Chapter Summaries

Gu Xi examined the Warrior Treasure Chest rewards, including a Crimson Temple blueprint, a fiefdom token, recruitment tickets, and a powerful ranged-unit bow. As the flooded mausoleum revealed a hidden chamber beneath Flower of the North’s coffin, Gu Xi discovered the Crown of the Sacred Tree and learned that it would unlock a hidden map on the next instance restart.

• Gu Xi realized the Crimson Temple blueprint could let him train Bloody Knights, then inspected the fiefdom token and three Level 7 Soldier Recruitment Tickets from the Warrior Treasure Chest.
• Gu Xi received the blue treasure Iron Arm King's Bow, which let friendly ranged units fire an additional shot, and carried it himself because none of his newly acquired Heroes specialized in archery.
• As river water flooded the cleared area, Gu Xi led his undead toward the City Gate and noticed Flower of the North’s stone coffin shifting in the current.
• Gu Xi spoke the name “Svetlana,” opening a passage beneath the coffin and causing drainage outlets to appear throughout the mausoleum.
• Gu Xi entered the empty chamber below and found four unusual apples embedded in or floating beside its walls.
• A notification told Gu Xi that he had found the Crown of the Sacred Tree, which would open a hidden map when the instance restarted, with its entrance beneath the fallen Paladin.

Gu Xi reached the Crown of the Sacred Tree and promised not to destroy the Apple Tree when he attacked Westminster, unlocking a dungeon achievement. After collecting twenty Black Apple Flowers, he learned that almost all came from the underground Apple Tree roots, and the Grand Duke hurried away after hearing Gu Xi had entered the mausoleum.

• The Crown of the Sacred Tree asked Gu Xi to spare the Apple Tree, and Gu Xi agreed, unlocking the Apple Tree, You and Me achievement.
• Gu Xi left the underground mausoleum and headed to the Route 19 Bus Station to speak with the Grand Duke.
• Gu Xi showed the Grand Duke twenty Black Apple Flowers, and the Grand Duke realized that all but one had come from the underground Apple Tree roots.
• Gu Xi told the Grand Duke that he had entered the underground mausoleum and reached the Crown of the Sacred Tree, prompting the Grand Duke to rush away.
• Gu Xi summoned his Undead Army, assessed his heavy losses, and sorted and arranged his newly acquired troops.

Gu Xi reorganized his forces among Amirka, Arroyo, and Robbie, balancing their requests against Aryadovi City's shortages of troops. The Heroes received their assignments and promises, while most newly recruited Undead were sent back to the city to gain experience before joining the army.

• Amirka explained that he needed varied troops for his seven subordinate headmen, but Gu Xi lacked suitable forces, especially Zombies.
• Amirka selected seven headmen, including Skeleton Spearmen, a Skeleton Archer Leader, Skeleton Heads, and a Skeleton Shield Guard head.
• Gu Xi assigned all Skeleton Spearmen to Arroyo and made Robbie an unaffiliated Hero of the Bonecleaver Battalion, promising future support for both.
• Gu Xi kept his existing core forces, including Zombie Axe Shields, Skeleton Mages, Ghosts, Corpse Poison Flies, Withering Ones, and Gargoyles.
• Gu Xi sent most newly recruited warrior-level and Elite Undead back to Aryadovi City to gain experience through Barracks missions before assigning them to his forces.

Grand Princess Anna scolded Gu Xi for neglecting his Necromancer fundamentals and lent him the Griffin Undead Book to turn excess experience into skill experience. With Grand Duke secretly offering him a chance to improve his skills before claiming his reward, Gu Xi began studying a trove of rare undead classics at the Route 19 Bus Station.

• Grand Princess Anna was shocked by Gu Xi's rapid growth and warned him that advancing without a solid foundation would ruin his future.
• Anna lent Gu Xi the Griffin Undead Book and ordered him to convert excess experience and study his neglected Necromancer skills.
• Grand Duke pulled Gu Xi aside and gave him rare undead books, promising to save his skill-level reward until Gu Xi had studied.
• Gu Xi equipped the borrowed book and began reading, converting his experience into skill growth as he learned from the classics.
• Gu Xi comprehended Undead Enhancement at level 1 and continued studying subjects including Undead Research and Undead Knowledge.

Gu Xi spent all his stored experience reading every book Grand Duke had provided, rapidly gaining numerous passive skills and overwhelming himself with new knowledge. Grand Duke explained that Gu Xi had learned skills he might not need, then told him to sleep until his thoughts settled.

• Gu Xi read book after book until his stored experience was completely depleted, and Grand Duke dragged him aside when the flames on him faded.
• Gu Xi examined the many passive skills he had gained, including higher-level undead skills and new research, curse, and corpse-related skills.
• Grand Duke praised Gu Xi for reading all the books instead of choosing among them, then warned that some of the skills were unnecessary prerequisites.
• Gu Xi asked Grand Duke to wait because he felt strange, and Grand Duke told him to sleep so his chaotic thoughts could settle.

