Talon listened, feeling there was some truth to Chen's words, but Chen had no evidence, so he retorted:
"What you said makes sense, but Swain has already been discharged from the Noxian military. If he killed Du Couteau, he wouldn't have gained anything!"
Chen shook his head:
"General Du Couteau, he once held all military power in Noxus, correct?"
Talon nodded. Everyone knew this, and Du Couteau indeed was the supreme commander of the Noxian army.
Chen, as if everything was within his grasp, leaned back in his chair:
"He held sole power. Were there really few who wanted to seize military power from his hands?"
Talon suddenly had a feeling of enlightenment. The assassin, unfamiliar with politics, now recalled the past, when Du Couteau had him assassinate some of Noxus's own people.
Before, Talon was merely a blade for the General, unquestioningly killing for him. Now that the General was missing, he had become his own person, and only now did he understand some of these matters.
Chen continued:
"Swain is far more terrifying than you imagine. For so many years, he has been playing a game, a grand game! And this game is a coup in Noxus!"
"If nothing goes wrong, by now, nearly all of Noxus, both civilian and military, have taken sides, with the majority choosing to stand with Swain."
Talon was stunned; he needed to sort out his thoughts.
But at this moment, Chen looked at Katarina beside him:
"Is that right, Katarina?"
"I don't know."
Katarina remained as calm as ever, but there was an unintentional flicker in her eyes.
Chen was suspicious of Katarina because he knew very well that in the League of Legends universe, Katarina did join Swain's faction.
However, Chen couldn't confirm if Katarina at this point in time had already joined Swain's faction.
After Talon cleared his mind, he felt this was indeed a correct guess, and he immediately made up his mind:
"We must investigate whether Swain did this. If General Du Couteau died by his hand, I will certainly avenge him."
Chen glanced at Talon. This fellow was truly loyal to Du Couteau, even more loyal than Du Couteau's own daughter, Katarina.
But Swain was far stronger than Talon. Swain had gained demonic power; how could Talon possibly defeat him? Chen waved his hand:
"Let's investigate tomorrow. It's so late; it's time to sleep."
But the closer he got to the truth, the more Talon couldn't sleep. He pondered all night, writing down a list of everyone who might have coveted Du Couteau in the past.
If Du Couteau was indeed harmed and it was related to these people, Talon would definitely avenge General Du Couteau...
Meanwhile, in the central imperial city of Noxus, the captain of the guard who had met Chen and his companions today was taken away, but he was never seen again, vanishing within Noxus.
This entire process was observed by the Crow in the sky.
Swain was in a small room, his eyes slightly closed, his demonic left hand clenched tight:
"It seems they've realized it too. We can't delay any longer."
He surveyed the vision from his Crows deployed across all of Runeterra:
"Troops have been dispatched. Freljord and Darius are fighting fiercely, and the foolish Ionian people won't interfere. Demacia is as it always is, Shurima is nothing to fear, and the Twin Cities, Piltover and Zaun, have just finished a devastating conflict."
"The plan can proceed as usual..."
But Swain still had a major concern:
"How did Talon bring this fellow Chen back? And they avoided all my sight, vanishing? Does he still not believe that Urgot killed Du Couteau?"
"However, with just a few of them, they shouldn't be able to stir up much trouble."
The next day, Talon and Katarina took Chen and Powder to the Noxian black market to gather intelligence.
Upon arriving at the black market, Powder hadn't walked far when she smelled a familiar aroma:
"magic marsh frog meat! I want to eat!"
She pulled Chen and ran over, Talon quickly followed:
"No, we have serious business!"
Chen, doting on Powder, said:
"Let's fill our stomachs first."
Talon reluctantly followed.
In the black market, there was indeed a stall selling Gromp. Chen looked in disbelief at the owner, who was clearly another fish-headed person from Bilgewater:
"Are you related to the one in Zaun?"
In Chen's eyes, these half-human, half-fish creatures all looked the same. This one looked identical to the fish-headed owner in Zaun, and Chen couldn't tell them apart.
The fish-headed owner was also stunned. He looked at Chen, feeling a sense of familiarity, then pulled out a book from somewhere, flipping to Chapter Five: Zaun.
The fish-headed owner found Chen's photo inside, then looked at Chen with a smile:
"Ho ho ho!"
He handed Chen a slip of paper, which read:
"You are our big client. Just say what you need."
Chen's eyes widened:
"You guys can even open chain stores?"
The fish-headed owner waved the cleaver in his hand, laughing proudly and happily:
"Ho ho ho!"
At this moment, Powder raised her hand, habitually starting to order:
"Boss! I want a fried Gromp!"
...
So the four sat in front of the Gromp stall, eating magic marsh frog meat. When they were almost done.
Chen thought, this fish-headed boss is so powerful, not only does he have people in the Twin Cities, but he also has them stationed in Noxus. Last time, when they were told about Swain's coup, they were actually able to confirm it was true.
Why not just directly ask about Du Couteau's whereabouts? Chen leaned forward:
"Boss, I want to know Du Couteau's whereabouts. The price is negotiable."
Anyway, Talon was paying.
Talon looked at Chen from the side:
"No, what's the use of asking a Gromp stall owner?"
Chen ignored Talon. The fish-headed boss thought for a moment, then shook his head and handed over a small slip of paper. Talon also leaned over to look and found that the slip read:
"We don't know either, but through Blood Magic, it's confirmed he's not dead. Consider this information a gift from me."
Blood Magic is a profound and terrifying magic, almost lost on Runeterra. Noxus truly has such a person, the Crimson Reaper Vladimir.
Among Blood Magic spells, there is one that, with just a person's blood, even a single drop, can determine whether the owner of that blood is alive or dead.
"Hmm?"
Chen tilted his head. He hadn't actually thought of Vladimir; he was just incredibly confused as to how Du Couteau could still be alive?
Didn't Swain kill him?
"Not dead?"
Talon's heart pounded when he saw this news. He had long been prepared to accept Du Couteau's death, but the General he had thought about day and night was actually alive?
Chen continued to ask:
"No, Du Couteau isn't dead. No, no, there's definitely something wrong. Boss, has anything major happened recently? Something that has already occurred, or is about to occur?"
Just then, the fish-headed boss scratched his head and held up one finger.
"Ten thousand?"
Chen frowned. This was too exorbitant, but then he thought, what information could be worth ten thousand gold coins!
But at this moment, Talon, eager to save his master, unhesitatingly took off the money pouch from his waist and slammed it onto the fish-headed boss's table with a domineering gesture.
The fish-headed boss once again laughed, "Ho ho ho!" After counting the money, he handed over a slip of paper. It read:
"Tonight, Swain will launch a coup."