Chapter Summaries

Gray Mist relentlessly pursued the Green Robe Wizard, overpowering the commanders who tried to protect him, until Richard arrived and attacked. Richard used an illusion to evade Gray Mist’s spear and struck him with an enormous Energy Light Sphere, which exploded around Gray Mist’s head as Richard vanished.

• The Black Armor Commander, Silver Armor Commander, and Gray Armor Commander tried to stop Gray Mist from reaching the Green Robe Wizard, but Gray Mist knocked them aside and broke the wizard’s shield.
• The Red Armor Commander wounded Gray Mist while saving the Green Robe Wizard, but Gray Mist seized her, slammed her into the ground, and continued his pursuit.
• Richard descended and blocked Gray Mist’s amber-energy spear with an Air Wall while charging an Energy Light Sphere.
• Gray Mist shattered the Air Wall and pierced Richard, seemingly destroying nearly half his body, but Richard’s apparent body vanished as an illusion.
• Richard appeared behind Gray Mist and slammed the enlarged Energy Light Sphere over his head, then vanished as the sphere exploded.

Richard killed Gray Mist with a powerful Energy Light Sphere, but Gray Mist revived and claimed that each death made him stronger. Gray Mist attacked Richard, who blocked his scythe with an Air Wall powered by his four Energy Furnaces.

• Richard used an Energy Light Sphere to dissolve Gray Mist, while the commanders and Green Robe Wizard braced for his expected revival.
• Gray Mist revived, identified Richard as the former Truth Society member who had defected from Pompey, and accused him of betrayal.
• Richard argued that Bi Bi was the real traitor, but Gray Mist declared that his God-given Immortality made each death strengthen him.
• Gray Mist blasted aside the four commanders and advanced on Richard as the Green Robe Wizard retreated behind layers of Energy Shields.
• Gray Mist struck Richard with a God of Death Scythe, but Richard stopped the blow with a sturdy Air Wall and remained unharmed.
• Gray Mist noticed that Richard's four Energy Furnaces sustained the Air Wall and realized Richard had likely concealed its full strength earlier.

Richard tested Gray Mist’s strength and abilities after his resurrection while enduring his increasingly powerful attacks. He revealed that the test was finished and said he could simply kill Gray Mist instead.

• Gray Mist repeatedly attacked Richard’s Air Wall until it broke, but another Air Wall appeared and blocked his scythe.
• Gray Mist drew golden energy from the earth, strengthening himself and the God of Death Scythe as he struck Richard’s defenses.
• Gray Mist’s empowered blow cut an illusion of Richard in half, and he later spotted the unharmed Richard a hundred meters away.
• Richard explained that he had been measuring Gray Mist’s strength, speed, and reaction time after resurrection, noting that his strength had risen by more than thirty percent.
• Richard said the testing was tedious and that, if he only wanted to kill Gray Mist, he could do so directly.

Richard attacked Gray Mist with the Gloves of Extinction, but Gray Mist resurrected for the fifth time and returned with greater strength. As Gray Mist pressed the fight, Richard trapped him in a Transparent Pyramid.

• Richard used Death Fingers from the Gloves of Extinction to shoot Gray Mist, then shattered the gloves around him in a blast of Gold Light.
• Gray Mist fell, but his corpse turned to dust and reformed, completing his fifth resurrection.
• Gray Mist attacked Richard with stronger energy, breaking through an Air Wall and shredding the Gloves of Extinction.
• Richard dodged Gray Mist’s punch, bound him with Blood-colored Energy, and built the Transparent Pyramid around him.

Richard trapped Gray Mist inside a Transparent Pyramid and detonated the tactical Nuclear Weapon Gentle, vaporizing him. Gray Mist revived for the sixth time, leaving Richard to face the same enemy once more.

• Richard built a Transparent Pyramid around Gray Mist, sealing the ground and restraining him with Blood-colored Energy pillars.
• Richard activated and dropped Dagger No. 11—Gentle into the pyramid, then warned the Alliance Magic-armored Knights, Wizards, and soldiers to close their eyes.
• The tactical Nuclear Weapon destroyed the pyramid and reduced the area to magma, while its flash and Magical Electromagnetic Pulse injured some Alliance forces and Truth Society members.
• Richard saw no trace of Gray Mist and believed the blast had destroyed him completely.
• A bubble rose from the magma and burst, and Gray Mist re-formed, having revived for the sixth time.

