Void Beetle Evolution Guide

Cassiopeia says Mordekaiser's rune fragments can defy fate. If he is indeed fate, then... those who obey will prosper, and those who defy will perish.

It wasn't because she wasn't smart enough, but because she was constantly going against Mordecais, which is why she was targeted by fate, as if she were under a curse, and her efforts always came to naught.

Without a higher-ranking Overlord Foundation Stone, it would be difficult to break this invisible curse. But since she was already cursed, she was destined to be forever barred from rune foundation stones. If it weren't for Cassiopeia's intervention, she would have been forever condemned to live in the shadow of the Ironclad Wraith.

All of this was the arrangement of fate, the power of the runes. She manipulated the fates of Riven and others, thinking she had escaped the chessboard, unaware that she was nothing more than a pawn jumping around on the board.

After figuring everything out, LeBlanc suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness; this feeling of being at the mercy of fate was truly disheartening.

Looking at the runes in Cassiopeia's hand, she suddenly felt an urge to snatch them away and change her damned fate.

But then I thought, could this step also be under the control of fate? Then I felt a sense of resistance and nausea, and resigned myself to losing all desire for it.

Seeing her nemesis about to be defeated, LeBlanc couldn't feel any joy. Life was meaningless, and death was unbearable; she thought to herself, "I might as well just start a business from now on."

I wonder what the other LeBlancs will think? Should I tell them the truth?

“Mordcasar, facts speak louder than words. How do you intend to explain this now?” Cassiopeia removed the threads of fate that bound the Iron Armored Wraith. He was now so weak that he no longer had the strength to support the Iron Armor, and he collapsed to his knees.

However, the anger in his heart did not diminish in the slightest; it surged to unprecedented heights. He still wanted to use his iron will once again to mold fate into the shape he desired.

"Slain twice, reborn thrice. I am destiny! I am the master! You cannot kill me no matter how hard you try, because... I refuse to retreat!"

Unable to lift Nightfall with one hand, Mordekaiser lifted it with both hands.

But he is not a god; he cannot change his fate by willpower alone.

"I don't know if it's too cruel to say this, but the way you slowly lifted Nightfall was like you were offering me a treasure." Cassiopeia had no intention of humiliating the fallen, and after giving LeBlanc a little vindication, she beckoned to the Wild Hunt.

“My dear master, Cassiopeia has already received her reward, and this artifact is now yours.” She said contentedly, putting away the Dominator’s Stone, completely disregarding the dying Mordekaiser.

The ruler of the underworld has run out of time and can no longer cause trouble. Mei Xiangxiang, have you had any free time, Lin Zaizai...?

Sad, sigh.

"Another Deathly Hallow."

This was the first time Wild Hunt had fought in human form, and he wanted to project an image of someone ruthless and taciturn. He casually snatched Nightfall from Mordekaiser's hands.

The helmet shattered completely with a single blow.

Chapter 777 The Curtain Falls

With a single blow from the Wild Hunt, the iron helmet shattered, and the soul within was absorbed into the blazing Nightfall.

Mordecais, who loved to kill and steal souls with a hammer, was now being treated the same way.

The Wild Hunt glanced around, and the steel-clad undead that met his gaze scattered, seemingly afraid of the mace in his hand. It was the tyrant's weapon, and also a symbol of royal power.

"Get back to the underworld, all of you!"

The sudden shout caused a stir among the undead. Mordekaiser's headless armor still exuded a terrifying aura, making them hesitant to betray him.

Wild Hunt swung his mace, smashing a nearby steel general to pieces. The soul was released, swirling and howling in the well before gradually dissipating.

Seeing that their new master was no pushover either, and fearing the power of Nightfall, the souls scrambled to jump into the well and flee back to the underworld. Soon, the area was quiet again.

Mordecais's crisis was thus resolved; now it was time to deal with the aftermath.

Nightfall was thus absorbed into the Wild Hunt's hive. Although it could not release undead like the Ruined Blade, it could drag any being it designated or killed into the underworld, where it would be entertained by the steel undead waiting in ambush. It was truly a divine artifact.

However, Wild Hunt only considered Nightfall as a bonus he received from finding the rune fragments, and it wasn't of much use to him. That was what he originally thought, but then Cassiopeia's pretty face suddenly came into view, and she said to him mysteriously, "Master, you must keep this Nightfall safe, it will come in very handy in the future."

