Chapter 478 Cassiopeia's Reluctance
Three months later. Uzeris, northern coast of Shurima.
Uzeris is a prosperous agricultural and commercial city-state on the northern coast of Shurima and one of the most important colonial outposts of the Noxian Empire in the southern continent.
The general who led the army to defeat the Shurima native coalition and captured this prosperous city-state for the Noxian Empire was none other than the famous master assassin, General Du Coca.
Du Kecao personally developed this new colony, and for a long time, he served as the governor of Noxus's southern colony and led his troops to be stationed in Uzeris.
Therefore, Uzeris is not only an overseas colony of the empire, but also, to some extent, an overseas "fiefdom" of the Kekao family.
As the youngest daughter of General Du Kecao, Cassiopeia moved to Uzeris with her parents when she was young.
Later, General Du Kecao was transferred back to Valoran by the Empire, but Lady Cassiopeia still settled here with her mother, living in the colonial governor's mansion in Uzeris.
For Cassiopeia, this place is like half of her hometown. This city is like her private estate.
But now, everything has changed...
"Die, butcher of Noxus! Get out of Shurima! Go back to your homeland!"
Amid the angry roars of the Shurimans, the red and black flag of the Noxian Empire finally slowly descended from the dome of the Governor's Palace.
Noxian soldiers attempted to collect the flag and take it away on their ship back home.
But the angry crowd had already rushed forward and snatched the flag. They tore the flag into pieces and threw the pieces into the sky with hatred, watching them drift down like dead leaves, landing on the dusty ground and under people's filthy shoes.
"..." Cassiopeia sat in a carriage and slowly drove out of the Governor's Palace in the chaos.
She saw this scene.
The flag of Noxus fell from here forever. Those lowly Shurima natives, dirty plantation slaves, these inferior weaklings, now all stood up proudly and proudly.
She looked back at the Governor's Palace, her former home.
The white walls of the Governor's Palace were covered with dirty graffiti and slogans cursing the Noxian colonists.
Those expensive natural crystal glasses had been smashed into pieces by the stones thrown by the mob.
Lawns were trampled into mud, statues were toppled and crushed, and portraits were looted and burned to ash.
The marble fountain she designed was trampled by the natives and turned into a pool of dirty water.
The back garden where she usually drank tea and admired the flowers was now wide open, and was used by the slaves gathered there as a resting room to rest and urinate.
…
Cassiopeia couldn't bear to watch any longer.
The carriage slowly drove away from the mess. She clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and tried to convince herself to say goodbye to the past.
But: "Get off! You stinky bitch!"
An angry crowd surrounded her carriage.
Those pairs of dirty and rough hands grabbed up tightly from all directions.
"Nothing here belongs to you Noxians, including this carriage!"
"Get down here! Give it back to us!"
Amid the ugly curses, someone had already reached out to the car door.
Cassiopeia: "..."
"Bastard!" The moment the car door opened, she couldn't help but clench the dagger at her waist.
She swore that if the slave's dirty hands dared to touch her gold-embroidered skirt, she would kill the untouchables.
"Cassiopeia, don't!" A hand held her firmly.
"Katrina?!" Cassiopeia turned her head and looked at her sister with resentment after not seeing her for many years.
"Let's get off the car." Catalina said seriously.
"Why? This is my carriage!" Cassiopeia gritted her teeth in hatred.
But Katarina wasn't asking her. Because of the butterfly effect brought about by the Wind Leader, Cassiopeia is still an ordinary human noble lady.
So Catalina just pulled her out of the carriage easily with a light tug.
Then, with a flash, the two of them escaped from the angry siege of the Shurimans and appeared on the roadside dozens of meters away.
"Let me go!" Cassiopeia was not grateful to her sister for rescuing her.
She just looked at Catalina with hatred: "You coward! Traitor! The leader's lackey!"
“Can’t you see?” Cassiopeia pointed to the dirty and broken Noxian flag on the ground and said, “These damn Shurimans are trampling on the flag of the empire!”
“They are destroying our home!”
