Chapter Summaries

Xi'er used the Gauls’ sacrifice and the Malaysia Country group’s flight to draw Dragon Country’s massive army toward Bear Country’s layered defensive perimeter. As Dragon Country’s forces assembled at the perimeter, Xi’er prepared to sacrifice two million compatriots so Bear Country could exploit the Instance’s Phase Two buffs.

• The Three Great Generals accepted Xi’er’s orders and set out to command Bear Country’s defenses around Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Volgograd.
• Xi'er concluded that Fulangche and the Malaysia Country Challengers had died after being hunted, but their flight had bought time and revealed Dragon Country’s strength and movements.
• Xi'er calculated that Dragon Country had about five hundred million combat units while Bear Country had at most ten million, and decided to let Dragon Country occupy a main city before using Phase Two buffs to turn the war.
• Xi'er ordered the Three Great Generals and two million compatriots to fight as if they were trying to win, intending for them to be defeated so Dragon Country would not suspect a trap.
• Dragon Country’s ten Army Groups killed the last Malaysia Country Challenger, consolidated into a Super Land Warfare Corps, and stopped at the edge of Bear Country’s defensive perimeter to prepare for battle.

Dragon Country reorganized its forces into three expeditionary corps and prepared to attack Bear Country, while its fleet changed course to strike Pearl Harbor. Lin Ye watched the simultaneous battles as a chance to assess his Instances and plan for future warfare.

• Dragon Country formed three expeditionary corps targeting Moscow, Volgograd, and Saint Petersburg, distributing its ground forces and aircraft among them.
• The soldiers raised their weapons and shouted for Dragon Country and their compatriots as dawn broke over the snowfields.
• Lin Ye watched the Eagle Sauce and Bear Country battles in a split-screen livestream and prepared to record observations for his Instances.
• The Firmament notified Bear Country Challengers that Dragon Country was launching an all-out offensive against its three major cities.
• The Firmament announced that Dragon Country's fleet had changed its target to Pearl Harbor Military Base and would attack it.

Mansh commanded Bear Country’s ground forces as Dragon Country’s five-hundred-million-strong army advanced on Volgograd, Saint Petersburg, and Moscow. Dragon Country opened fire with a massive howitzer barrage, and Mansh ordered Bear Country’s defenders to hold the three cities for five days as their counterattack began.

• Mansh surveyed Dragon Country’s advance and grappled with the task of coordinating nearly eight million Bear Country fighters across three cities.
• Dragon Country’s People’s Liberation Army advanced through Bear Country’s winter conditions, aided by the Every Inch of Territory Cost in Blood BUFF.
• Dragon Country launched its first barrage, sending tens of millions of shells toward Bear Country’s tank formations around all three cities.
• Mansh assigned regional forces to defend Volgograd, Saint Petersburg, and Moscow, and urged them to hold the cities until the Instance ended in five days.
• Bear Country’s Challengers activated their defenses, and Mansh ordered the Armata tanks to fire as the counterattack began.

Dragon Country and Bear Country began a massive land battle, and Mansh realized that equal losses favored Dragon Country because its infantry greatly outnumbered Bear Country’s forces. He called for air and naval support as the defensive perimeter risked collapsing.

• Dragon Country and Bear Country exchanged artillery and tank fire across the western front, beginning an immense battle.
• The Firmament shifted the livestream to a wide overhead view, and Azure Star spectators watched the armies clash.
• Mansh reviewed the casualty figures and recognized that Bear Country’s apparently equal losses were a serious disadvantage against Dragon Country’s much larger infantry force.
• Mansh contacted General Guderian and General Rommel to request support before Dragon Country broke through the defensive perimeter.
• Guderian said the Aerospace Forces would bomb Dragon Country’s vanguard, while Rommel said Borei submarines would launch missiles at the three armies’ reserve forces.

Guderian led Bear Country’s air force into battle against Dragon Country, but discovered that Dragon Country’s coordinated fighters, ground defenses, and soldiers were inflicting heavier losses. He ordered a thousand PAK-DA stealth bombers to infiltrate Dragon Country’s forces and strike their central command areas, leaving the surprise attack about to begin.

