-209- Demacia!

May 3rd, afternoon, in the skies of Demacia.

The sky over the capital was clear with blue skies and white clouds, calm and serene. However, suddenly, there was a flicker of blue light on the distant horizon, followed by a massive object appearing in the sky above the land of Demacia.

Demacians who witnessed this scene immediately panicked.

In various towns nearby, there were soldiers wearing silver armor, riding warhorses. Upon seeing the panicked crowds, they quickly followed the instructions given by their superiors and urged their horses, shouting loudly in the streets:

"No need to panic! These are allies from the Twin Cities!"

"Everyone, don't panic, the airship in the sky is not from Noxus, it's from the Twin Cities!"

"Stay calm, this is an ally of Demacia!"

The uniquely shaped and beautiful airship did not enter the heart of Demacia but remained outside the city walls of the capital.

The Crownguard Household—

Upon hearing the voices outside the courtyard, Lux quickly broke free from her mother's embrace and ran to the balcony. From there, she could only vaguely see the outline of the airship on the horizon, but Lux, who had been eagerly anticipating for many days, knew clearly that the people from the Twin Cities, they had really come!

In just a few days, she might be able to call her friends in Piltover and Zaun!

At this moment, Lux thought of Powder, Zeri, and the beautiful and enchanting voice of Seraphine.

Augatha walked up behind Lux and looked at Lux, who was jumping and excited, with a slight dissatisfaction, saying, "Luxanna, mind your manners, you are a lady."

Resultantly, Lux turned around, pointing to the small dot on the horizon, and laughed loudly, "Mother, mother, it's a Hextech airship!"

"My friends are here!"

Augatha looked at the excited Lux, opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, said nothing.

She just walked up and gently touched Lux's head.

Augatha never thought her daughter would be a burden, even though she was a mage.

And now, seeing Lux's bright smile, Augatha felt genuinely pleased from the bottom of her heart.

Her daughter had changed a lot after this trip...

Was this Tianna's idea? A trial given to Lux by Tianna?

But no matter what it was, the current Lux had shed her former insecurity.

She had become confident.

Or should it be said that it was... Lux's friends' help?

Augatha looked at the distant Hextech airship, feeling a sense of gratitude in her eyes.

"Too slow!"

"Faster, move faster!"

Within the Laurent family, Fiora held a sword with one hand, gracefully facing her cousin.

"I've seen through you, cousin! You're just too slow!" With just a slight swing of her arm, Fiora effortlessly broke through her cousin's defense and placed her longsword at her cousin's throat.

Seeing this, the man sparring with Fiora could only reluctantly let go of his hand, the silver sword falling to the ground with a crisp sound, and the golden-haired man cursed, "Damn it!"

"Fiora, how did you get stronger again?"

Fiora looked at the flamboyant man, shook her head helplessly, and said, "Observation, meditation, practice."

"You're a monster!"

Accepting her cousin's "praise," Fiora wanted to continue.

And at that moment, a man with twin swords at his waist, wearing light armor, pushed open the door.

Entering, he looked at Fiora and said in a deep voice, "Mistress, the people from the Twin Cities have arrived."

At the sound, Fiora's eyes lit up, she sheathed her longsword, and said, "I know, but Uncle Kell, you can just call me by my name."

"That's not possible," the man named Kell shook his head, "Fiora, you are the head of the family, and this is the rule."

Saying this, Kell looked at the golden-haired man, Fiora's cousin, and grinned coldly, saying, "I hope everyone in the family can abide by this rule, don't you agree?"

Fiora's cousin quickly raised his hand and said, "You're right, Uncle Kell."

Seeing this scene, Fiora could only show a helpless smile.

Uncle Kell was Fiora's direct relative and also a powerful duelist within Demacia.

There was a terrifying scar on his face, left behind when he challenged a demon-infested wolf.

But even though kell was a well-known challenger in Demacia, he also knew that he wasn't a match for Fiora, who was young yet powerful.

In a life and death struggle, Fiora could probably defeat him in less than thirty exchanges.

Fiora had become the strongest person in the Laurent family.

"I have some business to attend to. Uncle, if you need anything, please contact me on my Hextech phone."

"I understand."

With her sword hanging at her waist, Fiora straightened her back and left the training ground.

---

At the same time, in the skies outside Demacia's borders, on the massive airship.

If there were Demacian scouts watching, they would see numerous flying beasts surrounding the airship.

"Prepare for landing!"

"Remove the outermost protective shield first!"

An elderly enforcer stood at the bow of the airship, continuously shouting, "Enforcer Squad One, protect the students and teachers first!"

