"Surrender? Hahaha… Are you joking?" sneered a grim-faced young man standing behind Sylas. "You're all alone, and we've got dozens of people. If anyone's surrounded, it's you, not us."
Sylas didn't respond, but his frown deepened.
The "golem" before him radiated an immense and peculiar energy that was almost unnatural.
In battles between mages, power wasn't determined by magic type alone—raw magical energy played a decisive role. Sylas could sense that this entity possessed far more energy than all the mages behind him combined. If it came to a fight, even his ability to absorb magic might not secure victory unless he could find a rarer, more devastating spell.
"This is your last chance," Li Lin said without hesitation. "Surrender now, and perhaps I'll speak on your behalf to King Jarvan III."
Given Demacia's impending legal reforms, some of these escaped mages, unjustly persecuted, might find themselves pardoned.
Yet years of imprisonment in lightless dungeons and the brutal treatment by Mageseekers had sown deep resentment. It only took a charismatic leader to stoke those smoldering emotions, and this group, fueled by anger and desperation, would rush headlong into the fray.
Still, most of these mages were not truly guilty of any crime.
They followed Sylas in rebellion because they believed Demacia's laws were unfair—condemning them as criminals solely for being born with magic. They only wanted to overturn that system.
Magic was innate, unchosen. Who could accept being branded a criminal from birth, judged and punished for something beyond their control?
Mages were humans too. Their lives mattered.
"Heh, so that's what you are—a dog of the Lightshield," Sylas spat on the ground. "If you've chosen their side, don't blame me for… huh?"
His words were cut short by a sudden chill, a gut-wrenching sensation of being watched by something dangerous.
"What… is this?"
Sylas took a deep breath and scanned his surroundings. Through his magical senses, he detected the presence of something unseen, something sinister, lurking in the area.
"I gave you a chance," Li Lin said coldly. "Now, don't blame me for what comes next."
As his voice faded, hundreds of Storm Drones materialized, their stealth mode disengaging. Floating ominously above, they locked onto the group of escapees below, drawing startled gasps from the mages.
"What the hell are those things?!"
"Are they alive? They just appeared out of nowhere!"
"Petricite? No, they're made of metal! They're nothing like the legendary Galio!"
"They can fly!"
The group erupted in alarm, and even Sylas, outwardly calm, felt a rising tension within.
He didn't know what these "Storm Drones" were, but each one radiated more energy than he did, a clear sign of trouble.
"So, this is your so-called 'encirclement'? A pile of scrap metal?" Sylas scoffed, trying to maintain his composure.
As the leader of this ragtag band of rebel mages, Sylas couldn't afford to show fear. Any sign of weakness could shatter the fragile morale of his already disorganized group, dooming their uprising.
Failure meant returning to the dark, damp prisons, where catching a rat was considered a luxury feast. No, this time, being captured wouldn't lead to imprisonment—it would lead to the gallows.
No matter what, Sylas was determined not to fall here.
Even if he couldn't destroy the Lightshield's bloodline or their lackeys, he had to escape Demacia's capital to fight another day.
After a brief moment of thought, Sylas moved without giving Li Lin a chance to respond. Charging forward, he swung his right arm, bound by silvery petricite shackles, the attached golden chain whipping through the air with a piercing sound.
As the chain flew, Sylas infused it with absorbed magic, unleashing a frosty blue mist that dyed the golden chain an icy hue. It stiffened into a deadly weapon, capable of smashing solid marble with ease.
In an instant, the glowing, enchanted chain was upon one of the hovering drones.
But against the Storm Drone—equipped with an advanced intelligence system and linked to Li Lin's battle network—the attack was futile. Powered by its Hextech crystal core, the drone flared with blue-white light as its systems entered "Overload Mode."
The magically enhanced chain passed straight through the drone, striking only an afterimage.
Sylas felt his strike miss, his heart sinking. "Damn it!"
Before he could recover, several nearby drones turned their weapons on him, firing bursts of mini plasma cannons.
Sensing the incoming danger, Sylas instinctively rolled backward to evade.
The plasma blasts detonated midair, sending shockwaves rippling through the street. The sheer force nearly toppled Sylas as he scrambled to his feet, saved only by two younger mages who rushed to steady him.
"Are you alright, sir?" one of them asked, concern etched on his face.
Sylas waved them off, but his eyes narrowed as he noticed something—his enchanted chain had been severed, two-thirds of its length reduced to molten slag.
Had he tried to absorb the energy from those plasma blasts, he would've been obliterated—no, annihilated to the point where not even ashes remained.
Sweat beaded on his forehead as he turned to face the hundred or so drones hovering above, their weapons aimed squarely at him. His resolve wavered for the first time.
Amid the crowd stood a dangerous mage skilled in such magic, who momentarily borrowed it for use.
Arcs of lightning crackled, sending sharp zaps through the air and causing two mages assisting Sylas to retreat in alarm.
Sylas, however, stared at Li Lin with a grim expression.
The earlier fire attacks had no effect on him, and now the lightning seemed just as futile.
Focusing again on the floating storm nearby, he shouted, "Hah!"
With a loud roar, Sylas crossed his wrists and unleashed a searing bolt of lightning that shot upward.
Not just him—several wary mages in the crowd tried various elemental spells, even arcane magic, to strike at the storm.
But it was all in vain. A semi-transparent, blue energy shield materialized around the storm, effortlessly deflecting every attack.
The crowd fell into chaos once more.
