Novels by Lily Monroe

Adrian looked at the four of them as if they were idiots, then absently touched his own face.“I admit, I did kill quite a few just now.”Quite a few? It was over three hundred! Quentin Newman and the others screamed inwardly.“But I don’t kill indiscriminately. If I wanted you dead, I’d have done it already. Why wait until now?”Quentin swallowed hard. “Then… why are you here? What do you want from us?”He rushed to add, “As long as you don’t kill us, we’re willing to pay—handsomely.”The other three bobbed their heads in frantic agreement, terrified of falling behind.“Money, women, property, art—whatever you want, I can provide,” Tessa Dawson said. If Adrian so much as nodded, she’d produce it on the spot.Adrian grinned. Tempting as the offer was, he had something else in mind.“What if I want your allegiance?”The four of them grimaced in unison, exchanged a look, and let out a collective sigh.“What? Unwilling? Then I suppose I’ll have to kill—”“It’s not that we’re unwilling!”

“Conrad Owen? You’re the sharpest of the Five Tigers, aren’t you?”Adrian regarded Conrad with a half-smile. He had already noticed it during the fight: Conrad showed up plenty, yet always at the most convenient moments. And when it was over and everyone was injured, Conrad had gotten off with the lightest wounds. How could that not be called clever?Among the more than three hundred men, Conrad was also, without question, one of the brightest. Otherwise, how else could he be the only one still standing there with ease?Conrad gave a fawning chuckle. “Mr. Adrian, you see, I was just following orders—and I barely lifted a finger. You’re a generous man. Why not let me go?”Seeing that Adrian wasn’t moved, yet didn’t look like he’d kill him outright, Conrad dared to take two steps forward.“Mr. Adrian, I can’t harm you in the slightest now. As long as you spare me, I swear—next time I see you, I’ll give you a wide berth. I won’t take a single step closer!”He was one oath short of callin

As the killing blow seemed about to land, the smile at Crane Sage’s lips grew triumphant.He was a man of the Storm Ranking. No one had ever taken his full-strength strike without paying dearly.At the last instant, Adrian brought up both fists.A thunderclap split the air.Crane Sage’s face changed. The clash between two powerhouses seemed to freeze the atmosphere itself.Wave after wave of force condensed into something almost tangible. Crane Sage’s wide sleeves shredded; his robe came apart in ragged strips.His eyes only grew more fevered.The delicate throwing knife ignored the raging currents, splitting from one into a dozen mid-flight, all with a single target:Adrian.Die. Die.Crane Sage wanted to howl at the sky, his twisted expression enough to chill the blood.Adrian’s face did not change.A heartbeat later, the knives reached him.Crane Sage’s delight burst free. “Hahahahaha! My blade never returns to my hand without tasting blood!”“Is that so? You sure?”The contempt in

Adrian watched the survivors shriek and scatter, cold-eyed, then brushed his hands together.That batch—done.Even if some were still breathing, they’d lost all will to fight.Tabitha stared, dazed, mouth open, while Daisy swallowed hard. “H-he’s… that strong? Over three hundred people—and he’s already won?”It wasn’t just Tabitha. Daisy and the driver, though they’d seen Adrian’s terrifying prowess before, still struggled to believe he’d taken down more than three hundred on his own.And without a scratch.It defied belief.The driver tapped the steering wheel. He could stop planning an escape.But his nerves remained taut as wire.Adrian glanced at the sealed car door, then at the driver.The driver understood at once: Adrian didn’t want them assuming it was safe and stepping out.He nodded quickly. He wouldn’t open the door. Not for anything.With his rear secured, Adrian’s gaze slid past the parked vehicles to the white van that had never opened its doors.An executive business mo

From the last three heavy trucks, the logo of the Big Dipper Group blazed across the sides—so large even the blind could have spotted it.When the Nanhai Trading Company thugs had all disembarked but those trucks stayed quiet, Adrian clicked his tongue and called out to them, “The Big Dipper Group really knows how to make an entrance. Your people are all on the ground, and they’re still sitting pretty—clearly letting you know they outrank you.”“Shut it!” Norman Russell snapped. But it wasn’t just the Five Tigers—faces darkened across the other two factions as well.At last, the Big Dipper trucks stirred.Two to three hundred men filed down, features varied, all in camouflage. Foreigners.Mercenaries?Adrian smiled. The Big Dipper Group had gone all in—hiring guns and making a play for certainty.And still, every last one of them would die here tonight.He swept his gaze over the three hundred-plus assembled.To him, they were exactly what he’d expected—ants, all of them.Tabitha pres

“We’re being tailed.”The driver had noticed the cars behind them as well. Face set, he worked the wheel, trying to shake them through speed changes and detours.But no matter what he tried, the same familiar license plates kept surfacing in the rearview mirror.Their pursuers were clever—melding into traffic, looping around on purpose to stay invisible.“Mr. Doyle, they don’t look like ordinary people.”Adrian chuckled. “I see that. With tracking this subtle, even if we called the police, they wouldn’t be able to pin anything down.”That was clearly their calculation—obvious in a way that still wasn’t “obvious.”The driver nodded. “I count seven cars.”“No—eight.”Adrian narrowed his eyes at a white sedan slipping out of the flow. Not one more, not one less: eight.“Eight cars?”Tabitha sobered up at once, anxiety chasing the last of the alcohol from her system.Daisy struggled upright, trying to look out the back, but Adrian covered her eyes and eased her down again.“Don’t worry ab

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