Hearing Tristana's words, Corki got fired up and said excitedly, "Of course, no problem! But I think we need to find a scout to help with reconnaissance. What do you think if I—"
"I can do it myself!"
Before Corki could even finish his sentence, Tristana eagerly hoisted her double-barreled cannon—which was taller than she was—onto her shoulder. With a face full of fighting spirit, she declared, "This time, I'll take action personally! We're bringing our comrade back!"
"But I still think we should—" Corki still felt they should verify the intel beforehand. But Tristana cut him off directly, saying, "Enemy aircraft spotted in Piltover airspace!"
Hearing Tristana's words, Corki's eyes instantly lit up: "Aircraft? Why didn't you say so sooner! I'm deploying right now!"
Just as she dismissed Corki, Lulu wobbled over carrying her staff. Her little faerie companion, Pix, fluttered his wings on her shoulder. Her purple-garlic-like little face was filled with a young girl's craving and excitement for adventure as she eagerly said, "I heard Teemo went missing? I have lots of special skills! I can help you find Teemo."
Hearing the words of this childish, reckless troublemaker, Tristana let out a silent sigh.
Every Yordle has their own things to keep busy with. But ever since Tristana witnessed the discipline and solemnity of human armies—something completely different from the average Yordle—she began demanding herself to become a qualified, proper soldier.
Tristana's will was naturally firm, but obviously, not every other Yordle was as resolute as she was.
At least in Tristana's eyes, many of her comrades were more or less severely unqualified for duty!
Especially Lulu!
Childish and reckless! Although she had a warm heart, she always managed to mess things up in the most inexplicable ways!
Thinking this, Tristana glanced at a rock not far away and said with a smile on her face: "Then you must guard this rock carefully, because this is the absolute top priority of this mission!"
"Guarding rocks again!" Hearing this, Lulu puffed up her cheeks and stomped her foot angrily.
As soon as she said this, Tristana immediately dove into the portal beside them, vanishing with a swish.
Seeing this, Lulu paced back and forth angrily. Then, she plopped herself right onto the rock, waving her staff around haphazardly while muttering under her breath about how Tristana was a big meanie who never let her join in on the fun.
And just as Lulu was still sulking, she suddenly sensed something and shifted her gaze toward the nearby portal.
Watching the portal gradually light up, signaling that something was rapidly approaching, Lulu stood up excitedly.
"Did Tristana come back? Did Tristana change her mind? Haha! Lulu is ready to go!"
Saying this, Lulu stood up excitedly and patted the dust off her clothes. But just as she was ready to set off, she remembered that her mission was to guard the big rock, and she did promise Tristana...
Thinking this, Lulu didn't panic. Instead, she waved her staff and tapped herself lightly on the head: "Hurry up and get big!"
As her words fell, Lulu's seemingly pocket-sized body began to inflate and grow at an astonishing speed. The rock that was originally about the same size as Lulu herself was quickly reduced to the size of her palm, making it effortless for her to pick up.
But just as Lulu picked up the rock, preparing to match Tristana's pace and go rescue Teemo, a series of sounds came from within the portal.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh~~"
That didn't sound like Tristana's voice?
Amidst her confusion, Lulu stared at the portal beside her.
And immediately after, Lulu saw a strange man she had never seen before rush out of the portal—no, not run out, but rather pushed out by the portal's magical energy, crashing out like a tidal wave.
"Yikes!"
Caught completely off guard, Lulu was knocked straight down.
Washed out of the portal by the tides of the spiritual realm, Faen's vision went completely black. He then subconsciously reached out his hands, groping the area around him.
Having been knocked to the ground by Faen, before Lulu could even figure out what was happening, she suddenly felt something groping around left and right up under her skirt, and immediately let out a terrified scream.
Losing control of her emotions, the originally giant-sized Lulu instantly shrank back down. And in Faen's line of sight, the previously pitch-black space suddenly lit up, revealing a Yordle who had passed out from shock right in front of him.
"What in the world is all this..."
Feeling a bit bewildered, Faen scratched his head and looked back at the portal behind him.
Although it was called a portal, the Yordle portals were very hard to associate with the typical image of a circular gateway constantly swirling like water ripples. Instead, it was a massive, ancient tree that had grown numerous golden doorways. Each doorway corresponded to a different location, including but not limited to Piltover, Noxus, Bilgewater, and so on.
And Yordles would usually teleport using books that resembled diaries. Although he wasn't entirely certain, based on the lore's depiction of their teleportation method, they mostly tore out a page from the diary, stepped into the doorway, and the portal would then send them to the location recorded on that page.
Bandle City didn't exist in the material realm, nor did it exist in the spiritual realm. Rather, it was a special area situated somewhere between the two realms.
Just like now, even Faen couldn't arrive here directly. It was only when a Yordle used a portal to travel to Bilgewater that Faen picked up the traces and followed the trail all the way here.
Sensing the changes in the surrounding environment, Faen's face was also filled with deep curiosity.
He had to admit, the appearance of Bandle City could definitely satisfy anyone's fantasy of a fairytale world.
Various ancient, non-sentient magics, carrying the weight of ages, enveloped every area Faen could perceive. They seeped into the air thread by thread, silently maintaining the barrier of this realm and the natural magic inherent to the realm itself.
Looking through a lush little grove not far away, Faen could see numerous mushroom houses growing around the city.
The caps of the mushrooms served as roofs, the stems as supporting pillars, and the gaps between the gills were sealed with transparent water ripples, turning into windows that reflected the stars and the sky.
And beneath the tallest mushroom cap hung countless glowing spore-vines. As the gentle breeze blew past, the vines swayed slightly, shaking off spores that drifted leisurely through the air like fine stardust.
Thinking this, Faen shifted his gaze back to his immediate surroundings, or more accurately, back to the unconscious Yordle girl.
"Lulu?" A look of slight curiosity hung on Faen's face.