Arcane: TTB: Ch. 144

"Hextech, the core principle lies in mastering magical energy through technological innovation. With Jayce's particular genius, he's managed to create prototype war machines that are... unprecedented."

"This mechanical dragon should represent his greatest achievement in applied Hextech over the past several years."

Compared to the furious and panicking Emystan, Camille remained utterly composed, her words even carrying an undisguised note of admiration for Jayce's accomplishments.

To her mind, this was actually a potentially beneficial development. Jayce's immature political instincts meant that whenever he achieved a major breakthrough, the Clan Ferros could usually seize the results through various channels and intermediaries.

Jayce might suffer short-term losses and frustration, but the Clan Ferros would always ultimately profit from his innovations.

"What are you even talking about right now? Is this really the time for praising his work? We were almost vaporized just moments ago! The priority is escaping with our lives intact!"

Emystan was absolutely fuming, completely unable to understand Camille's way of analyzing their situation. She didn't want to die, especially not in Piltover

"No matter how powerful any weapon might be, it still requires a competent master to wield it effectively. Jayce's talent deserves recognition, but he is by no means a warrior with combat experience."

Camille cast Emystan a brief glance. Her expression remained difficult to interpret, somewhere between scorn and acknowledgment of facts.

A so-called warband commander, yet when faced with danger she reveals such ugly panic and cowardice. Truly unworthy of her rank and reputation.

Emystan was nobody's fool despite her current terror. She was both a military general and a seasoned political operator, and Camille's disdain only fueled her anger.

Still, trapped as they currently were in enemy territory, she had to rely completely on Camille's expertise to escape alive. She pretended not to notice the insult.

"Have your Crimson Elite assist me in capturing Jayce as a hostage. His Hextech creations are indeed formidable weapons, but he himself represents the vulnerability in this system. My family's operatives will escort you to safety first, Commander. Once we've successfully taken Jayce hostage, we'll regroup with your forces shortly thereafter."

Camille withdrew her gaze, shaking her head almost imperceptibly. Her already low opinion of Emystan sank even further into contempt.

If not for her powerful family connections and political backing, this incompetent woman would never have qualified to command a Noxian warband.

To her assessment, Emystan was barely more capable than a common field officer somehow placed in command of elite soldiers.

Her pathetic performance under pressure only confirmed Camille's growing suspicion: both the Clan Ferros and this useless commander had already been sold out by the Black Rose leadership. They were just expendable pawns, meant to be sacrificed when convenient.

If the Pale Lady had wanted to help Piltover, or provide real assistance to Camille, she wouldn't have sent such an obviously inadequate piece to play.

Since that truth was now clear, she had to make her own survival plans independently. If Emystan died here in Piltover, so be it. All she truly cared about was ensuring the continued survival and prosperity of the Clan Ferros.

"Fine. Riven, lead your team to provide support to Camille."

Emystan agreed without the slightest hesitation or concern for her soldiers' safety.

She was now thinking only of escape, her pride completely abandoned.

Whether Camille and Riven succeeded or failed in their attempt to capture Jayce, whether they faced danger or death, none of it was her concern anymore.

"Draw his attention and keep him distracted. Move out, now!"

---

Upon returning to the grand entrance hall on the first floor of the Hexgate facility, Camille immediately locked her vision onto Jayce, who was currently riding his dragon and wreaking havoc with demolition attacks.

Her eyes narrowed as she issued Riven an order.

Her legs fired out grappling hooks, the cables latching firmly onto a structural support behind Jayce's current position.

The retraction mechanism engaged instantly, yanking her across the battlefield in a blur into another building's shadow, where she concealed herself while waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

"Marit!"

Riven shouted urgently back to her teammate.

"On it!"

Marit understood the plan immediately, swinging herself onto her mount, then maneuvering to carry Riven with her. Together they launched from their cover position, swooping from a flank angle toward Jayce's position.

Among the entire Crimson Elite, only she possessed a flying mount capable of aerial combat, she represented their sole air superiority asset.

Arrel and Teneff exchanged a meaningful glance before splitting up, each rushing toward different stairways leading to higher floors.