"Oh? So you're just temporarily leaving Nightfall with me, and you're planning to take it back later?" Wild Hunt laughed in anger. Not only did he get a useless hammer, but it didn't even belong to him. This Cassiopeia is getting bolder and bolder; she even dared to take advantage of him. It seems he needs to be taught a lesson.

Cassiopeia laughed, but it was a guilty, forced laugh. Knowing that Wild Hunt was angry, she quickly stepped forward, arms crossed, and explained, "The rune fragments were indeed what I wanted, and Nightfall was also part of the plan, but it was all for the sake of our great cause. Cassiopeia swears she has no ulterior motives. Besides, isn't there a Soul-Suppressing Bell here?"

As she spoke, she dragged Wild Hunt's arm toward the Soul-Suppressing Bell, trying to change the subject.

"You mean I'm only fit to pick up the trash you don't want?"

Wild Hunt sneered, and Cassiopeia's laughter was now gone. With a mournful face, she pleaded in fear, "Master, please don't scare me! You must consider the bigger picture! There are too many people around here, so please be patient. Once we reach the Howling Abyss, Cassiopeia will reveal the whole plan."

"Hmph, you've been setting this up for so long. If you disappoint me, don't blame me for not showing any mercy."

Every time the Wild Hunt tried to ask Cassiopeia what she was up to, she would always brush him off with the excuse that it was a secret. This time was no exception. Having achieved its goal of warning her, the Wild Hunt stopped bothering Cassiopeia.

The two arrived together before the Soul-Suppressing Bell. This bell not only subdues the undead but also directly influences the spiritual realm, making it a rare treasure. However, Wild Hunt was about to face the Void Watchers, so the bell was unlikely to be of much use, which is why he felt like he was picking up trash.

There weren't many treasures left that caught his eye. However, no one would complain about having too many treasures. Even if he didn't need them himself, keeping them to reward his family members was a good option; he couldn't only think of himself.

“Master, Vladimir is missing,” Cassiopeia whispered.

"Gone?" Wild Hunt remembered Vladimir as a man with a wrinkled face from blood loss. He turned and looked around, realizing the vampire had indeed slipped away unnoticed. He not only ignored LeBlanc, but also reluctantly abandoned Zhong.

"He really got away quickly." Wild Hunt didn't take him seriously. What was there to care about a man, unless he used some secret technique to reincarnate into a woman? No, that wouldn't do either. Having been a man, even if he became a woman, he would never be pure again.

After putting away the Soul-Suppressing Bell, Wild Hunt walked a few steps to LeBlanc, squatted down, pinched her delicate chin, and looked her in the eye. "LeBlanc, we've helped you eliminate your nemesis. How do you plan to thank us?"

“I did not ask you for help.” LeBlanc remained unmoved, believing that agreeing to their request would only mean serving a new master and still being unable to escape her fate of being enslaved.

The Wild Hunt never gave a kind look to such an ungrateful woman. He suddenly acted, grabbing LeBlanc by the throat and lifting her up without any mercy. His eyes turned cold, filled with murderous intent.

"Ugh... Ugh..." LeBlanc let out a painful groan, trying to pry Wild Hunt's fingers open, but to no avail.

The Wild Hunt extended fine, protruding tentacles from its palm, easily piercing her neck as if searching for something. But moments later, all the tentacles retracted. The Wild Hunt released LeBlanc, tossing her aside, looking utterly dejected.

"Master, what's wrong?" Cassiopeia asked hurriedly upon seeing this.

"The dead cannot be transformed."

Wild Hunt had initially held out hope, but after trying it, he completely abandoned his original plan.

For symbiosis to occur, the host must at least be a living being. Although LeBlanc looks no different from an ordinary person, she is actually a lich created from a corpse.

If forcibly fused, the skin armor will be unable to obtain the nutrients it needs to survive from her, and will easily devour her driven by hunger.

"So what will the master do with her?"

"..." The Wild Hunt stared intently at LeBlanc, without revealing his thoughts.

LeBlanc controls the Black Rose, the world's largest spy organization, and should be quite useful. However, she has many clones, and if one dies, another will take its place, so threatening her with death is unlikely to be effective.

But if we let her go here, with her elusive and convincing deception skills, catching her again after she escapes won't be so easy. We absolutely shouldn't miss such a good opportunity.

Since he couldn't control her with the skin armor, what other way was there to make her obediently serve him? Wild Hunt suddenly felt somewhat fortunate that he hadn't smashed Mordekaiser to death with a single blow.

