Chapter 217 They are not comrades in arms (please subscribe~)

Hilko's words don't sound good.

As soon as he opened his mouth, the expressions of many alchemist barons present changed.

Especially Finn.

This Alchemist Baron, who always plays with a lighter in his hand and moves with cool and graceful movements, is not only a comrade who once fought alongside Silko, but also his collaborator and vassal.

Like Silko, he's a staunch opponent of Piltover and Zaun's independent faction, well, at least he used to be.

"Xilko, why are you mentioning Zaun and Piltover at this time?"

The situation is no longer the same as before. Finn doesn’t even have much superficial respect for Silko, the boss:

"Yes, the Philos family has killed many of our brothers."

"But the enemy of our enemy is our friend. Now the leader wants our lives and digs out our roots. If we don't cooperate with the Philos family, who else can we cooperate with?"

"The only one who can defeat the current leader is the Noxus Empire behind Feros!"

What Finn said makes sense.

But Hilko didn't want to analyze the pros and cons at this time. He just asked: "But what happens after defeating the leader?"

"Ever since the Noxian army entered Piltover, the balance of power between the two cities has been broken."

"Now that the leader is here, the Picheng guys don't dare to come over."

"If the Wind Leader is gone, then Zaun will soon become a joint colony of Piltover and Noxus - the life of the Zaun people will only be worse than when they were enslaved by Piltover!"

"." Finn was silent for a while.

The independent factions of Zaun who once fought alongside Silko were completely silent at this time.

"It seems you all know." Hilko sighed slightly.

All of them know that "cooperation" is just a nice way of saying it.

No matter how low the Philos family's stance is now, when the war is over, both sides will ultimately decide their status based on their strength.

Of course, the strength of the Alchemy Baron of Zaun is far inferior to that of Pi City, which has already approached Noxus.

Agreeing to cooperate with the Feros family is actually agreeing to become a vassal of the Feros family after the war and to be the dog of Pi City forever.

But these Zaan warriors, who had once been willing to die to bite Picheng, agreed without any hesitation.

"Hilko, you are too persistent."

Finally, Finn expressed their thoughts on behalf of everyone: "Yes, we have all thought about fighting for Zaun. The Wind Leader may make Zaun independent and realize our dreams."

"But. The Wind Leader will not allow us to exist at all. If we no longer exist, even if Zaun is independent, is there any meaning?"

"So you would rather be the dogs of Piltover?" Silko asked coldly.

"Yes!" Finn gritted his teeth.

He answered frankly: "I would rather eat the shit of a Pi City guy than bow to the leader!"

"If the leader is allowed to take power, we will probably lose our lives. Even if we survive, we will probably have to be sent to the mines to do hard labor;"

"And if Pi City is allowed to rule Zaun, we can at least serve as Pi City's agent and continue to be our alchemist baron."

"." There was another moment of silence.

Hilko stopped asking.

"Hilko?" Everyone looked at him with subtle eyes.

Silko has always hated Piltover extremely. In order to integrate Zaun and fight against Piltover, he would even attack his close friends.

Therefore, his fierce opposition just now was actually expected by everyone.

And if Hilko has always been so stubborn and can't figure out the principle of "we must first settle down the inside" - then they can only join hands to help and physically help Hilko figure it out.

The air suddenly became tense.

"I understand." Hilko just sighed.

He slumped back into his seat, as if he finally recognized the reality: "Count me in for this operation."

The Alchemy Barons quickly reached a consensus, and under the auspices of Silko, the leader of Zaun, they seriously discussed the specific plan to cooperate with Piltover and Noxus.

The meeting lasted for a long time before everyone finally left with satisfaction.

They all imagined the beautiful scene of eradicating the leader in a battle six days later, and even their walking pace seemed to be much faster.

Hilko looked at their retreating figures with only indifference on his face.

"Hilko." Renata walked slowly to his side.

She will be able to die happily in a few days, and now she has no worries about speaking.

"How does it feel to kill a comrade with your own hands again?" She sneered and mocked: "Do you feel as guilty as killing Fander, or do you no longer feel it?"

Hilko was not affected by her at all.

He just took one last look at the retreating figures of Finn and others before saying, "They are not my comrades-in-arms."

"Oh, you are so heartless." Lenata laughed.

"No, they are indeed not." Hilko sighed.

He had just fully figured this out.

He used to fight to free the Zaun people from the cruel rule of Piltover, and those who fought alongside him were subconsciously regarded as comrades by him.

But after today, after seeing the true performance of everyone's embrace of Piltover without hesitation, Silko finally realized that even if they were warriors who also fought for Zaun's independence, they might not be like-minded comrades.

"Lenata, have you read the article "Why Noxus Fights"?" Silko suddenly asked.

"." Lenata's face suddenly turned green.

Even wearing a half-mask, it couldn't hide her twisted and painful expression.

Because when she thought of the scene where she was forced to listen to the "Jana Thoughts" broadcast, she couldn't help but want to vomit.

"It seems that you have read it." Silko said: "Livy once wrote in the article on Noxus that the main contradiction facing Noxus has always been the one between the old family aristocrats and the new military aristocrats.

contradiction."

"Now it seems that no matter whether it is Noxus, Zaun or Piltover, although the national conditions are hugely different, some principles are the same no matter where they are."

Silko used to think that the main conflict between the Twin Cities was the conflict between the Pilgrims and the Zaans.

Therefore, those Alchemy Barons who fought alongside him and were also from Zaun were all his comrades-in-arms.

But it's not.

Silko is willing to give everything he has for Zaun's independence, even if it requires him to sacrifice for it. But most of his "comrades" will only pay lip service to it.

Because these alchemy barons are not fighting for the Zaans, they are only fighting for themselves.

The main conflict in the Twin Cities is not the conflict between the Piltovers and the Zaans, but the conflict between different classes.

The Alchemist Baron may be Zaun, but they are closer to Piltover merchants in terms of class.

They fought against Piltover because they felt that their interests had been harmed under the old order ruled by Piltover. They just felt that their power was strong enough and they deserved more.

What they want is not to save Zaun. They just want to grab more cakes from the Piltover chaebol.

So when the leader threatened their vital interests, these so-called "Zunan independents" immediately revealed their true colors and without hesitation turned to Piltover, which they hated most in the past.

"If the Twins were Noxus:"

"The plutocratic families in Napi City are the old noble families of Noxus."

"The alchemy barons that are constantly rising from the bottom in Zaun are the new military aristocrats of Noxus."

Hilko understood:

"There is no such thing as a battle of two cities. It's just an uneven distribution of spoils between the old and new nobles, and a naked fight for territory."

"The old aristocrats only want to maintain their exploitation and oppression, and the new aristocrats only want to become a new clan."

"They only care about their own interests, no one really cares about Zaun's fate."

Hilko stretched out his hand, and the breeze swirled in his palm:

"Whether it's the old clan or the new aristocracy, they can't save Zaun."
Chapter completed!