[{"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-49":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},2269695,4431,"Chapter 49: A Century","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-49",49,"\u003Cp>While Li En’s knight squad fought desperately in the underground cavern, the surface of Huicheng remained anything but idle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In noble circles, there are no true secrets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, as long as you have channels and connections, any secret can become gossip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are too many intermarriages, spies, and informants between them; once a scandal breaks out, if someone helps spread it, the entire circle knows by the next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone lives under scandals—it’s just a matter of whether your power is strong enough and whether someone dares to confront you directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never expected it to be Lord Loen. His family’s reputation was quite good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En was using the Hero’s Blood as bait, while the people behind Li En were using Li En, this small fish, to catch a bigger one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the mansion of Hilda, the city’s Deputy Finance Minister, city guards had already surrounded the estate—they even dragged in ballistae and sealed off key areas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Passersby pointed and whispered, but no one dared interfere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the several knights standing inside the inner circle could walk freely through Huicheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black armor with white lion helmets, shields bearing brown griffins guarding the royal crown, shoulders adorned with griffin claws symbolizing slaughter, and capes emblazoned with the city’s griffin-head emblem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were known as the “Huicheng Guard,” high-rank knights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Huicheng Guard were the count’s personal bodyguard force, effectively private troops; yet to the city’s residents, they were also seen as the bedrock of Huicheng’s stability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each Huicheng Guard was at least a fifth-rank Grand Knight, of impeccable lineage and battle-hardened, capable of leading entire armies alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this time, four of them participated in the blockade of the lord’s mansion!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What crime could he have committed to prompt both the Count of Huicheng and the royal house to act together?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sharper-eyed paid closer attention to the black-clad figures on the surrounding rooftops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They wore tight black bodysuits with no visible insignia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only now, under daylight, did they reveal a white lion badge on their waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the royal emblem—only royal spies would dare wear it and move openly in daylight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When a carriage bearing the same white lion emblem pulled up to the lord’s gate, even the onlookers averted their eyes, unable to meet it directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The royal house has arrived!!” Now, everyone’s anticipation rose even higher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current royal family had only two members; neither the princess nor the queen was theoretically in this city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When had they arrived?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The person who stepped out of the carriage surprised and slightly disappointed the onlookers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The delight came from the serpentine rhythm of her graceful curves—Salliman S Daer , the city’s most radiant pearl. The disappointment: it was not a royal lioness who descended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This mesmerizing S Daer  Lord moved down from the carriage with the predatory sway of a hunter, entering the lord’s mansion—yet still, no one dared meet her gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, though she was mockingly called the royal dog-snake, she remained a true great noble of the city, not someone ordinary nobles dared offend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And her very presence here, stepping down from the royal carriage, was itself a royal declaration—she had acted as the princess’s proxy more than once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This time, the matter is too grave. No one can save Lord Loen Hilda.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The serpent woman entered the heavily sealed mansion, where screams and explosions had already been echoing for some time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the princess’s proxy, Salliman arrived at the front line just as one battle neared its end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A “human-beast” at least three meters tall roared in madness, yet was firmly restrained by a spear-wielding Huicheng Guard, while another Huicheng Guard held a shield to cover him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bit farther away, a squad of crossbowmen kept firing arrows imbued with a strange woody fragrance, each piercing the monster’s body—but no blood flowed from the wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet these wounds were far more terrifying than bleeding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The flesh is turning to wood?” The wounded areas had become wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This bizarre sight left Salliman baffled—was this the “undead beast” the princess had described?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bit farther still lay a fully transformed wooden statue of a human-beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tattered remnants of fine clothing still clung to him, but his body was riddled with arrows—he must have been a noble member. Was he one of Lord Loen’s kin?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this Lord Loen?” Salliman pointed at the raging monster and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The intelligence she received claimed this lord was the shadowy seller behind the “serial killer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Greedy, he had sold the killer Maria for the Hero’s Blood and the bounty—and in doing so, exposed himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a normal case, no one would have pursued a noble lord over such a matter—but this time, the princess herself intervened, even visiting the count to summon the Huicheng Guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, the statue lying over there is.” The Huicheng Guard spoke kindly to the princess’s trusted aide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then this one?” Salliman pointed to the monster, half-wooden yet still roaring with vigor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Lord Hilda, Lord Loen’s grandfather. He was said to have died over forty years ago, but we found him in a secret chamber—by now, he should be over 130 years old.