Recaps

Lister confronted Powell over selling fraudulent overgrade weapons, then brought him his legendary Time Crystal Bracers to raise from the fourth tier to the twelfth. Their bargaining collapsed when Powell realized Lister expected him to pay 110,000 credits, and Powell attacked him with his guns.

• Lister threatened Powell over the S-grade saber and accused him of selling overgrade weapons.
• Lister revealed he had come to raise the tier of his Time Crystal Bracers, and Powell eagerly offered forging potions and services.
• Lister asked Powell to raise the legendary bracers to the twelfth tier and agreed to use the potions if they guaranteed success.
• Powell quoted 300,000 credits, but Lister countered with 110,000; Powell accepted while assuming Lister would pay him.
• Lister clarified that Powell was supposed to pay him 110,000 credits, enraging Powell, who drew his guns and fired energy beams at Lister.

Lister defeated Powell but kept him alive to collect payment and force him to upgrade his bracers. After showing Powell the mission authorizing his execution, Lister demanded 300,000 credits in total for his life and his unwanted potions.

• Lister dodged Powell's energy beams, overwhelmed him with Killing Intent Wave, and struck him down while deliberately leaving him alive.
• Yalan guards arrived and moved to arrest Lister, but they saluted him after he showed his Federation Military District credentials and then left at his request.
• Lister showed Powell the mission authorizing him to execute him, prompting Powell to offer credits and promise to upgrade Lister's bracers.
• Lister pressured Powell by threatening to kill him and placing his unwanted potions before him.
• Powell agreed to buy the potions as Lister set the total price at 300,000 credits for the potions and his life.

Lister collected 300,000 credits from Powell for one month’s use of the Time Crystal Bracers, then returned to the Duchy of Merrick and ordered preparations for a teleportation array. He granted Tim the title of viscount and put him in charge of building the structure within a month.

• Lister accepted 300,000 credits from Powell and gave him one month to finish work on the Time Crystal Bracers, promising future protection and clients if he did well.
• Tim told Lister that Lucian and Great Chu were preparing for war, while the Duchy of Merrick had become the Lucian Empire’s strongest duchy economically.
• Tim reported rumors that Merrick was prospering without its duke and that nobles in the Duchy of Bell were using it as an example to plot against their own duke.
• Lister explained the teleportation array’s construction plans to Tim and summoned the duchy’s officials and troops.
• Lister granted Tim a lifetime viscountcy and ordered him to direct the construction, with everyone present required to cooperate and finish within a month.

Lister oversaw construction of a teleportation array, then visited District 49 and offered saber players a way to advance the Merrick Saber Technique to S-grade. His gift transformed Chen Shanqiang’s ranking and drew a long line of martial arts players seeking the skill.

• Lister left the construction site for the Alchemy Ruined City after Tim smoothly took charge of the teleportation-array project.
• Lister checked the rankings and learned that martial arts players were being excluded from parties, while War God of Jiangling Prefecture ranked 103rd.
• Lister told War God of Jiangling Prefecture that he could learn an advanced saber skill from Grand Duke Merrick for five gold coins at level 40.
• War God of Jiangling Prefecture met Lister with a group of saber players and received the S-grade Merrick Saber Technique, jumping to 22nd in the rankings.
• Other players gathered in a long line to learn the skill as word spread that Lister was helping martial arts players.

Lister’s skill teaching helped the martial arts branch rise to the second tier, though it still lagged behind the mechanical branch. He returned to the Duchy of Merrick, completed a high-spec long-distance teleportation array, and connected it to the Yalan Civilization’s network.

• A new esper player accepted Lister’s C-rank skill teaching, raised the skill to level 40 and S rank, and improved his combat rating from F to E.
• Over the next twenty days, Lister taught fewer players as the rush dwindled, while the martial arts branch gained strength and the Merrick Civilization reached tier 2 standards.
• Lister returned to the Duchy of Merrick and ordered the Black Armor Guard to secure the teleportation array site while Tim moved farther away.
• Lister engraved the array’s inscriptions, installed its energy reuse stones, and powered it with an A-rank energy crystal.
• Lister activated the long-distance teleportation array and received authorization to connect it to the Yalan Civilization’s network.

Lister connected the Merrick Civilization to the Galactic Federation and received an exclusive quest to raise it to greater heights. He promoted it to level two, accepted the Yalan Civilization’s offer of friendship, and returned to Powell to collect upgraded bracers and commission another item.

