Chapter Summaries

Lin Fan’s four armies destroyed the Noreya Empire’s Cross-border Devices with Chaos Rays, trapping thousands of enemy legions in collapsing channels and leaving Toreya to decide whether to fight on or invade Alliance territory. Toreya learned the scale of the losses and recognized that he had repeated the mistake he once blamed Mohan for.

• Lin Fan waited until all four hundred Federation legions had passed through the channel, then ordered the four armies to synchronize their Chaos Ray attacks.
• The Chaos Rays destroyed all four Cross-border Devices, and the collapsing channels pulled in every Noreya warship still inside them.
• Lin Fan’s command center confirmed the destruction of all four targets and estimated that the Noreya Empire had lost about 2,750 legions in the channels, with another 400 facing encirclement.
• Lin Fan noted that Toreya could now either keep fighting the Alliance’s 1,600 legions or advance into Alliance territory, where the Federation could not catch him.
• Toreya learned that 2,798 Noreya legions had been inside the channels and realized he had fallen into the same trap twice.

Toreya rejected plans to invade Alliance territory, arguing that the Noreya Empire lacked the forces and supplies to purge the Heretics while protecting its supply lines. Lin Fan ordered the Alliance fleets to wait, and the Noreya forces gathered in the Kousha Realm and settled in for a standoff that would not last long.

• Toreya explained that invading Heretic territory would stretch the Empire's weakened forces, sever supply lines, and leave its fleet vulnerable.
• Toreya ordered the main fleet to join the five contingents in the Kousha Realm and hold position.
• Liang Xue reported that the Noreya main force was heading to the Kousha Realm and might attack Alliance territory, but Lin Fan ordered his fleets to wait.
• In Federation Year 1855, more than 3,900 Noreya legions gathered in the Kousha Realm and settled down instead of invading Alliance territory.
• Toreya chose to wait out the Alliance, beginning a standoff as Lin Fan's expected opportunity drew near.

In Federation Year 1859, Lin Fan explained how he had deliberately left the route through Tuhr Realm open to draw a Noreya Empire supply fleet and lure the enemy into moving its forces. He refined the plan so the Alliance would reveal itself before Kousha Realm was empty, forcing the enemy to choose between abandoning it or fighting with only part of its forces.

• Alliance generals urged Lin Fan to break the four-year standoff, but he asked why he had left Tuhr Realm ungarrisoned after the Reverse Crossing Tactic.
• Liang Xue reported that a likely Noreya Empire supply fleet would reach Tuhr Realm in four years.
• Montero explained that the Alliance could use the supply fleet to trick the Noreya Empire into sending its forces toward Tuhr Realm, then take advantage of its slower Cross-border Device to reclaim Kousha Realm.
• Lin Fan corrected Montero's final step, saying the Alliance should reveal itself and head for Kousha Realm once enemy forces there fell to a chosen level.
• Lin Fan said the enemy would then have to choose between continuing to Tuhr Realm and abandoning Kousha Realm, or staying to fight the Alliance with fewer forces.

The Noreya Empire mistook the Alliance’s movements for a withdrawal and sent its forces toward the Tuhr Realm. Lin Fan waited until Noreya’s Mobile Imperial Palace entered the channel before ordering the Alliance fleets to return to the Kousha Realm, leaving Toreya to choose between continuing the move or defending the channel exits.

• Toreya learned that Alliance fleets had opened channels toward the Tuhr Realm, and his ministers urged him to move there first and prepare a defensive line.
• Lin Fan’s Alliance fleets entered Fault Space, making them disappear from Noreya’s scans, and Toreya ordered his army to depart for the Tuhr Realm once the scans showed the fleets had vanished.
• Lin Fan waited for the Noreya Mobile Imperial Palace to enter the channel, then ordered the Alliance fleets to return to the Kousha Realm and relayed the order to the other routes.
• Toreya learned that the Alliance fleets had reappeared and opened channels to the Kousha Realm, then weighed whether to continue toward Tuhr or stop and defend the channel exits.

