บท 149: CHAPTER 149 - I am the Guardian of the Desert, Here to Seek Royal Blood
Inside the most luxurious inn in Vekaura's inner city.
Li Lin, Kassadin, Sivir, and the girl sat around a worn-out round table.
The girl wore a traditional Shuriman red robe, with a precious fur collar encircling the robe's neckline. Beneath the robe, she had a purple shirt as an inner lining, paired with tight-fitting brown trousers and essential sand-resistant travel boots.
After some inquiry, the girl's name was Taliyah. She had recently returned to Shurima from Ionia, following a kind-hearted caravan that passed through Bel'Zhun, eventually arriving at Keneteth.
Later, she continued south along the river called the "Mother of Life" in the desert and finally reached Vekaura.
Taliyah originally planned to exchange all her coins for various supplies here and then set off to return to her weaver tribe.
Unexpectedly, lost in thoughts of her parents and other tribe members, she collided with Li Lin.
Since they met, Li Lin naturally wouldn't let this girl, intertwined with the fate of Sivir in the original timeline, leave.
With the peculiar gazes of Kassadin and Sivir, Li Lin, under the pretext of a "compensatory apology," took the obviously not-yet-initiated girl to a tavern to treat her.
Even before the food arrived, Sivir was curious about the girl's journey to Ionia.
In terms of time, she should have gone there during the invasion of Noxus.
A weaver tribe girl, why would she run to the other side of the Guardian's Sea, the distant Ionia?
Asked by Sivir like this, Taliyah lowered her melancholic face and began recounting her experiences.
Awakening her magical talent for weaving rocks in the tribe, Taliyah left alone because there was no qualified teacher in the tribe to teach her how to control the blessing of the "Weaver Mother."
To avoid harming the people of the tribe, Taliyah left and headed west towards the mountainous region of the Godspire, training herself to communicate with rocks.
However, a group of Noxian soldiers from the northern border of Shurima deceived her by saying the empire would find a mentor for her. In her naivety, she was taken to the Immortal Bastion by the commander.
Later, under the promise and temptation of an officer, Taliyah was taken to the Ionian front by a warband, attempting to use her abilities to slaughter Ionians.
She refused and was thrown off the deck by the officer, into the turbulent Guardian's Sea.
Fortunately, after a long drift, Taliyah floated alive to the frigid mountains in the northern part of Ionia.
There, she encountered a qualified mentor, a wandering swordsman who controlled extreme winds with his sword.
After some time of training with him, she finally realized her dream, gradually mastering her powers. She then bid him farewell and returned to Shurima.
As they listened to Taliyah, the group couldn't help but sigh to varying degrees.
"Noxians are not trustworthy. When I was a desert guide, I hated dealing with Noxians the most when escorting caravans," muttered Kassadin.
Shortly after, Sivir, with an unpleasant expression, added, "Hmph, Noxians are a bunch of disgusting scum!"
She instinctively touched her lower back.
Even though the wound had healed under the effect of the Water of Life, leaving no scars, the appearance of Cassiopeia's dagger and the numbness and intense pain that filled her body at that time could not be forgotten.
If Li Lin hadn't said that Cassiopeia had been killed by him using an energy weapon, leaving no corpse.
Sivir would hunt her down to the ends of the earth and crush the slut raised by that bitch!
As the inn attendants came and went, the dull, slightly greasy wooden table in front of them was filled with freshly cooked grilled meat, bread, oats, and cheese.
Of course, in this sweltering desert city, an essential chilled beer worth several silver sand coins was also indispensable.
The girl, with a slightly restrained demeanor, looked at the table full of hometown-flavored delicacies, and her throat couldn't help but twitch.
"If you want to eat, just eat. Don't be polite," Li Lin, removing his mask, looked at the girl and said with a smile.
"This, this is too precious..."
Taliyah hadn't tasted the delicious flavors of her hometown for almost two years.
But she was well aware that she couldn't afford this table full of dishes with only a dozen or so gold coins.
Li Lin pushed a glass of the unique chilled beverage of Dase in front of Taliyah before he could speak, smiling.
Before he could say anything, Sivir, sitting beside him, unceremoniously grabbed a third of a chopped foreleg of the Sand Dune sheep and began gnawing on it. At the same time, she muttered:
"You don't have to be polite with this guy. He is a craftsman of the Piltover mega family, loaded with money..."
