Chapter Summaries

Lu Ban learned that the living Black Forest expanded with each Demon Tide, swallowing human lands, and that Black Pine Town was preparing to evacuate. A mage identified the approaching Demon Tide as Eternal Darkness, while Lu Ban suspected Frost might still be involved.

• Birmingham explained that Black Pine Town was only occupied when safe and that each Demon Tide let the Black Forest consume more land.
• Lu Ban reflected that resisting the Demon Tide was necessary to prevent humanity from losing all remaining territory, and Birmingham praised his resolve.
• The commander ordered Black Pine Town to evacuate to Black Fortress before the approaching Demon Tide made the area more dangerous.
• Lu Ban questioned why the mage called the coming Demon Tide Eternal Darkness instead of Frost, prompting the mage to explain both Demon Tides and the signs of the approaching long night.
• The mage showed a map of the affected region and said monsters had fled areas where the long night had spread.
• After Lu Ban left, the mage told the commander he would request the Gray Tower's observation data because this Demon Tide might be unprecedented.

On the journey back to Black Fortress, Jonah explained how the Eternal Night and its kin attacked through living shadows and feared powerful light. The group reached the fortress, but another Ranger was killed by a shadow, and Jonah warned that artificial light would not save them once the true Demon Tide blocked the sun.

• Jonah told Lu Ban and Birmingham that the Eternal Night's kin could be detected by moving shadows and that sunlight was needed to kill them.
• Lu Ban spotted darkening woods, and Jonah's light revealed the kin moving through tree shadows toward the group.
• A Ranger's trembling shadow attacked him, and the kin devoured his flesh before fleeing into the forest.
• Jonah led the patrol to Black Fortress under powerful lights while everyone watched their shadows.
• As the group entered the fortress, another Ranger's shadow writhed and his flesh vanished; Jonah explained that artificial light only delayed the kin and the coming Demon Tide would blot out the sun.

Lu Ban and the other Rangers prepared to defend Black Fortress from the approaching Demon Tide, learning that the fortress’s Eternal Blazing Sun spell could destroy the Kin of the Eternal Night. During the night watch, a mysterious plague forced Rangers to stab themselves, and Jonah identified its ruler as the Plague.

• Jonah explained that the Rangers had to hold Black Fortress for three days and draw the Demon Tide toward it so mages could cast the Eternal Blazing Sun.
• Lu Ban and Birmingham ate dinner and took watch on the fortress’s high wall, where Lu Ban saw darkness swallowing the forest in the distance.
• Jonah told Birmingham the Demon Tide would arrive by the following night and reassured him that Black Fortress had never fallen.
• Lu Ban saw a Ranger suddenly stab himself in the throat, and his companion soon began trying to do the same.
• Jonah warned the Rangers that the condition was contagious and cut off the second Ranger’s hands to stop him from stabbing himself.
• Jonah identified the plague as the power of the ruler of the twelfth Demon Tide.

Jonah identified a Ranger’s suicidal behavior as an infection by the Plague and warned that the Plague, Eternal Darkness, and possibly Frost could strike Black Castle together. Lu Ban discovered that the Plague spread through despair-inducing words in the blood, found himself immune to this strain, and began cleaning the contaminated watchtower.

• Jonah restrained the infected Ranger and told Lord Eli that the Plague had reached Black Castle, prompting Eli to order inspections and anti-Plague measures.
• Jonah explained that the Plague spread through contact and could evolve to control victims, while Eternal Darkness and a possible Frost threatened to coincide with it.
• Mages examined Black Castle’s soldiers through the night, and Lu Ban and Birmingham returned to their watch posts.
• Lu Ban climbed the watchtower and used True Sight to examine the dead man’s frozen blood, then touched it and heard its despairing mental pollution.
• Grass growing in Lu Ban’s blood vessels consumed the Plague’s influence, and Lu Ban began carefully cleaning the contaminated watchtower.

Lu Ban learned that the plague weakened in heat and watched Black Castle's defenders burn the Black Forest as three Demon Tides converged. After collecting samples from the forest, he faced Jonah's grim assessment that the fortress was doomed, but noted that most people there would die even without the overlapping attacks.

