I, Folyago, am the most devoted lover in Runeterra.

Upon hearing this, Dukur's expression immediately turned cold.

"Commander Riven!"

"Please be mindful of your identity."

"This is not a problem for you to consider."

Dukur didn't seem to have any intention of explaining to Riven; instead, he directly invoked his status to try and overwhelm her.

His posture only fueled the anger in the female warrior's eyes.

"Did the Empire wage war simply to incite this senseless massacre?"

Riven stood her ground, suddenly exuding a fierce aura forged in blood and fire.

The sudden appearance of this ominous atmosphere made Dukur pause for a moment, but soon a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.

Dukur's "no one left behind" strategy is something he will never change, and the implications of this are something Riven could never understand.

After all, this was "that lady's" request.

"Snapped!"

He slammed his hand on the table in front of him and stood up angrily.

"presumptuous!"

"What do you know?"

Duguer's reprimand did not make Riven restrain herself even slightly, but she still showed no sign of backing down.

Duguer, on the other hand, seemed to realize his lapse in composure and slowly sat down, his gaze towards Riven carrying a strange undertone.

"Currently, the empire is severely understaffed."

"You only saw the carnage in front of you, but you never thought about it."

"If we let these Ionian bastards go, shouldn't we assign people to guard them?"

Do these prisoners need food and water?

"We don't have the energy to deal with these things!"

After sitting down, Dukur placed his hands on the table and, for some reason, suddenly began to explain to Riven.

Dukur's words made Riven frown.

She was so overwhelmed by the bloody massacre on the battlefield that she didn't even think about these issues for a moment.

However, Riven seems to have forgotten that the strategy of splitting up forces was originally proposed by Dukur.

It's ironic that Duguel, who proposed splitting the forces, is now using the excuse of insufficient troops to deal with Riven.

have to say.

Riven is definitely a powerful and indomitable warrior.

But he is by no means a cunning and shrewd strategist.

For a moment, she was speechless in the face of Dukur's explanation.

Seeing Riven remain silent, a hint of smugness flashed in Dukur's eyes.

"We must prioritize the overall situation..."

Dukur spoke with apparent seriousness, uttering a phrase commonly used by bureaucrats as a way of making excuses.

What Riven didn't realize was that the general's gaze towards her held a strange fervor.

From any angle, Riven is indeed a rare beauty.

Unique white hair, delicate features, and a slender figure.

Even without makeup, there is not a single flaw in her appearance.

On the contrary, the confidence brought by her strong strength and the aura of dominating the battlefield give Riven a unique charm.

Such a woman was something Duguor had never encountered in his previous career of womanizing.

This caused Dukur to suddenly feel a strange stirring in his heart.

After some internal struggle, Riven ultimately accepted Dukur's explanation.

"I acted impulsively..."

Riven said weakly, then turned to leave without offering any apology, which made her seem somewhat rude.

But Riven clearly didn't care about this at all and accepted Dukur's explanation, which didn't mean she had any good feelings towards Dukur.

On the contrary, Riven hates Dukur, or rather—she hates him terribly!

"Commander Riven, please wait."

Watching Riven's graceful figure recede into the distance, Duguel suddenly spoke up, trying to persuade her to stay.

Riven stopped and turned to look at Dukur, her eyes filled with indifference.

She assumed that Dukur was trying to make things difficult for her because of what had just happened.

“I’m sure you must be feeling quite exhausted from the recent battles.”

"Perhaps you can come and have a drink with me tonight."

Although it was a request, Dukur spoke it as a command.

Because, in the eyes of Duguel, who was born into nobility and had commanded the Imperial Navy for many years, it was a blessing for Riven, a wild country woman, to be interested in him.

He probably only mentioned it casually, and the woman would dress up and come to him that night.

Upon hearing Dukur's words, Riven's eyes instantly turned as cold as winter.

"No need."

She spoke in an icy tone, a tone rarely so chilling for Riven.

After saying that, Riven ignored Dukur and turned to leave.

Upon seeing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Dukur's eyes.

Immediately afterwards, a twist of anger flashed across his face.

As a dignified naval general and deputy commander of the expeditionary force, he not only did not hold this barbaric woman accountable for trespassing on the warship, but also showed her considerable "goodwill".

But he never expected this woman to treat him like this!

Chapter 204: Neither Supporting Nor Opposing

The war quickly spread from Philol to the whole of Ionia, and the imperial army advanced unstoppable, encountering virtually no strong resistance.

Of course, not all Ionians are fools.

During this period, there were certainly some "enlightened individuals," but for Ionia at this moment, they seemed to urgently need a change.

.............

Early in the course of the Imperial army's invasion of Philor, Elder Rowan of the Philor province had already realized the seriousness of the problem.

Rowan immediately suggested that everyone should unite and gather the fighting forces of all the villages to fight against the Noxians.

In that case, there might still be a glimmer of hope.

At the same time, Rowan also knew that the Noxians were coming with overwhelming force and that Philol's power alone could not withstand them.

Rowan then suggested that they could quickly gather people and retreat to the province of Warnerly to preserve their strength.

pity.........

None of these suggestions were adopted.

Or, to put it another way, it wasn't that the suggestion wasn't adopted, but rather that the elders of the province of Philol needed to "discuss" it.

Ionia has always been like this.

It seems that everyone is used to this situation and has no idea that this time they are already facing imminent danger, with no room for delay.

Rowan was extremely anxious about this, seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly urgent and the elders had not yet reached a conclusion.

Left with no other choice, Rowan could only organize the people of his village to retreat towards Warnerly.

But in the end, Rowan tragically discovered that even in his own village, very few people were willing to go to the province of Warneri with him.

There's only one reason—it's hard to leave one's homeland...

The villagers believed that they were protected by the "Spirit of Ionia" and that the Noxians would not do anything to them.

Besides, the "elders' council" hasn't reached a conclusion yet, so why are you in such a hurry?

Finally, Rowan lost all hope. He knew time was running out, and once the Noxian army pressed in, there would be no way to escape.

Without further hesitation, Rowan set off for Warnerly with more than ten local militiamen and followers.

Almost immediately after Rowan left Philor, war engulfed the entire province of Philor, wiping out its inhabitants.

Rowan was overcome with grief. As one of the elders of the province of Philor, his heart was filled with genuine sorrow.

This sorrow stems both from the ignorance of the Philolians and from the anguish over their homeland, ravaged by the iron heel of the empire.