First, take down the Sword Demon, then save Runeterra.

As dawn broke, the resistance troops set off again and immediately sensed the difference.

After a day of transmission, more and more Ionians learned of Karma's victory over the Noxian fleet.

Every time the rebels passed through a village, people would ask to join them. Those with farmland would provide food, and those with blacksmithing would provide weapons and armor.

However, just as they entered a forest, something unexpected happened.

"How is this going!"

Irelia saw a patch of trees lying haphazardly in the distance and was instantly enraged.

Other rebel groups fared no better.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the ground had been dug down to a depth of more than a meter.

Balance exists between all things, especially the trees rooted in the earth, which, in the eyes of the Ionians, are a symbol of the connection between this land and the earth.

Their houses are mostly built of stone, and people who understand nature communicate directly with these trees, which then grow into the shape of a house.

"Who is it? Who is it?" the rebels roared.

"It must be the intruders." Irelia clenched her fist. "We're too late!"

Ato, by combining the map of Ionia, discerned many things.

This road is the only way to Presidium, which means it was done by Swain's men, and it seems he was seriously carrying out the emperor's order to find the artifact of immortality.

If he digs out so many soldiers, then Presidium will be completely isolated and helpless!

Suddenly, Irelia saw several figures flash by deep in the woods.

Before Ator could move, Irelia darted out, followed by the enraged rebels.

Those who disrupt the balance must be punished!

The forest was riddled with newly dug pits, but Irelia's steps did not falter at all.

Her dance-like steps lightly touched the intact ground, and the next moment her figure appeared several meters away.

The family crest floating around her shattered into thirty-one pieces once more, transforming into flying knives that shot towards those figures.

However, the throwing knife stopped abruptly just as it was about to pierce their bodies.

"Are they the invaders?" Atto asked as he caught up.

"No, it's people from nearby villages..."

Atuo looked closely and saw several elderly men dressed as farmers, wearing coarse cloth clothes and with calloused hands.

"We, we really aren't invaders! Those people left more than ten days ago!" an old man explained hurriedly.

Irelia stepped forward and gently reassured him, "Grandpa, I understand. You're not the intruders. You did all of that?"

She pointed to the land in front of her, and unlike the land behind Atto, the land in front of her had obvious signs of landfill.

"Yes!" the old man said with grief and indignation, "The invaders destroyed this place!"

His expression then darkened: "We don't have much power. We can only wait until they leave before we dare to come over and put back the places they destroyed. But we can't save these trees..."

"No! At least the balance is still there!" Irelia looked at the rebels behind her. "We still have the seeds!"

"Everything has its balance! The invaders felled the trees, but the trees left us seeds! With the seeds, Ionia will continue to thrive!"

"Ionia! Ionia! Ionia!"

The rebels shouted in unison, startling the elderly people.

"Grandpas, you should rest now. Leave the rest to us!"

As she spoke, Irelia began to direct the rebels, some filling in the craters, others collecting seeds from the fallen trees, including Ator.

"Wow, Irelia is awesome!" Atuo silently gave Irelia a thumbs up in his heart and obediently went to collect seeds.

It took the rebels two days to fill in all the pits in the forest and plant seeds in the original locations of each tree.

The fallen trees did not move; as time passed, they would eventually turn into nutrients to nourish the new shoots.

Looking at the land that had been largely restored to its original state, Ato felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

"It's like playing an infrastructure game. Once you have your first piece of land, the next step is to make wooden planks."

"What?" The surrounding environment was a bit noisy, and Irelia didn't hear clearly.

“It’s nothing important. By the way, today is your fourteenth birthday, and I haven’t forgotten.” Ato raised his voice again.

"Oh right, today is the chief's birthday! We've just finished clearing the forest, so let's celebrate!"

"That's right, I'll go prepare the food!" The cook in the group didn't even have time to rest and hurriedly returned to the carriage to look for ingredients.

Despite the crowd's enthusiasm, Irelia's attempt to fool them with this opportunity ultimately failed.

She simply yelled at the chef, "Don't waste too much! We still have many days of travel ahead of us!"

There was enough open space near the forest, and all the rebels—about two or three hundred people—formed a large circle, chatting and laughing about various topics.

Just then, Irelia suddenly walked to the center of the arena.

The noisy crowd fell silent instantly, waiting for their leader to speak.

However, after a long while, Irelia, her face flushed, simply bowed deeply.

Then she began to dance gracefully.

This immediately attracted the attention of all the rebels.

From her very first movement, elegance filled the entire venue, leaving no room for any disrespect.

Because she has practiced dance since childhood, Irelia is very flexible, and some of her movements are beyond human capabilities in Ator's opinion.

The atmosphere at the scene was so quiet that the only sound could be the crackling of the fire.

Then Ato heard music.

Not only Atto, but everyone heard the music.

“It’s an elf! This child’s dance has connected with the elves!” Aatrox exclaimed.

With Aatrox's reminder, Aatrox also sensed that the wind elves, earth elves, and even the stone elves on the nearby mountains were all drawn to the vicinity by Irelia's dance.

The music was produced by the elves clapping their invisible hands.

The rebels, hearing the music, looked at each other, bewildered and wondering what was happening.

But Irelia seemed unaware that she had stirred the elves, completely absorbed in the dance of nature.

"Look! Those trees that have been cut down!"

The trees felled by Noxus turned into particles of light, dissipating into the soil where the seeds were buried.

The next moment, a tender bud pushed its way out of the soil.

In that instant, Irelia's long limbs stretched out completely, and all the tender buds began to grow rapidly.

Irelia looked up and waved her hand, and countless branches appeared on the still-growing main trunk.

Irelia spun around in place, her ribbons fluttering, and green leaves, symbolizing new life, sprouted from the branches.

Irelia suddenly stopped.

Looking at the forest, which had been completely restored and was even more lush than before, she smiled and shed tears.

On this day, Irelia turned fourteen.