A Chance Encounter on the Plains

I tried to gather the Wind Force and then released it according to the principle of Uniform Strength that Kled taught me. Although it wasn't as powerful as his gale, it was enough to disperse these people.

Riven seized the opportunity and rushed out, quickly retrieving the Gale Sword and her broken sword from our carriage.

With weapons, the situation changed!

"Don't kill them, these people are innocent," I reminded Riven.

"I know without you saying it; I'm no longer the kind of person who indiscriminately kills innocent people."

We slowly fought our way to the gate, only to find that the army outside had already arrived. Luckily, we had escaped a step earlier, otherwise, being trapped inside the palace would have been really tough!

We fled the palace quickly, ignoring the pursuers behind us, and it took us quite a while to shake them off.

"This is ridiculous. Why did we end up like this even though we did the right thing? Demacia is such a strange country," Riven complained.

"What a waste of this outfit."

When we first arrived at the palace, the king had his royal tailor make armor for us, but now it's tattered and torn, except for the bloodstains.

"What's there to regret? I'm not used to wearing it anyway. Where do we go now?"

"I was just planning to visit Darius at the Noxus military camp. I was simply going to Demacia for a look around, but I never expected all this to happen."

On the way back to Noxus, we didn't dare take the main roads, so we disguised ourselves and chose to take deserted routes.

We're wanted everywhere in Demacia right now, and many guilds have issued bounties to attract Bounty Hunter to earn the rewards.

"I never expected you to be so valuable. I only spent twenty gold coins to buy you back then," I joked with Riven, noticing her bounty was five thousand gold coins.

"That's a very good deal, but you seem to be worth more. It seems General Darius has a good eye."

After exchanging a joke, I felt much better. Although it was a bit of a shame to be enemies with Demacia, I was still very happy to have rescued Fiora.

That said, how should I face her next time?

We dared not stay in hotels or eat in restaurants, but the life of sleeping outdoors seemed more suitable for us.

I don't remember how many days I traveled, but I finally left the borders of Demacia, and I'm not so nervous anymore.

"Looks like we're safe here now. We haven't seen a town in ages." Riven stretched.

"Don't relax too much. The pursuers are gone, but we can't guarantee there won't be Bounty Hunter. Have you forgotten those who came to steal the Dragon Tooth?"

"No problem, I'll kill as many of those kinds of trash as they come!"

"The bounty on Dragon Tooth was only a hundred gold coins, so the people who came weren't exactly experts. But now it's different; I'm afraid even the top Bounty Hunter are eyeing us."

Riven remained dismissive; in her eyes, aside from a large group of enemies, even a small number wouldn't be too terrifying.

"Speaking of which, Fiora is truly a beauty; no wonder you can't forget her."

"Her appearance is only one of her advantages; her greatest strength is her swordsmanship."

"What a pity, I can't spar with her, otherwise I would definitely show you who's stronger!"

Do you really want to beat her?

I want to surpass her in your heart.

You are very important to me too.

"But it's not unique."

Riven's words were quite clear; in fact, I had already sensed her feelings, but I just didn't know how to respond, just like Lux did back then.

"One day, you will find a man who is better than me, and I will not be your destiny."

"What are you saying? Isn't Fiora your older sister? I'm your younger sister too!"

"..."

Riven laughed and changed the subject, leaving me speechless. Why am I always saying things I don't mean? I clearly want her to stay with me, yet I say such things.

We roamed freely in the neutral zone between Demacia and Noxus, encountering only two groups of Bounty Hunter.

I find it strange that their intelligence network is so efficient; the entire kingdom's army couldn't find us, yet they were able to track us down so quickly.

At the same time, I really wanted to meet them because we didn't have much money left for our journey, and we wouldn't have any money left when we reached the next town.

From another perspective, meeting us was a good thing. Although the wanted poster described us as extremely heinous, we only took their money and didn't take their lives.

It's not that I'm arrogant, it's just that I know Demacia Bounty Hunter aren't very skilled. If I were in Noxus, I would definitely be much more careful.

The winter twilight was heavy and dark, the sky seemed closer to the ground than in other seasons, and I always felt like I could touch the clouds as I walked. That's when I noticed something was wrong:

Someone is approaching.

Three.

After Riven finished speaking, she shot off like a swift arrow, and I followed closely behind. The three of them didn't even have time to escape before we cornered them.

Riven!

It turned out to be three Noxus soldiers. They were very respectful to Riven and quickly greeted her.

"Don't call me Riven anymore. I've already broken free of the Battle Axe. Since you're here, then Darius must be nearby?"

"Yes, the army has just finished setting up camp, and we are currently patrolling the area."

"That's perfect, I was just about to look for you. Lead the way."

We followed a few scouts to Darius's camp, and to my surprise, the defenses there were extremely lax.

The camp was surrounded by wide open fields, and there wasn't even a fence around it, unlike Swain's military camp.

Riven was very familiar with this place, after all, she had fought Darius for many years. Under her guidance, we went straight into the general's tent.

Darius was the only one in the large tent, a habit he shared with Swain. He hadn't changed much in the past few years, though he had a few more gray hairs, and he was in excellent spirits.

He looked up at me and Riven: "Is this the Yasuo Swain was talking about?"

"You knew all along?"

"I understand, but I haven't told anyone else. I hope you will always be my Blood Warrior."

"I'm sorry, I don't want to stay here any longer. I came here to say goodbye."

"Why suppress your desires? It's clear you still like it here."

"Because I met Yasuo."

Darius stood up, walked over to me, and made no attempt to hide his admiration.

"Yasuo, not bad, how about considering staying here with Riven?"

"I'm not here to say goodbye to Riven, but for something else. I wonder if Swain has told you about my identity?"

"He only said that you are powerful, that you even made Lord Sion of Chaos speak, and of course, that you also lured away my Blood Warrior."

"It seems he's forgotten one thing: we used to be old friends."