Chapter 142
"In the years since you abandoned me, I've learned a lot from Grena."
Sejuani pressed her advantage, each strike dealing effective damage to Kalkia.
At the same time, she was also venting her pent-up dissatisfaction and resentment over the years through her words.
"I was forced to learn to fight when I was very young... My grandmother cared about me, but I knew she couldn't always be there to protect me—she had to pick up the pieces of what she left behind."
"I've been subjected to ridicule and mockery since I was a child; all I can protect myself with are my Riot Games."
"I'm so envious of Ashe... She has a strong and loving mother..."
"Grena, she's a perfect woman, she's my idol. She taught me so much..."
"How I wish Grena were my mother...!"
Thump--! Countless punches were thrown, and Sejuani had completely lost her rhythm.
Kalkia's Riot Games kept landing on her, but she had completely given up on defending herself.
She seemed to be using this duel as a way to vent her anger; both attacking and being attacked allowed her to perfectly release her pressure.
The cheers from the audience grew louder and louder, and the two duelists were already bruised and battered.
Chen Ce knew that the outcome of this duel was already a foregone conclusion.
But his mind wasn't on the duel at all.
He was thinking about... what those Frost Priests had said last night.
They refused to leave, so he locked them in the dungeon, intending to send them back to Lissandra after the duel. But last night, even after their arms were broken and they were thrown into the dungeon, they were still hoarsely repeating the same sentence:
Death is coming... the demons are coming...
Chen Ce had a bad feeling about this.
This premonition reached its peak amidst the cheers of the crowd.
He suddenly heard Rhaast's voice in his mind.
He wasn't carrying the giant scythe with him at all.
This means that Rhaast was calling out to him from afar in great anxiety:
"A mortal, a mortal... Chen Ce!"
Hear my call!
"I can feel him!"
"He's here!"
"He--"
"Aatrox!"
Upon hearing that name, a symbol of destruction and despair, Chen Ce almost instinctively raised his head.
Darkin Scythe with a single, scarlet eye burst through the house and flew toward him.
The instant he grasped the scythe, he sensed Rhaast felt.
It's... a shared aura.
It's right over there.
He could see nothing on the white horizon, but he seemed to hear the angry roar of the World Ender the world:
[Confronting... the God Killer!!]
Chapter Twenty-Six: Now, only Rhaast remains!
Sejuani won.
She won the duel against the Warmother.
Now, the owner of the Winter's Claw is no longer called Kalkia.
"You're nowhere near as good as Grena..."
In the center of the dueling arena, Sejuani gasped for breath, a sharp and clean Serrated Dirk clutched tightly in her hand.
She looked at her mother lying on the ground, but did not stab her to death as is customary in Freljord duels.
She would never kill her mother.
They certainly wouldn't use this dagger.
"This was given to me by Grena... She taught me so much..."
"Heh..." Kalkia closed her eyes, the pain from head to toe preventing her from getting up again—even the calls of her tribesmen around her became faint. "Then I think she still missed teaching you some important things... nip it in the bud..."
"No, she taught me..." Sejuani raised her arm with difficulty, pointing the dagger at the hazy sun in the sky.
The rain and snow stopped, and the warm sun gradually peeked out from behind the dense clouds.
She taught me... kindness.
Call--!
The dark silver dagger fell heavily, piercing the ground near Kalkia's ear.
In an instant, all the clansmen who witnessed the duel erupted in a loud shout.
Sejuani! Sejuani! Sejuani!
Sejuani! Sejuani!
"Sejuani!"
Her confidants rushed forward and lifted the newly appointed young Warmother high above their heads.
Sejuani smiled contentedly, a smile she hadn't shown in a long time, and amidst the cheers of the crowd, she shifted her gaze to the other side—to the location of the two "outsiders."
She saw Ashe smiling as well—the other person acknowledged her efforts and achievements.
But... she didn't see the other person.
In this most glorious moment, she hoped to be seen by that man—and he deserved half the credit for that.
Where did it go...?
Chen Ce...
Damn it...
