lol: After being blessed by the Happy Demon, I became the harem king

Page 17

"The weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons," Farn said calmly. "Letting these guys hide in the alleys of Zaun, wreaking havoc and wreaking havoc, would really be a headache. But right now... there's no place for them in the newly formed Zaun. Remember to take care of yourselves~"

Hearing Fan's words, Zeli nodded and said with a smile, "I know! Don't worry, they definitely won't be able to catch me!"

Zeli knew very well that the gap between her and Fain could not be bridged by a single set of Hextech gear. Especially now, some alchemical barons had been forced to reluctantly improve the treatment of Zaun's alchemical slaves because of Fain's actions. The joy brought by these improvements was also being channeled into Fain's spirit, forming a persistent and powerful force. In this situation, the better people's lives were, and the more hopeful they were for the future, the more Fain's power would continuously grow.

Meanwhile, after the crowd had been evacuated, Vi, Caitlyn, and the others did not leave. Instead, they stood guard as guardians of Piltover, protecting the bridge leading to Piltover above the mid-level plaza and around the elevator.

"Two people? Are these two crazy?" Wei said incredulously. "Caitlyn, who are they? I've never heard of them before?"

“I don’t know either.” Caitlin shook her head, raised the technological rifle in her hand, hesitated for a moment, and then said, “But that’s not our concern—cheer up!” Caitlin shouted to the law enforcement officers behind her:

"Make sure innocent civilians are evacuated! And prevent these Zaunite lunatics from attacking Piltover!!!"

Caitlin was met with a unified roar.

As Sevika left the scene with the crowd, she did not disappear. Instead, she hid in the shadows, looking at Fan and Zeli with a puzzled expression.

She couldn't understand why these two guys insisted on staying on stage and exposing themselves when she had already said everything she needed to. Didn't they know to avoid confrontation?

No, I have to contact someone else immediately. Sevika thought—no matter what, I can't let this guy who calls himself Fane end his life here.

Despite her limited education, sevika's intuition, stemming from her humble origins, told her that Farn's ideas could only be perfectly implemented and carried out by Farn himself. If it were any other Zaunite, it would likely have ended up like the chaotic rule of the Alchemist Baron we see today.

At the center of the venue, feeling the rising and falling malice, greed, and murderous intent around him, Farn knew very well that these guys were the scourge of Zaun, the embodiment of Zaun's chaos, and the most convenient tool for the Alchemist Baron to oppress Zaun's workers.

Slowly transform it?

Farn doesn't have the time. Besides, is there really any need to change these lackeys who willingly become the Alchemist Baron's oppressors? Keeping them alive is the real scourge. For Zaun, swift and decisive action is the true mark of compassion.

"A moment of ultimate bliss, eternal joy!"

As the words fell, Fane activated the Osiris Seal to its maximum, transforming the complex thoughts within his mind into a surging ecstasy. On his right arm, the Seven Hands incantation glowed with a bluish-green light. Meeting the gazes of the crowd, almost instantly after clearing the area, before the alchemical thugs could even unleash their long-suppressed roars of celebration, Fane's body vanished in a blur. The explosive speed created a buzzing sound in the air, and shimmering water left several afterimages in the air. In almost an instant, he was before the crowd.

A smile graced his handsome face, but his dark eyes held a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine. Without any fancy movements, his Water Gauntlet, radiating light, blended water manipulation with the compressed magic of his blade. With a casual flick of his wrist, he unleashed a brilliant arc of blue light. Before the alchemical thugs, their faces still beaming with excitement, could react, the instant they made contact, they were instantly pulverized by the exploding magical water, reduced to a bloody mess.

Others might not have reacted yet, but upon witnessing this scene, Caitlyn, from a prestigious family, stared wide-eyed in disbelief—was it a Hextech weapon? Yes. But why? Why did it possess such speed and power?

As one of the first beneficiaries of Hextech weapons, Caitlin knew very well how effective Hextech was—it all depended on the user's own qualities. Without sufficient physical strength, mental fortitude, and talent, even with Hextech equipment, one would still be nothing more than a stink dog on the street. This is precisely why Hextech equipment is categorized into different grades based on the quality of the crystals used. Similar to common standard Hextech weapons, aside from being reliable, their power is often inferior to some bulky, heavy alchemical weapons.

