-344- Athletes's entrance
May 20th, morning, Piltover.
In the girls' dormitory of Twin Cities Village, Fiora was neatly dressed, looking at herself in the mirror and blowing on the red hair on her forehead. Beside her stood the nervous Cithria.
"Relax, it's just the opening ceremony today."
"Yes, Lady Fiora." Cithria subconsciously replied.
"You can just call me Fiora." Fiora thought for a moment and said to Cithria.
"Eh?"
"But, but I'm just a commoner." Cithria turned her head to look at Fiora, who was dressed in Demacian noble attire, the convenient clothing of the Laurent family wrapped around Fiora's body, revealing her perfect figure curves.
Fiora was so graceful...
On the other hand, looking at herself, Cithria saw a girl with braided hair, showing off her smooth and full forehead, cute but more like a rustic little bun...
Cithria felt like a country girl.
"That's settled then." Fiora confirmed.
Cithria nodded quickly, "Yes, Fiora."
Looking at Cithria, Fiora was speechless.
You don't even know who you're learning swordsmanship from.
During these days, Fiora watched the changes happening to Cithria, and then Fiora knew who Cithria was learning swordsmanship from.
She originally wanted to learn swordsmanship from him too.
"Let's go, Cithria."
"Yes, Fiora."
"Cithria, stand tall and proud. You represent Demacia, and behind you is a powerful nation. I won't allow you to be weak and insecure."
"Yes!"
---
"Let's go, Draven, it's time to assemble."
Putting on armor and adjusting his gauntlets, Draven stood up and said.
"I got it, brother."
Draven put away his usual cynical smile and nodded seriously to Darius.
At this moment, Draven felt an indescribable feeling in his heart, a feeling he used to have only when he was on the battlefield.
Darius also took a deep breath.
He represented Noxus, a powerful empire.
And a few hours later, they would appear in front of the world. Through that lens, Darius and Draven would represent Noxus to the world.
Noxus will rise!
---
"Alistar, it's time, let's go."
"Jarvan, do I look ugly like this?"
"What are you thinking? No one cares about your appearance." Jarvan IV grinned and patted Alistar's back heavily with his big hand.
"Let's go, maybe the one you've been looking for, Ayelia, will be watching you."
"Mmm." Alistar nodded vigorously.
---
"Akali, Vi, hurry up, Linwin is already at the door."
A fluffy green head poked into the room, Zeri clung to the door frame, cutely saying, "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!"
"Hurry my ass..."
Vi cursed softly, reaching for her shoes.
On the other bed, Akali lay lazily.
Yes, Vi and Akali share a room, while Zeri and Caitlyn share another room.
As for who arranged this
Well, of course, it was Linwin's arrangement.
Don't ask why.
---
Outside Twin Cities Village, when a group of athletes gathered together.
They saw the administrator standing at the gate with a group of enforcers, waving.
"Uncle, how will we get there? Do we wait here for a transport?" Taking advantage of their uncle-nephew relationship, Jarvan IV spoke up first, curiously asking.
"No, I'll take you there."
Linwin shook his head and said.
Jarvan IV was stunned for a moment, and then...
He suddenly floated up.
Linwin raised his hand, using wind magic to lift everyone up in an instant, nearly seven hundred people in Twin Cities Village flew up.
Cithria looked excitedly at the ground, she, she was flying!
And, strangely enough!
This time she wasn't afraid of heights at all!
From this perspective, Cithria was not only unafraid, but also excited.
Alistar's eyes went blank, and the acrophobic minotaur grabbed Jarvan IV.
Fortunately, Linwin's magic was surrounding them, otherwise this hug would have crushed the prince.
"Let's go, you guys are the protagonists of the opening ceremony."
Linwin waved his hand, and everyone followed him to the central venue of Piltover.
Beside this group of people, the enforcers riding Hextech hoverboards were carrying cameras, following behind or on the sides.
Captain Jack shouted loudly, "Quick, get the cameras ready!"
"Film Councilor Linwin and those athletes, let the people in the control room be prepared to select the camera shots in advance. They only have five seconds to select which shot to use!"
"Three, two, one!"
"Action!"
After saying that, Jack quickly shouted into the Hextech phone hanging from his chest, "The filming team has started filming, Control Room, please respond!"
