Chapter 343: Katarina’s reminder of Swain’s surprise
“Woo! Woo!”
The snow-white Poro waved his claws and cut through the air, trying to resist.
But it is still inevitable to have a wet towel wiping the plush face.
Huo Jixing smiled when he saw the little guy struggling.
He likes this feeling.
When the wiping was completed, he started to wash himself, leaving the little guy lying on his shoulder and sulking.
After everything is taken care of.
Huo Jixing walked down the wooden stairs with the snow-white Poro, his eyes swept across the hall, and settled on a familiar tall figure.
The smile on his lips spread and he said hello.
"Katrina!"
At this moment, Catalina was waiting in the hall. After hearing this, she looked up and saw a rare smile on her cold face when she saw it was Huo Jixing.
This smile seemed like the warm spring sun, melting her usual coldness.
Huo Jixing walked up to Catalina and looked at her carefully.
This time he went to Piltover for a mission and experienced too much, plus he unexpectedly ended up in Bilgewater, which made him feel like some time had passed.
So now that I saw Catalina, I noticed that she seemed to be much more beautiful.
The long crimson hair is spread over her shoulders, adding a bit of charm to her.
The bloody scar on the left eye looked slightly fierce, but his face became refined.
Wearing a dark purple armor with smooth and elegant lines, it also highlights her extremely sexy figure.
"You are back." Catalina said softly, with a hint of tenderness in her tone that she could not easily detect.
"Yes, I'm back."
Huo Jixing responded, his eyes never leaving Catalina's face.
Katrina seemed to be unable to bear the gaze of the person in front of her, and turned her face slightly.
"Sir Swain sent an order for you to go to the audience hall to meet him."
Katrina also felt the changes in herself during this period, which were somewhat strange to her, but But she allowed these changes to happen.
"Okay, I'll be there in a moment."
Huo Jixing looked back, as if the previous mental fatigue had disappeared.
At the same time, the arrival of Katarina made him once again deeply aware of Swain's all-pervasive control over the Noxus Empire.
Although Huo Jixing did not hide his whereabouts too much.
But Swain still knew his location accurately through the Reese garrison.
As soon as he came back, he received the order and even sent Catalina here specially.
“Let’s have breakfast together?”
Huo Jixing invited, as if he was not afraid of Catalina’s rejection at all, and walked straight to the restaurant on the left.
Haini had prepared a sumptuous breakfast early, and the aroma of the food filled the air.
After a moment of hesitation, Catalina followed Huo Jixing into the restaurant.
After breakfast.
Huo Jixing and Catalina got up and prepared to go to the Immortal Fortress.
Before leaving, Huo Jixing seemed to think of something, and his eyes fell on Heini, who had been secretly looking at this place.
When Heini saw Huo Jixing looking at him, he quickly showed a bright smile to hide his purpose.
Huo Jixing smiled and passed by, grabbing the snow-white poro from his shoulders and throwing it into Heini's arms.
Then he took off the [Spirit Wind] from his waist and threw it over.
"It's under maintenance. It's a bit sharp, so be careful."
For a while.
Haini was a little confused, but he still caught the snow-white poro and the sheathed sword.
As a sword boy, Heini is very good at maintaining extraordinary sword weapons, with deep understanding and proficient skills.
This was the knowledge taught to him by the Empire after he became a sword boy.
However, when he took the [Lingfeng] handed over by Huo Jixing, a hint of surprise appeared in Mo Che's eyes.
This sheathed sword was something extraordinary, the most perfect blade he had ever seen.
When Huo Jixing opened the door and left.
Haini made a cheering gesture to Huo Jixing naughtily.
Then he hurried to the back of the room with the Snow White Poro and [Spiritual Wind].
Huo Jixing looked helplessly at Heini's fleeing back, shook his head slightly, and went out with Catalina.
Early morning.
Golden light shines over the capital of Noxus, covering every building with a layer of solemn armor.
Although the cold wind is getting colder, the prosperity of this city has not been reduced by half.
In the streets and alleys, early-rising vendors have opened their doors and are busy with their lives.
Huo Jixing and Catalina walked along the street, looking at the surrounding scene from time to time.
The two walked side by side and occasionally talked softly, but most of the time, the atmosphere seemed relatively silent.
Whether it was in his previous life or in this life, Huo Jixing was not a person who was good at creating topics.
His character is reserved and deep.
As the ominous blade of the Noxus Empire, Katarina often performs dangerous missions, so she has developed the habit of speaking less.
Although the atmosphere was a bit cold, the two of them did not feel embarrassed.
They can still find some topics to chat about to avoid prolonged silence.
For example, the latest battle situation, news about the capital, or discussions about weapons and combat techniques.
As we approach the Immortal Fortress.
Catalina slowed down, turned her body sideways, looked into Huo Jixing's eyes, and spoke softly.
“Be careful of the Scarlet Secret Society.”
“They made a lot of noise in the empire earlier, trying to find traces of you.”
“You come back this time , they will surely receive the news soon."
Hearing this, Huo Jixing nodded lightly.
He was also quite afraid of Vladimir's strength, especially the weirdness of blood magic, which was extremely troublesome.
However, it is not easy for the Scarlet Secret Society to treat Katarina, the daughter of the general, with such seriousness. The Du Cecao family was already the leading warlord in the Noxus Empire, with a large number of war groups under their control.
And he also has close relationships with several imperial generals.
