Chapter Summaries

Rayne and the Dark Angel Legion overwhelmed Balazakoon’s forces and pursued the wounded Demon Lord after he escaped Dragon’s Watch Fortress. With a Wizard’s Time Stop, Rayne killed Balazakoon in his hidden treasure hall, where the Demon Lord’s corpse revealed an Ancient Black Iron Dragon.

• Balazakoon ordered his elite Demon Army to charge the Dark Angel Legion, but the Angels repelled every assault and advanced into the fortress without casualties.
• Balazakoon attacked the Dark Angel Legion, but Rayne sent a dark-gold spear through a Portal and drew the Demon Lord outside to face him.
• Balazakoon used his steel-manipulating domain against Rayne, who split the steel tide and wounded him with Thunder Slash.
• Balazakoon escaped through successive Teleports into the Misty Mountains, but Rayne tracked him to a hidden hall filled with treasure.
• Rayne and a Wizard stopped time, allowing Rayne to behead Balazakoon; the Demon Lord’s corpse transformed into an Ancient Black Iron Dragon.

Rayne discovered that Balazakoon was an Ancient Black Iron Dragon, claimed its vast treasure hoard, and fused with its Demon Soul to reach level 22. Meanwhile, Elotisia crushed the resistance at Dragon's Watch Fortress and became its new Demon Lord.

• Rayne examined Balazakoon's Demon Soul and identified its powerful Metal Elements, including All-Metal Sensing, Living Metal, and Metal Domain.
• Rayne explored Balazakoon's hidden lair and discovered a hoard of gold, Magical Metals, and Source Crystals worth hundreds of millions of Gold Shields.
• Rayne fused with the Ancient Black Iron Dragon's Demon Soul, advanced to level 22, and decided to use the lair as a secret base.
• Rayne created more Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers while the Dark Angels slaughtered the Demons at Dragon's Watch Fortress.
• Elotisia forced the surviving Demons to surrender, announced Balazakoon's death, and claimed the Iron Throne as the fortress's new Demon Lord.

Rayne left Elotisia to consolidate her rule over Dragon’s Watch Fortress and traveled to the Deep Mud Swamp to ask Igon whether demon corpses could be used to grow Dark Soul Mushrooms. The chapter ended with Igon shocked by Rayne’s proposal and the corpses he had brought.

• Rayne told Elotisia he needed Balazakoon’s corpse for another purpose after revealing that Balazakoon had been an ancient Black Iron Dragon.
• Elotisia laid out her plans to secure Dragon’s Watch Fortress, conquer the northern bank of the Gamalan Plains, and eventually unify the whole region.
• Rayne stopped Elotisia from burning the demon corpses and took several with him to investigate their possible use.
• Rayne teleported from the Abyss to the Deep Mud Swamp and found Igon’s concealed home.
• Rayne asked Igon if he could grow Dark Soul Mushrooms using demon corpses, startling the Black Dragon.

Rayne learned from Igon how to cultivate Dark Soul Mushrooms using demon corpses and negotiated a long-term production partnership. With more than two hundred thousand corpses from his Abyss invasion, Rayne planned to scale production massively, while Igon agreed to oversee cultivation for performance-based pay.

• Rayne pressured Igon to explain the precise conditions and timing for growing Dark Soul Mushrooms from different corpses, including demon corpses.
• Igon explained that Dark Soul Mushrooms could absorb and purify varied corpse energies, and Rayne gave him divine flesh from a Sunspot Viper to test.
• Rayne revealed that he could provide more than two hundred thousand demon corpses from his Legion's secret invasion of the Abyss and warned Igon not to disclose it.
• Igon revealed that Dark Soul Potions cost about fifty Gold Shields at market prices but only around ten Gold Shields to produce through his own mushroom cultivation.
• Rayne proposed supplying corpses, workers, and a safer cultivation site while paying Igon one Gold Shield for every potion produced; Igon became eager to accept.
• Rayne said he would keep most of the millions of Dark Soul Potions for himself, leaving Igon astonished by the scale of his intended use.

