Chapter Summaries

While waiting in Dhirim, Shen Mu received a Mount & Blade System mission that let him appoint Blue Star Humans as Centurions over low-tier soldiers, who could generate additional Power of Faith through prayer. He summoned Zhang Caidong, the other senior managers, and Sun Zhiru to discuss putting the system into practice.

• Shen Mu checked on the Blue Star Humans in Dhirim, met with Liu Na and the Halflings, and considered the Sacred White Oak Tree’s growth and his plans to establish another castle.
• The countdown ended, and the Mount & Blade System issued a Temporary Mission allowing Shen Mu to appoint loyal Blue Star Humans as Centurions who could command up to ten soldiers each.
• Shen Mu learned that soldiers praying under a Centurion could provide Power of Faith equal to the Centurion’s, while faithful Blue Star Humans could spend Faith Value and Denar to change into first-tier garrison soldiers.
• Shen Mu ordered Zhang Caidong, fifteen senior managers, and Sun Zhiru to attend a meeting at his Noble Residence.
• Zhang Caidong recognized that Shen Mu’s meeting concerned his proposal to appoint trusted Blue Star Humans as commanders, and he considered how Sun Zhiru’s arrival might affect his own influence.

Sun Zhiru carefully navigated workplace rivalries among Shen Mu’s Blue Star Human managers as Zhang Caidong promoted plans to replace their current Followers with Spiritual Realm Humans. Shen Mu arrived and offered the managers low-level militia to command, promising better soldiers and job changes for strong performance.

• Zhang Caidong invited Sun Zhiru to walk beside him, but Sun Zhiru politely stayed at the back to avoid provoking the other High-Level Managers.
• The managers discussed Zhang Caidong’s proposal to contract with Shen Mu’s Spiritual Realm Human soldiers and build a force of Official Employees under his leadership.
• Zhang Caidong’s allies praised his proposal, and the High-Level Managers agreed to follow his arrangements while Sun Zhiru remained quiet.
• Shen Mu joined the meeting and offered each manager ordinary Spiritual Realm militia to command, with better soldiers and job changes as rewards for success.
• The managers reacted with astonishment when Shen Mu said exceptional leaders could receive powerful weapons, equipment, and loyal Sacred Tree Knights or Swadian Sergeants as Followers.

Shen Mu used his special power to invest Zhang Caidong as a Spiritual Realm squad leader, revealing that he could grant trusted Blue Star Humans Mount & Blade soldier templates. Zhang Caidong became a Tier 1 Swadian Recruit and gained the ability to command ten Swadian Recruits in Dhirim.

• The Blue Star Human managers and Sun Zhiru declared their loyalty to Shen Mu and asked how they could become Spiritual Realm Commanders.
• Shen Mu checked his Faith Value and Denar balance, then selected Zhang Caidong for investiture.
• The Mount & Blade System confirmed Zhang Caidong qualified and told Shen Mu the investiture would cost 10,000 points of Power of Faith and 1,000 Denars.
• Shen Mu invested Zhang Caidong, and white Data Stream transformed him into a Swadian Recruit equipped with basic weapons and armor.
• Zhang Caidong discovered he had gained combat training memories and learned he could form a Pike Square with Swadian Recruits.
• The Mount & Blade System confirmed Zhang Caidong could lead up to ten Swadian Recruits to defend Dhirim.

Shen Mu learned that his system could convert the energy left by Zhang Caidong’s soul purification into Faith and adaptive Experience Points, and that Zhang Caidong could advance to a Tier 2 troop type. After setting believer-based upgrade requirements and upgrading Zhang Caidong, Shen Mu left the conference room watching him undergo another transformation.

