"Uncle Vander."
"Would you be willing to fight again for Zaun?"
After waiting for a while, Luo Huan pressed her hand downward.
The shouting quickly quieted down.
Then Luo Huan stepped down from the bar and extended her hand to Vander, who was lying on the ground.
Vander looked at Luo Huan, then at everyone present.
"I... am willing."
Vander’s eyes gradually became clearer, and his voice was no longer so hoarse.
Although it might not be a great thing to think, when he saw Luo Huan's outstretched hand, Vander felt like all the burdens he carried disappeared.
His large, calloused hand clenched into a fist, then relaxed, and he grasped Luo Huan’s small hand.
His massive palm nearly enveloped her entire hand.
Just as he was about to get up by himself out of courtesy, a great force surged through his hand and pulled him up directly!
Vander instinctively looked at his hand, then at Luo Huan, his face full of disbelief.
Everyone else who saw this scene was also stunned.
After all, Vander was over 1.9 meters tall. With his muscular build and broad shoulders, he was quite heavy.
He probably weighed as much as three Luo Huans.
But just like that, she pulled him up!
It was absurd!
"That's more like it, Uncle Vander. Only by standing up and continuing to fight will the sacrifices not be meaningless waste."
Luo Huan ignored the others and spoke directly.
Then she looked at Silco.
"Uncle Silco, you and Uncle Vander sort things out and let everyone rest up first. In this state, we can’t storm the bridge."
Luo Huan looked seriously at the wounded bodies around her, whose exhaustion couldn't be hidden even if their fighting spirit had been ignited by anger.
Even if the speech was urgent, if they were going to storm the bridge, they needed to rest up, gather intel, and make a solid plan first.
Otherwise, rushing up now would be nothing but a funeral procession for the fallen—a willful sacrifice.
That would earn a score of 3.0.
But she was just a kid, a kid who had just lost her parents, even if she had gained power.
To manage such a large group, make them rest properly, and act according to a plan—such a thing was simply a pipe dream.
They couldn't get excited fighting fellow Zaunites before even fighting Piltover.
Would they really go and blow up the little gold the brothers and sisters of Zaun had?
So Silco couldn’t die, and Vander couldn’t just lie down!
All of them needed to get up and work properly!
Gurgle~
"Let me eat first, then we’ll talk about exactly how we’re storming that bridge."
Luo Huan said again after rubbing her stomach.
Although showing some magic now to boost morale and quickly finalizing a plan would have been best,
she had just exhausted too much magic and energy, and now that she’d stopped moving, her stomach wouldn't stop growling.
Her brain was saying it was done.
"Yo, Luo Huan, we’ll get you something to eat."
Vi spoke up directly, then dragged Luo Huan into the tavern kitchen.
Silco, after hearing what Luo Huan said, turned to stare at Vander, and a flood of thoughts rushed through his mind.
He recalled how Vander had nearly drowned him half a day ago. Even though Luo Huan saved him, one of his eyes was ruined, and rage surged inside him.
But seeing Vander now, head hanging low and utterly dejected, a pang of pain pierced his heart.
To stop him—who had been consumed with revenge against Piltover—Vander must have strained his already sluggish brain.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have done something so reckless.
And thinking about that, all his anger turned into a helpless sigh.
"Move it, brother. This time, you don’t get to pick your burden."
Reached out and patted Vander's arm, because Vander was a head taller than him, so he couldn't reach his shoulder.
Yes, facing this brother Vander, even though he had just nearly killed him.
Silco still chose to forgive.
This was the brotherhood of Zaun—as long as you don’t look at the “I hope this helps” part, it was invincible.
“Mm.”
Vander's body trembled slightly.
“Silco, what exactly happened? What happened to Luo Huan?”
After seeing Luo Huan go inside, Sevika couldn’t wait and immediately grabbed Silco to ask.
Her dream was to make Zaun great again in her lifetime, and now that Luo Huan represented such a great hope, she was desperate to understand clearly.
After all, she no longer held any hope for Vander, who had just given up.
And Silco didn’t seem like he was in charge, rather more like Luo Huan’s underling, sharing some of her work.
“It’s nothing, Luo Huan went through something I don’t really understand either, and gained some power that could change Zaun. That’s all I know.”
“But that’s enough.”
Silco shook his head and said a whole bunch of nonsense.
He recalled what Luo Huan had said on the way here—something about fighting and five hundred thousand marks, all strange talk.
Then after entering the tavern, she instantly transformed everyone’s gloom into anger toward the Piltover people and a fighting spirit for Zaun.
Unknowingly, the corners of his mouth curled up.
“Maybe this time, Zaun really can rise.”
Then Silco and Vander began organizing, gathering supplies, and sending people to scout out the upper city’s movements.
At the same time, they went to offer comfort to various families.
For a time, sorrow and rage flowed throughout all of Zaun.
…
“Wow! Luo Huan, you were so cool just now!”
Even though she had just lost her parents, Vi acted like nothing happened, sitting in her chair loudly praising Luo Huan.
She wasn’t a person without emotions—she just knew she couldn’t cry, at least not in front of her younger sister.
“Mm-hmm, I also feel like I have a real talent for speeches.”
Luo Huan kept grabbing food from the table and shoveling it into her mouth.
In no time, all the food on the table was gone.
And her whole body relaxed.
“Luo Huan, how come you have two… ears on your head?”
Powder suddenly spoke up, reaching out to point at the top of Luo Huan’s head.
There, a pair of cat ears were twitching casually.
“Ah, I accidentally let them slip out.”
Luo Huan reached up and pressed them down, and the cat ears disappeared again.
She had figured that trick out on the way here, using magic to temporarily hide her ears and tail.
She couldn’t let those show—otherwise, how could she stir empathy using the identity of a Zaunite orphan girl?
And once she relaxed, the magic lost control for a moment and it was all exposed.
“Shh~ It’s a secret~”
Luo Huan reached out, patted Powder’s head, and spoke.
“Mm, I’ll keep the secret.”
Powder didn’t shy away, instead enjoying Luo Huan’s head-pat attack.
And the other kids all made a zipper motion over their mouths to show they wouldn’t spill it.
“Mm, I believe you all.”
Luo Huan nodded.
Anyway, it wouldn’t be long before she’d be showing it openly.