But the problem is—Caitlyn has never heard of this gauntlet-type Hextech gear that combines speed and destructive power.

While Caitlin was still wondering, she quickly realized that Fane's strength was not simply due to his seemingly formidable gauntlets—

Flesh and gore flew everywhere within Fain's field of vision. His powerful dynamic vision allowed him to clearly see the severed mechanical prosthetics twitching in mid-air. But before these prosthetics could even hit the ground, Fain's body exploded with power once more.

The burly man clenched his right fist into a hammer-like shape, and in the instant he pulled back, the heel of his palm struck a person's skull. With terrifying muscle power, accompanied by a tooth-grinding cracking sound, the person was struck and died instantly. The alloy-inlaid jaw shattered with a crash, and the bald head, like a watermelon struck by a hammer, exploded into a cloud of blood mist amidst the tooth-grinding cracking sound.

Every time one of the Alchemist Baron's henchmen dies, the oppression of the people of Zaun lessens.

Every time one of these scum dies, the future of Zaun becomes a little brighter!

At this thought, Fain felt his mind fill with extreme ecstasy—"Extreme joy! Beyond expectation!"

Accompanied by a suppressed joyful song, Fain turned his palm, instantly drawing away the moisture in the air. Even the blood droplets spurting from his arteries were instantly drawn by some force, gathering into a dark red vortex behind Fain.

Runeterra is a world of magic. Based on this, whether it is Hextech, which seems to be related to science and technology, or alchemy, which is linked to physical mutation, they are essentially different ways of utilizing different forms of magic.

So-called science is an ordered system of knowledge built on verifiable explanations and predictions of the form and organization of objective things. It is knowledge that has been systematized and formalized, and it is also a way of looking at the world. Based on this, in the realm of the spiritual, Farn is undoubtedly a scientist and an undisputed practitioner.

Witnessing Fane's astonishing speed and explosive power, some of the thugs realized something was amiss. But Fane was far too tempting for them—the opportunity to rise to the top was within reach, and how could they, who were used to living on the edge, be deterred by the violent deaths of a few?

"He's just a damn mage! What are you all afraid of? What are you all afraid of! Attack him all at once! There are so many of us, he can't possibly kill us all!"

Along with the words, the thug didn't charge. Instead, he aimed at Fane and pulled the trigger. The roaring bullets left a trail of flashes in the air, but Fane simply raised his hand, and the water curtain, with its greatly enhanced surface tension, swallowed up all the impact of the bullets, rendering them useless. The bullets, having lost their momentum, were then propelled out by the swirling water in the next instant, like heavy shotgun shells firing at close range, clearing a fan-shaped clearing in the surging crowd.

Lowering his center of gravity, Fane lightly stomped his left foot and, using his waist as a pivot, raised his palm like a dancer. With this graceful movement, the moisture in the surrounding corpses was instantly drained, and numerous alchemical prosthetics, as if imbued with life, billowed up. Pressure surged, causing them to explode into countless fragments of varying sizes. Following Fane's palm, the water, filled with metal shards, formed a counter-clockwise swirling tornado.

As it surged, the blood-stained water dragon swallowed and crushed all the rioters along its path.

Just then, a voice came from behind—"Put on your masks, everyone!"

As they spoke, a somewhat gaunt alchemist, accompanied by a sinister smile, hurled several dirty-looking, worn-out aluminum cans before anyone could react. Upon seeing the old man, almost all the alchemical thugs paled in shock, then scrambled to put on their masks. Those without masks simply snatched them from those around them and began fighting.

Not only the Zaunites, but even Caitlyn, who was far away, paled instantly upon seeing the man, then exclaimed in shock and anger, "Poison gas in the mid-level plaza?! Damn it, get the blowers ready! We can't let this poisonous fog enter Piltover even an inch!!"

Almost the instant he saw the old man, information about him flashed through Faen's mind—Dylan Ai, the poison master. One of the most renowned poison masters in Zaun's Gulch, whose concocted poisons were almost harmless to the skin, but if ingested through the mouth or nose, even a small amount would cause the internal organs to rot and mutate at an alarming rate, melting into a pile of foul blood.

