Runeterra: I actually know a little bit about everything

At that time, Ascended Queen Setaka was in charge of internal affairs, while Aatrox was in charge of expanding the territory. With the power of the Ascended God, the Shurima Empire almost unified the entire Runeterra.

Unfortunately, with the appearance of that fissure that tore the earth apart, this once-powerful empire began its decline.

During the Void Wars, many Ascended Gods, including the Ascended Queen Setaka, perished. Ascended Generals such as Aatrox, Horlock, and Nezuk were corrupted by the Void, and the seeds of corruption were sown in their hearts.

After that, Aatrox chose to retire.

He led the mentally damaged ascended gods to retreat to the Celestial Assembly, and rarely went out again.

Relying on their loyalty to the empire and the power of the sun god from the Sun Disc, they suppressed their negative emotions and tried their best not to fall into the abyss of depravity.

As the first Ascended Legion General Aatrox retreated to the Celestial Assembly, the second Ascended Legion General appeared, and that person was Nasus!

Like Aatrox, Nasus was also deeply loved by the people of Shurima, and his abilities were also extraordinary.

Despite the empire's strength being severely damaged in the Void Wars, the Shurima Empire, though seemingly weak, still enjoys unparalleled prominence.

Until that day, Xerath, the slave who liked to scratch his head, appeared beside Azir.

The ascended divine power belonging to Tsar Azir was stolen, the sun disk exploded, and the entire empire was destroyed.

When Aatrox and his companions heard of the commotion and rushed to the capital, all that awaited them was the sun disc buried under the yellow sand and an empty desert.

Zuo Chi learned what happened next: Nasus and Renekton sealed Xerath, but Nasus did not step forward to lead the Ascended Legion. Without the suppression of the Sun Disc, Aatrox and the others' negative emotions completely erupted, and they fell into the Darkin.

Thus, the ancient Shurima Empire fell, and the First Darkin War, which lasted for 1,500 years, began.

In this war, a large number of Ascended Celestials and Darkin died, and the few Darkin who survived were sealed away by the Protoss.

Ultimately, eroded by the passage of time, this empire has become so fragile that it is now on the verge of collapse.

Listening to the stories of the three people in front of him, Zuo Chi couldn't help but sigh. Indeed, the solar disk was both their strength and their weakness!

And so, Zuo Chi and the others continued their discussion in high spirits, while Nasus and Aatrox, apart from exchanging a glance at each other at the beginning, did not speak again.

Now, Aatrox also knows why Nasus didn't stand up for him back then, but instead chose to disappear.

He didn't forgive him, but he didn't say much either.

Finally, two more days passed, and Aatrox was the first to turn his head and look out of the ancient city.

Several figures appeared in the sky outside the ancient city and rushed towards this place.

At this point, all the other members of Aatrox's Darkin Legion had arrived.

Darkin Harpist Tiratu, Darkin Spear Anaca, Darkin Halberd Tarosh, Darkin Ballista Naga Neka, Darkin Star Metal Ball Horaz, Darkin Harpoon Ibarros, Darkin Staff Balkux, Darkin Dragon Fan Blai, Darkin Heavy Shield Joral!

Nine Darkborn in total!

Moreover, these Darkin represent different regions of Runeterra, including even the Spirit Realm and Mount Targon.

Zuo Chi could also see that after thousands of years, these people were extremely excited to see Aatrox, especially Jorah, whose voice trembled when he spoke to Aatrox.

"Aatrox. It's been a long time."

Aatrox put his arm around Jolar's shoulder, and Zuo Chi saw a feeling he had never seen before in Jolar's eyes—gentleness and kindness.

Previously, Zuo Chi would never have believed that Aatrox could have these two emotions, after all, Aatrox was known as the "cannonball printing press" of the Rift, who could curse people for three days and three nights without repeating himself. But now, Zuo Chi had actually seen it with his own eyes.

Afterwards, Aatrox introduced Nasus to his followers. It is worth mentioning that when these Darkin saw Nasus, their eyes widened in disbelief.

However, after Aatrox explained the reason to them, they didn't say anything more.

And so, the legions of Aatrox and Zuochi were fully assembled. What they needed to do next was to find Zolani's whereabouts!

Time passed little by little, and finally, at some point after that, Aatrox suddenly raised his head and looked eastward.

Immediately afterwards, all the Darkin present looked in that direction and gripped their weapons tightly.

“General,” Tarrosh called out softly.

Aatrox slowly withdrew his gaze, and growled in a murderous voice:

She's in Icathia!

Chapter 152. The Second Darkin War Begins!

It's unclear when exactly, but the already tense atmosphere on the continent of Shurima has become even more oppressive.

People from all over Shurima continued to travel to that land that had long been untouched by humans. Powerful demigod auras echoed in the swirling dust and sand, causing all the creatures in the desert to disappear.

This situation has only occurred twice before.

One was the Ascended Legion of the Shurima Empire's conquest of the Void of Icathia, and the other was the First Darkin War.

And now, this somber atmosphere seems to have reappeared!

Southeast of Shurima, in Icathia.