Rayne recruited Igon to cultivate Dark Soul Mushrooms for a million Gold Shields a year plus performance pay, then brought him to the Abyss to find a suitable plantation. After finding an ideal swamp and naming it Dark Soul Valley, Rayne cleared its demons and began establishing a hidden, fully equipped cultivation base.

• Rayne offered Igon a ten-year contract worth one million Gold Shields annually for his Dark Soul Mushroom cultivation techniques, plus production bonuses, and Igon agreed.
• Rayne teleported Igon from the Deep Mud Swamp to the Abyss, where he showed him a fortress and promised a steady supply of demon corpses for cultivation.
• Rayne and Igon surveyed numerous swamps in the Misty Mountains before finding one whose conditions matched the Deep Mud Swamp.
• Rayne named the swamp Dark Soul Valley and killed the Shadow Ghost Mother and the other demons there with a Ninth Circle Psionic Storm.
• Rayne's Star Destroyer arrived with demon corpses, while Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers began preparing the valley, building facilities, and setting up cultivation support.

Rayne expanded his forces, secured Dark Soul Valley as a site for mass-producing Dark Soul Potion, and helped Elotisia take control of Balazakoon's territory. Back in Gotham City, he revealed his plan for the million-strong Empire Defense Army to Franciska, who realized its scale and significance.

• Rayne assigned Igon and three hundred Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers to sort and bury 200,000 demon corpses in Dark Soul Valley for cultivating Dark Soul Mushrooms, then built an alchemical factory there.
• Rayne used more than nine thousand units of electricity to create over two hundred Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers, bringing their total to more than 1,700 and his combined force to over 2,800.
• Elotisia led 500 Dark Angels and 100,000 demons to suppress resistance across Balazakoon's territory, eventually taking command of nearly 700,000 demons.
• Rayne continued creating Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers as demon corpses were transported to Dark Soul Valley, raising their number to more than 3,000.
• Rayne returned to Gotham City and spent three days writing a plan for the Empire Defense Army, an army intended to grow from 100,000 soldiers to more than one million.
• Franciska read Rayne's plan, including its advanced weapons, equipment, and enormous cost, then trembled as she asked him about it.

Rayne organized three new military camps for his private army and learned that Franciska was pregnant, then promised to grant her a countship. He also agreed to discuss the Dwarf kings’ plans to develop the New Continent, leaving the proposal for a meeting in Kalanos.

• Rayne instructed Franciska to recruit and prepare a five-thousand-soldier force in Gotham City as part of a larger army-building plan, and assigned recruitment and camp construction in the other duchies to Moserio and Kastaggin.
• Franciska told Rayne she believed she was pregnant, and the All-Seeing Eye confirmed that she carried his child.
• Rayne welcomed the pregnancy and promised to grant Franciska a hereditary countship around Tianchi Lake after the New Year.
• Five hundred Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers arrived in Gotham City with ten million Gold Shields, while Rayne began preparations for camps in Osian and the Duchy of Augustus.
• Kastaggin told Rayne that the Dwarf kings wanted Gotham City’s Dwarf population quota raised to fifty thousand and hoped to use its Teleportation Array to send troops and supplies to the New Continent.
• Rayne agreed to the increased quota and invited the three Dwarf kings to Kalanos to discuss their development plans in person.

Rayne agreed to let the dwarves use Glamorgan’s Teleportation Array to reach the Draweil Peninsula, but refused to provide military aid and placed McGonagall in charge of Kalanos’s military camp construction. As Rayne expanded his military production and opened Augustus Truth Academy, he invested Franciska as Earl of Qinghu and granted her the Augustus surname.

• Rayne agreed to let the dwarves use the Teleportation Array for a fee, while warning Kastaggin that he would provide no other assistance for their campaign on the Netherfiend-held Draweil Peninsula.
• Rayne assigned McGonagall to oversee construction of the military camps in Kalanos and ordered Kastaggin to cooperate.
• Rayne returned to Northril, inspected his expanding military bases and weapons production, and oversaw the construction of a second Star Destroyer and two Iola’s Cores.
• Rayne opened Augustus Truth Academy in the new year, welcoming more than a thousand students of varied races before leaving its daily management to Xavier.
• Rayne held Franciska’s investiture in Qingtan City, granting her the hereditary title Earl of Qinghu and the surname Augustus.

