Chapter Summaries

Asura activated Alaya-vijnana and struck Hercules, but Hercules escaped after feigning a disabling wound, while the Strategic Affairs Department won the battle at Saint Bourne Fortress. Luo Yan returned with his team, then warned that General Morton and Freedom Wings still posed a serious threat.

• Asura activated Alaya-vijnana and attacked Hercules, but Hercules wounded it with a punch before retreating from the battlefield.
• Two Temple Knights attacked the undermanned Saint Bourne Fortress, and General Morton ordered Byron's forces to withdraw while promising to handle the rest himself.
• Byron led the Freedom Wings main force through a gap opened by the Apostle Mechas and escaped toward headquarters, while Zhao Chu ordered the Strategic Affairs Department not to pursue.
• The Strategic Affairs Department claimed victory after Freedom Wings fled, leaving prisoners and many damaged mechs behind.
• Luo Yan returned to the fortress with his team, who reported completing their mission without casualties.
• Yang Gui celebrated the Strategic Affairs Department's strength, but Luo Yan warned that Morton and the possibility of another saint like Virtues remained dangerous.

After the battle, Morton recognized that Freedom Wings could not stop the Strategic Affairs Department but refused to negotiate, believing he had to take responsibility for the organization’s mistakes. He arrested Wood to distance him from the leadership, then asked to contact the Strategic Affairs Department with a suggestion.

• Luo Yan and the others discussed Freedom Wings’ possible attempt to summon another god and the German Iron Cavalry’s likely withdrawal from the alliance.
• Wood reported Freedom Wings’ losses to Morton and relayed the German Iron Cavalry’s request to let Generals Conrad and Carmen leave; Morton agreed.
• Morton told Wood that Freedom Wings’ remaining Apostle Mechas could not halt the Strategic Affairs Department’s advance, but he refused to negotiate because he feared it would bring lasting shame to his people.
• Morton relieved Wood of his duties and ordered the guards to arrest him, and Wood understood that Morton was trying to separate him from Freedom Wings’ failures.
• After Wood was taken away, Morton asked to contact the Strategic Affairs Department to make a suggestion.

Luo Yan cultivated the Samadhi Sun Manifestation Method and successfully formed a fire seed for his Pure Yang True Fire, which tempered Fire Yang True Lord. He then learned that the Ninth Organ had agreed to Morton’s proposal for a one-on-one duel with Freedom Wings and asked who would represent the Strategic Affairs Department.

• Luo Yan produced a wisp of Pure Yang True Fire and fused his divinity with it, stabilizing a fire seed in his world of consciousness.
• The Pure Yang True Fire refined Fire Yang True Lord’s Crimson Essence Fire, making it purer and more powerful and changing his appearance.
• Zhao Chu summoned Luo Yan, Bai Qixue, Shi Beiluo, and the other captains to the Command Hall and told them Morton had proposed a one-on-one duel.
• Zhao Chu explained that Commander Zhao had accepted the duel to preserve both sides’ strength for the conflict with Yanfu and the Heavenly Ghosts.
• Luo Yan asked who would represent the Strategic Affairs Department in the battle.

Zhao Chu announced that Puller would represent the Strategic Affairs Department in a duel against Morton, using a divine sacrifice and the Longinus to secure his revenge. The chapter left Puller’s allies accepting the plan and expecting him to kill himself with the God-slaying Spear afterward.

• Zhao Chu told the captains that Puller, rather than Bai Qixue or Luo Yan, would fight Morton in three days.
• Zhao Chu explained that Puller had sacrificed himself to gain Divine Grace and had agreed to use the Longinus to kill himself after the duel.
• Luo Yan warned that Divine Grace could make Puller a vessel for a god, but agreed that the holy spear could prevent the god’s descent.
• The captains accepted the decision, and the news reached Bai Qixue and the others in the fortress’s public rest area.
• Murong Xuan asked whether Puller might refuse to die after the duel, and Luo Yan said Puller would follow through to avenge his wife and children.

At Jincheng Sanatorium, Gibron, McCleary, and Wayne Doyle discussed Freedom Wings’ worsening military position and Morton’s planned duel with the Strategic Affairs Department. Gibron concluded that Morton had compromised with Michael and feared that his becoming Michael’s Vessel could lead to the end of humanity created by the Lord.

• McCleary told Gibron that Freedom Wings had lost key bases and allies and could deploy only five top-tier mechs.
• Wayne visited Gibron and McCleary, shared homemade wine, and reported that Morton had dismissed Staff Officer Wood and arranged a duel in three days.
• McCleary and Wayne suspected Morton intended to limit losses and leave Freedom Wings an escape if he lost.
• Gibron declared that Morton had compromised with Michael and might become Michael’s Vessel.
• Gibron warned that Michael sought the Lord’s Holy Relics to resurrect the Creator, whose return could erase angels and humans created in his image.

