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

Page 30

This wild side of life's magic is almost harmless when facing mentally strong and determined individuals—it just increases mental stress.

Jinx's mental resilience is undoubtedly terrifying, which allows her to almost completely absorb the enhancement from the glimmer of light. And because her mind can withstand this pressure, Jinx's enhancement is not like that of an ordinary person who suddenly gains weight like a hormone, and then loses muscle, gets acne, and has blood as thick as frozen oil once the effect wears off.

Conversely, Jinx's enhancement effect after consuming Glimmer is quite limited, but each time it raises her upper limit. There is no such thing as a power decline after stopping the drug—it's just that the Glimmer potion is still too rudimentary, and the extraction method is somewhat crude, so it has now reached a bottleneck.

Even so, just from the fact that Jinx can carry a rocket launcher and a heavy machine gun, and run wildly as if she can't feel the recoil while firing at the same time, you can glimpse the terrifying strength in her small body.

The case is solved; it's Jinx, the Blacksmith.

Caitlyn's eyes widened in fury as she glanced at the Enforcer who had flown far away, bleeding from his mouth and nose and lying unconscious on the spot. Vi, standing beside her, couldn't help but shout, "Jinx!!"

Seeing their colleague blown away, the officers instinctively raised their weapons. Unfortunately, they only raised their hands slightly before, with a peaceful clap of Farn's hands, the crystal chamber of his standard Hextech rifle overheated and exploded. A series of screams erupted as the damage from the exploding barrel filled the scene with cries of agony.

As a prototype built entirely with the finest materials and technology, the Atlas Gauntlet's impact was largely due to Vi's crude handling. She only knew how to use it roughly, without understanding the weapon's mechanics. Even so, given its inherent qualities, without preparation, the Atlas Gauntlet could at most cause Vi to overheat and forcibly detach.

However, this kind of structure presents a technological barrier for the Zaunites, but doesn't require much magical skill... Whether it's water or wind, if operated properly, it can create large-scale overload and secondary explosions.

This isn't really a secret—given their large-scale production, it means Piltover has some understanding of this. After all, they don't bury their profits underground; they're actively exploring broader possibilities.

The reason this remains the case is simply because this weapon is suitable for most situations and is cheap enough—other, better ones with lower overload risk are more expensive, without a significant increase in power. Moreover, when dealing with ordinary people, accuracy is more important than power.

Seeing her comrades behind her, Caitlin's face paled. She quickly stopped Vi, who was about to lose control, and gestured for her to restrain herself. Caitlin then took a deep breath, looked at Fane, and said in a low voice with her head down, "I'm willing to stay here as a hostage..."

“They’re not hostages, they’re being investigated, and it’s for the sake of judicial fairness in Zaun,” Farn corrected.

At this, Caitlin's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, then she took a deep breath, nodded, and said, "I will cooperate with your investigation..."

Hearing this, Vi lowered her head in despair, but she knew that Caitlin was doing the right thing. Then, in despair, Vi looked up at Farn and pleaded, "Then...at least let me see her anytime, and make it easier for Mrs. Piltover to know anything about Caitlin!"

“No problem.” Farn nodded.

Jinx simply stood to the side, watching Vi with a cold expression. Meanwhile, Fain turned his gaze to Saito Takeda, who was slumped on the ground.

Noticing Fain's gaze, Takeda Saito shuddered, but instead of running away, he swallowed hard and scrambled to Fain's side, prostrating himself before him: "My lord, I come from Ionia just like you! I can help you! I'll tell you anything! I'll definitely be your most capable subordinate! I'll tell you everything I know!"

Upon hearing this, Farn shook his head, then waved to Caitlin, signaling her to follow, and slowly walked away.

Upon seeing that Fane hadn't killed him, Saito Takeda was initially stunned, then a look of wild joy quickly spread across his face. He hurriedly scrambled to his feet, but before he could catch up with Fane and pledge his loyalty, he had just raised his head when he saw Jinx pointing a dark gun at him.

"Wait! You can't do this! Isn't it for the sake of judicial fairness?!" Saito Takeda cried out.

Jinx pouted:

"Whether it's fair or not, isn't it up to that guy Farn to decide?"

There was a gunshot.

