Lux's Farewell

Chapter 900 [0896] Lure the snake out of its hole

When Kalya said "Drueburg", Darius's eyes instantly became sharp.

Is this what the Demacians want?

After controlling the Black Forest, you are still not satisfied, and you still want to reach out to the Diver Fort?

"This is impossible." Darius' tone was decisive, as if there was no room for discussion between the two parties on the issue of Fort Dredge, "Fort Dredge has always been the territory of Noxus, there is no doubt about it. "

"But the Iron Thorn Kingdom became independent." Kalya was obviously prepared, "Noxus recognized the Iron Thorn Kingdom's independence."

Darius's expression stiffened.

"Moreover, the Freljords have already built a military fortress on the original site of the Diver Fort." Kalya continued, "In other words, Noxus actually has no control over the Diver Fort."

Darius, who had a stiff expression before, became even stiffer now.

Different from the Black Forest area, Dredge Fort is the northern barrier of Noxus, and the Iron Thorn Mountains are the first line of defense in the north of Noxus. For Noxus, Dredge Fort is independent and Dredge Fort is Demacian occupation, this is a completely different concept.

Although the Iron Thorn Kingdom after the independence of Dredge Fort has a great name, any Noxian who understands the environment of Dredge Fort should know that the Varrokan family is just a clown.

With only the Diver Fort, they are nothing more than a slug in the road.

But if Dredge Fort is occupied by Demacia, even if it just becomes an enclave, autonomous territory or even a trusteeship of Demacia, the meaning will be completely different for Noxus.

Once you capture Fort Diver, you will have a commanding position. Going south from Fort Diver, your troops will point to the Dalmo Plain, the only fertile land in Noxus - this is Noxus. Once the Dalmo Plain is lost, Noxus will truly be doomed.

The Ironthorn Kingdom occupied Dredge Fort. They were unable to be condescending, because Dredge Fort's economy itself was highly dependent on Noxus; but if the Demacians controlled Dredge Fort, then Noxus would really I can only rely on others.

To use a not-so-appropriate metaphor, losing the Black Forest is like losing a finger to Noxus, but if there is no Dredge Fort, then Noxus is missing an arm. , may die suddenly at any time.

In fact, after the withdrawal from the Black Forest, one of Noxus' most important tasks was to rebuild the Dredger Fort - Darius had already exchanged a large number of miners from Lissandra, and Noxus had also Allocating manpower and preparing materials.

"Maybe I should share a piece of information with Mr. Darius." Kalya kept paying attention to Darius's expression. Although the other party was already very stiff, he still felt that it was not enough. "Actually, the current Diver Fort It has fallen into the hands of the Freljord, and the Frost Witch has built a new city on the old site of the Dredge Keep."

"This is impossible." Darius subconsciously denied it, and then he realized that this statement did not seem to fit his status as a wild man, so he added a little embarrassedly, "If the Freljordians really occupy the dig Fort War, then the whole of Noxus will be boiling - and, I once served in Fort War, the terrain there is complex, and it is very difficult to build a city in it."

"So, Mr. Darius doesn't know the secret of magic." Kalya waved his hand in front of the desk with a smile and very considerately. "I was lucky enough to see that city from a distance...it was breathtaking."

With Kalya's wave of his hand, a yellow sand fortress rose from the ground in front of Darius. This fortress stood among the mountains and on top of the ruins, with an exquisite and complete structure.

As a soldier who once served in Fort Diver, Darius recognized the surrounding mountainous terrain at a glance. It indeed belonged to Fort Diver.

Could it be that...Lissandra really broke the agreement she made with herself and sent troops to occupy the Diver Fort?

"Although I don't know what kind of agreement Noxus and the Frostguard tribe reached before, there is no doubt that Noxus's act of handing over the Frostguard priests has broken the agreement in advance." Kalya added, "So , I’m afraid the Freljordians won’t stick to the previously divided spheres of influence.”

Darius's breathing became heavier, and he had obviously thought of many bad possibilities.

The only problem is that he has not received any intelligence about the Diver Fort yet.

Could it be that, as Kalya said, Lissandra has already occupied the Diver Fort?

If things really come to this point, then the situation Noxus will face may be worse than imagined!

Then, when Darius was silent, the guard outside knocked on the door and delivered a letter to Darius.