"Crack."
"The Control Room is ready, please ensure clear filming, filming team!"
Jack also heard other voices.
"Where is Seraphine? Miss Kaisa and Miss Lux?"
"No problem on stage, we are ready!"
Then, Jack heard the crackling sound again.
This was the sound of the Hextech phone being transferred.
---
"Ding!"
For a moment, the televisions set up all over the world in Twin Cities, with a time difference of only a few seconds at most, turned on, displaying images and sounds.
"Oh my god, they're flying!"
"Look, it's His Highness the Prince!"
"Is the one carrying the prince a Vastaya?"
"That's a big minotaur warrior!"
The Demacians, who had long been waiting at the grand square with great anticipation, sighed as they watched the big screen.
King Jarvan III, seeing his son after a long time, showed a faint smile.
Separated by mountains and seas, but visible and audible at the other end of the world
This is the charm of Twin Cities.
---
"It's the Warmother!!!"
"Avarosa!!!"
The Freljordians expressed their joy and excitement in simple yet powerful ways.
Glasses clinked together, they hugged, laughed, and danced.
And far away from Avarosa, in the Winter's Claw, at the sight of Sejuani with her bare arms and wearing fur, the people of Winter's Claw also became excited.
It's been almost a year, a year without seeing the Warmother!
And now, the Warmother appeared!
---
"Boom!"
Just as people in different places were looking for familiar faces on television, the screen suddenly changed.
With a loud bang, like thunder and landslides.
In the moment of shock, people saw an unforgettable scene in their lives.
An island floating in the sea!
On the huge floating island stood a conspicuous, hundreds of meters tall beautiful statue—a goddess with a crown of flowers, wearing a white dress, holding a beautiful silver-white staff in her hand, her hair as silver as silk, seemed to be dancing dynamically.
"Boom, boom!"
"The special fireworks prepared by the Minister of Weapons of Twin Cities, will be the first scene of the opening ceremony!"
With the words of the person on TV, the image shifted from the statue of the goddess and then to a tall clock tower, where a blue-haired girl with a signal gun in her hand, smiling broadly.
Powder is having fun!
It's been a long time since she "boom" like this!
This time it's blowing up for official business, so without further ado, Powder prepared various types of big fireworks.
"Boom!"
A huge fireworks pattern of a dog.
"Boom!"
Purple fireworks converged into a little monkey.
"Boom!"
A metallic gear, symbolizing Piltover's fireworks.
"Boom!"
Greenish fireworks not very obvious in the daylight, but you could see it was a potion bottle.
---
"Woah!!"
At this moment, even the people of Twin Cities themselves were shocked by the fireworks.
All kinds of fireworks continued to "explode" for several minutes.
Then, the camera angle shifted again.
It landed on the athletes who had already arrived at the venue and were ready.
Linwin Lorant, the man who appeared on television before, was holding a strange object and speaking.
"Next, please welcome the athletes from all countries!"
Linwin said, looking up at the sky.
"First up, representing the west, Demacia!" Linwin announced, looking up at the sky.
The football matches were organized locally, with teams from different regions competing. Due to the limited number of athletes from each country, most teams didn't have substitutes. However, aside from football, each country and tribe had representatives.
When Linwin mentioned "Demacia," Jarvan IV felt a strange sensation in his heart. He noticed a camera pointing at him, Fiora, and Garen among others.
Then, he heard a familiar voice—a roar echoed from the sky as several majestic creatures appeared, flying above the arena. The world watched as Demacia's elite aerial unit, the Demacian Sliverwing, made their entrance.
Clad in silver-feathered armor, wielding meters-long dragon lances, they rode gigantic Sliverwing Raptors in the sky.
"Demacia, please enter!" Linwin repeated. The appearance of the Sliverwing Raptors was a gift from King Jarvan III, intended to enhance the spectacle of the Twin Cities event and promote Demacia's military prowess.
Linwin and the councilors did not refuse the proposal. After King Jarvan III suggested it, Linwin specifically instructed Lady Kiramman to inform all participating countries that they could support their athletes.
This was an opportunity to enhance each country's sense of pride and make them value the Twin Cities Games. Next time the event was held, the number of attendees would surely increase significantly. King Jarvan III was truly a mastermind. Wasn't he the first to create the concept of supporting teams?
