Chat group: People are in the sandbox, the system just ran away

Vandal, who chose war to resist the oppression of Piltover, is not so fragile in his heart that he would give up just because of the death of a few people. The real reason is that the huge gap between Zaun and Piltover makes Vandal see no hope.

However, he had no interest in trying to persuade Hilco. He knew Hilco, like himself at the beginning, was filled with rage and would not turn back until he hit the wall of failure. Any words would be of no use to Hilco at this moment.

"Nothing? Aren't you worried about your daughter? She's trying hard to rescue you."

"I believe in Wei, so don't underestimate her."

Vandel's words were very calm. As the eldest of his adopted children, Vandel had always placed high hopes on Wei. He hoped that as the eldest child, she could protect her other brothers and sisters. Therefore, Vandel passed on all his past skills that allowed him to control Zaun to her. Half of the gang leaders were no match for her.

And just as Vandel had expected, although Hilko's men were tall and strong, and had a considerable advantage in size and strength, Wei, who had undergone Vandel's rigorous training, easily seized the opponent's weakness and knocked the opponent down with a rising dragon punch.

Interestingly, looking at Wei, who had defeated his men, Hilco stared at her with his one remaining eye. In her movements, Hilco saw the shadow of Vander in the past. No wonder Vander wasn't worried; it seemed Vander's daughter was quite capable. However, with so many men under his command, they were no pushovers. Hilco waved his hand, signaling them to abandon all rules of the underworld and attack together; he didn't have much time.

At the same time, Jinx quietly placed her bomb on the battlefield. As the clockwork continued to turn, the explosion of the bomb was getting closer and closer, but what she didn't know was that other people had actually reached Vandel's side, and the rescue work was almost completed. This was why Vandel was not particularly worried about Wei. As long as he could take action, it would not be particularly difficult to take the children away safely.

However, as a veteran of many battles, he sensed a deadly sense of crisis. Vandel and Hilko turned their heads at the same time to look at Jinx's bomb. What was that?

Vandel and Hilko had already sensed something was wrong, but it was too late. The spring on the bomb had already turned to the last moment. With a crisp sound, flames began to overflow from the small bomb. It seemed that a tragedy was inevitable.

However, at this time, Vandel and Hierko, who had originally planned to dodge, found that a hand appeared from the void and grabbed the monkey bomb that had begun to explode. The magical thing was that the flames accompanying the explosion began to subside with the appearance of the palm, or should be said to be regressing. They watched with their own eyes as the time of the bomb on the palm flowed backwards step by step, the spring reversed, and finally returned to a calm state.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

Looking at the sudden appearance of Li Xuan and the bomb in his hand, Hilco couldn't help but be greatly surprised. He originally thought it was Ekko, the leader of the Wildfire Gang. He knew that Ekko had modified a Hextech core and gained the power to reverse time. He originally planned to reward Ekko for preventing the explosion, but what he didn't expect was that the person who appeared was a tender-skinned young man who didn't look like a Zaun person at all. Could it be a guy from Piltover? Hilco was a little hesitant. In order to launch a war against Piltover, he had collected all the information about Piltover, but this person was not among them. Or was he from another city-state?

By this time, Vandel had escaped with the help of his adopted son, and his martial arts skills were now put to good use, like a dragon entering the sea. However, he did not attack Silko directly, but instead stood with Silko to face the stranger Li Xuan.

Chapter 387: The Alliance between Vandel and Hilco

Although Vandel and Hilko have become enemies now, they are both members of Zaun after all. No matter whether Li Xuan is from Piltover or other city-states, Hilko cannot die like this. Otherwise, if Hilko, who controls most of the gangs in Zaun, dies, there will definitely be chaos in the Zaun he loves deeply.

"Oh, have you united? Not bad, that's really great. This way I can save a lot of trouble."

At Li Xuan's words, Hilco snorted coldly and did not refute. Facing the mysterious Li Xuan, joining forces with Vandel was his best choice. For the people of Zaun who were living in purgatory, it was common for them to fight for life and death yesterday and make peace today for the sake of survival and form an alliance.

Wei and her friends also emerged from the darkness and gathered behind Fandel.

"Come here quickly, Jinx."

Fandel naturally recognized the bomb made by Jinx and shouted at Li Xuan's side.

