One Word Changed, Characters in Chaos - Chapter 49 - 26 True Strength

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.

The Reticent Blade is, first and foremost, a wuxia novel, meaning that the world and its character’s powers and abilities are more grounded. Instead of cultivators who can soar through the heavens and shatter planets, you will find martial artists who can still perform superhuman feats but not so fantastical as to tear through space or achieve immortality.The world of The Reticent Blade is one of medieval China, loosely based upon the time period of the Ming Dynasty. It is a time of chaos and strife, where war and death are rampant. We follow the intertwining story of several protagonists and antagonists as they navigate the chaotic times, unraveling the threads that connect the past, the present, and the future of the world.The Reticent Blade is a story of heroism, love, revenge, and cruelty.The Reticent Blade is a story of both the righteousness and vileness of the jianghu.

In the year 2025, humans awakened with the ability to summon mighty beasts—capable of destroying terrains, breaking the laws of physics, and creating wonders limited only by one's imagination.But before these blessings came a curse.An alien face appeared from nowhere and threatened all life on the planet, leading to the greatest war in human history.In the aftermath, the human race and the alien race were forced into a shaky treaty that could be broken at any time.Years later, tests for summoning abilities began for the next generation. Those who awakened low-grade summoning would be thrown to the gutters, while those who awakened higher got to join great factions after graduating from the academy.Kairos Veyl, the blank, calculating student, pulled his hand from the massive crystal pillar and stared at the large beast before him.“This kid—he just got a LEGENDARY SUMMON.”A legendary summon? The greatest class of summoning. However, with this class came a risk one would have never guessed.

On that day, due to the outbreak of an unprecedented and abnormal event, 41 students from class 2-7 of Shiromine Academy are summoned to a different world, one full of magic.

Separated and summoned inside a vast dungeon, where the only way to escape is to head to the deepest area, they are given the power of a Divine Protection 『Vocation』 as the only means of survival.

While some of them are brave, some just do whatever they want, and some harbor treacherous intentions, they all aim to capture the dungeon.

In this place, one person gained a 『Vocation』 whose skills are unsuitable for combat, attendance number 19, Momokawa Kotaro.

A boy with a small and lean build from the Literature Club wasn’t blessed with a physical ability, swordsmanship, or strong magic, rather he only had the 『Shaman』 vocation to rely on.

After being driven out of the group and left behind by his powerful classmates —– his survival instinct starts running at full throttle!

Pushed to the limit of survival in the different world’s dungeon, what starts with trusting and loving each other soon ends in killing and betrayal.

The most beautiful and gruesome battle royale has raised its curtain.