Chapter Summaries

Lister visited Powell’s store on the Yalan Civilization’s governing planet and arranged for Powell to forge Jiji and two pieces of equipment. The chapter ended with Powell asking to buy a citizenship slot in the Merrick Civilization for a talented seventh-tier fighter.

• Lister found a replica of his Shadowless Blade in Powell’s store and asked about its price and materials.
• Powell recognized Lister’s new rank as a major and learned that he had become a Quasi-Hegemon.
• Powell showed Lister the material records for the blade and offered him the sale proceeds, but Lister let him keep the money.
• Lister gave Powell Jiji, Merrick’s Tyranny Bracers, and the Evil Shadow Civilization’s Resentful Eye Monster to forge, and they agreed on a ten-month deadline.
• Powell asked Lister to sell a citizenship slot in the Merrick Civilization for a seventh-tier fighter with C-grade combat power.

Lister agreed to let Powell’s son join the Merrick Civilization for the market price and returned to find the duchy transformed into a thriving hub. He ordered Viscount Adrian and the duchy’s officials to gather at the council hall in three days.

• Powell asked Lister to grant his son a slot in the Merrick Civilization, explaining that the boy was his child and offering 6.6 million credits at the market price.
• Lister arrived at the Merrick Civilization’s teleportation array, where the black-armored guards recognized him and welcomed him as Grand Duke.
• Lister told the captain of the fourth squad to inform Viscount Adrian and summon every duchy official to the council hall in three days.
• Lister walked toward Merrick Castle and saw that the duchy’s outer city had expanded into a prosperous center for trade and organizations, while the inner city remained unchanged.

Lister returned to the Duchy of Merrick and appointed Quint and Count Connor to lead the new Merrick Civilization government. Three days later, the planet’s powers gathered in Merrick and saw how much the world had changed.

• Lister met Quint and Count Connor, who greeted him with respect after two years apart.
• Quint recognized that the Galactic Federation had transformed Merrick Planet and guessed that Lister planned to establish a government.
• Lister asked Quint to become speaker and Count Connor to become deputy speaker, and both accepted.
• Quint quickly summoned the planet’s major powers to Merrick, giving them three days to pledge allegiance.
• The gathered nobles saw Merrick’s advanced development and realized that their world had changed.

Lister established the Merrick Government and rejected the Silver Moon Civilization’s offer of leadership, while the new government integrated with the Galactic Federation and began recruiting talent on Planet CX2989. The chapter left Lister preparing for the Merrick Civilization’s advancement and a future war.

• Lister introduced Laidi Neil as the Galactic Federation’s witness and declared the Merrick Government established, appointing Quint Will as speaker and naming the deputy speakers.
• Lister rejected the Silver Moon Civilization’s leadership offer and learned that Merrick had 94 years to choose a superior civilization.
• The Merrick Government sold resources and developed facilities to integrate with the Galactic Federation, while putting its 177 resource planets into mining.
• Three months later, Lister traveled to Planet CX2989 with Tim and Adrian, who had joined the new government as a senator and representative.
• Lister visited Chali Nation to recruit talented people for Merrick’s advancement to a third-level civilization and to prepare its army for war.

Lister and his companions arrived in Chali Nation to recruit warriors and talented people for the Merrick Civilization, offering gifted candidates a chance to join before paying the required credit points. The recruitment began, and its first successful applicant accepted a low-paid warrior position.

• Chali Nation's president, Blai Chali, welcomed Lister and learned that the Merrick Civilization had come to recruit top talent and warriors.
• Lister agreed to follow Chali Nation's recruitment process and announced that sufficiently gifted candidates could receive places in the Merrick Civilization before paying their credit points.
• Blai Chali and the other rulers urged their younger relatives to take the assessment and asked the Yalan Civilization about Lister.
• Chali Nation opened assessments across the administrative building and plaza, and Lister watched candidates being screened.
• A level-nine candidate with C-grade combat strength passed the warrior hiring standards but not the special talent standards, and accepted Lister's pay offer.

Lister assessed Chali Nation warriors for recruitment into the Merrick Civilization, finding few top-ranked candidates until Sariel arrived with an S-rank Blade Soul Domain skill. He also kept Hunter Powell, a C-rank youth with a younger adopted sister, pending a decision.

