Arcane: The Gods Want Me to Pick a Route

Chapter 229: I Can Be the Guide Too (EC)

White the Snow Fox’s eyes turned bright and lively. Looking up seriously, she said, "I know where Jie and Rilfen are. The two of them are always together."

At that, the Seal Sister’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something.

But before she could, White continued, "I’ll take you to find Jie and Rilfen. You—you just need to let her come with me." As she said it, she raised a little paw and pointed at Riven.

After seeing Riven nearly cut Rilfen’s head off, White had realized something.

Whether it was Rilfen or Jie, both ancient gods had been scared out of their minds by Riven.

Honestly... the gods of the Freljord had never seen a god that insane before, especially one who was basically human.

To put it another way—

The ancient gods had never thought much of humans. Even the exceptionally gifted Three Sisters had only ever counted as evenly matched opponents in their eyes, not beings they truly feared.

And aside from the Three Sisters, every other human was just a bug. An ant.

That kind of thinking had already sunk deep into their minds.

And yet just now, one of those "ants" had swung a greatsword and attacked them.

That ant had been unbelievably powerful, utterly fearless, and the greatsword in her hands carried violet flames that burned the soul and could punch through their defenses in seconds.

Put that into human terms, and it was like this—

One day, a cockroach suddenly crawls out in your house, except this cockroach is holding a kitchen knife. It can fly, it can jump, it’s fearless, and it comes straight at you waving that knife around, fully capable of stabbing right through your body at any moment.

Seriously, think about it.

Wouldn’t you be scared?

So because of that, it was not just Jie and Rilfen. Even White, who was technically on the same side, was afraid of Riven after seeing the way she fought.

That woman’s fighting spirit was simply terrifying.

When ordinary gods fought, it was normal for them to bring out ninety points of a hundred. No one could truly go all out in every battle.

But Riven?

If she had one hundred points of strength, she could force out a hundred and ten.

That was the boost her fighting spirit gave her in actual combat, and it was exactly the kind of thing Logan loved to say—

Combat wasn’t just about stats.

Hearing that, Lissandra gave White the Snow Fox a strange look.

There was something Logan had once said to her that she remembered very clearly.

He had said that back then, she had nearly become Runeterra’s own traitor, the one who would have guided the Void straight in. If she had not woken up in time, then the Void would already have invaded Runeterra nine thousand years ago.

And now, what White was doing was basically becoming the turncoat of the Freljord’s demi-gods.

She was going to guide Logan straight to them.

"All right, then we’ll capture Rilfen and Jie first," Logan said immediately.

Having made up his mind, he turned to Karma and Swain. "What about you two? Want to stay and help, or head back?"

Karma thought for a moment, then said, "I don’t think you really need my help."

Beside her, Swain said in that slightly hoarse voice of his, "I’ll stay. I want to see what exactly you plan to do."

"Good. But if possible, I’d like you and Karma to help too. Riven and the others are about to go back to their own world, and we’re short-handed right now," Logan said to Karma.

Riven did not have much time left. Once she went back, Logan would naturally have to send Tristana back too, and Ahri as well.

After all, the time they had left was not enough for White to guide Logan around while tracking down the ancient gods.

Of course, if they wanted to stay a little longer, Logan would not drive them away. He was not the kind of man who used people and tossed them aside. Riven and the others had just helped him fight; asking them to leave the second the battle ended was not something he could do.

"All right," Karma said, nodding to show she understood.

"Then let’s go now! First we’ll head to the first cave they use!" White the Snow Fox said at once.

As the little fox excitedly raised a paw, the Seal Sister’s expression became even more complicated.

She looked toward Lissandra, only to find Lissandra already looking back at her.

Then, through voice transmission, the Seal Sister asked Lissandra:

"You’re really going to stand by and let him keep doing this? Lissandra, I may not like you, but no matter what, you’re still the sister of Avarosa and Serylda. You are the rightful heir of the Freljord. He isn’t. If this keeps going, then the future of the Freljord will become someone else’s."

Lissandra met the Seal Sister’s gaze, her eyes calm as she replied through voice transmission:

"Seal Sister, you were born in the northern sea back in ancient times. You have lived on this land for tens of thousands of years. But how many places have you truly gone? How much do you really know about Runeterra?

"The rightful heir of the Freljord? Heh. In the current human world, the Freljord has long since been pushed to the margins. Civilization was born in Valoran, in Shurima, in Ionia—even on a tiny island like Bilgewater. Not here in what you insist on calling humanity’s birthplace, the Freljord.

"I have never hated the customs of the Freljord more than I do today. The cold shackles our flesh, but it has never shackled our hearts. What truly keeps the people of the Freljord from leaving is the curse Avarosa and Serylda placed upon us.

"What does it mean to say that worshipping Anivia and the rest of you will bring peace to the people? And what does it mean to say that worshipping beast-nature will restore the Freljord?

"There has never been a single day when I did not regret what I once did. But even if Avarosa and Serylda appeared before me right now, I would still say they were wrong.

