Novels by Lily Monroe

On the way, Adrian asked, “Mr. Ingram, what did you want to see me about?”Eyes on the road, Richard replied, “My grandfather has an old friend—served in the wars when he was young, a commander in his day. Age has caught up with him, and his ailments are getting worse. We were hoping you could take a look.”Adrian had a deep-seated respect for men who’d seen combat. He nodded without further questions.Half an hour later, the car rolled to a stop before a sprawling manor.The estate was vast, its architecture steeped in a quiet, classical elegance. Crossing the threshold, the bustle of the city seemed to fall away; even the mind grew still.They wound left and right through the courtyards until they came upon two old men seated across a chessboard.“Dad! Look who I brought!”Tristan Ingram, pondering his next move, snapped without looking up, “You little brat! Can’t you see I’m playing? What’s with the shouting—got dynamite stuck in your throat?”He turned—and when he saw Adrian besid

Shoving Harley Emerson aside, the silver-haired youth strode up to Daisy, voice slick with insolence. “Well, well. Didn’t expect a loser like him to have a beauty like you on his arm. First time I’ve seen a prize like this.”Harley rushed to flatter him. “Mr. Owen, kill this punk and she’s yours to do with as you please.”Dean Owen nodded, then turned to Adrian with lofty disdain. “You bullied my man. Now tell me—how do you plan to settle this?”“How do you want to settle it?” Adrian asked evenly, drawing Daisy behind him.“Simple. Hand over the woman and drop to your knees. Knock your head on the ground and call me Grandpa. We’ll call it square. How about it?”Harley panicked at once. His head was still swollen like a pig’s—how was that “square”? How could that cool the bile burning in his gut?Adrian gave a cold little laugh. “And what are you, exactly? You think I’d kneel to the likes of you?”“Dean Owen! Leave Mr. Doyle alone!” The shout cracked through the air as Ellis Newman arr

“Mr. Doyle isn’t just the richest man in Skyline City. Forget a single dress—an entire mall is nothing more than a word for him. You see that brooch on his lapel? Handcrafted by Monsieur Sapphy himself. Worth five hundred thousand dollars. There’s only one like it in the world. And you think slapping on a Rolex makes you somebody? Pathetic little clown.”Drew Simpson clearly hadn’t anticipated this side of Adrian. He shook his head in disbelief. “Impossible. He’s a broke nobody—how could he have that kind of money? I don’t buy it!”Jacob Newman addressed the crowd with cool restraint. “From this moment on, with this transfer contract executed, this Wanda complex belongs to Mr. Doyle.”Plenty of things can be faked; a transfer deed isn’t one of them. The documents, seals, and registrations were all in order, binding in the eyes of the law. Only a fool would try to pass off a forgery like that.“Never judge a book by its cover. Who would’ve thought the kid had such a formidable backgrou

Adrian regarded the fat man before him with a cold gaze. “Buy a mall? Is that so hard? Since you’ve put it that way, I’ll purchase this entire complex. From this moment on, neither you nor your mutt sets foot inside.”Adrian’s words sent Mr. Simpson and his companions into peals of laughter.Mr. Simpson looked Adrian up and down. “Kid, your bragging doesn’t even bother with a draft, does it? Buy this mall? Do you have any idea what it would cost? At least eight hundred million. Even with my net worth north of a billion, I couldn’t promise that kind of liquidity. Where would you get the money? What money do you have?”Worked up, Mr. Simpson lifted a hand as if to slap Adrian, but those glacial eyes made him think twice.Phoebe chimed in, “Exactly! I’ve got you pegged—you look like some bumpkin fresh out of the hills. Have you even seen a hundred million dollars? And you dare spew nonsense like that? If you can buy this mall, I’ll kneel and call you grandpa!”Mr. Simpson was laughing so

“I like that one. What do you think, Mr. Doyle?”Adrian followed her finger. On the display hung a black evening gown—simple at first glance, but rich with clever details. The price tag read five hundred thousand.The saleswoman’s smile faltered as she clocked the choice. “You have excellent taste, miss. That’s a haute couture piece—the Star of Night. It’s our most expensive gown, priced at two hundred thousand. Perhaps you’d like to consider something else?”She thought she’d been tactful. The condescension was unmistakable.“So you mean I can’t afford it?” Adrian asked, frowning.Her gaze skimmed him—ordinary clothes, ordinary air. Toss him into a crowd and he’d vanish. A dress like this? He couldn’t buy it if he saved for three years. All front, no funds.“If that’s how you want to hear it, sure,” she said, simpering. “A friendly reminder: if you’re going to act the part, at least keep it within your means.”Even Daisy’s patience thinned at that, and she opened her mouth—only for a

Adrian kept Daisy shielded behind him, senses straining.Without warning, the chain lanced out of the dark—angling in at his heart from a wicked, unexpected line.He snorted, and his fist flashed gold as it slammed forward.The chain unraveled into nothing. The world fell back into a smothering black.This darkness—and the threat coiled within it—gnawed at the nerves.“What is this? Adrian, who is that woman?”He frowned and shook his head.She was too uncanny. He couldn’t pin her down.As they traded those few words, a figure ghosted up behind him. A palm scythed toward the center of his back.“Adrian, look out!”Daisy’s cry snapped him around. He caught the woman’s wrist mid-strike—then, just as he moved to counter, she vanished again.Frustration prickled.Death Blade yesterday; this White Reaper today—their abilities were both too strange.If he couldn’t shatter this domain, he’d be on the back foot—and Daisy would be in danger.Unacceptable.He closed his eyes. A blinding flare o

