Chapter Summaries

Itō Hidetaka’s faction failed the Raging Waves instance, and the Firmament deducted 5,000 points from him, downgrading him from Level 2 to LV1. His public demotion humiliated him and deepened his hatred for Lin Ye before he fainted.

• The Firmament announced that the challengers had drowned, recorded 19,930 eliminations and 2% instance completion, and closed the failed instance.
• Spectators reacted with fear and debated whether Itō Hidetaka’s decisions had caused the disaster.
• Itō Hidetaka returned to his villa and learned that losing 5,000 points had dropped him from 13,000 to 8,000 and cost him his Level 2 status and weapon privilege.
• The Firmament publicly announced Itō Hidetaka’s downgrade above the dome, humiliating him across Azure Star.
• Itō Hidetaka grew angrier at Lin Ye and fainted from rage.

After witnessing the devastation and scope of Lin Ye’s Raging Waves instance, the researchers recognized that he had built a complete world rather than a conventional instance. Ding Chang saw Lin Ye as Great Xia’s best chance to regain prominence on the Hero Ranking, but warned Zhao Jianyu that powerful challengers—and especially people from Dahe—might soon enter his instance.

• The First Instance Technology Research Institute researchers discussed Raging Waves, and Zhao Jianyu argued that Lin Ye created a complete world using a perspective like the Firmament’s.
• Zhao Jianyu advised the researchers not to attempt to grasp the instance’s deeper systems and to surrender if they were selected to enter it.
• Zhao Jianyu discovered that Ding Chang was crying and learned that her terminal cancer left her little time; Ding Chang said she hoped to see a Great Xia person reach the top of the Hero Ranking.
• Ding Chang urged Zhao Jianyu to warn Lin Ye to check his instance for loopholes, predicting that powerful challengers would seek it out after its record-breaking devastation.
• Ding Chang warned that Dahe Settlement would likely seek revenge and that LV4 powerhouses might voluntarily challenge Lin Ye’s instance.
• Ding Chang told Zhao Jianyu to stop trying to recruit Lin Ye, saying the institute might hold him back and that his staying in the Soaring Dragon Settlement was already a blessing.

Lin Ye received 1.9 million points after Raging Waves ended, advanced to LV3, and entered the top fifty of the Heroes Ranking. The Firmament then raised Raging Waves’ capacity to one million challengers while keeping its difficulty at Purgatory level.

• The Firmament explained that its tiered point-return rules reduced Lin Ye’s reward to 1.9 million points.
• Lin Ye advanced to LV3, gained permanent Design Acceleration, and learned that LV4 required ten million points and granted protection from forced dungeon entry.
• The Firmament announced Lin Ye’s records and Raging Waves’ records, and Lin Ye saw himself ranked No. 50 on the Heroes Ranking.
• The Firmament reviewed Raging Waves and increased its player capacity to one million while leaving its difficulty at Purgatory level.
• Lin Ye realized Raging Waves had become a National War-level Dungeon.

Lin Ye decided to strengthen Raging Waves after the Firmament raised its next instance to a million challengers, turning Eagle Sauce into a complete military power. He finished by giving it nuclear weapons as a safeguard, leaving the upgraded instance prepared to resist conquest.

• Lin Ye judged that a million challengers could threaten Raging Waves and asked the Firmament for permission to upgrade the instance.
• Lin Ye used Creation Space to build Eagle Sauce's air force, including fighters, bombers, missiles, and overseas military bases.
• Lin Ye expanded Eagle Sauce's army with one million personnel and large quantities of tanks, vehicles, artillery, and launchers.
• Lin Ye submitted three uranium-enrichment methods to Divine Creation Space, which approved the principles behind producing nuclear weapons.
• Lin Ye built 100 nuclear reactors and 10,000 atomic and hydrogen bombs, planning to use them against Eastern Ocean Island if challengers came close to conquering Raging Waves.

