Silco was the first to react, quickly issuing orders to Vi: "Assemble everyone, send some to protect the residents of the Newborn Community, and tell everyone to go to the Dance Hall."
"No one can stay in the Sump now!"
Seeing sparks flowing like lava across the mine, Silco decisively gave the order.
He turned to Jinx and shouted, "What are you still standing there for? If you really want to help Li Ke, go back and get your weapons. Standing here empty-handed, you're only getting in his way!"
Jinx was taken aback, then quickly ran towards Vi, hugged her around the waist as she was about to get onto the flyboard, and looked up at her.
"I understand, I'll take you back first." Vi immediately understood Jinx's meaning. She reached out and patted Jinx's head, unlike before when she would use the excuse of protection to make Jinx obediently follow the group. Instead, she chose to trust Jinx.
If we were to pinpoint Wei's greatest growth, it would perhaps be that she no longer belittles herself and is willing to start trusting others.
Silco also left, but he didn't go too far. He kept a telescope in hand, watching the situation at the Grandstone Mine from a distance.
He was left with only a few the Sump enforcement officers to protect him and to give him instructions.
"I thought everything was going well, but... why are there such monsters in Zaun!" Silco stared at Vander and Li Ke, who were fighting the monster, their faces ashen. They couldn't even get close to the fire creature.
If it weren't for the Goddess Janna protecting Vander and Li Ke, those two wouldn't even have been able to escape, let alone fight that monster!
Silco knew perfectly well that right now, Li Ke and Vander were just stalling for time, buying time for Zaun to disperse the residents!
In the Hope Community, Vi put Jinx down, exchanged a glance with Jinx, nodded, and then turned and left with a group of law enforcement officers to begin delivering a message to the residents of the Hope Community.
At the same time, Hotarubi Community also received the news. Scar immediately led the law enforcement officers from Hotarubi Community. Some of them stayed behind to maintain order at the scene and led the residents of Hotarubi Community toward the Mid-level Plaza, while the other the Sump Law Enforcement Officers followed Scar, armed themselves, and rushed toward the Grandstone Mine.
The same applies to other communities. The Sump officers even prohibit residents from bringing their belongings with them. If anyone insists on taking things with them, they will be forced to use force to violently drive them toward the Mid-level Plaza.
Upon learning of this, Jayce, along with Viktor, used their flying Skateboard and immediately headed towards Piltover.
Jayce didn't see what the creature looked like, but that didn't stop him from believing the Sump enforcer's words.
After all, the neighborhood where he lived in Zaun was in complete chaos!
Arriving in Piltover as quickly as possible, Jayce rushed to the Parliament building to ring the bells.
Zaun, the Sump, the Grandstone Mine --
Li Ke and Vander, along with Janna had transformed into a giant bluebird behind them, confronted the Darkin. Li Ke's face was ashen, and one of his hands was burned open, emitting a strong smell of roasted meat.
Who said the Darkin was very weak when they first woke up?
Damn it, is this what you call weakness?
Li Ke really wanted to grab that bastard who said those things on the forum, beat him up, and kick him hard in the face!
Even the combined strength of him, Vander, Janna couldn't suppress this Darkin in front of them!
It's hard to imagine how powerful it must have been at its peak if this is considered a weakness.
And why are there Darkin in Zaun's underworld?!
Li Ke genuinely knew absolutely nothing about this!
Darkin uses a harp as their main body? Aren't there only a few Darkin?
Bow, sickle, sword, dagger--
In Kai'Sa's story, Li Ke also learned about a faceless god named Xolaani, but that guy's statue is in Shurima, while this is Zaun, Zaun!
A Darkin whose true form is a harp, and whose entire body is engulfed in flames— Li Ke had never even considered such a thing before.
"Why don't you leave, Li Ke? I'll buy you some time." Vander looked at Li Ke. He possessed powerful resurrection abilities, but Li Ke did not.
He was injured, and that was that; Vander could smell the roasted meat emanating from his body.
