There were two people who most wanted to stop Swain's coup: one was King Darkwill, and the other was LeBlanc!
"What does it have to do with me? I'm out of here. So what if Swain's coup fails? Katarina doesn't know that's not her father. As long as I can leave, I don't care about the mission. Noxus is indeed too dangerous."
Powder didn't understand what Chen was saying; he often mumbled to himself in words she couldn't comprehend.
But just then, Chen heard footsteps approaching from ahead. He immediately hid in a corner with Powder.
A man's voice came through:
"Stop hiding and come out."
They had been discovered. Chen had already raised his street lamp, ready to fight his way out. As Chen stepped out, he saw the familiar hood and the familiar person:
"Talon?"
He and Katarina were indeed both taught by Du Couteau; even their infiltration methods were the same.
"Chen?"
Talon's wrist blades had already extended:
"Why are you running?"
Chen replied with an innocent look:
"Ah! I said, I don't want to get involved in Noxus's internal affairs!"
But at this point, Talon already believed Chen had betrayed him and charged forward, ready to fight him.
Chen quickly used his street lamp to block Talon's blade. He didn't want to fight Talon right now:
"Wait! I've already found General Du Couteau!"
Talon stopped then:
"What?"
Talon frowned and looked at Chen:
"Where is he?"
Chen recounted how he had just found Du Couteau, though he didn't mention that the Du Couteau was actually LeBlanc:
"He's probably defending the city now."
Talon hurried inside, but just then, footsteps also came from within.
Chen thought for a moment and found another corner to hide in with Powder. Seeing this, Talon also hid.
It was a familiar voice again, but this time a woman's voice:
"Stop hiding and come out."
Chen sighed. The words were the same as Talon's; it had to be Katarina.
Katarina and Du Couteau—or, to be precise, LeBlanc—came running over together.
Chen walked out:
"No, weren't you supposed to be defending the Imperial City? Why are you here too?"
Katarina replied helplessly:
"We hadn't even reached the battlefield when the city fell. We could only retreat first and then look for an opportunity to reclaim power."
Talon stepped out of the shadows, one step at a time, his brow furrowed as he looked at Du Couteau. He was visibly agitated. He looked at the man before him and immediately knelt down:
"Talon greets the Grand General. Talon swears to follow the Grand General until death."
The person he had yearned for day and night was now before him, and Du Couteau still looked at Talon with cold eyes:
"Very good. Join me in organizing troops to counterattack the rebel Swain."
At this moment, Chen leaned closer to Talon and whispered a reminder:
"Are you sure that's your Grand General?"
From his appearance, expression, and tone of voice, everything was familiar to Talon; it was the unsmiling Grand General. The only difference was that he wasn't carrying a blade.
A skilled assassin would never be without his blade; this was what Du Couteau had taught Talon. If it were Grand General Du Couteau, the first thing he would do after being rescued would be to ask Katarina for a dagger.
Talon finally realized something was wrong. Though he didn't know who it was, anyone who dared to impersonate Du Couteau was unforgivable!
The next second, Talon suddenly appeared behind Du Couteau, performing a Throat Slice, his blade aimed straight at his neck.
But the moment the blade struck, not a single drop of blood flowed out. Du Couteau turned to look at Talon and reprimanded him:
"How dare you attack me!"
"You're a fake! If it were the Grand General, he would have already blocked my blade!"
Talon fiercely pressed down the blade in his hand.
But Chen knew that the Du Couteau in front of Talon was just an illusion, and any attack against him would be meaningless.
Sure enough, a puff of black smoke suddenly rose from not far away, and another Du Couteau reappeared.
"Mirror Image!"
Chen knew this was LeBlanc's skill, summoning another illusory clone.
Talon struck at the clone again:
"You are not Du Couteau! If it were him, I would never be able to get close enough to assassinate him!"
Katarina also realized something was wrong. Du Couteau was also an assassin; he didn't use any magic. Yet now there were two Du Couteaus, and there were clear signs of magic being used.
Katarina's daggers flew towards both Du Couteaus. A swift dagger struck one of them, who immediately dissolved into a puff of magical smoke and vanished.
The other Du Couteau suddenly flashed, appearing in front of Katarina, while only a translucent illusion remained at his original spot, the dagger passing through it and sticking into the wall.
Chen stood in front of Powder, reminding everyone:
"Be careful, LeBlanc can manipulate illusory clones. These Grand Generals are all fakes! Your attacks won't work on him!"
Du Couteau suddenly burst into laughter. Her gaze at Chen changed subtly, and her eyes narrowed slightly:
"LeBlanc? No one has called me that in a hundred years. How do you know my name?"
Then, with another flash, she appeared at the location of the translucent illusion.
A faint wisp of smoke dissipated from Du Couteau's body, and a graceful woman appeared before them. Her skin was pale, she held a staff in her hand, and a magical cloak draped over her back.
LeBlanc shed her disguise as Du Couteau, returning to her original appearance. She twirled her fingers, looking at Chen with considerable curiosity:
"You seem different from the others. You actually know my name. Interesting."
Powder looked at the woman with disdain:
"Chen, when did you meet this woman? She's too revealing, even more so than that 'magical girl' whatever."
As Powder said, LeBlanc's attire was indeed very revealing, barely covering what needed to be covered. The tiny bits of fabric were indeed quite outrageous.
Suddenly, LeBlanc vanished from her spot and reappeared behind Powder. A chain of Ethereal Chains quietly wrapped around Powder's body, instantly binding her!
There was no time to react; Powder's hands and feet were completely bound by the chains. Both her guns had fallen to the ground, and Powder was instantly immobilized, her mouth also gagged by the chains, making muffled "woo woo woo" sounds, unable to speak.
Even Chen, who was protecting Powder, couldn't react in time. LeBlanc's Distortion suddenly appeared behind Powder and instantly tied her up.
LeBlanc's staff pressed against Powder's chin, and a current-like magic continuously flowed from the staff, stimulating Powder's body. Powder began to convulse; she desperately bit down on the chains. At this moment, LeBlanc looked at Chen cunningly:
"This is the most important person to you, isn't she?"
Chen's eyes instantly reddened. He shouted at LeBlanc:
"LeBlanc! If you dare to harm her! I will fight you to the death!"