"What are you two boys talking about, thinking one thing one minute and another the next?"
At that moment, another voice came from outside, accompanied by footsteps.
Then Tianna pushed the door open and walked in.
As soon as Luke saw her, he immediately welcomed her with a smile. "Hello, Auntie."
"Auntie is not hello."
Tianna glanced at him and asked, "What were you two talking about?"
Luke said, "Some sensitive topics."
Tianna raised an eyebrow. "How sensitive? I can't listen?"
"Of course you can, Auntie. No one is more qualified to listen than you."
Luke kept smiling. "I was just going to look for you later anyway. I didn't expect you to come here first."
Tianna gave a dry laugh. "That's because my left eyelid suddenly kept twitching just now. I figured some unlucky brat had shown up."
Luke was thick-skinned, so he immediately said, "Doesn't that mean you and I have a special connection, Auntie?"
Tianna eventually could not help laughing despite herself. Then she glanced at him again and said, "Stop fooling around. Get to the point. What were you talking about just now?"
At that, Luke's expression also returned to normal. He became unusually serious.
To be honest, Tianna rarely saw this boy show that kind of expression. But in her memory, whenever he did, it meant he truly had something important to do.
Luke said, "Ever since I returned from the Gates of Mourning, I've been thinking about one question. Is Demacia weak?"
Hearing this, Tianna gave her answer. "Of course not. Demacia has existed for over six hundred and seventy years. It is one of the few nations in Runeterra with such a long history, and its military strength has never been weak since ancient times. Known as a nation of steel, solid as a fortress, it has rarely been defeated in large-scale wars. It has nothing to do with the word weak."
As the Marshal of a nation, she had every confidence in saying those words.
This was not blind arrogance. It was a fact laid out plainly across Runeterra.
One had to know that Demacia was located in western Valoran. This land was filled with countryside and mountains, had water, rich mineral resources, and crops and grain were easy to grow and raise. It could be called an excellent piece of land.
Occupying such a place, if Demacia had no strength, it would have been swallowed clean by the surrounding powers long ago.
Luke asked again, "Since we're not weak, why is it that every few years, someone always comes to provoke us?"
Tianna thought for a moment and said, "The times move forward. Naturally, the strength of other sides also changes constantly. There will always be someone who thinks they are stronger."
"No." Luke slowly shook his head and said, "In my view, it's because we haven't shown enough strength, so anyone can treat us like a paper tiger."
"Noxus has invaded us year after year, starting wars whenever it wants, coming when it wants and leaving when it wants. Even those tribes from the Freljord come over every now and then. Are we supposed to be their open garden, where they come pick a few vegetables whenever they're hungry?"
Tianna listened quietly to Luke's words. Her slightly furrowed brow was not because she thought there was a problem with what he said, but because she was thinking too.
In reality, it was not as if she had never considered these problems Luke mentioned.
Now that the conversation had reached this point, she had actually guessed what Luke intended to do.
"Upholding justice, honor, and duty is something every Demacian takes pride in. It is also the foundation upon which Demacia was built. However, blind obedience corrodes our footing bit by bit, until eventually, no one will ever dare take that step again."
"I know what you are worried about. You are afraid no one can shoulder this responsibility, that no one can bear this mission. Because since ancient times, Demacia has never done this. The reason is that their noble justice does not allow them to. But is that really justice? I don't think so. It is only stubborn self-righteousness!"
If Luke's words were spoken outside, they would probably provoke public outrage.
However, in this vast office, there were only people they trusted. Jarvan IV and Tianna both listened in silence.
"So the thing no one has done, I will do."
"The burden no one dares carry, I will carry."
"I will make Runeterra truly know Demacia. I will make Demacia's name resound in every corner of Runeterra."
"I believe that is my mission."
To say those dramatic lines, Luke had deliberately said a long stretch of words beforehand. As he spoke now, he even struck an extremely flashy pose, tilting his head up at a forty-five-degree angle.
He felt rather satisfied.
If history books were written in the future and he was carved into Demacia's textbooks, he imagined he would look extremely handsome.
