That "monster" stood over four meters tall. His skin was the gray-black of a corpse, yet as hard as steel—impervious to blades, arrows, water, and fire. In his right hand, he held a double-bladed battle-axe of equally absurd proportions, even longer than an average adult man was tall and wide enough to serve as a shield.
Despite his enormous size, he ran surprisingly fast—faster, in fact, than some inferior horses.
His extreme size gave him extreme strength. Every swing of his axe could easily cut down a row of Resistance Army soldiers, or crush people into pulp with a savage charge.
Anyone who dared stand in his way was mercilessly trampled.
Ranged attacks could keep you alive, but barely scratched him. His steel-hard skin could withstand even the strongest arrows; only the massive crossbows atop the city walls could drive their bolts into him.
Even then, they could do little real damage.
He was already dead. Why would he care about having a few more arrows stuck in him?
Besides... those massive crossbows on the walls couldn't fire at him many times.
He was obsessed with defensive fortifications. Whenever he saw a tall stone wall, he would charge into it like a madman. The moment he touched one of those immobile siege crossbows, it was smashed to pieces.
In the past day and night, he had already smashed through at least twenty walls.
He charged toward Placidium, the alchemical weapons strapped to his back enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
It was easy to imagine what would happen if he reached Placidium. Those alchemical weapons from Zaun would leave the entire city strewn with corpses and devastate everything in their path.
Even Irelia, leader of the Ionia Resistance Army, and Karma, the representative of Ionia's spiritual traditions, couldn't help feeling deeply wary of the terrifying monster.
"This isn't looking good..." Irelia furrowed her delicate brows, her unease growing stronger by the moment. "Because of what happened on Placidium Plains and in southern Wuju, I redeployed a lot of our troops there several days ago. We may not be able to hold them back now..."
After a brief pause, she pointed toward the poisonous cloud trailing behind Sion. "The Windswordsman isn't here, and those damn alchemical weapons will be difficult to deal with... We've fallen into a trap..."
"The monster is the main problem," Karma said softly. "The remaining Resistance Army fighters in Placidium are only enough to deal with that well-equipped, well-trained Noxian Legion. We'll have to handle the monster ourselves."
"Yes..." Irelia drew a deep breath and slowly raised both hands.
The countless fragments of blades behind her began to float as she lifted her hands, eventually forming a ring of sharp swords suspended around her.
Blade Mastery, the Xan House's legacy.
"We have to try."
"Mm." Karma closed her eyes, and dazzling energy from the Spirit Realm emerged around her.
A moment later, she imbued herself and Irelia with a sturdy magical shield. It might not be enough to fully withstand the alchemical weapons, but it would certainly be better than last time.
Ever since the Dragonspine Canyon incident, she had been studying that terrifying chemical fire in earnest, and had ultimately improved her magical shield.
The shield now offered slightly less protection against physical attacks than before, but it was more than twice as effective against poison gas and flames.
"Come on. Let's try to stop him first."
Irelia bent her knees slightly, then sprang forward with all her strength.
Her lithe body dropped from the high city wall. Just before she hit the ground, countless blade fragments caught her. She then charged toward the enormous monster, riding atop the blades.
With Karma's magic empowering her, she flew at tremendous speed. In just a few breaths, she had reached Sion.
He instinctively took her for another "insect," no different from the Resistance fighters he had already crushed. He didn't stop or attack, but simply kept charging.
Irelia gave a cold snort. The blades beneath her feet split apart in an instant, scattering into countless fragments that, at her command, slashed toward his enormous, hardened body.
Pfft, pfft, pfft—!
The blade fragments easily sliced through skin that arrows couldn't pierce. The sound of them cutting through flesh rang clear.
But not a drop of blood spilled.
Sion was a dead man, after all. A cruel warlord who had been dead for nearly a century.
The blades had wounded him, but those superficial injuries were insignificant against his massive body.
Seeing this, Irelia took to the air again and charged toward Sion once more.
At the same time, Karma prepared to attack. The Spirit Realm energy swirling around her reached its peak, and powerful magic gathered within the ring of jade stones behind her, glowing with brilliant green light.
The two attacks were unleashed almost simultaneously.
"Ionia, never surrender!"
"SaeEleisaTeraVi!"
The instant Irelia's blade fragments struck Sion, they spread out into a razor-sharp wall of blades. When he collided with it, the blades pierced his body and legs, shearing away great chunks of flesh.
Karma's Inner Flame struck Sion squarely as well. Its explosive energy even left a ring of soul-fire on the ground. She had once used this very attack to annihilate an entire Noxian warship in an instant.
The two devastating attacks kicked up clouds of dust. At last, the enormous figure seemed to stop.
The Resistance fighters on guard all let out hoarse cheers and cries at the sight.
But... Irelia and Karma, the two who had launched the attacks, still had their brows tightly furrowed and their expressions grave.
As the ones who had attacked him, they knew all too well...
That hadn't been enough to destroy Sion outright. It didn't feel right at all...
Sure enough, when the dust settled a moment later, a figure still standing came into view.
Even more horrifying... he was running again.
His battered body charged forward at full speed, looking even more terrifying than before and moving even faster.
On top of that... some of the alchemical weapons strapped to his back had been set off by the flames.
