Dark Lord: Rise to Power - Chapter 2: Beginning- ’From the Dying World to the World of Death’

The most popular game worldwide is Ancient Arena Online, a high-octane PvP fantasy game where teams fight for supremacy in mythical arenas. Millions of fans watch livestreams, bet on matches, and follow their favorite players like celebrities. The game’s competitive scene is so fierce that professional teams are treated like esports royalty.At the heart of it all is Kai Ashford, one of the top players and captain of the pro team Phoenix Edge. With lightning-fast reflexes and strategic brilliance, Kai leads his team to countless victories. But success breeds jealousy. Sabotaged by a teammate he thought was loyal, Kai is not only kicked off his team, but also humiliated in front of millions of fans. With his reputation shattered and confidence at rock bottom, Kai retreats from the public eye.However, Kai's competitive spirit is not easily extinguished. He stumbles upon a group of amateur players—a ragtag bunch who show raw potential but lack the finesse needed to win at the highest levels. Their quirky personalities clash with his no-nonsense attitude, but something about their passion reminds him of why he started gaming in the first place. Deciding to put his past behind him, Kai agrees to train them into a professional team.Along the way, Kai builds unexpected connections with his new teammates, including romantic entanglements with a fiery mage, an eccentric hacker, and a mysterious assassin player, all while juggling his personal feelings and growing attraction for multiple women. As his new team rises through the ranks, they gain attention from fans and sponsors, putting them back on the radar of the professional scene.But Kai’s past doesn’t stay buried for long. His former teammates—now rivals—plot to sabotage him once again, while jealous contenders within the gaming world aim to tear him down. However, Kai's return to the spotlight will be on his terms this time. With a darker, more calculating approach, he plans to not only dominate the game but also to get sweet revenge on those who betrayed him.

As soon as she transmigrated, Ding Yao became a mute that was kicked out by her stepmother! It’s okay, don’t panic. She had a fiance who was willing to pick her up. However, her fiance’s family had very bad luck. Today, someone got injured. Tomorrow, the chickens were dead. The day after, there was no more rice to eat…Ding Yao: “Have I been possessed by an unlucky god?” Seeing that her younger siblings were about to starve, Ding Yao’s naive and innocent fiance comforted her.

“It’ll be fine, Yaoyao. I’ll go hunting in the mountains tomorrow. I won’t let you starve.” Ding Yao glanced at his broken leg and knew that the credibility of his statement was low. If one relied on the mountains, the mountains would fall. If one relied on others, others would fall. Ding Yao rolled up her sleeves. Well then, let’s make fortune with our own hands! Thinking of the 21st century which she transmigrated from, she has superb medical skills. It was not a problem to treat illness and injuries.

Not to mention, she had a system which allowed her to have her own medicine field. It wasn’t a problem to get rich! Under Ding Yao’s leadership, her fiance’s family leaped from being the poorest family in the village to the richest in the country in only three years. The days got better and better, but those who looked for trouble also increased…One night, a familiar assassin dressed in black appeared. Ding Yao was in a daze and thought, ‘Do I deal with this with silver needles? Or poison needles?’ At this moment, her weak fiance stepped forward and pulled her into his arms to protect her. “Don’t be afraid, my darling! No one will hurt you while I’m here.” Ding Yao was confused. Then, she was shocked when her weak fiance kicked the black-clothed assassin. This man had pretended to be weak in order to gain the upper hand!

Madeline “Maddie” Brownwood is a nineteen-year-old college student and lives an ordinary life with her aunt. Her mother was dead, and her father was unknown to her until one day, she found herself in confusion when she arrived at her aunt’s house surrounded by gentlemen with black suits. One man approached her and told her to come with him to the Divenson Mansion to prepare for her wedding.

Hunter Divenson is the handsome and hot engineer and CEO of the largest mining company in the country, the Divenson Mining Corporation. He got entangled with his driver’s last dying wish to marry his estranged daughter when his car was hit by a drunk driver. He agreed to his request to stop his parents from forcing him to get married.

“I’m sorry, Maddie, Mr. Divenson already paid all of our debts, and you know my debts filed up when I accepted you and your mother in this house, and I am not going to lose this house anymore. You should come with them so that we will be all happy, and you will have a better life.” Her aunt said.

Maddie was left no choice, and go to the Divenson mansion where she meets her future in-laws, Mr. Divenson’s parents were super strict and showed to her face she doesn’t belong to their family, while her future brother-in-law always looks at her with lust that made her scared every time they cross paths, and her other sister loathes her. And only a twelve-year-old girl, his younger sister, loves and adores her, and carried out her stay at the mansion bearable.

The moment she meets Hunter, she falls in love with him. He is so sweet with her every time a member of his family is around, but he is so different when they are alone, and his actions sometimes contradict his words, but his remarks haunted her in her dreams most of the nights.

“We are only married on the paper since I don’t have time for love, business success is the only thing that makes me happy, and I can’t love someone like you. Don’t expect if something happens to us in bed; I will love you. I only need an heir of my empire.” He said coldly that made her entire body shivers, and she hated herself for falling in love with her husband every day, until one day she realized she couldn’t take it anymore.

Maddie asked Hunter for a divorce in a stern tone, and it made Hunter’s entire body turned cold. This is the first time his wife appeal to talk with him, and he couldn’t believe she was asking for a divorce. Her words drove him understood what a fool he had been, and now, all he can see in her beautiful eyes are hatred. He realized he couldn’t let her go because he loves his wife with all his heart.

Can Hunter win back his wife’s affection?

Is Maddie’s love for Hunter totally gone? Or it was still there and she is just trying to forget and move on? Can she give her husband another chance?