Richard repeatedly detonated Tactical Nuclear Weapons against Gray Mist, but Gray Mist revived twelve times and grew powerful enough to overwhelm him in close combat. Richard evaded Gray Mist’s attacks while searching for another way to defeat him.

• Gray Mist revealed that each death broke another seal and made him stronger, and he planned to control Richard and learn the secrets of his weapons and Energy Furnaces.
• Richard suspected Gray Mist’s immortality might end after seven deaths, then trapped him in a pyramid and detonated a Tactical Nuclear Weapon.
• Gray Mist revived after each blast, and Richard continued attacking until Gray Mist had revived twelve times.
• Gray Mist’s strength and speed increased dramatically, and he struck Richard before he could evade with Void Spell.
• Richard avoided Gray Mist’s successive punches with Void Spells and tried to buy time while seeking another strategy.

Richard admitted that Gray Mist had defeated him in battle but refused to surrender, saying he would use another method to deal with him. He began trapping Gray Mist inside nine pillars of Blood-colored Energy and a growing cone of Air Walls.

• Gray Mist overwhelmed Richard, who admitted he could no longer confidently kill him and declared that he had lost the battle.
• The Alliance troops and their leaders despaired after hearing Richard concede, while Soren told the shadow behind him to wait.
• Gray Mist offered Richard a chance to avoid death if he surrendered, but Richard refused and distinguished accepting defeat from choosing to surrender.
• Richard said he would deal with Gray Mist by another method, then repeatedly used Void Spells to erect nine pillars of Blood-colored Energy around him.
• Richard unleashed the power of four Energy Furnaces and formed Air Walls around Gray Mist, gradually building a cone-shaped enclosure as Gray Mist smashed through them.

Richard banished Gray Mist into space with a spell he called “Nail into the Sky,” then revealed his six Second Generation Energy Furnaces and killed Ge Luofu. As the Alliance launched its final assault on the Truth Society, Richard declared that the battle and war were over.

• Richard sealed Gray Mist inside a nail-shaped structure and launched it into space using four Energy Furnaces, banishing him from the battlefield.
• Soren ordered the Alliance army to attack the remaining Truth Society Wizards, who fought back desperately despite Gray Mist’s banishment.
• Ge Luofu broke through the encirclement and charged at Richard, believing he was weakened after surrendering his four Energy Furnaces.
• Richard revealed six Second Generation Energy Furnaces and killed Ge Luofu with a powerful energy beam.
• Richard faced the remaining Truth Society members as the battlefield fell silent and declared, “It’s over.”

After the Soma Alliance defeated the Truth Society and forced the Sika Kingdom to negotiate, the two sides signed a peace treaty that redrew their borders. Richard slipped away from the returning military delegation and entered Xia Ya alone, eager to claim the promised Royal Library materials.

• The Soma Alliance destroyed the Truth Society, while Soren led three Allied Legions to crush the Sika Kingdom’s counterattack and force it toward peace talks.
• The Soma Alliance and the Sika Kingdom signed a treaty in Kasha City on October 26, ending the war and dividing the occupied territory.
• The Alliance kept strategic regions, returned less valuable lands, and organized its gains into special Garrison Areas.
• Richard left the delegation headed for Xia Ya to avoid its grand Entry Ceremony and arrived in the city on November 5.
• Richard walked toward the center of Xia Ya and noticed that the city had changed during his four-month absence.

Richard returned to Xia Ya, settled into his old quarters, and asked Mas to arrange a meeting with Oscar. Oscar visited in the middle of the night to discuss the ceremonies, then voiced his concern that the King’s health had suffered during the war.

• Richard observed how war taxes and reduced spending had hurt Xia Ya’s shops, then went to the reception residence and asked Mas to let him stay there.
• Richard asked Mas to contact Oscar so they could discuss matters now that the war was over.
• Oscar came to see Richard in the middle of the night, while Richard was working on his research plans.
• Richard told Oscar he had skipped the ceremonies on his way back and did not plan to attend Xia Ya’s Entry Ceremony.
• Oscar explained that he was busy preparing the Entry Ceremony and Victory Celebration, then worried that the King might fall ill after months of strain during the war.

