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Hours earlier, that afternoon, the Soulless rebellion in Demacia had not yet begun, and the Soulless had not yet gone to capture Lux.
At this time, Garen and Quinn, with three shield formations of the Fearless Vanguard, had already reached the border of Nockmur.
Nockmur is an ally of Demacia, and its capital is called Eldrune. Yes, coincidentally, it shares the same name as Eldred, the commander of the Soul Hunter Corps.
Nockmur is a small country, and its capital Eldrune is right next to the border.
The border of Nockmur is a river. When Garen and Quinn arrived at the border, they discovered a brand new black stone bridge spanning the river's gorge.
The engineering quality was excellent; it looked Stand Behind Me, connecting to the border of Nockmur.
After observing the terrain for a while, Quinn said to Garen:
"I think something's wrong. There are no towns or markets on this side of the bridge. Building this bridge is meaningless for trade."
Garen also frowned, looking at the bridge;
"The structure of this bridge is very strange."
At each end of the bridge were two sturdy bridgeheads, complete with battlements and drawbridges. These two bridgeheads looked more like all-around fortresses than bridge entrances leading to Eldrune.
Quinn always felt there was something wrong with this bridge:
"Eldrune, which is already poor and in a bad economic situation, spent so much manpower and resources to build this stone bridge. It's completely thankless!"
Garen stroked his chin, looking up at the stone bridge:
"The strangest thing is that such a massive construction project was never mentioned in any documents or letters by Demacia's ambassador to Nockmur, my maternal granduncle, Hargold..."
Garen's suspicion grew. He felt that his aunt Tianna hadn't tricked him into going to Nockmur, but that something was genuinely amiss in Nockmur...
Since he had already arrived, Garen decided to proceed as planned and go directly to visit his maternal granduncle.
Garen still led the Fearless Vanguard across the stone bridge. After presenting their identities, the guards called for the overseer.
The overseer was a weathered veteran named Vigrid. From his demeanor, one could see the unique style of an excellent warrior. He had the sternness typical of an officer, as if accustomed to giving orders and having them obeyed without question.
Vigrid immediately received Garen and the others, telling Garen that he was sorry for not coming out to meet them, and then said that barracks had been prepared in the castle for the soldiers to rest.
At the same time, he informed Garen that the Count of Nockmur knew they had arrived and had prepared a banquet, inviting Garen to attend.
On the way to the banquet, Garen remembered the stone bridge and asked Vigrid:
"Why did Nockmur build this bridge?"
Vigrid sighed and replied:
"Not long ago, during the change of seasons, the Countess fell ill and passed away. The Count felt extremely grieved and felt that threats were everywhere, so he built this stone bridge."
But Garen once again found a clue: Ambassador Hargold hadn't even reported such a major event as the Countess's death!
Garen increasingly felt that something had happened to his ambassadorial maternal granduncle...
So, full of doubts, Garen turned and exchanged glances with Quinn at the end of the line. With a flash, Quinn disappeared.
The welcoming banquet began, and the Count of Nockmur appeared, but Garen's ambassadorial maternal granduncle did not.
Garen asked the Count for the reason, but the Count consistently avoided the topic.
Because the Queen had recently passed away, Nockmur was still in mourning, so the atmosphere of the banquet was extremely somber.
"On behalf of Demacia, please accept my deepest condolences."
Seeing this, Garen felt he could not violate Demacian etiquette, so he said:
"I apologize for not sending official condolences. News of the change in your royal family did not reach Demacia."
"What difference does it make whether it arrived or not?"
The Count of Nockmur said, raising his gaze from his plate.
His eyes were red, and his expression was full of resentment.
"Regardless, I will convey this bad news back."
Garen said, feeling a bit awkward. He had never handled matters of noble funerals and wasn't entirely sure of the necessary etiquette:
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will certainly extend his profound condolences."
The Count snorted and focused on eating.
The attitude of the Count of Nockmur made Garen somewhat displeased, but the banquet had to continue.
They chatted desultorily, and when Jarvan III was mentioned, the Count's attitude became somewhat strange.
"I heard that my old friend was killed by a mage."
The Count said:
"I assume you've caught the perpetrator, haven't you? Otherwise, it would truly be a stain on Demacia's honor. Utterly disgraceful. Has the murderer been brought to justice?"
Everyone present knew that Sylas was still at large. The Count was definitely being sarcastic, and Garen found it extremely uncomfortable to listen to.
Garen could no longer tolerate it; this was an insult to Demacia's honor.
"I am here to see the Demacian ambassador."
Garen's voice was firm; he had lost his patience and respect for this man:
"If anything has happened to him, you had best tell me immediately, for your own good."
