The Taiwan Server System

She was no longer a knight of the empire's glory. She was merely a collection of Noxian bones held together by mud and sinew.

"Riven." Chen Ce spoke her name in a low, gravelly voice.

There was no response.

"Riven." He called out again.

Still, nothing.

Ahri, standing to the side holding an umbrella, whispered a reminder: "Boss, you could actually get a little closer to shout."

"...Mind the atmosphere." Chen Ce's eye twitched as he slowly stepped forward.

He crouched down, less than half a meter from Riven.

Only then did he notice that her mental state was in dire straits—her face was a sickly, flushed red, her breathing was ragged, and she looked completely delirious.

Was she... sick?

"Riven, can you hear me?"

"Are you..." Finally, the exhausted knight responded: "A warrior of the Resistance... have you come as a ghost to seek your revenge..."

"A ghost?" Ahri was startled. "Boss, you're a ghost? No wonder this concubine couldn't charm you!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Chen Ce shooed the fox-girl away like a stray cat.

Then, to keep her out of the rain, he pulled her back.

"I'm no ghost, Riven. I'm alive, very much so—I came here specifically to find you regarding Elder Souma."

"Souma... Elder..." Riven shook her head with great effort, but her consciousness only grew more blurred. "He is dead... I heard the news... I am the one who killed him..."

"It seems you're still lucid enough." Chen Ce nodded. "Then stand up and come with me—as a war criminal or a prisoner."

"War criminal... prisoner... war criminal... prisoner..." Riven murmured the words repeatedly, her body swaying.

Thump. Finally, she collapsed face-first onto the ground.

Days of sleepless wandering without a drop of water had left her utterly drained, and the relentless thunderstorms of the wet season had battered her defenseless body until both her mind and flesh had completely broken down.

This period of her life was nothing short of a nightmare, a specter destined to haunt her forever, torturing her spirit and body in tandem.

She was bound to reach her breaking point eventually.

But she was not worthy of pity.

She did not deserve the mercy of any Ionian.

Including Chen Ce.

"Ahri, take her to Yasuo."

"Oh, right... Heave—ho!" Ahri struggled to hoist Riven up, then used her tails to scoop up the broken blade from the ground.

The trial of Riven was beginning ahead of schedule—far earlier than in the original timeline, yet Chen Ce felt no relief.

He had a premonition...

The Noxian offensive was also veering off its original course.

Chapter 33: Judging Riven

As a battle-hardened warrior who had scraped by between life and death since childhood, Riven's physical constitution far exceeded that of an ordinary person; generally, she would not succumb to something as trivial as a fever.

But this time, not only did she have a fever, it was severe.

Days of starvation and exposure to the elements had shattered a body already ravaged by chemical flames, and her temperature had spiked to forty degrees.

Yasuo and Yone stood silently by the bedside, watching the Noxian who was most likely the culprit behind Elder Souma's death, their eyes barely containing the urge to kill.

They would have loved to hack her to pieces right then and there, but they could not.

They even had to save her, to keep her from dying of this fever—a task that filled them with immense rage.

Fortunately, Chen Ce didn't need them to do anything other than guard the door.

"Sigh, there goes half a bottle of Corrupting Potion..."

Chen Ce took the uniquely shaped bottle from his pack and, under Ahri's envious gaze, poured the potion into Riven's mouth.

Before long, she stirred awake—a fever was hardly a major ailment, and half a bottle of Corrupting Potion was enough to restore her basic bodily functions.

Painful murmurs and delirious whispers began to rise, and the guilt-ridden knight finally opened her dark brown eyes.

Then, she saw the Ionian Resistance fighter who should have died in Dragonspine Canyon—a young man of similar age to her own.

"It's you..." She turned her head blankly toward the ceiling. "Did you save Irelia... that honorable leader of the Resistance..."

"Yes, she is fine, and she wasn't hurt at the time." Chen Ce replied calmly, though his tone carried a hint of coldness. "Thank you for your concern, but now is perhaps not the time for that."

"You've come to judge me... haven't you..."

"Before I judge you, there is someone else who must pass judgment."

"Who..."

"Yasuo."

"I don't know..."

"Elder Yasuo's disciple. The disciple of the elder you murdered."

"..." Hearing this, Riven suddenly fell silent.

She shook her head in agony, trying to recall something, but a terrible, sharp pain blocked her.

Perhaps she was suffering from partial amnesia.

But that didn't matter; if she couldn't remember, others would help her recall.

Yasuo walked over with heavy steps, his breathing becoming rapid and ragged. He gripped the longsword at his waist tightly, wanting more than once to tear the Noxian before him into pieces.

Yet, in the end, he held back.

He drew his blade in front of Riven, then used the swordsmanship Elder Yasuo had taught him to conjure a small, swirling cyclone.

"Do you remember this wind? It was that night! The wind the Elder used when he shattered your damned greatsword for you!"

