The Masked Virtuoso - Chapter 113: The First Move

“I, Layla Lecruest, reject you Alpha Sebastian of the Red Moon Pack as my mate.”Alpha Sebastian lifted his head. His thick hair blew back as the door to the house opened and a wind swept in.“I, Alpha Sebastian of the Red Moon Pack, accept your rejection.”Yes, it hurt to be rejected. Your mate was the one person in the entire world that was meant for you and the stories I had heard were glorious. Like the only two pieces of a puzzle, you find each other and become whole. You will never love anyone as you love your mate. And you never got a second chance. It was very rare, and I had just rejected mine.Layla Lecruest, is a fierce, brave, and strong-willed girl who never cared about fitting in but neither did she plan to stand out as much as she did. Believing to be a normal wolf, the daughter of a former Beta, she never thought herself to be special. Little did she know that she held a gene that many believed to have been gone for a long time.When she finds out that her mate is the Alpha who spent his life tormenting her, they quickly reject each other on the spot. Unbeknownst to them, Alpha Kade was on his way and would turn everything upside down as her second chance mate. The notorious Alpha Kade was famous for his strength and his ability to lead his pack. He earned respect wherever he went and when he arrived at the Red Moon Pack, he swore he wouldn't leave without his mate.What happens when Layla finds herself stuck between her former and current mate as well as a pack of wolves with superior powers who thought she belonged to them? And what happens when another, even bigger secret is revealed?

The first time Yan Zhaoge crossed worlds, he landed in a martial warrior civilization that was at the peak of prosperity. He ended up in the book storage building of the the Divine Palace, which collected and preserved the classics of the entire world from all fields of knowledge. However, a world class calamity struck soon after and even the Divine Palace was destroyed.

Yan Zhaoge’s soul once again crossed over, but this time he arrived in the same world, except countless years have passed.

With his brain full of rare books and classics from the era of peak prosperity, Yan Zhaoge’s second crossing over to the present era was like a gamer who was used to playing hell mode suddenly finding himself playing the game on easy.

That was just way too awesome.

But before that, he needs to fix a certain problem.

“I’m not a main character? In fact, I’m actually the main character’s love rival and the antagonistic Mr. Perfect senior martial brother? This script is wrong!”

- Description from novelupdates

In a monstrous post-apocalyptic setting, this is a story of how a lowly Inventor, Lance, conquered a nation governed by immoral group of Scientists called The Corporation. He grew and climbed up to the highest rank possible as a Scientist with his inventions and side businesses. Eventually, he became a weapons inventor, building weapons to two opposing sides. In doing so, Lance always crossed a dilemma. How could a nobody topple the most powerful government? How could one overcome circumstances beyond his grasp, especially in a world filled with monstrous mutations called the Abominants?

Oliver Patrick, the Greatest General in Stormfront's history has a secret - a secret not many know. They think that his Iron WIll was built overnight. They know not the path of suffering he walked, as the slave Beam, to reach his destiny as King, and then Emperor.This is that story. A true story, of progress, struggle, hardship and strength. A story of greatness achieved without a system. A story of how one unknown boy's struggle transformed a continent forever.//ExtractThe arm dropped to the floor, as did the head. Spear points raced past the falling corpse as the goblins sought to take advantage of his momentary lapse in attention. But the tide had already shifted. The equilibrium that had kept the battle going for so long was shattered. With no bruiser to take care of their front lines and distract his attention, the goblins in front of him were no match for his speed.He employed his misdirection as he normally might, feigning the same backwards step that he had practised over and over, before leaping forward, catching the goblin off guard, twisting his body to avoid its spear and forcing his blade into its throat.It let out a high-pitched squeal as it dropped its spear and attempted to stem the tide of blood that was spurting from the wound. The goblin next to it squealed too, in fear this time, as its eyes widened, seeing two of its comrades dealt with so easily in quick succession. Beam saw it take a backwards step, as it attempted to turn and run away. But he was on it before it had a chance. He wrapped his arm around its neck and drove a sword through its back.Rather than let the corpse fall to the floor as he normally might, he held onto this one, enduring its death throes. Once life had finally left its body, he shifted it into place as a meat shield. Two arrows thudded against it, almost piercing it straight through. But the time they reached Beam the momentum was entirely gone – though they touched him, they did not even pierce his clothes.Slowly, with his meat shield in place, Beam advanced on the remaining goblins. They both shared a glance with each other as they dared to fire another volley, before turning on their heels and attempting to sprint away.“Stay,” a brief moment of eye contact, and one of the goblins was rooted in place. Beam tossed his shield aside and picked up a spear instead. With a twist of his hips and shoulder, the spear went soaring, impaling the running goblin straight through its stomach. Its bow fell to the ground, as strength left its hands. It then fell to its knees, before falling face down to the floor, pushing the spear back through itself.