Chapter 261 Swain's Choice
Levi's suggestion of an alliance with the Chosen Janna made Swain fall into deep thought again.
This plan may not be perfect in practice and may have various problems, but it is definitely the closest system to the utopian ideal that humans can achieve now.
Swain believes that Runeterra will move towards a better future under the guidance of the Wind Leader.
But he still couldn't let go of his Noxus.
He understood the theory of the Leader and accepted that everyone was equal, but in his heart, the Noxians were always more equal than others.
The best way to gain more benefits for Noxus is of course to control the power center of the alliance.
But the more Swain tried to gain special interests for Noxus, the further he was from the center of power in the Alliance.
Therefore, Swain is destined to never get the ultimate power he wants, making Noxus an existence with a special status in the Janna Alliance in the future.
"I'm afraid someone like me is not qualified to join the Central Council?" Swain laughed at himself helplessly.
"Of course." Levi also bluntly pointed out: "Based on your understanding of Janna's thoughts, the best you can do is become the president of the Noxian Leaders Association."
"I made an exception and granted this treatment to you alone for the sake of our united front work."
"Your disciples and subordinates who also have hegemonic ideas deeply rooted in their bones will not be treated so well. Even if they surrender in time, they will still have to undergo strict faith screening according to the standards of the leader."
“Only those who have truly changed their minds and reshaped their beliefs can become future cadres of the Noxian Leaders Association.”
Levi's words were straightforward enough, and Swain was a smart man, so it was impossible for him not to understand.
He can make an exception and become a senior member of the Noxian Leaders Association in the future, but no one else can.
Then, in the future, among the top leaders of the Noxian Leaders Association, there will probably be no other stubborn nationalist who shares the same ideals as him except himself.
But his colleagues and subordinates all disagreed with him. Even if Swain became the head of the council, there was no way he could bring New Noxus back to the old track of the Noxian Empire.
"The new Noxus will become more powerful, but the hegemony of the old Noxian Empire will also collapse, and will never return."
"So..." Levi asked, "General Swain, what is your choice?"
"To make Noxus great again, or to make the Empire great again?"
Swain: “…”
He thought for a long time, and finally sighed: "I am willing to cooperate with the leader, but..."
"Do you still have concerns?" Levi asked.
“I still have many followers,” Swain said meaningfully.
He had already begun preparations for the coup, and so many of his disciples and former officials had already quietly gotten into the car, waiting for him to step on the accelerator.
Now, the car was about to drive away, but the driver suddenly jumped into another car.
So what should these passengers do?
In response, Levi replied: "I am willing to give your followers preferential treatment and give them the opportunity to surrender anyway. As long as they can change their minds in time, there will definitely be a place for them in New Noxus."
"But they may not be able to 'change their minds'." Swain knew too well who his followers were.
They are both new military nobles who crave privileges and extreme Noxian patriots. That is why they dare to participate in the coup and follow Teacher Swain to "lead troops to Luoyang and fight against the traitors."
People like them probably won't change.
Even the selfless Swain would find it difficult to get around this problem.
Not to mention his students, whose eyes turn red at the sight of titles and land, and who are as unsatisfied as hungry wolves.
"If that's the case, then..." Levi dragged out his words and didn't continue.
Because Swain is a smart man, he knows what the second half of the sentence will be.
Revolution means revolutionizing others and yourself. If Swain's followers would rather die than change their ways, they should be swept into the garbage heap of history along with the old nobles.
Even though many of them were his friends, his students, and people who respected and loved him.
Be it his past ideals or his comrades, if Swain wants to become the leader, he must betray everything he had in the past.
“……” Swain remained silent.
Finally he said, "Levi, I want you to agree to one condition."
"As long as the generals who follow me are willing to lay down their weapons and surrender in the future, they can be sent to prison or forced labor... No matter what, the leader must at least spare their lives."
"No problem." Levi agreed readily.
The policy of the Wind Leader was not to physically destroy the enemy, but to win in faith. With Swain's united front values, his students were fully qualified to be sent to Stillwater Prison... No, to "Stillwater University" for further study.
"So, what's your decision?"
Swain said quietly with a firm look in his eyes: "I am willing to join the Wind Leader and bring real change to Noxus."
He accepted Levi's invitation.
Then, without waiting for Levi to respond, he changed his stance at an astonishing speed and began to speak in the tone of a leader:
"President Levi, now we have to face a problem first."
“And this is the real reason for my visit.”
"Are you talking about the black rose?" Levi could guess.
Swain, a "retired disabled veteran" who was demoted to a commoner by the emperor just a year ago, was unexpectedly promoted by the Frontline and brought his trusted regiment to Piltover.
Outsiders may not understand.
But Levi knew that this was clearly a strategy of the Black Rose to test the waters and kill with a borrowed knife against both Leader and Swain.
Throwing a stone to test the waters is to test the true strength of the leader once again. Borrowing a knife to kill is to use the leader to get rid of Swain, the hidden danger. In the end, whether the leader wins or loses, Black Rose will definitely make a profit.
"Black Rose wants us to fight, right?" Levi asked.
“That’s right,” Swain said. “They have sent me an order through Darkwill to come and give you a serious warning about the ‘Windleader Invasion’ that occurred in Ionia more than a month ago.”
"If you can't give me a reasonable explanation for this, I'm afraid they will order me to declare war on Zaun."
"Is this an excuse for war?" Levi raised his eyebrows.
He asked with a smile: "I thought that Noxus never needed a reason to kill people."
"It is necessary for the leader." Swain said: "Now the soldiers of Noxus know how powerful the goddess Janna is, and the generals have their own ideas in their hearts."
Noxus is now fighting on four fronts, and none of the fronts are progressing smoothly.
After fighting for so many years, we have gained nothing and have only suffered casualties, loss of manpower and money.
In this situation, even the most warlike general of the empire would not be able to do so.
Everyone has long been labeled as potential peace advocates in this endless war.
At this time, the emperor had nothing to do and declared war on the leader for no reason... Even if it was just a local war in the two cities, the brothers would not be able to hold back.
"If there is no reasonable excuse to incite the people, and I, the former commander of the empire, come forward to advocate peace, then the army will naturally follow me."
"Not only did they fail to force me to die, but they also forced a huge mutiny. This is probably not the situation that Black Rose wants to see."
So although the excuse for war seems illusory, it actually has its significance.
Only by having a legitimate reason to fight can the already exhausted military morale be boosted.
The Leader took the initiative to provoke, and even reached out to Ionia to directly interfere in the Empire's war of expansion, "ambitiously wanting to benefit from the war between the Empire and Ionia"...
This excuse couldn't be more powerful.
"So you have to try to give a reasonable explanation so that I can mediate within the empire to buy time."
"What we lack most now is time..." Swain had originally planned to delay for a while, and once the coup preparations were completed, he would go back to the Immortal Bastion to launch a mutiny.
To fight against foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the internal situation. After dealing with the Black Rose, we can come back to deal with the leader.
Now that he has joined the leader's side, the plan seems to be changing.
But in the final analysis, time for peaceful development is precious.
"So, what's going on in Ionia?" Swain looked at Levi thoughtfully.
In fact, he also wanted to know why Levi suddenly sent a team to Ionia to cause trouble.
Your Zaun has only recently become independent and has a lot of work to do, yet you're in such a hurry to export it overseas?
"This..." Levi was also quite helpless: "You may not believe it, but what happened in Ionia really has nothing to do with me."