"..." Riven remained silent, but a flicker of life suddenly appeared in her dull eyes.

Painful memories flooded in like a tide, along with the betrayal of her homeland... Yes, she remembered everything; it was only her subconscious trying to protect her, burying that agonizing memory away.

The moment she saw the Way of the Wanderer, she remembered it all.

About her wanderings during these days, about everything that happened that night... She hadn't known it at the time, but when she returned to this village, she heard the news of the old man's death...

It was she who had killed that venerable elder.

"I... I didn't mean to... I asked him to help me break my greatsword... I never intended to harm him... I didn't mean to... I didn't..."

Riven clutched her head, an expression of extreme agony crossing her face.

Yasuo watched this scene, his inner rage intensifying.

But just as he was about to bark, "Stop the act," Riven suddenly stopped.

She no longer appeared to be in pain, simply placing her hand against her chest with a calm expression. She had suddenly become very quiet.

A moment later, she said in a tranquil tone, "Kill me."

"Kill you? You admit it, don't you!" Yasuo could no longer suppress the fury in his heart, his longsword pressing against Riven's throat in an instant. "You killed Elder Yasuo! You!!"

"Yes... kill me." The latter remained calm. "Avenge your master, and avenge the Ionians I have harmed."

Hearing this, the hand Yasuo used to hold his sword trembled.

But... he did not strike for a long time.

The more composed Riven appeared, the angrier he became, and the less he could bring himself to do it—not out of pity, but out of...

Resentment.

Killing her outright would never allow her to receive the punishment she deserved.

She should die in extreme agony and resentment, in endless suffering and struggle... not so easily!

"Get up! You Noxian scum!" Yasuo grabbed her by the collar, dragging her roughly from the bed.

But the look in her eyes remained calm.

Or rather... hopeless.

That gaze, devoid of any desire to live, made Yasuo even more agitated.

"What's wrong? Do you feel that killing me directly is letting me off too easily?" Riven said calmly. "Then torture me slowly... cut my flesh off piece by piece, or carve me into a limbless trunk before killing me—do as you please."

"You beast!!" Yasuo roared, and the longsword in his hand finally descended.

Pfft—! The sound of a blade piercing flesh was clearly audible.

But... Riven only frowned slightly.

Because the blade had not pierced her throat, but merely her shoulder.

As the blood gushed out, Yasuo finally calmed down a fraction.

"Yes, that's right... I won't kill you so easily..." He glared viciously into her eyes. "I will take you to trial first, let the magistrate decide your crimes... and then I will kill you!"

"If that makes you feel any better... please do." Riven simply closed her eyes.

Yasuo nearly ground his back teeth to dust.

Yone didn't waste words, intending to take Riven to face the judgment of the people immediately.

The two swordsman brothers hoisted Riven up, one on each side, already calculating the testimony they would present to the magistrate during the trial.

But the moment they stepped out of the room, a sudden change occurred.

A sharp arrow struck out of nowhere.

Yasuo was quick-witted; in the blink of an eye, he drew the sword he had just sheathed and split the incoming arrow in two with a swift, unsheathing strike.

However, before he could even grasp the situation, dozens more arrows flew from the jungle, each aimed at their vitals.

Clang, clang, clang, clang—! The sound of blades deflecting arrows became dense and rapid.

Yasuo and Yone were left completely bewildered as they defended themselves.

Only Chen Ce, standing to the side, saw the situation with perfect clarity:

"As I thought, they've come... those Noxians are targeting you, Yasuo."

More and more arrows whistled from the shadows. Yasuo and Yone, the two swordsmen, parried with all their might; though they moved with ease, the confusion in their hearts grew ever deeper.

They could not understand why the Noxians would suddenly choose to attack their village.

What could a tiny village of only a few dozen households, possessing nothing but their swordsmanship, possibly have that was worth a Noxian assault?

"You said... 'as you thought'? You knew all along that these Noxians would attack here?" Yasuo asked Chen Ce while deflecting a volley of incoming arrows.

"Not exactly predicted, more like guessed," the latter replied. "They want your life, Yasuo."

"Why?"

"Because your Way of the Wanderer can counter their new chemical weapons—the very same carnage you witnessed back at Dragonspine Canyon."

As he spoke, Chen Ce slowly unslung the Doran's Spear from his back.

Compared to the others, he appeared remarkably calm.

Yes, he had a premonition... ever since he was ambushed by Samira, he had sensed that an attack would come once he reunited with Yasuo.

Therefore, he was not entirely unprepared.

The letters he wrote that day were not just one.

The other was sent to the Placidium—informing Irelia of his ambush and the possibility that Noxus might be targeting Yasuo.

If all went according to plan, Irelia would have dispatched troops to this village immediately upon receiving that letter—it would just take a little time.

The Placidium was too far away, and besides, not all soldiers possessed extraordinary constitutions like theirs, capable of traveling day and night for several days on end; the time required to reach this place was not short.