Chapter Summaries

Maritis persuaded three Ancestral Body lords to support her wetland campaign by offering them a rare chance to view the Toad Ancestor’s wall. The lords agreed to share control of their deeds, and the Toad Ancestor’s need for human sacrifices became clear.

• Maritis offered Kit P. Walker, Mr. Buvel Olifus, and Marlow Big Mushroom a chance at wall viewing in exchange for deed usage rights and support in the campaign.
• The four lords agreed that Maritis would command the wetland operation and receive most of the captured Human Knights.
• Maritis led the three lords into the Toad Palace’s sacred Wall Viewing Area, where they encountered the Toad Ancestor’s incarnation shedding.
• Maritis explained that the Toad Ancestor needed High-level Humans as sacrifices and had given her the Wet Tumor Stone to help win the campaign.
• Kit P. Walker, Mr. Buvel Olifus, and Marlow Big Mushroom agreed to assist Maritis and signed the campaign cooperation contract.

The Great Demon Commander accepted the Toad Ancestor’s Wetland Campaign contract and sent 1,108 knights to rescue their captured companions and defeat the fiends. The force reached the Damp Ruins, where it learned it had to split into four companies and capture three deed territories to win.

• The Toad Ancestor ordered nearby Toad Capital lords to launch a surprise attack, seeking human knights as sacrifices for its molting.
• The Great Demon Commander chose to accept the War Contract and appointed Dark Eye Mesfield, Dr. Dachi, Bernal the Eyeless, and Doctor Landen Castinov to lead the campaign.
• The four commanders led 1,108 knights to Lake Trasimeno, where the forty-three missing knights returned and the giant toad transported the force through space.
• Bernal the Eyeless linked the knights’ souls with Lightless Chains so they would stay together during the journey.
• The knights arrived at the Damp Ruins and learned they had to divide into four companies and capture three deed territories to win the Wetland Campaign.

The knights entered the isolated Wetland Campaign ruins, where Bernal took command and Doctor Landon Castinov discovered and removed toad larvae from the lost knights. With the injured knights secured, the group prepared to split among four dangerous roads, but Han Dong found that his land deed could not help him regain the initiative.

• Bernal identified the ruins as a flawless independent space beyond the four land deeds and accepted overall command of the knights.
• Bernal assigned Doctor Landon Castinov to examine the forty-three lost knights and recommended keeping them out of the campaign.
• Doctor Landon uncovered and surgically removed hidden toad larvae from the knights, while the Scarlet physicians completed their operations and darkness shielded the patients' consciousness.
• The knights surveyed four roads leading toward a watched canyon, a smiling jungle, a spore-filled ruin, and the Lower Level populated by Floral Toads.
• Han Dong tested his land deed at each road entrance, but it showed no response, leaving the Knight Order unable to seize the initiative.

The four companies chose their routes by dice after assigning knights evenly, and Han Dong joined Dark Eye Mesfield’s group on the toad road. When Han Dong opened his Lesser Demon Eye, he glimpsed a cavern and a black-furred entity, then collapsed and drew what he had seen; Demps feared it was the Toad Ancestor.

• Bernal the Eyeless proposed evenly distributing knights among the four companies, and Dark Eye Mesfield, Doctor Dachi, and Doctor Landon Kastinov each invited Han Dong to join them.
• Han Dong declined Doctor Dachi and Doctor Landon Kastinov, then joined Dark Eye Mesfield’s group.
• The commanders rolled dice to choose routes, assigning Bernal the Eyeless to the jungle road, Doctor Dachi to the fungal road, Doctor Landon Kastinov to the pitch-black road, and Dark Eye Mesfield to the toad road.
• Han Dong opened his Lesser Demon Eye and saw a cavern covered in strange black skin, where a clump of black fur stirred.
• Han Dong collapsed, vomited black fur and toad skin, and sketched the entity he had glimpsed; Demps asked if he had seen the Toad Ancestor.

Han Dong and Demps concluded that the Old King Toad Ancestor S.G. had created the sealed war zone and might threaten the Knight Order. After noticing Han Dong’s connection to the Book of the Dead, the Toad Ancestor ordered Maritis to capture him alive.

• Han Dong told Demps about glimpsing a King-level existence, and Demps identified it as Toad Ancestor S.G., the creator of the independent war zone.
• Demps warned that the Toad Ancestor could potentially kill the Knight Order within the sealed space, and Han Dong chose to handle any danger himself.
• Han Dong rejoined the team and reassured Mia and Abel that he could protect them if trouble arose.
• Inside the Toad Palace, Maritis assigned the lords to target different Knight Order members, including Dr. Dachi, Dark Eye, and the blood-qi knight.
• The awakened Toad Ancestor summoned Maritis and ordered her to target Han Dong’s squad, capture the human who had studied the Book of the Dead, and use the Wet Tumor Stone if needed.