"Squad Two, stand in the front and drive away these damned birds and beasts!"

Bang!

Hextech shotgun bursts emitted countless intense beams of light, but from a distance, the scattered bullets didn't cause fatal damage to these agile flying creatures; instead, it only incited their ferocity.

"Caw!"

Several loud calls echoed as the intelligent beasts dispersed and began flanking for a tactical advantage.

"They're intelligent. I've said it before, you have to get closer before shooting!"

"These damn things!" Skite yelled angrily as he aimed his gun.

Enforcers were trained in marksmanship as part of their daily routine, so the enforcers with guns on the airship were seasoned marksmen. But they were facing this type of enemy for the first time!

A group of intelligent, flying beasts!

"Captain Skite!" A blue staff in hand, Ekko, quickly ran to the side of the enforcer named Skite on the airship.

"Instructor Ekko?" Skybright looked at the young boy in surprise.

"Let me go. I'll lure them away, but I can't guarantee I'll take all the beasts with me." Ekko looked at Skite and continued earnestly, "I have a Hextech shield for defense. I can withstand their attacks."

"But this is high altitude! I believe your shield can withstand their attacks, but the energy of the shield is limited. If you get caught by them, then all that awaits you is death!" Saying this, Skite pushed Ekko away with a big hand and said loudly, "One of the enforcer's rule is no heroism allowed!"

"So now please step aside, instructor. Trust me, I can handle this difficulty. Otherwise, why do you think Councilor Talis sent me with you? Now, you are seriously hindering my command!"

After hearing this, Ekko opened his mouth to say something to Skite, but seeing the countless giant birds and beasts surrounding the airship, in the end, Ekko could only choose to remain silent.

Captain Skite was right.

These flying, intelligent beasts were not something he could handle.

And among them were Demacia's special beasts—griffins.

"Prepare to descend!"

Gunshots continued incessantly, and the altitude of the Hextech airship gradually lowered. When the altitude was appropriate, Skite shouted loudly, "Squads One and Two, prepare to protect the students and teachers as they disembark!"

"Wait until we land, quickly form up and start shooting!" Skite commanded.

The defense of the Hextech airship was not strong because all the technological upgrades were geared towards its speed. Therefore, if they didn't land soon, it would be troublesome once the outer protective shield was breached by these pests.

Until now, Skite didn't understand why these griffins and birds were attacking.

Could it be that the magic of Hextech attracted them?

But that shouldn't be the case!

Or was it because the flight route deviated, and when slowing down to find a landing point in Demacia, they accidentally flew over their territory and caught their attention?

"Instructor Ekko, what can we do now?"

After Ekko returned, two students from the Twin City University ran up to Ekko and asked anxiously, "We want to help too."

Ekko looked at the two students. One was taller than him, a handsome young man, while the other was about the same height as Ekko but slightly chubby.

Although they tried to look calm and composed, Ekko could see the worry and fear in their eyes.

Shaking his head, Ekko forced a smile and said loudly, "Don't worry, the enforcers will protect us."

"Hey, it's the Demacians!"

"The Demacians are here to help us!"

A cry of surprise rang out. Ekko quickly turned his head and was stunned to see at the distant horizon—

A massive creature leading the way, resembling a dragon, but with the head of an eagle on its long neck.

The rider atop it was covered in beautiful silver armor, light and elegant like bird feathers. The helm was also feather-like, obscuring the face. In their hand was a gigantic silver spear, about two meters long, with a cross-shaped ring at the end, and a terrifying blood groove on the broad, flat tip.

Behind this person was a troop.

In just a few breaths, Ekko saw the leader flying next to the airship.

This speed was faster than even a fully accelerated Hextech hoverboard!

Doing the same motion as the students on the airship, Ekko glanced sideways and saw the dragon-like eagle beast extend its claws and fiercely pounce on one of the birds in an instant, then open its huge beak, swinging its nearly two-meter-long neck to bite at a nearby griffin.

And on its back, the tall, majestic soldier straightened his back, holding the reins with one hand, stabilizing his posture, while using the other hand to exert force, thrusting the massive silver spear forward.

"Splurt!"

"—!!!"

A pitiful cry of the griffin sounded out as the silver spear mercilessly pierced through its wing.

With a swift withdrawal, a thunderous roar resounded in the air..

"Demacia!"

Demacia, aside from its formidable infantry, also boasted unmatched aerial combat—

One of the premier units on Runeterra—the Demacian Sliverwing.

////Tbh, despite their (kinda?) racist behavior, their armor and armies are cool af.////