Chapter Summaries

After defeating the Hell Devils, Shen Mu claimed his mission rewards, strengthened his skills and troops, and discovered new rule-based powers from Gold Tier Treasure Chests. The chapter left him with faster crop growth and caravan travel, as well as a morale-boosting breeze that could reach across his Mount & Blade territory.

• Shen Mu received 70,000 Denar, 140,000 Faith Value, a castle, and enhancements to his Mount & Blade Rules and Mind Type Skill.
• Shen Mu upgraded Secret Tome's Blessing to level six, gaining the ability to bestow skills on 60 people and apply [Bewitchment] to targets.
• Shen Mu spent Denar to upgrade 115 Steppe Bandits into Steppe Bandit Elites and 1,000 Vaegir Light Footmen into Tier 3 troops.
• Shen Mu opened three Gold Tier Treasure Chests and obtained an evening breeze that boosted morale, a rule to accelerate crop growth, and a rule to hasten caravans.

Shen Mu learned how Power of Faith could accelerate caravans and crops, giving him a way to address shortages of arrows and food while expanding his influence. As evening approached at New Rivacheg, Khergit scouts heard rhythmic clacking beneath Sujia Village Station.

• Shen Mu reviewed the costs of accelerating caravan travel and crop growth, and calculated how faith could help supply food to Dhirim and New Rivacheg.
• Shen Mu realized that Spiritual Realm Lords protected Blue Star Humans because they needed the Power of Faith those people provided, and he resolved to recruit more survivors.
• Shen Mu watched his troops clear the battlefield, where they collected weapons and armor from nearly five thousand Hell Devil corpses.
• Vaegir Skirmishers and Khergit Steppe Bandits grew contemptuous of the Hell Devils after defeating them, and the Khergits eagerly awaited another fight.
• Khergit Steppe Bandits arrived at Sujia Village Station at dusk and heard a rhythmic sound of bones knocking beneath it.

Shen Mu investigated the sounds of a Skeleton Legion beneath Sujia Village Station and concluded it was marching toward Angang Street to fight the Hell Devils, not attack his territory. He withdrew to New Rivacheg before nightfall, then resolved to return to Dhirim to gather more humans for faith and reconsidered his increasingly strained relationship with the Green Leaf Group.

• Shen Mu and his generals heard Skeleton Soldiers marching beneath Sujia Village Station, but Shen Mu sensed the legion was not ordinary.
• Shen Mu inferred that the Skeleton Legion was heading northeast toward Angang Street and might clash with the Hell Devils there.
• Shen Mu ordered his troops to withdraw to New Rivacheg rather than descend into the tunnel, hoping the monsters’ conflict would give his settlement time to grow.
• Shen Mu’s forces shut the gates and prepared bonfires and torches as night fell and Necromantic Rules spread beyond the walls.
• Shen Mu decided to return to Dhirim after the night to gather Blue Star Humans for faith, and he recognized the Green Leaf Group as a rival over those providers.

Yang Di and the Green Leaf Group executives discussed Shen Mu’s growing Human Territory and the threat it posed to their supply of Blue Star Humans and Power of Faith. Zhang Song revealed that his spies had helped Shen Mu defeat the Orc Tribe, leaving the group wary of confronting him directly.

• Yang Di learned that Shen Mu was absorbing Xue Zhigang’s Orc Tribe and gathering Blue Star Humans to develop his Human Territory.
• Yang Di and the Security and Militia Department heads weighed the danger of losing their people and the risks of relying on the Skeleton Legion of the Black Arrow Tower Seventh Dynasty.
• Zhang Song proposed that they avoid a head-on clash and reminded the group that his informants had infiltrated Shen Mu’s territory.
• Zhang Song admitted that his brother, Zhang Bo, and Zhang Caidong had opened the gates and fomented discord inside the Orc Tribe, enabling Shen Mu’s attack.
• The department heads noted that Shen Mu was a powerful restorative Spellcaster and had defeated Xue Zhigang despite Xue Zhigang’s Supernatural Transformation.