"Demacia, Prince Jarvan IV," Linwin announced, and Jarvan IV quickly walked towards the area marked with the Demacian insignia.
"Demacia, Fiora Laurent," he continued.
The sliverwing raptors descended, flying alongside the Demacian athletes as they approached the platform.
"Demacia, Garen Crownguard," Linwin raised his voice, reading from the script.
Around the venue, some people couldn't help but cheer.
Is that Lux's voice?
With a quick glance, Linwin saw Lux holding Powder by the neck with one hand and waving vigorously with the other.
"Demacia, Demacia, Demacia!"
Lux screamed.
Powder, on the other hand, was sticking out his tongue with a tough expression, looking very unhappy with Lux's grip.
"Next up is Noxus!" Linwin said again.
The scene was already stirred up by Demacia's Sliverwing Raptors, with several legendary creatures appearing, naturally causing a sensation.
But Darius didn't care at all, step by step, walking towards the platform belonging to Noxus with Draven.
"Boom!"
It was at this moment that the sky suddenly darkened.
A group of red and black crows appeared in the sky above the venue.
"Swain, that guy..."
Linwin muttered, observing the countless crows overhead. He had informed Swain about King Jarvan III's plan to send sliverwing raptors, to which Swain had simply acknowledged. Linwin had assumed he didn't care, but he hadn't expected this dramatic response!
The countless crows cawed loudly, casting shadows over Piltover. They flew over the arena, blocking out the sun and plunging it into darkness, creating an apocalyptic scene.
"Noxus, Darius," Linwin reluctantly announced.
"Noxus, Draven," he continued.
"Hmph!" Draven snorted contemptuously.
The crows in the arena did not disperse, prompting Linwin to wave his hand dismissively.
"That should be enough, Swain."
---
"Heh," a man chuckled lightly, turning away from the square with his hands behind his back. He no longer needed to watch. What remained was the business of Darius and Draven. He had many other matters to attend to.
---
"Freljord—Avarosan Tribe, Winter's Claw Tribe," Linwin announced, looking curiously at Ashe and Sejuani.
Representing the same region, the Avarosan and Winter's Claw tribes, Linwin was curious about what Ashe and Sejuani would do.
Unlike other regions, both leaders from Freljord were present at the event. Therefore, Linwin had directly discussed the matter of support with Ashe and Sejuani.
"Avarosa, Ashe."
"Avarosa, Tryndamere."
"Winter's Claw, Sejuani."
Unlike Demacia, the following countries had very few participating athletes. This contrast naturally led people to subconsciously believe that Demacia was stronger.
As for Noxus, their presence was scarce as well. The earlier spectacle with the countless crows, resembling an impending apocalypse, made it hard for anyone to perceive Noxus as weak.
Halfway through, Linwin already believed that Freljord wasn't planning anything extraordinary.
However, Ashe suddenly stopped. She took her ice-enchanted bow from her back and aimed it at the sky.
Sejuani stepped forward and placed her hand on Ashe's shoulder.
The chill was bone-piercing. A thin layer of frost formed on Ashe's fair arm, and her beautiful eyes furrowed in pain.
Underneath her feet, from where she stood, a thin layer of ice spread outwards, causing the temperature in the arena to drop drastically. Within breaths, clear mist could be seen.
Powder, accustomed to wearing little clothing in the summer, shivered instantly, trembling as she stood there. She instinctively hugged Lux, who was also shivering.
Sejuani opened her mouth, exhaling cold air as frost formed on her body as well.
True Ice was a fierce weapon that only the most powerful iceborn warriors could control.
Some said it was a natural occurrence, never melting and extremely rare. Others claimed it was created by Anivia, a legendary weapon creates by the gods.
Regardless, the immense power of True Ice was undeniable.
"Crystal Arrow!" Ashe's magical power formed a small ice arrow, resting on her ice bow.
At the moment of release, the temperature in the arena dropped once again.
The small ice arrow gradually grew larger and larger as it flew out, eventually forming a gigantic arrow tens of meters in size before disappearing into the clouds.
"Boom!"
In the high sky, the ice crystal arrow exploded, and countless ice flowers fell.
"Freljord, enter!" Linwin declared.