Chapter Summaries

Kang De forced the US military to build defenses around the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant while using the operation to gather intelligence and plan a supernatural training base for China. He prepared his own forces for war against the Star Palace, declaring that the coming conflict belonged to everyone.

• Kang De urged the US military to dig trenches around the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant, ridiculed its officers, and made them accept his terms as a paid consultant.
• The chairman of the Joint Chiefs rejected trench warfare but ordered a defensive line, more troops, and new weapons to contain the aliens and breach the nuclear plant.
• Kang De studied the terrain and discussed defensive tactics with Senior Colonel Tian, proposing an expanded supernatural research and military training center in China.
• Kang De reflected that Earth’s resources could help defeat the Star Palace through the White Mist World, which could relay Earth-built defenses into the other world.
• Kang De told Horus to lead a pre-battle rally as his legion prepared to march.

After the Council’s Deceleration Field blunted Kang De’s long-range attack, the emperor realized Griffin’s allies possessed technology beyond the mortal world and suspected Kang De was preparing to face a greater enemy. He sent Kang De a candid proposal to become his son-in-law and ally, while Alex secretly approached Phaethon to offer his own help against Kang De.

• The emperor learned that the Council’s Deceleration Field had greatly reduced the damage from Kang De’s bombardment and concluded that the technology could also counter his Forbidden Spell.
• After reviewing the Royal Alchemy Association’s report and the list of those killed in the Tower of All-Seeing massacre, the emperor suspected Griffin’s allies had come to oppose a threat Kang De was preparing to fight.
• The emperor wrote Kang De a lengthy letter asking about the mysterious allies and his preparations, proposing that Kang De marry one of his daughters and become his heir in exchange for an alliance against Griffin.
• The emperor ordered the Shadow Blade to deliver the letter personally, while learning that Alex was celebrating Kang De’s apparent defeat and urging the continent’s nobles to settle accounts with him.
• Alex disguised himself as an imperial soldier, revealed his identity to Griffin and Phaethon, and declared that he was the person in the Empire least willing to compromise with Kang De and most eager to kill him.

Wei Yunyuan visited the Sound of the Tide Manor to learn how she and the other Cathayan women might serve Kang De, then encountered a suspicious imperial envoy. Kang De let her join his meeting with Beimengde, and the chapter ended with Wei Yunyuan offering to translate the emperor’s letter.

• Wei Yunyuan learned from Airuina that Kang De handled his own daily routine while the manor’s staff helped Tina, and she worried over the coming war with the Council.
• Wei Yunyuan hurried to meet Kang De but encountered Beimengde, whose strange gaze caused both of them to stagger; the Valentan Guards called for a mental check.
• Kelamawei arrived, and Horus and Astolfo authorized Wei Yunyuan to enter Kang De’s study, where she stood beside him as he questioned Beimengde.
• Beimengde identified himself as the emperor’s envoy and handed over the emperor’s letter through a spatial gate; Kang De sent him out while Kelamawei kept watch.
• Kang De tried to call Hong San to translate the letter, but Wei Yunyuan revealed that she could read the foreign script and offered to translate it.

Kang De had Wei Yunyuan translate the emperor’s secret letter, which accused him of preparing for an unknown catastrophe and offered him the Holy Empire’s succession through marriage. After learning Kang De’s hidden origins and purpose, Wei Yunyuan declared her heart and life belonged to his cause.

• Kang De asked Wei Yunyuan to translate the emperor’s letter after discovering that she understood Continental Common Language.
• Wei Yunyuan read the emperor’s accusations, questions about Kang De’s preparations for war, and suspicions that Kang De came from another world.
• Wei Yunyuan revealed that the emperor proposed making Kang De his son-in-law and offering him the empire’s succession.
• After finishing the letter, Wei Yunyuan accepted that Kang De might silence her to protect its secrets and said she would gladly die for him.
• Wei Yunyuan told Kang De that she had devoted her heart, soul, and body to his goals and asked him to use her.

Kang De sent the emperor a phone and a misleading letter hidden inside a durian, then urged Wei Yunyuan to discover what she truly wanted instead of living from duty. As Kang De prepared to address his army before its march against Griffin’s forces, the emperor opened the durian under elaborate precautions and triggered its fire element.

• Kang De returned the emperor’s letter with a phone and manual, then sent Beimengde away with a durian containing a letter that warned of a possible attack.
• Wei Yunyuan urged Kang De to behave with dignity, and he allowed her to call him “husband” before teasing her about his looks.
• Kang De told Wei Yunyuan to cast off her guilt and sense of duty, discover what she truly wanted, and join him only when she understood herself.
• Kang De said the army was about to march against Griffin’s forces and that he would give a pre-battle address.
• The emperor dismissed Beimengde, surrounded the durian with magical defenses, and had battle puppets cut it open, causing its fire element to flare.