A tidal blaze unfurled between heaven and earth, and within the flames—“Holy Emperor…”The warriors of the Solar Kingdom froze.This moment—This was the end.Their power swelled, vast and violent.From all directions the distant onlookers—those who had kept their distance—felt their hearts lurch.The Holy Emperor had fallen.The great factions witnessing it didn’t even dare show their faces.“Kill!”“Kill that brat!”The Solar Kingdom’s elites were enraged.At once they broke into furious curses.In an instant, the crowd drowned in wrath.The strong of the Solar Kingdom were terrified.No one hesitated.All of them lunged to kill Dragon-Slayer and Anthony.“You really want to die together?”The next moment—Anthony struck once.A swath of top-tier experts exploded, their bodies smashed to pieces.Squelch!Some heads spun off into the air.Dead.The Holy Emperor had been killed.But they… were powerless.They could not keep fighting. If they did, the entire Solar Kingdom might be gro

Dragon-Slayer grunted, swallowed the pain in his seams, and rose into it, the sword-edge cutting a white arc.Beside them, Thirteen Smith muttered a curse. “Stupid kid.” The Holy Emperor only sneered, eyes full of scorn.Dragon-Slayer didn’t answer, his grip biting down. “Hnh. I’ll carve you up.”He fought with everything, every stroke meant to kill. Anthony watched, his gaze shifting—he seemed to read the intent, and held his tongue.Boom—the air rolled like a tide swallowing the field. The Holy Emperor’s rampage had passed understanding; each strike was huge and ruthless.A heartbeat later, the gale rose again. His offense poured like a rain-screen, fists and palms crossing, killing intent spearing the clouds. He was a hammer overfilled with thunderfire—blow after blow grinding down.Dragon-Slayer braced in a flash—swordlight fierce—meeting edge with edge.Boom! He staggered back several steps, heart pounding, a flicker of disbelief breaking through his eyes. Why? What in hell did h

Dragon-Slayer dropped lightly to the ground; a tap of the heel, dust settled. He raised his eyes to the figure standing high above, gaze cold, voice low but heavy enough to hold the field.Though his chest still heaved, he ground out each word: “I’m not afraid of you.”“Today, I’ll defeat you—and kill you.”“The Solar Kingdom will never be a match for Ardenia.”“Your warriors are garbage.”The Holy Emperor laughed softly, a rasp like a blade dragging over stone. “You’re sure? Sure you’re not afraid? Then today, I’ll cut you to pieces.”Dragon-Slayer stepped in instead of back, a short drive of the foot, his body tipping forward, killing intent sliding free like a naked edge. He lifted his head and met the sword-hard gaze above, unflinching.The cold in his eyes cut sharper than steel. “To me, you’re—nothing.”“Today, you die.”“I will kill you.”“You think that boy can really keep you safe?” His words fell like a war banner rammed into open ground, snapping in the gale. Wind licked hi

“Y-you—why are you this strong…”Anthony’s mouth pulled into a cold curve. “It’s not that I’m strong. It’s that you’re useless.”Before the last syllable faded, he surged upward, a raptor cutting through knives of wind and sleet, and stooped.Boom!Explosions flowered across the sky, force scattering like invisible hammers pounding the void. Killing intent poured down like a tangible blaze.He raised another fist. Before it even landed, the gale at its edge flayed the dust to air.Bang!The Holy Emperor’s chest was punched straight through. Blood burst like a flower. His armor shattered; a hideous hole tore open across his front. He was blasted backward, blood running in a steady ribbon from his lips, his eyes wide with a terror that couldn’t focus—grasping at reality’s edge and finding nothing.The rim of the armor writhed, trying to stitch itself—futile against the gaping wound.He lifted his gaze in disbelief, and for the first time, true fear flooded his eyes—the primal dread of t

He pulled a breath, dragging his sight back from the dark. He looked up into the Ardenian youth’s face—indifferent, eyes like a winter lake, unruffled.“Your strength isn’t bad,” Anthony said, mild, with a flat contempt folded into it. “Unfortunately for you, you’re facing me. Which makes everything you do useless.”He tipped his chin, the cold at his eye’s corner cutting sharper. “So this is the Solar Kingdom’s best? No more than this.”Contempt, complete and entire.“In all martial ways, speed breaks all.” He sheathed in one clean motion, his pace itself a declaration. The Holy Emperor was fast—unquestionably. But he was facing Anthony. That alone sealed his tragedy.In a handful of exchanges, Anthony had hammered the Holy Emperor’s confidence to splinters. He had never imagined the man before him could be this absurdly strong. Terror—there was no other word in the minds of those watching.To Anthony, it was nothing. His gaze stayed cold; his killing will drew tighter.The Holy Empe

The heaving air over the four quarters suddenly sank. A darkened silhouette dragged itself out of the heights of the sky, like a deeper thread of night within the night, easing toward them. It had no sound, no scent; even the grain of its aura felt sanded smooth—more secret than a ghost, like a frost-sheathed dagger settling wordlessly to the throat.A heartbeat later, a figure fell from the heights. He touched down without a sound, yet his presence tore the silence around him. It was a tyranny that needed no words; with just an inch of ground underfoot, hearts clenched.“Holy Emperor!!”“The Holy Emperor is here!”“Lord Holy Emperor, a god forever…”“Lord Holy Emperor, mighty and unyielding!”“We can kill these Ardenians now…”“We must kill them…”The boiling shouts surged like oil set alight, raising the temperature of every throat at once. The Holy Emperor revealed himself—a man in his middle years, features unassuming, but a severity honed to lethal stillness. When his gaze droppe