"Stop joking, do you think you can handle this alone?" Li Ke took a deep breath and charged towards the Darkin while asking Janna, "Janna, do you have any ideas?"
"No, Li Ke, I'm too weak right now," Janna replied quickly. The giant bluebird she had transformed into was somewhat transparent, a consequence of overdrawing her power, but she still continued to use her power to protect Li Ke.
To avoid burning Li Ke's body with flames, he also used wind blades to attack the Darkin.
"Stelaratu, I remember now, she was a fallen Ascended from Ancient Shurima, but why is she here?" Janna's voice also carried a hint of confusion.
As Deity of Zaun, Janna is actually not very old. Compared to humans, she is certainly an ancient being, but compared to some truly ancient beings in Runeterra, Janna is actually still a "young girl".
Zaun was born a thousand years ago, and Janna was also Deity who came to worship during that period. Then, she encountered the Tsar's order to abolish false Deity. Janna was implicated, her shrine was destroyed, and her power was greatly reduced.
Unlike the Ascended power comes from the Sun Disc of Shurima, Janna's power comes from the power of faith. Her potential is incredibly high, but her potential is also very low.
At her weakest, she couldn't even compare to a local elemental spirit.
Therefore, having lost the power of faith, Janna remained in a daze for countless years, sometimes lucid, sometimes asleep. She could not possibly know everything that had happened in Shurima and Zaun over the past millennium. So, was it while she was asleep that Stelaratu arrived in Zaun?
But how did she become like this, and how could she willingly hide in the underground world of Zaun?
"Garn-Arem, you are nothing but a false Deity, how dare you stop me!"
Stelaratu spoke, and several eyes in the flames turned to Janna, a hint of surprise Flash in those enormous fiery eyes.
The Darkin weren't truly insane. The Void corrupted them, but it didn't truly corrupt them. What truly corrupted them was the loss of Shurima's glory. The kingdom they longed for perished in the dust, becoming a mere trace in history. This sense of defeat was the real reason they willingly succumbed to their depravity.
Aatrox was, Stelaratu was, and most of the Darkin were too.
Now, looking at Janna's graceful figure and pure power, a hint of jealousy flashed in Stelaratu's eyes.
The noble have fallen to the mortal realm, while the hypocritical Deity reign supreme?
Janna didn't speak, but expressed herself through her actions.
A massive cyan wind blade pierced through space, appearing beside Stelaratu's host, and attacked the giant blood-red rat through the flames.
"Get lost!" Stelaratu shook his fiery giant hand holding the lyre, shattering the wind blade that was attacking him.
With Janna's help, Li Ke rushed into the flames and charged toward the giant rat in the center.
Stelaratu's several eyes turned to Li Ke in an instant, and the blood-red rat's body split apart, transforming into a terrifying Giant Mouth.
"Li Ke!" Janna looked down, grabbed Li Ke's shoulder with her claws, and pulled him back, avoiding being swallowed by the blood- Giant Mouth.
"Damn it!" Li Ke cursed, feeling utterly powerless for the first time.
He was at his weakest when he met Jinx, but even then, Li Ke had never felt so powerless.
Li Ke's journey has been incredibly smooth.
The two cities' weak fighting forces and their continued success made Li Ke forget that Runeterra was always a dangerous place.
Now, Stelaratu the Darkin has taught him a lesson.
Li Ke is indeed powerful enough, a top-tier fighter even in Noxus, and his strength is definitely higher than that of Darius, an ordinary person. However, in the eyes of these monsters, Li Ke is nothing more than a slightly larger ant.
"Janna, have all the Zaunite gone up there?"
"Not yet, we might have to hold on a little longer," Janna said, but then she fell silent.
Yes, hang in there, but what happens after you've hung in there?
Even after the Zaunite have all gone to safety, won't they still be unable to defeat Stelaratu?