Han Dong's company encountered a lake where toads disguised themselves as beautiful women and attacked with chaotic magic and poisonous tentacles. Meredith's song protected the knights, and Dark Eye Mesfield's assassins and the company's riflemen counterattacked, leaving the lake covered in dark fluid.

• The company reached an inner lake, where a seductive illusion drew some knights toward the water.
• Meredith played Pan's Melancholy and sang, clearing the mental assault and exposing the toads beneath their disguises.
• The toads attacked the shore with explosive chaotic magic and poisonous Pustule Tentacles, breaking through parts of the knights' defenses.
• Dark Eye Mesfield's assassins emerged from the shadows of their arrows and killed the toads with coordinated strikes.
• The knights on the shore opened fire with Steam City Mechanical Rifles, covering the lake in dark fluid.

After the Knight Orders defeated the Camouflaged Toads in the lake with copper bullets, the drained lake revealed a staircase to the Toad Palace below. Han Dong discovered that his Scarlet Manor resonated with the toads’ territory deed, while the Earl warned him against provoking the Toad Ancestor.

• Congreve Newton’s Mechanical God Cult developed and mass-produced copper bullets that could inhibit Abyssal Demons’ regeneration, and he supplied the Expeditionary Force with ammunition.
• Han Dong and the Knight Orders killed the Camouflaged Toads in the lake by identifying their weaknesses and shooting them with copper bullets.
• A vortex drained the lake and exposed a spiral staircase leading into the toads’ underground territory, and the Knight Orders descended into the cavern.
• Han Dong identified the enormous structure below as the Toad Palace and reasoned that the campaign would involve conflicts inside its vast territory.
• Han Dong tested Scarlet Manor against the Toads’ Medium Deed and found that the two deeds resonated, prompting the Earl to warn him not to challenge the Toad Ancestor.

Han Dong and Demps entered the Toad Palace with the knight company and discussed the Toad Ancestor’s strange powers and the possibility of starting a Deed War to gain access to Observation of Wall. The palace sealed the knights inside, leaving them to face an unexplained silence as they prepared for battle.

• The knight company approached the Toad Palace, whose gates opened by themselves to reveal a hall dominated by a massive Toad Statue.
• Demps warned Han Dong not to stare at the statue and explained how Toad Skin could preserve insights into cosmic truths.
• Han Dong told Demps he had seen a black wall of flowing toad skin with a door, and Demps proposed pursuing a Deed War for a chance at Observation of Wall.
• The knights finished searching the hall without finding danger, but the gates slammed shut and black fur sealed the exits.
• The trapped knights watched for attackers as the hall remained silent and free of aberration aura.

Maritis offered the Knights a supplementary treaty that divided the battle inside the Toad Palace into thirty-two zones, and Dark Eye Mesfield accepted it after the companies voted. Han Dong proposed an uneven team strategy, and he, Abel, Meredith, and Asamo joined forces to hold their zone until support arrived.

• Maritis presented the supplementary treaty, which split the war into thirty-two zones and allowed victorious teams to use shortcuts to support other zones.
• Dark Eye Mesfield called for a vote, and 180 of the 302 Knights supported accepting the treaty and fighting in separate teams.
• Han Dong objected to evenly distributing the Knights and proposed that Mesfield lead a powerful strike team to clear zones and support the others.
• Mesfield used his Assassin's Cursed Eye, found no visible weaknesses in Han Dong, and agreed to his plan.
• Meredith and Asamo joined Han Dong and Abel's team, with Asamo assigned to protect Abel.

Maritis used the Wet Tumor Stone to split the Knight Order and planned to strengthen herself by absorbing weaker knights before capturing Han Dong. Han Dong’s group reached a guarded backyard and faced five Mature Body aberrations, leaving them to choose their targets.

• Maritis emerged from the Toad Idol and planned to absorb weaker knights before attacking Han Dong’s group and taking him to her master.
• Han Dong’s group walked through a passage for five hours, with Meredith’s song helping scout their route.
• The group found a backyard beneath a real sky, where Han Dong spotted a sealed cave that he suspected led to the Toad Incarnation’s nest.
• The envoy appeared from a pool of water, causing four statues to crumble and reveal five Mature Body aberrations.
• Han Dong recommended that the group split up to fight the aberrations, and Asamo told them to choose their targets.

