Chapter Summaries

Shen Mu coordinated Dhirim’s defenses as Skeleton Legions attacked from every direction, but their lack of siege equipment made the assault seem suspicious. He recalled that the Skeleton Legion in the Underground Tunnel had conscious, high-level commanders and suspected the siege was not a mindless attack.

• Green Leaf Group troops watched the Black Arrow Tower Seventh Dynasty’s Vanguard Troops approach Dhirim, eager to claim Balihe Street if the city fell.
• Shen Mu saw that his limited archers could kill some Skeleton Soldiers, but their arrows barely slowed the advancing undead.
• Shen Mu sent Fatis to command the West City Gate and assigned Lezalit the East City Gate and its defensive weapons.
• Shen Mu kept Bestur beside him and confirmed that the attackers were infantry without mounts or siege equipment, facing Dhirim’s walls and water-filled moat.
• Shen Mu wondered why the Skeleton Legion was attacking and recalled that the force hidden in the Underground Tunnel had consciousness and High-Level Commanders.

Shen Mu’s forces weathered a Skeleton Archer attack on Dhirim’s walls, but the arrows proved mostly harmless against their defenses. As Shen Mu investigated the growing threat outside, infighting erupted among the Blue Star Humans in town, reportedly incited by Diesel Company Remnants who had also organized the undead assault.

• Skeleton Archers fired on Dhirim’s walls, injuring about a dozen soldiers who had exposed themselves.
• Lezalit ordered the wounded soldiers treated, and Shen Mu determined that the decayed arrows shattered on impact and posed little threat to protected defenders.
• Shen Mu and Lezalit kept the soldiers on alert while the Skeleton Legions gathered beyond the walls.
• Battle broke out among the Blue Star Humans in the Town Area, and Manid reported that High-Level Managers and Middle-Level Managers were killing one another.
• Zhang Bo told Shen Mu that Diesel Company Remnants had incited the infighting and organized the undead monsters outside Dhirim.

Wu Jian and his allies plotted to capture the Diesel Company Remnants and replace the High-Level Managers, while dismissing warnings that their rivals might attack them. Their meeting was interrupted when soldiers crowded the city wall and cavalry rushed toward the gates, suggesting an unexpected threat.

• Wu Jian gathered four allied Middle-Level Management leaders to plan how to find and capture the Diesel Company Remnants before the High-Level Managers could claim the credit.
• The leaders worried that the High-Level Managers might use underhanded tactics, but Wu Jian argued they would not dare kill anyone under Lord Shen Mu’s authority.
• Wu Jian told his allies to avoid clashes and focus on securing the Remnants, promising they would control Dhirim’s Management System once he became a High-Level Manager.
• The four leaders declared their loyalty to Wu Jian, who cautioned them not to voice such ambitions where outsiders could hear.
• Wu Jian and the others heard shouting and saw Spiritual Realm Soldiers massing on the city wall as cavalry moved toward the gates.

Wu Jian’s group learned that the High-Level Managers were approaching with weapons and gathered their people to prepare for a confrontation. The two factions met under the pretense of discussing Diesel Company Remnants, while Zhou Mo’s side still planned a surprise attack.

• A subordinate warned Wu Jian that the High-Level Managers and their armed followers were heading toward his group, so Wu Jian ordered his people to gather and assess their intentions.
• More than seventy Middle-Level Managers and nearly one hundred and fifty others assembled with weapons around Wu Jian’s rooms.
• The High-Level Managers realized their planned surprise attack had been exposed and decided to disguise their mission as a search for Diesel Company Remnants before attacking.
• Zhou Mo arrived and directed his trusted former Representative of High-Level Managers to negotiate and draw the opposing leaders forward.
• Wu Jian believed the High-Level Managers might be peaceful and sent his negotiator to question them and report whether they had found Diesel Company Remnants.

The High-Level Managers confronted the Middle-Level Managers under the pretense of pursuing the Diesel Company Remnants, while secretly arranging a Sneak Attack against their leaders. As Zhou Mo’s men provoked the opposing crowd and drew its leaders forward, the confrontation edged toward violence.

• The Representative of High-Level Managers evaded questions about why his armed group had entered the Middle-Level Managers’ residential area and invoked Zhang Bo’s mediation agreement to justify passing through.
• The leader of the Middle-Level Managers demanded an explanation and refused to let the High-Level Managers pass, while both groups accused each other of treason over the Diesel Company Remnants.
• Zhou Mo spotted Wu Jian and the leaders gathered around him, recognized them as the Middle-Level Managers’ ruling circle, and ordered a subordinate to lure them close for a Sneak Attack.
• The subordinate pushed through the High-Level Managers and angrily accused the Middle-Level Managers of sheltering the Diesel Company Remnants and betraying Dhirim, provoking the opposing leaders.