• Lister accepted the exclusive quest to raise the Merrick Civilization, and the mainframe announced that the civilization had been registered under his name.
• Lister left Viscount Adrian and Viscount Tim in charge of the teleportation array, then traveled to the Yalan Civilization to apply for the Merrick Civilization’s promotion.
• The Yalan office confirmed the Merrick Civilization’s expanded star domain, completing the quest’s first stage and granting Lister five free attribute points.
• A Yalan official asked to establish diplomatic relations; Lister agreed in principle but explained that the Merrick Civilization had not yet established a government.
• Lister collected his upgraded Time Crystal Bracers from Powell and commissioned him to raise Merrick’s Heart of Determination to tier twelve and perfect grade within three months.

After returning to the A73 cruiser, Lister investigated complaints among the Landing Operations Department’s enlisted soldiers, then spent two months on easy patrol missions that yielded little military merit. Captain Boren announced a new mission in which Lister would be the ship’s main force, but its details were not yet revealed.

• Lister returned to the cruiser and let Reck use his dedicated training room while asking him about the ship and the Landing Operations Department.
• Reck told Lister that some enlisted soldiers resented receiving no military merits, and Lister left without addressing their complaints.
• Captain Boren returned a week later, and the cruiser destroyed a pirate warship quickly with its weapons, earning Lister’s department a small share of the reward.
• Over the next two months, the cruiser completed seven missions against pirates and rebels, while Lister accumulated enough military merit to buy two bottles of level-two standard resources.
• Captain Boren told Lister that headquarters had issued a new mission and that Lister would be the cruiser’s main force.

Captain Boren briefed Lister and the crew on a joint mission to exterminate the Evil Shadow Eye Monster Civilization, then Lister asked Minister Cohen to keep Powell’s bounty mission open. After learning that insectoid and mechanical civilizations were banned by the Galactic Federation, Lister searched the database for more information about them.

• Captain Boren announced that the A61 destroyer would lead the extermination mission while the A73 provided support, and said the crew would receive 10,400 military merit points.
• Vice Captain Brody warned the crew not to get carried away, and Captain Boren assigned Oni to kill the mother and Lister to lead a team in the final operation under the A61 destroyer's command.
• Lister asked Minister Cohen to keep Powell’s bounty mission open, and Cohen agreed to have someone at headquarters monitor it.
• Lister asked why missions against insectoid and mechanical civilizations paid so much, and Cohen explained that the Galactic Federation’s constitution required their extermination because they were outside Federation control and used its resources without contributing.
• Lister searched the Federation database and learned that insectoid civilizations consumed planetary resources and reproduced rapidly, while mechanical civilizations were forbidden despite mechanical technology being allowed.

Lister watched as two ships attacked a tier-15 Evil Shadow Eye Monster Mother, whose offspring shielded it from the neutron cannon. The attack left the mother badly wounded, but it entered hibernation, summoned more shadows, and began recovering while the exhausted gunners needed a break.

• Captain Kade pressed Captain Boren to hurry, but Truman's scan revealed that the mother was tier 15, prompting Kade to ask the A73 for full support rather than request reinforcements.
• Captain Boren agreed to help, and the ships fired their neutron cannons at the mother.
• The mother sent Evil Shadow Eye Monsters to block the beam and boosted their health and defense, but Truman's electromagnetic pulse cannon stopped more monsters from joining them.
• Oni and the artillery crew sustained the attack until the neutron cannon reduced the mother's health to about 40 percent.
• The mother contracted into a silent, hibernating state and sent black shadows to shield itself; the cruiser's cannon fell silent, the mother's health began recovering, and Oni reported that he could no longer continue.

Captain Kade led a landing force against the Evil Shadow Eye Monsters but struggled to kill them as they resurrected and poured out of the nest. When Lister arrived with a small group, his killing intent wiped out most of the monsters, leaving Kade stunned by what appeared to be a soul-targeting attack.

• Captain Kade refused Captain Boren’s offer of support and led his own landing force to the planet’s surface.
• Captain Kade’s soldiers learned that the Evil Shadow Eye Monsters could only be killed by striking their eyes while they were in shadow form, while more monsters continued emerging from the nest.
• Lister arrived with several dozen enlisted soldiers, and Captain Kade accused him of bringing an unwanted burden into the battle.
• Lister released an immense killing intent that killed most nearby Evil Shadow Eye Monsters, including those in shadow form.
• Captain Kade recognized that Lister’s attack had struck the monsters’ souls and wondered in disbelief how such a method was possible.

Lister helped Captain Kade’s team clear the approaching Evil Shadow Eye Monsters and descended into the mother’s nest to attack the Tier 15 mother. After Lister wounded it with true damage, the mother unleashed a control attack that he resisted, while Kade lost control of his arm.