"Luke! That was excellent. I won't say anything else. Your big brother supports you!"
Jarvan IV looked as if he had been injected with pure adrenaline. His face flushed red, and he rose from the table with a slap.
He was still in the prime of youth, so his way of thinking naturally was not too different from Luke's.
It was just that by comparison, he was caught in the middle, needing to look ahead while also watching behind him.
But without a doubt, the person he supported most at this moment was still Luke.
Tianna raised her eyes and looked at Jarvan IV, then lowered them again. Naturally, there were more issues she had to consider.
Have you thought this through?
That was what she had wanted to ask just now.
But she had not asked it.
She naturally understood Luke very well. He was never the kind of hot-blooded young man who got carried away, lost his head, slapped his forehead, and decided to do something on impulse.
Since he was standing here now and had said all this, he had clearly thought it through carefully.
Tianna looked at Luke and said, "Even so, I still want to ask about your true intention."
Luke also looked at her and said bluntly, "My intention is simple and clear. Launch an eastern campaign against Noxus!"
Tianna was not surprised. Her gaze turned distant as she slowly said, "Since ancient times, Demacia has never advocated war. There are three reasons. The first is our bottom line. We never take the initiative to invade another nation."
"Second, launching a war often requires far more manpower, materials, and wealth than defending does. Once it fails, the losses will be irreversible."
"Third, in war, the ones who bear the greatest pressure are the common people and the soldiers. One sacrifice brings only the blood and tears of one family. With a single sentence, we can start a war, but the ones who bear the pressure are them."
"I once had the same idea as you. When I was at my most ambitious, or rather, many people like you and me have had this kind of thought."
"Why must we always wait for the enemy to attack before we fight back? Why can't we take the initiative? Because once we do, there is no turning back."
When she said this, her eyes were very serious. A faint light flickered in them, as if it were the resolution she had failed to make back then.
She hoped her words could make Luke change his mind.
But for some reason, in her heart, she also hoped he could persist.
To put it plainly, the step she had once lacked the courage to take was now about to be taken by this young man.
Before that foot landed, her feelings were complicated.
After listening to those words, Luke did not waver. He slowly said, "In my view, this is a step Demacia must take. Right now, it is as if we are trapped by ourselves. We lifted the ban on magic, and everything seems to be developing in a good direction. I could wait. I could keep waiting. After all, my own ambition is to lie in the courtyard, eat, drink, play, and enjoy myself."
"But every time I lie in the rocking chair, I always feel as if something is being lost. I have to consider whether this is the only chance I, and Demacia, will ever have in this life. Whether it is or not, we must seize it."
When Luke said this, firm resolve showed in his eyes.
Tianna was slightly stunned. His eyes were brighter and steadier than at any other time.
For Luke, this truly was an exceedingly rare opportunity.
Hidden in his heart were dangers many people did not know about. His dream really was just to live a leisurely, lazy life, to open his eyes and have food, to sleep after eating his fill, to joke around with the girls, play, have fun, do things he liked, and let the day pass like that.
But precisely because of those threats that had yet to arrive, they were like a sword always hanging above his head, leaving him unable to feel at ease.
The saying was to enjoy life while one could, to enjoy the happiness of the present in the present.
But Luke clearly had so many good years ahead of him to enjoy. Was he supposed to wait until disaster came crashing down before saying it was too late for regrets?
Naturally, he did not want that.
So Demacia had to become stronger.
Strong enough that no one would dare provoke it. Strong enough that if an enemy attacked one day, it would at least have the power to fight.
"That is why we must take the initiative!"
"We hit back hard once, so a hundred others don't come knocking!"
As his words fell, Jarvan IV only felt hot blood flowing through his bones. He almost wanted to clap and cheer.
That was too well said!
Hit back hard once, so a hundred others don't come knocking.
Tianna was stunned again. Perhaps it was just as this boy said.
This was a road Demacia had to walk. Even if it was filled with thorns, they still had to walk through it.
After a long while, she suddenly smiled in relief, not understanding why she had become so conflicted.