• The Spiritual Realm Human mark assimilated Zhang Caidong’s Gnoll soul mark, severing his Gnoll Soul Contract and correcting his soul toward its original form.
• The system awarded Shen Mu 3,452 Power of Faith and Zhang Caidong 300 adaptive Experience Points, making Zhang eligible to become a Swadian Militia.
• Shen Mu multiplied the troop upgrade Experience Point requirements by ten and reviewed the system’s six believer levels, including its reference to deities and a Divine Kingdom.
• Shen Mu confirmed Zhang Caidong’s General Believer status and spent 300 adaptive Experience Points and 30 Denar to upgrade him to a Swadian Militia.
• White light enveloped Zhang Caidong as he began transforming again, astonishing the sixteen other people in the conference room.

Zhang Caidong transformed into a Swadian Militia, gaining combat skills, physical enhancement, and ten Swadian Militia Followers through Shen Mu’s power. The Blue Star Humans admired Shen Mu’s ability to make them Spiritual Realm Humans, while Zhang Caidong sincerely pledged his gratitude and trust to him.

• The Mount & Blade Rules infused Zhang Caidong with militia combat knowledge and strengthened his body, completing his transformation into a Swadian Militia.
• The Blue Star Humans watched Zhang Caidong’s transformation and eagerly discussed the chance to become Spiritual Realm Humans under Shen Mu.
• Shen Mu summoned ten Swadian Militia, who arrived and saluted him as the Blue Star Humans admired their equipment and rank.
• Zhang Caidong thanked Shen Mu, recognizing his transformation and Followers as signs of genuine trust and generosity.

Shen Mu transformed Zhang Caidong into a Swadian Militia, and the upgrade strengthened Zhang while giving him command of ten Swadian soldiers. Zhang’s sincere gratitude advanced his believer rank and revealed how the Believer Module generated more Power of Faith; Shen Mu then arranged transformations for Sun Zhiru and eight other Blue Star Humans.

• Shen Mu considered Zhang Caidong’s authority in Dhirim and asked how he felt after completing his transformation.
• Zhang Caidong said he had become more than twice as strong, astonishing the Blue Star Humans gathered in the meeting room.
• The other Blue Star Humans asked Shen Mu to grant them similar transformations, and Zhang declared his loyalty to him.
• Zhang’s devotion advanced him from General Believer to True Believer, while Shen Mu’s divine miracle advanced fifteen False Believers to General Believers and earned Shen Mu Power of Faith.
• Shen Mu selected Sun Zhiru and eight others to become Swadian Recruits that day, and promised to transform more people the following day.

Shen Mu invested nine more Blue Star Humans as Swadian Recruits, giving them weapons and the authority to lead Mount & Blade soldiers. He assigned each of them ten Swadian Peasants to train and left them awaiting the next stage of his recruitment plan.

• Shen Mu split the candidates into groups to avoid resentment, and the Blue Star Humans chose nine people to join Zhang Caidong and Sun Zhiru as the first day's recruits.
• Shen Mu spent 90,000 points of Power of Faith and 9,000 Denars to invest the nine candidates, transforming them into Swadian Recruits.
• The newly invested recruits received military training memories and Spiritual Realm weapons, while the remaining Blue Star Humans watched eagerly.
• Shen Mu realized that his squad leaders and their Mount & Blade soldiers could generate far more Power of Faith, and he considered how his faction choice might be attracting help from other rules.
• Shen Mu ordered one hundred Swadian Peasants to arrive and assigned ten to each of the newly invested recruits, telling them to train the peasants into soldiers.

After Zhang Caidong and nine other executives emerged from their transformation with Spiritual Realm Human Followers, Dhirim’s residents saw the change as a chance to join Shen Mu’s rising leadership. Zhang Caidong offered Sun Zhiru two transformation slots for people of his choosing, provoking resistance from their tightly bonded group and leaving Zhang Caidong wary of their unity.

• Zhang Caidong and the other executives emerged with Spiritual Realm gear and Human Followers, shocking the Blue Star Humans gathered outside.
• Dhirim’s residents speculated that Shen Mu was forming an official leadership group and resolved to seek advancement before the new hierarchy took hold.
• Zhang Caidong reassured the seven untransformed Blue Star Humans that they would receive their transformation the next day, then proposed selecting Zhang Bo and giving Sun Zhiru two remaining choices.
• Several executives objected to giving precious slots to Sun Zhiru, whom they considered a newcomer, while accepting Zhang Bo’s selection.
• Zhang Caidong declared that Sun Zhiru was Shen Mu’s trusted appointee and future executive, then privately judged the group’s united opposition to be a troubling sign.

