-168- The Great Stand at Navori

The Xan dance tradition has a long history.

What is the connection between this ancient dance dominated by silk and the Spirit of Ionia?

Irelia didn't have time to figure out this question.

Her love for dance is undeniable.

Therefore, for the improvement of her dancing skills, Irelia entered Placidium early on.

Before that, her grandmother had not told her the essence of the Xan family dance.

When Irelia heard the bad news and returned to her hometown on the coastline, Noxian invaders had already attacked.

What was left for Irelia was only an unnamed tombstone in the garden—her father and brothers had resisted the Noxians, and now, they lay here.

No, there was one more thing left.

That was the emblem of the Xan family, the family crest guarded at the cost of their lives, now becoming Irelia's most powerful weapon.

"Flawless Duet!"

Irelia took a deep breath, waved her hands, connecting the blades into a long line, and then pushed them all forward.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of elite Noxian soldiers were destroyed.

"Do not retreat."

Swain's voice echoed faintly.

He knew Irelia was coming towards him.

He also knew that if he didn't leave now, there might be danger.

But, as Swain said, sacrifices are inevitable for victory.

There is danger, but at the same time, if Swain stays here, Irelia will become blind and impulsive.

A powerful and crazy enemy is not frightening.

What is frightening is a mysterious and calm enemy.

How to subdue a beast in anger?

Just use a sword, a bow, and a net!

"Use the net!"

A general quickly realized, bringing out a specially enchanted long net, extremely resilient. Six soldiers assisted the general, throwing the net high into the air, covering Irelia's overhead.

"Dance of the River!"

Irelia gracefully leaped, hands pressed down.

A series of blades, like white silk, drew beautiful arcs in the sky. Irelia gathered them together and then fiercely slashed towards the sky.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle."

The scene Irelia imagined did not appear.

The long net was not easily cut by the blades. Instead, it was in a stalemate in the sky.

Inexperienced Irelia panicked for a moment.

"Suppress her!"

"She has been cornered!"

Steel spears came from the other end of the net.

Stabbing towards Irelia.

"Defiant Dance!"

The blades returned to surround her, forming a shield that protected Irelia.

Gathering strength, gathering strength, and gathering strength again!

When the blades emitted a painful and mournful sound, Irelia finally released them.

It was a dazzling white blade light.

"Boom!"

The shape of the white light resembled a water droplet, driving the ancient power of this land, breaking through the large net in front of her.

But soon, more nets came overwhelming towards Irelia.

Noxian soldiers were not worried about including their own people in the attack.

Seeing this, Irelia could only flee.

She is indeed powerful, dancing on the battlefield with spiritual blades, effortlessly killing a bunch of enemies.

But she is also weak.

She is young, lacks experience, and cannot control her emotions well.

Up to now, looking at the indifferent demon not far away, Irelia knows that she has fallen into his trap again.

He did it on purpose, deliberately getting closer to her.

It's deliberately giving her a "chance."

Creating such an illusion.

Just as Irelia thought, Swain guessed the thoughts of this young girl.

Capture Swain, skill Swain, and the war can end.

But Irelia is human, not a god.

Swain have seen a lot of powerful individuals and non-humans, and Irelia's strength does exceed Swain's expectations.

However, if the woman in the Halls of the Slumbering comes out, Swain will still fear, and he will withdraw his troops.

After all, that is a monster that can sink a battle ship in a breath, and such an existence is not something Swain and his soldiers can resist.

But she didn't come out again.

Facing more and more Noxian soldiers, Irelia stubbornly resisted.

Time passed bit by bit, and Irelia already felt exhausted.

The resistance in the encirclement has gradually become silent.

Right in front, the Ionians, considered prisoners by Noxus, watched everything in pain.

"Quick, send reinforcements, go help them!"

In the salt mines, a commander loudly called out.

Soon, a group of soldiers guarding the prisoners rushed out.

Heading towards Irelia's position.

Thousands of Noxians split into several groups.

The smallest force followed Swain's orders to guard the mines, while the other two larger forces, one besieged Irelia, and the other balanced the resistance.

There was also a small group of soldiers guarding the prisoners.

But facing Irelia's relentless resistance, the forces were gradually diminishing.

"I know her. We have to help her."

In the salt mine prisoner zone, the forces guarding here were significantly reduced because of Irelia.

Lying on the ground, hands tied with ropes, a man spoke softly.

"She is from the Xan family, and she is only fourteen."

"We can't even protect ourselves now, how do we help her?"

A voice replied to him.

The man whispered, "But we have to figure out a way. We can't just watch her fight alone."

After a moment, a hesitant voice said, "But this is not the path we should take. We must adhere to the Way of the Spirit."

Another voice chimed in, growling discontentedly, "To hell with your balance. If you people keep balancing, we will all die!"

"Ionia will eventually fall into destruction in your hands."

"We need her help. Her blades can fly."

A woman whispered.

"One... two. Right now, there are thirty-one people watching us here."

"We have over four hundred..."

---

Irelia struggled against the enemy.

She killed the enemies in front of her, but soon another bunch would replace them.

Her leather armor was already damaged, revealing the red clothes underneath.

A thumb-sized hole in her side, blood oozing out, staining her clothes.

It was caused by a spear. If Irelia hadn't reacted quickly, immediately using her blades to cut off the spear's head, she might have been stabbed through.

But even so, Irelia was gasping for breath.

She was so tired.

So tired...

But Irelia never thought of giving up.

