Chapter Summaries

He Ao prepared for threats around Ilan City by ordering investigations and gathering local intelligence on routes near the South City Command Center. After leaving White Jasmine Palace in an inconspicuous old car, he set out for the Southern District while the Youth received a mysterious Transcendent Item.

• He Ao learned that a mechanized mercenary group had arrived north of Ilan City and instructed Scott to protect trade caravans and monitor the North City Gate.
• He Ao tasked Tucker with investigating a warehouse owner, two factories, Wilderness Wanderers’ reports near Kepesi Mining’s northern mines, and a local Youth familiar with the Southern District.
• The Youth accepted a silver briefcase containing a Transcendent Item from a machine-faced man, then repaired a wristband in his shop.
• At the police department, the Youth corrected Eve’s map of the Southern District, revealing a rooftop shortcut from the Low-Rise Building District to Commercial City near the South City Command Center.
• He Ao arranged to travel without drawing attention, bought a privately owned fifty-year-old sedan, and told Eve to drive to the Southern District.

He Ao woke as Vian and learned that Nolanka Group was facing economic pressure from rival conglomerates. He decided to protect Ilan City by sending the Group’s Mercenary Group to escort a shipment of grain there, leaving Nolanka poised to confront the growing threat.

• He Ao woke from his sleep, met with Danny and Lina, and reviewed the Group’s recovery and worsening trade restrictions.
• Lina reported that rival conglomerates were blocking Nolanka’s sales and raising its costs, while Nord Financial Consortium offered a public listing that He Ao rejected.
• He Ao identified Ilan City as a potential market and ally, and Fiss explained that the conglomerates’ push against Ilan threatened Dawn City and, eventually, Nolanka.
• He Ao ordered Fiss to gather the Mercenary Group and escort Nolanka’s grain shipment into Ilan City.
• He Ao told Danny that Nolanka could no longer retreat and that lasting peace required struggle.

He Ao reviewed intelligence about Ives Space System’s warehouse and factories, then warned Kewei that the conglomerate would likely attack South City with help from the Prisoner Gang’s surviving extraordinary fighters. He concluded that the assault and an attempted decapitation strike against the South City Command Center could come that night.

• Tucker reported that a mysterious client had rented a warehouse, where trucks carried unidentified cargo and personnel, and that a likely Prisoner Gang contact had disappeared.
• Tucker briefed He Ao on the machinery factory’s transport routes and the chemical factory’s limited output, while Wilderness Wanderers reported a small mechanized Mercenary Group north of Ilan City.
• He Ao told Tucker to increase patrols around the Mayor’s Residence, keep his departure secret, and contact him if anything happened.
• Kewei told He Ao that Ives Space System’s air forces had arrived outside the safe zone and that South City’s gates would be vulnerable in an assault.
• He Ao and Kewei reasoned that the Prisoner Gang’s surviving fighters could target the South City Command Center while Ives Space System’s forces drew away the City Defense Army.
• He Ao predicted that the attack would happen that night.

He Ao and Kewei deduced that the Prisoner Gang planned a northern feint while a superhuman squad approached the Command Center from the east, and they prepared to ambush it. As war began, Youth Vels left the Low-Rise Building District carrying a suitcase, while the Command Center detected giant war machines crossing into action.

• Kewei reviewed intelligence on three sites, and He Ao deduced that the warehouse attack would be a feint while the real strike came from the east using personnel from the Chemical Factory and equipment from the machinery factory.
• He Ao proposed ambushing the eastern squad near the Command Center, and Kewei agreed to lead the operation while arranging for the Staff Department to relocate to the air defense facility.
• He Ao told Kewei he was already heading west, and Kewei affirmed that the City Defense Army would not betray his trust.
• Youth Vels shut his shop, took a silver suitcase, and left through the East Gate after telling Jielin he would return.
• The South City Command Center watched giant war machines activate and cross the line, signaling that the flames of war had begun.

Ilan City came under attack by the Ives Space System Mercenary Group as the corporation publicly disavowed the force and blamed its commander, Klosswei. Near the South City Command Center, He Ao confronted Lynn, whom he identified as the Great Instructor from the Abyss.

• The City Defense Army prepared for an assault as enemy vehicles and mechas approached the South City Command Center, and the Brawny Man ordered his forces to fire.
• White Shirt and Cigar Man evacuated the City Council Building and feared that the corporations would take control of the city after the attack.
• A news broadcast reported that Ives Space System had declared its mercenary force rogue, offered a bounty for Klosswei, and warned that the force threatened cities across the Federation.
• Lynn crossed deserted rooftops toward the South City Command Center while fighting continued nearby.
• He Ao waited at an intersection and greeted Lynn as the Great Instructor from the Abyss.