• Lister used a saber slash to destroy the high-tier Evil Shadow Eye Monsters, then swept through the remaining attackers in the area.
• Captain Kade confirmed Lister’s strength, questioned why he served aboard Ship A73, and led him toward the mother’s nest.
• Kade ordered Major Lucas to guard the nest entrance while Lister and Kade descended into the nest, where they found the mother surrounded by breeding chambers and advanced growth fluid.
• Captain Kade’s attacks barely damaged the mother, so he asked Lister to try; Lister cut into its shell and dealt substantial true damage.
• The mother spoke and unleashed a strange attack, but Lister resisted its manipulation while Captain Kade stood helpless as his arm moved to strike his own head.

Lister killed the Evil Shadow Eye Monster Mother, ending its control over the offspring and clearing the way for the remaining monsters to be defeated. He discovered valuable materials in the mother’s remains and joined the cleanup outside the cave.

• Captain Kade’s controlled right arm attacked him, and Lister broke its bones with a Knee Strike before turning back to the mother.
• Lister ignored the mother’s pleas and defeated her with repeated saber strikes, while her shadow body emerged and her breeding chamber stopped churning.
• The offspring monsters lost their drive to attack and retreated after the mother died, and Captain Boren warned that others were feeding a new mother with an estimated twenty-two hours remaining.
• Lister collected nine vials of Core Eye Fluid and found an S-grade Resentful Evil Eye inside the mother’s eyeball.
• Lister met Lieutenant Zahn outside the cave, confirmed his soldiers were safe, and went to help Captain Boren and Captain Kade clear the remaining monsters.

Lister led the A73 and A61 forces to eliminate the Evil Shadow Eye Monsters, then received rare S-rank metal from Captain Kade. At an Arcane Civilization Army headquarters meeting, senior officers debated whether the Army could retain Lister, an Overlord Tier talent, and Major General York argued they should genuinely invest in him instead of trying to keep him by force.

• Lister swept through the battlefield, killing low-tier eye monsters while the A61 destroyer targeted survivors and Truman guided him to enemy concentrations.
• After seven or eight hours, the soldiers eliminated all the eye monsters; the A73 reported a 2.1% mortality rate, while the A61 reported 4.8%.
• Captain Kade thanked Lister for helping complete the mission and gave him a piece of Tantalum Dark Alloy, which Lister stored in his Inventory.
• At Army headquarters, major generals and colonels reviewed the A61 mission report and questioned how Lister had killed a fifteenth-tier opponent before his third evolution.
• Major General Morse criticized Major Falco for sending Lister to the A73, while Major General York defended Falco and argued that the Army could not keep a Hegemon talent through secrecy or force.
• Major General York urged the Army to invest genuinely in Lister rather than try to force him to stay.

Arcane Civilization Army leaders agreed to treat Lister as a strategic investment by encouraging him to form a Civilization Army, even as they prepared to send A73 on the Federation’s conscription mission. As news of Lister’s Overlord Tier potential spread through headquarters, Fals instructed Captain Boren to watch him closely.

• Major General York proposed guiding Lister to form his own Civilization Army so he would remain with the Arcane Army Group while earning military merits, and Major General Nielsen agreed.
• Morse raised concerns about the Federation Military District’s conscription mission targeting A73, but Nielsen and Major General York rejected hiding Lister and decided he should go to the Central Army.
• After the headquarters meeting, officers began spreading news that Lister was an Overlord Tier newcomer who had killed a fifteenth-tier insectoid mother at the twelfth tier.
• Director Falco confirmed that he had arranged Lister’s transfer and warned the Personnel Division staff to keep the information within the office.
• As Lister’s name spread throughout the Arcane Army Group, Fals contacted Captain Boren and told him to keep a close eye on Lister.

Lister synthesized powerful S-grade bracers, consulted Kavin about upgrading Jiji, and assigned Powell several forging jobs. The chapter ended with Lister giving Powell half a year to forge the Tantalum Dark Alloy blade first.

• Lister synthesized sixth-tier C-grade equipment into Merrick's Tyranny Bracers, an eighth-tier S-grade item.
• Kavin sent Lister Jiji's original blueprints and a new upgrade plan, including a proposal to replace its eyes with the Resentful Evil Eye.
• Kavin told Lister he was in the Chaotic Star Region and planned to build a new mechanical life civilization for their wager.
• Lister received the upgraded Merrick's Heart of Determination from Powell and gave him Jiji, the Resentful Evil Eye, Tantalum Dark Alloy, and the Tyranny Bracers to work on.
• Powell protested that the three jobs could not be completed within half a year, so Lister told him to forge the blade first and gave him six months.

