Chapter 148

"..."

"By then, do you think he'll still fight me pointlessly...? Having a physical body, I'm not afraid of him..."

"..."

"Therefore, your threat is meaningless..."

"Hmm..." Chen Ce nodded calmly once again.

He knew all of this.

He had already figured it out.

Whether it's Mordekaiser or Rhaast in front of him, his cooperative relationship with them is extremely fragile—given the chance, they would not hesitate to kill him.

After all, the premise of cooperating with them is... a threat.

Using Syndra to threaten Mordekaiser, then using Mordekaiser to threaten Rhaast... this fragile cycle will eventually break.

But...

"Then you might as well give it a try..." Chen Ce grinned, another mouthful of blood spilling out. "Even if Mordekaiser doesn't... lay a hand on you... you can't escape the Death Realm... without me... you won't come back..."

"Oh?" Rhaast raised an eyebrow with interest.

"Being imprisoned... in the Death Realm... or inside a weapon... is no different..."

"At a time like this, you still intend to threaten me, mortal?"

"Yes... a threat..."

"Heh..." Rhaast chuckled disdainfully, the sharp, massive scythe sliding down his arm—reaching straight for the other's beating heart. "Then I'll have to give it a try..."

Despite this situation, Chen Ce maintained his smile.

No one knew what he was thinking—fear or confidence; composure or bluff.

In any case, he used his last breath to mobilize the Death Realm energy within his body.

A fierce glint flashed in Rhaast's eyes.

With a loud laugh, he swung his giant scythe violently.

Thud! The sound of a sharp blade slicing through flesh was particularly jarring.

"Chen Ce!!" Two girls from not far away rushed over without hesitation.

With a single swing of his giant scythe, Rhaast sent them flying dozens of meters away—the sheer force of the wind generated by the scythe alone was enough to push them back.

Then, Rhaast stood up straight.

The energy from the Death Realm did not affect him.

There was no Realm of Death, no Death Realm, no Mordekaiser... it all seemed like Chen Ce was just bluffing.

Just as the two girls were about to get up again to avenge Chen Ce, the "corpse" on the ground suddenly moved.

Then, they saw it clearly.

That terrifying giant scythe did indeed pierce Chen Ce's chest, but...

That didn't seem like harm, but rather... healing?

The last tear on Chen Ce's chest had healed, leaving only a shocking scar.

Rhaast's hoarse laughter rang out again:

"As expected, I still believe you are the most qualified mortal to become my host... I'll spare your life for now, and I'll come back later to perfectly seize your body, hehe..."

Chapter Thirty: Ashe: The heart is the warmest muscle!

Rhaast ultimately did not kill Chen Ce.

Perhaps it was because the latter's "trump card" worked, or perhaps it was simply because he had other plans... But in any case, he abandoned Aatrox's physical body and transformed back into a terrifying Darkin Scythe.

Chen Ce, under the combined effects of blood magic and Meditation, quickly recovered to a state where he could maintain basic life functions.

Ashe and Sejuani anxiously gathered around him, asking what was going on. It took him quite a bit of effort to explain everything to them.

Aatrox is Darkin, and so is Rhaast, but Rhaast is not Aatrox. However, the Aatrox we just saw was Rhaast, and the real Aatrox has become a sword, while Rhaast, who has become Aatrox, has reverted to a scythe...

The two girls were stunned.

"That's pretty much the situation." Chen Ce breathed a sigh of relief, having finished his long explanation.

"Oh..." The two girls stared at each other, both revealing expressions of intelligence.

0. o?

Chen Ce didn't explain further and walked straight towards the Darkin Blade that had landed on the other side.

The giant sword stood upright on the snow, shimmering with dark red light under the sunlight, looking both eerie and majestic.

It looks exactly like the legendary sword in the stone.

However, this is not the sword of a hero, but the sword of a demon king.

[Be careful not to touch his sword directly...] Rhaast's voice echoed in my mind once more—this time a friendly reminder: [If you touch the sword directly, Aatrox will seize your body in an instant... Perhaps even I cannot stop him... It would be difficult for me to evade the host's control from him head-on...]

"I know." Chen Ce nodded in understanding—this was the premise for the vast majority of Darkin possessions.

Even if the Darkin sealed within the weapons awakens, to truly regain their freedom, a living being must touch their weapons; otherwise, no matter how powerful they are, they cannot possess another's body.

As for the ability to seize a body... if it were to be taken by force, Rhaast would most likely lose to Aatrox —unless the body was initially under Rhaast's control.

Therefore, Chen Ce cannot directly move Aatrox's Darkin Blade.

How can we take it with us?

It's actually quite simple.

Just wrap it in a cloth.

"It really does look a bit like an object contained by a certain Foundation..." Chen Ce tore open his damaged outer garment from the battle and wrapped the Darkin Blade entirely in strips of cloth.

But that's not enough.

"Miss Ashe, could you please come here for a moment?"

"Huh? Me?" Ashe, who had been called out, immediately jogged over.

