Solving the Problem

"You bastards!"

The broken Noxian was laughable, sounding like a mix of Piltover accents; the officer assumed the speaker must have learned the language from Piltover merchants.

But he didn't care about that now. He only cared why the soldiers he had sent out were silent.

By all accounts, those Ionians should have been screaming by now...

Before he could issue an order, he saw Li Ke pick up a broken spear from the ground and hurl it at him.

"Die!"

Li Ke's ferocious expression was as if he were looking at the man who killed his father, and the thrown spear let out a shrill, bone-chilling whistle.

He didn't try to block it with his shield. The moment his personal guard raised a shield to intercept, the officer relied on his own sense of danger to quickly roll out of the way.

The result was as he expected; his guard stared in disbelief at the spear protruding from his chest, having punched clean through the iron-reinforced shield.

Idiots. Is the attack of an Ionian warrior really so easy to catch?

Cursing his guard, the officer stood up and pulled a pure metal shield from the side to block his front.

Against these warriors, only heavy metal armor and shields forged of solid metal could stand a chance.

Unfortunately, even in Noxus, soldiers capable of wearing such heavy armor while wielding such heavy shields were few and far between.

Knowing Li Ke was making a desperate last stand, the officer, who intended to fight to the death before his subordinates brought the villagers over, had no intention of cowering in defense.

While that might have reduced casualties, he would be mocked as a coward. He wanted to be a cunning yet brave general; he could not afford a reputation for timidity.

In Noxus, there were almost no commanders who didn't charge into the fray!

"Everyone! Advance! Give this guy no room to dodge!"

He picked up his axe, stood at the front of the formation, and marched toward Li Ke.

The spear formation was responsible for suppressing Li Ke, while he would use his axe to entangle Li Ke's weapon or body when he got close, then hack off his head or let the others stab him to death.

Yet, the fact that his other troops hadn't made a sound still weighed heavily on his mind.

But it didn't matter. Kill Li Ke first, and there would be time to solve that problem later!

"This is trouble..."

Li Ke watched the encroaching spear formation, his expression growing increasingly grave. He released his scabbard and picked up an intact spear instead.

Blades were fine, but in this situation, spears and polearms were undoubtedly more useful.

Infusing his energy into the spear, Li Ke slowly gathered his strength, preparing to throw it to pierce one man while charging into the formation, or perhaps to snap a few spear shafts.

That would give him a chance.

But if he couldn't...

Li Ke silently touched the longsword wrapped in black cloth at his side.

Then he wouldn't blame himself for using his "pay-to-win" weapon.

After all, he had intended to interact with them as a normal player, but if it truly came to that, he would have to stop pretending.

Shen is moving too slowly. Does he really have to wait until I'm nearly dead to break his vows?

Glancing at the silent room, Li Ke sighed softly. It wasn't that he couldn't take these dozen men down alone, but the cost would be high.

He would end up with at least two holes in his body and a dozen scars.

And that would hurt like hell.

"But who said a real man must do what he must, and leave undone what he must not?"

Since he had seen it, and since he was passing by, how could he just ignore it?!

His gaze, sharp from the very beginning, locked onto a Noxian soldier who had instinctively stepped back, and Li Ke's body moved in an instant.

The spear in his hand, infused with the majority of his recovered Qi, was hurled toward the man's chest without hesitation.

The spear streaked like lightning, instantly piercing the iron-plated shield and carrying the young man down to the ground.

The spear formation fell into disarray, and Li Ke once again erupted with the Qi in his body, turning into a phantom as he charged into the enemy ranks.

"Thrust!"

But for a spear formation, changing position only required moving their arms. Even though Li Ke did his best to alter his trajectory, a dozen spears still stabbed toward his body.

The sharp spearheads were barbed; if even a bit of skin was pierced or his clothes snagged, he would lose his balance, fall, and be stabbed to death by these men.

Li Ke dared not be careless. He exploded with speed again, his blade slashing diagonally to snap two spearheads, then he dodged sideways to avoid the first wave of attacks. However, his body tilted, and had he not braced himself against the ground with his hand, he would have fallen.

But a flash of light appeared before Li Ke's eyes—it was the tip of his blade.

Right. Because the battles I've encountered have been too overpowered, Yone's blade is still...

Broken.

However, the officer wielding the giant axe charged over behind his shield, his axe swinging down violently toward Li Ke's head as he tried to shift his momentum.

Normally, a person wouldn't be able to change direction again, and this was exactly what the officer had been waiting for.

But Lito, who had arrived long ago and watched his daughter and Shen go to rescue the villagers under Li Ke's command, roared and struck out as well.

A flash of sword light erupted from his side, lunging toward the body of the axe-wielding Noxian.

"Hmph! Is this how Souma taught you? Are you helpless when faced with a formation like this, Yasuo!"

But at that very moment, Li Ke's final burst of energy exploded outward. He slammed his palm against the ground, and his entire body launched forward once again.

The long blade in his hand trembled as he slammed into the Noxian commander's chest like a cannonball. The vibrating tip of the blade punched clean through the man's body; the pure iron shield and armor the enemy had placed such high hopes in were pierced with ease by Li Ke's Overdrive-enhanced sword.

The enemy had been waiting for Li Ke to lose his momentum and become unable to fight, but had Li Ke not been waiting for their commander to grow greedy and overextend?

"Damn you..."

Broken Ionian spilled from the Noxian's lips. He stared at Li Ke with bitter resentment, never imagining that someone could unleash such power again from such an impossible angle, nor that a blade with its tip already shattered could still kill a man.

He had guessed that Li Ke had a trump card, but he never expected Li Ke to be capable of killing him.

However, something even more shocking occurred.

A stream of fluent Noxian reached his ears.

"The one who is damned is you, trash."

This man... his heart is so filthy!

That was the commander's final thought.