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The First Emperor’s servants rushed to defend his prophet.
A swarm of thousands of red-eyed bats descended from the canopy in a great tide of fangs and fur. The cacophony of their flight resonated across the silent forest. They fell upon the Skinwalker in an instant, covering her utterly. Her screams were delightful to my ears....
2024-06-22 08:21:06 +0000 UTC View Post
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When Yuan questioned the locals about where he could buy guns, they all answered ‘go to the Bullet Church.’
It didn’t take him long to find the place on the eastern side of town. The enormous stone building loomed over these parts like a Wayfinder’s temple, its steps flanked by statues of ancient warriors adorned wi...
2024-06-20 07:57:43 +0000 UTC View Post
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The hour of grace had long passed and the hunters’ horns resonated across the land.
Our gracious headstart had already come to an end by the time Chikal, Nenetl, Itzili, and I wandered deeper into the forest. While Eztli took Astrid downstream to the west, where she would hopefully fly the poor girl to safety, we walked to the ...
2024-06-15 06:57:40 +0000 UTC View PostHello everyone!
Double news today! First of all, the second volume of Commerce Emperor (following the civil war arc all the way to the final battle with Belgoroth) has now launched on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! As usual, I would like to thank you all for supporting this book during its creation.
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I came to the hunt dressed for war.
Iztacoatl had me clothed in the emperor’s fabled scarlet Tlahuiztli, as if I were about to lead my armies to glory rather than to attend an unjust execution. This lightweight armor put those worn by my warrior lodges to shame. Its laminate layers of cotton, leather, and scales formed an impressive...
2024-06-08 08:33:29 +0000 UTC View Post
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“Buy it back,” Marika ordered me. “Buy it back, Robin.”
I sank back in my seat. This conversation was going about as well as I’d expected; namely, terribly. The air in the captain’s cabin had grown incredibly tense, with Eris fidgeting uncomfortably, Beni keeping his head down, and Soraseo standing still like ...
2024-06-04 08:21:56 +0000 UTC View Post
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After slaughtering my former classmates and having their ashes join those left by Smoke Mountain’s eruption, I went to visit the rest of the refugees.
I found it eerie how easily I went from one to the other. I’d committed a brutal massacre and switched to charity work in a heartbeat without guilt or remorse. My mind was...
2024-06-01 07:06:12 +0000 UTC View Post
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It didn’t take Yuan long to find the Eastern Express’ local office.
The small wooden warehouse stood near the artificial lake’s waterfront, nestled between a bar and a whorehouse. Yuan knew that because three prostitutes had tried to petition him on his way there while a child beggar attempted to pickpocket him. He told ...
2024-05-30 06:12:24 +0000 UTC View Post
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A/N: this chapter contains a NSFW scene; as usual, I put a warning so you may skip it if needed.
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I sealed a pact with the winds of chaos to the triumphant tune of demonic applause.
Xibalba’s streets rejoiced over my counteroffer with the soft sound of clapping hands echoing in the distance. Whether...
2024-05-25 07:20:00 +0000 UTC View Post
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After a short bout with Orient in the panoramic car, Yuan gave her the same assessment as the rad-hag before her: untrained, but strong.
Orient showed little to no combat instincts nor self-preservation when it came to protecting her body. She didn’t even bother moving from her spot unless he closed in on her...
2024-05-23 07:21:14 +0000 UTC View Post
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A sweet smell woke Yuan up.
He had dreamed of guns, smoke, and blazing ammo since they had left the Thunderlands. His bullet-core pumped his brain with visions of firearms and desolation, of duels between faceless shadows and gunpowder songs. His soul yearned for battle, and so did his body.
His metal veins hun...
2024-05-21 12:01:18 +0000 UTC View PostHello, dear patrons,
It's been a while! Though I'm currently still in Japan until the 22nd and updates won't truly return to normal until then, I'll slowly start publishing again this week; first some short Gunsoul/DW chapters depending on their advancement, then Blood & Fur on the 25th. The trip has been a blast so far and let me meet other fantastic authors like Actus, Jiwa/Mechanimus and Xkarnation. It's also been very inspiring for some future book parts like Soras...
2024-05-20 12:52:59 +0000 UTC View PostHello everyone,
As I've warned for a while, I will now be on a break for some time; I've just hit 30 today (my God, that last decade flew by in an instant) and then going on a trip abroad with old friends from May 10th to the 22nd. I hope the backlog will prove entertaining until my return.
I intend to publish chapters again on the week of the 20th, though I'll likely start with shorter chapters like Gunsoul and Dungeon Wreckers<...
2024-05-08 08:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
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My mind was exploding behind a face of stone.
My body froze like a deer sensing a hunter, each of my muscles tensing up tighter than ropes around a hanged man’s neck. My thoughts swirled inside my skull. A thousand worrying possibilities came up, though I had grown experienced enough to hide my concern under a mask of feigned confusion.&n...
2024-05-07 08:13:18 +0000 UTC View Post
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A tense silence briefly fell upon my room as I processed my predecessors’ words.
“The failures?” I repeated in disbelief. “Of what?”
“Of the embrace,” my predecessors replied with a small, weak voice. “The Nightlords do not always succeed in siring a new vampire. Sometimes, the curse… does...
