blogombal Page 66
Page 66
"Yes, before the Hextech airships existed, ocean trade accounted for nearly 70% of Piltover's total trade. A sudden halt would likely have a significant impact."
“Piltwof is, after all, a trading city. If it loses its long-distance trade, the citizens will likely feel serious discontent.”
"Lord Farn is not Lady Piltover after all, I think this matter..."
Listening to the murmurs of the crowd, Fain shook his head helplessly, then reached out and gently clenched his fist. The next moment, the surrounding air suddenly became dry, and a large amount of moisture rapidly gathered around the man who had stood up and the others who had echoed his sentiments. It moved so fast that before they could even react, it transformed into a curtain of water and contracted at an astonishing speed.
With a snap, the group of people who had been chatting away were instantly compressed into a red liquid mass covered in fragments by the water curtain. With a wave of his hand, the liquid mass, under Fain's control, transformed into a parabola, passed through the ventilation window, and fell into the distant sea.
"..."
Looking at the suddenly silent crowd, who seemed to have been choked, Fane looked helplessly at Camille and said, "Didn't you tell them my attitude before I came?"
“My mistake, sir.” Upon hearing this, Camille’s face showed a hint of helplessness. She looked at Fane and bowed slightly, saying, “I have already reminded him, but please forgive me, sir. There are always some fools who suddenly become arrogant.”
"Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it."
Hearing Camille's words, Farn shook his head listlessly, then continued, "Actually, what they said isn't wrong. After all, such changes will more or less affect some citizens and workers. However, you nobles take the lion's share of the trade, so now it's time to take responsibility. The problems of economic and urban life during the transition are now in your hands—is that alright?"
"no problem."
Without needing anyone else to answer, Camille had already given an affirmative reply. After all, if Hextech airships became mainstream, the Feros family, who sold the raw material Hextech crystals, would also benefit greatly. Both publicly and privately, Camille had no reason to refuse.
As for whether others will object... let's see if we can beat Fain first.
However, this only concerns the future development of Piltover; the matter of the pirates remains unresolved.
Thinking this, Farn asked, "Where is Planck now?"
"According to intelligence, they are patrolling near the Kumangu Mountains," Camille replied.
Upon hearing this, Faen nodded and said, "Then I will handle this matter personally. Now, you two can have a good talk about the cooperation between the two cities and their future development."
Upon hearing Fain's words, Jinx nodded and then slowly took out a stack of documents.
186. Obeying orders
Holding the documents, Jinx and Zelly began discussing the future development of the Twin Cities with Camille and the others. Though called a discussion, everyone present knew that the final interpretation of everything rested with Farn. Coupled with Camille's bias, they had virtually no bargaining power—the men Farn had just crushed were right before their eyes. They knew without a doubt that those men's families would suffer a devastating downfall following today's events.
Just as they were anxiously worrying that Zaun might turn them into the Zaun of the past, the release of the relevant regulations brought a hint of surprise to their expressions—although some of the clauses were undeniably harsh, they were still profitable for them. Previously, they could take 80%, with 20% going to the execution team and 10% to maintain operations. Now, they would also take 10%, and the rest would belong to Zaun.
Although it's less, at least there's some income, right? With this in mind, and with the first councilor agreeing, the crowd quickly realized that Farn, who possessed absolute power, had absolute authority here, and thus obediently passed the series of proposals and clauses.
At first, Fain sat there with the idea of 'seeing which kid is being disobedient.' But gradually, after realizing that everyone already knew what to do, Fain started to get bored. So, halfway through the meeting, Fain stood up and said, 'You guys keep talking, but don't forget to send me the results later. I'm going to get on with other things.'
Hearing this, Camille nodded, "As you wish." Fane then waved to Zeli and the others before turning and leaving. After glancing at the group remaining, Riven followed Fane without much hesitation. Once on the terrace, she asked, "So, what are you planning to do next... go find those pirates?"
