Chapter Summaries

Bi Bi entered Eden Garden and bullied Little Bell until Pandora intervened, then learned that the bone she had picked up belonged to the Lich Old Man. With A Nan watching, Bi Bi hesitated over whom to return it to, knowing either choice had previously earned her a beating.

• Bi Bi chased Little Bell, caught the Golden Retriever by its tail, and threatened to throw it into the sky.
• Pandora, the Lich Old Man, and the Eight-Armed Skeleton confronted Bi Bi, who set Little Bell down and promised to stop bullying it.
• Pandora warned Bi Bi that she would punish her if she bullied Little Bell again.
• The Lich Old Man explained that A Nan had hidden one of his bones in Little Bell's mouth and demanded its return.
• Bi Bi took out the bone but hesitated when she noticed A Nan watching, remembering that either of them had beaten her before over a bone.

Bi Bi settled into her life in Eden Garden while Pandora, the Lich Old Man, and the Eight-Armed Skeleton pursued their projects. Two weeks later, Soren told Richard that the Soma Alliance planned to attack Kasha City and asked him to help with the battle.

• Bi Bi left the Lich Old Man and the Eight-Armed Skeleton fighting over a bone, but they snapped it in two and punished her when she tried to walk away.
• Bi Bi reflected on her low place in Eden Garden's hierarchy and ran to Pandora's study, eager to learn about triangles, the Hundred Bulls Law, and the Dog Bone Law.
• Pandora studied a page of numbers, the Lich Old Man assembled a special Magic Puppet, and the Eight-Armed Skeleton worked on stolen bones while Soren commanded from Gray Stone City.
• Two weeks later, Soren and Kun Da Er Xi visited Richard and told him the Command Room would relocate to the outskirts of Kasha City.
• Soren confirmed that the Soma Alliance would attack Kasha City and asked Richard to lend a hand in the coming battle.

Soren asked Richard to help maintain order among the army’s weak central troops during the planned battle for Kasha City, and Richard agreed. Afterward, Soren’s advisor Kun Da Er Xi warned that the risky plan could fail if the Sika forces targeted the center first.

• Soren explained that he planned to attack Kasha City with elite forces on the flanks and prisoner and second-line troops in the center, despite the Sika Kingdom’s larger army.
• Soren asked Richard to use his Command Consultant status to supervise the center and military discipline, and Richard agreed to help.
• Soren told Richard that the army would reach a camp near Kasha City in about three days and expected the battle to begin the following day.
• In the carriage, Kun Da Er Xi questioned the battle plan and warned Soren that the prisoner troops might collapse and expose the flanks.
• Soren said he hoped to delay the center’s collapse by having Richard suppress the troops and by leading the charge himself, but Kun Da Er Xi still urged him to wait for another Allied Legion.

Soren approved a risky plan to attack Kasha City and ordered strict investigations before relocating the Command Room. As the convoy traveled toward Kasha City, a collaborator passed the enemy instructions to attack the Alliance central army, leaving Soren’s plans compromised.

• Soren explained to the White Robed Advisor that delaying the attack would risk a costly war of attrition, then agreed to investigate the Command Room staff and civilian personnel.
• The investigations uncovered several cases of misconduct but no major treason, and the Command Room began relocating from Gray Stone City.
• A heavily guarded convoy left Gray Stone City for Kasha City, while a Black Shadow approached its perimeter and was subdued by a gray-robed man.
• The gray-robed man gave the Black Shadow intelligence instructing the enemy to attack the central army twenty minutes after battle began and to spread out against a Wizard’s magic.
• The Black Shadow demanded further details, but the gray-robed man refused and ordered him to deliver the intelligence to his master.

In Kasha City, the half-gray-haired commander decided to modify the plan based on intelligence he trusted but wanted to verify. Three days later, the battle began outside Kasha City, where Richard watched the Sika Kingdom probe the Soma Alliance’s central army.

• The half-gray-haired commander told black shadow that the intelligence was reliable but chose to make cautious changes to the plan for attacking the enemy central army.
• Richard traveled toward the assembly point while researching spells and wondered whether he would get to test them in battle.
• Three days later, Richard watched from a raised Wooden Stage as the Sika Kingdom and Soma Alliance deployed their forces before Kasha City.
• The Sika Kingdom’s wings pulled back to defend while its central army sent two thousand-man regiments to probe the Alliance’s central army.
• The Alliance’s central army repelled the probe, and the Sika Kingdom sent five better-equipped regiments to attack.

