The man wearing a robe lowered his arm. He had a sinister look on his face. "Stop the fight. Wait until the beast of fortune leaves before continuing."The Krowonian soldier felt a surge of irritation at the endless stream of superstitious nonsense Morlock Grimalkin was spewing. "We're at war. I'm sure the Farshyans know that the battlefield is everchanging. We can't afford to delay any opportunities.""I understand that. However, the fortune is now on their side. A reckless attack could lead us astray in ways we cannot predict."Morlock turned, revealing a deep scar etched across his brow. His face, sharp and unkind, carried the harshness of his words. High cheekbones jutted like blades, and his piercing eyes glimmered with malice.It was said a person's features could reveal their nature, and Morlock embodied that belief. Yet, Darius favored such individuals. He saw them not as men of principle but as tools, driven by personal gain—tools he could wield to his advantage."What sh
It was one thing if this was the Beast of Fortune's own intention—but what if someone else was manipulating it? Morlock's gaze darkened. He had to find the culprit. The Beast of Fortune should belong to him!Just as Morlock was about to leave, Darius stopped him, "Mr. Grimalkin, some of my cowardly soldiers claimed they keep hearing cries from fortune-tellers. Do you have a way to deal with it?"Morlock sneered. "They're still making a commotion even after death. Take this talisman. My fellow peers sure never knew what was good for them."Darius immediately gestured for his subordinates to take the talisman. Darius was quite cautious around Morlock. He never forgot why Morlock's peers had their guard down. It was all because of Morlock's betrayal. These thoughts never left his mind.Morlock came to Darius during the night. He was exactly what Darius thought Farshyan fortune tellers would look like—eerie and unpleasant.However, Morlock's proposal was too tempting. He said he cou
There was no way the Cerulean Dragon would change its master without Landon's permission. He was not like Chaos, who would obey anyone who fed him. The Cerulean Dragon was the smartest among the Four Perils. It was proud, and thus, it was difficult for him to yield to any human. Although the Cerulean Dragon might have swapped owners willingly, it had to endure a thunderstrike from the heavens as a punishment. However, there was no thunderstrike or punishments of any sort. It seemed like the heavens were celebrating—the Divine Clouds shimmered brilliantly.The crow circled above, observing the extraordinary scene. After all, it wasn't every day that such joyous celebrations occurred in both the Heavens and the Netherrealm.The crow decided it was better than Landon being hot-headed and hosting a grand wedding. Compared to that, gifting a beast of fortune and invoking divine fortune seemed perfectly reasonable.In the depths of the Netherrealm, the air stirred with the crow's fl
There were no surveillance cameras in this era, so Aria didn't have to worry about being discovered. At the heart of the camp, the patrolling guards were far more alert.Snipers were usually stationed at high points, lying in wait, so Aria needed to identify every blind spot carefully.This required careful observation, but Aria had a solid grasp of the soldiers' routines. Those with a keen understanding of military operations knew that patrolling schedules, though predictable, adhered to a strict schedule. By cracking their routine, Aria spotted her opportunity to infiltrate the team during the handover.Aria moved discreetly as the soldiers exchanged their covert signals, pulling the last soldier out of the line without drawing attention.The darkening sky made it easy for her to take action. She quickly changed into his uniform and blended into the squad without anyone noticing.She even left behind a Krowonian traditional outfit beside the young soldier. Aria didn't leav
The soldier was clearly a traitor who had studied abroad. He followed Viktor closely, speaking respectfully in accented Krowonian and fanning him as he talked.Although Aria couldn't see his face, his voice sounded familiar. She felt certain she had heard it somewhere before.As Aria lagged behind, her slow pace drew attention."You, there! What are you doing?" the squad leader barked. Instantly, all eyes turned to Aria—including those of the traitor.Aria was fluent in Krowonian, but disguising her voice was a challenge. Lowering it to a gruff tone, she replied, "Yes, sir! There seems to be a fire over there."Everyone immediately looked in the direction she pointed. Viktor's expression darkened. "Damn it! Our food supplies!"The dining area and food storage were ablaze. No one understood how the fire had started, and panic erupted among the soldiers.In his frustration, Viktor kicked the traitor—Eddy Caldwell—to the ground. Yet Eddy scrambled to his feet, unfazed, and offered
However, Viktor failed to find anything. His expression darkened as he whipped the person over and over again."Some Farshyan bastards must have sneaked inside!"Viktor turned abruptly, pointing the whip at Eddy. "You! Didn't you say the Farshyans' weaponry is limited and outdated? How the hell did they set fire from outside?"Eddy was at a loss. Desperately trying to piece together an explanation, he ventured, "Maybe... one of them studied abroad in Krowo and became familiar with our weaponry?""Studied abroad…" Viktor suddenly looked up. "Apart from our soldiers, are there any outsiders in our camp?"The deputy officer immediately replied, "There are some dancers and musicians here to entertain the troop.""Investigate them immediately!" Viktor ordered, his teeth clenched as his gaze fell on the scorched remains of their food supplies.At first, Viktor hadn't been too worried. He had dismissed the Farshyans as incompetent fools, incapable of such sabotage. After all, the Krowo