Zhang Bo secretly planned to use Zhang Caidong and the Blue Star Humans in Dhirim to undermine Shen Mu’s Human Territory for Green Leaf Group. He sent a coded message to Green Leaf Group, while dismissing his inheritance’s warning of danger and watching the town continue to expand.

• Zhang Bo reflected on how Zhang Caidong’s authority over housing had helped him gather Blue Star Humans into a group he could secretly control.
• Zhang Bo resolved to help Green Leaf Group destroy Shen Mu’s Human Territory within a month, before it could absorb Diesel Company’s resources and become too powerful.
• Zhang Bo devised a plan to recruit other Blue Star Humans as spies and scapegoats, shielding his own role and earning Shen Mu’s trust.
• Zhang Bo encoded instructions for Green Leaf Group in a note and sent it out with a little sprite under the pretense of a fruit-gathering errand.
• Zhang Bo watched workers build more houses in Dhirim and decided the town’s infrastructure would benefit Green Leaf Group if war broke out.

Zhang Caidong used his authority in Dhirim to organize the Blue Star Humans and direct them to pray to Shen Mu, while enjoying his privileged position. He considered abandoning his previous Spiritual Realm ties so he could become a commander of Shen Mu’s human forces.

• Zhang Caidong enjoyed the respect and Spiritual Realm Food that came with managing the Blue Star Humans in Dhirim.
• Zhang Caidong confronted his Middle-Level Management personnel about holding drinking parties without him, and they explained that Zhang Bo had helped settle a dispute over entry to Dhirim.
• Zhang Caidong urged his subordinates to work toward Official Employee status and ordered them to organize the Blue Star Humans’ prayers to Shen Mu.
• The managers reported that they had divided the Blue Star Humans into squads and arranged prayer access that provided Spiritual Realm Food.
• Zhang Caidong reflected that he could give up his previous Spiritual Realm resonance and seek to become a commander of Shen Mu’s human forces.

Shen Mu rode to Sujia Village Station to confirm whether the Skeleton Legion and Hell Devils were fighting, and discovered that their battle had begun beneath the station. With Vaegir Castle gaining a chance to develop during their conflict, he planned to return to Dhirim and left Alayen in charge of New Rivacheg.

• Shen Mu led Bestur and a cavalry escort out of Vaegir Castle despite their concerns, intending to inspect Sujia Village Station himself.
• The Steppe Bandit Elites cleared the Undead Monsters around the station and in the Underground Supermarket, confirming that the area aboveground was safe.
• A dark red glow appeared below the supermarket, and Shen Mu and Bestur heard battle sounds, arrows, and breaking bones from the station platform and tunnel.
• Shen Mu concluded that the Skeleton Legion and Hell Devils were fighting, then returned to New Rivacheg without getting involved.
• Shen Mu decided to return to Dhirim the next day and put Alayen in charge of New Rivacheg, leaving him ten Sacred Tree Knights and two hundred Steppe Bandits for protection and communication.

Shen Mu left Alayen in command of New Rivacheg and returned to Dhirim with Lezalit, Bestur, and their cavalry. He found Blue Star Humans settling in the town, while Bunduk reluctantly agreed to show the two new commanders around.

• Shen Mu handed New Rivacheg’s defenses and garrison over to Alayen before riding west toward Dhirim with Lezalit, Bestur, and their troops.
• On the journey, Shen Mu saw buildings damaged by falling Spiritual Realm land and worried that Blue Star was growing weaker as the Black Tide expanded.
• Shen Mu entered Dhirim and found Blue Star Humans and their followers living throughout the Town Area in an orderly, crowded settlement.
• Shen Mu sent Lezalit and Bestur’s troops to the Castle Area and asked Bunduk to arrange their accommodations and show the commanders around Dhirim.
• Bunduk accepted Shen Mu’s order despite his dislike of Lezalit and Bestur, whom he regarded as bandits who had harmed civilians.

