Void Beetle Evolution Guide

Darius composed himself, suppressing the bitterness in his heart, and pounded his chest with his fist, saying, "For Noxus."

"So you've come to terms with it already? How magnanimous." LeBlanc was still trying to sow discord, but Swain suddenly raised his demonic hand.

“You despicable rat, all talk and no action. If you want to speak, then come out and say it. What kind of skill is it to hide in the shadows?” As soon as Swain finished speaking, the raven on his shoulder took off and flew straight to the top of the Great Well of Souls.

The crow spread its wings and let out a fierce cry. A surge of demonic energy erupted from its body, tearing open space with an eye-shaped rift. The scarlet eyeball inside flickered incessantly, revealing the hidden space.

In the pure white room, hundreds of characters floated on the wall, rolling, boiling, melting and solidifying into other characters.

In the heart of this illusory empire, LeBlanc divines the future. Countless characters shift and transform beneath her slender, blackened fingers, like sand art, forming indistinct images.

Realizing she was now in everyone's sight, LeBlanc turned around, and the surrounding scenery rapidly changed, instantly placing her next to the Soul Well.

“Pale Lady. Is this yet another clone of you, or the real you?” Swain questioned.

LeBlanc, emerging from behind the scenes, approached the LeBlanc who had previously sown discord and replied sternly, "My sisters are scattered across countless regions and kingdoms around the world, participating in countless conspiracies and schemes every moment, each firmly believing that they are the only, true LeBlanc. Perhaps I should also ask myself, is the truth I believe in truly real?"

“It doesn’t matter.” The previous LeBlanc met her gaze. “I am everywhere. Every single one of me.”

“There are choices in everything, even the truth.” Swain didn’t dwell on their charade. As long as he dragged LeBlanc out of the shadows, she would have no choice but to go all out because she had no way out. That was enough for him.

Chapter 762 Vladimir

LeBlanc's words were tantamount to admitting that she was the mastermind behind countless conspiracies and the true embodiment of cunning.

Unpleasant memories flooded back, and Darius and Riven, seeing the culprit behind it all, drew their weapons, instantly creating a tense atmosphere.

A great battle was about to break out. Seeing this, LeBlanc tilted her head and said to the air behind her, "Hurry up and come out."

The scene remained unchanged for a long time. Wild Hunt thought she was being spoken to, but then LeBlanc spoke to him by name again with an unhappy expression.

"Stop hiding, Vladimir. How long are you going to stand by and watch?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a pool of blood appeared on the ground. The blood in the pool surged upwards against gravity and condensed into a scarlet figure.

The young man was dressed in a well-fitting Noxus uniform, with an exaggeratedly large stand-up collar that was equally eye-catching. His face was even paler than the Pale Lady's; not only was his hair white, but even his eyebrows were painted white, and the cold tone was somewhat unsettling.

This man is none other than Vladimir, the Blood Wizard who has reincarnated countless times. He was once a hostage sent by the ancient Camarvia to the Darkin, and also a distant uncle of Fjorg, but now he has long since lived a new life in Noxus.

“With three forces entering the fray, including us, we’re now the fourth party. This is going to be quite a show.” Cassiopeia crossed her arms, clearly enjoying herself.

"It's not that simple. Don't forget whose hand the demon on Swain is." Wild Hunt didn't think so. The situation seemed to be a three-way standoff, but in reality, it was a turbulent one.

Thresh and Karthus are not on the same side; LeBlanc and Vladimir are only superficially united; and Darius is not entirely loyal to Swain.

LeBlanc and Swain should have put aside their differences and teamed up to deal with Thresh before settling scores. However, LeBlanc's repeated crying-boy tricks have rendered her completely untrustworthy. Swain doesn't trust LeBlanc, and LeBlanc doesn't trust Swain, simply because the demon within Swain once belonged to Mordekaiser.

The stalemate gave Thresh a chance to catch his breath. With Karthus's help, he was about to break free from Swain's hold.

“Forgive me, madam. You know, Etahan isn’t so obedient.” Seeing that even LeBlanc couldn’t help but expose him, Vladimir, unable to hide any longer, leisurely walked over to her and joined her ranks, not forgetting to greet Swain as well. “Oh, isn’t this our demon lord? Shall I introduce you to another demon friend?”

