New Year is an important holiday in Ionia, and in the strict northern regions, believers often observe a month of fasting and worship. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info And in the southern region, it usually takes about half a month.

Throughout early January, several large mining areas in the Imperial-controlled province of Nawel were suspended.

In the eyes of the Empire, it was faith that made the Ionians cowardly and deceitful to lose the war. But there are also those who understand that if they are pushed too hard, faith can become the most fanatical force.

The growing resistance led by Karma seemed to confirm this truth, so Darius did not dare to take any chances.

However, on January 11, he ordered a large number of laborers to be forcibly requisitioned back to the mine to work.

Last year, more than a month's worth of crystal mine production has been shipped back to the Empire as a strategic reserve, and in the face of the constant attacks of the Bilgewater pirates, an entire group of magical warships of the Imperial Navy is in urgent need of energy supplies.

The pirates were a nuisance, they had recently been ambushed by the Imperial fleet and had suffered heavy losses, and now they had become more cunning.

Corsairs tend to disperse their attacks at night, and the Imperial fleet is deplorable for the huge loss of energy if it fights in formation. If a single ship attacks and is afraid of falling into a trap, in case one or two of these precious warships are knocked out, it will not be replenished.

Noxus is a traditional naval power, and a few large old fleets in the naval base camp are the best force against pirates. However, due to the armistice agreement, they could not come to support.

As soon as the Ionian War broke out, Piltover, who had always been neutral, began to oppose the Empire. The War College is inseparable from the city's large annual operating costs and the scientific and technological support needed to explore ancient civilizations, so the supervision of the armistice can be described as extremely strict.

Darius was already a headache for this, and he was overwhelmed by the successive attacks on several small mines on the edge of the Imperial-controlled area yesterday.

To make matters worse, there was intelligence that the rebels had the open support of the rulers of the north, and that Karma had been given supreme military command over the entire south. Under her leadership, the rebels are planning their next steps.

Neville was guarded by the Empire's 20,000 elite troops, so he didn't have to worry too much. But the recent severance of the channel in the direction of Presidium gave Darius a sense of foreboding.

"No, we must ask for reinforcements, otherwise there is no room for the third battle plan, which is the highest strategic goal of the entire Ionian War." Darius finally gave his own judgment, and he was adamant.

Kaya held a cup of tea, didn't even look at him, and said indifferently: "The War College has always given us the face of the expeditionary force, which is because of the strength of the imperial army, if you ask for help at this moment, it will be like showing weakness, and you can only exchange for more severe suppression from them." ”

Although Darius was conceited, he always admitted that he was just a brave man, and said angrily: "Then what do you say? ”

Kaya seemed to be waiting for him to ask, and immediately said, "Draw all the cavalry units and go to Presidium immediately, it's time to start the next step." ”

Darius immediately objected: "Send troops at this time, in case Neville is captured, you know what the consequences will be." ”

Kaya sneered: "Don't you know how much of your 20,000 horses are really used for defense?" A large number of small forces were sent to the periphery to loot property, and the pursuit of this small profit was not a strategic goal? ”

Darius was still unconvinced, and said angrily: "Those are the war reserves that the empire urgently needs, where do you get a small profit." Besides, a little adds up to more value than your rhetoric here. ”

Kaya said indifferently: "In the Empire, many brave warriors have emerged from the civilian class, and even some of them have become generals, but there has never been a true strategist among them, do you know why? Hehe, because if a person is accustomed to poverty, his pursuit will be bound to small goals in front of him, and he will lose his vision. ”

Darius was stunned for a moment before he realized that the other party was scolding him for being a poor ghost.

As he was about to get angry, Kaya slammed the teacup on the table, showing her toughness.

Kaya took out the wooden carving of the raven's head and said solemnly, "I don't want to repeat what I said earlier, because in my eyes, the order to repeat it a second time is to judge the violator." Gather your forces by the afternoon and set out with me early tomorrow morning. ”

……

Directly north of the city of Neville, five hundred miles away rises the highest peak on land, the Ionian Peak.

The towering Mega Peak acts as a bridgehead overlooking the entire southern region.

The Ionian Mountains are the confluence of two mountain ranges, behind which the Ionian Mountains connect to the Presidium to the west, and the Oniya Mountains to the east into the ocean.

The two connected mountains are in the shape of a herringbone, like a pair of huge wings stretched out, bisecting the whole of Ionia and blocking the north-south traffic.

As their name suggests, these two mountains are the backbone of Ionia, symbolizing the glory and dignity of sacred places.

The interior of the mountain range contains high-quality crystal veins that have been precipitated for thousands of years, which are richer and purer than those of the southern coastal mining areas. But because of the ban on the temple, it has not been developed.

