Recaps

Iverios learned that the locust plague was a test meant to force the Old Continent’s Order factions to unite, and the Pale King urged him to lead that effort. Meanwhile, Sanghai prepared to join the campaign against the Zero Nest, and the Dragon Emperor called the Order factions to assemble in the Dark Mountains.

• Iverios told Hilarue that locusts were overrunning the Emerald Forest and threatening Antani, and he planned to seek permission to send aid.
• Iverios and Hilarue visited King Quirion, who revealed that Lord the Withered had made the plague a test of survival and urged Iverios to unite and lead the Order factions.
• Prince Khufu reported that locusts were turning scarab tribes against Sanghai, and Queen Fulier assigned him to join the expedition against the Zero Nest.
• Fulier said Sanghai would support the decisive battle for Order, then received word that the Dragon Emperor had summoned the Order factions to the Dark Mountains.

Murphy learned that the Dragon Emperor was gathering the Old Continent’s factions to destroy Hive Zero before the locust plague could merge with Chaos, and he agreed to cooperate with Kalem over Dagon symbiotes. After receiving a secret request concerning Constance, Murphy proposed negotiating with Edward over her resurrection, while the rulers’ envoys offered support and Blackfurson returned to find his homeland overrun.

• Hathor told Murphy that the Dragon Emperor had called the factions together under an ancient pact and offered him Kalem’s legions if he sought to unite the Old Continent by force, but Murphy said he wanted to build an Astral Army instead.
• Hathor explained that Kalem feared the swarm could become a weapon of Chaos, and that Prince Bai’s forces would join Murphy’s expedition while Kalem attacked a nest in the Moon Capital.
• Murphy accepted the Dragon Emperor’s proposed thirty-seventy split for symbiote crystals and learned that Kalem had sent him a hundred suits of Dragon Guard powered armor.
• Murphy discovered a secret request from the Dragon Emperor concerning Constance, then told Lord Payn that he could negotiate with Edward and make Constance’s resurrection conditional on his approval.
• The Old Continent’s rulers sent envoys offering troops for the expedition, but Murphy declined their help, and Blackfurson returned to his ravaged homeland and vowed to kill the bugs.

Murphy and Hogg discussed the ratmen’s losses on the Vampire Coast and urged Black Servant Forest to establish his kingdom in Majewa City. Black Servant Forest pledged the ratmen to the Order Faction Alliance and began shaping the Black God’s faith around food and resistance to Chaos.

• Murphy left the allied envoys’ talks after Adele reported what had happened to Black Servant Forest’s clan on the Vampire Coast.
• Hogg explained that the Swarm had destroyed the ratmen’s territory and proposed bombing Blood Plunder Harbor before using the coast as an allied supply base.
• Hogg urged Black Servant Forest to unite the ratmen in Majewa City, while Black Servant Forest worried that the insect-infested route would prevent him from reaching it.
• Murphy examined Black Servant Forest’s Eye of the Black God and advised him to make the ratmen’s faith more direct, centered on their desire for food.
• Black Servant Forest pledged the ratmen to Order, rejected Chaos as an ally, and declared that the Black God would one day devour the Sea of Darkness.

Murphy discovered that the Daughter of Dawn had turned her divine realm into a battlefield while moving it through the Warp, and confronted her for neglecting her church and fighting Chaos for experience. He learned Vam had been encouraging her to hunt demons and drew the Nightwatcher to go after him.

• Murphy gave Xinghun Zhiying the legendary quest chain "A Taste for the Swarm," asking him to find a simple way to cook the insect swarm before the Locust Plague ended.
• Hu Fu asked Murphy to introduce him to the Daughter of Dawn so the Sunfire Church could seek her blessing and reshape its faith.
• Murphy and Hu Fu found Biji training against a captured bug, then learned from Taipal that the Daughter of Dawn was moving her divine realm and would not receive visitors.
• Murphy forced an entrance into the Daughter of Dawn's divine realm and saw her destroy a Chaos meteor in a realm scarred by battle.
• The Daughter of Dawn defended her fighting during the move, while Murphy noticed she was wielding Old Black's skull as a meteor hammer.
• Vam called the Daughter of Dawn to hunt Great Demons, and Murphy drew the Nightwatcher and shouted after him for turning her into a warrior.