Sun Zhiru and Zhang Caidong received Spiritual Realm Commanders’ rewards from Shen Mu, prompting Sun Zhiru and his friends to recognize that they had been placed in a position to challenge Zhang Caidong’s faction. Sun Zhiru’s friends decided to accept the opportunity, while Zhang Caidong visited Zhang Bo.

• Zhang Caidong invoked Shen Mu’s authority to have Sun Zhiru choose two High-Level Managers, then advised Sun Zhiru to appoint friends who could support him.
• Sun Zhiru returned home with ten Swadian Peasants and told his four close friends that Shen Mu had granted him the Spiritual Realm Human Race inheritance and a management position.
• Sun Zhiru’s friends questioned why a newcomer had received such influence and suspected Shen Mu was cultivating them to counter Zhang Caidong’s faction.
• Sun Zhiru and his friends agreed to accept the opportunity and carefully plan how to build their own faction within Dhirim’s management.
• Zhang Caidong brought ten Swadian Recruits to Zhang Bo’s residence and explained that Shen Mu had rewarded him with Spiritual Realm Creations.

Zhang Bo inspected Dhirim’s standardized equipment and grew more determined to undermine Shen Mu’s faction. After declining a transformation slot, he urged Zhang Caidong to give it to Sun Zhiru, hoping the redistribution of authority would create resentment and split Dhirim from within.

• Zhang Bo examined the Rule-infused sickle and recognized that Dhirim’s identical weapons and gear pointed to a large, well-organized faction.
• Zhang Bo worried that Zhang Caidong admired Shen Mu and might escape his influence, undermining the Green Leaf Group’s plans against Dhirim.
• Zhang Bo declined Zhang Caidong’s transformation slot, explaining that his work as a Divination Mage made the offer unnecessary.
• Zhang Bo praised Zhang Caidong for giving two slots to Sun Zhiru and advised him to offer Sun his own slot as a gesture of respect for Shen Mu.
• Zhang Bo planned to exploit resentment over redistributed power to divide Zhang Caidong’s group, win over allies, and provoke conflict within Dhirim.

Shen Mu accelerated Narot’s return from Calradia and learned that iron smuggling had earned 5,000 Denars amid Swadia’s wartime shortages. Narot reported that Lady Isolla and Swadian nobles wanted to contact Shen Mu, leaving him to recognize that Calradia’s people were acting on their own.

• Shen Mu spent 1,000 Power of Faith to accelerate Narot’s caravan’s return to Dhirim.
• Narot presented 5,000 Denars in profit and explained that Swadia’s war-driven demand had made the smuggled iron products highly profitable.
• Narot told Shen Mu that Swadian nobles were increasingly dissatisfied with King Harlaus and that Lady Isolla was recruiting mercenaries and seeking weapons.
• Shen Mu ordered Narot to continue trading iron products in Calradia, where officials were turning a blind eye to the smuggling.
• Narot reported that merchant guild leaders and Lady Isolla wanted to communicate with Shen Mu, who realized the people of Calradia were real and independent.

Shen Mu decided to keep clear of Calradia’s political struggles and send Narot’s caravan back to the Kingdom of Swadia to sell iron goods. He used Power of Faith to accelerate the caravan’s first round trip, leaving it on its way back to Dhirim.

• Shen Mu told Narot not to answer Lady Isolla’s request and to focus on the iron smuggling trade, while reflecting on how faction relationships depended on their leaders and Swadian nobles’ opposition to King Harlaus.
• Narot reported that iron prices remained high and asked to depart; Shen Mu agreed, hoping two accelerated trips would earn 10,000 Denars to replenish his nearly empty treasury.
• Narot ordered the caravan members and guards to load the carts, though they objected to leaving Dhirim so soon and returning to dangerous Calradia.
• Shen Mu used the Power of Rules to send Narot’s caravan to the Kingdom of Swadia despite the mercenaries’ reluctance.
• Shen Mu spent 7,000 Power of Faith to accelerate the caravan’s trip to Calradia, then another 7,000 to speed its return; the caravan reached the outskirts of Dhirim.

