Arcane: Let's Burn Down Runeterra!

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Chapter Seven: Breakthrough

Half an hour can feel both long and short. If they rest any longer, the prisoners are bound to grow anxious. Having been locked away in Stillwater Hold for years without a glimpse of the outside world, the prisoners now catch a whiff of freedom through the cracks. Yet, to truly be free, they have to overcome one last hurdle.

"I'm not giving any motivational speeches," said Justin, standing bare-chested without a bulletproof vest. "I'll tell you just one thing—the exit is right ahead!"

"Yeah!" 

"Let's break through!" 

"Break through!" 

"Fight!" 

Usually strangers, rivals, and enemies, the criminals and scum from the lower city are presently united. This is thanks to the peculiar setting of Stillwater Hold and Justin's strategic management. However, most significant is their innate longing for freedom. Life back in the lower city may be tougher than in prison, but even a miserable existence is still life.

"Why is there no movement yet?" muttered the warden, pacing by the door, cigarette after cigarette, his nerves on edge. Two hours had passed and not a single prisoner had reached the main entrance. The silence was eerie.

Could the guards at the weapons depot have intercepted them? If so, someone should have reported back by now... Could they have taken another route? No, that's impossible. I've worked at Stillwater Hold for twenty years; there's no other exit!

"I must investigate further. Haven't the previous squad returned yet? Send another team to patrol!" he ordered.

"Wait, what's that sound?" A sudden, violent tremor, like an earthquake, reached his ears. The warden glanced across and saw a group of people in guard uniforms rushing towards him. Could this be the team guarding the weapons depot? Why the urgency? Surely the prisoners are contained?

"Hey, you all—" The warden's shout halted in shock. They weren't guards at all; they were prisoners, insurgents!

"Attack! Start shooting!" he yelled.

Two hours on high alert left the guards exhausted, and the order to fire left them bewildered—why shoot at allies? Meanwhile, the prisoners acted first; though their aim was poor, their bullets rained down effectively, causing substantial damage.

"Counterattack! Counterattack!" barked the warden, diving behind cover. The guards, well-trained, quickly organized a counteroffensive despite the surprise attack.

Prisoners wielded riot shields, but bullets found their mark through shield gaps. Fortunately for them, the people of the lower city are brave; they fear nothing, not even death.

"Charge! Charge!" The ragtag group, under Vi's leadership, was fiercer than Justin imagined. They pierced through the barrage of gunfire in no time. Now, it was down to a brutal melee!

Stillwater Hold wasn't equipped with swords, only batons, yet the brutality was unmatched. Fists, feet, knees, teeth, and nails—all were weapons. Humanity regressed to primal savagery, with one particularly strong individual using a guard as a club.

"You rabble! Lower city rats! When the enforcers come, you'll all die!" Among them, only the warden dared to hurl insults while contributing nothing to the battle, devoid of any fighting prowess.

"Don't you know, even rats can bite cats?" Justin marched forward with his right hand covered in blood. He had just crushed a guard's head, splattering blood and brain matter everywhere. Justin was usually a pacifist, but sometimes violence can indeed be gratifying: "The enforcers will take at least half an hour to arrive, and you won't last that long."

"What do you want?" The warden, a coward, sat on the ground, retreating.

"I don't care," Justin shrugged, showing a sunny smile that looked terrifying with blood on his face, "but the others do."

The warden suddenly realized he'd bumped into something. Turning around, he saw two burly men.

"Ah!!!!"

"Amitabha," Justin, being kind-hearted, couldn't bear the scene and turned to observe the battle. There were initially few guards at the door, with similar equipment on both sides. One side was merely doing a job, the other was fighting for their lives, so the morale was naturally different. Moreover, with Vi wreaking havoc, the battle was soon one-sided.

One person fled first, then more and more followed, eventually becoming a rout. This battle was much easier than Justin imagined.

"Alright, now we can..." Before Justin could finish, the prisoners took the initiative to run. They had shared a common goal before, but now that they were free, everyone wanted to escape quickly!

"Stop... stop!"

No one paid attention to him.

"Bang!" A shot rang out, and the bullet went through the leg of the prisoner at the front, startling everyone.

"I told you to stop," Justin sighed. "Take your injured comrades with you."

Comrades? The newly freed prisoners exchanged glances. The word sounded so strange. Who was whose comrade? It's not like they knew each other; some even had grudges. In the lower city, it's every man for himself.

Although everyone thought Justin's words were absurd, no one objected. Not because Justin had a gun—they had guns too—but no one would shoot the leader who had just led them out of captivity over something like this.

"Move together. Anyone who leaves the group without permission, I'll shoot. Take a detour; we don't want to run into the enforcers." This time, Justin's command reached everyone at a normal volume.

"Let's go home."

One hour later.

"They actually broke through from the front?" Looking at the bloody scene, the chief enforcer couldn't believe his eyes. They had come to restore order, imagining the worst-case scenario as prison mismanagement leading to an escape, but...

"These scums! Trash from the lower city!"

All the enforcers present were enraged, not by the guard casualties, but because their elite force from the upper city had been beaten by a ragtag group from the lower city. It was a slap in the face to them as defenders.

What they didn't notice was, in the not-too-distant place, another "trash from the lower city" was hiding.

"Justin got captured! How useless. Don't you think so, Fishbones?" Jinx whispered to her weapon, hidden behind a rock. "We can't be apart. Once we're apart, it gets dangerous, doesn't it?"

"I'm going to rescue him!"

"Or maybe die together?"

"There are enemies ahead! Watch me blow them all away!"