Clash (Part 1)

In the cool morning of October, a refreshing breeze from the sea made Piltover's climate exceptionally pleasant. Ezreal, as usual, woke up early for a few kilometers of morning running. After breakfast came two hours of physical training. Only after that did he get to his usual research work. His previous conversation with Ling Ying had given him a clear goal: he knew he had to go to Icathia, that deadly forbidden land, sooner or later. And before that, he needed to work on making himself stronger.

"Screech!"

With a piece of toast in his mouth, Ezreal skillfully sliced open a copy of the Piltover Daily Mail. Along with the scent of ink, the clear front-page headline met his eyes.

"Shocking! The Eldest Daughter of the Midalda Family Found Dead on the Street!"

"..."

Ezreal froze for a full ten seconds, not even noticing the toast fall from his mouth onto the ground.

"This newspaper isn't exaggerating for once, and it's genuinely shocking."

Ezreal, unsure whether to laugh or cry, grabbed some milk to calm his nerves and continued reading.

"The Enforcers apprehended the culprit a few days ago, but due to lax security, they escaped. After failing to persuade them to surrender, the police were forced to shoot them dead. According to police sources, the culprit was an outsider named Lilia Rance..."

"Pfft!!! Cough cough cough cough..."

Ezreal sprayed milk everywhere like a blooming flower.

"Are you f***ing kidding me!!"

"Are you kidding me?"

Vi's grey-green eyes widened, her voice rising by eight octaves.

"You just... took her in? That casually?"

"What else?"

Caitlyn replied without looking up from her paperwork.

"Do you expect me to hold a formal induction ceremony? When I took you in, wasn't it pretty casual too? Back then you..."

"Okay, okay, stop, don't say it."

Vi quickly interrupted Caitlyn.

"That's not what I meant, but you could have at least discussed it with me. Or did you just want to deliberately leave me out while I was busy dealing with those people in Zaun and the Council?"

"Vi..."

Caitlyn couldn't help but feel a bit amused.

"You're really overthinking things. I just made this decision while you happened to be away, that's all. And this wasn't something I did on my own whim. Grey Madam also discussed this with me, and even some of the higher-ups in the Enforcers know about it."

"Alright, I knew that girl wasn't from around here. Her identity was fake, and she even killed someone. How could you bring her in? But you're talking about the famous Camille from the Fierol Family? I thought she only cared about killing spies from rival families. What's she doing getting involved with the Enforcers this time?"

"Because our new friend dealt a heavy blow to the Midalda Family when many wished for their downfall. She saved other families the trouble of doing it themselves. Now, all they have to do is kick them while they're down. Sophie Midalda's incident seems to be over, with both the killer and victim officially declared dead. But for the family feuds, this is just the beginning. They'll latch onto this, accusing Sophie Midalda of indiscriminate murder and human rights violations. All her past misdeeds will be dug up and presented in court to tarnish the Midalda Family's reputation and prestige. After that, the direct attacks on the Midalda Family will begin. As leaders in the medical and biochemical fields, there will be no shortage of dirt to collect if someone's determined. The Midalda Family might not escape this unscathed. And for the one who lit the fuse, since she survived, several major families, led by the Fierol Family, see no harm in doing her a favor. Having the Enforcers help her change her identity might even be useful for annoying the Midalda Family at an unexpected time."

"Ah, that old man from the Midalda Family is in for a rough time. Lost his daughter, and might lose everything else. You people in Piltover... the infighting within the city is truly terrifying."

Vi pouted, unceremoniously picking up the coffee Caitlyn had been drinking from her desk and taking a sip.

"Pfft! It's so bitter! You should add more sugar!"

"Bitterness is what's truly worth savoring. What's sweet worth remembering?"

"See, this is another thing I don't understand about you. If a drink isn't good, why drink it? Speaking of which, I always felt you were a bit impulsive about this whole thing."

"Ah, indeed. As you said, Grey Madam suggested that this person might be someone we could cooperate with, but she probably didn't expect me to recruit the girl directly. There are indeed risks involved..."

Caitlyn stopped writing, twirling her pen thoughtfully.

"Merchants in Piltover often say that profit is the strongest bond between people. In a way, I think that saying holds a lot of truth. As long as there's profit to be made, people who can't stand each other can coexist, at least temporarily. You can actually view this whole situation as a business deal. It's just that our business partner asked for too little, yet created significant profit. Thus, the risk becomes acceptable."

Caitlyn said this while looking at Vi beside her.

"Of course, the reason I did this has nothing to do with the dirty squabbles between those families. I don't even want to pay attention to them. But I am constantly watching this city. Internal power struggles aren't enough to bring it down. However, powerful external forces could cause it to collapse overnight. Do you understand, partner?"

"Are you talking about Noxus?"

"Precisely."

Caitlyn glanced at a tab marked with a crimson insignia in the file beside her and sighed softly.

"Reports from the border outposts say that this warlike empire has overcome the chaos of its power transition. Now, they have a unified leader. And this leader is highly likely to use an external war to establish his authority among the people and... completely purge his opposition. As such, being on the same continent, with enviable economic trade and technology, Piltover would be an ideal target."

"Indeed, Noxus's espionage activities have become increasingly blatant lately."

Vi mused, pinching her chin.

"But what does that have to do with our current topic?"

