Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 3: Small men have great shadow()

Johnathan, an old man with an extraordinary past but an ordinary end, gets reincarnated in a dark fantasy world full of magic, darkness, and mysteries furled.

However, he committed a grave blunder by taking the fiction he had read as a reference. Reborn as a baby, he hoped to be deemed gifted by speaking early.

One thing led to another, and tragedy struck. The villagers declared him a demon-possessed and called the church. Johnathan, now known as Sylvester Maximilian, realized that he had messed up.

When the church's inquisitors came to judge him and burn him on a pyre. As a last resort and to welcome his soon to arrive second death, he started chanting holy hymns as his last breath.

Overwhelmed, they kneeled, thinking he was a messenger of Solis.

From there, the story of how Sylvester Maximilian rose through the ranks to sit at the top began.

But his life won't be ordinary, as he uses his cunning and the tag of 'God's favored' to his advantage. Fighting treachery, unearthing secret plots and world mysteries, facing the darkness around him and creating his place in history, engraving his name in the annals to be forever remembered as the—Immortal Pope, The Young.

[A/N: To not mislead you, the novel's name does not mean he instantly becomes the Pope from the start. The story will follow the life of MC. Though he will become the Pope at a pretty young age. 40% of the novel will be based around MC fighting to sit on the supreme throne.

If you enjoy world building and lore building, then you will like this story.]
____________

***Main Tags: FANTASY, ADVENTURE, MAGIC, DARK, STRONG MC(Weak at the start because he's a baby. Not an instant OP though.), WHOLESOME, COMEDY, KINGDOM BUILDING. MENTALLY OLD MC, Politics, Backstabbing, World Building.***

[WARNING: MC will not go around saving everyone. Absolutely not if it puts him in danger. But if he can save someone using his status or position in the church, he will. He will kill innocent people if he has to. MC is not crazy, cynical, or unsociable. The world at some times may seem very DARK.]
_____________

[DISCLAIMER]
The religion will be fake. I won't make it similar to those existing in our world not to trigger anyone. However, the Church terminologies and designations may feel identical as they are simple vocabulary words.

Again, everything you read in this novel is fictional and has no relation to our world.

I hope you enjoy my work. Stay safe and eat healthy bananas.
______________
Join the Monke Family - https://discord.gg/DgHkrAn

In his previous life, the genius angler Zhang Yang was seen as a heartless spendthrift by his family and friends.Due to a momentary mistake, he made a grave error, and the death of his father became his lifelong regret.In this life, fate has given him a chance to start over. Zhang Yang decides to rely on his skills and knowledge to make something of himself!This is the story of a genius angler going back nine years, using his exceptional skills and foresight to reach the pinnacle of the professional fishing sport.

Zhang Qiu is an archaeology undergraduate. One month ago, he went to Qinling Mountains with a group of archaeologist doctorate students led by Prof. Fang, to study the newly discovered ancient tomb. While the people were excited to open the tomb, Zhang Qiu was pushed back, and accidentally fell into an opening. Before he fainted, he saw a pair of red eyes staring at him. When woke up, he discovered that he was deflowered! QAQ he remembered the deeds and often dreamed of it.

Ning Qingqing and Shen Zhiqian have dated for 9 years from high school to university, including 2 years after joining the workforce.

Their relationship was stable and they were financially stable. Everything seemed to be a matter of course; however, even after hinting at marriage multiple times, Shen Zhiqian never gave any response.

Finally, on Ning Qingqing’s 25th birthday, after giving her last hint to no avail, she resolutely turned around and flash married Shen Zhiqian’s nemesis.

On the day of the wedding, Shen Zhiqian attended the ceremony, eyes red.

It was also at this moment that he finally realized what he had lost.

◆This is my wedding invitation, it’s the day after tomorrow◆

◆I arrived in style, just to miss you◆

◆I chased my wife all the way, yet I’ll never catch her again◆

More often than not, there are only two outcomes during a slow marathon of love – either to get married or to break up.

Unfortunately, her’s was the latter, yet she was also very fortunate to have met someone even better ~

Author’s reading captions:

The second male lead succeeds, first marriage then love, super sweet.

After the flash marriage, there is constant battling, scum abusing and face-slapping, feel refreshed til the end.

The story begins right from the breakup, there’s no campus-life arc; it’s all set in the city.

- Description from Novelupdates