"A craftsman?" Taliyah's light brown eyes slightly narrowed, revealing a surprised expression. "Is it similar to the weavers in our tribe?"
"Shuriman weavers weave silk and cloth, while the craftsmen of Piltover study Hextech technology."
As Kassadin explained, he pointed to the powered armor on himself and Li Lin, as well as the four floating mechs outside the tavern.
"These are Hextech technology, all invented by Li Lin."
Taliyah's light brown eyes narrowed slightly, shocked by Kassadin's words. "Wow! This is too..."
She couldn't find a word to describe this intricate and sophisticated armor, and her face blushed as she lowered her head. "S-sorry... I got too excited."
This innocent and pure-hearted girl, with her personality, always involuntarily influences those around her, evoking a sense of protectiveness in people.
Li Lin, Kassadin, and even Sivir, who had her mouth stuffed with food and showed no hint of royal nobility, all had a trace of warmth in their eyes.
Li Lin used tongs to pick up two pieces of bread smeared with cheese and some grilled lamb, placing them on a plate, then pushed it in front of Taliyah.
"Eat quickly," he whispered first, then muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, "I won't be able to enjoy such lavish food a few more times..."
...
...
Next to the cracked earth-made walls of the western Vekaura, a massive figure, almost level with the battlements, stepped over a collapsed section of sun-dried brick.
Hidden beneath a tattered robe, he held a cloth-wrapped "scepter" with a broad head.
Under the sun's rays, occasional fleeting glimmers of gold reflected from under the robe.
After more than ten nights of travel, Nasus finally arrived in Vekaura, guided by the astrology that led him here.
In fact, with his re-infused power from the solar disc, the god-warrior's physique, he could have arrived here much earlier.
However, Nasus didn't want to face the sun and didn't want the nomadic tribes in Dase to notice him. Therefore, he chose to travel at night.
On this journey, he heard rumors about the insane "Desert Butcher" in the desert. He knew that it was his brother, Renekton.
Although Nasus didn't know why his brother fell into madness, at this moment, he still restrained the idea of finding Renekton.
He had a more urgent task at hand.
Returning to Vekaura after thousands of years, Nasus's thoughts were chaotic, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
He took large strides through an arched gate made of square stones, carefully examining it.
These buildings, in quality and appearance, were just poor imitations of the empire's glorious period.
Nasus thought to himself, then glanced around.
On the roadside, a vendor was using a copper device with a wheel to pour water mixed with sand into green glass bottles.
Noticing the large shadow on the ground, the vendor, with a smile on his face, looked up, "Water for you... uh?"
His unfinished words got stuck in his throat, scared by the almost 3-meter tall giant in front of him.
In the desert, there were often Vastaya with various appearances, but even the robust Sandshredder he had seen didn't have the towering figure of the person before him.
"Do you... want water? It's fresh. I just brought it from the River of Life today..."
"This arch bridge was built by the exiled craftsmen of Icathia," Nasus's voice was deep and resonant, "Your stall is placed among a group of ghosts."
The vendor's face turned a few shades paler, and his back instinctively pressed against the cool stone wall behind him.
He thought that this big guy might not like him placing his stall in this location.
"Please forgive me; I didn't know about this..." the vendor apologized, his face pale.
"Humanity has long forgotten the past. I established the Great Library to prevent the decay of these memories... Unfortunately, after the fall of Shurima, it did not fulfill its intended role."
Or maybe I didn't fulfill my duty and obligation...
Nasus's voice gradually mixed with some annoyance.
But after thinking about it, the bitter memories of the past eventually turned into a heavy sigh.
"Never mind... the cycle of life and death continues, and the fate of the Shuriman Empire will enter a new beginning." He couldn't help but snort, "Provided I find the royal bloodline."
Listening to Nasus's muttering, the vendor's initial panic gradually transformed into astonishment.
As a breeze blew through, lifting the giant man's robe, he glimpsed a face that was only recorded in legends.
"You, are you... Nasus, the Lost Son of the Desert?!" The vendor couldn't help but exclaim softly.
"Lost?" Nasus shook his head, "There are others who are more lost than I am."
He paused for a moment, the crimson glow in his eyes hidden under the shade of his hood, staring directly at the vendor.
"I am the Guardian of the Desert, here to seek the royal bloodline... Have you heard any rumors?"
(End of the Chapter)
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