Chapter Summaries

Han Dong reunited with his companions at an upscale dungeon bar and turned their gathering into a discussion of their chosen talents. The chapter ended after Abel revealed his first-tier Dragon Clan talent, which strengthened his body and steered his future transformation toward dragonization.

• Han Dong chose Medusa's Eye for the gathering, where Demps arrived and secured them a private room with his premium membership.
• Han Dong's companions reunited with him, and Demps arrived last after replenishing his energy.
• Han Dong asked everyone to discuss their chosen talents and explained the effects of his Dark Knowledge talent.
• Abel revealed his Dragon Clan talent, Dragon Blood Warrior, and demonstrated the physical changes it triggered.
• Han Dong recognized that Abel's dragon blood and own abilities together had enabled the Dragon Clan path to emerge.

Abel, Mia, Wenli, and Demps revealed their Talent Tree abilities during the gathering, while Han Dong kept his second-layer talent secret. The gathering ended in chaos when Wenli defeated Abel in an arm-wrestling match, smashing through the bar’s ceiling.

• Demps warned Abel that joining the Imperial Guard could prevent him from succeeding Commander Kaimon as head of the Behemoth Knight Order, and Abel remained firm in his choice.
• Mia revealed Sola’s Witchfire, a talent that let her attacks damage souls, and Han Dong approved of its offensive potential.
• Wenli chose Hercules’s Praise, which increased her strength and could grant permanent strength gains when she defeated physically formed aberrations.
• Demps described his Demonic Path Seeker talent, and Han Dong declined to reveal his own second-layer talent.
• Abel challenged Wenli to arm-wrestling, and Han Dong refereed the match.
• Wenli defeated Abel so forcefully that he crashed through the ceiling into the first-floor rubble, dislocating his arm and knocking out a customer beneath him.

Hugo emerged from the Secret Hall with the deciphered Old King Stone Tablet, allowing the Holy City’s leaders to finalize the Great Expedition. The city then announced that the expedition would begin in the year 291 of the Eternal Night Era and entered citywide war preparation.

• Alien demon corruption burst from the Secret Hall, but Hugo emerged after killing the foreign demons and absorbed all the corruption that had spread outside.
• Hugo brought the deciphered Old King Stone Tablet to the council hall, and the leaders finalized the Great Expedition after two more days and nights of deliberation.
• Han Dong’s group settled the damage from Wen Li and Abel’s arm-wrestling match by revealing their identities and compensating the tavern.
• A citywide broadcast announced the Great Expedition and declared that the Holy City had entered a state of war preparation.

Grand Knight Roland announced the year-long Eve of Expedition and the three-stage selection process for the Great Expedition. Han Dong and his teammates discussed whether to join, and the group leaned toward entering the selection, though Demps remained indifferent.

• Grand Knight Roland announced the Eve of Expedition preparations and explained the Expeditionary Force’s three-stage eligibility review.
• The team received their base scores, with Valen Nicholas at the maximum of thirty and Mia Seminovich lowest at five.
• Han Dong asked whether his teammates wanted to join the Great Expedition, which could keep them away for years or decades.
• Han Dong said he hoped to join, and Abel said he would likely follow if the Crow Prophet wanted Han Dong to participate.
• Mia and Wenli agreed to work toward joining the Expeditionary Force, while Demps said he was fine either way.

Han Dong and his team agreed to prepare for the Great Expedition by training together and earning qualification points through Investigation Missions. When they arrived at Knight Headquarters, a new category of distant, high-risk missions opened to Gold Grade teams, offering substantial rewards and Expedition points.

• Han Dong reassured his team that his hidden shelter could protect them from danger during the Great Expedition, and the team agreed to join the expedition together.
• Mia asked Han Dong for help earning enough points, and he agreed to look for difficult missions so the team could train with their new abilities.
• Demps suggested that the team pursue Investigation Missions, which led them to Knight Headquarters as knights crowded in to accept assignments.
• Knight Headquarters announced trial operations for Investigation Missions: Far, which Gold Grade or higher teams could accept for substantial rewards and Great Expedition points.

Han Dong and his companions registered their knight team, naming it Raven-lore (Crow's Whisper), and learned it began at Iron Grade. Afterward, Han Dong spotted Lucius, Lenze, and Zhen at the building offering distant investigation missions.

