Touch of Flame - Chapter 12

Good and bad luck has followed Zach ever since he was five. Poor guy. His life has been far from the sweet and peaceful paradise one might expect of the youngest son of one of only four dukes in a great Empire.But a little more excitement than expected doesn't stop him from pursuing his dreams of summoning, and perhaps his luck is finally turning once he manages to summon something great.Armed with maids, a scummy gift of luck, and a strong will, Zach sets out to live life as he pleases, even to the annoyance of those around him. First stop: The Academy.

Medical-student bride Xiao Li is seconds from leaping off the balcony on her wedding night—then memory strikes: the jump once crippled her, set off a lifetime of misery, and let her cousin Xiao Yan ruin everything.This time she pulls her leg back, slams the window, and sleeps like royalty.Next dawn she walks down the aisle in scarlet silk.Qin Xiao—her new husband—stares at the bride now glued to his sleeve.He doesn’t know why the ice-queen turned clingy, but he’s not complaining.Velcro bride, zero escape plan, evil cousin already plotting—and this life is just getting started.

“There are no heroes in war, only monsters.”This was an outlook that Sato Katsuro, a man in service to the military, formed after being broken down by years of gore-filled battle.It was an outlook that he took even to his grave...but what about beyond it?Reincarnated into a new world of fantasy and tasked to be the very thing he'd given up on becoming, Sato would have to fight a new war. A war between mankind and an oppressive enemy regime run by a cohort of demons.But, as Sato learned in his past, war wasn't always what it seemed. In war, truths were lies, friends lurked as enemies, and the so-called heroes...they were often the villains.

A few hundred years ago, Earth was affected by a mysterious force from the depths of the universe, triggering the revival of spiritual energy. However, things didn’t turn out as wonderful as humanity had imagined. The spiritual energy carried a strange power that caused the corpses of all living things to rise again, transforming into ghouls. And above these ghouls, even more terrifying beings existed…There were no ancient methods of cultivating immortality, nor any legendary awakenings of supernatural powers. But within the spiritual energy, there was also a presence of ghostly energy. This led to the emergence of Runes.Some people bore mountain runes, enabling them to move mountains and overturn seas, suppressing chaos. Others carried river runes, allowing them to reverse the flow of mighty rivers with a mere gesture. However, this process required a special profession to assist these rune cultivators—to constantly modify and engrave their runes, making them more refined and perfect.This profession came to be known as Rune Engraving.