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

Despite the difficulty, Atto managed to finish all the food that Riven hadn't been able to finish.

He shouldered two greatswords, reverted to his disguise, and then hoisted Riven onto his shoulders before slowly walking outside.

When paying the bill, Ato's face twitched noticeably.

They spent a whopping eight thousand Novo coins on that meal!

The ten thousand yuan that Ato took out of his suitcase for emergency use was gone in an instant.

"Given her condition, it's impossible for her to supervise training this afternoon. Let's just send her back to the barracks."

Ato did not travel fast, and it took them half an hour to reach the sentry post in front of the military camp.

Jill was still on duty at the sentry post.

"What's going on?" Jill saw that Riven was not in good condition and rushed out of the sentry post. He thought Riven was seriously injured.

Seeing Jill's behavior, Ato nodded to himself. Jill wasn't lying; he really was Riven's friend.

"Don't worry, she's just had too much to drink."

"What?" Jill sniffed carefully and smelled a faint scent of alcohol before she felt relieved.

He looked at Atto with a complicated expression: "Brother, if we were joking around last night, we promise we won't do it again today. She never drinks with us."

Ato knew that explaining was pointless.

Those who expressed goodwill towards Riven did not receive a response from her, because she was afraid that after becoming true friends with them, one day they would all die on the battlefield, leaving Riven alone again.

Ato didn't say anything more and continued to support Riven as they walked towards the military camp.

“I think I forgot to check their identification again…” Jill shook her head and returned to her post.

Along the way, Atto attracted a lot of attention, partly because his two greatswords were too conspicuous, and partly because of Riven.

"Is that the Valkyrie? What happened to her? Is she injured?"

"How would I know? Nobody dares to approach her normally. Only Jill and her gang hang around her. I'll go ask Jill later."

"If she's really injured, how strong would the person who defeats her have to be?"

"I just can't imagine it. The Valkyrie won against ten people by herself before, and without even using the rune sword... Could it be that guy next to her?"

Ato ignored all of this and went to the dormitory door, where his expression became conflicted again.

He doesn't have a key to Riven's room! He can't exactly kick the door down or search her body...

In the end, Ator opened his door, laid Riven flat on the bed, left the rune greatsword behind, and quietly left.

He still has sparring duties to complete in the afternoon.

At the recruitment training ground, everyone was extremely anxious when they couldn't find Riven.

Atuo reassured the worried crowd by saying that she was resting at the military camp and needed to recuperate from her injuries.

When he walked out of the recruitment office in the evening, Riven was already waiting for him by the door.

"Let's go, Ato."

Business as usual.

She accepted what I had kept from her...

Ato quickly caught up, but Riven acted as if nothing had happened: "I still didn't get enough meat at lunch. That's how it is at restaurants outside. I can't live without the military canteen now."

Once the topic was started, it was impossible to stop. Ato said helplessly, "Who told you to steal my wine? After eating half the meat, you lay on the table saying you would carry me back, but it turned out the other way around."

Riven stared at her and asked, "You really carried me back to the barracks?"

Ato laughed heartily: "How could that be? If they saw the Valkyrie being carried back, the entire camp would be in chaos!"

“Don’t mention that title…” Riven turned her face away. “Sorry, I haven’t drunk with friends in years. I didn’t know my alcohol tolerance had gotten this bad…”

"friend……"

It seems that Riven not only didn't care about his concealment, but also considered him a true friend.

"You know what, Riven? When I told you the truth, I was already prepared for you to draw your sword and fight me."

Once the two truly became friends, Atto stopped calling her "Swordsman Captain."

Riven turned around and said in a strange tone, "Why should I fight you? Didn't I say that if I can't defeat the enemy even with my runes, then I can only wait to die? But you didn't kill me, which means you're not the enemy."

So that's what she was thinking! But it actually makes a lot of sense...

It must be said that soldiers sometimes think about problems differently from others.

"What's wrong with being a warrior? Aren't you a warrior now?" Aatrox retorted.

“I understand your desire to disguise yourself, Ato. Your original face can indeed cause misunderstandings in the Empire, so I'll just pretend I didn't see it.”

Upon hearing this, Ato almost told Riven about his time-traveling secret.

As they chatted, they arrived at the military camp.

When Jill saw the two of them, she quickly waved to them.

"Quick! Now we're just waiting for you guys. A big shot has arrived. He's summoning all the soldiers, it seems he has some orders to announce."

"An order? Is war about to break out?"

They hurried into the military camp and arrived at the assembly area, which was already filled with a dense mass of soldiers.

The three stood at the back of the line and saw an elderly man with a white beard, wearing an officer's uniform and with thinning hair standing on a high platform in the distance.

“That’s Admiral Amistan, he’s my direct superior,” Riven whispered to Atto.

Atto nodded slightly, waiting for the old man to speak.

A strong minotaur carried a mechanical device and placed it in front of Amystein.

That's a loudspeaker.

Once the minotaur stepped down from the platform, Amistan cleared his throat, and his voice echoed throughout the area.

"Soldiers! The time has come to serve the Empire!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a murmur arose from the audience, as many soldiers had expected this.

"Silence!" Amistan roared.

"The Empire has completed all preparations for war. All you need to do is board the warships, cross the Sea of ​​Watchers, and display the Empire's power on the eastern lands. Soldiers, can you bring victory to the Empire?"

"The Empire will prevail! The Empire will prevail! The Empire will prevail!"

The surrounding soldiers raised their right hands and shouted loudly, including Riven.

After realizing what was happening, Atto also pretended to shout, worried that Amistan would notice something was wrong.

“Very good!” Amistan pressed his hands down. “Soldiers, the departure date is one month from today! In this last month, the Empire will give you twenty days of leave to say goodbye to your families, your friends, and your children.”

"The Empire will prevail! The Empire will prevail! The Empire will prevail!"

Amistan's slightly sorrowful words did not dampen morale; on the contrary, they further fueled the soldiers' fighting spirit.

"Your joining the army is a choice to serve the Empire, and Noxus will never tolerate deserters!"

"But that was on the battlefield. Now, you have one chance to back out, your last chance. The Empire will not hold you accountable. However! I expect that twenty days from now, not a single soldier standing here will be missing!"

"The Empire will prevail! The Empire will prevail! The Empire will prevail!"

"Dismissed! Go home, soldiers!" Amistan waved his hand and walked down from the platform.