As the dirty yellow poisonous gas spread, the alchemical thugs who hadn't had time to put on their masks soon collapsed to the ground, emitting a series of groans. The bluish-black veins on their skin bulged, and black, foul blood flowed from their faces.

But just when people thought this chance to rise to the top belonged to the poison master, strong winds blew in from afar from Piltover's windmills. However, this dense fog clearly had a strong resistance to storms; even with the strong winds, it maintained its size, only changing from a deep, dirty yellow to a pale yellow.

But it was during this process that, amidst the pale yellow poisonous fog, a figure that was not particularly tall compared to the alchemical thugs who were often three or four meters tall, but was exceptionally upright, came into everyone's view.

As the thick fog gradually dissipated, under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Fane calmly picked up the aluminum can from the ground, from which a thick cloud of poisonous gas continuously billowed. As he approached the can, with a deep breath, the poisonous gas formed a visible trail and entered Fane's nostrils. Feeling the pulsating magic within, Fane nodded.

"It's fairly clean, and you can separate the most untamed side of the wild magic from the dim light."

He exhaled a breath of stale air, his face completely nonchalant.

Having fully entered battle mode, Fane's perception had also reached an inhuman level. As a semi-spiritual being, Fane could clearly determine that the poisonous fog before him was less poisonous fog and more a fog-like magical energy.

Its essence originates from the wild life represented by the glimmer of light, only refined and separated to form the most unrestrained and wild mutation. The so-called rotting from the internal organs is nothing more than the collapse of physiological structures caused by uncontrolled mutation—

"Unfortunately, the purity is still too low." A blue light flashed in his eyes, and as he spoke, a smile returned to Fain's face.

Even more so, Fan could clearly hear a female voice filled with ecstasy in his consciousness—"You are my most perfect child!"

Ignoring the voice in his mind, Farn opened his arms, and the surging water swirled up the blood, forming an endless tornado.

Look—

In everyone's sight, Fain's eyes had turned into pure blue light.

"Your beating blood is dancing for me!"

The next moment, the blue-green water surged down, engulfing the dark red sea of ​​blood, like an apocalyptic wave spreading outwards at an astonishing speed, swallowing and crushing everything within it.

Above, Caitlin was completely speechless. Staring at the scene before her, she felt a buzzing in her head—having grown up on this land, Caitlin was indeed knowledgeable. Unfortunately, she was ultimately limited by the level of the Twin Cities themselves, lacking a clear understanding of true power.

Meanwhile, Vi, who had been opening her mouth but hesitated for a long time, could only ask in a strained voice, "This... is this also Hextech?"

To put it another way…

Why hasn't Zaun been destroyed yet?

In contrast, watching the last thug also swallowed up by the blood wave, crushed, and finally dissipated into fragmented red mist in the flowing water, Sevika suddenly understood why Fan had told her when he gave her the warning that the reason he valued Hilko was not because of Hilko's power...

That wasn't bravado, but simply being realistic.

29. Victor and Jess

Having ended the life of the last thug, Fane turned his gaze to Zeli to the side, waved his hand, and asked, "How are things on your end?"

Upon hearing this, Zeli glanced at the center of the venue, which had been cleared out by Faen, and then at the few scattered corpses around her. Zeli blinked, then pouted and said, "It's... alright."

Haha, look at your expression, you look like you've lost!

Farn moved closer.

In response, Zeli wrinkled her nose and said, "I knew you were strong, but who knew you were this strong? I thought I could be of some help, or at least help you take care of some of the thugs you couldn't deal with. Who knew you would take them all down in one go? I could only catch a glimpse of your afterimage as you moved."

Thinking this, Zeli paused, then said with a hint of despair, "I feel like I'm going to be childless for the rest of my life!"

As Faen had previously stated, due to her level of existence, Zeli hadn't even met the minimum requirements for pregnancy—in Faen's words, a normal human conceiving Faen's child wouldn't even qualify as nurturing, let alone parasitizing. This is because such spiritual beings, while absorbing material nourishment, also incur spiritual energy consumption. While Zeli is powerful, this is only relative to ordinary people.

"Your potential has not yet been fully realized. Take it slow, there's no rush."