“Of course, there’s not much else to do.” Fane stretched his shoulders, a thoughtful look on his face, and said, “Zaun is not bad, but it’s not entirely in my interest. A place that’s closely connected to all parts of Runeterra, but not that closely... Bilgewater is a good choice.”
Although life in Zaun was comfortable, to be honest, Faen didn't intend to live there permanently. He knew very well that the world's future was fraught with various crises, and to survive and freely choose his own destiny, he needed power. And currently, his power stemmed from the 'joy' within the emotions of all life on Runeterra. Therefore, remaining in Zaun indefinitely was not in Faen's best interest.
In fact, the current situation in Zaun shows that if Fahn stays in one place in the material realm for a long time, even if Fahn himself doesn't care, people will have different emotions because of Fahn's presence. And after he leaves, they will more or less feel a sense of loss... Therefore, finding a place where everyone can be treated fairly has become a necessity for Fahn.
Previously, although he had realized this, Fain wasn't in a hurry. After all, while Zaun was on the right track, Piltover, the other side of the Twin Cities region, hadn't followed suit. He planned to deal with Piltover thoroughly first, and then see if he could find a place he liked to be his future 'home'.
And now... Bilgewater is undoubtedly an excellent choice.
Maintaining a distance from the rest of Runeterra, yet connected to every corner of it through well-developed air routes, allowing it to stay informed about all news from Runeterra. And more importantly, Bilgewater is one of the few places where Fahn doesn't seem to care about the happiness of its inhabitants.
Bilgewater, a port city, is Runeterra's most notorious lawless territory. Sea serpent hunters, dock gangs, smugglers, dark mercenaries, human traffickers, arms dealers—all sorts of professions that people wouldn't expect to be seen in broad daylight are ubiquitous in Bilgewater. And beyond those from all the known regions and city-states of Runeterra, many from lesser-known areas also choose Bilgewater as their first stop.
It is precisely because of this chaotic population that in Bilgewater, the difference between immense wealth and utter ruin can be instantaneous. Similarly, for those fleeing trial, debt, and persecution, the city offers a second chance—regardless of whether it's a hellish start, at least there's a chance. The reason is that on Bilgewater's winding streets, very few people are truly clean, and naturally, no one cares about your past.
Unless, of course, your head is very valuable.
In this situation, Farn knew all too well that there were practically no clean people left in all of Bilgewater. And generating happiness was equally difficult—similar to the workers of Zaun, who would be overjoyed with a good meal and genuinely feel happiness and excitement. But for the people of Bilgewater…
While it's impossible to definitively say that everyone there is evil, executing every other one would mean at least half would escape. And to make these criminals happy… the more illegal and criminal they commit, the higher their threshold for pleasure naturally becomes. Just as someone accustomed to the spiciness of bell peppers would find the spiciness of Erjingtiao peppers unpleasant, making these people happy requires inflicting pain on many others.
Thinking to himself, Fain licked his lips and then said to Riven beside him, "Get ready."
"Prepare? What preparation?" Riven asked, her face full of confusion.
"What preparations? Of course, it's fulfilling my duties." Fain poked Riven's chest helplessly, but Riven slapped his hand away in embarrassment. Fain didn't care, and just shrugged and said, "You're my bodyguard, so you'd better protect me from now on."
"Me? Protect you?" Upon hearing this, Riven curled her lip in disdain: "The idea that I can protect you is the best joke I've heard in a while..."
Despite saying that, Riven obediently activated the Seal of Pleasure and took out her weapon.
"Although I don't know what you're up to this time, I will obey your orders."
187. Planck's Ambition
Riven had already been marked by Faen. Although her pride as a warrior made her unwilling to give her first time to Faen so inexplicably... even though she knew very well that with just one command from Faen, she would open her legs and spread her petals without any resistance.
