Chapter Summaries

Kang De exposed the British government’s abuses and manipulated the crash’s aftermath to pit the government against the mysterious organization. Ian Crook was taken to Military Intelligence Section 5 headquarters, where an elderly official told him that the Round Table was angry.

• Kang De watched British police suppress footage of the overturned transport vehicle while Alina confirmed officials had pressured BCC to follow the government’s version of events.
• Kang De sent Alina a video of Ian Crook making hateful remarks, intending to spread suspicion among Ian’s colleagues by suggesting a subordinate had secretly filmed him.
• Ian Crook’s subordinate died in the crash, and two suited men took Ian away from the scene under orders to keep him silent.
• Kang De followed Ian to Military Intelligence Section 5 headquarters, expecting to observe his interrogation and gather clues before the organization silenced him.
• An elderly official comforted Ian, called the crash a terrible accident, and said the Round Table was angry.

Kang De monitored MI5 deputy director David and targeted Ian Crook, whose secret knowledge of the Round Table made him a liability. As Ian faced torture and death, a mysterious voice took control of his body and awakened supernatural power, leaving him a transcendent.

• David interrogated Ian about a leaked video and demanded to know what Ian had told Richard about the Round Table.
• Kang De secretly made David slip, and David beat Ian, stripped him and his family of their MI5 protections, and ordered him taken to the water room.
• Kang De told Horus to monitor David while he followed Ian, whom MI5 agents tortured until he confessed.
• A strange voice offered Ian power in exchange for obedience, and an unseen force broke his shackles and took control of his body.
• Ian's controlled body killed the torturer and a guard, took a gun, and manifested black flame in his palm.

Kang De used Horus’s device and the Paradox Element to control Ian Crook, turning him into a supernaturally powerful fugitive who attacked Military Intelligence Section 5 and escaped. As Ian feared the consequences, Kang De planned to make the crisis so public that the authorities would need another supernatural being to stop him.

• Kang De explained how he controlled Ian’s body with the Paradox Element and Horus’s device, while Ian could only watch and hear his commands.
• Ian reached the ninth floor of Military Intelligence Section 5, where David was furious about the failed operation and planned to torture him further.
• Ian stormed through the building, wounded security personnel, and played a recording of David threatening his family before confronting him outside the deputy director’s office.
• David’s security team attacked Ian with a shotgun, but black flames shielded him and engulfed the agents; Ian then leaped from the ninth floor and escaped in a hijacked car.
• David called an unknown person and reported that Ian Crook had become like them, while Ian protested that London would soon be pursuing him.
• Kang De told Ian he planned to seize hostages and expose the truth, forcing the authorities to realize that only a supernatural being could deal with another supernatural being.

Ian Crook escaped in a government car and headed for the American embassy in London, while David tried to stop him and keep government superhumans from learning about the Round Table. As Ian reached the embassy, Kang De revealed that he intended to attack the US military.

• Ian Crook sped through London, firing into the air and declaring that he would expose the government’s secrets, while David tried to talk him down.
• David warned the prime minister that Ian had awakened a superpower and proposed asking the Round Table to send superhumans after him rather than risk exposing it to government superhumans.
• David ordered Ian’s family to be pressured into persuading him to surrender and directed the pursuit to use overwhelming force.
• Ian broke through a police checkpoint on Vauxhall Bridge as a Special Air Service helicopter pursued him, and David’s staff realized he was heading toward the American embassy.
• Ian drove toward the embassy, where US Marines prepared to defend it, and Kang De declared that the US military was exactly who he was going after.

Ian Crook stormed the American embassy and took its occupants hostage, forcing the British government to negotiate over his demand to expose its cover-up. The prime minister offered Ian membership in the Round Table to stop him, then secretly ordered a plan to kill him and summoned AWSL Company.

• Ian Crook crashed into the American embassy, defeated its Marine guards, sealed the exits, and raced upstairs while demanding the truth be broadcast to the world.
• Kang De watched Ian's assault through Iron Son's camera feed and told Horus to find the ambassador without damaging the building.
• British authorities surrounded the embassy and, fearing the consequences of an attack there, agreed they had to negotiate with Ian.
• Ian threatened to kill hostages and burn the embassy unless national media entered and broadcast his accusations about MI5's cover-up and its threat to his family.
• The prime minister offered Ian membership in the Round Table as protection from retaliation, and Ian asked to speak with a Round Table representative.
• After the call ended, the prime minister secretly ordered Ian killed and summoned AWSL Company.

Grand Secretary Jo tried to manipulate Kang De and the Round Table into a clash, while Kang De planned to exploit the British request and keep An Youyi safe. As London braced for Ian’s next move, Shalana was taken for questioning and an unseen man arrived near the embassy.

