Tale of Conquerors - Chapter 132: Act I / Dust and Flame

“The masterminds are cooler than heroes,” I mutter as I stare at the chess pieces before me. It is easier to be the one who sits in the shadows and moves the pieces, likewise deciding the flow of the game.Heroes will foolishly sacrifice their lives for the good cause and villains will sacrifice the world for their own gain, but masterminds will use both the heroes and villains to their own benefit.Why, you ask? Well, that's because I've lost my life once while trying to be a hero so, I don't want that anymore. I'd rather be a mastermind who molds the world as per my convenience and live peacefully. Because, why not?***[Defender of Divine Glory says you are the hope of this world.]What?[Goddess of Wisdom believes that you will be the one to save the world.]Wait, what?![Propose the Grand Duke the idea of a fake marriage.]And, why would I do that?![Stop the assassination of Prince Eric.]Why would I save him?![The candidates for the throne are:... Who will you choose?]Ah! I give up...It seems like a curse that anyone who wishes for a slacker life in Isekai will have to go through the most troublesome things.In my past life, I died because of one rookie mistake but after being transmigrated in the world of fantasy I've gotten an opportunity to start afresh, but unlike the protagonists who look for their love and glory, I'd rather make money and live a life of a slacker.I have magic, I have power and I have money, what else do I need?Well, that was the plan but this damn system is getting on my nerves. I mean who in their sane mind would want to mess with the complicated royal family and political affairs? But that's not all though.I've also become the saviour of this world. Things just can't be anymore worse!Besides, the penalty of failing this quest is...[Failure: Destruction of the World.]It seems like if I screw up in selecting the right person then the destruction that is going to befall the world won't be stopped.If I speak of my reward then it's this vague thing.[Reward: Fulfillment of any wish.]“If that's the case then, I'd rather choose the person who would be the best fit for the throne.”And that's how I decided that I would become the Kingmaker.

Qiao Zhenzhen spent a lifetime, only to later realise that she was the true heroine of a novel. According to the original plot, her life was supposed to be smooth sailing and blissful. But the envious transmigrated second female lead played her cards step by step, and took everything away from her!

After experiencing the divorce of her parents, and miserably failing the college entrance examination, she gets kidnapped along with her little follower of a male lead, Chi Shen. In the end, she came out as the only survivor.

Everyone believed that this was a blessing in disguise, not only was her life saved, but the pervert stalking her for the last three years was also gone! A freak like Chi Shen, who had a weird and eccentric personality, always stank of fish and grease, was better off dead. Everyone said that she ought to be grateful, but none of them knew he died protecting her.
Before he took his last breath, his dying words were-

“Don’t be afraid of me.”

That sentence, mixed with the smell of greasy fish and blood, flashed in her dreams every night for the next decade.

Reborn back into the senior year of her highschool, she walked to the youth in the corner, and in front of everyone’s eyes-

“Don’t hideaway in the dark if you don’t want me to be afraid of you.” The youth pursed his lips, his pale face steadily losing color.

Qiao Zhenzhen smiled: Be nice to me, and I shall allow you to stalk~

- Description from Novelupdates

A young boy genius, Suo Jia, is a water mage who dreams of being a warrior travelling the great and dangerous trade routes to find his lost father that set off on them before Suo Jia was born. Having to look after his sick mother, Suo Jia manages to find a way to solve all their problems, as well as make a name for himself. He gathers nobility, vast wealth, items of great power, knowledge lost to the ages, and exceptionally talented females around him as he plots and plans – preparing to set off on an epic journey that will go down in history as a new legend. However, will others that depend on his powers so much be willing to let him go on such a dangerous journey so easily?

- Description from Novelupdates

One day in the faraway Blue Boorish Mountain inexplicably appeared groups of scoundrels who came to reside there. It was said that those scoundrels came from the You Kingdom, Yen Kingdom and many others due to their failures in battle. And due to its dangerous terrain, no one had dared to conquer the Blue Boorish Mountain. As a result, this place obviously became a paradise to the scoundrel and thieves. They resided there and ruled the place.

They had also built up the Illusory Perennial Domicile, which meant a place that was their lifetime home. There was a group of scoundrels who had appointed themselves the Great Nine Bandits, and they were seen as the best baddies in the area. They built up a school in which the children of the Illusory Perennial Domicile would come and study only survival skills.

In such a small place appeared an orphan student named An Zheng who also came to study there. He was really a useless orphan in the people’s eyes due to his cowardice. They even said that he was a chicken who did not dare to do anything for himself even in fighting for himself, and no one cared about such a coward except a ten-year-old child, Du ShouShou, his only friend. As a result, he was the center for such baddies to cause trouble.

However, no one knew that orphan An Zheng would change his life forever as he went to a dead end.How powerful was that orphan? How much effort did An Zheng have to make in order to satisfy his passions of the devilish elimination? How would the life of his friend, Du ShouShou change after his after death spawn? And might the Great Nine Bandits be the invincible ones? Was he good or evil? Was his power strong or weak?

Was his world in perfect order or chaos? They were all questions that the little child An Zheng needed to discover during his journey.“Bring happiness to loyal people but chide the evil. However, if the treatment goes wrong, law will become a tool for the evil to force the good, preventing executors. Find a repugnant gateway to pass. Great things win cruel tricks. We learn from the idea of God but we reject the power of Him.”