The emperor received Kang De’s durian and childish letter, then learned Kang De had arranged a spatial-beacon delivery so they could meet. The chapter ended with the emperor and Kang De facing each other through a portal and trading insults in their first conversation.

• The emperor activated his poison defenses and air purifier before reading Kang De’s letter, which accused Beimengde of plotting against him.
• Beimengde entered the study, praised the emperor, and tasted the durian at his command, finding it sweet and delicious.
• Beimengde reported that a dragon had arrived with a spatial beacon from Kang De and requested an audience for him.
• The emperor agreed to meet Kang De through the beacon, while Beimengde arranged security around the study.
• The emperor and Kang De appeared to each other through the portal in full protective armor and argued about their precautions and manners.

Kang De and the emperor discussed Kang De's homeland, his motives, and the Star Palace's threat before the emperor proposed that Kang De marry his daughter and become his heir. Kang De left without accepting, while the emperor privately revealed that he knew Kang De had killed all the nobles and eagerly awaited his answer.

• Kang De and the emperor refused to cross the Phase Gate into each other's worlds, then exchanged local goods and argued over the emperor's chair.
• The emperor explained that he had investigated Kang De and deduced that his arrival was accidental, that he could travel between worlds, and that he was keeping the mortal world’s crisis from his homeland.
• Kang De revealed that the Star Palace would destroy civilization once the mortal world reached a certain stage of development.
• The emperor offered Kang De his daughter's hand, the Empire's support, and the chance to become his heir, but Kang De hesitated and left to consider the proposal.
• After the Phase Gate closed, the emperor privately noted that he knew Kang De had killed all the nobles and looked forward to his answer.

Alex knelt before Phaethon and offered his loyalty in exchange for protection from Kang De, while warning that the Empire might side with Kang De. Alex’s description of Kang De led Phaethon to realize that Kang De came from another world, prompting him to revise the Star Palace’s plans; Griffin then learned that Kang De had begun his advance.

• Alex warned Phaethon and Griffin that the emperor might ally with Kang De, then pledged to serve Phaethon if he became emperor.
• Phaethon accepted Alex’s loyalty and asked Griffin about Alex’s role in the battle of Glittering Sand.
• When Alex described Kang De as a man of unknown origin who had suddenly appeared in the world, Phaethon realized that Kang De was from another world.
• Phaethon left the tent and told Apophis that the Star Palace’s operational plan for the mortal world had to be completely revised.
• Griffin received urgent military intelligence and learned that Kang De had begun his advance.

Kang De weighed the emperor’s proposal of marriage and succession, then accepted Hong San’s advice to cooperate with the Empire against the Star Palace while remaining wary of its nobles. Distant Harbor began mobilizing for war against the Council rebels, but a rumor stirred the city just before Kang De’s speech.

• Kang De told Hong San that the emperor had offered him a daughter’s hand, the imperial succession, and an alliance against the Star Palace.
• Hong San argued that the emperor sincerely wanted Kang De as a trusted heir and urged him to accept cooperation while pursuing his own goals.
• Kang De decided to build trust with the emperor and use the Empire’s resources against the Star Palace, though he remained determined to confront its noble class.
• Kang De and Hong San pledged to fight together as Distant Harbor began its war mobilization against the Council rebels.
• A rumor that “the event is starting again” spread through Distant Harbor shortly before Kang De’s scheduled speech and stirred commotion.

Leonard and his Goth companions tried to turn Distant Harbor against the war, but Kang De’s speech rallied the city to prepare for battle. Leonard was captured before he could finish protesting, and a cold voice welcomed him to a different life.

• Leonard and the undercover Goth agents agreed to oppose the war and planned for Leonard to challenge Kang De while Stilwell killed him in public.
• Leonard saw Distant Harbor’s residents eagerly heading to Kang De’s war speech and began doubting their assumptions about the city.
• Kang De told the crowd that war would continue unless Distant Harbor defended its prosperity, and the people roared their support.
• Kang De ordered the army to begin its campaign and urged citizens to train for future wars as the legions vanished through Phase Teleportation.
• Leonard realized Kang De intended to turn Distant Harbor and Goth into a military camp, but a purple spike struck him and he was captured as a spy.

Leonard was transported by Kang De to another world, where Julian conscripted him and other captured spies into military service. As the prisoners began their orientation, Kang De’s army appeared on Goth’s border amid a thunderous marching song.

