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

After all, there was still "one of their own" in Bilgewater's camp.

Faced with the two elders' "meaningful" gazes, Foxy was clearly a little confused.

What's going on here?

Didn't Fryego just defeat the other side? Why do they seem so friendly now?

Having lost so much face, shouldn't one be sullen and furious?

OK?

Foxy, who was completely unaware of the intricacies of the situation, was clearly also bewildered.

Are all Ionians like this? They only respond to force and never to gentle persuasion? Did Fryegor completely subdue them?

Foxy was dumbfounded.

"Please forgive our rudeness, dear guests who have come from afar."

"Friends in Bilgewater, dinner is ready. Please join me at the table."

Master Ku said in a calm tone; he was a silent middle-aged man.

His voice was extremely gentle, and it had a unique charm.

"please!"

Master Kushuo slowly extended his hand in a gesture.

"please!"

Foxy responded with the same gesture.

Then a standardized process began.

Even though Foxy was still completely bewildered, it didn't stop the wheels of fate from rolling forward.

...........

On the island of Feral, 30,000 Noxian elite troops are gathering.

Unlike Dukur, who employed blitzkrieg and scorched-earth tactics, Svetov switched to a more cautious approach at this moment.

While Dukur was burning, killing, and harassing the province of Galin, Swain remained inactive for a long time.

It wasn't that Swain was slow to act, but rather that this was a feint by Swain.

There are three advantages to doing this.

Firstly, as Noxus's bridgehead for invading Ionia, the Isle of Philol is of paramount importance and cannot be lost.

As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, Swain had many more things to consider.

Therefore, before the army could fully set off, he had to resolve all the unstable factors on the island of Philol.

This ensures that Philol Island can reliably serve as the army's retreat route.

Under Swain's leadership, the island of Philol is now completely under his control.

Secondly, Dukur's initiative to harass the Galin province would give the enemy the illusion that the empire's offensive direction had changed.

This is used to lull the opponent into a false sense of security.

Finally, Swain's delay in making a move would lower the opponent's guard, thus reducing their suspicion of Philol.

This will maximize the success rate of Swain's plan.

Because today, Swain's plan will be fully launched.

He stood at the very front of the entire army, scanning the soldiers below.

The room fell into complete silence, a silence that was almost eerily quiet.

After a long, long time, Swain slowly uttered a single sentence.

"Gentlemen, for the sake of the Empire!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it was clearly audible to everyone.

"For the Empire!"

Upon hearing Swain's words, the 30,000 soldiers roared in unison, their momentum instantly soaring into the sky.

Swain nodded slowly; the morale of the army was high.

Swain can command these 30,000 soldiers as easily as his own arms.

This is why he agreed to Dukur's request to divide his forces.

Sometimes, more troops are not necessarily better.

The quality of an army is more important than its quantity.

Swain naturally understood this principle.

Rather than having so many disobedient soldiers and generals holding back, Swain could simply streamline the troops, which would actually improve combat effectiveness.

Swain assigned all the soldiers who were not under his command or were not his direct subordinates to Dukur.

The soldiers who remained were either from battle groups that deeply admired Swain, or were his own loyal followers.

Swain said no more, only waved his hand dismissively.

"Leave!"

Subsequently, except for the legion that remained to guard Filol, the other soldiers boarded the ships used to transport soldiers and headed towards the river mouth where the province of Warneri leads out to sea.

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

Almost a month has passed since Noxus fully occupied Philore Island.

During this period, the province of Galin, south of the province of Warnerly, was also invaded by Noxian soldiers.

For a time, some people in Ionia were filled with unease.

At this point, the elders still hadn't come to a reasonable conclusion on how to deal with the situation.

Therefore, the militias of the coastal villages of Warnerly could only patrol the coastline and organize defenses on their own.

This is in response to a potential Noxian attack.

Today, as usual, the militiamen on the Warnerly coast patrolled in their fishing boats more than ten kilometers away from the coastline.

On the fishing boat, two martial arts masters from a nearby village were chatting idly.

His words were filled with insults and curses directed at the Noxians.

Suddenly, one of the samurai's expressions froze.

"Look!"

"What, what is that?!"

The samurai was shocked to see countless dark ships swarming towards them on the distant horizon.

Black has always been the Noxians' favorite color.

It goes without saying where these ships came from.

"Go back and report to the elder immediately!"

One of the samurai quickly realized what was happening, turned the sails of the fishing boat around, and headed towards the shore.

Unfortunately, at that moment, the wind blew against the direction of the boat, which slowed down the boat.

So the two quickly picked up their oars and began to row rapidly, but the speed they gained was barely enough to make a difference.

In contrast, Noxus ships maintained astonishing speeds even against headwinds.

Almost instantly, the leading black vessels were about to catch up with the fishing boat.

The two samurai on the fishing boat were furious, but even though they rowed with all their might until the oars were smoking, they still couldn't shake off the black ship behind them, which looked like the Grim Reaper.

The Ionians, who were used to peace, did not actually understand the terror of the word Noxus.

How could a mere fishing boat possibly compete with the speed of Noxus's warships?

In fact, these landing ships were all vessels left by Dukur's navy for Swain's use.

These ships were not equipped with cannons and were relatively small in size.

However, a significant portion of them were equipped with Zaun alchemy furnaces, so even in headwinds, their speed remained extremely fast.

Not to mention, there are mages in the Noxian army.

At this moment, Swain was aboard the black ship at the very front.

Beside him stood a magician shrouded in a black robe.

"Faster, don't let this fishing boat escape."

Swain gave the order to the mage beside him, who nodded in response.

Then he began chanting complex and intricate incantations, and before long a gust of wind, from who-knows-where, clung to the ship.

The ship's speed suddenly increased dramatically.

In just about two or three minutes, they would catch up with the fishing boat.