Han Dong and his companions assessed the stone guardians in the Backyard and assigned each one an opponent before the Deed War. Mia prepared to fight the Snake Priest with Han Dong supporting her, while Han Dong sensed that the Backyard might hold further dangers.

• The Scarlet Count identified the statues as powerful beings from places such as Yoth, N'Kai, Hyperborea, and the Dreamlands, and explained that winning the Deed War would give Han Dong control of the area and its caverns.
• Han Dong's group assigned opponents: Asamo chose the Formless Child, Meredith targeted the Toad Palace's Envoy, Abel took the Wormi, and Demps chose the Nightgaunt.
• Han Dong paired with Mia to face the Snake Priest and urged her to lead, while he watched for unexpected threats elsewhere in the Backyard.
• Mia activated her witchcraft, donned her Power Armor, and summoned Chun as she prepared to fight the Mature Abyssal Demon.
• Han Dong took up his black staff, and a decorated black Jackal Head appeared faintly behind him.

Han Dong and the knights fought the otherworldly demons in the Backyard, while Demps sent the Night Terror back to the Dreamlands. The battle remained unresolved as the rapidly growing Wormi hurled Abel into Demps.

• Han Dong revealed his Mythical Contact as Meredith began using his lute to trap the Toad Palace Emissary and fight it through their consciousnesses.
• Asamo activated Yurtos, Storm Shepherd's Totem and struck the Formless Child, cracking its shell before dodging its shifting forms and attacks.
• Demps sent the Night Terror back to the Dreamlands by using his connection authority as the New King.
• Wormi grew to eight meters and kept increasing in strength, then struck Abel in his Black Dragon Power Armor and sent him crashing into Demps.

Demps discovered that an Origin Flesh Chunk embedded in the Wormi’s neck fueled its infinite growth and strength, and planned to remove it while Abel drew the creature’s attention. Abel charged the Wormi, but the creature anticipated his movements and slammed him into the ground, leaving Demps’s plan in jeopardy.

• Demps used True Sight Eye to find an Origin Flesh Chunk in the Wormi’s neck and realized it was causing the creature’s growth and strength.
• Demps told Abel to distract the Wormi while he removed the chunk, and Abel agreed despite his fear after the earlier blow.
• Abel awakened the ancient beast’s power and charged at the Wormi, narrowly evading its cudgel by changing his trajectory in midair.
• The Wormi predicted Abel’s dodge and struck him with its concealed left hand, smashing him into the ground.

Abel held back the growing Wormi while Demps prepared to extract the Origin Flesh Chunk, and Han Dong intervened to protect him. Demps pulled out the chunk and trapped it in the Rubik’s Cube, leaving the Wormi without its source of power.

• Abel used his dragon scales and rising bestial strength to hold up the Wormi’s palm, resisting its tapeworm tendrils.
• The Wormi’s fear of Abel’s ancient beast form weakened its grip, letting Abel throw off its balance.
• Demps reached the flesh tumor at the back of the Wormi’s neck and began separating the Origin Flesh Chunk with a stripping array.
• Han Dong used a Black Sand Storm and Pharaoh Wall to block the Wormi’s strike and protect Demps.
• Demps transformed and pulled out the Progenitor Flesh Chunk, then trapped it inside the Rubik’s Cube.

Demps and Abel pushed the out-of-control Wormi toward a cave entrance while Han Dong's allies fought the Snake Priest and the Formless Child in the Backyard. The Expeditionary Force won the skirmishes, but a primordial aura of ancestral reversion descended as the Wormi neared detonation.

• Demps told Abel to push the tumor mass left by the Wormi toward a hidden cave entrance, and they moved it deeper into the Toad Palace together.
• Mia fought the Snake Priest with witchcraft and her demon blade, but its speed and invisible poison gradually weakened her.
• Mia injected herself with an herbal antidote, exposing an opening that the Snake Priest exploited with a poisonous python transformation.
• Meredith's lute buffed Mia and shattered the python, allowing Mia to burn the Snake Priest's soul and defeat it.
• Asamo blasted apart the Formless Child, completing the Expeditionary Force's victory in the Backyard, while the Wormi neared detonation at the cave entrance.
• An incomparably shrill voice rang through the Backyard as the primordial aura of ancestral reversion descended.

Han Dong and his companions were transported into the Toad Ancestor’s cavern after Wormi’s explosion, where the Toad Ancestor took control of Maritis and began speaking with Han Dong. It revealed that it wanted his help escaping its endless weariness.

