Chapter Summaries

Bi Bi detected intruders searching Richard’s estate and summoned Pandora, the Lich Old Man, and Eight-Armed Skeleton A Nan for help. Pandora knocked out one of the intruders, while the others continued searching the estate.

• A concealed intruder entered Richard’s estate, incapacitated a servant, and searched an inconspicuous room as more intruders arrived.
• Bi Bi sensed the break-in through her Warning Spell, hid her bread, and went to find help rather than confront the intruders alone.
• Bi Bi summoned Pandora and the Lich Old Man, and Pandora pulled Eight-Armed Skeleton A Nan out of hiding underground.
• Pandora, the Lich Old Man, and Eight-Armed Skeleton A Nan left Eden Garden to help Richard.
• A Red Nose intruder searched a book-filled room until Pandora rushed in, knocked him unconscious, and dragged him toward the door.

The manor’s defenders subdued several intruders searching its rooms, while Bi Bi encountered a Truth Society woman who claimed to have helped make part of her body and knew her past. Bi Bi knocked the woman unconscious and dragged her outside, left unsettled by the revelation about her erased memories.

• The Lich Old Man stopped the Thin-lipped Intruder from escaping, knocked him down, and dragged him out.
• A Nan surprised another intruder, slammed him unconscious, and dragged him away by the hair.
• Bi Bi confronted a female intruder in the study, who recognized her and said she had collected materials used to make part of Bi Bi’s body.
• The Long-haired Woman suggested that Bi Bi’s memories had been reset or damaged, and Bi Bi wondered about her identity and past.
• Believing Bi Bi was a fellow agent, the Long-haired Woman asked her to search the room while she checked on their allies.
• Bi Bi struck the Long-haired Woman unconscious and dragged her outside.

Bi Bi and the others caught the intruders who had broken into Richard’s estate, while Richard warned Bi Bi that restoring her sealed memories might be irreversible. As trouble grew outside, Richard gathered his writing materials and waited by the house where the captives were held.

• Bi Bi dragged an intruder toward the estate’s center, but the woman woke, escaped her grasp, and fled toward the outer wall.
• The woman crashed into Richard’s invisible barrier, and Richard captured her before she could escape.
• Richard told Bi Bi that her sealed memories contained unpleasant experiences and that she had asked for them to be sealed; he urged her to consider carefully before restoring them.
• Richard and Bi Bi brought the captured woman to an unused house, where Pandora, Lich Old Man A Fu, and Eight-Armed Skeleton A Nan delivered the other intruders.
• Richard cast a spell that filled the house with blood-colored mist, then sat outside with writing materials and waited as explosions continued in the distance.

The Long-haired Woman and three Xika spies woke in a room and tried to escape, only to discover that a mysterious man had trapped them. He began a test of whether they could escape, and the Long-haired Woman’s attacks failed to reach him.

• The Long-haired Woman woke beside the three unconscious Xika spies and slapped them awake.
• The Long-haired Woman tested the window and a hole in the wall, finding transparent barriers that blocked both exits.
• Thin Lips opened the door and stepped outside, where he saw a gray-robed man writing beside a stone table.
• The man announced a test of whether the prisoners could escape, and the Long-haired Woman learned he knew the Truth Society.
• The Long-haired Woman attacked the man with a fireball and tried to force her way toward him, but the prison’s resistance stopped her.

The Long-haired Woman tried to escape Richard’s restraints, but her efforts revealed Soul Shackles that knocked her unconscious. After Richard treated her and revealed his identity, she accused him of joining the Alliance to destroy the Truth Society, and he hesitated to answer.

• The Long-haired Woman cut off her arm and wounded herself to weaken Richard’s restraints, but the Soul Shackles manifested and left her unconscious.
• Richard recorded observations about the Long-haired Woman, treated her with Pink Liquid, and asked the three Xika spies to participate in his tests, but they refused.
• The Long-haired Woman woke and confronted Richard about imprisoning and saving her, while he said he had saved her to continue testing.
• Richard introduced himself as Richard, prompting the Long-haired Woman to recognize him and accuse him of destroying Pompey and betraying the Truth Society.
• Richard denied betraying the Truth Society and said he had cooperated with the Alliance, then hesitated when she accused him of helping wipe out the Society.

