Chapter Summaries

With the city under siege and its gates shut, Kang De agreed to accompany Hong San to meet the mayor under a false identity rather than reveal he was Tina’s royal son-in-law. He joined Hong San’s group as a military strategist and prepared to meet its leaders, while considering how to contact the Autobots by radio.

• Hong San urged Kang De to seek the mayor’s permission to leave, but Kang De feared being betrayed and refused to reveal who he was.
• Kang De agreed to attend the mayor’s meeting with Hong San while concealing his identity and judging the mayor for himself.
• Kang De chose to pose as Hong San’s martial uncle and military strategist, settling on the alias Dong Xiansen.
• Kang De considered using a radio to contact the Autobots and decided he would need a map and observations of the sky to locate himself.
• Old Du summoned the leaders, and Hong San introduced Kang De as his junior martial uncle and newly appointed military strategist.

Hong San struggled with the burden of leading displaced people as an elven attack approached, while Kang De challenged his resignation and reluctance to act. As Hong San set out for the mayor’s military council amid the people’s desperate trust, Kang De steadied him and told him not to be afraid.

• Hong San introduced Kang De as his martial uncle and military advisor, and the leaders discussed whether to fight or flee as the mayor prepared the city for war.
• Kang De brushed off Chen Honghu’s question and went upstairs, while Hong San lamented that his old brothers’ growing ambitions could lead them to ruin.
• Hong San told Kang De he wanted to run rather than seek office, and explained that he felt powerless to change the suffering of ordinary people.
• A messenger summoned Hong San to the mayor’s military council, and Hong San urged Kang De to leave the city if he could.
• Hong San walked through streets filled with people who trusted him to protect them, then stumbled under the weight of their hopes.
• Kang De caught Hong San by the shoulders and quietly told him, “Don’t be afraid.”

Kang De reassured Hong San as the refugee leader prepared to meet the mayor, and Hong San rallied his people before leaving for city hall with Kang De. Hong San hesitated when Kang De offered to help protect the group, then asked to hand over his position; after Kang De punched him, they entered city hall and heard someone shouting inside.

• Kang De comforted Hong San, who then promised the gathered refugees he would seek a way out and urged them to stay calm.
• Hong San agreed to attend the mayor’s meeting and persuaded the messenger to let Kang De accompany him as his chief military adviser, introducing him as Dong Zhuo.
• Kang De reflected on the frightened civilians and decided he would help Hong San defend them if Hong San chose to stand and fight.
• Hong San asked Kang De to take his position, and Kang De punched him in the forehead.
• Hong San and Kang De entered city hall, where they heard someone loudly cursing in the meeting room.

Kang De and Hong San joined Valentan’s war council, where Kang De recognized Leona and her old butler from an earlier encounter and suspected the meeting was no coincidence. Mayor Nick demanded that merchants and nobles contribute their wealth and efforts to defend the city, leaving the council facing his uncompromising ultimatum.

• Kang De heard Leona arguing inside the meeting room and learned she belonged to the Vidal Family, then recalled meeting one of her family’s butlers during his flight from the first prince’s men.
• Kang De and Hong San entered the council chamber, where Leona recognized Kang De’s familiar bearing and the old butler recognized him with fear.
• Mayor Nick welcomed Hong San and Kang De, introduced himself, and gave Kang De a seat at the council table.
• Leona protested that Nick was keeping her in Valentan, and Nick said he required her and the other merchants to help defend the city.
• Nick argued that merchants and nobles had profited from Goth and declared that everyone, without exception, had to contribute to Valentan’s survival.

Mayor Nick forced Valentan’s factions to prepare for the elven siege and threatened vengeance against anyone who betrayed Goth. Leona pledged the Vidal Family’s support through Kang De, while the city’s organizations received mobilization quotas that would draw nearly everyone into the war.

• Mayor Nick declared that Valentan had to unite behind his plans and warned that Goth would remember both its defenders and its traitors.
• Leona left her seat and asked to swap places with Hong San, claiming she had fallen for Kang De’s companion before revealing that she wanted to join forces with Kang De.
• Leona told Mayor Nick that the Vidal Family’s wealth, manpower, and supplies would follow Kang De, and Nick accepted her request after asking whether the family’s pledge would hold.
• Mayor Nick revealed that Goth was recording everyone’s contributions and threatened to punish traitors and their families if the kingdom fell.
• Mayor Nick assigned mobilization quotas to the city’s factions, including requiring the Heaven and Earth Society to provide eight hundred militiamen and eight hundred reserves.