Lister maxed out his attributes, accepted a difficult third class advancement quest to raise the Merrick Civilization’s renown, and received Powell’s powerful Shadowless Blade. The Federation conscription was about to begin, and a commotion broke out outside the A73.

• Lister used his military merit to max out all four attributes and accepted the increased-difficulty third class advancement quest, which required 50,000 civilizations to awe the Merrick Civilization.
• Reck delivered a long case from the Yalan Civilization and reported that the soldiers still complained but were eager for the dangerous Federation conscription.
• Lister opened the case and found Powell’s grade S Shadowless Blade, whose invisible blade could extend and siphon energy.
• Lister tested the blade, damaged the training room wall, and admired its speed and power before a commotion began outside the warship.

Lister rushed to the docking area after learning that sergeants from the A73 had clashed with the Thirty-Ninth Central Army Group, leaving one sergeant dead and Reck badly injured. He found his crew outnumbered and under pressure to pay an improper docking fee, while the ship’s senior captains were unavailable.

• Mila told Lister that the Central Army had killed one of the A73’s sergeants and injured Reck in a fight over docking.
• Lister contacted Captain Boren and hurried to the staging planet’s docking point, where he found the two sides in a standoff.
• Lister saw Reck badly wounded and confronted a red-haired Central Army captain who dismissed the death and demanded that the A73 pay up.
• Cohen explained that the red-haired captain was demanding three hundred thousand credits for docking, and that the initial dispute had escalated into a brawl.
• Other Arcane Civilization captains urged Cohen to pay, hoping the A73’s refusal and resulting trouble would make their own compliance look wise.
• Lister weighed the consequences of acting as the red-haired captain continued to provoke the A73.

Lister turned a dispute over Ship A73’s docking fee and a dead soldier into a fight with the Central Army, killing the soldier who had attacked Reck and nearly killing the red-haired captain. He then forced the watching captains to choose between striking the wounded captain themselves or facing him.

• The Central Army captains demanded a higher docking fee while refusing responsibility for the soldier who had died, and Cohen hesitated over how to respond.
• Lister questioned Reck about who had killed Ship A73’s soldier, and the red-haired captain’s bloodstained subordinate admitted she had done it.
• Lister killed the female soldier with his Shadowless Blade and then attacked the red-haired captain, wounding him severely with a knee strike and successive blade attacks.
• Lister dragged the nearly dying captain back to his own soldiers and agreed to spare his life after Cohen asked him to stop.
• Lister turned his killing intent on the watching captains and demanded that each of them strike the wounded captain or be struck by Lister himself.

Lister forced the other captains to kill Titus, then confronted officers from the D15 who claimed they meant no harm. After Captain Boke gave him evidence of military corruption as a welcoming gift, Lister returned to A73 and saw that his reputation had risen to 233, prompting new ideas for the summons mission.

• Lister threatened the captains until they attacked and killed Titus, then made the Central Army soldiers withdraw.
• Captain Cohen urged Lister to prepare an escape capsule, but Lister detected approaching officers and readied for a confrontation.
• Captain Boke identified himself, examined Titus's body, and took it away while giving Lister a file documenting his own military violations.
• A73 docked at the war-ready planet, and Lister copied the file for Cohen before checking his advancement quest.
• Lister saw that his reputation had risen to 233 and decided to act more conspicuously during the Federation summons mission.

Lieutenant Colonel Weiss and the officers reviewed the killing of Captain Titus by officers from the Arcane Civilization Army and agreed to delay reporting the incident to conceal Titus's crimes. As punishment, Weiss assigned Boren's ship A73 the difficult Route Three, leaving Boren to promise it would complete the mission.

• Weiss asked Captain Boren to confirm that Lister Merick, an officer aboard A73, had the potential to reach the Overlord Tier, then shared the report on Titus's death.
• The officers learned that Lister and officers from six other ships had delivered finishing blows to Titus, whose crimes included reselling Federation Military District resources.
• Major Siegfried defended Lister and proposed treating the killing as a conflict during the conscription mission so Titus's crimes would not become public.
• Weiss accepted Siegfried's proposal, canceled the fleets' original support arrangements, and assigned each fleet its own area of the mission.
• Weiss designated Route Three as A73's punishment, and Boren agreed to lead the attack along it.

Lister learned that the A73 would face a dangerous assault route as punishment for his confrontation, then questioned Reck about his feelings for Mila. The Federation’s conscription mission began, and Captain Boren identified Marquez, a fallen Quasi-Hegemon leading the Silver Mutual Aid Society, as its target.