Richard questioned the Alliance’s motives after learning the Truth Society believed he was working with the Alliance to destroy it, then captured a Truth Society agent who tried to kill herself. After Soren’s soldiers removed the unconscious spies, Richard suspected the Alliance’s hidden plan had begun.

• Richard reasoned that the Alliance might be using him to draw the Truth Society’s hatred, though he could not determine the Alliance’s true objective.
• The Long-haired Woman accused Richard of betraying the Truth Society and tried to trigger an energy explosion, but Richard knocked her unconscious before she could kill herself.
• Richard reviewed his incomplete test and concluded he would continue it with Bi Bi while watching the Alliance’s next actions.
• Bi Bi told Richard someone had entered the residence, and Richard sensed that the arrivals were military personnel.
• A Magic-armored Knight captain delivered Soren’s order to collect the captured spies, and Richard allowed the soldiers to carry them away.
• Richard suspected the spies’ large-scale infiltration and the military’s quick response signaled that the Alliance’s hidden plan had begun.

After the infiltration failed, General Soren summoned Staff Officer Na Te while the command staff speculated about the reason. Outside Kasha City, Black Shadow told the gray-robed man that the Xika would end their cooperation unless he rescued their captured operatives.

• Magic-armored Knights escorted a captured spy through the command room and took him to prison.
• The Magic-armored Knights returned and escorted Na Te to General Soren, prompting the staff to speculate about the summons.
• Kun Da Er Xi quieted the staff, then wondered privately what had happened.
• Black Shadow met the gray-robed man outside Kasha City and learned that the infiltration had failed and most operatives had been captured.
• Black Shadow ended the Xika's cooperation with the gray-robed man's side and demanded that he rescue the captured operatives.

Black Shadow confronted the gray-robed man and demanded he rescue the captured Sika people, but the man attacked him and Black Shadow self-destructed rather than agree to resume cooperation. At dawn, Richard found Bi Bi conducting an all-night food experiment, and both sensed something approaching.

• Black Shadow told the gray-robed man that someone among the captured people knew his identity and threatened to expose him unless he rescued them.
• The gray-robed man attacked Black Shadow, subdued him, and offered to spare him if he restored the Sika's cooperation.
• Black Shadow refused to yield and exploded, damaging the gray robe and revealing a white robe underneath.
• The man in the white robe headed toward Kasha City and disappeared into the night.
• Richard, who had spent the night perfecting unresolved details, went to breakfast and found Bi Bi testing food combinations.
• Richard and Bi Bi both stopped and looked outside after sensing something.

Richard introduced Molly, the Blood Princess, as a friend after Bi Bi mistook her for an intruder. Meanwhile, Kun Da Er Xi entered Kasha City's prison under General Soren's order and reached the interrogation area.

• Bi Bi rushed to confront Molly, but Richard stopped the fight by explaining that Molly was a friend.
• Bi Bi apologized to Molly, offered her a bite of bread, and returned to the dining hall with it.
• Molly asked Richard to call her by her name, checked whether Bi Bi could be trusted, and said she had come to discuss something with him.
• Kun Da Er Xi presented General Soren's order to the guards and entered the prison.
• Kun Da Er Xi passed through the prisoner sections and arrived at the interrogation area, where the Wizard interrogators turned to look at him.

Kun Da Er Xi secretly poisoned the captured spies and tried to reach prisoners in a restricted section of the prison. He entered with Na Te’s help and discovered that the room was Soren Bonaparte’s study, where the general had been waiting for him.

• Kun Da Er Xi used Silent Thorn needles to poison each prisoner he inspected, then learned that higher-ranking prisoners were held deeper in the prison.
• Kun Da Er Xi tried to enter the restricted cells, but Magic-armored Knights refused him without the New Warden’s permission.
• Kun Da Er Xi found that Na Te had become the New Warden and pressured him into opening the door by claiming he was on a secret mission from the general.
• Kun Da Er Xi entered a dark study and saw Soren Bonaparte sitting behind the desk, then recognized him as the general.