As if Kalya already knew the contents of the letter, he smiled and motioned for Darius to open it and take a look.

Darius, who already had an ominous premonition in his heart, opened the envelope.

Then, he saw the news sent by the War Stonemason: "The Freljordians broke the agreement and occupied the Diver Keep."

At this moment, Darius felt like the world was spinning. He subconsciously looked at his personal guard, as if he wanted to tell whether this person was disguised or played by Kalya using magic.

But that was his personal guard, a veteran who had been with him in the north and the south - he didn't know what happened yet, and his expression was somewhat strange when he faced Darius's eyes.

"Noxus has decided to end this war!"

"So, maybe we can now sort out the ownership of Fort Diver from a legal perspective?" Kalya did not continue to provoke the other party, "If I guessed correctly, Lissandra should have agreed that Fort Diver belongs to Nok. Sass, right?”

Darius subconsciously wanted to nod, but he finally endured it.

"But the premise is that Noxus will stand on the side of the Frostguard tribe. Considering the current situation in Noxus, the previous agreement can be said to be completely void, and the Delver Fort has become a land without one." Kalya He continued, "So, can I think that the current Diver Fort actually has nothing to do with Noxus?"

"Druehold is part of Noxus—"

"But when the Iron Thorn Kingdom was established, Noxus had actually lost the Diver Fort." Kalya interrupted Darius without hesitation, "Face the reality, Mr. Darius. "

"Demacia doesn't need an enclave like this."

Darius's mind was in chaos, and he could barely find an explanation that sounded fairly tenable.

"Of course, Demacia has always been a peace-loving country." Kalya nodded very naturally, as if he was saying something that everyone knew, "Demacia does not have a pathological desire for territorial expansion."

If it were before, Darius might have felt offended by his "pathological desire for territorial expansion," but now, he only feels relaxed.

"But the Frostguard tribe attacked Demacia's important allies and trading partners, posing a serious threat to the security of Runeterra." Kalya continued, "Now, the Frost Witch has occupied the Dredge Fort. Considering that the Dredge Castle Due to the topography of the fort, the Demacia Northern Expedition believes it is necessary to compete for the right to occupy the Iron Thorn Mountains area."

Darius opened his mouth wide, but faced with Kalya's determined tone, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Continue to reassert the sovereignty of Fort Diver?

Legally speaking, it cannot be established, and it cannot be occupied in practice. In this case, language can only be a pale and feeble death struggle.

Fortunately, Kalya didn't embarrass him for too long.

"Demacia has always been committed to the peace of Runeterra, and does not want to involve Noxus in unnecessary disputes." He continued, "So, in view of the current situation, Her Majesty Laxana It raises a new possibility.”

Having said this, Kalya closed her mouth reservedly, the corners of her mask's mouth turned up slightly, and looked at Darius expectantly. Darius, on the other hand, only squeezed out a sentence from his throat after opening his mouth several times.

"Appreciate further details."

"Perhaps, the current situation in Noxus is relatively difficult, and it is not enough to fully cope with the complex situation in the north." Kalya nodded with satisfaction, "So, perhaps Dredge Fort should establish an independent trade autonomous zone."

Darius looked at Kalya and simply didn't speak, only waiting for him to speak.

"If Noxus insists on taking over the Diver Fort, then in order to stabilize the situation in Runeterra, Her Majesty Laxana believes that a group of political criminals may be pardoned and allowed to return to Noxus to atone for their crimes - after all, Noxana The human resources in Xusus are relatively scarce now." Kalya raised the hand again, "And if Noxus is willing to insist on justice, it is normal that there is no spare power to maintain stability in the north... Perhaps Demacia can also be merciful. The government allows those who have left the country to serve in official positions again."

Darius blinked.

He understood Kalya's logic.

If Noxus must insist on complete control of Dredge Keep, Demacia will "considerately" send the old nobles back to "make up for Noxus' lack of manpower."

And if Noxus honestly gives up control of Fort Diver and participates in the construction of an independent trading autonomous region according to Kalya, then Demacia will not release those old nobles and instead support Darius in On the surface, he participated in the work related to Fort Diver.

There are two paths. One is to insist on controlling the Dredge Fort, at the cost of completely breaking up with Demacia, and then welcoming the insects sent back by the Demacians; the other is to cooperate with Demacia and no longer completely occupy the Dredge Fort. , and Demacia will not release those garbage, and will allow Darius to serve again.