They had no methods for directly engaging flying opponents, so their only option was heading upstairs to gain elevation and wait for an opportunity to contribute.

"Get me out of this, immediately!"

Emystan barked at the Clan Ferros operatives, urging them to facilitate her retreat while caring absolutely nothing for Camille or the Crimson Elite's survival chances.

"Jayce, you've got trouble incoming. The Crimson Elite are closing rapidly from your left flank, one of them has a beast mount that can fly."

"If you don't want to get beaten senseless and dragged off as a hostage, you'd better pull back to a safer distance right now. One on one in close combat, you're absolutely no match for soldiers of their caliber."

Riven and Marit, both mounted on the agile beast, were on top of Jayce's position, yet the fool still hadn't noticed their approach, too busy tearing buildings apart like some oversized puppy with destructive tendencies.

He was essentially a fragile artillery specialist with minimal close-combat training. If Riven, wielding her powerful runic greatsword, managed to close the distance, her combination strikes followed by a Wind Slash, he would be finished almost instantly.

"Wait... something's coming at me?"

Jayce glanced sharply to his left side.

There she was: a white-haired, fierce-looking warrior riding the beast, glaring at him with murderous intent, her massive runic sword already raised high for a killing strike.

The moment Riven realized she'd been spotted and lost the element of surprise, she swung her blade in a wide arc, sending a slash of concentrated dark-green energy straight toward Jayce's throat.

Jayce's heart leaped out of his chest. He frantically commanded his mechanical dragon to ascend vertically, barely dodging the strike by mere inches.

His throat went completely dry, cold sweat immediately beading on his forehead. This was his first combat experience, and the brutal reality of battlefield violence was far beyond anything he'd previously imagined in his laboratory.

He had naively thought that possessing the overwhelming destructive power of a Hextech Dragon, he could easily dominate any engagement, crushing all resistance through superior firepower alone.

But if not for Cipher's warning, he would already be dead or critically wounded from that warrior woman's ambush.

Standing atop the mechanical dragon's head, he twisted the transformation mechanism of his signature hammer and fired a concentrated energy projectile straight at Riven and Marit's mount.

The beast twisted, dodging the explosive shot.

"Close the distance, now! Don't let him maintain his advantage!" Riven shouted urgently to her partner.

She understood perfectly, if Jayce maintained his distance, they would never overcome the dragon's superior firepower and protection.

Their only viable option was forcing immediate close combat, bypassing the dragon's overwhelming ranged superiority, and engaging him directly where his lack of combat training became a vulnerability.

He wasn't a complete fool. He might lack battlefield experience, but he understood basic principles about not allowing enemy combatants to close within striking distance.

"Activating Thunder Field!"

As the dragon climbed higher, he commanded it to activate its crowd-control system: violent arcs of crackling electricity suddenly flared around the dragon's entire body, forming a deadly electromagnetic energy field.

When he'd originally designed the Hextech Dragon months ago, he had already carefully considered the risk of enemy combatants attempting to board the dragon to sabotage its systems directly.

The Thunder Field had been engineered precisely for that scenario, a storm of high-voltage electrical currents meant to electrocute anyone foolish enough to leap onto the dragon's back or climb its armored surface.

Meanwhile, he continued targeting the beast with his hammer, firing shot after shot of energy blasts.

Explosive projectiles tore through the air with each discharge, but his complete lack of combat experience showed painfully, he couldn't predict their movements or lead his targets properly.

Hitting stationary practice targets in his laboratory was one thing; hitting a nimble flying mount piloted by an expert rider was a different challenge. He couldn't land a single shot.

The more he fired without effect, the more inadequate he felt. He was beginning to realize that on his own without support, he couldn't handle these warrior women and their trained mount.

Still, as a scientist and engineer, his greatest strength had always been his creations rather than personal combat prowess.

"Execute Lightning Breath!"

Jayce shifted approaches. With the Thunder Field providing protection, he commanded the dragon to unleash its wide-area Lightning Breath weapon system instead of continuing futile precision shots.