Chapter Summaries

Roman Era defeated Shu Mountain Immortal Sect, then faced the Church of the Machine God in the guild tournament. Augustus surrendered under the Church’s overwhelming firepower, calling the defeat a strategic retreat.

• Roman Era’s Roman legion formation defeated Shu Mountain Immortal Sect’s flying-sword players in the preliminary round.
• Steamed Bun asked Singo and Born Battle Maniac about the championship, and they predicted the Church of the Machine God would win and Royal Authority would decline.
• Augustus skipped the intermission so Roman Era could carry its momentum into its next match against the Church of the Machine God.
• The Church of the Machine God fielded armored vehicles, cannons, machine guns, and flamethrowers against Roman Era’s legionaries.
• After the bombardment killed many Roman Era players, Augustus surrendered and called it a strategic retreat.

The Imperial Gladiator Tournament’s knockout stage began at the Istaria Grand Arena, where Emperor Keosius made a grand entrance and addressed the packed crowd. After silencing the spectators with his authority, he declared the tournament open.

• Steamed Bun, Singo, Born Battle Maniac, and Xia Ye Qiuyu won their preliminary team matches after their opponents surrendered, while Steamed Bun’s highlight videos helped boost Erezege’s popularity.
• The half-month Preliminary Round ended, and all one hundred thousand tickets for the Istaria Grand Arena sold out as the Empire prepared for Keosius’s visit.
• Imperial Prime Minister Lang Pu welcomed the crowd and announced that Keosius would attend the first Imperial Gladiator Tournament.
• Keosius arrived in dragon form, transformed into his human incarnation, and took his throne as the spectators cheered and players argued over which form was superior.
• Keosius used his Great Silence Spell to quiet the arena, addressed his imperial subjects, and declared the first Imperial Gladiator Tournament begun.

Keosius watched the tournament finals begin as Charlotte faced Dawei Tianlong in the opening match. Charlotte defeated the powerful Monk with careful spellwork, and Keosius concluded that players had grown stronger than they had in the original history.

• Keosius asked Tinia who she thought would win the championship, but Tinia complained that she had not been allowed to compete.
• Charlotte drew Dawei Tianlong as his first-round opponent, while both Magic Coin and Shaolin Temple supporters urged their champions on.
• Keosius’s arena restrictions demonstrated that attacks could not extend beyond the arena, and the commentator introduced Charlotte and Dawei Tianlong as the first contestants.
• Dawei Tianlong rushed Charlotte and endured a Lightning Beam, but Charlotte blocked his punch with Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere and slowed him with a spell.
• Dawei Tianlong used hidden Spell Negation to break free, but Charlotte’s illusion and Sharp Tooth Trap pinned him in place.
• Charlotte pierced Dawei Tianlong with an Ice Cone, winning the match, and Keosius judged the players stronger than those in the original history.

Xia Ye Qiuyu faced Lang Li Bai Tiao in the knockout stage, where the Dragon Pact Sorcerer's overwhelming magic defeated the Vampire's tricks and ambushes. Her victory left the professional players questioning how they could compete with her powerful, unusually broad spell list.

• Lang Li Bai Tiao entered to heavy boos, while Xia Ye Qiuyu received thunderous cheers as his opponent.
• Lang Li Bai Tiao spread darkness and attacked with poisoned darts, but Xia Ye Qiuyu used fire spells to expose him and drive him into retreat.
• Xia Ye Qiuyu blocked Lang Li Bai Tiao's escape with a Wall of Fire and bombarded him with flaming meteors, forcing him to split into vampire bats to survive.
• Lang Li Bai Tiao re-formed behind Xia Ye Qiuyu and launched a final dagger ambush, but she caught his hand and killed him with Dragon Breath.
• Xia Ye Qiuyu claimed victory, and the professional players discussed the Dragon Pact Sorcerer's extensive spell list and extraordinary power.

After advancing to the top sixty-four, Mantou drew his teammate Singo and fought him in an aerial duel. Mantou revealed his ability to transform into a dragon, but Singo had anticipated his trump card and brought him down with a Dragon Slayer Arrow.

• After the elimination round ended, Mantou learned that he had drawn Singo for his next match and worried about facing his far stronger teammate.
• Mantou and Singo mounted their Wyverns and began an aerial fight, with Singo using poison arrows, explosive shots, and evasive flying to wear Mantou down.
• Singo accepted Mantou's charge and killed Noodles with a sword strike, seemingly deciding the match.
• Mantou transformed into a young dragon and lunged at Singo, revealing his hidden trump card.
• Singo fired a concealed Dragon Slayer Arrow into Mantou's chest, pierced his heart, and sent him falling.

