The Next Morning.
At the break of dawn, Duke emerged from his tent.
He had designed it himself, striking a balance between aesthetics, utility, and comfort.
As part of his morning workout, he casually pulled out the four massive anchor stakes that had held the tent in place. Each stake was as thick as a grown man's arm and about the length of a forearm, once driven in, no ordinary person could extract them bare-handed.
After collecting the stakes, Duke pressed his hand against the tent. With a soft shimmer, the entire structure was stored cleanly into his inventory.
Then, he made his way toward a nearby, much cruder tent. Before even getting close, he could hear persistent scraping sounds from inside.
Clatter!
He lifted the flap and stepped in, finding Nidalee, gripping a rock, furiously trying to file down the crystalline bars of the cage that Pride had created.
Squatting beside her, Duke pulled a steel file from his inventory and passed it into the cage.
"Here, try this. Much faster than a rock."
Nidalee glanced down at the stone in her hand, then back at the offered tool.
Insulting? Very.
Effective? Probably.
Barred teeth flashing, Nidalee hissed,
"I will get out of here. And when I do, I'm going to rip your throat out."
Duke nodded earnestly.
"Good! Keep it up."
"I'll bring you breakfast later. You'll need the energy to saw through those bars!"
"You bastard!"
He ignored her furious curses and stepped back outside.
As for whether she could actually file through the cage?
What a joke.
The crystal formed by Pride was as hard as diamond. No matter how sharp the file, breaking out with it was pure fantasy.
"Ahhh! That was the best sleep ever!"
Jinx stretched luxuriously. She wore her battle armor even in sleep, shoulder-mounted Fishbones resting on her back, her twin pigtails bouncing with every move. Her belt clinked with bombs and chewing-fire grenades.
"You really sleep in that thing?" Duke asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't it heavy?"
"I'd rather die than part with them!"
Jinx clutched Boom-Boom to her chest, casting a wary eye at Duke. Ever since she found out all her weapons had been fitted with remotely-controlled safety locks, by Duke himself, her dormant paranoia had flared back with a vengeance.
"Pack up after breakfast. We're relocating. I had a drone scout a much better site overnight."
"Sure."
Jinx's answer was less than enthusiastic, prompting Duke to ruffle her hair. Then he began calling everyone to wake, eat, and break camp.
Two hours later, everything was packed. Nidalee's cage was hoisted into the sky by drones, slowly lifting above the treetops.
Inside the cage, Nidalee clutched a half-eaten slice of cake. Seeing the ground fall away beneath her, she instinctively gripped the bars, while still chewing the piece Jinx had shoved into her mouth.
Duke lit a cigar as he watched.
He then turned to the fleet of air-gliders he'd prepared earlier. While technically flying machines, they looked more like something out of Fortnite, boxy bodies, hot-air balloons on top, and basic seats with seatbelts below.
They were all remote-controlled by Edith, though they could be manually piloted after a bit of training.
Still, they were simple tools, not meant for beauty, just function. Duke built them quickly and cheaply, perfect for long-distance travel.
With a whoosh, flames flared beneath the balloons, slowly lifting the gliders into the air.
Duke rode atop Pride's shoulders. The titan's jet thrusters activated, propelling both into the sky.
Once everyone was airborne, they began their flight toward the new location.
"How many of us are left?! Sound off!"
Issard, her buzz cut matted with dirt and blood, shouted toward the handful of surviving soldiers.
One of them raised a trembling hand.
"Just us, Commander Issard…"
"Damn it!"
Issard spat a curse. If not for that so-called Beastmaster and his "Pride," they wouldn't have ended up like this.
That beast… it was far beyond their understanding. Its breath alone had wiped out over a dozen trained troops. That wasn't a Drakescale, not by any definition she knew.
Its monstrous size could flatten a town. Wings that blotted out the sky. A body fused from stone and vines. And a roar so loud it shattered morale.
"That bastard Audiron nearly got us all killed!"
Issard stabbed her blade into a nearby vine, venting her rage.
"I don't think this is Audiron's fault,"
A calm voice made Issard's body stiffen.
"Katarina…"
Standing on a treetop was a woman with long red hair, a scar across her left eye, skin-tight pants, and daggers at her waist. She twirled one casually in her hand.