In such a dire situation, he still had the leisure to drink. Holding a wine glass filled with scarlet blood wine in one hand, his steps were slightly unsteady, not because he was drunk, but because he was too carefree.

“Vladimir, I know you’ve always harbored ambitions to go it alone. As long as you dethrone the Pale Lady, I’ll put you in the position of the Faceless Man and allow your Crimson Society to operate openly.” Swain ignored Vladimir’s derogatory title and extended an olive branch to him.

Compared to LeBlanc, this vampire didn't do anything too outrageous. Noxus doesn't care about origins; even criminals can make a living here. As long as Vladimir is willing to contribute to the empire, his past actions can be forgiven.

Vladimir smiled and took a sip of his drink. "Power means responsibility. Joining the Council of Three isn't a good thing for me. Your ability to sow discord is far from sufficient, Your Excellency. Besides, working with a beautiful woman is always better than working with an old man. It's not only more interesting, but there are also fewer constraints."

"You ungrateful bastard!" he growled at him.

"Commoners shouldn't get involved. Don't you know your place before you speak?" Vladimir said dismissively, making no attempt to hide his contempt for Darius. His speech was melodious and rhythmic, with a velvety quality to his enchanting voice; even his insults were elegant.

He had lived several lives, serving as king and general, but never as a commoner, and he completely looked down on Darius, a guy who rose from humble beginnings. If Swain hadn't reformed the military merit system, Darius wouldn't have had such a high level of advancement, let alone become the Hand of Noxus.

"Attack! Don't let a single one escape!" Darius, unable to bear the humiliation, raised his hand to give the order, and the crossbowmen lined up on the stone steps immediately unleashed a rain of arrows.

LeBlanc waved her staff, and a golden mirror blocked the rain of arrows from Trevor's army. Vladimir hid beside her, while Wild Hunt and Cassiopeia also observed the situation from behind the mirror. Thresh, being an undead, was not afraid of physical damage, and the arrows passed right through his body.

"Dance in the blood!" He saw Vladimir leisurely summon a pool of blood, from which many blood-red butterflies flew out.

These butterflies had bright scarlet circles on their forewings. As soon as they flew over the soldiers' heads, their wings immediately disintegrated, and the rest of the wings peeled off and crumbled like layers of ancient paint.

The debris and ash fell like a waterfall, spreading like a wave between the needle-threaded specimens. Dozens, then hundreds of butterflies all turned into phosphorescent dust, rising up like smoke and ash as a fire was extinguished.

The soldiers frantically waved their hands to clear the dust in front of them, but the ubiquitous phosphorus dust still managed to seep into the gaps in their armor, get into their ears, and leave them with the gritty feeling of insect corpses in their mouths.

The phosphorus powder worked quickly; the soldiers immediately began to have difficulty breathing, felt dizzy, and experienced numbness and weakness in their hands and feet. Some even fell off the high stone steps and turned into mincemeat in iron cans.

Vladimir, still not satisfied, released a flock of frenzied vampire pigeons. The pigeons, symbols of peace, transformed into bloodthirsty creatures in his hands, growing long, slender beaks like hummingbirds. They charged forward, plunging into the gaps in the soldiers' armor to drink their blood. In an instant, the stench of blood filled the entire underground space, faintly staining the blue-green miasma red.

No one expected that Vladimir, the blood sorcerer, would also be a beast tamer. In the long course of life, people always need to find something to do, and Vladimir chose to use patience and knowledge to cultivate one new species after another. (The last two lines appear to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

Insects, birds, and plants—Vladimir's interests were wide-ranging. He had lived on Blessed Isle for a time, where his strong academic atmosphere inspired him to study genetics. It wasn't until the island was destroyed that Vladimir obtained some Nightbloom seeds from Maokai and brought them back to Valoran. He used a mixture of blood and tears to induce them to take root and sprout, thus beginning his research.

His former Darkin master had a profound influence on him. Like the gods, he chose which ones to live and which ones to die, ultimately creating a completely different species.