However, since Fain didn't make that request, Riven wouldn't actively beg for it. Although she didn't know how long this could be delayed, Riven also knew that even if Fain forced her to do this, in the end she could only silently lick her wounds and wait until she was almost recovered before obediently standing by Fain's side as a so-called guard... or a sex slave accompanying him. Because without Fain, no one would give him the opportunity for revenge.
Thinking this, Riven also felt a sudden, inexplicable pressure on her heart.
On one hand, she knew she had no other choice, and she also knew that she could still maintain her bottom line because of Fane's permission. At the same time, she was also very clear that if she went all out and simply handed everything over to Fane, she would actually be the one who benefited the most... But for some reason, Riven always held her breath and was unwilling to admit defeat, surrender, let Fane look down on her, and let those who betrayed her look down on her.
Thinking this, Riven took a deep breath and then used the Mark of Pleasure to connect to the mental realm and retrieve her weapon—thanks to the Mark of Pleasure, Riven could now use Faen's mental realm to some extent. Although the access was quite limited, storing some items and tools was still no problem.
Gripping the runic blackstone greatsword tightly, Riven could feel that the connection between herself and the weapon had become much weaker, but she didn't think too much about it at the moment. She just looked at Fain and hummed, "I'm ready."
“Then let’s go.” Farn nodded, then turned and clapped his hands.
Immediately afterward, in the view of everyone in the Piltover Council Chamber, a surging curtain of water appeared around Fann and Riven on the terrace at the other end of the glass. This water then transformed into surging waves, carrying the two of them in a blue arc of light as they sped away into the distance—
"Although I don't know why those Noxian idiots inexplicably withdrew their garrison at the Sea of Watchers, it doesn't matter. They've laid it down, so they can forget about taking it back so easily!!"
Standing on the deck of the Fear, Gangplank, the uncrowned king of Bilgewater, the king of outlaws, the most infamous and notorious lord of Bloodharbor with the highest bounty in all of Bilgewater, the Scourge of the Sea, raised his rum with a look of cruelty and excitement in his eyes.
A pair of cloudy eyes swept around, surveying his subordinates who shared the same greedy and ferocious gazes. Planck felt no displeasure at their greed and ambition. In Planck's view, a good pirate should have such eyes—fierce and ruthless enough. Only in this way could they amass enough treasure for themselves during their plundering.
But not all pirates were merely greedy and ambitious—for example, shortly afterward, a Vastayan fox-man with a cunning face and feathers stuck in his hair asked suspiciously:
"But boss, isn't there some kind of conspiracy involved? You know, the Sea of Watchers is the central node of the twelve seas, and it has always been a strategic location fought over by military strategists. The reason Noxus can send expeditions to the Shurima continent with such impunity is because of the complementary relationship between the Sungate Canal and the Sea of Watchers in terms of transportation routes. Now, suddenly withdrawing the garrison troops..."
Upon hearing the fox-man's question, Planck simply laughed, but the smile quickly turned into an undisguised cruelty.
"So what if there's a conspiracy? At worst, we'll just go back to Bloodharbor! Our informant is in the heart of Noxus. Even if the Noxians want to take it back, they'll have to pay a bloody price here." As he said this, Gangplank picked up his glass. The crystal glassware refracted the sunlight, shimmering brilliantly. The clear, transparent liquid swirled in Gangplank's hand, and the outline of the Sun Gate sluice gate could be vaguely seen on the other side.
"Before Noxus can react, we'll have made enough money off Piltover—haha! I should award those poor bastards from Zaun a one-ton medal! Without their riots that caused Piltover to fall out of control, we would have lost dozens of lives just trying to get to the coast of Kumangu! Unlike now? It's like a spring outing!"
As he said this, Plank also laughed and said, "Those Hextech weapons that Lady Piltover is making are really good stuff—and Zaun's Glimmer, Sparky, Liquidfire... Come on, my brothers, let's turn Zaun into the next Bilgewater! Step by step, let's make the entire Twin Cities the new Bloodport!"