Bunduk showed Lezalit and Bestur around Dhirim, where they encountered people they had previously wronged. Meanwhile, Shen Mu praised his staff for organizing the Blue Star Humans and promised Mental Energy to help Zhang Bo repair his Magic Crystal Ball.

• Bunduk led Lezalit and Bestur around Dhirim and arranged lodging for their troops, while Jeremus confronted Lezalit over the 1,000 Denars he had stolen after receiving medical treatment.
• Manid confronted Bestur for repeatedly robbing his caravans, and Bestur explained that rival merchants had tipped him off about Manid's whereabouts.
• Manid left for Shen Mu's residence to report on his work, while Bunduk continued showing Lezalit and Bestur the castle's defenses.
• Shen Mu praised Zhang Caidong and the other managers for organizing nearly 25,000 Blue Star Humans in and around Dhirim.
• Shen Mu promised to allocate Mental Energy to repair Zhang Bo's Magic Crystal Ball, learning that it had helped Diesel Company locate Spiritual Realm Marks.

Shen Mu welcomed Lezalit and Bestur into his command, used a lavish Halfling-cooked meal to ease their integration with the other Generals, and urged both factions to unite against the monsters. The chapter left him reflecting on how order defined both Good and Evil Generals and shaped the greater powers of the Spirit World.

• Shen Mu praised Manid’s work organizing the Town Area and relied on Mount & Blade Generals and soldiers to oversee the Blue Star Human’s supplies.
• Fatis and Jeremus joined Shen Mu, and Bunduk returned with Lezalit and Bestur after showing them the Castle Area’s defenses.
• Shen Mu hosted the Generals for a lavish Halfling meal, which Lezalit and Bestur praised and eagerly devoured.
• Shen Mu told the Good and Evil Generals to unite against the monsters, and they agreed to fight together under his command.
• Shen Mu recognized that both factions’ Generals valued order and connected their alignments to the broader balance of power in the Spirit World.

Shen Mu tested Nature's Food Blessing on a wheat field outside Dhirim, using Faith Value to accelerate the crops' growth. He also bestowed Swarm Harassment on Manid, who came to revere him as a deity, and the chapter left Shen Mu and Manid witnessing wheat grow more than a month's worth in seconds.

• Shen Mu set out with Manid to inspect the wheat fields and test how his Power of Faith could accelerate crop growth.
• Manid came to regard Shen Mu as a deity, allowing Shen Mu to use Secret Tome's Blessing to bestow the Level 1 Swarm Harassment skill on him.
• Shen Mu activated Nature's Food Blessing on an acre of wheat, spending 100 Faith Value to accelerate its growth by one day.
• Shen Mu spent another 1,000 Faith Value to accelerate the field by ten days, and Manid noticed the seedlings had grown visibly taller.
• Shen Mu accelerated the wheat by thirty days, and the plants grew to over thirty centimeters tall, with some ears beginning to emerge.

Shen Mu used Faith Value and the Mount & Blade System to accelerate a wheat field’s growth until it ripened in minutes, astonishing Manid and the Swadian Peasants. After the wheat was harvested and sent to the warehouses, Shen Mu planned to test whether he could also speed up caravan journeys.

• Manid saw the wheat grow faster than normal and realized that accelerated harvests could greatly increase Swadia’s food supply.
• Shen Mu accelerated the wheat field’s growth twice more, bringing it to full maturity, while Manid estimated how long remained and noticed green specks aiding its growth.
• Shen Mu summoned Swadian Peasants to harvest the ripe wheat, and they gathered the field’s crop in just over fifteen minutes.
• Manid directed the Peasants to take the wheat to the warehouses, where it would be threshed and stored.
• Shen Mu concluded that Faith Value could provide an ongoing supply of food and turned his attention to testing whether he could accelerate caravan round trips.

