While Faen was following Syndra to her original home in the dreamscape, Kalan and the others had arrived outside the cave entrance of the Dreaming Pool.
To say this cave entrance was "hidden" wouldn't be entirely accurate. The fortress the Noxians occupied was originally built by the guards of Fae'lor themselves. The reason it now possessed the sharp, distinct angularity of Noxian architecture was simply because, under Swain's orders, the Noxians had specifically reinforced its structure. It was meant to serve as a springboard connecting Ionia and Noxus, facilitating the continuous transport of imperial troops in the future.
And now, as the communication soldiers on the coastline noticed the main island of Fae'lor had missed its scheduled check-in, a swarm of scout ships quickly approached the island.
LeBlanc had taken away many of the core members of the Noxian invasion force, but that didn't mean the Noxians had lost their combat ability or courage. In fact, most of the time, the Black Rose did not directly participate in Noxian wars. Instead, they pushed the conflict forward through various indirect means.
Perhaps this was because LeBlanc knew very well that those overly reliant on scheming were the most likely to stumble in the face of pure, raw power. So, she simply provided a clear path of advancement for the brave and bellicose, letting them willingly fight for glory while effectively working for her.
Now, as the Noxian soldiers discovered the warship Faen's group had hijacked to land on Fae'lor and found the fortress completely slaughtered, the hastily arriving scout ships began to retreat at an even faster speed.
Standing on the coast, watching the scout ships come and go, Kalan—who had lived with the Noxians on Fae'lor for some time and was familiar with their military structure—couldn't help but frown. "Prepare for battle. The coastal forces have likely discovered what happened here."
Hearing Kalan's words, Shen and Usan exchanged glances. "Didn't we already kill a portion of their commanders before we got here? Will they still launch an attack?"
Hearing their question, Kalan didn't speak. He simply glanced at Riven, who was wiping her blade not far away.
Feeling their gazes, Riven, a Noxian veteran herself, shrugged. As she wrapped cloth strips around her hands to prevent them from slipping due to blood in the coming fight, she said nonchalantly: "That depends on the legion. For a ragtag group drawn in solely by basic pay, that might happen. But Swain is one of the top three legion commanders in the entire empire."
Nodding her chin toward the distant coastal region, Riven explained:
"And the legions Swain selected to initiate this war are not to be underestimated. Most of these guys are drawn by honor, fame, and fortune. They are absolutely not useless trash just killing time for a paycheck. The sudden death of officers might deal a devastating blow to a normal unit, but for elite troops like these, it just means a lot of empty positions have opened up for promotion. While it might affect their strategic planning, if they're launching a focused assault on a specific area like they are now, it will actually boost their morale."
Hearing this, Usan and the others frowned slightly. It was obvious they hadn't realized before this just how troublesome the Noxians could be.
Despite these thoughts, the group didn't feel fear.
"If they fight for fame, fortune, and money, then we fight for our home, for the First Lands, and for Ionia itself." Reaching out his hand, Shen took a deep breath. Dense Spirit Realm energy began to gather, taking the shape of a sword and shimmering with a strange halo.
"We absolutely cannot lose."
"We just need to wait for Senior Brother to come out." Just as Shen was speaking, a calm voice suddenly drifted over. Looking toward the sound, Irelia, whose appearance was much younger than everyone else present, said peacefully:
"Senior Brother wields incredibly powerful forces, but he is restricted by certain rules of the First Lands and cannot use them freely. But Fae'lor is an exception. So, we just need to wait for Senior Brother to wake up, and all problems will be easily solved."
Hearing Irelia's words, Shen and the others looked a bit surprised, but remembering that she was Faen's junior sister, they didn't overthink it. After all, Faen had demonstrated his strength countless times on the way to Fae'lor. As his junior sister, it wasn't surprising that Irelia understood Faen better than most.
Only Riven cast a somewhat surprised look at Irelia. Others might not know, but didn't Riven know perfectly well? Aside from the daytime, Faen spent the rest of his time either telling Irelia stories of the past or fucking Riven after Irelia fell asleep. Although Irelia and Faen sometimes discussed Spirit Realm concepts, they definitely hadn't discussed anything about power levels or restrictions, right?
While Riven was still pondering, Irelia seemed to sense something. She turned to look at Riven, then broke into a radiant smile. She opened her palm, and from the cloth bag behind her, six small, fluttering swords drifted out.
Unlike in the game lore—where Irelia's initial weapons were the shattered shards of her family crest, broken by Noxians when she awakened her Blade Dance, later replaced by more lethal metal blades—the six crystal-clear small swords floating behind her now emitted a faint glow. Even someone who knew absolutely nothing about weapons could clearly feel in that moment that these blades were far from simple.
Seeing these blades, Shen exclaimed in surprise, "Are those... Spirit Realm weapons? The Xan family has them too?"
Spirit Realm weapons were armaments that possessed both a Spirit Realm form and a Material Realm form. They could deal significant damage to spiritual entities like evil spirits, while also inflicting mental trauma when striking living creatures, directly attacking their souls. Such weapons often possessed a certain degree of sentience. Unless one earned the weapon's recognition, using it might be worse than simply picking up a random stick.
Irelia smiled and replied, "They are relics of our ancestors." As she spoke, she turned her gaze toward the Noxian fleet that had already begun sailing toward Fae'lor.
"It's just that now, it is time for them to be unsheathed."