Desolate Era - Book 24, Chapter 39 - The Battle Begins

First of all, this is not a story where the cannon fodder chambermaid counterattacks and gives the main wife a beat-down! As a lowly s*ave who had been sold a total of six times, Xiao Hua has long become apathetic to her situation. In her past life, she was a cannon fodder chambermaid who was beaten to death. In this life, she decided to turn over a new leaf and live honestly, yet in the end still ended up being sold off. This prince’s estate seems to have pretty good benefits? She could be released at twenty-five, and they’d arrange a place for her to live under their jurisdiction? They’d even get rid of her s*ave records? Great! That’s great! Xiao Hua thus decided to stay in the Jing Prince Estate and do her job properly. It’s a shame she could never overcome the whims of fate…. The master she serves is a “mute boy”, with several influences above him watching like tigers eyeing their prey. To say she doesn’t want to be pampered is definitely a lie. This is the road to survival of a “discreet girl” who clings on to her master’s leg and is solely pampered, yet feels that he never pampers her. The road from a cannon fodder chambermaid to a beloved imperial consort is a little long….

The world ends in a single moment.When the Mass Outbreak Event shatters reality, portals tear open across the globe, unleashing monsters that drive civilization to collapse. As cities burn and order crumbles, a game-like System activates across humanity, granting survivors levels, skills, and abilities, and forcing the world into a brutal new set of rules.Eighteen-year-old Jagger Ashton is dragged into this new reality where monsters are only part of the danger. Humans, twisted by power, fear, and desperation, prove just as deadly. Every encounter pushes Jagger closer to the edge, testing his sanity and the fragile line between control and corruption.Jagger begins to uncover a terrifying truth.The Outbreak was not just an invasion. It was a selection process.The System is preparing the world for something far worse.And whatever is coming… it wants strong survivors.To survive what lies ahead, Jagger must confront the power festering inside him and choose whether to master it or surrender to it entirely.

Crimson Vale Academy—where reputation is currency, and failure is a stain you wear on your sleeve.Behind gothic walls and spotless uniforms, students aren't just educated—they're measured, ranked, and pitted against each other in a brutal meritocracy. Privileges are earned, not given. The strong rise. The weak vanish.Enter Kairon Vale, a transfer student marked Rank D—the bottom of the bottom. No badge. Just a stitched black fang, branding him as “Obsidian”—a warning to others.In a system where points dictate your value, Obsidian-ranked students claw for every opportunity to ascend into the prestigious Golden or Platinum ranks—where comfort, power, and influence await. But for most, it’s a losing battle.Yet Kairon isn’t here to fit in, impress, or play by their rules. Cold, calculating, and impossible to read, he watches the system… and waits. Because while the academy judges worth by numbers and names—he understands something deeper:Everyone wears a mask. And every mask can be cracked.Let the games begin.

That night, the delicate purple-eyed woman in a wedding dress sat on their bed as her husband observed her with a grin.

“So,” he drawled, his voice wicked and magnetic, “I can't see my wife's face even on my wedding night?”

“My lord has promised to fulfill my one wish,” the woman commented, securing the veil that covered the lower half of her face with slightly trembling hands.

He stared into her mysterious rare purple eyes. “May I ask, why such a wish?”

She stared back at him. “My lord might not like to see ugly things.”

He smirked and stepped towards her. “I never had a liking towards pretty things.”

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Seren, the infamous daughter of the witch, and Drayce, the ruthless and vicious son of the Devil.

No one had ever seen her face as the witches are meant to be ugly, but he was the one who never searched for beauty.

She was cursed to never fall in love, but he wished to be the only man she would ever love.

A cursed princess married off to the Devil's son to destroy his kingdom but the Devil's son had a different plan for her.

The secret of her birth will be revealed only to lead the way to unleash the hidden powers inside her which no one can control.

With the hidden dangers desiring her power, can Drayce and Seren protect one another or will the darkness swallow them whole?