"It does."

Caitlyn offered a helpless smile.

"If there truly is a war waiting for us, I hope to add more strength to Piltover, even if it's just one person. However, I feel our new friend can contribute far more than just one person."

"Alright, then I won't say anything else."

Vi shrugged.

"Your intuition has always been quite accurate."

"Is that so? Thank you for the compliment."

Caitlyn smiled as she finished the last stroke, closed the folder, and stood up from her seat.

"Then now, let's call our new partner and go clean up some annoying rats. Before both sides completely fall out, this is still one of the indispensable tasks."

Zakel was in a very good mood and couldn't help but hum a tune. However, this good mood wasn't because he had just received a raise as a customs worker. That was just his cover identity. In reality, he was a War Stone Mason from Noxus. Of course, not the kind of stonemason who worked with stones. They were the empire's most outstanding intelligence and spy personnel. Whenever there was a war abroad, the War Stone Masons would arrive in the target country ahead of the Noxian army to gather intelligence and draw maps. Or they would do nothing and simply settle down, waiting to be activated when the empire needed them. Zakel had come to Piltover six years ago with a group of colleagues. Because of his exceptionally superb acting skills, he had even secured a stable position in the important customs department. Together with those people from Piltover, he had profited immensely by abusing his authority. However, the decadent life had not made him forget his true mission. Because...

"Noxians never betray their homeland."

Zakel silently recited his oath from back then, while looking up at the cargo boxes being hoisted above. According to the port's registration, it was a box of handicrafts for export, but in reality, it contained the most important mission since Zakel's infiltration—a powerful weapon from the Hextech Lab. And the people of Piltover had shelved it, citing it as too dangerous. Zakel scoffed at this. Things that kill, and they cared about whether they were dangerous or not. Noxus didn't care about such things. With such powerful equipment, the imperial army would only be like a tiger with wings, advancing even more unstoppable on the battlefield.

"Please! Faster! Just get it onto the ship."

Zakel wished this in his heart countless times.

"Mr. Zakel, you seem very nervous."

Then he heard a clear, unfamiliar female voice behind him. He turned around. The person he absolutely did not want to see was standing there.

The Sheriff of Piltover, Caitlyn.

"It's over."

This was the first thought that flashed through Zakel's mind. He knew his plan must have gone wrong somewhere, otherwise, this sheriff wouldn't have appeared here. It was just that he couldn't figure out for a moment where his almost flawless plan had gone awry.

"What? In a hurry to leave?"

Caitlyn glanced up at the cargo box hanging in mid-air and said softly.

"The prototype of the Hextech Energy Coil Cannon. You might not know how dangerous this thing is. Ah, of course, I don't think you care, but what I want to say is, you've chosen someone you can't chew through this time. Even if this thing is transported back, with Noxus's current technological strength, you won't be able to replicate it. So..."

Caitlyn shook her head, then raised the silver-white Hextech rifle in her hand.

"It's better to let it stay in Piltover, don't you think, Mr. Zakel?"

Zakel looked at the dark muzzle in horror and retreated step by step, stammering something from his gaping mouth, looking terrified. But the next second, his expression suddenly turned dangerously fierce.

"Kill her!"

Zakel roared. Two black shadows suddenly shot out from the stacked cargo boxes behind him, carrying a shining cold light, and attacked Caitlyn.

"Yes! That's it! Kill her!"

A hint of triumph appeared in Zakel's eyes. He naturally knew the identities of the two black shadows. They were reinforcements sent by the empire just a few days ago to ensure the transportation of the goods. One was an assassin from the empire's ace unit, the Crimson Elite, and the other was a Shadowmancer from the Black Rose. Either one of them could easily kill the not-so-skilled-in-combat Caitlyn a hundred times. It was laughable that the sheriff had appeared before him alone, did she think she had the advantage?

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

A rather piercing sound of metal clashing and cutting shattered Zakel's hope. Two dark figures were forced back after a brief exchange. Unexpectedly, two more figures appeared beside Caitlyn.

"Now it's three against three."

Caitlyn flashed a smile. Zakel looked at the two uninvited guests with great vigilance. The one on the left was a familiar face, the sheriff's wild and unrestrained partner, Piltover's enforcer, Vi. As for the other, Zakel narrowed his eyes slightly as he sized her up—the girl had long silver hair that seemed kissed by the pure moonlight, and a peerless beauty that would make all the women of Piltover jealous. While silently praising her in his heart, Zakel's gaze flickered to the steel badge on her chest.

"Cecilia Ilana?"

His and his colleagues' collected intelligence had never mentioned anyone like this in the Security Bureau. It seemed tonight's surprises were only going to increase.

"Hey! Noxian sewer rat."

Vi twisted her neck and stepped forward.

"I'll give you two choices now. One is to take a few punches from me first, and then I'll ask you all the questions. The other is to confess honestly yourself, and then take a few punches from me. Which do you choose?"

"?"

Zakel was stunned. What was the difference between these two choices? While he was dazed, Vi had already made her next move.

"Time's up! I'll take that as you choosing the first one. Energy Punch!!"

Vi shouted and charged forward. The Atlas Gauntlets on her arms suddenly spewed out a bright blue flame, propelling her body forward in an instant to Zakel's side. Her massive armored fists whistled as they rapidly smashed down towards his location.