"Are you leaving already?"
Sejuani still looked somewhat reluctant.
"Yes. There's a mountain of things waiting for me over there too."
Caleb nodded and continued.
"Over there? Where?"
Volibear snapped out of his daze and could not help asking.
"The Twin Cities. Come visit sometime, Ornn."
The main reason Caleb was not inviting Ornn right now was because he did not know how far the Mecha Project had progressed.
At the very least, the most basic computer had to be manufactured first, right?
As for a nuclear power core, Caleb did not intend to force that. Replacing it with a Hextech Gemstone would not be a problem either.
The energy of runes might not be weaker than nuclear power.
"Brother, I'll see you on the battlefield later!"
Olaf waved boldly at him, grinning from ear to ear.
"Let's make that later rather than sooner."
Caleb silently complained.
This guy had finally found a suitable way to die, so he was standing there grinning like an idiot.
Caleb did not want the war to start too soon.
Better to play it safe. Ideally, they would delay it as long as possible.
However, judging from the situation he had just learned from Lissandra, in only two or three years, the dark ice would completely melt.
They had to act before then.
Caleb thought to himself.
The Void Watchers needed a process to awaken. If they waited until the dark ice had all melted, they could indeed make more complete preparations.
But at the same time, if the enemy was fully awake, their combat power would increase by far more than just several times.
So they had to strike before the other side had fully awakened. Ideally, they had to ambush them while they were completely unguarded.
That way, they could severely wound all of the enemy's active forces at the first possible moment, and their own morale would rise greatly.
Of course, this was only Caleb's wishful thinking. As for what the battlefield would actually look like when the time came, Caleb did not know.
He could only hope that, as long as the general direction was right, their losses would be minimized.
Caleb rubbed Yuumi's head.
"Let's go back."
Caleb was naturally referring to using Yuumi's portal to return.
Otherwise, they would have to wait until next summer, when the solid ice first began to thaw, and then wait for an icebreaker to arrive here.
Caleb might as well swim back. It would be faster.
"Having you around really makes things much more convenient."
"With a cat tree like you, I've seen plenty of the world too."
Yuumi smiled and rubbed against Caleb, then opened one of the previous portal pages.
"Aato, let's go."
Caleb called out to Aatrox.
"Me?"
Aatrox frowned as he listened.
"Hurry up, hurry up."
Caleb called out with a smile.
He had to admit, calling the Darkin Blade that felt pretty satisfying.
For a moment, it gave him the feeling that Aatrox was some lovesick fool.
Of course, Caleb knew that whether it was the anime he had watched in his previous life, or even the games he had played and their settings, none of it could be fully trusted.
He still had to actually spend time with them to understand their true nature.
No one else would believe that Kai'Sa, who was decisive and ruthless in the Void, was actually a little adorably clueless in real life.
Volibear, who looked as if he only wanted to fight, was also quite polite in front of Caleb.
As for Lissandra's rule, it could be considered over today. She would have to divide the world again with the two Warmothers.
In every sense, the Freljord had been temporarily forced into unity.
Having a powerful enemy really was useful.
Caleb could not help sighing inwardly.
Aatrox's enormous body followed Caleb, somehow carrying a faint sense of obedience.
"The road is long and the mountains are high. We'll meet again later!"
Caleb watched as Yuumi opened a page. It was the page they had used before to return from Shurima to the Twin Cities.
"Feels like we still have a long way to walk..."
Caleb found it a little troublesome, but the closest teleport point to the Twin Cities was that one.
That was also why the Twin Cities had always been able to stay far away from wars of magic.
"Ugh..."
Looking at how much road was still left, Caleb became a little gloomy.
His travel speed had improved now, but there was still such a long road ahead. Caleb found it hard to accept.
"Same rule as always. I'm not walking this road."
Seeing Caleb's face fall, Kai'Sa gently added another stab.
"Hey."
Caleb looked at Jinx beside him, who was flicking a rocket launcher, and greeted her with a smile.
"You were waiting here, little lunatic?"
Caleb did not even need to think to know why Jinx had been guarding this place.
"Why did you only let those four take part in the plan?"
Jinx suddenly leaned closer, but Caleb did not even blink.
"What plan?"
Kai'Sa's cheeks puffed up too. She also had no idea what plan this was.
"I was afraid you'd blow up the precision instruments."
Of course, Caleb knew what she was talking about. It was the mission he had secretly handed to Piltover and Zaun.
However, the reason he had not included Jinx among those people was another matter.
Of course, Caleb would not tell Jinx that exploring the boundaries of science was something for people like Heimerdinger.
Jinx's traits made her more suited to developing weapons, not the exploratory side of research.
"Did you bring the hoverboards?"
Caleb asked directly, and Jinx took out two.
Clearly, those two were prepared for Caleb and Kai'Sa.
"I don't know how."
Kai'Sa spread her hands, looking very innocent.
"Get on..."
Caleb did not believe that Kai'Sa, who could fly in the Void, would be unable to balance herself after stepping on a hoverboard.
Even so, Caleb obediently half-crouched and let Kai'Sa climb onto his back.
"Did you ask Ekko? How far has their research gotten?"
Once they stepped onto the hoverboards, the return journey became much simpler. They only had to make sure they were moving in the right direction.
"Not great. Go back and see for yourself."
Jinx's words were somewhat perfunctory, which was exactly how she acted when she was unhappy.
"Looks like Zaun's development hasn't been that smooth."
Caleb looked at Jinx's reaction and spoke after a moment of thought.
"The Governor! The Governor's back!"
As long as Caleb stayed in Zaun, Zaun would only recognize his face.
"Hurry, hurry! The Governor is back!"
"He's back! He's back!"
"Quick, get all the chemtech equipment ready! We're going to fight a war with topside!"
Caleb looked at the reactions around him and felt that something was very strange.
"How did this turn into a fight?"
He could not help asking.
"Without you, the undercity just stopped turning, I guess."
Jinx shrugged and continued.
"Before I came along, the undercity was turning just fine, wasn't it?"
Caleb did not care much.
Zaun could be considered his second home. If they went to war with topside, Caleb would not be indifferent.
But going to war with topside was a major issue.
Caleb had only been gone for a mere month or two. How had it already reached the point of war?
When he entered the place where he was used to working, it was still packed full of documents.
Renata looked completely overwhelmed until she noticed what the people outside were shouting.
"You finally came, Governor!"
Seeing Caleb arrive, joy could not help rising to her brow.
"You finally returned."
Caleb looked at the Zaunites preparing weapons and shouting about risking their lives.
Was this resentment that had been building for a long time? Had topside started taking measures on the second day after he left?
With Lucide in the Ferros family, along with Heimerdinger and the Kiramman family, things should not have blown up this badly.
"What exactly happened?"
Even Caleb's expression darkened.
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