Chapter 1 Daughter of the God of War

• It was September. Fall had descended upon Cloymond with bleak, cool winds and falling leaves.
• Corey Reid donned a black coat while standing as still as a pillar before a rundown clinic, allowing the dried leaves to fall on his broad shoulders.
• "Take your lunatic of a son and leave Westham. Never return to the Reid Family again."
• Ten years ago, Corey lived with the Reids, one of the Three Greatest Families of Westham. However, he had been diagnosed with a unique intermittent explosive disorder when he was young, causing him and his mother to be expelled from the family and exiled to Cloymond.
• Later, they had to rely on the small clinic his mother ran for a living. Though they didn't have much to spend, they had a happy life together. However, their peaceful life ended because of his intermittent explosive disorder. One day, Corey had an episode and assaulted the Fisher Family's precious daughter, resulting in an eight-year jail sentence.
• Back then, his mother returned to Westham and begged the Reids, hoping the family could lend them a hand. In the end, she returned home, humiliated and filled with tears. She couldn't do anything besides watching her son get sent to jail.
• From then on, Corey's mother left Cloymond, went to a church somewhere in Tyrand, and became a nun, worshiping the Lord and atoning for her son's sins.
• "Ray, I don't blame you for anything, but promise me you will try your best to make it up to that young woman you hurt once you get out of jail." Remembering his mother's words, Corey, who seemed calm, felt an emotion rock him as he choked up slightly.
• The warden acknowledged Corey's talent in medicine and extraordinary strength and secretly sent Corey to the Northvale Army after giving him some special training.
• For the past eight years, Corey had fought bravely to kill the enemies and won several merits to become a well-known general in that area who went by Lucifer. Not only did he have strong combat skills, but his medical skills were also unmatched. He saved lives with one hand and took lives with the other, protecting everyone's homes and the nation's safety.
• Now, he had returned.
• At that moment, Corey's best right-hand man, Fabian, appeared behind Corey and glanced at him respectfully before handing him an envelope. "Boss, this is the information on the woman you asked us to find."
• Corey had been constantly thinking about the woman he had assaulted for the past eight years. However, due to his promise to the warden, he could only wait until his sentence ended before leaving Northvale and returning to Cloymond. Therefore, he never had the chance to contact the young woman or learn anything about her.
• Corey opened the envelope with trembling hands but was stunned after seeing the woman in the pictures.
• The first one showed a young woman with a pale complexion and soulless eyes, silently drinking in a corner of a bar. Her eyes were fixed in the direction of the dance floor as she watched the youngsters jamming madly to the music, her gaze filled with conflicting and hesitant emotions.
• The second picture showed a young woman sitting by the lake, propping her chin with her hand while looking at the starry sky with her soulless eyes, seeming to have given up on everything.
• In the third picture, the young woman's gaze seemed to have brightened slightly, and she seemed to have regained some vigor. However, a very cute little girl was now in the woman's arms.
• Looking at the young woman in the pictures, Corey felt a pang in his heart as he couldn't find words to express his remorse. The previous young lady of the Fisher Family was well-known throughout Cloymond for her exceptional looks that were almost unparalleled and even more for her extraordinary talent in dancing, kind personality, and elegant nature that a noble lady would have.
• But all of that and the woman in the pictures seemed like total opposites.
• "Why did she become this way?" Corey asked, his hands trembling.
• "The woman who slept with you has been living a terrible life. Back then, she had an exceptional talent for dancing and was preparing to further her studies abroad. But that incident happened, causing her personality to change dramatically. She has been depressed and depraved since then. The former talented dancer then became a woman who smokes and is an alcoholic. Also, she and her parents were kicked out of the family. Her father couldn't stand the pressure and tried to end his life, but he failed and broke both legs, rendering him wheelchair-bound. Her mother owns a vegetable and fruit stall by the street. That's how they earn their living."
• "Who's the little girl?" Corey kept looking at the little girl in the picture. "Has she married someone?"
• "The little girl is your daughter." When Fabian spoke, his eyes were fixed on Corey's face, observing the man.
• Upon hearing that, Corey jolted, and the picture instantly fell from his hands. His eyes were filled with disbelief, which was a rare occurrence. "What did you say?"