• Guderian and Rommel took command of Bear Country’s forces as warplanes launched from airfields around Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and Volgograd.
• Guderian flew an Su-57 into the battle, where Bear Country’s aircraft clashed with Dragon Country’s J-20s and PL-17 missiles.
• Guderian retreated to observe the fighting and saw Dragon Country’s aircraft supported by mobile air defenses and large numbers of ground troops.
• Guderian learned that Bear Country’s combined ground and air losses had reached nearly 300,000 and ordered Challengers to cover the PAK-DA bombers.
• A thousand PAK-DA bombers activated their stealth systems and prepared to strike the central command areas of Dragon Country’s three corps with conventional missiles.

Bear Country’s attempted bombing of Dragon Country’s central command was foiled by the stealthy WZ-8 fleet, and Dragon Country’s counterattack shattered Bear Country’s air forces. Guderian was killed, Bear Country lost air superiority, and its Challenger count fell to 1.4 million.

• Guderian ordered the PAK-DA bombers to launch their guided bombs at Dragon Country’s three army corps.
• Dragon Country’s concealed WZ-8 aircraft appeared and destroyed the PAK-DA bombers by ramming them at high speed, detonating their weapons bays.
• The Firmament announced that Dragon Country had detected and stopped the sneak attack and would launch its fiercest assault on Bear Country.
• Dragon Country’s aircraft routed Bear Country’s Aerospace Forces, and a Thunderbolt Missile struck Guderian’s aircraft, killing him.
• Bear Country lost air superiority, Dragon Country’s bombardment tore open the defensive perimeter around the three main cities, and Bear Country’s Challengers dwindled to 1.4 million.

Dragon Country's forces exploited the collapse of Bear Country's air defenses and breached its perimeter, leaving Volgograd at risk. With the land battle turning against Bear Country, Rommel ordered every Borei submarine to launch its Bulava missiles at Dragon Country's three expeditionary corps.

• Dragon Country's Air Force routed Bear Country's Aerospace Forces, and the breach in Bear Country's defensive perimeter opened toward Volgograd.
• The Third Dragon Country Expeditionary Corps advanced through the breach as Bear Country's Challengers fled toward Moscow.
• Mansh ordered Rommel to use Bear Country's navy for long-range missile strikes against Dragon Country's army.
• Rommel ordered all Borei nuclear submarines to launch their Bulava RSM-56 ballistic missiles and expend their full magazines.
• All Borei submarines surfaced and launched 16,000 Bulava missiles toward Dragon Country's three expeditionary corps.

Rommel celebrated after Bear Country’s missiles devastated Dragon Country’s forces, but Dragon Country retaliated with 200,000 Dongfeng-41 missiles. The strikes destroyed Bear Country’s fleets across three seas, killed Rommel, and reduced Bear Country’s Challengers to one million.

• Rommel watched Bear Country’s missile strike devastate Dragon Country’s formation and urged Mansch to counterattack.
• Mansch warned Rommel that Dragon Country’s missiles were heading toward the Baltic Sea, and the Firmament announced that Bear Country’s launch positions had been locked.
• Dragon Country launched 200,000 Dongfeng-41 missiles from Malaysia at Bear Country’s naval forces in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and White Sea.
• The missiles destroyed Bear Country’s fleets, including the Admiral Kuznetsov and the Borei submarines, and killed Rommel.
• The Firmament declared Rommel slain and ended his mission, while Bear Country’s Challenger population fell to one million.

Dragon Country's missile barrage shattered Bear Country's defenses, and Mansh died as Volgograd fell. Dragon Country captured Volgograd and Saint Petersburg while its First Expeditionary Corps began its assault on Moscow, leaving only one Bear Country Challenger alive.

