Chapter Summaries

Kang De announced his plan to conquer the Broken Isles and assigned his allies roles in preparing Distant Harbor for war and its economic aftermath. After Hong San warned that the islands’ defenses would make a conventional invasion difficult, Kang De hinted that Iowa would help him overcome them.

• Kang De declared that Distant Harbor would take the Broken Isles, rejecting a forbidden spell or a slow naval blockade in favor of an offensive occupation.
• Kang De offered the three fleet commanders roles as battlefield observers and equipment testers, while assuring them he would explain the plan to their governments.
• Kang De ordered Hong San to build a screened army and tasked Han Zezheng with expanding the docks, preparing industry and workers, and keeping supplies flowing during the war.
• Kang De explained to Hong San that he planned to let the three nations take money from the Broken Isles while he seized its people, trade routes, and businesses.
• Hong San warned Kang De that the islands’ fortress complexes and magitech defenses would be difficult to overcome without a forbidden spell, and Kang De said he would handle the fighting before revealing that his wife Iowa was in Los Angeles.

The island lords of the Broken Isles responded to Kang De’s threat by ordering merchants and tourists detained and seeking outside pressure to prevent him from using a forbidden spell. Kang De then ordered the fleets of three nations to sail for the Broken Isles to evacuate their citizens.

• After Astolfo left Pioneer Square, panic spread across the Broken Isles as tourists and merchants tried to flee and disorder erupted.
• The island lords met underground and rejected a proposal to escape, warning that anyone who abandoned their position would lose their wealth and family.
• The old island lord ordered merchants placed under house arrest and their goods and guards requisitioned, while tourists were forbidden to leave unless the navy sank their ships.
• The island lords agreed to lobby powerful visitors and foreign governments to pressure Kang De and prevent him from using a forbidden spell.
• Hong San reported that all three nations had responded, and Kang De ordered their fleets to sail for the Broken Isles to evacuate their citizens.

Mei Xizhu and Ailike were trapped on the sealed Broken Isles as the rulers prepared to use Cathayans as hostages. When a fleet sent to evacuate foreign nationals arrived, Kang De’s drones rescued them from Kedun and the mob, and Mei met Han Guangcheng at the pier.

• Mei Xizhu and Ailike hid in an alley after escaping the docks, learning that the island lords had sealed the ports and were tracking people of Cathayan descent.
• Mei Xizhu described his plan to join Kang De and argued that mobile, armored mage units would shape future warfare, while Ailike teased him about his ideas.
• A joint fleet from the Dusk Moon Dynasty, the Holy Empire, and the Arcane Council arrived to evacuate their citizens, but the Broken Isles' rulers argued over whether to let it through.
• Kedun cornered Mei Xizhu and Ailike and incited stranded residents to attack them, but Mei sent up a magical signal as Kang De's drones opened fire around the mages and drove back the mob.
• Mei Xizhu and Ailike boarded a speedboat after Mei warned Kedun he would kill him if they met again, and Mei introduced himself to Han Guangcheng as Mei Sui, courtesy name Xizhu.

Kang De used the three nations’ fleets to evacuate their citizens from the Broken Isles, amplifying panic and leaving the islands politically isolated. As Distant Harbor’s own evacuation proceeded, Kang De planned to exploit the growing crisis by sending a humanitarian relief fleet.

• Kavisalong, Niola, and Colonel Beike discussed how Kang De’s joint evacuation had spread fear and how their governments were likely to abandon the Broken Isles.
• Kavisalong predicted that the island owners would seek negotiations, while Niola warned that Kang De opposed allowing the wealthy and powerful to control both wealth and political authority.
• The three nations’ fleets registered and evacuated their citizens, while Han Guangcheng and Mei Xizhu organized the evacuation of people of Cathayan descent and Distant Harbor officials handled the Goth People.
• At Sound of the Tide Manor, Kang De told Lily he would assemble a humanitarian relief fleet and bring ordinary people from the Broken Isles to Distant Harbor.

As Kang De’s warning and the evacuation of the Broken Isles drove away residents and allies, the island lords argued over whether to resist or seek foreign support. Their elderly leader urged them to hold out and lobby the great powers, then secretly prayed to a god for help, leaving the Isles’ fate uncertain.

• Foreign fleets and rumor campaigns accelerated the flight of residents, tourists, and nobles from the Broken Isles to Distant Harbor, damaging the Isles’ reputation and economy.
• A director in the Arcane Council’s intelligence department mocked the Broken Isles’ political predicament in a metaphor that spread through newspapers across the Ring of Tuxia.
• The island lords argued over whether to attack the evacuation fleets, while their elderly leader told them to lobby the empire, the elves, and the Arcane Council for support.
• The old man ordered the island lords to calm their troops, detain important guests, and pressure those considering flight, reminding them that the island defenses remained strong.
• After the meeting ended, the old man lamented that the island lords had lost their resolve, then entered a sealed room and prayed at a blood altar to a god dwelling in the palace of stars.

