Chapter Summaries

Fang Yuan explained the methods of obtaining high-grade magic runes and planned an expedition into Sorn's Rescue to seek a Golden Magic Rune. After the Dragon Raising Ground produced four Dragon Soul Crystals, he reached First Turn Peak and awakened Magic Rune Perception.

• Fang Yuan told his heroes that an Alchemy Hut required a Level 10 alliance and was too difficult for him to obtain, so he would pursue magic runes through a Secret Realm instead.
• Fang Yuan identified Sorn's Rescue as a promising destination because its Golden Flower Family Guardian Flag was a Golden Item, and he planned to take Lilith, Breni, and Vanas while assigning others to defend the territories.
• Fang Yuan ordered the heroes to prepare troops and checked the Dragon Raising Ground at midnight, but its regular output contained no Dragon Soul Crystals.
• Fang Yuan used his Conscription Order to obtain three days of Dragon Raising Ground output and discovered four Dragon Soul Crystals among the resources.
• Fang Yuan used the Dragon Soul Crystals, reached First Turn Peak as a Rune Architect, and awakened Magic Rune Perception.

Fang Yuan awakened Magic Rune Perception and discovered the daunting requirements for becoming a second-turn Magic Rune Architect. He traded Dragon Raising Ground products for fortune-boosting Siren Princess's Tears, then considered using his Blessing talent on the remaining Orange-quality goods.

• Fang Yuan examined Magic Rune Perception and realized it could help him learn magic rune structures faster than ordinary practice.
• He checked his profession panel and found that second-turn advancement required mastering and creating several high-quality runes, replicating a rune onto Orange Equipment, and changing professions inside a Mage Tower.
• Fang Yuan decided to postpone worrying about the difficult advancement requirements and traded Dragon Tooth Rice and Dragon Blood Fruit for one hundred Siren Princess's Tears.
• After suspecting his trading partner might be a Siren lord, Fang Yuan agreed to keep in touch and ended their conversation.
• Fang Yuan noticed that his Blessing talent was unused and decided to try it on the remaining Orange-quality Dragon Tooth Rice and Dragon Blood Fruit.

Fang Yuan used blessings to obtain a Purple Noble Reputation Scroll, a Purple Ice Magic Trap, and Orange Mogore's Spiced Bread, then used an Orange Dragon Blood Fruit and received the Golden Scroll, Dragon Soul Guardian. The chapter ended before he learned the scroll’s effects.

• Fang Yuan kept the Noble Reputation Scroll in reserve because he needed it to maintain his baron title.
• Fang Yuan spent gold coins on blessings and obtained a Purple Ice Magic Trap and a Red Perfect Leather Bracer, which he sold through his shop.
• Fang Yuan blessed Orange Dragon Tooth Rice and obtained Mogore's Spiced Bread, which he planned to give to Lilith for the upcoming secret realm.
• Fang Yuan blessed an Orange Dragon Blood Fruit and saw golden light for the first time in over a month.
• Fang Yuan received the Golden Scroll, Dragon Soul Guardian.

Fang Yuan discovered a golden Dragon Soul Guardian Scroll and learned that White Eagle-backed forces had taken over the Green Sea Alliance and were moving into Gandor's north. He fortified the passage to the Gloomy Forest, gave Christian the scroll to protect the territory, and departed for the Mystic Hall's secret realm with Lilith, Breni, and Vanas.

• Fang Yuan obtained the Dragon Soul Guardian Scroll, which could make every building in his territory invincible for one day, and chose not to risk another blessing.
• Christian told Fang Yuan that Green Sea had broken off negotiations and that its Verdant Peak Alliance was seizing the eastern passage near the Northern Territory Defense Line.
• Fang Yuan learned from Zhao Zixiao that White Eagle and its European allies had replaced Green Sea's leadership and planned to use the alliance as a base for expanding into Gandor's north.
• Fang Yuan built and upgraded a purple Outpost Camp at the passage's exit, fortified it with traps, and stationed ten thousand soldiers and patrols there.
• Fang Yuan gave Christian the Dragon Soul Guardian Scroll to use only in a dire emergency, then left her in charge while he went to the Mystic Hall.
• Fang Yuan activated the Secret Realm Magic Crystal and ordered Breni to lead the army through the dimensional gate, Vanas to follow, and Lilith to protect him as they entered last.

