Chapter 163
Seeing this, Chen Ce already knew the answer in his heart—this battle would be a foregone conclusion.
After Rhaast withstands Volibear's lightning strike, he will be in a prolonged "staggered" state. Without Lissandra's resurrection, he would definitely be instantly killed by Volibear. However, Aatrox can withstand the attack directly and recover quickly...
With such a disparity in skill, coupled with the numerous mobile fountains scattered across the ground, it was practically a foregone conclusion that he would defeat Volibear.
"That's... Darkin?" A slightly cold voice rang in my ears, accompanied by a deep sense of doubt.
Chen Ce turned around and saw Lissandra frowning in surprise.
"Yes, the Darkin," Chen Ce replied, "Aatrox, formerly known as the 'Icefield Demon'."
"Is he really that strong?" Lissandra still couldn't quite believe it.
"Yes, Aatrox is that strong." Chen Ce's tone was very frank.
"..." Lissandra remained silent, pursing her lips.
What she sensed was truly beyond her comprehension...
As one of the most primitive humans, although she had never fought against the Ascended or the Darkin, she still had some understanding of them.
In her mind, the strength of the Darkin was probably... slightly weaker than her—at most, they were evenly matched, but far inferior to someone like Volibear. It would take at least four or five Darkin working together to possibly defeat Volibear.
But what's happening now...
She truly didn't underestimate the Darkin; that's a very objective assessment.
She had read the lost historical records of the Shuriman Empire and learned about the Sun Disc from the dreams of the southerners; she could not possibly have misjudged the power of the Darkin...
But why... why...
This power...?
Even compared to...
"So how did you defeat him?" Lissandra asked again in an incredulous tone.
"That's a long story..." Chen Ce explained while trying his best to suppress Rhaast, who wanted to seize control of the body and activate the Book of Time. "You can think of it as... using a scheme."
What was the outcome of a direct confrontation with him?
"No chance of winning. An absolute crushing defeat."
"Could you replicate your plan once more?"
"Well..." Chen Ce glanced again at Aatrox was moving so fast he was like a blur—paying special attention to the position of his arms.
That's a little different from before.
"To be honest, it's unlikely."
"That sounds bad..." The wise Lissandra realized the seriousness of the situation.
They were already struggling to deal with Volibear in his "evolved state," and now Volibear 've added an even more powerful enemy demon...
There is absolutely no chance of winning.
Truly, there's absolutely no chance of winning...
"I should have gone to investigate the strength of the Icefield Demon myself sooner," Lissandra sighed after a long absence. "It's my fault... Now the situation is dire."
"You're right." Beneath Chen Ce's calm surface lay a deep sense of helplessness.
Aatrox is still fighting over there.
Unable to use Berserk Thunder continuously, Volibear gradually fell into a disadvantageous position. Its rapidly depleting stamina could no longer sustain it against such a powerful enemy. In contrast, Aatrox, while not lacking in stamina, seemed to be growing stronger with each battle.
The numerous mobile springs provided an inexhaustible source of physical strength and power.
The scales of victory tipped rapidly, and the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.
Aatrox knocked Volibear down again, and then truly pounded him to the ground.
After being thoroughly beaten, Volibear had absolutely no hope of turning the tide.
That enormous body was almost chopped to pieces.
One after another, chunks of meat larger than houses were being shaved off the bones by Aatrox, making it look like a professional butcher dismembering today's dinner.
Such a horrifying sight sent chills down everyone's spines.
Lissandra knew about Volibear being brutally beaten by his older brother Ornn ten thousand years ago, but even Ornn couldn't have beaten Volibear this badly back then...
In that battle between brothers, Ornn burned half of Volibear's face, while Aatrox sliced off all the flesh from Volibear's body...
Ten thousand years later, she experienced that deep sense of helplessness once again.
Faced with such an absolute disparity in power... there's no other Yetis to offer as a sacrifice...
"He's even more brutal than those monsters..." Lissandra couldn't help but let out a sigh that was clearly tinged with negative emotion.
Chen Ce, standing nearby, suddenly asked with interest, "The monster you're talking about... is it a monster from the abyss?"
"So you did know..." Lissandra recalled the information a Frost Priests had reported to her. She was puzzled, but now was clearly not the time to dwell on such matters. "Yes... those one-eyed monsters..."
"Watchers, is that it?"
You know the answer.
"Hmm..." Chen Ce nodded.
A moment later, he suddenly gave the beautiful "nun" an evil smile.
"I have a bold idea..."
Chapter 40 Lissandra: Nantong, right? (This last part is a bit annoying.)
Chen Ce knew some secrets about Freljord.
It is a history filled with sin, deception, bloodshed, and betrayal, which some people have deliberately buried deep beneath the ice.
If you were to ask some of the elders of the Frostguard, or historians and similar figures, they would all answer in unison:
May the Three Sisters forgive you.
Forgiveness means forgiving all those who know about that history.
Because...
Anyone who knows the truth will be hunted down by Lissandra, one of the Three Sisters.