Rayne cultivated ties with the Empire's Warlocks, developed Dark Soul Potions for his growing army, and awaited Franciska's delivery. Franciska gave birth to a daughter, leaving her joyful but disappointed that the child was not a boy.

• Rayne declined Franciska's suggestion that he pursue Dean Margarita, but asked Franciska to build ties with her and the Empire's Warlocks on his behalf.
• Rayne visited Dark Soul Valley, where Igon presented the first mature Dark Soul Mushrooms and refined a batch of potent Dark Soul Potions.
• Rayne ordered Igon to mass-produce the potions and distributed more than thirty thousand among three military camps to strengthen future Transcendent soldiers.
• In mid-August of New Calendar 2538, Rayne teleported to the Highland Fortress as Franciska went into labor.
• Franciska gave birth to a daughter and joyfully invited Rayne to see their child, though she could not hide her disappointment that the baby was not a boy.

Rayne welcomed his newborn daughter, Elizabeth Augustus, and used his Ninth Circle Wish Spell to remove the Blood Soul Curse from her. Months later, Kastaggin sought Rayne’s help after the Dwarves’ army was nearly defeated at Chesak Wall, and Rayne asked what the Dwarves would offer in return.

• Rayne named his daughter Elizabeth Augustus and removed the inherited Blood Soul Curse from her with a Wish Spell.
• Rayne spent the next several months caring for Elizabeth while Franciska returned to work.
• Kastaggin told Rayne that the Netherfiend army had breached Chesak Wall and that the Dwarves faced imminent defeat.
• Rayne recalled how the Dwarves had conquered the Draweil Peninsula and built Chesak Wall before Kurgus’s forces began a prolonged war of attrition.
• Rayne agreed to consider aiding the Dwarves, then asked Kastaggin what he would receive in return.

Kastaggin asked Rayne for help after the Dwarf Legion suffered devastating losses on the New Continent, and Rayne demanded materials and sovereignty in exchange for supporting the Dwarves’ plan to occupy the Draweil Peninsula. The Dwarf kings accepted his terms, leaving Rayne poised to take control of the territory and secure the Dwarves’ foothold.

• After the Netherfiends breached the Chesak Wall and killed more than twenty thousand Dwarves, Kastaggin went to Gotham City to ask Rayne for help.
• Rayne asked whether the Dwarves wanted a safe retreat or long-term support to occupy the Draweil Peninsula, and Kastaggin chose to continue the development plan.
• Rayne demanded five billion Gold Shields’ worth of Alchemical Materials and magic metals, along with sovereignty over the land the Dwarves developed.
• Kastaggin resisted becoming Rayne’s vassal until Rayne offered the Draweil Peninsula and Kenton Peninsula and revealed plans to build a tower at Tisibia with Vejestri’s Magic Torchlight.
• After consulting the kings, Kastaggin returned and told Rayne that they had agreed to his demands.

Rayne secured the Dwarf Kings’ agreement to his demands and transported his forces aboard the Star Destroyer to the Draweil Peninsula. As Kurgus’s army began its assault on the Chesak Wall, Rayne prepared to commit his Legion to the battle.

• Kastaggin told Rayne that the Dwarf Kings had accepted his demands and that Kurgus’s Netherfiend army was gathering for a major attack.
• Rayne had Kastaggin sign a draft treaty recording the Dwarves’ promises before they went to battle.
• Rayne took Kastaggin and two Dwarf Legendary Mages aboard the Star Destroyer, explaining that it would transport his forces but remain out of the fight.
• Rayne revealed the 300 Extreme Warriors and 1,000 Rayne’s Heavenly Soldiers aboard the Star Destroyer, then brought them to the sky above the Draweil Peninsula.
• Rayne and Kastaggin surveyed the Netherfiend army and the exhausted Dwarves defending the Chesak Wall.
• A Netherfiend horn signaled the assault, and tens of thousands of Evil Orcs and demons charged toward the wall.

