Chapter Summaries

Richard released the carbon dioxide trapped beneath Taklamakan Lake, triggering a deadly lake turnover that killed the Black Robe Wizards pursuing him. He survived and prepared to collect the spoils from the many corpses.

• The chapter explained how carbon dioxide buildup caused the deadly lake turnovers at Lake Monoun and Lake Nyos.
• Richard recalled discovering that Taklamakan Lake could also undergo lake turnover and warning Nancy, Gelo, and the others to keep their distance.
• After escaping the Exchange Conference trap, Richard became a target of the Black Robe Wizards and found himself surrounded.
• Richard fled into Taklamakan Lake and released its accumulated carbon dioxide before his pursuers realized the danger.
• The gas killed the pursuing wizards, leaving Richard free to collect the spoils from their corpses.

After surviving the carbon dioxide eruption, Richard searched the shore and found Tu Ke alive, transformed by the War God Body spell. Tu Ke overpowered Richard in close combat, so Richard drew his Spell Gun and opened fire.

• Richard emerged from the lake wearing an oxygen tank and mask, then confirmed the Black Robe Wizards were dead and gathered their valuables.
• Richard discovered Tu Ke concealed as a huge lump of flesh, and Tu Ke revived and demanded to know how Richard had killed his men.
• Richard explained that he had used lake inversion, carbon dioxide poisoning, and suffocation, then asked why Tu Ke had survived.
• Tu Ke revealed that he had cast the War God Body spell and attacked Richard, whose wind spells and Non-Newtonian Fluid shield could not match Tu Ke's strength.
• Richard retreated, loaded Caseless Spell Bullets into his Spell Gun, and fired at Tu Ke.

Richard fought Tu Ke, whose War God Body regenerated from every injury, and finally killed him with Death Finger. With Tu Ke dead and dawn breaking, Richard believed the long battle was over.

• Tu Ke endured Richard's Spell Gun barrage, broke the weapon, and kept advancing as his wounds rapidly healed.
• Richard used the One-Hit Kill Staff to blast open Tu Ke's chest, but Tu Ke regenerated his heart and stood up again.
• Richard tried Spell Salt, spells, a potion, White Jade Slabs, and Mental Shock, but none stopped Tu Ke.
• Richard activated Death Finger as Tu Ke charged, and its attack left a chest wound that Tu Ke could not heal.
• Tu Ke died, and Richard looked toward the eastern sky as dawn arrived.

Franklin found Tu Ke and his group dead beside Taklamakan Lake, while Muse ordered him to handle their bodies. At Deep Blue Fort, Sig questioned Bayer about the failed massacre and learned the mysterious organization claimed to be the hidden royal family of the Black Spirit Empire, leaving Sig wary but still committed to supporting them.

• Franklin arrived at Taklamakan Lake and found Tu Ke and the others dead without visible wounds or signs of battle.
• Muse left Franklin to dispose of the bodies and ordered him to return to the base afterward.
• Deep Blue Fort Wizards and Apprentices cleared the battlefield’s corpses under Sig’s rule, dispirited after the conspiracy and heavy losses.
• Sig angrily confronted Bayer over the many conference attendees who had escaped, but Bayer insisted their escape would not change the plan.
• Bayer told Sig that his organization was the hidden royal family of the Black Spirit Empire and planned to restore the empire.
• Sig agreed to keep supporting Bayer while warning him that he would watch for any deception; Bayer later disappeared.

Muse ordered Franklin to resurrect Tu Ke so she could cast a Prophecy Spell, but Tu Ke died again shortly after revival. The Resurrection Stone Chamber then cracked apart and collapsed, leaving Franklin and the others stunned.

• Muse told Franklin to revive the fallen personnel and instructed him to resurrect Tu Ke first.
• Franklin prepared the Resurrection Stone Chamber and used resurrection materials to revive Tu Ke.
• Muse arrived at the chamber and urged Franklin to finish the resurrection quickly.
• Tu Ke woke, clutched his neck, convulsed, and died again in the pool.
• The Resurrection Stone Chamber developed widespread cracks and collapsed.

After the Resurrection Stone Chamber was destroyed, Muse suspected a powerful Prophecy Spell and ordered headquarters to send reinforcements. Meanwhile, Richard returned to the Jungle Hut and inventoried the spoils from the battle, finding wealth, miscellaneous goods, and more than a hundred spell items.