Gu Xi gained a level in Magic Knowledge by touching the Grand Duke’s special book, then fell asleep as the Grand Duke and Grand Princess Anna prepared an assault on Spore Cultist Charlie in the underground mausoleum. When Gu Xi woke, he saw Westminster Abbey transformed by an unsettling divide between darkness and sacred light.

• Gu Xi insisted on pursuing Magic Knowledge, and touching the Grand Duke’s book raised his skill by one level before Luna calmed his dazed mind with Touch of Frost.
• Gu Xi fell asleep, while the Grand Duke contacted other factions to investigate Spore Cultist Charlie through the underground mausoleum route.
• Grand Princess Anna held the aberrant Apple Tree and its Abominations back from Westminster Abbey’s grand square while preparing to send troops underground.
• A Bloodline Light Element delivered the King’s approval for the battle, and Anna began organizing the remaining forces to defend the surface.
• Gu Xi woke after dark, noticed Westminster Abbey’s strange division between blackness and sacred light, and asked Luna to examine it.

After the Apple Tree roots spread through Evilwood Lake and began flooding the Demon Plant Zone, Gu Xi assigned Luna, Amirka, and others to contain the threat. Meanwhile, Britain shifted troops away from Westminster Abbey to confront enemies outside the underground mausoleum, trusting its strongest legion and the church to hold the Abbey.

• Luna told Gu Xi that the Apple Tree root she had thrown into Evilwood Lake had awakened the lake’s own Apple Tree root, causing the water to flood the Demon Plant Zone.
• Gu Xi ordered Luna to use the Fiefdom Token to expand the Demon Plant Zone and sent Amirka to lead an assault into the fog while Dimi guarded the zone.
• Gu Xi told Amirka to bring back Abomination corpses and warned him not to get trapped; Amirka departed with seven leaders and their troops.
• Gu Xi saw troops withdrawing from Westminster Abbey’s defensive line and asked the Grand Duke why they were being reassigned.
• The Grand Duke explained that the King had approved the Grand Princess’s plan to attack enemies outside the underground mausoleum and said Britain’s strongest legion and the church would keep the Abbey secure.

Gu Xi joined Grand Princess Anna’s forces as they advanced toward Westminster Abbey, hoping to observe Spore Cultist Charlie and find clues to his remaining Internal Tasks. He learned that the Royal Holy Light Knights were feeding material taken from Abominations to Griffins, possibly linked to the Apple Tree behind the abbey.

• Gu Xi asked to join the battle, and the Grand Duke assigned him to the fodder unit while warning him to stay out of danger.
• Gu Xi joined Anna’s force and saw that she was accompanied by four powerful experts, including a wizard whose strength seemed close to level 15, as well as five Hero-led troops.
• Gu Xi followed the civilian forces at the rear and questioned their Leaders about clues to his four remaining Internal Tasks.
• A troop Leader told Gu Xi that the Holy Oil Knights and Royal Holy Light Knights had previously planned to charge through the square and reach the Apple Tree behind Westminster Abbey.
• Another Leader said he had seen the Royal Holy Light Knights feed something taken from Abominations to their Griffins, turning the creatures’ eyes crimson and marking their armor red.
• The Leaders speculated that the Griffins were Combat Griffons and that the apples in stories about their diet might refer to the abbey’s Apple Tree.

Gu Xi accepted a quest to collect blood-colored fruits from powerful Abominations and helped prepare the underground mausoleum for the coming fight with Spore Cultist Charlie. The Grand Duke assigned Gu Xi’s undead to block parts of Victoria City’s Underground River, and Gu Xi realized that a city’s water network could be used to station troops.

• Gu Xi activated the Blood-colored Strange Fruit quest, which required him to collect 100 Abomination fruits in exchange for a beast-type troop training advancement manual.
• Gu Xi and Anna’s forces reached the fissure, where miscellaneous troops built a platform over the Underground River and prepared to divert the water before fighting Spore Cultist Charlie.
• The Grand Duke asked Gu Xi to send Skeleton Soldiers into the Underground River to block several channels, warning him about piranhas and promising to record a merit for the task.
• The Grand Duke explained that Victoria City’s Water Network Defense Line could support underground troops, prompting Gu Xi to reconsider Aryadovi City’s Clear the Sewer quest.

Gu Xi watched Anna prepare the forces beneath the Apple Tree and took notes as they drew Spore Cultist Charlie out. Charlie revealed himself and lowered fruit-filled roots toward the battlefield, but the fruits fell before they could become monsters, leaving the battle poised to begin.