• Dragon Country launched 200,000 Dongfeng-41 missiles at Bear Country's three main cities, overwhelming the defenses and devastating the surrounding areas.
• Mansh retreated into Volgograd as Dragon Country attacked all three cities, but Xi'er did not answer his calls for orders.
• A missile destroyed Mansh's command vehicle, and Mansh died after abandoning resistance.
• Dragon Country's Third Expeditionary Corps captured Volgograd, and its Second Expeditionary Corps captured Saint Petersburg.
• Dragon Country's First Expeditionary Corps prepared to attack Moscow as Bear Country's Challenger count fell to one.

Xi'er waited for Bear Country's hidden Phase Two to activate after Dragon Country's invasion brought Moscow to the brink. The Firmament launched the Battle for Moscow and gave Xi'er control of Bear Country's people and powerful defensive buffs, setting the stage for his contest with Lin Ye.

• Xi'er ignored Mansh's call because he believed Mansh had to die for an enemy to occupy a main city and trigger Phase Two.
• Xi'er waited for the Firmament's notification as Dragon Country's forces attacked Moscow.
• After Saint Petersburg and another main city fell, the Firmament began the Battle for Moscow and announced that Bear Country's survivors would defend the capital.
• The Firmament granted Bear Country powerful buffs, including rapid military production, reinforcements from the Red Russian Bear Alliance, KGB intelligence, resistance forces, magnetic interference, black technologies, and nuclear weapons.
• Xi'er gained command over Bear Country's two hundred million people and challenged Lin Ye to begin their contest.

Xi'er revealed that Bear Country’s defensive perimeter and the deaths of two million Nirmaner Challengers had been part of a plan to awaken Bear Country’s wartime mechanics and lure Dragon Country into its main cities. With Lin Ye recognizing Xi’er’s strategy, Xi'er ordered Bear Country’s forces to launch a full-scale counterattack, leaving the war erupting across the country.

• Xi'er revealed that he had used the defensive perimeter and two million Nirmaner Challengers as bait to draw Dragon Country into Bear Country’s main cities and activate its wartime mechanics.
• Lin Ye applauded Xi'er’s strategy and explained that Bear Country could fight Dragon Country on near-equal terms, though he believed Dragon Country would eventually escalate to Phase Two.
• The Firmament recognized Xi'er as Bear Country’s supreme commander and presented plans to defend Moscow, retake Volgograd and Saint Petersburg, encircle Dragon Country’s armies, involve the Red Alliance, and prepare a nuclear strike.
• Xi'er approved the plans, and Bear Country’s factories, cities, and military forces mobilized on a massive scale.
• Bear Country’s forces attacked Dragon Country’s troops around Moscow, while civilians, Dog-Head Mecha Warriors, and Ground-Effect Vehicles joined the fighting in the other cities.

Dragon Country’s overwhelming assault left Eagle Sauce Country’s forces at Pearl Harbor nearly destroyed, while Xiaochuan remained baffled by Bear Country’s unexpected victories. With the remaining defenders unable to hold the base, Xiaochuan, Yamamoto Sanjūhachi, and Fuchikawa Yasuhide prepared to flee and abandon Emperor Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

• Firmament notifications reported that Bear Country had launched the Defense of Moscow, retaken Saint Petersburg, and joined forces with its Red Russian Bear Alliance allies against Dragon Country.
• Xiaochuan wondered how Bear Country could keep winning with only one Challenger remaining, while Dragon Country’s forces continued to overwhelm Eagle Sauce Country at Pearl Harbor.
• Yamamoto Sanjūhachi and Fuchikawa Yasuhide reported that the Nation-Destroying Fleet had lost ninety percent of its forces and Pearl Harbor could no longer be defended.
• Xiaochuan saw that only 1.3 million Eagle Sauce Country Challengers remained, with fewer than 100,000 at Pearl Harbor, and ordered a retreat.
• Xiaochuan, Yamamoto Sanjūhachi, and Fuchikawa Yasuhide planned to escape secretly aboard Fuchikawa Yasuhide’s private plane and sever contact with Emperor Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

As Dragon Country overwhelmed Pearl Harbor Base, Xiaochuan, Yamamoto Sanjūhachi, and Fuchikawa Yasuhide abandoned their forces, prompting the surviving Daiwa Challengers to give up the fight. Minamoto no Yorimitsu recognized the commanders’ actions as betrayal and ordered Pearl Harbor destroyed with nuclear and biological bombs.