57. Piltover Meeting Room

Under the watchful eyes of numerous law enforcement officers, Takeda Saito, who had just been on the verge of being taken back to Zaun for trial in the name of judicial fairness, was executed on the spot.

Many law enforcement officers fell silent, following behind Fain towards the alchemical tower atop Zaun's highest peak. At the moment the gun fired, Caitlyn's body trembled slightly, then she silently averted her gaze and lowered her head to ask:

"Didn't you say you were going to conduct an interrogation? Or do you never intend to know the information he's talking about?"

“The living can say many valuable things.” Farn responded calmly, “But the dead can say anything.”

“With so many witnesses, even the most incompetent judge wouldn’t accept your testimony,” Caitlin responded.

"When you released the haze into Zaun, did the wise judges conduct a trial for those involved afterwards?" Farn chuckled and said, "Unless there is freedom to the point of being unrestrained, any law is a silent tyranny. As the head of the Giraman family, you should know this better than I do."

Upon hearing this, Caitlin fell silent.

Back in Zaun, Shuona and the leadership team of the reform movement have arrived at the top of Zaun.

"So, we've taken back Zaun?" Even now, Shuona's face was still filled with disbelief upon seeing Faen's return.

Shuona is a true veteran of the Zaun people, having participated in the bridge uprising with Vander—known as a rebellion in Piltover. The outcome was seen as Vander losing his spirit, so after a period of silence, Shuona decided to join Hilko in overthrowing Vander and forcefully fighting back against the exploitation in Piltover. Later, she discovered Vander was right, and ultimately, disheartened, she and a few friends went to work in the lower rungs of the neighborhood.

I initially thought that starting a third business would definitely present even more demanding challenges—after all, the era of Hillco, or rather the era of the Alchemist Baron, was different from the more casual era of Vander. Every neighborhood had its own leader. During the Alchemist Baron's time, he had already controlled every crucial link in Zaun, from power to geography, and had close ties with Piltover.

In this situation, mobilizing workers, accumulating weapons, and gathering supplies were ten times more difficult than during Vandall's era. Especially when interests were threatened, Vandall almost never intervened—he would only confront and negotiate with Piltover when Zaun's overall interests were infringed. This made Hilko's initial preparations incredibly easy, allowing him to easily unite a large number of neighborhood leaders.

During the time of Hilko, they were very clear about how they had risen to power. Although Hilko didn't interfere much, the Alchemist Barons—who were essentially the former neighborhood bosses—were extremely vigilant.

Who would have thought that less than a week after the Winds of Change were officially established, they were already starting to consider the upcoming seventh day memorial for the alchemist barons...

“An’an, for Zaun, this is neither the end nor the beginning, but just the end of the beginning.” Faen, somewhat able to guess what Shuona was thinking, patted his mother-in-law on the shoulder and pointed to Caitlin beside him, saying, “The next one, Piltover, is the real troublesome one… well, relatively speaking.”

Upon hearing Faen's words, Shuona nodded in understanding.

She knew what Farn meant—just like the methods Farn had arranged for the alchemist barons. If Piltover truly achieved complete suppression of Zaun, what could Farn do? He could only kill them all.

Thinking it over, Shuona added, "Including Hilko, we now have nine alchemical barons under our control, but others have already been attending the meeting via communicator from their secret bases. Judging by the time, they should have already arrived in Piltover via their secret bases' private elevators."

“Normal, a cunning rabbit has three burrows.” Farn wasn’t particularly surprised, and simply said calmly, “In fact, the fact that Hilco could summon the vast majority of the Alchemist Barons to the meeting with a single order was already somewhat beyond my expectations. After all, in my mind, given Hilco’s influence as the de facto King of Zaun, it would be quite good if even a third of the Alchemist Barons were willing to condescend to come in such a critical situation.”

Meanwhile, Caitlin, who had overheard Fain and Shuona's conversation, frowned deeply—Hilco is a member of the Winds of Change? How could that be? Really? Impossible! From any perspective, the Winds of Change's interests conflict with Hilco's!

Ignoring Caitlin's thoughts, or rather, Fawn didn't care about them, and instead looked to the side, saying, "Examine the crimes of the captured alchemist barons, and execute them along with their thug leaders in the central plaza. As for those alchemist barons who have already defected to Piltover..."

