[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces":3,"chapter-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-290":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dragon of a Thousand Faces",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269936,4431,"Chapter 290","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-290",290,"\u003Cp>In this extraordinary world, Li En had no interest in becoming an official.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his past life, he had quietly worked within bureaucratic organizations, merely to secure a stable and promising life—in most nations, the government always held the strongest structure of violence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En, who appeared ambitious, was in fact uninterested in “power”; he cared only for a beautiful and stable life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In this world, strength may not be everything, but no matter what you wish to do—justice, righteousness, or even merely surviving—you cannot do it without strength.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the organizations of his past life, which formed for power and money, many groups and factions in this world may claim their own goals, but at their core, their driving ambition is always the pursuit of strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Church seeks faith and influence, strengthening its deities to grant them greater divine power to interfere in the mortal realm, thereby gaining even more influence—a self-reinforcing cycle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kingdom grows strong by seeking more knights, mages, and legions to ensure the stability of its territory. Unlike the era where spending 10% of GDP on the military was deemed militaristic, many territories, organizations, and kingdoms channel all resources beyond those essential for survival into matters related to war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>War-mad fanatics? They are merely driven by survival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world, this is taken for granted—no one needs to say that the weak will be beaten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? Your nation exposed a weakness, and yet no other nations or tribes tried to swallow you up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chameleon-like Li En quickly mastered the rules of this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you are strong, you can play however you wish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you are weak, it is not that your very existence is a sin—but that your existence is seen by the strong as “reserve resources.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They will naturally use you, assign you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The situation in Huicheng has changed drastically; Li En’s previous gains were ultimately due to Dainya’s “sacrifice.” A chosen one might not alter the tide, but a chosen one who is also the kingdom’s future heir—whose deity already controls at least several cities and vast numbers of dark elves—can become a force capable of shaping the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, her loyalty will be suspected, but without a second heir, without a so-called second princess, as long as she does not overstep, most will ignore it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At least for the next one or two months, Dainya’s word is law.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great victory and display of strength have bought time for development—Li En naturally intended to seize it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So this is the new headquarters of the Weaver’s Knight Order? You guys, whatever, just be happy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire order of Pingmin  (slave) knights who had sworn sacred oaths surfaced in this incident; as the “Free Knight Order,” they accepted an official commission to maintain order in the docks district.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, as they began patrolling, they needed a headquarters—but this location…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We were hesitant at first—setting our headquarters directly opposite the slave market seemed too provocative, too likely to escalate tensions before the timing was right.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Li En was slightly surprised—you actually know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked around: it was a three-story building, once a meat shop, reduced to rubble during the disaster by rampaging beasts and fleeing refugees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were clearly innocent bystanders and unlucky victims of the slave market attack; in this world, there was no such thing as accident insurance—selling the land to recoup some losses seemed the rational choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Di Mon had acquired the land and was now working overtime to convert it into a training ground for holy knights; henceforth, customers entering and leaving the slave market would have the privilege of being watched nonstop by a large contingent of holy knights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t need to worry about escalating tensions anymore. They won’t let you go, and you have no intention of letting them go either.” Li En finally understood—it was always destined to be a fight to the death. Why overthink it? Just close your eyes and fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young holy knight grinned foolishly but did not deny it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the many virtues of holy knights, forgiveness was the one missing—in fact, “never compromise, never forgive” was considered by many holy knights to be a virtue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If guilty, kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If evil, cut it down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Practitioners of Radiant Power were meant to be as volatile as light and fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, they’ll probably lie low for a while. Did they come looking for trouble?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They came—they went to the small town under the Great Mirror Demon’s guard and were driven back by its garrison forces.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Li En gave a subtle smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The frontline town guarded by the Great Mirror Demon could hardly be called anything less than a “military stronghold of the kingdom”—and yet you, a gray or even black human trafficking organization, dared to go there demanding laborers—or worse, use force to kidnap people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did they lose their minds?” Li En couldn’t understand. How could their backers be so foolish as to do this? It would cost them dearly in the eyes of the royal court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Apparently, the remaining few bosses launched a full-scale raid. After getting beaten back, it’s said the boss who led it fled overnight with all his belongings.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm. Very realistic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En realized he had been presumptuous—he assumed his opponents operated with the same reliable structure and members as his “alumni association.” But most members joined certain organizations merely for better advancement or to earn a living; their core motivation was always self-interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the situation had its reasons—the “bosses” had botched the slave market and caused their backers to suffer heavy losses—what else could they do after failing to recover? Wait to be dragged back by some furious big boss to serve as a scapegoat?\u003C\u002Fp>",956,"2026-06-19T21:45:42.084Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","01b8013accc7c4a8e2b93566d0bb4c9029bcd48b317417de8055d43fe527aa2b","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-291","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-289",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]