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

While carrying Swain in the air, Ator saw a village nearby.

He headed straight for the largest house in the village, as only these houses had horse-drawn carriages.

After some haggling, Atto successfully traded a small piece of gold for a strong horse and a carriage.

When the carriage disappeared into the woods, Swain was still leaning against that big tree, and no one else had come by in between.

Swain had recovered somewhat, and seeing the carriage approaching, he didn't need Atto's help; he simply used his right hand and left leg to climb into the carriage himself.

Atto tossed him a large black robe and a mask.

"You should change out of that armor. You'd better cover yourself up until you find Riven."

As Swain disassembled his armor, he said, "Riven? I remember she's from the Amistan Legion, I think they call her Valkyrie."

"Wow, even you, the legion commander, have heard of her? She really has a fearsome reputation..." Ato drove the carriage toward the location of Riven that he sensed.

“After all, Darkwell personally bestowed upon her a runic blade; I was there at the time,” Swain recalled.

After learning that Brown Darkwell was the Pale Lady's puppet, he stopped calling him His Majesty Darkwell.

“Actually, I’ve always found it strange that Riven’s abilities are enough to grant her a noble status, just like Darius.”

"But if it's the Pale Lady who's behind this, then everything makes sense. She can't control Riven and is forced to change her approach due to pressure."

"On the day of the awarding ceremony, Darkwell summoned almost all the princes and ministers, and the little girl seemed a bit nervous."

"With the Runeblade, those people finally stopped on the agenda of granting her noble status."

After listening to Swain's analysis, Atto nodded repeatedly.

He then asked curiously, "So why do you think Darius can do this, but Riven can't? Is Darius easier to control than Riven?"

“In a way, yes.” Swain actually acknowledged Atto’s idea.

“Darius, I’ve known him for a long time. He’s not very shrewd and doesn’t understand power struggles. No matter how much power you give him, it won’t make a difference. He doesn’t care about these things at all.”

“Darius is a useful weapon, so the Pale Lady can confidently give him a noble status and even the title of Hand of Noxus.”

At this point, Swain had already donned his black robes. With Ator showing his face in front, he would likely not encounter any obstacles as long as he didn't run into the Noxian army.

Through Swain's description, Ator gained a completely new understanding of Noxus.

Noxus is not entirely meritocratic now; LeBlanc only allows those who are easily controlled or have simple goals to become nobles.

The carriage slowly drove out of the forest; their destination was near a mountain range in the southwest of Navoli province.

"Wait for me, my friend. I'll take you away when the war is over."

Riven seems to have set up camp in the mountains; Ator senses that her location hasn't changed in the past few days.

"Do you know where the Valkyrie is?" Swain asked.

“We have a special way of contacting each other, so don’t ask.” Ato didn’t want to explain too much.

Swain was really concerned about something else: "She's definitely with the other soldiers, how are you going to meet with her alone?"

He then pleaded with Atto, “You possess great strength, but I do not wish for you to meet her by slaughtering soldiers; they are merely following orders.”

The soldiers I killed were all blocking my way... The squad I encountered earlier, even if they didn't want to weaken Noxus's power, I couldn't help but cut them all down.

Ator now has a very poor impression of the Noxian army as a whole.

Are people like Riven, Jill, and Lazare and Leon from Riven's previous squad ultimately a minority in the military?

Ato didn't answer, but instead pulled an iron plate from his pocket and threw it to Swain.

"This is... an Imperial soldier's identification? Was it found on the bodies of other soldiers?"

"No, I joined the army to find a ship to Ionia. It was my own doing."

Swain became somewhat wary, speculating about Atto's motives for joining the army, but could only sigh helplessly.

"The empire is corrupt from top to bottom and needs a major overhaul. Who knows how many people with ulterior motives have infiltrated the army..."

News of the Battle of Stand Firm quickly spread throughout Ionia, and more and more civilians chose to join the fight against the invaders.

There are two largest groups. One is the resistance led by Irelia, whose powerful performance in the Battle of the Stand made her the leader of the resistance.

The resistance still operates on the principle of maintaining balance, and in addition to killing the enemy, it is also committed to repairing the environment destroyed by the invaders.

The other is the Navori Brotherhood, led by Amber, whose ideology is more radical.

The Brotherhood of Navori deviated from the balance, relentlessly annihilating the Noxians and even killing the Ionians who tried to stop their radical actions.

In just half a month after the Battle of Standing Firm, the one-sided situation became evenly matched, with both sides locked in a fierce and evenly contested battle.

However, the Brotherhood's territory was mostly located near Presidium, in the opposite direction from Atto's journey, so they didn't encounter any trouble from them along the way.

Atto stopped the carriage; Raven's camp was built at the foot of the mountain by the river.

If you go any further, you'll encounter patrolling soldiers.

Before Swain returns to Noxus, it's best not to let more people know that he's still alive.

It was already late when Ato saw that the military camp was bustling with activity; it was dinnertime.

"You wait here, I'll go get Riven."

As he spoke, Ator changed his appearance again, lifted the black cloth on the carriage, and put on the Noxian armor.

Information transmission in Runeterra is relatively backward. Even soldiers living in a military camp cannot possibly know everyone. Ato decided to walk straight in.

If asked about his identity badge, Ato would say he got lost and separated from the main group.

"They actually got in. The camouflage of the scabbard is really useful." Ato thanked the bearded goat again in his heart.

No one noticed the suspicious soldier carrying a greatsword.

Now that Swain and Atto were in the same boat, he simply told Atto about the distribution of troops within the camp.

Each military camp has many squads living together, and it is normal for the squads not to know each other.

"Ato?"

Just as Ato was searching for Riven based on her unusual hair color, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

Ato slowly turned around, smiling as he met Riven's gaze.

At this moment, Riven was holding a large iron basin filled with bread and meat patties.