Zhou Mo and the High-Level Managers provoked Wu Jian’s Middle-Level Managers, accusing them of sheltering Diesel Company Remnants while trying to force them into a defensive position. When Zhou Mo invoked Dhirim and Lord Shen Mu, Wu Jian quieted his allies and agreed to talk.

• The High-Level Managers mocked and accused the Middle-Level Managers, who furiously denied working with the Diesel Company Remnants and blocked their search.
• Zhou Mo urged his allies to intensify the provocation, hoping to create an excuse to weaken Zhang Caidong and Zhang Bo’s authority and take control.
• Zhou Mo proposed negotiating with Wu Jian, but the Middle-Level Manager bosses rejected him, citing their past conflicts with him.
• Zhou Mo challenged Wu Jian to explain how the Middle-Level Managers were serving Dhirim and Lord Shen Mu by maintaining the standoff.
• Wu Jian raised his hand to silence his allies, stepped forward, and agreed to talk.

Zhou Mo confronted Wu Jian over the alleged presence of Diesel Company Remnants in the Middle-Level Managers’ territory, while both leaders hid their real intentions behind talk of comradeship. Wu Jian refused to let Zhou Mo take charge and threatened to protect the faction by claiming the suspect was his spy.

• Zhou Mo invited Wu Jian to talk, and Wu Jian stepped forward alone to negotiate.
• Zhou Mo praised Wu Jian, then claimed that he had found Diesel Company Remnants in Wu Jian’s territory.
• Wu Jian rejected the accusation and offered to investigate, while the Middle-Level Managers angrily demanded evidence and a name.
• Zhou Mo accused Wu Jian of trying to seize the credit and pointed out that the factions were competitors.
• Wu Jian admitted they would handle the matter themselves and asked Zhou Mo for the suspect’s name as a favor.
• Wu Jian threatened to block Zhou Mo and claim that the Diesel Company Remnant was his spy, allowing him to explain the discovery to Lord Shen Mu.

Wu Jian and Zhou Mo negotiated over the supposed Diesel Company Remnants, with Wu Jian seeking shared credit to protect his Middle-Level Managers. Zhou Mo pretended to compromise and lured Wu Jian into a meeting place where he planned to attack.

• Wu Jian proposed that the supposed Diesel Company Remnant surrender and become his spy, then offered Zhou Mo a share of the credit to end their standoff.
• Zhou Mo accused Wu Jian and the Middle-Level Managers of betraying Dhirim, while privately recognizing that his claims about Diesel Company Remnants were fabricated.
• Zhou Mo recalled that Wu Jian had once refused his offer to work under him, and Wu Jian acknowledged that he now understood the consequences of that refusal.
• Zhou Mo signaled several High-Level Managers to prepare an ambush, planning to attack the Middle-Level Manager leaders after luring them into negotiations.
• Zhou Mo demanded an eighty-twenty split of later benefits, then proposed discussing the terms in a nearby room; Wu Jian agreed and walked into the trap.

Zhou Mo lured Wu Jian and five Middle-Level Manager leaders into a sealed alley under the pretense of negotiating over Diesel Company Remnants. The High-Level Managers mocked their demands and manipulated the meeting until one Middle-Level Manager threatened to block their plans, prompting Zhou Mo to accuse them of treason.

• Zhou Mo invited Wu Jian into an alley and had High-Level Managers seal both ends, while Wu Jian brought five trusted Middle-Level Manager leaders and arranged for his own people to surround the alley.
• Wu Jian and his allies proposed sharing credit for exposing Diesel Company Remnants, but Zhou Mo and the High-Level Managers silently mocked their offers.
• Wu Jian confronted Zhou Mo over the High-Level Managers' contempt, and Zhou Mo countered by proposing a seventy-thirty split and claiming his side held the key information.
• A Middle-Level Manager threatened that the united Loyalist Faction could prevent the High-Level Managers from succeeding if they refused to cooperate.
• Zhou Mo stood and accused Wu Jian and the Middle-Level Managers of acting like traitors.

Zhou Mo and the High-Level Managers pressured Wu Jian and the Middle-Level Managers over a credit split for capturing the Diesel Company Remnants, while concealing that their accusations were part of an act. As negotiations stalled over the Middle-Level Managers’ future threat, Zhou Mo reached for the axe at his waist.

• Zhou Mo accused the Middle-Level Managers of betraying Shen Mu and Dhirim by obstructing the capture of the Diesel Company Remnants.
• Wu Jian defended their actions as a way to secure advancement for his followers and proposed a sixty-forty credit split.
• Zhou Mo mocked Wu Jian’s offer and argued that the High-Level Managers’ intelligence and expertise justified the larger share.
• Wu Jian proposed a fifty-fifty split, but the High-Level Managers argued that their informants and analytical skills made them indispensable.
• Wu Jian returned to a sixty-forty offer and promised to restrain his subordinates, but Zhou Mo rejected the promise because the Middle-Level Managers would become future rivals.
• As the Middle-Level Managers stood with their backs to him, Zhou Mo grinned and reached for the one-handed axe at his waist.

