First, take down the Sword Demon, then save Runeterra.

"Captain, it's no use! The machine seems to be broken; we can't contact General Amistan!"

"Damn it, why now of all times!" Riven didn't care about holding back anymore. She activated the runes on her greatsword and charged into the encirclement. She had to fight her way out!

Just then, a possibility suddenly appeared in her mind, a possibility she never dared to even think about.

"General Swain was lured into a trap by the Empire; someone within the Empire wanted General Swain dead."

"Perhaps it wasn't the telegraph machine that was broken, but rather that the 'secret mission' was also a trap! This time, the Empire's target is me!"

"Why? I have always served the empire..."

Riven still refused to believe that she was a target of the Empire; she felt that the Empire had absolutely no reason to do so.

"The machine must be broken. It's normal for it to be unable to operate due to water in such heavy rain."

Riven, wielding Runeblade, showed the Ionians what a Noxian Valkyrie truly was.

Some Ionians noticed Riven's formidable fighting prowess and thus sent more people to gank her.

Five people attacked from different directions. Before their weapons could even touch her, she was jolted by an invisible shock that made her head spin. Riven seized the opportunity and took them down before the effect wore off.

"Woo!"

The Ionians blew strange whistles, and soon a third wave of Ionians joined the battle, with Riven attracting the attention of dozens of people.

"This guy's got some tough stuff, brothers, let's go for it!"

Despite struggling to cope with the enemy's encirclement, Riven was no match for the thirty Ionians.

Just as Riven told the soldiers in the barracks, the Ionians had not received systematic training and were all temporary rebel groups.

Their attacks were inconsistent, each fighting their own battles without any coordination; otherwise, Riven wouldn't have lasted long before being defeated.

Because there were so many people around Riven, a gap appeared in the Ionian encirclement.

"Now! Take the carriage and go!" Riven commanded loudly.

The horses pulling the cart had long been frightened by the battle and fled. The nearby soldiers gritted their teeth and, pulling or pushing, drove the cart out of the encirclement.

"The mission must not be interrupted!" Seeing the carriage finally start moving, Riven's face showed a resolute expression.

Runeblade will continuously drain Riven's stamina once activated, and if its associated skill is used, the stamina consumption will increase significantly.

If it weren't for Ator's improvements to Runeblade, Riven would already be exhausted.

She didn't know if she could kill all the enemies before she ran out of energy, but it was her only option.

"Drink!" Green energy extended from the runic blade, highlighting her astonishing aura.

"Don't block our way!" Riven swung her greatsword, unleashing an energy wave that sent dozens of enemies flying.

Suddenly, a burning rocket shot out from behind them.

Riven noticed the arrow and recognized its design; it was from Noxus.

The burning arrow wasn't aimed at her; instead, it flew towards the cartload of pottery jars.

At that moment, Riven felt as if all time had stopped.

She doesn't know who her parents are; she has lived on a farm since she can remember.

The farm owner wouldn't raise a little girl for nothing; she started doing farm work in the fields when she was very young.

Hunger was a terrible feeling, and Riven secretly vowed that she would never let herself go hungry again.

Because of her experience doing farm work since childhood, Riven developed a strong physique. After joining the army, she began to show her talent and met some comrades she could entrust her life to.

Moreover, she was well-fed every day in the army! Riven felt that these were all gifts from the Empire, and she was willing to give them for the Empire.

Now, all her hopes for the empire have been burned to ashes by that arrow.

"No!" The arrow flew far away, and Riven wasn't fast enough. By the time she reacted, it was too late.

The burning arrow struck the carriage precisely, making contact with the pottery jars, and flames began to spread.

"Run!" Riven only had time to activate the Runeblade's shield skill.

A bright light appeared on the carriage, followed by a deafening roar and a series of explosions.

A ball of fire, seemingly rising from hell, instantly engulfed everyone present.

Riven was thrown into the air by the powerful impact, crashing into a tree and losing consciousness.

……

"This is simply...so beautiful!"

In Amistan's command center, Singed stared at the newly transmitted images, his hoarse voice almost cracking from shouting.

“This is far more powerful than the potions from a few years ago.” Amistan’s eyes widened as well, shocked by the power of the new alchemical weapon.

He dispatched another squad to follow Riven, and when they discovered that Riven was being attacked from both sides by the Ionians, they fired a fire arrow that detonated the alchemical weapons, wiping out both the Ionians and Riven's squad.

As the explosion occurred, the team members took out a phonograph they had purchased in Piltover, took pictures, and transmitted them back to the command center.

"My years of dedicated research have not been in vain," Singid said with satisfaction. "How about it? With this power now, it's more than enough to deal with those Taoist priests on the mountain, isn't it?"

"Very good! If you can really kill all those Wuji cultivators, you will have done a great service!" Amistan pushed open the door and went out to consider his plan to deal with the Wuji Sect.

A week ago, the troops he sent to Baru province suddenly lost contact, and Amistan received no response no matter how he called them.

This frustrated Amistan greatly. He had been following Dukur's orders and had personally provided the troops to attack Baru'o Province. If anything went wrong, his position within the army would be affected.

Before the soldiers sent to scout the situation had returned, Amistan first met a soldier with a missing arm, Jill.

After Jill told him everything, Amistan was shocked and furious. He remembered the Temple of Eternity, which had destroyed a warship. He was shocked to learn that the Primal Chaos also possessed such power!

Two thousand men were lost in Baru'o, and some more were lost in regular battles. With the entire Riven squad gone, Amistan now only has a little over a thousand men left to use.

"Damn Dukur, damn the Wuji Cult!"

With the loss of over two thousand people, if Amistan cannot handle the issue of the Unlimited Sect properly, he will not dare to return to Noxus.

He could only hope that Singed's alchemical weapons would work, and after seeing Riven's squad "wiped out," he immediately began to plot revenge against the Wuji Cult.

"You, go and summon all the squad leaders. I have new orders to issue," Amistan said to a soldier on duty.

No sooner had the soldier left than Amistan saw the scout running towards him in a panic.

"General, something terrible has happened! The Wuji Sect... the Wuji Sect..."

"What's wrong with the Wuji Sect? Explain yourself!"

"Almost all the disciples of the Wuji Sect have come down the mountain and joined the battle!"