Luo Yan and the others learned that Michael planned to use Morton as a vessel to resurrect the Almighty Lord, which could kill hundreds of millions of people. Zhao Chu ordered Luo Yan, Bai Qixue, and Colonel Pruhler to go to Freedom City and help assassinate Morton if necessary.

• Zhao Chu showed the commanders a recording from Gibron, who warned that Morton might offer himself to Michael during his duel.
• Gibron explained that Michael sought the Almighty Lord's remains and that the Lord's resurrection could reclaim Christian believers and cause mass deaths.
• Gibron asked the Strategic Affairs Department to send powerful fighters and the holy spear Longinus to assassinate Morton.
• Li Meng warned that the request might be a trap, but Zhao Chu said the commanders trusted Gibron and would not stand by.
• Zhao Chu ordered Luo Yan, Bai Qixue, and Colonel Pruhler to leave immediately for Freedom City, where General Wayne would meet them.

Luo Yan and his companions entered Freedom City hidden among crop trucks, where General Wayne and Major General Kate prepared to guide them into the Papal Hall to stop Morton before Michael descended. As they drove through the city, Luo Yan sensed that the operation might go wrong, leaving the group on guard.

• Bai Qixue detected approaching trucks, and Luo Yan recognized General Wayne when he arrived at the camp.
• General Wayne explained that General Marvin and Major General Kate had joined their side and that Mr. McCleary had provided a route through underground waterways into the Papal Hall.
• General Wayne drove the group into Freedom City in a crop truck, then led them to military jeeps at his food-processing plant.
• Major General Kate joined them, and General Marvin drove Luo Yan and the others toward the Papal Hall.
• Luo Yan sensed that the operation might not go smoothly, and Bai Qixue urged everyone to be cautious.

Luo Yan and his allies reached the Sanctuary of Rest to stop Michael from reviving the Almighty Lord, but Byron, Sweet, and four Black Knights blocked their way. As the allies fought to open a path into the chapel, True Lord Hidden Sword and Bai Qixue began cutting through the defenders.

• Luo Yan and his companions emerged from the sewers into the courtyard of the Sanctuary of Rest, where Byron confronted them.
• Wayne warned Byron that Michael had deceived General Morton and planned to revive the Almighty Lord, but Byron called them traitors.
• Sweet emerged with four Black Knights, while Luo Yan urged the group to charge into the chapel and Wayne agreed to hold Byron back.
• Bai Qixue tasked Luo Yan with protecting Pulle and entering the chapel, then called on True Lord Hidden Sword to open a path.
• True Lord Hidden Sword unleashed a river of sword light, and two Black Knights struggled to stop it as the Cloaked Figure and the whip-wielding woman attacked him.
• Bai Qixue cut the woman's whip and advanced with her sword, seeking to clear a path for her companions.

The Black Knights used their Holy Projections to hold off Bai Qixue and True Lord Hidden Sword while Byron and his allies fought back against the intruders. Bai Qixue trapped Sweet and looked toward the Sanctuary of Rest, expecting You Wu to have sent Luo Yan and Colonel Pruhler inside.

• The four Black Knights absorbed their Holy Projections and temporarily gained near-Saint abilities, stopping Bai Qixue and True Lord Hidden Sword from breaking through.
• Byron noticed Luo Yan and Colonel Pruhler had disappeared, then dodged an attack and was struck by the Headless General, who joined True Lord Hidden Sword in battle.
• Marvin blocked Byron with Hades’s phantom, while Generals Kate and Wayne went to stop the approaching guards after failing to summon their Holy Projections.
• Sweet attacked Bai Qixue from behind, but she became a Paper Figure, used a Psionic Interference Grenade, and restrained him with bone-like hands.
• Bai Qixue looked toward the open gate of the Sanctuary of Rest and wondered whether You Wu had sent Luo Yan and Colonel Pruhler inside.

Luo Yan and Pulle confronted Morton in the Sanctuary of Rest, but Michael revealed he had already possessed Morton and manipulated events to reclaim Longinus. Michael announced that he had descended and would seek the Lord’s Holy Relics to revive the Almighty Lord.

• Luo Yan and Pulle entered the Sanctuary of Rest, where Pulle confronted Morton with Longinus.
• Luo Yan revealed that Gibron had warned them that Michael’s revival would consume believers, and Morton confirmed the warning after Michael spoke through him.
• Morton resisted Michael’s control and urged Pulle to kill him, so Pulle charged with Longinus and invoked Hephaestus.
• Michael struck Pulle with a Golden Flame sword, took Longinus, and revealed that he had been impersonating Morton and had manipulated Gibron into bringing the spear.
• Michael unfurled golden wings, identified himself to Luo Yan, and said he would find the Lord’s Holy Relics to revive the Almighty Lord.

