-154- I'll be going

"What happened? Why such a big fuss?" 

Linwin didn't mince words and directly took a seat in the middle.

No one in the two cities had objections to Linwin sitting in the main seat.

Although Vander was the lord of Zaun, followed by Silco, the truth was clear to the leadership of both cities. The person who could truly lead Zaun towards a brighter future, the one who could decide Zaun's development prospects, was Linwin.

Linwin was the true ruler of Zaun.

The same held true for Piltover. Jayce supported Linwin, not to mention that the Ferros family now had high hopes for Linwin.

Consequently, Piltover also respected Linwin. The Ninth Councilor? More like the First Councilor!

"Once you hear about this, you probably won't be smiling anymore," Silco said as he inserted his hand into his hair, taking a seat. "There are movements from Noxus."

"Isn't this within our expectations? Didn't we anticipate they would make a move during the Twin City Day? Isn't this something we foresaw?" Linwin looked at Silco and then continued.

"Yes, but, Linwin, there's something different from what we thought."

Silco let go of his hand, looking at Linwin, explaining, "This time, it's not a small skirmish. According to information from our spies in Noxus, they have sent out a powerful force."

"No, accurately speaking, they've sent out a monster."

"The Undead Juggernaut, Sion," Vander continued Silco's words, saying, "Linwin, I don't know exactly what kind of monster that is, but based on the information we've gathered so far, it's a monster capable of single-handedly slaughtering a small city of several thousand people."

"Moreover, it's followed by a Noxian army."

Silco and Vander, each speaking one sentence, informed Linwin of the information they had gathered from Noxus spies.

"The Hex Gate has already stopped its openness to Noxus. Estimating the distance, coupled with the time it takes to transport Sion, it seems that they will arrive in Piltover twenty days from now."

"They've already set out, traveling by land."

Linwin stroked his chin, pondering for a moment, then took a deep breath, saying, "This is really troublesome."

"Isn't it just happening around the time of Twin City Day?"

Jayce nodded and said, "Yes, and we can judge from their departure time and route that, Linwin, they are likely to launch an attack on us exactly on the Twin City Day."

Linwin nodded, indicating that he understood.

At this moment, Mel spoke again, "So, Linwin, the only problem we are facing now is whether Twin City Day should be postponed?"

Mel was in charge of the promotion of Twin City Day.

She was the one who knew best how much the people in both cities were looking forward to the 22nd.

Streets and alleys were filled with banners and posters promoting Twin City Day, and you could say that during this time, in any part of Piltover or Zaun, you could see posters of Seraphine.

What was it called again? A concert?

Consequently, Mel's face was full of complexity.

After all, she was originally from Noxus. But that was before; now, she is a person from Piltover.

Soon, Mel returned to her original expression and said in a deep voice, "After all, we have already announced the date, so if we postpone Twin City Day, it will likely cause dissatisfaction among the citizens, and more importantly, if we explain the situation, it won't be a simple matter of causing dissatisfaction. It could easily lead to panic."

Camille also spoke up, "There's one more thing, Linwin. On that day, many merchants will come to Piltover and Zaun, and our forces are limited. Piltover currently has about two hundred officers available."

Sevika continued, "Zaun has a bit more manpower, but, Linwin, the actual combat-ready force in Zaun is only a little over three hundred people, and among them, those who can use Hextech hoverboards are in the minority, only a little over a hundred."

Linwin knew what Sevika meant by combat-ready individuals—those who had undergone professional training as enforcers, those who could use advanced Hextech weapons.

"To be honest, it seems like you're overthinking things," Linwin said casually, looking at each of them. He then touched his face with a relaxed expression, "Noxians are coming, but isn't there still me?"

Everyone paused.

Linwin then turned to Silco and said, "Silco, I need a map. Could you please get one for me?"

Silco nodded and got up.

In no time, he returned with a hefty roll of paper.

He unfolded it and spread it on the table.

"What route is Noxus taking now?"

Upon hearing Linwin's question, Silco immediately pointed to two small dots on the map and said, "Here, Linwin. The only route from Valoran to Piltover is very limited, and there's only one land route."

Silco bent his two fingers, tapping on the map. "I'm pointing to Zaun and Piltover now. The large arc above Piltover is a massive mountain range, and the ripples next to the arc are the River Pilt."

The route of the Noxians wasn't difficult to predict—it only had one answer since there was only one land route from Valoran to Piltover. Noxians didn't have flying weapons, so there was no need to worry about them descending from the sky.

Therefore, Silco continued, "So, we anticipate that on the 21st, the Noxians will reach this mountain range, and on the 22nd, they will release the The Undead Juggernaut Sion near the River Pilt."

"So it's near the River Pilt..." Linwin nodded and slapped the table, saying, "Rest assured, Twin City Day will proceed as usual, and I'll handle this matter."

"If you go, what about Twin City Day?" Jayce asked.

Twin City Day had been in Linwin's hands all along.

From January until now, it had been two months. It was about to be held, but the most important person was absent?

"What do you mean what?," Linwin looked at everyone and smiled, "Come on, everyone, don't I still have you?"

Mel and Jayce were momentarily stunned, then they both smiled.

Silco also sat down slowly, Vander reached out a big hand and patted Linwin's back, saying in a deep voice, "Right, we've been relying on you a bit too much lately."

Camille crossed her arms, her long legs lightly tapping on the floor, leaving a white mark. She outlined a faint arc at the corner of her mouth and said, "So, we leave the external military issues to Linwin, and internally, we'll handle it?"

Mel nodded, "That's no problem. After all, we've done what we need to do, and on that day, all we can do is watch Seraphine's performance."

Mel and Camille were in charge of promotion, Jayce and Ekko were in charge of design, Powder, Kai'Sa, Seraphine, and Zevi were responsible for the performance, and Linwin was in charge of overall planning.

As Mel said, they had already done what they needed to do.

Now, all that remained was to watch Seraphine's performance on that day.

"But it's a bit of a pity," Linwin sighed deeply at the end.

Everyone immediately shifted their gaze to Linwin.

Linwin shrugged, "This is our first festival, but on that day, you all will be watching the performance, and I'll be alone outside in the cold."

"But, that's okay."

"I'll be going."