Chapter 169
"Kindness can't be turned into power..." Ornn frowned and shook his head, his gaze sweeping over a desolate mountaintop.
This place was once bustling with activity... those Hearthblood who devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the art of forging... weren't they kind as well?
"But kindness can inspire humanity," Chen Ce said loudly again. "Driven by a burning desire to save lives, Braum devised a way to break through this door."
"What method?"
"He smashed all the rock walls around the gate."
"Hmm?" Ornn looked surprised.
"He heard the cry of a trapped child inside the treasure vault," Chen Ce explained. "But he couldn't break down the door. Unwilling to give up, he Riot Games through the stone wall and rescued the boy trapped inside. He tore the seemingly indestructible door panel off its hinges."
Ornn was stunned by these words: "It's... that simple...?"
"Yes." Chen Ce nodded slightly.
Ornn remained silent.
He suddenly felt like laughing, but that might ruin his dignified image.
At least... well, at least the door being breached wasn't due to a problem with his forging skills. The door was indeed unbreakable.
Thinking of this, Ornn's mood improved considerably, and he no longer cared about these mortals trespassing into his home.
"Hmm... you can go now, I need to continue forging my things..."
Its massive body turned and left, each step causing the entire mountain to sway gently.
The Darkin Blade, engraved with some words, lay on the ground like trash, and Ornn didn't even bother to glance at it.
With everything settled, Lissandra intended to leave—she needed to quickly throw the Darkin Blade into the Howling Abyss. Suppressing the Watchers was her primary task.
But Chen Ce did not leave with her.
"Wait a minute..." Chen Ce gestured for the three to calm down, then shouted at Ornn's towering figure, "Volibear has been defeated by Aatrox. He's critically injured and dying."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ornn paused in his tracks.
"Aatrox? You mean that annoying brat I just smashed into mincemeat?" he asked, his back to the crowd.
"Yes," Chen Ce replied.
"Hmm... his strength isn't great, but compared to Volibear, he's certainly formidable... evenly matched."
"It's still slightly better," Chen Ce corrected.
"Perhaps." Ornn shook his head, seemingly unmoved—not the reaction of an older brother hearing of his brother's murder.
But... Chen Ce knew that it was already a good thing he wasn't laughing.
The Volibear that great battle back then was already a sign of mercy—a sign of brotherly affection. If it weren't for their relationship, he would have torn Volibear in half and stuffed him into the boiler as firewood long ago.
But his decision not to kill Volibear doesn't mean he doesn't hate Volibear.
That foolish and reckless bear nearly killed all the Hearthblood, a wound that would forever remain in Ornn's heart.
He felt a little pleased when he heard that Volibear was going to die—or even that he was already dead.
He slowly turned around and took another look at the mortals in front of him.
Although Volibear wasn't something they solved, it was still closely related to them—which surprised him greatly.
Volibear... that damned creature turned the entire Freljord upside down tens of thousands of years ago, and even the Three Sisters, the leaders of humanity at the time, were helpless against it.
But now...
Ten thousand years later, humanity has actually defeated Volibear.
"You..." Ornn shifted his gaze to the three human women, a vague sense of familiarity creeping into his mind.
Especially that Frost Crystal Longbow, that silver spear, and that True Ice blindfold...
"Are you the Three Sisters of Freljord?"
Upon hearing this, Ashe and Sejuani stared at each other, unsure how to respond.
In contrast, Lissandra, one of the Three Sisters, appeared quite indifferent.
She stepped out from among the three with graceful steps, her demeanor and tone impeccably dignified. "Ashe and Sejuani are the reincarnations of Avarosa and Serylda, and I—I am Lissandra."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ashe and Sejuani both stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
They vaguely guessed that the suddenly appearing powerful woman was the Lissandra, and they had long heard that the Lissandra was Lissandra, one of the legendary Three Sisters, but...
Hearing her admit it herself was still quite shocking.
The legendary Lissandra has actually lived for tens of thousands of years...
Her lifespan is as long as this frozen soil...
"Reincarnation..." Ornn pondered the somewhat mystical-sounding word for a moment.
A moment later, he turned and left.
The group was once again puzzled—they couldn't fathom Ornn's thoughts at all.
Only Chen Ce, who was familiar with history and understood Ornn, smiled.
Ornn gradually moved away, his massive figure disappearing into the night sky, seemingly merging with the stars.
Only that deep voice lingered above the mountaintop:
"If the world needs a blacksmith with exceptional skills..."
Ornn knew something about the ancient horrors beneath the abyss.
Perhaps the other demigods know something as well.
They appeared almost simultaneously with the birth of Freljord, and knew a little about the calamity that occurred tens of thousands of years ago, so they could naturally sense the evil aura emanating from the abyss.