Toreya ordered the Noreya Empire’s fleets to defend the four channel entrances in the Kousha Realm, where they clashed with the arriving Alliance forces. The Alliance deployed its Civilization Guardian Legions and Chaos Ray, leaving the Imperial defenses shattered and defeat unavoidable.

• Toreya ordered the Empire’s fleets to form defensive lines at all four channel entrances.
• The Alliance emerged from one channel entrance and fought the Imperial defenders, suffering heavy early losses as its fleets arrived.
• The Alliance deployed its Civilization Guardian Legions, breaking the balance of the battle.
• The Alliance fired a Chaos Ray that destroyed more than thirty Imperial legions and further damaged the defensive line.
• By the eighteenth hour, the Imperial defenses were in ruins, and Alliance forces split the remaining fleets into encircled groups.

After the Alliance reclaimed the Kousha Realm, Toreya ordered a strategic withdrawal, and Lin Fan prepared to use the lull to secure rare resources for the Federation. The Noreya Empire’s fleet moved toward the Luoxi Realm, while Lin Fan identified a broad stretch of unclaimed territory as the Alliance’s next target.

• The Alliance cleared the Kousha Realm battlefield after destroying 1,608 Noreya Empire legions, and Lin Fan expected a prolonged stalemate.
• Toreya had a minister who proposed the earlier Tuhr Realm attack dragged away to face punishment, then listened as another minister urged a strategic withdrawal.
• Toreya ultimately chose to withdraw, and Lin Fan learned that the Noreya Empire fleet was crossing a channel likely leading to the Luoxi Realm.
• Lin Fan traced the Empire’s likely retreat to the Kailin Realm and concluded that the respite would give the Federation time to develop.
• Lin Fan told the Federal Fleet’s upper echelon to search the unclaimed region between the armies for rare resources the Federation needed.

The Federation exploited the Noreya Empire’s fear of another trap to gather resources and upgrade its fleets while the enemy waited in the Luoxi Realm for reinforcements. By Federation Year 1976, the Noreya Empire had resumed its advance and reached the Tuhr Realm, facing the Alliance Fleet in the Kousha Realm.

• Lin Fan explained that camouflage signal devices would keep the Noreya Empire afraid to leave the Luoxi Realm, allowing the Federation to gather resources across the Black Hole Cavity Realms.
• For more than fifty years, Toreya dismissed proposals to investigate the Federation’s activity, while the Federation collected resources and developed a fourth-generation Cross-border Device.
• The Federation upgraded its Canglong-class Warships with improved energy systems, strengthening its forces in preparation for the Noreya Empire’s reinforcements.
• In Federation Year 1968, Toreya received five fleet groups, expanding the Noreya Empire’s forces to more than 7,400 legions, while Lin Fan recalled the Federation’s gathering fleets to the Kousha Realm.
• In Federation Year 1976, the Noreya Empire advanced to the Tuhr Realm and faced the Alliance Fleet stationed across the border in the Kousha Realm.

Toreya prepared to invade the Kousha Realm with 5,000 legions while leaving forces to guard the Cross-border Device, and Lin Fan warned the Alliance that reconciliation with the Norea Empire was impossible. The chapter ended with the Norea Empire opening a channel into the Kousha Realm, with the battle set to begin in one year.

• Toreya ordered 5,000 legions to attack the Kousha Realm in three days and assigned more than 2,400 legions to defend the Cross-border Device.
• Lin Fan told the Alliance that the Norea Empire had gathered 7,468 legions in the Tuhr Realm and that the Alliance would have to fight directly in the Kousha Realm.
• Lin Fan said the Norea Empire had exterminated life across nearly a hundred Black Hole Cavity Realms, convincing the Ketis Kingdom representative that reconciliation was not an option.
• Three days later, the Ketis Kingdom opened a Cross-border Channel from the Tuhr Realm to the Kousha Realm, and news spread that the war would begin in one year.

