MTL - Never Fade Skull Flag - Chapter 33 special day

The Gura Gura no Mi is known as the strongest fruit in the world of one piece.

In the third year of the Kaihuang era, as the Great Sui began to unfold between the fall of the Northern Dynasties and the rise of the glorious Tang Dynasty, Emperor Yang Jian created the House of Blades – an intelligence agency for strategies and conspiracies – in preparation to unify the world.

On a snowy night, a convoy of tribute from the Kingdom of Khotan was raided. Not one soul survived the attack. Feng Xiao, Second Commandant of the House of Blades, was ordered by the Emperor to investigate the matter in person.

On the distant border, a storm brewed as major forces gathered from all sides in Liugong Town. The strong rubbed shoulders with the strong; the skilled crossed paths with the skilled.

Here, the ever-successful Second Commandant Feng ran into a wall for the first time – all because of a feeble Taoist priest with ailing health.

Some things would never be known if no fights were ever picked. Only through their skirmishes did Feng Xiao realise that this sick bastard seemed to have way more aliases and personas than he himself ever did.

- Description from Novelupdates

Thirty years old—that was the age people often referred to as the time to stand tall and firm.At this age, some were splendid and dazzling, intoxicated in a world of wealth, while others were desolate and dim, confined to rope beds and clay stoves.Lin Mo belonged to the latter. At thirty, he was still a porter, toiling away to earn a living.His daughter was bullied by a male classmate at school—simply because his family was well-off, the school chose to turn a blind eye. His wife, already pregnant, was secretly working at a supermarket to supplement the household income without his knowledge.As he lay awake looking at his wife by his side and his daughter sleeping soundly in the little bed, Lin Mo felt so aggrieved he shed tears. Despite working hard every day until his back could no longer straighten, he still couldn't change the dire state of their lives.However, it was at this time that the Daily Intelligence System suddenly awoke.[Daily Intelligence has been updated][1. Neighbor Wang Youcai secretly used his retirement funds to tip 10,000 yuan to a beauty in a live stream under the nickname Black Chicken.][2. The police will perform a surprise inspection at the Red Romance Foot Bath at 12 o'clock tonight.][3. Victory Bird will launch a ground assault against Hass in three days.][4. The pet dog from 1402, Unit 1, Building 5 of Earth Garden Community is missing, and its owner Li Xiaoru is offering a 10,000 yuan reward for its return.][5. The pet dog belonging to Li Xiaoru that went missing is trapped in a sewage drain on Development Road.][6…]Initially, Lin Mo just wanted to use this system to make a bit of extra cash to alleviate his stifling life.

[COMPLETE] Can a royal Romeo and Juliet find their happy ending?

Ayleth, Princess of Zenithra, is secretly trained in hand-to-hand combat, and collects swear words she doesn't know how to use. During the Festival of Peace, in which every royal son on the continent will be at the castle for a month, she is instructed by her parents to find a husband. Yet, Ayleth has never even been kissed—until the very first ball, when she meets the man in the Lion mask.

Etan is a seasoned warrior, and the Prince of Summitras. He attends the Festival hoping to find a powerful wife who will help him conquer the dark sorcery of their bloodsworn enemies, the Kingdom of Zenithra. But at the very first ball, he discovers the masked woman who captures his heart is the Heir to the evil empire.

Ayleth and Etan face an impossible battle. Will their love survive? Or will their parents' dark dealings keep them apart forever?

[Mature content. No sexual violence.]

******

“You…” She stepped back. Then back again, her mouth dropped open. “You… You cannot be…”

“I am,” Etan said, and his hair raked back as he pushed his mask off his handsome face. So handsome her heart raced.

His hair was ebony black, his skin a warm brown that threatened to fade in in the winter months. He stared at her with glittering green eyes, over high cheekbones and a noble nose, his jaw tight and shadowed this late in the day. His chin was high over the pillar of his neck that she’d just touched with its hard lines and steel strength, so different to her own. And his chest... She gasped and covered her eyes. She’d humiliated herself revealing her stupid, childish curiosity.

“No, Ayleth. This changes nothing.”

“How can you say that? It changes everything!” She was horrified to realize she was crying.

“Ayleth, please.” His voice cracked on the plea and she stared at him, shoving her mask up and off, despite how it would pull her hair out of the beautiful twist the maid had managed for her.

His eyes locked on hers and she couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe.

She had met her One. And he was the son of her bloodsworn enemy.

She stared at him as he stepped forward again, offering both hands, palm up. “Touch me,” he whispered. “Hold my hands. This is real, Ayleth. I don’t know how it happened, but this is real. Please don’t deny it.”

She couldn’t resist. She raised a trembling hand to his cheek, letting her palm catch on the scruff of his jaw. He blew out a breath and put his hand over hers, and that jolt that happened whenever they touched shivered through her again.

“Please, Ayleth.”

“I cannot deny it,” she whispered.