Protect Our Patriarch - Chapter 74Book 5: : I have been beaten by the Demon Lord, and I am proud

Ethan was betrayed, he was broken, left crippled by those he trusted most: Zachary and Ivy, the people who ruined his life. Stripped of everything, Ethan crawled through three grueling years in the abandoned depths of despair, desperate to regain what he lost.Until one final act of defiance opened the door to something greater.When Ethan completed a hidden quest, fate granted him a miraculous reward: a second chance.He awakens years in the past, on the eve of a revolution: the launch of Ethereal, the world's first fully immersive VR game and humanity’s obsession. Armed with memories of four years in Ethereal, he’s no longer the helpless pawn who lost everything.This time, Ethan knows every secret, every hidden quest, every exploit to climb back to the top. But when he steps into the game, the system unveils a shocking twist: a divine bloodline, legendary abilities, and a class no one believed could dominate.Ethan vows to rise once more, but this time, he knows where the paths of glory begin, where betrayal lurks, and where to find legendary treasures that will crown him king in this brutal new world.The stakes are higher than ever. Factions are forming, alliances are shattering, and the clock ticks toward an event that will rewrite reality itself.The weak will perish, and the strong will thrive.They betrayed him once.They won’t live to do it again.

❗[Current Writing Contest-WebNovel Spirity Awards 2025 Fantas]❗Flain grew up in a futuristic world. When he was born his parents didn't want him because he didn't live up to their expectations and so he ended up very badly.Flain was employed as a slave. He was forced to mine radioactive iron deep in the mines. It was drilled into his head that he existed only to obey orders.Young Flain was obedient. He doubted some of it but knew nothing else. For years, he never saw a single ray of light; light was only spoken of among the others as a legend.The routine was the same: in the morning, he would take a nutrient tablet and water. Then he would mine all day, sleep eight hours, and repeat.Flain worked like this from childhood until he was ten years old. He even found a friend, but that friend died of radiation poisoning right in front of Flain. Flain couldn't stop mining. He kept mining with tears streaming down his face.Before bed, Flain cried. “I will become the strongest. I will kill you all, and you will become my slaves.”Flain stopped crying, stared blankly at the rocky ceiling, then looked ahead. A manic grin appeared on his face, one that would often adorn it from that moment on.At the age of ten, Flain was assigned to a military camp due to his endurance in the mines and his survival against radiation.In the camp, Flain was trained. The regime was much looser; he even had an hour of free time each day. However, Flain didn't make any more friends. Even during his free time, he trained with a smile. He would achieve his goal at any cost, even if it meant training himself to death.Experiments were conducted on Flain. He lost his hair, two long gray arms grew on his back, and a third red eye appeared. Flain became a mutant.Flain was then sent to war. He fought with sharp katabas. He performed quite well in the war, earning himself command of ten soldiers and becoming a small commander.But one day, everything changed.Flain then dies, is swallowed by darkness, and Flain refuses to die, thus appearing as a skeleton in a fantasy world.

“Corpse Processing” is over, but the lord has a lot to write, so this is it.

A person is a mage.

Three people are a team.

A group of people is a territory.

A group of people is the rise of an era.

I, Karen Heise, want to lead an era. If you think you are young and self-motivated enough, send your resume here.

My address: Gold Flash Town, the center of the world.

- Description from novelbuddy

In the age of the Great Liang Dynasty, the lives of the people were made convenient with steam-powered machines that run on a fuel named Violetstream Gold. Chang Geng, who lived in a small countryside village, shared a distant relationship with his mother while his stepfather was away most of the year round, and the only people he was close to were two little kids, the village teacher, and his yi fu – adoptive father. But his life was flipped upside down one day following the barbaric Man tribes’ invasion, and it turned out that his entire identity had been an illusion – not only was Chang Geng himself not the country boy he thought he was, but also his mother, his teacher, and even his beloved yi fu…