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm, truly still vigorous,” Salliman murmured, watching the monster, wielding a massive hammer, attempt to break free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was undoubtedly the worst news—not because the old noble’s fall was so profound (these things had long since lost all limits), but because…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...they’ve been connected to the ‘Beasts’ for decades already.” That meant the forces and organizations tied to them had been lurking in this city for a very long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Salliman sighed. Sometimes, the more you know, the more troubles you carry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She unconsciously touched the crystal necklace at her chest, remembering the man who had charged ahead—he would surely face a formidable opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hope they succeed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time passed swiftly. When Salliman hurried back to the carriage, only a few noticed the brief flash of golden hair, like sunlight, inside the opened door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>News would soon spread: the princess had not only arrived in this city, but had personally taken charge of the matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are they all dead?” Dainya closed her book and set down her coffee cup, hoping for a good answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, but much of the data has been destroyed. And when I entered, he was already completely insane—I couldn’t extract anything useful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Expected. If this were easy to resolve, these gutter rats wouldn’t be called the world’s poison.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dainya sighed, taking the book and notes Salliman handed her—the newly recovered materials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowledge of the Beasts was what she had specifically requested, and only she could keep it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【When the Horned King awakens, heaven and sea will invert, and all life will bathe in His benevolent light.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, this was it—found it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When that day comes, everyone will die. She still couldn’t understand what these madmen were thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what she saw next made her furious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Those who ingest holy water, the living, will merge with the Horn of Life. If the being has horns, they will swell and enlarge; if hornless, all life will concentrate at the coccyx, forming a “Little Horn” (tail), suitable for harvest.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Little Horn is the purest manifestation of the King’s power. If offered into the mother’s womb, it can gestate the King’s young beast.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Horned Disciples are the lucky few who successfully integrate the “Little Horn” into their bodies and achieve symbiosis. Current technology yields less than a ten percent success rate; failures become irreversibly insane beasts, to be executed immediately.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Horned Disciples can replenish their vitality by continuously “feeding” on Little Horns—our lifespan has no end.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Further entries detailed numerous experiments on mass-producing Horned Disciples: how many lives yielded how many disciples, how many experimental subjects and traitors were executed, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a quick scan, Dainya knew the problem was not limited to the Hilda family—this was a systematic, organized operation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind it lay at least one full supply chain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...It began in the old kingdom. It wasn’t that Lord Loen became a Horned Disciple—it’s that only Horned Disciples are eligible to become Lord Loen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, even as a princess, Dainya felt a chill run down her spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Beast cult must have long parasitized the kingdom, waiting for the moment the monster below would awaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had only recently become active—because the time was drawing near.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Evil that plans on a scale of centuries.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Dainya remembered the knight squad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could just these few people truly oppose such darkness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Probably not. The serial killer labeled “Experiment 113” was far more dangerous than he appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Salliman, you go too. Deliver this intelligence and this item.” Among these research notes lay combat-critical data—Experiment 113’s modifications were grotesque.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she spoke, the princess removed a personal item and handed it directly to Salliman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that man truly was the one recognized by the Heroic Soul, he would be able to use it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We need intelligence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Post-battle debriefs were always painful, for looking back revealed too many foolish choices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the human-beast was powerful, it shouldn’t have nearly killed the entire squad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry, I was reckless,” Li En spoke first, offering apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he known the monster would grow calmer after being struck by Long Zhao, he wouldn’t have charged so aggressively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he known it could strengthen itself using his blood, he wouldn’t have been so passive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could do it again, Li En was confident he could do far better—but life is only lived once; such luck has no justification.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I, I actually relaxed on the battlefield.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the one thing Li En most regretted and could never forgive himself for: after confirming Long Zhao’s lethal effect, he had relaxed on the battlefield!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he remained fully alert, the monster’s bear hug might have been avoided—then he wouldn’t have nearly been torn apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From now on, I will never relax my vigilance on the battlefield.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dying with a final burst is glamorous—but being forced into that state is itself a massive failure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no admiration for heroes who grew stronger at death’s door—those things always backfired eventually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You might win once, twice, ten times—but one failure, and you’re dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rather than desperate last-minute breakthroughs on the battlefield, Li En preferred steady victories achieved through sufficient intelligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought, he calculated—how to fight such a monster to win with minimal cost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monster’s behavior alongside the small beast had confirmed his earlier hypothesis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maria doesn't just have helpers—she's backed by an organization. We can't handle this with just two of us; we must prepare to face multiple such monsters. There may even be stronger ones.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1778,"2026-06-19T21:45:41.002Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","730d1fe61e804f3ade9cb10ee52c7335932c539511a34f80fe06637989fbd006","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-50","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-48",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]