318 -311- Who says I'm just a mage

Swain's understanding of Linwin wasn't deep, and Raum wasn't as all-knowing as it claimed to be.

Raum's abilities were indeed powerful, but its supposed omniscience had two strict requirements:

1. The soul of a deceased person or intelligent being must not have dispersed and must not have been absorbed by the wolf spirit or the tyrant.

2. Raum's "eyes" must be present at the scene.

Ram "peered" into others' pasts rather than predicting future events.

So, Swain had only been keeping an eye on Linwin's movements.

"I know what you've done before in Shurima and in Bilgewater."

"You're progressing rapidly, it's hard to fathom."

"So, you're stronger now than you were before."

Upon hearing Linwin's words, Swain raised his left hand and struck out towards Linwin.

"You're dangerous."

The immense demonic power coalesced into a gigantic blood-red raven, attacking Linwin.

"Yet you're still coming after me?" Linwin raised his hand, faster than Swain's spellcasting, azure light filling the halls of the castle.

"So, I came prepared." Swain said.

"Buzz!"

Swain's demonic power touched Linwin's wind magic, like a hammer striking cotton. The azure barrier dented but quickly rebounded, absorbing Swain's demonic power completely.

"Prepared?" Linwin was stunned by Swain's words.

Swain didn't say anything more but instead lifted his claw forcefully and strode forward.

Soon, Linwin understood what Swain meant.

In front of Linwin, the blue barrier crafted from wind magic began to change shape, twisting and distorting.

This was due to a disruption in magic control.

Upon noticing this, Linwin raised an eyebrow and immediately inwardly examined his own body, seeing that his magical power was slowing down.

The speed at which qi and magical power gathered inside his body began to slow, as if something was blocking the pathway for transporting magical power.

Seeing this, Linwin immediately opened his system interface and saw the poison label appearing on his status bar.

Looking astonished at Swain, Linwin suddenly understood what the crow he saw earlier while ascending the tower was all about.

Swain had been observing him all along.

From the beginning of this agreed meeting, he had planned to strike.

"Poisoning me won't work."

Linwin sighed.

Swain was certain that he was LeBlanc's accomplice, because in Swain's eyes, the pale lady stirring up trouble behind the scenes was more of a hindrance to Noxus than the incompetent Darkwill.

Upon hearing Linwin's words, Swain remained silent.

With a gentle crook of his longest crimson finger, the blood-red threads pulled, accompanied by a esr piercing cry, and a crow with six eyes appeared on Swain's shoulder.

It held a strange disc in its beak, and Linwin glanced at it.

"Tf?"

"Is that runic iron?"

Linwin looked at the gigantic crow standing on Swain's shoulder, which crushed the runic iron block in its mouth. Immediately afterward, Linwin felt a sense of oppression.

In the hall, the inconspicuous crimson iron blocks in the corners began to glow.

They formed a rhombus enclosing Linwin.

A strange force suppressed Linwin.

This feeling reminded Linwin of the elite Noxian soldiers he fought against with Sion.

Runes were a magical power, and Noxus's understanding of runes was superior to that of the entire continent.

From Riven's Runeblade to the ordinary soldiers' runic weapons. Runemasters were probably an exclusive profession of Noxus.

But what exactly was the power of runes? How could a few strokes of symbols, combined with materials, could invoke the arcane power of Runeterra?

But at this moment, Linwin didn't have time to think about those things.

The magical power in his body, which could easily be released with just a wave of his hand, was now estimated to be only about thirty percent at most when fully unleashed.

He was severely suppressed.

In contrast, looking at Swain.

The gigantic crow still stood on his shoulder, and the crimson glow on his hand showed no signs of fading.

He was not affected by the runic iron at all!

No, theoretically, runes were impartial. Linwin's understanding of runes wasn't deep, but he himself had quite a few runic fragments on his body, and compared to the self-made ones by Noxian runemasters, Linwin's were the true source of runes.

So....

Was it because Swain's power source was special that he was unaffected?

Or was it because it was demonic power?

The magic of Runeterra was diverse, including runic magic, elemental magic, arcane magic, dark magic, as well as several rare special magics, ancient magic, blood magic, and the demonic magic Swain was currently using.

This type of magic is quite special and often comes with significant limitations.

For example, Vladimir's blood magic, derived from a Darkin, is extremely powerful, but it is useless against spirits. This was evident when he almost got impaled by Kalista.

That is a type of magic that only affects living beings.

Swain's current situation is similar. Runes cannot restrict his power, as demons, like the Yordles, are possibly beings from another realm, not products of the material world of Runeterra.

With a sigh, Linwin stood in place.

The wind barrier in front of him had dissipated.

"Did you never consider that I might not really be affiliated with LeBlanc?"

Linwin frowned at Swain.

"It doesn't matter. Regardless of whether you're with LeBlanc or not, you shouldn't be appearing in Noxus at this time." Swain's expression remained calm as he looked at Linwin, saying, "You've appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"But I'm not interested in the matters between you and Darkwill. I came here to negotiate with Noxus."

Linwin raised his fist and clenched it, looking at Swain, who just shook his head.

The meaning was obvious.

So Linwin's head began to ache.

"All the information I've gathered over the past few days, was it intentionally spread by you?"

Swain remained silent, raising the crow's claw again, aiming at Linwin's head.

The crow on his shoulder with six eyes let out a sharp cry, and a huge terrifying blood sphere shot towards Linwin.

"Ah."

"If I were truly just a mage, I would have fallen into your hands today. But, Swain, who says I'm just a mage?"

Linwin raised his hand and swatted away the giant blood sphere in Swain's direction.

"Buzz!"

The collision between the blood sphere and the surrounding energy caused the runic iron on all sides to emit a sizzling sound, as if boiling.

"Hmm?"

In the half-hour since meeting Swain, Linwin saw him display a surprised expression for the first time.

A greatsword appeared in his hand, and Linwin held it with one hand, facing Swain.

"Swain, it seems you haven't seen much yet."