Richard agreed to attend Xia Ya’s Victory Celebration and accept a Fief, but the city’s bronze bells rang thirteen times, announcing the death of Alliance Emperor Peter Romanov.

• Oscar told Richard that his promised reward and a Fief would be granted at the Victory Celebration, and Richard agreed to attend.
• Oscar and Richard heard Xia Ya’s bell tower toll thirteen times, an unprecedented signal associated with a funeral.
• Bell towers across Xia Ya answered with thirteen tolls, and Oscar told Richard that Peter Romanov had died.

After the Alliance Emperor’s sudden death canceled the ceremonies, Oscar and Richard went to the Imperial Palace to pay their respects. A retired servant led them to a hidden underground hall, where they found Peter Romanov alive.

• Oscar and Richard arrived at the Imperial Palace amid preparations for the Alliance Emperor’s funeral.
• Oscar and the princes waited until they were permitted to enter the bedchamber and pay their respects to the emperor’s prepared body.
• A black-robed former personal servant pointed himself out to Richard, then led him and Oscar away from the palace.
• The servant, Lan Li, took Oscar and Richard through a hidden passage into an underground hall.
• Oscar saw Peter Romanov and realized the supposedly dead Alliance Emperor was alive.

Richard and Oscar met the Alliance Emperor, who revealed that he had faked his death to expose conspirators threatening the Alliance. He assured Richard that his promised rewards would still be honored, though some would be delayed.

• Oscar questioned the Alliance Emperor after seeing what he thought was his corpse, and the emperor explained that it had been a double.
• The Alliance Emperor said he staged his death to draw out nobles and princes plotting against him and the Alliance.
• The Alliance Emperor revealed that Oscar's subordinate Nosey had been infiltrated after becoming involved with an earl's daughter.
• Oscar accepted the emperor's orders to watch everyone closely while troops prepared to suppress any rebellion.
• The Alliance Emperor told Richard he would receive the promised Royal Library books and materials within five days, while his other rewards might arrive later with compensation.

Richard secured a signed contract from Peter Romanov guaranteeing his reward within five days, then left to continue his research. That night, a Black-Clothed Man learned that rival forces were mobilizing, but his Teacher urged him that it was the best time to act.

• Richard questioned whether Peter Romanov would deliver his reward within five days, and Peter offered a contract pledging the Soma Alliance as collateral if he failed.
• Richard pointed out that the contract needed Peter's signature, so Peter sealed it with his Ruby Ring and handed it over.
• Richard accepted the contract, left the underground hall, and returned to his work while Peter told Oscar that he admired Richard and wished he had a son like him.
• That night, a subordinate informed the Black-Clothed Man that an investigation confirmed his intelligence, but another reported that troops and several private forces were mobilizing.
• The Black-Clothed Man hesitated over whether to act, and his Teacher emerged from an inner room and told him that the moment was ideal.

Red Moon killed Alliance Emperor Peter Romanov in his underground hiding place and concealed the body. Three days later, Xia Ya City held Peter Romanov’s state funeral, while the circumstances of his death remained hidden.

• The Old Man told the Black-Clothed Man to wait patiently and promised to handle the matter himself.
• Peter Romanov ordered Lan Li to punish the conspirators, then asked him to summon Oscar for the aftermath.
• Lan Li revealed himself as Red Moon and attacked Peter Romanov, who sent three Shadow Guards to fight him.
• Red Moon’s blood-red moonlight destroyed the Shadow Guards and drained Peter Romanov’s blood, killing him.
• Red Moon made Peter Romanov’s corpse vanish and left the underground hall before dawn.
• Three days later, Princes placed Peter Romanov’s body in a coffin, and a funeral procession carried it from the Imperial Palace through Xia Ya City.

The Alliance Emperor’s coffin was sealed in the Xia Ya Imperial Mausoleum while the First Prince questioned ministers about the succession and asserted his legal claim. Richard grew suspicious that the Emperor’s planned return had gone wrong, and Oscar worried as unrest spread through Xia Ya without word from the Emperor.