Hong San struggled with the mayor’s order to raise 1,600 fighters and support workers, while Kang De learned why Mayor Nick used harsh measures to defend the city. After Leona followed Kang De and Hong San into an alley, Kang De confronted her and the Vidal Family, demanding to know whether she recognized him.

• Hong San objected that his society lacked enough trained people, weapons, and supplies to meet the mayor’s demand, but Mayor Nick insisted the city hall would provide some equipment and the group must handle the rest.
• Kang De watched Hong San fall silent under the order, then heard Nick explain that people feared him rather than the elves because swords persuaded more effectively than words.
• Nick told Kang De that he hoped he would bring the city hope, while Kang De wondered why the mayor treated him as someone special.
• Kang De and Hong San left the council hall, and Leona chased after them despite her butler’s warning that it might be a trap.
• In the alley, Kang De and Hong San attacked Leona’s butler, then Kang De pinned Leona against the wall and embedded his axe beside her head.
• Kang De accused the Vidal Family of refusing to leave him alone and demanded that Leona say whether she knew who he was.

Kang De confronted Leona Vidal, who claimed to be Tina’s friend, but remained suspicious of her and insisted she prove her identity. The standoff ended with Leona agreeing to go to the Heaven and Earth Society’s base, while Kang De warned he would kill her if she was lying.

• Kang De buried his axe in the wall beside Leona’s head, and Leona recognized it as resembling Tina’s axe.
• Leona’s old butler said she was a friend of Kang De’s wife, and Kang De demanded proof before trusting her.
• Leona argued that she was the heir to the Vidal Family and had come to Goth for Tina, while Kang De suspected she might be an investigator sent by Alex.
• Kang De and Hong San urged Leona to come to the Heaven and Earth Society’s base to clear up the misunderstanding, and she agreed to go for Tina’s sake.
• Kang De promised to apologize and thank Leona if she proved her story, then warned that he would chop her to death if she was lying.

Kang De escorted Leona and Hong San through the locked-down city, then heard how Tina had returned to Goth and begun recruiting supporters after exposing the Empire’s betrayal. Leona intended to help Tina despite being rebuffed, and Kang De learned that she wanted to prove herself as Tina’s true friend before insulting her.

• Kang De teased Leona during the ride, while Hong San remained troubled by the mayor’s demand for sixteen hundred people to be conscripted.
• Kang De suggested visiting the Vidal Chamber of Commerce, but Leona suspected he meant to attack it and agreed to talk in a quiet square instead.
• Leona told Kang De that Tina had publicly exposed the betrayal in Glittering Sand, hinted at the first prince’s role, and called on young people to return to Goth and fight the elves.
• Leona explained that Tina had become calculating and distrustful, and had rebuffed her when she came north to offer help.
• Leona declared that she would help Tina anyway, prove she was a true friend, and then insult Tina once she thanked her.

Leona explained that she had contacted Kang De to reunite him with Tina, whose northern campaign had become dangerous. She revealed that Tina had attracted wealthy supporters by selling shares in the supposed riches of an ancient ruin, and Kang De recognized the risky promise behind their investment.

• Leona asked Kang De to praise her, and he patted her head before she angrily rebuked him.
• Leona told Kang De she wanted him to return to Tina quickly because Tina was in a bad state and might be pursuing a dangerous plan.
• Leona explained that Tina had raised forces in the north with support from nobles, merchants, knights, and mercenaries seeking different benefits.
• Kang De deduced that Tina had promised wealthy supporters an enormous benefit she might not be able to deliver.
• Leona revealed that Tina was selling shares in the supposed wealth of an ancient ruin, offering future dividends and short-term interest in exchange for support.

Leona explained Tina’s deception to Kang De and realized he had taught Tina the scam’s methods. As they considered how to stop it, Kang De decided he would not leave the city without Leona.

