Arcane: The Gods Want Me to Pick a Route-Chapter 179: Swain’s Coup—Noxus in Turmoil (EC)

Inside Piltover's central tower, in the Council Chamber.

Councilors from Zaun and Piltover were gathered together, their expressions all different—some worried, some excited, some deep in thought.

Silco sat at the upper side seat. The chair beside him was empty, and seated next to that was Councilor Talis.

Jayce also wore a serious expression as he looked toward Silco, his gaze solemn, while Silco kept his head lowered, flipping through the documents in his hands.

Half a year had passed in the blink of an eye. Silco's build hadn't changed—his diet and routine kept him lean—but the weight of authority on him had only grown heavier. Just sitting there, he truly looked like the leader of the Twin Cities.

The documents he held were compiled from intelligence gathered by the Ferros family's spies. After Camille organized everything, she gave it to Piltover's councilors first, then informed Zaun's councilors as well.

So Jayce, Mel, Bolbok, and the others had already read the contents of the classified report.

Silco's face remained expressionless as he read, but Vander, sitting nearby, looked openly shocked.

"Bilgewater almost got wiped out?" Vander blurted. His big face was full of disbelief. "Is it really that insane?"

"Because gods intervened," Camille said from her seat. "Councilor Vander, the information is extremely credible. It was gathered by agents stationed closest to the incident."

Although Camille wasn't a councilor in Piltover, the authority in her hands was no less than theirs. She had invested in Mel, and within Piltover, if not for Jayce's sudden rise, the Ferros family could practically have covered the sky with one hand.

She crossed her long legs, shifted her posture, and continued, "Confirmed gods involved include Janna of Zaun and Piltover, Bilgewater's Bearded Lady, and one more—seemingly an Ionian deity. But strangely… she looks more like a human."

"Is Jinx alright?" Silco set the document down and asked.

Camille nodded. "After the Ionian deity appeared, Logan, Jinx, Sarah, and the rest of Bilgewater's pirates all vanished at once. I assume they were taken away by Janna."

Hearing that, Silco nodded. His fingers tapped the tabletop as he said, "Then we don't need to worry about Jinx's side. If Janna hasn't returned either, she's most likely escorting Logan and Jinx back."

"If they're rational enough, they should already be on the way to Zaun."

Camille replied softly, "I'll have people keep watch."

Silco nodded, then asked, "Alright. Then what about the second major matter?"

Today's meeting had two purposes: first, to share the intelligence the Ferros family collected in Bilgewater with Zaun; second, to deliver the urgent news Camille had obtained, which she would now report verbally.

And if it weren't for the fact that Logan and Jinx were tangled up in the Bilgewater incident, Camille privately believed this second matter was even more important—and potentially more lethal to Zaun.

"Noxus is in chaos," Camille said.

As she recited the intelligence gathered from Noxus, even her usually cool expression grew more animated. After hesitating, she continued:

"Yesterday at 4:00 PM, internal conflict erupted in Noxus. At 6:10 PM, multiple armies from the Immortal Bastion forced their way into the royal palace. At 6:15 PM, Noxus's Grand General, Boram Darkwill, was arrested."

"What?" Mel sprang up instantly, both hands braced on the table, mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Darkwill was arrested?"

She stared at Camille, suspicion in her eyes. "How is that even possible? Who has the authority? Who would dare do that?"

That was Darkwill.

Even if he'd grown senile in his later years, he still controlled Noxus. In a nation where the ruler's authority stood above all else, who dared oppose him? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Even Ambessa—Mel's mother—after losing a political struggle, had been forced to flee Noxus with her tail between her legs.

So Mel couldn't accept it. The report had to be wrong.

"Swain," Camille said flatly, looking at Mel as she went on.

"The one who ordered Darkwill's arrest was Swain. And this morning at 9:00 AM, Swain ordered Darkwill onto the execution platform. In front of all Noxians, he had Darkwill hanged—then seized power at lightning speed."

"He took control of Darkwill's military authority, and at 11:00 AM today he issued new orders: the great families in the provinces must send their heirs to the Immortal Bastion. Large-scale movement of private household troops is forbidden. Any who disobey will be treated as traitors."

