Chapter Summaries

Lin Zhen and Ed planned the Interstellar Great Wall, a ten-light-year-wide barrier of Warp Interruption Devices intended to divide the Orion Arm and protect the Human Federation from the Babawi Empire. The Federation began mass production, while preparations advanced for the Third Legion to invade the Loulan Sector and seize its resources.

• Bai Zixuan and his team spent a year developing Warp Interruption Devices that could block warp travel across a range of 0.79 light-years.
• Lin Zhen and Ed proposed building a ten-light-year-thick barrier across the Orion Arm using at least forty million Warp Interruption Devices.
• Exploration ships sent by Lin Zhen discovered that a ten-light-year starless region had only one Star Path connecting its two sides.
• The Federation began setting up production lines to manufacture all forty million devices within five years.
• The Federation planned for the Third Legion to enter the Loulan Sector next year and clear out civilizations deemed to lack potential, taking their resources.

The Federation formed the Third Legion under Jiang Hai after Chris Rhode refused the appointment because he did not want to leave Lin Fan’s command. Jiang Hai led the legion to Loulan to eliminate non-subordinate civilizations and train its inexperienced troops, and after a harsh first battle the soldiers overcame their hesitation to kill.

• Lin Zhen approved Jiang Hai’s promotion and appointment as commander of the Third Legion after Saunders explained that Chris Rhode had refused the post.
• A month later, Saunders assigned Jiang Hai to lead the Third Legion through Loulan, destroy civilizations that had not joined the Federation, and bring back their resources.
• Jiang Hai led the Third Legion and a transport fleet of one hundred thousand ships toward Loulan, treating the mission as a chance to train its inexperienced recruits.
• During the attack on the first civilization, some Mech Pilots hesitated, and their actions led to the deaths of several assault troops.
• Jiang Hai sent more than a hundred hesitant Mech Pilots to military court and publicized the incident across the legion.
• By the attack on the fifth civilization, the troops no longer showed pity for the enemy, and Jiang Hai considered the legion’s initial blooding period over.

After completing its four-year expedition, Lin Fan received orders to lead the Interstellar Great Wall engineering fleet to Shanhai Pass and command its war zone. Meanwhile, Babawi merchants arrived in the Sera Empire, where Harun revealed intelligence that convinced Babavile to meet with Emperor Imran.

• The First Legion finished surveying 3,055 civilizations, and Lin Fan learned that he would command the Shanhai Pass War Zone after eliminating its native civilization.
• Lin Fan decided to bring his children, Lin Yu and Lin Kexin, with him to Shanhai Pass, where he expected to settle with his family.
• Babavile's royal merchant fleet arrived in the Sera Empire's capital, and Harun welcomed him on behalf of Emperor Imran.
• Harun quietly gave Babavile important intelligence, and Babavile agreed to accompany him to the Imperial Palace after warning him not to lie.

Babavile learned that a new Level 4 Civilization near the Io Federation had shared Warp Drive Engine technology and defeated the Sera Empire’s fleet. After informing Babareya, he set off for the Io Federation’s Capital Sphere to investigate the civilization.

• Imran told Babavile that the Io Federation had counterattacked with shielded warships equipped with Warp Drive Engines and received help from a true Level 4 Civilization, defeating the Aila Empire’s fleet.
• Babavile realized that the spread of Warp Drive Engines threatened the Babawi Empire’s control of the Orion Arm and contacted Babareya.
• Babareya ordered Babavile to identify the new civilization, assess its strength, and determine whether the Babawi Empire could destroy it.
• Babavile asked Imran and Harun how to gather information, and Imran suggested that he trade as usual at the Io Federation’s Capital Sphere.
• Babavile promised the Sera Empire greater rewards and departed for the Io Federation’s Capital Sphere.

Nearly five years after the Vein Campaign, Bella returned to Io Star with her son Lin Tian and encountered a merchant convoy from the Babawi Empire. Both fleets investigated each other, leaving Scott and Bella to conceal humanity’s identity while Babavile wondered whether the unfamiliar fleet belonged to a mysterious Level 4 Civilization.

• The Io Federation strengthened its defenses and expanded its Queen's Guard to three legions of quasi-Level 4 warships.
• Bella and Lin Tian traveled to Io Star aboard the Human Federation's Seventh Fleet, escorted at Lin Zhen's request.
• An unfamiliar fleet appeared near the Seventh Fleet, and Bella recognized it as a convoy of interstellar merchants from the Babawi Empire.
• Scott asked Bella to contact Queen Aierfei so the humans could pose as an ordinary Level 3 Civilization fleet.
• Babavile's subordinate reported that the Seventh Fleet did not match any known civilization, and Babavile ordered detailed scans and records of it.

