In the year 423 AD of the Noxian calendar, the gentle spring breeze had just left the continent of Valoran, and the hot summer sun was hanging in the sky. The dazzling light made the already solemn and majestic city more beautiful. A bit of burning urgency.
In the Immortal Fortress, most pedestrians, both men and women, looked hurriedly busy with their own affairs. Except for the real top dignitaries, there were very few leisure people shopping in the public areas of the Immortal Fortress, especially those who smelled the smell of war. This is especially true at times.
In Noxus, those who rush to the front of the battlefield tend to have more prominent family backgrounds. The officer who shouts "Come on me" will never get ahead in his life. Soldiers and the military will only respect the bravest. Mighty warriors and generals, not mere turtles who only yell and order others to charge.
More than a dozen recruiting officers went to various recruiting points in the villages outside the Immortal Fortress to recruit young people who were eager to make contributions on the battlefield. The vans at the recruiting points would take the Noxian recruits to the military camp for preliminary training and quarterly assessments. The experience After three months of training, only those who pass the test can truly join the Noxian Imperial Legion and become a glorious Imperial recruit.
Every recruit will be issued basic combat equipment by the military. Generally speaking, they can choose any standard equipment they like among long spears, long swords, battle axes, and sword shields. The more precious long bows and powerful crossbows It will need to go through special shooter selection to be distributed.
If you have enough personal assets, you can also choose to spend money to buy or bring your own personal equipment into the military camp according to your own combat advantages. This method saves the empire part of the military expenses, and this part of the equipment money will be converted into a part of military merit, allowing Recruits can live a slightly more comfortable life as a recruit. This is also the path that noble children who have been in better conditions since childhood will inevitably choose. The difference between standard iron swords and hand-made customized steel swords will only be reflected in life and death on the battlefield.
Recruits who enter the military camp and complete the second phase of training will be assigned to different imperial legions according to predetermined quotas, and then enter the third phase of the battle group running-in mode, where they will undergo further specific military training according to the different styles of different battle groups, so as to maximize their personal potential. talent and regimental style.
During the whole process, the cowardly and incompetent people can only withdraw from the selection quietly and look for other ways out. The outstanding ones will become the objects of competition for the warlords' families and legions, and become the close guards or followers of some warlords and nobles. A smoother path to promotion.
Hundreds of years of peace have soothed the wounds caused by the war to the Noxians. Time will not let humans learn anything. It will only make one thing repeat itself countless times. Only when entering severe labor pain can humans cover their hearts for a short time. Stop the never-ending cycle and think about the meaning of life.
At noon, a carriage on the horizon was driving on a boulder road slowly approaching the ancient and heavy city. Noxus is located in a hilly mountainous area and has many open-air quarries. It is very convenient to mine stone resources.
Multiple quarries produce both white marble that can be used to build pavilions and pavilions, as well as granite that can be used to pave roads. After cutting and mixing with a certain proportion of cement for paving, these hard stones will be paved on the main roads to become the most perfect. stepping stone,
Within a hundred years, after being laid and maintained many times by war masons, the boulder roads in Noxus had penetrated most of the major villages in Noxus. All the capillary-like boulder roads finally merged into a gray-white The majestic avenue leads directly to the Immortal Fortress.
There were other caravans or village freight convoys traveling on the boulder road. When they saw the military carriage approaching quickly, they all stopped to make way for the military carriage.
The boulder road was funded and built by the Noxus Empire military. This heavy and hard stone road was born for war from the beginning. It was used for caravans to transport goods or to provide convenience to the people.
Because of this, Noxian soldiers enjoy the highest level of right of way on the boulder road. If they are killed by a war horse or chariot without giving way on the boulder road, the 'culprit' does not need to bear any responsibility. Not only that, When necessary, the Noxian military will also hold the deceased responsible for obstructing military operations.
Approaching the majestic city unimpeded, the soldiers waving horsewhips finally slowed down the vehicle and only stopped for less than a minute at the fortress pass of the Immortal Fortress. After verifying their identity, the carriage drove directly through the raised side door of the steel gate. Entering the fortress and entering the Immortal Fortress.
