A Serpent's Tale - Chapter 278: Strength Test

I, a mere con artist, was unjustly imprisoned in Tantalus, the Abyssal Prison meant for the most nefarious of criminals, where I met a regressor.

But when I used my ability to read her mind, I found out that I was fated to die in a year…

and that the world would end 10 years later.

**MASS RELEASE 10 CHAPTERS ON FIRST NOVEMBER** 2 CHAPTERS DAILY (NOVEMBER)Seraphina Vale grew up unwanted. An orphan passed from one home to another until she learned that happy endings were best found between pages, not in real life. By adulthood, she was a broke writer, living on instant noodles and failed manuscripts, clinging to dreams that never sold.Then her best friend mailed her a “souvenir” — a tiny glass bottle supposedly holding phoenix tears. She laughed, made a wish, and the next thing she knew… she woke up in another world.A world where dragons run corporations, fox spirits manage PR, and even gorgons hold seats in the boardroom.And her? She’s not even the heroine. Just a phoenix side character and worse, a defective one.As if being cannon fodder wasn’t bad enough, the System whispers her only way home: die.Easy to say, but impossible when phoenixes don’t stay dead. Every time she burns out, she rises again, trapped in the same cruel loop.Then there’s her boss… Lucian Drake, the Ice Dragon CEO with glacial eyes and a reputation as the perfect gentleman. In the original story, Lucian Drake was fated to betray her. His carefully planned affection was only a trap to draw out the real heroine.The system keeps warning her: 'don’t trust him, don’t fall for him.'But how can she not when he smiles like that, when his voice softens, when his smallest gestures feel too genuine to be scripted?So she lets herself believe, just a little… that maybe this story could change.Maybe this time, she could change her roles.But stories have rules. And when the truth surfaces, it cuts deep.She was never the one. Just a substitute. A pawn in his plan to lure the real heroine back.And yet, when everything falls apart, when the truth burns through their carefully built lies, Lucian is the one left chasing after the phoenix he broke.If Seraphina wants to escape, she’ll have to survive office politics, respawn cycles, and a love that was never meant to be hers. Because even if the coldest dragon learns to love her too late... it might already be her turn to fly away.[Transmigration] [Fantasy Romance] [Enemies to Lovers] [Rebirth Loop] [Substitute Female Lead] [Cold CEO Dragon] [Phoenix FL] [Chasing Her Back] [Emotional Betrayal] [Second Male Lead Redemption] [Slow Burn]P/s : This story is written primarily in first-person (Seraphina’s POV) with occasional third-person scenes from Lucian’s perspective to show events outside her knowledge. Expect sarcasm, emotional chaos, and dragons with communication issues.

The world is in chaos, and evil spirits appear everywhere, causing chaos in the world and poisoning the people.

The imperial court set up a special department for subduing demons, recruiting strange people, Buddhist monks and monks from all over the world to work together to slay demons and subdue demons.

Ning Xiu was reborn with a proficiency panel and practiced martial arts exercises hard, just to have the power to slay demons in this world of demons, suppress the universe, and protect the peace and prosperity of the human race.

[Tianwang King Kong Gong: Twenty Layers (99999/99999)] The blood is like a furnace, burning the river to boil the sea

[Dragon and Elephant Prajna: Eighteenth Floor (81111/88888)] Raise the peaks with both arms and move the mountains to remove the ridges

…

Ning Xiu: “My strength is all based on hard work every day, rain or shine.”

- Description from novelbuddy

The hero who was killed by the demon king ended up reincarnated as the son of the one who killed him! Thus began the life of the hero who donned in the mask of the ideal demon prince to topple his own kingdom while doing his best to prevent anyone from discovering his identity―― But to do that and blend into the demon tribe society, he had to kill his former comrades. Nevertheless, to become stronger, to save humanity, he had to walk through all kinds of paths of carnage! This is the tale of the demon race’s fake prince destroying his own kingdom.

O Hero, Trample Those Who You Should Protect!

TN: Most part of the other character in the novel is depicted from a non-human perspective so expect something that is completely different from the common sense of human.