"Damn it! How did that thing suddenly gain a magic barrier?"
"It can use magic too?!"
"We're doomed. We're all going to die…"
"Sylas, what should we do?"
"…"
Li Lin had no intention of killing these mages. Deciding their fate was Jarvan III's responsibility. All he needed to do was keep them contained to prevent harm to innocents.
Besides, these people had just escaped the dungeons. Most were weak and malnourished, with barely enough strength to cast spells. The Mageseekers had even forced anti-magic potions down the throats of some with exceptional talents.
They were in no shape to pose any significant threat, so Li Lin didn't bother wasting more effort on them.
The louder the crowd's shouting grew, the more agitated and tense Sylas became. He suppressed his urge to shout at them to shut up and kept his wary eyes on Li Lin, a mix of fear and disbelief in his gaze.
They couldn't defeat him. They couldn't even take down one of those flying machines less than a meter tall. How could they hope to stand against the formidable Li Lin?
Unlike in the original timeline, Sylas had spent six to seven fewer years in prison. He hadn't met Lux, nor had he been sentenced to death. His hatred for Demacia was far less intense than before.
At this moment, his only thoughts were about how to escape from Demacia City with his life intact, rather than any plans to kill the king.
Seeing Sylas and some others helpless against the floating machines, combined with the clear threat of the energy-packed plasma rounds they carried, the crowd began to realize something.
These steel constructs had only surrounded them, not attacked.
If they wanted to kill us, they could've already obliterated us a hundred times over, they thought.
Among the mages, most weren't foolish. They knew they were no match for the robots surrounding them. This realization planted seeds of doubt in their hearts.
"What do you want?" Sylas asked in a low, determined voice. "We're the same. Why do you serve the cruel Lightshield family?"
"Same as you?" Li Lin let out a yawn. "You're a mage; I'm an engineer. We couldn't be more different."
Sylas had been imprisoned at a young age, leaving him with limited knowledge. He had never heard of Hextech and didn't understand what an "engineer" was.
It seemed that Li Lin had no intention of letting him leave, likely stalling for time. Sylas hesitated, prepared to speak, but Li Lin interrupted him.
"Oh, right, I nearly forgot to mention something," Li Lin said in a casual tone, as if remembering something trivial. "King Jarvan III has plans to repeal the anti-magic edicts. The prince supports this move as well. Before long, you could be released without charges and even compensated generously by the state."
These words were like water splashing into boiling oil. The crowd erupted into heated discussions.
Hearing some mages considering the possibility of surrender, Sylas panicked.
"Don't listen to his lies!" he shouted. "He's nothing but a lapdog of the Lightshield family!"
The breakout had been Sylas's plan from the start. He had killed the dungeon guards and freed the other mages.
But now, standing before Li Lin's flying steel army, they had yet to commit any heinous acts.
Besides, Li Lin had promised to speak on their behalf if they surrendered.
Following Sylas meant a life on the run, forever branded as fugitives.
But if the king truly intended to pardon the mages, allowing them to walk free as citizens…
The compensation wouldn't even matter anymore.
"Sylas, maybe we should surrender?" an elderly mage hesitantly suggested.
"Fool! Can't you see this is a delaying tactic?" Sylas snapped back furiously. "The moment we surrender, the Lightshield family will unleash their Dauntless Vanguard to slaughter us all!"
"But if the king truly wanted us dead, these machines alone could've wiped us out by now…"
Blinded by rage, Sylas stormed up and grabbed the elderly mage by the jaw, nearly crushing it in his grip.
"Have you no resolve?! We've fought so hard for our freedom—how dare you give up so easily?!"
"Sylas, release him," a familiar voice said sternly.
Sylas turned to see the white-haired, middle-aged mage who had aided his escape by lending him fire magic to destroy the prison walls.
His expression was grave, and his hands glowed with fiery red energy. "You shouldn't do this."
"You too…"
Sylas looked around, bewildered. Many of the mages who had followed him were now glaring at him with suspicion and unease.
He released his grip. "You… all of you…"
"Sorry, but we only wanted to escape. We never intended to start a war with Demacia," an elderly woman explained.
"I have two young children waiting for me at home. I can't die here…" A younger woman's voice trembled with fear.
"Now that the king is considering reforming the anti-magic edicts and pardoning us, I'd rather take the safer route than gamble my life on a hopeless fight," the white-haired mage finally said, letting the flames in his hands dissipate.
"Idiots! Have you all lost your minds?!" Sylas bellowed, his eyes bloodshot with fury. "He's lying to you!"
Go back to the dungeon? Over his dead body!
"Perhaps," the white-haired mage sighed, "but even if we fought, we couldn't break through these machines' encirclement."
With that, he discreetly signaled a burly mage behind Sylas.
"No… We must…"
Sylas was too consumed by turmoil to notice the danger.
As he spoke, the burly mage picked up a sturdy wooden stick and swung it heavily at Sylas's neck. The blow knocked him unconscious on the spot.
Moments later, others produced ropes from somewhere and tightly bound Sylas in no time.
Li Lin stood frozen, dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
The white-haired mage extinguished his flames, hoisted Sylas onto his shoulder, and approached Li Lin. He set Sylas down, saying, "These ropes won't hold him. His power allows him to absorb magic. We'll need to keep him away from us."
"What are you doing?" Li Lin asked, bewildered.
The white-haired mage glanced back at the mixed group of men, women, and children, then gave a weary smile.
"We… just want to live."
[End of Chapter]
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