The arena tournament advanced to the round of thirty-two as Steel Frenzy, Charlotte, Yu Zhong Cheng Chi, and Born Battle Maniac won their matches, while Flying Witch accidentally killed herself. With the championship approaching, Steel Frenzy and Singo remained the leading favorites.

• Steel Frenzy used the Guardian Armor’s Chainsaw Sword to cut through Overlord’s shield and armor, eliminating him and advancing to the round of thirty-two.
• Charlotte defeated Tian Xingjian with Chain Explosion, and Yu Zhong Cheng Chi’s three Undead warriors defeated Ming Yue.
• Born Battle Maniac killed Holy Light Bro after breaking through the Druid’s vines and beheading his Owlbear form.
• Flying Witch’s Wild Sorcerer magic cast Death Array on herself, giving Xia Ye Qiuyu an unexpected victory.
• The tournament concluded the day with thirty-two players remaining, and Steel Frenzy and Singo led the championship odds at 1.9 and 3.5.

The First Imperial Gladiatorial Tournament reached its final, where Steel Frenzy faced Singo in a battle between Arcane Armor and aerial combat. Singo disabled Steel Frenzy’s armor with electromagnetic pulse devices, but Steel Frenzy revealed his dragon-blood-enhanced body and defeated him, becoming the Empire’s first Dragon Flame Champion.

• Singo defeated Born Battle Maniac by using his Wyvern to keep out of reach and wear him down with arrows.
• Steel Frenzy defeated Xia Ye Qiuyu with his Arcane Armor, Lightning Beam, and Chainsaw Sword as the tournament advanced toward its final.
• Steel Frenzy and Singo entered the final amid cheers and jeers from the arena crowd.
• Steel Frenzy used capture nets and lightning shells to restrict Singo’s flight, but Singo charged him with the Wyvern and disabled his armor with Magic Electromagnetic Pulse Devices.
• Steel Frenzy burst from the disabled Guardian Armor with a dragon-blood-enhanced body, deflected Singo’s arrows, and killed him with the Chainsaw Sword.
• The commentator declared Steel Frenzy the winner and named him the Empire’s first Dragon Flame Champion.

Keosius awarded Steel Frenzy the Dragon Flame Champion title before the players vanished as the Erezege server shut down. Three days later, Keosius began his third slumber, while Lang Pu vowed to strengthen the Empire before his awakening.

• Keosius granted Steel Frenzy the Dragon Flame Champion title and blessed him with golden armor and flaming wings.
• As the shutdown countdown ended, the players disappeared across the Empire, leaving their work and native collaborators behind.
• Keosius reflected on how his actions had changed the land's fate and flew above the clouds to survey his Empire.
• Three days later, Keosius reshaped the mountains around North Wind Fortress and entered the Iron Dragon Wing Palace to begin his third slumber.
• Lang Pu supervised the protective spells outside the cave and promised that Keosius would awaken to an even stronger Empire.

Olivia secured Silver Dragon support and a place in the Imperial Senate while Keosius slept, with Lang Pu assuring her he would wake in a year. Over the following months, the Empire continued expanding across the Southern Continent, the Fire Elemental Plane, and the Underdark, becoming known throughout Erezege as a powerful dragon-ruled nation.

• Olivia arrived at Iron Dragon Wing Palace with the Silver Dragon elders’ agreement to send aid, but Ekemon turned her away because Keosius was sleeping.
• Lang Pu told Olivia that Keosius had approved her proposal and invited her to join the Imperial Senate to negotiate cooperation with the ministers.
• Olivia asked how long Keosius would sleep, and Lang Pu said he would awaken in one year before she entered the portal to the Imperial Parliament Hall.
• Over the next several months, the Chief Minister introduced policies that supported workers, trade, and industry as the Empire adjusted to the Starfallers’ departure.
• Earl Jesse Swan expanded Imperial control in the Kattepa Area, Earl Serkan advanced the Empire’s holdings in the Fire Elemental Plane, and Imperial forces conquered territory in the Underdark.
• The Empire’s reach and reputation spread across Erezege as neighboring peoples submitted, sought peace, or feared its power.

Joseph Salazar traveled with a merchant caravan into the Embers of the Burned Empire, secretly gathering intelligence for Prince Bowers. The empire’s railways and mechanized farming astonished him, leaving him uneasy about its power and ambitions as the caravan approached Istaria.