Wang Hai directed the Alliance’s first line of defense against the Noreya Empire’s invasion and used Chaos Seven to devastate the arriving fleets. At Alliance headquarters, Lin Fan and Liang Xue expected the defense to destroy hundreds of enemy legions while Luo Li continued work on the Super Cross-border Device.

• Wang Hai ordered Alliance defenders to target the Noreya Empire fleets’ flanks and disrupt their attempts to establish a bridgehead.
• Wang Hai obtained firing authorization for Chaos Seven and moved it into position as the Noreya fleet reached twenty-seven legions.
• Wang Hai cleared friendly fleets from the ray’s path and ordered Chaos Seven to fire at the Cross-border Channel entrance.
• Chaos Seven destroyed 26.3 enemy legions, and Wang Hai ordered the Alliance fleets to finish off the survivors.
• Lin Fan and Liang Xue praised Wang Hai’s performance and discussed Luo Li’s progress on the Super Cross-border Device.

The Alliance Fleet withdrew from the first line of defense and fought the Noreya Empire at the second line, where Lin Yu used a day of misleading Chaos Ray attacks to lure the enemy into a vulnerable formation. As the forces neared parity, Lin Yu prepared to spring his trap.

• Wang Hai withdrew his fleet from the first line of defense while maintaining fire, after the Alliance had lost 68 legions and the Noreya Empire had lost 335.
• Lin Yu took command of 500 legions at the second line of defense, with 200 legions in reserve and five Chaos Ray Carriers under his authority.
• After another day of fighting, the Alliance had lost 149 legions and the Noreya Empire 536, but the Noreya forces nearly matched the defenders in strength.
• Lin Yu ordered the fleets in the Chaos Rays' paths to evade as all five carriers moved into position.
• Lin Yu's repeated central attacks had convinced the Noreya commander that the Chaos Rays were fixed at the center, prompting the enemy fleet to spread laterally across the firing path.

Lin Yu used five Chaos Ray Carriers to destroy 352.5 Noreya Empire legions by exploiting the enemy’s formations. Toreya removed Cherross from command, and Laps took over with an order to disperse the remaining fleets across the second defensive line.

• Chaos One through Four fired from the flanks, destroying 285 Noreya Empire legions.
• As the surviving fleets regrouped toward the center, Lin Yu ordered Chaos Five to fire, wiping out another 67.5 legions.
• Toreya stripped Cherross of frontline command and appointed Laps to replace him.
• Laps ordered the Noreya Empire fleets to disperse by legion throughout the enemy’s second defensive line, and Lin Yu called them idiots.

Lin Yu retook the first line of defense and encircled the scattered Noreya Empire fleets, while Toreya ordered Laps to hold until reinforcements arrived. As the Alliance prepared for the threat of Black Hole Lifeforms, a new Imperial fleet emerged carrying 800,000 of them.

• Lin Yu sent 200 legions to seize the first line of defense and ordered the remaining Alliance forces to split up and encircle the scattered Noreya Empire fleets.
• Toreya berated Laps for the disastrous deployment and ordered him to hold the fleet together for 97 minutes until the Third Black Hole Cavity Battle Group arrived.
• The Alliance retook the first line of defense and surrounded the remaining Imperial forces, while Lin Yu ordered the line held for three more hours and requested the Civilization Guardian Legion as backup.
• A newly arrived Noreya Empire fleet triggered alarms aboard Lin Yu's flagship, and preliminary scans detected 800,000 Black Hole Lifeforms.

Lin Yu ordered the Federation’s first defensive line to retreat under fire as Toreya’s Third Black Hole Combat Group attacked, then led his personal guard unit into the battle to disrupt the enemy. Hildross noticed Lin Yu’s advance and charged toward him with more than ten thousand fighters.

• Toreya’s Third Black Hole Combat Group arrived with 800,000 Black Hole Lifeforms, prompting Lin Yu to order the first-line fleets to withdraw and request authorization to use Chaos Six.
• Lin Yu learned that no Sixth Tier enemies were present and sent the Civilization Guardian Legion to cover the retreat while Chaos Six moved toward the battle.
• The Civilization Guardian Legion engaged the Empire’s forces defensively, allowing the Federation fleets to withdraw as both sides suffered limited casualties.
• Lin Yu led his personal guard unit through the enemy line, cutting down Black Hole Lifeforms and disrupting the Third Black Hole Combat Group.
• Hildross, the group’s commander, led more than ten thousand fighters toward Lin Yu.

