On the deck of a cargo ship sailing from the Dragon Kingdom to the Hound Kingdom, a man stood there with a whip in his hand, staring at the huge iron cage in front of him with a nasty, twisted grin.

Inside the freezing cage, a mother and daughter, both disheveled and covered in grime, clung tightly to each other. Their bodies shook nonstop.

“Evelyn Mercer, I was generous enough not to mind you dragging along some little bastard. I was even willing to take you as my concubine. But instead of being grateful, you ran off and reported me for trafficking people?” The man sneered, his eyes full of cruelty. “Fine. Since you wanna play that game, I’ll make sure you get a taste of what it’s like to be toyed with by all kinds of men. Don’t die too soon, though. I’ll be dropping by to check on you from time to time.”

Boom!

Marcus Holloway smashed the steel command console apart with one strike of his palm.

This was a video the intelligence division of the Temple of Gods had just intercepted.

And the mother and daughter in the video—

were his wife and child.

They were being tortured like animals.

As the Lord of the Temple of Gods, Marcus Holloway stood at the peak of power, a supreme figure looked up to across the world. But for all that power, he still hadn’t protected his own wife and daughter.

In an instant, fury and killing intent surged through him like a tidal wave.

Pfft!

Marcus spat out a mouthful of blood.

“My Lord!”

A million soldiers of the Temple of Gods shouted as one, their voices shaking the sky.

His palm had split open. Blood dripped from his hand, splashing onto the carrier deck, onto his combat boots, and even deeper—right into his heart.

He hated.

He hated himself.

He hated that he hadn’t taken care of Evelyn Mercer and their daughter.

“Evelyn, why didn’t you tell me you were carrying my child?”

“Why did you lie to me and say nothing happened that night?”

“Didn’t you tell me you were already married?”

“So all of it was a lie!”

“You never forgot me… and you even gave birth to our daughter!”

Marcus roared, his voice torn raw.

The entire sea around the carrier fleet suddenly churned. Massive waves rose, and the ocean seemed to rage with him.

“My Lord, we’ve confirmed everything. The one who abducted Madam and the young miss is Sebastian Caldwell, eldest son of the Caldwell family, the number one family in Linjiang City. The Caldwell family has been colluding with the Flying Eagle Society of the Hound Kingdom, trafficking women from the Dragon Kingdom for years. The cargo ship has already entered Hound Kingdom waters. Awaiting your orders!”

“Kill.”

Marcus’s eyes were bloodshot, his voice so cold it made people shiver.

“Sebastian Caldwell dies. The Caldwell family dies. The Flying Eagle Society dies too.”

“Order the carrier fleet to surround the Hound Kingdom immediately. If that country dares to interfere, then let them have a taste of national destruction.”

A monstrous wave of wrath exploded from him.

He stepped onto a carrier-based fighter, shoved the throttle all the way down, and the jet tore off the deck like a violent gust, shooting into the sky.

At the same time, the million warriors of the Temple of Gods moved out in full force. Four carrier strike groups cut through the sea from different directions, all charging toward the Hound Kingdom.

Today, the Temple of Gods had fully drawn its blade.

And the whole world was about to tremble.

Evelyn, wait for me!

Linda, wait for Daddy!

Marcus’s eyes were split with rage. His whole body seemed wrapped in fire. Under his control, the fighter jet streaked across the sea like a bolt of lightning, ripping through the heavens.

And still—

he felt it was too slow.

Way too slow.

Why?

Why was heaven punishing him like this?

Why did his wife and daughter have to suffer this kind of hell?

Marcus howled like a man losing his mind. Blood sprayed from his mouth, staining the canopy red, staining his battle uniform red, staining even his tiger-like eyes red.

Six years ago, Marcus Holloway had still been the eldest young master of the Holloway family in Yancheng.

Back then, he was the golden boy of the business world, a rising star nobody could ignore. With his terrifying business instincts, he created miracle after miracle, helping his parents push the Holloway family step by step toward becoming a true super-clan.

Because of Marcus’s brilliance, the Holloway family was basking in all the spotlight. Even the Kingsley family, one of Yancheng’s four great families, had taken the initiative to propose an alliance through marriage, offering their most beautiful daughter to him.

But good times never lasted.

Right when Marcus was standing at the peak of his glory, his parents suddenly disappeared.

No one knew if they were dead or alive.

After that, one by one, the men of the Holloway family met with accidents. His eldest brother was even run over and crushed to death in broad daylight by a cement truck.

