Downtown Druid - Chapter 35Book 2 : How are my seconds?

On their wedding night, she gnashed her teeth, yelling, “Your Highness, that’s shameless!”

Set off by the flickering light of red candles, he curved the corner of his mouth into a wicked grin, “Actually, I can be more shameless…”

…

When they met for the first time, he was the young prince who lived in his day of brilliance, while she was the pampered princess of the adjacent state.

When they met again, he became the crippled underdog suffering from frustration, while she became the lackluster hostage stranded in an alien land.

In his mid-life, he was defeated in the fight and had his legs broken; his wife passed away and he didn’t have anything left except his father’s detestation… After constant blows took the edge off his spirit, all he wanted was nothing but serenity.

In her teen-age, her state perished and her home lost; she lapsed into an awkward situation after being abandoned and having her marriage annulled… As endless hardships isolated her from happiness, everything she wished for was no more than peace.

…

“Lu Zhishan, when I first met you, I didn’t think I’d marry you…too old,” after years passed by, one day, she lay on his laps mumbling, with a kind of hazy beauty on her boozy face, “and lame.”

“Mu Nanzhi, you have the wrong memory. At our first meeting, I’m neither old nor limp.”

“…When was that?”

“When people were celebrating your first birthday,” that man assumed all gentleness and joy crept on his eyes and brows, “On that day, you were ‘drawing lots’ in the rear hall. I also sneaked there to have a look. But, out of my expectation, you directly grabbed my true-love knot.”

…

How vivid the red love pea is embedded in the exquisitely carved dice,

Just as my feelings for you deep in my bones.

- Description from Novelupdates

“Even in oblivion, you all shall tremble at the demon that lies beyond...”---Beaten, betrayed, discriminated against, and then sent into hell. Those were the words that defined Khan's life, if he ever bothered to think about it.In a cold world where the hearts of people surged in preparation for the next cataclysm that had the potential to wipe out the entire world, who had the time to care for a feeble, golden-haired anomaly with no memories of his first ten years?Sent away from the orphanage with the mission to end his life, fate was still not satisfied with punishing him enough.He found himself in front of a demon god who raised children into killing machines, known to complete every mission irrespective of the danger.Among a group of madmen, he was the maddest, given the name “The Hollow” due to his unfeeling attitude.But in essence, all he ever needed was a place he could call home and when his life flashed before his eyes and he awakened his memories, he embarked on that path.-----“My origin might be ten thousand light-years away from Earth, but even if I have to walk on the corpses of a million to reach it, then so be it...”-----But now he won't be walking this dark path alone:[Congratulations, the Host has successfully fused with the system.][Congratulations, Host has awakened The Bio-Nanotech System!]--------[Also Check Out My New Novel: Infinity Guardian System]

Nicholas Marjan, known as Niels, was an Asian football-obsessed loner in the modern world. A master of FIFA Career Mode, addicted to YouTube tactics videos, and followed every twist of the transfer window like it was life or death, he lived the beautiful game from behind a screen.Until the day he died.And woke up in the late 2000s, in the body of a once-promising young player at a lower-league English club. A player whose career had been cut short by a brutal ACL injury. With his playing career over before it could truly begin, his second life offers no glory on the pitch.But Niels still has one weapon: his mind.Armed with future knowledge of football's evolution, and guided by a mysterious, almost cheat-like instinct for scouting raw talent, Niels steps into the world of coaching. As an assistant at a struggling lower-league club, he begins to reshape the team from within challenging outdated tactics, unearthing hidden gems, and reigniting hope in the dressing room.His methods are unorthodox. His instincts, uncanny. And soon, whispers about the “young coach with a gift” begin to spread.This isn’t the story of a player chasing glory. It’s about someone reborn to change the game from the sidelines. From forgotten training grounds to Europe’s biggest stages, Niels is on a mission,not just to win, but to rewrite what it means to lead.He once dreamed of lifting trophies as a player.Now, he'll do it as a coach.