"This world is far larger than we ever imagined. Our vision was too small, and our strength far too weak."

As Lissandra went on, the tone of her voice transmission grew colder and colder, carrying a sharp killing intent.

She would not allow anyone to sabotage Logan’s plans.

Since she had handed the task of opposing the Void over to Logan, then she would trust him and support him.

So she sent one final thought to the Seal Sister:

"Submit and join us, or resist and die."

"Lissandra... you’re about to lead the Freljord into destruction again," the Seal Sister sighed.

Lissandra only sneered in response.

This decision had been Logan’s.

She was merely his supporter.

Seeing that Lissandra would say no more, the Seal Sister finally spoke aloud. "I still have matters to attend to in the northern sea. The northern sea cannot go without my watch. So, everyone, I’ll be taking my leave."

Without waiting for anyone to react, she instantly turned into a streak of light and vanished.

Logan looked a little surprised. White the Snow Fox, meanwhile, seemed to realize something, and her expression immediately turned hurt as she stared toward the direction the Seal Sister had gone.

"I’m not... I’m not..." White began muttering under her breath, her tone incredibly conflicted.

She rose upright on her hind legs, exposing a soft pink little belly through her thick white fur. Her bright eyes were full of grievance as she looked at Lissandra.

The Seal Sister had suddenly left without even saying a word to her, and that coldness at parting had genuinely hurt White.

Seeing her like that, Lissandra found herself both annoyed and amused.

Back in the age of the Three Sisters, White the Snow Fox had always been an oddball.

She had not been a god personally invited by Avarosa and Serylda. She had more or less stumbled into joining their camp by accident.

The reason was very simple.

White the Snow Fox liked eating the offerings humans gave her.

She did not care about human faith-power, and she never ate humans, because she thought they smelled bad.

But she did like eating food humans had cooked.

And her reasons for protecting humanity had never been lofty. She joined the Three Sisters simply because she wanted to taste more delicious food.

And once she joined... she ended up staying for half her life.

"What’s wrong with admitting your desires? Don’t worry about what she thinks, White. We’re not trying to kill Rilfen and Jie. We’re just capturing them and bringing them into our side," Lissandra said.

"But she... she said I’m a traitor for doing this."

"Who said that?"

"The Seal Sister..." White said pitifully.

Listening from the side, Logan found it hilarious.

So the stories really were lies.

Who exactly said foxes were all cunning and clever?

Logan now knew two foxes, both powerful demi-gods at that. But Ahri was frank by nature, adorable and kind, while White was simple and timid. To Logan, she felt kind of meek.

Especially since this one was a whole size rounder than Ahri.

"Treat what she said like a fart in the wind," Lissandra said calmly.

"Oh." White nodded, then reached out with a little paw and tugged at Logan’s pant leg.

Logan looked down at her and saw her bare her little fangs as she said, "I found where Rilfen and Jie are. Should we go now?"

"Yes. Let’s move."

"Everyone, together," Logan ordered.

Lissandra, Karma, and Swain had no objections.

As for Janna, Ahri, Riven, and Tristana, there was even less to say. Of course they listened to Logan.

The only one who refused was Udyr. He was going to pick up Sejuani. Compared to something like the full unification of the Freljord, the fatherly Udyr cared more about Sejuani.

Still, for just Rilfen and Jie... honestly, Logan felt like Lissandra alone would be enough, so Udyr not coming was no big deal.

White turned into a streak of light and took the lead. Behind her came Logan, who was a little slower and ended up being flown along by Lissandra and Ahri. Then came the rest of the gods.

"Damn it! Just a little more! I was that close to making White return my power!"

Inside a hidden space somewhere in the Freljord, a complaining voice rang out.

A slender snake was coiled around the body of a black wolf. In those beautiful jewel-like serpent eyes was nothing but resentment as she flicked her tongue and spoke.

The black wolf Rilfen lay on the ground resting, his claws split open and his spine injured. Hearing that, he sighed and said, "Jie, instead of that, what we should really be worrying about is what happens to us after Volibear loses..."

"What’s there to do? We just never go out again!" Jie snapped loudly.

She slid down from Rilfen’s body and moved in front of him. "What, are they going to hunt us down? As for Kinl dying... that was an accident. That human—"

Fear flashed in Rilfen’s eyes, and his voice sounded unnatural as he interrupted her. "That human female didn’t fear death. She truly wanted to kill me. She wanted to trade her life for mine. If Kinl hadn’t been so stupid, then the one who died back there could very well have been me."

"Where the hell did those gods come from? What are Ornn and Anivia doing? Are they not going to do anything about this?" Jie said angrily, glaring at Rilfen in frustration.

Rilfen gave a bitter laugh. "Anivia is dead. Did you forget? The witch led that group of whorl-scaled beasts here, and Anivia sacrificed herself to seal them in ice. As for Ornn, he hasn’t shown himself in a very long time..."

When it came down to it, the Freljord having neither Anivia nor Ornn’s protection now...

