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*****
"How could this be? It's completely one-sided!"
From afar, Silco widened his eyes in disbelief. Under the drunken charge of George, the mighty Piltover Enforcers had suddenly become so fragile.
At this rate, the main fighting force of the Upper City—the Piltover Enforcer Corps—would soon be utterly crushed here.
And what would that mean?
It meant that the Upper City would fall into an unprecedented state of vulnerability today.
If they could take advantage of this moment to infiltrate, the long-cherished dream of defeating the Upper City and allowing the people of the Undercity to escape their misery and live above would be easily realized.
This was like a pie falling straight from the heavens!
Originally, his best plan had been to completely control the Undercity, spend ten years developing it, and then use alchemically enhanced shimmer to create a strengthened army, before launching a rebellion to crush the Enforcer Corps of the Upper City.
But now, it seemed that wasn't necessary anymore.
If that was the case, then he no longer needed to wait ten years—today, he would take the Upper City.
"Everyone, follow me! Take down this group of guards with everything you've got, then storm the Upper City!"
Silco drew the dagger from his waist and charged with his men toward the battlefield.
But just as he joined the fray, George greeted him head-on with a single slap, sending him flying.
"Heh, so there's even reinforcements? Take my slap!"
"You dare hit the boss? Get him!"
Silco's men, enraged at seeing their leader knocked unconscious, immediately turned their fury on George.
But George didn't hold back. With swift, effortless strikes, he sent them all flying, including those who had been enhanced by shimmer and looked particularly intimidating.
This was a battle that was destined to be won.
That was precisely why he didn't want Silco's forces involved. If Silco joined, he would inevitably demand a share afterward, and George feared Vander's soft heart might agree to it.
Vander was a straightforward man, honest and principled, with firm boundaries.
If Vander became the ruler of Piltover, George could easily control everything with what he did today and the plans to come—even without magic.
But Silco was different. His head was full of schemes and tricks. Better to kick him out of the future ruling class of Piltover altogether.
After all, George didn't even know Silco. Seeing him charge over while drunk, wasn't it natural to treat him as an enemy?
And when his underlings attacked first, why should George show any courtesy?
Everything made perfect sense.
Meanwhile, the shopkeeper, after felling the last Piltover guard, saw George knock down Silco's men and didn't step in to stop him.
The outcome of the battle was already decided—they didn't need Silco's help. Knocking him out was better than letting him cause trouble later.
With Vander absent, he wouldn't be able to restrain Silco anyway.
What truly shocked him, however, was George's overwhelming strength. The boy slapped down everyone he saw—his power was terrifying.
They'd better make sure he never drank so much again. If he went on a drunken rampage, none of them together would stand a chance against him.
Still, it was thanks to George that they didn't lose countless lives today—lives that would have been the Undercity's own people.
But now… what should they do?
The shopkeeper and the group of brawny men wore confused expressions.
For years, they had suffered under the Upper City's oppression, so they had always been ready to ignite at the slightest spark, thinking only of fighting back. They never actually imagined they could win.
At this moment, Vi—always decisive—stepped forward.
"Most of the Upper City's guards are here, and they've been defeated. That means the Upper City now has almost no defenses. This is a rare opportunity.
We should charge straight into the Upper City, capture those noble lords, and finish what we couldn't six years ago!"
Her parents had been brutally killed on Piltover Bridge six years ago. She had sworn that one day, she would trample the Upper City beneath her feet.
Now that day had come. With George's unexpected help, they had managed to defeat most of the Piltover guards.
If they struck before the Upper City could react, they could march straight to the council and drag down those arrogant nobles.
From that day forward, they would no longer live under the Upper City's shadow.
"Shouldn't we wait for Vander to wake up before deciding?"
The shopkeeper hesitated—this was a decision he didn't dare to make.
"If we wait for Vander, it'll already be too late. If you won't go, then I will!"
Vi tightened her red gauntlets and turned to George.
"George, will you help me?"
"Of course, we're brothers! Say the word, and I'm in!"
George drunkenly threw an arm around Vi's shoulders, agreeing without a trace of fear.
"Vi's right. I agree!"
One of the strong men slung a guard's long spear across his shoulder, and the others quickly followed suit.
Although Vi was only fourteen, in the battle just now, she had defeated more guards than anyone except George.
She was also Vander's most valued daughter. Vander had said many times that when he died, Vi would inherit his position as the leader of the Undercity.
Most importantly, George was still willing to fight alongside them.
With George at their side, even if the Upper City had guards left, there was nothing to fear.
"Good. Then charge with me!"
Vi raised her right hand and shouted, dragging the staggering George with her as she led the charge toward the bridge connecting the Upper and Lower Cities.
On the bridge, the few guards stationed there were stunned as they saw Vi leading a massive army of Undercity fighters toward them.
"Stop! Fall back! According to regulations, you are not permitted to enter the Upper City!"
But before they could even raise their rifles fully, they were swallowed by the advancing horde.
And so, the bridge that had long stood as an unbreakable barrier separating the people above from those below was crossed with astonishing ease.
Nearly two hundred years ago, there had been no Upper or Lower City. Together, the place was simply called Zaun.
Zaun had once been a small, unremarkable northern trade post of ancient Shurima. Ironically, its insignificance spared it from much of the danger posed by the Void.
As the ages passed, Valoran's geography became increasingly developed, and trade expanded rapidly.
At that point, the advantages of Zaun's maritime location gradually emerged.
The city's council members, eager to expand trade between east and west and reap enormous profits, launched the "Sun Gate" project.
The plan was to use massive amounts of explosives to forcibly carve out a channel wide enough for ships to pass through.
The project succeeded—but at a terrible cost. The repeated detonations triggered frequent earthquakes, splitting Zaun into several parts.
Some sections rose, others sank, and still others were swallowed entirely by the sea.
The elevated section separated itself, renaming itself Piltover, meaning "above the Pilt canyons."
The sunken portion retained the name Zaun.
(End of Chapter)