CHAPTER 489 - Preparations Before the War
As expected, Li Lin's predictions were correct—Caitlyn wasn't upset about his "harem building." Instead, during the post-incident "sage time," she berated both him and Zoe thoroughly, not a single curse word necessary. For nearly two weeks afterward, she didn't allow him to step into her room.
Cassandra, curious about her daughter and son-in-law's sudden "cold war," discreetly approached Li Lin to inquire. Once she understood there were no significant issues between them, she finally relaxed. However, as a seasoned political veteran, she detected some underlying truths in Li Lin's words and advised him that while adding a bit of "spice" to young love was fine, it was crucial to maintain balance. This left Li Lin both amused and exasperated, but he didn't bother explaining further. After all, such "spice" might be routine among other nobles, but Cassandra likely wouldn't accept it so easily.
Jarvan IV and Shyvana's wedding celebration soon arrived. On Li Lin's end, not only Zoe and Kai'Sa attended, but also Jayce, Mel, Viktor, Skye, and Heimerdinger, all representing the Kiramman family. Of course, for a wedding involving the sole heir of a kingdom, the more people attending, the merrier.
The ceremony was held at the grand Illuminators Cathedral, officiated by High Priestess Isabelle herself, who publicly demonstrated her magical abilities to bless the couple. Among the noble circles, her command of magic was no secret, but using it openly before an audience was unprecedented. However, compared to Shyvana—her purple-hued skin, dragon scales, and pure bloodline of a fire-elemental dragon—Isabelle's blessing seemed far less extraordinary.
During the celebration, Caitlyn and Kai'Sa became acquainted with Sona and Kahina. Despite her inability to speak, Sona's amiable personality quickly endeared her to Caitlyn and Kai'Sa, and they soon became good friends. Through Sona and Kahina, they even connected with Lux. Free from fear of her magical abilities, and with guidance beyond Galio's intervention, Lux was far more cheerful than in the original timeline. She had already learned magical secrets she once could only dream of.
Additionally, Li Lin went out of his way to locate Kayle and Morgana at Mount Targon ahead of time. The winged sisters returned to Demacia just in time for the wedding, granting their blessings to Jarvan IV and Shyvana, which sent the crowd into wild applause. The news spread like wildfire, quickly reaching every corner of the kingdom.
After a week of winding down, the celebrations finally concluded, and the citizens of the capital returned to their daily routines. The joyous occasion had ended, making way for the looming tension of war preparations.
To avoid dampening Jarvan IV's spirits, Li Lin deliberately postponed informing them about Bel'Veth. Jarvan III took the news of the Void threat with grave seriousness, immediately offering the support of the Dauntless Vanguard. However, for beings like Bel'Veth—whose power surpassed even divine entities—mere mortals would only serve as her sustenance. Declining the king's well-intentioned offer, Li Lin instead urged them to fortify their defenses and prepare for the worst.
Confident in his ability to face Bel'Veth with the help of Shurima's gods and his godlike mech armor, Li Lin was certain he wouldn't lose. However, forewarning his allies at least gave them the chance to brace themselves mentally.
Meanwhile, Shurima's situation remained dire. None of the gods who set out had discovered new Darkin weapons. Rhaast, who traveled to Mount Targon, found his senses dulled by celestial magic. He nearly clashed with the Solari's warriors, restrained only by Azir's strict command to avoid conflict. The newly ascended Shurimans, now devoid of their former mental flaws, also played a key role in preventing further incidents.
Varus explored the southern provinces of Ionia before venturing into Navori, areas he'd never visited before, but he, too, found no sign of his kin.
As for Aatrox, his journey was even more tumultuous. He barely began his search before encountering a demi-god, a raging boar summoned by its followers. His infamous history—countless massacred tribes—made him a walking legend of fear. Any sentry who spotted him would alert their shamans, who would promptly summon spirit beasts. Rendered almost immobile in the Freljord, Aatrox was eventually forced to retreat to Shurima.
Unexpectedly, it was Varus's sister, Valeeva, who made the most progress among the four.
Although she failed to find traces of any living Darkin weapons, in the northern part of the Iron Thorn Mountains, far from Noxus's Immortal Bastion, she sensed the presence of demonic power within a small family of three. A demon of fire, embodying rage and destruction, resided within the youngest member of the family—a toddler just learning to walk and speak. Valeeva drove off a Noxian mage squad that seemed to be tracking them and set up protective wards around the modest cabin, ensuring the family's safety from further discovery.
Upon hearing this, Li Lin was taken aback, especially when Valeeva mentioned that the little girl, imbued with the fiery demon's power, was named Annie. This revelation left him astonished. Li Lin only knew of Annie's family ties to Noxus, particularly her mother's connection to the Black Rose and LeBlanc, rather than Swain. Thanks to Valeeva, the mages were thwarted, preventing the tragedy of Annie being separated from her mother, her father remarrying, and the subsequent misfortunes that culminated in Annie's uncontrollable magic.
At the moment, Li Lin had no time to delve further into Annie's situation.
In outer space, the second phase of the space station was halfway completed. Both the orbital construction yards and the colossal assembly factories were now operational. Within the next two months, 100 medium mechs—Titan Soldiers—and 500 War Lords were projected to be manufactured. Li Lin didn't plan to mass-produce large-scale mechs, as calculations by the AI suggested that while they were powerful, their cost-effectiveness lagged behind that of medium mechs like Titan Soldiers and War Lords. However, following the AI's recommendation, he decided to produce a few additional units of the Gaboga, Overlord Beast, Overlord Blade Demon, and Overlord Zero for contingencies.
After organizing the space production lines, Li Lin traveled to the space station to oversee the construction of his most advanced mech to date—the Overlord Mech: Dragon God. This custom ASOL-13 model served as a massive airborne mothership, capable of housing tens of thousands of personnel and dozens of large-scale mechs. Measuring 1.5 kilometers in length and over 500 meters in height, it utilized a multi-functional energy cube reactor, making it a true colossus.
The Dragon God was equipped with an array of formidable weaponry. Its primary axial cannon, mounted on its dragon-shaped maw, featured a caliber exceeding 100 meters, boasting firepower far surpassing that of the Gigaton orbital laser satellite, Divine Wrath. It could easily obliterate an island the size of Gadis in a single strike. Despite its immense size, advanced pulse thrusters and anti-gravity systems allowed it to maintain agility. However, speed was not its primary design focus. Along with multi-layered defensive shields, the Dragon God was bristling with turrets, drone swarms, and unmanned aerial carriers, ensuring unparalleled defensive capabilities.
Constructing two Dragon God units took Li Lin nearly a month, a testament to the monumental scale of the project. With only one month remaining before confronting Bel'Veth, Li Lin refrained from further research or construction, instead focusing on systematically inspecting and upgrading all his weapons. He enhanced both the mechanical army and orbital satellites.
On the upgraded material projection satellite, Starfall, he equipped five nuclear fusion missiles and twenty gigaton-caliber cannon shells. Meanwhile, the Divine Wrath satellite was transformed into a gamma-ray laser platform, with its aperture expanded and cooling time significantly reduced. These upgrades ensured that the satellite could complement the Dragon God's main cannon during its cooldown intervals.
Additionally, he upgraded the battle armors of everyone around him with the latest technology. Time passed swiftly, and the day to face Bel'Veth drew ever closer.
(End of Chapter)
=========================================================
DROP THEM POWER STONES PLEASE
SUPPORT ME ON P@TREON IF YOU'D LIKE ACCESS ON ADVANCED CHAPTERS
PAT REON . COM / TurdTranslations (Just remove the space).