"Originally, the plan was to blow up the bridge and block the road to force you to change your route before ambushing you, but it seems we miscalculated," the gaunt man said, twirling his dagger with a playful tone. "But it doesn’t matter. We of the [Shadow Thorns] have many methods."
Torres strained with all his might to control his body, yet no matter how hard he struggled, his limbs refused to obey, as if they were no longer his own. Worse still, he could feel his throat failing—his words came out hoarse and broken.
"You... you know exactly who is inside that carriage!"
The taller of the two men merely smiled. "We are here under the king’s orders to deal with the princess, who has been corrupted by an evil entity."
"Nonsense! Princess Irena is no monster! It’s them—it’s them who—!" Torres gasped for air, his consciousness slipping away.
His eyes darted around—the other adventurers had already collapsed, and those who had been asleep showed no signs of waking. Clearly, these two assassins had waited until everyone was incapacitated before revealing themselves.
With one last shred of hope, Torres glanced toward Ye Chuan, only to find him still motionless, eyes shut.
He’s been affected too.
A wave of despair washed over Torres.
"To think even the infamous [Shadow Thorns] would be sent after us," he muttered bitterly, his gaze flickering toward the carriage. He could only pray that whoever was inside might escape.
But deep down, he knew it was impossible.
He couldn’t imagine anyone who could save them now.
"Ying, kill him," the gaunt man said coldly. "No more delays."
"Understood." The one called Ying stepped forward, dagger gleaming. But just as he was about to strike, a sharp voice cut through the night.
"Stop!"
Ying paused, turning in surprise toward the carriage—
The curtain was pulled aside, and a young woman in a flowing dress stepped out. She bit her lip lightly as she removed her hood.
Under the moonlight, her silver-white hair cascaded down like a shower of starlight.
Her emerald-green eyes, sharp as gemstones, glowed faintly, and her pointed ears marked her with an otherworldly grace. Her skin was pale as snow, her features flawless.
"Spare Torres," she said, clutching a glowing pendant at her chest—its faint light shielding her from the paralyzing mist. "I, Irena Hill, Ninth Princess of the Empire, will return with you."
"Princess Irena," Ying chuckled, spinning his dagger lazily. "You seem to misunderstand your position."
A flash of steel—
Torres screamed as his ear was sliced clean off, hitting the ground with a wet thud.
"Torres!" Irena cried, her voice trembling with fury. "If I die, the king will never obtain what he seeks!"
"Princess, you are the one who misunderstands," Ying said, his smile turning cruel. "Our orders were to eliminate you, not bring you back. In other words..."
"Your fate as a monster ends here," Ying's companion, Ying, added flatly.
Irena's face paled further, her body shaking with rage. "What a despicable lie!"
"Run... Your Highness..." Torres rasped, his voice now barely audible.
A sickening thud—
The dagger plunged into Torres' chest, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Torres!"
Ying yanked the blade free, then turned his gaze to Irena. "Princess, do you really think you can escape us? With your skills, you wouldn’t even survive the beasts lurking beyond these woods."
"A dead end," Ying agreed coldly.
Ying strode toward Irena—but suddenly, a hand clamped around his ankle.
Looking down, he saw Torres, bloodied and barely conscious, gripping him with the last of his strength.
"Don’t... touch her..." Torres growled through clenched teeth.
"Still clinging to life?" Ying smirked, impressed despite himself. "Truly the son of the Knight Commander of Reinhardt. You look just like him when he died—pathetic."
With a flick of his wrist, Ying drove his dagger into the back of Torres' hand. Blood sprayed.
"Enough games." Ying wrenched the blade free, then kicked Torres hard—sending him crashing into a tree with a bone-shattering impact.
Torres coughed up blood, his body limp.
"NO!" Irena screamed, but an invisible force held her in place. Tears streaked her face as she thrashed helplessly.
"Let’s finish this," Ying said, bored now—though his eyes lingered on Irena’s beauty. He glanced at his brother. "Ying, mind if I have some fun first?"
"Try it, and I’ll slit your throat mid-act," Ying replied icily.
Ying shrugged, then hurled his dagger at Irena with lethal precision.
"Farewell, Princess Irena."
The blade cut through the air like a shadow—
Irena shut her eyes, bracing for the end.
But no pain came.
Confused, she opened her eyes—only to see the dagger hovering inches from her face before clattering harmlessly to the ground.
She looked up.
Ying and Ying were no longer smirking. Their faces had gone rigid with shock.
"Who’s there?!"
"Didn’t miss much while I was logged out, huh?" A lazy voice drawled.
From the shadows of a nearby tree, a figure stretched and yawned.
Ye Chuan glanced around, then locked eyes with the assassins.
"Oh. An assassination attempt. Cute."
"Sir Ye Chuan..." Torres groaned weakly from the ground. "Please..."
"Ye Chuan, look out!" Irena cried.
Before she could finish, Ying and Ying lunged—their daggers aimed straight for Ye Chuan’s throat.
No hesitation. No mercy.
Clang!
A metallic ring echoed through the night.
The assassins froze.
Ye Chuan had blocked both blades—with his bare arm.
And why did it sound like steel?
Ye Chuan smirked as golden lines traced across his skin. Light erupted around him—
[Armor Fusion Complete.]
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
th】 【No prior gaming knowledge required】【The First Cultivation + Game Design Novel on the Platform】 In a world where the righteous path dominates and crushes the demonic sects, Lu Ze unlocks the "Son of the Demon Path" system. Killing righteous cultivators now grants him power-ups. Wait—deaths in illusions count too? As a former game designer, Lu Ze decides to give the cultivators of this world a little—no, a massive—shock... Sect Elders: "What is this 'Escape from the Demon Sect' game? Why have all our disciples abandoned cultivation to play it??" Elite Disciples: "You're saying... mastering 'Demon Slayer' can help us counter demonic schemes?" Reclusive Masters: "Why did I leave seclusion? Ask that backstabbing rat who ambushed me in 'Eternal Strife' yesterday!" Rogue Cultivators & Civilians: "'Immortal Abyss Action' is addictive! You can even earn spirit stones by loot-running..." Sect Prodigy: "My Dao heart is unshakable... except for that cursed black hammer." Royal Scions: "Can skins have stat boosts? I’ll pay 10,000 spirit stones for one!!" Sect Leader: "WHO IS CORRUPTING MY DISCIPLES?!!!"
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