If he were willing to share his knowledge, he could certainly lead a completely new discipline—genetics. The entire academic community would remember his name, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the father of genetics. Perhaps his old colleague Elise would even come to him to ask for advice on how to breed spiders.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to intend to use his talents for good, but instead turned them into something he used to show off to his Scarlet Clan members.

Chapter 763 No One Can Escape

The ferocious vampire pigeons ravaged above the Great Well of Souls, like hummingbirds digging their long, sharp beaks into the gaps in the armor, relentlessly sucking the blood of the Trevor soldiers.

Many strong soldiers were instantly drained of their life force, turning into mummies as they fell down the stone steps, their armor clattering against the ground with deafening crashes. The rest fought desperately, trying to crush the beasts with their bare hands, but to no avail. For every one they killed, many more swarmed at once; they simply couldn't kill them all.

Swain's expression was grim. He had already summoned all the crows that had been perched above the Immortal Fortress, but it would still take some time before they reached the underground.

During this time, he and Darius were protected by the energy released from the runic broken sword in Riven's hand.

Although the blade of this greatsword has been broken into several pieces, the energy contained within still links them together like magnets, forming a whole, and continuously releasing energy to form a green light shield.

By the time the crows arrived to rescue them underground, Trifalli's army had already suffered heavy casualties. The crows, in their demonic form, were far more ferocious than the vampire pigeons, and quickly wiped them out.

When the clam and the snipe fight, the fisherman benefits. Karthus sang sweet songs of death, and the souls that floated from the corpses were all drawn to his side by his dirges, transforming into the Ghost Legion.

With the power of the soul, the ghostly fire emanating from the staff finally burned away the demonic claws that bound Thresh. However, LeBlanc wasn't idle either; she used the chains to retrieve the helmet that had almost fallen into the well.

“After searching for hundreds of years, this thing has finally returned to my hands.” LeBlanc gripped the heavy helmet tightly, as if it were a priceless treasure, her fingers trembling with the force. “Let’s go, Vladimir. We have it; there’s no need to get entangled with these people.”

The two turned to leave, leaving the mess for Swain to clean up without a second thought. Without the helmet, the gates to the underworld couldn't be opened, and she didn't care even if Swain and Thresh fought to the death.

Even if Swain hated her, he didn't dare to really break ties with her, because he didn't want Mordekaiser to be released, and now the initiative was in her hands.

Therefore, no matter how unwilling Swain was, he had no choice but to obediently deal with Thresh and then swallow his anger and continue to play the role of the so-called three-person council with her.

The two figures twisted and turned, and just as they were about to disappear, Thresh, freed from his restraints, slashed his scythe hard against the ground, making a piercing scraping sound: "Nobody's leaving!"

The Netherworld Prison rose from the ground, enveloping everyone within. Five claw-like white bone towers were connected by a light barrier, and soldiers who happened to collide with the corpse-green light barrier were instantly separated from their bodies. Their corpses collapsed abruptly, while their souls were captured and imprisoned.

LeBlanc didn't think the prison could hold her, but she was wrong. After a moment of twisting motion, LeBlanc and Vladimir found themselves still inside the prison, their bodies still trapped within its walls.

The two exchanged bewildered glances, both seeing panic on each other's faces. Thresh, occupying the other side of the well, grinned viciously and screamed, "I said... nobody's leaving."

Cassiopeia's lips never left her mouth as she watched Thresh's smug, smug face. Thresh had no ability to seal space at all; in reality, she had used the Domination rune to alter LeBlanc and the others' perceptions, making them mistakenly believe that their evacuation had failed, which is why they stayed behind.

Of course, she couldn't let the actors just run away with the stuff. If they did, how would she present this great show to the Wild Hunt? It was precisely this feeling of toying with others and manipulating fate that gave Cassiopeia great pleasure.

The Soul Well has now become a deathmatch arena, with the Wild Hunt silently watching the situation. It seems that Thresh's turn has come again.

"Commander, I'm giving you the chance. Now is the best time to wipe out the Black Rose in one fell swoop. We can promise you we won't interfere. Once you've dealt with them, we can talk about who gets the helmet."

The drama of sowing discord seems to be playing out again; no one wants to be the target of a group attack, and Thresh is no exception. LeBlanc alone is enough to give him trouble, not to mention Swain has now joined the fray.