The White Robed Advisor attacked Soren after realizing his identity had been exposed. In Kasha City, Molly urged Richard to support a Sika-friendly regime, but their discussion stopped when Richard sensed something outside.

• The White Robed Advisor abandoned any attempt to beg forgiveness and charged at Soren, intending to kill him.
• Molly explained to Richard that the Soma Alliance should stop its advance and support a Sika-led buffer regime to avoid costly resistance.
• Molly offered Richard compensation if he helped her secure territory and establish a new Sika Kingdom.
• Richard said Molly’s proposal depended on learning the Alliance’s true intentions and asked her to wait.
• Richard heard something outside and asked Molly whether she had heard it too.

Soren revealed a mysterious shadow that killed the White Robed Advisor, then ordered Kasha City’s forces to begin an attack. As Richard went to observe the mobilized troops, Molly remained at his estate while they waited to learn the operation’s target.

• When the White Robed Advisor tried to kill Soren, a faceless shadow emerged from Soren and shattered the Advisor’s defenses.
• Soren ordered the shadow to kill the White Robed Advisor and destroy his soul, then left the prison and announced that the attack had begun.
• Richard and Molly heard Kasha City’s forces mobilizing and watched troops march through the streets toward the outskirts.
• Richard and Molly agreed that Molly would stay at his estate until the operation ended, while Richard went to observe and supervise the army.

The Alliance assembled more than 120,000 troops and marched toward the Truth Society headquarters in the Sika Kingdom. Gray Mist prepared to resist them by securing Divine Punishment from Heaven, which would descend within half an hour.

• Soren led the Alliance army northwest toward the Truth Society headquarters while Richard watched from Kasha City's walls.
• Ge Luofu warned Gray Mist that the Alliance was advancing with a force larger than a coalition army.
• Gray Mist ordered Ge Luofu to contact Heaven and request Divine Punishment to help destroy the Alliance.
• Heaven initially said Divine Punishment would take at least five hours, but Gray Mist demanded it within half an hour or he would contact the True God himself.
• Heaven agreed to send Divine Punishment within half an hour, and Gray Mist ordered Ge Luofu to gather the Truth Society's forces for an attack.

A blood-red sky heralded a meteorite attack that devastated the Alliance army marching outside Kasha City. Soren ordered the survivors to regroup and prepare for battle, insisting the losses were necessary for victory, when an unseen speaker challenged him.

• The Alliance army and Richard witnessed a full moon descend beside the sun as the sky turned blood-red, and Richard flew up from Kasha City.
• The meteorite split into dozens of smaller rocks, which struck the scattered legions and killed or wounded tens of thousands of soldiers.
• Soren escaped a meteorite through black energy, then ordered the survivors to gather their forces and prepare to fight an enemy he said would soon appear.
• The Green Robe Wizard reported that at least sixty thousand had died, thirty thousand could no longer fight, ten thousand were seriously wounded, and around twenty thousand remained largely unaffected.
• Soren said the army had to accept even total destruction for victory, and a voice behind him questioned whether the losses were truly its price.

Soren revealed that he had a hidden force stationed in Kasha City as Truth Society Wizards ambushed the battered Alliance army. The Magic-armored Knights rode out toward the fighting while Richard watched, still unaware of Soren’s full plan.

• Richard questioned whether Soren could still win, and Soren hinted that he had hidden forces near Kasha City.
• The Green Robe Wizard confirmed that the enemy had moved and relayed Soren’s orders to the hidden force.
• In Kasha City, soldiers uncovered Magic-armored Knight armor, equipped themselves, and rode north under four commanders as Molly watched in shock.
• Soren ordered the Green Robe Wizard to resist the approaching enemy and clear the way for their trump cards.
• Truth Society Wizards ambushed the Alliance army with spells, inflicting heavy casualties as Richard considered whether he could intervene.