Scott and Bella devised a cover story to hide the fleet’s identity from Babavile by presenting it as an Angel fleet and blaming the Sera Empire for false accusations. Babavile accepted their explanation provisionally and ordered Energy Shields for research, leaving the Io Federation’s secret concealed for now.

• Scott considered destroying the fleet scanning his ships but concluded his twenty thousand warships could not eliminate the enemy before it reacted.
• Scott proposed a plan to Bella, who agreed and coordinated with Aierfei before connecting him to Babavile.
• Bella claimed Scott’s fleet belonged to the Angels’ Thirteenth Tribe and explained that its male members had no wings.
• Bella denied that the Io Federation possessed Warp Drive Engines and accused the Sera Empire of trying to turn Babavile against them.
• Bella claimed the Freedom Alliance had sold the Io Federation one million Energy Shield units, and Babavile ordered several sets delivered for his experts to dismantle.

Babavile confirmed that the Io Federation’s shield technology could not have come from a newly advanced Level 4 Civilization, then inspected its fleets and found no warp engines. Convinced that the Sera Empire had deceived the Babawi Empire, he ordered the Io Federation to destroy it and locked down its imported warships.

• Babavile’s experts identified the Io Federation’s Energy Shields as third-generation technology, leading him to doubt the Sera Empire’s claims about the Io Federation’s age.
• Babavile told Babareya that the Sera Empire might have used the Babawi Empire, and Babareya ordered him to inspect all four Io Federation fleets before deciding what to do.
• Babavile left for the front lines as Bella and Scott worried that humanity was not ready to face the Babawi Empire.
• More than ten days later, Babavile inspected the Io Federation’s fleets and confirmed that none had Warp Drive Engines.
• Babavile ordered Bella to wipe out the Sera Empire and announced that he would lock down its Babawi Imported Warships.
• Bella and Aierfei welcomed the order, which left the Sera Civilization vulnerable while keeping the Human Federation’s warp engines hidden.

Lin Fan learned that the Federation had discovered a natural wormhole leading near Shanhai Pass, making the Interstellar Great Wall Plan possible far sooner than expected. He was promoted to Two-Star General and appointed commander-in-chief of the Shanhai Pass War Zone, with orders to depart in three days.

• Aierfei sent four Level 1 Legions ahead as the Io Federation’s vanguard and assigned the Queen’s Guard Legions to support Human Federation forces and garrison Shanhai Pass.
• Lin Fan discussed the delays facing the Interstellar Great Wall Plan with Lin Zhen, Saunders, and Ed after his First Legion arrived at Earth.
• Ed revealed that the Federation had used Wormhole Detection Technology to find a natural wormhole leading to a point 200 light-years behind Shanhai Pass.
• Saunders promoted Lin Fan, ordered him to take the First Legion and support fleets through the wormhole, and appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Shanhai Pass War Zone.
• Saunders appointed Chris Rhode commander of the Fourth Legion, while Lin Zhen invited Lin Fan and Ed to dinner to meet their grandchildren.

Lin Fan led the Federation fleet through a wormhole to a region 7,800 light-years from Earth and assigned forces to seize the Or Republic’s Virallas Star System, which he renamed Shanhai Pass. As the invasion began, the system’s governor remained unaware of the approaching attack.

• Lin Fan and his fleet reached the wormhole, and he ordered the warships, engineering ships, and Transport Ships to pass through in sequence.
• After the fleet completed the crossing, Lin Fan told the commanders that their target was the Or Republic’s Virallas Star System, newly named Shanhai Pass.
• Lin Fan assigned Emma and the Third through Tenth Fleets to attack the Or Republic legion, the Second Fleet to block escape routes, and the First Fleet to clear the Life Planet.
• Lin Fan sent the Eleventh and Twelfth Fleets to protect the engineering fleet and Transport Ships while they waited outside Shanhai Pass.
• More than fifty days later, Governor Wilson vacationed on Shanhai Pass’s only Life Planet, unaware that the Federation invasion was imminent.

Lin Fan’s forces invaded Virallas, overwhelming its defenses and capturing its Star Path entrances while Governor Wilson mistook them for a Level 4 Civilization and offered to surrender. The battle ended with the young master legion destroyed, and Lin Fan began landing troops on Virallas Star.

• Wilson learned that two hundred thousand unidentified warships had appeared at Virallas and attacked its defenses.
• After discovering the enemy ships had Energy Shields and had arrived without using a Star Path, Wilson ordered his adjutant to offer surrender, but Lin Fan ignored the communications.
• Emma’s forces routed the inexperienced defenders at the Star Path defensive line, while the Second Fleet captured Virallas’s other five entrances.
• After three bombardments disabled the orbital fortress, Lin Fan sent ten percent of his mecha forces to seize it and began landing the rest on Virallas Star.
• Emma and the others wiped out the legion’s three hundred thousand warships in less than ten minutes, with twenty thousand destroyed in collisions during the chaos.

