China.
Baihai City Airport.
A private jet touched down.
Armed guards surrounded the perimeter.
Outside the airport, dozens of Baihai’s business tycoons stood waiting. Only a select few of the most powerful were permitted inside.
In the airport’s control tower, two imposing figures stood by the window.
One, clad in a military uniform adorned with stars, was a man of unrivaled authority in the army. Just one glance at the insignia on his shoulder would leave no doubt—this was none other than the legendary war figure, Jacob, the Azure Dragon.
Yet, Jacob, the war hero whom others revered, appeared deferential and reserved beside a plainly dressed man standing next to him. The man was Toddy Ridge—the War Sovereign.
Alexander, Michael, Lucas, and Jamie—the army’s four War Gods—had all risen under the guidance of Toddy. However, while the world hailed their might, few knew about the one above them all. His identity was shrouded in utmost secrecy.
“Brother Toddy, are you sure you don’t want to let me handle the reception today?” Jacob asked, a trace of hesitation in his voice.
Toddy smiled faintly, shaking his head. “No. I’ve waited five years. I’m going to see her now. She must miss me terribly.”
Warm affection flickered in his eyes as he spoke of “her.” Once, Toddy Ridge was framed by a so-called friend, losing everything he had worked so hard to build—including the Green Morning Group, which was ruthlessly taken from him!
Yet, amidst those dark times, Arya Miller stood by his side. She didn't flinch when he hit rock bottom; instead, she chose to marry him.
But who would’ve thought that her family, the Millers, had other plans? They pulled their strings and, right after the wedding, sent Toddy to the war-torn, freezing Northern Front—to serve, to fight, to die.
Up there, getting out alive was next to impossible—one in ten might survive, if that. The truth? The Millers wanted him gone, for Arya to lose all hope in him and marry into wealth instead.
Yet Toddy defied the odds. Five years at the Northern Front didn’t just fail to bury him; it turned him into the supreme War Lord of the army, commanding fearsome power.
Now? He’s back. Back to protect Arya. Back to reclaim everything taken from him.
"He's here! Quick, come on!"
A handful of White Sea City's top dogs rushed toward Jacob, faces plastered with over-the-top enthusiasm. After all, hosting a living legend—a War God—was an honor they couldn't even dream of.
But none of them noticed another figure casually leaving in the background. That quiet silhouette? The real deal. Toddy Ridge, already walking away.
---
A military-green Jeep pulled soundlessly to a stop outside the Miller family mansion.
Staring at the house—so familiar yet so foreign now—Toddy's eyes flickered with an emotion he couldn't quite name.Toddy Ridge took a deep breath, his chest tight as he asked softly, "Arya, are you okay?"
Stepping out of the car, he followed the sound of laughter to the open space in front of the villa. What he saw made his blood run cold.
A heavily made-up woman lounged on a deck chair under a large sun umbrella, casually munching on sunflower seeds, seemingly indifferent to the scene unfolding before her.
In front of her, two young children, no older than five or six, were playing—or rather, one was tormenting the other. The boy, chubby-cheeked and smug, had a rope in his hand. The other end of the rope was tied around the neck of a frail, thin girl.
"Faster, come on! You call that crawling?" the boy yelled, smacking the girl on the back.
The girl’s face was red, her bony limbs trembling as she struggled to move. She couldn’t have weighed more than twenty pounds, while the boy on her back was easily twice her size. Her frail frame quivered under the weight, her breath ragged as she inched forward on hands and knees.
Her small hands and knees were raw, oozing blood onto the cold pavement, her movements growing weaker as exhaustion overwhelmed her.
And yet, the woman on the deck chair didn’t bat an eye, her gaze fixed lazily ahead as if none of it concerned her. The boy’s laughter rang louder as the girl’s suffering reached its peak.The scene made Toddy Ridge narrow his eyes, anger flashing through him instantly.
“Ahh…”
Suddenly, the little girl let out a cry and collapsed to the ground, unable to hold on any longer. The boy fell off as well.
“My son!”
The woman hastily dropped the sunflower seeds in her hand and rushed to pick the boy up. After ensuring he wasn’t hurt, her expression immediately turned sour as she glared viciously at the little girl.
“Big Aunt, Nicole didn’t mean it—she’s so hungry!” The little girl’s voice trembled as she pleaded, her frail body shaking under the woman’s menacing gaze. Her eyes were brimming with tears.
“You wretched girl, don’t act all innocent! I know you did this on purpose!”
The woman lashed out with a hard kick, sending the little girl sprawling on the floor. The girl’s arms instinctively clutched her chest in pain. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks, but no sound of crying escaped her lips, as if she didn't dare to make a noise.
“Get up and crawl! Stop pretending to be dead!”
With the boy now unharmed, he bent down, grabbed the rope, and yanked it hard. But the little girl remained motionless. Whether it was from sheer hunger or total exhaustion, she couldn’t even muster the strength to crawl.
The rope dug painfully into her neck, tightening with each tug. Her breathing became constricted, and her face flushed a deep red.Even with all that, the boy refused to let go.
"Hurry up and crawl! Crawl, and you’ll get the bun!”
The woman pulled a bun out from somewhere and casually tossed it to the ground a few feet away.
The little girl’s eyes sparkled as she saw the bread. Gritting her teeth, she turned herself over and began crawling toward it.
"Bark like a dog! Come on, bark!"
The boy was yelling in excitement as the girl struggled forward.
“Woof… woof…”
Tears rolled down the girl’s face, leaving wet spots on the ground as two bloodied streaks lined her back.
Toddy Ridge couldn’t take it anymore. Fury boiled inside him as he stormed forward, yanked the rope from the boy’s hands, and ended this monstrous act.
He couldn’t believe there existed someone so cruel, so deranged, who’d torture a child like this.
The boy, frightened by Toddy’s overpowering aura, burst into tears and ran toward the woman.
Freed from control, the little girl scurried desperately and clutched the bun. She was about to bite into it.
"No! Don’t eat that, it's filthy!"
Toddy swiftly snatched the dirty bun and threw it away. Gently, he knelt by her and untied the rope around her neck. The sight made his chest tighten—a raw, red mark had rubbed deep into her skin.Looking at the little girl's condition, Toddy felt a sharp ache deep in his heart. Regardless of whose child she was, seeing her abused like this was simply unbearable.
"Don't cry, Honey!" The woman clutched the little boy and then glared at Toddy with venom-filled eyes. "Who the hell do you think you are, scaring my kid like that?"
"You cruel woman, how can you treat her like this when you’re supposed to be her aunt?" Toddy's gaze darkened as he looked at the woman.
"Aunt?" The woman sneered. "I wouldn’t dare call myself her aunt. That brat is nothing more than a stray. She’s the product of Arya running off with that bankrupt loser she married. Her worthless father’s already dead in the northern frontier."
"What did you just say?" Toddy’s whole body tensed, cold sweat trickling down as his mind went blank.
He never, not even in his worst nightmares, imagined the girl could be his own daughter. And even more so, he couldn’t comprehend how she had been subjected to such abuse.
Looking at the girl before him—his daughter—Toddy's aura erupted with raw, murderous fury.