As Camille spoke, Mel's mind flashed to the man she had seen while accompanying Ambessa into the Immortal Bastion for a banquet.

White hair.

A presence not unlike Silco's.

Tall and lean, refined and icy—yet with an eagle's predatory chill carved into his features.

Even Ambessa, when she mentioned Swain, couldn't hide a trace of respect and fear.

Mel sank back down, hands cradling her head, staring at the table. No one knew what she was thinking.

Jayce saw her like that and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

Silco was also stunned by Camille's report.

Not because Noxus had erupted into internal conflict—Zaun and Piltover had been investigating Noxus for a long time. Ferros agents went there constantly. That sieve of an empire had been absurdly easy to gather information from.

Behind the scenes, quite a few Noxian warlords and nobles even cooperated with the Ferros family—trading intelligence for profit.

So Silco knew: for Noxus, internal conflict was only a matter of time.

What shocked him was the speed.

A coup launched last night—Darkwill executed by 9:00 AM—power consolidated by noon—and the Immortal Bastion already under control.

That speed and execution made Silco's spine go cold.

He even found himself thinking: if that day, on the Blood-Red Bridge, after Zaun defeated Ambessa, Zaun had marched straight into Piltover—not to cooperate, but to seize it—how long would it have taken to truly control Piltover?

After a moment… Silco decided it would take at least three days.

And Piltover was tiny.

Noxus was enormous.

With that comparison, Silco's pupils constricted. He realized, sharply, that he wasn't on that level—nowhere close.

He looked at Camille and asked, "Swain… what kind of man is he?"

Camille was about to answer, but Mel spoke first.

With her head lowered and her hands pressed to her forehead, Mel said in a heavy voice, "General Swain is a pure Noxian. A pure soldier."

Then she described Swain's character, and things he had done in the past.

When the councilors heard that Swain—so that Darkwill's rule and Noxus itself would remain stable—had personally sent his own clan to the gallows, including his own parents, the room erupted.

For the sake of the country… sending your parents to the execution platform?

Even someone as ruthless and decisive as Silco couldn't do that.

Because when Silco imagined Jinx making a mistake—imagined a situation where handing Jinx over could "make up for it"—his first instinct wasn't to sacrifice Jinx.

It was to protect her.

So that single detail only deepened Silco's unease toward Swain.

Mel continued, "For Noxus, that man can do anything. And before he was sent to Ionia, he was already the most respected figure in the Noxian military."

"Countless Noxtoraa across Shurima were founded by his own hand. So if he truly takes power and controls Noxus, then Noxus will no longer fracture and collapse."

"Valoran will face a stronger Noxus. In his hands, Noxus will become more powerful." Mel stated it with certainty.

"That bastard Logan!" Vander gritted out. "At a time like this, he's still out there wandering around with Jinx!"

Vander was honest and straightforward, but he wasn't stupid. His political instincts weren't as sharp as Silco's, but that didn't mean he didn't understand what this meant.

After hearing Mel's conclusion, Vander understood too: for the Twin Cities, an overwhelmingly dangerous enemy had just appeared.

The Twin Cities already had bad blood with Noxus. Now Noxus had an able leader—stronger, smarter, more cohesive.

Of course that meant trouble.

And at a moment like this… Logan—the ruler of Zaun, the pillar of the Twin Cities—wasn't here.

What kind of situation was that supposed to be?

"Dispatch agents immediately," Silco ordered. "Sweep the nearby seas. Find Logan and tell him to get back as fast as possible."

At the same time—

Out at sea, several enormous rafts—lashed together from many logs—floated across the water, each carrying a dozen or so people.

They sat steadily on the rafts while a gentle wind pushed them along, sending them drifting toward their destination.

On the lead raft, Logan glanced at Sarah not far away—lying on the raft, her curves impossible to ignore even in that position—then at Akali, who was resting with her eyes closed, and finally at Jinx.

Jinx was in a foul mood, pouting while she held a fishing line with a stick and tried to fish.

The rafts looked slow, but under Janna's power they were actually moving fast—faster than most ships—so there was no way Jinx could possibly catch anything.

She was just killing time.

"Still mad?" Logan walked over with a grin.

