Arcane: Twin Cities Mechanic

Zhao Xin leaped off his horse and, in less than two breaths, covered a distance of several dozen meters, charging past the royal guards and reaching King Jarvan III's side to assess the situation.

The first to reach the King's side were sixteen soldiers from the eighth shield formation—two squads—carrying the shining steel kiteshields. These were known as the "Iron Wall" by the Unyielding Vanguard. The shields were almost double the size of ordinary ones, towering to the height of a person.

The soldiers of the eighth shield formation were burly men, and only their large frames could handle such heavy and massive shields.

Once the two shield formations set their shields down, Tiyana led one of the squads to the King's side, with their standard sword and shield combinations from the first and fourth shield formations.

Seeing the bloodstains on the ground, she shot an icy glare at Xin Zhao, who was helping King Jarvan III back on his feet, and her voice was filled with anger. "What happened here?!"

She had been occupied with quelling the frenzied civilians just moments ago and wasn't aware of what had transpired with the King. It was only when she heard soldiers shout, "Assassin! The King has been attacked!" that she rushed through the crowd.

"How could you let His Majesty get hurt?!" Tiyana immediately checked on King Jarvan III's condition, demanding an explanation from Zhao Xin.

"Tiyana, calm down. This isn't my blood," King Jarvan III steadied himself and looked at the bloodstains on the ground and on his palm. "I just fell, it's nothing serious."

"It's the assassin's blood," Xin Zhao muttered darkly.

"Where is the assassin?"

Tiyana's face hardened as she looked at Xin Zhao , her eyes filled with mixed emotions, seemingly waiting for him to explain.

"I…" Zhao Xin hesitated, furrowing his brow, and then answered honestly, "I didn't see the killer."

"Do you even know what you're saying?"

Tiyana's anger, already fueled by the news of the King's attack, almost boiled over as she tried to hold back her frustration.

"I heard the sound of a sharp weapon cutting through the air, coming from near His Majesty, and without hesitation, I made my move. But at the time, His Majesty had the royal guards with him, so there shouldn't have been anyone nearby. This blood, though, seems to have exploded out of nowhere."

Zhao Xin wasn't sure exactly what had happened.

He had sensed that the King was in danger through sheer instinct, but why couldn't he see the assassin?

"Xin Zhao is right," King Jarvan III added, looking thoughtful. "I had the feeling someone was watching me, so I intentionally had Xin Zhao stay away, hoping to draw the attacker out."

"What?!" Tiyana's face paled with concern. "Your Majesty, how could you use yourself as bait?"

Even Xin Zhao looked stunned.

He had thought that King Jarvan III wanted him to resolve the crisis quickly, but instead, it turned out that the King had been trying to lure out the hidden enemy.

Realizing this, Xin Zhao immediately dropped to one knee, bowing his head in shame. "I've failed to live up to your trust."

King Jarvan III quickly pulled him up. "No, no, rise. I didn't expect the assassin to be so powerful, to bypass the royal guard and get so close."

Tiyana was clearly puzzled. "How did they do it?"

"Like we've seen, that assassin was likely a mage—an invisible mage," King Jarvan III murmured as he stared at the dull bloodstains on the ground. "But I've never heard of magic that can be this undetectable."

Zhao Xin thought for a moment, and then a name suddenly came to his mind. "The one who tried to kill you might be using shadow magic."

"Shadow magic…" 

The term also triggered memories for both King Jarvan III and Tiyana.

The people of Demacia had suffered greatly from the Rune Wars, and they kept meticulous records of that dark period in history, especially the shadow wars at the end of the conflict.

Shadow magic had originated from that era.

According to secret texts, shadow magic could kill a person without anyone noticing.

Powerful shadow mages could even abandon their physical form and enter the realm of the spirit—what Demacians often called the Soul Realm. If one were a spiritual being, it would be normal for them to be invisible to the naked eye.

But how did the bloodstains on the ground fit into this?

"Could it be the Ionian Order of Shadows?" Tiyana speculated quietly. "Only they have mastered such powerful shadow magic."

"I don't think so," King Jarvan III shook his head. He knew a fair amount about the situation in Ionia.

"There are still many Noxians on Ionia's land, and the Order of Shadows has allied with the Navori Brotherhood, aiming to completely drive out Noxus. They have no conflict with us and would never help our mutual enemies."

With that, he crouched down again to inspect the bloodstains on the ground. 

The assassin had fled without leaving any other clues, making it difficult to track them. This made their subsequent search even more challenging.

The enemy could turn invisible, and without leaving any blood on their escape route, it was hard to track down the audacious mage-assassin who had dared to try and kill the King.

Suddenly, King Jarvan III's eyes lit up. "Li Lin might have a way… but where is he?"

Xin Zhao and Tiyana exchanged uncertain glances, unsure how to answer the King.

They couldn't just speculate that something had happened to him, could they?

"Well, never mind. Have someone collect the blood and secure the area," King Jarvan III said, looking at the now quieter crowd beyond the shield formations. "We need to take care of the civilian unrest first."

Meanwhile, in a remote section of the sewers in Demacia.

A figure cloaked in a black hooded robe staggered through the dark, filthy underground tunnel, paying no attention to the guards patrolling above, suppressing the unrest. 

In times of such urgency, no one would bother to check the sewers for anyone.

"Damn it! That Ionia Governor is even worse than described in the letter!" A raspy, low voice echoed through the tunnel. "A mage, ha... how ironic."

The man pressed his left arm tightly, where his sleeve had been torn open. Blood oozed from the wound, and the cloth used to bandage it was stained with dark red blotches—blood that had already begun to coagulate.

After passing through several iron bars that had been sawn through long ago, he reached a platform. He drew a short, serrated curved knife from his waist.

The knife's blade was silvery white, while its body was covered in a dull red hue, resembling dried blood. 

A blunt-angled triangular seal was engraved at the junction between the blade and the handle, emitting a faint purple glow.

With a careless motion, the man dropped the knife onto the ground, making a sharp clink as the metal struck the stone. He then pulled out a piece of paper from a gap in the platform's corner wall.

The paper contained the words for the assassination of King Jarvan III.

"Damn it! I didn't even investigate Xin Zhao's strength properly... Can't blame me for this."

The man muttered angrily, crumpling the paper into a ball. He summoned a small flame in his palm and burned it to ashes.

The sewers in Demacia were made entirely of marble, without any traces of anti-magic stones, so his magic wasn't hindered here.

Even on the surface, the limited amounts of anti-magic stone in the surrounding buildings only had a slight effect on him—just a bit more energy consumption, that's all.

After destroying the evidence, he took out his bag from a loose brick wall. Inside, he pulled out a small bottle of strong liquor and some gauze, preparing to tend to his wound.

"Damn it, where did my knife go?"

The man swore under his breath and turned back, intending to pick up the curved blade he had just dropped.

But the empty ground made him freeze for a moment, then a surge of fear gripped him. "Who... who's there?!"

The answer came in a playful, almost mechanical voice from a young man: "Tsk tsk, the legendary Duskblade of Draktharr... such a fine piece. If you don't want it, you can just give it to me."

(End of this chapter)

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