MTL - The Cry of the Phoenix Which Reached the Ninth Heaven - Chapter 30 This is called the number of gifts!

[Mature Content]I was born a bastard to the Archduke of Beloria, scorned because of my odd-looking hair and sickly body, maltreated by my stepmother and sister.And my father? He never looked my way. I was the reminder of a mistake he could never accept.My entire life should've been trying to live through my days as a labeled whores daughter and the taint to the noble house but everything changed when my marriage to the Lycan Monarch was announced.Lycans are apex predators, superior beings, beastmen, and originators of those horror stories your parents told you about to make you behave. My father saw fit to throw me to the beasts as a means to reclaim the lost lands.I was the bargain for a better future for the last human kingdom, but I felt more cursed than blessed. Forced into training to please a beast and ensure I was fit to be his wife.I dreaded the day I'd wed the Monarch and be treated no less than human meat. I've heard stories about him, and they are far worse than any combined. They call him a mindless beast, merciless, the ultimate feared being in the entire realm, and the terror that bested the vampires in war and ended it under his rule.My future was bleak.But when the day arrived and I set my gaze on the beast I'm meant to marry... I realized Drevon Balthar was unlike the rumors; they didn't tell the whole story.

In a not-so-distant future, Earth is thrown into chaos by a weird alien ship that crashes and starts leaking spiritual energy all over the place. This energy messes with the planet’s ecosystem, making everything mutate—animals, plants, even people. It’s like nature’s gone wild, with some folks getting crazy supernatural powers while others struggle to survive against mutated creatures and power-hungry groups trying to take control.In the middle of all this craziness, Amira Hailen—a tough-as-nails ex-special forces assassin with a complicated past—gets a second shot at life. Thanks to a mysterious ally’s Mental Transference powers, she’s sent back in time, waking up with the ability to control ice. Determined to keep humanity afloat, she gathers her old crew and turns them into a reliable team amid all the chaos.Meanwhile, Aiden Emberstorm—a fiery elite operative—gets fed up with the government’s weak response to the crisis. With his own fire powers blazing, he ditches the bureaucracy and teams up with his battalion to protect innocent lives. He becomes a symbol of resistance, taking on mutated beasts and rogue factions while trying to restore some order.When Amira and Aiden cross paths, it’s not exactly love at first sight. Their icy and fiery personalities clash, but they can’t deny the need to join forces. They both want the same thing: a sanctuary where survivors can be safe. So, they decide to work together, hatching a plan to take down the alien ship before it can call in reinforcements for a full-scale invasion.Amid epic battles, unexpected alliances, and a budding romance, Amira and Aiden must face both their inner demons and the alien threat. It’s a fight for survival in a world that’s gone wild, with everything at stake—including their own hearts.

“Next, we have the most noble recipient of the Order of the Garter, the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Grand Cross of the Bath, the Victoria Cross and the lower grades of Knighthood, the leader of the anti-colonial movement, the bell-ringer of the East India Company, the hero of the Crimean War, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a lifelong dear friend of literary giants such as Dickens and Great Dumas, a steadfast supporter of scientific luminaries like Faraday and Darwin, having served as assistant under-secretary, deputy under-secretary, and permanent under-secretary in departments of the Home Office and the Navy Department of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the inaugural Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service, the first graduate and most distinguished alumnus of our school. Please welcome Sir Arthur Hastings to deliver a speech on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the University of London.”Arthur's gaze swept across the crowd before him, looking at the young faces and murmured, “Agares, what do you think I should say?”The Red Devil's wraith hovered behind him, saliva almost dribbling from the corner of his mouth, “Look at these ignorant souls; they still worship you as a hero. Why not say something they'd like to hear?”Arthur took a deep breath and let out a deafening roar, “Oxford is a bunch of whores' bastards!”“Oh!!!!”The audience erupted into thunderous applause.“Cambridge is the same!” he added immediately.The applause grew even more fervent...(The protagonist, possessed by a devil, travels through 19th-century Britain in a world without magic)

I exist in the darkness, disappear under the bright light, and will eventually devour the sun and turn into the shadow of all things… Known by people as the indescribable terror of darkness; the king of shadows; the dark day; the existence of the shadow of the world , is still just a somewhat special high school student, facing a weird death game…

- Description from novelbuddy