• Grand Secretary Jo failed to contact Kang De through Gambia and asked China to reach him, while privately arranging to steer Ian toward the Round Table.
• Kang De learned Britain wanted him to deal with Ian and planned to use the delay to attack the Round Table, then claim the spoils; he told Qin Mengjin not to reveal that An Youyi was his friend.
• Kang De stalled Grand Secretary Jo by having the AWSL China Branch demand a meeting to discuss extorting the British government.
• Ian warned the British that his five minutes were up, and Grand Secretary Jo told him the Round Table would come to negotiate.
• At Metropolitan Police headquarters, Shalana’s companions questioned how she had found the lead on Viking Skull, but police took her away for a private interview and ordered footage of her removed.
• An unidentified man arrived by Aston Martin near the embassy and said three happy events had come knocking together.

Kang De used Ian to turn the embassy siege into a public spectacle and pressure the British prime minister into securing Ian’s family and the two missing Chinese girls. The prime minister called China to negotiate, only to be trapped in an AWSL Company customer-service menu.

• Kang De posted a threat from Woody’s account, and Ian became a worldwide trending topic as the embassy siege drew a cheering crowd.
• Ian confronted Kang De about the Westminster car accident and the ruin of his family, but Kang De told him to figure out why he had been chosen.
• Ian threatened to massacre the Americans in the embassy unless the British government met his demands, including a broadcast of the prime minister having sex with a male Welsh wild goat.
• Ian demanded that his wife and daughter be sent abroad and that the Round Table release the two missing Chinese girls to China in exchange for their protection.
• After Ian gave him half an hour to secure the girls’ release, the prime minister called China and reached AWSL Company’s automated customer-service system.

Kang De and Ian confronted Barber of the Round Table over the kidnapped Chinese girls, while Ian demanded that his wife and daughter be sent to China. After Kang De warned Grand Secretary Yue that An Youyi was his friend’s friend, Yue pressured the Round Table to release her, leaving her safe.

• Ian deduced that Kang De had manipulated him to trade the Chinese girls’ release for protection for Ian’s family, and pleaded with Kang De to spare them.
• Barber introduced himself as a Round Table representative and revealed that the organization had engineered Ian’s awakening, but refused to release the important Chinese girl.
• Kang De made Ian threaten the ambassador and Barber when the Round Table rejected Ian’s demand to send his family to China.
• Kang De called Grand Secretary Yue and warned him that he was flying to London to find An Youyi.
• Grand Secretary Yue urgently told the Round Table to release An Youyi before Kang De arrived, and Kang De concluded she was safe.

Grand Secretary Yue faced pressure from Ian, Kang De, and A Chuan as the Round Table debated whether to release An Youyi. The Round Table agreed to let her go to avert war, but Shalana vanished from everyone’s memories and records.

• Ian threatened Grand Secretary Yue and used the kidnapping of the American ambassador to pressure Britain into freeing An Youyi.
• Kang De questioned Grand Secretary Yue about An Youyi’s disappearance and threatened to come to London if Britain would not reveal what it knew.
• A Chuan demanded that Britain rescue Woody and explain why its intelligence service had provoked America, while Ian threatened to expose the Round Table to China.
• The Round Table voted to release An Youyi, but decided to punish Ian to defend its authority and prestige.
• Grand Secretary Yue told Ian, Kang De, and A Chuan that the Round Table would release An Youyi and arrange for her to return home.
• At the police headquarters, Shalana’s companions found that she was absent from their group photo, and the officer claimed she had never existed.

Kang De’s scheme secured the release of the two Chinese girls, while Ian prepared to surrender after arranging safe passage for his family. As Kang De followed Ian’s convoy, he decided not to destroy the Round Table, and Shalana’s friends found that everyone else denied she had ever existed.

• Ian recognized that Kang De had secretly orchestrated the crisis to force the Round Table to release the Chinese captives, and Kang De promised to reveal his name before Ian died.
• Grand Secretary Yue told Kang De that An Youyi had been rescued, then refused his demands for compensation and information about her kidnappers.
• Ian negotiated to surrender after the Chinese girls and his wife and daughter were sent safely toward China, and he left the embassy with Ambassador Woody.
• Barber followed Ian’s car and spoke with a Round Table member, who revealed that he had personally captured Shalana and was seeking another target after losing her.
• Kang De followed the convoy, told Ian that An Youyi was only an acquaintance, and decided not to destroy the Round Table.
• Shalana’s friends could find no evidence of her existence, and even their organization’s president did not recognize her.

Kang De brought Ian to Heathrow, where Ian’s reunion with his family became a trap after the British government and the Round Table broke their promises. Kang De revealed his plan to provoke a battle at the airport and expose the betrayal to the world.

