Li Lin's plan left Azir and Nasus utterly stunned. It wasn't about dealing with the Void; it was about capturing Xerath.
After all, Azir had been letting his "good brother" wreak havoc in the western parts of Shurima for a long time, not because he feared the newly stabilized Sun City falling back into chaos, though that was a secondary concern. The primary reason was his lack of confidence in his own strength.
Ever since becoming an Ascended, Azir's power grew with the rise and fall of the sun, adding a little more every day.
But even with this growth, Xerath was one of the top-tier Ascended, capable of matching one of the strongest Ascended of all time—Aatrox.
Though they had managed to severely injure Xerath more than a year ago during a surprise attack, it was clear that the attack had been a fluke. Xerath hadn't been prepared, and the damage done was only temporary.
Since then, Xerath had established a new "false city" near the Mount Targon in Nerimazeth, constantly absorbing the energy from the earth's ley lines, rapidly growing in strength at a far greater pace than Azir.
As an emperor, Azir had many matters to consider. Even with Nasus and Malphite on his side, Azir wasn't confident that he could defeat Xerath. On top of that, the crazed Renekton was still lurking in the desert, forcing the westward expedition to be postponed.
But Li Lin was saying that they could now capture Xerath?
Both Azir and Nasus pondered the current situation. Renekton had already been captured, Malphite had been sent to deal with the survivors of the Sai Kahleek, and it seemed like the closest Void threat had also been taken care of. No word had come yet from the prophet Malzahar, and the Noxians occupying the western port posed no immediate threat to this divine war…
Unless the Great God's Star Spirit from the Mount Targon interfered, it seemed they had a real chance against Xerath. The mech that had easily subdued Renekton, combined with two divine beings and the massive Malphite, meant their chances against Xerath were looking good.
"Xerath has stolen too much divine power, becoming an Ascended who is not recognized by the heavens. He doesn't even possess a true Ascended body.
"Unless we completely erase the energy from his spirit, we won't be able to kill him," Azir stated, presenting the most serious issue at hand.
Xerath, though fully Ascended, was a far cry from a proper divine warrior. If he still had a physical body, killing him would be possible, but with just his spirit, the task was far more complicated.
Azir had once discussed with Nasus the possibility of sealing Xerath underground, creating an eternal prison for him, never allowing him to see the light of day again.
"Actually, I've been studying a new technique recently," Li Lin interjected, sharing a long-planned idea. "If we can capture him, I have a mechanical device that can erase Xerath's will and turn him into a pure biological weapon that follows orders."
Azir and Nasus exchanged incredulous glances. If Azir could still express emotions, his face would surely show a raised eyebrow of confusion and disbelief.
"Impossible. Before Xerath stole the Ascended power, he was already an incredibly powerful sorcerer, skilled in ancient forbidden magics, with a mind far stronger than anyone else's. Even the Grand Scholar and Renekton were helpless against him. How could you possibly...?" Azir's voice trailed off in doubt.
It wasn't that Azir didn't trust Li Lin, but the idea he proposed was simply outrageous, far beyond belief.
If it were so easy to "erase the will," Azir thought, he wouldn't have needed to seal Renekton and Xerath together in the tomb in the first place.
Nasus glanced back at Renekton, who had fully regained consciousness, his mouth bound tightly and unable to speak. Renekton glared at his brother with eyes full of rage and madness. Sighing deeply, Nasus spoke.
"I have faith in myself. Let me try," Li Lin declared confidently. "And even if I fail, we can still seal Xerath away, can't we?"
"All of this depends on our certainty of capturing Xerath," Azir said seriously.
"My power hasn't reached its peak yet. I consider myself at best an upper-middle-tier Ascended compared to the former Ascended group."
Aatrox, Horok, and Rhaast, the peak divine beings, could fight several opponents at once in a duel. Varus, with just one look, could immobilize weaker Ascended, not to mention his exceptional archery skills, able to shoot an apple from hundreds of kilometers away.
"Then there's our former leader, Shurima's first Ascended, wielding Chalikar and revered as the Valkyrie, Setaka, who could hold off dozens of divine beings alone."
Azir paused briefly. "I believe your mech is likely on par with Renekton at his peak, or even slightly stronger. But with me, Nasus, and Malphite, our chances against Xerath are only around seventy percent."
Li Lin quickly responded, "No, Your Majesty, we have one more ally."
Nasus, sensing something, said in shock, "Are you referring to…?"
"Exactly, but not just that."
Li Lin extended his hand, and the fabric of his sleeve turned into a projector, displaying another mech and the image of an orbital satellite in front of them.
"The Mechanical Giant Gaboga, along with my space-based laser satellite."
After some discussion, Azir and Nasus agreed that adding Gaboga for assistance would increase their chances against Xerath to nearly ninety percent.