The Dawn's Daughter named Khufu her second Chosen of the Holy Light and kept Amon in her God's Kingdom while Khufu returned to rebuild the Blazing Sun Church. Meanwhile, Vam revealed to Murphy that he planned to die in the coming decisive battle and be reborn, leaving his power and symbolism of conquest to Fiona; Murphy and Vam parted with Murphy promising no certainty about returning beyond the cosmos.

• The Dawn's Daughter persuaded Khufu to leave Amon with her, made him her second Chosen, and sent him back to rebuild the Blazing Sun Church.
• Khufu's return caused holy light to erupt around him, and Bitchy began his training with push-ups, a run, and prayer.
• Murphy caught up with Vam and accused him of corrupting Fiona, but Vam explained that he wanted her to inherit his power and symbolism when he died.
• Vam told Murphy he had arranged with Old Ao to die in the decisive battle between order and chaos and be reborn to pursue the cosmic foundation of Strife.
• Murphy admitted he did not know whether he would return after leaving the cosmos, and Vam urged him to come back and protect its living beings.

Murphy prepared the Bloodbound Regiment for the Gray Desert expedition while planning a player-led assault on Abyssal City, but Triss’s experiment hatched a vampire dragon and Shani brought urgent news from Greeny Island. The chapter ended with Old Edward missing after an apparent attack by a Thorn Relic, forcing Murphy to consider dealing with the crisis before the expedition.

• Murphy reviewed the expedition’s supplies with Maxim and agreed that players should capture Abyssal City to extend the Locust Great Wall.
• Triss told Murphy that she had broken the incubator and hatched a dragon with her blood; the vampire dragon, Lorin, bonded with her and Murphy.
• Shani arrived and demanded that Murphy go to Greeny Island immediately.
• Shani reported that Old Edward had been assassinated or disappeared, and suspected the wound came from the Thorn Relic Corrupted Virtue.
• Shani warned Murphy that the crisis on Greeny Island needed to be handled before the Gray Expedition began.

Murphy organized a three-day expedition to Greeny Island after Edward was gravely injured and disappeared, while he confronted Xiani about her identity and her place among the living. The Young Lady’s escort quest drew players and allies into the operation, and Happy Stick’s regiment prepared to join the hunt.

• Xiani reported that Edward had been attacked and vanished, and she suspected Cecilia because she was both a Dusk member and Edward’s blood descendant.
• Murphy ordered Femis to gather the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s elites for a trip to Greeny Island, sent Adele to recruit the Gray Claw Twins and Wolfbane allies, and asked Lord Paine to negotiate with King Louis.
• Murphy questioned Xiani about withholding the Jealousy Tablet from André and urged her to stop defining herself by her past as Nordtov’s fallen princess.
• Happy Stick’s Scarlet Hammer-and-Sickle Regiment received the Young Lady’s escort quest and decided to join the expedition for its links to Greeny Island’s territory and trade.
• Happy Stick’s group prepared to bring additional players and power-armor knights, while Tiger-and-Leopard Cavalry · Bing joked about storming Broomthorn Palace if King Louis interfered.

Murphy and his allies began a three-night hunt in Fog City for the Wolfvulture faction, while Shani searched for the missing Grand Duke Edward. They found Edward gravely wounded and learned that Cecilia’s plan involved spreading Blood Madness, leaving his rescue and the threat of the Prelate unresolved.

• Murphy’s group arrived in Fog City and prepared to hunt the Wolfvulture faction while Shani and Femis searched for Edward.
• Murphy summoned the spirits of dead Wolfsbane members to guide the hunters, and the first hidden Wolfvulture vampire was discovered.
• Shani entered the sealed Marshal’s residence and found Edward in his wolf-bat form, wounded by the Thorn relic Fallen Virtue.
• Edward told Shani that Cecilia had planned the attack and intended to spread Blood Madness before he lost consciousness.
• Murphy determined that Edward needed treatment at the R-9 base, while Payn and Murphy suspected the Prelate was distracting them from reaching the World’s Heart.

Murphy learned that Lady Lily had not been controlled and marked her before she vanished, while she warned him about Cecilia’s plan to contaminate Fog City’s groundwater and begged him to keep Paine away from the Sacred Blood. As werewolves hunted Wolf Eagle vampires in Fog City, Old Marcus and Countess Laura agreed to cooperate against her rivals and divide territory.

