Chapter 105
Another hand that should have been severed years ago—but it was definitely not a human hand.
In everyone's mind, his left hand had been severed by Irelia, the leader of the Ionia Resistance Army, several years ago—in the war known as the "The Stand," the very war that turned him from a renowned general into a despised loser.
And now he... not only has he picked up his left hand, which should have been severed, but he is also extremely terrifying.
His left hand looked somewhat ethereal, glowing with a terrifying red light, with strange energy "growing" on it like raven feathers, hard and sharp.
In an instant, the entire palace erupted in chaos. Some shouted that it was a monster, while others fawned over Darkwill and protected him.
The guards held back and immediately thrust their halberds forward.
But that terrifying left hand gave them a power they had never felt before.
The inhuman grip strength instantly snapped all the weapons, and an eerie crimson light shone on the palace windows. A bolt of lightning flashed by, followed by rolling thunder, and the lightning also illuminated the countless ravens that had landed on the windowsill.
Scarlet eyes, a cold gaze... Countless ravens... They hover, they cry out, they emit bursts of hungry calls, like foragers drawn by the scent of corpses.
Braum Darkwill, who had always been aloof and arrogant, finally panicked. Those powerful and wealthy people who only knew how to maintain a facade of peace screamed and wanted to escape. No one cared about the so-called president anymore.
Fortunately, at that moment, a large group of people arrived outside the palace.
Darkwill saw many familiar faces... they were all his ministers, and they had come to rescue him.
This even includes Draven, the younger brother of the Hand of Noxus.
"Quick, quick, take him down...!" Darkwill screamed in despair.
"Yes, Commander." Draven, who was at the front, responded respectfully, and then twirled the throwing axe in his hand.
The next moment, under the expectant and approving gaze of the Grand Commander, he hurled the throwing axe.
A spurt of bright red blood instantly appeared.
But it wasn't Swain died.
Instead, he was a loud-screaming privileged person.
"Sorry, Commander... he's too noisy. Please allow me to kill him." Draven chuckled mockingly.
Then, the others followed suit—they began to attack the palace guards.
Given this situation, even if Darkwill were incredibly foolish, he should have realized what was happening.
He pointed at the crowd with trembling hands, his wide eyes almost invisible on his wrinkled, overweight face.
"You... you're trying to rebel...!"
A moment of silence fell over the palace upon hearing this.
But this was immediately followed by an even more unrestrained burst of laughter.
Draven, twirling his throwing axe in one hand and clutching his severed head in the other, climbed the blood-stained steps, approaching the throne step by step.
But instead of walking straight past it, he went to the side of the throne.
It was as if they were welcoming someone.
He raised his throwing axe at the obese man on the throne.
"You guessed right, my respected Commander-in-Chief..."
Meanwhile, on the other side of Runeterra, in Placidium of Navori.
After fighting for several years, Chen Ce finally got a rare "mini-vacation" and practically wanted to stay in bed all day, spending his time relaxing.
But today is destined to be the day when the good days come to an end.
Because an uninvited guest suddenly arrived—just as he was getting up late after sleeping in one afternoon nap to find something to eat.
First, the door was gently pushed open, and then a sliver of black with a reddish tinge peeked in.
Those were... long, white legs encased in black pantyhose.
Those long, white legs were beautiful, and her fashion sense was impeccable, but Chen Ce wasn't particularly interested.
Firstly, because he was still in the age of sainthood, and secondly... because he recognized the owner of those legs.
A woman who would always put him on his guard.
The Pale Lady – LeBlanc, the Deceiver.
Chen Ce sighed inwardly, then continued cooking his "dinner" as if no one else was around.
The visitor was unceremonious, entering the room without even a greeting and closing the door behind him—thus, a lone man and woman were alone in the room.
"Good evening, my dear Mr. Chen Ce." A charming voice followed.
"... I'd like to say good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to you," Chen Ce replied without turning his head.
"Hmm? What does that mean?"
The first half of that sentence is. "If we can never meet again."
"Oh~ it seems you really don't want to see me?" LeBlanc casually sat down on the edge of the bed, then took a seductive deep breath. "You smell so good."
"..." Chen Ce remained silent and continued making the late-night snack.
Once the stew in the pot had started to simmer, he turned his head with a cold expression to face the repulsive and cunning woman.
"Get to the point, LeBlanc."
"Hehe... I like your straightforward personality." LeBlanc crossed her right leg over her left, revealing her alluring curves. "I'm here to tell you something."
"Explain."
"Swain launched a coup. Just now."
"Um?"
"He had Draven kill Darkwill," LeBlanc continued with a smile. "The elite of the Immortal Bastion underwent a major reshuffle in just three hours, and now nearly a third of the high-ranking officials in the capital are Swain's men."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ce remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was somewhat surprised.