With no other threats remaining in Shurima, and with the Bel'Veth event looming in the next six months, Xerath's matter had to be dealt with swiftly.
Li Lin hadn't told Azir about Aatrox and Varus likely returning to Shurima, or Azir would probably have been even more eager to take back the city of Nerimazeth from Xerath.
Before embarking on the western conquest of the ancient spirits, they needed to prepare properly.
First, they had to deal with Renekton. Azir would lead the army, but he certainly couldn't leave the maddened "beast" at home. Fortunately, Nasus already had a plan: using a soul-purifying stone sarcophagus.
Understood. Let me first confirm that the content you provided is in the context of a fantasy universe, possibly related to a game or novel. The names, terms, and settings appear to be drawn from the *League of Legends* universe, so I will make sure to maintain consistency in the translation, referencing your provided database for names and locations where appropriate. I will also aim to preserve the tone and context of the text, ensuring it reads naturally in English while retaining the meaning.
Using the magic stone coffin to seal a target is a common practice in Shurima. It was the method used by Nasus and Renekton when Xerath sent them to seal the fire spirit beast.
Later, during the great battle against Xerath, they attempted to use the magic stone coffin again to seal him, but his powerful magic exceeded the coffin's capacity, causing it to explode under the strain.
Now, the fragments and chain marks remaining on Xerath's body are traces from the original magic stone coffin.
Through astral magic, Nasus carved a purification spell capable of cleansing souls into a stone coffin and placed it at the center of a multi-layered purification array. Tearfully, he and Azir sealed Renekton within it.
In due time, the godly warrior who once dominated the battlefield would return once more.
With Renekton's issue resolved, Li Lin also needed to prepare himself.
Upon learning that his funds were running low, Azir generously offered him sponsorship.
This was an investment backed by the full power of an empire. Even though Shurima had only just begun to rise again, its ancient legacy of thousands of years could not be compared to a mere city-state like Piltover, which had only existed for a little over two centuries.
With sufficient funding, Li Lin quickly turned his focus to the construction of new machinery.
He bypassed the academy and went straight to Heimerdinger, presenting an application to use Gaboga, along with the request to accompany the Ascended in the battle against another Ascended.
At first, Heimerdinger was horrified, but upon learning that the full-scale data from Gaboga's combat performance would be gathered, especially when used alongside Azir in the campaign against the traitor, he hesitated for a while before agreeing, immediately beginning to upgrade and improve Gaboga.
Li Lin then instructed the AI to coordinate the production lines, mainly to manufacture the various types of ammunition required for Gaboga and the Titan Beast, followed by the production of four Warlords.
Since the mechanical giants didn't need his attention for upgrades, he shifted his focus to the construction of orbital kinetic energy projection satellites.
The space-based laser satellites had a significant cooldown period and could only catch Xerath off guard once in battle.
If the timing was right, a fully-powered and maximized duration material-disintegration laser might severely injure Xerath, but this would be a final trump card to be saved for a critical moment.
The remaining time was mostly dedicated to using Gaboga and the five Warlords for long-range harassment, leaving only the orbital gigaton-level cannon to play a useful role.
Soon, he completed a space-based material projection satellite nearly identical to the laser satellite, except much larger, with a significantly different internal structure.
Since it was a modified version of the same type of invention, this satellite didn't qualify for a reward.
Li Lin loaded the satellite with ten specially-made material projection shells. For convenience, he also placed two compressed nuclear fusion missiles onboard.
The fusion missiles were far heavier than the material projection shells, and just two of them reached the satellite's weight limit.
After double-checking the safety risks and confirming the data, Li Lin sent the satellite to the orbital base, leaving the remaining tasks to the AI for early deployment.
Beyond these preparations, he also continued to improve the time-space teleportation device, finally reaching his desired result.
Though current technology still couldn't teleport living beings, at least Gaboga's fist could now be released at any time, with a delay of less than a second.
If not for the time constraints, he would have liked to construct an orbital space station as his strategic command base, where he could also store his large mechs.
Half a month quickly passed, and it was time for Li Lin and Azir's agreed westward expedition.
He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and confirmed the target coordinates for the Sun City on the holographic display of his helmet. Soon, he teleported.
At that very moment, two towering mechs, one over 220 meters tall and the other over 180 meters, stood beneath the sun disk, bathed in sacred light.
Beside them, a hundred-meter-high Malphite scratched his head, seemingly puzzled as to why the Titan looked like him.
The two mechs had already been blessed by Nasus with astral power, greatly enhancing their defensive capabilities and energy amplification.
Li Lin looked up at them, lost in thought.
After a while, Nasus, sensing the teleportation magic, approached and placed his claw on Li Lin's shoulder. "Are you ready?"
"Let's go."
(End of chapter)
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