• Daiwa Challengers reported that Pearl Harbor Base was nearing defeat, but Xiaochuan, Yamamoto Sanjūhachi, and Fuchikawa Yasuhide had fled and cut off communications.
• The surviving Challengers realized their commanders had abandoned them, lost their will to fight, and cursed the leaders who had used them as cannon fodder.
• Minamoto no Yorimitsu learned that the three commanders had vanished from the Instance roster and condemned their actions as betrayal.
• Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered long-range missile launchers to strike Pearl Harbor Military Base with nuclear and biological bombs.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered Yasui to launch a surprise nuclear and biological missile strike on Pearl Harbor, despite Daiwa Settlement forces still fighting there. Yasui agreed and began arranging the attack, with ten Trident missiles prepared to target the base.

• Yasui warned Minamoto no Yorimitsu that a nuclear and bacterial strike could kill their own Challengers at Pearl Harbor and bring down the Firmament's punishment.
• Minamoto no Yorimitsu argued that waiting would let Dragon Country establish air defenses, and his distrust of his people deepened as he dwelled on Xiaochuan's betrayal.
• Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered Yasui to launch the missiles and threatened him for questioning the command.
• Yasui agreed to carry out the order and prepared ten Trident missiles, including one B41 nuclear bomb, one bacterial bomb, and one viral bomb.

Xiaochuan and Minamoto no Yorimitsu’s conflicting schemes threatened to destroy Dahe Settlement, while Minamoto no Yorimitsu’s attack on Pearl Harbor risked triggering Eagle Sauce Country’s powerful Phase Two. As ten missiles approached Pearl Harbor, Xiaochuan realized they might have come from Eagle Sauce Country’s mainland rather than Dragon Country.

• Minamoto no Yorimitsu prepared to destroy Pearl Harbor Military Base, unaware that doing so would trigger Eagle Sauce Country’s Phase Two and strengthen its forces.
• Ten minutes later, ten Trident Missiles launched from a harbor on Eagle Sauce Country’s west coast toward Dragon Country.
• Xiaochuan, Yamamoto Sanjūhachi, and Fuchikawa Yasuhide watched Dragon Country’s fleets overrun the remaining Eagle Sauce forces from a stealth aircraft near Pearl Harbor.
• Yamamoto Sanjūhachi worried that Minamoto no Yorimitsu would suspect them of treason, but Xiaochuan dismissed his concern and focused on surviving the Instance.
• The three men spotted ten missiles heading for Pearl Harbor, and Xiaochuan realized they might have been launched by Eagle Sauce Country.

Xiaochuan realized that Minamoto no Yorimitsu’s missiles were meant to destroy Pearl Harbor Base, and ten nuclear bombs obliterated the base and the surrounding Dragon Country fleet. Xiaochuan and his companions died in the blast, leaving him as a spectator who watched the destruction and feared the escalation to nuclear war.

• Fuchikawa Yasuhide questioned whether Xiaochuan had fled too soon, but Xiaochuan realized the missiles were aimed at Pearl Harbor Base rather than meant to support them.
• Ten Trident Missiles struck Pearl Harbor Military Base, and Xiaochuan recognized the resulting blast as a nuclear attack ordered by Minamoto no Yorimitsu.
• The nuclear explosion killed the Dahe forces at the base, destroyed Dragon Country’s fleet within ten nautical miles, and sent a shock wave toward Xiaochuan’s plane.
• The blast tore apart Xiaochuan’s plane and killed Xiaochuan, Yamamoto Sanjūhachi, and Fuchikawa Yasuhide.
• As a wandering spirit, Xiaochuan cursed Minamoto no Yorimitsu and feared that the attack would provoke Dragon Country to retaliate with nuclear weapons.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu used a nuclear strike to destroy Pearl Harbor and devastate the Dragon Country fleet, prompting Dragon Country to suspend its Pacific naval campaign. Xi'er realized the strike had worsened the Instance and left Eagle Sauce Country without a path to Phase Two, while Minamoto no Yorimitsu prepared to launch more missiles at Dragon Country.