Zhou Mo and the High-Level Managers killed Wu Jian and five Loyalist Faction leaders during negotiations, then blocked the alley as the remaining Middle-Level Managers attacked. As the rival group hesitated after suffering casualties, a High-Level Manager carried Wu Jian’s severed head toward them to begin the next part of the plot.

• Zhou Mo struck Wu Jian from behind, and five High-Level Managers killed the other five leaders at the negotiation table.
• The Loyalist Faction Middle-Level Managers charged the alley blockade, but the High-Level Managers formed a spear phalanx and killed several attackers.
• Zhou Mo laughed with the other High-Level Managers and approved a plan to frame the Middle-Level Managers.
• A High-Level Manager severed Wu Jian’s head and carried it toward the remaining Middle-Level Managers, who fell silent when they saw it.

A high-level manager used Wu Jian’s severed head to accuse him of being a Diesel Company Remnant and secretly conspiring to sacrifice the Middle-Level Managers. The accusations and appeals to Lord Shen Mu weakened the faction’s resolve, leaving them silent and beginning to believe Wu Jian had deceived them.

• The high-level manager displayed Wu Jian’s head, provoking the Middle-Level Managers to curse him and prepare to attack.
• The manager claimed Wu Jian had been a Diesel Company Remnant and an important agent planted in Dhirim, causing the crowd to waver.
• The manager falsely alleged that Wu Jian and his trusted men had plotted to sacrifice the Middle-Level Managers in exchange for promotion.
• A leader among the Middle-Level Managers demanded evidence, and the crowd echoed his demand instead of charging forward.
• The high-level manager claimed they had reported Wu Jian’s crimes to Lord Shen Mu and insisted that Blue Star Humans could not be executed without his decision.
• The Middle-Level Managers fell silent and began to believe that Wu Jian had deceived them.

The High-Level Managers persuaded the Middle-Level Managers that Wu Jian had been a Diesel Company Remnant and that they would be spared if they surrendered. The Middle-Level Managers lowered their weapons, unaware that Zhou Mo and the others planned to isolate and kill them.

• The High-Level Managers claimed Wu Jian had manipulated the Middle-Level Managers and caused their conflict, and the managers began to suspect him.
• The High-Level Managers and Zhou Mo promised not to punish the Middle-Level Managers if they laid down their weapons and submitted to inspection.
• The Middle-Level Managers lowered their weapons and stopped resisting, while Wu Jian's former friends stayed silent.
• The chapter revealed that Zhang Bo had fabricated the Diesel Company Remnants as part of his plan to provoke conflict between the two groups.
• Zhou Mo and the High-Level Managers prepared to isolate and kill the Middle-Level Managers, intending to leave a few newcomers alive as false witnesses.

Zhou Mo and the High-Level Managers tricked the surrendered Middle-Level Managers into being bound and led into an alley, where they slaughtered more than seventy of them. Zhou Mo celebrated the massacre as service to Lord Shen Mu and Dhirim.

• The Middle-Level Managers surrendered, believing they could prove their loyalty by submitting to a search.
• Zhou Mo ordered the High-Level Managers to bind the Middle-Level Managers and send them into the alley ten at a time.
• The High-Level Managers concealed their sickles, then slit the throats of each bound group while their subordinates silenced and restrained them.
• One Middle-Level Manager noticed fresh blood and began to question the High-Level Managers, but they killed him before he could raise the alarm.
• The High-Level Managers dragged away the bodies until more than seventy Middle-Level Managers had been killed.
• Zhou Mo praised the massacre as a successful mission for Lord Shen Mu and Dhirim, and the High-Level Managers cheered.

Dhirim’s defenders held against the Black Arrow Tower Seventh Dynasty’s Skeleton Archers, while Shen Mu remained uneasy despite Bestur and Lezalit’s confidence. A powerful undead commander, Ludwig, appeared in the Black Mist, leaving the threat to the city unresolved.

• Skeleton Archers gathered beyond Dhirim’s moat and began firing arrows at the East and West City Walls.
• Fatis and Lezalit disciplined inattentive soldiers and kept their defenders behind shields and barricades.
• Bestur assured Shen Mu that the Skeleton Archers were weak, but Shen Mu remained uneasy and went with him to inspect the West City Wall.
• Shen Mu found Lezalit confident that the arrows posed little danger, though the Black Mist kept thickening outside the walls.
• Ludwig, commander of the Black Arrow Tower Seventh Dynasty Vanguard, appeared within a dense mass of Black Mist.

