The Damned Paladin - Chapter 13 - Following The Trail

I am a knight. To be precise, I am the Church of the God of Light’s Sun Knight.

The Church of the God of Light worships and serves the God of Light, and theirs’ is one of the three largest religions on this continent.

As the whole continent knows, the Church of the God of Light has the Twelve Holy Knights, and each one has his own unique personality and features.

To be the Sun Knight is to have shining golden hair, sky blue eyes, a compassionate nature, and a brilliant smile.

“The benevolent God of Light will forgive your sins.”

I must have said that line at least a million times in my time as the Sun Knight.

However, the greatest wish in my life is to be able to stand before the entire continent and roar, “Damn your ‘the whole continent knows’! This Sun Knight just doesn’t feel like smiling! I just don’t want to forgive these human trashes! I just want to pepper my sentences with ‘f***’!”

Unfortunately, even to this day, I continue to wear a smile as I say, “The benevolent God of Light will forgive your sins.”

The oldest myth between heaven and earth reappears in the world, countless spaces begin to slowly interweave, and the dark side of the world quietly emerges.

Advocate the friars who are weak in flesh and blood and eternal in spirit. Showing a tyrannical body, there is my invincible martial artist.

Looking at the changes in the world, Lu Ren exhaled in a panic.

“Ding, because of your uninterrupted breathing for 26 years, you suddenly realized something, and successfully realized the breathing technique.”

Hearing the prompt sound in his mind, Lu Ren waved his sword hesitantly.

“Ding, because you were blindly poking a few times with your sword, you suddenly realized something and successfully learned basic swordsmanship.”

After a long time, he looked at the army invading from another world, raised his long sword and slashed it out.

In an instant, the endless air waves rolled back, and the mountains and rivers where they passed collapsed, and the rivers fell.

Then the army was annihilated and bombarded towards the different world. The entire other world was completely shattered by the explosion of infinite fire, and slowly disappeared into the air.

- Description from novelbuddy

At twenty‑nine, she was the youngest CEO in the tech industry—NetVault Security had gone from small startup to Fortune 500 in just six years. The media called her a prodigy. Her board called her unstoppable.Her therapist called her alexithymic.Unable to understand or describe her own emotions.The elevator chimed. Elara didn’t look up. Only one person had after‑hours access.“You’re late,” she said. “The investor meeting is in twelve hours. Did you review the—”“I’m not here about the meeting.”…“Ugh.”Elara lost her life that day at the hands of her mentor and adoptive father. By the next morning, the same people who once called her a genius and praised her to the sky were calling her a coward who killed herself to escape scandal.Then Elara woke up.Not in her office. Not in a hospital.In a different world. In a different body.She was now Elara, the Fourth Princess of this so‑called great kingdom—only to find that this princess was an utter pushover, completely useless in everyone’s eyes. No one feared her. No one respected her. Even her own palace was full of other people’s spies.How is Elara supposed to survive this palace battle, when seven princesses fight in the shadows and she’s known as the weakest one? And can she ever escape this place… or will she decide to win instead?……“Your Highness, please… ugh…”The leash of light around Mahir’s neck—the head of the knights—tightened with a soft pull. His face flushed red, and not from pain.“Princess, here.” Ken, the strongest beast knight, knelt closer and held out a small pill between his fingers, guiding it gently to Elara’s lips.“Swallow it,” he said quietly. “You used too much power today.”On the floor below the bed, three beastmen knelt in a row, broad shoulders tense, ears twitching, their eyes fixed on her with dazed focus. Thin, glowing leashes of magic ran from their collars to the bands at Elara’s wrists.“Please…” Ken’s voice dropped, rough and a little hoarse. “Put your foot here.” He touched his gloved hand to his chest. “On me.”Elara sighed, half annoyed, half amused, and rested her foot lightly on his armored chest. All three of them drew in a sharp breath at the same time, faces turning even redder as the magic between them flared.Their eyes—gold, amber, and deep brown—looked up at her with the same lost, devoted gaze.

Aria Monroe married the city's coldest billionaire CEO to save her family, only to be betrayed by both him and them.Pregnant and discarded, she vanished without a trace.Three years later, she returns not as the broken woman they once mocked, but as the CEO of a rising empire.Her greatest secret? The child who carries the bloodline of the man who destroyed her.Now, the ruthless CEO who once rejected her is on his knees, begging for forgiveness. But forgiveness won't come easy. Rivals lurk, family betrays again, and temptation burns hotter than ever.This time, she's no pawn. She's the queen. And she'll decide who wins her heart if anyone at all.But when her son looks up at Damien Blackwood with those same ice-blue eyes and whispers “Daddy,” will the walls she's built around her heart finally crumble or will the ghosts of their past destroy them all?