• Shani explained that Dusk may have altered Fallen Virtue and that Cecilia might be infected with Madblood and spreading it through Fog City.
• Lady Lily asked Murphy to stop Paine from going to the place where the Sacred Blood was sealed, then warned that Cecilia could poison the groundwater before disappearing into the rainy night.
• Murphy revealed that he had placed a tracking mark on Lily and set out with Shani to deal with Cecilia.
• Old Marcus led the Children of Eris in a rooftop hunt, killing Wolf Eagle vampires alongside their campaign to seize territory in the Cato region.
• Old Marcus warned Countess Laura that her rivals were preparing to contest the Wolfsbane throne and proposed an alliance against them.
• Countess Laura agreed to cooperate with Old Marcus and demanded access to the Batashin Merchant Company's network of contacts.

King Louis accepted that Murphy had become the era’s leading figure and planned to seek peace with Transia while offering vampires and werewolves a place in Gorse. Beneath the city, Murphy’s forces fought their way toward Cecilia, leaving Femis to decide how to face her mother.

• King Louis learned that the battle had devastated the Wolf Eagle vampires, Duke Edward had been taken from Greeny Island, and Lady Laura and the Children of Eris sought his support.
• King Louis decided to meet with Lady Laura, the werewolves, and Governor Murphy, and said he would apologize to Transia and end the Ten-Year War.
• Great Shark and the players defeated the vampires underground, but they found a locked door that Triss warned could trigger a deadly psychic counterattack.
• Triss and the players prepared a controlled explosion to break through the floor toward Cecilia while Murphy spoke with the distressed Femis.
• Murphy gave Femis the chance to confront Cecilia and say goodbye, but warned that Cecilia had to answer for her crimes; Femis promised to prevent such horrors in the next era.

Transian forces stormed the Wolfsbane gathering hall, where Femis confronted her mother, Madam Cecilia, after Cecilia tried to poison Fog City's sewers. With Murphy lending Femis the River of Blood’s power, she summoned allies to face Cecilia and the Fallen Grey Knights, while Cecilia refused to surrender and vowed to take her daughter back.

• Three Jin’s explosives breached the sealed gathering hall, and Transian fighters charged in as Madam Cecilia poured madblood poison into the sewer filtration system.
• Shanni identified Cecilia’s Fallen Virtue, and Murphy gave Femis Longnight Guard, Necessary Evil, and temporary command of the River of Blood’s power.
• Femis pierced Cecilia’s psychic barrier and confronted her, but Cecilia rejected her offer to surrender and attacked Salokdar when he appeared beside his daughter.
• Femis summoned Cheche, Potato, Triss, Grand Duke Hathor, and other powerful allies to drive back the Fallen Grey Knights.
• Cecilia broke Salokdar’s Blood Spirit illusion, refused Femis’s final warning, and declared that she would take her daughter home even if they both fell into Chaos.

Murphy helped the forces of Order defeat the Chaos invasion at the Wolfsbane gathering hall, using the holy spear Evernight to devastate the possessed Cecilia. After the Chaos shadow fled, Femis killed her mother to end her suffering, and Necessary Evil began its transformation into a new weapon.

• Murphy’s Omega program contained the Chaos outbreak as players and allies fought the Fallen Grey Knights, while Triss used Blood Curse Sorcery to tear through the enemy.
• The Chaos shadow took full control of Cecilia and sent her charging at Murphy, but Murphy struck her down with Evernight and the Sinful Judgment combat style.
• Shani and Adele seized Cecilia’s Fallen Virtue gauntlets as the Chaos shadow abandoned her; Murphy drove the shadow back into the Sea of Unlight with the Omega program.
• Femis told Cecilia she had accepted her own future and would choose her life, then killed her with Necessary Evil to end her suffering.
• Necessary Evil began shedding its damaged metal and reforging itself after completing its final mission as Lord Sa’s sword, while Murphy offered the grieving Femis a handkerchief.

After the fall of the Wolfsbane faction, Murphy found Shani in despair but urged her to leave her past behind and choose a new identity. Shani accepted Murphy’s Embrace, leaving her old life as Shani Torez behind as she began a new existence under midnight.

