2026-09-30 23:05:40
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
THE AFTERMATH
The dead were counted at dawn, and the number was worse than anyone had feared."Four hundred and thirty-seven," Shen Yun reported, her voice hollow. "That's the confirmed count. Another hundred are missing. Most of them are probably dead."Shen Rui sat in the command post, staring at the wall. He hadn't slept. He hadn't eaten. He had spent the night walking through the ruins, listening to the cries of the wounded, the weeping of the bereaved."Four hundred and thirty-seven," he repeated. "How many were civilians?""More than half. The enemy didn't discriminate. They killed everyone they found.""And the wounded?""Three hundred. Maybe more. The infirmary is overflowing. We're running out of medicine. Running out of bandages. Running out of everything."Shen Rui closed his eyes. The weight of the numbers pressed down on him. Four hundred dead. Three hundred wounded. A city of seventy thousand reduced to rubble and grief."What about the food?" he asked.Shen Yun hesitated. "We have en
THE RETREAT
The enemy army began to withdraw at dawn, and Shen Rui watched them go with a hollow feeling in his chest."They're actually leaving," Guan Hao said, standing beside him on the wall. His arm was in a sling, his face still pale from his wounds. "I didn't think they would.""Neither did I."The enemy soldiers moved in disciplined columns, their banners furled, their weapons sheathed. They didn't look like a defeated army. They looked like an army that had simply decided to leave."They're not running," Shen Rui said quietly. "They're choosing to go.""Is that supposed to make me feel better?""No. It's supposed to make you understand. We didn't win. The Black Wolf decided to spare us."Guan Hao was silent for a moment. Then he spat over the wall."I don't like it. A victory you didn't earn isn't a victory at all.""I know."They stood in silence, watching the enemy disappear over the northern hills. The siege was over. The city was safe. But the cost had been enormous.Shen Rui walked t
THE QUESTION
The battle was still raging when the young soldier grabbed Shen Rui's arm, and the question he asked cut deeper than any blade."Lord, if you knew how to make these weapons, why did you never make something that could stop war?"Shen Rui froze. The sounds of combat faded. The screams, the clash of steel, the thunder of hooves. All of it disappeared. There was only the boy in front of him. Sixteen. Maybe seventeen. His face was smeared with blood and dirt, his eyes wide with something that might have been fear or might have been accusation."What did you say?" Shen Rui asked.The boy didn't back down. "You made the fire lances. The crossbows. The steel that cuts through armor. You made all of it. You knew how. So why didn't you make something that could end war? Something that could stop people from fighting?"Shen Rui opened his mouth. Then closed it. He had no answer.The boy stared at him for a moment. Then he turned and ran back toward the battle.Shen Rui stood there, frozen. The
THE CONVERSATION
The tent was small, lit by a single oil lamp, and Kai spoke for hours without stopping."My name was Kevin Zhao," he said, his voice distant, as if he were reciting a story he had told a thousand times. "I was a soldier. Special forces. I died in an ambush in the mountains. I woke up here. In a body that wasn't mine. Surrounded by people speaking a language I didn't understand."Shen Rui sat across from him, his heart pounding, his mind reeling. He had so many questions. So many things he wanted to say."How did you survive?" he asked. "How did you adapt?""The same way you did. I learned the language. I learned the customs. I used what I knew to survive. But I made mistakes. I trusted the wrong people. I thought I could fix everything by myself.""Your family. You said you lost them."Kai's face flickered with pain. It was the first real emotion Shen Rui had seen from him."My wife. My daughter. They were killed when the Weaver's influence spread. They died because I couldn't protect
THE BLACK WOLF REVEALED
The Black Wolf removed his helmet, and Shen Rui felt the world collapse around him.The face beneath the black armor was not the face of a stranger. It was a face he had seen before. Not in this world. Not in this life. But in another. A face from a photograph. A face from a memory. A face from a world that no longer existed."You," Shen Rui whispered. "You're..."The Black Wolf smiled. It was a tired expression, worn down by years of secrets and lies."Surprised?" he asked. In English. Perfect, unaccented English. "You shouldn't be. You're not the only one, kid."Shen Rui's mind reeled. He tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come. He tried to move, but his body wouldn't obey. He just stood there, staring at the man in front of him, his heart pounding in his chest."You're from Earth," Shen Rui finally managed. "You're from my world.""Was from your world. A long time ago. Before I died. Before I woke up here." The Black Wolf paused. "Same as you.""How long?""Twenty years. Maybe
THE DUEL
The duel began with a scream, and Guan Hao knew before the first blade clashed that he was going to die.But he didn't care.The Black Wolf moved like water, flowing around Guan Hao's strikes with an ease that bordered on contempt. His black armor gleamed in the firelight, untouched, unmarked. He had not even drawn his sword yet."You're brave," the Black Wolf said, dodging another strike. "Stupid, but brave.""Stupid is as stupid does," Guan Hao growled, lunging forward.The Black Wolf sidestepped, and Guan Hao's blade cut through empty air. He stumbled, recovered, and turned. The Black Wolf was already behind him."You trained with the Mountain Sect," the Black Wolf said, his voice calm. "I recognize the stance. The way you hold your blade. The way you move your feet."Guan Hao froze. His eyes widened."How do you know about the Mountain Sect?""I know many things. The Mountain Sect was destroyed twenty years ago. All its masters killed. All its students scattered." The Black Wolf t
You may also like
Kingsman Return
Kuraii161.8K viewsONCE BULLIED: LYON ARMSTRONG IS BACK.
ASystem20.5K viewsCivilian Dragon lord
Drew Archeron189.9K viewsThe Least Common Denominator
MokouFriedChicken29.9K viewsBorn Between Humans & Beasts
FrankintheHouse297 viewsThe Future's Last Signal
Sanjana273 viewsBlood of the Wolf
Carey Corvin237 viewsEX-Grade Grass
Paul Lutif159 views