Of course, at least if you think about it for a moment, you will know that the above are only superficial results.

Going deeper, these two paths have deeper impacts.

On the first road, Noxus not only has to face the trouble caused by internal insects, but more importantly, Noxus now actually has no ability to do anything to the Dredge Fort. The Frostguard tribe has already occupied the Dredge Fort. In the case of the Fort, even if Noxus insists that it should have control of the Fort, it is just a hard talk.

Choosing this path would lead Noxus to a dead end.

Similarly, the second path actually has many hidden costs - Darius, who once again became an official and had a job, may be completely cut off from Noxus, and then the situation in Noxus will be different. I really have to leave it to Riel.

But Riel is still young after all. She has not experienced that era of conquest. Can she really control the leaky ship of Noxus?

At this moment, Darius's mood was extremely complicated.

He vaguely felt a lot, but he couldn't explain it clearly, but what was certain was that no matter which path he took, it was not a good path for Noxus.

No matter which option you choose, it seems that you are drinking poison to quench your thirst.

And if you don't choose... no matter who wins in the end between the Frostguard Tribe and Demacia, Noxus will completely lose the Dredge Fort and gain nothing.

Is this really...the only way to go?

Darius lowered his head. He had never been as mentally and physically exhausted as at this moment. An indescribable feeling of powerlessness arose from the bottom of his heart. It was obvious that he had learned to think from a different perspective, even if he put all his energy into it. They all put in their work, but Noxus continues to get worse...

Mr. Swain, I may not be a qualified Grand Commander, or even a qualified Hand of Noxus.

After a moment of frustration, Darius forced himself to calm down again.

Although the situation has become extremely bad, does Noxus really have no chance at all?

Darius started from the beginning, recalling the relevant issues about the Dredge Fort bit by bit.

The two paths seemed to be Noxus' only options.

unless……

How do you say that word...take something from the fire?

Unless Noxus can take advantage of the fight between the two sides to get something out of the fire!

However, now that Noxus is short of even mobile troops, does it still have the ability to draw chestnuts from the fire?

Think about the previous battle in the Black Forest, and the ice fortress that rose up in the Dredge Fort in a short period of time. In this game of chess, does Noxus really have the power of a god?

Darius began to recall his experience serving in Fort Diver, looking for possible opportunities.

In the silence, he thought of an impossible possibility.

Noxus did not have an advantage in combat power, nor did it have an advantage in military strength.

But unlike the Frostguard tribe and the Demacians, Noxus also holds a key passage to the core of the Dredge Fort!

Although the tunnel built to transport black iron collapsed in many places, if we seize the time to repair it, there is still a chance to repair it before Demacia and the Frostguard tribe decide the winner.

If there is a chance that both the Frostguard Tribe and Demacia will suffer defeat, then Noxus may not have a chance to take advantage of the fire!

Thinking of this, Darius regained his fighting spirit. He did not refuse immediately, but deliberately showed a hesitant attitude and did not give Kalya a direct answer.

Kalya seemed dissatisfied with his hesitation, and finally chose to leave after continuing to mock him for being "old and dim".

But after Kalya left, Darius sat up suddenly and wanted to visit Riel as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, he didn't know that after leaving Darius's courtyard, Kalya also showed a satisfied smile when he returned to the place where he stayed.

Darius didn't know that even though the conditions proposed by Kalya were very harsh and he looked like he was determined to win over Noxus, in fact, from the beginning, Kalja had no intention of truly cooperating with the Noxians.

It is easy to suffer backlash if you cooperate with such an unscrupulous and duplicitous guy.

Compared to cooperation, Kalya prefers to rely on himself.

Therefore, his plan was to make the desperate Noxians unable to retreat, and finally use their subjective initiative to expose the passage.

At that time, the Northern Expeditionary Army will take over the follow-up work, reach the interior of the Ice Fortress of Fort Diver through that passage, and then bloom in the center.

Now it seems that Kalya's plan is going very well.

Judging from Darius's performance, he is destined to choose a desperate fight with unwillingness.

But this time, he was betting on Noxus' final chips.

　It seems like there is a double monthly pass?

　　Give it a try!

　　(End of this chapter)