Shen Mu used Caravan Acceleration to hasten Torres's caravan’s return from the White Tower Region, hoping to obtain Mana Scrolls that could activate the White Council Torch Tower and cleanse the surrounding land of the Necromantic Rules. The caravan successfully returned to Dhirim, and the soldiers cheered its arrival.

• Shen Mu reviewed Narot's and Torres's caravans and considered how their supplies could strengthen Dhirim and support the Torch Tower.
• Shen Mu entered Dhirim's Castle Area, checked on the growing Sacred White Oak Tree, and visited the White Council Torch Tower.
• Jeremus told Shen Mu that studying the Torch Tower with the Edengard Pious Ones had given him new insights into its spells.
• Shen Mu spent Faith Value to accelerate Torres's Caravan by five days.
• Torres's Caravan returned from the distant Lord of the Rings World, and the soldiers cheered.

Torres returned to Dhirim with supplies and two hundred Mana Scrolls gifted by Saruman, and Shen Mu learned they could power the White Council Torch Tower. After the tower’s runes began reacting to the scrolls, Shen Mu opened a box and headed upstairs to test their effects.

• Torres led his caravan back to Dhirim and marveled at the town’s growth, farmland, walls, and castle.
• Torres and the caravan unloaded their goods in the market trade area while Shen Mu summoned him and Manid to the White Tower.
• Torres presented Shen Mu with twenty boxes containing two hundred Mana Scrolls from Saruman and explained that each scroll powered the Torch Tower for one hour.
• The Pious Ones sensed the scrolls’ mana and discussed studying them, but Shen Mu explained that the scrolls were precious fuel for the tower.
• Shen Mu opened a box, causing the scrolls’ light to stir the tower’s runes, then carried the scrolls toward the stairs to test them.

Shen Mu activated the White Council Torch Tower in Dhirim by lighting its brazier and placing a Mana Scroll on the pulpit. Its holy light illuminated the town, strengthened his soldiers and began purifying Black Mist across a one-kilometer radius, giving the Mount & Blade Rules a firm foothold.

• Shen Mu ordered the brazier lit, and the captain of the Edengard Pious Ones used Sunfire Ray to ignite its kindling instantly.
• The Rhodok Sharpshooters added firewood until the brazier burned fiercely and the Torch Tower's array patterns began to awaken.
• Shen Mu placed a Mana Scroll on the pulpit, and its mana flowed into the arrays to activate the White Council Torch Tower.
• The Mount & Blade System confirmed that Dhirim would remain illuminated while the torch stayed lit, with effects that weakened evil enemies and strengthened allied soldiers.
• The tower's white halo spread roughly one kilometer around Dhirim, where Shen Mu saw Black Mist evaporating from residential buildings.

Shen Mu saw the Tower of Light Torch of the White Council spread the Mount & Blade Rules across the area around Dhirim and planned to obtain its construction blueprint from Saruman. After assigning Jeremus and the Edengard Pious Ones to maintain the tower, he heard Torres report on Saruman’s gifts and request for Abyssal Demon corpses, and considered selling him Hell Devil corpses too.

• The Tower of Light Torch of the White Council released Light Energy, cleared the Gray Fog nearby, and extended the Mount & Blade Rules over a one-kilometer area around Dhirim.
• Shen Mu considered linking multiple Torch Towers into a network of Mount & Blade territory and planned to ask Saruman for the construction blueprint in exchange for Abyssal Demon corpses.
• Shen Mu appointed Jeremus to maintain the Torch Tower and asked the twenty Edengard Pious Ones to help keep its brazier burning and its mana replenished.
• Shen Mu ordered Bunduk to station twenty Lake Rats Destroyers as guards at the Torch Tower before returning to the Noble Residence with Manid and Torres.
• Torres reported that Saruman had sent gifts in fifty wagons and requested more Abyssal Demon corpses for research, prompting Shen Mu to consider supplying Hell Devil corpses as well.