• Ian asked Kang De to let him hug his wife and daughter, and Kang De warned him about the danger of foreigners living in Britain before explaining why he had targeted him.
• At Heathrow, Kang De let Ian’s controlled body reunite with Vanessa and Shanna, but the ambassador escaped in the car, prompting Ian to pursue him.
• Barber confronted Ian and refused to let his family leave Britain, while the home secretary claimed the government had rescued the Chinese women without Ian’s help.
• The home secretary revealed that the Chinese officials had never been involved, and Ian realized the British government had deceived him.
• Kang De told Ian he had planned to exploit the government’s betrayal and provoke a fight between Ian and the Round Table, with the ambassador and home secretary caught in the violence and the events secretly recorded for the American president.

Ian Crook awakened as a superhuman while the Round Table threatened his family, but his body failed under the surging energy and he died. The British government claimed Ian’s wife and daughter, while Kang De arranged to track Ian’s remains; elsewhere, a man greeted Shalana in a sealed chamber.

• Todd the Barber demanded Ian Crook join the Round Table and offer his wife and daughter as tribute.
• Ian’s despair and rage triggered a powerful awakening, and Kang De withdrew as Ian broke free of the exoskeleton.
• Ian repelled the Round Table’s attack and the soldiers’ gunfire, then his body burst apart under the strain and he died.
• The Barber ordered Ian’s remains taken away and his wife and daughter sent to the stables, but the home secretary intervened after a call from the Prime Minister and claimed the women for China.
• Kang De retrieved the exoskeleton and placed a spatial beacon on Ian’s skull, while the Round Table took Ian’s remains.
• A man in an underground chamber greeted Shalana and offered to show her a few old friends.

Kang De pressured Grand Secretary Yue to send Ian’s wife and daughter to the Chinese embassy, then learned they had been safely released. After warning that the Round Table posed a much larger threat, Kang De chose to target Barber, while a disturbing underground show began in London.

• Kang De confronted Grand Secretary Yue over Ian’s missing wife and daughter and threatened retaliation unless they were sent to the embassy unharmed.
• Grand Secretary Yue agreed to release Ian’s family, then began considering how Britain might build an alliance against Kang De.
• Medical personnel took Ian’s wife and daughter to safety at Heathrow, and Qin Mengjin warned Kang De that the Round Table was a vast and dangerous organization.
• Kang De told Qin Mengjin he would kill Barber and requested intelligence on the Round Table and Barber’s public identity.
• Qin Mengjin told Kang De that An Youyi had awakened and that her condition seemed strange, so Kang De headed to the embassy to see her.
• A frantic man searched London for Shalana while, at an underground venue, Barber introduced a woman as the opening act, “the bird in the cage.”

Shalana was abducted and brought to an underground theater, where Gerard and her former captors exposed how they had manipulated her life and tried to break her into despair. As she resisted, she revealed that an angel had given her hope; meanwhile, Kang De discovered An Youyi was awakening with surging mental power, and she suddenly shouted, “The horse ranch!”

• Gerard staged Shalana’s reunion with Reese, Hank, and the organization’s president, revealing that they had all helped control and exploit her.
• Gerard revealed himself as J and explained that he had manipulated Shalana’s rescue work and led her to the Viking Skull’s hideout.
• Gerard offered Shalana a revolver for Russian roulette, but a gaunt youth broke her arm and stopped her from shooting him.
• As Gerard and the spectators tried to draw out Shalana’s despair, she said that she had dreamed of an angel whose light and voice brought her peace.
• At the Chinese embassy, Kang De assessed An Youyi’s rising mental power and tried to clear the information overwhelming her consciousness.
• An Youyi abruptly sat up and shouted, “The horse ranch!”

Kang De found Shalana being tortured beneath Gerard Anger’s horse farm, but she chose to die rather than face another uncertain rescue. After learning her trafficker had received only a two-year sentence, Kang De carried her body into the underground banquet and began confronting Gerard and the gathered criminals.

• An Youyi murmured “the horse farm,” leading Kang De to suspect Gerard Anger and locate the Anger Equestrian Center.
• Kang De infiltrated the horse farm and found Shalana gravely injured in a medical room, where two men were preparing to keep her alive for further abuse.
• Kang De healed Shalana enough to speak as she recounted her exploitation, her rescue, and her later manipulation by the organization she had joined to help other women.
• Shalana asked Kang De to let her die; he released her hand, and she died after telling him her first trafficker had received a two-year prison sentence.
• Kang De carried Shalana’s body into the underground banquet, killed an extraordinary attacker who lunged at him, and confronted Gerard as the guests watched.

Kang De punished Gerard for his crimes by turning him into a living candle whose Paradox Element would burn away until he could die as a human, then sent the racecourse’s powerful guests into the White Mist World. He ordered Horus to prepare the captives for war against injustice and vowed to destroy the Round Table when it came for him.

