The Taiwan Server System in the League

The old woman to the side stared, stunned: "You... you..."

"I am terrifying, am I not?" Riven shook her head in dejection, her powerful aura unable to mask her despondent desire for death. "You should go. I will not harm you..."

"No, that is not what I meant..." The old woman shook her head, then pointed to the wound on the other's arm. "Your wound has reopened. You need it bandaged, child."

"Hm?" Riven was taken aback.

The old woman had already produced strips of cloth from the small bag she carried.

"This is fabric I use for making clothes... you will have to make do with this for now, child."

"..." Riven stood stiffly in place, feeling the rough texture against her arm.

And... a long-lost warmth.

"I... I am a Noxian..." she repeated.

"I know. You already said that," the old woman replied.

"I have harmed this land... I have killed many people..."

"I know, I know it all... but you have changed for the better, have you not?" The old woman sighed. "Do not say any more. Come with us first. You wounded those Noxians; they will not let you go."

"..." Riven remained silent, her body still rigid.

She did not even know when she had begun following the old woman away.

But... at this very moment, she truly felt something different.

Something... she seemed to have never possessed before... a wondrous sensation... one that brought peace to her heart...

Chen Ce watched as Riven followed the old woman away—or rather, as she protected her.

A ruthless executioner who, not long ago, only obeyed Noxian orders like an imperial killing machine, had suddenly "attained enlightenment," choosing to protect those she had once harmed. Such a drastic transformation seemed abrupt.

But Chen Ce knew that a certain logic lay hidden beneath this abruptness.

He recognized the old woman—Shava Konde, a woman of simple nature, supreme sincerity, and kindness.

In the original timeline, it was she who took in the amnesiac Riven, treating her with deep love and sincerity, and regarding Riven as her own daughter—even though she knew Riven was a Noxian the moment she first saw her.

Grandma Shava's children had all died in the war. She hated the war, and she hated the invaders, but in the end, she chose to forgive.

She understood that endless hatred would only lead to more deaths, cause more parents to lose their children, and stain this beautiful land with more blood... She chose to forgive. To forgive every enemy who turned over a new leaf.

This forgiveness was not a sign of weakness.

She remained brave in her resistance and always supported the Resistance Army fighting on the front lines, wanting to drive every last invader out of Ionia.

Her forgiveness was, in truth, also a way of forgiving herself.

It was a form of mutual salvation.

Eternal hatred only brings eternal bloodshed and death; someone must always be the first to choose forgiveness.

And she, Shava Konde, was the great person who bravely took that step.

Chen Ce respected her will.

Of course, this did not mean that Chen Ce would replace everyone else in forgiving Riven just because she had.

The trials that needed to be held would still be held, and the punishments that were due would still be meted out—whether by this village or the Resistance Army; whether it was a life sentence or the death penalty.

It was just...

Perhaps she could find her own path to salvation.

Starting by protecting this village.

To save others is also to save oneself.

Chapter 36: One Man Guards the Pass, Ten Thousand Cannot Open It

This small village of only a hundred or so people had held out against the siege of over a thousand Noxian soldiers.

One could only say that it was worthy of being the village that nurtured the three legendary swordsmen: Elder Yasuo, Yasuo, and Yone. Its martial foundation was incredibly deep.

While one could not say every person was a swordsman or that the entire population was militarized, at least one or two capable fighters could step out from every household. The average combat power of the village was terrifyingly high, even rivaling some elite squads of the Placidium Resistance Army.

But... the situation remained grim.

The number of people on the Noxian side was simply too great.

Even if the swordsmen had superior individual combat strength, they could not each take on a hundred. Under the absolute disadvantage in numbers, they soon began to show signs of fatigue.

Fighting from dusk until deep into the night, many swordsmen had already fallen under the blades and axes of the Noxians.

Even Yasuo and Yone were gradually struggling to keep up the slaughter, falling into encirclements several times and nearly being killed.

Now, the only ones with the strength to continue fighting were likely Chen Ce, Ahri, and...

The Exile Blade, Riven.

"Let me lend you a hand."

The burning houses illuminated the silver-haired woman's calm face, reflecting the serenity in her eyes.

Perhaps she had already found her path—a path leading to self-redemption and the salvation of others.

This road is paved with thorns; it is not an easy path, and one could lose their life at any moment, but she has no regrets.

"Have the women and children in the village been settled?" Chen Ce did not ask why the other party wanted to help him fight against the Noxians—the answers to some questions are already obvious.

"Yes, they have been evacuated safely."

Riven walked over slowly, her broken greatsword dragging along the ground, emitting a harsh, grating screech.

She stopped beside Chen Ce and faced the hundreds of Noxian soldiers in the darkness ahead—those who were once her comrades-in-arms.

"I will help you drive them back... please trust me just this once."

"Do not beg for my trust with words; use your actions instead." Chen Ce shook his head and looked at the bandage on her right shoulder—the spot previously pierced by Yone's longsword. "Did Grandma Shawa bandage that for you?"

"Yes." Riven nodded, a softness finally appearing in her eyes that had almost never been there before. "She is a very gentle person..."