• Lu Ban observed that fire and heat made the plague-infected blood fade, then wondered why the Demon Tides had begun cooperating.
• Birmingham explained that the Rangers were burning the fast-growing Black Forest to drive monsters away from the fortress.
• Lu Ban became excited about studying the rapidly growing trees and potentially bringing them to the Wasteland, then collected leaves and branches near the fortress.
• Jonah told Lu Ban that the monsters were natural enemies, confirmed that Frost was part of the Demon Tide, and said the Gray Tower had found the entire region polluted.
• Jonah said Black Castle and the surrounding settlements were doomed, while Lu Ban replied that most people in the fortress would die even without the three Demon Tides attacking together.

As the Demon Tide reached Black Fortress, Lu Ban and Jonah watched the Gale and frost overwhelm the forest and batter the fortress. Jonah explained that the fortresses’ final defense depended on mages burning themselves to send pillars of light into the sky, and Lu Ban saw the spell at work.

• Jonah warned that the Demon Tide had arrived and urged Lu Ban to return to Black Fortress before the frost set in.
• Lu Ban and Jonah ran inside as the Gale froze the forest, swept Rangers into the air, and struck the fortress with rocks and debris.
• Jonah told Lu Ban that the spell barrier would not hold for long and that the Kin of the Eternal Night and plague threatened the fortress.
• Jonah explained that the pillars of light marked the human fortresses and that each light going out meant a fortress had fallen.
• Lu Ban followed Jonah to the hall, where three mages burned in high-backed chairs to fuel the light protecting Black Fortress.

Lu Ban saw mages burned alive to fuel Spirit Torches and learned how much the Night Country sacrificed to hold back the Demon Tides. The Winter Wolf appeared with an immense horde, and its frost tide swept toward the human strongholds as Black Fortress fought back.

• Lu Ban watched mages burn in their armor as Spirit Torches, while Jonah explained that each torch held off monsters for one hour.
• Jonah calculated that the Night Country lost thousands of mages during each Demon Tide, even as its territory continued to shrink.
• Lu Ban heard a tremendous howl and saw the colossal Winter Wolf beneath the Blood Moon, questioning how he could possibly take its heart.
• The Winter Wolves spread across the Night Country and Black Forest, freezing everything as their numbers multiplied.
• Black Fortress sounded its horn and hurled glowing stones into the frost tide, briefly opening gaps before the wolves filled them again.

Lu Ban and the defenders of Black Fortress struggled to hold back a vast Demon Tide of winter wolves as the Evernight approached alongside it. After a distant fortress fell and sacrificed its mages to unleash the Eternal Blazing Sun, the winter wolves struck Black Fortress, and Lu Ban vanished as the fortress shuddered.

• The Spirit Torches, catapults, mages, and Rangers killed many winter wolves, but the Demon Tide continued advancing toward Black Fortress.
• Lu Ban noticed the Evernight moving through shadows and smoke alongside the frost, while longbowmen created a wall of spellfire to slow the wolves.
• Jonah explained that multiple Demon Tides converging meant the evil gods might be cooperating or one might have defeated the others.
• Lu Ban saw a distant fortress fall, then witnessed its defenders sacrifice themselves to create the Eternal Blazing Sun, which destroyed the wolves and Evernight within its reach.
• The winter wolves reached Black Fortress and slammed into its defenses, and Jonah saw that Lu Ban had vanished.

Lu Ban decided to end the Demon Tide by attacking its source after realizing the Black Fortress could not withstand the invasion. He used the Great Being’s whisper to save Birmingham from Eternal Night, then jumped out of a window to confront the frost.

• Lu Ban concluded that the Black Fortress would not hold for three days and decided to seek out and defeat the sources of the Demon Tides.
• The Demon Tides breached the fortress defenses as Winter Wolves attacked, while plague and Eternal Night infected and killed soldiers inside.
• Birmingham warned Lu Ban to stay away from the windows, but Lu Ban noticed that Eternal Night was corrupting Birmingham’s shadow.
• Lu Ban used the Speech Bullet of the Great Being’s whisper to stop Birmingham’s shadow from writhing, and Birmingham broke down after being pulled to safety.
• Lu Ban reasoned that the whisper could affect the frost too, told Birmingham he was going to save the world, and jumped out the window.

As three Demon Tides overwhelm the fortress, Lu Ban walks through the monsters toward the enormous winter wolf, using the Great Being’s mutterings to disrupt the creatures and clear a path. He speeds up toward the frost master, preparing to attack it.