Lin Ye finished preparing Raging Waves for its reopening and took a break, confident that its completed form could withstand any number of challengers. As news coverage and protests over the dungeon spread across Azure Star, Lin Ye found that every television channel was discussing Raging Waves.

• Lin Ye left Creation Space after estimating that Raging Waves would be fully modified within half a day, then decided to rest until the dungeon reopened.
• Zhao Jianyu warned Lin Ye that Raging Waves' capacity had risen to one million challengers and that high-level challengers would likely arrive, but Lin Ye said he trusted his dungeon.
• Lin Ye asked Zhao Jianyu to warn Great Xia residents to surrender immediately if they entered Raging Waves, then ended the call.
• Zhao Jianyu reflected on Lin Ye's rapid rise and regretted not telling him that his ranking benefited Soaring Dragon Settlement with better resources.
• Lin Ye turned on the television and found reports about Raging Waves on every channel, including coverage of its victims, traffic in Dragon Soaring Settlement, and Great He Clan complaints about its point deductions.

Lin Ye explained how Itō Hidetaka’s repeated disobedience triggered Raging Waves’ heavy penalties, while the Dahe Settlement reeled from nearly twenty thousand eliminations. The Emperor had Itō brought before him and announced that they would discuss the next day’s assault on Raging Waves.

• Lin Ye recalled that Itō Hidetaka’s conduct had caused the dungeon’s penalty mechanism to deduct 5,000 points and helped Lin Ye reach LV3.
• Dahe residents mourned the nearly twenty thousand people eliminated, and crowds demanded that Itō Hidetaka be expelled and punished.
• The Emperor summoned Itō Hidetaka, whom Shogun Minamoto no Yorimitsu dragged into the residence.
• Itō Hidetaka begged for his life and blamed the eliminations on the Emperor’s orders, but the Emperor denied instructing him to act recklessly.
• The Emperor ordered Minamoto no Yorimitsu to raise Itō and said they would discuss the next day’s assault on Raging Waves.

The Emperor announced that he would personally lead one million Great He Clan challengers into the Raging Waves dungeon to restore Dahe Settlement’s standing and claim its technology. Itō Hidetaka agreed to join the expedition, and the Emperor ordered him promoted to Level 2 before warning other settlements not to interfere.

• Itō Hidetaka refused to lead another Raging Waves challenge, citing his past defeats and his current Level 1 status.
• The Emperor declared that he would lead one million Great He Clan members into Raging Waves, including the Shogun, Iga Ryūji, and Daiwa’s military commanders.
• The Emperor explained that victory could give Dahe Settlement the dungeon’s technology and allow it to expand its territory over other settlements.
• The Emperor told Itō Hidetaka to serve as an adviser and join the challenge to redeem his earlier failures, and Itō vowed his loyalty.
• The Emperor ordered a subordinate to take Itō to the shrine and raise him to Level 2, then directed the television station to announce the expedition and tell other settlements not to interfere.

The Dahe Settlement announced that the Emperor would lead one million Great He challengers into Lin Ye’s Raging Waves instance, turning the coming assault into a major Azure Star spectacle. As the challenge approached, Ding Chang worried that the Emperor’s forces could overwhelm the instance, while Lin Ye remained unreachable.

• The Dahe Settlement announced the Emperor’s million-person Raging Waves Expeditionary Army and warned outsiders not to join.
• Dahe media and cheering crowds rallied behind the Emperor, while the challenge drew attention across Azure Star.
• The Firmament temporarily closed every instance except Raging Waves so challengers could watch the livestream.
• Ding Chang learned of the planned assault and worried that the Emperor, the Shogun, and a million elite challengers posed an overwhelming threat to Lin Ye’s instance.
• Zhao Jianyu told Ding Chang that Lin Ye had been warned and was confident, but she could not reach him by phone.

