Chapter Summaries

Mantou returned to Istaria City with Noodles after completing a Frost Giant quest, where a new regulation required him to show a Wyvern pilot's license. He reunited with Singo, who gave him a disguise mask as compensation for their squad's defeat, and learned that the Abyssal Dragon they had faced was far beyond the players' strength.

• Mantou flew Noodles to Istaria's southern gate carrying a Frost Giant's head and drew admiration as a Dragon Blood Viscount.
• A Tiefling Guard required Mantou to show his Wyvern pilot's license under new rules introduced after Da Shui Lan Zi caused trouble with an unapproved Wyvern.
• New players recognized Mantou in the city and crowded around him until a patrolling Security Officer drove them off.
• Mantou discovered that the Security Officer was Singo, who used a Doppelganger Mask to conceal his face and player identity.
• Singo gave Mantou a Doppelganger Mask as compensation for the squad wipe and admitted that he had recklessly challenged an overwhelmingly powerful Abyssal Dragon.
• Singo said players remained weak compared with high-level powers, but the Empire protected by Keosius would not fall in the current version.

Steamed Bun and Singo encountered the growing crowd of Starfallers in Istaria before joining top players at the Magic Coin Guild’s headquarters. Charlotte recruited them for the Empire’s new Thrace Infiltration Mission, and Steamed Bun received the mission panel for becoming a Hidden Hero.

• Steamed Bun and Singo passed a chaotic crowd of Starfallers gambling on Keosius’s Secret Treasure, where Da Shuaizi lost three months of savings on Kobold’s Stinky Leather Pants.
• Steamed Bun turned in the Frost Giant’s head and received only half the bounty because he had damaged the corpse.
• Singo told Steamed Bun that millions of new players were competing for Istaria’s resources and that the Empire planned restrictions for them.
• Steamed Bun and Singo met Charlotte at the Magic Coin Guild’s headquarters, where more than a hundred top players had gathered.
• Charlotte unveiled the Thrace Infiltration Mission and invited the players to infiltrate the Thrace Kingdom as Hidden Heroes.

Keosius’s Dragon’s Simulacrum arrived at Victoria Harbor and adopted the identity Albert the Hermit as he prepared to interfere in the city’s affairs. Meanwhile, Heloise Seville’s caravan was ambushed by cultists and monsters, and just as a powerful psionic black hole overwhelmed the guards, a mysterious voice spoke to her.

• Keosius’s Dragon’s Simulacrum appeared near Victoria Harbor and chose the name Albert the Hermit for his new identity.
• Heloise Seville noticed wreckage near Karl Valley and ordered Marvin to halt the caravan and investigate.
• Cultists attacked the Seville caravan, while goblins, worgs, and gnolls blocked Heloise’s escape route.
• Heloise returned to the caravan, took command, and shot a cultist with a rifle as the guards fought back.
• The cultist leader summoned a psionic black hole that dragged in guards and weapons, leaving Heloise facing the approaching enemy army.
• A mysterious male voice reached Heloise, mocking the cultists for their arrogance.

A mysterious Sorcerer saved Heloise Seville’s caravan by destroying the Black Robe Bishop and his monster legion with powerful magic. He revealed that he had never heard of Victoria Harbor and gave his name as the Hermit.

• A gray-cloaked Sorcerer appeared and dispelled the cultists’ attacks, then struck down the Black Robe Bishop with lightning.
• The Sorcerer unleashed the Ninth Circle Spell Vengeful Storm, destroying the monster legion as Heloise and the caravan watched.
• After the storm ended, Heloise ordered Marvin to keep the guards calm and approached the Sorcerer to thank him.
• The Sorcerer’s aura faded, and he said he had never heard of Victoria Harbor.
• The Sorcerer identified himself to Heloise as the Hermit.

