Chapter Summaries

Madam Shui used charm magic to rob a group of Northerner criminals who tried to abduct her, triggering a bloody clash at the Silvermoon Pride headquarters. Maxim later refused to let a Northerner officer search Batasin and made clear that Transia would handle the prisoners from then on.

• A scar-faced prisoner and his three underlings planned to settle in Batasin and expand the Snegov Family's influence after their escorts left.
• The men tried to abduct Madam Shui, but she used human charm spells to make them pay for food and give her their gold and a letter about moving Mafia family members to Transia.
• The prisoners stormed the Silvermoon Pride headquarters to accuse Madam Shui of stealing their money, and Little Akena and Lumina fought them off.
• Madam Shui took up her Soul-Reaping Scythe and prayed that the slaughter would serve Transia's cause, while Lumina called Sister Pomegranate for help.
• A Northerner officer asked Maxim to search for thirty missing prisoners, but Maxim returned twenty-three corpses and revealed that the other seven had been blown apart.
• Maxim told the officer that Transia had taken responsibility for the prisoners and warned that Transians could settle matters with their fists as well.

Maxim and Murphy devised a system to sort the Nordtov criminals into useful fighters and laborers, offering prisoners a path to redemption through work or victory in the Fight Club. Maxim then confronted the prisoners after stopping an attempted escape and announced their labor terms and the chance to earn wealth, power, and freedom in Transia.

• Little Ashina, Lumina, Sister Pomegranate, and Madam Water left Batasin with a carriage of Transian refugees bound for Crimson Fort.
• Maxim proposed sending the armed blood thralls to work or military service and using the remaining criminals to build defenses at the Filthy Swamp.
• Murphy suggested recruiting capable prisoners through the Fight Club, while Kudell advised letting prisoners prove themselves by volunteering for selection.
• Maxim established a system in which prisoners who won more than three Fight Club matches could serve as auxiliaries, while others could earn freedom through labor points.
• After Nordtov soldiers withdrew, escaping convicts were driven back into camp by vampires and People's Army veterans, and Maxim warned them against desertion.
• Maxim told the prisoners they would work on fortifications until they earned five thousand labor points and could pursue status and freedom through the Fight Club.

Maxim secured the surrender of the prisoners and confronted Colonel Flanders McKent about whether the returning armed blood thralls would serve Transia’s new order. Flanders accepted the new Blood Eagle Clan’s terms and disbanded the Third Brigade, leaving its soldiers to choose new roles in Transia.

• Maxim’s vampires and the threat of Murphy’s forces persuaded the captured thugs to surrender and submit to questioning.
• Maxim met Colonel Flanders McKent, who described the Third Brigade’s losses, forced labor, and revolt against Thorn Clan recruiters.
• Maxim told Flanders that the new Blood Eagle Clan required loyalty to Transia rather than blind devotion to vampires.
• Flanders said his men would not resist and would serve beneath the Blood Eagle banner if allowed.
• Maxim offered to select some soldiers for the new army, find others civilian roles, and give Flanders the choice of becoming a vampire or serving as a military adviser.
• Flanders returned Maxim’s salute and ordered the Third Brigade disbanded.

Murphy left Maxim in charge of building the People's Army and settling prisoners, while advising him to think carefully about his feelings for Lainia. Meanwhile, players found a way to bring Avalon Church refugees into Transia—and others began organizing slave-catching squads to exploit the refugee quest.

• Maxim reported that most of the Third Brigade's surviving soldiers were level-headed, and Murphy authorized him to decide whether to recruit Colonel Flanders and manage the returning blood thralls and northern prisoners.
• Murphy offered to help Maxim recruit warriors to draft military regulations and serve as shock troops, then warned him that Lainia's Blood Oath Knight tradition forbade lovers.
• Maxim admitted that he and Lainia liked each other, but he remained uncertain about pursuing a relationship with her.
• Border Town Wanderer brought hundreds of Avalon Church followers from villages near the Plantagenet border to Morland Village, where Good Job at Everything registered them for the construction quest.
• Wanderer told Good Job at Everything that more Avalon followers could follow, and said other players had already gone to the East Prussia border to run slave-catching squads.

