The War God Returns to Conquer

Chapter 1

A heavy black SUV waited at the curb as Leon Hart stepped out of Westbridge International Airport.

His broad shoulders, tailored dark suit, and icy gaze made passersby instinctively step aside. He didn't give them a second glance as he jumped straight into the back seat.

The door shut behind him, and the convoy immediately merged into traffic.

At the wheel was his trusted aide and driver, Knox.

"Good morning, General. It's good to have you back."

"Did you find her?" Leon asked, his voice low and cutting through the quiet cabin.

"Yes, sir." Knox passed a physical document folder to the back seat before continuing down the highway. "Her name is Amara Clarke. She's twenty-four now."

Leon took the folder, his fingers tightening against the leather.

Five years.

It had been five long years since that nightmare night.

He turned his gaze out the tinted window, watching the familiar skyline of Westbridge pass by—the cursed city that took everything from him.

Five years ago, thirty-five members of the Hart family were slaughtered in a single night. What the public thought was an accident was a ruthless massacre orchestrated by their rivals—the Sterlings, Vaughns, Mercers, and Royces. They reduced the Hart estate to ashes and stole their legacy.

They thought Leon died in the flames too.

They didn't know a high school girl named Amara Clarke had risked her life, running into the blazing villa to drag his broken body to safety.

Leon had escaped into the river that night to evade his pursuers, fleeing all the way to the Southern Plains where he enlisted in the military.

Since then, he had built himself up from nothing.

Over five brutal years on the battlefield, he had risen to become the War God of the Southern Plains—the youngest General in the nation’s history. He was the legend who once took on thirty thousand enemy soldiers single-handedly and captured an enemy commander right from his own camp.

To the nation, he was a hero. To his enemies, he was the Grim Reaper.

And now, the Grim Reaper had returned to Westbridge to make every single culprit pay in blood.

"How has she been all these years?" Leon asked, opening the folder.

"Not well, General," Knox replied grimly. "She suffered severe burns saving you that night. Her appearance was permanently disfigured, and she's endured five years of non-stop mockery and isolation."

Leon stared at the photographs inside the file. Expecting to see her scars, he instead found pictures of a young woman shielding her face behind a silver mask.

A heavy, suffocating aura filled the SUV, making Knox glance nervously into the rearview mirror.

"There's more, sir," Knox added carefully. "Her family is holding a banquet in three days to force her into a marriage. The patriarch is offering business backing to any man willing to take her off their hands, but most families view her as a joke."

Leon's jaw clenched tightly as he closed the folder.

The four families who destroyed his life were thriving, while the girl who saved him was being treated like damaged goods by her own blood.

"A husband selection banquet..." Leon leaned back against the leather seat, an icy smile touching his lips. "It seems I'm going to have to attend."

"Put my name on that list," Leon said.

Knox looked at him in the mirror, looking totally shocked.

"You want to marry her yourself, General?"

Leon looked back at him coldly.

"Got a problem with that?"

"No, sir! Not at all." Knox quickly looked back at the road. "I'll sort it out right away."

*****

Three days later, the Clarke family hall was packed with people drinking and chatting.

Leon walked inside, keeping his head up. He didn't wear anything flashy—just a clean, simple dark suit.

Yet, while all the rich young guys were walking around dressed like golden statues, everyone in the room couldn't help looking at him instead.

He grabbed a glass of champagne from a waiter, took a sip, and stood near a corner.

His eyes swept through the room, looking for the girl in the silver mask but she wasn't anywhere inside

Then, he looked through the big glass doors leading to the dark garden outside.

Even though it was dark, he saw a girl in a red dress just walking around by herself among the flowers.

Leon put his glass down and walked outside into the cool air.

The loud noise from the party faded behind him. Apart from her, the garden was completely empty.

He walked up to her while her back was still turned.

"What is a pretty girl like you doing out here alone?" Leon asked softly.

She spun around, her silk dress making a soft rustling sound.

The moonlight hit her face, showing a silver mask held in place by delicate ribbons. Her dark hair swayed gently in the wind.

She was really beautiful.

"Pretty?" She let out a dry, bitter laugh. "You really must be mocking me. How can you look at this mask and call me pretty?"

Leon didn't back away. He stepped right beside her, looking out into the dark garden.

"You are pretty," he said calmly. "You just had an accident."

Amara let out a heavy sigh, her fingers pulling at her dress.

"I just wish I could be normal again... I wish I could get rid of this awful face."

A small smile touched Leon's lips becuase that was just exactly what he wanted to hear.

"I can fix it for you," he said.

Her head snapped toward him and her eyes widen behind the mask.

"You can?"

"Yeah," Leon replied. "But you'll have to give me something back later. I'll tell you what it is when the time comes."

Amara didn't even hesitate.

"Anything. I'll give you whatever you want."

With all his army experience, getting her out of her family's house without anyone noticing was super easy.

He grabbed her hand firmly, led her past the guards, and took her straight to his black SUV waiting outside.

As the car drove off into the night, Amara looked out the back window at her family's big house and sighed.

They would probably just think she got depressed and ran away from the party. Let them think whatever they wanted. She just wanted her life back, and this stranger was her only shot.

Twenty minutes later, Leon took her straight up to the main bedroom in his house.

He shut the door behind them and started unbuttoning his suit jacket.

"Take off your clothes."

Amara’s eyes went wide behind her mask, total panic hitting her.

"What?!" she gasped, taking a step back.

Leon chuckled quietly, taking a step closer to her.

"Come on. If you don't take them off, how am I supposed to fix your scars?"