340 -333- The returned Ezreal
In the year 986 of the Noxian calendar, on a morning in February, at the Twin Cities Village:
"Shagu, watch my royal shot!" Jarvan IV shouted loudly, lifting his right leg and forcefully shooting forward towards a 10.33-meter wide and 3.88-meter tall goalpost.
"Boom!"
With a flash of blue light, Jarvan IV's powerful shot, utilizing a specially made football with petricite lining, resembled a blue meteor, flying straight towards the goalpost.
"Nice shot, Your Highness!" a man from the Shurima tribe, specifically the Qussha tribe, laughed and leaped high, using both legs to kick the football with force.
His fist precisely hit the football, sending it flying towards another Shuriman's position with a slow but amazingly beautiful blue arc.
A group of people rushed to take the ball, but Shagu was the best football player among the Shurimans, gifted with exceptional talent in football and an outstanding goalkeeper. Therefore, with a precise punch, he sent the ball flying over the heads of his own teammates.
Although not as physically strong as the Demacians, football was a sport of skill, and Shagu had exceptional talent in this regard. Consequently, he was subtly becoming the best goalkeeper on Runeterra!
Jarvan IV cursed loudly upon seeing this: "Damn! Close again!"
"Tryndamere, quickly, let's defend!"
Tryndamere nodded vigorously, wearing a jersey with the number 8 and an imprint of a blue iceberg, representing Freljord, verifying his identity.
Several men ran towards their own goalposts with smiles on their faces, and there stood a huge monster.
Alistar wore a loose jersey with the width of a millstone, with an image of a tall mountain and bull horns imprinted on it, specially made for him. He was the second goalkeeper.
He didn't have much technique in goalkeeping; his reliance was solely on his massive physique. When Alistar stood in front of the goalpost, it was like cheating!
But even with such innate advantages, Alistar was still slightly inferior to Shagu.
Excitedly, he clapped his big hands, waiting for the opponent's attack, his heart pounding rapidly.
Alistar thought this was much more thrilling than the gladiatorial fights in Noxus! And most importantly, it didn't involve harming anyone!
But being a goalkeeper wasn't something anyone could do, at least it required someone with a tough body.
Like that guy Shagu, who had only been training for half a month and already scored a goal. He played football every day now, and his hands were swollen, but with the miraculous potions from Twin Cities, he healed quickly.
Vibrant and energetic, the warriors on the field were truly enjoying themselves.
Jarvan IV had truly fallen in love with this sport. Even Garen, who was usually serious, was excited on the field.
This kind of game, without killing or drawing blood, still made Garen's blood boil.
Now, every morning after their run, the 106 lined up eagerly to train in football. This had become the daily entertainment for these men.
There were quite a few athletes participating in football matches in Twin Cities. Therefore, another football field was built in another part of the land.
Piltover and Zaun were now wealthy, but land was still scarce. It was fine when only the locals lived there, but with outsiders coming in, building two football fields of this size immediately wasn't enough.
Linwin flew high in the sky, watching the group of men playing football below, feeling a bit itchy. At the same time, he was thinking—indeed, basketball should be included in the next games.
Actually, when considering whether to use basketball or football during the games, Linwin had thought about it earlier.
After some thought, he decided on football. After all, football was the most influential sport.
Although Linwin was terrible at football, he couldn't resist the joy of watching it!
And you should know that in the official universe, many champions have athlete skins, such as Sweeper Alistar, playmaker Lee Sin, and Sweeper Rammus.
Striker Lucian, Superfan Gargas, Goal Keeper Maokai, Goalkeeper Blitzcrank, All-star Akali, Striker Ezreal.
As well as the two referees on the field—Red Card Twisted Fate and Red Card Katarina.
Twisted Fate was specifically brought back from Bilgewater by Linwin. Originally, Graves wanted to come back too, but Linwin refused.
Why kind of match can this big beard participate?
A robbery competition?
Twisted Fate's eyes were very useful, and as a master of cheating and with the ability of teleportation, nothing happening on the field could escape his eyes.
Therefore, trying to cheat or foul in front of Twisted Fate without being noticed was very difficult.
Furthermore, Linwin would be the main referee!
————
"AHHHH!!!!"
