger, she squeezed the book cover tightly, but didn't know how to refute.

Wizards have known what fate awaits in Demacia since they awakened magic within their bodies.

In this case, a very small number of people will be caught without a fight, and most of the mages will rise up to resist, and resistance will naturally cause casualties.

And... as far as she knows.

Except for those mages who have not yet been convicted, the rest of the detainees in the dungeon of the seekers are all those who resisted fiercely during the arrest.

And those mages who did not make a big impact during the capture process have long been sold to the inland areas.

In this matter, she has absolutely no reason to excuse them...

Laxana's heart was complicated, and now, she understood the look in Aunt Tiana's eyes just now.

On the one hand, she didn't want those people to continue to suffer because of an already wrong doctrine. On the other hand, she couldn't convince herself to forgive the evil deeds that the mages caused unintentionally or intentionally.

She smiled helplessly and self-deprecatingly in her heart, and said in accordance with the advice given by her teacher:

"Then we have to at least give the . . . 'prisoners' a word."

"Those who have not been convicted should be released immediately, and new places should be arranged for them, such as requiring them to join the newly established magic department or special legion, and force them to serve for Demacia."

The proposal that Laxanna said later was basically seconded by the other eight officials present.

However, there are differences among the detained mage prisoners.

Tiana proposed to be punished by labor, but Eleanor refuted it on the grounds that the merits and demerits should not be equal...and that the lives of the citizens of Demacia come first.

On the contrary, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Bristol, proposed a method of "substituting servitude for punishment", which aroused everyone's debate.

The eight officials communicated with each other through a long table. Occasionally, the representatives below would also express their opinions. Suddenly, the parliament hall became noisy.

Laxana did not participate in the discussion of this motion. She leaned on the armrest and watched the people in front of her make some unrealistic suggestions.

This was her first meeting as Acting Minister, and her first high-level meeting in Demacia.

But suddenly, she felt a little dull.

In this spacious and bright congress hall, she did not feel the superiority of Demacia's democratic policy at all.

On the contrary, some people's vision is limited to the immediate interests, and some ridiculous views are put forward.

For example, the elders in certain regions actually proposed to distribute those guilty mages to various places, and the consuls or elders in each place would personally discipline them, and use hard labor instead of imprisonment.

Their ideas have even attracted the approval of many representatives.

The purpose of these people, Laksana can see at a glance, this is to take the mages as private soldiers or slaves.

If a proposal is not oriented to the development of the country, but only to satisfy the interests of some people, is there any need to argue?

"Teacher, the Supreme Council of Demacia, how could this be?" The brilliance in Laxana's eyes dimmed.

"Disappointed you?"

"Yes..."

Laxana answered feebly. In the past few years, she had never felt this moment. It was a long-awaited feeling of loss that was ruthlessly broken.

She finds her country a disappointment, and it hits Laksana hard.

"If Demacia's democracy can prove its superiority, why ask you to save it?"

"teacher..."

Laxana smiled bitterly to herself, of course she understood what the teacher meant.

Yeah, if Demacia is so superior in every way, why would it fall here.

Not long ago, she had read a public note, written by Noxus Trefalee Council President Ryan Meredith, about his travels in various regions.

Laxana still remembered that the notes about Demacia were the least, but the few lines left a deep impression on her.

'Wanted to join here, but...it rejects talented people, not just magic. ’

Laxana raised her head and looked down, with contempt and mockery in her eyes.

With such a person in power, talented people are like high-flying eagles, how can they be willing to stay.

Suddenly, she seemed to have discovered something she hadn't noticed before.

Among all the current executives of Demacia, no one was born in Weimo, or from the rest of Rune Continent.

Even his uncle Eldred, without the support of the Crownguard family, would not have been able to climb to that position if he hadn't joined the Crownguard family.

Laxana lowered her eyes and looked at Eleanor who was arguing with the Foreign Secretary.

As a side-by-side, she can always think and see things from various angles. This is the method given to her by the teacher.

Suddenly, she thought of another question.

"Teacher... His Highness Eleanor's remarks just now are not just because the detained mage is guilty."

Eleanor's full name is Eleanor Light Shield, and everything she does and the words she speaks represents Light Shield.

Lakshan

Na is now the Minister of Magic. If all the mages in the dungeon are released and put under her management, then the power of the Crown Guard...

So today's situation, if Jarvan was sitting in his place, maybe the situation would be different.

At least some people will just sit in their seats and not say a word.

So... some people actually don't want to deal with this batch of mages.

At least until the official Minister of Magic takes the throne...

"They are guilty or not guilty, but if Ryan Meredith is sitting on the throne today, he will not be as silent as he is now, he will release all the mages and let them use merits to make up for the crimes committed."

Laxanna listened quietly, her expression changed constantly, and she felt the tremor from her heart.

Although she didn't know why the teacher was so certain, she could also guess the benefits of doing so.

At least for the country, it can fill the combat power of a legion, and now they are still under the invasion of Noxus at any time.

As for the people's dissatisfaction...

Looking at the delegates below, Laxanna shook her head secretly.

Yeah...if it's Council President Trefari on the throne, all dissatisfied voices can be silenced.

But Demacia's highest level did not have that kind of courage, nor did it have the strength to be assertive, and the voice of the people became the shackles of the country's development.

What's worse... Light Shield didn't even dare to let the Crown Guard's strength go further.

Seeing this clearly, the disappointment in Laxana's heart increased.

She didn't want to sit here and listen to their pointless arguments, it would only be a waste of time.

Laxana let her eyes look around, suddenly knocked on the table, and said loudly:

"I propose to send them to Noxus in exchange for the resources and special conditions that we are desperately lacking now."