Since the soldier reminded Aria of the time, it meant that there would be a new code after 7:00 am.There was no way Aria would know the new code. However, if she showed any signs of hesitation, the other soldiers would start to suspect her. Worse still, she noticed the soldier reaching for the back of his gun.It was too late. Aria narrowed her eyes and replied. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't look at the time. Let's go over it again."The soldier kept his hand on the gun and was about to speak when Aria unleashed several silver needles with a swift flick of her hand. The needles shot out with a sharp whoosh, striking all 12 members of the two squads.In an instant, the soldiers stood frozen. Their acupuncture points had been precisely targeted. Though fully conscious, they were now incapable of speech or movement.However, leaving all 12 soldiers standing there would be too conspicuous. Anyone passing by would immediately notice something was wrong.Fortunately, the Krowonian soldiers
Aria's heart skipped a beat. A tremor ran through her as she touched the plaque, causing the black mist surrounding it to evaporate. The plaque, once at the center of the Soul Lock Manifestation, now rested in her hands."Isn't this too easy?" Aria muttered, lowering her gaze.As she held the plaque in her hand, fragmented scenes suddenly flooded her mind. The chaotic, turbulent images seemed to emanate from the plaque itself.In the visions, a sect was preparing for a wedding. Clouds gathered ominously, and heavenly trials loomed overhead. Aria, wearing a traditional wedding dress, observed as sect members from different clans gathered.Another scene showed her standing atop a mountain stream, her sleeves billowing in the strong wind. Before her stood numerous arcane seekers, accusing her of being a demon who had corrupted their minds.Aria raised an eyebrow at their accusations. "What nonsense," she thought. She didn't even practice the Decatorian arts, let alone involve herself
Magdalene said, "In the past, our family had helped the Grishams to survive. But now..." She took a sip of her tea. "They're digging their own grave, and we can't help them anymore." Just as she finished speaking, a middle-aged man walked in. When Magdalene saw him, her brows immediately furrowed. Her eldest son, Neval Fitzroy, was her least favorite child. He had brought nothing but shame to the Fitzroys. If he hadn't developed a gambling addiction, the Fitzroy family wouldn't have fallen this far. She asked, "What are you doing here?" Neval rubbed his hands together and snickered. "Mom, I'm a little short on cash lately. I mainly came because I missed you, but I'm also here to ask for a little money." Before Magdalene could respond, Laura stood up. "Neval, Mom just gave you 20 million last month. You shouldn't have spent it so quickly." Magdalene had been in a good mood, but now her face darkened. "Did I raise you to leech off me? How could 20 million dollars be gone so
Orion slammed his fist hard on the table. He'd been played by someone who looked like nothing more than a trust fund kid. Yet he had no choice but to let Aria manipulate him. Because no matter what he said, someone would show up to "take care of" him. At this point, he could only make everything look like a simple financial crime in order to protect himself. Aria had calculated this perfectly and planned accordingly. Even now, most people saw Aria as just some young hotshot who made money but didn't understand the bigger picture. They thought because she came from a small town, she was naïve enough to believe taking down the Draycott family would solve everything. In reality, she would be dragging herself down as well. Unless she didn't plan to stay in Ludwiten at all! Most people who thought this way were driven by pride and jealousy. They wouldn't admit they wished they were in Aria's shoes. The Carvers had raked in so much money from the stock market this time around. The
"Yes, I'm sure," Gabe said, having checked everything carefully. The old man thought for a moment. "Find a way and get someone else to tell Orion what he should and shouldn't say. If he's smart enough, he should understand." "Alright." Gabe pushed up his glasses. "Don't worry; everything will be handled." The old man's eyes were deep and calculating. "To achieve great things, some people must be sacrificed. If necessary, offer the Draycott family some benefits. Go take care of the Bellebrook situation." Gabe chuckled. "They're just some greedy, low-class people. They only succeeded because of you, yet they always think they made it on their own." "Gabe, mind your words." The old man had a kind face. Looking at him, one would think he cared for all people. Judging from his simple lifestyle, he did not seem like someone who would do bad things at all. Even the cup he used was bought from the supermarket for just over ten dollars. "Go now. As I've always said, anyone can l