• Having predicted Corey's response, Fabian bent over to pick up the picture while explaining calmly, "That woman gave birth to a daughter a year after you were sent to jail. The little girl's name is Freya Fisher. She is a second-year Sunshine Elementary School student. Ever since having a daughter, the woman cheered up and chose to work hard and earn money to support her child. But being depressed for so long caused her to become quite temperamental, so large corporations were afraid to hire her. She can barely keep her job in a small company, so I can't be sure if she's still working there. But I am certain that Freya is currently selling fresh produce with her grandmother at a farmer's market."
• "Let's go." Without wasting any more time, Corey immediately took Fabian to the farmer's market.
• Ten minutes later, Corey arrived at Grapevine Market.
• He and Fabian stood in the crowd, carefully watching as a little girl waved the cabbage in her hand, constantly calling, "Hello, folks, please take a look at our fresh produce. They're very fresh, hand-picked by my grandmother just a while ago."
• The indomitable God of War choked up as he looked at the little girl hard at work, hoping to catch the customers' attention. He also noticed the girl had many resemblances to him.
• Is this little girl my daughter?
• Freya looked adorable with her crocheted braids and Mickey Mouse-patterned red sweatshirt, accentuating her fair skin. Under the bright sunlight, she was like a cute little doll, making people want to pinch her little cheeks.
• Moreover, her smile especially resembled Corey's.
• "Boss, that's your daughter, Freya."
• Nodding gently, Corey ordered, "Stop distracting me. Let me watch for a while longer."
• The little girl not far from them was like a precious treasure to Corey. Every move she made plucked at his heartstrings and influenced his emotions. I… really do have a daughter.
• Even though she had been hollering for a while, only a few customers came to their stall. That caused a hint of helplessness to appear on Freya's little face.
• When she turned around and glanced at the tired Sophia Glover, the helplessness on her face was replaced with determination as she hollered even louder. Her voice could be constantly heard throughout the noisy farmer's market.
• "Little girl, I'll buy all these vegetables."
• When Freya heard that, she looked up at Corey.
• When the two exchanged glances, Freya suddenly fell silent as she tilted her head to observe the man.
• For some reason, the stranger standing before her seemed oddly familiar. It was like she had seen him somewhere before.
• "You—" When Sophia looked up and saw Corey, her emotions immediately became out of control.
• This was the man who hurt her daughter. He was the reason a talented young woman became the lunatic everyone looked down on. It was he who caused her to transform from a rich lady to a stall owner.
• The next moment, Sophia shot to her feet and pulled Freya into her embrace, yelling with a wary expression, "Get out of here! Don't you dare touch Freya!"
• "Grandma, what's wrong?"
• Shocked, Freya hid in Sophia's arms while looking at Corey scornfully.
• "I… I'm just here to see Freya," Corey stammered.
• "What's there to see? And who gave you the right to come here? I'm warning you—you and Freya have nothing to do with each other, so leave. Scram!"
• Then, Sophia held Freya tightly in her arms while screaming to the people around her, "Kidnapper! Someone's trying to steal my granddaughter!"
• "Grandma, please stop yelling!" Freya was so afraid that she cried in Sophia's arms. However, she didn't know why she was crying. All she knew was that she felt like crying when she saw Corey being so helpless.
• At that instant, everyone at the farmer's market focused their attention on Corey and Fabian.
• "Boss, let's go." Fabian grabbed Corey's arm with a solemn expression. "It's not a good idea to rush your reunion with your daughter. Let's leave."
• Although Corey was reluctant to leave, he was still forcefully dragged away by Fabian.
• Throughout, Corey kept looking back at Freya, his eyes filled with clear reluctance.
• Just as he left, an exhausted woman in a red sweater heard the commotion and came over with a cigarette between her fingers.
• When she saw Freya crying in Sophia's arms, she was instantly frazzled, asking, "Mom, what happened?"
• But Sophia shook her head, not saying a word.
• Then, Emily Fisher looked in the direction Corey had left in. When she saw the familiar face, the cigarette between her fingers fell, and she seemed stunned, but soon, her shock turned into rage as her emotions instantly surged inside her. Like an enraged lioness, she gritted her teeth and roared, "You b*stard! Stop right there!"