Blood Raven reported that Fang Yuan would send reinforcements south in seven days, prompting the Mist leaders to weigh the undead’s chances against Christian’s Holy Light forces. Fas rejected retreat and ordered an offensive designed to draw Fang Yuan into a secret realm, while setting wider plans in motion before the Beastmen Empire fully awakened.

• Blood Raven told Demon Dragon Fas and the other Mist leaders that Fang Yuan had agreed to help Zhao Zixiao attack the undead in central Gondor in seven days.
• Blood Raven and the Mind Flayer Great Elder warned the Undead Archmage that Christian’s Holy Light Grand Knight and her paladins and War Priests could devastate the undead, leaving the Archmage terrified and urging a retreat.
• Fas refused to retreat and proposed that the undead attack the south, feign defeat, and hand over the Twin Secret Realm Magic Crystal to lure Fang Yuan into the secret realm, where Fas could dispel one Forbidden Spell and attempt to kill him.
• Fas said the Beastmen Empire’s awakening threatened the plan to seize the divinity, then ordered the Mist leaders to locate the divinity, weaken the Beastmen through Historical Reenactment, and prepare higher-tier troops.
• Fas ordered Blood Raven to infiltrate the Blue Star Lords’ governing class and the Mind Flayer Great Elder to watch the new faction at the northern defense line, then demanded that the undead break through the southern defenses within seven days.

Fang Yuan entered an Old Continent secret realm and established a camp at a Golden Flower Family watchtower while searching for Sir Thorne’s Guardian Knight. As Blood Moon began, Lilith explained the dangerous lunar phases, and Breni warned that cavalry were approaching.

• Fang Yuan learned from Lilith that the secret realm was confined to a small region and that Old Continent mages would likely capture and experiment on outsiders.
• Breni reported that the army had found a battlefield and a watchtower marked as the Golden Flower Family’s northern grassland watchtower, where pikemen and orcs had died.
• Lilith warned Fang Yuan that Blood Moon strengthened some orcs and Black Moon let dark-seeing orcs roam, so he ordered the army to camp at the watchtower.
• Fang Yuan’s troops secured the crude watchtower as the sky turned red, and Lilith explained that the moonlight came from divine kingdoms on the Ringed Divine Seat.
• The ground began trembling, and Breni warned Fang Yuan that cavalry were approaching.

Fang Yuan’s forces encountered a thousand Beastmen Wolf Riders beneath the blood moon, and he decided to ambush and destroy them rather than withdraw. He ordered Breni to let none escape and to eliminate any Beastmen army approaching the watchtower.

• Breni warned Fang Yuan that the approaching cavalry were Blood Moon-empowered Beastmen Wolf Riders, not knights from the Golden Flower Family.
• Fang Yuan ordered the Flame Mages to lie low while Lilith prepared a small guard around the watchtower and summoned the Fire Phoenix.
• The Wolf Riders demanded that Fang Yuan’s army leave the grasslands, claiming the humans had surrendered and the territory belonged to the beastmen.
• After a Demon Knight reported that the Wolf Riders were forming up to attack, Fang Yuan agreed with Breni that they should strike first.
• Fang Yuan ordered Breni to ensure no Wolf Riders escaped and commanded his forces to eliminate any Beastmen army that approached the camp.

Breni’s Demon Knights defeated a Wolf Rider vanguard and captured the Honorary Noble Andrew, while Fang Yuan received an Orange Battlefield Treasure Chest. Andrew first demanded Fang Yuan obey him, then offered important intelligence to save his life.

• Andrew insisted that the Wolf Riders had been misled and tried to approach the human guards, but Caesar ordered the Wolf Riders into an Iron Hammer Formation and charged.
• Breni’s Demon Knights formed a wedge, identified the Wolf Riders through the fading blood mist, and attacked with Demonic Flame.
• The Demon Knights crushed the Wolf Riders in their first collision, then scouted the area and brought the captured Andrew to Breni.
• Fang Yuan received a Battlefield Treasure Chest (Orange) notification for the victory and learned that Breni had captured Andrew.
• Andrew demanded Fang Yuan bow and obey him, but Fang Yuan ordered him cut down; Andrew knelt and offered important intelligence, prompting a notification from the Lord’s Mark.

Count Andrew revealed Prince Rayne's conspiracy to betray Gondor and explained the two reputation-locked side quests. Fang Yuan declined them because his reputation and strength were too low, then learned the Beastmen would advance soon; Vanas returned gravely wounded with news that she had found Duke Golden Flower.