• Abel and Demps detonated Wormi’s restrained body, destroying the rune stone entrance and shaking the Toad Palace.
• The Wet Tumor Stone’s spatial force transported Maritis and Han Dong’s group into the cavern where the Toad Ancestor’s Incarnation resided.
• Meredith stopped the injured Asamo from entering the cave and urged him to help end the battle and report what had happened.
• The Toad Ancestor took control of Maritis’s body, neutralized the Old King’s contamination, and told Han Dong it wanted to discuss something with him.
• Han Dong told Demps to protect Abel and Mia from contamination while he negotiated with the Toad Ancestor, which asked for help escaping its lethargy.

Han Dong and his companions agreed to help the Toad Ancestor find an item in Destiny Space that could relieve its fatigue, in exchange for the Toadkin withdrawing from the wetlands campaign. The Toad Ancestor sent them toward N'Kai, leaving Commander Shaya to explain Han Dong’s sudden disappearance to the Expeditionary Force.

• Han Dong woke the Toad Ancestor from its deep sleep with mad laughter, while Demps helped restore its awareness with a massage.
• The Toad Ancestor asked Han Dong, Demps, Abel, and Mia to search Destiny Space for an item that could ease its fatigue, offering to withdraw the Toadkin and provide rewards.
• Demps, Abel, and Mia agreed to the journey, and Han Dong asked the Toad Ancestor to let him consult his companions before accepting.
• The Toad Ancestor transported Han Dong to Commander Shaya’s office, where Han Dong explained the deal and asked her to account for their absence.
• A toad swallowed Han Dong before he could finish giving Shaya the odds of returning alive, and Shaya noticed the aura of an Old King following him.

Han Dong learned that the Toad Ancestor wanted his team in Destiny Space partly for entertainment, then learned Maritis would join them as a fifth member. He approached Maritis to establish cooperation, and she offered him a handshake despite her anger over the alliance.

• Han Dong realized the Toad Ancestor valued his team’s strength and unusual members, and wanted their journey to provide entertainment as well as a chance to find a remedy for its lethargy.
• The Toad Ancestor told Han Dong that Maritis and Spotted would enter Destiny Space with his group, making five members, and refused his request to bring Wen Li.
• Han Dong returned to the cavern and found Demps giving the Toad Ancestor a massage while Maritis was no longer occupied by its incarnation.
• Han Dong told Mia and Abel that Maritis would join them and warned Mia not to follow him when he went to speak with her.
• Maritis met Han Dong in a shallow pool and extended her hand to signal that she would cooperate with the Toad Ancestor’s arrangements, though she remained angry.

Han Dong and his companions traveled with the Toad Ancestor to N'Kai—Surface City, where Maritis guided them to the Toad Gate, a Destiny Gate modified to let retainers with human attributes enter without losing their memories. The Toad Ancestor appointed Han Dong as commander for the journey, ordering Maritis to assist him without interfering.

• The Toad Ancestor transported Han Dong, Maritis, and the others to N'Kai—Surface City inside its oral sac, whose mucus protected them from contamination.
• Maritis explained that the Toad Gate's interference device allowed retainers bearing human attributes to complete Destiny Space missions and warned that separated intruders would be erased.
• Han Dong and the others entered the King Toad Tower and reached the Toad Gate fused with the brain of a King Toad who had died in battle.
• The Toad Ancestor ordered Maritis to assist Nicholas and declared that Han Dong would hold command authority throughout the journey.
• Maritis obeyed the order while her anger toward Han Dong grew.

Han Dong entered the Toad Gate with Maritis and his companions, learning that the Toad tag would make Destiny Space hostile to their team. As the others were swept away, Han Dong used his Black Vortex Mark to access the Black Tower before rejoining them at the transit station.

• The Toad Ancestor appointed Han Dong team leader, and Han Dong offered to share command authority with Maritis before the ancestor fell asleep.
• Maritis warned Han Dong that the Toad tag would bring unfavorable roles, weaker clues, and pursuit by human teams, and said she would not help if the Knights encountered danger.
• Han Dong asked whether Otherworldly Demons could gain levels in Destiny Space, and Maritis confirmed they could but said few chose to risk it.
• Maritis led the group through the Toad Gate, where a toad mark identified her as a non-human participant; Han Dong told his companions he would first visit another area.
• After his companions were swept through the portal, Han Dong remained behind and received a prompt offering passage to the Black Tower without separating him from his team.