Heloise brought the Hermit to Victoria Harbor, where Duke Aiden identified him as an Ancient Bronze Dragon and recognized the value of earning his friendship. The Seville Family prepared to welcome the powerful guest as Heloise learned that Bronze Dragons were steadfast allies who often fought for righteous causes.

• Heloise offered the Hermit the Seville Family's gratitude, and he accepted the Golden Finch crest.
• The Hermit agreed to travel with Heloise to Victoria Harbor, using magic to take them directly into the carriage.
• The Hermit protected the caravan from cultist ambushes as it traveled toward Victoria Harbor.
• Heloise arrived at Victoria Harbor and reported to Duke Aiden that the Hermit had slept for centuries and showed interest in gold and jewels.
• Duke Aiden consulted the Feanso Dragon Guide and concluded that the Hermit was an Ancient Bronze Dragon known as the Coast Dragon.
• Duke Aiden explained that Bronze Dragons kept their promises and often joined armies to fight for righteous causes.

Duke Aiden learned that the Overlord God Cult had grown into a dangerous force and prepared to meet Heloise’s ally, an Ancient Bronze Dragon. Heloise used the dragon’s token, and the mysterious Mr. Hermit arrived at the Seville Family’s hall.

• Duke Aiden feared the Red Dragon Emperor’s threat to the north and welcomed Heloise’s possible alliance with an Ancient Bronze Dragon.
• Heloise told Duke Aiden that the Overlord God Cult had ambushed her, and Vincent’s records revealed the cult’s recent murders, disappearances, and recruitment of monsters.
• Duke Aiden ordered Simon Amorim to investigate the cult secretly and learned that Mr. Hermit might know its history.
• Duke Aiden summoned Koshk Hayden and the other Mithril Hand captains, then announced that an Ancient Bronze Dragon would visit.
• Heloise tossed the ancient bronze coin, and Mr. Hermit stepped through a rift into the hall.

Keosius accepted Duke Aiden’s treasures and warned the Seville Family that Mind Flayers were targeting Victoria Harbor. He had the family build Coast Tower in the Lower District, where he began drawing attention from locals and players while waiting to see how the Overlord God Cult would act.

• Duke Aiden welcomed the Hermit and presented him with gold and marine treasures in gratitude for rescuing Heloise and the Seville caravan.
• Heloise asked about the cultists, and the Hermit identified them as Mind Flayer puppets and revealed their threat extended beyond Victoria Harbor.
• The Hermit agreed to help fight the Mind Flayers and asked Duke Aiden to build Coast Tower in the Lower District and move his treasures there.
• Simon Amorim led mercenaries to build the tower, and after gangs and cultists tried to raid it, they vanished following a night of storms and lightning.
• Residents came to treat Coast Tower as a pawnshop and information source, while undead and players sought out the mysterious Hermit.
• Keosius watched the harbor and considered how the Overlord God Cult might proceed after he had rescued the Seville caravan and Heloise.

Keosius used the Hermit persona to recruit players in Victoria Harbor as part of his plan to disrupt the Mind Flayers’ scheme and seize Karsus’s Crown. At Avendell Dan, King Ed rallied the dwarves to defend their fortress alone as the Orc army approached.

• Disguised as the Hermit, Keosius rewarded players who brought him clues about the Overlord God Cult, while refusing a player’s attempt to claim a second reward from Joel Nason’s remains.
• Keosius planned to build an intelligence network through the players and use them to sabotage the Mind Flayers’ plan involving Karsus’s Crown and the Elder Brain.
• Bjorn Riley told King Ed that Serenia’s elders and the Three Great Kingdoms would not aid the dwarves, though the Elven Queen had offered troops and could seek support from the Twilight Blade.
• King Ed ordered Bjorn to gather the Shield Guard Army after seeing the Orc legions approaching Avendell Dan.
• King Ed rallied the dwarven warriors to defend their kingdom, and the Orc army drew within several kilometers of the fortress.

