"A moment of bliss, eternal joy!"
"Remember my name, Deity. I am Nilah, the one who will kill you, the Godslayer!"
The words that came out of her mouth were like a prayer. The sword that had created a water curtain across the sky then slashed heavily toward Lissandra's location. The sword energy that Nilah unleashed was more obvious and more dazzling than that that that Li Ke unleashed. At this moment, it swept toward Lissandra's location like a tassel.
"Boom!"
Large chunks of ice broke off from the iceberg that had appeared out of nowhere. A hint of displeasure flashed in Lissandra's eyes. She had come to understand somewhat why Illaoi had said she was wary of Nilah.
Indeed, this guy named Nilah is a madman!
How could Deity start a war so inexplicably? Even if they did, and started fighting right away, they wouldn't go all out like Nilah, without any defenses, their sole focus being to kill their opponent.
At this moment, Nilah was determined to kill Lissandra, which naturally angered Lissandra. A surge of rage rose within her, and she decided to teach this Nilah, who called herself a god-slayer, a lesson.
Everything has rules. If you don't follow the rules, then I don't need to follow them with me!
"Freeze."
With two words uttered softly, Lissandra pointed her finger at Nilah, who was charging towards her. On her plain face, her pale pupils instantly turned into a bright, icy blue. Lissandra's fingers clenched loosely, making a grabbing motion.
"Click--"
Li Ke heard a clear shattering sound, a sound that was the space being frozen and cracked, a mournful sound that seemed to come from when even time itself was frozen in place.
When he saw that Lissandra was about to get serious with Nilah, Li Ke's first instinct was to try to stop her, but Li Ke realized what he was doing before he could even speak.
Prevent?
No, why would I stop it?
Nilah is clearly not going to listen to anyone in her current state. Can't you see her eyes shining and a smile on her lips as she attacks Lissandra? Therefore, instead of trying to dissuade the two, it would be better to let Lissandra teach Nilah a lesson first. That way, once Nilah calms down, it will be easier for Li Ke to negotiate with her.
As for himself
Just find a place to wait for them to come out.
Thinking this, Li Ke watched helplessly as Lissandra used her domain ability to pull Nilah into another spatial world.
The so-called domain ability is very similar to the island that Li Ke is standing on now. This island is located in the Sea of the Guardian's Sea, and it is the only island in the surrounding thirty kilometers of sea.
It was a cloudy day outside. Although it was winter, it wasn't snowing outside when Illaoi brought Li Ke, but it was snowing heavily on this island.
This is the energy of the domain, which relies on the power of the laws of Runeterra, but does not depend on the laws of Runeterra. Instead, it is created by the user's ability to freely change the domain's environment and situation.
This is why Demigod with divine status are so powerful; they can unleash domains, creating environments that allow them to exert their strength and achieve twice the result with half the effort in battle.
Finding a spot, Li Ke took the greatsword from his back, placed it in front of him, and then patted Aatrox on the shoulder.
In his mind, Aatrox had been dormant while absorbing Li Ke's power to purify the Void's pollution, awoke, and his first words were—
"Who are you going to do this to?"
"I'm not doing anything with anyone, I just came to chat with you." Seeing Aatrox ask him who he wanted to do right away, Li Ke found it amusing.
He looked at the eye on the sword hilt and asked Aatrox, "The Void's corruption on you should have lessened considerably, but why are you still like this? Or, Aatrox, were you actually like this even when you were still Ascended?"
Upon hearing that he wasn't being asked to come out and fight, Aatrox's tone became noticeably unfriendly. He snorted and said, "Ridiculous, me back in my Ascended days."
Aatrox suddenly fell silent, met Li Ke's gaze, and after a long pause, uttered. "Noble, elegant, ruthless."
"These words have absolutely no connection to you right now," Li Ke said.
Aatrox, clearly annoyed by Li Ke's words, roared impatiently:
"I already said, that was who I used to be. Glory is a blessing, but also a shackle. I once possessed unparalleled glory; the sun shone upon me, and all spirits crowned me. It taught me what I should and shouldn't do. But look at me now? Now I am mired in depravity, trapped in the abyss."
Aatrox suddenly let out a soft exclamation, his huge red eyes on the hilt of his sword narrowing slightly, seemingly calm, but inwardly he was already shocked.