He Ao confronted Vels and deduced his layered plan to attack the South City Command Center, then faced the Abyssal creature after Vels transformed into a towering bone monster. Vels’s powers weakened He Ao and hindered his movement, while the fighting spread to the east and He Ao continued trying to reach the ruby sustaining the monster.

• He Ao questioned Vels about his independent mind and inferred that an Abyssal High-Level Existence had sent the organized forces to Ilan City.
• He Ao explained how he deduced Vels’s fallback plan to strike the Command Center from the west, and Vels confirmed his reasoning.
• Vels transformed into a huge skeletal monster, retrieved a glowing red gemstone from his suitcase, and attacked He Ao as he tried to knock it away.
• He Ao’s dagger cracked against Vels’s bones, and Vels’s decree forbidding jumps restricted He Ao’s ability to evade attacks.
• Vels’s bone pillar injured He Ao and spread ghostly green energy through his flesh as artillery sounded from the east, where Kewei’s force engaged the Decapitation Squad.
• He Ao stood against Vels, knowing that the city’s defenders and its vulnerable residents would die if the city fell.

He Ao fought Vels among the Bone Pillars and discovered that their energy network converged underground. He destroyed its core, seized the ruby, and lifted its decree, leaving Vels’s colossal skeletal body exposed with its heart in execute range.

• Vels used the ruby’s decrees and the Bone Pillars to slow He Ao and attack him, while ghostly green energy drained He Ao’s vitality.
• He Ao fought through the pillars, discovered that they shared an underground Energy Circuit, and used the ruby as bait to distract Vels.
• He Ao struck the network’s underground Energy Convergence Point with the Eagle Claw Blade, disrupting the Bone Pillars and escaping the thicket.
• He Ao remotely controlled the ruby with divine consciousness and used it to lift the decree as Vels emerged from underground.
• He Ao spotted the fleshy heart in Vels’s chest as energy converged on it and the health bar entered execute range.

He Ao defeated Vels’s skeletal giant by using the ruby and Brass Cane to pierce its heart, then received Vels’s final gift and transformed the cane into Authority. He picked up a key and headed toward the ongoing battle near the Command Center.

• Vels attacked He Ao with a skeletal giant, but He Ao used the ruby’s decrees to slow and hinder him while enduring their cost to his vitality.
• He Ao mounted the ruby on the Brass Cane and drew Vels into a final exchange, then used Thought Alteration to make Vels misjudge his attack.
• He Ao pierced the giant’s heart with the ruby, causing its body to collapse, while Vels survived in his human form among the bones.
• Vels gave He Ao eerie green radiance before his phantom dissipated, and the radiance transformed the Brass Cane into Authority, which could become a sword.
• He Ao picked up a key left where Vels’s soul shadow had vanished and walked toward the artillery fire and the battle near the Command Center.

Kewei’s forces ambushed the enemy convoy, but an Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb disabled much of their equipment and exposed Kewei to a Decapitation Strike. He Ao arrived in time to kill the two attackers, and Kewei gave him a Life Goddess Church pocket watch that could temporarily heal his injuries; the Staff Department then called Kewei.

• Kewei ordered his forces to keep suppressing the convoy and encircling it while staying alert for an Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb and enemy Transcendents.
• An Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb disabled electronic weapons and Mechas, and two enemy Transcendents emerged to kill Kewei.
• Kewei fought the two attackers with a black rod, enduring their strikes as they overwhelmed him with a sea-fish phantom and a flaming bull-headed giant.
• He Ao arrived and used a jade-like sword to kill the short attacker, allowing Kewei to cut down the tall attacker.
• Kewei offered He Ao a pocket watch that could temporarily heal injuries, and He Ao accepted it after learning its effects.
• The communications gradually recovered, and a young officer brought Kewei a call from the Staff Department.

He Ao accompanied General Kovi to South City’s Command Center as the Ives Space System Mercenary Group launched a full-scale assault. Kewei’s trap destroyed a Sky Behemoth and slowed the enemy advance, while He Ao received a call with intelligence from the north.

• Kewei told He Ao that the Prisoner Gang’s monsters were abyssal life-forms, and recalled a ruin where contaminated teammates had died after reading strange information.
• Kewei ordered the City Defense Army to reduce its counterfire and wait as the mercenary force advanced, while He Ao stood behind him in support.
• Kewei ordered every High-Explosive Armor-Piercing Missile port to target the vanguard Sky Behemoth, and the barrage brought it down and destroyed other aerial units.
• The mercenary force pulled back and resumed its advance more cautiously, while Kewei ordered the City Defense Army to maintain its fire and vowed to defend the high wall.
• He Ao told Kewei that conditions in the north were bad, then received a call from an unfamiliar number he recognized as likely carrying northern intelligence.

