On the throne, King Wilhelm Augustus sat rigid, his gaze fixed on the man before him.“Christoph,” he said coldly, “is it truly necessary to hunt down the last heir of Saint-Claire?”Duke Christoph von Dornwald inclined his head, just enough to show respect. “Your Majesty, we exterminated the entire Saint-Claire family during the last succession because they were the greatest threat to your crown. They supported your brother.”“If we allow this one survivor to grow unchecked, he will become a danger to us—to our sleep, to our peace. Eliminating him is necessary.”The king’s fingers tapped once against the armrest. “Then explain to me this,” he said. “How can he be so rich?”“It appears the rumors are true,” Christoph replied. “He studied cultivation in Xia. When he returned, he crushed the underworld leaders one by one, forced them under his command, and used that foundation to build Eden Group. During the last betting event alone, he amassed wealth that surpassed even Your Majesty’

“So, Father—do you really plan to turn them into slaves?” Sofina asked. Her face made her opposition unmistakably clear.The king let out a slow sigh. “That was the original plan,” he said. “The one we agreed on last year—before everything changed.”“What changed?” Sofina pressed.The king waved his hand dismissively.The wall screen flickered to life.Footage from Bella’s laboratory filled the room—cold, sterile, and ominous. Inside, several people worked at their stations, moving with precision. Some of them laughed. Others talked casually.“Last year,” the King said, his voice rising with barely contained excitement, “they finally reached Prussia’s technological level. It was the perfect time to harvest them as slaves. And from that moment on—”His expression shifted into something close to ecstasy.“—they stepped beyond us. They abandoned Prussia’s old path and broke free from its chains.”Sofina stared at him, struggling to follow.“What do you mean?” she asked.“Prussia,” Wilhel

Alex stood inside a wooden house, the air thick with the smell of timber and dust.He had seen this kind of place many times before. Xia architecture. Old, stubborn, rooted in tradition.They refused to trade wood for steel, refused to raise glass towers into the sky like Prussia.They believed living close to nature strengthened their cultivation, that wood and earth fed the body with natural power.Alex slowly turned his head.There was a massive hole torn through the roof.Sunlight poured through it in a harsh beam, illuminating the wreckage beneath.The VÖXEN Lucifer lay half-destroyed in the middle of the room, its once flawless frame split open like a wounded animal.The vehicle was filled with nanobots. Given the right materials, they could rebuild it atom by atom, following the original blueprint stored in its core.With enough time and resources, the VÖXEN could return to perfect form.But that would take time.Time he wasn’t sure he had.With slow, painful movements, Alex ac

Alex was the King of Estoria and the richest man in Prussia.He owned five storage rings, each one crammed full of gold, jewels, rare herbs, and treasures worth more than entire cities.And yet, in love and friendship, he was bankrupt.The climb to the top was always lonely. Brutal. Silent.He had become so poor that money was the only thing he had left.Taking out a box of gold ingots—the kind Xia people adored—was nothing to him. A scratch.A barely noticeable dent in his coffers.“Young Master Bai!” the old man who had been the loudest to accuse Alex earlier suddenly shouted, his voice trembling with theatrical emotion.“I told them before they even came here! It is impossible! Absolutely impossible for Young Master Bai Xiaochun—the purest man in this city, no, in this entire world—to ever rape a poor and ugly woman like this!”Every pair of eyes turned toward the old man.Because everyone knew the truth.Bai Xiaochun was notorious. Insane. Wild.iIf he were in the mood, even a ski

The first soldier arrived at a gallop, his horse skidding to a halt as he shouted, “No one take that money! It belongs to City Lord Bai Xi!”Everyone there knew the name. Bai Xi—the city judge, the magistrate—was infamous.Corrupt to the bone. He was the younger brother of Bai Xu, the late City Lord, and the uncle of Bai Xiaochun.Zhuge Liang and the other citizens reacted instantly the moment the soldier barked his command.They snatched up the gold ingots and scattered in all directions, disappearing into alleys and side streets.The soldiers charged after them, shouting, trying to seize the gold by force—but the crowd moved too fast. Only a handful of unlucky people were caught.When everything finally settled, the twenty soldiers had recovered only fifteen gold ingots. Around ten citizens were seized and dragged away in chains.“You,” one of the head soldiers barked, pointing straight at Alex. “How dare you give gold to the people?”The man’s eyes were full of contempt.Just pure