As war approached the Broken Isles, Han Guangcheng and Mei Xizhu discussed how Kang De might attack and considered submitting their own military proposals. Their conversation was cut short when swarms of strange marine creatures attacked the ships near Ajinsi Island, leaving Han Guangcheng to warn his father that they were in trouble.

• The Army Without Borders evacuated residents from the Broken Isles under labor contracts while the island lords tried to stop people from leaving.
• Han Guangcheng and Mei Xizhu discussed Kang De’s likely assault and proposed aerial bombing tactics and armored spellcasters.
• Mei Xizhu halted Han Guangcheng from sending a speedboat to investigate two people who had been killed in the water and called for a cautious underwater search.
• Horus raised the alarm as the Knight Astolfo came under attack from countless creatures that swarmed beneath and climbed onto the ship.
• Han Guangcheng called out to his father as monsters leaped onto the deck and larger shapes moved below the sea.

A vast horde of unknown sea monsters attacked the Broken Isles, overwhelming ships and attacking the docks as the Knight Astolfo struggled to defend itself. Kang De arrived, organized the trapped fleet, and sent Afu toward the threatened islands, leaving the sailors with renewed hope as its alarm sounded across the sea.

• Sea monsters swarmed a cargo ship, killed its captain and sailors, and attacked ships and shores throughout the Broken Isles.
• Astolfo and its crew fought off the creatures as Horus reported that allied ships were trapped and under attack.
• Kang De placed Hong San in charge of Distant Harbor’s defenses and agreed to assemble the Destruction Squadron with volunteers.
• Kang De arrived in the Broken Isles, ordered the ships to hold their positions, and assigned Astolfo to evacuate the islands while the dragons provided aerial support.
• Astolfo sounded its alarm and surged toward the other ships, lifting the sailors’ spirits.

Kang De and the Afu fought through the sea monsters and rescued the crew of the imperial warship Snowy Peak. As they moved to evacuate the elven crew of the Song of Evergreen, the island defense system activated and prepared to strike them with a fortress-class magitech weapon.

• Kang De, Horus, and Iron Son suspected the relentless sea monsters were bioweapons as the Afu fought through their attacks.
• Kang De teleported to the burning Snowy Peak and coordinated a zip-line evacuation while the dragons, Afu's guns, and the Grewind Swarm held off the monsters.
• The Snowy Peak's crew reached the Afu, and Kang De set course for the next battlefield.
• Kang De contacted the elven fleet and found the Song of Evergreen fighting the monsters with its full arsenal before arranging an evacuation by zip line.
• An alarm sounded aboard the Song of Evergreen, and Mei Xizhu warned Kang De that the island defense system was targeting them with a fortress-class heavy magitech weapon.

Kang De and the stranded fleets faced an imminent strike from the Broken Isles’ island defenses while sea monsters attacked their ships. He forced most casters to stand down with a forbidden spell, but attacks from the central main island began just as the danger seemed to pass.

• The Broken Isles’ defenses locked onto Kang De’s ships, and the captains ordered their crews to prepare for an attack as the other fleets faced near-certain destruction.
• Kang De told every ship to defend itself, sent Horus into the sky, and opened a phase gate to prepare a forbidden spell.
• Horus warned the defense casters that attacking the ships would trigger war and ruin their futures, while Kang De sent a blazing meteor toward the Broken Isles.
• The approaching meteor drove most mage towers to withdraw their targeting, and Kang De removed it through a phase gate once the remaining attacks stopped.
• Mei Xizhu reported that three targeting beams remained, and Kang De spotted magical light rising from the central main island as the Song of Evergreen detected incoming strikes.

Kang De and the Song of Evergreen fought off the Broken Isles’ magical weapons and sea monsters, using modern weapons and magic to destroy several enemy mage towers and weaken a devastating tidal attack. After Kang De evacuated the Song of Evergreen, the fleet headed for the central main island to confront the attackers.

• The Song of Evergreen deflected a Flame-Particle Light Lance and helped destroy a Stone Thrower projectile while the Afu’s guns intercepted its fragments.
• Kang De approved an Aster missile strike that destroyed a mage tower and disabled one of the Flame-Particle Light Lance’s deflection routes.
• The Broken Isles launched Raging Tide and another Stone Thrower attack, so Kang De and the Song of Evergreen weakened the tide while the Afu destroyed the projectiles and another mage tower.
• The reduced Raging Tide struck near the ships, creating a violent whirlpool and waves, but Kang De ordered the Song of Evergreen’s crew to evacuate and removed the ship through a Phase Gate.
• Kang De ordered the fleet to advance on the central main island, where he intended to confront the enemy and uncover the truth behind the attack.