"Thresh, don't you find that ridiculous? You're the one who wanted to release Mordekaiser; we should be the ones dealing with you first." Vladimir had once been to the Shadow Isles as a treasure hunter, and he was attacked by Thresh while staying at a tavern. However, he didn't hold a grudge, because Thresh's arrival allowed him to easily obtain the treasure while the situation was chaotic.

But right now, self-interest is the best explanation for the situation. Thresh is trying to overthrow his long-standing status and wealth, and he would never stoop to his level.

Thresh ignored Vladimir, his disfigured face fixed on Swain: "Commander, if I die, they'll just run away with their helmets."

Swain is very rational, and Thresh doesn't expect to persuade him. All he wants is for both sides to draw a line and stop them from uniting to attack him.

“Undead, there’s no room for you to bargain here,” Swain replied firmly, like a sword being drawn from its sheath. He paused briefly, seemingly giving the other time to adjust to the sharp edge. “This is a struggle between us; it’s none of your business.”

"If you ask me, we're actually on the same side," Thresh retorted.

"how you said that?"

"That's a question for the demon within you." A barely perceptible, chilling smile crept onto Thresh's lips, as if a fish had taken the bait. "Great Commander. Do you truly believe you control it? Do you believe it serves you willingly? Do you believe borrowed power comes at a price?"

The Great Well of Souls suddenly fell silent, and all the three-eyed ravens circling in the air landed at its edge. Swain stared at their crimson eyes in silence, but everyone could sense that he wasn't unwilling to answer, but rather that he couldn't.

"Poor Grand Commander, kept in the dark all along, unaware that your actions are also serving the tyrant." Compared to Swain's silence, Thresh's voice grew louder. "The omnipresent crows have become your eyes and ears, allowing you to see the empire's darkest secrets."

"But after each battle, the darkness you see is a cloud of carrion crows; they don't appear on the battlefield out of nowhere, they come in search of food, and the souls of the dead are their food."

"These crows are actually guides to the underworld. They accompany you on your campaigns. The more wars you wage, the more souls are sent to the underworld, and the stronger Mordekaiser's army of the dead becomes!"

"That's why I said we're all in this together, all serving the Lord of the Underworld. Recruiter Swain, do you... understand?"

Chapter 764 A Startling Remark

Thresh's words were startling and piercing, moving all who heard them.

"Swain, I should have killed you long ago..." LeBlanc, who had been so composed just moments before, now looked at Swain with eyes filled with deep-seated hatred, her voice clenched like the hiss of a venomous snake.

Don't think she's some kind of foolish beauty. A thousand years ago, she was able to devise a plan to seal Mordekaiser. After a thousand years of dormancy, do you really think she can't do anything to a mortal possessed by a demon?

She agreed to join the Council of Three only because she admired Swain's governing abilities. After all, Noxus, outwardly strong but inwardly weak, was on the verge of collapse from the Black Rose's vampiric power. If Swain's appearance could inject new vitality into the dying Noxus and allow the Black Rose to survive for a long time, then what was wrong with accompanying him in a costume parade?

But she never expected that her moment of kindness would lead to a terrible mistake, because Swain was actually Mordekaiser's recruiter!

"So that's how it is. What a clever scheme." Vladimir, who had been flippant, now only showed relief and helplessness upon learning the truth.

Even the Wild Hunt, hidden in the shadows, fell into deep thought, pondering the possibility Thresh had mentioned. Could it be that all the wars Swain had waged over the years had ultimately benefited Mordekaiser?

In contrast, the two people beside Swain stared in disbelief at the back of his head and the raven on his shoulder.

Riven, suddenly realizing what had happened, broke out in a cold sweat and muttered weakly to herself, "No wonder the Spirit Blossoms haven't bloomed; their souls have all been stolen..."

She is now considered a spiritual Ionian and understands how significant the Spirit Blossom is to the Ionians.

Every year during the Spirit Blossom Festival, people bid farewell to the dead and find solace in the Spirit Blossom. But since the war began, the Spirit Blossom has never bloomed again, until Riven was brought back to Noxus.