• Femis returned to the Midnight Tower to rest after killing Cecilia, while Triss gave Murphy the Fallen Virtue gauntlet and teased him about Shani.
• Murphy went to Loren's Marshal's residence and found Shani drunk and undressed, but he returned the gauntlet and asked her to accompany him to meet King Louis.
• Murphy told Shani that their physical relationship had never let them understand each other and urged her to start over as a true vampire.
• Shani revealed that her real name was Katherine and decided to leave behind the Torez curse and her painful past.
• Shani asked Murphy to give her the Embrace, and Murphy transformed her as she clung to him.

After completing Shani’s Embrace, Murphy discussed her blood contract and weapon before meeting King Louis at the Plantagenet Palace. Louis asked Murphy to take Crown Prince William to the front and publicly apologize to Transia, and Murphy accepted the apology while urging Louis to deliver it at the memorial in Scarlet Keep.

• Shani questioned Murphy about his abilities and explained how she could use the Thorn Clan relic Fallen Virtue as a set of mental-controlled armor-piercing drills.
• Murphy and Shani arrived at the Plantagenet Palace, where Murphy met King Louis and Crown Prince William and gave William a sword as a congratulatory gift.
• King Louis asked Murphy to bring William to the front, and Murphy proposed assigning him to the Vampire Coast to oversee supplies and defenses.
• King Louis apologized for the Ten-Year War and offered compensation and a signed letter, bowing before Murphy as Prince William and Shani watched.
• Murphy accepted Louis’s apology but told him to visit the Transian war memorial in Scarlet Keep and apologize directly to the people of Transia.

Murphy sent Shani and Adele to scout Abyss City before the Ashen Expeditionary Force’s campaign, then brought Prince William to the front as the locust swarm attacked. Underground, Old Man Niu’s squad encountered displaced Sin Dwarves, who warned that Sin Keep had fallen and locusts had overrun much of the goatfolk city.

• Murphy ordered Shani to stay away from him until they broke the Blood Seal and obtained the Origin Blood, and sent her with Adele to scout Abyss City.
• Murphy arrived at Broken Tooth Heights with Prince William as the locust swarm attacked the defenses, then assigned William to help evacuate wounded soldiers and carry ammunition.
• Old Man Niu led a player squad through ratfolk tunnels toward the Ashen Plains, where the ratfolk were gathering under Black Servant Sen.
• Old Man Niu’s squad fought off sickle-claw monsters and found a group of frightened Sin Dwarves in the tunnels.
• The Sin Dwarves told Old Man Niu that the locust swarm had destroyed Sin Keep and overrun much of the goatfolk city, and said they were fleeing toward the Brass Ruins.

Lady Heather tried to negotiate passage through the tunnels with the Sin Dwarves, who were preparing to reclaim Sin Fortress. She discovered that their mysterious leader, Burning Sinheart, was Marshal Loren, who asked to see his son after claiming Qin had killed him.

• Qin learned that more than thirty thousand Sin Dwarves were hiding in the tunnels and blocking the route to Abyss City, so he ordered Lady Heather to negotiate and authorized an assault if she failed.
• Lady Heather entered the Sin Dwarves' camp with Rock Ironhammer and other players, where Fenris Ironfist revealed that the dwarves were waiting for reinforcements and planned to reclaim Sin Fortress.
• Fenris told Heather that Badel Frostwind had likely died while fleeing the insects and had taken the Frost Dwarves' divine weapon, Winter's Strike.
• Fenris led Heather to Burning Sinheart, who was revealed to be Marshal Loren and asked to see his son, whom he said Qin had killed.

Murphy met with the Sin Dwarves and learned they had cloning equipment tied to the Life Greenhouse, while the Heart of Burning Sin sought to resurrect his dead son, Shorty Loren. Murphy summoned Loren so father and son could reconcile, and Loren asked his father to return to their family.

• Murphy refused Lady Felocil’s proposed attack and went to meet the Sin Dwarves with Lord Paine, who suspected their population and technology were linked to the Life Greenhouse.
• Murphy confronted the Heart of Burning Sin over Shorty Loren’s death, and the dwarf admitted he wanted to resurrect his son using Sin Fortress’s cloning equipment.
• Lord Paine revealed that Shorty Loren had unborn twin descendants, and Murphy warned the Heart of Burning Sin not to defy death by bringing his son back.
• Murphy summoned Shorty Loren from the underworld and left him alone with his father after Lord Fenris Ironfist followed them out.
• Loren forgave his father but asked him to return to their family and protect his descendants, and the Heart of Burning Sin agreed after finishing his duties to the Mother Goddess.