After capturing Shanhai Pass and Virallas, Lin Fan built defenses while Lin Zhen learned that Scott’s deception could help Xis provoke a Third Galactic War. The Or Republic received news that Virallas had fallen but remained unaware of who attacked it.

• Lin Fan broke up the Eleventh and Twelfth Fleets to form construction teams and assigned the remaining fleets to defend Shanhai Pass and Virallas.
• Xis contacted Lin Zhen about the dispute between the Vera Alliance and the Freedom Alliance over Human Federation Energy Shield devices.
• Lin Zhen explained Scott’s role in the incident, and Xis planned to use it to intensify the conflict and potentially trigger a Third Galactic War.
• Lin Zhen told Ed about Xis’s plan and said humanity needed to act more aggressively.
• The Or Republic received Wilson’s incomplete message that Virallas and its garrison had been destroyed, and Green ordered Raine to appear before him.

After Virallas was occupied by an unknown force, Or Republic Leader Green authorized Raine to prepare for war despite the lack of intelligence about the enemy. Green confirmed that the Babawi Empire had not attacked, and the Republic began assembling a major force.

• Raine told Green that Virallas's sudden fall suggested an enemy with capabilities beyond an ordinary Level 3 Civilization, and warned against attacking without intelligence.
• Green said pressure from the Republic's powerful families made inaction impossible and authorized Raine to deploy ten regular fleets and one special legion.
• Green contacted Babareya to ask whether the Babawi Empire had attacked Virallas, and Babareya denied involvement while asking to receive the Republic's intelligence.
• Green ordered the Or Republic to investigate and resolve the matter on its own.
• The Or Republic issued an assembly order to gather ten Main Legions and one special legion in the Capital Sphere within ten years.

Lin Fan planned the capture of a defensible region near Shanhai Pass and assigned Chris to lead the operation with two Io Federation legions. He then revised Lin Zhen’s radical military plan and sent it back, while facing months of administrative work.

• Ailena and Bernice arrived at Shanhai Pass with the second fleet, and Bernice thanked Lin Fan for avenging Bonnie.
• Lin Fan outlined a thirty-eight-system region belonging to the Or Republic as the war zone’s future base and assigned Chris to command the Fourth Legion and the First and Second Queen's Guard Legions in its capture.
• Lin Fan reviewed the incoming transport and colony ships’ supplies and personnel, recognizing that organizing them would require months of administrative work.
• Lin Fan received Lin Zhen’s top-secret plan and communications with Xis, then revised the military details and returned the document securely.
• Lin Fan concluded that Lin Zhen no longer wanted to remain a pawn, but lamented the administrative duties still ahead.

Construction at Shanhai Pass and Virallas Star progressed while Chris conquered Or Republic systems under communications jamming. The Io Federation and humanity devastated the Sera Empire and sent a united fleet to its undefended Capital Sphere, while the Human Federation's Third Legion completed its campaign in Loulan.

• Lin Fan oversaw construction at Shanhai Pass as production lines began building resource-gathering spacecraft and robots started mining nearby Resource Stars.
• Chris used a Wide-Area Communication Jamming Device while leading three legions against Or Republic garrisons, preventing its defenders from sending messages.
• The Io Federation's forces captured four Sera Empire border nodes and destroyed six million warships, leaving Imran with no organized defenses along the route to the Capital Sphere.
• The Io Federation and humanity deployed a 540,000-warship United Fleet directly to the Sera Empire's Capital Sphere, where the two paralyzed Royal Fleets could not defend it.
• The Human Federation's Third Legion returned to Loulan after completing its cleansing operation, and humanity gained five hundred light-years of territory and several thousand Star Systems.

After completing their campaign, the Human Federation debated how to use the 5,518 Star Systems it had seized and decided to exchange most of them for points to help its affiliated civilizations grow stronger. The chapter ended with Augustus learning that the Federation had purged every civilization in the Loulan Sector apart from its affiliated civilizations.

• Jiang Hai's Third Legion completed its first mission after destroying 3,007 civilizations, leaving the Federation with 5,518 Star Systems to allocate.
• Lin Zhen heard advisers argue over whether to leave the captured Star Systems undeveloped, then supported Lyons's proposal to let affiliated civilizations exchange points for them.
• Lin Zhen argued that expanding affiliated civilizations would speed development and help the Federation prepare to face the Babawi Empire, and the advisers approved the plan.
• Ed and his experts set aside 1,829 Star Systems for the Federation and divided the rest into ten grades with different point requirements.
• Ed's team launched a Loulan Sector Star System exchange interface on the affiliated civilization platform.
• Aska rushed into Augustus's study and told him that the Federation had purged all civilizations in the Loulan Sector except its affiliated civilizations.

