Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 634: A new pawn(1)

In the wake of the apocalypse, betrayal doesn't just stab you in the back—it bites. Zorvax learned this the hard way. Abandoned by those he trusted, he didn't just become another number in the legion of the undead. No, his fate was far more peculiar.“I thought death was the end... I was wrong,” Zorvax mutters, his voice a gravelly echo of his former self. He's a zombie, but with a twist—he's got his human mind intact. Trapped in a decaying body with an insatiable hunger, Zorvax finds himself in a gruesome predicament that's just the beginning of his ordeal.Enter the 'Zombolution System,' a mysterious power he awakens that's as cryptic as it is potent. “They wanted a monster? I'll show them the true meaning of terror,”Zorvax boasts, with a smirk only a sentient zombie could muster. This dark gift is his ticket to ascend beyond a mere walking corpse, promising to unlock abilities that could crown him the emperor of the undead.As Zorvax hones his newfound skills, the line between man and monster blurs. Will his human intellect triumph, or will the beast within claim the throne? “This world has no place for the weak,” he arrogantly declares, ready to challenge fate itself.

Number 23 had it all.A warrior of unmatched power, a Transcendent capable of annihilating armies single-handedly, he was revered as a god among men. He seemed to have everything with wealth, fame, and influence at his fingertips. Yet beneath his cold, ruthless exterior lay an unfulfilled yearning—an elusive desire he couldn’t quite grasp...He wanted to be a hero.Despite his monumental achievements, Number 23’s quest for heroism remained unfulfilled. His life took an unexpected turn when he discovered a book titled [Bright]—a bestselling epic depicting a true hero's journey. Enchanted by its tale, Number 23 became obsessed, devouring every word in search of the heroism he craved. But his journey was cut short when he fell victim to a deadly ambush orchestrated by rival Transcendents, leading to his untimely execution.In his final moments, a single regret lingered in his mind.“I never got to see the ending of [Bright]...”As if answering his unspoken wish, Number 23 was reborn into the world of Bright—not as its celebrated protagonist or a key figure, but as an insignificant extra. Stripped of his former identity, he now inhabited the role of Amon Solaris, a character barely noticed in the grand tapestry of the story.Undeterred by his diminished status, Amon Solaris is determined to learn what it truly means to be a hero. But in this new world, he’s about to encounter a revelation that will change everything he thought he knew…Four chapters a week. New chapters every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

This year, Ji Jingqiu is 16 years old.To survive, he envisions the Fire House Buddha Prison, plants a bodhi treasure tree, and embarks on the path of martial arts.Many years later,A brilliant light arises, illuminating endless darkness.A towering ancient tree, with emerald green leaves and a canopy like a pavilion, rises with glass-like clarity into the sky, supporting a divine realm of pure land, spanning countless ages, illuminating the three realms and ten directions.On this day,All martial artists under heaven look up to it, like mayflies seeing the blue sky.......“Within there is a bodhi tree, which I planted when I set foot in martial arts, and now it has grown to provide a canopy.”“I see everything in the world, and nothing is like me.”“That year, I scoured history books, this history without era, I looked horizontally and vertically, and saw those characters – ‘The world’s storms come from us.’”...— Excerpt from the autobiography of Ji Jingqiu, the proud sun of the martial arts world of today.

I belong to a good sect that has never turned its back on me for my poor potential, has never forced me to study martial arts, and even helped arrange a betrothal for me when I was young.

My fiancée is a much renowned hot-tempered young miss. She’s beautiful, strong, and deeply loves me. Upon my start down the path of the Jianghu, I entirely relied on her to provide cover for me and before long, I became renowned as the #1 Pretty Boy of the Immortal Path.

Yet one day, I discovered that this person is apparently a man. A man in drag!

More unforgivable is that he thought I was a woman dressing as a man!

Me, as if my liver and guts are being cut to pieces: “Brother, what have you done with my fiancée?”

Him, as if a knife has been twisted in his heart: “Brother, what have *you* done with my fiancée?”

The waters of the Jianghu are indeed murky. Even if I am starving, even if I’m dying far from home, from this point on, I will not eat even a mouthful of rice prepared by him.

—So fragrant.

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