Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince - Chapter 220: Smoke

WARNING: DARK AND MATURE CONTENT. Readers discretion advised.Serena Alaric wanted nothing more than a quiet life, far from the shadows of her family’s dark past. But when masked enforcers storm her home and drag her into the clutches of the Council of Vitae, she learns her blood is the key to a deadly legacy she never asked for.Lucian Draven is the cold and ruthless leader of a powerful mafia syndicate, cursed to endure unimaginable pain. The Council claims Serena is his only salvation. Yet beneath the Council’s polished facade lies a web of lies, experiments, and betrayal that runs far deeper than either of them imagined.Forced into an uneasy alliance and given a time limit to produce an heir, Serena and Lucian must navigate a treacherous world of power and manipulation, where trust is a rare commodity. As they uncover the truth about the Council’s sinister plans, their hatred begins to give way to something unexpected—a bond forged in fire and blood.But with enemies closing in from all sides and time running out, Serena and Lucian must decide: will they fight their fates, or embrace the dangerous connection that could either save them, or destroy them both?

「Shimizu-san, you dyed your hair black.」「Ah, yes.」「Why did you dye it all of a sudden?」「Because…yesterday…」Shimizu-san, who sat next to me and had dyed her hair from blonde to black gradually lowered her voice, slightly blushed, and laid her face down on the desk.

Shiro Sakamaki was reborn into a new world with one simple goal: to live a peaceful, luxurious life free from drama.But when he transfers to a prestigious high school in Tokyo, he quickly discovers that his new reality is anything but ordinary. The city is a strange mix of supernatural forces, ghostly phenomena, and events that feel like they’ve jumped straight out of an anime.Before long, bizarre occurrences follow him everywhere, along with a series of beautiful, mysterious girls—from the arrogant, blonde twin-tailed exorcist, to the mysterious quintuplet sisters, to a passerby heroine with hidden powers.As Shiro gets tangled in the supernatural chaos, he realizes he’s at the center of something far darker. Cursed relics begin to surface, and Ancient, Evil Outer Gods—whose very presence bends reality—start to stir.Now, Shiro must figure out why he’s caught in this web of strange occurrences while trying to survive school and the surreal new world he’s been thrust into.

Billions of people around the world were transmigrated to the game world of “Shining Era.” Everyone became lords and possessed their own land.

They recruited troops, gathered resources, occupied mines, attacked cities and built up their empires.

In this world of lords, the most important resource was the troop lairs where they could recruit troops.

However, the potential of these lairs was fixed. If anyone wanted to obtain a top-level troop, they could only do so by defeating powerful wild troops and occupying their lairs.

However, Richard discovered that he could actually improve the level of troop lairs directly.

From then on, various powerful troops were groomed by him.

When the other players were still leaping with joy from obtaining a high-level troop, behind Richard were a Desert Pharoah, a Demonic Scorpion King, a Mechanical Giant, a Demon Baron, a Blood Archduke, a Five-colored Evil Dragon, and a Fallen Angel.

From that day on, a prosperous and dazzling oasis city was established in the desert. As for Richard, he became the ruler of the desert.