But having said that, he was actually already tense and ready to take action. After all, Jinx was right next to Li Xuan. If Li Xuan had ill intentions, Jinx would be in danger.

So he might as well be generous and let Jinx come over directly to test Li Xuan's attitude.

Jinx heard her adoptive father's call. Although she was afraid of Li Xuan, she still ran out from behind the side wall and rushed straight to Vandel.

To Vandel's surprise, Li Xuan did not react to Jinx's actions at all. He just turned the spring of the bomb in his hand and easily let Jinx return to the team.

Seeing this, Fandel couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. After thinking for a moment, he strode forward and walked to the front, ready to negotiate with Li Xuan. If he didn't attack Jinx, he must be coming with a friendly attitude.

"Thank you very much for stopping my worthless daughter. I wonder where you are from and what you are doing in Zaun. Is there anything I can do for you~"

Hilco was very disdainful of Van der's behavior of packaging it as a reward when it was clearly a test, but he also admitted that facing the mysterious Li Xuan, Van der's current approach was the most correct.

"That's perfect. I've been asked by a friend to come to Zaun to resolve the conflict between Zaun and Piltover. I happen to need both you and Hilko, so I can't let you die like this."

The visitor has bad intentions. Vander and Hilko exchanged glances. The tacit understanding they had gained as companions for many years made them understand each other's thoughts. Li Xuan was not just passing by, but was clearly here to find them.

And resolving the conflict between Zaun and Piltover? It seemed like outsiders from other city-states were the ones who would come. Both the conservative Vandel and the madcap Hilko rejected this idea. After all, Hilko, despite his madness, understood the principle of inviting a wolf into the house. If he drove away the tiger of Piltover only to attract a hungry wolf, what would be the point of his actions? Hilko wasn't just out for revenge against the madman in Piltover; he wanted to make Zaun stronger and stand above Piltover.

So some time ago, he rejected the recruitment of the Noxians with whom he had always cooperated without hesitation. The Noxian Empire has always coveted the rich port of Piltover, but they are in the second attack on Ionia and cannot extricate themselves. But this does not prevent them from planting a nail in Zaun under Piltover.

However, to their surprise, Silko rejected Noxus's offer without hesitation. However, they did not force him to do so. After all, Noxus's main target was still Ionia, and Noxus still needed Silko to smuggle some supplies and equipment needed by Noxus.

Since Hilco was able to decisively reject the recruitment of the now powerful Noxus, he could naturally also reject the recruitment of the unknown Li Xuan.

"I wonder who your friend is?"

Fandel was a little curious about who Li Xuan's friend was and why he was so concerned about the situation in Zaun and Piltover.

"Janna, my friend's name is Janna."

Janna, who is Janna? It sounded like a woman's name. For Vandal and Hilko, they didn't immediately connect Janna's name with the widely worshipped Goddess of Wind in Zaun. For gang members like them, belief in gods wasn't a big deal. If the Goddess of Wind really existed, how could she remain indifferent to the tragic situation in Zaun? So, for Vandal and Hilko, they weren't very familiar with the widely worshipped Storm Goddess of Zaun. She was just a spiritual comfort for the Zaun people, so naturally, they didn't know Janna was the true name of Zaun's Storm Goddess.

Vandel and Hilko looked at each other, both with confused expressions. Only one of Vandel's adopted sons seemed to have remembered something and hesitated to speak.

"Why, do you know anything?"

Fandel noticed his adopted son's expression and asked.

"I also believe in the Storm Goddess and have participated in the priest's missionary work. It seems that the Storm Goddess's real name is Janna."

After hesitating for a long time, Vandel's adopted son finally told all the news he knew. Although he believed in the Goddess of Storms, he actually did not think that the Goddess of Storms really existed. It was just that in the hellish Zaun, although he had Vandel's protection, he still needed faith as spiritual comfort.

"Storm Goddess!!???"

"Are you kidding me?!???"

Vander and Hilco were both shocked by this unexpected answer.

"Is your friend the Storm Goddess of Zaun?"

In response to Vander's hesitant question, Li Xuan confirmed his guess without hesitation.

"Yes, the friend who invited me to Zaun is indeed your Storm Goddess Janna herself."

