Chapter 5: Female War God

The daughters of the Hopkins family took after their mother, Sophia. They were strikingly beautiful, dangerously alluring.  Their skin was like polished white jade, soft and dewy.  Their figures were almost unreal, like fairies walking straight out of a fairy tale. When they showed up together, young heirs fell for them. "Magnus is a shameless lecher. Faced with my three sisters' beauty, he will fall headfirst into the trap," Judith murmured to herself.  "Then we'll kick him out of the Hopkins family." The more she thought about it, the more pleased she felt. Her red lips curled into a sly, wicked smile.  She had the kind of beauty that spelled trouble. Magnus glanced at her and could see she was plotting something.  He didn't care.  He had more than one marriage contract. If one fell through, he would move on. What mattered to him was the long game of revenge. He meant to find who burned the Kendall family to the ground years ago. Afterward, they went down a narrow alley to forge a fake marriage certificate.  Judith wanted to warn Magnus not to blow his cover when he got home, but he slid into a taxi and was gone. "This guy is so aloof," she huffed, stung and bristling.  "Fine, keep acting high and mighty. We'll see how my three sisters use seduction to deal with you tonight." Later, Magnus arrived at a secluded park where four luxury cars had been waiting.  An elderly man in a black martial arts outfit stepped forward and bowed, his face filled with excitement. "Mr. Kendall, I've been waiting for you to come down from the mountain!" Magnus smiled and patted the old man's shoulder.  "Oliver, long time no see." Three years earlier, Magnus had been sent to heal the poor who lived around Immortal Mountain. He saw Oliver Miles being hunted by a band of enemies.  Magnus had used Immortal Arts to save him.  Oliver, shaken to the core and overflowing with gratitude, had addressed Magnus respectfully ever since. Oliver was actually the head of the powerful Miles family in Ouverford, with influence that seemed limitless.  Magnus had come down the mountain to investigate the truth behind the great fire eight years ago, and he had asked Oliver for help.  Oliver kept his word and rushed over, traveling through the night. "Mr. Kendall, say the word," Oliver said, reverent. Magnus told Oliver in detail about the fire back then and asked him to investigate.  Oliver's brows knit tight.  Beneath Magnus's cheerful, broad-hearted demeanor, he hadn't expected a story of such searing tragedy.  He ground out, "Rest assured, Mr. Kendall. If things move quickly, it'll be a day. If not, three to five days. I'll have a lead." Oliver worked with thunderbolt speed and commanded vast resources.  That was exactly why Magnus had gone to him. Just then, a military vehicle roared up.  A tall, stunning woman stepped down.  She wore a black cloak over a military uniform, glossy boots catching the light, and on her shoulder gleamed a single blazing star. "That's the War God Rank!"  Oliver breathed, gut tightening at the sight. In Draconia, the military department stood at the pinnacle of military power, commanding millions of troops and a constellation of expert military personnel.  Under its banner fought more than a hundred elite War God Squads, each led by a War God.  For martial artists and scions of great families alike, joining a War God Squad was a badge of glory. "Have I angered this female War God while expanding my influence these past years?" Oliver wondered, wary. But the woman ignored him outright. With two adjutants in tow, she headed straight for Magnus. "You're Magnus Kendall?" she called, stopping about thirty feet away, her gaze sharp, assessing Magnus. "What can I do for you?" Magnus asked, unruffled. "My name is Ellie," she said, voice crisp as winter air.  "I am Greyhove's first female War God, ID number 138. Years ago, Ms. Rhea and my family agreed to a marriage contract." Magnus understood at once.  Coming down from the mountain, he had two goals: revenge and taking care of the marriage contracts.  Rhea must have notified the nine families involved, and one had come knocking. Oliver and his men stared, speechless.  Magnus had a marriage contract with the famed female War God?  That was a bombshell if ever there was one.  Still, they held their tongues and watched from a distance. Ellie's eyes lingered on Magnus, and her expression turned haughty.  "I'm on track for high command. You look unimpressive. Our paths do not cross. I'm here to end this so-called  marriage contract." Behind her, the male and female adjutants raked Magnus up and down with blatant disdain, as if he were a disposable object.  In their minds, what right did a nobody have to marry their War God? Magnus felt the weight of their arrogance.  The ease on his face ebbed, leaving something harder, colder.  By nature, he was free-spirited. Show him a little respect, and he'd repay it in spades.  But if anyone dared belittle him, he repaid ten times worse. Whoosh! He took the marriage contract from Ellie's hand and, without mercy, tore it up right in front of her, piece by piece. "You're too arrogant, blind to everyone around you. It shows a lack of the most basic manners. Aside from your pretty face, I see nothing in you worth praising." "You are not qualified to be my wife. You're not even fit to be my servant. From this moment on, the contract is void." By the time he finished, confetti of paper drifted down across the grass, settling like dust. Ellie's face went pale, as if Magnus had slapped her hard in front of everyone.  Her adjutants' eyes flushed scarlet with fury. Watching from the side, Oliver trembled.  Magnus was ruthless. He didn't take the War God seriously at all. "Magnus Kendall! You've gone too far!" the adjutants shouted.  "How dare you speak to our lady like that? She's Greyhove's first female War God! Who do you think you are?" Magnus's mouth curled into a cold smile.  He said nothing, the disdain in his eyes speaking for him. "You're asking for it."  The two faces darkened and started forward, but Ellie lifted a hand to stop them. "Magnus," she said, tone still glacial.  "I know being rejected has bruised your ego. To make it up to you, I can grant you one request. As long as it doesn't cross my boundaries or break the law, I'll do my best. Say it." Contempt flickered in her adjutant's eyes. What they didn't expect was the deeper scorn that settled on Magnus's face. "What you can give, I don't want. What I want, you can't afford." "Besides, I know people in the military department far higher than you. I don't need your so-called favor. Stop trying to feel important in front of me. Get lost!"