The Battle in the Dense Forest

"Short sword... How does that look anything like a sword? It looks like a gun to me."

Shen lowered the pistol. He could tell these weapons were the same kind as the firearms used by pirates and the people of Piltover.

But he had never seen such a finely made gun.

It was forged from steel, for one thing, and every part fit together perfectly. There were no strange gears or visible rivets. Most importantly, it gave off no energy at all, and there was no smell of gunpowder... It was all very novel to him.

Most people in Piltover used energy guns, which weren't all that different from magic. If they didn't use those, they carried large-caliber pistols that fired lead bullets.

The pirates of Bilgewater still used lead bullets, too, so the larger the pistol's caliber, the more powerful it was.

As for the thing in Li Ke's hands, which was almost as long as a hunting rifle, Shen understood even less.

"No, this is a sword. This is the USP American-style Iai Short Sword, and this is the Glock 18, also a short sword for American-style Iaijutsu."

Li Ke calmly disengaged the safeties on both guns, then slotted them into the Multi-functional Tactical Belt that came with them.

As for the Global Risk tactical helmet and bulletproof vest, Li Ke didn't take them out. There was no need.

Without a squad to support it, a tactical helmet was just a helmet. It would only be a burden to him. The bulletproof vest was the only thing that might be useful.

But putting on this gear now would be like telling the people lying in wait inside that they'd been spotted.

So Li Ke left it alone and simply slung the M16 beside Irelia's ancestral sword, which he had wrapped in black cloth.

"Ready?"

Li Ke took a deep breath, then asked Shen.

"Yeah. I just pull the pin and throw it, right?"

Shen nodded, then checked once more. He had a feeling there was a catch.

"That's right. But the farther you throw it, the better."

As the carriage drew closer, the two of them relaxed more and more.

Deep in the thick forest, a woman watched them approach at a slow pace and frowned slightly.

She was troubled by Li Ke.

Looking at him, she felt that she liked him quite a bit. But she also had a nagging instinct, one she couldn't quite put into words.

It told her that Li Ke would be both a major obstacle and a great help to their plans!

At first, she had only been curious about who had killed her men and kept them from bringing back the sacred relic she needed on time. But after seeing Li Ke's portrait, she had begun to feel a fondness and admiration for him.

She didn't like that feeling, especially the admiration and affection she found herself feeling for the man.

For someone like her, such feelings were far too much of a luxury. More importantly, this was no time for that sort of thing.

If this had been a peaceful, uneventful era, she wouldn't have minded meeting the young man under a clean identity, dating him, living like an ordinary person, maybe even having a child to pass the time. But she couldn't do that now.

The age was changing, and she had no time for romance.

So the woman hidden beneath the black robe made a decision.

Kill him.

At her command, the special unit that had been searching for the sacred relic elsewhere gathered along this road, which they were bound to pass.

After all, if Li Ke was dead, she wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

She raised a hand and made a signal. Her men hidden in the forest immediately began to prepare.

But just as Li Ke and the others drew near the crossbowmen's range, the foremost disciple of the Balance Order suddenly stood up. A bad feeling stirred in her heart.

The next moment, she saw him hurl a round stone toward their hiding place.

The danger sense that had saved her countless times since the age of Mordekaiser flared up. But it was already too late.

"Bomb!"

The Balance Order disciple's strength was extraordinary. The grenade flew toward them like an arrow, reaching them in an instant. The soldiers familiar with Piltover's weapons burst into laughter. One veteran even raised his weapon, hoping to bat it away before it exploded.

After all, in their experience, these bombs weren't especially powerful. Throwing one or two meters away was enough to avoid getting hurt.

And they took a long time to explode, too. That was the drawback of thrown explosives!

But the instant the veteran's weapon struck the grenade, it exploded.

Shrapnel and flames engulfed the Noxian soldiers. The men at the center were blown to pieces. Those nearby were hurled away by the blast, while those farther out were pierced by shrapnel, left looking like ragged sacks leaking water.

Five or six men died on the spot, and more than a dozen others were put out of action, left lying on the ground to await death.

That was how powerful a grenade could be, especially a high-explosive one packed with shrapnel!

Unlike what the movies showed, a fragmentation grenade had a kill radius of a full twenty-five-meter circle!

The forest made it less effective, but it still wiped out half the squad in an instant. Shen had also taken special care to target their crossbowmen, so their ranged attack capability was gone in one blow!

The woman stared in shock at the piece of shrapnel embedded in her chest. The life was slowly fading from her body. She took one last look at Li Ke charging toward her and etched his image into her mind. Then the flesh-and-blood female officer vanished like a phantom.

No—or perhaps the female officer had been a phantom from the very beginning.

"Now!"

Li Ke and Shen shot forward like lightning. Focused, Li Ke gripped a Noxian standard-issue longsword and crossed weapons with a Noxian soldier charging at him in a panic.

But the instant their weapons clashed, Li Ke's left hand drew the USP pistol from his waist and fired at point-blank range!

American-style Iaijutsu!

The bullet punched through the Noxian soldier's iron breastplate, shattered his breastbone, and tore through his lungs and windpipe.

Li Ke didn't hesitate. A Noxian bastard was thrusting a spear at him!

He jumped back, raised his hand, and fired again.

The Noxian spearman fell.

He spun and rolled to dodge an axeman's swing. The instant he rose, he sent a bullet flying.

A small hole appeared in the middle of the axeman's face, but a much larger one opened in the back of his head.

He turned and slashed, taking the head off a soldier who stood frozen in terror. Li Ke saw the remaining soldiers begin to retreat. A few even threw down their swords and tried to grab the crossbows on the ground.

So he drew the M16 Long Sword from beside his blade and aimed it at the soldiers reaching for the crossbows.

American-style Sword Control!