"But, if Janna really exists, why does she turn a blind eye to her followers living in hell? She does nothing. Is such a god truly worthy of our Zaun faith?"

Before Fandel could recover from the reality of Janna's existence, Silko had already launched his attack. He couldn't tolerate Janna's indifference to the suffering of Zaun, despite the vast majority of lower-class Zaun worshipping her. Knowing that such remarks might anger both Li Xuan and Janna, the powerful goddess of storms, Silko still spoke out. After all, Janna's inaction was something he couldn't tolerate.

Chapter 388 Li Xuan’s Answer

"Ineffective? Why do you think so? Haven't you noticed? If it weren't for Janna's divine power, the resurgence monsoon that has continued in Zaun for hundreds of years, most of the Zaun people would have died long ago. How could they still be in relatively good health? If it weren't for her breeze that carried away a large amount of Zaun's toxic substances and healed the people, you have to believe that Zaun would have been finished long ago."

This is the fact. If it weren't for Janna's power, humans would not be able to survive in such a harsh environment as Zaun. There are toxic substances everywhere, rats, Zac, Mundo, and an environment that can breed such monsters. If it weren't for Janna, ordinary humans would have died long ago.

After all, Zaun has been used as a garbage dump by Piltover for hundreds of years, and all kinds of terrible toxic substances have been dumped there. It is not so easy to eliminate it. It is Janna who is working behind the scenes.

After hearing Li Xuan's rebuttal, although Xierko was angry, his tone softened. After all, what Li Xuan said was very possible.

"But why didn't the Storm Goddess come out to help Piltover when Zaun was being oppressed? You know, Piltover is the root of all Zaun's suffering."

"But for her, as a deity, not long ago, 940 Zaun and Piltover were still one family. Even if they were separated, she couldn't be so heartless as to attack the people of Piltover. To her, she is a human being. Even though the people of Piltover no longer believe in her, she can't just cross the river and ruthlessly suppress the people who came after her. Is this what you want to see?"

Faced with Li Xuan's answer, Silko was speechless. Although he wanted to ask why Janna didn't directly take action to suppress Piltover, he also knew a very simple truth, that is, the one who started the war will have no descendants.

Today, the people of Piltover have forgotten their faith in Janna, and Janna will punish them. Then tomorrow, the people of Zaun will no longer believe in Janna. Will Janna destroy Zaun in the future?

Even Hilco could not guarantee that the Zaun people's faith in Janna would continue forever.

"But facing Zaun's current predicament, is there nothing the goddess can do? To be honest, after Jayce invented Hextech, the gap between Piltover and Zaun has widened. Recently, they even dared to insert their hands into Zaun's interior. The reason I want to fight is because if I don't, Zaun will not even have a last chance to resist."

Hilko's tone was utterly exhausted. Although he was frantic and single-minded in his fight against Piltover, he was also deeply concerned about the situation of his greatest enemy, the Piltoverites. He clearly sensed the rapid widening of the gap between Zaun and Piltover after the emergence of Hextech. Piltover's law enforcers even dared to appear within Zaun to provoke Vandel, a Zaun legend.

Although on the surface it seemed to be just the reckless actions of a few ignorant young law enforcement officers, it was actually a test by the top leaders of Piltover.

Hilko also sensed this fact, which is why he made the painful decision to attack his former friend and elder brother, Vandal. After all, he couldn't just sit back and watch the gap between Zaun and Piltover grow wider and wider, until Piltover pulled away to the point where he couldn't even see Piltover's back.

"First of all, the first point is clear. For Janna, the Battle of the Two Cities is something she absolutely does not want to see."

Li Xuan's words made Hilko clench his fists. For him, his previous words of submission were also to seek help from Janna, the storm goddess of Zaun who was his backer, but Li Xuan's words directly denied his efforts all along, which he could not accept. However, unlike Hilko's disappointment, Vandel was happy. Although he didn't know how powerful the storm goddess Janna was, according to his cognition, even if Janna was very powerful, Piltover now had Hextech and its strength increased greatly, so it would not be completely powerless to fight back. If the stalemate continued, the final outcome would only result in both Piltover and Zaun suffering losses, which was something Vandel absolutely did not want to see.

