Villains Aren't Stepping Stones! - Chapter 56: Negotiations

Zero – Where the End BeginsAfter 100 lives—lived as a king, a warrior, a scholar, a knight, and even a slave—he has finally reached the last.Life number 0.No rebirth. No second chances. Only death… or glory.Thrown into the most ruthless and enigmatic world he has ever faced, he must defy its crushing grip, where power dictates fate and survival is a battle against the inevitable. His ambitions collide with the weight of his past, driving him toward a relentless pursuit of absolute control.In Zero, you either carve your destiny… or vanish into oblivion.

Nanzhi only thought she had traveled into a novel about raising a child. Relying on her many years of “Wilderness Survival” watching experience, she hunts rabbits up the mountain for grilling every day, gropes for fish in the river to make soup, and diligently raises the child. Just when she thought her life was finally looking up and she could have her “second spring”, the “husband” who was rumored to have died hundreds of times suddenly appeared. Wait a second!She seems to have ended up in a novel where the male lead is the main character!Nanzhi? Isn't that the cannon fodder and deposed wife?PS: Not a web novel about farming, the female lead doesn't have a golden finger space system. Just turned eighteen and got into university, not a novel about a powerful female protagonist.

Leif Vin is mortally wounded and left for dead at the conclusion of a devastating battle.The squad he commanded have either fallen or abandoned the fight and all around are the cries and wails of the dying.With both armies all but wiped out vultures and parasites stalk the aftermath, one such creature finds Leif as the last of his lifeblood stains the muddy ground.Implanted with the essence of a carnivorous and corrupting tree, Leif loses his levels, memory and humanity.Reborn as a sapling in the newly formed wilderness that sprung up among the fallen, Leif must piece back together the fragmented shards of his soul and identity.But before that he must do what all trees must.Put down roots, stay still and grow. ===Hey, author here! Here's a few things about Hyperion Evergrowing to make seeing if this is something you might be interested in easier:This story follows a young man reborn as a carnivorous tree and missing all but one of his marbles. The plot focuses on his progression from feeble sapling to world striding legend. Utilising a litrpg system to quantify stats and skills Leif must engage with the system to evolve his monster class in a never seen before direction.There are certain advantages to his fairly unique circumstances, though these advantages do not instantly make him a demigod of war capable of defeating all foes with hands tied and eyes closed.One of the protagonists initial goals is to discover and reclaim his lost humanity, this puts him on the path away from sitting in the ground and doing tree things forever. Progress in this direction starts fairly early on so if you're not interested in seeing a monster attempt to reintegrate into civilised society and all the struggles involved this might not be for you.Time passes, due to his nature as a monstrous tree Leif has a much longer lifespan than most people. Leif will witness the rise and fall of nations, see the beginning of new eras and observe the very planet change as time marches inexorably onwards. There will be some light kingdom building, but it isn't the focus of the story.Oh! There's also a subplot involving the origin of the system itself.Three chapters a week, with updates happening at times convenient to an Australian. Enjoy!