From that point on, the family business collapsed hard.

To save it, Marcus ran everywhere, exhausting himself. Then one night, after a drinking party, he got wasted and somehow ended up in his sister-in-law’s bed.

That single night ruined him completely.

His reputation hit rock bottom, and the Holloway family’s property was carved up at lightning speed.

Left with nowhere to turn, Marcus went to seek help from his fiancée’s family, the Kingsleys.

What he found nearly made him go insane.

His fiancée was in bed with his sworn brother.

Not only that, the two of them had joined forces to set him up and kill him.

With no road left, Marcus gambled with his life and jumped into the river.

That was how he barely survived.

After escaping by sheer luck, Marcus fled Yancheng and made his way to Linjiang. He eventually collapsed at the entrance of a clinic.

And on that day, he met Evelyn Mercer.

Under Evelyn’s careful, gentle care, Marcus slowly pulled himself back together. She was like a beam of warm sunlight, shining straight into the darkest moment of his life.

From then on, Marcus made a silent vow in his heart.

Evelyn Mercer was the one he would protect for the rest of his life.

But fate just loved screwing with him.

The people hunting Marcus all the way from Yancheng tracked him down to Linjiang. The situation became insanely dangerous. Not wanting to drag Evelyn into his mess, he forced himself to leave.

On the night before he left, he drank too much.

In that blur of pain and alcohol, he and Evelyn became one.

The very next morning, Marcus left without saying goodbye. He headed for the border, and one month later, he joined an international mercenary organization.

From then on, he poured every ounce of hatred in his heart onto his enemies.

On the battlefield of the Bear Kingdom, he cut down a hundred thousand terrorists with his blade.

On the battlefield of the Bull Kingdom, he stood against the mountains and let out a furious roar. Ten thousand peaks collapsed in avalanches at once, burying a million enemy troops.

In the S Sea region, he commanded a carrier fleet and wiped out the Eagle Kingdom’s three major carrier strike groups in one battle, creating history and shocking the world.

The Temple of Gods he built had already become the number one force beyond the borders, a name that made countless people’s scalps tingle.

He had a title that commanded respect across the seas—

Supreme God of War.

After rising to power and returning in glory, he didn’t rush to take revenge.

Instead, the first thing he did was search for Evelyn Mercer—the girl who had once given him light, given him warmth, given him a reason to keep living.

But the news he got nearly hollowed him out on the spot.

Maybe she blamed him for leaving without a word.

Maybe she hated that he’d vanished for so many years without a single message.

Evelyn had said she was already married.

As for their daughter, Linda, she didn’t mention a single word.

Only after watching that video just now did Marcus finally learn the truth.

Evelyn had given birth to his daughter.

Linda…

Was that your way of saying you missed me?

Evelyn… you fool.

Why did you carry all of this by yourself?

Guilt flooded Marcus’s chest, but the rage inside him also climbed to the absolute limit.

The god had returned.

The gate of slaughter was already open.

Every last one of them had to die.

…

Hound Kingdom waters.

A cargo ship from the Dragon Kingdom sailed in.

The deck reeked of blood, rot, and filth. Everywhere, cages were lined up, each one packed with women abducted from the Dragon Kingdom. Beside every iron cage was a vicious dog on a chain, barking wildly at the people trapped inside.

“Linda, don’t be scared. Mommy’s here.”

Evelyn hugged the badly wounded Linda as tightly as she could. Her hand was slick with blood as it trembled, gently stroking the girl’s damp hair again and again.

“Mommy, Linda’s not scared. You shouldn’t be scared either. I’m here. Linda can protect Mommy.”

The little girl reached up and carefully wiped the blood from Evelyn’s face. Then she puffed her cheeks and blew softly at the wound, trying her best to make the pain go away.

Even though her own injuries hurt badly too, she still forced out a sweet little smile.

“Mommy, if I blow on it, it won’t hurt anymore.”

Looking at sensible little Linda, Evelyn felt like her heart was being sliced apart.

Her eyes turned red with tears.

Other children her age should have been carefree, laughing, acting spoiled, living in a world full of candy and sunshine.

But Linda had to suffer through this living nightmare with her.

God…

Open your eyes, will you?

Evelyn lifted her head and looked at the sky. The tears gathered in her eyes but never fell. The sea wind scattered them away before they could.

No.

Absolutely not.

No matter what, she could not let Linda stay here and be ruined by those devils.

Even if she had to die—

she would never allow it.