Augustus learned that the Human Federation had cleared the Loulan Sector and begun selling its remaining Star Systems to affiliated civilizations, launching a major expansion across the sector. Five years later, Babavile’s fleet encountered an anomaly at the Starless Belt that repeatedly forced ships out of warp.

• Aska told Augustus that the Federation had purged 3,007 civilizations, leaving only 48 affiliated civilizations in the Loulan Sector.
• Aska showed Augustus the Star System exchange interface, and Augustus ordered the Auger Empire to buy nearby Level 1 and Level 2 Star Systems and develop them for further expansion.
• The other affiliated civilizations also exchanged points for Star Systems, with the 48 civilizations acquiring 149 systems on the first day and beginning a sector-wide development campaign.
• Five years later, Babavile’s fleet was forced out of warp near the Starless Belt and could not warp through it, though it could travel in the opposite direction.
• Babavile ordered the captain to test more points along the Starless Belt to determine whether the warp anomaly affected isolated areas or the entire belt.

Lin Fan let Babavile’s merchant convoy pass through the Starless Belt without revealing the Federation’s defenses, while Lin Zhen prepared Operation Tinder to frame the Freedom Alliance and strike the Babawi Empire’s trade network. The chapter ended with 100,000 disguised warships assembled at Shanhai Pass, ready to depart.

• Lin Fan identified Babavile’s convoy and ordered the Warp Interruption Device disabled so the merchants could pass without exposing the Interstellar Great Wall Plan.
• Babavile’s convoy successfully entered warp and recorded the Starless Belt as anomalous space, while Shanhai Pass prepared to reactivate its device after the convoy passed.
• Lin Fan learned that Xis had worsened tensions between the Vera Alliance and the Freedom Alliance, and Lin Zhen planned to ignite the conflict.
• Lin Zhen prepared a fleet of warships disguised as Lehman Empire vessels for Operation Tinder, which Lin Fan would command.
• At Shanhai Pass, 100,000 disguised warships stood ready to strike the Babawi Empire’s trade network and frame the Freedom Alliance.

Lin Fan led 100,000 Federation warships to attack Babawi Empire Small Trade Hub No. 11765, where the local fleet could not withstand their firepower. The battle began as Babaria sent an urgent report to the empire about the unidentified Level 4 Civilization fleet.

• Lin Fan left Liang Xue at Shanhai Pass and personally commanded Operation Tinder, with Will serving as his adjutant.
• In Federation Year 81, the 100,000-ship fleet appeared at Small Trade Hub No. 11765 without using the Star Path, prompting Babaria to order the garrison to intercept and prepare to attack.
• Lin Fan ordered the Warp Interruption Device deployed and the Federation fleet to attack the 3,000 Babawi Empire garrison ships.
• The Federation's first barrage destroyed more than 400 of the 800 ships at the front of the garrison fleet, while the Babawi counterattack failed to destroy a single Federation warship.
• Babaria recognized the attackers as a Level 4 Civilization fleet and ordered all battle details and intelligence sent to the empire.

Babareya discovered that the Lehman Empire had attacked Small Trade Hub No. 11765, and Verto brought the incident before the leaders of the Milky Way’s four major alliances. The chapter ended with Verto presenting evidence to Moros, who denied that the Freedom Alliance had attacked the Orion Arm.

• A guard reported a highest-level black intelligence alert to Babareya and showed him footage of the Lehman Empire fleet overpowering the hub’s Garrison Fleet.
• Babareya identified the attackers as the Lehman Empire and informed Verto, who authorized Babareya to handle the fleet while promising to demand an explanation from the Freedom Alliance.
• Babareya ordered Large Trade Hub No. 012 to send three legions to destroy the Lehman Empire fleet.
• Verto convened The Big Four, bringing together Xis, Hussein, and Moros to discuss the attack in the Orion Arm.
• Moros denied that the Freedom Alliance had attacked the Orion Arm, and Verto responded by presenting video evidence.

Xis used fabricated evidence to provoke Verto into declaring war on Moros’s Freedom Alliance. Afterward, Xis revealed to Lin Zhen that he had intensified Lin’s own scheme, leaving the Human Federation free to plan its advance in the Orion Arm.

• Moros denied that the Lehman Empire had attacked the Vera Alliance, but Xis sided with Verto and Verto demanded that Moros hand over the empire.
• Moros refused, and Verto threatened war; Moros accepted the challenge.
• Verto presented evidence of a Sephira Consortium fleet attacking a Vera Federation trade hub, which Xis had staged using brainwashed captives.
• Verto formally declared war on the Freedom Alliance, while Xis and Hussein left the meeting and Hussein said the Zola Alliance would stay out of the conflict.
• Xis told Lin Zhen that he had helped trigger the war, and Lin Zhen said the Human Federation could now focus on the Orion Arm.