svetikya Page 84
Page 84
However, in Irelia's opinion, this should be largely thanks to her senior brother, right? After all, yesterday her senior brother not only helped her stretch and relax, but also held her and told her stories while she was sleeping... just like before after evening classes.
Although not entirely certain, Irelia sensed that Faen's technique was improving... However, Irelia didn't dwell on it. After all, during the months her senior brother had been missing, she had only been training with her fellow senior and junior sisters. While the senior sisters might be slightly better at the fluidity and harmony of their dance than her former senior brother, Faen, due to his mindset, focused more on practical application. His understanding of the exertion, release, and dissipation of force in the human body far surpassed that of others; even Sonia occasionally sought his guidance.
After all, intellectual resonance allows one to understand their own body, soul, and spirit. But understanding the physical body of others requires genuine and thorough study.
In this situation, having become accustomed to the slightly inexperienced techniques of the senior female students, the sudden return of the senior male student to help relax during his tiring journey undoubtedly adds a significant bonus to the experience.
However, Irelia quickly realized something. She abruptly opened her eyes and saw Fahn sitting beside her, meditating with his eyes closed—this immediately made Irelia blush. Although still young and naive, Irelia knew that it wasn't exactly appropriate for a man and woman to be alone together in a room. But just as Irelia was still thinking this, the door beside her was pushed open.
Riven walked in from outside and, seeing that Irelia was already awake, raised an eyebrow and said, "Looks like you rested well? Let's have some breakfast together."
"Oh, oh!" Irelia was worried that Riven might look at her strangely—after all, her senior brother was right beside her. But now that she found that Riven didn't have any other thoughts about it, Irelia breathed a sigh of relief. She then hurriedly got up, put on her slightly loose pajamas, and obediently helped set out three sets of bowls, chopsticks, and plates at the table.
A moment later, Fain also got up, walked slowly to the table, took the bowl of white porridge that Riven handed him, and took a sip.
Ionia's rice is nourishing.
Feeling the delicate and gentle sweetness, a sense of tranquility appeared between Fain's brows.
Rice, with its sweet and neutral properties, naturally possesses the effect of replenishing the middle and boosting qi. In the fertile soil and water of Ionia, the food cultivated by these farmers through resonance with the spirits of nature surpasses that of food grown elsewhere by more than double in flavor, texture, and nutrition. It's no wonder that Ionia is one of the regions where Yordles are most frequently encountered—
The harmony and tranquility here are a stark contrast to Bandle City, where even time and space themselves are constantly changing. Given this, and the fact that the food here is of such exceptional quality that even the Yordles themselves are unaware of its true value, it's no wonder that this place has become a popular vacation spot for the Yordles.
While Faen was still thinking, Irelia, glancing at him discreetly, said somewhat apologetically, "Um, senior, I was so comfortable listening to the story yesterday that I accidentally fell asleep... I hope it didn't disturb your rest?"
“It doesn’t matter.” As he said this, Fain smacked his lips and then added, “Your sister Riven has to work harder than me.”
Upon hearing this, Riven couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth, but she simply lowered her head and drank her porridge without saying anything more.
Although her mind was a complete blank at the time, Riven's memory was intact after she came to her senses—and Riven's personality made it impossible for her to do anything to deceive herself.
She clearly remembered leading Farn towards her greenhouse. Now, Riven didn't want to say anything more, only to remember the lesson and resolutely prevent anything like this from happening again…
Thinking about it, Riven glanced at Irelia, then shook her head and said, "It's nothing, just a small favor."
Hearing Riven's words, Irelia breathed a sigh of relief—she was a girl who was somewhat afraid of troubling others.
Well, except for Faen, because Faen is my good senior brother and I won't find him troublesome.
After thinking about it and eating for a while, Irelia cautiously asked, "Can I come here again in the future?"
261. Worsening Situation
Upon hearing Irelia's words, Fain nodded and said, "No problem, but you still need to get some rest."
"Great!"
Hearing that Fain had no objections, Irelia smiled happily and then quickly finished her breakfast before starting her morning class.
Logically speaking, the early morning should be the time to start the day, and morning classes should take place before breakfast. However, Irelia had slept so comfortably last night that she moved the morning classes to after breakfast. Fain placed his hand on the girl's stomach to help with digestion, and once everyone was ready, the group set off on their journey once again.
However, compared to yesterday, Riven was noticeably less enthusiastic today. She followed behind Fain with a troubled expression, her somewhat gloomy demeanor giving the impression that everyone owed her a fortune. This attracted the attention of the others in their group. While the members of the Order of the Balance were somewhat restrained, Irelia was much more naive. Although she refrained from directly asking out of good manners, she did inquire whether she could help.
