Arcane: TTB: Ch. 138

"Bunny?"

Inside The Last Drop, Powder squinted suspiciously. "Did you just say Bunny?"

There was no way that kind of nickname was normal. It had to be some kind of pet name with meaning behind it. She didn't like it one bit.

Her gaze swept over the feed transmitted back from the surveillance drones, finally focusing on the woman with the massive sword.

She didn't know Riven personally, nor did she understand who this so-called "Bunny" that Cipher had mentioned was supposed to be. But her instincts told her that the warrior wielding that oversized blade had to be someone important. Because she stood out the most among the Noxians.

"That one with the runic greatsword, that's Riven. She's an outstanding warrior."

Cipher didn't notice Powder's increasingly dark expression. He pointed at Riven on the screen.

"Okay, so she's Riven. But why are you calling her Bunny? Are you two close friends or something more than that?"

Powder leaned in, draping her arm around Cipher's shoulders with a smile that looked casual, but her grip was anything but gentle.

"Uh, not really close. I just... heard stories about her before. Calling her Bunny just... seemed to fit, I guess."

Cipher rubbed his nose awkwardly, trying to think of a reasonable explanation. He couldn't exactly admit that in his previous life, he'd spent countless hours playing as Battle Bunny Riven because he'd had a crush on the skin design.

If he said something that bizarre, his family would probably start wondering if he'd suffered some kind of head injury.

"Seemed to fit?"

Powder's expression darkened further, her smile freezing into something threatening. How well do you have to know someone to think a nickname like "Bunny" just "fits" them naturally?

Could it be that while she'd been away studying, he had been... getting to know other women?

Her heart gave a violent lurch. She stared at him.

"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face or what?"

Cipher rubbed at his cheek, a little unsettled. Powder's stare was too intense, making him nervous in a way that reminded him of being interrogated.

"Nothing's wrong. When have you been to Noxus to meet this woman?"

Since she couldn't detect any obvious lies in his expression, Powder's suspicion eased slightly, but only slightly.

She'd only been away for a few years, and suddenly Cipher seemed to know about all these different women she'd never heard him mention before. It was deeply troubling.

"Never been there. I've never set foot in Noxus. You're way overthinking this."

Explaining about game skins and his previous live would be far too complicated. He just scratched his head and gave what he hoped was a reassuring laugh.

"You better not be—"

Powder wasn't about to let him off so easily. She wanted to keep pressing until she got the whole truth about this.

Beep beep beep...

Cipher's communicator suddenly rang, interrupting her interrogation. He seized the opportunity to flash Powder an apologetic smile, then quickly answered the call.

"Cipher, what the hell are you doing over there? Didn't Viktor tell me that Zaun's declaration of war wasn't aimed at Piltover?"

"So why did you just fire that massive laser at the Hexgate area? Are you trying to make him look like a liar? Do you actually want to start a war between our cities?!"

Jayce's furious voice came through the speaker, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear clearly.

That enormous energy beam moments ago, Blitzcrank had calculated the trajectory precisely. In reality, it had passed quite far from Jayce's airship, though the visual effect had made it appear dangerously close to his flight path.

The point, naturally, was to apply some psychological pressure on Jayce. The so-called "Golden Boy of Progress" hadn't experienced real stress in far too long.

For a moment, Jayce had believed Cipher was trying to vaporize him along with the Hexgate.

"Take a deep breath and calm down. What could possibly be worse for Piltover than dealing with a Noxian invasion force?"

Cipher cleaned his ear with a finger, unfazed by Jayce's tearful accusations.

Viktor hadn't been lying to him. Zaun's declaration of war truly wasn't targeting Piltover's civilian population or infrastructure.

"A Noxian invasion? What are you talking about? I thought it was Zaun who declared war on us!"

"Why is Noxus suddenly involved in this? What the hell is actually going on here?"

Jayce had been up all night working on research, and now at daybreak the situation seemed to have become complicated.

"There should be a telescope somewhere on your airship. I didn't fire at the Hexgate."