• The commander realized the fortress could not survive the three simultaneous Demon Tides and saw someone walking into the monster horde.
• Jonah identified the man as Lu Ban, a crossbowman from the Rangers rather than a mage.
• Lu Ban’s mutterings drove nearby monsters into convulsions and madness, while the frost and plague wind retreated or dispersed around him.
• Lu Ban judged that the monsters feared his contamination but could still overwhelm him if they attacked together.
• Lu Ban used Last Words to copy a Mud Truck’s impact and propel himself closer to the enormous winter wolf.

Lu Ban advanced through the Winter Wolf horde and drew Frost’s attention, prompting the Demon Tide’s master to attack and reshape the land. As Lu Ban vanished inside the ice and canyon, a blazing sun appeared beneath the Blood Moon, freezing the monsters in place and melting the frost; Jonah wondered whether dawn had broken.

• Lu Ban charged toward Frost atop an advancing wall of Winter Wolf ice crystals, using Last Words and Speech Bullets to propel it forward.
• Frost cracked the earth with its claw and froze the canyon with its breath, leaving Lu Ban and the ice wall apparently still.
• Jonah watched the mages lose hope as some left to fight and others went to the Spirit Torch, completing the transfer.
• A beam of light burst through the ice, and a sun appeared beneath the Blood Moon, stopping the Winter Wolves and melting the frost.
• Jonah felt the strange heat and wondered if it was like a desert.

Lu Ban used the Minor Disaster Generator to bring blazing sunlight to the Black Forest and fired ten Speech Bullets at Frost. As Frost began to succumb to madness, Lu Ban pulled his still-beating heart from his chest, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Lu Ban set the Minor Disaster Generator to Scorching Heat, melting the ice and destroying the winter wolves, shadows, and plague-ridden wind around him.
• Frost stood up, unleashing an earthquake that devastated the surrounding land and threw Black Fortress and Jonah into chaos.
• Lu Ban advanced on Frost while reasoning that the Blood Moon's pollution and the Gray Tower's magic came from opposing deities using the Night Country as a battleground.
• Frost began to howl, and Lu Ban fired ten Speech Bullets into the giant winter wolf.
• As Frost's eyes reddened and its body trembled, Lu Ban plunged his hand into his wounded chest and pulled out his beating heart.

Lu Ban used Last Words to force Frost to tear out his own heart, defeating the winter wolf and sending its kind fleeing across the Black Forest. As Jonah rode to rescue Lu Ban, Lu Ban obtained the Winter Wolf's Pale Heart and drifted toward unconsciousness.

• Lu Ban used Last Words to make Frost plunge a claw into his chest and pull out his ice-crystal heart.
• Lu Ban survived his own chest wound as plants and vines began reconnecting his heart and body, while Frost collapsed and died.
• The winter wolves across the Black Forest abandoned the front line, though the Eternal Night and plague Demon Tides continued.
• Jonah raised the Black Tower's flag and led soldiers and mages on horseback to rescue Lu Ban.
• Lu Ban picked up the radio, obtained the Winter Wolf's Pale Heart, and drifted in icy water as he grew drowsy.

Lu Ban explained that the Blood Moon caused the Demon Tide and proposed using sunlight-like weapons or blocking moonlight to weaken the monsters. The Demon Tide was nearing its end, and Jonah told Lu Ban that Birmingham wanted to see him at the watchtower.

• Jonah reported that the Gray Tower planned to use the costly Eternal Blazing Sun against the worst-hit areas, and estimated that one-fifth of their territory would be lost.
• Lu Ban assured Jonah that the Demon Tide would last only three days and said his injuries had healed.
• Lu Ban proposed miniaturizing the Eternal Blazing Sun or firing sunlight-like ammunition into the Demon Tide.
• Lu Ban explained that the Blood Moon empowered the monsters, that the Great Being was sealed within the moon, and that its merging will had caused the triple Demon Tide.
• Lu Ban suggested blocking moonlight with a barrier or enclosing the planet in a gigantic cage, and Jonah said he would relay the ideas to the Gray Tower.
• Jonah told Lu Ban that Birmingham wanted to see him at the watchtower.

Lu Ban realized that Birmingham’s era preceded Xiya’s by at least a century and wondered whether Birmingham was her ancestor before the Demon Tide ended. He returned to the Silent Land after witnessing dawn and received a perfect task settlement.