Jinx had been sulking for the last two days. After helping Sarah settle a few matters, part of Sarah's people stayed on nearby islands, while the rest—core members like Rafen—followed Sarah to Zaun.

Akali, as a lone wolf with no attachments, didn't even bring anything up. She simply chose to go to Zaun.

And the reason Jinx was unhappy was simple:

They were going back to Zaun.

When Logan first brought her along, he'd promised to take her all over the world. After dealing with Singed and Orianna, they'd go deep into Ionia to explore—then head to the Freljord.

Jinx had never seen a glacier before. She was genuinely curious what one of Runeterra's great wonders would look like.

But things exploded out of nowhere.

Sarah's struggle with Gangplank, and Nagakabouros's sudden appearance, wrecked Logan's schedule. And once Sarah and her people got dragged in, Logan couldn't just abandon them.

So he and Jinx had to return early.

"You promised you'd take me to Shurima. You promised you'd take me to the Freljord," Jinx muttered as Logan came over. She lowered her head and bumped her forehead into him. "And we only went to Ionia…"

Logan didn't dodge. He just laughed and let her shove him, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"What could I do?" he said. "We didn't exactly have a choice."

"If we could, I'd want more time alone with you too."

"Logan… once we get back, if I want to go out again, Silco and Vander definitely won't allow it," Jinx said, not truly angry—just down. "I don't even know if we'll get another chance to travel."

Whenever she got like this, Logan only had to say a few comforting words and she'd accept it.

Jinxie didn't have some grand evil plan in her heart.

Her temper ran hot, but the moment you gave her a step to climb down, she'd take it—quietly, obediently.

Vi was the only exception.

Whatever Vi said, Jinx would do the opposite.

Because Vi had abandoned her back then.

"It's fine," Logan said with a smile. "Once we find the right opening, I'll sneak you out again."

Jinx tilted her head toward him, her grin turning sly, eyes glittering with mischief. "That'll make them so mad."

"Just tell me—are you coming or not?"

"Of course I'm coming. I'm obviously going with you," Jinx said, then paused. "But… can we bring Isha next time?"

She stretched her legs out and leaned against Logan, warm and soft at his side, still holding her homemade fishing rod. She kicked her legs lightly over the water and said quietly:

"Look. When we go out, we're leaving Isha at home by herself. Once is okay—we told her when we left, so it's not like we ditched her."

"But if we do it again… she'll be sad."

"When I was little, what I hated most was being left behind." Jinx emphasized it. "Next time we sneak out, we're bringing Isha."

Logan held her close, resting his chin on the top of her head, smiling.

"Alright. We'll do it your way. Next time, we bring Isha."

Jinx narrowed her eyes, yawned, and stopped talking.

Sleeping on a raft was miserable, so she hadn't rested well these past two days.

Now, with Logan holding her, Jinx drifted—eyes half-lidded—then closed them completely. She leaned into his chest, head tilted, blue hair spread across him, and soon a faint snore escaped her.

Two days later, the port of Zaun.

A line of rafts appearing offshore naturally caught the Sump Enforcers' attention. But when they lifted binoculars and saw the blue-haired girl standing on the lead raft with her hands on her hips, they went pale—then hurried to send word to the council tower.

After drifting for days, they hadn't lacked food or water, but the long voyage—plus the flipped day-night routine—left everyone looking worn out.

Even the gorgeous Sarah had oily hair now. Her red hair beside Jinx's messy blue "bird's nest" looked strangely matched.

By the time the rafts reached the docks, the Sump Enforcers were already there to receive them, staring at Logan and Jinx with raw excitement. Over these days, they'd rotated shifts nonstop searching the nearby seas for the two of them.

Now they'd finally found them.

And besides—most of the Sump Enforcers came from the Spirit Blossom Gang. Those people worshiped Logan with unconditional devotion.

When the rafts bumped the dock, Jinx was the first to jump.

She sprang lightly, landed on the pier, and planted her feet.

"Ta-da~~~"

With both hands raised, she struck a pose. Then the blue-haired little maniac put her hands on her hips, lifted her chin, took a huge breath of Zaun's air, and laughed loudly:

"Hey—your nightmare's back~"

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