"I don't know why, but hearing you stand in front of me and say these things today doesn't surprise me at all."
She shook her head with a smile and said, "Then go ahead and do it. I told you before, no matter what decision you make, I will support you from behind."
After saying that, Tianna suddenly felt her heart become much lighter.
It turned out that without her realizing it, many matters in Demacia no longer needed her to worry about them.
She looked at Luke's young face and could not help thinking of herself when she was young.
She had walked all the way across the battlefield, witnessing too much bloodshed, sacrifice, and tears. So when the same problem was placed before her, she had chosen the same method as her predecessors.
Did Luke not know these things?
He knew.
He even understood them more clearly than anyone. But precisely because of that, he understood even more what the correct path was.
Perhaps Demacia needed someone like him to change it.
Thinking about it again, it seemed Demacia had already changed a great deal because of him.
Tianna agreed with Luke's decision.
Needless to say, Jarvan IV fully supported Luke's decision.
Thus, the three of them set off together and headed to Jarvan III's chambers.
At this time, Jarvan III was admiring flowers in the rear garden. Recently, he had thrown government affairs to Jarvan IV and was instead living a leisurely life similar to Luke's.
When he learned why the three of them had come, he could not help freezing for a moment.
But he quickly came back to himself and gave his answer. "Since you've decided, then go ahead and do it."
His tone was very calm, as if he had already expected this.
He did not even say much before directly agreeing to Luke's decision.
If it were up to him, he would not do this, because just as Luke had said, he had already trapped himself.
The questions he had once thought about in his youth now had fixed answers, and they would no longer change.
So he would not stop Luke. Instead, he decided to let him go ahead and do it, even giving him the greatest possible support.
He believed this child would not disappoint him.
Since that was the case, there was naturally no need to say much. Support was enough.
Very soon, instructions to convene a meeting were sent from the palace to various places.
Ever since the last meeting, the schedule for meetings had changed to once every few days.
Now that a meeting had suddenly been called, it meant there was probably something important to discuss.
So the ministers soon arrived.
Inside the conference hall.
At the octagonal table, several ministers had already taken their seats.
Tianna, Lev, Barrett, Wenward, Giovanni, Sébastien, Karal, and Frey.
The eight of them each sat in one seat, representing the supreme authority of the meeting.
Jarvan III sat at the head seat, while the other ministers stood elsewhere in the conference hall.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, he cleared his throat.
The conference hall soon quieted down.
Jarvan III looked around the room and said, "There is only one topic for this meeting. However, I will not be the one to speak on it."
After saying that, he spoke no further.
Standing behind him, Luke knew it was time for him to step forward. So he took one step forward, looked at the familiar faces around the table, and smiled. "I called this meeting."
The ministers present did not say anything. Luke naturally had the qualifications to call a meeting.
However, what he said next still caused considerable shock.
"The reason this meeting has been called is that I intend to send troops to attack Noxus."
Once Luke finished that simple sentence, the surrounding room froze for a moment, then suddenly boiled over.
"What?"
"Attack Noxus?"
"Did I hear that right?"
The ministers immediately began discussing among themselves.
At the octagonal table, several faces also showed surprise.
That included familiar people like Barrett, Sébastien, and Lev. Since they had not known the news, they were all shocked.
Wenward, however, wore an expression as if this was within his expectations. In reality, he had guessed long ago that Luke had such an idea.
And today, he had guessed that Luke was preparing to begin taking action.
As for Frey, it was naturally for the same reason.
Sending troops to attack Noxus, the phrase "Noxus" afterward could be omitted, and it could be understood directly as taking the initiative to send troops out.
One had to know that, looking across all of Demacia's history, no one had ever done such a thing.
Naturally, this caused a wave of shock.
In truth, there had been people in history who had proposed similar ideas, but their targets were not Noxus. Instead, they had been the surrounding small nations and sea regions.
However, in the end, none of those proposals had ever been carried out.
Because Demacia's bottom line was never to take the initiative to invade another nation.
And now, Luke once again intended to break convention.
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