The Trouble Within

Under cover of darkness, we stealthily infiltrated the Dauntless Vanguard, only to find many military camps empty; the seemingly long battle line was as thin as a sheet of paper. 💚💎 ☝👤

Just as Darius had predicted, the main force had already retreated, and the remaining small remnant wasn't there to fight at all; their orders were probably:

Once war breaks out, retreat immediately.

If that's the case, Fiora couldn't possibly be here either. I'm curious, what kind of chaos could have caused Garen to make such an emergency retreat?

If anything is more important than defending against Noxus's invasion, it must be a matter of the kingdom's fate.

"What do we do now? Should we arrest someone and question them?"

"No need, Fiora definitely won't be here. Let's go straight to Silver City."

I'm not worried about Demacia's arrest warrant at all, because compared to these major issues, the matter of capturing us is insignificant.

Riven and I traveled day and night, and soon arrived at Lunwol, the first town in eastern Demacia.

The atmosphere here is one of widespread anxiety, a stark contrast to the peace and tranquility of the past.

On a wide avenue in the center of town, a group of ragged people were parading several nobles through the streets.

There were four nobles in total: a man and a woman, two adults, with a boy and a girl, the girl looked to be in her teens and the boy was only three or four years old. They seemed to be a family.

"These incompetent scoundrels, who usually bully others because of their privileges, are now out of protection. Look how ridiculous they are, so cowardly! Hahaha..."

"You wicked mages! You have disturbed the peace of Demacia, and you will surely die a horrible death!"

"We've disrupted Demacia's peace? Why don't you say your peace is built on our suffering! What have we done wrong? Are we to be arrested and imprisoned simply because we like magic?"

It turns out these ragged people are all mages; it seems they're the ones who started this riot. Has the Nullstone stopped working?

If that's the case, then Demacia is in trouble.

These monks lashed out at the noble family, releasing years of pent-up resentment, while the patriarch of the noble family patiently tried to reason with them.

"Magic will destroy this country, just like it did during the Dark Ages three hundred years ago!"

"I'm afraid you won't see it!"

The monk touched the man's head, and he suddenly foamed at the mouth and his eyes rolled back! The woman held her two children tightly, trembling with fear.

"You know fear now? You know the pain of losing loved ones? If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought your blood was black!"

Before the monk could finish speaking, the girl in the woman's arms suddenly threw a stone at him, which hit the monk right on the forehead, raising a large bump.

"You little bastard! You dare to bite!"

The monk walked over to the three people, snatched the girl from the woman's arms, grabbed her hair, and kicked her hard in the stomach twice. The girl curled up on the ground in pain.

Regardless of their past grievances, I cannot stand idly by and watch this happen, otherwise all three women will be harmed.

Before I could even make a move, Riven walked over and grabbed the mage's hand as he was about to strike, ignoring his struggles.

Are you a lackey of these nobles?

"No, I'm their wanted criminal."

"Then why did you stop me? You should know how brutal and rude they are!"

"You're the one being rude now. How are you any different from them?"

"The only difference is that they struck first! Am I so noble as to let a grudge go unpunished?"

"But the child is innocent."

"When they took me in, my child was only two years old, and now, I can't find my wife and child at all!"

Riven's grip loosened. She had once been an avenger herself, and knew the taste of hatred. Now, what reason did she have to stop someone else's revenge?

The mage saw Riven loosen her grip, said thank you, and then continued his work.

"Shauna!" the hostess cried out in anguish, and my heart skipped a beat.

Shauna? Could it be Shauna Vayne? I didn't have time to think and quickly intervened to stop the mage's killing move. He was just an inch away from touching the girl's head.

Why are there so many busybodies these days?

"There are some things I need to confirm. Of course, the outcome isn't important. Now that I've taken action, I won't let you hurt this girl."

"Fine then, since someone is willing to help her, I'll spare her life."

After the monk finished speaking, I thought he would leave with his people, but to my surprise, he suddenly attacked the mother and child and killed them instantly!

"Mom, little brother!" The girl struggled desperately, but I held her tightly.

"You can't beat them, don't waste your energy."

"I beg you, avenge me! I'll give you my house!"

"Remember his face. If you want revenge, do it yourself, but not now!"

Hearing my words, the girl calmed down, and her eyes, besides sadness, were filled with hatred. She would probably never forget this scene for the rest of her life.

"May I have your name?"

Shauna Vayne.

I didn't pursue the matter further, and called Riven to leave again. On the way, she asked me:

Why encourage her to seek revenge?

"Because she will be a remarkable assassin."

We continued our journey to Silver City, passing through towns where varying degrees of warfare had broken out. In some towns, mages held the upper hand, while in others, soldiers had the advantage, and the battles between the two sides were extremely fierce.

I heard many rumors along the way that the great liberator Sylas was leading a mage army to rebel against the tyranny of Demacia, and that they had already turned Silver City upside down.

The Nullstone — the Demacia regime's trump card for ruling the region—has been cracked by Sylas, and now his followers are rising up in rebellion across the land, responding to his call.

"Have you ever heard of Sylas?" Riven asked me.

"No, my understanding of this world is limited to the 138 people in the game and a few related characters; there are many others I haven't encountered."

"He possesses the power to overthrow Demacia; his origins are likely extraordinary. I thought you would know something about him."

"I also wish I could get to know him, but unfortunately I know nothing about him. Jarvan was originally planning to implement reforms, but in the end, the revolution came first."

"He will become a better ruler than the current king; it's just a matter of whether he can survive this ordeal."

As we were talking, I saw another burst of flames rise in the distance; these were all deadly attacks unleashed by the mages.

"Let's go, we're almost there. Be careful."

"I don't think we're in any danger. On the mage's side, we're wanted criminals; on the Demacia side, we're Jarvan's friends. We've become someone both sides want to win over."