After Swain's coup, he did not take action against the Du Kecao family. Instead, he recruited Catalina to join the Reese garrison.
From this comparison, it seems that the hidden forces of Vladimir and the Scarlet Secret Society within the empire are more powerful than they appear on the surface.
Huo Jixing was immersed in his own thoughts and came to the Immortal Fortress.
"Go up by yourself." Catalina stopped.
“Okay.”
Huo Jixing nodded slowly and climbed the stairs of triumph.
On both sides of the steps, soldiers of the Trifali Legion in straight uniforms stood.
Huo Jixing crossed the triumphal staircase with his head held high and entered the audience hall.
The bright yellow candlelight lit up, reflecting the majestic and spacious hall.
The thick and solid pillar formed a sharp angle, with a black crow standing on it, its red eyes staring at the incoming Huo Jixing.
On the high platform.
Simple marble table.
Swein was sitting at his desk, handling matters at hand, and seemed quite busy.
On the wall behind him, there are countless flags hanging down, representing the many family warlords and vassal forces in the empire.
After a while.
Swain folded the letter paper in his hand, stuffed it into a cylinder, and placed it on the edge of the table. He looked up at Huo Jixing below, his eyes filled with wonder.
"I heard that you made quite a name for yourself in Bilgewater, helping those pirates survive the Night of Souls."
"You also fought against several ancient beings from the Shadow Island in the Black Mist."
As a member of a noble family who was the founder of Noxus, he knew exactly what the Shadow Island represented.
This is also the reason why he did not take action directly after Planck stole the Leviathan.
The forces involved between Bilgewater and the Shadow Island were far beyond the reach of the Noxus Empire, which was in a dark and turbulent period at that time.
Therefore, Swain was a little in disbelief when he heard the news from Yosip.
Now, after seeing Huo Jixing in front of him, he has confirmed that the news is true.
It has only been a few years, but it has grown to a point where he is now slightly afraid.
“Is this the growth rate of protoss geniuses?”
Swain thought of the empire’s secret collection books describing the protoss’ strength in ancient times, but he took it for granted.
"Perhaps we can use more of the empire's resources on Huo Jixing." Swain thought to himself.
Early on, he invested a lot of resources in Huo Jixing, and the empire also very much welcomes extraordinary people with such terrifying talents to join.
But Huo Jixing's time to integrate into the empire was too short.
Even with the respect of Darius and Kled, Swain still has certain reservations about him.
“I had no choice but to leave Bilgewater, so I had no choice but to take advantage of the situation.”
Huo Jixing bowed and replied.
The Soul-eating Night came suddenly. He wanted to leave Bilgewater, but found that it was already too late.
Pop! Bang bang!
Swein clapped his hands, stood up with a black cane, walked down the steps, and came to Huo Jixing.
“What do you think of Vladimir’s strength?”
Swain's voice was a little low, but the words he spoke shocked Huo Jixing.
He knew in his heart that Siwein's position was definitely not unreasonable, and this question must have profound meaning.
After thinking for a while, he said in a deep voice.
"Very strong, I am no match for him."
He recalled the fight between himself and Vladimir's clone during the Stillwater Prison incident.
Although he won at that time, he was also deeply hurt.
Later, Huo Jixing broke through in strength in Bilgewater and opened the White Tiger Constellation. No one knew about these things.
Including Swain!
Another key point is that he has never actually fought against Vladimir, so he cannot know the specific strength of this ancient existence.
Based on the above circumstances, Huo Jixing feels that his strength can be considered weak.
When Swain heard this, his eyes were deep, as if he could see into people's hearts, making Huo Jixing feel invisible pressure.
“Vladimir is one of the oldest beings in the Noxus Empire, and his power is unfathomable.”
“But you don’t have to underestimate yourself, your growth and potential are It shocked me. Given time, I might be able to compete with Vladimir."
He turned to look at the empty throne and the flags on both sides.
“I heard that you need magic rune items to strengthen your strength.”
"There are still many collections in the empire's treasury. You can use my warrant to pick out three items."
After saying that, Swain took out his token from his arms and threw it to Huo Jixing.
Huo Jixing caught the black token. The front was engraved with the symbol of the Noxus Empire, and the reverse was a lifelike black crow.
Swain has high hopes for me!
Huo Jixing raised his eyebrows, took a deep breath, and said solemnly.
"I will do my best to contribute all my strength to the prosperity of Noxus."
He stared at Swain's enigmatic back, and there was an imperceptible redness in his pupils. Golden glow.
Black clouds rose and slowly changed in the sky, turning into the shape of a black crow, with strange eyes twinkling, as if telling an ulterior secret.
At this moment, Huo Jixing glimpsed the deep hidden strength in Swain.
The feeling of threat was no less than that of the two God-favored ones he had faced, Elise and Illaoi.
However, compared with the Spider God, the Maw of Despicableness and Nagakaporos, they are much inferior.
"The power of demons?"
Huo Jixing thought of some records about Swain in his past life memories.
As the former strategist commander of the Noxus Empire, Swain was almost killed due to conspiracy during the Ionian War.
But he miraculously climbed out of the pile of dead people.
Not only did he survive, but he also relied on his own resourcefulness and courage to gradually climb to the pinnacle of power in Noxus and became the far-sighted leader of Noxus today.
Huo Jixing bowed and left the audience hall, heading to the imperial treasure house deep in the fortress.
(End of this chapter)