Janna sighed inwardly, then made a decision. If all else failed, she would choose to disintegrate her soul, taking Zaun and Stelaratu with her. No, what Janna feared most was her current weakness; even if she chose to perish together, she wouldn't be able to completely destroy Stelaratu.
With her current power, the best outcome would be that Stelaratu's host energy would be exhausted and his blood magic power would be depleted. However, Stelaratu would still return, because the Darkin are very difficult to kill completely; their power is beyond human imagination.
Janna had seen what they looked like as Ascended, and she had also seen them fight each other during the Darkin War. She knew exactly what kind of abilities these monsters possessed.
So, what should we do?
"Zaun's in trouble? If they can't even handle this, what help can we offer?"
At the Piltover Parliament Building, Representative Hoskall frowned upon hearing Jayce's words and spoke.
Jayce calmly looked at Hoskall and said, "It's precisely because they can't solve it that we need to help them!"
"Congressman Hoskall, I'm not joking. If Zaun can't solve this problem with its current strength, then this trouble will eventually affect us too!"
"We and Zaun are neighbors, one above the other. Their troubles are our troubles too. Sitting idly by is the most foolish choice! Or do you want to see Zaun make a fool of themselves?"
"I think Jayce is right. If Zaun really runs into big trouble, we can't just stand by and do nothing. Like Mel said, Noxus will come back, and when they do, Piltover will be the first to be affected. If we don't help Zaun now, then when the Noxians come, they'll have a reason not to help us either," Councilor Kiramman said, standing up.
Sevika sat quietly, listening to the councilors' words, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
During her time as a councilor in the Upper City, Sevika endured no shortage of disdain. Although they outwardly treated her with the proper courtesy and granted Sevika real power—she had the authority to manage the Zaunite in Piltover —they were also secretly ostracizing her.
Now, watching one congressman after another stand up and express their willingness to support and help Zaun, Sevika understood why they were willing, but even knowing their reasons, Sevika had a feeling that was hard to express.
She now understood why Li Ke had said, "No matter how many mistakes Piltover has made, we are still one."
Yes, the people of the two cities were one family hundreds of years ago.
No matter how much fighting occurs among our own people, that's our own business. But if there's external pressure, the two cities can unite to defend against the enemy.
"Then it's settled. Wei said that guy is a monster covered in fire, so since it's fire, we'll use water to deal with him!"
"The canyon across the bay, once the Zaunite reach the Dance Hall, I propose we open the canyon and release the floodwaters!" Jayce said in a deep voice.
"Now, members of parliament, please vote!" Jayce shouted.
Mel was the first to raise his hand, followed by Senator Kiramman, then Sevika, Saro, and Hoskall.
"Get the officers moving! Go to the Dance Hall and maintain order!"
Jayce waved and said.
At 5:11 PM, all the residents of the Sump, including those in the Mid-level Plaza Zaun, gathered in front of the Screaming Engine. However, it was clear that two machines were not enough to transport so many Zaunite. So, the Sump Enforcer carried children and people with mobility issues on his back and used a flying board to rush towards the Dance Hall.
A group of Piltover residents dressed in blue also mingled into the crowd. Marcus, who had been demoted, was no longer the Piltover sheriff, but he was now directing all the law enforcement officers, using Piltover vehicles to send the Zaunite up the Dance Hall.
Above the Dance Hall, Piltover's enforcers were maintaining order on the Progress Bridge, as Zaunite steadily made their way into Piltover Progress Bridge.
Standing in the center of a group of law enforcement officers, Member of Parliament Kiramman saw this scene, clasped his hands to his chest, and pursed his lips, deeply moved.
They didn't know whether the large-scale Zaunite into Piltover was a good thing or a bad thing.
But Jayce was right about one thing—
If Zaun truly faces a major crisis and they ignore it, then Piltover will ultimately reap the bitter consequences.
The people in both the upper and lower cities were completely unaware of the crisis currently unfolding in Zaun.
But,
They raced against time.
With concerted efforts, we can overcome any obstacle.