• Lu Ban comforted Birmingham over the people lost in Black Pine Town, and Birmingham said he wanted to become a mage and help protect others.
• Birmingham described the Gray Tower’s plan to send two-mage teams called Agents along the Black Forest’s borders, prompting Lu Ban to infer that Xiya lived in a later era.
• Lu Ban returned Birmingham’s nameplate and noticed his surname, Quellris, matched Xiya’s, leading him to wonder whether Birmingham was her ancestor and whether their meeting had been predestined.
• As the countdown ended, the Blood Moon faded, the Black Forest fell silent, and dawn arrived; Lu Ban disappeared as Birmingham looked for him.
• Lu Ban was watched by a twisted being on the Blood Moon before returning home, where the Silent Land awarded him a perfect completion, 90% exploration, 76,000 Silence Points, and the item Pocket War.

Lu Ban reviewed his Pocket War footage and realized his next career task required a Movie Universe release that earned five billion in revenue. He began considering how to turn the Demon Tide into a blockbuster capable of meeting the extraordinary target.

• Lu Ban wondered whether the Night Country still existed in the present and whether Du Danping might survive in some foreign realm.
• Lu Ban reviewed his Pocket War recordings and reasoned that a perfect exploration rating required confronting and eliminating the source of the Demon Tide.
• Lu Ban considered using footage of the Demon Tide and Jonah’s rescue to create a large-scale commercial film, and planned to complete his actor handbook.
• Lu Ban opened the Career Development Task and saw that he had to release a Movie Universe work and earn five billion in revenue.
• Lu Ban calculated that meeting the target would likely require a film among the five highest-grossing in cinema history.

Lu Ban decided to recruit film and television staff to help him make a movie capable of earning five billion in profit, while screening applicants for their ability to withstand his supernatural footage. His first promising candidate fled in terror during the interview, leaving Lu Ban struggling to hire anyone.

• Lu Ban considered how he could reach the five-billion-profit target and decided to invest in equipment, professional teams, and publicity.
• Lu Ban asked Li Zijian for help recruiting post-production and video production staff, and explained that he would personally test candidates against disturbing footage.
• After Mouth of the Madman earned more than three billion at the box office, Lu Ban interviewed an overseas post-production specialist who went by Mike.
• Lu Ban showed Mike a sample of his horror footage, and Mike panicked, fled the office, and left Lu Ban lamenting how difficult hiring was.

Lu Ban changed Silent Culture’s recruitment process and gathered applicants for an interview that tested their tolerance for horror footage. Bai Qiquan, a nervous graduating student who had watched Lu Ban’s films, followed the others into the dark screening room as the test began.

• Lu Ban received a flood of résumés and started interviewing applicants in bulk.
• Bai Qiquan arrived at Silent Culture for an interview and felt intimidated by the experienced applicants around him.
• Lu Ban sent out a group of applicants who appeared shaken, then told the waiting candidates it was their turn.
• Lu Ban explained that he would test the applicants’ tolerance for intense scenes and led them into the screening room.
• Lu Ban turned off the lights and told the applicants to call out if they needed him to stop the screening.

Bai Qiquan passed Lu Ban’s interview after pretending to be frightened by the horror-film screening and started preparing for his internship. When he showed Pang Zhen a photo of his furnished dormitory, she spotted a human face hiding behind the curtains.

• Bai Qiquan watched a screening of The Wailing and concealed that he already knew the film by pretending to be scared.
• Lu Ban stopped Bai Qiquan in the stairwell, asked whether he had been scared, and told him he had passed the interview.
• Bai Qiquan told Pang Zhen that he had spent the afternoon at his workstation and received a well-paid internship with housing and meals provided.
• Bai Qiquan showed Pang Zhen photos of his furnished dormitory, and she noticed a human face behind the curtains in one of them.

Bai Qiquan moved into an apartment Lu Ban owned and tried to dismiss unsettling signs as illusions. After spotting a corpse-like face and noticing strange details in the bathroom, he realized someone—or something—else might be in the apartment as he lay awake in the dark.

• Lu Ban introduced Bai Qiquan to Qin Tiantian and showed him the apartment, explaining that he had bought several floors of the building.
• Qin Tiantian learned that Lu Ban owned the apartment she rented and accused him of collecting her rent without telling her.
• After Lu Ban and Qin Tiantian left, Bai Qiquan saw a pale face outside the living-room window, but it vanished and seemed to be his reflection.
• Bai Qiquan noticed his wardrobe was arranged despite not unpacking those clothes and felt something was wrong while showering.
• In bed, Bai Qiquan realized the bathroom mirror had not fogged and that someone had handed him a towel, then heard a second heartbeat in the dark.