Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 417: Sea Lions(5)

The first time she saw him, he was surrounded by flames. She couldn’t clearly see his eyes, but his gaze burned every part of her skin it lingered on.

Surely if the legendary beasts ever had existed, he would be one of them—one of the dragons.

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Kel has spent her life as a palace guard, hiding her mysterious ability. When sent in the princess's place to form a marriage alliance with a neighboring kingdom, she is captured by enemy soldiers and taken to the Serin Empire.

The ruler of Serin is a terrifying and coldhearted man, but he seems to have taken an unusual interest in Kel. How long will she be able to keep her identity and abilities a secret under the constant gaze of the Dragon Emperor?

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!!Slow burn romance!!

~I own no rights to the cover image~

On the server “Altar,” a high-class survival game was officially launched. Survival was the only logic in the human game of alliance, betrayal, and human-natured games of deceit and treachery. After the smoke of gunpowder ends, only the survivors can speak.

As soon as he opened his eyes, the amnesiac An Wujiu saw a person at his side killed. While in confusion, a floating green typeface appeared before him.

Variable Name: An Wujiu
Attributes: Male, 20 years old
Game Rounds: 5
Win Rate: 100/100
Danger Rank: SSS

No wonder they were afraid.

The first time he saw An Wujiu, Shen Ti felt curious. The kindness and fragility in those eyes were not fake, so how could he survive in the Altar? It was until he saw the man had a sudden personality change. He recklessly gambled regardless of the cost, casually estranged people, grew further excited on the verge of death, and even calculated against himself to win. Only then did Shen Ti realize that it was his own cognitive bias.

Fortunately, he wasn’t a normal person either.

- Description from Novelupdates

He was supposed to be the next big thing.Three years ago, Riku Aoyama was Japan’s rising basketball prodigy…Until a devastating injury and a brutal betrayal shattered everything.Now? He’s just a ghost of his former self—until one empty gym, one dusty court, and one crazy idea reignite the fire.Form a team of nobodies. Start from zero. Take on the monsters ruling the court.With broken players, forgotten schools, and no sponsors backing them—Riku’s team, Kaizen High, isn’t just here to play...They’re here to change the game.No powers. No shortcuts.Just sweat, soul, and skill.In a world where basketball is war—Only the crownless will rise.

Rakna was not normal. No, unmistakably not.

Whether it was his appearance, his personality, his abilities, his identity, nothing about him had ever been banal. Was it his choice?

No. He was merely but a tormented soul doing its utmost to live the life it had learned to never enjoy.

Would being picked by a glorified universal abductor calling itself a system bring something out of him?

Would he finally learn to breathe in the pool of blood that suffocated him? The Harvester does not sow, he only collects.

All he has ever known to feel was loss and the only thing he can do is take.

He will devour their hearts and drink their blood if it is what it takes.