Riven was somewhat speechless. While she acknowledged that what happened yesterday was largely her fault, and Riven could somewhat guess that even without what happened last night, her current state was only a matter of time, she still harbored some resentment because Irelia had caused her to be taken advantage of by Fain so sooner than expected.
However, feeling Irelia's care and harmlessness, Riven, who was already quite confused about the future and had strong doubts about everything in this world, gradually relaxed a bit, shook her head and sighed, "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired."
Riven now has a very open-minded attitude towards everything—although it seems that Faker has the biggest influence on Riven. But in reality, the one who has had the biggest influence on Riven has never been Faker, but Noxus.
Especially after learning that all her honors and the Noxus she believed in were just a joke from the beginning, Riven's outlook on life, values, and worldview completely collapsed. This is why Riven was so accepting of some of Faker's behaviors later on... Although the "happiness factor" also played a significant role, in reality, it only acted as a catalyst and acceleration.
Riven is a true warrior. And what can break a true warrior is often what that warrior is proud of.
In fact, because of this collapse of pride, Riven has begun to doubt everything in this world. Is it real? Is it worthwhile? And in Irelia's case…
Feeling the girl's concern, Riven shook her head helplessly.
She didn't quite understand why such an understanding girl would appear in Fain's life.
Zelly, Seraphine… even the seemingly intelligent and shrewd Caitlin possesses lofty ideals. And these girls, whether kind or passionate, all gather around Fane, willingly letting him manipulate them like pigs. They even share how Fane manipulates them, discussing how to further please him…
Are all these good girls blind? Why are they fixated on this Fain? Meanwhile, Riven, a blood-stained, stupid executioner, doesn't know how to conduct herself... Surrounded by these sunny and cheerful girls, Riven, who feels that all her past glory and achievements are a complete joke, has absolutely no intention of standing shoulder to shoulder with them, or even competing with them.
While Riven was still lost in self-destructive emotions, she was suddenly startled – Damn it, if she was desperate, so be it, but why was she feeling like she didn't deserve to be toyed with by Fain?
Riven was aware that something was wrong with her thinking, but she still didn't know what to do. She could only sigh and continue to follow behind Fain in a sullen mood.
But then Riven glanced at Fahn and saw that Fahn, who was still holding Irelia in his arms, was also smiling at her.
This annoyed Riven, who pulled her coat tighter around herself. However, she soon realized something—while Fane was unreliable, morally corrupt, and led a chaotic, decadent, and frivolous private life, turning beautiful girls into his personal pregnancy bags and milk containers, he was undeniably adept at comforting and reassuring others.
Vi and Jinx, aren't they both a bit mentally unstable? And Caitlyn, who used to be so stubborn, became much more insightful after a lot of harsh discipline, and is now wholeheartedly dedicated to the future of the Twin Cities...
The thing that's giving me a headache right now...
Riven pursed her lips and sighed again—she'd ask her later.
As they walked, lost in thought, the group arrived in the western part of the province of Navoli after several days.
Upon arriving in the western region, it was almost immediately apparent that the area had undergone tremendous changes due to the arrival of the war.
As the largest island in the Ionia archipelago, without exception, Navoli province is located in the southwest of the entire archipelago. It is the largest and most central province in Ionia, and its geographical location is equally crucial.
Facing the Sea of Guardians, and further on, the province of Navori is often the first frontier area to come into contact with scholars from the outside world. Although it is still influenced by the traditional customs of Ionia, it is generally relatively open-minded and will not kill people in the name of faith just because of disagreements.
As the heart of Ionia, Navoli extends inland, bordering several other provinces and serving as the most important transportation hub connecting the eastern and western parts of Ionia. Furthermore, due to Presidium's unique status, Navoli is also the political, spiritual, and cultural center of the entire region.
At first, Fain and his group were relatively relaxed because the area near Presidium was still peaceful and harmonious. People were unaware of the war. Even when they encountered refugees, they would kindly help those who were displaced and then smile and say things like "Karma will protect us" or "The Temple of Eternity will protect Ionia" when they heard about the war.
In the past, people would often offer blessings and responses with the same words. But it is clear that the impact of war is far more intense and violent than any other kind of impact. In the long silence, those who fled could only manage a weak smile and then utter with difficulty, "May the spirits of Ionia be with you."
As she gets closer to her hometown and sees the situation getting worse, even the usually gentle and cheerful Irelia begins to worry about her parents and grandmother at home.
