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

“Little one, there’s an aura of dark magic on that mirror,” Aatrox warned.

“This doesn’t seem like a friendly visitor…” Ato’s expression hardened. If it was dark magic, it was probably related to LeBlanc.

These soldiers numbered about fifty, roughly half a squad in the Noxian army. One of them, who appeared to be a captain, was holding a dark mirror.

As they approached and saw Atto and Riven, they immediately drew their weapons to stand guard.

Someone in the ranks recognized Riven and shouted, "It's the Valkyrie! She's alive!"

"Valkyrie? Didn't the officer say she was dead?" A commotion broke out among the soldiers. Riven's formidable combat prowess was well-known in the army.

The captain, who was holding the mirror, initially wanted to grab it by force, but abandoned the idea after seeing that it was Riven.

He steeled himself and stepped forward, ignoring Atto, and said directly to Riven, "The commander has ordered that we need to bring back the Runeblade."

"Who is your superior? The Runeblade was given to me by the Emperor; you have no right to take it!" Riven gripped the hilt, ready to fight to the death.

Seeing Riven about to draw her sword, the captain quickly explained, "It was Commander Duguel who gave the order! He was also following the will of the Immortal Fortress, which means His Majesty wanted to take it back!"

"What?" Riven was incredulous. Darkwill had personally handed her the Runeblade in front of all the high-ranking officials, and she didn't understand why he had suddenly gone back on his word.

"The report says that Riven died in an accident, and the Runeblade is extremely valuable and must be retrieved."

“But I’m not dead!” Riven looked at Atto. “What do we do?”

"Valkyrie, please don't put me in a difficult position." The captain's tone became more serious. "Even if you are the Valkyrie, you may not be able to gain the upper hand against more than fifty of our brothers."

Riven drew her runeblade, a hint of reluctance in her eyes. After so many years as a soldier, this was her most reliable weapon.

If it's the emperor's order, then she has no choice but to obey.

Ato frowned. He had forgotten to tell Riven about the Black Rose, and she still didn't know that Darkwell was a puppet.

“Then…you can take it.” Riven reached out her hand, about to hand the Runeblade to the squad leader.

Ato put his arm around Riven's shoulder and pulled her behind him: "What if we don't give it to her?"

Riven lost her grip and the Runeblade fell to the ground.

Atto picked it up and shoved it into Riven's arms: "Take good care of your own weapon."

"Who are you? How dare you disobey Noxus's orders?" The captain's face darkened. He was about to complete the mission without anyone getting hurt, but this Ionian stopped him.

The soldiers surrounded the two men, staring at them with hostile expressions.

Ato drew his Darkin Demon Sword. He had recently depleted his blood energy, so he wouldn't refuse anyone who offered themselves to him.

"Ato, don't hurt them, they're just following orders! I'll give it to them."

Hearing Riven's words, Ato, who had originally intended to absorb them all into the Demon Sword, had no choice but to give up.

Suddenly, Ato remembered a cringeworthy line from an anime scene he had watched in his past life, and it seemed very fitting here.

He uttered two broken Cantonese phrases: "I'm taking her away today, let's see who dares to stop me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ator removed his disguise, and the Darkin Demon Sword appeared before the soldiers in its original form.

A surge of blood energy erupted, enveloping the soldiers and instantly throwing their orderly ranks into chaos.

Everyone was shocked by the demon sword's terrifying appearance, including Riven.

"Get out of my way! Otherwise, I'll show you what hell is really like." Ato withdrew his blood energy and threatened, raising his demonic sword.

The soldiers instinctively made way for them, and Ator pulled Riven away from the encirclement.

"Ato, your sword..." Riven reattached her runeblade, but before she could ask, she saw a pair of blood-red wings unfurl behind Atto, pulling her into the air.

Amid Riven's exclamation, the two figures streaked across the night sky and stopped near a village.

“This sword is alive; it contains the soul of an ancient warrior.” Before Riven could speak, Ator explained the origin of the demonic sword.

"..." Riven was still in shock and hadn't recovered.

Ator sheathed the demon sword, and now it looked no different from a greatsword made of fine steel.

“No wonder I couldn’t break your sword even with runes…” Riven murmured.

"Haha, like I said, if you really break it, I'll thank you, saving me from running all over the world!" Ato laughed.

"You're just telling me like this? Is that alright?"

"Hey, you trust me so much, shouldn't I trust you too? Riven, we're friends. Let's go, Noxus is waiting for you to come back."

After saying that, Atto patted her on the shoulder and continued walking towards Amistan's camp.

He has recently depleted a lot of his blood energy, so he can't use his flight ability too often; he needs to save it for dealing with certain matters.

"Just friends... Oh, I shouldn't be thinking about that now! The Empire is in crisis!" Riven shook her head, suppressing any further thoughts, and quickly followed.

Without flying to travel, the two slowed down considerably, and it took them three days to reach the vicinity of the camp.

Riven, hiding in a bush, observed the area and said, "It's much quieter than before. It looks like all the squads inside have been sent out."

“That’s perfect. I don’t want to attack these soldiers either. After all, they’re all brothers living in the same military camp.” Ato looked around, identified a shadowy path, and prepared to use Shadow Cloak.

He didn't plan to disguise himself and walk straight in. There were too few people in the camp, and they were all fairly familiar with each other. It would be too obvious if a strange soldier suddenly appeared.

"It's great that you think that way," Riven said with a sigh of relief.

After seeing the true form of the Demon Sword, Riven briefly worried that it would influence Ator, giving him a bloodthirsty nature.

Hearing Ato say that, my worries completely vanished.

"I'm about to leave. If I'm discovered, I'll fly away immediately. You should also leave this place, but don't go too far. I'll come find you."

"Okay, you must be careful."

Ato nodded, using Shadow Cloak to blend into the shadows, his target being the command room of Amistan at the rear of the camp.

"Is this the magical power of Ionia? I don't think I've ever encountered anything like it before..." Riven stared at the scene in astonishment, feeling that her combat theory needed improvement.

Ato wandered through the shadows cast by trees and tents, seeing soldiers yawning listlessly or huddled together, sharing stolen wine while their commander was away.

After passing through the camp, Atto saw a fortified house with soldiers guarding the door.