"Cassiopeia." Katerina took a deep breath and sighed helplessly: "This is not our home."
"This is the land of Shurimans. Now they just stepped on a flag, smashed a few windows, robbed a carriage, and cursed you a few times, and you are so angry."
"Then have you ever thought about how many people we killed and how much we robbed here? Why shouldn't they be angry?"
"Shut up!" Cassiopeia couldn't stand her sister's "rumors".
"Oh..." Catalina stopped trying to persuade him.
She knew that her sister could not accept this reality yet.
That's right... Cassiopeia was raised as a traditional Noxian noble lady in a wealthy life.
Her life mission is to serve the interests of the family, and she has been working hard for this.
Later, she suddenly learned that the pillar of the family, her father Duke Cao, surrendered and rebelled.
The Black Rose, the underground aristocratic society to which she and her mother were loyal, was also wiped out by Swain.
Not only did her sister join the Leader, she also found a boyfriend from Demacia.
All of this is so hard to accept.
And now, under the instructions of her father, General Du Kekao, Katarina took the initiative to hand over to the Leaders Association the ill-gotten gains their family had plundered in the Shurima colony, and brought the Leaders and the Shurimans to raid her home.
"Cassiopeia, I know you will hate me and my father."
"But..." Catalina didn't plan to talk about the leader's principles. She knew that Cassiopeia wouldn't listen now.
So she simply said, in the most understandable terms for Noxians: "But you have to accept reality."
"The reality is that Noxus has lost. Grand Commander Swain has officially announced the abandonment of the Shurima colony. Uzeris no longer belongs to Noxus, nor to you."
"As you always say, the strong prey on the weak. Now, the Shurima people armed with Janna's thoughts (physics) are the strong ones."
"And you..." Katerina said mercilessly: "You are just a weakling."
Cassiopeia was speechless.
In fact, she understands this principle.
She knew that she could now leave the house safely as an ordinary person, instead of being arrested by the leaders as a typical reactionary and dragged to the square and shot like other evil colonial plantation owners...
That's all thanks to her father and sister who invested early, and to her father, the former colonial governor, who made sufficient contributions to the peaceful liberation of the northern coast of Shurima.
If not for this, she wouldn't even have the chance to voluntarily hand over her family property and actively cooperate with the reform.
It's good enough to be alive, why do I need a carriage?
This is the truth, but...
"..." Cassiopeia looked at the "fallen" Governor's Palace, and her mood could not calm down for a long time.
She lost more than just this mansion.
On the northern coast of Shurima, the Leader implemented a "relocation policy for poverty alleviation" similar to that of Misilver City.
Every day, a large number of desert tribesmen, under the policy call of the Leader, leave the desolate and barren desert and come to the northern coast of Shurima with abundant water and grass to settle down.
The food, water, shelter and clothes that these desert immigrants eat, drink and drink are all "friendly provided" by the original Noxian colonists and plantation slave owners.
As the wealthy family of Uzeris, the Du Coca family naturally made a huge contribution to it.
The family businesses that Cassiopeia had worked so hard to manage, including the shops, businesses, warehouses, water transport, camel caravans, fleets, plantations... all the silver was taken away by the Leader and distributed to the Shurima peasants.
Everything she had in the past has become empty.
"It must be hard to have your property taken away from you, right?" At this time, her sister was saying those ugly "rumors" again: "But don't forget, when we robbed the Shurimans before, our methods were a hundred times more cruel than this."
Cassiopeia did not argue.
But he clenched his fists so tightly that veins popped out.
Catalina noticed her actions and stopped trying to persuade her.
She only said, "Cassiopeia, my father has settled in Zaun. My mother has also agreed to let go of the past and go to Zaun to reunite with my father."
"And I have already submitted my application to the organization, and I will be transferred to work in Demacia in the future."
"You no longer have a home in Uzeris. So, we all hope that you..."
“Leave me alone!” Cassiopeia frowned in great resistance: “I will not move to Zaun, and I will not reunite with that traitor!”
"Where are you going?" Katarina asked with concern: "Uzeris no longer belongs to you. Are you going back to Noxus?"