Wasn’t that their own doing?

Anivia died because the pressure from the Old Ways became too great, Lissandra carried out some ritual, and then powerful, uncontrollable monsters appeared. Anivia crashed into the earth, shattering herself to pieces while freezing and burying the monsters along with her.

As for Ornn, after his battle with Volibear, he never truly recovered and vanished from sight.

Jie fell silent after hearing Rilfen’s words.

Then she flicked her tongue again and said, "Forget it. Let’s stop thinking about that, Rilfen. From now on, we’ll just hide. We’ll stay hidden until the next age, until the Freljord falls into chaos again, and only then will we come out."

Rilfen looked at Jie, nodded, and was just about to agree when he suddenly sprang upright and moved in front of her.

Jie also raised her serpent body, staring ahead coldly.

Then they saw a huge claw smash apart the hidden space.

"White, are you done yet or not?!"

Inside this sealed spirit pocket, Jie and Rilfen could not sense the outside world, and the outside world could not sense them either.

But now, a claw had burst into their space.

And really, other than White, who else could do something like that?

White excelled at sealing arts. She was not good at combat, more of a support god, so tracking people down was easy for her.

Jie and Rilfen burst out of the pocket space, intending to demand what White thought she was doing.

They had already conceded and hidden themselves. And White had still chased them here. What, did she think they could not do anything to her just because they were injured?

What a joke.

Both Jie and Rilfen were ancient gods skilled in battle.

But the moment they rushed out, they both froze.

An expression of sheer horror appeared on Rilfen’s wolf face as he stared at the black-haired young man smiling at him from several dozen meters away, and at the crowd of gods surrounding them on all sides, blocking every route of escape.

Lissandra. Ahri. White. Riven. Tristana. Karma. Swain. Janna.

Eight gods were silently watching Rilfen and Jie without saying a word.

And that young man was smiling at them too.

It was White who finally broke the silence.

"Rilfen, Jie, surrender," White the Snow Fox said loudly, swishing her big tail.

Rilfen remained silent after hearing that, because the situation before him left him speechless.

But hot-tempered Jie was not willing to accept it.

Raising her snake head high and hissing, she shrieked, "Didn’t we already surrender? Didn’t we already hide ourselves? What more do you want? Are you really going to hunt us down to the bitter end?!"

"And another thing—why are you helping this stupid fox? What about her is worth helping?"

"Huh? Stupid fox?" Ahri narrowed her eyes on instinct, clearly displeased.

But then she realized Jie was not talking about her.

Fair enough. Spirit Blossom only had the one little fox, after all.

As for Jie’s furious question, Lissandra said nothing and looked at Logan.

Logan thought for a moment, then said, "Because she helps humans. Before we ever showed up, White risked her life fighting you to protect humans. And I’m human. So tell me—doesn’t that make her worth helping?"

After hearing Logan’s answer, Jie started hissing furiously. Her dark green pupils fixed on Logan as she opened her mouth to spit venom.

Then let it all burn!

But a wolf paw suddenly lifted and stopped her.

It was Rilfen.

After hearing Logan speak, something shifted in his eyes, and he blocked Jie from making a desperate suicidal move.

Then Rilfen walked forward a few steps until he stood before Logan. He sat down in the air, braced both front paws before him, shrank his body down, and lowered his head toward Logan.

Logan looked at him in surprise, not knowing what the black wolf was trying to do.

Then he heard Rilfen speak in a respectful voice.

"White became your guide and helped you clean out the ancient gods, right?"

Logan paused. He was about to answer when Rilfen suddenly raised his head and looked at him, his eyes gleaming.

"But I can be your guide too. I can protect humans too. I’m a battle god. I can do that better than White."

As he said that, Rilfen raised both front paws toward Logan and the gathered gods in a gesture of surrender. At the same time, he secretly transmitted something to Jie.

Then Jie immediately made a movement as well.

The little white snake lifted her tail, ducked her face down, and lowered her head. In that posture, Logan and the others could not see her expression, but the trembling of her snake body made it obvious that she was absolutely miserable about this.

Seeing the way Rilfen and Jie were acting, Logan instantly understood.

He looked at Rilfen, and a strange expression appeared on his face.

This ancient god was something else.

He really knew how to read the room.

Logan’s original plan had been to beat them half to death first, force them to sign the agreement White had drafted, and make it so that if they broke it unilaterally, White could seal their souls. Naturally, White would not be able to force them to do anything beyond what was written in the agreement.

After that, Logan planned to talk to them about faith, about how to build them up and make them popular among humans so they could gain large amounts of faith-power, until they truly came to value humanity from the bottom of their hearts and willingly became guardian gods.

But now...

This wolf was being so cooperative that Logan was almost speechless.

"So, what do you think? Will that work?" Rilfen asked Logan, and as he spoke, an ingratiating grin even appeared on his wolf face.

Logan was silent for a beat.

"Yeah," he said at last. "That’ll work just fine."

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