They could guess the danger those monsters posed to the world—very likely to be deadly.
Therefore, after seeing the "reincarnations of the Three Sisters," Ornn somewhat... "gave in."
He had seen the Three Sisters before. He saw the brilliance of humanity in them.
Perhaps they can solve problems that even demigods can't... even if it's just a minor remedy.
Of course, past tragedies and shadows cannot be completely erased with just a few words or a tiny possibility.
So he was just a little hesitant.
Chen Ce was well aware of this.
If we really have to confront the Void head-on in the future, the demigods of Freljord will be powerful allies, but we must not rush things.
We need to give it some time.
Therefore, Chen Ce did not linger on the volcano in Ornn, and left with the "New Three Sisters" that very night.
Their destination was clear— the Howling Abyss beside Lissandra's Frost Castle.
They rushed to the Howling Abyss with the Darkin Blade, working almost non-stop for several days.
Aatrox has remained completely silent for the past few days.
Even as Rhaast continued to provoke him, he remained silent.
Several days later, at dawn, the cold wind of the Howling Abyss swept over us.
"Aatrox, you won't blame me, will you?" Chen Ce looked at the dark red greatsword that had been True Ice and revealed a sunny smile.
As expected, Aatrox remained silent.
Chen Ce flipped the ice sculpture over again, and on the other side of the clean sword blade were several crooked characters engraved on it—there was no way around it, the Darkin Blade was too hard, it was very, very difficult to engrave words on it.
It says: I really want to be ______'s __ (heart pattern)~!
Cloze tests belong to the category of _____.
"Originally, I wanted to write it all in one sentence—like I said when I threatened you at the beginning. Don't blame me, you broke our agreement." Chen Ce laughed, "It's already good that I didn't finish writing it all—I need you to do something for me next."
[...] Aatrox still refused to speak. At this moment, he was truly heartbroken.
Even if that sentence wasn't fully engraved... those words...
If someone sees it...
Ah!
"I know what you're worried about," Chen Ce said again, "But don't worry, Brother Tuo, I will absolutely not let anyone see you... except us."
[Hahahaha! Aatrox, you've finally met your match!] Rhaast delivered the finishing blow, [You're no match for me! My scythe can carve words into your sword! I'm far superior to you!!]
[Shut up...!!] Aatrox spoke for the first time in days.
Although listening to the two Darkin arguing was quite amusing, Chen Ce wasn't really in the mood for entertainment right now.
The important matter comes first.
"I will send you somewhere, Togo." He dragged the Darkin Blade away from Rhaast's Darkin Scythe, walking step by step toward the bottomless Howling Abyss. "There, no one will see the words on your sword—because there is no one there."
[Damn mortal...! What do you want to do...?!]
Aatrox began to growl, like a heavily wounded but still proud lion.
But this is meaningless.
Chen Ce held the ice sculpture in his hands and walked to the edge of the Howling Abyss.
Lissandra stepped forward just in time, and the magic of True Ice began to flow.
At the last moment, Chen Ce smiled at Aatrox once again:
If we never see each other again, then good morning, good afternoon, and good night.
The True Ice began to melt, and the greatsword fell into the abyss.
[Mortal--!!]
Aatrox's furious roar faded into the distance, while ancient beings slumbered beneath the abyss...
It is gradually waking up.
Chapter Forty-Five: The Watchers? He'll never return!
Darkness, eternal darkness...
Cold, endless cold...
Depravity, endless depravity...
Like a breath drowning in a red tide, weak and painful...
This feeling was nothing new to Aatrox.
During the years he was cunningly sealed within the Darkin Blade by the Aspect of Twilight, this almost maddening feeling haunted him.
Ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years... the rise and fall of countless empires... the tormenting bronze bells tinkle in the long river of time...
It's a reminder of something... the cheers as people step onto the ascension altar... the glory of thousands worshipping...
The baptism of fire on the battlefield... blood and the desire to kill...
This shouldn't be happening...
It shouldn't be like this...
No...!
[Mortal...!!]
Aatrox roared in the darkness and cold, but his deep, hoarse voice could not penetrate the solid ice that encased him.
He watched helplessly as that damned mortal—that despicable, cunning mortal who was in league with Rhaast —threw him into the abyss.
Then, a layer of ice bloomed on the surface of the abyss, and he fell down along the exposed rocks, eventually landing on another layer of ice.
That damned mortal gave it only a disgusting look and then left. And there was another blind woman... she was manipulating those azure ice blocks, as repulsive as a cunning Aspect of Twilight.
They plunged him into endless darkness.
They threw a piece of rotten flesh into the abyss—it seemed to be from the Ursine. Foul, decaying, and wretched... like garbage given to scavengers.