"Take a look at the landing area, specifically at that airship. Take a good hard look, and you'll understand everything that's happening."

While pouring himself a fresh cup of tea, Cipher explained the situation.

---

On the airship, the confusion and worry on Jayce's face only deepened as he tried to process this information.

"Here, use this."

Caitlyn handed him a telescope.

Watching her childhood friend being kept in the dark left her feeling guilty. She didn't have the courage to look directly at his face.

"Thanks."

Jayce quickly grabbed the telescope and focused it toward the Hexgate landing platform.

"Where did those Noxians come from? And why do they look so heavily armed?"

"That armor design... only high-ranking Noxian military officers are entitled to wear gear like that!"

His eyes locked onto Emystan and the crimson-armored elite guards surrounding her.

The skies above the Hexgate were swarming with drones launching attacks, but he ignored them. His entire focus was fixed on the Noxian commander.

Over the years spent in politics, he had been forced to gain some understanding of Noxian military hierarchy and insignia.

The armor Emystan wore symbolized an extremely high position within the imperial command structure. Her military rank likely placed her just below figures like Swain.

And yet such a high-ranking Noxian general had issued no communications, sent no notice to Piltover's Council, instead infiltrating with a strike force.

Even without thinking too hard, he could tell the Noxians were up to no good. He was beginning to understand that Noxus had intended to invade and occupy Piltover and Zaun.

"Caitlyn, can this thing go any faster? We need to get there before this situation gets out of control."

He urged his pilot to increase their speed.

---

Meanwhile, at the Hexgate landing platform, Riven rushed forward, positioning herself in front of Emystan.

"Commander, watch out!"

The runic energy of her blade surged to life, forming a protective barrier that deflected a volley of tranquilizer darts fired by the drone swarm.

Then she raised the sword above her head and swung it. With a fierce downward slash, a violent gale blasted outward in all directions.

The sword energy tore through the air, destroying every drone within a ten-meter radius and clearing a temporary safe zone.

But no sooner had she unleashed her signature technique to eliminate one wave of attackers, additional drones surged forward from multiple directions.

This time, however, the units had adapted their tactics. They maintained distance, hovering just outside the range of her Wind Slash.

"There are too many of them, get inside the building!"

The sky was packed with countless drones. Riven once again raised her defensive stance, joining the other guards to form a circle around their commander.

They were all seasoned combat veterans, not just individually skilled, but highly disciplined as a unit. Everyone understood that attempting to fight flying enemies in open terrain was suicide. Only inside the solid structures might they have a realistic chance of survival.

"Marit, stay with the Commander and keep her safe! I'm going back for the others!"

Riven's gaze softened at the sight of her comrades lying unconscious inside the airship.

Now that Emystan had reached the building's cover and was relatively secure, her soldier's conscience urged her toward a rescue attempt.

She gripped her runic greatsword more tightly and prepared to charge out.

"Riven, fall back immediately! You'll die out there for nothing!"

Marit caught her arm.

The swarm filled the entire airspace above the landing platform. Even with the power of her runic blade, how long could one warrior possibly survive against those numbers?

"I can't abandon them. I have to try."

Riven shook off Marit's grip, runic energy pulsing again across her blade's surface as she prepared to unleash another Wind Slash.

"Riven! As your warband commander, I'm giving you a direct order to fall back immediately! As an elite Noxian soldier, your duty is to obey!"

"Casualties in warfare are inevitable. You must learn to make choices."

At the critical moment, Emystan issued her command. She wasn't concerned about Riven's safety, she was only worried about her own survival.

Riven represented the strongest individual fighter among the crimson elite guards. In such a disadvantageous situation, the more powerful the warrior protecting her retreat, the better her chances of survival.

She could not allow Riven to throw away her life in a futile rescue attempt.

"Yes... Commander!"

Riven's expression twisted. For the first time, she felt her own insignificance and helplessness.

Her grip on the runic greatsword was so tight her knuckles turned white.

She cast one final glance at her fallen comrades in the airship, pressed her lips together, and joined the others in protecting Emystan's withdrawal.