Now he was engulfed in chemical fire. Every step he took left a cloud of deadly poison gas in his wake...
Before, you could stay alive as long as you didn't stand in his way. Now, simply getting too close could kill you!
"War—!"
His terrifying roar shook the sky as his massive body charged straight for the city wall.
And behind that wall were countless Resistance fighters and innocent local residents.
Irelia and Karma knew they couldn't retreat.
Because behind them lay all of Ionia!
"Never falter—!" Karma cast her magical shield again.
Irelia recalled all her blade fragments and planted herself firmly in Sion's path.
The terrifying monster drew closer and closer, yet neither woman showed the slightest intention of dodging.
At last, the two sides collided head-on for the first time.
In an instant, the magical shield around Irelia shattered completely. The blade fragments circling her fell scattered to the ground, no longer able to attack the enemy like living companions.
A large mouthful of blood burst from her lips.
Karma fared somewhat better, but she could no longer stop Sion's advance. Her Inner Flame... couldn't deal its full damage to Sion, who had almost no consciousness and was practically a corpse. Its effect was minimal.
All they had achieved by sacrificing themselves was to make Sion pause for a moment.
Sion's left arm had been completely severed, and the knee of one leg had been bent all the way backward, yet he still charged toward the wall, only slightly slower than before.
The deadly poison gas began to spread, rolling over the wall and seeping through the gates.
Everyone fell into despair.
If even the Blade Dancer and Karma couldn't stop him, who could possibly hold back this terrifying monster...?
Irelia watched helplessly as Sion rushed past her, a sense of despair unlike anything she had ever felt rising in her heart.
She crawled after him, trying to grab his heel... even though she knew it was impossible.
"As long as I still draw breath... you won't hurt the people of Ionia..."
Her head grew heavier and her consciousness hazier. Like a muscle acting on instinct, she kept crawling toward the enormous figure receding into the distance.
Just before she finally ran out of strength, she suddenly saw a familiar figure.
He was standing right in front of her.
She gave a bitter smile.
Was this... a deathbed vision...?
I'm sorry, Chen Ce... I couldn't protect everyone...
Irelia's battered arm was about to fall, marking her complete defeat.
But another warm, broad hand caught her wrist just before it dropped.
"It's all right now." At the familiar voice, Irelia's heart jolted.
With the last of her strength, she raised her head. In the shadow cast by the light behind him, she saw that familiar face. She could make it out clearly—this wasn't an illusion.
"Sorry I'm late... You've been through enough. Leave the rest to me."
The spear and sword rang out at the same time.
The wind began to rise...
### Null ### Chapter 58: He's Got Zombies Too, Guys
Chen Ce had made it after all.
Sion was already very close to the city wall, but as long as he hadn't actually hit it, there was still a chance to turn things around.
"Ahri, take Irelia somewhere safe first."
As he took a Corrupting Potion from his bag and handed it to the fox girl beside him, Chen Ce headed toward the enormous figure, weapons in hand.
"Give Irelia the potion first. I'll owe you for today's pay. I'll pay you double next time."
"Oh~!" Ahri wasn't unreasonable. She knew what mattered most right now and what could wait, so she didn't haggle. She took the Corrupting Potion, picked up Irelia, and left at once.
With nothing left to worry about, Chen Ce quickened his pace. Gusts of wind even began to swirl around him.
With the wind's help, he was almost as fast as Irelia when she flew on her blades.
That was why he had managed to get here within a day.
In just a few breaths, he reached Sion before the latter could hit the city wall.
At under two meters tall, Chen Ce looked impossibly small beside Sion's towering frame of over four meters, like a child standing in front of the world's strongest weightlifter.
But the weapon in his hand was no toy for a child.
He raised Doran's Spear above his head and spun it rapidly, instantly taking up the stance for Counter Strike.
The long sword in his left hand wasn't just for show, either. Swift winds gathered along its edge, releasing sharp whistling sounds.
Of course, Sion, who had no reason left, couldn't understand any of this.
Nor did he think that an Ionian barely as tall as his axe could pose any threat.
"Death—!"
Sion charged forward without hesitation, intending to smash the man before him along with the city wall.
But he had clearly underestimated Chen Ce's strength.
Or rather... he had overestimated his own battered body.
The instant he collided with Chen Ce, fierce winds engulfed him. Blade-sharp gusts ripped his flesh open.
The parts Irelia and Karma had already wounded began to crumble beneath the cutting wind. Huge chunks of rotting flesh peeled from his bones, then were swept up by the gale and quickly ground into pulp within a whirlwind.
It was a literal "storm of blood and flesh."
Of course, Chen Ce wasn't unscathed after taking Sion's full charge. The tremendous force sent his "tiny" body flying, and violent pain pierced through his skin and into his organs.
But it wasn't enough to knock him out of the fight.
Sion had already been weakened by Irelia and Karma's attacks. Since Chen Ce had been prepared, taking the charge head-on only left him "in a lot of pain."
"Noxian puppet, there's no turret plating here for you to eat!"
The instant Chen Ce was flung up onto the city wall, he pushed off against it with both legs and hurled himself back.
At the same time, Doran's Spear in his hand spun at full speed.
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