• Count Andrew told Fang Yuan that Prince Rayne had shared military intelligence with the Beastmen and planned to open the Northern Territory Defense Line to them.
• Fang Yuan saw side quests to rescue the king and stop Prince Rayne, but his 500 Gondor Kingdom Reputation was insufficient to accept either quest.
• Fang Yuan decided to focus on the main quest after considering the danger posed by the Behemoth and the Beastmen legions.
• Andrew warned Fang Yuan that the Beastmen would advance south by the next day and attack the Golden Flower Family's castle.
• Breni reported that Vanas had returned unconscious and badly wounded, and Fang Yuan used a healing rune to revive her.
• Vanas told Fang Yuan that she had found Duke Golden Flower's location.

Vanas recounted how Duke Golden Flower was killed, Sir Thorne was captured by goblins, and an Orc Sword Saint nearly killed him. Fang Yuan rejected the safer plan of seeking help from the Golden Flower Family and chose to hunt the Sword Saint and pursue the secret realm’s higher rewards; the Sword Saint then appeared alone outside the camp.

• Vanas told Fang Yuan that Duke Golden Flower had died after killing an orc commander, while Sir Thorne had been dragged into a dragon-guarded cave by goblins.
• Breni explained that Vanas survived the Sword Saint’s attack because his Poacher’s Armor absorbed the blow, though the armor was destroyed.
• Lilith proposed finding the Guardian Knights and seeking help from the Golden Flower Family, but Fang Yuan instead planned to kill the Sword Saint and rescue Thorne without killing the dragon.
• Fang Yuan ordered Breni to assemble the Demon Knights and send scouts to search for the Windwalker and information about the Sword Saint.
• Fang Yuan decided to keep Andrew alive for a possible Northern Territory Defense Line mission and ordered him watched.
• Messengers reported that the Sword Saint had slain a Windwalker and appeared alone outside the watchtower camp, so Fang Yuan ordered Lilith to kill him.

Fang Yuan’s forces ambushed Orc Sword Saint Gro after he came seeking revenge on Duke Golden Flower, and Gro slaughtered hundreds of cavalry and a thousand Demon Knights before the mages wore him down. Breni finished him with a lance and beheaded him, earning Fang Yuan three Gold Battlefield Treasure Chests.

• Gro demanded that the knights let him pass so he could challenge Duke Golden Flower, but Breni ordered them to kill him for the soldiers he had slain.
• Gro cut down hundreds of Auxiliary Knights and Golden Flower Guardian Knights, then killed a thousand Demon Knights in a berserk charge.
• Gro escaped the next Demon Knights’ charge, but Flame Magi and Lilith trapped him and bombarded him with fire magic under Fang Yuan’s orders.
• Gro crawled alive from the crater, and Breni charged him, pierced his throat with her lance, and cut off his head.
• Fang Yuan received three Gold Battlefield Treasure Chests for killing the secret-realm Gold Unit Gro.

After defeating the Orc Sword Saint, Fang Yuan prepared to move his weakened army and opened the treasure chests he had earned. The final chest yielded a Golden Curio, the Shadow Cloak, while his army awaited the returning Windwalkers.

• Fang Yuan ordered Vanas to find the four remaining Windwalkers tracking the Guardian Knights and directed Breni to expand patrols while the army waited for map reconnaissance.
• Fang Yuan sent a red-grade mana-restoration scroll to Lilith for the exhausted Flame Magi and opened an orange chest, obtaining reputation, a Marching Camouflage Scroll, and Direwolf Reins.
• Fang Yuan opened the first Golden Treasure Chest and received reputation, five Golden Source Crystals, a Sword Saint Class Transfer Book, and a Damage Boost Rune.
• Fang Yuan opened a second Golden Treasure Chest and obtained a Luck Amplification Rune and the Light of Life healing scroll, which he considered using for the Northern Territory Defense Line quest.
• Fang Yuan used the Luck Amplification Rune before opening the last Golden Treasure Chest, which granted reputation, ten Golden Source Crystals, and the Golden Curio Shadow Cloak.

Fang Yuan obtained the Golden Curio Shadow Cloak and planned to move his army into the Gloomy Forest while avoiding the Beastmen and protecting his mainline mission rewards. Breni ambushed and routed the Beastmen Spearmen as Fang Yuan’s main force reached the forest and received news from Vanas.