The Alliance Central Army struggled to hold its formation as Sika forces pressed the attack, while Richard watched from the Wooden Stage. Just as Alliance Magic-armored Knights arrived to meet the Sika cavalry, five more Sika Magic-armored Knight Brigades emerged, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate.

• The Supervisory Team executed prisoners who showed signs of fleeing, forcing them to join the second-line troops against five Sika thousand-man regiments.
• A prisoner recognized a Captain and fled, triggering another mass panic that the Supervisory Team tried to suppress by killing the runaways.
• The central army stabilized after the Sika regiments dwindled to one and a half, but nearly one hundred and fifty Sika Magic-armored Knights charged and sent the Alliance force into retreat.
• Richard considered intervening as the Supervisory Team looked to the Wooden Stage for direction.
• Soren's reserve of nearly two hundred Alliance Magic-armored Knights arrived from the left flank and charged the Sika cavalry.
• As the Sika and Soma Magic-armored Knights clashed, the Sika central army opened up and five Magic-armored Knight Brigades charged out.

Richard tried to stop five Sika Magic-armored Knight brigades from reaching the Alliance Central Army, first testing them with Micro Spell Tracking Missiles and then using Wind Walls to funnel them together. The walls broke under the Knights’ combined assault, and their commander ordered them to leap over the gap and charge the Alliance troops.

• Five Magic-armored Knight brigades charged the Alliance Central Army, while their Magic Rune Javelins killed or wounded most of the defending Wizards.
• Richard attacked the Knights with Micro Spell Tracking Missiles, but their dispersal and armor limited the damage.
• Richard activated four Energy Furnaces and formed two V-shaped Wind Walls that forced the Sika Magic-armored Knights into a tighter formation.
• The Sika Magic-armored Knight Commander ordered maximum defense and speed, then directed the Knights to break through the Wind Walls.
• The Knights shattered the walls with their Magic Rune Spears, and the commander ordered them to jump the gap and trample the Alliance men.

Richard trapped the Sika Magic-armored Knights atop a Wind Wall and offered them unconditional surrender. When their commander refused, Richard collapsed the wall, sending the knights plunging to their deaths.

• The Sika Magic-armored Knight Commander led his brigades onto Richard’s Wind Wall, which rose and carried them three hundred meters above the battlefield.
• Richard shrank the Wind Wall until the knights crowded together and their horses were forced over the edge.
• Richard offered the Magic-armored Knights a chance to surrender, but their commander refused and tried to negotiate conditions.
• Richard rejected the commander’s demands and collapsed the Wind Wall, killing the falling knights and shocking soldiers from both sides.

Richard reflected on the limits of using his Energy Furnaces and Extraordinary Cohesion against Magic-armored Knights, considering ways to store energy and combine Wind Walls with Blood Energy restraints. Soren’s troops broke through both Sika Kingdom wings, leaving Richard to watch as the Alliance routed the enemy and advanced on Kasha City.

• Richard concluded that lifting Magic-armored Knights with Extraordinary Cohesion was effective but too energy-intensive to use widely, and he considered energy storage for a Second Generation Energy Furnace.
• Richard considered combining Wind Walls with the Blood Energy Extraordinary Factor to prevent enemies from escaping the battlefield effect.
• Soren’s Alliance troops broke through the Sika Kingdom’s right and left wings before its central army could launch another offensive.
• Richard realized Soren’s plan had succeeded and that he no longer had an opportunity to test his new idea.
• Soren led the Alliance in routing the Sika forces, pursuing the survivors and advancing toward Kasha City.

The Alliance steadily captured Kasha City, while Richard left the fighting to return to his research. As the remaining Sika forces faced defeat, a wounded soldier tried to carry General Longdeshitaide’s head out of the city, but a gray-robed man intercepted him and was accused of having deceived them.