He actually thinks he's fallen from grace.
Aatrox was somewhat dazed. Before meeting Li Ke, although Aatrox knew he had been changed, he never thought it was his fault, but rather the fault of the Celestials, the world, the Emperor, and all living beings in the world.
For their sake, the Ascended fought a decisive battle against the Void, and afterwards, they were called the Darkin.
But upon closer reflection, Aatrox discovered the anchor of the problem.
Did the Shurima actually refer to themselves as Darkin in the beginning?
No, after the war ended, all the Ascended participated in the Void War were actually respected by the people. This respect lasted for thousands of years until Azir, the last emperor of Shurima, suddenly died, the empire collapsed, and the Ascended lost their faith began to fight each other. Only then did everything begin to change.
Having lost their faith and corrupted by pain and the Void, the Ascended gave up resisting the Void's allure, willingly plunging into purgatory, becoming Darkin, and unleashing their "evil thoughts" and "greed" amplified by the Void without restraint.
Aatrox disdained to get involved in those things at that time, but he had heard that his brothers and sisters had started fighting each other for territory, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them local warlords.
Can any warlord be a good person? Before becoming a warlord, even the most wicked Ascended wouldn't be too bad, but once they become a warlord, it's impossible for them to be good at all. After all, if a warlord were to also be a good person, wouldn't that make their warlordship pointless?
Under such circumstances, the Shurima people, already suffering from the collapse of the Empire, were now caught up in the battlefield due to the Ascended's self-interest. How could they possibly still respect these people?
Thinking of this, Aatrox gradually fell silent.
Why did you suddenly stop talking?
Li Ke, unaware of what Aatrox was thinking, asked a question, which interrupted Aatrox's thoughts.
"Li Ke, I've realized I seem to have made a lot of mistakes."
Aatrox suddenly spoke, his tone less manic. His blood-red eyes looked at Li Ke, though those eyes were still terrifying, the ferocity within them had diminished considerably.
"Thanks to you, I can no longer hear those voices, but now I find myself even more lost." Aatrox looked at Li Ke and said very seriously, "I have no body, and I can no longer return to Shurima. You say Azir is still alive, but even if he is alive, Shurima is gone."
"Azir will restore Shurima."
Aatrox gave a bitter laugh, his voice deep and somber. "Revival? Did you really think I was just sleeping and recovering while I was with you? I saw everything you did and everything that happened in the outside world."
"You won't allow Shurima be fully restored, will you?"
Li Ke fell silent.
"As long as Azir doesn't allow his British Empire to leave Shurima, I won't interfere. I can guarantee that, because I already have enough to deal with right now," Li Ke said earnestly.
"Even if you do nothing and let Azir revive the empire, the people of Shurima will not agree. Just look at the little girl who's with you, and the sand people that can be seen everywhere in Zaun. This is something that doesn't even need to be certified. The glory of the empire has completely vanished, just like my former glory. If Azir wants to revive Shurima, then he will only become the enemy of the people of Shurima."
"We talk about our ancestors, our foundations, and stories from thousands of years ago. But the problem is that human lifespan is only a hundred years. A hundred years is just a fleeting moment for you and me, but for humanity, it is a period of tremendous change. The empire's past glory and honor do not belong to them, but they will have to bear the suffering and tyranny of the future. Who would agree to such a thing?"
"I didn't expect you to know these things." Li Ke smiled, laid Aatrox across his lap, and said softly.
However, Li Ke did not agree with Aatrox's claim that a hundred years was just a fleeting moment for him.
He has no intention of being a perpetual tortoise, nor will he become lazy just because he has plenty of time; a hundred years is already a long time.
Li Ke Kehui, like his homeland and his people, seizes every minute.
"Ha, do you think I'm like you? Holding a high position, yet knowing nothing, all you do is delegate everything to others, and call it 'appointing people to do things.'"
"Are you criticizing me now?" Li Ke was somewhat surprised. You know, half a year ago, Aatrox could only yell and spout nonsense about glory and the past.
But why does it seem so normal now?
"Didn't you often criticize me too? Leaving me in a corner while you and your girl pointed fingers at me, have you forgotten?" Aatrox retorted.
"Hey, Aatrox, are you healing your wounds with my power right now, or do you want to go back to the chaotic days of killing and carnage?"