As Raging Waves reopened, Lin Ye discovered that the Dahe Settlement had sent a million Great He challengers into the dungeon, including its top experts, for a coordinated assault. The chapter ended with Lin Ye realizing the Emperor had committed the settlement’s full strength to the run.

• Adolf, Cromwell, and Park Seong-man entered the Raging Waves livestream as viewers discussed Lin Ye and the Emperor’s chances.
• Park Seong-man said he believed the Emperor was stronger and that Lin Ye’s rise had involved luck and help from the Dragon Soaring Settlement.
• Lin Ye woke after resting and learned that the Firmament had reopened Raging Waves and declared an Amnesty Day to draw challengers to watch.
• Lin Ye opened the dungeon backend and found that every one of its million challengers was from the Great He people, with Emperor Xiaochuan ranked first.
• Lin Ye concluded that the Dahe Settlement had likely transferred its stored points to its challengers and was staking everything on the assault.

Lin Ye watched as the Dahe Settlement entered his Raging Waves dungeon, where the Emperor was made commander-in-chief but found the million challengers scattered across Eastern Ocean Island’s military bases. The assault began with the Emperor in the imperial palace, still adjusting to the dungeon’s changed setup.

• Lin Ye welcomed the Dahe Settlement’s powerful challengers as a test for his dungeon and entered the livestream to watch their run.
• The Emperor rallied his commanders and Great He Clan leaders before the Firmament transported their million-person force into the dungeon.
• The Emperor awoke in a lavish palace with only Itō Hidetaka beside him, and learned that their surroundings differed from his previous dungeon visits.
• The Firmament appointed the Emperor commander-in-chief and explained that challengers had been assigned to twenty military bases across Eastern Ocean Island.

Lin Ye’s redesigned Raging Waves instance introduced a massive world-war scenario, impressing the Emperor even as he planned to kill Lin Ye before he could grow stronger. The Firmament revealed the challengers’ mission to wage war against Eagle Sauce, and Itō Hidetaka questioned what the unlimited time limit meant.

• The Emperor and Itō Hidetaka admired the detailed palace setting and Lin Ye’s instance design.
• The Emperor decided Lin Ye had to be eliminated because his rise could threaten the Dahe Settlement.
• The Firmament introduced the Eastern Ocean Island and Eagle Sauce factions and announced a total-war mission with several victory conditions.
• Itō Hidetaka noticed that the previous mission options were gone and asked the Firmament whether challengers could remain in the instance forever.

The Emperor and Itō Hidetaka learned that Total War Mode let them command Eastern Ocean Island’s people and resources, while Eagle Sauce could still attack them at any time. The Emperor saw an opportunity to build a massive force and exploit the dungeon’s rules before striking Eagle Sauce.

• The Firmament announced that the dungeon had no time limit but that time passed a hundred times faster inside, and warned that Eagle Sauce might sanction or attack Eastern Ocean Island.
• Itō Hidetaka proposed waiting until they were fully prepared, but the Emperor rebuked him and urged them to seize the initiative.
• The Emperor asked the Firmament to explain Total War Mode, which allowed challengers to command Eastern Ocean Island’s NPCs, develop resources, recruit soldiers, and attack freely.
• The Emperor proposed recruiting millions of soldiers, producing war supplies, and using tactics such as surprise attacks, feigned cooperation, or stealing Eagle Sauce’s technology.
• Itō Hidetaka praised the Emperor’s strategy and believed it could help them return to glory.

Great Xia’s leaders and Dungeon Designers watched Lin Ye’s Raging Waves dungeon and feared the Emperor would be a difficult opponent. In Edo, the Emperor inventoried the challengers’ enormous arsenal, preparing for the coming battle.