• Gu Xi observed the drained underground riverbed and the three-tier battle platform as troops assembled beneath the Apple Tree.
• Anna positioned her forces and assigned Gu Xi to the rear, where he planned to study Spore Cultist Charlie’s fighting style.
• The Long-Eared Archer fired a shining arrow at the tree-root mass, making Charlie’s wooden body and hanging roots unfold.
• Pink pollen fell as Black Apple Flowers bloomed and fruits began descending, prompting Anna to order the troops to stop them.
• Gu Xi led his Skeleton Archers and Skeleton Mages to target the fruits, but their red threads snapped and the fruits crashed into the muddy riverbed.

Grand Princess Anna’s forces fought the roots and Fruit Monsters while Gu Xi observed their tactics and recorded what he learned. As the old wizard’s beam badly wounded Spore Cultist Charlie, the fallen monsters combined into a gigantic Mud Monster.

• Grand Princess Anna ordered the Elite Troops to attack the roots while the miscellaneous troops held off the Fruit Monsters.
• Gu Xi sketched the defensive formations and observed that slain Fruit Monsters grew into small trees that attacked with vines.
• Anna’s forces coordinated tanks, wizards, and archers against the eight roots, steadily cutting Spore Cultist Charlie’s health.
• The old wizard fired a sustained beam of white light at Spore Cultist Charlie, forcing the roots to retreat and rapidly draining his health.
• Gu Xi recorded the attack and considered strengthening the Death Avatar’s Death Dragon Breath for a future fight.
• The miscellaneous troops cut down the small trees, but their remains fused with wood, corpses, and mud to form a gigantic Mud Monster.

Gu Xi’s forces battled Spore Cultist Charlie as Mud Monsters and the boss’s Red Silk Thread threatened their lines. When Charlie began Self-Sacrifice, Gu Xi retreated into Aryadovi City, where a level 20 powerhouse’s blood-red roots pursued him and attacked Anna and the others.

• Mud Monsters charged through the troops and exploded, forcing Gu Xi to abandon his planned defensive line.
• Spore Cultist Charlie’s Red Silk Thread controlled elite soldiers, creating an opening that disrupted the Old Wizard’s attack.
• An archer struck Charlie in the face, but Charlie’s roots turned blood-red as he began Self-Sacrifice, and Gu Xi ordered everyone to retreat.
• Anna led the troops toward the underground mausoleum to seek Svetlana’s help, while Gu Xi sent his army through the City Gate and watched from outside.
• Blood-red roots pierced Anna and attacked the mausoleum, so Gu Xi retreated into Aryadovi City as one root followed him through the gate.
• Gu Xi released the Death Avatar to fight the pursuing root and opened a City Gate to the Demon Plant Zone, ordering Anna and the others to retreat.

Gu Xi abandoned the destroyed Westminster Abbey Incident and brought the rescued soldiers to Aryadovi City. He then headed to the Demon Plant Zone to check on Grand Princess Anna and the City Gate, while Luna explained that the Fiefdom Token had stabilized the area.

• Gu Xi severed the City Gates' connection to the underground mausoleum as a massive root destroyed Flower of the North's coffin and shattered the apples beneath it, ending the instance early.
• Gu Xi chose not to restart the instance and told the rescued soldiers he might be able to send them to Victoria City.
• Gu Xi left the soldiers in Aryadovi City and rode the Evil Coffin toward the Demon Plant Zone to check on Grand Princess Anna.
• Luna told Gu Xi that the Fiefdom Token had restored destroyed land, expanded Evilwood Lake, and stabilized the Demon Plant Zone.
• Gu Xi asked whether Apple Tree roots threatened the City Gate, and Luna said the roots she had found were short as they entered the Demon Plant Zone.

Gu Xi found Grand Princess Anna dead at the Troop Stockade City Gate and learned that her soldiers wanted to make one final charge toward the mirrored Westminster Abbey. After they departed, he decided to carry Anna’s body back to Victoria City as they had asked.

• Gu Xi arrived at the Troop Stockade City Gate and found Grand Princess Anna dead beside it.
• A paladin asked Gu Xi to send the soldiers back to Westminster Abbey, but Gu Xi warned that it might no longer exist and explained where to find its mirror in the fog.
• A White Robe priest confirmed Gu Xi’s account, and the paladin and his companions chose to march toward the mirrored Westminster Abbey.
• The paladin asked Gu Xi to return Anna’s body to Victoria City and not turn her into an undead without her consent.
• After the soldiers and priest left, Gu Xi decided to take Anna’s body to Victoria City with Luna.

Gu Xi returned to Victoria City through a Hearthstone while carrying Grand Princess Anna’s body, with soldiers from Aryadovi City joining him to escort her home. He arrived amid a strange red sky and falling black powder, where Shaya and soldiers were waiting by a Sewer entrance.