• Muse told Franklin that a powerful Prophecy Spell might have destroyed the Resurrection Stone Chamber and prevented Tu Ke's resurrection.
• Muse ordered Franklin to report the situation to headquarters and request reinforcements, while the mysterious organization postponed its plans against the East Coast Wizards.
• Richard returned to the Jungle Hut after the battle at Taklamakan Lake and learned that the Exchange Conference had devastated the participating Wizard organizations.
• Richard focused on his recovery, rebuilding his Spell Guns, researching the Gloves of Extinction, and planning how to explore Yadis's ruins.
• Richard sorted the battle spoils in Eden Garden, setting aside dozens of Space Iron Rings and a large quantity of wealth.
• Richard examined miscellaneous goods and counted more than a hundred spell items, most of which were less useful to him than his existing weapons.

Richard gave the heavy Silver Pendant to Pandora as a reward, but wondered whether she could use its magical enhancement. When he asked her to demonstrate, she grabbed it and screamed, prompting Richard to stop her.

• Richard examined the Silver Pendant and decided its weight and reliance on physical strength made it unsuitable for him.
• Richard called Pandora into the laboratory and gave her the pendant as a reward for her diligence.
• Pandora happily put on the pendant and nearly tried to bite it before Richard warned her not to damage it.
• Richard asked whether Pandora knew how to activate the pendant's magical effect, and Pandora insisted that she did.
• Pandora grabbed the pendant and screamed loudly until Richard pressed a hand on her head and stopped her.

Richard realized Pandora could activate the Silver Pendant through her Dragon Daughter bloodline, then let her keep it and sent her to exercise. At the Dark Forest Gathering Place, Typhon recounted how Richard had killed the Black Robe Wizards at Deep Blue Fort, leaving Eva increasingly solemn.

• Pandora showed Richard that the Silver Pendant glowed when she shouted, and Richard concluded that her bloodline let her use extraordinary power without a spell source.
• Richard let Pandora keep the Silver Pendant and told her to go do her exercises.
• At the Dark Forest Gathering Place, Typhon described his injuries and told Eva how Richard had appeared at Deep Blue Fort and killed the Black Robe Wizards with an unfamiliar spell tool.
• Eva listened to Typhon's account in silence, growing more solemn as he spoke.

Eva, Typhon, and Teddy discussed Richard’s hidden strength and whether the Gathering Place should trust him, with Teddy urging them to judge him by his actions rather than speculate about his motives. Eva decided to invite Richard for a conversation, and Typhon and Teddy arrived at his residence to bring him to her.

• Typhon told Eva that Richard’s power at Deep Blue Fort made his identity and the earlier spy incident suspicious.
• Eva asked Teddy what he thought of Richard, and Teddy said Richard’s identity seemed like a disguise.
• Teddy argued that Richard had not harmed the Gathering Place and had saved him and Typhon, so they should avoid making him an enemy.
• Eva agreed that they should speak with Richard before deciding what he intended, and asked Typhon and Teddy to invite him over.
• Richard finished sorting his spoils, checked Pandora’s homework, and returned to his residence in the Dark Forest Gathering Place.
• Typhon and Teddy knocked at Richard’s door, and he opened it expecting that they had come to see him about his exposed strength.

Richard met with Eva, who gave him a core-member badge and asked him to attend a planned conference to coordinate revenge against Deep Blue Fort. Richard agreed to attend but began making a request of his own.

• Typhon and Teddy told Richard that Eva wanted to speak with him, and Richard went alone to her residence.
• Eva asked Richard to confirm that he had killed Black Robe Wizards and used abilities learned from Guluo at Deep Blue Fort, and Richard confirmed it.
• Eva gave Richard a badge recognizing him as a core member of the Gathering Place, granting him access to resources and a role in major decisions.
• Eva asked Richard to attend a future Joint Revenge Exchange Conference, and Richard agreed while noting that he had a request of his own.
• Richard began explaining his request, and Eva listened closely.

Richard searched Yadis's notes in the Jungle Hut's secret library for knowledge about the Gloves of Extinction, then redesigned and rebuilt them in Eden Garden. He put on the improved gloves and headed to the Spell Testing Ground to test them.