• Ding Chang told Zhao Jianyu that Lin Ye’s highly detailed, free-form dungeon design could not be easily replicated, and said Great Xia had to believe Lin Ye would win.
• Li Yunlong joked that he wanted Lin Ye in the army, then warned that the Emperor had defeated every dungeon opponent and killed many Great Xia talents.
• The Emperor began reviewing the weapons the challengers had brought into Raging Waves, including millions of rifles, thousands of vehicles and ships, and thousands of aircraft.
• The narration explained that more than a million challengers could bring dungeon weapons without real-world production limits, giving the Eastern Ocean Island forces an arsenal far larger than the S1-era Shorties had possessed.

Itō Hidetaka praised Dahe Settlement’s military strength, but the Emperor ordered preparations for a cautious attack on Eagle Sauce Country and revealed a hidden biological-weapons unit. The Emperor sent Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Dr. Yasui to scout nearby countries and find people for experiments, intending to use the Bacterial Special Forces against Lin Ye.

• Itō Hidetaka compared Dahe Settlement’s forces with Eagle Sauce Country’s and said their weapons and potential troop numbers gave them strong odds of victory.
• The Emperor warned Itō Hidetaka that the enemy’s unknown equipment could include more advanced technology and ordered preparations to finish within a month.
• The Emperor ordered Minamoto no Yorimitsu to take fifty thousand shogunate samurai to scout nearby countries, assess their forces, and seize resources.
• The Emperor revealed that Dr. Yasui, whose full name was Yasui Shirō, secretly developed bacterial and viral weapons, and that the 100 Special Forces were Daiwa’s Bacterial Special Forces.
• The Emperor said Yasui and Minamoto no Yorimitsu would seek people for experiments so the biological weapons could help defeat Lin Ye.

The Emperor expanded his campaign against Eagle Sauce Country by ordering espionage, military preparation, and efforts to secure the residents’ loyalty. He began a public speech in Edo, and the crowd knelt in response to his opening words.

• The Emperor told Itō Hidetaka that his earlier tactics had lacked ruthlessness, and Itō praised his resolve.
• The Emperor ordered Iga Ryūji and three hundred Ninja Corps members to infiltrate Eagle Sauce Country and investigate its military and intelligence assets.
• The Emperor tasked Itō Hidetaka with keeping the military bases training and arranging a speech for Edo’s residents, warning that public discontent could trigger resistance.
• Three hours later, the Emperor addressed a crowd in Edo using archaic language, and the residents dropped to their knees and greeted him.

The Emperor stirred Eastern Ocean Island into enlisting millions of soldiers, while Lin Ye watched, confident that Eagle Sauce Country’s overwhelming strength would make the Emperor’s plans futile. After seven successful days of recruiting, the Emperor received a call from Eagle Sauce demanding that he stop and pay a one-trillion fine or face sanctions.

• The Emperor used a speech about Eagle Sauce Country’s threats to persuade Eastern Ocean Island’s people to enlist and ordered Itō Hidetaka to coordinate recruitment and training.
• Lin Ye judged the Emperor’s strategy to be futile because the instance’s Eagle Sauce Country vastly outmatched Eastern Ocean Island.
• Seven days later, four million recruits had joined the military, and Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Iga Ryūji’s special forces were nearing their destination.
• The Emperor and Itō Hidetaka discussed their growing forces while playing Shogi in the imperial palace garden.
• An Eagle Sauce official accused the Emperor of militarism and inciting hatred, then demanded that he stop and submit a one-trillion fine or face severe sanctions.

The Emperor learned that Eagle Sauce tracked Eastern Ocean Island with Keyhole Satellite 20, a technology Lin Ye had introduced into the instance, and realized Dahe could neither hide from nor shoot down it. He then heard Minamoto no Yorimitsu report that Dragon Country’s army had surrounded his landing force, before the call ended and tens of thousands of challengers disappeared from the instance.

