Nine Star Burden - Chapter 20: Nation-Saving Curves

"There is a thin line between poison and medicine, and I shall make you dance on it!"

Forget history. Forget legacy. Forget passion.The future of football is a formula, and eighteen-year-old Michael Sterling is about to prove it.While his father, Richard, clings to the romantic, decaying dream of their beloved Northwood FC, Michael sees only one thing: failure.The club is a joke, staring down the barrel of relegation with a wage bill that could bankrupt a small nation.His solution? Sell. His father's? A lecture about the club's “soul.”Mocked by his friends and infuriated by his father's refusal to face reality, Michael snaps.He’s done trying to fix the past; he's going to build the future.Liquidating his lavish lifestyle, he gambles everything he has on a radical experiment: to create a football club run purely by logic.He'll scout with algorithms, sign players based on statistical value, and manage with cold, calculated strategy. He’s building a machine designed for one purpose: to dominate.This is the story of a young genius who declares war on the old ways, determined to build an empire so successful it will force his father, and the entire football world, to admit he was right.Can a club without a soul conquer the beautiful game?

A Webnovel Author who died after installing a strange farming game was reincarnated into a brutal, apocalyptic world. Armed with only his wit and a quirky farming system, he finds himself surrounded by ruined cities, mutated beasts, and desperate survivors. The world is on the brink of collapse, but his system insists on growing crops and raising livestock in the middle of the wasteland.At first, he thinks it’s a joke—a farming system in the apocalypse? But soon he discovers the hidden potential of his system. The crops he grows can strengthen his body, grant unique abilities, and even repel the deadly monsters that roam the land. However, the system has a mind of its own, and not everything is as it seems.Now, balancing survival and farming, he must build a haven in this hostile world, gathering strange allies along the way, all while uncovering the secrets behind his reincarnation. As his farm flourishes, so does his power—making him a target for dangerous factions and ancient forces that lurk in the shadows.Can a peaceful farmer rise to become the hero this broken world needs? Or will his fields of hope be crushed by the horrors that await?

What happens when a goddess falls in love with a shifter?Asara; the goddess of love, was punished by her father, the god of thunder.Her crime being falling in love with a mortal shifter Alpha.To pay for her sins she was reborn as Cassandra LeBlanc; a mortal Princess in the magical Kingdom of Speldaria.Her family and kingdom, except her middle sister, shunned her for she was born without any magical abilities and she had no recollections of her true identity.Her betrothed, the powerful mage commander of the Speldaria, was unbothered by her. He wished for someone strong.Cassandra’s life was toppled when she was gifted a warrior slave by the mighty Alpha of Dusartine. She was asked to take part in the Yearly Arena Event by collaborating with the warrior.Cassandra who hated ‘The Arena’ with her very breath. A place where blood flowed like wine and life was cheaper than the very air they breathed didn't understand her purpose in it.On top of that, the mysterious warrior affected her in unimaginable ways.His hypnotic gaze unsettled her.His rare essence overwhelmed her.His muscular bronzed body consumed her with sinful thoughts.Even the dreams of her past life plagued her.When ‘The Arena' began the hidden agendas and underlying truths came to light and Cassandra was played a hand of fate. She was left with no choice but to give in and choose a path.The question would be.How will Cassandra grapple once she learns of the curse placed on her?Will she be able to obtain her magical abilities and stand up to her father?Who will help her along the journey?~Excerpt~Then she felt him, all of him.All his ruggedness.The strength of his arm.The softness of his lips.The grip of his hand.The warmth of his breath.Every muscle in her body went taut at the implications of sleeping in a man’s arms. She had never slept in a male’s embrace before.Her whole skin tingled like tiny sparks dancing on the very parts that connected with him.The crevices of her brain had these memories which weren't hers. This touch somehow didn't seem foreign to her. She felt safe in his soothing embrace and didn't wish to push him away and yet she knew this was far from appropriate.Cassandra tried to wriggle out of his hold, his arms seemed to be built from iron for they wouldn't budge.The light garment she had worn had lifted from her milky thigh baring it as his bronzed muscular one was draped on it.And now she could sense something poking her back. Her eyes suddenly expanded from the realisation and Cassandra fully panicked.“Let go!” She voiced out, heavily.Siroos slowly lifted his leg and slackened his hold on her waist so she could shuffle away. He had awakened when she had stiffened for the first time but wished to behold what she would try.With eyes blown wide she stole a glance towards the man who had her wrapped in his embrace like a precious treasure, his treasure.His molten gold eyes had flickered open and there was this softness and want with which he stared at her.Those soft brown curls cascaded over his eyes as he forgot to blink, watching the timeless beauty that she was. Her one-of-a-kind fragrance was a torture to his senses.How he wished to grab her dainty ankle, pull her from it and have her sprawled underneath him. To kiss the very skin that oozed such scent which was driving him insane.Instead, he bent his arm and placed it under his cheek using it like a pillow to watch her with desire-filled eyes.The awkward lull between them prolonged as Cassandra cleared her throat.“Did you have to climb on me to sleep?”“It wasn't intentional but was certainly enticing and definitely won't be the last time.” His deeply hypnotic voice was even more alluring this early in the morning as it resonated all around her.