As he said this, Fan patted Zeli's head and then walked towards the City of Progress on the other side, saying, "Alright, let's have a good chat with our friends in the upper city."

"oh oh!"

Upon hearing this, although she didn't know why Fain was heading towards the upper city, Zeli instinctively chose to believe him. After all, Fain was wiser and more powerful than her in governing the two cities. Although she was a stubborn child, stubbornness didn't equate to rebellion. Born in Zaun, Zeli knew clearly when to be assertive and when to... be quiet.

When Caitlin saw Farn approaching them with a gentle smile, she almost instinctively furrowed her brow.

Glug,

A series of tense swallowing sounds came from behind. In the past, Caitlin would have scolded him, because such weakness was unacceptable to her—as a guardian of the City of Progress, you can certainly be afraid, but you cannot show it in front of the enemy.

But now, Caitlin completely understands why the law enforcement officers feel tense and fearful. Not only them, but even Caitlin herself feels a chill run down her spine.

Although he appeared gentle, every step Fan took as he slowly walked seemed to weigh heavily on their hearts, and a silent fear instantly filled their minds.

"Do not be afraid, I have always been a pacifist."

Sensing the panic in everyone's hearts, Farn spread his hands to show his harmlessness: "If it weren't for those guys, I would probably be enjoying Miss Salafine's concert right now, and then visiting some friends in Piltover in a more gentle and polite manner after the concert."

As he said this, Farn said with some helplessness, "But these alchemy barons are always like this. They get furious just because I asked them to improve the workers' conditions, forcing me to sacrifice my precious leisure time to work."

Upon hearing Farn's words, Caitlin fell into a brief silence. After a moment, she waved behind her to signal for everyone to relax, and then said, "Although I have heard of you, it seems that Piltover's understanding of the 'Blue Demon' is quite limited. But in any case, Piltover welcomes anyone with good intentions to come here."

“Yes. I really like Piltover.” Hearing Caitlin’s words, Farn nodded and said, “I quite agree with Professor Heimerdinger’s idea of ​​changing people’s lives through technology. Whether it’s Hextech airships or anything else, they greatly increase communication between people, allowing people from city-states scattered in different corners of the world to connect in a more convenient way.”

"But that's precisely why the divide between Zaun and Piltover is becoming increasingly unbearable for me."

Upon hearing Farn's words, a hint of surprise flashed in Caitlin's eyes.

Piltover was naturally aware of the Azure Mage—most of the alchemist barons were essentially the black gloves of Piltover's trading families. For example, the Hextech Crystal factories, with their Hextech Ore mined from Shurima, often contained large amounts of impurities and toxic waste. If this were produced in Piltover, it would certainly be met with a united attack from other trading families.

Unless the Feralas family is willing to relinquish profits to other families and then use a large portion of the additional revenue for environmental remediation and pollution-free disposal. But in Zaun, there's no problem. Neither the severe pollution from refining nor the deafening noise can deter the Alchemist Baron; someone can simply organize and hire a gang of alchemical thugs to visit the entire family. All the Feralas family needs to do is provide some convenience in smuggling, trade, and Hextech weapons.

This is just a microcosm of the conflict between Piltover and Zaun.

The Blue Demon's impact on the businesses of many alchemist barons naturally attracted the attention of the powerful figures in Piltover. After all, if they could have a pawn to blackmail the alchemist barons, they could further reduce the payments they made to them.

As for the various ideologies and leaflets that Qingmo promotes... it doesn't matter!

They understand—it's business, there's no shame in it!

But now… looking at the peace in Fane’s eyes, and glancing at the area that Fane had cleared, where even the bloodstains had been washed away by his water-controlling magic, Caitlin keenly realized that this matter was probably not as simple as the councilors of the trading families thought.

Thinking it over, Caitlin decided to observe further. She then said, "Please abide by the laws of Piltover. Also, to ensure your personal safety and prevent unnecessary conflict, please allow me to accompany you."

"No problem, I understand."

Faun nodded.

Seeing that Farn didn't seem to mind, Caitlin secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "Excuse me, are you looking to visit Miss Salafine?"

"No, I want to visit a friend who came to the concert."

Farn looked toward a private room not far away and said, "Victor."