She always remembered her grandmother's words.

"I am a great river. Flowing freely."

Navori's land knew Irelia.

The silver plains recognized her name.

There were traces of her fishing on the river of green grass.

Therefore, Irelia could not give up.

No matter how tired, she would not give up.

But suddenly, her heart started to ache.

Is it exhaustion?

It's so hot. The body is so hot.

The view in front of her blurred, and visible things became dim.

Irelia swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and the moment she swallowed, there was a strong taste of blood.

Her body was covered in the blood of countless enemies.

Her silver and white blades also turned deep red.

And deep in her soul, one voice after another rang out.

They seemed to want to tell Irelia something.

And that was a dance after another.

The dances that Irelia had been learning since childhood.

"~"

A strange sound came from the blades behind Irelia.

The broken family crest, shattered by the Noxians, the blades reassembled—becoming a strange pattern.

Behind Irelia, the assembled thing, that was indeed the Xan family crest, and at the same time, it had another alias—Trinity Force.

"Zheng zheng zheng!!!"

Intense vibrations, the trinity force roared.

Following that, the filthy bloodstains on the trinity force were purified, emitting a silver-white radiance on the battlefield.

Then, bright blades appeared one after another.

Not a dozen, but dozens of small blades arranged around Irelia.

Those sounds resonated again.

They were inspiring Irelia.

The spirits of Ionia. Were they conversing with Irelia?

She didn't know.

She even doubted if it was her imagination.

But.

Her body suddenly felt lighter.

Dances that her grandmother had mentioned but hadn't taught, Irelia mastered them on her own.

"The dance of blades, the defiant blades, the vanguard's blades."

Was that still a dance?

"Vanguard's Edge!"

She unconsciously performed the movements in her mind. Irelia's body trembled, and in the next moment, dozens of shining blades under Irelia's control gathered together and flashed silver light as they rushed towards the first enemy in front.

Then..

"Clang!"

A piercing sound echoed, and on the body of the Noxian soldier, the blades disintegrated, turning into flowing light.

He disappeared.

No, to be precise, he was dismembered into tiny fragments.

What appeared was no longer just dozens of blades.

But hundreds of blades!

In the hundred meters in front of Irelia, the Noxian soldiers who had previously attempted to surround and attack Irelia, in an instant, dropped their weapons, covered their throats, and fell.

A triangular matrix appeared in front, with over a hundred blades emitting dazzling spiritual light.

Swain's pupils trembled, looking at this scene in astonishment.

This... exceeded his imagination!

The plan succeeded twice, even she was already a trapped beast.

But now..

"Blade Surge!"

A movement appeared in her mind, and Irelia followed suit.

The fingers of her left hand, close together, raised vertically in front of her chest. In the next moment, Irelia turned herself into a blade, and two blades surrounding her body descended forward, on either side of her shoulders.

Irelia, at a speed invisible to the naked eye, instantly approached Swain.

"Splurt!"

Blood splattered.

A general blocked this attack.

Being chopped into halves by the blade.

Even if it was just half of his face, you could still see his fear and confusion.

But. Irelia didn't stop; she moved again.

She looked at Swain, surrounded by the general and soldiers retreating rapidly, with endless anger in her eyes.

Her homeland suffered such a catastrophe.

All caused by him!

Irelia surged forward.

————

"Quick, help the girl from the Xan family!"

"Counterattack!"

A riot erupted in the saltfield's prisoner camp.

The normally calm and kind Ionians were transformed.

At this moment, they roared with anger.

Freed individuals rushed to seize weapons, while those still bound used their heads and bodies to strike back.

Thirty Noxians were torn apart by the united uprising of the captives.

Ionians, protected by the spirits, possessed both magic and combat skills.

Among them were individuals capable of generating electricity with their bare hands, others who have inhuman strength or speed, and even those who could shatter skulls with stones.

Ionians have their own talents.

At this moment, they had one thought.

To hell with balance, to hell with the way of the spirits.

To hell with them!

We must help the girl.

We must protect our homeland.

Delayed retribution is not justice. Reincarnation is just a lie!

Armed with seized weapons and picked-up stones, this angry mob of Ionians arrived at the battlefield on the plains.

They witnessed a scene.

The girl from the Xan family stood atop a pile of corpses.

Countless blades circled around her.

In her right hand, she tightly gripped a bloody severed hand.

Irelia raised the severed arm.

It belonged to that person.

Before losing consciousness, Irelia let out a spirited cry.

She, did it.

"Ionia."

"Will never yield!"

Irelia's triumphant voice reached Swain, who was covering his injured hand in pain.

Swain silently watched Irelia.

Guarded by hundreds of soldiers, he retreated.

Swain sighed heavily.

"Darkwill, you have severely impacted the Empire's development."

This battle further convinced Swain of this fact.

If Kolck were by his side, if the soldiers of the First Legion were with Swain's army.

Placidium wouldn't have been abandoned.

And there would be no chance of losing the battle in Navori.

Do they want me dead?

Swain's hand continued to bleed, but as he was carried by the soldiers, he silently gazed at the sky.

This, however, only proves that I am right!

---

Noxian Calendar Year 985, February 29th.

Ionians repelled the Noxians.

This battle lasted for two years.

In the midst of war, resistance leader Irelia led the charge, breaking through the enemy's formation with a single strike, and amidst the chaos, severed the right hand of the Noxian general on this expedition.

Historically known as the Grand Stand at Navori.