Seeing that the carriage was about to arrive at the core area of the fortress, Leander, who put on the Noxian general's armor, took a deep breath, contracted his belly like a pregnant belly, and stuffed the fat on his belly into his iron belt. , moved the fat twice to confirm that it would not pop out for a while, then Leander relaxed and put the pressure on the iron belt,
After getting off the carriage with the help of the military attendants, Leandre walked towards the top of the fortress and found where the other generals in the middle level were working.
Finding a guard, Leander asked about the whereabouts of the Imperial Grand Marshal.
"It turns out to be Lord Leander... The generalissimo is having a meeting at the Supreme Command. General Leander can go directly to the Supreme Command to find him."
"Thanks."
Leander, who had climbed hundreds of stone steps, wiped his fat sweat with a gold handkerchief. He wanted to put his hands on the shoulders of the cute male attendants to share some of the burden for him, but he knew that anyone in the Immortal Fortress would No act of weakness is allowed,
Noxians must be as strong as steel at all times.
Leandre looked at the environment where there were not many people, then reached out and patted the handsome male attendant on the shoulder.
"Lord Leandre, I'm a little tired. Can you take a rest here?"
The valet, who was not blushing and out of breath, made the request thoughtfully. The panting Leandre raised his eyebrows and calmed his breathing with a serious face. It seemed that he did not look like the party that needed defense at night.
"I told you to exercise more, but you just don't obey me! Oh, forget it, just take a rest if you want. I won't do it next time."
It was already half an hour after he stood up, and Leandre trudged up to the parliament hall on the upper level of the fortress only to discover that Generalissimo Burnham had gone to the fortress dungeon for inspection ten minutes ago through another route.
"Well, I just want to ask, will Generalissimo Burnham come back today?"
Outside the conference hall, Leander was smiling more ugly than crying, making the sullen Noxian guard guarding the left side of the door laugh. On the contrary, the female guard with a scar on the right face looked at the legend again. Governor Wazuan commented disdainfully.
"General Leander, your delicate skin really doesn't look like a Noxian. You look more like a noblewoman living in a purdah compound."
It's rare for a rich, fat man to live in a depressing fortress, and they don't mind making some extra money. Unfortunately, even they don't know the specific whereabouts of Marshal Burnham.
"I'm sorry, Lord Leander, the whereabouts of the Generalissimo are the highest level of military secrets, so we don't know whether the Generalissimo will come back."
"Thank you, brother guard. It's disrespectful to be disrespectful. If you go to the tavern for a couple of drinks on a hot night, you can treat it as my treat."
Leander stuffed a money bag into each of the two people, and simply sat on the floor tiles outside the conference hall.
"I'll just wait here for the Generalissimo."
"Of course, please do it, Lord Leander."
The male guard responded, feeling the heavy weight. The female guard's face also had a softer luster like a gold coin, and she didn't say any harsh words.
Making money based on one's ability and position without violating principles is not something to be ashamed of in Noxus.
…
No one knows who designed the entire war fortress when the Immortal Fortress was built. No one knows how much the designer knows about business and urban development planning, but everyone who comes to the Immortal Fortress knows that the designer Must be a war maniac.
The two most numerous functional buildings in the Immortal Fortress are the castle and fortress towers that can accommodate thousands of legions and house turrets and powerful bows and crossbows, and the second are various dungeons and prison areas. Some architectural scholars once deliberately After investigation, not counting the dungeons that Noxus deliberately concealed, there were sixty-six dungeons on display alone.
Most of the dungeons are located under the fortress. Dozens of dungeons are not connected to each other and are independent. They are equipped with torture rooms and garrison areas. As long as there are sufficient logistics materials, each independent castle can station about a hundred troops for a long time. .
If broken down, the defensive towers above each dungeon can form an independent military defense unit. No one knows the true meaning of this design, just like since San Uzul, no one can understand what it is. His passion for killing allowed the tyrant to massacre nearly a million people on the continent, so that in the next few hundred years a settlement of thousands of people would be enough to be called a 'large force'.
No one knew, and no one dared to tell Uzul's new name, not even Burnham himself had the courage.
"My lord, this is the prisoner on death row who will be executed today. His name is Scripps."
The dark and mottled dungeon was filled with the smell of blood. Burnham moved his eyes away from the ragged death row prisoners, took a breath of intoxication, and whispered to Cromwell, his confidant beside him.
"Tell me about him."
"yes."