• The Alliance breached Kasha City and began slow street fighting against the remaining Sika soldiers, Magic-armored Knights, and Wizards.
• Richard judged that the Alliance would take the city by dawn and flew back to camp, planning to test his research on Bi Bi.
• The Alliance occupied most of Kasha City and trapped the remaining Sika forces in a small area.
• A wounded shadowy figure hid with General Longdeshitaide’s severed head and vowed to carry it away or destroy it rather than let the Alliance use it.
• A gray-robed man incapacitated the shadowy figure, seized the box containing the head, and heard him accuse the man of deceiving them.

A gray-robed man confronted Black Shadow over Xika’s disastrous defeat, then laid out a plan to lure the Alliance into overconfidence and attack its vulnerable supply lines. He sent Black Shadow away with orders for the royal family, keeping General Longdeshitaide’s remains behind for the Alliance to find as the two disappeared into the night.

• The gray-robed man blamed Xika’s defeat on Black Shadow’s forces ignoring his advice and attacking the Alliance Central Army too early.
• Black Shadow worried that losing Kasha City and nearly half of Xika left the country with little chance of resisting the Alliance.
• The gray-robed man told Black Shadow to urge the royal family to retreat and wait for an opportunity to strike the Alliance’s weak point and disrupt its logistics.
• The gray-robed man insisted that General Longdeshitaide’s remains stay behind for the Alliance to find, and Black Shadow reluctantly agreed.
• The gray-robed man escorted Black Shadow out of the city, and a patrol later searched the area without finding anything.

After the Soma Alliance army captured Kasha City, Soren learned that General Longdeshitaide’s fate was uncertain. Na Te brought back Longdeshitaide’s head, and Soren ordered his army to remain on alert, prepare new battle plans, and give the fallen commander a proper burial.

• The Soma Alliance army finished clearing Kasha City, while Kun Da Er Xi warned Soren that Longdeshitaide’s body had not been found.
• Na Te returned to the command room with Longdeshitaide’s head and urged Soren to display it and attack the Sika forces.
• Kun Da Er Xi supported using the news of Longdeshitaide’s death to press the alliance’s advantage.
• Soren ordered the army to rest in rotations under first-level alert while the advisors prepared battle plans.
• Soren refused to display Longdeshitaide’s head, ordered him given a proper burial, and left the advisors to work.

Richard tested a restraining spell on Bi Bi, promising her bread and wine if she could reach his stone table. After the spell repeatedly dragged her back, Bi Bi became determined to claim the food and drink.

• Richard asked Bi Bi to test a spell by trying to reach bread and wine on a stone table, and she agreed for the reward.
• Richard cast blood-red energy at Bi Bi, and she initially moved forward without noticing any restraint.
• As Bi Bi approached the table, pale red threads resisted her and then dragged her back to her starting spot.
• Bi Bi tried to cut the threads but found they quickly restored themselves, then attempted to force her way toward the table again.
• The spell pulled Bi Bi back a second time, and she angrily vowed to get the bread and wine.

Bi Bi repeatedly failed to cross Richard’s restraints while trying to reach the bread and wine, but eventually used her ability to survive decapitation to send her head into the restricted area. Richard recorded the loophole and concluded that he needed stronger, more comprehensive restraints.

• Bi Bi made repeated attempts to reach the bread and wine, but each one failed as Richard recorded her test results.
• Richard offered Bi Bi the food despite her failure, but she refused to accept it as charity and insisted on succeeding herself.
• Bi Bi remembered that Richard had once cut off her head and realized she might not need her whole body to cross the restricted area.
• Bi Bi charged at the edge of the restraint, broke her neck, and sent her head rolling onto the table beside the bread and wine.
• Richard recorded Bi Bi’s success and noted that his restraints needed to cover her entire body and include additional forms of restraint.

Richard finished Bi Bi's detachment, then met with General Soren, who unexpectedly agreed to let him rest instead of asking for more help with the army. Richard returned to the garden to repair Bi Bi's body.

• Bi Bi tried to eat, knocked over a bottle of wine, and happily gnawed on the wine-soaked bread.
• A subordinate told Richard that General Soren had arrived to visit him.
• Richard told Bi Bi to stay still while he went to meet Soren in the reception room.
• Richard claimed that the Battle of Kasha City had left him too weak to help the army, and Soren agreed to let him rest without disturbance.
• Soren left after saying he might visit again, and Richard headed back to the garden to repair Bi Bi's body.