He Ao received intelligence from Penny that Kepesi Mining had assembled a second Mercenary Group in the mines north of Ilan City while another attacked from the north, as Ives Space System attacked from the south. With Scott unable to safely reinforce both fronts, He Ao headed for the North City Defense Army Command Center.

• Penny told He Ao that the Wilderness Wanderers Mutual Aid Society had tracked military units disguised as caravans gathering at Kepesi Mining's northern mines, likely forming a second Mercenary Group with heavy equipment.
• Penny explained how the Mutual Aid Society grew from Ronald's former camp and sent He Ao its raw intelligence data.
• He Ao left the South City Command Center after Kewei reported that Ives Space System's attack was overpowering the defenders.
• The Youth tried to contact his brother from the Ilan City Police Department but could not reach him.
• He Ao called Scott, who reported that Kepesi Mining's force was approaching North City and that he could not spare enough troops to reinforce the south without risking the north.
• He Ao told Scott to prioritize North City's defense, then set his vehicle's destination to the North City Defense Army Command Center.

Scott rallied North City’s soldiers to attack South City and kill Lynn, while He Ao stopped in Wick District to buy a suit and speak with a shopkeeper and her daughter. As He Ao drove away to prepare himself, North City’s mechanized forces approached the high wall and an officer asked whether to open the gates.

• Scott addressed North City’s soldiers, blamed the mayor for the crisis, and promised them cash and glory for killing Lynn and ending the war.
• The Little Girl told He Ao that flying robots had passed eastward over the high wall, while her mother fetched him a suit.
• He Ao learned that the shopkeeper’s store was burdened by Kepesi Mining’s charges and that her family had benefited from the children’s Medical Insurance Act he had promoted.
• The shopkeeper recognized He Ao as Lynn and tried to refuse payment, but he paid for the suit and accepted a bucket of water before leaving.
• The shopkeeper closed the store and told her daughter that Lynn had once saved her, while He Ao changed out of his bloodstained suit in his car.
• At North City Command Center, an officer watched mechanized forces approach the high wall and asked whether the gates should be opened.

A thin officer secretly planned to betray Scott by taking control of the City Gate Control Center and opening the gates to Kepesi Mining’s forces, while soldiers at the gate debated whether Mayor Lynn could be trusted. The chapter ended as an old sedan stopped before the closed North City gate.

• The thin officer publicly reaffirmed Scott’s order to defend the north gate, then privately told the young officer that Scott’s political plans depended on keeping the gates closed.
• The thin officer persuaded the young officer to seize the City Gate Control Center, claiming Kepesi Mining had brought two mechanized Mercenary Groups and would breach the gates regardless.
• The young officer pledged to carry out the plan, and the thin officer raised a glass to Scott’s downfall.
• Two soldiers at the North City Gate Control Center discussed Mayor Lynn, with the military-capped soldier doubting that Lynn differed from previous mayors.
• An old silver-and-blue sedan arrived and stopped before the closed North City gate.

Scott advanced toward Saint Ilan while a covert force prepared to seize North City's gate controls. He Ao confronted the command center guards, asserted his authority as North City's commander, and entered the building as the surrounding forces watched.

• Scott ordered his unit to accelerate through Saint Ilan and warned the South City defenders to withdraw.
• A young officer planned a silent assault on the City Gate Control Center, intending to open North City's gates.
• He Ao arrived at the North City Command Center and pressured a captain into leading him toward the command building.
• The captain trapped He Ao outside the building with Seraph Mechs, automated defenses, and armed soldiers, then claimed He Ao lacked authorization to enter.
• He Ao invoked his authority as mayor and supreme commander, and the captain collapsed and died as He Ao ordered him to move.
• He Ao entered the command building and took the elevator to the top floor while the surrounding soldiers and Mechs held their fire.

He Ao fought through the North City Command Center and used the law and his Judge ability to turn rebel soldiers against their allies. After killing General Sler’s adjutant, He Ao took control of North City’s main computer and broadcast orders to suppress the rebellion.

• Soldiers at the North City Gate Control Center discovered an attack, raised the alarm, and found their communications jammed.
• He Ao used his authority as mayor and the Judge’s ability to make rebel soldiers in the command center turn their weapons on the attackers.
• He Ao advanced toward the Combat conference room while the soldiers fought beside him, and a frightened new recruit told him General Sler was inside.
• He Ao survived a pressure-triggered mine and killed General Sler’s adjutant, who had tried to ambush him with Night Walker’s ability.
• He Ao accessed North City’s main control computer through his mayoral authority and ordered Eve to broadcast across North City.
• He Ao announced General Sler’s execution, assumed command of North City’s military forces, and ordered officers to suppress the rebellion or report to the Combat conference room.