Murphy and Paine learned that Sin Fortress’s creation machines had stopped working when Murphy reset the Creator’s system, and that Fenris Ironfist could guide them toward the Twilight Nest. As the Sin Dwarves agreed to join the coalition, Murphy proposed that the Brass Dwarves settle in Abyssal City and urged their army to reach the front before the siege began.

• Fenris Ironfist told Murphy and Paine that ancient creation machines beneath Sin Fortress had maintained its population, but they had shut down six months earlier, shortly after Murphy formatted the Creator’s system.
• Fenris revealed that the Twilight Nest lay beneath the Gray Desert and offered to guide Murphy and Paine near it with an identification token hidden in Sin Fortress.
• Fenris disclosed that he had once served as Lord Hadlan’s undercover agent and had been called back into service by the King Without a Land, a nameless survivor leading veteran Brass Dwarves.
• Murphy suggested that the Brass Dwarves make their new home in the abandoned Abyssal City, while the Gray Desert expeditionary force helped them retake it.
• Old Loren emerged and agreed that the Sin Dwarves would join the Order faction’s coalition and lead the attack on Abyssal City.
• Murphy told Old Loren to ensure that the King Without a Land’s army reached the Abyssal City front before the siege began.

Murphy and the Lord Paramount planned the Gray Expedition, while the King Without a Land led the Brass Dwarf exiles toward the Locust Great Wall. As the Brass Ruins’ factions united against the insect swarms, the King Without a Land pulled Gaia’s warhammer from its crater and prepared to fight.

• Murphy told the Lord Paramount that the assault on Abyss City would begin in two days and that they would travel first to the Holy Blood Seal before reaching the Life Greenhouse.
• Murphy warned the Lord Paramount that he had placed a tracking marker on Lady Lily and would report any signal he detected.
• The factions in the Brass Ruins agreed to unite against two insect nests after the Ratmen’s defenses were breached by locusts.
• Cartman announced that the King Without a Land had taken the Devout Army to support the distant Brass Dwarves, while the Shield Dwarves would guard his territory.
• The King Without a Land prayed to Gaia and lifted the warhammer from the Valley of Divine Punishment before leading his army toward the Locust Great Wall.

Rose struggled to handle the players’ growing data load, so Murphy offered her access to a larger database and proposed giving her an artificial divine spark with a role in the Astral Realm and Warp. As the 4.0 update prepared to add thirty thousand players, Loyal’s team arranged new helmet-monitoring technology and discussed presenting the game’s expansion as a government-backed Second Life project.

• Rose warned Murphy that nearly fifteen thousand players were overwhelming her divine realm and requested a major database expansion before thirty thousand more joined.
• Rose proposed using an artificial divine spark to automate player interactions, and Murphy suggested a Frontier Pact that would extend her World Wide Web into the Astral Realm and Warp.
• Murphy handed Rose responsibility for releasing the 4.0 update and said she could launch the insect swarm database alongside it if it was ready.
• Loyal panicked over monitoring the expanded player base, but Wandering Bro reported that Uncle Yincha’s team had completed a Creator-grade workstation capable of tracking helmet signals.
• Jiezi proposed framing the game’s eventual open beta as a government-led Second Life project, and Loyal asked the team to draft a proposal while he consulted Master Qin.

Murphy approved Alpha Corporation’s plan for an Otherworld presence and explained that an open beta would be reserved for an extreme crisis, while preparing elite player reinforcements for the front. As 30,000 new players entered Transia, Invincible Tyrannosaurus Car No. 2 arrived at the Locust Great Wall amid battle and reunited with her brother.

• Murphy heard Old Qin’s report of the Locust Great Wall’s costly victory and agreed that steel armor and other equipment needed to reach the front quickly.
• Murphy approved Alpha Corporation’s proposed presence in the Otherworld and said an open beta would only be launched if a world-threatening invasion demanded a vast reserve of warriors.
• Murphy gave Old Qin an activation device for 8,000 Hell Divers and agreed to provide another 10,000 deployment slots.
• Invincible Tyrannosaurus Car No. 2 received a headset, selected a half-elf character, and logged in at New Recruit Camp No. 114 near the Locust Great Wall.
• As insects attacked the camp, Tyrannosaurus Car rescued his sister from the chaos and supplied her with beginner’s gear.
• Bro took command of the new recruits and told them to prepare for an attack on Abyssal City that evening.