The Orc legion led by Batu Shatterskull attacked the High Mountain Kingdom’s defenses at the Path of Glory. After breaking through the outer gates and overwhelming the dwarf defenders, the Orcs poured into the valley toward Avendell Dan.

• Toru Aaron rallied the dwarves at the Orc Tombstone, then was shaken when he saw Batu Shatterskull’s vast Orc legion approaching.
• An Orc Shaman marked Batu with Gruumsh’s emblem, and Batu rallied the Orcs to conquer Avendell Dan.
• The Orcs stormed the outer defenses while dwarves fired arrows and hurled explosive barrels, suffering heavy losses against the overwhelming force.
• Hill Giants and Half Giant Orcs battered the oak gates until they broke, and the Orcs overwhelmed the dwarf warriors defending them.
• The Orcs surged through the Path of Glory toward Avendell Dan.

Orcs and Dwarves fought a brutal battle along the Path of Glory and at Avendell Dan’s walls, where Monk the Maimer led the Orc assault and Toru Aaron rallied the Dwarven defenders. The chapter ended as Toru, enraged by Monk’s murder of his closest friend Glando, attacked him and their weapons clashed.

• Dwarves ambushed the Orcs on the Path of Glory, but Monk crossed the chasm and slaughtered the defenders on a cliff platform.
• Monk urged the Orcs onward as their forces used giant shields, flying beasts, and explosive barrels to advance toward the Orc Tombstone.
• Toru Aaron led Avendell Dan’s heavy infantry against the Orcs, killing a Half Giant and stopping their charge at the wall.
• An Orc Shaman summoned a crimson eye and blood-red mist that drove the Orcs into a more savage assault.
• Monk appeared on the wall with Glando’s severed head, then crushed it in front of Toru.
• Toru attacked Monk with his long-handled warhammer, and Monk blocked the blow with his Double-Headed Axe.

Monk killed Toru and led the Orcs in taking Orc Tombstone, then the Orc army advanced on Avendell Dan. King Ed and the Dwarves defended the fortress with an arsenal of ingenious weapons, but Batu Shatterskull’s vastly larger force continued its assault.

• Monk used his Eye of Gruumsh to overwhelm Toru, killed him, and defeated the Dwarven Fighters who surrounded him.
• Monk offered Toru’s head to Gruumsh, and the Orcs celebrated their capture of Orc Tombstone.
• A messenger told Ed and Bjorn that the Orcs had breached the outer wall, while Bjorn warned that Batu Shatterskull commanded more than 1.6 million Orcs across the Ugo Great Prairie.
• Batu Shatterskull assembled his forces before Avendell Dan, and Ed gathered the kingdom’s fifteen thousand fighters to defend the city.
• Ed ordered the Dwarves to fire as they used arrows, steel crossbows, rolling boulders, catapults, and the Protection Array to repel the Orc assault.
• The Dwarven defenses killed more than ten thousand attackers, but Batu Shatterskull’s army numbered two hundred thousand.

The Orcs assaulted Avendell Dan, but Dwarven traps and molten iron failed to break their advance. Ed led the Dwarven heavy cavalry in a counterattack, then prepared to meet Monk and the Orc Dire Wolf Cavalry in battle.

• Orc Shamans cleared the poison mist with a gale while Orcs pushed through Avendell Dan’s traps and climbed its walls.
• Bjorn redirected the city’s molten iron through the wall outlets, burning the Orcs beneath the fortress.
• Ed opened the gates and led five hundred Dwarven heavy cavalry in a charge that killed thousands of Orcs.
• Monk rallied the Orcs and rode his massive black Worg, Black Hills, to lead the Dire Wolf Cavalry into battle.
• Ed rallied the Dwarven heavy cavalry, and both mounted forces charged toward each other.

Ed and the Dwarf heavy cavalry fought Monk and the Orc army as Avendell Dan came under attack. Ed defeated Monk but was trapped by Orc Shamans, until a golden dragon appeared on the horizon and gave the besieged Dwarves hope.