But Vandel lives around Piltover after all, and has never seen the real strong men on Rune Continent. For an ancient and powerful existence like Janna, if he wants to fight her to a draw, Piltover must master two or three runes and discover rune technology before he can win. Otherwise, if he wants to challenge Janna's power with Hextech technology, it is simply ridiculous.

"However, Janna hasn't given up on you. So when she saw the possibility of a large-scale war breaking out between Zaun and Piltover, she came to me for help to resolve your problems in Zaun and Piltover."

"Then, I wonder what you plan to do to resolve the issues between Zaun and Piltover."

Hilco was already very unhappy about not being able to obtain Janna's power to retaliate against Piltover, but he still endured and continued to gather intelligence from Li Xuan. After all, he didn't know about Janna and Li Xuan's powerful abilities before, but now that he knew, he had to understand their movements.

"It's simple. It's about relocation. No matter how big the conflict between Zaun and Piltover is, I believe it can be resolved with the combined effects of time and space."

"I won't discuss how Zaun's millions of people should be relocated. I just want to ask where Zaun can be relocated to. Most of the places in the world suitable for human survival are already owned."

Although Hilco thought this method was just a fantasy, he had to admit that it was indeed a good idea if it could succeed. However, in reality, this was basically impossible because of the various huge disasters in the past. There were not many places on the Valoran continent suitable for human habitation, and most of them were already owned.

"Don't worry about that. Since Janna asked me for help, I naturally have some solutions. Modifying the environment isn't difficult for me. I have three options: a normal temperature zone in the Freljord, an oasis in the Shurima Desert, or an island between Ionia and Bilgewater. Which of these three locations do you prefer?"

Hilko was still a little reluctant about the choice given by Li Xuan, but Vandel began to seriously consider the pros and cons of each location. Li Xuan's method was indeed very good. For him who yearned for peace, it was very good. It could effectively resolve the extremely sharp contradictions and conflicts between Zaun and Piltover. This was really the best thing.

As for the difficulty of leaving their homeland, for the people of Zaun, it's practically giving up. They have no other options; even if they did, they wouldn't know where to go. Otherwise, they would have already fled, leaving this living hell behind.

Chapter 389: The Choice of Vandel and Hilco

"Could you please provide some detailed information about these three locations?"

The more Vander thought about it, the more he felt that Li Xuan's method was very good, so after careful consideration, Vander asked Li Xuan about the specific situation of the three places.

"You're all familiar with the Shurima Desert. Numerous adventurers seeking gold rush there to unearth the remains of the ancient empire, many of whom pass through the port city of Piltover. I can help you create an oasis there. The island between Pilgewater and Ionia is also simple. As I said, I'll create an island between the two places. That way, through the advantageous location, Zaun can become a vital port city and acquire immense wealth. And finally, the Freljord? You may not be familiar with it. It's a sparsely populated land of ice and snow, a desolate ancient landscape filled with mysterious powers. However, I can also transform it into a place suitable for human survival."

"I choose the Shurima Desert!"

"I choose Freljord!"

Although Hilko didn't want to just throw in the towel and flee Piltover, he also understood his inability to stop Li Xuan and the Storm Goddess. So, he quickly adjusted his mindset and made his own choice: the Shurima Desert. Zaun, Piltover's black market, meant many Shurima treasures would pass through Hilko's hands. He knew that even Piltover's current pride in Hextech originated from some magical artifact from the Shurima Desert. Therefore, Hilko felt that the Shurima Desert was the best choice for Zaun, as it would offer greater development.

"Why did you choose such a strange place as the Freljord?"

However, what surprised Silk was that Vandel actually chose the Freljord, a place he had little information about. He had originally thought Vandel would choose an overseas island.

"I originally wanted to go overseas, but Roxas has always had his eyes on the rich land of Ionia, and Pilgrimwater is a very chaotic place. It wouldn't be a good thing for Zaun to be between them."

"Haha, you're still thinking of blindly giving in. Do you think that if a new environment suitable for human habitation suddenly appeared in a place as icy and snowy as the Freljord, the people there wouldn't start a war over it? That's really ridiculous."

Hilko was dismissive of Vandel's idea. He knew for sure how crazy the environment created by Li Xuan must be for humans who grew up in the Freljord environment.