Why did he come at this time...?
This shouldn't be happening... This is completely different from what was predicted...
We are completely unprepared now; facing him directly will only lead to our death...
[You're going the wrong way, mortal! He's over there! Go and kill him!]
No... now is not the time...
This is different from our original agreement! We came here to kill him!
Now is not the time, Rhaast...
[My fighting spirit is at its peak! I will cut off his head!]
Quiet down, Rhaast...
Just like we said at the beginning! As long as I have a qualified body, I can kill him!
Tsk...
Thump--!
The sturdy dungeon door was kicked open, and Chen Ce strode towards the several Frost Priests imprisoned inside.
"What do you know?!"
"..." The Frost Priests, whose severed arm had been grabbed and lifted up, smiled silently, a smile that was both tragic and chilling.
Yet it also revealed a hint of mockery.
"You lured him here?" Chen Ce increased the pressure slightly, and the fragile bones of the mortal man immediately cracked in his hands. "Did the witch tell you to do this?"
"Yes... so what..." The Frost Priests's laughter grew even more unrestrained, as if his nerves had been blocked from feeling pain. "You have hindered the great Lady of Ice and Darkness... you deserve to die..."
"Tell me, what is the witch's purpose?" Chen Ce frowned as the other person's hand bones completely broke.
The Frost Priests's face contorted slightly.
"If you survive... I'll tell you..."
"Then I will definitely hand you over to Aatrox after I find out everything." Chen Ce knew that these Frost Priests were not so easy to interrogate, so he immediately abandoned them and returned the way he came.
Since we can't get any information from them, we'll have to rely on ourselves.
Every second counts. Now is not the time to vent your anger by killing the Frost Priests or to hurl insults at Lissandra from the Void.
Since it has already happened, let's do everything we can to increase our chances of winning... even if it's less than 10%.
Giving up now would be too early.
Whether he's Darkin or a Celestial, it doesn't matter.
Thank goodness, you've finally figured it out!
Seeing Chen Ce heading in the "correct" direction again, Rhaast laughed heartily.
But he was still puzzled:
[You were so confident before, why are you acting so hesitant and cowardly now?]
"Because this is different from my plan," Chen Ce explained as he hurried along. "Aatrox's arrival was too sudden... I was supposed to be fully prepared and then go to him on my own initiative."
Did you know where he was all along?
"I suppose so."
[Then why haven't you taken me to see him! You're stalling for time! You're wasting my precious time!] Rhaast felt like he had been tricked.
But Chen Ce didn't have time to deal with him right now.
The situation is really urgent now... Lissandra really did a great job...
The original plan was to recruit Ashe and Sejuani, then bring Syndra over from Noxus. With everyone working together, there was a good chance of defeating Aatrox —or at the very least, Syndra could use her powerful magic to throw him into the Howling Abyss to play with the Watchers.
But right now... Ashe hasn't unlocked the full power of the Avarosa legacy, and her main force Syndra is also absent. It's far too much to expect Rhaast to go toe-to-toe with Aatrox...
Sejuani! Sejuani! Sejuani!
The crowd outside was still cheering for their new Warmother, completely unaware of the impending danger.
Chen Ce rushed over and pulled up the bewildered Ashe, then squeezed into the crowd and called out to Sejuani, who had just spotted them.
"Get your people out of here!"
The crowd fell silent, everyone looking at this "outsider" with suspicion.
Including Sejuani: "Huh?"
"That demon is here," Chen Ce explained quickly. "He's rushing this way, and no one can stop him."
"Devil? You mean the ice demon?" Sejuani asked doubtfully, "The demon that slaughtered several villages?"
"Yes, his name is Aatrox."
"I see..." Sejuani nodded thoughtfully.
Then he flashed a confident smile.
"It's alright, we're all here, we're not afraid of some mere demon."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ce raised an eyebrow. "No, you have no idea how terrifying that demon is... Let alone you, even the entire population of Freljord combined wouldn't be a match for him."
After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent for a moment.
Then a loud laugh erupted.