Shen Mu welcomed Narot’s profitable return from Calradia and weighed the value of his caravans before visiting the Sacred White Oak Tree. Liu Na revealed that the Fragment of Natural Will favored the peaceful, light-filled area and regarded the Sacred Tree Rangers much like the Wood Elves of the Green Leaf Group.

• Narot returned to Dhirim with thirty wagons, 6,400 Denars in trade profits, and supplies from the Kingdom of Swadia, and Shen Mu praised him and authorized a meal for his caravan.
• Shen Mu calculated that Narot’s frequent trade runs offered better returns and provisions than Torres’s slower journeys to the White Tower Region, though they could not supply Mana Scrolls.
• Shen Mu reflected that the Tower of Light Torch had secured the land around Dhirim from Necromantic Rules and then went to stroll through the Castle Area.
• Shen Mu found Liu Na meditating beside the Sacred White Oak Tree with one hundred Sacred Tree Rangers and learned that the tree and area pleased her Fragment of Natural Will.
• Liu Na told Shen Mu that the Will of Nature watched over the Sacred Tree Rangers almost as it did the Wood Elves of the Green Leaf Group.

Shen Mu learned that the Sacred Tree Rangers could receive Nature blessings that might improve their archery, and he encouraged Liu Na to help them meditate and understand the Will of Nature. He then surveyed Dhirim’s growing forces, satisfied with the territory’s progress and the rivalry between its Swadian soldiers and Lake Rats.

• Liu Na explained that the Sacred Tree Rangers could receive Nature-related specialties through their bond with the Sacred White Oak Tree and the Will of Nature.
• Shen Mu asked Liu Na to teach the Sacred Tree Rangers to meditate so they could gain Nature’s blessings and strengthen their archery.
• Liu Na said the Rangers were already meditating near the Sacred White Oak Tree and Tower of Light Torch, where Shen Mu’s presence helped create a peaceful place for them.
• Shen Mu left the Rangers undisturbed and considered how stronger, specialized archers could improve his army.
• Shen Mu reflected on the private competition between the Lake Rats Members and Swadian infantry, then toured Dhirim and felt hopeful about his territory’s growth.

Shen Mu visited Manid to address Dhirim’s severe housing shortage and learned that the newly appointed Blue Star Human squad leaders were organizing their own groups. Manid suggested relocating some residents, prompting Shen Mu to consider using his unused castle-building opportunity to establish a Third Base.

• Shen Mu returned to Dhirim and decided to have Manid build more Town Houses so Blue Star Humans would not have to live in wheat fields outside the city walls.
• Manid told Shen Mu that the Blue Star Human managers were meeting with their Small Circles after being appointed squad leaders and were eager for a chance to become Spiritual Realm Commanders.
• Shen Mu told Manid to construct more Town Houses to ease Dhirim’s overcrowding.
• Manid reported that Dhirim’s population had exceeded the city’s planned capacity of about twenty thousand and suggested moving some residents elsewhere.
• Shen Mu remembered his unused opportunity to build a castle and considered using it to establish a Third Base and relieve the housing crisis.

Unable to sleep, Shen Mu rode out at night to inspect the defenses around Dhirim and check on the Blue Star Humans beyond the city walls. He found the White Council’s Tower of Light Torch illuminating the area, and Bestur joined him as he headed beyond the low walls to investigate further.

• After waking and drinking honey water, Shen Mu decided to patrol outside the city and took ten Sacred Tree Knights with him.
• Shen Mu rode through the guarded West City Gate and saw the Tower of Light Torch casting light beyond the low walls, where Blue Star Humans slept and gathered safely.
• Bestur reported that his Steppe Bandits and Steppe Bandit Elites had found no Undead Monsters during their patrol.
• Shen Mu asked Bestur to accompany him beyond the low walls, and Bestur and his troops eagerly followed him toward the city center of Balihe Street in Longcheng City.

