Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 656: No rest for the wicked

Some crowns are forged in blood. Others are drowned beneath it.In a city strangled by smoke and silence, where children are shackled to machines and shadows rule behind gilded masks, Keiran is just another forgotten soul—until the mark appears.Buried beneath the factory’s foundations lies a world long erased from history. Ancient oaths whisper through stone and water, and something older than memory begins to stir. As Keiran is drawn deeper into the abyss, he uncovers a legacy not meant for mortal hands—a crown shattered in defiance, a flood sealed by sacrifice, and a power that demands a price.Hunted by tyrants, haunted by echoes, and bound to secrets he never asked for, Keiran must choose: drown in the tide of what came before, or rise against the current and reclaim what the world was forced to forget.But the deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels…And beneath it all, something still breathes.

Whoever refuses to accept, come fight!

“Then why don’t I marry you!” Yu Dong suddenly proposed.

“You…” Xia Feng thought he had misheard.

“You see, you’re looking for someone to marry to ease your mother’s heart, I also want to get married, we’re right in front of the doors to the Civil Affairs Bureau, and with all our papers too!” Yu Dong exclaimed while holding up her red household book.

“And the most important thing is that we just broke up with our exes. This is fate, ah!”

Right up until they left the Civil Affairs Bureau again, holding a newly registered red book, Xia Feng remained dazed still wondering, how did he end up getting married?

Did he just pick up a wife at the doors to the Civil Affairs Bureau?

What Xia Feng doesn’t know is that Yu Dong traveled back in time from 10 years in the future.

Now, having a second chance in life and able to secure a good husband, Yu Dong will live her life at full throttle and without regrets.

Earth was supposed to be a safe haven.And for a time—it was.Until one night, golden stars lit up the sky like cosmic flames. The heavens swirled, the winds howled, and the world braced for its end. But just as quickly as it came... the phenomenon vanished.Weeks later, everything changed.Humans began to awaken powers once thought to exist only in fantasy. Skills—mystical, world-shaking abilities. Some used them for good. Others unleashed devastation.What could a gun do against a man who could turn into a living bomb?Portals tore through the sky, connecting Earth to monstrous realms. Beasts, demons, and nightmares poured into the world. Amid the chaos, powerful humans rose to fight back—and won. The survivors called them one thing: Heroes.Among them, one boy was left behind.Han Trystan—orphaned during the Sendok Calamity—carries the burden of rebuilding his parents' legacy, protecting his three younger siblings, and finding a cure for his dying aunt. But all of that hinges on one thing: awakening a powerful Skill.And when his time finally comes…> Name: Han TrystanSkill: Book FormationRank: EThe lowest rank. A joke. Practically powerless. Hope? Shattered.Until Han discovers the truth.His skill isn’t “Book Formation.” It’s something far greater.Creation. Not just of weapons or armors. But artifacts, pills, barriers—even other Skills.The world labeled him weak. But he was never meant to follow their system—he was meant to break it.Years later…> “Did I see that right...?”“Yeah. He just wiped out hundreds S-Rank monsters—alone.”“So the title ‘White-Black-Haired Monster’... it wasn’t exaggerated after all.”In a field of fallen beasts, one man stands untouched. Eyes calm. Power immeasurable.> “Weaklings.” Han mutters.Follow Han Trystan’s journey from the lowest-ranked misfit to one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse—and witness the rise of a legend the system tried to erase.