When Narlou woke up the next morning, he started the day with some exercise. He had not been able to sleep at all even after his nightly experience, constantly being awoken by loud explosions or other loud sounds. What was more amazing though was how the culprit managed to evade all the searching people so well. It was just as Ethron had said, the person knew what they were doing.
The rain had stopped and left the forest drenched and combined with the fog that had appeared as well, the whole forest looked very gloomy. Narlou found it to be quite beautiful in its own way though.
When the tents were packed and he had gotten some more stat points from his training, Narlou went to Ethron to train again. When he found the man though, he had big bags under his eyes and a face that promised pain to whoever had taken away his sleep.
Narlou decided not to approach him and instead to do some training on his own. He still needed to have a fighting style, so that's what he worked on for the rest of the day.
Sometime during the day, it started to rain again. Thick clouds that sunlight could not penetrate covered the sky, basking the whole army into dark coldness and wetness.
Narlou could tell by their faces that the people were tired, and the rain was doing nothing to help that. The army marched slower than before, the mud making it difficult to move properly.
Narlou had tried to create his own fighting style until the rain started, but he came up with nothing, having no experience whatsoever. Once the rain started, he decided to stop for the day, went to find Sonya and walk the rest with her, quietly chattering about different things.
Narlou was particularly tired that day, so after he helped with hunting, he went to bed early.
Akali was pacing around in a small clearing near the Noxian camp, kicking sticks and stones out of her way as she trudged through the mud.
She was deep in thought, contemplating whether or not she should go to the camp a bit earlier that their group had planned to.
After she had first seen the young man yesterday, there had not been a minute in which he was not on her mind. His perfect brown hair and his piercing eyes, not to mention his stunning body packed with strong muscles made for fighting were constantly assaulting her thoughts, but she found that she didn't dislike thinking about him.
Not at all.
In fact. just thinking about him made her feel all hot again.
She had touched herself multiple times over the span of the day, each time fantasizing about him doing all kinds of things to her.
She had never felt that way before, and it both scared and excited her. She wanted to go to her master Shen or her friend Irelia right away to talk about the feelings she was experiencing, but she had a war to finish, plus, it would be way to embarrassing to tell them about it.
A thought suddenly struck her. If they wanted to win the war, the Noxians needed to die, and the man was one of them. She might be ordered to kill him for all she knew.
"Well, since he is Noxian, no matter how handsome and hot and sexy the guy is, he surely has a shit personality. Right. Definitely."
Despite it sounding reasonable (since it was impossible to have both perfect looks and have a perfect personality), Akali found no comfort in her words. It felt like a cheap excuse. The way he had stood in the rain, his eyes closed and just enjoying nature had moved something deep in Akali. He had acted like a textbook Ionian.
She shook her head, silky dark hair flying around in the wind. The thought of the man being evil felt wrong, so she quickly dismissed it and went back to the current problem.
She wanted, no, needed to see the man again. Even if she could only see him from afar. She felt like she would go insane if she could not see him soon.
"Fuck it." She whispered, jumping onto a branch.
If she wanted to do something, then she would do it. There was nothing stopping her.
It took no more than a few minutes to reach the camp, and Akali masterfully hid herself in the shade of the trees. She might be a champion and a talented assassin, but she was trying to sneak past the best magicians and fighters of Noxus, who had doubled their security after the last two attacks.
She snuck around the forest surrounding the camp, trying to spot the man she was looking for, but she did not see him anywhere. No matter where she looked, it seemed as if he had completely disappeared. Akali was about to give up and go back when she noticed a familiar tent.
The young assassin had been entirely focused on the man himself yesterday, but she vaguely remembered the tent he had been standing next to.
This tent looked exactly the same.
Her heartbeat quickened and her thoughts went wild. She even considered sneaking into said tent. Was it a bad idea that could threaten her mission? Yes. Did she care enough to not do it? Absolutely not.
She quickly looked around, spotting a man walking below her heightened position. Other than him, there was no person close enough who would be able to spot her if she would try to reach the tent.
One second, she was on a branch of a tree, the next she had clasped a hand around the man's mouth previously below her, a knife doing quick work of the guard's vocal cords.
She dropped the dead body into a bush nearby, feeling indifferent about her kill. She actually found some comfort in her action, doing something familiar, something that she had done hundreds of times already. Not to mention, the person she had just assassinated felt particularly evil. Feeling people's nature was a skill that she had picked up over the years of spying on people.