After Mayor Lynn’s broadcast exposed the rebellion, Brigade Commander Mide rallied his soldiers to defend the city gates and protect the mayor. He Ao used the main control computer to scan the city network and uncover an unauthorized device, while armed enemies advanced toward him in the Command Center.

• Mide learned that Lynn had entered the Command Center alone, then ordered his men to protect the mayor and stop Scott’s forces from taking the city gates.
• Soldiers at the North City Gate Control Center heard part of the broadcast and renewed their resistance, believing reinforcements might be coming.
• He Ao connected Eve to the main control computer and had her scan North City’s network for unauthorized devices.
• Eve located an anomalous device in the combat conference room, and He Ao found it hidden in the dead officer’s clothes and asked Eve to crack it.
• He Ao heard an armed force approaching through the corridor and faced a mechanical suit and Exoskeleton Armor soldiers at the end of a trail of blood.

He Ao took command of the North City Defense Army after killing the rebel officer, then rallied the surrendered soldiers to face the approaching Second Battalion. Meanwhile, Mide’s forces relieved the North City Gate Control Center and reached the command center, where they learned Mayor Lynn had survived and was waiting for them.

• He Ao killed the officer who ordered the soldiers to fire, then offered pardon to those who surrendered.
• A young soldier lowered his rifle, and the others followed; when the Second Battalion approached, He Ao ordered them to take up their weapons and quell the rebellion.
• Mide’s forces arrived at the North City Gate Control Center, killed the attacking battalion commander, and relieved the defenders.
• The Wide-faced Military Officer and his troops reached the command center, mistook its cleanup crews for Scott’s soldiers, and prepared to fight their way in.
• A mechanical armor soldier told the officers that Lynn was alive and waiting inside, causing them to freeze in surprise.

He Ao put down the rebellion in North City by defeating Scott’s loyal officers and persuading much of the City Defense Army to join him. After Scott discovered that his officers were unreachable, he turned his forces back toward North City, where He Ao watched the army approach from the city wall.

• He Ao met the Third Brigade officers and explained that the surrendered soldiers had helped him suppress the rebellion.
• He Ao learned that Scott had taken North City’s most elite troops and advanced weapons, leaving Mide’s forces outnumbered.
• Eve sent He Ao a photo showing that the Kopes Mercenary Group’s main force had moved out.
• Scott reached White Jasmine Palace, grew suspicious when North City officers failed to answer, and ordered most of his army to return.
• He Ao stepped onto the North City wall and looked down at the approaching army.

He Ao rallied North City's officers and reorganized the city’s defenses as two Kepesi mercenary groups advanced. He left Mide in charge of recommendations for commanders, then watched the enemy approach and chose to wait as the mercenary commander ordered his army forward.

• Mide reported that North City’s gates were secured and that he had brought the remaining brigade officers under control; He Ao learned Kepesi had deployed two mercenary groups.
• He Ao challenged Pein and the other officers to stand by North City, and they declared they would resist rather than surrender.
• He Ao reorganized the six brigades into four defense zones, distributed the Third Brigade among them, and entrusted Mide with recommending commanders.
• Mide estimated North City could hold out for at most twenty minutes in a direct fight, while He Ao said they should wait and watched the center of the mercenary forces.
• A red-bearded commander spotted He Ao through a telescope and ordered his army to advance at full speed.

Commander Fiss redirected his forces to reach Ilan City quickly, while He Ao entered Scott’s office and Mide waited for events to unfold. As Ilan City’s defenders struggled against the Ives Space System attack, General Kovi received a tactical coordination invitation from the Nolanka Mercenary Group.

• Commander Fiss ordered the Fourth Brigade to protect the trade caravan, sent artillery to a mountain position, and directed the remaining brigades to reach Ilan City within half an hour.
• He Ao instructed the city officers to stay silent toward the Kopes Mercenary Group, then used Eve and a nail file to open Scott’s fortified office and began examining its books.
• Mide learned that Scott’s forces were returning and that the Kopes vanguard had crossed the security boundary; He Ao replied only, “Wait.”
• The Bearded Man’s forces continued advancing toward Ilan City after receiving no alarms or responses from the city defenses.
• General Kovi ordered Ilan City’s defenders to use their remaining missiles and old stock as the city gates failed, then installed Eve from an unknown data packet.
• Eve connected to an antenna, received a data packet, and presented General Kovi with a tactical coordination invitation from the Nolanka Mercenary Group.