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

"We have arrived at the sacred Frostguard Fortress."

Hearing the old priest's calm tone, Ato felt a surge of respect.

They are all guardians of the world, hidden in the darkness, unknown to others, bearing the responsibility of saving the world alone, even knowing that they are being used.

The old priest, Loraka, made a gesture, and the heavy gates of the fortress opened automatically, revealing the interior decorations to Ator.

The most striking thing is the giant skull placed in the center of the hall behind the door, which may have come from some wild beast.

Religious ornaments strung together with ropes hung from the ceiling, thick carpets covered the floor, and most of the other furniture was made of polished stone.

"The female chieftain is waiting for you in the sacrificial hall, upstairs. Please follow me." The old priest turned a corner and walked up the rather steep stone steps.

Ato followed closely behind, arriving at the second-floor corridor and walking all the way to the end of it.

The old priest once again used a spell gesture to open a stone door, revealing the tall and slender Lissandra standing inside.

The old priest bowed deeply to Lissandra, then turned and left, leaving only Atto and Lissandra behind.

Atto first bid farewell to the old priest, and then entered the room.

This is a circular hall with several stone seats on each side. The floor is covered with intricate symbols, and several candles are burning on the altar in front.

Lissandra stood in the center of the rotunda. She was already over two meters tall, and if you included the Zhenbing platform beneath her feet, she would be over two and a half meters tall.

Atto, who was only a little over 1.8 meters tall, looked like a child who hadn't grown up when he stood in front of Lissandra.

"..." Ato looked up at Lissandra speechlessly. "Is this how you're going to talk to me? My neck can't take it anymore!"

Lissandra crossed her arms in front of her, glanced down at Atto, and said calmly, "It is indeed not very convenient."

Then, to Ato's astonishment, she waved her right hand, and the ice platform beneath her feet vanished.

She slowly landed on the ground, took a few steps, and walked to the stone seat on the side, where she sat down gracefully.

"...So she has legs and feet and can walk! I thought her robes were made of solid ice, they're so hard I couldn't sit on them!" Ato muttered silently.

“Your idea is very rude, I can hear you!” Aatrox promptly reminded him.

"Uh... that's much better." Ato forced a smile and walked to the stone seat, three seats away from Lissandra.

Let's get straight to the point.

She wore a flat hat that covered her eyes, which was connected to her dark blue robe, but her "gaze" never left Ator, as if she still had sight.

Coupled with the commanding tone, Ato felt an invisible pressure.

No wonder she's an old witch who's lived for over ten thousand years. Compared to her, my life experience of less than thirty years is probably obvious at a glance... Ato felt like he was facing a parent.

"It's just the two of us here, so the person behind you can finally drop the disguise."

Lissandra used her unique way of observing to try to see the essence of the demonic sword, but she could not sense anything through the scabbard.

Ator shook his head and said, "No, this place is too close to the Howling Abyss. He was corrupted by the void. Once he leaves the sword sheath, he may be able to establish contact with the watchers below."

"Although I have control of this weapon, there is always a chance of something going wrong. The monitors could use the weapon to contaminate me, and I can't guarantee what might happen."

“He’s right.” The disguised Darkin sword left Ator’s back and floated in front of the two. “We can communicate like this. It’s best not to let me leave the scabbard.”

“I see.” Lissandra focused her attention on the scabbard, sensing its unusual nature.

"This intense heat... is it the work of the demigod Ornn? What item did you use to impress Ornn and have him forge a god-level scabbard for you?"

"It's nothing, just some news that interests him." Ato waved his hand. "This method won't work anymore. I was just lucky."

Lissandra took a deep breath, elegantly placed her hands on her lap, and asked earnestly, "Can you tell me the details of the war three thousand years ago that you showed in your dream, and the origin of those gigantic warriors?"

"Here it comes..." Ato carefully chose his words, "Before that, I have a deal for you. Are you interested?"

"What deal?"

“I know you have been trying to sow discord between the Avarosa and Serilda tribes and hinder their development.”

The Serildar tribe is an extension of the Winter's Claw tribe and is also one of the fastest-growing tribes.

The Warmother of the Avarosan tribe is Sejuani, who inherited the will of Cyrilda. She was once a close friend of Ashe, the Warmother of the Avarosan tribe.

Upon hearing those two names, Lissandra's expression changed drastically on the exposed half of her face.

She didn't know how this enigmatic person knew about what she was secretly pushing forward, something only a few close confidants knew!

"What I want to do in this deal is that you will no longer hinder the development of those two tribes or sow discord between them. Instead, you will help them when they encounter difficulties."

"What can you give me?" Lissandra suppressed all her emotions. She had already decided that if Ator couldn't offer sufficiently generous terms, she would refuse the deal!

"Reinforcements," Atto said casually, as if he were talking about something trivial.

"What reinforcements?" Lissandra leaned forward, but then seemed to realize something, her face showing disbelief. "Those tall warriors from the dream?"

"A sure-fire deal. When the Watchers break through the True Ice Seal, you will see our reinforcements. They were the ones who once fought off the Void head-on."

"How about it? Feeling more confident now? There's no longer any opportunity for you to unleash the ultimate magic from ten thousand years ago. How many sisters do you still have to squander?"

“You…” Lissandra stood up abruptly, her arms covered in a chilling aura.

The secret she had concealed for ten thousand years, the secret that existed in only one sealed manuscript in the entire Frostguard Fortress, was revealed so easily by a human!

"In your eyes, is preserving secrets more important than fighting the Void?" Ato retorted, standing up to confront Lissandra as well.

"Did you pay such a heavy price to unleash a powerful spell so that you could kill everyone present and cover up your deal with the Void?"

"You'd rather make a deal with the Void than fight it alongside me?"

"You've been a guardian for ten thousand years, are you now going to let ten thousand years of effort turn to ashes because of the infighting between tribes?"

"I know the truth about what happened back then, but does it really matter?!"

Huff... Ato sat back down on the stone seat. He never expected that he, who was not good at speaking, would be able to ask a series of probing questions!

Since the start of the conversation, Lissandra has barely said a few words!