2024-05-04 08:34:46 +0000 UTC View Post
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Riding an animal was a strange experience.
Having spilled some of my blood in Tetzon’s food and having the docile beast, my spirit easily slipped inside his fur. His own soul was young, his Teyolia weak, so I felt no resistance and would have overcome any. That part had been easy.
The trouble began immediately afterwards, b...
2024-04-30 08:47:38 +0000 UTC View Post
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I practiced a dance with feet that were not my own.
A dozen noblewomen had come to witness my performance. Chikal was there, her face younger and smoother. A crown of gold shone bright atop her woven hair. I did my best to ignore them all and focus on the task at hand. My steps rocked Chilam’s great stone plaza and my staff...
2024-04-27 08:56:37 +0000 UTC View Post
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Yuan received a crash course in rad-hag anatomy in one visceral impact.
His qi-coated body punched through his enemy’s maggot-riddled flesh, shattered her ribs, and blasted apart her inner muscles. He smashed his way through her diseased black heart and broke past the coiling centidead larvae making up her spine, before erupting from he...
2024-04-26 08:54:42 +0000 UTC View Post
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The rad-hag lunged at him with her immense hands.
She showed no technique, adopted no martial stance, and didn’t bother with feints of any kind. She possessed none of Toshiro’s rudimentary martial arts skill nor a beast’s instinctual understanding of the enemy’s vitals.
She was just fast and strong.&...
2024-04-25 09:01:55 +0000 UTC View Post
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The bullet burst out of the barrel with a thunderous roar.
So strong was the recoil that the chamber exploded between Yuan’s iron hands, sending red hot shrapnel flying in multiple directions. Yuan instinctively activated Elemental Infusion in the nick of time, the projectiles bouncing off his metal chest while Holster barel...
2024-04-23 09:08:29 +0000 UTC View Post
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This was bad. Hideously bad.
The war party had to include at least thirty vehicles to whip up such a dust storm, maybe more, with each of them likely filled to the brim with monsters out for blood. One crew would already be a challenge if it boarded the spirit-train. Fighting so many foes at once was suicide, let alo...
2024-04-22 08:42:57 +0000 UTC View PostHello everyone!
As I've posted earlier in March, I'll be going on a break from May 8th to May 22th; the reason being that I'm hitting 30 during that period and will go to Japan for a trip with childhood friends of mine to celebrate that milestone, so I'll be less available to write during that time and cannot guarantee updates (although I will still work on the chapters during my spare time and post if I can). It would also give me some time to rec...
2024-04-20 22:49:18 +0000 UTC View Post
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The dawn purged the undead with light and flames.
The Nightlords had long retreated inside their underground abode by then, where the Nightkin gathered scores of the First Emperor’s abominations. My captors had me check whether my authority extended to all these creatures, and it did. Dozens of undying, soul-devouring abominations brough...
2024-04-20 08:51:22 +0000 UTC View Post
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Ransacking the wagon proved both disappointing and somewhat profitable. The cabins mostly contained old baubles like handheld clocks and old dolls, but he also found emergency tools like resin torches, fire extinguishers, hammers, drills, hacksaws… everything required to repair the spirit-train should it be damaged.
None of these objects c...
2024-04-16 07:54:09 +0000 UTC View Post
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Of all things to run into, Yuan certainly didn’t expect to find a treasure trove.
The third wagon had been nearly identical to the second, a wheeled house of seats facing wraparound windows, albeit with more tables, broken lamps, and pots that were once used to house plants and crops. Ancient cultivators no doubt attempted to cultivate e...
2024-04-15 08:20:01 +0000 UTC View Post
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Father returned with a leather blanket and put it over my shoulders to help warm me up.
I tried not to think too much about the Parliament’s words. My predecessors gathered a great treasure trove of experience and wisdom over the centuries, but part of me hoped their skepticism was unwarranted and born of cynicism.
Can p...
2024-04-13 08:29:02 +0000 UTC View Post
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The spirit-train traveled gently along phantom tracks while Yuan cycled his qi in the front car.
His core gorged itself on the power coursing through the air and empowered his body. His bullet’s metal roots spread down to his shoulders and spine, strengthening his back. He felt the steel intertwined with his flesh. A few mo...
2024-04-09 08:18:43 +0000 UTC View Post
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Disarming an explosive collar demanded a certain degree of dexterity.
“Hold still,” Yuan told the girl as he rewired the cables. The Hitobashira didn’t move an inch, nor did she speak a word. She instead looked at her feet dangling from the dead car’s backseat. “Almost done.”
Yuan had taken the liberty of shoving both of ...
2024-04-08 08:37:18 +0000 UTC View Post
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So many years had passed since Father last hugged me that I almost forgot how warm his arms felt. The lack of flesh on his bones hardly changed that. Every part of his body radiated something that I rarely received.
Love.
“I am so glad to see you again, Iztac,” Father said upon squeezing me tightly. “Though I wis...
2024-04-06 08:23:22 +0000 UTC View Post
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Yuan spent hours cycling his qi.
He’d seen cultivators recover from heavy wounds within hours, and the exercise taught him why. Qi fueled the body, binding broken parts together, soothing bruises, and reinforcing the flesh. His wrist and heel quickly healed.
Moreover, his core’s tendrils had started spreading t...
2024-04-03 07:49:14 +0000 UTC View Post