Sovereign of the Seven Armies

"Sign the papers right now. Do it before I pull his life support."

The harsh voice of Evelyn Lin cut through the quiet dining hall. She slammed a thick stack of divorce documents onto the table.

Chloe Lin stared at the blank signature line. Her hand trembled around a heavy metal pen.

She looked down at the man in the wheelchair beside her. Ryker Zhao sat completely motionless. His eyes were vacant and hollow.

For three years he had been trapped in his own body. A vegetative state brought on by a catastrophic injury on the northern battlefields.

Grandpa Lin had forced this marriage just days before he died. He entrusted his favorite granddaughter to a lowly soldier with no background and no wealth. Grandpa Lin had seen something in Ryker that no one else did.

When Ryker returned from his final deployment in a coma the entire family rejoiced. They called him a piece of trash. They saw him as a broken puppet they could easily discard to claim the family inheritance.

But Chloe never abandoned him. She honored her grandfather's dying wish. She spoon fed Ryker every single meal.

She bathed him daily. She endured the endless mockery of the elite social circles without a single complaint.

Preston Wu stepped forward from the shadows of the dining room. He wore a custom tailored suit woven from imported silk. A diamond studded watch gleamed brightly on his wrist.

Preston had been circling Chloe like a vulture since the day Ryker fell into the coma.

Chloe stood in stark contrast to the wealthy heir. She wore a faded cotton blouse that hung loosely on her thin frame. Her once bright eyes were sunken and exhausted.

She had skipped lunch again today just to afford Ryker's physical therapy session. She had sold her own wedding ring months ago to pay for his medication. Now her strength was completely gone.

"Your company is bankrupt, Chloe," Preston said. He placed a different folder next to the divorce papers. "The bank will seize your remaining assets tomorrow morning. You will be out on the street."

Preston tapped the new folder with his index finger. "This is a fifty million dollar supply contract from the Wu Group. It saves your business. It saves your reputation in this city."

He leaned closer to her ear. "All you have to do is drop the dead weight. Marry me. I will even pay to move this vegetable to a cheap public ward out of the city."

Chloe closed her eyes. A single tear rolled down her cheek and splashed onto the divorce papers.

Inside the wheelchair Ryker heard every single word.

His body was paralyzed but his mind was incredibly sharp. He had felt every tear Chloe cried onto his chest in the dark. He heard every insult Evelyn hurled at her when they thought he was deaf.

He was not in a coma. His body had actively shut down to contain the explosive power of the Dragon Core. He absorbed the ancient energy during his final mission to save his platoon from total annihilation.

Ryker knew exactly what Chloe had sacrificed for him. 

Evelyn had laughed at them. The wicked woman had purposely withheld the family dividend payments just to watch Chloe suffer. She wanted to force her daughter to submit to the wealthy Wu family.

Every insult was etched permanently into Ryker's mind. 

It took exactly one thousand and ninety five days for the raw power to fuse with his broken meridians.

Today was day one thousand and ninety five.

He could feel the warmth returning to his fingertips. The blood roared in his veins like a caged beast preparing to break free. The final traces of paralysis were fading away completely.

"Preston is offering you total salvation," Evelyn sneered. "If you do not sign that paper right now I will personally call the clinic. I will cancel his private nurses. He will rot on the street by midnight."

Chloe gasped. She looked at her mother in sheer disbelief.

"You would kill him just to get me to marry Preston?"

"I am saving my daughter from a lifetime of utter humiliation," Evelyn replied coldly. "Sign it."

Chloe looked back down at Ryker. She reached out and gently touched his cheek. His skin was surprisingly warm.

"I am so sorry, Ryker," she whispered softly. "I cannot let them take your care away. I cannot let you die."

She gripped the pen tightly. She hovered the tip over the signature line of the divorce decree.

Preston smiled triumphantly. He reached out and placed his hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"You are making the right choice, darling," Preston said. "He was never worthy of looking at you anyway."

Ryker felt Preston's hand touch his wife.

The final meridian snapped into place with the force of a thunderclap.

A terrifying wave of cold air exploded outward from the wheelchair. The heavy mahogany table rattled violently. The crystal glasses shattered into fine dust.

Evelyn shrieked and covered her face to protect herself from the flying glass.

Preston froze in place. The oppressive pressure in the room forced the breath entirely from his lungs.

Chloe dropped the pen in shock.

A hand clamped around Preston's wrist. Preston looked down in absolute horror.

Ryker Zhao was looking back at him.

The vacant stare was gone. His eyes burned with a dark suffocating intensity. It was the gaze of a man who had conquered continents and walked over mountains of corpses.

"Take your hand off my wife."

Ryker's voice was hoarse from three years of silence. But it carried the heavy weight of an executioner's blade.

Preston tried to pull his arm away. He could not move a single inch. Panic flared wildly in his chest.

"You are awake?" Preston stammered. He tried to mask his sudden fear with anger. "Let go of me, you crippled trash. Do you have any idea who I am?"

Ryker did not answer him. He slowly stood up from the wheelchair.

He was a full head taller than Preston. 

"Ryker?" Chloe whispered. She was trembling uncontrollably. She stepped back completely stunned by the sight of her husband standing on his own two feet.

Ryker turned his head slightly to look at her. The murderous aura in his eyes softened instantly.

"You have suffered enough for my sake, Chloe," Ryker said quietly. "I will take it from here."

He turned his attention back to the arrogant heir.

"You think fifty million dollars is enough to buy her?" Ryker asked.

"My family owns half the real estate in this entire city," Preston snarled. His face turned bright red from the crushing pain in his wrist. "I will crush you like a bug. Let me go right now."

"I gave this country peace," Ryker stated plainly. "I did not bleed on the borders so parasites like you could threaten my family."

Ryker tightened his grip.

A sickening crack echoed loudly through the silent room.

Preston screamed in pure agony. He dropped to his knees on the hardwood floor. His wrist bent at an unnatural horrifying angle.

Evelyn stood completely frozen against the far wall. Her jaw dropped in sheer terror. This terrifying giant was not the broken puppet she had abused for three years.

Ryker released Preston's shattered wrist. The young master collapsed onto the floor clutching his arm and sobbing pathetically.

Ryker reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a black metallic phone. It had not been turned on in three years.

He pressed a single button on the side. The screen glowed a deep blood red.

The encrypted call connected instantly.

"Commander," a deep voice answered from the speaker. The voice shook with absolute reverence and disbelief. "You have finally returned."

"Mobilize the Vanguard," Ryker commanded. His eyes fixed firmly on the terrified mother. "Lock down the Wu Group. I want them bankrupt and bleeding before the sun sets."

The voice on the phone did not hesitate.

"Yes my liege. Who is the first target?"

Ryker looked down at Preston writhing on the floor.

"Everyone in this room."