• Joseph Salazar set out through the Anzeta Corridor with a caravan, tasked with gathering intelligence for Prince Bowers and accompanied by the guide Hera Gatti.
• Hera led Joseph and the caravan to Anzeta Corridor Station, where he saw the empire’s steel railway tracks and Steam Engine Car for the first time.
• The caravan paid twenty-one Ginar to board the train, and Joseph secretly recorded the passing scenery with an Image Recording Stone.
• Joseph spotted Combined Seeders working the Lier Farmlands, and Hera explained that the empire used such machines to ease scarcity and relied heavily on the Matra Great Farmlands for grain.
• Hera said Your Majesty Keosius had raised mountain ranges to block northern cold and expose fertile soil, leaving Joseph shocked and worried about the empire’s ambitions.

Joseph and Hera arrived in Istaria, where the city's grandeur and peaceful coexistence among different races challenged Joseph's beliefs about the Empire. As Coronation Day approached, the Keosius Anthem and Hera's devotion to the Dragon Emperor left Joseph wondering whether the Empire was more dangerous than he had imagined.

• Joseph and Hera reached Blackstone Fortress, where Joseph saw the orderly city and learned that many residents commuted to Istaria because housing there was expensive.
• The train brought them to Istaria, and Joseph was awed by its enormous walls, broad streets, and the Great Altar where Keosius had been crowned.
• Joseph led his caravan through Istaria and saw humans and other races sharing the busy streets under patrols by Wyvern-riding knights and the Tiefling Guard.
• When an Ogre insulted a frightened caravan guard instead of attacking him, Joseph asked Hera how the Empire had civilized savage creatures, and she credited Keosius.
• Joseph heard citizens singing the Keosius Anthem, and Hera explained that Coronation Day was approaching, prompting Joseph to doubt his assumptions about the Empire.

Joseph toured the Klaubo Wu Military Industrial Group’s factory and realized the Empire’s firearms depended on mass production and a vast industrial system. After Hera warned him that Keosius could see everything in the Empire, Joseph discovered that someone had found and destroyed his concealed recording stone.

• Hera guided Joseph and his group through Istaria to the Klaubo Wu Military Industrial Group headquarters, where Ruwen Craig introduced the Wyvern Flame rifles.
• Joseph asked to see the firearms production process, and Ruwen readily agreed to take him to the Eleventh Military Factory.
• Joseph watched workers and machines assemble rifles on an enormous scale and concluded that Thrace could not produce them without recreating the Empire’s industrial system.
• Joseph deferred deciding whether to order weapons and stayed at the VIP Guesthouse, where Hera warned him that Keosius could see everything in the Empire.
• At midnight, Joseph found that a thin silver needle had shattered his concealed Image Recording Stone and left a bloodstained note repeating Hera’s warning.

During Coronation Day celebrations in Istaria City, the demon Asher Kale searched for people who hated the Red Dragon but found the crowd overwhelmingly loyal. He approached a troubled factory worker named Lajie, hoping to recruit him, and learned that Lajie worked at the Thirteenth Factory.

• Joseph Salazar bought fifty thousand Ginar worth of arms from the Klaubo Wu Military Industrial Group and hurriedly departed.
• Citizens of every race celebrated Coronation Day in Emperor Square while Tieflings from the Security Team kept order.
• Asher Kale watched the festivities and found that the crowd showed loyalty to Keosius rather than hatred.
• Asher decided to search the square for someone he could turn against the Red Dragon.
• Asher approached a troubled man, reassured him that he was not with Nocturne, and asked about his troubles.
• The man introduced himself as Lajie and said he worked at the Thirteenth Factory.

Asher tried to incite Lajie against the Empire, but Lajie mistook him for a demon and saw a chance to earn a reward by reporting him. A tavern brawl drew in the Tiefling Security Force, and Lajie publicly accused Asher of being a demon.

• Asher encouraged Lajie to blame the Empire's order for his poverty and job loss, while Lajie grew wary of the gray-robed stranger.
• Lajie concluded Asher was a spy, then realized he might be an Abyssal Devil and imagined earning a reward by reporting him.
• Asher promised Lajie wealth and power, believing he had persuaded him to rebel.
• A drunken Ogre smashed a glass over a Hobgoblin's head, sparking a tavern fight that the Tiefling Security Force stopped at gunpoint.
• Lajie stumbled across the tavern, pointed at Asher, and shouted that he was a demon.

Lajie exposed Asher as a demon, prompting Asher to reveal his Glabrezu form and attack the crowd. Misha defeated the demon and its soul was destroyed by the Empire Domain; she then asked Lajie what Asher had told him.

