In front of the Sun Temple in Vekaura, Li Lin and Nasus stood side by side at the top of the steps.
A tall, thin man stood before them, holding a bag of dripping ice against his face, his face full of smiles as he nodded and bowed to them...
But his focus was more on Nasus.
The man wore a robe adorned with iridescent feathers, the sleeves wide like flying clouds, and a dirty ebony headscarf wrapped around his head.
On the man's face, covered with bandages, were countless bloodstains that seemed to have been scratched by tiny metal particles, yet also burned by hot iron, displaying terrifying brown-red scars.
His name was Azrahir Thelamu, a clergyman and the ruler of Vekaura, the reborn city-state.
Before Nasus found Li Lin and them, he had "visited" this man who claimed to be a descendant of the Sky King Azir.
After "friendly" exchanges, Nasus used a crude replica of the sun disk above the temple to verify that this ruler had no "Ascended lineage" at all.
"I've done as you instructed, Magister. My soldiers have already begun evacuating the residents of Vekaura," Azrahir said with a fawning attitude.
But the resentment and fear hidden deep in his eyes could not escape Nasus's gaze.
"How long is it expected to take?" Nasus asked calmly, paying little attention to Azrahir's hostility towards him.
After all, the wounds on this guy's body and the burns on his face were all caused by him.
"Vekaura has a permanent population of over three thousand people, plus those nomadic tribes, caravans, travelers, and expedition teams resting here, scattered together, probably close to ten thousand people..."
Azrahir looked somewhat embarrassed, his hands, also wrapped in bandages and covered in scars, clasped together over his chest.
Although Vekaura was not as large as the port towns of Bel'Zhun, Tereshni, Nashramae, and Urzeris in northern Shurima, as the border point of Great Sai, and Sai Kahleek, located next to the River of Life and the Kahleek River, Vekaura was already one of the larger towns in the desert.
Evacuating a large city like this completely was almost impossible.
Not to mention some stubborn people who refused to leave, making it difficult for women, children, and the elderly with limited mobility to traverse the vast desert.
Even if they were people from Shurima, there would still be quite a few who couldn't bear the harsh desert environment and would end up buried in the sand.
This greatly increased the difficulty of evacuation.
"In your name, the caravans, nomadic tribes, travelers, and explorers may leave first, but the mercenaries are a problem. They are likely to cause trouble."
"But my two hundred elite soldiers will try to maintain order and protect civilians from any harm as much as possible."
Azrahir looked conflicted. "As for how long the evacuation will take... I really can't give you an exact time, Magister."
"I can sense Xerath, the evil ancient sorcerer's ancient magical aura. He will arrive in at most a day."
Nasus sighed heavily instead of looking directly at Azrahir.
Although he was angry at the way they mourned their country and the residents' ignorance of history when he first arrived in Vekaura, they were still desert people, with nostalgia for the former Shuriman Empire. Nasus couldn't bear to see them suffer undeservedly.
"Speed up the process as much as possible. Just say an evil demigod will descend upon Vekaura, and he will destroy everything here."
"But, but..." Azrahir became agitated, "doing so will cause chaos!"
"Just say that the Desert Reaper controls everything here. Anyone who dares to cause trouble at this time will have their souls harvested by me."
After a moment of silence, Azrahir nodded reluctantly, calling two personal guards to descend from the steps of the Sun Temple.
Only Li Lin and Nasus remained on the altar.
Before evacuating the citizens, Kassadin had already gone with Sivir to help evacuate the people.
As for Taliyah, she had run to the easternmost ruins of Vekaura, which had not yet been rebuilt, to activate her magic and build a temporary shelter underground with rocks, allowing women, children, and the elderly who couldn't travel to hide there.
"It's time," Nasus glanced at Li Lin and whispered softly.
As the hot waves from the desert blew in from above, the votive bands wrapped around his arms and waist fluttered in the wind.
Nasus gripped his battle axe in his left hand, placing its base against the bricks made of inferior marble and basalt on the ground, slowly closing his eyes.
Then, he raised his right claw, and silky purple-black magic flowed from his palm like water and silk, stirring up the countless grains
"It is indeed the power of Azir," Nasus said with a hint of joy in his voice. "With this medium, I can contact Azir and ask him to come to our aid..."
As he spoke, his words abruptly stopped, and his expression became somewhat worried.
"But Azir has just been resurrected and Ascended. I'm not sure if he has already mastered his Ascended power, or if we can ultimately defeat Xerath..."
"You're being too pessimistic..."
Li Lin looked at Nasus, who was full of hesitation, and couldn't help but comment inwardly.
"Back when you and Renekton fought Xerath to a standstill when the Sun Disk was destroyed, now with the blessing of the Sun Disk, there's no way this unorthodox Ascendant can defeat the two of you together."
"But I have fallen for thousands of years, and my strength is far from what it used to be..."
Nasus shook his head. "Perhaps."
As ancient magic unfolded at his fingertips, more black-purple light surrounded him, then infused into one of the sand warriors.
After about a minute or so, Nasus withdrew his right claw, and the sand soldier infused with his magic also dissipated with the wind.
The heavy metallic smell in Li Lin's mouth gradually faded away.
"I have already informed Azir, and he should be able to reply to me by this evening."
Nasus dispersed the remaining sand soldier with a wave of his hand.
"If time permits and nothing unexpected happens, we can ambush Xerath outside the city, severely injuring him. Then he won't be able to track Sivir for a short period."
Turning around, he locked eyes with Li Lin. "I hope you can take Sivir and leave Vekaura. This battle is not one you can participate in."
As he spoke, Nasus pulled off the pendant he had been wearing around his neck.
Embedded in the pendant was a piece of emerald green jade, with fine golden threads running across its surface.
In the sunlight, a faint light flowed slowly within it, as if it had its own life, rising and falling with each breath.
Li Lin activated the "Data Mind" and all the information about the pendant flashed through his mind.
["Verdant Barrier (Epic): A pendant crafted and enchanted by Nasus himself, capable of immune to magical perception and absorbing magic."]
["Attributes: 20% spell power, 1500 mana."]
["Ability Effects"]
["Passive"]
["Enchantment: Astral Magic: This item can absorb magic from the air to restore mana for the wearer, who can use its abilities without consuming their own mana."]
["Perception Shield: The wearer can be immune to magical divination and perception for 14 days."]
["Localization: The wearer's location can be known to Nasus."]
["Abolition: When the wearer is subjected to a fatal magic attack, a temporary magic barrier of 8000 health points can be generated to defend against the next magic attack, lasting until the end of the battle (cooldown: 30 minutes)."]
["Active"]
["Magic Shield: The wearer can actively create a magic shield that lasts for 1 minute, blocking one magic attack (cooldown: 1 minute)."]
"Well, well, turns out you're the one who gave Wheel Mom her magic barrier, huh?"
This epic quality "Verdant Barrier" couldn't compare to the "Miracle of Elisa" Li Lin bought for Caitlyn.
But with its several abilities, it was still considered decent as an "epic" quality item.
Li Lin raised an eyebrow, took the pendant, and pretended to ask, "What's this?"
"Give this pendant to Sivir. Wearing it will shield her from Xerath's perception, it will only last for a while... But it should be enough."
Nasus squinted at the dark clouds rolling in the distant sky. "After tomorrow, I will come to find you again."
(End of Chapter)
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