Rayne’s lightning-fast strike destroyed Jorgen’s summoned Hellfire Lord and wiped out tens of thousands of enemies, but the Demonfolk continued their assault on Chesak Wall. As the Dwarves struggled to hold the battlements, Kastaggin arrived with the Extreme Warriors and Rayne’s Heavenly Soldiers, whose gunfire opened a new attack on the battlefield.

• Jorgen’s Ninth Circle Spell summoned a Hellfire Lord over Chesak Wall, but Rayne’s lightning-wreathed spear struck it down and its explosion annihilated tens of thousands of Evil Orcs and demons.
• The Demonfolk regrouped, crossed the frozen moat, and climbed Chesak Wall while Dwarf kings and warriors fought to keep the defensive line from collapsing.
• Kastaggin arrived with more than three hundred Extreme Warriors and over a thousand of Rayne’s Heavenly Soldiers.
• Kastaggin landed on the wall and struck nearby Demonfolk with the Wrath of the Mountains, while the Extreme Warriors and Heavenly Soldiers fired their Explosive Bullet Guns.

The Extreme Warriors and Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers slaughtered the Netherfiend vanguard at Chesak before the Abyssal Knights charged and surrounded the Extreme Legion. As the Abyssal Knights closed in and Jorgen bombarded them with Meteor Fire Rain, Marius ordered the Extreme Warriors to draw their Electric Light Greatswords.

• The Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers and Extreme Warriors killed tens of thousands of Netherfiends, leaving the Dwarves stunned by their firepower.
• The Extreme Warriors advanced against the remaining Netherfiends while the Dwarf kings argued over the Legion and Kastaggin's allegiance to Rayne.
• Kurgus led fifty thousand Abyssal Knights in a disciplined charge, splitting them into three groups to attack the Extreme Warriors from the front and flanks.
• Marius ordered the Extreme Warriors to concentrate fire on the Abyssal Knights, but Kurgus and two other Chosen Champions repeatedly restored their Fel Energy barriers.
• Jorgen cast Meteor Fire Rain over the Extreme Warriors, and Marius ordered his troops to draw their Electric Light Greatswords and charge.

The Extreme Warriors overwhelmed the Abyssal Knights and drove the Demon army into a rout, while Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers stopped two flanking legions with a massive Thunderstorm Wall. Kurgus and the other Chosen Champions escaped, and the Dwarves awaited Rayne after the battle.

• The Extreme Warriors charged through the Abyssal Knights, while Marius, Sikarius, and their warriors surrounded Kurgus and wounded him.
• Kastaggin stopped Solgrin and the other Dwarf leaders from joining the fight, explaining that Rayne wanted Kurgus kept alive.
• The Extreme Warriors cut through the Abyssal Knights and attacked from above, breaking their formation and killing more than ten thousand.
• Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers blocked the two flanking legions with Thunderstorm Walls and destroyed most of their charging Abyssal Knights.
• Kurgus and the two other Chosen Champions escaped as the Extreme Warriors and Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers routed the Demon army, killing roughly half its forces.
• The Dwarves celebrated the victory and waited for Rayne as the warriors returned.

Rayne upgraded the Heart of the Overmind, then met the dwarf kings to explain why he had spared Kurgus and reveal that he had killed Jorgen. The dwarves agreed to uphold their treaty, and Rayne left to begin building a Wizard Tower in Tisibia, which he expected to complete within two months.

• Rayne upgraded the Heart of the Overmind to Level 12, doubling its Sub-Mind Chip capacity to 16,384.
• Rayne met the five dwarf kings and explained that Kurgus and his army needed to survive to resist Akeon, the Eternal Chosen.
• Rayne promised the dwarves that a Wizard Tower in Tisibia would be completed within two months and enable them to kill Kurgus.
• Rayne revealed Jorgen's head, shocking the dwarf kings and confirming that the Archmage of Purgatory was dead.
• Solgrin affirmed that the dwarves would honor their treaty with Rayne, while the kings requested time to negotiate its details before signing.
• Rayne returned to the Star Destroyer and teleported to the ruins of Tisibia to start building the Wizard Tower.