Lin Yu and the Federation used Chaos Six to strike the Noreya Empire's Third Black Hole Cavity Battle Group after withdrawing from the frontline clash. The attack devastated the enemy formation, and the Civilization Guardian Legion launched a full assault as Lin Yu returned to hold off Hilde Ross.

• At Alliance Fleet headquarters, Lin Fan kept Chaos Six and Seven in reserve, ordered Wang Hai to move behind the second defensive line after resupplying, and directed the Civilization Guardian Legion to remain there.
• Lin Yu ordered the Civilization Guardian Legion to attack and retreat in an orderly fashion while he covered his guards' withdrawal from Hilde Ross and the ten thousand enemy elites.
• After Chaos Six reached its firing position, Lin Yu ordered it to irradiate the enemy formation and told the Civilization Guardian Legion to attack immediately afterward.
• Chaos Six destroyed hundreds of thousands of Black Hole Lifeforms and stunned the surviving Empire forces.
• The Civilization Guardian Legion launched a full assault, and Lin Yu rejoined the fighting to face Hilde Ross.

Lin Yu’s forces annihilated the Third Black Hole Cavity Battle Group, though the Federation suffered significant casualties. Toreya learned that Lin Yu’s Combat Vehicle had let him overpower Hilde Ross, leaving her to reconsider the Federation’s unusual technology.

• The Federation’s Civilization Guardian Legion exploited the Third Black Hole Cavity Battle Group’s losses to attack, while Lin Yu kept Hilde Ross occupied.
• Lin Yu defeated Hilde Ross with a blast of Chaos Energy, and the Third Black Hole Cavity Battle Group was wiped out; the Federation lost 8,478 Civilization Guardians and 178 members of Lin Yu’s guard unit.
• Lin Yu ordered Wang Hai’s fleet and the Civilization Guardian Legion to rest on standby while his forces prepared a conventional defense on the second line.
• Toreya received preliminary analysis showing that Lin Yu and Hilde Ross were both at the peak of the Fifth Tier, but Lin Yu’s Combat Vehicle had given him the advantage.
• Toreya asked for a detailed explanation of how the Combat Vehicle had affected the battle.

At the sixtieth hour of the battle, Lin Yu used Wang Hai’s fleet and the Civilization Guardian Legion to break through the Noreya Empire’s center while Chaos Ray carriers struck the enemy’s newly formed battle lines. Wang Hai advanced deep into the formation as Imperial forces gathered behind him, leaving the next move to the Federation.

• Toreya learned that the Heretics’ individual Combat Vehicles could enhance Black Hole Lifeforms, but he remained confident because the Empire outnumbered them and he was a Sixth Tier powerhouse.
• As the second defensive line dwindled to 428 legions and the Noreya Empire recovered to 410, Lin Yu ordered Wang Hai and the Civilization Guardian Legion to break through the center while the defensive fleets attacked both flanks.
• Wang Hai led the combined force into the Imperial formation, and the Empire turned its flanking ships toward him to create two battle lines around his advance.
• Lin Yu sent Chaos One through Four to fire on the battle lines, eliminating about seventy-eight enemy legions before Wang Hai continued his breakthrough.
• The Noreya Empire gathered fleets behind Wang Hai to avoid another Chaos Ray strike, while Lin Yu’s plan used their delayed response as a fatal weakness.

Lin Yu used Chaos Five and a coordinated encirclement to inflict heavy losses on the Noreya Empire, while Wang Hai and the Civilization Guardians pinned down enemy forces. After Wang Hai broke out, Lin Yu reorganized the fleets behind the second line of defense and prepared for the next battle.