• Minamoto no Yorimitsu’s nuclear strike obliterated Pearl Harbor and left the surrounding Dragon Country fleets crippled by the blast, radiation, and biological fallout.
• The Firmament announced that Dragon Country would temporarily suspend its Pacific Ocean Naval Warfare plan after suffering heavy fleet losses.
• Xi'er condemned Minamoto no Yorimitsu for violating the unspoken restraint on nuclear weapons and for destroying Eagle Sauce Country’s chance to reach Phase Two.
• Spectators criticized Minamoto no Yorimitsu and blamed the Dahe people for repeatedly undermining Xi'er.
• Minamoto no Yorimitsu celebrated the destruction of the fleet and ordered General Yasui to prepare Eagle Sauce Country’s missile systems for a full-scale attack on Dragon Country.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered more nuclear strikes against Dragon Country, despite the Firmament’s warnings and escalating penalties. As countries declared war on Eagle Sauce Country, Dragon Country entered full war readiness and launched its Nantianmen plan.

• Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered Yasui to fire long-range missiles at Magic City and Dragon Country’s Imperial Capital.
• The Firmament punished Minamoto no Yorimitsu for killing 100,000 teammates and announced sanctions against Eagle Sauce Country after its nuclear attack.
• Minamoto no Yorimitsu dismissed the penalties and ordered Yasui to suppress White House protesters by shooting rebels on sight.
• The Firmament announced that the worldwide S3 War had begun, and dozens of countries declared war on Eagle Sauce Country.
• The Firmament reported that Dragon Country had adopted the complete destruction of Eagle Sauce Country as its strategic objective and begun the Nantianmen plan.

The Firmament revealed Dragon Country’s Nantianmen Project, showing ten colossal Luan Bird aerospace aircraft-carrying platforms at a launch site in Imperial Capital Yanjing. As Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Yasui watched in shock, the platforms began their countdown and launched into the sky.

• After the Firmament announced the Nantianmen Project, Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered Yasui to prepare Eagle Sauce Country’s THAAD defenses for a final confrontation with Dragon Country.
• The Firmament displayed footage of Imperial Capital Yanjing and an air base where Dragon Country soldiers guarded a huge launch platform.
• Minamoto no Yorimitsu mistook the footage for a chance to target Dragon Country’s air base and ordered Yasui to pinpoint its location.
• The Firmament revealed ten enormous Luan Bird aerospace aircraft-carrying platforms, leaving Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Yasui stunned.
• The Luan Bird platforms counted down, blasted off their launch platforms with blue propulsion streams, and soared into the sky.

Dragon Country unveiled its Nantianmen Project, deploying ten Luan Bird Aerospace Carrier Platforms and 880 advanced fighters for combat operations against Eagle Sauce Country and Bear Country. Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Yasui watched in fear as Dragon Country’s overwhelming advantage became clear, and Minamoto no Yorimitsu realized Lin Ye had outmaneuvered him again.

• Ten Luan Bird Aerospace Carrier Platforms took flight above Dragon Country’s Air Force military base, leaving Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Yasui stunned by their scale and capabilities.
• The footage showed the platforms unfolding powerful weapons, including particle diffusion cannons, pulse laser cannons, and missile launchers.
• Dragon Country’s Xuannü and Baidi Aerospace Fighters rose from the ground and docked with the platforms, bringing the total fighter force to 880.
• An announcement said the platforms and fighters would head to the skies over Eagle Sauce Country and Bear Country to begin high-level combat operations.
• Yasui collapsed in fright, while Minamoto no Yorimitsu silently recognized that Lin Ye had kept another advanced weapon in reserve and shouted his name in humiliation.