"Then I hope you do not betray that gentleness."

"That goes without saying."

"You go first, or shall I?"

"I'll take this side."

Riven took a deep breath, and the runic energy within her broken sword erupted once more, coating her weary, weakened body in a hard energy shield.

Countless flaming arrows rained down, but she did not even dodge; the arrows only stirred up ripples of green light upon striking her shield.

Then, she unfastened the cloth bag on her back.

Many glowing metal fragments rose from the bag and flew toward Riven. The shards hovered in front of the broken blade, nearly forming a complete greatsword—though large gaps remained between the pieces.

The blade is reforged, the knight is no more.

"Hah—!"

Riven lunged forward, swinging her sword at the empty air.

The runic energy contained within the greatsword erupted in its entirety, tearing a rift through the night with peerless power. A fierce gale, like invisible blades, struck the charging Noxian soldiers.

Boom—! Rocks shattered, blades were pulverized, and countless Noxians were sent flying into the air like kites with severed strings, only to crash heavily to the ground and lose consciousness instantly.

"Leave this side to me." Riven stood directly at the village entrance. "The rest is up to you."

"No problem." Chen Ce nodded and looked toward the Noxian legion pouring in from the other direction—there were more of them there, but fewer members of the black mage squad.

This suited him perfectly.

With Riven holding the line here, he could charge into that fray without any reservations.

"To charge into the formation, there is no life, only death!"

Man and spear plunged into the crowd once more, and in an instant, several more men were hoisted into the air by his spear.

But at the same time, several swordsmen were surrounded and eventually fell under a flurry of blades.

This war, destined to be fought by the few against the many, was exceptionally brutal.

As time ticked by, the casualties grew increasingly severe.

The bright moonlight shone upon the ground, illuminating a sea of corpses that stretched as far as the eye could see, and reflecting the blood flowing through the fields and trenches.

Riven's side was also beginning to falter, but fortunately, Yasuo, Yone, and Ahri arrived in time to provide support, barely managing to hold the line.

But Chen Ce was truly fighting alone—he had originally thought he could handle it himself, so he had sent everyone else to reinforce Riven.

Yet he had not expected... the enemies were endless.

Kill ten, and twenty more would take their place.

He had underestimated Emystan's resolve—that damned woman had likely pulled every soldier in the vicinity to this spot.

This was not a probing attack, and Emystan did not have a shred of complacency.

She was determined to annihilate this village before the Placidium Resistance Army could arrive as reinforcements.

For this, no amount of sacrifice mattered.

She was cruel, but she was not stupid... she would not underestimate her enemy, nor would she be arrogant. Once a decision was made, she would go all out to maximize the probability of success.

Gradually, Chen Ce began to falter as well.

His Corrupting Potion was running low, and the dark, dense crowd showed no end, no matter how many he killed.

The black mage squad's attacks were becoming more frequent, and even using Counter Strike could not fully block the magical damage...

By the time the moon hung high overhead, Chen Ce's body was covered in wounds.

His mana was bottoming out, and his stamina was fading; if he kept fighting, he would surely be surrounded and killed.

But he did not give up.

At this critical juncture, looking at the last drop of Corrupting Potion in his hand, a plan to retreat was born.

While killing the few Noxian soldiers in front of him, he secretly drank the final dose of the potion.

Before long, his mana and vitality recovered slightly.

He charged back into the fray, uncaring of the wounds he sustained, fighting with the most brutal methods possible—every Noxian he killed met a gruesome end; either their hearts were ripped out, or their heads or necks were pierced through, leaving almost none of them in one piece.

"Again!" Chen Ce slammed his long spear into the ground and began his Meditation right in front of hundreds of Noxus soldiers.

In the span of a single breath, most of his wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye—the dual restorative effects of Meditation and a Corrupting Potion.

This eerie sight struck fear into many of the Noxus soldiers.

But their commander shouted from the back, "He is at the end of his rope! Do not be intimidated by him!"

Hearing this, Chen Ce chuckled, reached out to pull his spear from the ground, and hurled it straight at the Noxus commander.

The moment the spear took flight, he launched into a sprint.

He snatched a weapon from a nearby soldier and activated Counter Strike, charging headlong into the crowd; the skill, which ignored the vast majority of physical attacks, allowed him to move as if through empty space.

Thwip! The spear pierced the commander's chest just as Chen Ce arrived before him.

He gripped the shaft and flicked it upward with force, sending a still-beating heart flying into the night sky, while the gushing blood splattered all over him.

"Even if I am outnumbered, taking your head is as easy as turning over my hand!"

"Who else fears death? Come! Fight me again!"

"I can battle you until the break of dawn!"

"Your blood shall be my supply!"

His thunderous roars echoed across the entire battlefield, causing those Noxus soldiers who had previously hoped to "steal the kill" to suddenly lose their nerve.

This man... he wasn't exhausted at all.

How could his stamina be bottomless? How could he be such a monster?

Could it be... that he truly feeds on human flesh and blood to replenish his strength?

Facing a force of hundreds, the morale of the Noxus soldiers had plummeted to nothing.