Although Oram scoffed at this, Darius's confidence shocked Alyssa. He didn't look like a man of words.

"That's enough," Svein said, waving his hand. "Let's hear what kind of exemption it is."

By the time Alyssa and Oram left the palace, the silver moon had already crossed its apex in the path of the night sky. They walked to a nearby mansion, which was their base of operations in the capital.

Alyssa didn't say a word, lost in thought. There was a sense of unease in her heart, but her brother was in high spirits at the meeting he had just had with the rulers of Noxus.

"Svein will definitely agree to our terms! I'm packing the ticket," he began to gush. "He knows that Fort Dig is too important to the Empire to let us close the gates."

"You're crazy," Alyssa muttered. "As soon as we entered, you threatened them? That's your plan? ”

"It was my father's plan."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"If I told you, would you agree?"

"Of course not," replied Alyssa. "Only a fool would do this errand. Perhaps, we've sent ourselves into the next meat grinder fight......

"If we convince Svein, then we only need one more person to admit our terms," Oram said to have completely ignored her concerns.

"That's how the Trifali Council works. Their leadership is not at an impasse, and anything can be passed as long as two people agree. ”

"Darius could never have agreed."

"Darius is a conceited mad dog. He thinks that just two people can take Fort Digvo? Ha! But I'm afraid you're right. Since he is against it, then only the Faceless One remains. Our future development depends on which side the person behind the mask votes on. ”

"Then we will have to wait for the outcome of fate." Theresa had a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Olam's eyes gleamed dangerously. "Not necessarily." As he began to explain the plan, Alyssa felt her heart twitch a little more.

There were still a few hours before dawn, but Alyssa was already feeling the heat. She walked swiftly and quietly through the streets of the capital. She was followed by a task force of Fort Digvail's guards, wearing a tight black steel helmet and feeling her hair wet with sweat.

The group consisted of twelve men, cloaked and hooded over their armor. Each of them carried a heavy crossbow with a sword tied around his waist.

In this city, it is easy to see heavily armed warbands from all over the empire; No one would be on guard because of their weapons, but even so, Alyssa still had a lingering feeling as if someone was watching them.

And, to make matters worse, she felt like the watcher knew what they were up to.

The streets of Noxus are narrow and twisted, designed to put enemies at a disadvantage from breaching the outer walls. Battlements were built on the flat roofs of every house, like fortifications for castles.

Any soldier can occupy high ground and attack. Alyssa looked nervously at the dark eaves. There may be someone hiding on it, recording their whereabouts. They are most likely throwing themselves into the trap......

There was a flapping of black wings overhead, and she immediately stopped and swung her crossbow into the air. She scolded herself for being so nervous, and then motioned for her retainers to move on.

"That's a terrible idea." Alyssa said to herself. She had said this no less than twenty times since she left the mansion.

She had spoken to her brother many times, trying her best to stop the operation, but he had already made up his mind. This is what the father meant, and Oram showed his cards. Either they go home with a new treaty, or they don't. There is no other option.

Now she finally had time to digest it. Alyssa wasn't surprised at all now, it must have been the old man's plan. Everything makes sense.

Although the most likely outcome of the matter is that she is arrested and executed along with her brother, what is this to her father?

He never cared about the siblings, only liked his successor: Alyssa's eldest brother, Shylock. If they were to be held hostage and used by the Trifali Council to blackmail Fort Wau, she knew what her father's answer would be.

For him, Alyssa and Oram are just pawns.

She and her men squeezed into the shadows. They were already very close to the Wolf Spirit Temple, at the foot of the old southern wall of the Immortal Fortress. Her brother should have been a few blocks east and brought more people.

In the weeks leading up to the task force's arrival in the capital, spies they hired had been monitoring the palace's entry and exit. They observed something very special, and it was based on this piece of information that Alyssa and her brother took the action they are doing.

They are getting closer and closer. Alyssa raised a hand, and the Fort Digwager guards gathered around her, pausing in the shadows of a narrow path to look in the direction of the Wolf Spirit Temple.

It is a tall, multi-storey tower with no four walls, and each floor stands on top of black stone columns. At the center of the tower sits a fifty-foot-tall statue of an obsidian wolf.

A long minute passed, and they finally saw two glimmers of light in the distance—sparks from the blade rubbing against flint. This is a signal that Oram is in place and that the road ahead has been cleared.

"Action." Alyssa hissed, and she and her attendants got up and ran in unison, leaving cover and running quickly towards the temple, keeping an eye out for the guards. There was no one, and it seemed that her brother had already finished the work with his men.

Alyssa strode up the steps of the temple and waved her men apart. They entered the temple and stepped through the door, surrounding the wolf spirit statue. They stuck into the shadows, clinging to the pillars, blending into the darkness and waiting.

She looked overhead. According to the ancient Valoran custom, death is one and the same. The sheep spirit represents a quiet death, while the wolf spirit has a brutal ending.

In Noxus, the latter is enshrined as a majestic and dignified way. In an empire that celebrates strength, dying peacefully in your bed is not the right way to defend honor.

Alyssa calmed her breath and tried to hold her heart beating. She wiped her sweaty hands dry with her cloak. Waiting is always the hardest part.

She looked around again, barely able to make out her men. Very good. If they can be easily discovered, it will all be in vain. Alyssa raised her hand to fasten the locking torus curtain, revealing only a pair of eyes.

A watchtower in the distance rang the clock at four o'clock. Alyssa is ready. If the spies' intelligence is accurate, the target will appear at any time.

Sure enough, a figure dressed in a heavy robe appeared. This person came from the direction of the Immortal Fortress, and it was reasonable, accompanied by four palace guards. The figure walking in front was barely visible in the pre-dawn darkness, as the figure was draped in black from head to toe.

This man is the third person in the Trifali Council, the Faceless One. With his hands under his thick sleeves, the mysterious man slowly approached the temple, looking left and right, as if looking for something in the shadows.

The guards stopped at the foot of the temple, as if the Faceless had spoken to them, but Alyssa was too far away to hear anything. The masked man then walked forward alone, as if to worship the wolf spirit.

While legionnaires and gladiatorial reckons should be regular visitors to the various shrines in the capital, even politicians, merchants, and servants often offer tribute.

According to the spies' observations, the Faceless Ones arrive at the temple on time every five days on the fourth hour of the morning, under the cover of darkness, with their guards.

Thankfully, while the loyalty of the Trevary Legion is unshakable, it's fairly easy to just bribe a mere palace guard to turn a blind eye.