Steel and Mana - Chapter 257 – The Siege of Lothlia (1)

When the forgotten past and the mysterious future collide, its up to those stuck in the middle to put a stop to it.Join Stanford “SK” Kirby, a mild-mannered deliveryman and amateur comic book writer, as he fights both the monsters of humanity's past sins and the machinations of their future mistakes.But how is someone this unqualified supposed to do something like that?Why, by creating superheroes, of course!“I have no fear, Operator! For I am here to save the day!”“And I just created a literal knight in shining armor. Alright, let's do this thing. AIM FOR THE DRAGON!”“The mechanical one or the anatomically correct one?”“YES!”

In this latest work by Lord of the Mysteries author, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, be prepared for a well-thought out and detailed apocalyptic, cyberpunk world with a setting superseding Lord of the Mysteries!

Birth rates are decreasing. Hope is vanishing. The world has gone gray.Humanity, drifting in quiet collapse, receives an email.Every person on Earth. Simultaneously.The Aegis Mandate.Disguised as a cosmic aptitude test, it triggers The Incident of Separation—a global psychic cataclysm that erases identities, wipes memories, and divides all survivors into three factions: Law, Neutral, and Chaos. Overnight, cities become battlegrounds. Apartments become dungeons. Ordinary people become monsters—or the ones who hunt them.Ragnar Vhagar was just a loner university student. Now, thanks to a system he didn’t ask for, he’s a newly minted Demon King, locked in a crumbling apartment with goblins under his sofa and a glowing soul crystal next to his frozen peas. His new job? Build a deadly domain, defend it from invading “Heroes,” and somehow level up fast enough to not die.Alongside him is Isabelle Thorne, a razor-sharp warrior of few words and one very sharp sword. Their reluctant alliance, born in blood and snark, evolves into trust—and maybe something dangerously close to affection—as they rise together through the layers of the game-like world they’re trapped in.With each conquered domain and defeated boss, Ragnar realizes the truth: the dungeons aren’t meant to crown a winner. They’re meant to break the players. The Law faction wants control. The Chaos faction craves destruction. But Ragnar? He wants something they’re all too afraid to say out loud:Freedom.In the ruins of Kanta’s ogre stronghold, Ragnar and his misfit warband take their biggest step yet—claiming a kingdom, unifying a fractured system, and preparing for what comes next. The Heroes are watching. The gods are stirring. The world is watching a war.And somewhere deep beneath it all... Ragnar is rewriting the rules.

Xiao Bing, who used to be a top soldier in mercenary and came back to normal life because of the death of his best friend. He started over, played dumb and coped with difficulties. He stood on the bones of others and held beauty by his side. Finally, he succeeded and became the emperor of the city.“Brother Bing, please protect my little sister as well as my families carefully. I feel lucky to accompany you during these 6 years. It is my honor to go through fire and water with you. I’m not regretful!”I’m not regretful!Thinking of what Su Peiya had said before dying, Xiao Bing clenched his fists tightly and cried. He made a decision to protect Su Peiya’s families before finding the spy of Long Men and to make rightful claims for Su Peiya.Xiao Bing did not love Su Peiya, but he regarded her as his only best friend!He unfastened the seat belt when the plane landed safely. Looking at the urn in his hands, he sighed, “We have arrived at Jiang City. You get home now, Peiya.”