• Leona told Kang De that Tina’s scheme relied on later members’ fees and could provoke devastating consequences if exposed.
• Kang De revealed that he had casually described the scam methods to Tina, shocking Leona.
• Leona urged Kang De to reach Tina and help stop the scheme before it brought disaster to Teldrassil and Goth.
• Kang De outlined three possible ways to keep a scam from being exposed, including turning the false promise into reality or eliminating its victims.
• Kang De said he could not ask Nick for passage or reveal the scheme because either could cause unrest and prevent his departure.
• When Leona assumed Kang De would escape alone, he asked what would happen to her.

Kang De reassured Leona that he would not abandon her and considered whether to help defend the city or leave to reach Tina. He remained undecided, planning to reunite with the Autobot and investigate the Crimson Scroll’s newly awakened power.

• Kang De told Leona that he trusted her more than anyone else from the continent and would not leave her behind.
• Leona reflected on Tina’s hardships and felt comforted when Kang De promised to tell Tina about her loyalty and efforts.
• Leona warned Kang De that time was short and urged him to leave the city before the elven army arrived.
• Kang De worried about the city’s people and the Heaven and Earth Society, including Hong San, and admitted he had not decided whether to help defend the city.
• Kang De said he needed to reunite with the Autobot and investigate the Crimson Scroll after its golden flames hinted at a possible source of power.

Kang De and Leona reached a preliminary understanding, and Leona supplied him and Hong San with goods for the Heaven and Earth Society. As Kang De departed with the convoy, Leona decided not to tell him that the greenskins had gone missing.

• Kang De and Leona parted on better terms, and Leona warned him that Nick might soon seize Vidal's assets.
• Kang De asked Leona for gold, magical equipment, and potions, while Hong San arranged weapons, food, and medicine for the Heaven and Earth Society.
• Leona authorized a convoy of supplies and cautioned Hong San that Nick would expect the Heaven and Earth Society to defend the city.
• The old butler praised Leona to Kang De while Hong San inspected the goods.
• After Kang De and Hong San left with the convoy, Leona told the old butler she would not inform Kang De that the greenskins were missing.

Hong San publicly credited Kang De with securing Vidal Chamber of Commerce supplies and named him the Heaven and Earth Society’s strategist, then erupted at Chen Honghu when the leaders pressed him about the mayor’s orders. After the others left, Kang De confronted Hong San about giving him credit.

• Leona sent the Heaven and Earth Society a generous convoy of food, luxuries, weapons, and armor, and Hong San announced a feast to lift the displaced people’s spirits.
• Hong San introduced Kang De as his martial uncle and the Society’s strategist, joking that Leona had been won over by Kang De, which drew cheers from the crowd.
• Song Baoyi, Huang Chao, and Chen Honghu asked Hong San what the mayor had said at city hall, but Kang De kicked open the house door and walked inside.
• When Chen Honghu insulted Kang De, Hong San glared at him with murderous ferocity and ordered him to shut up, frightening all three leaders into leaving.
• Hong San went inside to speak with Kang De, who asked why he had publicly given Kang De all the credit for the supplies.

Kang De confronted Hong San for using a public display of praise to influence him into staying in Valentan, and Hong San broke down and begged him not to leave. Kang De agreed to remain for now but reserved the decision to help against the elves for himself, then began investigating the Crimson Scroll.

• Kang De accused Hong San of changing his mind about leaving Valentan and trying to bind him to the Heaven and Earth Society through the civilians' gratitude.
• Hong San admitted his schemes were wrong and knelt, pleading with Kang De to stay and protect the people from the elves.
• Kang De told Hong San to act honorably and said he had lost his chance to persuade him, though Kang De had not yet decided what he would do.
• Kang De assured Hong San he would not leave immediately but warned him not to manipulate or scheme against him again.
• After Hong San left to arrange a room, Kang De reflected on his anger and began examining the Crimson Scroll.

Kang De absorbed power from the Crimson Scroll and gained an ability connected to its golden flames. He discovered that he could form a golden clock face in his left eye, though what it could do remained unclear.