Old Qin reorganized the chaotic influx of thirty thousand new players into support roles and prepared them for a forced march toward Abyss City, where Maxim coordinated the coming assault. As the players entered the tunnels and reinforcements gathered outside the city, the Order faction's counterattack was set to begin.

• Old Qin found that reckless newcomers had suffered heavy casualties, then assigned the survivors to battlefield aid, logistics, and driving duties before ordering them to march toward Abyss City.
• Chief of Staff 003 reported that forty thousand Sin Dwarves had reached the tunnels, and Old Qin instructed the Brass Dwarves to preserve their last army while veterans organized the players.
• Cheche No. 2 received a Blood Vulture Claw, a sniper rifle, Burning Gold bullets, and a Midnight Amulet from her brother before joining the column entering the ratman tunnels.
• Maxim learned that insects had occupied every level of Abyss City while goatmen held the bottom levels, and he prepared squads to destroy the nests during the assault.
• Tritan Logistics brought dragoons, steel bears, and armed airships through astral rifts as Bole and Liji provided battlefield blessings, and Maxim announced the Order faction's counterattack.

Cheche survived her squad’s clash with an elite bug and received an exoskeleton from Loud and Clear after the Abyssal City hive was breached. Maxim and Murphy confirmed that the swarm had collected dragon remains, and Murphy summoned Fraser to prepare for dragon bugs on the main battlefield.

• Cheche and her four squadmates fought off an elite bug, sacrificing themselves so she could kill it and raise their squad into the top three hundred.
• Loud and Clear told Cheche to take his stored combat exoskeleton, and she put it on before heading toward the second level after the hive breach.
• Maxim reported finding dragon bones and a dissolved giant dragon in the hive, warning Murphy that the swarm might already have sent dragon genes elsewhere.
• Murphy said the swarm’s limited biomass and the scorched-earth strategy would delay dragon bugs, but Maxim urged preparations for their arrival.
• Murphy contacted Fraser on Paradise Island and ordered him to report to General Qin, while stopping at Base R-9 to accelerate research into dragon organs.

Fenris Ironfist’s slavers entered the burning first level of Abyss City and found Transian players had nearly cleared it, while the Brass Dwarves’ King Without Land led his followers into the battle below. During the players’ rest, Pavolman’s team agreed to protect Carcar on the dangerous third level, and the chapter ended with players reacting to a survey that might prompt the developers to raise the difficulty.

• Fenris Ironfist led his crew through the silent, burning first level and joined the Transians in killing an isolated elite bug.
• Fenris learned that the Transians had broken through the second-level hive and that the King Without Land had taken the Pious Legion down to fight.
• Pavolman met Carcar and the veterans advising her, who warned that the third level held a stronger hive and urged her to join a team.
• Ge Bao and the other veterans equipped Pavolman with weapons and arranged for Carcar to join his squad.
• Pavolman found a survey about the newbies’ combat experience, and his team panicked at the possibility that the developers would increase the difficulty.

Murphy and Triss discussed the coming dragon bugs and the King Without Land as Shani secretly observed the swarm’s new dragon-gene larvae on the Abyss’s fourth layer. Murphy ordered Shani to leave the larvae alive and capture a gene courier, while the hive lord prepared for the swarm’s next stage of evolution.

• Murphy rejected sending knights to Abyss City and discussed the King Without Land’s devotion to Gaia with Triss.
• Murphy and Triss discussed helping the Midnight Twins ascend after dealing with the Madblood Clan and supporting Rose against the Shadow Elves.
• Dragon-gene eggs hatched in the fourth-layer hive, producing larvae with abilities such as dragonfire as the hive lord anticipated the rise of swarm lords.
• Shani watched the hatchlings while awaiting Murphy’s orders, and Murphy told her to warn the goatfolk and target a gene courier instead of killing the larvae.
• Shani left the hive undetected after agreeing to capture a gene courier alive.