“LeBlanc, you saw it too. Mordekaiser’s soul has been taken into Nightfall. If you don’t want the tyrant to reappear, you’d better work under me.” As he spoke, he took out a small glass vial from the hive and met the Pale Lady’s flickering gaze.

Chapter 778 Aftermath

"This bottle contains the legendary Water of Blessed Light, the Fountain of Life. It can heal any injury or illness, but it is a deadly poison to the undead; just a drop or two can reduce them to ashes." Wild Hunt shook the bottle a few times, then slowly brought it close to LeBlanc's face.

LeBlanc's face paled even more, and she instinctively trembled as she moved to the side, fearful yet trying hard to remain calm. She knew the Wild Hunt wasn't bluffing; even through the glass, she felt an unbearable, soul-crushing pain, and her teeth seemed to loosen, as if they might fall out at any moment, forcing her to clench her teeth tightly.

“One man’s poison is another man’s honey. Hmph, here you go.” Seeing her reaction, Wild Hunt snorted and suddenly threw the bottle to Swain, who was not far away.

This surprised and puzzled LeBlanc. She heard him say, "President, this bottle of Blessed Water is for you. I see you are badly injured. After taking it, your injuries will be healed."

"Why are you helping me?" Swain caught the bottle but frowned and didn't drink it immediately. He didn't understand why Wild Hunt was helping him.

“My friend’s whip sword isn’t specifically designed to slay spirits. While it helped you expel the demon from your body, it also broke your back. Consider this bottle of medicine my apology on his behalf. Also, I’d like to ask you for a favor. I can’t appear in front of her right now, so please give her some of the Blessed Light Water later and take care of her until she can move freely again. Also, don’t mention to her that we were here.”

"I understand." There's no such thing as a free lunch; Wild Hunt's explanation was rather believable. Swain took a small sip, feeling the life energy flow through his body, repairing his spine broken in the previous battle. Paralyzed from the waist down, he was able to sit up straight again. Even if this blessed water couldn't cure his broken hand and lame leg, its ability to free him from a wheelchair for the rest of his life was enough to prove its miraculous effects.

"I am deeply grateful. Noxus will remember this kindness." He punched his chest heavily to express his gratitude, thanking not only for the bottle of holy water, but also for resolving the Empire's worries.

Swain glanced down at the bottle; there was still a fair amount of the Blessed Water left, enough to treat Nera and Darius.

He had heard that LeBlanc's undead body was most afraid of this Blessed Water, so he had to be careful and definitely kept some in case of emergency.

Wild Hunt nodded. Compared to LeBlanc, Swain gave him a much better impression. A real man should be able to bend and stretch. He should accept kindness when it's appropriate, instead of making so many malicious assumptions, like someone with paranoia.

He knew what Swain was thinking, but he didn't care, as long as it didn't affect his pride.

Then he looked at LeBlanc again and reached out his hand to her.

“LeBlanc, Mordekaiser and I are not the same kind of people. What we are doing does not conflict with your interests, and we will not order you around. So you don’t need to be so hostile to me.”

"Words are meaningless. I don't know you at all. You can't just believe whatever you say." The naturally suspicious LeBlanc remained hesitant and reluctant to agree to the Wild Hunt's offer of goodwill. She feared that this combination of kindness and pressure was a trap to lure her into a snare.

“Master, she still doesn’t trust you.” Cassiopeia chuckled, a forced smile playing on her lips, looking eager to try. “Hmm…should I imprint a few mental seals on her, so she can never disobey your orders?”

"If she still doesn't know what's good for her, then you can deal with her as you see fit."

“Did you hear me, LeBlanc?” Cassiopeia leaned down and used her sharp nails to hook LeBlanc’s chin. “Do you really think your scheming clones will risk their lives to save you?”

"..." LeBlanc's expression turned very serious. Cassiopeia's methods were truly unpredictable and the most fearsome.

She could easily see that the two of them were working together, one playing the bad cop and the other the good cop.

But did she have a choice? Rather than being locked out of her knowledge and turned into a puppet, she might as well compromise and take it one step at a time.

Asking "What do you want me to do?" implies compromise and concession.

"It's nothing more than providing intelligence and handling some trivial matters. You're already helpless against Mordekaiser, so how can you be of any help dealing with others?"

Wild Hunt's answer made LeBlanc feel that he didn't really need her, but simply didn't want to let her go easily, like a stamp collector. I can do without her, but I can't live without her.