• Ed led five hundred Dwarf heavy cavalry in a charge that tore through the Orc cavalry, but the far larger Orc force surrounded and overwhelmed them.
• Monk challenged Ed, and the two fought until Ed broke Monk’s axe and smashed his heart with his warhammer.
• Monk revealed that the Orc attack on Avendell Dan had advanced while he kept Ed occupied, and he died after taunting the Dwarf king about the war’s outcome.
• Orc Shamans bound Ed with black chains and visions of Gruumsh as Orcs climbed the fortress walls and Dwarf guards fell.
• A golden dragon appeared over the battlefield, and Ed saw a glimmer of hope.

A golden dragon rescued Avendell Dan by burning away the Orc vanguard, allowing Ed to break free and lead the dwarves in a counterattack. At the Orc base camp, Batu Shatterskull slaughtered the retreating survivors and rallied his army to continue the war.

• A golden dragon attacked the Orcs besieging Avendell Dan and burned tens of thousands of them to ash, earning the dwarves’ praise as the Dawn Dragon.
• Ed broke free from the Orc Shamans’ divine chains, killed the shamans and elite Orcs holding him, and urged the dwarves to counterattack.
• The dwarves followed Ed out of Avendell Dan and drove the demoralized surviving Orcs north, wiping out the vanguard.
• At the Orc Tombstone camp, Batu Shatterskull condemned the retreating soldiers and killed hundreds of them for fleeing.
• Batu held up a severed head and rallied the Orcs to conquer and slaughter their enemies in the name of Father God Gruumsh.

After the Golden Dragon Titus helped the dwarves repel the Orcs’ first assault on Avendell Dan, he promised to stay and defend the city while secretly planning to claim the Black Rock Mountains as repayment. The Moon Elf queen’s reinforcements arrived, led by the Half-elf paladin Rhea Nairo, an old enemy of Keosius.

• The dwarves mourned their fallen warriors as Ed and Bjorn recognized that the Orcs’ first attack had only begun the battle for Avendell Dan.
• Ed thanked Titus for saving the city, and Titus warned him that more than two hundred thousand Orcs—and additional forces from Ugo Prairie—threatened the kingdom.
• Titus pledged to remain in Avendell Dan and help the dwarves resist the Orcs, while secretly intending for his Empire to collect the Black Rock Mountains as compensation.
• Titus predicted that the High Mountain Kingdom’s allies would soon arrive, and Ed asked whether he could contact Bahamut.
• A starlit portal opened beneath the walls, and Rhea Nairo led hundreds of Iserin’s Silver Moon Followers through it to join the dwarves against the Orc invasion.

The elves of Serenia joined the dwarves and Keosius, disguised as the Golden Dragon Titus, in an alliance to defend Avendell Dan from the Orcs. As Batu Shatterskull prepared to seize the city within seven days, the Orcs invoked Gruumsh and unleashed a Blood Mist that drove savage beasts into the attack.

• Rhea Nairo arrived at Avendell Dan with elven reinforcements and greeted Ed and Titus, while Keosius secretly planned to use her before taking revenge.
• Ed, Rhea, the elves, and Titus raised their cups and formed an alliance to resist the Orc invasion.
• Batu Shatterskull silenced his quarrelling chieftains and declared that he would personally deal with Titus and take Avendell Dan within seven days.
• The Orc shaman Nasu revealed that Serenia had sent reinforcements, including the legendary Half-elf Rhea, and warned that the Orcs had to capture the city before reinforcements arrived from Mount Paradise.
• The Orc Shamans performed sacrifices to Gruumsh, spreading Blood Mist that enraged nearby beasts and sent them surging toward Avendell Dan.

Dwarves and Elves defended Avendell Dan against a vast Orc legion, trading heavy attacks as the defenders held the walls. Batu Shatterskull empowered his Blood Spear with Gruumsh’s power and hurled it at the Golden Dragon, which took flight to meet the attack.