Luo Yan and his allies fought Michael at the Sanctuary of Rest after Fire Yang True Lord answered their call and joined the battle. Michael survived a devastating assault, but Pruhler emerged from the smoke and grabbed him as he reached for Longinus.

• Luo Yan challenged Michael’s claim that the Easterners had lost divine protection and summoned Fire Yang True Lord through the church’s candles.
• Fire Yang True Lord attacked Michael with Crimson Gold Flame, then intercepted him outside and shattered his golden flame sword.
• A skeletal warrior wielding the Blood River Saber struck Michael, unleashing a blast that shook the Papal Hall and injured the Black Knights.
• Kate and Wayne emerged from the smoke protected by True Lord Hidden Sword, while Michael rose from a charred trench with his six wings dimmed.
• Pruhler charged through the smoke, seized Michael with a thunderous arm, and reached for Longinus.

Michael transformed into a golden giant and drove Luo Yan’s group to abandon their operation and flee Freedom City. As Michael charged toward the city’s dome, a massive Yanfu opened above the ruins and brought three unknown black entities into the area.

• Michael descended into Morton and transformed into a golden giant, forcing Pulle and Luo Yan to give up their operation and withdraw.
• Kate helped Luo Yan, Bai Qixue, and the others escape Papal Hall while Byron ordered Sweet not to pursue them.
• Michael stopped before attacking Luo Yan’s group, sensed something above the Undercity, and flew toward Freedom City’s domed canopy.
• Alarms sounded as the Command Hall detected an unusually large Yanfu and an unfamiliar gate opening within the Jambudvipa Rift.
• Three black masses emerged from the gate, crashed into the ruins, and unleashed a Black Storm as the Command Hall detected an unknown Black Spectrum Signal.
• Byron and Sweet entered the Command Hall, where Byron ordered a Level One alert, the opening of shelters and containment centers, and the deployment of Mecha troops.

Three Fallen Ones entered the Mortal World, and Michael confronted them in the City Ruins while Kate, Marvin, and General Wayne returned to Freedom City to protect its civilians. Michael killed one Fallen One and pursued the other two, then pinned the surviving giant to a flaming cross as Luo Yan drove toward Saint Bourne Fortress.

• Three Fallen Ones emerged in the Mortal World, and Michael flew in to challenge them.
• The horned and female Fallen Ones fled, while the Beast-like Giant charged Michael and she severed his arm.
• Kate, Marvin, and General Wayne returned to the Undercity to defend Freedom City, while Luo Yan drove away toward Saint Bourne Fortress.
• Michael pinned the Beast-like Giant down and cut off his head, but he reattached it and attacked her again.
• Michael severed the giant's hand, then pinned him to a Golden Cross of holy fire that burned his body to ash.

Byron carried out General Morton's final directive, restoring Wood and others to their positions and appointing Wood temporary leader of Freedom Wings. After learning the truth about Michael and the Fallen Ones, Wood agreed with Gibron to pursue peace talks and cooperate with the Strategic Affairs Department.

• Byron confirmed the Fallen One killed by Michael was dead and ordered soldiers to recover its remains for research.
• Byron released Morton's recording, in which Morton ordered Staff Officer Wood's release and appointment as temporary leader, the restoration of Wayne, Marvin, and Gibron, and the disbanding of the Black Knight Unit.
• Byron appointed Wood temporary leader of Freedom Wings, restored Gibron and the others, and cleared Kate's actions from the previous day.
• Gibron told Wood that Michael had manipulated the Strategic Affairs Department into delivering the God-slaying Spear and intended to resurrect the Almighty Lord, whose return could cause a catastrophe.
• Wood agreed to cooperate with the Strategic Affairs Department and begin peace talks, while Gibron planned to learn more about the Fallen Ones from the deity.

Luo Yan returned to Saint Bourne Fortress and joined Zhao Chu’s briefing on three Black Wing Tribe beings that had descended into Freedom City through a strange door. Qing Lian identified the door as resembling the Floating Life Gate and warned that Yanfu might now have a way to send multiple beings into the Mortal World.

• Luo Yan, Bai Qixue, and Mister Pruhler returned to Saint Bourne Fortress and were summoned to the Command Hall by Zhao Chu.
• Zhao Chu showed Luo Yan and the other captains footage of three Black Wing Tribe beings emerging from an ancient door above Freedom City.
• Qing Lian studied the footage and said the door was not formed by a Jambudvipa Rift and resembled the Floating Life Gate.
• Shi Beiluo and Luo Yan recalled how Hong Zhuang had used the Floating Life Gate to send Lu Gong, Xing Ba, and herself back to Yanfu.
• Qing Lian explained that the foreign races came from beyond the heavens, sided with the Mother in an ancient war, and were later cast into Yanfu by the Divine Lord and the Human Lord.