Soren explained to Richard that the Alliance had deliberately presented the Truth Society with a false weakness to lure it into open battle, where it could be defeated. As the Alliance pursued the retreating wizards into a basin, Soren began revealing how the Truth Society had manipulated the Sika Kingdom to keep the nations weak and at war.

• The Truth Society Wizards received a blood-red warning that their headquarters was under attack and retreated from the battlefield.
• Soren ordered the Alliance army to pursue the Truth Society Wizards, but they escaped after the Alliance inflicted only minor losses.
• The Alliance army followed the retreating wizards to a basin, where Magic-armored Knights and four commanders were defeating them.
• Soren told Richard that the Alliance had made him, Soren, and its army appear to be a false weakness to provoke the Truth Society into fighting openly.
• Soren explained that the Alliance believed the Truth Society had replaced Xika's royal family, weakened the kingdom, and encouraged war to keep both nations exhausted.

Soren explained that the Alliance had lured the Truth Society into battle to locate its hidden headquarters, then used its Secret Troops to defeat the Society’s forces in the basin. The Alliance began digging at the headquarters entrance, leaving the fight inside still to come.

• Soren told Richard that the Alliance had studied the Truth Society, concealed its weaknesses, and pinpointed the Society’s headquarters near Kasha City.
• Soren revealed that the Alliance’s four Secret Troops regiments included thousands of Magic-armored Knights and Thirteen-rune Magic-armored Knight Commanders.
• The Secret Troops and the remaining Alliance army overwhelmed the Truth Society Wizards in the basin.
• Alliance soldiers cleared the battlefield and began digging for the entrance to the Truth Society headquarters.

The Alliance forces broke into the Truth Society headquarters and drove its surviving Wizards into a fierce battle aboveground. Gray Mist, the Truth Society’s powerful overseer, was trapped by four Magic-armored Knight Commanders, leaving the Alliance’s plan to destroy the Society apparently on track.

• The Magic-armored Knights removed the rune gate, and four Commanders led their legions underground to attack the Truth Society headquarters.
• The fighting collapsed the basin floor, forcing nearly a thousand surviving Truth Society Wizards and the Alliance troops onto the surface.
• Richard recognized Gray Mist’s seven-colored ring, while Soren identified him as a Truth Society overseer and its current administrator.
• Gray Mist’s attack blasted the Black Armor Commander away, but the Commander survived by transferring the damage to his soldiers.
• The four Commanders formed a Light Cage around Gray Mist and coordinated their attacks, gradually weakening him as the Alliance battled the remaining Wizards.

Gray Mist repeatedly revived after the four commanders killed him, broke free of their Light Cage, and devastated the Alliance army. After his third revival, he revealed that a True God had blessed him with Immortality.

• Gray Mist was impaled by the four commanders' weapons and apparently destroyed, but he revived from the remaining wisps of gray mist.
• Gray Mist knocked back the Black Armor Commander, shattered the Light Cage, and killed hundreds of Alliance Magic-armored Knights, turning the battle in the Truth Society Wizards' favor.
• The four commanders trapped Gray Mist in another Light Cage and killed him again, but he revived and resumed attacking the Alliance army.
• The commanders trapped and killed Gray Mist a third time, but he revived once more and sent them crashing to the ground.
• Gray Mist told the four commanders that they could not truly kill him because a True God had blessed him with Immortality.

Gray Mist broke free of the Light Cage and turned the battle against the Alliance with his repeated resurrection. Richard agreed to intervene in exchange for greater rewards, then descended onto the battlefield to face Gray Mist.

• Gray Mist explained that each death revived him stronger, shattered the Light Cage, and resumed slaughtering the Alliance army.
• Richard and Soren watched Gray Mist reverse the battlefield, and Richard recognized that the Alliance's operation was at risk of failure.
• Richard told Soren he would fight to protect his promised access to the Royal Library and demanded additional benefits for helping win.
• Soren offered Richard an independent Fief in Xika's territory if he helped the army defeat the Truth Society.
• Richard said they would have to try and plunged toward the battlefield as Gray Mist attacked Alliance soldiers and Wizards.