• Gaddafi received a B-rank evaluation and joined Corey Fita and other high-ranking candidates while they waited for assignments.
• Lister noted that the Chali Nation had many D- and C-rank recruits but few B-rank talents and no A-rank warriors so far.
• Sariel impressed Lister with his A-rank evaluation and S-rank Blade Soul Domain skill, and Tim led him aside to wait.
• More than twenty B-rank talents and two A-rank talents appeared over the next two hours.
• Lister asked Hunter Powell about his family, learned he had a younger adopted sister, and told Tim to keep him waiting pending a decision.

Lister completed a seven-day recruitment drive, then brought the new recruits to Merrick Civilization and trained Sariel. After mastering Sariel’s Soul Blade Domain, Lister gave him the Black Leaf Laceration Blade and ended the day’s training.

• Lister approved recruiting applicants from neighboring countries under the same criteria and ordered that selected candidates receive positions and that credits be advanced.
• Over seven days, Lister recruited more than 9,400 people, including 200 B-rank and nine A-rank talents, with most promising candidates coming from the Chali Nation.
• Corey, Gaddafi, and the other recruits used a teleportation array to reach Merrick Civilization, where Lister took Sariel and Hunter with him and Adrian escorted the others to Quint.
• Gaddafi and several recruits complained that Hunter was only C-rank, but Adrian silenced them.
• Lister trained Sariel and mastered the S-rank Soul Blade Domain skill, then gave Sariel his Black Leaf Laceration Blade after Sariel’s training sword broke.

Lister oversaw the Merrick Civilization’s expansion and recruitment efforts, then visited Powell to collect a powerful pair of bracers. After taking Jiji, Lister frowned at something he noticed.

• Lister told Quint to recruit promising talent from the life-bearing planets and accelerate negotiations with the Arcane Civilization to help the Merrick Civilization qualify for level-three promotion within ten years.
• A year later, the Merrick Civilization attracted increasing numbers of people, while rapid growth drove up living costs and pushed some low-tier citizens to migrate elsewhere.
• Lister told Powell that Hunter had earned his government logistics position through his forging talent, not Powell’s influence.
• Powell gave Lister the S-rank Merrick’s Tyranny Bracers, and Lister frowned after taking Jiji.

After Jiji’s upgrade gave him Zerg-like abilities, Lister worried that the evolution might eventually attract the Galactic Federation’s attention. He then boarded the new warship A73 and chose his room.

• Jiji’s upgrade made him an S-rank mechanical creation whose breeding chamber produced temporary Evil Shadow Mechanical Birds, but his Death Resistance skill remained unchanged.
• Lister suspected the Evil Shadow Civilization’s Resentful Evil Eye had influenced Jiji’s evolution, and Powell assured him that Jiji did not yet qualify as a Zerg-like civilization.
• Lister told Powell to keep Jiji’s capabilities secret and worried that future upgrades might turn him into a Zerg-like mother body.
• Lister arrived at the Arcane Civilization’s new military production facility and boarded the medium-sized warship A73.
• Gwent told Lister that Boren and Thorn had chosen rooms, and Lister selected one of the remaining top-standard rooms.

Lister reorganized the Landing Operations Department aboard the new A73 medium cruiser, filling its depleted ranks with thousands of transferred soldiers. He established his authority over the recruits with a display of killing intent, and they learned of his reputation as the Blade Arts Overlord and a Quasi-Hegemon.

• Lister told the surviving officers he would arrange promotions after the Landing Operations Department received its new soldiers, and assigned Zahn to oversee training and identify promising veterans.
• The A73 medium cruiser set out, and Captain Boren authorized Lister to select recruits from headquarters' candidate lists without restriction.
• Lister chose 6,118 soldiers for the Landing Operations Department, including 95 with C-rank combat strength, many of whom had disciplinary problems or former offenses.
• At the recruits' assembly, Lister's Killing Intent Wave silenced the crowd and drove many soldiers to their knees before he ordered them to fall in.
• After Lister left, the recruits asked the veterans about him and learned he was the army group's Blade Arts Overlord and a Quasi-Hegemon, then accepted his authority.

Lister maxed out his base attributes while waiting for the fifth act, which opened with the Merrick Civilization joining the Galactic Federation and players being invited to help build and protect it. The new expansion drew players into the Merrick and Yalan regions, where Powell’s S-grade sabers became an immediate sensation.

