The Grandmaster Strategist - Volume 5, Chapter 13: Defeat at Anze

There is a hated person on the popular anime,「Girl & Shuya」.

The Denning, House of the Duke’s third son, or also known as the Piggy Duke, Slow Denning.

As a person hated throughout the school, he had a lot of reason to be hated, things like he looks down on people, he brags about his pedigree, fat, real orc, and the Piggy has a tragic future waiting for him, he would be banned from his country at the end. And he even has the misfortune on the side that the retainer that he secretly gives his heart to, was stolen away from him.

Wondering why I’m talking about this?

It’s because I reincarnated to that Piggy Duke!

I will definitely make the Piggy Duke who had the number one position on the anime’s popular poll, also the number one in the real world!

In 2030, humanity faced its first true collapse…not by war, but by the sudden invasion of Nightcrawlers, creatures emerging from darkness itself with the desire to devour sunlight at all cost for their evolution.But, they could not absorb it directly since it was as deadly to them as to a shadow under the noonday sun. They could only absorb the sunlight from lifeforms or through signing a nocturnal contract to possess their bodies, providing them with direct sunlight immunity.Within twelve hours, over four billion people perished as Earth was split between eternal night and day.Just as extinction loomed, Holy Light Pillars descended from the heavens, purging one thousand cities from Nightcrawlers and offering humanity sanctuary under their divine light.A century later, in the Heliodor Region, an innocent child found his world turned upside down after two mysterious nightcrawlers invaded his home, slaughtered his parents, and ripped his eyes out of their sockets, leaving him permanently connected to the Shadow Dimension, the home ground of Nightcrawlers.Was it just a random feeding session for them, a planned assassination, or it goes deeper than this?Follow Levi’s journey as he weaves between darkness and light, chasing the truth hidden in both.

CONTENT WARNING:/This novel contains mature themes, explicit sexual content, strong language, and adult situations. Reader discretion is advised./---She ran from the devil who raised her…And married the one who wore a crown.After her parents’ tragic death, Lydia Andreyevna’s life became a nightmare. Stripped of her name, inheritance, and freedom by her uncle—Lord Alexander—she was treated like property and promised to a Count four times her age.Desperate to escape, she fled into the cold night… and straight into blood.A stranger. Wounded. Beautiful. Terrifying.She should’ve left him.But she didn’t.She touched him once—and fate branded her forever.Her uncle caught her the next morning. Her escape failed. But when she begged Queen Olga for protection, the Queen offered her a deadly bargain:Marry the masked Grand Duke of Zolotaria.The king’s hunting dog. The butcher of the East. The devil in a crown.The man feared by kings.The heir to the throne.The same man she once saved.Ivan Romanov.They say he bathes in blood. That he kills without blinking. That he conquered kingdoms with a smile behind a mask. That no one sees his face—and lives.Some call him the devil. Others call him Death’s favorite son.But behind the mask is the same man she found dying in the dark.The same voice that haunted her dreams.The same hands she once held.Now, he’s her husband.Her jailer.Her obsession.She doesn’t know if she’s his prisoner, or his weakness.Cold and untouchable, Ivan doesn’t share his bed. Doesn’t share his secrets. But she sees it—the hunger in his eyes. The pain in his silence. The way he looks at her like she’s the only thing keeping his demons at bay.She should fear him.She should hate him.But the moment she dares to take off his mask… it’s already too late.Because Ivan wants her—her fire, her body, her heart.And in his world, what he wants, he keeps.Even if it means burning down the kingdom.She thought she was running from hell.She ended up in his bed.And the most dangerous thing of all?She doesn’t want to leave.

[Your shadow is alive.][Feed your shadow, devour souls, level up, gain skills, complete quests, and grow stronger.][Do you wish to view your current stats?]In the magical world of Aetherus, Damon Grey is the weakest student at Aether Academy, relentlessly bullied and ridiculed for his lack of power and defiant personality. Yet, he endures the torment, clinging to his scholarship—the only thing providing him with the funds to keep his sick sister alive.After a brutal attack leaves him near death, Damon encounters a dark viscous entity in the forest that fuses with his shadow, awakening the Living Shadow System. This strange power grants him unimaginable abilities but comes with a grim cost—a relentless hunger for souls and flesh to feed his shadow.Now, with his shadow alive and insatiable, Damon faces a terrible choice: feed it to grow stronger or starve it and die with it.In a world ruled by ruthless nobles, deadly monsters, and power-hungry demons, Damon must decide if his newfound power is a curse or the only way to survive. With the Living Shadow System, his fate is clear: devour or be devoured.