Murphy responded to Mirian’s warning that his warriors were abducting outsiders by restricting raids in East Prussia while allowing recruitment in the Cato region. He and Triss began planning to secure a strategic border area and redirect the warriors with a Transian Boxing Brawl.

• Mirian reported that warriors had registered 5,784 people, including outsiders lured from Cato and people seized in East Prussia, and warned that their raids risked provoking war.
• Murphy forbade the warriors from trafficking people in East Prussia and Caphovka but defended their recruitment efforts in Cato as politically manageable.
• Mirian proposed sending talented children to Chardo Craftsman University and arranging trade with halfling merchants; Murphy approved funding the trip and assigned Professor Malcolm and Lady Palen to lead it.
• Murphy and Triss discussed gaining control of the Cato border area by incorporating it into the Black Calamity’s defensive line with help from Major Fraser and the Capet family.
• Murphy decided to rein in the warriors’ slave-catching plans by diverting their attention with the first Transian Boxing Brawl.

Players argued over whether to capture people across Transia’s borders for construction points, until Meow Brother explained that combat players lacked efficient ways to earn them. Alpha announced the dev team would adjust the quest and warned that further raids could provoke the Pioneer Legion; a hotfix then introduced a suspiciously named boxing championship as a new source of points.

• Players clashed on the forums over plans to capture people in East Prussia and the Kato region, while Lumina condemned the scheme and Bricklayer said refugee housing was ready.
• Meow King told the players that the dispute stemmed from combat players having fewer ways than administrative and manufacturing players to earn construction points.
• Alpha confirmed the dev team had received feedback and warned that more raids could strain Transia’s peace with the Pioneer Legion and risk a military conflict.
• One Punch Blows Up the Galaxy revealed that mountain-dweller guides could lead players to refugee groups in West Ke, though hiring them required building a reputation with the Winged Cavalry.
• Wanderer Xiao Wang announced a hotfix that added the First Transian Boxing Championship, called “If You're a Man, Step Into the Fight Club,” as a new way for combat players to earn construction points.

Murphy’s update redirected players from unauthorized slave-catching toward a Transia boxing championship and legal recruitment options, while adding new mountain-folk and Winged Cavalry gameplay. As residents and players signed up, Mirian arranged for Murphy to appear in the opening match, leaving him wondering who his opponent would be.

• The development team announced the boxing championship, restricted Construction Point rewards for refugees from East Prussia and Kafhoka, and introduced mountain-folk recruitment and new Winged Cavalry equipment.
• Players debated the changes on the forum, discussing the championship, recruiting refugees in other regions, and buying tomb maps from the Blood Rat Gang.
• Murphy reviewed the update and reflected that he needed to design quests more carefully after players’ slave-catching had caused diplomatic concerns.
• An Administration Office civil servant reported that many residents had signed up for the championship, and Murphy scheduled its first match for two days later.
• The civil servant told Murphy that Mirian wanted him to take part in the opening match and had already arranged his opponent.

Countess Sharon and Valand planned to use Murphy’s boxing tournament to connect the mountain folk with Transia’s heroes and recruit help for the dangers beneath Sico City. In Battasin, Maxim began selecting prisoners for the tournament, while Turner prepared to honor his oath under the guidance of Master Yuri and the God of the North Wind.

• Sharon decided to bring mountain warriors and forest goods to Scarlet Castle so the mountain folk could meet Transia’s heroes and attract help to West Sico.
• Valand agreed to select young fighters for the tournament and explained that the Wood Grail would remain in the ancestral forest; he also discussed Sharon’s ancestor, Sico Merle, and his own struggle with the Grail’s influence.
• Maxim announced prizes for prisoners who advanced in the tournament, including gold, a commercial property, and the right to form a guild, prompting the Northerners to organize for the selection.
• Master Yuri reminded Turner that he had come to fulfill an oath, not to spread his god’s faith or seek violence for its own sake.
• Turner thanked Master Yuri and vowed to use his strength wisely while completing his mission in Transia.