No sooner had he spoken than Hargold appeared at the banquet. The last time Garen had seen his maternal granduncle, he was still a child.
Although many years had passed, he recognized his maternal granduncle at a glance. He had always thought Hargold had met with misfortune, but he had actually appeared.
This meeting surprised Garen somewhat.
"Child, forgive me for not coming out to meet you."
Hargold explained to Garen:
"I haven't been feeling well recently."
"Please take care of yourself, maternal granduncle."
Then Garen tentatively said:
"Discipline through strength."
Hargold, however, replied: "Yes, yes, that's right."
Garen frowned. This was not the answer he expected.
The next line after "Discipline through strength" is "Diligence through might," which is a family motto known to every Crownguard Family member, but his maternal granduncle hadn't answered it!
Garen's suspicions arose once again, so he pressed his maternal granduncle with a series of questions:
"Why didn't you report the matters of the stone bridge and the death of the Queen of Nockmur in your documents?"
But this ambassadorial maternal granduncle claimed:
"I was unwell, bedridden, and didn't have time to report!"
Hearing his maternal granduncle's vague answer, Garen increasingly felt that something was amiss. He had a feeling someone was manipulating everything.
But Hargold was indeed his maternal granduncle, a living person standing before him. He couldn't quite understand it.
At this moment, Garen remembered what Tianna had once told him:
"You must learn to deal with the tricks of court politics, or you will never become Grand Marshal."
Although in reality, the last thing he wanted to be was Grand Marshal, Garen had never had aspirations for leadership.
It was true that while he felt deep pride in leading the Fearless Vanguard and was determined to lead it to glory, he often wished he could return to the front lines and be an ordinary soldier.
But the current situation made him realize that Tianna's words were a warning to him.
...
Just before, Garen had Quinn quietly leave the main force to scout ahead.
As a result, Quinn found some special footprints on a ramp not far from Eldrune. These were footprints left only by those wearing heavy armor, while Nockmur's soldiers did not wear heavy armor, using only leather and cloth armor.
Quinn followed the footprints and discovered a camp, and the scale of the camp left Quinn stunned. From her vantage point, the entire valley was packed with soldiers.
Quinn heard no less than five languages from the snippets of conversation emanating from the camp.
To gather so many different cultures together and have them follow a unified command required extremely skillful techniques—or extremely powerful force.
She also noticed that this unit had no non-combat personnel—no merchants, no families, and no scavengers.
This was a pure combat unit.
Quinn also heard the sounds of some wild beasts, and the figures of some huge beasts.
But just then, Quinn was discovered. Facing such a number of enemies, she could only retreat first and report this intelligence to Garen.
So Valor grabbed Quinn and flew towards Eldrune.
Suddenly, a side door of the banquet hall was forcefully pushed open, and a figure rushed in—it was Quinn.
Garen saw Quinn's hurried appearance and knew something was seriously wrong.
Quinn bypassed the guards and said to Garen:
"The adjacent canyon is full of Noxus troops!"
This one sentence was enough. Garen immediately ordered:
"Vanguard Regiment, cover Hargold's retreat!"
But at this moment, Garen's maternal granduncle began to push and shove, not only refusing to leave but also trying to prevent Garen from leaving!
Garen quickly turned and pressed his maternal granduncle:
"What is the Crownguard Family motto!"
His maternal granduncle couldn't answer at all!
Suddenly,
Ambassador Hargold looked at Garen and smiled.
His benevolent demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced by a malicious, sinister expression.
His smile gradually became cunning and cruel, his eyes glinting for a moment—like a nocturnal predator, its pupils reflecting firelight.
Only, the light glinting in his eyes was magenta.
It was then that Garen understood: this maternal granduncle before him was an impostor!
At this point, the Count of Nockmur no longer concealed anything!
With Demacia in turmoil, Jarvan III dead, and Demacia preoccupied with its own internal affairs, Noxus had taken advantage of the weakness and invaded the remote Nockmur.
Nockmur, isolated and without aid, could not stand against Noxus and had to surrender to preserve the lives of its people.
Seeing this, Garen knew that the immediate priority was to retreat and send back news of the Noxus invasion!
But at this moment, something terrifying happened before Garen's eyes.
He saw his maternal granduncle walk towards him,
Becoming more transparent with each step,
By the time his maternal granduncle was close, he had already begun to dissipate like smoke!
Finally,
The phantom completely vanished!
For a moment, the ghostly shadows overlapped, transforming into a woman with black hair, pale skin, and a black cloak.
Everyone present, including Garen, was shocked by the scene before them.
Just then, the overseer named Vigrid stepped forward. In fact, he was the supreme commander of the Noxus army this time!
Vigrid crossed his muscular arms over his chest and said coldly:
"Kill them all!"
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