Although Swain, for some unknown reason, did not liquidate the K'kao family who had surrendered to the Leader, their family's privileges and property in the empire are still intact.
But in any case, Noxus is still the empire in name only. As the daughter of an imperial traitor, it is certainly not convenient for Cassiopeia to return to Noxus.
She can't go back.
If she didn't go to Zaun and start a new life under the new order led by the Leader, she would become a homeless orphan.
"..." Cassiopeia gritted her teeth and said, "It's none of your business!"
"Okay." Katerina took a deep breath.
She knew that her sister was not a pampered young lady who could not take care of herself, but a well-trained aristocratic elite.
Cassiopeia could take care of herself .
Moreover, the Leaders Association was very considerate and left a small amount of wealth to the Caucas, who voluntarily handed over their property. With this money, Cassiopeia would never starve to death anywhere.
Since she still hates her and her father, and hates Zaun and the Wind Leader, then...
"You stay here by yourself for now and think about it carefully. I have to report to the Demacia branch, so I can't stay with you any longer." Katarina gave her a helpless look and turned to leave.
Cassiopeia looked at her receding back coldly without saying a word.
Finally, Catalina stopped and turned back to say to her: "Cassiopeia, remember..."
"What?" She frowned, looking impatient.
"No matter how much you hate us, don't do anything stupid." Catalina said, "The Leader has shown enough kindness to our family."
"Change has arrived. If you continue to stand against the people without knowing your own limits, you will be ruthlessly crushed by the wheels of history."
“I…” Cassiopeia clenched her fists, then couldn’t loosen them: “I understand.”
Seeing her unwilling, yet dejected and helpless expression, Catalina finally turned around and left with peace of mind.
Cassiopeia stood alone on the bustling street, looking at the Governor's Mansion in the distance that no longer belonged to her, feeling lost.
She stood there for a long time, and finally, picking up her only property, a small suitcase, she turned around and staggered towards the hotel like a stray dog.
And just at this moment...
Someone stopped her, "Lady Cassiopeia!"
"My Lord?" Cassiopeia didn't expect to hear such a title.
She turned around and saw that the person coming was an acquaintance of hers, a large manor owner from Noxus.
Well... a former large estate owner.
"It's you?" Cassiopeia was no longer able to maintain the social etiquette of a noble lady. She sneered and asked, "You weren't hanged?"
"Yes, I escaped before the leader came." The owner of the manor was not angry.
He paused slightly and emphasized, "Someone saved me."
"Oh?" Cassiopeia was really curious: "Who dares to save someone from the Wind Leader?"
"The Wind Leaders are not invincible either." The owner of the manor replied mysteriously, "We are not afraid of them."
“You guys?” Cassiopeia frowned. “Who are ‘you guys’?”
The owner of the manor shook his head cautiously: "I can only tell you when you come to our place."
"Now I can only tell you. We are all the same as you, victims whose property was shamelessly taken away by that damn leader, and we are eager to take back everything that originally belonged to us."
"In other words... a bunch of stray dogs?" Cassiopeia interrupted unhappily.
She didn't want to play dumb any more, so she simply asked, "So what do you want from me? I'm in just as much trouble as you are, how can I help you?"
"No, no, no, Lady Cassiopeia, you are not a lost dog." The owner of the manor said, "I know you have been operating in Uzeris for a long time, and you have many tricks up your sleeve."
"You mean, the private soldiers I kept in the desert?" Cassiopeia smiled.
Indeed. As a former member of the Black Rose and a precocious conspirator, she would be reserved even towards her own father.
In addition to the family business that she runs openly, she has also cultivated her own secret forces outside of Uzeris, a group of death squads that are absolutely loyal to her and do the dirty work for her.
But……
"What's the use of this?" Cassiopeia instantly stopped smiling.
Private soldiers cost money to maintain. Her family's property had been confiscated, so where would she get the money to continue to maintain the loyalty of these death warriors?
With only her hidden little treasury, it would probably take only a few months before this group of so-called assassins would ruthlessly abandon their master.