Scarlet Castle held a boxing championship that drew Transian locals, northern warriors, players, and prominent guests. Murphy entered the opening bout against Sir Valand, whose strange, gentle demeanor revealed that the Woodlands Grail had left his personality confused, and prepared to correct him with his Personality Correction Fist.

• Scarlet Castle's boxing championship gained an eager crowd as local pride and resentment toward the northern competitors intensified.
• Niu Niu spoke with Amber about the tournament, accepted her nature-blessed bandages, and agreed to accompany her on a scouting mission to the Filthy Swamp.
• Lin Beigou opened the tournament with a comic introduction, while guests and Blood Rat Gang members gathered to watch.
• Murphy entered the ring for the opening bout and found himself facing the three-meter-tall Sir Valand, whom Countess Sharon had persuaded to compete.
• Murphy used a detection spell and discovered that the Woodlands Grail had caused Sir Valand's personality confusion, so he prepared to use his Personality Correction Fist.

Murphy fought Sir Varan in the boxing championship’s opening match, using his Warp-suppressing power to break the Grail-induced delusion controlling the Griffin Knight. After Varan recovered, he revealed that Avalon had sent the Grail’s message through him and offered Murphy the scattered light containing its secret.

• Grand Duchess Triss warned Sharon that the Grail’s Warp-connected influence could distort Varan’s mind, while Sharon explained how Murphy’s power could suppress it.
• Murphy and Varan traded powerful blows in the ruined ring as spectators marveled at their distinct fighting styles.
• Murphy’s purifying Night Claws disrupted Varan’s Grail-induced delusion and overwhelmed his attacks.
• Murphy stopped his claws short of Varan’s heart, and Varan recovered enough to thank him for ending the calling.
• Varan said Avalon had intended Murphy to receive the Grail’s message and held out scattered light containing the secret of the Grail.

Murphy viewed Avalon’s message and learned that the Holy Grails were part of an ancient pact against the Warp, while Triss was caught by the message and Murphy jolted her back to her senses. At the boxing championship, Niu Niu lost to a mysterious monk of the Winter Wolf Church, whose arrival stunned Count Andre.

• After returning to the Bloodrat Gang headquarters, Murphy examined the light Avalon had entrusted to the Valand Knight while Triss guarded him.
• Murphy saw gods gather in the Astral Realm, send Grails to a world, and warn him to find the Epoch Pact and join the fight against the Warp.
• Triss secretly peeked at Avalon’s message and fell under its influence, so Murphy used Omega to wake her with a series of smacks.
• At the championship, a hooded fighter defeated Niu Niu with ease and sent him out of the ring.
• The victor revealed his monk’s robe and frost-wolf emblem, prompting Count Andre to identify him as a celibate monk of the Winter Wolf Church.

After the Winter Wolf monk Turner became the tournament’s surprise contender, Natalie and Murphy’s group investigated the monks’ arrival and learned that Turner had a hidden past and likely a private purpose in Transia. Murphy decided to use the tournament to draw Turner’s attention and see what he was after.

• Niu Niu’s eleven-match winning streak ended when the Winter Wolf monk defeated him, and the tournament paused until the next day as the monk’s odds and popularity rose.
• Old Eugene warned Natalie that the Winter Wolf Church might challenge Avalon’s influence in Transia, but Natalie urged him not to provoke a religious conflict.
• Natalie joined Murphy, Triss, Mirian, and Count Andre, who explained that the mysterious fighters were ascetic monks rather than ordinary Winter Wolf warrior monks.
• Adele identified five monks from the remote Wolf God’s Eye monastery as observers sent to witness events in Transia, not to spread their faith.
• Adele revealed that the tournament fighter, ‘Iron Fist’ Turner, was a former Winter Wolf Legion scout captain and Silver-rank monk who had crossed into Western Saharan territory and might be a Frostwolf Chosen One.
• Murphy concluded that Turner had come for a private purpose and decided to wait for Turner to approach him while using the tournament to draw out another opportunity.