• Richard entered the secret library with Eva's permission and began reading Yadis's notes for information about the Gloves of Extinction.
• Over several days, Richard read the scrolls in the library without removing them from their alarm-protected boxes.
• Richard found useful knowledge in Yadis's notes and realized the gloves' conflicting magic patterns limited their function.
• Richard revised the glove body, Spell Chips, and connecting magic patterns, then built an improved version of the Gloves of Extinction.
• Richard put on the completed gloves in the Mechanical Processing Sector and went to the Spell Testing Ground.

Richard tested the Gloves of Extinction and found that their fingers worked individually, but combined attacks repeatedly failed. After dozens of designs and tests, he formed a new idea about what was causing the problem.

• Richard tested each finger of the Gloves of Extinction separately, and all five attacks pierced the metal walls, though the Spell Chips melted from the strain.
• Richard tried activating two fingers together, but the Spell Chips and connecting magic patterns melted before the attack could fire.
• Richard spent days making new gloves, changing Spell Chip materials, and revising the connecting magic patterns.
• Richard tested dozens of designs, recording which combinations succeeded or failed as he worked through Test Products No. 11 to No. 42.
• Richard saw that the latest glove could combine some fingers successfully but failed when the middle finger, index finger, and thumb attacked together, and he suddenly formed a bold idea.

Richard realized that the Gloves of Extinction kept failing because he did not know how to use their complex functions, not because their design was flawed. He concluded that he needed the Black Spirit King's final treasure to learn the necessary knowledge, then began planning how to return to Deep Blue Fort before Teddy arrived with a message from Master Eva.

• Richard reviewed the Gloves of Extinction designs and examined the discarded and completed versions, concluding that the artifacts were correctly made but were being used incorrectly.
• Richard reasoned that mastering the Gloves' advanced functions through trial and error could take decades, so he needed the Black Spirit King's final treasure and ultimate secret.
• Richard traced the steps needed to find the treasure, starting with locating Yadis near Deep Blue Fort and excavating the site.
• Teddy visited Richard and told him that Master Eva had asked him to deliver a message.

Richard learned that the Revenge Exchange Conference would take place at Green Wind Gathering Place and suspected that powerful figures had reasons beyond revenge for attending. Circe warned Hai Di and Nellide to stay out of the conference, while an unexpected visitor knocked at her building.

• Teddy told Richard that the Revenge Exchange Conference would be held in three days at Jungle Hut in Green Wind Gathering Place, where Master Russell was said to be exceptionally powerful.
• Richard suspected the conference was more complicated than a gathering to retaliate against Deep Blue Fort.
• Hai Di and Nellide asked Circe about the conference, and Circe scolded them for considering joining the revenge effort.
• Circe told Hai Di and Nellide she would not attend and named several powerful figures who would, hinting that they had another reason for gathering.
• Someone knocked on the door downstairs while Circe was speaking with Hai Di and Nellide.

Circe learned that Master Russell had reversed her decision and required her to attend the Joint Revenge Exchange Conference, leaving Circe and her students Hai Di and Nellide uneasy about what would follow. Three days later, the conference began at the Green Wind Gathering Place, where Richard surveyed the powerful Wizards assembled there.

• Circe told Hai Di and Nellide that Master Russell had ordered her to attend the conference despite their earlier agreement that she would stay away.
• Circe advised Hai Di and Nellide to behave themselves and wait until the conference ended before discussing their arrangements.
• Three days later, the Joint Revenge Exchange Conference began in the Green Wind Gathering Place's largest conference hall.
• Richard studied the attendees and recognized prominent Wizards including Andrew of Rotten Swamp, Tris of Black Erb Castle, Gael of White Mist City, Aphrodite of Rose City, and Holm of Death Valley.

Richard attended a conference where wizard organizations discussed how to destroy Deep Blue Fort by encircling it and seizing its resources. Green Wind Gathering Place’s proposed plan quickly triggered a dispute over which organizations would receive the safest routes and best territories.