Rayne cleared the Netherfiend outpost at Tisibia and oversaw the construction of a massive Wizard Tower on the ruins of the Phoenix King's palace. After repelling repeated Netherfiend attacks and guarding against Aeon, Rayne completed the tower in the first month of New Calendar 2539.

• Rayne's Heavenly Soldiers destroyed the Netherfiend outpost so the tribe could not report the tower's construction.
• Rayne chose the former Phoenix King's palace plaza for the tower, and his soldiers and Dwarf craftsmen began clearing the site and building its foundations.
• Solgrin asked Rayne for permission to rebuild a Dwarf city at Fili City, and Rayne said he would consider the request.
• The Netherfiends repeatedly attacked the obscured construction site, but the Extreme Legion killed their forces while allowing a Chosen Champion to escape.
• Rayne and Reslin guarded the site as construction continued, and Rayne completed the tower after nearly two months of work.

Rayne held a ceremony in Tisibia to announce that the former Elven capital had returned to the Empire and to unveil a key part of his plan to reclaim the New Continent’s East Coast. The guests learned that the hidden structure at the center of the plaza was a white tower more than five hundred meters tall.

• Guests from Gotham City and across the Empire arrived in Tisibia and recognized the ruins of the former Elven capital.
• Kadeja and Otiluk identified a vast Rune Array and realized its Obscuring Array concealed a huge building.
• Five Dwarf kings, Gotham City officials, and 180 Extreme Warriors gathered for the ceremony, then Rayne arrived.
• Rayne announced that the Empire and its Dwarf allies had driven the Netherfiend from Tisibia and promised to restore the East Coast’s major cities within five years.
• Rayne revealed the hidden white tower, which rose more than five hundred meters above the plaza.

Rayne activated the Tower of Aiseng’s Tenth Circle Magic Torchlight, purifying a vast region and destroying waves of Netherfiends, then secured the five Dwarf kingdoms’ allegiance through the Friendship Treaty. The chapter ended with Rayne renaming Tisibia Aiseng and declaring the tower the Tower of Aiseng.

• The Tower of Aiseng activated Vejestri’s Magic Torchlight, clearing the skies, purifying a region of three hundred li, and disabling teleportation and planar spells within its range.
• The Extreme Warriors killed more than a thousand Netherfiends teleported near the tower, while Rayne returned with the severed head of a Chosen Champion he had killed.
• The Goddess of Magic bestowed Wisdom Blessing on those present, and Rayne privately resented her for adding it to the tower’s spell.
• Rayne and the five Dwarf kings signed the Friendship Treaty, making the Dwarf kingdoms his vassals and granting them an autonomous region in exchange for materials and other obligations.
• Rayne announced that Tisibia would henceforth be called Aiseng and that its tower would be called the Tower of Aiseng.

After announcing his East Coast development plan, Rayne divided opportunities among the Empire’s factions and offered Wizerland a role in rebuilding Morando. The Blood Elves then sought the same terms as the Dwarves for Loboster, but Rayne learned Regent Asjond had contacted Oruan, raising the stakes.

• Rayne told the banquet guests he planned to reclaim the New Continent’s coastal cities with Magic Torchlight Arrays and invited the Empire’s factions to help develop them.
• Rayne promised Kadeja that Wizerland could rebuild Morando while he retained sovereignty and oversight of the city.
• Rayne met with other faction representatives and assigned partners to many of the East Coast’s planned cities.
• Livlin told Rayne that Regent Asjond wanted to meet and hoped the Blood Elves could obtain terms like the Dwarves for Loboster.
• Rayne questioned whether the Blood Elves could develop Loboster, and Livlin revealed that Asjond had contacted Oruan.