"I know! But it's sparsely populated there, after all. There aren't many people there."

Vandel's expression was very calm. He knew the problem that Silk was talking about, but he felt that the pressure of facing Freljord was completely different from that of facing Roxas and Bilgewater.

To put it bluntly, he is a bully who only bullies the weak and fears the strong. He thinks that the people of Freljord are easy to bully. Although Vandel yearns for peace, he is not a soft-hearted person. When he was young, he was the one who started the real War of the Two Cities. He has never been afraid of war.

"Oh? You're wrong, Fandel. The Freljord is much stronger than Noxus!"

"How can this be?"

Fandel's brows furrowed, puzzled by Li Xuan's answer. The Freljord was a sparsely populated land of ice and snow, so how could it possibly be more powerful than Roxas? Hilco also couldn't believe the question.

"That's true. Let me put it this way, Vandel, do you think Roxas is a powerful country in Runeterra?"

"Of course! Roxas is a country that is much more powerful than Demacia. It can even be considered the most powerful country on the continent of Fuen."

Hilco was very familiar with the Roxas Empire, with which he had always worked. He believed that Roxas was the strongest. Vandel remained silent, but he also agreed with Hilco's point of view.

"This is completely wrong. You have absolutely no understanding of the true situation on Runeterra. Let's put it this way: the empires of Noxus and Demacia are only slightly better than cities like Piltover on Runeterra. They are in the middle to lower tier of Runeterra, even worse than Zaun."

"You mean to say that Zaun is much stronger than Piltover, and Roxas and Demacia are also weak? Why is that?"

Vander and Hilko were completely confused by what Li Xuan said. This was completely different from their understanding. They did not think that Li Xuan would lie.

"From a mortal's perspective, your understanding is not flawed. However, on Runeterra, it's never mortals who determine a place's strength. The truly decisive ones are powerful beings: Ascended Ones, Darkin, Demigods, Protoss, Targons, and so on. They are the key to determining the strength of a nation or a city. Roxas and Demacia are indeed powerful at the mortal level, but at a higher level, neither Mordekaiser, the so-called founder of Roxas, nor the angels behind Demacia can be considered powerful. They are far inferior to Janna."

Li Xuan's words were harsh, but this was reality. In a super-magical world like Runeterra, the key to a nation's strength was never mortals, but powerful beings. Roxas and Demacia were vastly different in terms of potential.

"To put it simply, you should know about the great empire that once existed in the Shurima Desert. That country could easily conquer Roxas and Demacia with just one army. But even though the Shurima Empire was so powerful in its heyday, it couldn't conquer the entire world."

"Truly ancient nations and regions have always existed. What do you think they rely on? They rely on the power they hold. Take Ionia, for example, which Roxas has never been able to conquer. Its foundation is considered strong in the entire Runeterra. Even though those truly powerful beings didn't take action, the mortals of Ionia could easily contend with Roxas. It's just that because of the rigid system, not many people took action. At most, only one-third of the force could withstand the invasion of Roxas. That's the difference."

"So the Freljord has its own power."

Fandel frowned deeply. He had already believed what Li Xuan said, so his previous choice was not a good one.

"That's right, Ornn, the god of forge who controls fire, Volibear, the god of destruction who controls wind and thunder, and Anivia, the eternal god who controls ice and snow. These three ancient demigods are the true rulers of the land of Freljord."

Chapter 390: Reconciled Vandel and Hilco

"Then the only option is the islands between Ionia and Bilgewater."

Fandel thought about it and found that this was the only way.

"You are guiding us to choose this place."

Hillco discovered something was wrong. Li Xuan was consciously guiding them to choose this place.

"That's right, because you don't have the right to choose. The one who truly has the right to choose is Janna. She chose this place. As someone who controls the storms, protecting an island at sea is effortless for her."

Li Xuan's answer made Hilko and Vander feel helpless. Since they had no choice from the beginning to the end, why should Li Xuan give them so many choices?

"I just wonder if you could persuade Janna to choose another location. After all, while the three demigods of the Freljord are powerful, and the remnants of Shurima's ancient empire are also troublesome, with Janna's abilities, they shouldn't be a big problem. However, she seems a bit lazy and has no intention of wreaking havoc. It's such a shame."