Akali pulled a grimace as she realized that the man had likely abused multiple people, including some children. She had always hated those the most.
Focusing back on the task, Akali sprinted towards the familiar tent, going at speeds far beyond comprehension for the average soldier. She reached it quickly and came to a halt in front of it.
Someone was in there, no doubt about it.
Her heart pounded against her chest and a shiver ran down her spine. Akali could tell that the person was asleep based on his breathing and movement, but what if he would wake up? Would he think that she was a weird stalker, or worse, that she wanted to rape him?!
Those kinds of scary thoughts continued to infiltrate her mind, making her uncertain and even more nervous as she already was.
She could not bear the thought of the man disliking her , but she needed to see him, if only once.
Before her mind could convince her to leave, Akali went in with the perfect motions of a talented assassin, not making a single sound.
The first thing the dark-haired woman noticed as she stepped in was the warmth radiating off the man in waves. Said man was laying in the middle of his tent, eyes closed and body unmoving, but his body was on full display, causing Akali to involuntarily rub her thighs together with a big blush on her face.
She already had to hold herself back from just jumping him. He was even more perfect form up close.
The man shifted, turning to the other side and Akali tensed, ready to bolt if he awakened. She stood there for a minute, staring at the man's perfect face, but he didn't move again.
She was in the tent and the man of her dreams was right in front of her, but what now? She had not thought that far ahead.
Her body was telling her to get closer, but her mind was telling her to stay away and be ready to run.
So, she continued to just stand there, unsure of what to do, but the longer she stood there, rubbing her thighs together and basking in the presence of the man, the more she had to fight the urge to get closer.
Eventually, her horny part won over her logical part, and she slowly, very slowly approached him.
Without a warning, the tent's entrance opened up and a man rushed in.
"Narlou?! Are you alright?" Ethron shouted as he jumped in front of his student, ready to face whoever dared to attack him.
But there was no one, the tent being completely empty. Did he imagine the presence he just felt?
Narlou, who had been awoken from his sleep by Ethron's shout was already standing, ready for a fight.
"What is it? What happened?"
Ethron was silent for a second as he stared at the entrance of the tent, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"It's nothing, sorry for waking you up." He finally said.
Narlou just stared at Ethron as he left his tent, shaking his head in confusion.
"Whatever."
Outside, Akali was dashing through the forest towards the meeting point of their assassin group. That had been ridiculously close. She had let her guard down and almost paid the price.
As she met with the others, she could not concentrate on what was being said, her thoughts instead coming back to what she had heard at the tent.
"Narlou…" She quietly let the name roll over her tongue.
What a beautiful name.
A pleasant shiver ran down her spine as she thought back to Narlou's voice, his melodic and strong tone making goosebumps appear all over her body. She imagined Narlou ordering her around with that dominant voice, causing another wave of heat to rush through her nether regions, making her knees weak.
After causing another round of loud noises with the rest of the assassins to keep the Noxians awake, Akali went to bed with wet trails running down her inner thighs. She fantasized about Narlou all night long, the fantasies ranging from Narlou degrading her with his sexy voice to him punishing her for secretly sneaking into his tent.
When someone asked Akali the next morning what the moaning had been about, she would say that she had a terrible headache.
The next few days went by in a similar manner for the Noxian army.
The rain continued at the same intensity as the first day, greatly slowing their advance. Hunting had only worked to a certain extend and the secret Ionian assassins kept sabotaging the army with all kinds of things. They had even placed magical traps on the way, causing hundreds of soldiers to lose their life. If not for Darius' quick thinking, the number would have easily been in the thousands.
Talking about Darius, the man himself had started to look for the assassins when they made loud noises the next night, and with his help, they even caught one of them. The person sadly killed himself before they got any useful information though, but they had found out that he was from a group of assassins directly under the champion and leader of Ionia, Karma.
Another thing that happened was that Ethron had started to train with Narlou again after the night he suddenly woke him up. Narlou had not questioned him about it, but he could feel a weariness from the man that was not simply due to being in the enemy's territory.
With the training and his morning exercise, Narlou had gotten some more stat points and his fighting skills had increased significantly. He had also trained his enhancement magic whenever he found some free time to do so, and with his use of it during combat with Ethron, he got it to rank 9.
