Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 202: Private Dinner

Lachlan, once a victim of deceit and betrayal, wakes up to find himself back in his high school days, just before his life took a dark turn.With a newfound system that grants him immense knowledge and skills, Lachlan vows to change his fate and protect his love, Julius. As he navigates through old rivalries and new opportunities, will Lachlan succeed in rewriting his destiny and exposing those who wronged him?

Damon’s lips twisted into something between a smirk and a sneer. “Sisters or not, I kept them alive so you could watch me rip off their heads one by one. That’s the only reason they’re still breathing.”My jaw tightened. “You wouldn’t.”He leaned closer, his voice lower. “Wouldn’t I?”“You kept them alive?” I repeated his words slowly, my voice cracking with disbelief. “Just so I can watch you kill them?”Damon stood tall, his eyes twirled with something sinister, his expression was like a carved stone. “Yes,” he said flatly. “You cared enough to protect them. Now you’ll watch as I end them.”My chest tightened. The air grew too thick to breathe. “You’re cruel.”“I’m Alpha,” he replied, his tone cold, without a shred of mercy. “Mercy gets people killed.”‘Psychotic bastard. I wish I could drive a knife into your chest right now!’~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~When Ember opened her eyes, she was no longer the powerful, independent woman she once was.Instead, she woke up in the fragile, abused body of a lowly Omega—destined to be nothing but a breeder for the Alphas.Her escape attempt didn’t get her far. Instead, it led her straight into the path of Damon Blackthorn—the ruthless Lycan King feared by all.Sold like a slave by her own father, Ember becomes the property of a man with a frozen heart and a violent temper. But beneath her submissive mask lies something more: a cunning mind and a will that refuses to break.Now, in a world ruled by dominance, power, and ancient bloodlines, Ember must do more than just survive.She must outsmart a king.She must earn the loyalty of the very people who scorn her.And maybe—just maybe—she’ll bring the Alpha to his knees.

I put all the warning tags to give myself creative freedom, but the story isn't filled with excessive gore or swearing.This is my first time writing other than for school projects. The gender-bender tag is only for the beginning because I wanted to try writing from a female's perspective and needed an excuse for why my MC reads a little tomboyish. The gender-bender fades into the background over the first few chapters; please don't let the tag keep you from trying out my story.Synopsis:Second chances are rarely earned and even rarer given. Follow a new life in a new world where anything is possible. Our MC wakes up, stuck as a baby, needing to decide how she will live her new life. Let's see what future she can forge when hard work rewards her with status points and skill levels.Author's Note: I'm currently slowly going back and rewriting my earlier chapters, so if you're starting to read this for the first time, try not to be alarmed if the quality suddenly goes down after reading a few chapters. I started writing this story almost three years ago, and I think I've improved as a writer since then. I appreciate your understanding; enjoy.

Ever since he was little, Xi Jia’s yin energy was strong, and every day he saw ghosts and ran into ghosts. One day, he accidentally broke the protection amulet. Celestial Master Ye Jingzhi happened to pass by and helped. Are ghost catching Celestial Masters all legit masters? WeChat official accounts, Taobao online shops, looking at gossip tabloids every day. Since then, Xi Jia has refreshed the lower limit again and again, and met a group of completely unreliable Celestial Masters. Binding spirits, doppelgängers, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, the ghost market of Poyang… The door to a new world is slowly opening.

Set in an urban city with supernatural elements, this is a love story between Xi Jia, who has a body of extreme yin, and Celestial Master Ye Jingzhi, nicknamed the King of Hell. The seemingly weak Xi Jia, in actuality, can rip apart ghosts with bare hands; the seemingly cold Ye Jingzhi, in actuality, is shy and gentle. A marriage contract binds the fate of two people together. See how the two people overturn the heavens in the gossipy and wacky metaphysical world.

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