• Fang Yuan discovered the Golden Curio Shadow Cloak and stored it until he could leave the secret realm and use it to recruit a hero.
• Lilith’s Windwalkers returned with a map of the surrounding region, revealing the nearby cities, terrain, and dangerous Beastmen presence.
• Fang Yuan and Lilith planned to eliminate the approaching eight thousand Beastmen Spearmen, send Demon Knights as bait, and move the main army northwest into the Gloomy Forest.
• Fang Yuan ordered Breni to attack the Spearmen while he led the main force toward the forest.
• Breni’s two thousand Demon Knights charged the unprepared Spearmen and began routing them.
• Fang Yuan’s main force entered the Gloomy Forest, where a Windwalker arrived with news from Vanas.

Fang Yuan learned that Duke Golden Flower and Sir Thorne were likely captured by monsters in the Gloomy Forest, then led his forces to investigate three nearby lairs while trying to determine where the dragon was. After scouts found no dragon or sign of the missing men, Fang Yuan ordered an attack using five hundred Fire Elementals to test whether the dragon was hiding in a lair.

• Lilith proposed disguising Vanas as a Golden Flower guard so the Guardian Knights would reveal their information, and Fang Yuan arranged the plan.
• Breni reported that the Beastmen Spearmen had been eliminated and sent her Demon Knights to lead the beastmen toward Marigold Castle; Fang Yuan ordered the scouts recalled.
• Guardian Knights told Fang Yuan that Duke Golden Flower had died fighting an orc champion and that Sir Thorne had stayed behind with his body before goblins captured them.
• Fang Yuan accepted the Guardian Knight's Request quest and led his army through the forest to the three monster lairs where the captives might be held.
• Vanas reported that faction-detection radiance surrounded the goblin, Bear Goblin, and Evil Eye lairs, and that the dragon's location remained unknown.
• Lilith warned Fang Yuan not to commit the entire army without locating the dragon, so Fang Yuan ordered five hundred Fire Elementals and other troops to attack the lairs.

Fang Yuan’s elite troops overwhelmed the monster legions guarding the lairs, and Lilith suspected a Black Dragon nest lay underground. Vanas entered the Goblin Nest to scout, but a dragon suddenly emerged as Fang Yuan’s forces secured the area.

• Lilith warned Fang Yuan that the well-equipped monsters were unusually powerful for the Old Continent era, but his Tower Shield Guards and Purple Moon Mercenaries routed the Goblin Legion.
• The Greatsword Infantry killed the Goblin Priest, while the Bear Goblins and Evil Eyes fled; Fang Yuan’s Flame Magi destroyed them and earned six battlefield chests.
• Lilith speculated that a Black Dragon nest or underground city might lie beneath the monster lairs, so Fang Yuan ordered Vanas to scout inside with Windwalkers, the Auxiliary Legion, and one hundred Demon Knights.
• Fang Yuan ordered Breni to guard the surroundings, and a dragon suddenly leaped out of the Goblin Nest.

Fang Yuan's forces defeated a Black Dragon that Lilith identified as a vulnerable mirrored clone, then Vanas confirmed that Sir Thorne and Duke Golden Flower lay inside the lair. As Demon Knights went to retrieve their bodies and the Golden Flower Guardian Banner, Fang Yuan received a notice that their presence had cost him 10,000 Golden Flower faction reputation.

• Vanas escaped the Goblin Nest badly wounded, and a towering Black Dragon emerged as Fang Yuan and Lilith prepared to flee.
• Lilith realized the dragon was a mirrored clone, so Fang Yuan ordered the Dragon Hunters to attack while Breni and the Demon Knights fought it.
• Breni decapitated the weakened clone, and Fang Yuan received a Purple Treasure Chest containing 500 Golden Flower Family Reputation.
• After Fang Yuan healed her, Vanas said Sir Thorne and Duke Golden Flower were dead inside the lair and agreed to lead a rescue party to their bodies.
• Fang Yuan sent Vanas and one hundred Demon Knights into the lair, then received a notice that the Demon Knights' presence had reduced Golden Flower faction reputation by 10,000 points.

Fang Yuan lost the Golden Flower Family quest after its knights attacked him, but recovered the Golden Flower Family Guardian Banner from Duke Golden Flower’s corpse. With the Secret Realm set to disappear in a day, he planned to raid the Beastmen Barracks for reputation and then move south to pursue the Golden Magic Rune.

