KING OF RUIN - Chapter 27: The Devil’s Awakening

The Age of Gods has long since ended, their voices no longer heard on the continent of Douluo. Humanity, standing on the shoulders of legends from its history, advanced soul technology to inconceivable heights. The humans of Douluo invented weapons of mass destruction, mechanized armor, and living metals. With these advancements, they went on to conquer the oceans and discovered two new continents. To fuel these new technologies, humanity hunted the soul beasts to the very brink of extinction.

Once the dominant force of Douluo, the few surviving soul beasts now hide in the darkest recesses of their last sanctuary. The weakest have all been hunted, leaving only the strongest to scheme in the heart of the forest. The soul beasts, not willing to fade away, plot an uprising for their survival. In the midst of this, a god from a long forgotten era awakens in the depths of the Great Star Dou Forest to seek vengeance for the soul beasts.

As darkness encroaches from the abyss, hope is found in a young boy who holds a power beyond divinity within himself—Tang Wulin! Hope for both humanity and the soul beasts, as the bridge between the two. He finds his way into the fabled halls of Shrek Academy, where he learns to wield his prodigious powers, makes friends and finds allies, eventually rising to become a towering leader.

As he learns to harness his strength, danger lurks within the shadows as the various factions of humanity maneuver and plot to usurp Shrek Academy. Tang Wulin discovers the threat to the only world he knows as he sinks deeper into the intrigue. Meanwhile, camouflaged by the chaos and unbeknownst to the humans, the soul beasts’ plot continues to steadily advance.

To defend what he loves and reclaim what was lost, Tang Wulin must seek out the legacies of legends past and unlock the full might of the Golden Dragon King!

And so Arascus, God of Pride, waited. He waited for his defeat as the forces of Heaven & Hell combined descended upon him. He waited as they tried to kill him. He waited as they locked him away. He waited for a thousand years in that dark prison.

For the sake of the world, the Protagonist must die.“I... I think I like--”Whether you’re just a girl who fell in love with the wrong person.“N-no...! If I can go back... just one more time...!”A man who regresses to save the world.“Hero... Please, kill yourself.”Or a destined Hero chosen by the Goddess Herself to kill the Demon Lord.No matter what your purpose is, no matter who you are.Even if the whole world and everyone close turns against me...[The target, ‘■■, the Hero’, has been dispatched.][Contract complete.]...The Protagonist cannot be allowed to live.

Zheng Nianru went from being a Commandery Princess who could be killed at any moment to the position of the Empress Dowager, wielding power over the world. What she couldn't accept was that she didn't end up with a good fate. However, Zheng Nianru thought that no one would have been able to save Nanzheng State.Yet, she was reborn and, having deeply reflected upon her pain, also considered several past mistakes. Firstly, she should not have married down into the family of Ju Nanyi, a man with a narrow mind who came from a minor house, who only thought about romantic affairs and entangled with her in desperate affection, incapable of assisting Nanzheng. Secondly, she should not have killed everyone in Qiandao Temple, which was the spiritual pillar of the people of Nanzheng State. After all, there were better ways, weren't there, like seduction? Thirdly, she should not have been so confident that the monarch of the neighboring country would fall at her feet, nor should she have trusted the promise of that fickle neighboring monarch, which led to years of drawn-out conflict between the two states.Um, Zheng Nianru felt she was not wrong. She just wanted to live well and to be a good Empress Dowager. Since she had the chance to live again, why did she have this chance? Could it be that she was expected to once again turn Nanzheng State upside down?