Zhao Chu explained Yanfu’s hierarchy and the danger posed by powerful Heavenly Ghosts, then announced that Freedom Wings wanted peace talks. As Luo Yan and Bai Qixue headed to eat, Bai Qixue said the Black Wing Tribe members seemed strangely familiar to her.

• Zhao Chu described the tiers of Yanfu life-forms, from the Mother of All Beasts and the Thrones to ordinary Acquired Ghosts, and explained how the Primordial Tent restricted the strongest from descending.
• Zhao Chu warned that the reinforced Yanfu Gate could let a Throne General pass through and said the alien races’ leaders were likely comparable to the fourth tier.
• Zhao Chu said two sixth-tier Yanfu life-forms and a descended god were missing, and called for cooperation with Freedom Wings to eliminate threats to humanity.
• A soldier told Zhao Chu that Wood had become Freedom Wings’s acting commander-in-chief and that a delegation was coming to begin peace talks and share information about the Black Wing Tribe.
• On the way to the rest area, Bai Qixue told Luo Yan that the Black Wing Tribe members seemed familiar, then guessed she had confused them with Western legends about Fallen Angels.

Luo Yan attended negotiations between the Strategic Affairs Department and Freedom Wings, where the two sides shared information about Michael and the Fallen Ones. They agreed to split up to pursue the threats, with the Heavenly Fire Squad and Pruhler heading to Redwood National Park.

• Luo Yan and Bai Qixue joined the other squad leaders in the conference room as Zhao Chu welcomed the Freedom Wings delegation led by Wood and Bishop Gibron.
• Zhao Chu proposed handling Michael and the Fallen Ones before negotiating the war, and Wood agreed to share tracking footage.
• Wood showed that Michael and Number One had last appeared in Redwood National Park, while Number Two had last appeared in abandoned Atlanta.
• Bishop Gibron explained that the Fallen Ones could transfer their power, consumed living creatures for energy, and were mortal enemies of angels like Michael.
• Zhao Ruifeng proposed sending his people after Michael and Number One while Freedom Wings eliminated Number Two in Atlanta.
• Wood agreed to let Colonel Pruhler use the Justice Apostle, and Zhao Ruifeng assigned the Heavenly Fire Squad and Pruhler to Redwood National Park.

Michael pursued a female Fallen One through Redwood National Park, destroying the Stitched Monsters sent to ambush him. Meanwhile, Captain Luo examined the remains of Fallen One No. 1 and learned that the Black Wing Tribe could change forms without being targeted by the 'Primordial Tent'.

• Michael tracked the female Fallen One into Fellriv Canyon, following the Black Light Rays it had left behind.
• A Stitched Monster attacked Michael, but he cut it apart and incinerated its remains.
• Michael defeated more than a dozen Stitched Monsters and found an Eagle-headed Horse-bodied Beast whose core had been eaten.
• Captain Luo examined the black traces left by Fallen One No. 1 as Zhao Chu explained that the Black Wing Tribe could switch forms without triggering the 'Primordial Tent'.
• Captain Luo acknowledged Zhao Chu's warning to proceed carefully.

The Overlord Giant Beast hid from the powerful auras and the Steel Giants crossing its territory. Michael tracked a female Fallen One to a fortified shopping mall in Steel Capital and prepared to attack, but Pulle and the Justice Apostle arrived to stop him from killing the civilians inside.

• The Overlord sensed unfamiliar Steel Giants crossing its territory and chose to conceal its aura and keep monitoring them.
• Michael followed the Fallen Ones' trail to a fortified shopping mall, where he realized the female Fallen One was hiding among the survivors.
• Michael spread his six golden wings and transformed into a giant outside the mall as the survivors watched.
• The cloaked Fallen One heard the survivors mention Michael and Freedom Wings, then decided to stay and wait for a chance to escape.
• Michael raised his Golden Holy Sword to strike the mall, but Pulle arrived in the Justice Apostle and challenged him for threatening civilians.
• Michael insisted that the Fallen One inside was the Lord's enemy, while Pulle said he would not tolerate civilians being killed with her.

Michael attacked the shopping mall, but Pule used the City of Justice to hold him back while his allies joined the fight. Inside, the Fallen One tried to attack civilians until an Eastern man with a vermilion sword severed her arm and ordered the men to flee.

• Michael declared the people in the building polluted and attacked the mall, while Pule raised the City of Justice to challenge him.
• Michael’s assault shook the mall and leveled the surrounding buildings, but the City of Justice kept him occupied outside.
• White skeletal hands and vines restrained Michael, while a heavy mecha and a phantom general struck him under the Justice Authority.
• The Fallen One tried to drain civilians’ life energy as she escaped, but an Eastern man with a vermilion sword cut off her arm.
• The sword-wielding man ordered the nearby men to flee, and they ran from the Fallen One.