In front of the clearing littered with the corpses of Void creatures, thousands of powerful warriors, including Zolani, had gathered.

Without exception, these people were all covered by white cloaks, their skin was dark red, and their bodies were covered with hideous, dry muscle textures.

The blood energy within these people is extremely violent, as if external forces have been forcibly injected into their bodies.

Under Zolani's blood magic transformation, they are no longer the mortals they once were. Now, each of them possesses terrifying power capable of taking on a hundred enemies, but along with this comes their sharply shortened lifespan.

In front of the thousands of white-robed warriors, there were nearly ten figures with somewhat strange appearances.

They all huddled under their cloaks, seemingly not wanting anyone to see their strange appearance.

They were all Shurima warriors who had failed to ascend – Bakkai.

Both the Baka and the white-robed warriors were staring with fanatical eyes at the high platform ahead.

There, Zolani, with bony wings on her back, stood proudly. Behind her was a figure much taller than the platform. He was just standing behind Zolani, but he could give people an incredibly terrifying pressure.

He held a crescent-shaped axe, and his muscles had turned from grayish-green to dark red. His sharp teeth gleamed with a metallic sheen, and a row of ferocious spikes grew from his spine. At this moment, he stared intently at all living things in front of him with his blood-red eyes.

The once-ascended god Renekton has now been completely corrupted by Zoranny.

Like a walking corpse, he simply stood quietly behind Zolani, his eyes devoid of any light, like a machine controlled by Zolani.

Zolani looked at the believers in front of her, spread her arms, and breathed in the thick, bloody smell around her.

This day will eventually come, and now, Zolani is fully prepared!

She has absorbed hundreds of times more followers than the Aatrox Legion, and has devoured countless lives during this time, including several Bakke who refused to serve her.

Zolani was quite certain that her current power was no less than that of Aatrox in the past.

Without holding back any longer, Zolani unleashed her aura without restraint, and her unique aura spread to every corner of the Shurima continent at an extremely terrifying speed.

Almost simultaneously, another Darkin aura spread from the western regions of Shurima, responding to Zoranny's provocation with an indomitable spirit.

"Come, Aatrox, let me see if you've improved in these thousands of years!"

Zolani's whispers lingered like an eternal nightmare on this already desolate land.

What she didn't notice was that right above them, there were faint sounds of wind breaking through the air.

Those were some strangely shaped golden spirits, each with a pair of golden wings, and the energy that formed their bodies was also a righteous and awe-inspiring gold.

Judging from their appearance, these spirits do not seem to have combat capabilities; instead, they seem more like messengers responsible for monitoring this place!

The large eye on the messenger's head surveyed everything below, and after fully recording the current state of Icathia, it flapped its wings and swiftly flew westward toward Shurima.

They flew very high, and judging from their flight direction, their destination should not be within the Shurima Empire, but in the far west of the Shurima continent, at the highest point of the entire Runeterra—Mount Targon!

On the other side, Aatrox and Zuochi stood side by side on the ancient city, with Nasus and all the members of the Darkin Legion behind them.

Aatrox gripped his greatsword tightly, the heart on the sword pounding continuously. Aatrox's aura surged into the sky like a storm, responding to Zoranny's provocation.

Nine Darkborn stood behind the two men, their enormous bodies of varying shapes resembling war machines, all awaiting the general's orders.

Once again, a sandstorm swept across the vast desert, and Aatrox's voice rang out at that moment.

"let's go!"

The moment Aatrox finished speaking, more than a dozen figures leaped down from the ancient city and transformed into streaks of light, heading eastward.

Aatrox and Zuochi flew at the forefront, followed closely by Anaca, Tarosh, and several other Darkin who could fly.

Meanwhile, the Darkin, unable to fly, sprinted across the sand below, their footsteps echoing heavily through the dust. The dust was barely stirred up before their figures had already swept past.

The combined might of ten Darkborn and two Ascended Gods, unleashing their full power, was enough to make even the sky-covering sandstorm tremble.

If you zoom out, you can see that twelve streaks of light are rushing westward from the center of the Shurima continent.

At the forefront, Zuo Chi and Aatrox both had serious expressions, because they were puzzled as to why Zolani would appear in Icathia!

Zuo Chi had imagined that Zolani could appear anywhere in Shurima, even in the capital city of Shurima, but he never thought of the land of Icathia.

Located in the southeasternmost corner of the Shurima continent, this desolate land has become almost a forbidden zone for the living since the Void Wars, except for a few remaining survivors. The dangers there are far greater than those in the Shurima desert.

But Zolani chose this cursed land.

Zuo Chi was feeling very depressed at this moment, and his murderous intent towards Zolani was becoming uncontrollable.

Regardless of whether it was a conspiracy or not, one thing he was very clear about: Kai'Sa was still in Icathia!

Zuo Chi only hoped that Kasa would never encounter Zolani, and even less would she try to get close to Zolani and her group, otherwise, with her appearance that was so similar to that of a Void creature, she would be too dangerous.

At the rear of the column, Nasus followed closely behind the Darkin Legion. In addition to his murderous intent toward Zoranny, there was also a hint of worry in his eyes.