• Reck offered to help Lister flee, but Lister said the A73’s punishment targeted the whole ship and asked why Reck had fought Captain Titus instead of Mila.
• Reck admitted Mila liked Lister and defended her past, while Lister warned Reck to keep the mission first and said he would not oppose their relationship.
• Federation notifications announced the start of combat operations and the blockade of external signals, and Captain Boren summoned the department heads to the control room.
• Captain Boren identified the mission’s goal as eliminating rebel organizations in the WA-27 Star Sector, led by Marquez of the Silver Mutual Aid Society.
• Lister reviewed how Marquez lost his political standing and Overlord Tier strength, massacred his critics, defected from the Federation, and sought to establish a new regime in the Chaotic Star Region.

Captain Boren briefed Ship A73 on its mission to attack the Silver Mutual Aid Society, and Lister volunteered to lead its landing operations. On Planet K15, Captain Davis prepared to defend the Society’s base and grew furious when he learned that only Lister, a mere captain, was leading the assault.

• Captain Boren explained that the Silver Mutual Aid Society was an independent regime and assigned Ship A73 the main assault route as part of the Federation’s mission.
• Boren encouraged the officers by praising Lister’s landing-operation skills, and Lister agreed to destroy the planetary garrisons.
• The Society’s members evacuated to their bases on Planet K15 while Captain Davis ordered Lawrence to carry valuable items to headquarters and Feiwa to prepare for battle.
• The Society’s frigate escaped Ship A73’s neutron cannon under cover of anti-ship missiles, and Davis planned to use the remaining six hours to weaken the attackers.
• Feiwa reported that the enemy had landed and was advancing on the base under Lister’s leadership, prompting Davis to react with anger and prepare to confront him.

Lister annihilated the Silver Mutual Aid Society’s forces on the surface, including Captain Davis, while the neutron cannon destroyed the underground defenses. He stood victorious after a single slash cut through Davis’s defenses and the enemy formation.

• Feiwa reported that the seventh squad had been wiped out, and the base’s alarm warned that a neutron cannon had locked on; Davis ordered everyone to evacuate.
• The neutron cannon shattered the base’s shield and erased the underground defensive installation along with its escape pods.
• Lister killed fourteen more enemies as Lieutenant Zahn’s soldiers recorded the battlefield, then ordered Zahn and Reck to take men to the flanks while he faced a larger force alone.
• Davis arrived with the enemy force, restrained Lister with a particle-beam cage, and attacked him with a gravity well and annihilation beam.
• Lister emerged unharmed, destroyed the cage with a slash, and cut through Davis, the giant disk, and the surrounding enemies.

After Lister helped the A73 overcome the planet’s shield and defeat the Silver Mutual Aid Society, Captain Boren explained the requirements for promotion to major and offered him the ship’s vacant vice-captain post. Lister agreed to remain aboard and promised to complete his third evolution, while the planet’s hostile inhabitants were spared and ordered relocated.

• Lister and the A73’s soldiers completed the landing operation, deactivated the planet’s shield, and found the inhabitants hostile despite the Silver Mutual Aid Society members being dead.
• Captain Boren praised Lister for locating the resistance headquarters and clearing the rebels, then said he would place the cruiser under Lister’s command if other planets had similar defenses.
• After learning the planet’s inhabitants met the Federation’s threshold for extermination, Captain Boren chose to spare them and ordered logistics to take them away.
• Captain Boren explained that promotion to major required 100,000 military merit points, three evolutions with at least B-rank combat power, and an available post.
• Captain Boren offered Lister the A73’s vacant vice-captain position after he completed his third evolution, and Lister agreed to stay aboard and pursue promotion.

Lister and A73 rapidly cleared the outer coordinate points and entered Route Three’s middle region, earning recognition from Lieutenant Colonel Weiss. Major Siegfried arranged a joint mission to intercept an enemy cruiser and offered Lister continued support, revealing that his recruit-camp assignment had largely ended.

• Lister defeated the Silver Mutual Aid Society’s resistance squad, then ordered Zahn to collect tantalum and send some to cover the training room’s repair costs.
• Lieutenant Colonel Weiss learned that A73 had cleared nine coordinate points faster than the Central Army’s warships and approved support for it if needed.
• Lister returned to A73 after taking its first middle-region coordinate point, bringing its total to nine points in four days.
• Major Siegfried briefed A73 on a temporary mission to intercept an escaped enemy cruiser, with 35 percent of the approved military merit points allocated to Lister’s force.
• Siegfried told Lister he had arranged an ongoing communications link between their ships and explained that his recruit-camp assignment’s special period had lasted only half a year.