• Kang De forced a spine into Gerard, transformed him into a corrupted creature, and lit the Paradox Element inside him as a candle of atonement.
• Kang De confronted the guests and security at the underground theater, while Horus identified them and a swarm of insects blocked their escape.
• Kang De opened a Phase Gate and flooded the complex with Paradox Element, transporting the infected criminals into the White Mist World.
• Kang De told Horus to equip the criminals with armor, weapons, and implants so they could fight injustice and evil.
• Gerard warned Kang De that the Round Table would retaliate, but Kang De declared that he would destroy and punish them.

Kang De rescued the horse farm’s captives, healed them, and promised they could return home in three years; Astaroth and other survivors chose to train and fight the organization that had tortured them. After exposing the criminals’ secrets and destroying the horse farm, Kang De learned from Qin Mengjin that the embassy was in trouble.

• Kang De moved the sixty-two survivors to the White Mist World and healed their worst injuries, then told them Shalana had led him to the prison and had died before they were rescued.
• Kang De explained that the survivors could not return home until the criminal organization was defeated, and Astaroth asked to join him in fighting it.
• Kang De left the survivors with a chance to change their minds, while Astaroth vowed to remember Shalana and fight in her name.
• Horus and Kang De gathered the perpetrators’ confessions and records, and Kang De said he would use the information to seize their businesses and wealth.
• Kang De detonated the explosives beneath the horse farm as helicopters approached, creating a huge blast visible across London.
• Qin Mengjin called Kang De about the crisis, and he asked her to keep his family safe before learning that the embassy was in trouble.

The Round Table blamed Kang De for the destruction of the Altar of Pleasure and prepared to wage war against him. When its agents attacked the Chinese embassy, Kang De appeared, killed one, and exposed himself to the British government and Round Table as their forces began mobilizing.

• Arthur decided Kang De was responsible for the Altar of Pleasure's destruction and ordered the Round Table to prepare for war, while planning to use the specimen to draw him out.
• Arthur rejected the prime minister's appeal to delay fighting, and the Round Table began summoning its supernatural forces and allies.
• Qin Mengjin urged Kang De to wait for the plane to arrive, but Kang De opened a Phase Gate and went to the embassy to protect its occupants.
• A Round Table woman attacked the ambassador and questioned him about Kang De, but Kang De appeared, killed her, and extracted her memories.
• A British Special Air Service operative witnessed Kang De at the embassy, confirming his presence to the British government and the Round Table.
• Arthur summoned the Round Table's army and declared war on Kang De.

The Round Table mobilized for total war against Kang De, while Grand Secretary Yue tried to make him accept peace talks and concessions. Kang De revealed that the war had already begun, and the chapter ended as his forces launched a surprise assault on the Round Table’s castle.

• The Round Table prepared a worldwide campaign against Kang De and waited for Britain to formally declare war.
• Kang De warned Grand Secretary Yue that the Round Table threatened him and everyone connected to him, then rejected the proposed peace terms and demanded the Round Table’s British interests instead.
• Kang De exposed Yue’s recording devices and the Round Table agents outside the embassy, declaring that the war had already begun and ordering Yue to clean up the mess.
• Arthur ordered the Round Table knights to begin the war and sent Bedivere to destroy Ian’s remains, but a supernatural storm and iron curtain surrounded London.
• The Valentan Guards, a transforming fighter, Doom Warriors, and Ork-like forces attacked the Round Table’s castle as Kang De’s troops teleported inside.
• Horus ordered the assaulting units to kill everyone in sight.

Horus's forces fought the Round Table's supernatural army at its British headquarters, with Quilion organizing the attackers into coordinated battle zones and targeted assaults. The defenders faltered as the invaders gained ground and Suppressors of Rebellion breached the castle, while Arthur ordered a retreat.

• The Round Table's Oathkeepers and supernatural forces met Horus's troops in battle, and Horus authorized Quilion to take command.
• Quilion worked with Sura's priests and the Navy Mage Corps to divide the battlefield with holy fire, then directed the Valentan Guards, Doom Chapter, and mages against specific enemies.
• Kan Fantian's mutant hounds attacked the Black Dog Demon's pack, while elven druids transformed into a werewolf and a bear to fight the demon.
• The ranger squad used chains, spells, and coordinated attacks to bring down the Wudu Giant, and its captain killed it with a stone spike infused with fire.
• The Round Table's defense commander warned Arthur that the attackers were a purpose-built army, and Arthur ordered the defenders to retreat after the enemy entered the castle.
• Alset and another Suppressor of Rebellion fought through the castle, killing Oathkeepers with shotguns, wands, and an electric blade.