• Ship A73 destroyed a small enemy destroyer, and Captain Boren’s officers distributed the mission’s military merits, giving Lister 1,258 points.
• Lister used military-district resources to max out his base attributes and wondered when the fifth act would begin.
• The fifth-act expansion opened, naming Lister Merick as the pioneer behind the new Merrick Government and offering players a construction quest with its contribution requirement already met.
• Players explored the Merrick Civilization and the Yalan Civilization, and Powell’s S-grade saber sparked a frenzy in public chat.
• Powell asked Lister whether he should reveal the sabers’ source or lower their price, and Lister told him to keep doing business as usual and hand over the lion’s share of the proceeds.

Lister used his growing wealth to lend the new government a billion credits, then accepted a lucrative joint mission to eliminate an insectoid civilization. He wondered whether the mission might provide materials to help Jiji level up.

• Lister told Quint that he had lent the new government a billion credits and urged him to use the funds to recruit talent.
• Players argued over whether Powell's shop sold genuine S-rank weapons, and Lister learned that Qi Lü's people were defending the shop after Qi Lü bought many weapons.
• Lister received an assembly notice and learned from Captain Boren that the Glimmer Civilization had requested a joint mission against an insectoid civilization near the Chaotic Star Region.
• Captain Boren explained that the insectoid offspring ranged from tier twelve to tier sixteen, the mother might be tier seventeen or higher, and the reward was three hundred thousand military merit points split between the groups.
• Lister and the others accepted the mission, and Lister wondered whether the insectoid civilization might have materials to help Jiji level up.

Lister remained suspicious of Roland Hawk’s generous request for reinforcements, but Captain Boren urged caution rather than abandoning the mission. After the A73 reached Planet TY313 and attended a lavish reception, Roland singled Lister out and invited him to meet privately.

• Lister questioned why the tier-sixteen Roland Hawk had requested help from him and offered half the military merits, while Captain Boren explained the Glimmer Civilization’s limited fleet and Lister’s growing reputation.
• Captain Boren agreed that the A73 would follow Lister’s lead and abandon the mission if it proved dangerous.
• The A73 reached Planet TY313, where Glimmer Civilization officers welcomed its crew with a reception featuring the Prismatic Band.
• Lister and the other officers heard the band perform, and Lister received an aura buff that improved health and stamina recovery and concentration.
• Roland Hawk approached Lister, and Lister’s analysis identified him as a level-159 Servant of Light with an S overall rating.
• Roland invited Lister to sample liquor with him privately, and Lister accepted after Captain Boren silently approved.

Colonel Roland privately told Lister that Soul Crystals came from accumulated soul energy gathered after large numbers of powerful beings died, often in conscription missions. He left Lister wondering whether Quasi-Hegemons and Hegemon candidates were benefiting from the Federation’s system—or were also being used to nourish those above them.

• Roland created a Light Barrier to keep their conversation private and offered Lister a drink.
• After Lister pressed him to explain the reception, Roland revealed that he wanted to discuss the Zerg-like civilization and Soul Crystals.
• Roland explained how Soul Crystals formed and said they were efficiently gathered after large numbers of high-tier beings died in one place.
• Lister realized the Federation’s boot-camp resources came from deaths on conscription missions, and Roland confirmed his suspicion.
• Lister asked whether the system was meant to cultivate Hegemons, but Roland said he did not know and wondered whether they too were nourishment for those higher up.

Lister learned that Colonel Roland’s Soul Crystal mission was tied to Hoffman and agreed to cooperate in exchange for a share of the crystals. Roland then led him to a concealed facility containing the insectoid life-forms they planned to exterminate, and Lister detected it despite its specialized barrier.

• Lister questioned why Roland had chosen him for the Soul Crystal mission, and Roland said he wanted him to join a venture initiated by Hoffman.
• Roland explained that Hoffman had remained outside the Galactic Federation for years, and offered Lister either a place in the venture or a share of the mission’s Soul Crystals.
• Lister agreed to join, and Roland tested him by leaving a Light Barrier active; Lister broke through it with his Resolute Heart and Merrick Saber Technique.
• Roland covered them with another Light Barrier and led Lister past the banquet guests to a private airship, which flew them to a remote wasteland.
• Lister used Killing Intent Wave to detect a hidden building that ordinary perception could not reveal, surprising Roland.