• Lilith stopped the Golden Flower Family Guardian Knights from ambushing Fang Yuan, and he deduced that his reputation had fallen after his Demon Knights were discovered.
• Breni and Vanas brought back Sir Thorne and Duke Golden Flower’s corpses, and the Lord’s Mark declared the main quest failed because Sir Thorne was dead.
• Fang Yuan obtained the Golden Flower Family Guardian Banner, inspected its powerful auras, and realized he needed two more legacy items to unlock the Golden Flower Family’s Golden Unit.
• After ordering Sir Thorne and Duke Golden Flower’s remains cremated, Fang Yuan discussed searching for the Golden Magic Rune and agreed to pursue the quest to stop Prince Rayne.
• Fang Yuan planned to raid the Beastmen Barracks for reputation, use the Disguise Scroll to travel south, and ordered Vanas to scout while Breni assembled the army.

Fang Yuan, Breni, and Lilith devised a surprise attack on the Beastmen Barracks using the Flame Magi’s Meteor Fire Rain to support the Demon Knights and Dragon Hunters. Breni’s forces destroyed the camp, and Fang Yuan received battle rewards as his army continued south.

• Breni persuaded Fang Yuan to attack during the Blood Moon, and Lilith proposed striking the Beastmen Barracks with Meteor Fire Rain before the Demon Knights charged.
• Vanas returned with the barracks’ exact coordinates, and Fang Yuan sent Breni with the Demon Knights and Dragon Hunters while Vanas led the Purple Moon Mercenaries south to scout.
• Fang Yuan’s Flame Magi launched two Meteor Fire Rains at the Tigermen and Minotaur garrisons, opening a path for Breni’s assault.
• Breni’s forces stormed the barracks, killed the beastmen there, and found the central command tent empty before withdrawing as the Blood Moon faded.
• Fang Yuan learned that Breni had wiped out the camp and received battlefield treasure chests, including two additional orange chests for destroying the encampment.

Fang Yuan accepted the mission to stop Prince Rayne and led his army to a supposedly safe watchtower to rest. By dawn, a vast beastmen army surrounded the area, and Fang Yuan used a Disguise Scroll to make his forces appear to be a Beastmen Legion.

• Lilith noticed the battle report showed that the beastmen’s strongest remaining legions had likely gone south, so Fang Yuan halted his fragile Mage Legion and waited for Breni and Vanas.
• Fang Yuan opened his battlefield treasure chests, gained enough reputation to accept the Stop Prince Rayne quest, and learned that he had only twelve hours to complete it.
• Breni and Vanas returned, and Vanas reported that the nearby watchtower was unoccupied, so Fang Yuan led the army there to rest for the night.
• Battle cries sounded outside the watchtower during the night, but Fang Yuan and his companions waited until dawn to assess the situation.
• Vanas reported that the beastmen’s main army covered the surrounding hills and plains, and Fang Yuan used a Disguise Scroll to disguise his forces as a Beastmen Legion.

Fang Yuan’s forces seized the Northern Territory Defense Line’s city gate and stormed the Commander’s Residence to stop Prince Rayne, but Lilith discovered that the Prince Rayne they killed was a puppet. The mission nevertheless counted as complete, and Fang Yuan was left to choose between copying territory-enhancing magic patterns and receiving a random Golden Hero Soul Fragment.

• Vanas used her knowledge of the local orc dialect to send away the half-orc cavalry and revealed that a vast beastmen army was approaching the Northern Territory Defense Line.
• When the defense line’s gate opened amid internal turmoil, Breni led the Demon Knights in a charge that broke the beastmen formation, while Fang Yuan and Lilith joined the fight and Vanas’s Dragon Hunters seized the gate mechanism.
• Fang Yuan’s forces closed the city gate, stopping the beastmen from entering, and followed the Lord’s Mark’s instructions to attack Prince Rayne at the Commander’s Residence.
• Fang Yuan’s troops defeated Prince Rayne’s guards with Lilith’s fire elementals and the Light of Life scroll, but the Prince Rayne they surrounded exploded and was revealed by Lilith to be a puppet.
• The Lord’s Mark declared Prince Rayne killed and the mission complete, then offered Fang Yuan a choice between territory-enhancing magic patterns and a random Golden Hero Soul Fragment.