Planck proclaimed, "The wealth there, the technology there, and the beautiful women there! Let us use gunpowder and scimitars to tell them that on this sea, the greed of pirates is the eternal law! Let these so-called civilized people sink in rum!!"
Upon hearing Planck's words, the surrounding pirates exchanged glances, and then a similar smile appeared on their faces in unison.
Then, the Vastaya fox-man standing nearby raised his glass and shouted at Planck, "To the Lord of Bloodharbor! To the Pirate King!"
"For the Lord of Blood Harbor! For the Pirate King!!"
Hearing the cheers of the crowd, Planck's face lit up with excitement, his eyes blazing with fervor. Looking up at the wine glass in his hand, gazing at the bustling Piltover on the other side of the glass, Planck suddenly realized that the splendor before him was no longer as jarring as before; instead, it stirred a surge of passion within him. For Planck could feel his inner urge to destroy growing stronger—one day, even the nobles here would bow respectfully to the Black Sails.
Ah, look! Even the sky above is beginning to reflect the azure of the sea—wait, the sea? Azure?!
Snapping back to his senses, Planck abruptly put down his wine glass. Before his eyes, a streak of pale blue light shot towards Piltover at an astonishing speed. It moved so fast that it left a trail of pale blue light in the air.
In the dim light, within Planck's line of sight, two figures appeared and disappeared amidst the blue light and shadow—"Enemy attack!!!"
188·The Dance of Broken Wings
Realizing something was wrong, Planck immediately roared. Almost the instant Planck's voice fell, accompanied by a boom, the azure light and shadow struck the deck of his flagship, the Dread.
Under the heavy impact, the entire Dread was as if it had been bombarded by a heavy shell. As its center of gravity became unstable, it began to tilt violently to one side. Fortunately, Planck had never skimped on his flagship. Even though the ship was tilting severely, without further bombardment, the warship slowly regained its center of gravity and gradually stabilized amidst the violent shaking caused by the splashing waves.
"Oh, not bad."
Upon seeing that the Fear Ship was able to regain its balance, a hint of surprise and amusement flashed in Farn's eyes.
Fear, also known as 'Shockwave', is a card that appears in LoR, a card game, but not in the main League of Legends game. Similar to Stellato, it doesn't appear in the base game but in the card game LoR. It's an 8-mana minion from Bilgewater, with relatively low 4/6 stats. Its effect is to draw a Gangplank when summoned and it has an aura that doubles the damage dealt by all friendly abilities, spells, and units. It's a classic OTK (One-Turn Kill) card in LoR, similar to Velen or Malygos in Hearthstone.
Although he knew a bit about the Fear, to be honest, Fain hadn't paid it much attention. But now that he'd seen it with his own eyes, a hint of surprise appeared in Fain's eyes.
Perhaps it was due to Planck's infamous reputation? Even his flagship, fueled by the fear of countless people, developed its own consciousness in the spiritual realm. Although this consciousness was still weak, coupled with the fear of plunder that the warship's appearance represented, it undoubtedly endowed the Fear with some so-called supernatural and magical powers, causing its enemies to involuntarily feel fear and trepidation.
Unfortunately, these awarenesses are still too weak—
Raising his foot, Farn lightly and unhurriedly stomped it down. Then, in everyone's perception—though they couldn't quite articulate it—the Fearless Ruins beneath their feet seemed to fall into a long silence, as if asleep…
Although puzzled, Gangplank didn't dwell on it—just as Faen had said before, in reality, most heroes in Runeterra are only slightly stronger than ordinary people. Take Miss Fortune, Sarah, for example. Even though she became the Queen of Bloodharbor in the future and even had an Empress skin, all her power and attack methods still heavily rely on her two muskets. Essentially, she's still an ordinary person who can lose her fighting ability if her ammunition gets damp.