Lister accompanied Colonel Roland to inspect a Soul-Devouring Spider that Roland had specially cultivated, learning that the mission was designed to replace the current mother body with the powerful offspring. Roland admitted that the Federation had arranged the operation collectively, leaving Lister to face the implications of their plan.

• Roland teleported Lister into an energy-suppression facility where the Soul-Devouring Spider's shrieks attacked the soul, but Lister resisted them.
• Lister and Roland passed dead creatures in prison cells and reached a Soul-Devouring Spider offspring whose abilities and level far exceeded the mission's description.
• Roland explained that he had cultivated the offspring and that the other Soul-Devouring Spiders involved in the operation had also been cultivated.
• Lister realized that the offspring would almost certainly become the new mother body after the current one died, and asked whether Roland had arranged the mission.
• Roland confirmed that the plan had been arranged not by him alone, but by all of them.

Lister learned that Hoffman had brought the Soul-Devouring Spiders to the Galactic Federation and that Roland had been cultivating them to harvest Soul Crystals. Lister agreed to join Roland’s mission and take turns cultivating future spider mothers, then returned to the reception and told Captain Boren about the plan.

• Roland explained that Hoffman had captured the first Soul-Devouring Spider mother and entrusted him with cultivating the species for Soul Crystals.
• Lister asked whether Kavin could join, but Roland said Kavin was occupied creating a Mechanical Civilization and had declined to bring him along.
• Lister agreed to help Roland exterminate the mother and accepted a fifteen-percent share of the Soul Crystals, while Hoffman received fifty percent and Roland thirty-five percent.
• Roland said Lister would cultivate the next Soul-Devouring Spider mother in turn and could invite others with approval from him or Hoffman, provided they belonged to a civilization aligned with the Leviathan Civilization.
• Lister returned to the chaotic reception and told Captain Boren that Roland had invited him to fight the mother, while Gwent teased him for missing the reception’s performance.

Lister raised his level and Battle Intent Potential while Ship A73 traveled to the Chaotic Star Region to fight the Soul-Devouring Spiders. After agreeing to weaken the tier 17 mother by exterminating its offspring first, Lister devastated a planet with a powerful blade strike.

• Lister woke beside Aisha after a night together, then left without promising to meet her again.
• As Ship A73 traveled, Lister raised his level from 135 to 145 and increased Battle Intent Potential by five levels.
• At the mission destination, Colonel Roland proposed dividing six planets between his forces and Captain Boren's, while both groups postponed attacking the mother until they had weakened it by killing offspring.
• Lister unleashed a blade strike that destroyed approaching spiders and carved a vast canyon into the nearest planet.

Lister and the A73 finished clearing their planets, then joined Colonel Roland’s CR-01 to destroy the remaining Soul-Devouring Spiders. Roland’s devastating light-element abilities impressed Lister and revealed why the CR-01 had cleared its targets so quickly.

• Lister landed with a three-hundred-man squad and killed a tier 16 Soul-Devouring Spider offspring with a single slash.
• The A73 cleared its planets, and Truman reported that Colonel Roland’s CR-01 had already cleared three planets by attacking indiscriminately, including the Chaotic Star Region’s warriors.
• Lister realized those warriors had become nourishment for the Soul-Devouring Spiders and that Roland had not let them escape.
• The CR-01 arrived, and Colonel Roland landed on a planet and spread a dark barrier that trapped the Soul-Devouring Spiders inside.
• Roland’s barrier scorched the planet’s inhabitants, and he killed every tier 16 offspring before crushing the barrier inward and wiping out all the spiders.
• Lister was impressed by Roland’s efficiency and strength as a light-element Quasi-Hegemon.

Roland and Lister entered the Soul-Devouring Spider mother's lair on Planet CRT19 to harvest the tier-17 creature, but its soul attacks and speed made the battle immediately dangerous. The chapter ended with Roland badly wounded and warning Lister not to meet the mother's eyes as it charged again.

• Roland and Lister entered the cave, where the mother’s Soul-Devouring Roar steadily drained their health.
• Lister inspected the tier-17 mother and saw that its Soul Sight could attack an opponent through eye contact.
• The mother lunged at the two men, and Lister tried to pull Roland clear of its attack.
• The mother’s Soul Sight caught Roland, leaving him disoriented, and its limb pierced his shoulder.
• Roland recovered, transformed into photons, and warned Lister to avoid the mother’s eyes as it charged again.