• Leonard awoke in custody and endured a painful punishment administered through a device before Julian introduced himself as his political commissar.
• Julian told Leonard that Kang De had conscripted him for ten years and revealed that he could no longer return to the mortal world.
• Leonard and the other captured spies saw the alien military camp, its advanced weapons, and preparations for an unknown battlefield.
• Julian ordered the prisoners to learn obedience and formation, then told them their training would prepare them to face an enemy from beyond the mortal world.
• A Council scout reported strange marching sounds and music near Nar as Kang De’s army appeared through the fog beneath purple lightning.

Phaethon warned Alex to treat Kang De with respect as the Star Palace prepared to face him in battle. When Kang De’s army began its assault, the defenders watched him teleport a vast, heavily fortified military system onto the plains, leaving them stunned by the scale of his power.

• Phaethon crushed Alex beneath his foot and warned him not to mock Kang De or endanger the Star Palace’s plans.
• Griffin reported that Kang De’s army had begun its phase transition, and a horn signaled that war had arrived.
• The vanguard base activated its defenses, including point-defense weapons and wyverns, as scouts reported spatial disturbances and strange sounds.
• Griffin, Phaethon and the disguised Alexander entered the command post and watched Kang De’s forces transition onto the plains.
• Kang De’s troops deployed trenches, bunkers, artillery, vehicles and aircraft into an extensive defensive system, leaving the Council’s soldiers silent.
• Phaethon told the stunned defenders that they now understood what a Fire Thief was.

Kang De replicated the American defensive line in the White Mist World, inspiring the Cathayan soldiers who saw it and renewing their hope of fighting for their homeland. As Griffin prepared his forces for battle, Kang De’s banner announced an unexpected challenge.

• Kang De used the American Empire’s construction project around the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant to earn delivery fees, move materials through his territory, and replicate the defensive line in the White Mist World.
• Kang De considered inventing a false global threat to unite humanity and fund a vast defensive project, but Parrot warned that the scheme could ruin him.
• Cathayan recruits were overwhelmed by the sudden arrival of the fortifications, and Dong Tianming urged them to fight bravely and help Kang De restore their realm.
• Kang De told a grieving Cathayan soldier to stay safe and return alive, then asked Dong Tianming for advice about finding a controllable, frightening monster.
• Griffin halted his rear forces and ordered them to establish defenses after spotting Kang De’s vanguard position and banner.
• Phaethon asked Griffin to read the banner, and Griffin deciphered its words as “Mid doors sniper duel.”

The Arcane Council prepared to fight Kang De, while both sides readied their forces for a long-range strike across the plain south of Nar. The first exchange began as Distant Harbor’s weapons met the Council’s combined Arcane attack.

• Griffin ordered the Council’s defenses and long-range forces to prepare, then rallied his officers by listing four reasons Kang De would lose and the Council would win.
• Kang De told his soldiers he could defeat the Council himself but had brought them to gain experience for future wars, and urged them to prioritize victory and survival.
• Distant Harbor’s soldiers checked their shields, shelters, weapons, and Trauma Retrieval System as the Council’s attack gathered strength.
• Kang De and Horus marked the Council’s positions, and Kang De ordered his forces to fire as Griffin ordered the Council to release its strike.
• The Council’s elemental torrent swept toward Distant Harbor, while a barrage of blazing projectiles rose from Kang De’s positions and poured down on the enemy.

Kang De’s forces used Horus, Sharna, the White Mist World, and specialized defenses to withstand the Council’s large-scale spell offensive. As the defense held and Kang De assessed its limitations, Distant Harbor’s artillery finally broke through the Council’s defenses and struck its position.

• The Council gathered elemental energy into a storm of spells, while Kang De ordered his mage corps to focus on defense and interception rather than contesting the attack directly.
• Distant Harbor’s detection center sent battlefield data to the White Mist World, where magitech scholars and Horus calculated threats and issued defensive orders.
• Horus directed Sharna to swallow dangerous projectiles through Phase Gates and coordinated spells, guns, and Paradox Element to neutralize or divert other attacks.
• Horus evacuated squad two from a threatened sector, and Kang De replaced damaged fortifications after the spell strikes subsided.
• Kang De told Dong Tianming that the defensive system still needed improvement and might not support several simultaneous wars against stronger enemies such as the Star Palace.
• Distant Harbor’s concentrated artillery fire broke through the Council’s Deceleration Field and interception devices and struck the Council’s position.

A Twilight Moon elf military observer reported that Kang De and Griffin’s armies had fought a three-day stalemate, with Griffin’s Deceleration Field countering Kang De’s alchemical weapons and the Council preparing to advance. Griffin refused Phaethon’s proposals to deal with the elven spy and planned an offensive, while Kang De asked Horus whether his conventional troops had completed a rotation of combat stress exposure.

