Twin Cities: Who says scientists can't be conquerors?

Chapter 23 The Trial Grounds

In Aaron's memory, Urgot was always an unpopular hero neglected by players because of his "super high" looks.

If Aaron hadn't been watching the "Battle of Two Cities" anime and constantly seeing comments like "Why isn't Urgot showing up?" popping up in the chat, he wouldn't have bothered to learn more about the character.

This knowledge seems to have provided a convenient advantage today—it seems that no one else has ever heard of this name except for him.

"Ha, Smith."

"The flesh-and-blood modification will only make you more tolerant of pain, but the electric shock you just received still wasn't pleasant, was it? Why force yourself to endure the pain?"

Aaron interrupted Smith's maniacal laughter with disdain.

He gestured for Zeli to leave quickly, while simultaneously keeping Smith's "hatred" firmly under control—he slammed the power-enhancing pincers on the ground with a loud thud, looking completely unfazed.

"Jinx said you should make your enemies suffer, so what are you hesitating for?"

"I'm standing right here. If you want to..."

"Shut up!!"

Smith panicked and jumped off the armored monster, his eyes red, ready to swing his special weapon at Aaron.

He was hit where it hurt, and by his most hated enemy at that, so he was furious to the point of almost going crazy!

only……

when--!

Aaron didn't even see the specific movements clearly before he saw the armored soldier who had just been carrying Smith actually turn around and block Smith's movements before he could!

"Let me go! I'm going to kill this brat! It's him, he ruined everything!"

"Let me go..."

Smith yelled and struggled to break free from the armored monster's restraints, but all his efforts were in vain.

Aaron, who was ready to fight, set up the power-enhancing pincers, his eyes full of question marks.

He had absolutely no idea what Smitch was up to.

Isn't Smitch supposed to be able to control these Urgot cyborgs? Could Jinx's information be wrong?

Aaron pondered to himself.

He had just gestured for Zelly to leave first so that she could go back and inform Jinx to bring out the "big surprise" they had prepared for Smith.

Aaron himself, on the other hand, decided to stay and entangle with the other party for a while longer.

After all, winning through hand-to-hand combat has never been Aaron's style as a researcher.

However, his expedient plan seemed to have no chance to be implemented at all, and it appears that Smits' side had already started "internal strife"?

"Could it be...?"

Aaron narrowed his eyes, quickly recalling relevant information about Urgot in his mind.

After eliminating all the impossibilities, the remaining option, no matter how outrageous, seems to be the truth.

"You can't hurt me... Urgot himself requested this!"

Aaron muttered to himself, suddenly feeling a sense of clarity in his mind.

He still didn't quite understand how Urgot, who had never appeared in the public eye, had set his sights on him.

However, judging from the differences between Smitch, who has a grudge against him, and those armored monsters, this is the conclusion he has drawn!

……

In Aaron's memory, the story of Urgot was mostly told in a bland manner:

As the executioner of the weak, Urgot was once the living symbol of Noxus's ideology: only strength is the truth that governs all things.

Therefore, every time he wielded the executioner's axe, he was proclaiming this idea to the world.

His glory grew taller with the pile of corpses behind him, and his authority served as the discipline guarantee for countless warbands—Urgate was proud of this.

If it weren't for that conspiracy, if it weren't for that cunning raven hiding under the cloak, Urgot might have maintained this glory forever:

Not long ago, Urgot was ordered to Zaun to thwart a so-called "plot against the rulers of Noxus".

This sounded bizarre, but Urgot didn't pay much attention until he realized he had fallen for a "luring the tiger away from the mountain" trick, by which time it was too late.

While he was away from the capital, a man named Jericho Swain had already seized power in Noxus with lightning speed!

Urgot, who was already a sacrifice, became a lone wolf with no one to rely on as soon as he landed in Zaun.

He was surrounded by the Alchemist Baron's spies and dragged into the alchemy mines at the bottom of Zaun, in order to prevent the emergence of another figure in Zaun who would take away their power.

Urgot was powerless at the time and could only wait to die in the mine filled with poisonous gas and smoke.

But in the deepest part of the trench, the "Hook," death takes many forms... so when Urgot wakes up again, he finds himself seemingly a prisoner.

The Countess of Worth, the caretaker of the mine, enjoys playing this kind of imprisonment game.

She turned the entire "Sinking Hook" into a private prison, occasionally accepting the prisoners' painful confessions and repentance under unbearable torture, and the reward was to grant them freedom—to send them away directly with her blade!

Under these circumstances, the screams echoing from those tunnels forced Urgot to learn about the wonders of Zaun—this city possessed something special, something extraordinary and deeply ingrained in people's hearts, even the blood-spurting throats of the dying spoke of the city's secrets.

Urgot was completely baffled until one day he was brought before Countess Voss. He was terrified that she would destroy him completely.

But as the Countess's blade pierced his flesh, Urgot realized that his body was already riddled with wounds and had suffered greatly, and the pain caused by Voss was nothing compared to that.

In that instant, "Sinking Hook" made him realize that his body had undergone some kind of mutation, becoming far beyond the limits he could have imagined as an executioner—

He grabbed the blade the countess had used to dislocate his jaw, then turned and plunged the knife into the countess's ribs with surprising ease!

And so, Urgot awoke to the truth in the blood-soaked dungeon.

He believes that Zaun's secret is "pain".

He discovered that his own body was the most vulnerable part, unable to withstand enough "pain," so he replaced it with scavenged mechanical parts:

Breathing is useless, so the lungs are simply hollowed out and turned into energy organs connected to the fluorescent green venom.

Since the intestines are useless, we'll remove them all and turn them into a warehouse that can hold weapons.

My legs are useless...

In short, when Smitch was being chased to the point of desperation by Hilco and had no choice but to plunge into the "Hook," Urgot had already turned it into his own playground.

They call it: the Trial Ground!

The prisoners struggling to survive there had to maintain their fanatical worship of Urgot and fully accept his twisted ideology—

Urgot instilled one idea in all souls:

What has always ruled Noxus has not been power, but people.

Humans are very weak.

Therefore, there should be no rulers, no lies, and no established laws or order in the world.

In other words, Urgot is a staunch "anarchist"!

He stayed in the "Sinking Hook" to preach, forcing the living who fell there to submit to his ideology in order to have a chance to survive.

At the same time, he carefully concealed his presence, resolutely refusing to climb out of the mine to avoid being noticed by the forces outside the "testing ground" that were capable of easily overthrowing him.

Based on his own bizarre treatment and Urgot's twisted thoughts, Aaron vaguely guessed the logic behind this abnormal behavior—

Urgot assigned Smitch, a prisoner with a "good attitude towards reform," the task of instigating widespread panic and hatred in the Zaunian neighborhood.

Where there is hatred, there will be people who want revenge.

The Avengers are often impulsive, easily angered, and disorganized. As they gradually enter Urgot's testing grounds, ultimately...

They will all become fresh blood who believe in his great ideals one after another!

"I see."

Aaron felt he had very likely stumbled upon the truth.

So it seems that Smitch hates Aaron so much, and even though he has the armored monster that Urgot created, he never dares to actually harm Aaron.

This means...

"Thank you for your high regard."

Aaron looked at Smith's face, which had turned ashen again, and slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

"It seems your Lord Urgot is really eager to see me day and night, and to ensure that I am unharmed before I enter the trial grounds."

"Remember to thank him for me."