Stroking his chin, Farn said, "Rule Lady Piltover in an official capacity and hand over the Alchemist Baron."

Not surprised by this, Shuona then asked, "What if they disagree?"

"Then tell them we will punish them according to the law."

"Okay, I know."

Nodding, Shuona wasn't surprised by Fain's answer. Rather, Shuona knew exactly what Fain was going to do—just like he had done in Zaun.

I'll tell the Alchemist Baron frankly, you'd better behave yourself and improve your workers' conditions. Otherwise, I'll demolish your factory and kill you all. Now, the only difference is that I'm telling Piltover instead, and they can bring the Alchemist Baron back themselves. Otherwise, I'll personally go and raze his entire family to the ground.

Predictably, Piltover wouldn't agree. But it didn't matter—based on Shuona's understanding of Fain, he just wanted an opportunity to flex his muscles. Without the Alchemist Baron, there were a whole host of other problems waiting.

It's hard to stop someone who's deliberately looking for trouble from nitpicking, especially if that person also wields power and violence.

But who can blame him for being loyal to Zaun? Shuona didn't think there would be any problem with that.

"Is there anything else?" Shuona asked.

“That’s all. Let’s proceed according to plan.” With that, Fain turned and left the scene, leisurely heading towards the alchemy tower at the top of Zaun, which served the alchemy barons—it had been requisitioned as Fain’s new home.

After Farn left, Shuona nodded. She turned and glanced at Hilko, who was sitting in a dark corner silently watching the rebirth of Zaun, then instructed the scribe beside her, "Announce martial law in Zaun to the citizens."

Manipulating the water flow, he transported items from his old home in the lower tunnel to the upper level. Afterward, Faen entered a meditative state and began discussing the matter of hunting demons with Janna.

Zaun has resolved most of the material issues; now it's time to consider matters of the spiritual realm.

While Farn was making various preparations, news of Caitlin's ordeal reached Piltover.

Uptown, Piltover Council.

Beneath the glass dome adorned with brass gears, sunlight filters through the stained-glass windows of the circular top-floor conference room, casting soft hues. Within, numerous councilors exchange glances, their different gazes conveying messages, some subtle, some explicit.

Managing over 45 percent of Piltover's maritime trade, the Middarda family spokesperson, Mel, stood up and looked at the people around him. His chocolate-colored skin was meticulously groomed, and he wore a white, form-fitting robe, casting a tall silhouette in the sunlight.

"We must immediately send reinforcements to Zaun," Mel said, scanning the Alchemist Baron's stronghold marked on the Zaun 3D map. "Hilko and the Alchemist Baron aren't on the same page, and those guys from the Winds of Change might also be Hilko's doing. Even if they can't shake our profits at the Sun Gate, we need to reduce the possibility of Hilko using this as leverage to coerce us into giving up our interests."

“Hilcor is just a dying old dog; his power has long been usurped.” Upon hearing Mel’s words, the representative of the Philos family, dressed primarily in white, calmly stated, “We only need to ensure that the main factories in the middle and upper levels are not affected. Moreover, the appetites of those alchemist barons have been growing ever larger lately. Whether the winds of change are initiated by the people of Zaun’s lower classes or secretly organized by Hilcor, they can greatly curb the appetites of the alchemist barons.”

"The Winds of Change, with its slogan 'For the Lower Depths of Zaun,' can be used," said the blond, skinny man, Saroo, who was later transformed into a loyalist senator by Viktor, with a nonchalant expression. "We might be able to provide some resources to prevent them from being wiped out by the Alchemist Baron so quickly. A chaotic Zaun is more in Piltover's interest."

“Agreed.” Councilor Polpok, whose entire body had been completely modified by machinery, said calmly, “The situation in Zaun has been deteriorating, and an uprising is only a matter of time. Those alchemist barons are too crude and cannot be trusted. We need more moderate, but more obedient, people to control Zaun in order to gain more long-term benefits.”

Heimerdinger sat in his raised chair, listlessly twitching his beard. He showed no interest in the meeting at hand, his eyes reflecting a slight numbness and frustration—he didn't like Piltover as it was now.