Shen Mu led his cavalry toward the edge of the Tower of Light Torch’s protection and discovered that its light purified Undead Monsters that entered its range. He realized Dhirim could expand safely and considered building a new district for Blue Star Humans.

• Shen Mu and his forces rode along Balihe Street as Blue Star Humans watched from residential buildings, and Bestur criticized them for refusing to live in Dhirim.
• Shen Mu explained that he wanted Blue Star Humans to join Dhirim willingly so their prayers would produce genuine Power of Faith.
• At the edge of the Tower of Light Torch’s illumination, Shen Mu and his soldiers saw Undead Monsters enter the light.
• The light and heat erased the Gray Fog around the Undead Monsters, killed the zombies, and extinguished the Skeleton Soldiers’ Soul Fire.
• Shen Mu concluded that the Tower of Light Torch could protect Dhirim from low-level Undead Monsters and considered expanding the city with a new district for Blue Star Humans.

Shen Mu held a breakfast meeting with his Mount & Blade generals to discuss Dhirim’s problems and plans, while considering how to involve the Blue Star Humans in town management. He then summoned the Blue Star executives and prepared to appoint the remaining seven men as squad leaders.

• Shen Mu saw that Dhirim had gained 32,114 Faith Value overnight, which was stored in the Dragon Banner Fragment.
• Bestur and Bunduk managed nighttime patrols, while Fatis and Lezalit handled daytime defenses and scouting.
• Shen Mu gathered his generals for breakfast, where they discussed Dhirim’s problems and offered solutions despite their factional divisions.
• Shen Mu considered bringing the Blue Star Humans into regular meetings and reflected on how his Mount & Blade soldiers could monitor them while remaining under his control.
• Shen Mu summoned the Blue Star Humans to the Noble Residence to appoint seven more men as squad leaders and provide them with Swadian Peasants.
• Zhang Caidong led the executives and newcomers inside, while Zhang Bo was absent and Sun Zhiru had brought a trusted companion in his place.

Shen Mu met with the Blue Star Human executives to discuss building devotion and earning the Power of Faith, then transformed ten selected people into Spiritual Realm Commanders. The new commanders left with Swadian Peasants and gathered to plan how to train them against Undead Monsters.

• Shen Mu asked the Blue Star Human executives to encourage their people to pray, and they praised the protection provided by the White Council's Torch Tower.
• Shen Mu confirmed the ten selected candidates, including Sun Zhiru and three of his brothers, for transformation into Spiritual Realm Commanders.
• Shen Mu transformed the ten candidates, who gained Rule Power, combat knowledge, and enhanced physical abilities before thanking him.
• Shen Mu assigned ten Swadian Peasants to each new commander and urged them to level up the soldiers safely by fighting Undead Monsters.
• After leaving the Noble Residence, the Blue Star Humans gathered to discuss how to train their soldiers.

Zhang Caidong and the other Blue Star commanders set out with their Human Race Followers to hunt Undead Monsters so the followers could gain experience and be promoted. Their sweep of the apartment buildings began with Zhang Caidong’s group destroying a Skeleton Soldier.

• Zhang Caidong and the High-Level Managers agreed to enter the dark zones and fight Undead Monsters to strengthen their Human Race Followers.
• Zhang Caidong proposed sweeping the Apartment Buildings, and the twenty commanders set out with their followers toward Balihe Street.
• Sun Zhiru warned his three friends to stay respectful and avoid conflict with Zhang Caidong’s group while they built up their strength.
• At a Residential Building Community, Zhang Caidong assigned buildings and told everyone to avoid the Underground Parking area and call for help if needed.
• Zhang Caidong lured a Skeleton Soldier into breaking through a Security Door, and the Swadian Recruits killed it with their Long-handled Sickles.