Upon hearing Farn's words, a hint of surprise flashed in Caitlin's eyes. After a moment of contemplation, she nodded and said, "I need to ascertain Mr. Victor's thoughts... But before that, is there anything you wish to convey? I can relay it on your behalf."

“Tell him that changing Zaun cannot be done through the upper echelons,” Farn said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Caitlin's eyes flickered slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and continued, "Okay, I will pass it on."

Through Farn's words, Caitlin vaguely sensed something. But people can't imagine things beyond their comprehension—like the Terminator movie thirty years ago, Skynet's sixty trillion floating-point operations per second were terrifying for its time. Yet, thirty years later, it's less efficient than a single 4090…

Skynet: If only I had ten 4090s!

Precisely because of this, limited by her own understanding, Caitlin, though slightly hesitant, didn't take it too seriously. Let alone Caitlin, even if it were Caitlin's mother, or a representative of another trading family, they would at most see it as another way of cooperating with the Upper City…

Thinking about it, Caitlin also walked towards the private room.

Meanwhile, Jess, who was in the private room and watching everything that was happening below, having witnessed countless killings and had never even killed a chicken so far, was about to vomit his bile.

After feeling a bit better, Jess put away the vomit bag and then, pale-faced, turned to Victor beside him and said:

"You saw that? That scene just now? It was real? I even thought I was hallucinating! Damn it, even I didn't know Hextech could cause such destruction! Damn it, I must have seen wrong, how could so many people have been killed in less than half an hour... Ugh!"

Before he could finish speaking, recalling the scene from just now, Jess bent over again and vomited repeatedly.

While Jess was speaking, Viktor, who was also pale, thankfully hadn't eaten anything except for a few cups of hot tea before coming. So he didn't vomit like Jess.

However, even from his trembling and haggard eyes, it was clear that Viktor was deeply shocked. But because of his Zaunite heritage, while deeply shaken, Viktor's overall condition remained relatively good. After hearing Jayce's words, Viktor nodded in deep agreement, his already pale face filled with astonishment and shock. After a brief moment of thought, he said:

"I think it's not just the power of Hextech."

As a co-developer who worked with Jayce to create a new way for Hextech Crystals to function, Viktor was well aware of the power of Hextech and its limitations. To outsiders, Hextech appeared near perfect. However, developers like Viktor and Jayce were well aware that Hextech still had many flaws; they had merely made new breakthroughs in its application.

Caitlin walked in from outside and said, "That guy named Farn... or rather, Blue Demon wants to see Victor."

Jayce came from a rather ordinary background, his family a small, insignificant family selling hardware parts in Piltover. The Giraman family, on the other hand, had been investing in Jayce long before he rose to prominence, and Caitlyn was someone Jayce had watched grow up, so their relationship was quite close. Therefore, Caitlyn didn't deliberately maintain the aloofness of a law enforcement officer and walked in quite easily.

Because of his relationship with Jayce, Victor was quite familiar with Caitlyn. Hearing Caitlyn's words, Victor instinctively exchanged a glance with Jayce, then asked with some suspicion, "He wants to see me? Why? Does he have some purpose?"

"Just tell him Viktor is gone!" Compared to Viktor's confusion, Jayce was much more nervous, after all, the killing had just taken place right before his eyes. Having grown up in a comfortable and peaceful place like Piltover, Jayce, while not exactly living a life of luxury, still had a natural prejudice against the thugs of Zaun.

"No, Caitlin, you have to stop him! We absolutely cannot let this kind of thug and killer into Piltover! My God, there must have been over a thousand people just now! They were all gone in less than half an hour! If this happened in Piltover, at Piltover University, I can't even imagine how horrific it would be!"

Upon hearing this, before Caitlyn could say anything, Viktor couldn't help but purse his lips—as a colleague, Viktor was well aware of Jayce's natural contempt and wariness towards Zaun. This wasn't Jayce's fault, as most Piltover women were like that. On top of that, Jayce at least valued knowledge more, genuinely regarding Viktor as a good brother, a good partner, and the only healthy rival who could rival him in intelligence, encouraging and urging each other on.

But being from Zaun… well, Viktor knew Jayce was right. But he just didn't want people to talk about his hometown like that—the hell on earth that had raised him.