While Planck is significantly stronger than Miss Fortune in terms of physical attributes and combat abilities, he is essentially still just an ordinary person with some knowledge of magic. Planck is completely unaware of even the condition of his flagship, the Fear, or its growth in the mental realm.
Just like now, after seeing Fane's appearance, although surprised by the water light just now, after hesitating for a moment, Planck also straightened up again, raised the musket in his hand and pointed it at Fane in front of him, saying: "Who are you! Why are you here? And what were those cannonballs just now!"
Upon hearing Plank's words, the pirates, who had been in a panic, quickly came to their senses and gripped their weapons, surrounding Fain and Riven.
Having lived for so long in these perilous waters, Gangplank knew that no matter the situation, even if he felt utterly hopeless, he could never show it. Otherwise, he would only be looked down upon... Besides, having lived in these waters for so long, what hadn't Gangplank seen? It was precisely because of this that Gangplank knew very well that a spell like the one just used, unless a legion of mages joined forces, would be impossible for even the masters of Noxus or Ionia to cast easily.
I thought this was the prelude to an attack, but it ended after only one shot was fired... Are these two people messengers from Piltover?
Thinking this, a slightly cold and stern look also appeared in Planck's eyes.
If that's the case, then I'll have to haggle with them properly...
After glancing at the crowd in front of him and finding no one he recognized, Fain waved his hand rather boredly, then said to Riven beside him, "Kill them all."
"Oh!" Upon hearing Faen's words, Riven did not hesitate at all, but paused for a moment when she gripped the rune greatsword in her hand—but only for a moment. After telling herself that this was just an ordinary weapon and had nothing to do with any honor, she gripped the greatsword again.
Immediately afterward, before Gangplank could even react, Riven's seemingly frail figure transformed into a blur as she charged toward the crowd in front of her with astonishing explosive power.
Although both are mortal heroes, Riven's ability to stand out among the countless Noxian legions and become a role model for Noxian soldiers is certainly not something LeBlanc could achieve alone. In fact, even without LeBlanc's covert support, Riven remains the strongest legion soldier in all of Noxus, and even in all of Runeterra. Without considering weapons, in terms of physical strength and skill alone, she is a force to be reckoned with, comparable to Garen.
Now, while not consuming the same large amounts of "happy factors" as LeBlanc, Riven has incorporated taking Faen's bodily fluids into her daily training routine. With her body constantly developing, if before Riven could only sense, but not clearly perceive, the changes in her strength, she can now feel the Blackrock Greatsword in her hands becoming much lighter, more agile, stronger, and more powerfully solid—
The greatsword in her hand gleamed in her hand, a slight hesitation settling in as a surge of battle intent erupted from Riven like a storm. Her gaze was cold and indifferent; with each swing of her sword amidst the crowd, several heads or mangled corpses were sent flying into the air. Cruel and efficient, by the time Gangplank regained his senses, the enormous greatsword seemed poised to cleave him in two!
189·Big Fish
Looking at the giant blade coming straight at him, Gangplank had no intention of confronting it head-on. Don't be fooled by how devastating a triple barrel combo can be in the game, where lightly armored warriors and squishy AD carries are easily injured or killed if they get grazed. In the real world, the terrifying kinetic energy generated by the swing of that Black Stone Greatsword was something that Gangplank's little knife could not match.
Without any regard for sportsmanship, Gangplank rolled away to dodge Riven's attack. Then, as he got up, while Riven was unable to retract her blade, he raised his musket and pulled the trigger.
With a burst of flame, the solid bullet, propelled by the gunpowder, hurtled towards Riven. However, thanks to her heightened concentration, Riven could clearly see not only Gangplank's attack but also the trajectory of the bullet as it flew through the air.
As Gangplank suspected, Riven couldn't easily retract her greatsword after swinging it—massive weapons like this were rarely as maneuverable in combat as one-handed swords. Even with her enhanced body, Riven's muscle memory still relied on using her body as a counterweight for the greatsword, the blade moving with her body, her body dancing with the blade. In this process, the swirling blade became Riven's most reliable shield. And like now, facing an enemy attacking while her attack animation was off…
"what!!"