• Gu Xi asked the soldiers at the Main District City Gate to help protect and escort Grand Princess Anna’s remains to Victoria City, and they agreed.
• Gu Xi led the soldiers to the Hearthstone and sent them through first, then told Luna to send Anna’s body after him and prepare troops for a major battle.
• Gu Xi entered the Hearthstone holding Anna’s hand and emerged in Victoria City beneath blood-red clouds as black powder fell from the sky.
• Gu Xi found himself in what looked like the wilderness instead of his building, then heard Shaya call him over from a Sewer entrance.
• Shaya and the waiting soldiers lifted Grand Princess Anna’s body and carried it toward the Sewer.

After Victoria City was set ablaze, Gu Xi and Shaya led the Britain soldiers through the Sewer with Grand Princess Anna’s body, aiming for safety at Victoria Tower. They reached a way out after fighting off Sewer creatures, but had not yet emerged onto the surface.

• Shaya explained that Victoria City was burning and that she had failed to hold the small building, so she and her people had taken shelter in the Sewer.
• Gu Xi agreed to take Grand Princess Anna’s body and the soldiers to Victoria Tower, and Shaya led them through the Sewer.
• The group traveled through fire-damaged passages as the heat gradually eased, while the soldiers insisted they could keep going without resting.
• Rats, water ghosts, and other Strange Creatures attacked the group, and Gu Xi used White Bone Storm to blast away enemies lurking in the sewage.
• Shaya pushed open a rusty iron fence and announced that they had reached their destination.

Gu Xi led his soldiers and undead through Victoria City toward Victoria Tower while carrying Grand Princess Anna’s body. The griffins gathered to honor her, but a coal-gray man mistook the procession for another royal target and summoned ash figures to attack it.

• Gu Xi learned that Victoria Tower lay where the griffins avoided flying and ordered his forces to head there.
• Gu Xi deployed Arroyo’s troops to clear the way and Robbie’s troops to protect the team carrying Grand Princess Anna’s body.
• Griffins landed as Grand Princess Anna passed, then followed the procession from a distance.
• A coal-gray man watched the griffins and planned to kill another royal family member to gain access to the Mirror Dungeon.
• The man blew a tin whistle and summoned black-ash figures toward the gathered griffins.

Gu Xi's army advanced toward the forces surrounding them and discovered that the approaching Black Shadows were cinders. Arroyo's Spearmen crushed the first wave, but Gu Xi noticed the remains starting to reform and used Lesser Corpse Explosion before ordering Bone Shields to reinforce his troops.

• Gu Xi sent his troops forward despite the griffins' warning and ordered the Gargoyles to scout ahead.
• The Gargoyles reported that thousands of Black Shadows were approaching, and Gu Xi suspected someone had smuggled cinders into the area.
• Gu Xi ordered Arroyo to clear the road, and Arroyo led his Spearmen in a charge that crushed the first wave of Black Shadows into powder.
• Gu Xi saw the black powder beginning to recombine, tried Summoning, then successfully used Lesser Corpse Explosion.
• Gu Xi ordered Bone Shield to reinforce the Skeleton Spearmen and stack them up.

Gu Xi countered the Coal Cinder Troop’s ability to revive from black ash by shielding his undead and having Death Avatar consume the remains. He broke through the encirclement and continued toward Victoria Tower, leaving the stunned summoner and coal cinders behind.

• Gu Xi used Bone Shield to protect Arroyo’s front-line undead, then sent Death Avatar to absorb the black ash left by defeated shadows.
• Death Avatar suppressed the ash’s attempts to reform, and Gu Xi noticed struggling figures within its black mist as the mist changed.
• Arroyo ordered the Bone Shields to spin, scattering their black ash and drawing in nearby ash to form more shields around the Skeleton Spearmen.
• Gu Xi ordered his troops to charge forward, smashing the black shadows and clearing away their remains as they advanced over seven hundred meters.
• Gu Xi ignored the enemies approaching from both sides and broke through the Coal Cinder Troop’s encirclement, continuing toward Victoria Tower.

Gu Xi's forces fought off a black-ash firebird while advancing toward Victoria Tower, and Shaya killed the man controlling it. After Death Avatar consumed much of the ash, Gu Xi ordered the advance to continue.

• The man with fiery red cracks blew his whistle, turning the Black Shadows into a black-ash firebird that attacked Gu Xi's forces.
• The Griffins and Death Avatar struck the firebird, but its flames and ash ensnared the Griffins and later wrapped around Death Avatar.
• Gu Xi sent Shaya and nine Vampire Esquires after the man, and they killed him as he threw a hammer toward Gu Xi.
• Death Avatar used Death Dragon Breath and its black mist to consume much of the ash, while Gu Xi ordered his forces to resume their advance toward Victoria Tower.
• Shaya took the whistle and rejoined Gu Xi, while the Vampire Esquires drained the dead man's blood and Death Avatar vanished after cleaning up the remaining ash.