"Well, I need to ask you for a favor..." Chen Ce laid the Darkin Blade flat on the ground, "Shoot a few arrows at this sword and freeze it into an ice sculpture."

"Why...?"

"To ensure complete safety."

"Oh..." Ashe was a little confused, but she still obediently drew back the bowstring.

Several ice crystal arrows exploded on the sword in succession, and the extreme low temperature instantly froze the Darkin Blade into "Frostmourne".

Hmm... or rather, a giant popsicle.

Like the weapon of a certain troll king.

Trundle was ecstatic...

[You cunning mortal! One day, I will kill you!]

I will cut off your head, slice your body open, and shred your soul!

[And Rhaast! You will pay the price!]

[Warriors who imprisoned the gods, you are as guilty as the Aspect of Twilight! I will kill you! A thousand times wouldn't be enough!]

[You deserve to die!]

Aatrox's angry curses traveled along the blade, but Chen Ce was too lazy to pay them any attention.

"Stop yelling, stop yelling, or I'll put you and Rhaast together and make Rhaast relive your defeat to him 24 hours a day."

"..." Aatrox fell silent, a rare occurrence for him.

With Aatrox's threat eliminated, Sejuani immediately returned to find her fleeing tribesmen and prepared to discuss the relocation of the Winter's Claw with them—having offended the Lissandra, they certainly couldn't stay in the north until everything was settled.

Chen Ce and Ashe entered the dark dungeon of the Winter's Claw Tribe.

The battle just now did not destroy the "cage" buried deep underground, and the few Frost Priests imprisoned here are still alive.

Chen Ce needs to talk to them about the Lissandra... What exactly does that old woman, who has lived for thousands of years, want?

What is she plotting...?

"Mr. Chen Ce, why don't you put this... sword? Yes, this sword. Why don't you put this sword away?"

Ashe wanted to get closer to Chen Ce, but the dark red greatsword frozen into an ice sculpture made her uneasy.

Even setting aside the psychological aspect, the fact that the greatsword, several meters long, prevented her from getting close to Chen Ce was also a factor.

"Wouldn't it be tiring to carry that around all the time? It looks quite heavy..."

"I have to make sure Aatrox has no chance of getting a new body," Chen Ce explained. "If it's in Sejuani's storage... well, that's how I got Rhaast's scythe before."

"I see..." Ashe nodded, seemingly understanding.

"Better safe than sorry," Chen Ce said as he continued deeper into the dungeon.

Yes, caution is necessary—especially with an extremely dangerous being like Aatrox.

We can't be like the protagonists in some third-rate stories who knowingly leave something dangerous and important lying around, resulting in more people being infected or possessed, and then causing a whole host of avoidable trouble...

If you just leave the Darkin Blade in Sejuani's storage, who knows, some "black brother who is male but identifies as female and loves women and has suffered various forms of discrimination since childhood" might touch the Darkin Blade out of curiosity.

"I'll probably be carrying the Darkin Blade around until I find a suitable way to deal with it." Chen Ce tightened the greatsword around his back as much as possible, then strode into the depths of the dungeon.

Soon, he saw the few half-dead Frost Priests.

"We meet again."

Chen Ce stepped forward with a smile, as if mocking the other party's incompetence— the Frostguard wanted to kill him through Aatrox, but he survived.

He defeated the "Icefield Demon" that everyone feared.

"You..." As expected, the leading Frost Priests was astonished, his wide eyes seeming to express his bewilderment.

He had also heard the commotion on the ground.

A series of deafening roars... the earth shook... like an earthquake. He could even imagine the terrifying power of the Icefield Demon, which was no less destructive than the Lady of Ice and Darkness.

That power... how did the man before me survive...?

He didn't even seem to be injured... He could still stand here perfectly fine... His voice was so relaxed...

This is impossible...!

"You are... how did you survive... did you make some kind of deal with him...!"

"Aatrox isn't the kind of person who makes deals." Chen Ce shrugged. "As for why I survived... the answer is obvious—he tried to kill me, but he failed."

"Impossible... This is impossible...!" The Frost Priests still couldn't believe it.

Chen Ce was too lazy to explain any further.

He simply threw the giant ice sculpture on his back onto the ground.

"If you've seen Aatrox, you should recognize this sword."

"...!" The Frost Priests's eyes widened once again.

He stared intently at the dark red greatsword, which was so large it didn't seem like a human weapon, for a while.

Then she looked up at the other person—the young man... He still looked completely calm and collected...

The chains binding the Frost Priests's hands clanged as he pulled on them.

Chen Ce was a little confused about what he was trying to do.

Then, with a loud thud, several Frost Priests, enduring the excruciating pain in their wrists, collapsed to their knees.

"Honorable warrior... Lady of Ice and Darkness wishes to see you."

"Huh?" This sudden change caught Chen Ce off guard. "What did you call me just now...?"

"Honorable warrior, hero, ranger of the icy plains." The Frost Priests' tone became incredibly respectful, a stark contrast to their previous arrogance and disdain.