• Ed rallied the Dwarves and Elves as the Orc legion approached Avendell Dan.
• Elven magic arrows killed hundreds of Orc riders before Orc shamans raised a barrier and a noble Eye of Gruumsh killed an Elven archer with a long-range shot.
• Rhea ordered Seymour to protect the Elves, and he completed the Serenia Light Barrier after Rhea destroyed an arrow aimed at him.
• Dwarves and Elven mages bombarded the advancing Orcs, while the Orc cavalry pressed forward and Batu Shatterskull prepared to eliminate the Golden Dragon.
• Batu prayed to Gruumsh, charged the Blood Spear with blood-red power, and hurled it toward the Golden Dragon.
• The Golden Dragon spread its wings and took off from Avendell Dan's walls as Rhea warned Lord Titus.

Keosius shattered the Blood Spear and drove the Orcs’ assault back, but Old Shaman sacrificed himself to create an Orc Spirit and hold the Golden Dragon at bay. With the battle for Avendell Dan intensifying, Batu led the Orcs in a renewed charge against the city.

• Keosius used Meteor Swarm, Flame Storm, and Magical Atrophy to weaken and destroy the Blood Spear, revealing himself as a Legendary Caster.
• Old Shaman told Batu Shatterskull that he had long sought the Ancient Orc Empire’s ruins, then tore out his heart to restrain Keosius and urged Batu to conquer Avendell Dan.
• Batu rallied the Orcs beneath the one-eyed symbol as their shamans’ blood curtain helped them advance to Avendell Dan’s walls despite heavy losses.
• Ed defended the gates while Keosius burned hundreds of Orcs with dragonfire, then Old Shaman transformed into an Orc Spirit and confronted the Golden Dragon.
• Keosius fought the Orc Spirit while the Orcs renewed their assault, and Batu led the Red Fang Tribe and Wasteland Striding Dragons toward the city.

Batu Shatterskull shattered Avendell Dan’s gates and led the Orc assault, while the Orc Spirit sacrificed itself to hold back Keosius. Rhea and Ed joined forces against Batu as the battle for the city continued.

• Batu Shatterskull destroyed Avendell Dan’s fortified gate with his axe, and the Orcs surged toward the breach as Dwarf defenders rushed to block them.
• The Orc Spirit burned its body, soul, and fallen Orc warriors to gain power, forcing Keosius onto the defensive in their aerial battle.
• Batu rallied the Orcs to press the attack and killed Talin Dragon Tooth with a single axe strike.
• Seymour warned that Batu’s axe was a holy relic, but Batu cut down the Dwarf Paladin and other defenders who tried to stop him.
• Ed Klein confronted Batu, then Rhea joined him and attacked the Orc Chieftain with her Vengeance Soul ability.

Ed and Rhea battled Batu Shatterskull, whose power grew as he slaughtered fighters and survived their strongest attacks. After Batu empowered himself with Blood of Gruumsh and shattered Avendell Dan’s city wall, Keosius joined Ed and Rhea in a three-way assault, while Batu foresaw his imminent death.

• Batu Shatterskull overwhelmed Ed and slaughtered fighters until Rhea used Sworn Enemy to pin him down, allowing Ed to strike him with a massive Rock Cone.
• Rhea and Ed unleashed further attacks on Batu, but he emerged from the rubble with the Eye of Gruumsh - Ritual Scar and summoned a towering phantom of Gruumsh.
• Batu resisted Rhea’s, Ed’s, and the elves’ attacks, then smashed a huge breach into Avendell Dan’s ancient city wall and threatened the city’s foundations.
• Ed and Rhea charged Batu as Keosius killed the rotting colossal Orc and joined the fight from above.
• Batu faced the three legendary champions and activated Unblinking Vision, seeing the instant of his coming death.