These Noxus veterans, having endured countless battles and survived the long years of warfare in Noxus, truly possessed considerable skill.
On the battlefield, they were valiant warriors, but their luck was poor. They faced Jinx, a super gun-wielding genius with shimmer enhancements, the two strongest assassins in Noxus, and Chen, who was practically cheating.
Though they outnumbered them, facing Chen and the other three, they were beaten without any ability to fight back!
It was simply the difference between a hero and a minion; there was nothing that could be done.
"Leave one alive!"
Chen reminded them, but almost all of those who came to kill them had died in battle, and those severely wounded committed suicide, refusing to be captured alive.
Although they came to kill them, Katarina and Talon carefully helped them collect the bodies.
Chen asked, puzzled:
"Why? They came to kill us, yet you're helping them collect their bodies?"
Katarina neatly arranged the bodies. She answered very seriously:
"In Noxus, acts of cowardice are never tolerated. Even though they came to kill us, they fought to their last breath for the glory of Noxus. They are worthy!"
This was a traditional Noxus culture; Noxians never retreated.
Just then, Jinx raised her gun and shot the Crow on the rafter down again:
"This Crow is so annoying!"
Chen gave Jinx a thumbs up. Then Jinx walked beside Chen and grumbled quietly:
"Powder doesn't like this outfit, but I do Hehe"
Then Chen changed her back. Otherwise, when Powder woke up and found out he made her wear this on the street, she would definitely strangle him.
Jinx glared at Chen:
"Boring."
Then she lay back down, letting Powder come out.
At this moment, on a towering triangular pillar in the center of Noxus, Grand General Swain looked in the direction of Chen from afar, his brows slightly furrowed.
Soon, Noxus guards rushed into the restaurant, surrounding Chen and the others completely:
"You dare to kill people in Noxus!"
Powder once again raised her Pow-Pow, ready to retaliate. She immediately retorted:
"They tried to kill me! Am I not supposed to fight back?!"
But at this moment, Talon took out a token from his waist, and these Noxus guards immediately knelt on one knee:
"Greetings, Grand General of Noxus!"
Talon waved his hand:
"I am not the Grand General; I am his trusted aide."
But the guard captain said:
"Seeing the token is like seeing the Grand General himself!"
Chen's attention was entirely on that Grand General's token, thinking of a way to sneak away with that interesting item.
Talon didn't make things difficult for them and directly ordered:
"Alright, but I am indeed not the Grand General. You all first take these men to be buried. They were once Noxus veterans; they protected the glory of Noxus and fought to their last breath."
The guard captain nodded and immediately sent his subordinates to bury them. But he had not yet left; he looked up at Talon:
"Sir, regarding the matter of someone trying to kill you, does it need to be investigated? Does it need to be reported?"
Talon and Katarina were both top assassins, but they were completely unskilled in political maneuvering. Fortunately, Chen was quick-witted. He leaned close to Talon's ear and whispered to him:
"Tell them not to investigate; we'll investigate ourselves. And don't report it. Leaving aside whether it's Grand General Swain or not, if it's indeed someone high up in Noxus who wants to kill us, it's best not to publicize this matter."
"These guards won't find anything, and don't give others a chance to make an issue of it. I'll analyze it with you later."
Talon was not foolish; he understood Chen's meaning. So he told the guards not to concern themselves with this matter, not to report it, and to compensate the restaurant owner normally.
Then the four left the restaurant and quickly returned to the inn. But upon returning to the inn, the four immediately went back to their rooms. Chen didn't rush to discuss the ambush from earlier, but first asked everyone to change their attire:
"We've been targeted. We must move to a different place immediately, then change our clothes. We must shake off anyone tracking us."
"Especially watch out for the Crow in the sky!"
Talon's assassin attire and the blades on his cape were too conspicuous. Chen made him change into ordinary Noxus clothing.
Chen also changed into a Noxus outfit. He even specifically got a katana to complement Yasuo's two abilities. He couldn't carry the streetlamp with him; carrying a streetlamp on his back was too obvious. An axe and a sword could even be considered standard Noxus equipment.
As for Powder and Katarina, he had them dress as men. This way, they transformed from two men and two women into four men, which would at least make those who wanted to kill them lose their target for a short time!
Powder dressing as a boy was no problem at all. After all, she was still young, and many of her physical characteristics weren't obvious enough. Powder looked quite handsome in boy's clothes, though a bit too thin and small. Her Pow-Pow and Fishbones were also too conspicuous, so they had to be packed away.
Katarina was a bit more troublesome. She was not only curvy but also curvaceous, so she wrapped herself up extensively and wore a headscarf, looking like a Middle Eastern Arab. She could only pretend to be a merchant from Shurima.
Then they hired a carriage, loaded in the Pow-Pow, Fishbones, and Chen's streetlamp. Katarina played the Shurima merchant, while Chen, Talon, and Powder played the guards.
After Powder changed into her boy's clothes, she ran in front of Chen, hands on her hips, chest out, and proudly asked:
"Chen, do I look handsome?"
Chen calmly replied:
"Handsome, but still a little bit less than me."
Powder turned her head to the side and gave a sidelong glance:
"Hmph~"
Katarina was clearly somewhat dissatisfied with her outfit:
"Let's go…"
They made several transfers, moving back and forth through the alleys of the Immortal Bastion.
Katarina finally confirmed:
"No one is following us."
Talon also nodded, and Powder said:
"Finally, no Crows here."
So they found another inn to stay in. In the room, they shed their disguises and could finally talk.
Chen leaned back slightly in his chair:
"Talon, Katarina, what I'm about to say concerns the future of all Noxus. Although we've only just met, I am sincerely helping you."
Chen wasn't that kind-hearted to genuinely help them, not if the system hadn't given him a quest with such generous rewards.
Katarina and Talon looked at Chen, waiting for him to explain.
Chen took out a map of Runeterra, retrieved Du Couteau's general's token, placed the general's token on Ionia, and continued:
"When do you think General Du Couteau went missing? Do you know the exact time of his disappearance during Noxus's invasion of Ionia?"
Talon could never forget those days; he answered almost instantly:
"The Battle of Placidium."
Chen nodded and placed the general's token on Placidium.
Then he took out a Crow emblem, flicked it lightly, and the Crow emblem directly knocked down the general's token:
"During the Battle of Placidium, the main combat group was led by Swain. After this battle, General Du Couteau went missing, and all the generals under Swain died, with only he returning alive."
"Do you think all of this is a coincidence?"
...
At this moment, throughout Noxus, Crows could be seen flying everywhere, as if searching for something…