• Abel explained how knight teams registered, earned Experience Points, and rose through ranks.
• Han Dong and his companions registered their team at Knight Headquarters, and Han Dong chose the name Raven-lore (Crow's Whisper).
• The registrar recognized Han Dong as the top candidate of the year's Knight Selection and confirmed the team had Iron Grade rank.
• Han Dong saw Lucius, Lenze, and Zhen near the distant investigation mission building and called out to them.
• Han Dong observed that Lucius had become a Third-Tier Knight and that Zhen and Lenze had also changed since their last meeting.

Han Dong and Lucius arranged to join their squads for a distant investigation mission, and General Wood Frizman approved the exception. The group reviewed three possible missions and had yet to choose one.

• Han Dong proposed forming a joint squad with Lucius's Scarlet Vow to take a distant investigation mission.
• Lucius led the group to Building Three, where staff confirmed Scarlet Vow was Gold Grade and summoned General Wood Frizman.
• Wood made an exception allowing the newly formed Iron Grade squad to join a distant mission, citing Han Dong's Corruption Immunity.
• Wood explained the mission rules and gave Lucius a collection of distant investigation cases.
• The group reviewed cases involving Corrupted Shamans in the wetlands, a Mysterious Corpse Hider, and strange sounds at Port Ostia.

Han Dong persuaded Lucius to pursue the port incident discovered by Mr. Black and White, then recruited Vino Sylest’s team to help meet the mission’s requirements. Vino went upstairs to discuss the mission with her teammates, leaving Han Dong waiting for her answer.

• Han Dong argued that investigating the unsettling voices at Port Ostia could earn more expedition points and provide powerful deep-sea beings for Scarlet Manor, and Lucius agreed to pursue it.
• Han Dong contacted Vino Sylest, who was nearby in Building Three, and asked her team to join the large-scale investigation.
• Vino took the mission book, pinched Han Dong’s hand, and went upstairs to consult her teammates before giving him an answer within ten minutes.
• Lucius explained that Vino was a Battle Nun trained to restrain Abyssal Demons, and Abel added that she held a high position in the Holy Knight Order.
• Han Dong described Vino as an old friend, while Mia reacted jealously and Lucius welcomed the prospect of her team’s help.

Vino persuaded Captain Deeds to let Silver Edge join Han Dong’s team for a long-range Investigation Mission, and the teams formed an alliance. They planned to depart from West Gate the next morning, while Vino privately asked Han Dong to contribute during the mission.

• Vino convinced Captain Deeds to cooperate with Han Dong’s team, arguing that Han Dong’s Corruption Immunity and the intelligence from his teacher made the mission worthwhile.
• The teams introduced themselves and agreed to split any final rewards in a five-to-three-to-two ratio, with Silver Edge receiving the largest share.
• The alliance submitted the mission and planned to leave from West Gate at ten the next morning, with Han Dong assigned to gather more information from Mr. Black and White.
• After the others left, Vino struck Han Dong and told him she had proposed the joint operation despite Deeds’s reservations, so she expected him to contribute.
• Han Dong offered to treat Vino to dinner and said he also wanted to ask her about the Battle Nuns.

Han Dong and Vino discussed the Holy City’s secret special units and the upcoming Great Expedition before preparing for an Investigation Mission. At the west city gate, Han Dong arrived with Mr. Black and White’s Crow Reins, joining the other two squads’ carriages.

• Vino told Han Dong about the Battle Nuns, the Brain-Dead Suicide Squad, and the Imperial Dragon Riders, special units being formed for the Great Expedition.
• Vino asked about Han Dong’s Talent Tree, and he called it Smiley Face without explaining its abilities.
• Han Dong and Vino agreed to meet at the city gate after dinner, and Vino sensed that her Holy Light had no effect on him.
• Han Dong learned through Mia that Mr. Black and White had left, then completed his preparations for the Investigation Mission.
• Han Dong arrived at the west city gate in Mr. Black and White’s Crow Reins, surprising the people in the other two carriages.

Han Dong led Crow’s Whisper, Silver Edge, and Crimson Vow toward Port Ostia, using Mr. Black and White’s stealthy carriage and scouting abilities to guide the journey. Near the port, the teams spotted a strange middle-aged man hauling a cart of seafood.