After taking Kasha City, Soren kept the army on the defensive despite his advisors’ calls to attack, saying he and Richard were waiting for a rare opportunity. Ten days after the battle, Kun Da Er Xi remained unconvinced but agreed to keep the decision confidential while Soren went to consult Richard.

• Soren told the advisors and civilian personnel to hold their positions and seal away their battle plans, despite reports that the Sika forces were retreating.
• Three days later, the advisors again urged Soren to attack, but he ordered them to continue standing by.
• Ten days after the battle for Kasha City, Kun Da Er Xi privately challenged Soren over the delay, warning that the Sika could recover.
• Soren told Kun Da Er Xi that he and Richard were waiting for an unusual opportunity and that their reasoning had to remain secret because of suspected spies.
• Soren asked Kun Da Er Xi to keep the advisors in check and went to Richard’s residence to discuss the battle plans.

Richard tried to understand why Soren kept visiting him while the Alliance army remained on the defensive after the Battle of Kasha City. As Sika’s factions grew increasingly divided, Richard wondered whether Soren’s real aim was to destabilize the kingdom, but rejected the theory.

• Soren visited Richard for the fourth time in ten days and claimed he had come to check on Richard’s health.
• Richard left Soren alone in the reception room and wondered whether the visits were meant to conceal another purpose.
• Richard learned that Soren had halted the Alliance army’s advance and blamed the decision partly on discussions with Richard, drawing renewed attention to him.
• Alliance troops won several battles when Sika forces attempted counterattacks against their defensive lines.
• Sika’s royal family split between pro-war and pro-peace factions, while merchants, lower-ranking nobles, and rebels called for political change.
• Richard suspected Soren wanted Sika to collapse without a fight, then dismissed the idea.

Richard tried to understand Soren’s unexplained military strategy while building a friendship with him and testing spells. A month after the Battle of Kasha City, Soren said his visits were ending and warned Richard to watch the streets and stay safe because the decisive moment was near.

• Molly’s subordinates, Female Wizard Su and One-Eye, asked Richard to support cooperation with Molly’s rebellion, but he said it was not yet time.
• Richard inferred that Soren’s visits and orders to halt the alliance army were part of a larger plan, then spoke with Soren regularly to learn when it would be revealed.
• Soren watched Richard test spells on Bi Bi and praised the combination of Extraordinary Cohesion and Blood Energy Extraordinary Factor Binding Force.
• A month after the Battle of Kasha City, Molly formally rebelled, while the alliance struggled to maintain order in the occupied regions and the armies remained in a standoff.
• Soren told Richard that his visits would end, warned him to watch events in the streets and protect himself, and said the time for the plan was very near.

Richard saw nothing unusual in Kasha City and returned to his research, planning to focus on it for two days while Bi Bi guarded the courtyard. Outside the city, Black Shadow confronted the gray-robed man over his failure to create the promised opportunity to turn the tide of the war.

• Richard walked the streets of Kasha City, observed arriving Second-Line Troop units, and found no change that explained Soren's warning.
• Richard decided to resume his research and told Bi Bi to guard the courtyard while he worked.
• Black Shadow waited outside Kasha City for someone who never arrived, then noticed the gray-robed man nearby.
• The gray-robed man mocked Black Shadow for failing to sense his presence.
• Black Shadow accused the gray-robed man of letting more than a month pass without creating the promised opportunity, asking whether his inaction was dormancy.

Black Shadow pressed the gray-robed man for a concrete plan to help Xika win the war, and the man promised an answer within two days if Xika joined the Truth Society’s operation to uncover the Alliance’s secrets. The next night, Bi Bi experimented with dipping black bread into different ingredients.

• Black Shadow accused the gray-robed man of mishandling their plan and warned that Xika might act alone unless they found a way to break the deadlock.
• The gray-robed man promised to uncover the Alliance’s purpose within two days and asked Xika to send personnel to assist the Truth Society.
• Ge Luofu told Gray Mist that their pawn had requested the Society’s help investigating the Alliance, and Gray Mist agreed while warning members to be careful.
• Bi Bi tried dipping black bread into water and salt, then eyed a jar of herring juice as her next sauce.