Turner separated from Sheriff and Zack after revealing his hunt for the Dusk cultists and his need to get close to Murphy. Later, Sister Pomegranate challenged Turner to avenge Niu Niu, but he defeated her and pointed her toward the Shadow Sect.

• Turner learned that the Blood Rat Gang had offered Sheriff, Zack, and the other men a place in Transia, and he urged them to build new lives without following him.
• Turner showed Sheriff and Zack his Winter Wolf Legion badge and explained that he was pursuing a dangerous mission tied to the Dusk and Murphy.
• Niu Niu spoke with Sister Pomegranate, who promised to help him get even with Turner; he then described her martial-arts background to his roommates.
• Sister Pomegranate found Turner in the sewer hideout and challenged him, but Turner used his monk techniques to defeat her.
• Turner told Sister Pomegranate that the Winter Wolf path did not suit her and recommended the Shadow Sect, then demonstrated three shadow techniques and knocked her unconscious.

After Transian fighters repeatedly failed to defeat Sir Turner, Sister Pomegranate decided to bring her grandfather into True Otherworld, while Niu Niu warned her against involving him. Their search for a martial arts teacher led them to Uncle Li, whose skill convinced the group that real martial artists existed and left them hoping to recruit him into the game.

• Niu Niu, Sister Pomegranate, and Cat each challenged Sir Turner in the sewers and were swiftly defeated, while Cat identified him as a powerful Silver-rank Winter Wolf monk.
• Sir Turner recognized Transia’s warriors as unusually talented and suspected the region would shape the continent’s coming upheaval.
• Sister Pomegranate drove Niu Niu to their hometown to involve their grandfather, and Niu Niu accidentally struck her throat with a technique he had learned from Sir Turner.
• Niu Niu warned Sister Pomegranate not to drag their elderly grandfather into True Otherworld, but she had already called him; their grandfather instead celebrated her boyfriend and gave them Uncle Li’s number when Niu Niu asked for a boxing teacher.
• Sister Pomegranate tested Uncle Li with her new techniques, but he blocked her with chopsticks and effortlessly countered her, impressing Niu Niu and Young Master Fu.

Niu Niu, Sister Pomegranate, and Little Rich Bro convinced Teacher Li to consider joining the game by showing him Pomegranate’s description of its martial arts and sparring with him. After approving four new applications, Murphy anticipated that the newcomers would soon challenge Iron Fist Turner.

• At a roadside food stall, Teacher Li told Niu Niu, Sister Pomegranate, and Little Rich Bro about his martial arts training, his challenges against Old Master Niu, and the car accident that injured his leg.
• Niu Niu explained the lifelike game to Teacher Li, and Sister Pomegranate demonstrated the Frostwolf Monk’s techniques to show him what she had encountered in the game.
• Teacher Li sparred with Niu Niu, repeatedly outmaneuvering him and explaining that Niu Niu left himself open when attacking.
• Sister Pomegranate urged Teacher Li to enter the game, and he agreed to apply after hearing that he could explore martial arts and the Path of Qi there.
• Murphy reviewed the new applications, approved those submitted by Fireworks Beef Pot, Star Soul Eagle, Fun Seeker Arin, and Iron Gauntlet, and looked forward to seeing them challenge Iron Fist Turner.

Murphy proposed holding monthly events to keep Transia’s people and growing warrior population engaged, and Mirian agreed to test the idea at the upcoming Blood Festival. Meanwhile, four new players joined the game, including skilled martial artists whose real-world training gave them unusually strong starting classes, and the group began discussing a guild for them.

• Murphy asked Mirian about Transia’s festivals and argued that monthly events would keep his warriors active and improve local morale.
• Murphy showed Mirian a list of festivals and event themes, and she agreed to use the Blood Festival as a trial run.
• Sister Pomegranate scolded Niu Niu for recruiting Arin, while Cat Bro arrived with an older relative who had taught him swordsmanship.
• Murphy summoned four new players, and two older martial artists introduced themselves as Smoky Beef Pot and the Iron Fist.
• Niu Niu discovered that Teacher Li had started as a level-one monk, while Cat Bro’s relative began as a weapon expert, thanks to their real-world skills.
• Sister Pomegranate proposed a Transian Martial Artists Association, and Drive Fast suggested calling it the Shadow Tracks Sect.