The Flame-Particle Light Lance array’s director tried to keep the Broken Isles’ defenses attacking Kang De, but Kang De’s weapons destroyed the mage towers that enabled its shots. As the director evacuated toward Sea Suppression Castle, a missile barrage struck the firing array, and he realized Kang De had arrived.

• The director threatened mage tower crews into raising their refraction prisms, but Kang De’s alchemical weapons destroyed six mage towers in succession.
• The director learned that Sea Suppression Castle had stopped responding and that the island lord’s orders had left the Broken Isles’ defenses without unified command.
• Suokete told the director he planned to attack Kang De’s landing force and seize hostages to use in negotiations.
• The director ordered the firing array shut down and led its staff toward Sea Suppression Castle.
• Missiles streaked over the mountains and struck near the fleeing staff, and the director recognized the barrage as an attack on the Flame-Particle Light Lance array.

Kang De equipped fifty soldiers from Valentan with powered armor and named them the Doom Warriors, then returned to the Broken Isles as the Afu prepared to land. Horus and the fleet struck the island’s defenses with rockets, drones, and artillery before Kang De deployed the Doom Warriors against charging cavalry.

• Kang De praised the fifty soldiers from Valentan and introduced the powered armor, Paradox Cores, and Horus’s battlefield connection.
• Ulysses connected to his armor and discovered that he could move the heavy suit as if it were his own body; Kang De named the group the Doom Warriors.
• On the Afu, officers discussed the dangers of landing on the fortified central island while sea monsters pursued the fleet.
• Kang De returned to the bridge, told the exhausted sailors to run from the sea monsters, and ordered Horus to strike the Flame Particle Light Lance Array and Stone Throwers.
• Horus launched rockets and Razor drones as the Astolfo and the Afu bombarded the island’s defenders.
• Kang De led the fifty Doom Warriors through a portal toward the charging cavalry and ordered them to attack.

Kang De’s forces landed on Long Beach, used fire engines and the Afu to hold back the sea monsters, and advanced toward a defensible camp while planning to seize the island’s fortress weapons. As the Doom Warriors joined the fight and the Afu neared its limit, someone in Sea Suppression Castle identified Kang De as the Fire Thief.

• Quilion directed the Royal Navy ashore while Halsey organized the mages, and Kang De’s fire engines burned back monsters attacking from both flanks.
• Kang De ordered the officers to reach an observation platform five kilometers ahead, establish a camp, and prepare to capture the island’s three fortress magitech weapons.
• Kang De summoned Doom Warriors, whose appearance and Goth accents stunned Quilion and prompted him to hurry the naval troops onward.
• Horus warned Kang De that monsters were encircling Long Beach and that the Afu could only hold out for about ten more minutes.
• The Doom Warriors, Sunlight drones, and Afu fought the advancing monsters as Kang De prepared to withdraw the ship.
• Someone inside Sea Suppression Castle called Kang De the Fire Thief.

Kang De led the combined naval forces to the Broken Isles’ observation platform and rallied them to defend themselves against the sea monsters. He rapidly transformed the platform into a modern fortress, leaving the soldiers ready to fight with Horus’s weapons and support.

• Quilion greeted Kang De with overzealous devotion, unsettling the chief mages and prompting Kang De to tell him he preferred his former proud manner.
• Kang De explained that the fleet had to destroy the sea monsters to return to Distant Harbor and urged the soldiers to fight together.
• Kang De promised the troops plentiful food and overwhelming fire support, and their cheers drove them to prepare the observation platform for defense.
• Kang De used a Phase Gate to deliver ballistae and modular steel fortifications, while mages dug foundations and Horus’s robots assembled the fortress.
• Horus took control of the fortress weapons and fired at the sea monsters as Kang De ordered officers to organize crews, select assault teams, and send cooks to the kitchen.

Kang De’s forces destroyed the Stone Thrower’s defenders by teleporting Doom Warriors directly into the firing position, then took control of the weapon. With all three fortress magic devices secured, Kang De prepared to enter Sea Suppression Castle and question its island master about the sea monster invasion and his suspicious orders.

• The Stone Thrower’s supervisor fired at Kang De’s forces, but the projectile was intercepted and destroyed before it reached the observation platform.
• The supervisor vowed to destroy the Stone Thrower rather than let Kang De capture it, but Doom Warriors emerged through a Phase Gate and crushed the defenders in a surprise assault.
• Lord Horus guided Ulysses and a novice mage as they fought, demonstrating the power armor’s tactical support and spell-enhancing abilities.
• Kang De severed the Stone Thrower’s self-destruct controls and discussed the need to develop stronger weapons and industrial production for his forces.
• Horus identified a suitable landing area in Sea Suppression Castle’s racetrack, and Kang De decided to go there to question the island master about the sea monsters and his suspicious behavior.
• Kang De confirmed that his forces controlled the Stone Thrower, Raging Tide, and the Flame-Particle Light Lance, and prepared to explore Sea Suppression Castle.