• Hong San escorted Kang De to his new house, while Kang De remained troubled by Hong San's earlier self-interested decision.
• Kang De used Extraction on the golden flames of the Crimson Scroll and was overwhelmed by a surge of power.
• Kang De received a fragmentary vision of a desolate universe and gained an ability rather than ordinary Elements.
• Kang De found that the flames in his eyes came from the scroll, and he formed a golden clock face in his left eye.

After gaining the power to accelerate time, Kang De wondered whether the Crimson Scrolls could grant him more abilities and went to a banquet hosted by the Heaven and Earth Society. There, Leona identified Akatum, the Dragon of Time and Space, as the god who controlled time and space.

• Kang De discovered that the golden clock in his left eye let him accelerate time to twice its normal speed, but he could not activate any other abilities.
• Kang De speculated that other Crimson Scrolls might grant him powers and decided that was another reason to help Goth.
• Hong San invited Kang De to the banquet because Leona had arrived, and Kang De agreed to attend.
• Kang De joined Leona at the banquet and asked about the Goth People's gods after seeing them offer sacrifices by a bonfire.
• Leona told Kang De that Akatum, the Dragon of Time and Space, was the god who controlled time and space.

Kang De learned more about Akatum and the gods while reflecting with Leona on war and the suffering of ordinary people, and he declared that he would change the world. After returning to the White Mist World, his Crimson Scroll ignited and released divine power across the entire world.

• Kang De asked Leona about the Crimson Scroll, Akatum, and Sura, but she knew little and suggested he ask Tina about the sun god.
• Kang De and Leona watched the revelers and discussed how ordinary people suffered from war and could not control their destinies.
• Kang De told Leona that he wanted to change everything, and she was struck by his resolve.
• Leona left Kang De gold, jewelry, magical items, and potions, and Kang De took the two chests with him when he traveled to the White Mist World.
• The Crimson Scroll flew from Kang De's pocket, blazed with golden light, and spread its divine power of space and time across the White Mist World.

Kang De used the Crimson Scroll to reset and reconstruct the White Mist World, discovering that it could replenish supplies but worrying about the unknown cost. After realizing his treasure from the other world had vanished in the reset, he returned there with equipment to contact his iron son and decide whether to fight or leave.

• Kang De watched Akatum’s power spread across the White Mist World and rang a golden bell to make time advance and space reset.
• Kang De saw the White Mist World reconstructed with different vehicles and replenished supplies, while a new spatial symbol appeared in his right eye.
• Kang De worried that resetting the world might consume something, tested his new spatial power without success, and considered his duties in Goth, Tina’s crisis, and Valentan’s defense.
• Kang De discovered that Leona’s chests of money had vanished in the reset, then calmed himself by deciding he could find more money elsewhere.
• Kang De gathered a radio, generator, gasoline, weapons, and ammunition, then returned to the other world to contact his iron son.

Kang De discovered that Akatum’s divine power of space let him set a return teleportation point, then broadcast a message asking his Autobot to travel northwest to Valentan. The Autobot received the transmission and set out, while the leader of a nearby company sensed something and urgently summoned its officers.

• Kang De realized he could anchor his return point somewhere other than where he entered the White Mist World.
• Kang De used his generator and radio to send the Autobot directions to Valentan and warn it to stay safe and trust no one too easily.
• The Autobot received Kang De’s message in a valley and began traveling northwest toward Valentan.
• Two members of the company near Valentan heard Kang De’s voice coming from their leader’s tent and discussed her search for him.
• The leader’s tent lit up, and a bell urgently summoned the company’s officers.

Kang De joined Hong San as his strategist as the threat of an elven attack forced Valentan’s residents to confront the prospect of defending the city. When Hong San told the crowd they could not leave and had to fight, a Goth officer silenced their protests with threats and military orders.

• Hong San told Kang De that the elves were approaching sooner than expected and that he had orders to lead eight hundred people to the western wall.
• Kang De accepted Hong San’s plea for support and told him to call him Strategist.
• Hong San told the crowd they could not leave Valentan and had to fight, prompting residents to protest and demand to escape.
• A Goth officer arrived with cavalry and a mage, declared the gates shut, and threatened anyone who refused to fight or tried to flee.
• The frightened crowd fell silent before the officer, while many looked to Hong San to challenge him.