Jayce leaned back in his chair without speaking, still thinking about the Twin Cities model that Fane had sent. Although Jayce had initially felt that something was amiss, as he calmed down through his conversation with Viktor and shed his prejudice against Zaun, he realized that some things were not looking good.

58. Meetings are a classic Piltover tradition.

As a close friend, Jess could sense that Viktor hadn't been in good spirits lately. Especially after acquiring the Twin Cities model, Viktor was practically losing his appetite and spending all his free time researching model-related things. He even temporarily put aside some previously agreed-upon collaborations, which gave Jess a real headache.

Although in Mrs. Piltover's eyes, Jayce's success represents the most beautiful Piltover dream, Jayce actually knows very well that without Viktor's help, especially the so-called wisdom from "Zaun," he would never have achieved his current success.

But in the end, Viktor remained unknown to outsiders, as if all the credit belonged to him… Although Viktor didn't seem to care, simply saying things like it was for a better future and had nothing to do with personal honor, Jess knew that Viktor wasn't entirely indifferent. And now, based on the preliminary conclusions Jess had drawn from the Twin Cities model, many unpleasant speculations had begun to form in Jess's mind.

While Jess was still thinking, Cassandra, the representative of the Giramanen family, one of the family's three auditors, and Caitlyn's biological mother, stood up and said:

"Let's calm down first. Before we understand the winds of change, any related ideas are just empty talk. Whether we eliminate them completely or cultivate them into new pawns for Piltover, we must first determine their ideas and whether we can have effective communication."

Looking at Chong En in the meeting hall, Lady Cassandra calmly said, "Whatever their intentions, their slogan is for the workers of Zaun. So we can directly convey the message of holding a meeting with them to the lower levels of Zaun through the Alchemist Baron's channels. At that time, even if they want to refuse, they will be swayed by public opinion and will have no choice but to communicate with us face to face."

"Once the exchange begins, their true intentions will inevitably be revealed, regardless of whether a consensus is reached."

Hearing this, everyone nodded, but just as Salo was about to add some personal opinions, suddenly, the large door beside them was forcefully blasted open with a loud bang. The heavy brass door was severely deformed under the attack of the Atlas Gauntlet, and a violent burst of high-pressure air was ejected from the pipes on the outside of the gauntlet, as if it had been hit by a cannonball. The huge brass door was torn apart and fell to the ground with a loud noise.

The sudden sound drew everyone's attention. Turning to the side in the direction of the sound, they saw that it was Vi. As the representative of the Upper City, Saroo frowned with disgust and said, "What's going on? This Zaunite just walked in like that? Or has he finally lost his temper and is trying to kill us?"

Ignoring Salo's sarcastic remarks, Vi ignored the guards beside her and threw the boxing glove in her other hand directly in front of Jayce. Jayce glanced at the boxing glove rolling in front of him and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"This is... the cooling system and conversion device are overloaded? What happened? Aren't you and the Atlas Gauntlets a good match?"

Somewhat puzzled, Vi didn't have time to pay attention to Jess at all, and just looked at Lady Cassandra beside her and said, "Caitlyn has been arrested by the Zaunites!"

Upon hearing this, Cassandra's eyes widened suddenly. After a brief silence, she took a deep breath and stared intently at Vi, saying, "Tell me everything that happened. Don't miss a single detail."

Upon hearing Cassandra's words, Vi nodded and then recounted in detail what she had seen and heard during her trip to Zaun, as well as the events and exchanges that occurred between her and Caitlyn, Fain, and others.

Upon learning that Caitlyn had been detained by the Zaunites under the pretext of 'judicial fairness,' Saroo's face flashed with shock and anger, followed by a cold laugh as he said:

"Justice? These Zaunites dare to use that word! Laughable bastards! I think they're just trying to take this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Zaun! We should send in the army now and wipe them out completely! Let them know why Piltover is an upper city and Zaun is a lower city!"

“Calm down, this isn’t the time to dwell on that. The more important thing is that the Alchemist Baron’s rule was lifted so quickly! That’s what we need to consider!” Cassandra’s eyes held a hint of seriousness, but she forced herself to maintain her composure. Mel, standing beside her, agreed after hearing Cassandra’s words.

