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

“Say that again?!” Amistan grabbed the spy by the neck, his expression ferocious.

"General... Song..." The scout's face turned red, and he was about to suffocate.

"Damn the Wuji Cult!" Amistan tossed the scout aside and began pacing back and forth.

In Jill's report, a Wuji master killed two thousand of his soldiers, while the rest remained on the mountain without making a move.

If that's the case, he only needs to send a team of soldiers skilled in infiltration up the mountain and throw the alchemical weapons into the Wuji Sect's courtyard to wipe them out in one fell swoop!

Now the disciples of the Wuji Sect have all gone down the mountain and scattered to various war zones, joining different resistance forces. There may only be a few old fogies left on the mountain, so killing them is pointless.

"No, those who remain must also be killed, otherwise my hatred will not be appeased!"

Before long, four soldiers who looked like officers stood in front of Emistan and saluted.

These were the few remaining squads in his military camp; the others were all on the battlefield outside.

“Garcia, you’ve been with me the longest. I’ve taught you disguise and infiltration skills. Your mission is…”

Amistan decides to have Garcia's team destroy the Unlimited Cult, while two other teams transport the new alchemical weapons to other battlefields, leaving only one team to protect himself.

"This batch of alchemical weapons is limited. It's impossible to make a second batch in a short time. Tell their commander to use them sparingly, and it's best to use them only when encountering members of the Wuji Sect. Understand?"

"Understood, sir!"

The captains left to carry out their orders, and Amistan returned to the command room to find Singed looking at the commemorative image while grinning foolishly.

Amistan stepped forward to turn off the phonograph and asked Singed, "Is it possible to make another batch of those weapons? They're right here."

Singed chuckled in a low, hoarse voice, "What do you think this is? My alchemy lab? Putting aside the lack of raw materials, the most crucial thing is the lack of an experimental environment."

“My little babies were born under very strict conditions. It took me a long time to get them working, and that was the most time-consuming part.”

Amystein frowned: "Can't you just make one up? The knowledge is all in your head, you can use it anywhere."

“You know absolutely nothing about our field,” Singed scoffed. “Unless I get back to the lab, there’s no point in talking!”

“You…” Amystein gritted his teeth, but had no choice but to give up.

Sending Singed back to Zaun would take twenty or thirty days round trip, and who knows how long it would take to build enough weapons? Maybe the war would be over by then.

……

A burning sensation came over her, and Riven regained consciousness.

"Where am I..." Riven rubbed her throbbing head, but when she began to look around at her surroundings, she could no longer speak.

Yellow-green flames were everywhere, one of which was near where Riven had collapsed, and she woke up feeling the burning sensation.

The heavy rain continued to fall, but it couldn't extinguish this special alchemical flame at all.

The shield of the Runeblade was still functioning, but it was teetering on the brink of collapse and seemed likely to disappear at any moment.

Charred corpses were everywhere, some from Noxus and some from Ionia.

The once fertile land, after being baptized by the alchemical flames, turned ashen and could no longer grow vegetation.

"It's poisonous!" That was Riven's first reaction. Despite her exhaustion, she forced herself to leave the area.

Riven only released the rune's effect after the ground turned green again.

"What...what have I done?"

Riven recalled in disbelief what had just happened. If the inability to contact Amistan was due to water damage to the telegraph machine, then the burning arrow shot at the jar had ruthlessly shattered everything.

Her squad members should have been wiped out; at least, she didn't find anyone still alive.

Rain soaked Riven's half-long white hair, which clung to her face, making her look nothing like the Valkyrie at this moment.

The empire betrayed her.

Once again, she was all alone.

Just then, a figure appeared in Riven's heart.

He would laugh at her, saying she was either eating or on her way to eat.

He would chat with her like a friend.

He possessed immense strength, and she could confidently entrust her back to him without worrying that he might suddenly die.

"Ato...you said you would come, and I believe you are already on your way."

“I’m going to the beach now… to wait for you…” Every step Riven took was unusually heavy.

The runeblade had drained Riven's strength; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to survive for so long in the poisonous alchemical flames.

Riven's current condition is even worse than after her all-out sparring match with Atto; she's only managing to keep going through sheer willpower.

The torrential rain soaked Riven, taking away the last bit of warmth she had left.

Riven was already seriously injured, and coupled with her weakened state, she finally collapsed under the continuous rain.

She felt her forehead getting hotter and hotter, and her body was shivering from the cold. Even someone as strong as Riven couldn't avoid getting a high fever under these circumstances.

Riven lay on the ground, muttering, "I can't die here. Ator is still waiting for me, the Empire is still waiting for me..."

She tried to stand up using the rune blade for support, but failed after several attempts.

All she wants to do right now is sleep. Yes, she'll have the energy to go back to sleep and then she can go find Ato...

Riven's eyelids started to droop and she couldn't open them in the end; she lost consciousness again.

……

"Where am I?" Riven suddenly sat up and realized she was no longer in the rain.

She lay in a clean and tidy bamboo house, covered with a thick quilt.

The sun had just risen outside, and the storm had stopped.

Just as Riven woke up, a gaunt old man with white hair and beard walked in from outside. His goatee reached down to his stomach.

He was carrying a basin of water with a towel draped over it.

Seeing her runeblade leaning against the wall, Riven quickly jumped off the bed, gripped the hilt, and pointed it at the gaunt old man.

"Wow, you little girl, your physical condition is beyond my expectations! You had such a high fever yesterday, and you're up and about again after just one night's sleep?"

The old man smiled, ignoring Riven's attempt to attack, and put down the basin of water, washing the towel in the water.

"I see you have good talent, much better than my wicked disciple. How about it, do you want to learn swordsmanship from me?" The old man was always smiling.

"Who are you? And how did I get here?" Riven remained vigilant, knowing that the other party was an Ionian.

"How else could I have gotten here? I carried you back on my back!" The old man stood up and stroked his beard.

“Yesterday I went out to chase after my wicked disciple, and on the way I saw you lying in the rain. I couldn’t bear it, so I carried you to this bamboo house.”

"As for who I am, well... the villagers all call me Elder Suma."