Of course, the most important thing is:
"You don't even have your own army, and yet you expect me to help you with my manpower..." Cassiopeia felt that her intelligence had been insulted:
"Then where do you get the confidence to dare to clamor to be the enemy of the leader?"
The leader has the support of the goddess.
With such little strength, how dare you show up?
If she didn't really hate the leader, she would have wanted to report these idiots to the leader and try to gain meritorious service.
"Go away!" She waved her hands unhappily, "You want to die yourself, don't drag me down with you!"
“No, Lady Cassiopeia.” The manor owner still looked serious: “We are old acquaintances.”
"Do you think I am such a fool who doesn't know my own limits?"
"This..." Cassiopeia was stunned.
This time she looked over seriously, at this ordinary little Noxian noble who was even weaker than herself .
Yeah...how dare this guy?
"What's your trump card?" Cassiopeia asked straight to the point.
"We have the Lord's blessing." A hint of fanaticism flashed in the eyes of the little noble: "The great Lord will eventually come to the Rune Land, kill the false gods who have occupied this place, and take back !"
"Stop, stop, stop..." Cassiopeia interrupted again in annoyance.
She said helplessly: "Idiot, you didn't believe the Prophet Cult from Mo Nan, did you? The Leader's newspaper has already exposed that this Prophet Cult is simply a vest of the Void Force!"
No matter how much she hates the Leader, she will not join the Void.
And take back their homes... It's good enough that the Void didn't annihilate them into nothingness, so how could it help them take back their homes?
“No, no, no.” The owner of the manor hastily explained: “We are not the Prophet’s Sect. Our Lord is not Void.”
"Our church, our Lord... comes from Noxus, from our homeland."
“Oh, I don’t care who your master is.” Cassiopeia sneered, “If He is really capable, just go and deal with Janna yourself!”
“That’s exactly what He is going to do.” The owner of the manor was not discouraged. “But before He comes, we still need to do some preparation.”
"It won't be long before the light of the Lord shines upon this land. The mist of immortality will cover the entire Runeland, and for us..."
"That's enough!" Cassiopeia didn't want to hear any more.
This is most likely some unknown evil god who is secretly recruiting believers under the banner of helping to fight against the Leader.
Reason told her that she should stay as far away from this evil god of unknown origin as possible.
So she turned around and was about to leave.
"But are you really willing?" The manor owner stopped her with one word: "Are you really willing to lose everything, willing to be reduced from a noble to a commoner, willing to let those lowly Shurima slaves take over, and have to force a smile and call them 'comrades' when you meet them?"
Cassiopeia paused.
Of course she was unwilling to accept this. How could she accept this?
"This is your only chance, sir." The owner of the manor said earnestly, "Go to our church and take a look."
He looked cautiously at the Leader warriors patrolling not far away and said, "Only when we get there can I tell you everything with confidence."
Cassiopeia was silent for a while.
Finally, she asked, "How many people are there in your church ?"
"I'm not sure. I heard there are already tens of thousands of people."
“Tens of thousands of people?” Cassiopeia immediately questioned: “If we tie up all the surviving nobles on the north coast of Shurima, there probably won’t be tens of thousands of people, right?”
"Because our base is in Noxus. The church in the Shurima colony is just a new branch we have established overseas."
“You have branches like this all over the world?”
"Yes. The Mist of Eternal Life will cover the entire Runeterra. And this will require the efforts of many people."
Cassiopeia pondered for a moment. Then she asked, "Where are you taking me?"
"Not far away, in the city of Uzeris." said the owner of the manor.
"Under the nose of the Leader? Ha, you are really brave enough..." There was a hint of excitement in Cassiopeia's eyes.
Now the streets are full of people who are leaders, giving people a full sense of security. Although her skills are far inferior to Katarina's, she is not weak either.
So she took a last look at the Governor's Palace where she once lived.
The blue bird flag of the leader had been hoisted above the Governor's Palace, and the slaves standing below cheered excitedly.
Cassiopeia was silent for a moment, and finally nodded slowly: "Come on, take me to meet your Lord."
