Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 658: Smoky ends(1)

At nineteen, Dexter was already one of the world’s most celebrated authors. His books topped charts. Critics praised his genius. Fans devoured every word. But behind the acclaim was a lonely boy—raised without parents, love, or real friends—just stories.He published his first novel at fourteen. By seventeen, he was a literary star. But the higher he rose, the hollower it felt.Then came the writer’s block. The headaches. The blackout. And the transmigration.Dexter awoke in the body of Daylan, a disgraced young man in a crumbling, medieval world laced with steampunk tech, divine law, and political unrest. Daylan had already failed two of the three sacred Trials—rites that determine one’s magical potential. He was drowning in debt, entangled in plots to overthrow a corrupt Divine Church, and branded a lost cause.With no way back, Dexter took the final Trial—the most brutal of them all—and began a path that would earn him the whispered title: Soldier, Poet, King.But as his powers grew, one question haunted him: Did he truly die? And if so, who—or what—chose to bring him back?

As a true over-bearing president scum gong, when Xie He for the Nth time rejected his admirer, he heard a sentence in his head: “Congratulations on achieving the “rejects 100 hosts” accomplishment; as an award you will soon bind to the “Scum Gong and Cheap Shou” system, entering other worlds to complete capture missions.

As a scum gong, Xie He expresses that it is very easy to hide one’s true colors, but…“I Heard My Boyfriend’s Brother Secretly Loves Me,” “Teacher Love Me One More Time,” “Raising Youth Manual,” “Your Majesty, This Servant Obeys,” “The Tyrant Lord’s Substitute Lover,” “Captive of the Empire,” “Disciple’s Cultivation Furnace”…

Xie He: Wait a minute. These words sound really strange… and why is my role the ‘cheap shou’?

System: Fighting poison with poison. Using scum to overcome scum. I’ll be relying on you to abuse the scum gong! Remember to not OOC~

Xie He: He he.

Later…

Xie He: Hm? You say all the scum gong love me? Sorry, I only love myself.

- Description from Novelupdates

It was said that the young lady from the Chi family, who was raised in the countryside and didn't even finish her sophomore year of high school, was brought back home. People were looking forward to seeing her become a laughingstock.

Unexpectedly—

Why did the grandchildren and sons of Kyoto's top prestigious families eagerly join the same class as Chi Gui?

Why did a world-renowned medical expert converse so kindly and familiarly with Chi Gui?

And then there's the ruthless, unapproachable prince of the Fu family, whose demeanor did a complete 180, showing off Chi Gui daily in chat groups?

Others:

“My girlfriend cooks well!”

“My darling plays the piano well!”

Fu Si: “My wife excels at dissecting corpses.”

Crowd: …

Chi Gui: …

These people are so annoying.

[A steel-hard, candid major boss lady X refined but flirty business tycoon]

As a princess that could not wield magic, Princess Daphne’s only value to her kingdom was her arranged marriage. The task was simple, but when Daphne gets kidnapped and brought to the cold mountains of Vramid, she realizes that she’s in over her head.

She had heard of these cursed mountains before― rocky terrain, freezing temperatures, and the land was ruled by a man feared by many within the continent.

King Atticus Heinvres, the blood-thirsty ruler of the North.

Even though she had never met him before, tales were spread of King Atticus’s ruthlessness. Some said he was a monster, others claimed he was the devil himself, but whatever the story was, everyone knew of the man who had powers beyond anyone’s imagination. He could topple armies and crumble nations with just one wave of his hand, aided by what others rumored to be a cursed obsidian ring.

No one outside of Vramid had ever met the fearsome king before. Not until Daphne.

However, upon meeting the formidable man, Daphne found out that the king might not really be the monster others had claimed him to be.

In fact, what was hidden under that obsidian shield could just be a diamond in the rough.

―

[Excerpt]

“Now… where should I put you both?” he asked casually, not expecting a reply. “It’s regretful that I only have one chandelier.”

“Underneath my bed? No, no, too dirty. My dust bunnies don’t deserve this,” Atticus mused to himself. “The mantlepiece? How about the vanity table? I suppose if I lop off one of your heads I could mount it over… Wife, which head do you want to stare at while you do your hair?”

“Atticus!” Daphne screamed. “I don’t want any heads! Let them go.”

“Fair enough.” Atticus shrugged, and flicked his fingers.

There were two identical cracks as both necks snapped at once.

Daphne gasped, horrified. This man, her husband, had just killed two men with a flick of his finger, as though he was snuffing out candles.

“I told you to let them go!” Daphne cried out.

“Yes, I let them go,” Atticus said. Then, his eyes darkened. “To receive divine judgment from the heavens.”

―

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