-122- Goddess Janna!

In just a few minutes, the streets of Zaun were filled with Zaunites. 

Linwin stood alongside Kai'Sa and Vi, while Sevika and Ekko led their respective groups.

Zaun could only send a limited number of people, totaling less than two hundred. Given Zaun's smaller population compared to Piltover, this was already the elite force of Zaun - a group of seasoned fighters who had faced life and death situations under the Chem barons.

"All ready, hoverboards up!" Ekko, wearing high-speed flight goggles, had a uniquely shaped staff behind him, a specially crafted metal and Hextech bat with destructive power, serving as his melee weapon. His hoverboard beneath him had machine guns on both sides for ranged attacks.

"We have a deadly advantage over them because, we can fly!" Ekko exclaimed, leading the charge onto the hoverboards, followed by Sevika and a group of Zaun Enforcers.

"Big bro, the first team is ready to go at any moment!" Ekko excitedly informed Linwin.

This is his first time in a war! 

Against the formidable Noxian forces! 

"Wait for my command."

Linwin looked up at the sky. Even though the Hextech hoverboards were fast, it would take five minutes to reach Piltover.

However, Linwin could change that.

Everyone looked at Linwin, puzzled.

"O Wind... grant me strength," Linwin closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and placed them on his chest, making a praying motion.

With Linwin's body rising, a gentle breeze swirled in the center of Zaun's square, within a radius of nearly two hundred meters.

Then, this breeze grew stronger.

As Linwin opened his eyes, they turned pure white, like pristine jade. The gentle breeze turned into a gale.

Ekko, in confusion, looked down at his hoverboard. A gentle breeze enveloped his Hextech hoverboard.

"Go!"

Linwin didn't use a Hextech hoverboard but soared high into the sky.

"Oh, my god!"

The onlookers, witnessing this scene for the first time, were startled.

What kind of magic was this? 

Kaisa quickly took flight and caught up with Linwin, then wrapped her arms around Linwin's waist. 

Kaisa could fly too, but her flight duration was limited, more like high-speed spatial teleportation. Flying a distance of several thousand meters like this would exhaust her, so she chose to hang onto Linwin.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

"Whoosh—"

A series of sonic booms echoed in Zaun's square. Looking up at the people who flew into the sky in an instant and then disappeared, Silco and Vander stared for a while and then sat down simultaneously.

Neither of them left because they both had to keep an eye on the unruly Powder.

Currently, Powder was biting her own braid, glaring angrily at Vander and Silco sitting at the door.

"Don't look at me; this is also Linwin's idea," Silco said helplessly.

"You better behave!" Vander, on the other hand, glared directly at Powder.

"God! I'm so mad!"

Powder stomped her foot.

---

"This way, move towards this way!"

The gates of Piltover were open, and a large group of Piltover citizens were fleeing towards Zaun.

Meanwhile, at Zaun's blockade line, Enforcers who received orders through Hex phones were loudly directing the crowd. "Quickly, move towards this way! Elderly and children get on the lift first; the rest of you, walk! Anyone who dares to disobey my orders, I'll beat him to death right now! Move forward in an organized and disciplined manner!"

As the Zaun Enforcer roared, he looked at the chaos in front of him, and for a moment, a tremendous sense of powerlessness overcame him.

Even though, like most Zaunites, he had harbored intense hatred towards Piltover citizens, at this moment, this middle-aged Zaun Enforcer watched the flames in the sky above Piltover and heard the distant sounds of gunfire and explosions. 

In this moment, he let go of his bias against the people of Piltover.

Perhaps, as Vander had said, Zaunites and Piltover citizens, no matter how bad their relationship, it was a matter between the two cities!

And Noxus, they are outsiders!

"Here they come, Noxian troops are coming! Move faster, everyone in the front!"

The shouts from the rear reached the three Zaun Enforcers, throwing them into chaos. However, gritting their teeth, they quickly grabbed their weapons and moved forward.

Zaunites don't fear death!

We have been living with death all along! Our living environment is always accompanied by death, and now, the invasion of Noxian forces has plunged these three Enforcers into confusion.

Should they run with the crowd to Zaun, watching the Noxian forces break through, or should they stop the Noxian forces here and wait for reinforcements from the higher-ups?

Haha!

Is there even a choice?! 

"Hurry, you bastards from Piltover, get out of here, we will stop them!"

With Hextech rifles in hand, the three Enforcers quickly took up positions.

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

The Piltover citizens, who had been cursed at, looked at them with gratitude.

"Fire, it's fire, they're carrying explosives!"

"Quick, disperse!!!"

"Don't panic!"

With a roar, a Zaun Enforcer, upon seeing the Noxian army, instantly opened fire.

Different from the hesitancy of Piltover Enforcers, Zaun's Enforcers wouldn't care about the life or death of the enemy. Discard all those hypocritical notions! 

"Boom!"

The Hextech rifle emitted a massive beam of light. Created by Powder and later mass-produced, this weapon had extremely powerful single-target damage.

A blue beam, as thick as a wrist, shot out directly, shattering the steel armor of a Noxian soldier in an instant. The soldier lowered his head, looking at the wrist-sized hole in his chest in shock. Then, the beam pierced through him, through a second Noxian soldier, and a third!

It stopped only when it collided with a shield.

A single shot could easily crush the Empire army's armor, but behind the powerful force of the Hextech rifle was the need to spend time charging the Hextech gem until a light dot appeared on the edge of the gun's sight, indicating it was ready to fire again.