She gritted her teeth and said, "I can make Black Rose work for you, but you can't restrict my personal freedom."

"Deal." Wild Hunt agreed without hesitation.

Hearing this, LeBlanc finally lowered her guard slightly. The reason she hadn't readily agreed was that she was waiting for a definite answer.

It was precisely because she had witnessed Mordekaiser's terror that she persisted for so long. If it were someone with a weaker will, they would have given in after a few threats from the Wild Hunt, and wouldn't have gained so much room to maneuver. You want Mei to have it, Lin wants to be empty, Lin is here but not there...

Although I'm very unwilling, I have to admit that being a loser has its advantages. As long as you're good enough for someone else, no one will have any expectations of you.

Actually, she wasn't that bad. It's just that the Wild Hunt is not what it used to be, while LeBlanc has been stagnant for too long. The gap between the two is so large that she has to look up to her.

Then, Wild Hunt went to Riven, who was unconscious in the corner, squatted down and tore off the roses and the blood-sucking vines from her face.

Riven's cracked skin was bleeding, and the demonic power that Swain had previously given her to prolong her death had long been exhausted. If she didn't receive treatment soon, she would die before tonight.

Both LeBlanc and Riven are women controlled by fate, but LeBlanc evokes a sense of hatred, while Riven only evokes pity.

To help her fulfill her wish to return home and care for her elderly parents, the Wild Hunt decides to lend a hand. After all, for him now, saving Riven is just a piece of cake.

Instead of using the Blessed Water to save Riven, he chose Riven as one of his hosts and used skin-armor symbiosis to repair her bodily functions.

After initially refining the divine spark and generating divine power, the Wild Hunt can directly establish a mental link with its target even without the host's consent.

He needs an anchor point in Ionia, and Riven is just the right fit.

LeBlanc watched as a layer of seemingly breathing armor appeared out of nowhere on Riven's body, then disappeared, taking away Riven's wounds and erasing the magical marks she had left on Riven. Suddenly, she realized that she had missed some indescribable power.

A pang of regret welled up inside her; she knew she had to find Riven and find out what it was afterward.

Chapter 779 Departure

"Wake up, wake up." The unfamiliar voice in her mind jolted Riven awake.

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw a handsome, unfamiliar man squatting in front of her, looking at her with a half-smile. Their eyes met, and she saw a fleeting glint of purple in her own eyes reflected in his.

"Who are you?" Riven blurted out, her hands instinctively rummaging through the ground around her, searching for the rune-inscribed broken sword to defend herself.

"The one who saves you."

Upon hearing this, Riven paused for a moment, suddenly remembering that she had been seriously injured in a previous battle and was close to death when she fell unconscious.

But she doesn't feel like she's dying at all. Not only is she strong enough to knock down a bull, but her injuries have also mysteriously disappeared.

The only unusual thing was her extreme hunger, a hunger that came not only from her writhing stomach but also from every pore, making her tremble uncontrollably. However, to the naked eye, there was nothing different about her.

"Stop looking at it, you'll get used to it in a little while. Let's go home."

The man's words seemed to be trying to cover something up, but Raven's attention was completely drawn to the word "home".

“Go...home…” Riven suddenly felt that these two words, which she missed so much, were somewhat unfamiliar. “Go back to which home?!”

"Of course, I'll go back to your Ionia."

"Are you serious?"

Riven was incredulous. Instead of turning the tide of battle, she seemed like a primitive who had stumbled into a fight between powerful individuals, having almost no impact on the overall situation. Based on this abysmal performance, she felt her chances of redeeming herself were slim.

But now, listening to what the other person said, things seemed to have taken a turn for the better? The spirits were all gone, leaving only corpses scattered on the ground, reminding her that everything before was real.

“Leave the Immortal Fortress now, head straight for the docks, then find any ship to Ionia. No one will stop you along the way.” Wild Hunt paused, then turned to ask, “You agree, right?”

“I will have someone escort her to the boat,” Swain stated, indicating that Riven was of no importance to him and he would not stop her.

LeBlanc didn't dare to object. Riven's value had already been squeezed to the limit. She would just find an opportunity to question her on the way and then let her go.

The two men's actions greatly surprised Riven, who replied apprehensively, "No need to trouble yourself, I can go by myself."

She quickly got up and left, and no one stopped her even when she reached the stone steps. She was finally convinced that what Wild Hunt had said was true, and that those people had not conspired to deceive her.