The Shadowstep Sect players challenged the Iron Fist Society at the Sewer Club, while Master Yang and Teacher Li demonstrated their martial arts against the Northern fighters. The chapter ended with Turner learning that his side had lost forty matches without a win.

• The players formed the Shadowstep Sect and headed to the Sewer Club to challenge their rivals, while Niu Niu invited Star Soul Eagle to cook a feast after the matches.
• Murphy watched the fights through the Core Orb as Master Yang defeated two Northern thugs with ease and prepared to face another opponent.
• Teacher Li warned Meow Brother that Master Yang seemed to be suppressing resentment, though he believed Yang could still control himself.
• Teacher Li faced Zack of the Iron Fist Society and knocked him unconscious with a single strike.
• A subordinate told Turner that the Iron Fist Society had lost forty matches to the players without winning once.

Teacher Li defeated Iron Fist Turner in a technique-only duel, earning a sealed scroll for Sister Pomegranate and attracting the attention of Transia’s important figures. After Turner left, Teacher Li admitted how exhausting and dangerous the fight had been.

• Niu Niu and Sister Pomegranate’s fighters defeated the Iron Fist Society, while Smokehouse Beef Pot hesitated over whether to let his comatose son A-Feng try the brainwave method.
• Cat Bro told Smokehouse Beef Pot about Xiao Weiming, then decided to learn his family’s techniques so he could become strong enough to court Sister Pomegranate.
• Turner challenged Teacher Li to a duel, offering a sealed scroll if he lost and requesting Teacher Li’s boxing styles if he won.
• Teacher Li adapted to Turner’s changing techniques, broke his rhythm with an Iron Mountain Shoulder Strike, and defeated him with a Spirit Severing Strike.
• Turner conceded, gave the sealed scroll to Sister Pomegranate, and left with his subordinates; Teacher Li then admitted the fight had nearly overwhelmed him.

Teacher Li's discovery gave the players a rare monk inheritance, while Murphy met Turner and learned that Twilight had orchestrated the attack that killed Lord Lathir. Murphy brought Turner into Transia's fight against Twilight and ordered him to train its monks.

• Sister Shiliu appraised Teacher Li's manuscript and found it could teach several monk traditions and special qi techniques.
• Turner prayed after losing the tournament, then Murphy appeared and questioned him about his hunt for Twilight.
• Turner revealed that Twilight had arranged the ambush that killed his comrades and caused a near-war between Nordtov and the frost dwarves.
• Murphy told Turner that the plague ghoul overlord had been made from the remains of a gold-rank frost dwarf, whom Turner identified as the former High Lord Lathir.
• Turner asked to retrieve Lathir's ashes and find the missing sacred spear Winter's Strike, and Murphy recruited him to work with Lady Natalie and Adele while training Transia's monks.

Murphy invited Turner to become a guest instructor for the newly founded Shadow Fist school after revealing the champions’ otherworldly origins, while Turner agreed to explore Transia for signs of subspace corruption. At the players’ banquet, Teacher Li asked Little Weiming about the game’s effects on her disabled body, and Master Yang overheard their conversation while considering help for his own son.

• Murphy gave Turner Lord Latier’s urn and asked him to join the Shadow Fist school as a guest instructor; Turner said he needed to consult Master Yuri first.
• Murphy revealed that his champions came from another realm and could resist the Dusk’s influence, then promised to support the Winter Wolf monks settling in Transia.
• Triss warned Murphy about the dangers of religious Chosen, and they reviewed a report about a significant discovery in the Filthy Swamp before leaving for the players’ banquet.
• At the banquet, the players discussed the feast and the absence of Meow Brother and Brother Bang, who were recovering after trying to cross the game’s invisible boundaries.
• Teacher Li asked Little Weiming whether the game affected her real body, and she suggested he contact Brother Fa about getting his wheelchair-bound friend into the game.
• Master Yang overheard Teacher Li’s conversation and decided to wait before seeking help for his wheelchair-bound son.