The elderly couple who adopted Riven only wanted to see their son, who died on the battlefield, one last time. However, the Blooming Flower never bloomed before the old woman died, and the remaining old man was unable to see the mother and son off for the same reason.

And all of this was because his soul had been abducted to the underworld by Swain and couldn't return to the Spirit Blossom to reunite with his parents?! Riven was horrified by the thought, her hands trembling uncontrollably with rage.

"Great Lord, is this true?" Darius demanded. Every Noxian should remember Mordekaiser's reign of terror; his very existence nearly wiped out an entire generation.

"..." At this moment, Swain's deafening silence became the most powerful response. He had fallen into a vortex of madness, rising and falling in the turbulent waves of his thoughts.

He knew, he always knew, the reason why the demon Ramer had chosen him.

During Darkwell's reign, the aging puppet emperor was obsessed with immortality and, in his search for a magical artifact that could prolong life, simultaneously launched wars on too many fronts.

When Noxus marched into Ionia, he became even more shameless, wiping out Swain's entire army in search of anything that could delay death.

Even in such a desperate situation, Swain still demonstrated his outstanding military talent, luring the enemy into the so-called trap as planned and gaining the upper hand for a time.

However, isolated and helpless, he was ultimately crushed. His veterans were completely routed, and Swain suffered fatal wounds—a kneecap was shattered, and his left arm was severed by Irelia's blade.

He lay on the edge of death as a raven flew close to feed. Swain felt that familiar darkness rushing towards him again—the raven he had seen more than once in the Immortal Fortress. It was its turn to claim his soul.

That was the power his parents sought, an invisible voice that chattered incessantly in the darkness of the Immortal Fortress. Ever since he exposed his parents' merits, the raven had been like a leech, following him relentlessly after every battle.

Swain stared into the raven's eyes, and in its reflection he saw evil gripping the heart of Noxus. A black rose, the pale lady… and her puppet emperor.

This made him realize that he hadn't truly ended Black Rose; his parents were merely two pawns to be cut up. And the reason he had been assigned to command this unwinnable battle was precisely because of Black Rose's treacherous plot to kill him.

This glimpse into all of this wasn't through the raven's mind, but through something far more powerful. The power his parents had sought was the demon's eye burning in the darkness.

These crows dig up the secrets of the dying everywhere. They approached the dying Swain, but in his gaze, Swain saw a secret that even they could not see: a way to manipulate him.

So he turned the tables and engaged in a life-or-death struggle with the demon, eventually subduing it within his body and using its power to repair his physical form, thus returning alive and reborn from the battlefield of Ionia.

But can an all-knowing demon be subdued simply by exchanging glances? Can a genius truly suppress an ancient demon with his intelligence?

The answer is no. The method of controlling demons that he saw through the Demon's Eye was actually deliberately revealed to him by the demon; yes, it was another move by Mordekaiser.

Swain was on the verge of death at that time, and he had no choice but to accept Mordekaiser's "gift". Accepting the power of the demon was his only way to survive.

The wise Swain could not hide it; he uncovered Mordekaiser's plot by digging into the secrets of the demons, or rather, Mordekaiser never intended to hide his plan.

Through this, Swain learned of the Pale Lady's existence, that the immortal Mordekaiser still lived in the wasteland of souls, waiting to return to the world of the living, and also learned of the irreconcilable antagonism between the two.

That's why he tacitly approved of the Black Rose's existence. He needed the Black Rose's control over dark magic to deal with Mordekaiser, and he himself was actively searching for ways to counter Mordekaiser.

The price for gaining the demon's help came with it; his patriotism and governing abilities, ironically, became Mordekaiser's invincible sword.

As Noxus began its conquests, the dense dark energy emanating from the Immortal Fortress unleashed its full power, devouring souls on the battlefield and carrying them to the underworld to become undead soldiers. (The remaining text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the preceding sentences.)

The wars he waged only strengthened Mordekaiser's undead army, and he was powerless to counter them, because Noxus was a nation built on war.

The population is depleted, and the land is barren. This country cannot support so many people; it must constantly wage war to deplete its population and plunder resources in order to keep the war machine running.

Swain couldn't stop the war; all he could do was fight each one well. He didn't lose in this game, but he was always overshadowed by the Iron Revenant.