In the broadcasting room, Zeri's hair crackled like sparks, her emotions out of control as she stomped her feet and screamed.
"I want to participate in the sports festival too! I want to join the soccer match, I want to play, it looks so fun to watch them play!"
Zeri wailed, then buried her head in Seraphine's arms.
Seraphine blinked, then reached out to pat Zeri's head, saying with a wry smile, "Didn't Vi already agree to it?"
"Yeah, Vi and Ekko agreed, but Powder and Kai'Sa aren't coming." Zeri raised her head, looking at Seraphine's delicate cheeks, and buzzed, "We don't have enough people, we're just three short now, but none of the Zaunites want to participate, especially those university students, they say they're afraid of getting hurt."
Seraphine squirmed uncomfortably, lifting her head and pursing her lips.
Zeri's overly intimate actions made Seraphine uneasy.
"How about you join? Then we'll just need two more people." Zeri looked at Seraphine with hopeful puppy eyes.
"Are you trying to get me knocked out?!" Seraphine looked at Zeri unkindly.
Initially, Zeri was also asked to be suspended because she's a mage, but now there's a single piece of Petricite in the center of the soccer ball, and if Zeri participates, she must wear a Petricite wrist guard.
That's the only way to make it "fair."
Using magic in the game is definitely unfair; even if there's a gap in physical abilities, it's unavoidable. As long as it's within the "human range," it's fair.
Kai'Sa obviously exceeds the human range, so even if she wants to help Zeri, she's required to stay out.
But what about magic?
If Zeri uses lightning magic, she can run back and forth on the field in a few seconds. Her speed is so fast that even if she's holding the ball in her hands, it's uncertain if anyone can notice her doing it. What's the point then?
But Zeri really likes it.
"Go find someone else, I don't want to die young!" Seraphine gently pushed Zeri away, then continued, "Can't you see, there are only a few women in a game."
There are female athletes, but very few.
Of course, Seraphine pays attention to it. When she gets off work now, she occasionally takes the time to go to the Twin Cities to watch the game. This sport is really liked by both men and women.
But to say that Seraphine really likes it, it's not that much. She's just passing the time, after all, she has to do the opening ceremony later, so she needs to understand some things.
And from what she can see now, Demacia should be the strongest team, followed by a team from Shurima.
The Demacia team is too strong, just look at their players—Garen, Jarvan IV, Tryndamere, Alistar, Sejuani, Fiora, the three soldiers of the Dauntless Vanguard, and two outstanding players from the Western Region, forming a golden team!
On the other hand, Noxus, the archenemy of Demacia.
Ha, Draven and Darius have given up soccer. Although they love to play, due to Noxus's poor reputation, they can't invite good players at all now. The Freljordians can actually cooperate with Noxus, but they don't want to!
Sejuani doesn't like Darius, and Ashe naturally leans towards Sejuani.
The two largest tribes in the north don't like Noxus, not to mention the whole Freljord. Well, no need to say more.
Therefore, Draven and Darius have shifted their focus to other projects.
Zeri frowned.
"Well, I'll go ask around again."
"Go go go, don't bother me."
"Damn it!" Zeri pushed the door open, then made a face at Seraphine, even raised her small fist in a threatening manner.
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The port of Piltover, directly above Zaun.
Today, ships arriving at the port are still countless. Piltover has hundreds of large ships sailing out to sea every day, and countless large ships docking and leaving.
And today, a ship from Shurima and a ship from Bilgewater docked at the port.
The blond handsome man opened his mouth wide, looking at the floating island of Zaun, shocked to the point of being absent-minded.
"Is this still the Piltover I remember?"
"Idiot, that's Zaun!" A passing Zaunite heard and immediately retorted.
Ezreal lifted his chin, looking at this unfamiliar city, faintly, feeling somewhat familiar.
Then he heard a man's amazed voice in his ear.
"So many people, this is much more prosperous than Ionia."
Turning his head, Ezreal recognized him.
He was a Vastayan man with beast ears, strong physique, and handsome appearance.
"Forget it. Let's go find Uncle first."
Although curious about the Vastayan, Ezreal decided to go find his uncle first!
Then, ask him what's going on with Piltover and Zaun now!