Many people know that Lissandra's lifespan is as long as eternity, but few know which period of history her existence originated from.
And just as the Frostguard historian "prayed," Lissandra was indeed one of the Three Sisters —she once led the frozen land of Freljord alongside Avarosa and Serylda.
Unlike Ashe and Sejuani, she is neither the "reincarnation of one of the Three Sisters" as rumored, nor did she inherit any of the Three Sisters' legacy. She is simply one of the Three Sisters in their true, original form.
She has lived from that terrible, barbaric era to the present day—a period of time that spans more than ten thousand years.
She was one of the first humans born on this land, and she may very well be one of the "last humans"—her lifespan is virtually endless.
In a sense, she is no longer even human.
Her physical abilities, magical reserves, knowledge capacity, and everything else far exceeded the scope of humanity.
She could even create countless treasures that people cherished with a mere wave of her hand— True Ice.
Her strength lies in True Ice.
And the source of her power is True Ice.
It all stemmed from a deception, a betrayal, that happened millions of years ago...
At that time, she had not yet mastered the power of the True Ice, and her mortal body was utterly insignificant in the face of the brutal and bloodthirsty Volibear.
Including her two other close friends.
Avarosa and Serylda advocated using cunning to overthrow Volibear's negative influence on humanity, while she hoped to defeat Volibear with equally powerful strength.
Then she felt some kind of strange calling.
It originated from underground... then it became a faint sound...
She couldn't understand those strange "languages," but one thing she was absolutely certain of.
That is the desire for power.
She sensed it; that eerie being possessed boundless power... and it—or they—were willing to bestow upon her this power, which mortals could never attain.
Starting from a night filled with delirious ramblings, Lissandra, one of the Three Sisters, transformed into another form of Lissandra.
She is no longer the Lissandra she once was.
She frantically absorbed powerful energy from another world, becoming fascinated by every strange and peculiar spell... She willingly offered everything to the "gods" beneath the earth.
At that time, she did not know that those beings were not the creator.
Rather, it is the World Ender.
Over the next few years, she was constantly brainwashed by those powerful beings, and eventually even tried to persuade her two best friends to also dedicate everything to the endless power.
However, the lucid Avarosa and Serylda instantly saw through the tricks of those terrifying beings.
They bluntly told Lissandra to her face that magic was nothing but petty gains, a poisonous apple that the devil Inducement humanity into depravity... Lissandra, enraged by the accusations, became furious.
So she pretended to promise her two best friends that she would never have anything to do with those terrible beings again.
Then, after several more years of peace, he chose to betray.
She connected two worlds through a grand ceremony... At the behest of those terrifying beings, she opened the gates to destruction...
The monsters have descended.
The leader was as vast as a mountain range, yet as twisted as rotting wood... It was filled with evil, and every thought it had was hatred for all living things...
It wasn't until that moment that Lissandra realized the enormity of her mistake.
She realized she had to end it all herself—she had to make amends for her mistakes at all costs.
In the end, she succeeded.
Those terrifying monsters were forever frozen in the passage between the two worlds, trapped in an endless, peaceful dream.
Her sisters, Avarosa and Serylda, who were once as close as sisters to her, also closed their eyes forever in resentment.
The Three Sisters broke apart until their very last breath.
The heroes who upheld their beliefs are gone, while the despicable traitors live on forever.
This is Lissandra's eternal pain.
She vowed to dedicate her endless lifespan to protecting those terrible evil spirits, ensuring they would never open their eyes again...
Those otherworldly beings known as the Watchers.
She succeeded over the previous tens of thousands of years.
But now, she has to confront this harsh problem again...
The Watchers is gradually awakening, and she no longer has the means to deal with Watchers —she once sacrificed the entire Yetis in a despicable way to seal the passage between the two worlds. Now she is helpless...
Chen Ce was well aware of all of this.
"They're about to wake up, aren't they?"
High in the mountains, far from the main battlefield, Chen Ce softly asked the woman beside him:
"Even the most powerful elemental forces are far from enough. The frozen monsters are merely slumbering; they are gradually corrupting the surrounding True Ice, transforming it into something darker... is that right?"
These words made Lissandra frown instinctively.
Is this one question? Or two? She doesn't know how the other person knew, but none of this is undeniable...
She continued to sense the battle between the Icefield Demon and the Freljord "Volibear," each terrifying shockwave leaving her feeling utterly powerless.
"You've tacitly agreed," Chen Ce continued. "That long-buried history sometimes resurfaces in the shadows... whispers of fear. You can bury history, but you can't erase the truth."
"And then, what do you want to say?" Lissandra's tone was icy, but beneath her haughty demeanor lay a hint of panic—she hadn't been called out to her face in countless years.
This made her feel very bad.
That overwhelming regret and shame... made her fair face turn even paler.
"What I'm trying to say is..." Chen Ce maintained his smile and said in a friendly tone, "In that case, wouldn't it be wonderful to let Aatrox fight that monster that's about to awaken?"
"...?"