The Phantom's Gambit - Chapter 44: One man down

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)

He was supposed to transmigrate to a magic world, but due to an accident, he ended up trapped in a massive library. The system assigned him a task: for every book he read, he would be rewarded with mana stones, until he finished reading all the books. A trillion years later, Daniel finally finished the last book! [Ding, detecting that the host has finished the final book. Calculating system rewards.] [Ding, reward calculation complete. Dispatching rewards. The total number of mana stones the host has accumulated: 99999999...9999.] “Damn, am I that rich now?” [Ding, detecting that the host has completed the task. Loading world...] ... Goddess of Fate: “Daniel, my divine realm needs expansion. Could you sponsor me with some mana stones?” God of Storm: “Daniel, the divine punishment is about to descend. Could you lend me some power to help me get through it?”

Love watched helplessly as her husband Sima Chao married the princess to fulfill his ambition, and she couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.

Sima Chao hugged her into his arms and coaxed softly: “Afu, you are the only one in my heart. If you can stay in the country, I will definitely set you right.”

Love believed him because she was obsessed with him.

It wasn’t until Sima Chao was worried about his princess wife who was about to enter the house that he killed her flesh and blood with his own hands. Only then did Love realize how much sincerity a person who was cruel to his own children could have towards her.

It’s just that he is lying and she is obsessed with it.

Love finally saw clearly the person next to her. She was completely heartbroken and died in despair the day before Sima Chao married the princess in glory.

Starting over, Love decided not to make the same mistakes again, but when she opened her eyes, she saw the whole house was filled with joy, and she actually returned to her wedding night with Sima Chao.

—

Sima Chao, a great hero of a generation, fought against the princes and unified the world, which was his lifelong ambition. For this reason, he did not hesitate to let down his beloved.

He thought: If she could live in the world, he would give her the highest status in the world, and it would not be too late to slowly repay the deep love he owed her.

As everyone knows, if you miss it, it will be difficult to get it back. When he turned back to her, she had already turned away.

He won the world and had everything, but he only lost her.

When Sima Chao saw her smiling broadly at the man beside her, he finally became anxious, his eyes turned red, and he regretted it.

Overhead, imitating the Wei and Jin Dynasties

Chasing Wife Article; Double C, 1V1

- Description from novelbuddy

(Naruto + Single Heroine Tsunade + Romance + Action)A failed author transmigrates into the Naruto world, becoming the younger brother of Konoha’s White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, and the uncle of Kakashi. He gains a cheat ability—enhanced cellular activity.Coincidentally, just before the Second Shinobi War, he participates in a Jonin meeting where he supports Tsunade's proposal ahead of Dan Kato, marking his first encounter with her.From then on, he launches an intense pursuit, winning her heart during the war.Tsunade: “Kawakaze, why do I keep losing to you?”Kawakaze Hatake: “Because I’d like to live a few more years...”Kakashi: “My uncle is amazing, I’m his biggest fan!”Kawakaze Hatake: “Keep it low-key, keep it low-key.”