Seeing this scene, Piltover citizens exclaimed, "They're dead, the demons are dead! Quick, people in the front, move faster!"

"Zaunites, we can help you!"

"Quick, drop everything! We need to help them establish defensive measures!"

Seeing an Enforcer effortlessly kill four Noxian soldiers, Piltover citizens were stunned by the powerful weapon. At the same time, they were filled with joy.

The elongated formation continued to advance towards Zaun, but at the same time, some Piltover citizens spontaneously stayed behind.

They threw their belongings on the ground, serving as tools for defense.

To block the invasion of Noxian forces for these three heroes!

But soon, the joy disappeared as they saw makeshift catapults appearing, each carrying massive explosive packages.

"They're going to drop bombs!"

"Damn it!"

The Zaun Enforcers, upon witnessing this, quickly aimed their guns at one of the carts, ready to blow it up. However, when the bullets were fired, they were blocked by soldiers carrying giant shields.

These were Noxus's giant shield bearers, specifically designed to counter projectiles and bombs.

Each of them was over six feet tall, as strong as an ox, holding a metal shield taller and heavier than themselves at over two meters and weighing more than four hundred kilograms.

The Noxian giant shield bearers blocked the front, and in the rear, Noxian bombardiers had already lit the fuse.

"Bizz!"

"Whoosh!"

The explosive package, accompanied by flames, streaked across the pitch-black night sky, pointing directly at the Sun Gate, heading towards the occupied territory of Zaun.

If all these explosives went off, the people on this bridge would all die! There were currently over four thousand people crowded here!

"No!!!"

A Piltover citizen roared in despair.

"Goddess Janna, save us."

"O Goddess!"

"Please, save us!!"

In despair, some Piltover citizens remembered an ancient myth.

Whenever Zaunites faced difficulties, they only needed to devoutly call out, and the great Wind Goddess would appear to help her believers through hardships.

At this moment, Piltover citizens recalled this.

And then, they fell to their knees.

In an instant, with the explosives about to fall, a quarter of the people on the Bridge, around a thousand Piltover citizens, moved.

They tightly closed their eyes, trembling, facing imminent death, recalling the ancient deity.

They thought of her.

The one renowned for her love, kindness, and benevolence.

Even though many of them had ridiculed worshiping gods as foolish before.

But in this moment, those people were also caught up in this emotion.

Ordinary people couldn't influence the course of war.

All they could do was to survive with difficulty.

Even if it might be false!

It was a. testament and concern.

But.

The deity would bless her believers!

With each chant:

"Goddess Janna, save us—"

"Please save us—"

Accompanied by a gust of wind.

Over the Bridge, in the dark night, light suddenly burst forth.

The pure yellow light shone on the Sun Gate, like the radiant sun.

Piltover citizens and Noxian soldiers lifted their heads.

They saw a holy woman holding a scepter appearing above the dome.

She looked at the Piltover citizens kneeling on the bridge with compassion, then gently shook her hand.

Wars between humans, born of human beliefs in Janna, should not have involved her!

In that case, her actions would only be rejected by Noxian people. Her involvement in the war would be demonized.

But Janna acted without hesitation.

For her believers!

For Zaun!

"Tempest."

With a whisper.

"Boom!"

The clouds in the sky were scattered, and powerful storms swept in from all directions.

Just in an instant, all the people from Piltover were swept away by the storm, then, flying towards the lower part of the Bridge.

Just in an instant, hundreds of explosive packages were suspended in the sky, exploding one after another.

Just in an instant, the people of the Noxian Empire were blown away hundreds of meters, and the makeshift catapults were destroyed.

Just in an instant.

The Wind Goddess changed everything!

Under the Sun Gates, four thousand people descended towards Zaun with Janna's help.

But during the descent, some noticed a series of blue glows.

With a "whoosh!" sound.

Shockwaves burst open as a fully armed group flew towards the Bridge.

It was an army.

The Army of Zaun!

Linwin soared through the air with Kaisa hanging on him.

Behind him, a group of Zaunites controlled Hextech hoverboards.

Ekko held a staff, skillfully maneuvering the Hextech hoverboard, and blue flames burst from the bottom of the hoverboard, providing a small amount of light.

Linwin shouted loudly:

"First squad, Ekko, take eighty people quickly to the center of Piltover to rescue people. If you encounter Noxian forces, show no mercy!"

"Sivika, leave twenty people to guard the Bridge, protect the citizens who will arrive here later!"

"The rest of you!"

"Follow me!"

Linwin raised his arms and called out, harnessing the power of the wind, flying towards Piltover.

Then, continuous bursts of shockwave sounds represented the start of the Zaunite action.

"Thank you, Janna."

"This is what I should do."

Linwin nodded and fell silent.

Watching Piltover ignite.

In his heart, Linwin sighed.

The moment Piltover was set on fire, Piltover had completely lost.

But now.

Now is not the time for sentimentality!

"Wind, help me reach my destination!"

Passing through the sky, encountering a Noxian army of dozens, Linwin released the magic of the wind.

"Whoosh!"

Countless wind blades, in just a breath, wiped out this Imperial squad.

Kaisa hanging on Linwin's back frowned.

She wasn't a saint; she believed she survived in the Void and had a responsibility to save the people of Shurima.

But, this wasn't Shurima.

At the same time, looking at the bodies of Piltover people and Piltover burning.

Kaisa also didn't think Noxian people deserved mercy.

This was an invasion.

Scarce resources and lack of supplies are not reasons for Noxus to invade others and destroy their homes.

So, from the beginning, Zaun's killing was. Justified!