Without dodging or even attempting to shift her balance, Riven immediately let out a roar. With a roar that spread from her throat, her fierce fighting spirit merged with the surrounding storm, forming an invisible shield. The solid bullet, upon impact, seemed to vanish into thin air; its initial high speed visibly decreased, and it finally fell limply to the ground, turning into a tiny, spinning bean that veered to the side.
Upon seeing this, Planck's eyes narrowed slightly, and then without hesitation, he turned his gaze to Fain beside him.
Fane raised an eyebrow in surprise. Then, Gangplank leaped to Fane's side, raised his musket, pointed it at Fane's head, and shouted at Riven, "Stop right there!!"
Hearing Gangplank's powerful voice, the previously chaotic Dreadship regained a brief moment of calm. Turning her head to look at Gangplank, who was holding Fain hostage, Riven's eyes showed a hint of astonishment, and for a moment she was unsure whether to continue swinging her sword.
In contrast, Gangplank secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon noticing the astonishment on Riven's face and the fact that she had stopped swinging her sword. Although he didn't know who this woman in the bunny girl outfit was, the terrifying destructive power she had displayed in just a few minutes of fighting had already made Gangplank secretly alarmed.
Fortunately, her companion seemed to be an idiot... well, calling him an idiot is a bit of an overstatement, but he was still a pushover.
Planck thought to himself—is he the young master of some powerful family? Probably?
It's no wonder that Plank would think that way—without a full understanding of the spiritual realm, let alone Plank, even in Ionia, probably not many people would be able to recognize at a glance that the azure water flowing across the sky was the work of Fane.
In this situation, from landing on the Fearship to the start of the battle, Fane seemed completely idle, merely issuing battle orders to Riven from the sidelines. Moreover, Riven was currently dressed in a bunny girl outfit, although the style was far more conservative than at the Tower Manor, it was still clear that this was a useless costume created solely to cater to someone's perverse tastes.
Thinking this, Planck secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glad that this sudden attack might just be the young master's momentary delusion out of ignorance.
Seeing that Riven had stopped what she was doing, and realizing that their leader had taken a hostage, the pirates, who were already outlaws, immediately became active. They gathered around in twos and threes, exchanging glances, and after a moment, one of them let out a cold laugh:
"What? Looks like another stupid noble young master? Looks like we're going to make a killing this time!"
"Damn it, those bastards in Piltover are really rich. They actually managed to find a woman like that to be their bodyguard, and it even caused a lot of our brothers to die!"
"Compared to this, this woman looks kind of familiar to me..."
Having traversed the high seas, Planck's crew, while not exactly handpicked, were all familiar with the basic rules of survival on the Fear, operating under Planck's authority. These included things like all loot being confiscated and distributed uniformly, and the prohibition against launching attacks without Planck's orders. Under these circumstances, Planck wasn't worried that his men would be blinded by lust and foolishly try to force Fane into submission—being a bodyguard was, after all, just a job, and given the current situation, Planck wasn't confident he could defeat her if she truly became ruthless.
It was precisely because of this that Planck hesitated to act even after taking Fane hostage. Planck initially paid little attention to his subordinates' conversation, but after overhearing their chatter, he quickly grasped the crux of the matter.
"You know her?" Plank looked at the pirate who seemed to recognize Riven and said, "Think carefully, who is she?"
He was wearing Noxian black steel armor, which was somewhat tattered, but the tattoos on his exposed skin still revealed that he was a deserter from a Noxian legion, or a former legion soldier who felt that being a pirate in Bilgewater was more enjoyable than serving in Noxus.
Upon hearing Gangplank's order, the former Noxian soldier stared at Riven for a moment, then glanced at the Blackrock Greatsword in her hand. After a while, even the soldier's eyes revealed a hint of disbelief.