"Your Highness, don't forget that at that time, Noxus was still fighting on two fronts, Ionia and Freljord. It was impossible for it to have sufficient troops to invade us."
Barrett reminded him and then looked at Yin Xiduo, "Besides, if it was really the Noxians who killed that little girl, no one would threaten you not to tell the story."
"You're right, we initially thought it was the Noxians who did it..."
Upon hearing this, Li Lin and Jarvan IV immediately became excited.
Yin Xiduo's expression was very complicated, and he sighed again: "But that very night, a small group of Demacians came to our village. They were wearing black robes and golden masks that covered half of their faces. They were accompanied by several fully armed soldiers..."
"It's the Demon Hunter!" Alberk exclaimed.
Shyvana, who was sitting next to Jarvan IV, curled up slightly, her pair of fiery red eyes that seemed to be burning with flames staring at the campfire in front of her, as if she was quite sensitive to this word.
Jarvan IV patted her arm inconspicuously, then looked directly at Yin Xido, who had his head lowered and his expression still solemn.
"Three years ago, demon hunters were indeed active on the border. We searched every village for traces of them, but unless there was an emergency, they wouldn't operate at night and disturb the people's rest..."
Jarvan IV paused for a few seconds, the bonfire light flickering against her face. "They will not operate in groups, nor will they bring along soldiers from outside the Order of the Seekers. This is inconsistent with the Order's regulations regarding covert operations and independence from the military and government."
"How could we understand this at the time?" Yin Xiduo smiled bitterly.
"The demon hunters gathered the entire village overnight. We thought they were here to search for the mage, but they asked indirectly about what happened today.
"We didn't notice anything unusual at the time, we just told them that Jean was killed by the Noxians.
"I was closest to them at the time, and I still remember the look on the Demon Hunter captain's face... It seemed like a feeling of relief and joy?
"He gave each of our families a large sum of money, a full ten gold shields, and gave even more gold shields to the Andel family, who had lost their daughter, and warned us to let this matter go..."
Having said that, Yin Xiduo didn't dare to continue.
The Demon Seekers' Society is the official organization of Demacia, and their leader, Eldred, is a member of the Shield Council under the King. He is also from the Crownguard family and the husband of Demacia's Grand Marshal Tiana.
If I say something that is detrimental to the Demon Seekers, wouldn't that be like slapping Demacia, the Lightshield Royal Family, and the Crownguard Family in the face?
Li Lin already had a bad impression of the demon hunters, especially Eldred.
According to Yin Xiduo's description, his first thought was that the murderer who killed Jean was not Noxus, but the group of illegal demon hunters who "appeared by chance" and paid hush money.
Coincidentally, Jarvan IV, like his father, was very dissatisfied with the persecution of mages by the demon hunters, and also shifted his suspicion to these demon hunters.
However, the issues involving the Demon Hunter Society are complicated. As the heir to the throne, he must be careful with his words and actions, and some things that should not be said must be kept in his heart.
At least not in public.
"Okay, I understand what happened. You can go down first."
Jarvan IV nodded to Yin Xiduo, watched him salute again and leave, and turned his gaze back to Barrett.
"Godfather, what do you think?"
"Are you asking me about the murderer, or about the demon hunter..."
"Both."
Barrett looked around and saw that Alberk and several other soldiers had left tactfully.
Just as Li Lin and Shyvana were about to leave, Jarvan IV stopped them: "You two stay, don't worry about anything."
Barrett stared at the profile of his good brother's son and didn't directly answer his question. "If you ask me, this matter should be handed over to your father."
"But doesn't Father also want to ban the Demon Hunters' Society and abolish the Magic Code?"
"You're still too young, kid..." Barrett sighed. "There are too many interests involved. Even your father has to consider how to handle this."
"But we can't allow the demon hunters to harm the people of Demacia like this!"
Jarvan IV glanced at Shyvana out of the corner of his eye.
"The gift of magic and the birth of children are not something we can choose for ourselves. Moreover, the vast majority of them have never harmed others. Why should they be deemed 'disasters' and captured, imprisoned, or exiled by the Destroyer?
"Does possessing magic mean they are no longer citizens of Demacia? I think this is a distorted system."
Li Lin and Barrett were both surprised by Jarvan IV's remarks.
"My child, just say this in front of me and your father. Don't let anyone else hear it. It will become a pretext for conservatives to criticize you."
Barrett reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "You should know that the original purpose of establishing Demacia was to provide a place of refuge for refugees fleeing the Rune Wars. Resisting magic has been the common wish of our ancestors for generations."
"But things have changed now, haven't they?"
Jarvan IV stood up and walked to the blue and white-winged Demacia flag outside his tent.
"If we only follow the old laws and don't make changes, no country can achieve long-term stability." He fixed his gaze on the flag. "Ever since the late King Oren founded Demacia, our system has always kept pace with the times. So why can't the Magic Code be changed?"
"Little Jarvan..." Barrett frowned slightly.
"Foster father, I wonder if you've noticed that when magic is mentioned, the first thing people show is not fear of mages, but fear of demon hunters and demon destroyers."
Jarvan IV turned around and lingered on the faces of Li Lin, Barrett, and especially Shyvana for a long time.
"Today, what scares us is not magic itself, but our extreme attitude towards it... We must change this."
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