"Fuck you! Didn't you borrow my power? Li Ke, if I get stronger, doesn't that mean you get stronger too?" Aatrox cursed.
"Stop swearing, you son of a bitch," Li Ke said unhappily.
Aatrox: "?"
At the same time, while Li Ke and Aatrox were bickering outside and their relationship had clearly improved, Nilah and Lissandra also began their second battle.
The world was covered in ice and snow, and all that met the eye was a vast expanse of white nothingness.
Nilah took a deep breath, and as she exhaled, the white breath she exhaled shot out like a sharp arrow.
Admittedly, even she found it difficult to adapt to the weather and temperature; it was cold, too cold.
So cold my fingers trembled, my teeth chattered, and my spine ached.
The woman in front of Nilah had just raised her hand when she created countless thick ice chains. With a gentle flick of her fingertips, the ice chains shot out like giant snakes, binding Nilah.
The cold made her body stiff, but Nilah was still able to cope. She raised her water sword, and a curtain of water formed in front of her. Although most of the water vapor was frozen instantly, the water curtain that Nilah created contained more sword energy, so Nilah was able to withstand it!
With a sharp flick of her wrist, the whip-sword slapped horizontally, shattering the water curtain she had just created. The water curtain sword energy expanded, spreading from upwards to the left. A similar forceful strike was delivered to the right, causing the water curtain sword energy to spread to both sides, forming a magnificent and dazzling semicircle that protected Nilah's body.
"Is this the same ability as Ashlesh? You can actually create space out of thin air."
"As expected, guys like you are the kind of opponents I should challenge the most!"
"Blocking Lissandra's attack, "Nilah said loudly with a smile.
A wild smile played on her lips, but Nilah's eyes held a serious expression.
Jokingly, when Lissandra dragged Nilah into this space, Nilah knew she was facing a formidable opponent.
Laws and domains— Nilah also possesses these abilities; she obtained them from Ashlesh. However, she cannot pull her opponents into her domain as easily as Lissandra, and Lissandra's domain is far too vast!
Although it was much smaller than Ashlesh's, after all, Ashlesh a prison and was the lord of the Seventh Prison, this icy world, with its towering, continuous mountain ranges and trees, had already made Nilah feel deeply apprehensive.
However, even so
I will not admit defeat either!
A true hero is someone who, even when faced with difficulties and troubles, will forge ahead and confront adversity head-on!
Carrying her whip-sword, Nilah walked on the ice, her body moving nimbly through the air. The whip-sword in her hand danced with dazzling water-like light, her steps like a dance, the whip-sword carrying flowing water and sword energy swirling around her.
As Nilah charged at her, Lissandra eyes Flash with a hint of disdain.
She didn't know who Ashlesh was, but the powerful beings she had faced, the fears and troubles she had encountered, were far more numerous and terrifying than anything this girl before her could imagine.
With a piercing explosion, Lissandra raised her hands high.
"Well, it's finally over."
Li Ke picked up Aatrox and looked at the ice-blue door that had suddenly appeared in front of him.
He certainly wasn't worried about Lissandra. Nilah was indeed very strong, but Nilah backstory detailed how she challenged Volibear and nearly got killed by Volibear. If Morgana hadn't saved her, she probably would have died and returned to Ashlesh's side.
And what about Lissandra?
Nine thousand years ago, she could hold her own against Volibear at his peak, even having one eye gouged out but surviving. So how powerful could Lissandra be now?
Therefore, Li Ke rose to prepare to greet the witch.
But the person who came out was Nilah. She was soaking wet, and her once spiky hair was plastered to her cheeks. She was clearly smiling, with a big smile on her lips, but no matter how Li Ke looked at her, he felt that she was feeling lost.
Upon seeing Li Ke, Nilah glanced up at him, then stood aside.
Only then did Li Ke notice that Nilah had an ice ring around her waist, and on the other side of the ice ring was a chain. Then, Li Ke saw the person holding the chain come out.
Lissandra and looked at Li Ke: "It's resolved. She can speak properly now."
Li Ke was delighted upon hearing this.
Then he looked at Nilah: "Nilah, do you want an opponent?"
"No, no, no," Nilah, raising her hands and refusing with a smile, her eyes filled with panic.
"?"