262·Evil Spirit
As they ventured deeper into the northern part of the Navori province, the environment began to deteriorate further with the distance from Presidium. This deterioration was not merely a change in people's moods; rather, the intense emotions accompanying the war were shattering the already thin veil between the two realms. Despite the continuous tremors and the veil not breaking and still healing, numerous evil spirits were still managing to enter the material realm in the moments before the gaps closed.
Nestled in the dense forest, a colossal evil spirit, entangled in numerous dead trees, swung its fist at Akali. The heavy blow hadn't even touched the girl's body before a whistling sound filled the air.
Akali showed no intention of dodging, instead wielding her scythe and rapidly closing in on the evil spirit. Just before the spirit was about to strike Akali, Shin, not far away, raised his sword finger and whispered, "Twilight Condensation, Mental Barrier!!"
As Shen murmured, energy from his own spiritual realm surged forth, condensing around Akali to form a semi-transparent blue shield that blocked the evil spirit's heavy blow.
At that moment, Akali hurled her chain scythe with ferocity. The scythe was already spinning before Akali even charged forward. Now, she unleashed it with overwhelming force. Although Akali's body appeared frail and she lacked magical talent, the absence of magical talent never meant the absence of magic power—in fact, in Runeterra, every person, every living being, possesses magic power. Because even inanimate objects, as long as they are remembered and believed, even if it's just a legend or a concept, will create a corresponding embodiment in the spiritual realm.
For example, Janna represents change, storms, favorable winds, good luck, and good weather.
In this situation, Akali, though lacking spellcasting abilities, still possesses the ability to enhance her physical body with magic. Furthermore, seemingly to compensate for her lack of spellcasting ability, Akali's talent and effectiveness in magic enhancement far surpass that of ordinary ninjas.
And so, with that seemingly casual toss, the chain scythe, accelerating with the storm, exploded through the air almost instantly, severing the evil spirit's entire arm in two. The intense pain caused the evil spirit to let out a bloodcurdling roar, and in that very instant, Jie's figure appeared behind the evil spirit like a ghost. His short sword flashed white light, and the next moment, the evil spirit's head shot skyward. It then collapsed to its knees, turning into damp black earth at an astonishing speed, utterly lifeless.
"The evil spirits are appearing more and more frequently." Although they had dealt with the evil spirit, Shen's face showed no joy. There was no way around it; in the past few days, the closer they got to the north of Navori, the more evil spirits they encountered. Things like this, where the evil spirit had even completely entered the material realm and attached its spirit to the soil, becoming a living entity, had only occurred an average of twelve or thirteen times a year in the past few years—this kind of evil spirit with a material form was no ordinary evil spirit.
If you put them in a place like Zaun, they'd be guaranteed to be a Zaun fanatic, a monster of the level that causes regional panic.
And now? They've only been traveling for a few days, and this is already the third physical evil spirit they've encountered.
By observing a part, one can understand the whole picture. Although they had not yet reached the front lines where the border war was most intense, through the chaos in the spirit world, Shen and the others had more or less realized that this war was far more complex than it appeared.
Thinking this, Akali also threaded her fingers through the ring at the end of the kunai, seemingly casually spinning it as she coldly said, "Hmph, if you ask me, it's the Noxians who are behind this. Since they're the ones causing the fluctuations in the mental realm, then we should just kill them all!"
"Calm down, Akali!" Upon hearing this, Shen frowned slightly: "Recall the teachings of the Way of Balance. Violence is never something that disciples of the Way of Balance advocate!"
"Where did I go wrong?" Akali was also annoyed by Shen's reprimand. Other aspects were one thing, since Akali's perception of the spirit world was indeed much inferior to Shen's. But the problem was, Akali wasn't a disciple of the Twilight Eye school, was she?
"The Eye of Twilight is accused of stargazing, but I'm a ninja of the Shadow Fist style; my accusation is pruning!" Akali said, annoyed.
"The war brought by Noxus has already filled this land with countless evil spirits—and this is just the beginning. Physical evil spirits are already appearing at a rate dozens of times faster than before. And these are only the ones we've encountered. What about those we haven't encountered yet? What about the war zones closer to the coastline? There will definitely be even more! Even for the sake of balance, we should first drive all those guys out without leaving a single one alive!"
Hearing Akali's words, Shen's expression relaxed slightly—at least Akali said to expel them, not kill them all. Thinking it over, Shen said seriously, "But what are the consequences of this action? It will make people increasingly resistant to those outside Ionia, even those outside their own provinces and villages. And once such thoughts arise, it will plunge Ionia's spiritual realm into a long-term imbalance. This concerns the future of the entire Ionia, and we must handle it carefully and properly."