After the Imperial Army took control of Presidium and Naville, they sent an army to maintain the communication between the two places.

The Imperial Army had always practiced warfare, and the garrisons along the route not only relied on raiding to supply military supplies, but also forcibly recruited large numbers of laborers at the behest of Darius to dig several small mining areas along the Ainia Mountains.

Early that morning, a swordsman walked out of the mountains and forests in the northern province of Naville.

He ran like a fly on the deserted official road, looking up at the sky from time to time, as if he was in a hurry to go to a fateful date.

"Someone, stop." In one of the outposts of the Imperial Army, the soldiers who had been on guard all night shouted.

The swordsman didn't stop, and said indifferently: "My name is Yi, you want me to stop, you and the sword in my hand to talk." ”

Ionian martial arts are prevalent, and wandering swordsmen like this are extremely common, and there are many such arrogant people, but in fact, they are just some wastes who can't even eat enough by their skills. Of course, if you can fill their stomachs, teach them a lesson, and send them to the mine to work, that's just a top job.

The soldier looked back at the nest head and chaff cake prepared in the morning and was still steaming in the pot, and sneered: "Don't fucking nonsense, tell me what do you want, how many do you want?" ”

The swordsman raised his sword, put it to his ear and listened to the crisp sword groan in the wind, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Heh, it said that it wants your life, all." ”

The sound of the sword groan suddenly resounded through the valley, and the sword light filled the sky and tore the morning glow. In the small valley, this early morning, only one swordsman braved the wind, and only one long sword drank blood and sang joyfully.

The morning light dispelled the cold, and in the shacks at the foot of the mountain, the coolies, tamed by the whips of the soldiers, habitually struggled to open their eyes in the first rays of sunlight, dragging their tired bodies in line like a herd of cattle. They hurried to the place where breakfast was distributed, hung their heads and tried to rest for a while at the last time, and then they were about to start their day's work.

When someone began to realize that there were no soldiers with whips around today, they immediately quickened their pace. Overwork like an animal here kills many people every day, but if you can't even be an animal in the eyes of the soldiers, you will be executed immediately.

Everyone is fighting to prove that they still have the strength, and they all want to rush over to eat one more nest head and half a cake before others, which may well determine whether they can live one more day.

But when they arrived, they found a man squatting there, still holding two nests in his hands.

They immediately became angry and asked, "Do you know the rules, why don't you line up, do you want to die?" ”

Someone was already thinking about going to the Imperial soldiers to report the merit, and was looking around.

"Ah, my lord, what's wrong with you?"

The clever guy approached the Overwatch Captain and found him lying on the table. I went up and carefully pushed my shoulder, only to hear a click.

The captain's head was tilted to one side, and only then did he see that a wound on his neck that had been frozen by the cold wind had just been torn open.

"Dead." The man's eyes were dark, and it felt like the sky was falling.

He sat down on the ground, crawling backwards in a panic, his hand touching a pair of cold armor.

"Spare your life, I didn't kill you. It's not me, I don't dare ......"

He pleaded, and it took a long time for him to dare to look back, and then he was completely frightened.

The owner of the armor had long since fallen into a pool of blood, which was like a quagmire, and it was full of Imperial soldiers.

Not a single one is alive and dead, and all the adults are dead.

"Ah, help. I didn't kill it, I didn't kill it. I don't want to die, I'm going to work, work. The man had gone mad, shouted and grabbed a shovel and ran into the mine.

"What are you afraid of, I killed these people, I'm alone." The man who was squatting on the ground took a bite of the nest and said nonchalantly.

After a long silence, the laborers seemed to have finally come to terms with what was in front of them. Their expressions immediately became full of awe, and someone whispered, "My lord, how can you eat this, there is blood on it." ”

The man slowly got up, swallowed the last piece of the nest, and licked the frozen blood clot that had stuck to the corner of his mouth.

He lifted the blood-stained sword and smiled faintly, "It's okay, I like the smell." Their blood reminds me of the taste of hatred, and at the same time gives me a taste of the sweetness of revenge. ”

The man carried his sword and faded away, leaving only one last sentence: "Unfortunately, too little, far from enough." ”

The laborers looked at each other with disbelief in their eyes.

"That's too little, my God, there's a hundred garrisons here."

"They all died, how did they die?"

Some people remember that when the rooster crowed, the soldiers were still heard outside discussing today's mining mission, but by daybreak, all the soldiers were dead.

A whole hundred Imperial troops, and he had only one man, only one sword.

"Is he really just a person, who the hell is he?"