Lord of the Foresaken - Chapter 197: THE PRICE OF LOYALTY

After years of exile, Marcus is coming back home. A powerful mage with few equals, Marcus lives in a world full of monsters and powerful adepts, many of which have bad histories with him. But he has not come back to pursue vengeance or start a fight. All Marcus wants to do is reconnect with old friends, build himself a house, and maybe train a successor or two.Alas, the world didn’t stop just because Marcus went into exile, and not everyone is content to let go of old grievances. Strange things are happening in the world at large, too, hinting at a looming disaster of unknown nature. Still, where there is a will, there is a way.If nothing else, Marcus has a lot of magical power to throw at problems.+++Zenith of Sorcery is set in its own original setting and isn’t related to Mother of Learning… beyond being written by the same person, of course. This is a more classical fantasy story than my previous one, with a lower level of technology and stuff like elves and dwarves, but it has a lot of worldbuilding effort put into it and its own complex magical system. The story has significant xianxia influences, but isn’t meant to be a xianxia story.For those of you not familiar with my previous work, I write relatively slowly. I intend to publish chapters at the rate of one chapter every three or four weeks, subject to further delays as life intervenes.

Attention: This is not a furry story!____________________________________An unfortunate guy found himself stranded inside a forest with a questionable system that turned his gender upside down. He will have to scavenge and survive in this hostile place, meeting many enemies and few friends. He will have to navigate a Cultivation Society that either hates (Kills) or wants to 'contract' Beasts.Will he find his place in this world or will he become someone's pet? Will his system help him Evolve into Divine Beasts? Or will he change into a Human to explore this world?____________________________________I'm new to this kind of thing, so any advice or criticism would be welcome. (Especially grammar, I can get most words right, but I can't hear where to put ',' or how to separate sentences nicely.) I have searched the web for any image that could properly portray our protagonist while keeping it free. I have found a very nice picture that was close to what I was going for, but it IS AI-generated and I have no idea how copyright works. I do not own that image, I have simply searched for a free picture describing her features and found this... if you are the owner of this picture, please write me a message and I will take it down as soon as possible. (The Image is temporary and I will commission an artist later for a more accurate depiction~)

All it takes is one monster for the world to go to ruins.Life as Nadine knows it goes to shit and she has to accustom herself to life underground, that is until an accident forces her out into the real world.Caine has no idea why he saved Nadine.She is everything he hates- rich, spoiled and entitled- and yet, he couldn't just let her die.Living outside is hard enough without having to save someone else and yet, he does it with Nadine.Thrust into a world that she has no idea how to navigate, Nadine is forced to rely on Caine.Her life is literally in his hands.They soon realize that maybe the monsters are the least of their worries.

“She's back, let's get a divorce.”After three years of secret marriage, he suggested divorce when she faced a family's crisis and was pregnant. He also turned a blind eye to her plea for help. Disappointed, she concealed her pregnancy and signed for divorce.She thought they would be strangers after the divorce, but her pregnancy was suddenly exposed.When he proposed remarriage, she angrily said, “I only want to keep the child with me, and if you want to see them, kneel down!”She thought he would give up when faced with difficulties, but she really underestimated his abilities.Soon, a video of him kneeling and begging for reconciliation was displayed throughout the day on the outdoor big screen in the most prosperous area of the city.