On Akali's side, things had also continued in a similar manner. She had kept up her stalking of Narlou, but after the day she was almost caught, she never went close again. Instead, she would sometimes sit in a tree near Narlou and his teacher, the person who had almost discovered her, and watch him for hours on end. She was amazed by his growth and the potential he showed, and there had been multiple times during which she had thought about convincing him to join the Ionians but had ultimately not done so.
Akali was completely thrown off loop though by what she saw of his personality during her stalk- observing periods. He was always trying his best, striving to do better the next time and to impress his teacher. He was always respectful towards his superiors and could also joke around with his friends. He was a lot nicer than Akali had expected a young and powerful Noxian to be.
Talking about his friends, there was a woman he would always meet after training. Every time she saw them talking and laughing together, Akali felt extremely jealous. It was not the fact that she was a woman, because as long as she could get closer to Narlou, she would not mind sharing him. It was the fact that they seemed so close, as if they had been together for their whole life, that made the inexperienced woman so jealous. Akali wanted to be close to him too, she wanted to laugh at his jokes too and she wanted to be smiled at by him too.
At least the girl and Narlou did not have any sexual relations, or Akali would have gone insane.
Back to the Noxians, after almost a week of traveling through the lands, the army was closing in on the main army of Ionia.
Narlou was traveling with Ethron and Sonya close to the front, quietly preparing himself for the upcoming fight. There was a stillness that had settled over the army as they came closer to the place that would decide the outcome of this invasion and the fate of many people.
It was as if everyone had come to an agreement to be quiet and enjoy the truly beautiful nature of Ionia, because the next day could, after all, be their last one.
Then, as the sun went down and cast darkness over the lands, they finally reached it.
Massive plains that were at least dozens of kilometers in diameter stretched as far as the eye could see, and at the other side stood the Ionian army, a tall man at the front.
Narlou saw the man for the first time, but many of the veterans took a step back, something akin to fear on their faces.
Even from his position kilometers away, Narlou could make out shining white and golden armor and the massive sword in his hands, which emitted strong waves of magic and barely visible green smoke. He could immediately tell that those, especially the sword, were everything but normal items.
The man's long grey hair fell down his back, showing his age with scars covering his face, each telling a different story of violence and war. His expression was grim, showing his dislike towards their force, yet he stood strong and proud.
In front of this man, Narlou felt small and insignificant. He could tell with just one look that the man was on a different level.
"Mercurial Scimitar. I wouldn't have thought that I'd ever see that sword again." Ethron voiced from besides him, his expression serious.
His words only confirmed Narlou's suspicion that the item was special.
He glanced at Darius, trying to gauge his reaction, but the leader's face was as impassive as ever, as if carved out of stone. It brought him some comfort to know that this man would be the one to fight the enemy general and not he himself.
Suddenly, Darius turned around.
"The battle will begin tomorrow, rest well everyone."
The calmness and control of his voice amazed Narlou. They were running low on food; the soldiers were tired, and a war was about to start. They had not slept well for days, and their mood was down the drain, and yet, this man stood there like a pillar of strength, shielding the people behind him from the fears of their situation. He shouldered all the problems and still stood tall like a mountain.
Deep inspiration filled Narlou's entire being. He wanted to be like that man. He wanted to be a shield that people could rely on, a strong person who cared about his people, a man of strength and determination.
It was as if all his fears had been washed away, revealing shining confidence. He was tired, but his spirit could not be in a better condition right now. Apparently, he was not the only one who felt that way, because people slowly started to talk amongst themselves, their voices getting louder and stronger.
They had a leader who they could trust. They had companions who had their back. They had weapons and magic that they could use.
How could they possibly lose?
Silence came over the army as Darius raised his arm. It was not a silence of oppression or fear. No, It was a silence of respect and anticipation. Energy was bubbling just beneath the surface, and everyone felt it, yearned to release it.
Darius lowered his arm, turned around to face the Ionian army at the other side, and shouted just one thing.
"FOR NOXUS!"
His voice echoed over the plains, easily reaching the other side. His words were so full of confidence in their victory, so full of determination and strength that it touched something deep inside of Narlou.
So, when the Noxian army unleashed their voices, Narlou joined them.
"FOR NOXUS!"
The thousands of voices combined into one single shout of hope and confidence. The earth rumbled and the trees shook.
There was no shout back from the Ionians.
Noxus was ready to fight.