• Han Dong volunteered to lead the teams, and they arranged their carriages with Crow’s Whisper in front, Silver Edge in the middle, and Crimson Vow behind.
• Abel told Han Dong that Mr. Black and White had rarely left the Stargazing Room, and Han Dong suspected the departure might relate to the Great Expedition.
• The teams crossed Gayn Forest, avoided a strange lake, killed antlered abominations, and parked their carriages at a safe point before continuing on foot.
• Han Dong detected movement ahead and called the teams into cover; Captain Deeds later sensed it too.
• A plainly dressed man with gill-like structures beneath his cheekbones appeared, pulling a cart loaded with seafood along the highway.

Han Dong and the three squads encountered Henny Mabrey, a seemingly uncorrupted man hauling contaminated conches, and discovered the conches were deadly creatures. After Lucius destroyed most of them and captured one as evidence, the squads began investigating Port Ostia.

• Han Dong used his Lesser Demon Eye to see that Henny Mabrey's brain was protected by a membrane and seawater, while the conches on his cart leaked filth.
• Knight Veno confirmed that Henny showed no signs of contamination, but the conches emitted a foul aura, so Captain Deeds ordered the squad to capture him.
• Han Dong used laughter and mental control to make Henny identify himself as a waste-processing worker, but the conches grew restless and resisted the squad's attempts to freeze them.
• The conches broke free of Sura's ice, extended tentacles, and tore Henny apart before swallowing him.
• Lucius cut down nearly all the conches and restrained one alive as evidence for the investigation.
• Captain Deeds set a three-hour investigation period, and the three squads headed toward Port Ostia from different directions.

Han Dong’s squads investigated the strange port town of Ostia and found signs of a Deep Sea presence and residents who slept with conches covering their faces. After their communications failed, the scouts discovered they were trapped on an unknown island with no road back to the Holy City.

• Nicole sensed a weak connection of Same Origin to the strange man and conch, while Han Dong told her to remain in the prison during the investigation.
• Wen Li, Han Dong, and Demps found Port Town filled with filthy streets, altered residents, shipyards, and fishing boats moving through the fog.
• A vast silhouette appeared behind the fog and seemed to watch Han Dong, after which he lost contact with Scarlet Manor, Stuart Manor, and Mother.
• The squads confirmed that sleeping residents covered their faces with conches and found their Clockwork Devices could no longer contact the Holy City.
• Captain Deeds, Senior Sister Zhen, and Abel returned from trying to reach the Holy City and reported that the road led only to sea cliffs, leaving them trapped on an unknown island.

Han Dong and two knight squads became trapped on an island where a sea fog cut them off from the outside world, so Deeds organized an investigation of Port Town. Han Dong disguised himself as a fisherman and infiltrated the harbor, where he found a crewman about to use a conch.

• Han Dong sent a crow over the sea, confirmed the group was trapped on an isolated island, and lost contact with it in the surrounding fog.
• Deeds ordered the squads to prioritize escape, monitor one another for corruption, and infiltrate Port Town to uncover its secrets.
• Lilynsia and Lucius demonstrated disguises, and Han Dong transformed into a convincing fisherman and volunteered to investigate alone.
• The knights checked their Clockwork Devices, then split up and entered Port Town from different directions.
• Han Dong used a Void Tentacle to reach the harbor, where he saw a crewman pull nails from his eyelids and raise a conch to his face.
• Han Dong's translucent tentacles entered the crewman's nose and mouth, putting him to sleep while the other crewmen kept sorting conches.

Han Dong investigated the conchs’ effects on Port Town’s residents and joined the Grandis’s dangerous voyage to learn what lay beyond the harbor. As the ship entered the fog, a giant octopus tried to attack the crew, but Han Dong drove it away with a glance.

• Han Dong observed a sleeping crewman whose conch cleansed his mind while causing fish-like changes, and concluded that he needed to investigate the conchs at sea.
• Han Dong joined the Grandis as a crewman among a hundred desperate recruits, learning that they were forbidden to use or hide conchs during the voyage.
• The Grandis sailed into thick fog, where a creature seized a crewman and pulled him overboard.
• Han Dong stared at a giant octopus beneath the ship, causing it to withdraw its tentacles and retreat into the sea.