• Asher revealed his Glabrezu form after Lajie exposed his identity, and attacked the tavern crowd.
• Tiefling soldiers, Hobgoblins, and Ogres fired at Asher, but the demon charged toward Lajie.
• Misha arrived and blasted Asher with Dragon Breath, tearing through its body.
• The Empire Domain blocked Asher's soul from returning to the Abyss and destroyed it.
• Misha told Lajie the trouble was over and asked what Asher had said to him.

Lajie received wealth and First-Class Citizen status for reporting a demon, while Misha investigated the attack on Istaria and briefed Prime Minister Lang Pu. Lang Pu said Keosius was close to awakening and vowed the Empire would defeat the demons.

• Misha rewarded Lajie with over two hundred Ginar and First-Class Citizen status for reporting the demon that attacked the tavern.
• Imperial forces treated the wounded, recovered the dead, and secured the tavern ruins after the Glabrezu's attack.
• Misha told Lang Pu that a demon had infiltrated Istaria and attacked Imperial Citizens on Coronation Day.
• Lang Pu explained that demon attacks had become a growing threat across the Empire and could weaken public trust and morale.
• Lang Pu told Misha that Keosius was about to awaken and promised the Empire would eradicate the demons.

On Coronation Day, the Empire celebrated while citizens condemned demons and called for war against the South and the Abyss. After a year of slumber, Keosius awakened amid a volcanic upheaval, and his immense growth left him feeling the Material Plane’s repulsive force.

• Conquest Party members celebrated Coronation Day, denounced southerners and demons, and praised Lord Dolo as a forceful leader.
• At Iron Dragon Wing Palace, Udo Deco stood guard while other Half-Red Dragon guards worried that Keosius might remain asleep for centuries.
• An earthquake and firestorm erupted around the palace, and Udo recognized the upheaval as a sign that Keosius was awakening.
• Keosius emerged from the mountain, drew in the smoke and flames, and restored the devastated surroundings as the guards knelt before him.
• At Dragon Mountain, Keosius examined his greatly enlarged body and realized that he had absorbed vast stores of fire energy and felt the Material Plane repelling him.

After a year of slumber, Keosius grew stronger, rebuilt his palace, and learned that the Empire was facing increasingly bold devil attacks. As he prepared to confront the threat, Olivia welcomed Jennycis, a Silver Dragon envoy from Mellward, who remained hostile toward Keosius.

• Keosius awakened with increased attributes and caster levels, then used his Empire Domain to raise a grander palace from the mountain.
• Lang Pu reported that the Empire's economy and military industry had grown, while its vast, multi-racial territory required extensive administration.
• Lang Pu revealed that devils had killed hundreds, including a Glabrezu killed by Misha, and that a Hezrou had wounded him during an attack in Istaria.
• Keosius vowed to crush the devils and learned that Mellward would send Silver Dragon reinforcements under a treaty Olivia had secured.
• Olivia urged her aunt Jennycis to judge Keosius by the improved lives of Anzeta's people, but Jennycis condemned him for destroying a kingdom and slaughtering thousands.

Jennycis traveled with Olivia to North Wind Fortress to meet the awakened Keosius, while remaining determined to oppose the empire and investigate its Red Dragon ruler. The palace gates burst open as the two women approached, leaving their meeting with Keosius imminent.

• Jennycis reflected on the empire’s war machine and resolved to gather intelligence on Keosius and find his weakness despite Oszedro’s instructions.
• Olivia received word that Keosius had awakened and urged Jennycis not to provoke him, but Jennycis insisted she would complete her mission without confronting him.
• Olivia took Jennycis through a portal to North Wind Fortress, where Jennycis viewed the Half-Red Dragon guards with hostility but followed them toward the palace.
• At Dragon Mountain, Jennycis and Olivia saw the palace’s expansion, and Jennycis sensed Keosius’s overwhelming dragon might.
• The palace gates burst open as Olivia and Jennycis reached the hall.

Jennycis, an envoy of the Mellward Clan, met Keosius and secretly used a spell to probe his weaknesses, provoking him into crushing her Silver Dragon form beneath his claw. Olivia tried to intervene as Keosius threatened to treat the incident as a declaration of war, leaving the alliance in danger.

• Keosius revealed himself as a colossal Red Dragon and asked Olivia to introduce Jennycis, the Mellward envoy.
• Olivia explained that Jennycis was her aunt and that her grandfather had sent her to demonstrate the clan’s sincerity.
• Jennycis demanded that Keosius show respect to a future ally, and Keosius exposed her hidden Truth Detection Crystal Ball.
• Keosius’s dragon might broke Jennycis’s Polymorph, and he pinned her Silver Dragon form to the floor.
• Keosius warned that Jennycis’s actions could be interpreted as a provocation or declaration of war, while Olivia pleaded with him to stop.