• The elven observer wrote to Dairila that both armies had relied on trenches and long-range attacks, while Griffin’s Deceleration Field and defensive tactics limited Kang De’s alchemical bombardment.
• The observer warned Dairila that the Council was gaining strength and moving new Deceleration Field mechanisms forward, and suggested that Twilight Moon should help Kang De before his position worsened.
• Griffin rejected Phaethon’s suggestion to kill or frame the elven observer, warning that it could give the empress a pretext to intervene or push the elves toward Kang De.
• Griffin concluded that the Council should attack to restore morale and said the time had come to shatter Distant Harbor’s faith in Kang De.
• Kang De studied the map and asked Horus whether the conventional troops had completed one full rotation of combat stress exposure.

Grand Speaker Griffin Williams used magic and potions to drive the Council’s conscripted soldiers into an assault on Kang De’s defenses. Kang De’s forces met the charge with advanced weapons, and Karl was struck down in the fighting.

• Griffin Williams gave a magically enhanced speech and ordered the Council’s troops to attack Kang De.
• Council officers distributed morale potions and led Karl and other conscripts over the trench ladders into the fog-covered battlefield.
• The Council’s mages raised fog and earthen walls while intercepting many of Kang De’s artillery strikes, allowing the assault to press forward amid heavy casualties.
• Kang De told his troops to follow orders and protect their lives while destroying the enemy, as his soldiers prepared conventional weapons and Yilan-Tai’er Radiant Crystal guns.
• A former Oathbreaker sergeant fired a Flame Spear Laser into the charging troops, and Karl fell into the mud as his strength and awareness faded.

Gaden Mist led a group of Council recruits across a devastating battlefield toward Distant Harbor, then broke with his orders and tried to secure their surrender. Distant Harbor resumed fighting, the recruits died in a poison attack, and Gaden charged the enemy before dying without saving anyone.

• Gaden Mist sheltered frightened recruits and led them through the bombardment toward Distant Harbor's position.
• After seeing the recruits' suffering and questioning the war, Gaden told six survivors to hide and surrender once the attack ended.
• Gaden announced himself to Distant Harbor and asked its commander to accept the recruits' surrender, but the fighting resumed before he could reach the position.
• Gaden returned to the shelter and found that Cloudkill had killed four recruits and left the other two dying.
• Enraged, Gaden charged a Distant Harbor soldier, mortally wounded him, and was killed in the exchange.
• Distant Harbor recovered Gaden's body and sent it to his family after the war, but no one learned that he had tried to save the recruits.

Kang De reflected on the psychological cost of war and reassured Dong Tianming that he would do everything possible to protect his soldiers, while Dong pledged his loyalty. When Griffin launched a poison-assisted assault with elite troops, Kang De condemned him for sending brave soldiers to die and ordered a new response.

• Kang De told Dong Tianming that he wanted soldiers to return home alive both physically and mentally, and Dong was moved by his concern for them.
• Kang De joked that if the Star Palace could not be defeated, he would evacuate people with Paradox Crystals and destroy the planet; he then asked Dong whether he knew of the Curtain Closer.
• Horus reported that Griffin had used wind-enhanced poison magic to cover the trenches and sent elite troops equipped with protective spells, firearms, bombs, and offensive scrolls to attack.
• Kang De admired the enemy soldiers' courage but blamed Griffin for sending them to die in an absurd war, and vowed to make Griffin understand his crime.
• Kang De ordered Horus to collect the enemy's new weapons, keep his soldiers from becoming trapped in prolonged combat, preserve their lives while inflicting casualties, and prepare a surprise for Griffin.

Beikete and the Council assault troops endured a brutal battle against Kang De’s forces, believing they had won when Distant Harbor retreated. A massive explosion then devastated the captured position, and Kang De’s army revealed a newly formed defensive line as it advanced against the stunned Council forces.

• Beikete woke among his dead comrades, panicked, and chose to play dead rather than rejoin the fighting.
• Mile’s assault squad advanced through enemy trenches, using spells and water walls to defeat defenders and seize supplies.
• Mile’s squad was devastated when explosive weapons shattered their water-wall defense, while the wounded spy codenamed Cloud Lark reported enemy tactics and positions to headquarters.
• The Council troops celebrated when Distant Harbor appeared to withdraw, and Beikete sat up among the corpses as the fighting seemed to end.
• A huge explosion obliterated the captured position and nearby troops, after which Kang De condemned Griffin Williams and the Council forces.
• The Grand Speaker called for renewed fighting, but Distant Harbor’s crystal pillars formed a vast new defensive line as its army advanced, chanting “Ten thousand victories!”