Upon hearing this, Akali seemed to want to say something, but limited by her knowledge, she didn't know how to express her thoughts for a moment. But just then, a leisurely voice came from the side.
"Don't be so nervous. Change is one of the main themes of this era."
Following the sound, they looked to the side and saw Fane calmly returning to the group, carrying a huge bat head in his hand, and throwing the bat head to the ground.
"I heard that your spirit blades can bring peace to the souls of these evil spirits when they are killed? I brought him back; the rest are up to you."
Upon hearing Faen's words, Shen hesitated for a moment before nodding. He then plunged his spirit blade into the bat's forehead, and the bat began to dissipate at an astonishing speed.
Even demons made of earth and trees are troublesome, but demons with physical flesh and blood require a large number of elite members of the Order of the Balance to subdue. And if Shen remembers correctly, Fane has only been gone for less than ten minutes…
Subduing such an evil spirit on one's own in such a short time, even an ordinary master couldn't do that, right?
263·War Trajectory
Thinking to himself, Shen said calmly without changing his expression, "Rather than letting these evil spirits rest in peace, it's more about calming the mental fluctuations that have been devoured by them. Compared to these trivial skills, it's more surprising that Mr. Fane is able to hunt such evil spirits on his own."
"It's alright, it took a bit of effort."
Hearing Shen's words, Fane shook his head. When facing something like an evil spirit, while it wouldn't be too difficult for Fane with his own strength, it certainly wouldn't be easy either. The current situation was largely due to the hierarchical suppression from Osiris—the concept of hierarchy among beings in the spiritual realm was stronger than the caste system.
However, Fane currently only possesses a portion of Osiris's essence and has not yet reached the point of complete mastery. Precisely because of this, while it instills fear in other demons and evil spirits in the spiritual realm, it also arouses corresponding greed in some powerful evil spirits, making them even more eager to devour Fane alive and thus consume the nascent demonic essence that Fane has revealed.
For example, this bat demon's origins should be related to Fiddlesticks, who represents fear, which is one of the reasons why it dared to launch a brazen attack on Farn. Unfortunately, in the current situation, it was indeed useless, and Farn still managed to remove its head and bring it back for Shen to rest in peace.
Following behind Fain, Irelia's face was also filled with worry. She couldn't help but squeeze Fain's hand, and said somewhat timidly, "Senior brother, these evil spirits... and those Noxians, could they have already arrived...?"
It was clear that Irelia was worried about her family. Fain estimated the timeframe, then shook his head and said, "No—at least not before we arrive."
In the timeline known to Fahn, Irelia's storyline, or rather, the timeline and setting of the First Ionian War, is the most definitive storyline in the entire Runeterra universe. This is because this storyline differs from those of other regions. The First Ionian War, while shattering the harmony of Ionia over the past millennia, also gave rise to many heroes amidst this chaos: Zed, Shen, Akali, Irelia, Karma, and others. Although they existed long before, it was the First Ionian War that imbued them with thoughts beyond tradition, harmony, and balance, leading them to actively intervene in the material realm.
For example, the Shadow Stream was founded by the Ring, Karma began to secretly promote reforms, Irelia took the initiative to guide the people to resist the invasion, Akali left the Kinkou Order to find her own path, and Swain mastered the power of the secret demon and went back to overthrow Darkwill's rule.
It is precisely because of these closely related plot points that the Ionian War is a relatively reliable storyline—but it is not absolutely reliable. For example, after the Battle of the Twin Cities became a hit, the Spirit Blossom Festival, which appeared earlier than the Battle of the Twin Cities, was changed in its setting to 'the Spirit Blossom had disappeared for hundreds of years and was awakened due to the rune riots caused by Viktor during the Battle of the Twin Cities,' etc.
However, these are only minor changes. Due to the limitations of Noxus and Ionia as a whole, there will still be few changes in individual details.
The reason Irelia awakened Blade Dance was because when she returned to her homeland, she found that her family had been killed by the Noxians. In despair and grief, she instinctively used the fragments of her family crest to fight her way out of the encirclement and ultimately led Ionia's revenge.
However, Faen was never one to glorify suffering—Irelia's awakening wasn't due to the death of her family, but rather because Irelia inherently possessed this talent, with the death of her family merely a catalyst. In fact, the future Irelia is indeed dedicated to restoring her peace, thereby better comprehending the true essence of Blade Dance in war.
In this situation, Fain originally planned to visit Irelia's home, not for any other reason than to help his lovely junior sister eliminate some of the deep-seated grudges in her life. For this reason, he even set off ahead of time at the very beginning of the war. However, he did not expect that Irelia would also take this opportunity to embark on her journey home ahead of time.