Han Dong investigated the sea’s sleep-inducing influence and witnessed sailors being sacrificed to harvest conches, then searched Port Town with the others for a way home. After secretly speaking with Demps, Han Dong said he might have found a way to leave.

• Han Dong learned from Nicole that sleep was sacred to her people and that their collective dreams connected them to their ancestral bloodline.
• When an elderly sailor fell asleep without a conch, he rapidly mutated, and the captain and sailors killed him.
• The Grandis hauled up conches as a strange song lured fifty sailors into the sea; Han Dong watched the water and appeared to discover a way out.
• Han Dong received ten inferior conches, and the three squads investigated Port Town but found no demons or clear route back to their world.
• Han Dong spoke privately with Demps, then announced that he might have found a way to leave.

Han Dong led three knight squads out to sea, where they endured attacks and the conches’ sleep-inducing song until they reached the formation at the heart of the salvage area. He revealed that the conch formation could provide an exit and prepared to choose Dreamers and Dream Guardians.

• Han Dong persuaded the Silver Edge squad to sail with him after explaining that he had found an exit at sea, and Vino supported his proposal.
• Demps bought The Grandis from its captain using conches, and the squads set sail without recruiting sailors.
• Vino burned away attacking head gulls with holy flames and protected the squads with a blessing as they crossed the foggy waters.
• At the salvage area, the conches’ song and the growing drowsiness repeatedly confused several knights and drew them toward the rail.
• Han Dong’s group reached the formation’s core, where the fog, song, and drowsiness vanished and the surrounding danger intensified.
• Holding a Perfect Conch, Han Dong began preparing to choose the Dreamers and Dream Guardians.

Han Dong persuaded Deeds and Lucius to investigate the source of the Eternal Night by entering a dream through Perfect Conches, while the rest of the crew guarded the ship. The four entered the dream together and encountered a mutated corpse hauler who attacked them, just as Nicole spoke in Han Dong’s mind.

• Han Dong proposed that he, Deeds, Vino, and Lucius enter a dream while the remaining crew guarded the steamship and stood ready to wake them.
• Demps secretly replicated the underwater conch formation beneath the dream entrants to synchronize their entry.
• The four woke inside a dream on a cart piled with drowned corpses wearing conches and jumped off together.
• The conch-masked middle-aged man who hauled the cart declared them unfit to live and transformed into a powerful creature.
• Nicole’s voice sounded in Han Dong’s mind, saying that she wanted it.

The four dreamwalkers killed a Fear Fishman in the deep-sea dream, while Han Dong secretly collected its Essence Liquid. Han Dong then urged the group to treat the dream as a real space and investigate it, leaving the mystery of its nature unresolved.

• Vino used Purifier's Prayer to blind the Fear Fishman and purify the seawater and dead fish around it.
• Deeds pinned the Fear Fishman with a massive silver crossbow bolt, and Lucius severed its head with Scarlet Judgment.
• Han Dong warned Lucius to target the respirator, then secretly extracted Essence Liquid from the fishman's head before Lucius destroyed the respirator and killed it.
• Vino burned the Fear Fishman's remains, and Deeds observed that its contamination and life force exceeded those of a Nascent Otherworldly Demon.
• Han Dong described a fabricated book about layered deep-sea dreams and advised the group to investigate their surroundings as a real space.

Han Dong’s team entered the mist-shrouded Port Town to investigate its secrets, finding the harbor sealed and the streets transformed by seawater and marine life. At a bar, Han Dong sensed an unknown presence upstairs and heard someone urgently call for Nicole to be taken there.

• Han Dong collected the coins left by the fish monster and confirmed that the Conch Respirators would be essential in the dream.
• Han Dong assigned roles to the team: Deeds led, Lucius attacked, Veno defended and supported, and Han Dong scouted.
• Han Dong warned the team not to fall asleep in the dream, since sleeping might lead them into a dangerous dream within a dream.
• The team found the port sealed by a seawall and guarded by residents, then entered town disguised as fellow respirator-wearing dreamers.
• Han Dong went to Captain Parson’s Boots to gather information and sensed tentacled figures upstairs calling for Nicole.