Aria's question made Orion freeze right away. The scholarship program was his secret lifeline. He simply couldn't figure out how she knew so many details about everything! "You've been setting me up in the stock market all this time. How did you also find out about the scholarship program?" Orion felt genuinely scared now—everyone had really underestimated Aria. When had she done all this research? She'd dug deeper than he ever imagined. The scariest part was that neither he nor that person had noticed anything. They all thought she was just helping the Carver family restore their former glory. Keeping the Chamber of Commerce out of the Carver family's hands was that person's strict order. That was why the Draycotts had climbed so quickly within the organization over the years. They all assumed Aria had come to Ludwiten to target the Chamber. But now... Orion looked up again. "The scholarship program is weird business. I only handled recruitment. I don't know where those peop
Orion said, "I don't know much, honestly." He looked at Aria with hesitation, as if he was afraid to name that person. He made a gesture instead. "That person is the lieutenant governor of Ludwiten, who has many achievements to his name. "If you're brave enough to investigate, I can tell you about the deals I handled. But I don't know about the rest." Aria raised an eyebrow. Her expression said everything—she had already kidnapped him, so did he seriously think she would be afraid to investigate this further? Orion took a deep breath. "I just handle the money. That person wants something bigger—he wants to make history, but he's been in poor health lately. He needs me to keep certain people in line, but I can't give you details since I really don't have proof." "Which people does he control? And how does he do it?" Aria asked casually. Orion glanced upward, his eyes slowly losing focus. "I have no idea which people." "Mr. Draycott, I thought you would have learned by now.
"Who the hell are you?" Orion shouted as he couldn't hold back anymore. He gripped the armrests hard, almost jumping out of his chair. But Aria barely glanced his way. "I brought you here, didn't I? Who do you think I am?""Y-You're..." Orion remembered a rumor from a business dinner about a Special Missions Unit that operated outside normal chains of command. They could investigate anyone without going through regular channels.Their authority even topped the Regular Missions Unit. Orion had laughed it off back then. Every group had to answer to someone higher up, so there couldn't be a unit with that kind of freedom. In Ludwiten, everyone answered to that one big shot. But now he realized such a thing actually existed!Orion's face turned ghostly pale. "Are you… a part of the Special Missions Unit?"Only that could explain everything! With all her digging and investigating, that person would have noticed what she had been doing. But Orion did not understand something. "
Usually, in this situation, Orion would have a lawyer present. But things were different today! He did not even know which department was holding him. All his usual connections seemed blocked, which made Orion start to panic from deep inside. He sat there, fidgeting nervously. No one else was in the room. "I want a lawyer! I'm innocent!" he shouted, trying to move, but his hands were cuffed to the chair. Just then, a familiar cool voice spoke up, carrying its usual casual tone, "Whether you're guilty or not, the law will decide." It was Aria. Her presence was completely different from earlier in the office. When Orion saw her, he wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. There wasn't a trace of the spoiled, rebellious, rich kid in her now. Instead, she looked at him calmly as if she were the highest authority in this place. Orion's heart sank. He wasn't stupid and knew how things worked. That was why his eyes widened as he stared at Aria. "Who are you really?" "D
Magdalene told Laura, "Now you're the partner everyone wants to work with." She laughed out loud. "This divorce couldn't have come at a better time." Laura's eyes widened as Magdalene spoke, her excitement growing by the second. "Mom, does that mean I'll be..." Laura could hardly imagine how amazing her future would be. Magdalene stroked her hair. "They won't call you Mrs. Grisham anymore. They'll call you the CEO of the Fitzroy Group." Laura's face trembled with barely contained excitement. She never considered that the shares they wanted weren't rightfully theirs but something they were taking through dirty tricks. "I was worried these families might side with Aria." Laura had genuinely been concerned about this. After all, families like the Katz family and those families working in traditional industries had started treating Aria with the same respect they once had for Barron. This was exactly what drove Laura crazy. Why should Aria get to live carefree after ruining her
Magdalene felt better than she had in a long time. She even ordered someone to open a bottle of wine to celebrate. This was the most relaxed day Magdalene had experienced in weeks. News about the Draycott family kept pouring in, and she had been feeling not just anxiety but a deep uneasiness. Over the years, the Fitzroy and Draycott families had become deeply entangled. Even without obvious business interests like others had, they shared information regularly. Even in that incident years ago, the Fitzroy family had been involved. Previously, she had worried more than anyone about the Draycott family's collapse. Now, she felt differently. First, there were the Grisham shares they would soon acquire. Second, she had learned that the Draycott family was not the only one that had lost money in the stock market because of Aria. Many prominent Ludwiten families had suffered losses thanks to her market manipulations. Magdalene understood clearly that to establish themselves in this