After all... according to the original timeline, Swain should have launched his coup some time later—probably some time after the war ended.
"A little faster than you expected, isn't it?" LeBlanc seemed to have guessed what the other was thinking. "To be honest, it's also a little faster than I expected."
Chen Ce frowned subconsciously, then asked, "And then?"
"And then? Then, just like we said before—I can give you a part of Noxus."
I mean war.
"War? Is there any doubt about that?" LeBlanc swayed her perfect body again, rubbing her exposed, snow-white skin against the bedding.
"Of course it's over—you won. You Ionia won."
"Hmm." Chen Ce nodded calmly.
But as before, it was only superficially calm.
In reality... I was overjoyed.
Because he had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
He needs a sufficiently influential person or organization to declare the war officially over.
On one hand, he longed for the war to end because of his Ionia identity; on the other hand...
He had been waiting for that reward for a very, very long time.
[World Quest (1): Assist [Irelia] in achieving final victory in the war between Ionia and Noxus in any way.]
[Rewards: [Random Skill] *1 (Max Level); [Random Tier 3 Equipment] *1 (e. g., Trinity Force, Goredrinker, Hextech Rocketbelt, etc.); Unlocks [World Quest (II)]]
[The war is over, World Mission (I) complete]
[Reward Obtained: Skill [Rune Skill - Future's Market]]
The moment Chen Ce heard that notification sound, he felt like cursing.
But the next notification sound made him incredibly excited:
[Reward: Random Tier 3 Equipment [Heartsteel] *1]
Holy crap, Steel Gate!
Heartsteel, whose health can be stacked infinitely! The former king of ARAM!
Chen Ce was overjoyed.
However, one reward hasn't arrived yet—unlocking World Mission 2 or something.
Based on the template of World Mission One, he could basically imagine what World Mission Two would be like—it would most likely involve achieving some kind of accomplishment in a certain country, and if it was based on a country, it would fit the word "world".
That's what he guessed.
Until the next notification sound:
[World Quest (II) has been unlocked]
[World Quest (II): Resist the Void and survive after the Void awakens.]
[Reward: This is the final world quest; reward unknown.]
"..."
Chen Ce swallowed hard...
Chapter 111 Ruthlessly Taking Down the Bad Woman – Praising the Steel Gate
Void.
An extremely dangerous word.
So much time has passed since the fall of the Shuriman Empire and the War of the Ascended, that the people of Runeterra may have forgotten that horror... and many may have never even seen that terrifying being that symbolized annihilation and devouring. But Chen Ce, who knows the history of Runeterra, will never forget it.
The Void is another [world].
A world distinct from the material realm, the Spirit Realm, or the Death Realm.
There is nothing there; nothingness is the main theme of Void. All so-called existence becomes meaningless in the Void; eternal silence and etherealness are the symbols of the existence of Void.
The terrifying beings there only manifest their characteristics as "living things" when they reach other worlds.
The vast majority of them lack independent consciousness and only obey the commands of higher-level [Void beings], and those higher-level beings... only want to devour and annihilate everything.
They create countless lower-level Void creatures, then assign even lower-level beings to other worlds, annihilating everything with their ability to devour and assimilate, ultimately turning those worlds into Void, just like the void itself.
All they desire is eternal stillness.
They cannot tolerate the slightest sound, the slightest light, or any living creature.
Countless centuries ago, a simple probe by Void creatures nearly destroyed the then-powerful Shuriman Empire — Shurima was even more powerful than all the nations of Runeterra combined today.
At that time, the Void creatures entered the material realm through the rifts of Icathia, turning that once prosperous area into a living hell in a single night. The Void killed everyone.
Upon learning of this, the Shurima Emperor— Empress Setaka, the most powerful Ascended —immediately summoned most of her Ascended and hundreds of thousands of warriors to fight against the Void.
Humanity won that battle.
The victory was very close.
Over 90% of the Ascended alongside Empress Setaka, with only a very small number surviving.
Even so, those Ascended were all infected by the Void to varying degrees, and inevitably fell into the "Darkin" that people talked about in later generations.
Among them was Aatrox, a top-tier Ascended hailed as the strongest warrior under Empress Setaka.
The fall of Aatrox alone was enough for Chen Ce to understand one thing— the Void is invincible.
It is certainly not something that can be defeated by human power.
Aatrox was capable of slaying demigods, yet even a top-tier powerhouse of his caliber was powerless before the Void...
Moreover, Aatrox wasn't the only Ascended participated at the time.
Instead, there are hundreds or thousands.
To put it more bluntly, roughly one or two Ascended of medium strength can have the destructive power of Syndra, while thousands of Ascended —equivalent to no less than five hundred Syndra —are useless against the Void.
"If the Void were to fully descend, humanity would have absolutely no chance of winning..."