"Noxus?!"

Hearing these harsh words, Eleanor forgot the etiquette of aristocrats for a while, and she leaned forward with a look of surprise.

Not only her, but the rest of the people also became confused, and their faces looked at Laxana with puzzled, questioning, and terrified expressions.

How dare she propose this kind of behavior of the enemy? How could they possibly do it?

Laxana watched everyone's reaction, sighed in her heart, and explained:

"Have you forgotten the peace treaty we signed with Noxus, those abandoned by Demacia have the right to seek political asylum in Noxus."

"We will not give up these...these 'citizens'!"

Although Bristow, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, paused in terms of words, it did not affect the justice on his face at the moment.

"Really, then we should give them a proper identity. If I remember correctly, Noxus had extradited a group of mages not long ago, and those mages were not even convicted." Laxana implied. said angrily.

Her blue eyes were frozen, looking directly at Eleanor and Bristow.

At this moment, her temperament was completely different from before.

Seeing the changes shown by her niece, Tiana's mouth twitched slightly, revealing a smile.

She was pleased with Laxana's first performance. However, there was a little surprise in her eyes, as if she was surprised by how quickly Laxanna could adapt to the change of identity and the suffocating atmosphere in the parliament hall.

Aristocrats are a group of people who use all reasonable means and languages ​​to achieve their set goals.

"..."

Laxana's words instantly silenced the entire council hall.

With the repeal of the ban, if Demacia still regards those mages as sinners, why would Noxus give up on them?

On the other hand, if all the mages are released, it will not only stir the public's heart, but also touch the bottom line of Light Shield.

Unless... it's not Laxanna who sits in the position of Minister of Magic now.

The mages in the dungeon... just too many and too strong.

Eleanor and Jarvan III exchanged glances covertly, and said after deliberation:

"Deputy Crown Guard, what do you think we will give us when we hand these people over to Noxus? These people were once a part of us, and even if they have committed deep sins, we want to give them a good home."

It seems...

After all, Lightshield didn't want to make the Crownguard too strong, and even preferred to weaken Demacia's overall strength.

With disappointment in her eyes, Laxana completely ignored the beautiful words behind Eleanor, and pressed forward step by step:

"I have read the latest information on Noxus, hex technology and mechanical weapons are developing rapidly there, this is one of the things we can win..."

"In addition, we can propose to let them attack the Claw of Winter... The most important thing is, maybe we can get a study plan about rune magic."

The Winter's Claws are the Freljord tribe closest to Demacia, who have long been restless and want to invade Demacia lands.

As soon as this statement came out, the eight officials understood the deep meaning of Laxana, and let Noxus shift the focus of attack to the Freljord, instead of staring at his own country.

They had heard the news of the Trifarian Chapter in the Freljord, and all the Demacians wished Noxus would trap all their armies in the Freljord.

Erjord.

"There is no objection to the first two, but what is rune magic?" Eleanor asked.

Laxanna knew that there would be similar questions and answered calmly:

"'Rune Magic' is a magic system founded by Noxus Trifali Council President Ryan Meredith, which solves the problem of mages relying on talent to cast spells to learn magic. As long as any mages work hard enough, even if the talent is slightly inferior, Can rely on repeated practice to complete the casting."

"The meaning is to make spellcasting easier, and each mage can have stronger combat power?" Foreign Secretary Adair Bouvier summed up.

There is a mage in the Bouvier family, so he still understands magic.

Laxana nodded and explained with an example:

"The Count of Bouvier has no problem understanding. The reason why rune magic is great is that it creates a sharp weapon for mages...

"If a mage is compared to a soldier, then an ordinary mage is equivalent to a soldier with bare hands, and a mage who has learned rune magic is equivalent to a soldier with a spear or an iron sword."

"So, the mages of Noxus are far stronger than ordinary mages?" Grantham's brows frowned, and he found the key to the problem at once.

He has also read books spread by Noxus. Rune magic is hailed as a miracle that reformed magic, and its creator Ryan Meredith is known as the greatest mage from ancient times to the present. .

When he saw this description before, he thought it was Noxian self-praise.

Now listening to Laksana's story, it seems that this rune magic is indeed highly praised.

"If the mages in Noxus had all learned rune magic, then it is true that they could at least compete with ordinary mages with twice their own magic."

Laxana nodded slightly to Grantham, then looked indifferently at Eleanor and... Jarvan III on the throne.

Her words have been very clear. Demacia has nearly ten thousand mages in custody. If they are given to Noxus for nothing, no one can guarantee what they will grow into in the future and what kind of battle they will have. force.

Bristol and Eleanor exchanged glances and said bitingly:

"I don't think it's possible to hand over all imprisoned mages to Noxus. Also, we have to get information about rune magic."

When Laxana heard this, she felt extremely amused. She naturally agreed with this opinion.

But Noxus is not Demacia, maybe they send all the mages, and they may not be able to get the specific information on rune magic.

She could pretty much be sure that what happened in the council hall today, at the end of the meeting... no, maybe by now there will be a detailed report on the Trifali council table with all the details of their meeting.

Laxanna didn't make any more comments, but quietly listened to the heated discussions among the other eight officials...

Time passed by, and finally, regarding the identity and whereabouts of the mage, the Council reached a decision to communicate with Noxus first, and then talk about it.

According to the meaning of some of the eight officials, the Minister of Magic will be selected first, and then the new Minister of Magic will cooperate with the Foreign Minister Count Adair to discuss.

After discussing other trivial matters, today's parliament was dismissed with the announcement of Jarvan III.

"Really disappointing first council..."

Laxana sighed lightly, picked up the scepter symbolizing the eight great officials, and walked straight out...