Shen Mu reviewed Dhirim’s supplies and arranged for Torres to deliver food to New Rivacheg, which was running low. He discovered that the Dragon Banner Fragment had stored over fifty-four thousand Faith Value in four days and considered improving conditions for the Blue Star Humans; Zhang Caidong arrived to report on his work.

• Manid told Shen Mu that Dhirim had enough food for three months, while New Rivacheg needed an urgent resupply.
• Shen Mu asked Torres to transport supplies to New Rivacheg, and Torres agreed to help Manid organize the delivery.
• Shen Mu inspected the Dragon Banner Fragment and found that it held 54,711 points of Faith Value.
• Shen Mu attributed the rapid increase in Faith Value to the Blue Star Humans’ organized prayers and considered serving them more Spiritual Realm Food.
• A Swadian Sergeant told Shen Mu that Zhang Caidong was waiting in the living room to report on his work.

Zhang Caidong reported a plan for Blue Star Humans to transfer their soul-level anchors and Mental Energy into Shen Mu’s Lord Core so they could gain Spiritual Realm Followers. Shen Mu understood the proposed system but was unsure how to make it work with his Mount & Blade World, and resolved to investigate the compatibility himself.

• Shen Mu met Zhang Caidong in the guarded Meeting Hall and asked what he had come to report.
• Zhang Caidong explained how Diesel Company employees used sincere prayer and Mind Energy to shift their anchors into the Lord Core and obtain Pigmen as Spiritual Realm Followers.
• Zhang Caidong proposed adapting that system for Blue Star Humans under Shen Mu, allowing them to transfer their anchors and summon followers from Shen Mu’s realm.
• Shen Mu asked whether consenting to their Spiritual Power entering his Lord Core would let the Blue Star Humans recruit his Spiritual Realm Soldiers, and Zhang Caidong confirmed the idea.
• Shen Mu recognized that his Mount & Blade World differed from Spiritual Realm systems and concluded he would need to discover how to make them compatible.

Shen Mu considered Zhang Caidong’s proposal to use loyal Blue Star Humans to expand his influence, while concealing his inability to explain the Mount & Blade System. A group of Blue Star Humans seeking refuge presented a glowing holy artifact to his guards, triggering a temporary mission that could unlock a Special Module.

• Shen Mu acknowledged Zhang Caidong’s suggestion but kept his secret about the Mount & Blade System hidden.
• Zhang Caidong left the Noble Residence, hoping to gain powerful human soldiers to replace the Gnolls he distrusted.
• A group of middle-aged Blue Star Humans discussed offering Shen Mu a holy artifact after avoiding Diesel Company, which had tried to take it.
• The group’s leader approached the guarded street and revealed the artifact, whose light astonished the Swadian soldiers and resonated with the Tower of Light Torch.
• A Swadian Sergeant agreed to report the offering to Shen Mu and ordered the guards to protect the man and artifact.
• Shen Mu received a Temporary System mission to accept the Blue Star Humans and fulfill their requests, with unlocking the Special Module as the reward.

Shen Mu welcomed Sun Zhiru into Dhirim after he offered a Spiritual Realm idol, which could repel Undead Monsters and resist the black mist. Shen Mu’s system began analyzing the idol’s special Rule Power, and he expected to gain a new Power of Faith Module after the 24-hour countdown.

• A Swadian Sergeant told Shen Mu that a Blue Star human had arrived with a glowing statue, and Shen Mu ordered the visitor brought in after security checks.
• Sun Zhiru presented the statue and explained its protective powers, then told Shen Mu he had come to seek refuge with his friends and family.
• Shen Mu recognized Sun Zhiru from an earlier encounter, welcomed him and his companions into Dhirim, and assigned him to work as Zhang Caidong’s assistant.
• After Sun Zhiru left, Shen Mu uncovered the idol, and the Mount & Blade System identified its special Rule Power as a source of a new Power of Faith Module.
• Shen Mu confirmed absorption, and the system began a 24-hour analysis as white Data Streams enveloped the idol.