"This failure? That's on both of you."
"You were supposed to protect us!" Issard snarled.
Whoosh!
A dagger whizzed past Issard's head. By the time she turned, Katarina was already in front of her, blade pressed to her cheek.
"I had my mission. Protecting you wasn't part of it."
"If we can't return, neither can you!" Issard protested.
"Aw, sweetheart…"
Katarina traced the blade along Issard's cheek.
"Unlike you, I can always get out."
"Might take some effort, but that's nothing new."
Suddenly, a strange buzzing noise filled the air.
Katarina instantly flung a dagger toward the treetops and blinked to its location, landing catlike on a narrow branch.
She concealed herself within the leaves and peered upward, only to see an odd formation of flying machines, laughing passengers aboard, slowly drifting across the sky.
At the same time, Pride, beneath Duke, sensed something and turned his gaze toward Katarina.
Sensing she was spotted, Katarina hurled another dagger and blinked again, rapidly shifting positions to vanish from sight.
"What is it?" Duke asked, patting Pride on the head.
"Father, something's watching us. Several somethings."
"Probably the local Vastaya. There are tribes all over Ixtal. Don't worry about it."
Duke spoke casually. According to Nidalee's backstory, she'd once saved a Vastayan with lizard traits from a Piltover gold prospector. So it made sense that many Vastaya lived in this jungle.
And hunters? They'd definitely have scouts keeping an eye on anything odd, like airborne strangers.
"Understood, Father."
Meanwhile, on the jungle floor, Issard looked at the returning Katarina.
"What did you see?"
"Just like the Stonecarver reported, Piltovans. They're headed south in some sort of aircraft."
Katarina mulled over the intel. If Camille could gather Noxian intelligence, then clearly, Noxians could also monitor others.
"They're here for Ixtal too?"
Issard was visibly anxious. But Katarina grinned.
"Maybe it's time for a little resurgence."
"What do you mean?"
"Follow them. Mark their trail."
Katarina began walking toward the direction they'd come from.
"You're not coming?" Issard asked nervously.
Katarina's smile turned cold as she spun a dagger in her fingers.
"I'm going to pit tiger against wolf."
Two hours later.
Duke's party descended onto a clearing near a riverbank. Duke looked around and nodded approvingly.
This was the site scouted last night by his drone. It was 50 kilometers from the vanguard's original camp.
Thanks to the flying gliders, the distance was nothing.
Nidalee, upon seeing this familiar area, frowned and redoubled her effort to file the bars.
This land was serene and full of life.
A shallow stream trickled through the clearing, teeming with fish. Even the most unskilled could catch one barehanded.
A place like this was typically a shared water and hunting ground for wildlife and Vastaya.
And these humans wanted to take it over?
"Set up upstream! Leave some space for the animals to drink!"
Duke barked orders.
"Unless you want to be trampled by a herd, do as I say!"
Nidalee paused, surprised. But then she grit her teeth and continued filing. He was still an invader.
Duke had chosen this site for more than just water access. There were no signs of burrowers nearby, the view was open, and if they were careful not to disturb the wildlife's patterns, the animals might tolerate their presence.
As the camp took shape, Duke approached Nidalee's cage.
"Still not ready to talk?"
He knelt down.
"If you help me, I can give you anything, new weapons, plenty of food, land for your tribe. A place where your people can thrive."
"Dream on. Beasts never bow!"
Nidalee gripped the bars and growled.
"Fine, suit yourself. Just hope you can get out of there within the next twenty years."
Duke shrugged and stood.
Suddenly, Pride let out a low growl.
"Father, strong life signals incoming!"
"ETA: 15 seconds to contact!"
"Visitors already?"
Duke's eyes narrowed as he looked toward the treeline.
Perched on his shoulder, Cicada twitched restlessly.
(End of chapter)
We're still in the early chapters fam! and to everyone who's joined the Patreon, thank you so much! 🙏Your support truly means the world. You're the reason this story keeps growing, chapter by chapter, world by world. I promise to give it my all! more content, more depth, more epic moments, to make sure your support is always worth it. You're part of the foundation that keeps this universe alive.
🔹 Hexcore Initiate – 15 chapters ahead
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