Kang De questioned a captured mage and learned that the island lord had evacuated everyone from a resort to Sea Suppression Castle before the sea-monster attack. As the monsters overwhelmed the other islands, Kang De began organizing an aerial rescue and prepared to raid the castle, suspecting the island lord had gathered people there for a sinister reason.

• Kang De made the captured mage agree to answer his questions honestly in exchange for evacuation, then learned the mage knew nothing about whether the islanders had released the sea monsters.
• The mage told Kang De that everyone at a resort winery had been escorted to Sea Suppression Castle before the attack, and described the island lord as an enormously wealthy owner of the Broken Isles’ pleasure resorts.
• Halsey reported that sea monsters were ravaging the other islands and causing severe casualties, while Kang De’s forces struggled to evacuate their own people.
• After Horus reported that spellcasters and hot-air balloons were flying toward the observation platform, Kang De ordered a rescue effort for survivors of any status and wealth, using hot-air balloons to reach the islands.
• Kang De ordered Quilion to assemble a strike team to rescue people and raid Sea Suppression Castle, suspecting the island lord had gathered the evacuees there as hostages.

Nelson and his surviving troops entered Sea Suppression Castle, believing the island lord was evacuating them to safety. Instead, they discovered that the island lord served the Star Palace and had prepared the crowd as sacrifices for a creature beneath the castle, while a Star Palace sovereign awaited Kang De’s arrival.

• Nelson reached Sea Suppression Castle after a rocket strike had destroyed much of his force, and the island lord ordered him and his men inside to evacuate.
• Nelson followed the guards through the castle’s underground shelter to Star Worship Square, where the island lord gathered the inhabitants and nobles.
• A mysterious sovereign appeared, and the island lord confessed that his bloodline had served the Star Palace by exploiting the Broken Isles and feeding a deep-sea beast with living people.
• The sovereign declared that it was time to feed, and black tentacles burst from a great well to seize people across the square and drag them to their deaths.
• The sovereign said the creature had awakened early and vowed that Sea Suppression Castle would become Kang De’s burial place.

The island lord and the Star Palace master awakened a deep-sea monster and prepared Sea Suppression Castle as a trap for Kang De. Kang De reached the castle, then used his Phase Gate to steal its gate, towers, and part of its foundation, declaring the castle his.

• The island lord recalled how he had served the Star Palace by corrupting the world and feeding sacrifices to the monster in the deep well.
• The Star Palace master ordered the monster to feed and recover, planning to unleash it against Kang De and disrupt the world's maritime trade.
• Kang De assigned spellcasters to assess survivors and recruit island personnel, then led the Doom Warriors and an assault team toward Sea Suppression Castle.
• The island lord and the Star Palace master prepared the castle's traps and mechanisms to ambush Kang De and his followers.
• A statue called Kang De inside the castle, but Kang De recognized the invitation as a trap and opened a Phase Gate that removed the gate, two towers, and part of the foundation.

Kang De used his spatial powers to dismantle and loot Sea Suppression Castle while its island lord tried to lure him into an underground threat. After discovering the hidden passage, Kang De flooded it and sent Horus’s robot inside to scout for a teleport anchor or bombardment target.

• Kang De teleported sections of Sea Suppression Castle and its defenses into the White Mist World, with an architectural officer identifying valuable targets.
• The Lord of the Star Palace concluded that Kang De had misunderstood the Fire Thief’s power and ordered the island lord to lure him underground.
• Kang De stripped the castle bare and found a hidden passage beneath a statue, while the island lord urged him to enter.
• Kang De flooded the underground passage through a Phase Gate, then restarted the flow after the island lord falsely claimed innocent people were sheltering inside.
• Horus sent a small robot through the water to scout for a spatial anchor or coordinates for a high-yield bombardment.

Kang De flooded the underground square to force the island lord and the Star Palace ruler out, while the ruler secretly planned to assess and possibly kill Kang De. When they emerged, Kang De exposed the ruler’s disguise and summoned the Great Majestic Heavenly Monkey to attack him.

• Kang De flooded the underground passages and threatened the trapped Star Palace ruler with filth, making him furious and disrupting his plans.
• The island lord offered to surrender and promised Kang De his assets and compromising records, while the ruler agreed to accompany him disguised as a guard.
• The ruler decided to observe Kang De up close and strike if he judged the Fire Thief weak enough.
• The island lord and ruler emerged into the square, where Kang De questioned the supposed guard and baited the island lord into revealing their deception.
• The ruler realized he had been exposed and charged at Kang De, who opened a Phase Door and summoned the Great Majestic Heavenly Monkey to attack him.