There was no trace of blood on his pale face, and the man with a cold voice wore a luxurious black-red robe, leather high-top military boots on his feet, and a Noxian black steel single-edged sword on his waist. He had an outstanding temperament and a handsome appearance.
Cromwell has sickly and delicate skin like the rumored vampires in the Western world. The man's eyes are melancholic ice blue, completely different from the dark brown children of the Roxy clan. He has the blood of the Heidi people in the northern continent. It has been one hundred and fifteen years since Cromwell broke away from the rule of the Emerald Territory and went south to join the Immortal Fortress of Noxus.
Knowing that the master he served was tempering his will in a state of thirst for blood, Cromwell deliberately slowed down his speech.
"Scripps was originally a centurion of the battle group. He also made many military exploits on the battlefield. In addition to his bravery in battle, he independently killed a scout team of the Kingdom of Gran on the southern battlefield, so he was promoted quickly.
It wasn't until someone reported it half a month ago that it was discovered that Scripps had used his position to favor nepotism in recent years. He had dominated the battle group, killed many loyal soldiers, and kept their legacy as his own. Those who disobeyed were secretly executed by Scripps, and eleven victims have been identified so far..."
His eyes met Scripps who raised his head, and Cromwell, who paused for a moment, saw disdain and arrogance in the man's eyes.
"Even in the dungeon, Scripps never repented and often said a word to the jailer."
"What words."
As Burnham's most loyal subordinate and daredevil pioneer, Cromwell spoke with a natural expression.
"He said: 'No one understands the joys of being a wife, except me.'"
"Haha, even though he deserves death, he is still an interesting person."
Burnham Darkwell motioned to Cromwell to open the cell door. The tall marshal had the same skin as Cromwell.
Humans are neither humans nor ghosts, this is the price of immortality.
"tell me."
With his eyes filled with scarlet color and his throat itching, Burnham seemed to have seen the delicious blood flowing through the prisoner's exposed skin. Cromwell on the side pulled out a metal syringe. The pale pink quartz glass marked with scales dissolves the scarlet fear.
Even with the empire's advanced alchemy, it would be difficult to make such a magical instrument. This is a magical secret treasure that belongs exclusively to the Scarlet Order.
"Five Dynasties Rivers, Mountains and Winds"
"Having done so many dehumanizing things, do you still remember your oath to join the Noxian Legion?"
"Remember, of course I remember, just like you have become such a ghost, but you still want to make Noxus a great empire. Although I have been happy in this life, I will never forget it. My oath."
Not afraid of the monster-looking imperial general in front of him, Scripps, who had long been determined to die, grinned and uttered an unforgettable oath.
"For the glory of Roxy and the immortality of the fortress, I will fight to the end. I will fight to the death. I will carry the flag of Noxus and sacrifice the soul of my great Noxus with the blood of my enemies. "
"Very well. Seeing that you have not forgotten the glory of Noxus, I will give you the most honorable death."
The right hand wearing a white glove directly pinched Scripps' neck. Burnham twisted it hard, and there was a crunching sound of bones cracking. The man who was bound by the iron chain at the root of the wall died.
Released his right hand, the condemned man fell at Burnham's feet, making the master of the empire sigh.
"He was a good soldier, but unfortunately, he couldn't control his bad crotch and killed many loyal soldiers."
"Master, few people can restrain their desires after taking power."
Cromwell, who inserted the needle into the chest cavity of the naked corpse and used the blood secret method to further purify the 'hematonin', began to pull the needle. The blood through the quartz glass flashed with crimson magic fluorescence, which looked extremely delicious.
As soon as the syringe was drawn out, the body shrank by more than half, shriveled up like a mummy that had been left for half a year.
He aimed the needle at the side of the Imperial Grand Marshal's neck and gently inserted it, pushing the piston. All the blood in the Grand Marshal's eyes faded away, and he regained his absolute sanity.
"So this is why I must always uphold the same great belief, Cromwell, whether it is you or me, or more Noxians, we can do it when we live in this world There are very few things to do, and without a great purpose we all lose ourselves in power and power.”
The second syringe completely mummified Scripps. Cromwell closed his eyes and gave himself a shot.
The oath his father left for him echoed in his heart, and ancient hatred flowed in his blood.
"Master, you are right. We live in this world. If we don't want to lose ourselves, we must have an unforgettable and great goal. We must move forward for the goal at all costs."