Ludwig sought Will of Nature Fragments to preserve his sanity and escape the Black Emperor’s control, then used his magic to build a bone ramp over the Human Castle’s defenses. He led the Skeleton Legion into an all-out assault, hoping to claim a fragment and regain his freedom.

• Ludwig reflected on how the Will of Nature Fragment preserved the last of his sanity and recognized that the Human Castle contained more nature fragments.
• Ludwig revealed his hatred of the Black Emperor and his twin brother, the Great Elder, who had betrayed him and left him to the undead.
• Ludwig endured the Torch Tower’s Holy Light, then retreated into the Black Mist to recover while reaffirming his plan to destroy the Human Castle.
• Ludwig used magic to gather battlefield bones and shattered Skeleton Archers, forming a ramp from the ground to the top of the East City Wall.
• Ludwig ordered the Skeleton Legion to attack and advanced with it, seeking a Will of Nature Fragment that could help him break free.

Fatis and the Swadian defenders held the East City Wall against the Skeleton Legion after a spell raised a bone slope to the battlements. Shen Mu left Fatis in command, but Zhang Bo arrived in Dhirim to find the High-Level Managers bloodied and the Middle-Level Managers missing, suggesting the unrest had escaped his control.

• A bone slope formed beneath the East City Wall, letting the Skeleton Legion attack the defenders directly.
• Fatis kept the Skeleton Warriors from crossing the baffles, rotated his troops, and prepared the Lake Rats Destroyers as reinforcements.
• Shen Mu arrived, heard that the wall was holding, and left its defense to Fatis while relying on Zhang Bo to handle trouble among the Blue Star Humans in Dhirim.
• Zhang Bo reached the conflict site and found the High-Level Managers covered in blood, while the Middle-Level Managers had disappeared.
• Zhang Bo realized that the High-Level Managers might have wiped out the Middle-Level Managers and that his plan had slipped beyond his control.

Zhang Bo found that Zhou Mo had destroyed the Middle-Level Managers and disrupted his plan to throw Dhirim into chaos. After pretending to accept Zhou Mo’s purge, Zhang Bo ordered his spies to set the Town Area on fire and headed to the eastern gate to push Shen Mu into the Castle Area.

• Zhou Mo told Zhang Bo that the Middle-Level Managers had been killed as Diesel Company Remnants and threatened to implicate him if he objected.
• Zhang Bo praised Zhou Mo’s actions and urged him to search for more supposed Diesel Company Remnants, while secretly hoping the purge would cause further unrest.
• Zhang Bo met a Blue Star Human informant and ordered him to gather his spies and set the Town Area ablaze, blaming the High-Level Managers.
• Zhang Bo hurried toward the eastern gate, planning to claim that his divination sensed a dangerous power and persuade Shen Mu to leave the Town Area for the Castle Area.

Shen Mu inspected the East Side City Wall, where Lake Rats Destroyers held back the Skeleton Legion, and considered the threat of bone slopes reaching Dhirim’s defenses. Zhang Bo then reported that his divination showed Shen Mu and Dhirim in danger, with safety only inside the Castle Area, prompting Bestur and Fatis to urge Shen Mu to take shelter there.

• Shen Mu found the Lake Rats Destroyers crushing the Bone Skeletons and felt reassured that they could hold the East Side City Wall.
• Shen Mu worried that enemy Spellcasters might build bone slopes over Dhirim’s walls, while Bestur reported that sentries were watching the Castle Area and Fatis said Jeremus was in charge there.
• A Swadian Footman brought Zhang Bo to Shen Mu after Zhang Bo abandoned his investigation of the Diesel Company Remnants to report an urgent warning.
• Zhang Bo told Shen Mu that divination showed both Shen Mu and Dhirim faced danger and that only the Castle Area was safe.
• Bestur and Fatis agreed that Shen Mu should enter the Castle Area to avoid the danger.

Zhang Bo urged Shen Mu to leave Dhirim’s exposed defenses, and Shen Mu withdrew to the Castle Area while Bestur and Fatis took charge outside. Fires then broke out in the Town Area, and Zhang Bo blamed the Diesel Company Remnants as Shen Mu watched the city from the castle tower.

• Zhang Bo, Bestur, Fatis, and Zhang Song urged Shen Mu to move to the Castle Area, citing danger to him and Dhirim.
• Shen Mu agreed, ordered the surplus troops to withdraw, and took Zhang Bo with him under the escort of the Sacred Tree Knights.
• Bestur began arranging troop movements while Fatis stayed to guard the East City Wall, alarming Blue Star Humans in the Town Area as rumors spread that they would be abandoned.
• Fires erupted among the densely packed Town Residences, prompting tens of thousands of Blue Star Humans to fetch water and bring the flames under control.
• From the Castle Main Building tower, Shen Mu watched the city as Zhang Bo attributed the fires to the Diesel Company Remnants.