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

Riven looked at Swain's empty left arm and powerless right leg, as well as his still-healing wounds; none of this could be faked.

This greatly undermined Riven's trust in Noxus, but she still rejected Ator's offer.

“No, Ator, I must stay here. The war is not over. I am loyal to the Empire. It is my duty as an Imperial soldier.”

"That's it..."

"Why do you seem disappointed?" Riven lightly punched Ator's armor.

"Hehe, I thought you would come with me."

Ato really looked forward to returning to Noxus with Riven, where the three of them would plot a coup, drive out Darkwell, and drag LeBlanc out of the shadows.

However, he underestimated Riven's loyalty to Noxus. Even after telling her about the problems within the empire, he still couldn't make her completely lose faith in Noxus.

Riven is just one opportunity away.

Swain glanced at Riven with surprise and exclaimed, "You deserve to have an aristocratic status."

Riven shook her head: "General, I only want to bring victory to the Empire. Ator, although I won't be going back for the time being, I have a way to send you back."

This was one of the reasons why Atto came to find Riven, so he asked, "What method?"

As the Legion Commander, Swain clearly knew what Riven meant: "Transport ship."

"That's right, General. We can't fight without supplies. While the soldiers are out fighting, there are countless people working in the empire to produce food for us."

“Every ten days, a transport ship will depart from the Empire. The transport ship is much smaller than a warship, but a single transport can meet the food needs of the entire army for ten days.”

She then pointed to the river next to her and said, "This river flows into the sea, and the transport ships dock near the estuary."

"Most of the ship's structure is warehouses. After unloading the food, they would also take back some wounded soldiers who could no longer fight."

“Ato, you’re not wounded, but I can issue an order in the captain’s name to say that you have another mission back in the Empire. They usually won’t ask any more questions.”

After thinking it over, Ato concluded that Riven's method was probably the only option at the moment.

They could only choose Noxus because Ionia didn't even have the ability to sail long distances.

"What about Swain's appearance? He's the legion commander, and all the soldiers know him."

Swain explained, “The Empire has great respect for soldiers wounded on the battlefield. I just need to wear a helmet and cover my face. There are often soldiers with facial injuries who don’t want to show their faces.”

He then remembered something and reminded him, "There's another problem. The wounded need to have their identification tags checked before boarding. How should we..."

Before he could finish speaking, Atto tossed him a metal plaque with an ordinary name printed on it.

"Du K's Legion, Corporal Simon...where did you find him?"

"It was picked up from a soldier's body a month ago."

Atto was right, but he only told half the story, because Atto was also the one who killed them.

Swain paused for a moment, then said without surprise, "A month ago, the resistance hadn't even grown to a significant size yet. We suffered almost no casualties and kept pushing forward."

“But Du Kecao was different. He never disciplined the soldiers of his legion. I think it was the behavior of his men that angered the locals and even accelerated the formation of the resistance.”

According to Riven and Swain, Ator simply happened to pass by a battlefield where several soldiers' bodies had not been disposed of, and Ator found the iron plates on them.

Those soldiers were Noxians after all. How could Ator say that I killed them in front of Riven and Swain?

"That should solve the problem. Riven, when is the next transport ship coming?"

"...We will arrive tomorrow morning and leave with the wounded in the evening."

Riven was a little down. She had just met Atto and was about to part ways again, but she also knew that now was not the time to drink and chat.

During wartime, soldiers were required to strictly adhere to the alcohol ban, or they would be severely punished.

Ator's main objective in Ionia has been achieved: to ensure Swain's survival in the Battle of Presidium.

If Swain is still alive, LeBlanc will definitely be furious and may even secretly take action against him.

As for Amistan, Ato planned to wait until Riven completely lost faith in Noxus before taking the opportunity to kill her casually.

But Ato was still worried about Riven.

"Are you really not coming with me?" Ator still wanted to take Riven away from this troublesome place.

Riven shook her head firmly: "The battlefield needs me. Artoria, the internal problems of the Empire are in your hands and General Swain's care."

Amistan had told her that he would soon inform her of the special mission His Majesty had assigned, and that she should remain where she was and await further instructions.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on you over there. If anything happens, I'll come right away."

"I won't thank you!"

Riven couldn't stay away for too long. After chatting with Atto for a while, she returned to the camp. She still needed to come up with a reason for Atto to board the transport ship.

“She’s been keeping it from you since the start of the war. You came here using her position as her adjutant, didn’t you?” Swain asked.

Atto did not answer, which can be taken as tacit agreement.

“The army conducts daily headcounts, and the squad leader is in charge of that. She hasn't reported it even once during the days you've been missing. Ah, Valkyrie…”

The next day, Amistan arrived at the estuary early and a smile appeared on his lips as he watched the transport ship sink its anchor.

"Finally, those new weapons. Is Singed still researching them all by himself? Why didn't he find someone to help him? He's kept me waiting for so long."

In addition to the regular food supplies, this transport ship also carried a batch of special cargo.

"That Swain guy actually lost Presidium? He's probably dead by now..."

"Use these new weapons to take a detour to Presidium and test their power. If we can take it back, it will save us a lot of trouble."

"It doesn't matter if we can't get it back, it's for the experiment anyway."

Noxus built a makeshift port here, and as the ships were lowered, soldiers boarded them one by one and unloaded the packaged food.

At noon, all the grain was loaded onto carts and sent in different directions to supply soldiers on different battlefields.

However, there was still something on the ship.

Amystein boarded the ship himself and went to a specially reinforced room on the lower deck.

Several soldiers were already waiting there. When Amistan arrived, they saluted him and then took out a key to open the door to the room.

Inside were rows of earthenware jars chained to the ground, seemingly to ensure that they wouldn't tip over even in the face of wind and waves.

A look of satisfaction appeared in Amistan's eyes. He instructed one of the soldiers, "Go and call a squad over. Each person can only take one. Be careful when carrying them!"