• Lin Yu ordered Wang Hai to begin the planned operation as the Noreya Empire fleet tried to evade, leaving many Imperial legions within Chaos Five’s irradiation range.
• Chaos Five destroyed about forty-eight enemy legions, and Lin Yu ordered Wang Hai to disrupt the enemy rear while the defensive line split the remaining Imperial fleet into encircled groups.
• Lin Yu’s forces and Wang Hai’s fleet fought for an hour, destroying enemy legions while Wang Hai held off Imperial forces at the passage entrance with help from the Civilization Guardians.
• Lin Yu ordered Wang Hai to break out and sent one hundred legions to support him, allowing his fleet to withdraw with only slight losses.
• Lin Yu reviewed the battle results and ordered the Civilization Guardians behind the defensive line while the fleets replenished the second line of defense and formed a reserve.

After withdrawing to the third line of defense, Lin Fan and Lin Yu prepared a surprise attack to exploit the Noreya Empire fleet’s limited deployment space and destroy its Mobile Imperial Capital. As the capital emerged from the channel, Lin Yu ordered the Alliance Fleet to advance and begin the final phase of the Second Kousha Campaign.

• Lin Yu withdrew from the second line of defense after the Noreya Empire gathered more than 500 legions, leaving the Alliance with nearly 500 legions to regroup.
• Lin Fan held the Federal Canglong-class Warships back while both fleets waited, and the Alliance continued firing Chaos Rays from its third line of defense.
• Lin Fan assigned Lin Yu all seven Chaos Ray Carriers and tasked him with opening a gap in the enemy formation and protecting the Federal Fleet’s flanks.
• Lin Fan explained that the Noreya Empire could initially deploy only 400 to 500 legions at once near its assembly point, and that delivering him to a position inside the formation would secure victory.
• The Noreya Empire’s Mobile Imperial Capital emerged from the channel, and Lin Yu ordered the Alliance Fleet to advance as the final phase of the Second Kousha Campaign began.

Toreya ordered the Noreya Empire fleet to hold its position and wear down the Alliance and Federation forces, while Lin Yu launched a central assault with the Chaos Ray Carriers and Alliance legions. The Alliance fleet pushed into the Imperial formation as the Empire sent forces around its flanks, and Lin Yu prepared to exploit the fact that the Empire’s Black Hole Lifeforms had not deployed.

• Toreya dismissed the Heretics’ charge as a desperate move and ordered the Noreya Empire fleet to defend in place and fight an attritional war.
• Lin Yu fired all seven Chaos Rays, destroying more than 180 Imperial legions and opening a breach toward the Mobile Imperial Capital.
• The 580 Alliance legions struck the breach while 600 Federation legions followed behind them, and fierce fighting began.
• Toreya ordered 200 legions from each flank to circle behind the Alliance fleet and block its retreat.
• Lin Yu’s fleet reached a breakthrough depth of 28 percent as Imperial pressure increased on both flanks.
• Lin Yu learned the Noreya Empire’s Black Hole Lifeforms had not deployed and said that their absence suited his plan.

The Federation launched its hidden fleet and Civilization Guardian Legion against the Noreya Empire’s Mobile Imperial Capital, breaking through Toreya’s defenses. The capital was devastated, while most of the Black Hole Lifeforms inside were destroyed before they could deploy.

• Lin Yu reported that the Alliance Fleet had reached its designated breakthrough depth, despite losing more than 100 legions under pressure from the Noreya Empire’s forces.
• Lin Fan ordered Lin Yu to clear the path and prepared the Federal Fleet and Civilization Guardian Legion to charge.
• The Federal Fleet unleashed the Canglong-class Warships’ firepower, and nearly a million Civilization Guardians blasted open a path toward the Mobile Imperial Capital.
• Toreya deployed his Defense Barrier to block the Federal assault, but Lin Yu and the Civilization Guardians cracked it after he had spent much of his energy resisting an earlier Chaos Ray.
• The recharged Canglong-class Warships fired through the shattered barrier, ravaging the Mobile Imperial Capital and annihilating nearly all of its Black Hole Lifeforms still inside.