Moving On

Though that was what he thought, for someone like Lito, business clearly came first.

He led the villagers in gathering the bodies of their dead. After seeing the bones in the pot, he personally killed the Noxian soldiers Shen had knocked unconscious.

He struck swiftly, and the villagers had no intention of stopping him, so the surviving Noxian soldiers were buried here forever.

The villagers buried their bodies in a patch of wilderness, apart from their families.

When they counted the dead, they discovered that half the young women in the village had been killed, and almost all the able-bodied men were gone. Only some women and elders remained, along with a few boys not yet grown.

This was something Li Ke couldn't fix, either.

He could certainly kill the Noxians, but he couldn't provide for hundreds of hungry mouths or clothe hundreds of people—not with what he could do right now.

Lito took the villagers away and brought them back to the town under his jurisdiction. Though Irelia was reluctant to leave, she had no choice but to go with her father.

They had known each other only briefly, but Li Ke's image was etched firmly in her mind. She had planned to exchange a token of friendship with him, but Lito kept too close a watch, and she never got the chance.

So Irelia couldn't even say goodbye to Li Ke before Lito took her away.

Shen watched the villagers leave the village, his whole body radiating a murderous aura. Hearing their cries, he felt his thoughts descend into chaos.

He had once believed that after the Golden Demon incident, he could ignore the tragedies of the mortal world and focus solely on maintaining the balance between the Spirit Realm and the Human Realm.

But the truth was, he couldn't.

Yet with his father's hopes and reputation weighing on him, the dutiful Shen couldn't even imagine what would happen if he didn't become a disciple of the Balance Order.

His mind in turmoil, he chose to change the subject.

Watching Li Ke see off the departing caravan, he pretended nothing was wrong and forced himself to tease him.

"If you'd invited Lito properly, I imagine you could've become his son-in-law."

Li Ke only smiled. He knew perfectly well why Lito had treated him so poorly: he had dragged Irelia into a conflict that had nothing to do with her.

No father could tolerate that.

So he didn't think Lito had done anything wrong.

"But more people would've died that way. If I hadn't known, that'd be one thing, but I did know. What else can you ask for in life but a clear conscience?"

Shen was taken aback. He knew Li Ke was trying to comfort him, but the duties of a disciple of the Balance Order forced him to say something he didn't believe.

"But there are still plenty of things in this world worth holding on to."

Li Ke only smiled faintly.

"Do you think I did something wrong?"

As he spoke, he picked up a Noxian longsword and ran his hand over Yone's sword in its sheath, letting out a helpless sigh.

Now he had no idea how he was going to explain this to Yone.

Yone had lent him the sword, but among swordsmen, lending a sword was like entrusting someone with your wife and children. He had broken the man's sword—it was as if he'd wrecked his wife.

And he'd promised Yasuo he would return Yone's sword once the mission was complete.

Worst of all, when Yone's sword broke, it had let out a mournful cry. That meant Yone had formed a bond with the magic within it.

In the language of immortal heroes, the sword had already developed a spirit...

That made things even worse.

But this wasn't the time to dwell on it. Surely Yone would forgive him once he heard what had happened.

Knowing Yone's character, even if he was heartbroken, he'd smile and forgive him, wouldn't he?

Li Ke thought it over and decided Yone would probably smile and forgive him.

After all, he was a good-natured man, the kind who was honest to a fault.

What a mess.

He touched the broken blade in his pack again. If he found a skilled smith, perhaps the sword could be repaired. The price, though, was another matter—it would certainly cost a fortune.

"No."

Shen answered Li Ke, never suspecting that while he thought Li Ke was worried about him, Li Ke was actually worrying about his own purse.

"Then don't dwell on it. More importantly, it's time we got going."

Li Ke sighed and picked up a few more Noxian longswords from the ground.

He had a feeling that as long as he needed the overwhelming attack power granted by Overdrive, he'd have to keep a large supply of swords on hand.

At least until he learned Weapon Mastery from the world of Arad, a skill specifically meant to reduce weapon durability loss, he could forget about saving money.

He tied the standard-issue Noxian longswords together with a rope and slung them over his back.

What he couldn't wrap his head around was that there were exactly five intact Noxian longswords he could use.

And considering how strong he was right now, all he could do was play support for Shen...

"So I've already grasped the true essence of swordsmanship? I'm a support who carries five swords on his back?"

Li Ke felt a little dizzy.

When he'd simulated the Arad Continent, he'd avoided the powers of waves, blood, and demons to play it safe. But that didn't mean he wanted to be a support carrying five swords and firing sword energy when he backstepped!

Being called a Sword God might sound nice, but his attack power was weak!

Swordsmanship had its limits!

"What nonsense are you spouting now? We need to get going."

Shen gave Li Ke an exasperated pat and led the horse over.

He hadn't taken any of the Noxians' weapons or equipment, since even his cheapest gear was better than anything lying on the ground.

Li Ke, on the other hand, had stripped every Noxian of their weapons to be safe. He'd even brought along a few spears, a shield, and a suit of leather armor.

"Also, what's with all that? Are you trying to disguise yourself as a hedgehog?"

Seeing how ridiculous Li Ke looked, Shen really wanted to tell him to stop, and that he'd buy him some decent gear when they reached the next town.

But after thinking it over, he decided Li Ke was a man with his own dignity. Offering him money like that would be insulting.

So he dismissed the idea.

But just as Shen had dismissed it, Li Ke suddenly sensed something. He grabbed Shen's hand as the man was about to drive the carriage.

"Wait, Shen. I think—I think someone just wanted to keep me. Give me a moment. I need to find that pretty rich girl."

Li Ke's instincts were sharp. He really had sensed it just now.

"...Like hell I'm helping you."

Shen suddenly felt that his father might have made a mistake by telling him to travel with Li Ke.