Desolate Era - Book 27, Chapter 3 - The Forest of Sword Pagodas

He, since childhood, had followed the Foreigner to practice the Defying Heaven Art, entering the most secretive special forces and becoming a fearsome assassin that made others tremble at the mere mention of his name. After a single failure, he took early retirement, but he ended up as the personal bodyguard for a rich heiress, a school beauty. Accidentally provoking some mysterious Cultivators, he gradually unveiled a hidden world of Cultivation beyond the mortal realm...

WARNING: ITS A 18+ BOOKHeena stretched on the warm sand, sipping coconut water. Finally, peace. No scheming heroines, no brooding male leads—just her and the ocean.“HEENA! MOTHER! I FOUND YOU!”Her eye twitched. Not now.Floating above the beach was a golden lion with sparkling wings.“System 547,” she said, gritting her teeth. “I’m on vacation.”“But the worlds are collapsing! Male leads are going crazy! Villainesses are dying! White lotus heroines are ruining everything!”“Not my problem.”“You’re the Black Lotus! Only you can fix this!”“Exactly why I deserve a vacation.”“No rules! Slap them, seduce them, team up with the villainess—anything!”Heena sipped her coconut. “If I say yes, triple points, rare items from every world, and six months vacation after.”“Done! Anything!” the lion shouted, tail wagging.Heena stood, brushing sand off. “Fine. Show me these broken male leads.” Her smirk was dangerous.The portal threw Heena onto cold marble floors. Her head spun as чуж memories flooded in.Empress Celeste Ravencourt.Five husbands.A dying empire.“Great,” Heena muttered. “I’m the villain.”A tiny golden lion appeared beside her. “Welcome to World 12! You’re married to five powerful men who all hate you. They’re meeting tonight to poison you and crown the heroine instead.”“Let me guess,” Heena sighed. “White lotus?”“Lady Seraphina. Sweet, kind, system-backed. They’re all in love with her.”Heena rubbed her temples. The body was weak, starved, exhausted. No wonder Celeste died so easily.“Fine,” she said, pulling off the heavy jewelry. “That empress is dead. I’m not.”She chose a simple dark dress, tied her hair up, and met her reflection. The sadness vanished. Confidence took its place.At dinner, five men waited—cold, powerful, deadly handsome. Warriors, priests, generals, spies. Every one of them wanted her gone.Wine was poured into her glass.Poisoned. Obvious.They watched her closely.Heena lifted the glass, smiling lightly.“To new beginnings.”She drank it all.The silence cracked.Nothing happened.Their faces changed—shock, fear, disbelief.Heena leaned back, calm and smiling.“Now,” she said softly, “which one of you thought killing me would be that easy?”

You shall become king—

Ruling over all “serpents” in the world…

Become the man who bears the brunt of dragonkind’s fear and hatred.

A modern era when humanity is threatened by attacks from giant dragons flying from beyond the sky.

Controlling “leviathans”—serpentine spiritual beings created through magic—humanity is locked in a protracted war of resistance against the dragons.

Fortunately, there exist witches known as “magi”—battle maidens of salvation who formed covenants with “serpents” in order to combat dragons.

Nicknamed Hal, the young man called Haruga Haruomi makes his living through facilitating the covenants of these girls.

At the (partially coercive) request of his childhood friend Asya, one of Europe’s top witches, Hal returns to Tokyo New Town after an absence of three years.

Accompanied by the beautiful Asya whose appearance rivaled a fairy’s, Hal is running all over the place to secure his base of operations and taking care of matters related to school transfer when the elite dragon Soth suddenly attacks—!?

Life has been breathed into a brand new myth between dragons and dragonslayers.

A grand opening to the “birth” of a top-class battle epic!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be known that this book wouldn't have made it this far without the support my dear writing buddy Rachel E. Canton who is a great writer of SINS OF THE SERAPHIM - https://www.webnovel.com/book/sins-of-the-seraphim_26438336605116805 and Derek J. PernaTo Rachel & Derek, Thank you for everything!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~When the last heir of Ardel lost everything, fate would bring her to her rightful protector.Anna Adhemar, the forgotten princess, found herself betrayed by the Regent. Hunted by the Bargesians and the ruthless slave traders, she desperately fled for her life.Rescued by a mysterious man, her newfound safety was short-lived as she succumbed to a potent aphrodisiac. Then, she awoke in the arms of the fearsome Knight Commander of Gerhard, stripped bare, in a foreign kingdom.Fear, confusion, and a sense of profound devastation enveloped her.But the man before her declared, “I am your husband. I married you last night.”Then, with unwavering determination, he vowed, “ You're my woman now. No one can hurt my woman.”---Kyren Raychard, the Crown Prince who had chosen to forsake the throne and become celibate, led the Knights of Gerhard to safeguard his kingdom’s border from slave trading activities.Outside his camp, he found Anna poisoned and delirious. The healer informed him of the only cure, of which he must race against time to give and honour her.For the first time, he felt an overwhelming instinct to protect and claim her as his own.Unaware of his deepening affection, he belatedly realised his feelings as he stood on the brink of losing her.Bound by a soul-binding spell, their fates intertwined…