Thinking to himself, Fain picked up the worried Irelia, mounted his horse, and looked back at the group behind him, saying, "We're still in the middle of the Navori province. The coastline is probably... or rather, it's definitely under the complete control of the Noxians' powerful ships and cannons. Our target is Pelor Island, which is a natural harbor. The situation there will only be more complicated than here. So, prepare for battle."
It's important to understand that even after the First Ionian War ended and the Noxians withdrew, giving the Ionians a nominal victory, the island of Pelor, the southern coast of Navori province, and the western coast of Baruhe province remained under Noxian control—this was the stepping stone that Swain prepared for Noxus during the Second Ionian War.
Upon hearing Fain's words, everyone nodded and then hurried off on their horses.
At first, nothing seemed amiss on the way, but soon Shin noticed that Akali and Jie had suddenly increased their speed and caught up with Fain. They flanked him, neither launching an attack. In fact, when they realized the other had also accelerated, Jie and Akali exchanged a surprised glance. Akali then bluntly asked, "What exactly is on Pelor Island? What are our mission objectives? Also… how do you think we should handle this war?"
“You’ll know what’s on Pelor Island when you get there.” Hearing this, Fan said calmly, “And as for this war, no matter how it’s handled in the future, the first thing we must do is drive the invaders out—of course, this is just my opinion.”
Upon hearing this, Akali's eyes flickered a few times, and then she said, "This is definitely not just your opinion."
Jie, standing to the side, remained silent, continuing to ride his horse.
Traveling day and night, they also dealt with a few low-level evil spirits who didn't know their place. It was around noon the next day that the group finally arrived at Irelia's hometown, an ancient village located in the middle of the Navori province.
However, just like the refugees we had seen before, the peace and tranquility here were shattered by the arrival of war.
264. First Visit to Zan Family
As they approached the village, even before Faen and his group got close, the villagers nearby visibly became alert and wary. With a short whistle, several young men, also riding fast horses and wielding long knives, quickly approached.
"Who are you? Why are you here—wait, Irelia?!"
Just as the leading youth was speaking, he suddenly noticed the girl nestled in Fain's arms. A look of surprise appeared on his face, but it quickly turned into an ugly bitterness as he said helplessly, "Irelia?! Why are you back? Shouldn't you be in Presidium training with Master Sinia?!"
Upon hearing the young man's words, Irelia was taken aback for a moment. After looking at him carefully for a couple of seconds, she exclaimed with delight, "Brother Zomag! It's me, Irelia! I heard that the Noxians have invaded the western part of Navori, so I came back with my senior brother to see if there's anything I can do to help!"
Upon hearing Irelia's words, the young man named Zomag opened his mouth, then said helplessly, "Calm down, Irelia, this is not something you should be involved in."
As he spoke, the young man named Zomag spurred his horse and approached Irelia. He didn't seem to have much hostility in his eyes as he looked at Fane, who was holding Irelia in his arms. In fact, when he got closer and saw Fane's face, his eyes lit up. He secretly marveled that Irelia's senior brother was indeed a dancer who practiced war dance. He had a well-proportioned and strong physique, but he also had a smooth and beautiful appearance.
His muscles and bones were perfectly harmonious and proportionate, but unfortunately, his explosive power seemed a bit too strong. Even with his eyes closed, he could still feel the thick, violent energy, like a suppressed volcano. Yes, this explosive power was too clear. No wonder the elders in the family said that, apart from his mental cultivation being insufficient, Irelia's senior brother had already reached the master level in all other aspects.
Thinking to himself, Zomag extended his hand and said, "Hello, my name is Zomag, and Irelia's older brother. Irelia told me that my sister received a lot of care from you when we were in Presidium, and I would like to express my gratitude to you here."
"You're welcome, it's my duty."
Upon hearing Zomag's words, Fan nodded, then shook his head and said, "Moreover, the village's situation seems a bit strange? Is it because of the war?"
“Yes.” Upon hearing this, Zomag nodded, then sighed helplessly and looked towards the horizon, saying with a hint of resignation, “Just a few days ago, many refugees from the coast began to flee inland. Although our family has done our best to provide relief, there are simply too many people, and the number of refugees has increased during this period, bringing news about the Noxian forces.”
After a pause, Zomag added, "The elders in the family haven't reached a definitive conclusion on whether to fight or negotiate, but considering the imminent war, we've taken appropriate precautions to prevent the worst from happening."
As he spoke, Zomag glanced at Irelia beside him and sighed, "The timing isn't ideal. If it's convenient, please take Irelia back to Presidium. As for here..."