• Richard recognized Master Russell of Jungle Hut and noted that many of the East Coast’s strongest Wizards had gathered at the conference.
• A Male Wizard from Green Wind Gathering Place proposed attacking Deep Blue Fort from several directions, gradually taking its resource-producing regions and trapping its forces.
• The Male Wizard presented a map assigning routes and territories to each wizard organization.
• A young Female Wizard from Rose City objected that the plan gave her organization a dangerous route and few valuable regions, then redrew its line on the map.
• A White Robe Wizard from Rotten Swamp and Wizards from other organizations redrew the routes to claim resources, turning the conference into a dispute that Richard realized was its real purpose.

Richard saw that the wizard organizations were arguing over how to divide Deep Blue Fort’s territory and proposed a way to settle their competing attack plans. He offered to lead an attack along a narrow, unprofitable route if no other organization chose it, prompting Eva to warn him not to act impulsively.

• Richard realized the wizard organizations intended to divide Deep Blue Fort’s resources after destroying it, while he wanted to reach its territory and uncover the secrets of Yadis Village and the Black Spirit King.
• Richard walked to the Wooden Stage and drew a narrow attack route across the map toward Deep Blue Fort.
• Richard proposed that the other wizard organizations take turns choosing whether to carry out routes proposed by others, with the proposer responsible for any route no one accepted.
• A Brown-Haired Wizard from White Mist City asked whether Richard would attack along his route if no one else chose it, and Richard confirmed that he would.
• Eva of Jungle Hut urged Richard not to be impulsive because his route crossed difficult terrain and offered no resource-producing areas.

Richard proposed a fair process for assigning attack routes and agreed to take his chosen route himself after the wizard organizations refused it. The Joint Revenge Exchange Conference finalized its attack plan, then addressed concerns about scattered forces by allowing organizations to trade routes.

• Richard said he would take his route only if everyone agreed and no organization was willing to replace him; the organizations accepted, so he confirmed he would attack along it.
• The wizard organizations drew and voted on routes in turn, with Death Valley taking White Mist City's route and Black Erb Castle being assigned its own route after no one volunteered for it.
• The conference established additional rules for voting order, personnel assignments, and matching routes to each organization's strength, finalizing most of the attack plan by evening.
• A Black Erb Castle wizard warned that the plan scattered each organization's forces across disconnected routes.
• Russell suggested that organizations trade routes to concentrate their forces, and Richard agreed that this would preserve the plan while reducing disputes.
• The conference concluded after no one raised further problems.

As the wizard organizations prepared for war against Deep Blue Fort, Richard explained his unusual route to Eva, while Circe failed to withdraw from the campaign and made plans to protect Hai Di and Nellide. The chapter left both groups preparing to join the coming war, with Circe fearing that the aftermath could bring an even bloodier conflict.

• Eva questioned Richard about choosing a route through Deep Blue Fort strongholds instead of claiming resource sites, and Richard said he wanted to avoid trouble and hoped to explore ruins for his friend Sherlock.
• Eva offered to send ordinary members of the Dark Forest Gathering Place with Richard, and he agreed to set out with them when the war began.
• Circe told Hai Di and Nellide that Russell had refused to let her withdraw from the war of revenge.
• Circe warned that Russell might use a successful campaign to reorganize and expand the Jungle Hut, causing greater bloodshed afterward.
• Circe asked Hai Di and Nellide to leave the East Coast with her after the war if necessary, then decided they should accompany her during the campaign and stay close.

Baron Lancaster reluctantly supplied lamp oil to the Wizards occupying his castle, while Macbeth told Gelo and Nancy that White Stone Tower would join the attack on Deep Blue Fort. Macbeth warned that the campaign might be a trap but said they had no choice, and he urged his students to grow stronger before the coming battle.

• Baron Lancaster had lost control of his Main Castle and spent his dwindling wealth meeting the Wizards' demands.
• When the Wizards needed lamp oil, Baron Lancaster ordered a woman to surrender the oil from his room and lamp after noticing them nearby.
• Macbeth told Gelo and Nancy that White Stone Tower would join other Wizard organizations in attacking Deep Blue Fort in a few days.
• Macbeth said Deep Blue Fort was driving the war forward and that the force behind White Stone City's destruction had to be confronted.
• Macbeth urged Nancy and Gelo to seek breakthroughs in battle, praised Nancy's potential, and encouraged Gelo despite his limited talent.