• The funeral procession brought the Alliance Emperor’s coffin to the Xia Ya Imperial Mausoleum, where Wizards sealed it inside.
• The First Prince asked Ast, Ross, and Oscar whether the Emperor had discussed changing the succession, then claimed he remained the legal First Heir.
• Richard asked Oscar when the Emperor would emerge, but Oscar insisted the plan was proceeding well despite his distraction.
• Richard reminded Oscar that only one day remained before the Emperor’s promised five-day deadline, and Oscar assured him he would receive his reward.
• After the funeral, Richard returned to refining his research plan while Oscar hurried to his residence and fretted over the Princes’ violent power struggles and the Emperor’s silence.

Oscar summoned Zong Hu and Dragon Tree and found the Alliance Emperor’s hiding place empty except for traces of blood. Meanwhile, First Prince Div began his Succession Ceremony and paused before taking the throne to announce rewards he claimed were his father’s final wish.

• Oscar sent a message recalling Zong Hu and Dragon Tree, who left their mission and returned to him in Xia Ya.
• Oscar led Zong Hu and Dragon Tree to the Alliance Emperor’s hiding place, where they found an empty hall and blood on the ground.
• Oscar ordered Zong Hu and Dragon Tree to stay in Xia Ya and remain by his side while the Alliance’s situation grew more complicated.
• First Prince Div’s Succession Ceremony proceeded to its final step, with the throne and crown ready.
• First Prince Div stopped before the throne and announced that he would enact rewards from a document he said he had found in Peter Romanov’s study.

First Prince Div distributed rewards, became Emperor, and died moments after being crowned, plunging the ceremony into chaos. Richard suspected the death was a deliberate display by the person who had promised him rewards, while Oscar realized the Alliance might be facing a far-reaching plot.

• First Prince Div's confidant read out the reward list, which Oscar said had been altered to favor Div's faction.
• Richard asked Oscar about the absent Alliance Emperor Peter Romanov and the promised Royal Library materials, and Oscar assured him the rewards would arrive that night.
• Div said he would fulfill everyone's wishes, took the crown, and was hailed as Emperor.
• Blood seeped from Div's body, and he collapsed and turned into a puddle of blood in front of the ceremony attendees.
• The crowd cried out about an assassin as the venue descended into chaos.
• Richard wondered whether the death was the absent person's method, while Oscar feared a plot to kill royal family members and destroy the Alliance from within.

After the First Prince died during the Inheritance Ceremony, the Soma Alliance’s succession crisis triggered violent factional conflict and widespread panic. As night fell, Richard waited for the promised Royal Library materials and went to meet Oscar, who had arrived at his residence.

• The First Prince’s death left no uncontested heir, and the lack of a Palace Council created a deadlock over succession.
• The princes’ factions clashed in Xia Ya, sending prices soaring and spreading instability across the Soma Alliance.
• The Xika Kingdom refrained from exploiting the crisis because it needed time to recover and preferred the Alliance to remain divided.
• As fighting intensified at night, rival factions imprisoned and killed members of the First Prince’s faction under accusations of murder.
• Richard finished polishing the Mid-to-Long Term Research Plan and wondered whether he would have to retrieve the Royal Library materials himself.
• A servant told Richard that Oscar had arrived, and Richard went to meet him.

Richard received most of the Royal Library materials from Oscar but refused Oscar’s request to help restore peace to the Alliance. Oscar left to seek another solution, while Richard planned to leave Xia Ya for his fief, Shalin.

• Oscar delivered twenty-five boxes of Royal Library materials to Richard and explained that some research materials were still missing.
• Oscar asked Richard to return the emperor’s contract and help resolve the Alliance’s chaos after the emperor’s death, but Richard refused.
• Richard told Oscar he would leave Xia Ya for Shalin and offered him refuge there, while promising to avenge him if it was not too troublesome.
• Oscar left Richard and told Dragon Tree and Zong Hu that Richard had refused to help the Alliance.
• Oscar said the Alliance had to find its own way forward rather than rely on Richard.