"As Lady Cassandra said, we should pay more attention to the current state of Zaun than to its provocations. Once a full-scale war breaks out, those ubiquitous Zaunites will definitely try every means to disrupt our shipping and trade! And don't forget, our factories are still in Zaun."

Looking around at the trading nobles, Mel said seriously:

"Trade is the foundation of Piltover. Hextech crystal technology makes our trade far more efficient than other city-states, making Piltover the most dazzling jewel of wealth on the continent of Valoran! But whether it's land trade, sea trade, or Hextech airship trade, all require the support of Zaun's raw materials. If we easily antagonize them, Piltover will suffer severe economic consequences for a long time!"

Hearing Mel's words, the councilors, who had initially harbored disdain and anger towards the Zaunites, gradually calmed down—provocation aside, humiliation aside, when it came to matters related to trade, they had to take it seriously. After all, the entire Piltover province was built on trade.

Thinking this, the representative of the Feros family, who had been silent for most of the time, coughed lightly and then calmly said, "The Hextech Crystal refining plant is located in Zaun. Although we have the core refining technology and the engineers have already evacuated via the hidden elevator, I believe I don't need to elaborate on the importance of purifying Hextech Crystals—it is the lifeblood of Piltover's technology and trade, and we must firmly grasp it in our hands."

Upon hearing this, many councilors fell silent, then nodded in unison.

Although the Feralas family rarely gets involved in trade-related matters in Zaun, as one of the oldest families in Piltover, the Feralas family is similar to the Hillcoes in Zaun.

Hilcobon controls the entire Zaun with a faint glow, while the Feralas family uses Hextech Crystals—the raw materials and refining technology—to control the region. Even without Jayce and Viktor, Hextech Crystals remain Piltover's most important resource. However, prior to this, their use was rather primitive and crude, rendering them similar to oil. With Jayce and Viktor's improved methods, their use has, in some cases, reached, and even surpassed, the level of controlled nuclear fusion.

For example, Ike's time travel.

“Can’t we move the factory back to Piltover?” one member of parliament suggested.

“Good suggestion.” Another councilor nodded, then sneered, “How about you take charge of explaining to the citizens of Piltover and getting them to accept the irreversible pollution involved?”

"Never mind then," the councilor shook his head.

The citizens of Piltover are unaware of the extent of pollution from the crystal refining plant, and do they, as members of parliament, not know it? But there's nothing they can do; today, Hextech is the lifeblood of Piltover's industry, trade, and even its people.

Because of the convenience of Hextech technology, it's not just Hextech airships; many merchant ships and caravans in Piltover have also undergone extensive Hextech upgrades to improve trade efficiency. Even the opening and closing of the Sun Gate's sea gates is controlled via Hextech crystals.

Humans are always prone to path dependence—it's like asking someone accustomed to trade by sea, rail, and air to lead a caravan of camels along the Silk Road for trade. The difficulty is on a completely different level.

Having grown accustomed to high salaries of ten or twenty thousand a day, asking someone to do a job of twenty or thirty a day is simply humiliating.

“We must take back Zaun!” Mel clenched his fist and said, “This has nothing to do with any ideology, it’s simply that we need a lawless place that’s within easy reach to bleed for Piltover.”

Upon hearing Mel's words, the council members did not reply, but all nodded silently—no one knew better than them what Zaun was going through.

But there's no other way; if Zaun won't suffer, then Piltover will have to... So, let Zaun continue to suffer.

Having determined their core objective, the councilors began discussing their next steps. However, given the unforeseen circumstances, this discussion didn't last long—each family had to weigh the gains and losses, the potential costs of the subsequent recapture efforts, before proposing a plan based on their own interests and engaging in further discussion.

Therefore, the representative of the Philos family quickly said, "Things have come up rather suddenly. I propose that we suspend the meeting and at the same time try to appease Zaun to prevent the conflict from escalating. We can discuss this formally once we have compiled all the relevant information."

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

……

Looking at the crowd who had already made their decision, Lady Cassandra remained silent for a moment before saying, "I second that."

Then, Cassandra looked at Vi beside her, signaling her to follow.

Just as Piltover was unleashing a new storm in the council, Seraphine, all alone, covered in mud and dressed in rags, limped along the deserted streets of Zaun, clutching her stomach.

59. Demon Hunt