• The Emperor confronted Itō Hidetaka over Eagle Sauce’s apparent knowledge of their movements, and the Firmament explained that a Keyhole Satellite 20 was orbiting 250 kilometers above Eastern Ocean Island.
• The Emperor ordered Itō Hidetaka to have mortars shoot down the satellite, but Itō Hidetaka said the weapons could not reach it.
• The Emperor retreated indoors and told Itō Hidetaka that Dahe needed to obtain Lin Ye’s full-map-vision technology.
• Minamoto no Yorimitsu called to report that Dragon Country’s army had surrounded his landing force, Doctor Yasui and nearly all his men had died, and he had been shot in the knee.
• An explosion ended Minamoto no Yorimitsu’s call, and the Emperor saw the instance’s challenger count fall by tens of thousands.

After Dragon Country destroyed Minamoto no Yorimitsu’s forces and Yasui’s bacterial troops, the Emperor suspended his plans to expand and focused on preparing for war with Eagle Sauce Country. His situation worsened when Iga Ryūji and his ninja team surrendered to Eagle Sauce and revealed Eastern Ocean Island’s military intelligence.

• The Emperor learned that Dragon Country had wiped out Minamoto no Yorimitsu’s Shogunate Special Forces Corps and Yasui’s bacterial troops, and the Firmament confirmed that Dragon Country was a legitimate faction designed by Lin Ye.
• The Emperor put foreign expansion on hold and ordered his forces to prepare for conflict with Eagle Sauce Country while delaying its sanctions.
• The Firmament announced that three hundred challengers had surrendered to Eagle Sauce Country and would be removed from the dungeon.
• The Emperor ordered Itō Hidetaka to identify the deserters, and Itō discovered that they were Iga Ryūji and his ninja team.
• The Firmament revealed that Iga Ryūji had surrendered, changed nationality, and disclosed Eastern Ocean Island’s troop deployments and military intelligence to Eagle Sauce.

Great Xia’s experts praised Lin Ye’s Raging Waves dungeon for its advanced Keyhole satellite, third-party Dragon Country faction, and psychological warfare after Iga Ryūji defected and exposed Eastern Ocean Island’s strength and plans. Emperor Xiaochuan lost his composure over the betrayal and the collapse of his strategy, while Itō Hidetaka urged him to steady himself.

• Great Xia’s researchers marveled at Lin Ye’s Keyhole technology and dungeon design, and Ding Chang looked forward to seeing Eagle Sauce Country’s true face.
• Emperor Xiaochuan smashed the objects on his desk after learning that Iga Ryūji had defected and disclosed Eastern Ocean Island’s forces and battle plans to Eagle Sauce.
• Emperor Xiaochuan nearly collapsed from anger, and Itō Hidetaka summoned maids to cool him down.
• Emperor Xiaochuan rejected Itō Hidetaka’s attempt to explain Iga Ryūji’s betrayal and admitted that it had ruined his plans to gather intelligence, resources, and troops.
• Itō Hidetaka warned Emperor Xiaochuan that Lin Ye’s psychological tactics were meant to unsettle challengers and urged him to remain the settlement’s pillar.

The Emperor realized the instance’s apparent freedom was a trap and planned a surprise attack on Eagle Sauce’s fleet at Pearl Harbor. He left Itō Hidetaka with orders to feign cooperation while Eastern Ocean Island mobilized its entire navy and air force, and the chapter ended with the attack preparations underway.

• The Emperor regained his composure and told Itō Hidetaka that Eastern Ocean Island could still defeat Eagle Sauce if it avoided further mistakes.
• The Emperor ordered Itō Hidetaka to recruit more troops and tell Eagle Sauce that they would pay the one-trillion fine, though he intended the offer only as a delaying tactic.
• The Emperor announced that Eastern Ocean Island would attack Pearl Harbor that night, targeting the TF58 Nation-Destroying Fleet rather than the military base.
• The Emperor ordered the entire navy and air force—thirty thousand warships and more than forty thousand warplanes—to attack the fleet, despite the risks of leaving Eastern Ocean Island exposed.
• The Emperor told Itō Hidetaka to notify the major military bases and advance on Pearl Harbor immediately.