Chapter Summaries

The Slave Master's faction launched a Cleaner missile at the Sun Ship while the Sangha forces bombarded the Hunting Lord's shrine. Lord Payn diverted the missile from a direct hit, but it detonated near the Sun Ship, damaging it and interrupting the bombardment as the shrine remained intact.

• The Slave Master accepted the Prior's orders to launch a Destruction weapon at the Sun Ship and deliver Vanguard-class gear toward Transia.
• The Slave Master's apprentice, Penny, oversaw the launch of a Cleaner missile from a Golden Age warehouse and used a targeting device to guide it toward Mossy Valley.
• General Bhopal reduced the Sun Ship's bombardment output, and its beam struck the Hunting Lord's shrine, destroying its defenses and killing the Chosen Hunters there.
• Lady Ferosil sensed danger approaching the Sun Ship, and Lord Payn recognized the incoming Cleaner missile and rushed to intercept it.
• Lord Payn's strike deflected the missile, but it detonated near the Sun Ship, damaging it and stopping the bombardment before the shrine was destroyed.
• Meow Brother punched the Great Shark after the missile attack, while the Great Shark slapped himself for jinxing the battle.

After a missile crippled the Sun Ship, Crown Prince Khufu and General Bhopal struggled to survive its fall over the Dark Mountains. The ship crash-landed far from Khufu, who safely landed with an energy device and discovered a gnoll party approaching on dire wolves.

• General Bhopal ordered the crew to rescue Khufu and slow the falling Sun Ship, while Khufu and Sannik freed the wounded Berdinos from the prince's quarters.
• Bhopal sent Khufu, Sannik, and Berdinos toward the escape pods, but Khufu chose an assault pod and used his mother's energy matrix to protect its passengers from the landing impact.
• The backup engine produced reverse thrust too late to restore flight, and Bhopal crash-landed the Sun Ship in the Dark Mountains, nearly seventy kilometers from Khufu.
• Khufu activated the energy matrix to bring the assault pod safely to the ground, then saw gnolls riding dire wolves approach and ordered his party to prepare to meet them.

After the solar ship crashed, the Hunting Lord began forcing its awakening and unleashing immortal battle spirits across Mossy Valley, prompting the gods and warriors to prepare for a decisive fight. Murphy learned of the crisis and set off for the crashed ship, intending to use its hidden weapon to kill the Hunting Lord before it was born.

• The Hunting Lord opened its divine realm into Mossy Valley, summoned immortal battle spirits, and began tearing free of its throne as Chaos energy repaired its realm.
• The Thousand-Year Lord and the other gods empowered the godslayers, while Master Yuri failed to contact the North Wind God and Su gave what strength it had left to bless the warriors.
• Uncle Fuding and Dasohan received no response from the Holy Light, and Great Shark's plea to Vam produced only one weak buff, so the players fought on without their aid.
• Su warned Murphy that Mossy Valley was in danger, and Murphy used Mannis's power to witness the solar ship's destruction and concluded that Twilight had helped the Hunting Lord's birth.
• Murphy gave Triss the artificial divine core to keep safe, then traveled with Mannis toward the solar ship's crash site to access its hidden weapon and stop the Hunting Lord.

Hogg and the Creator’s forces fought to block the Bloodscar Clan from reaching the Hunting Lord, while Patriarch Amote tried to kill Hogg and seize his armor. After Amote died, his soul attack drew Hogg into an illusion, where the King of Bone-Biting appeared and confronted him.

• Bopok Blackeye and the Creator’s Guardians held the road to the Evil God’s Forbidden Ground as the Graywolf Army and Blood Dread Pirates attacked across Mossy Valley.
• Amote sent the Hunting Chosen against Hogg and prepared a soul-transfer talisman, hoping to take over the Wise Wolf armor.
• Hogg used the armor to kill three Hunting Chosen, then fought Amote and killed him after rejecting his taunts and offer of surrender.
• Amote’s death triggered a mental attack that pulled Hogg into a blood-red illusion, where Amote revealed he intended to seize Hogg’s body and armor.
• Hogg vanished from the illusion, and the King of Bone-Biting appeared, identified Amote’s ancestor Haddon, and challenged Amote to choose how he would die.

The warriors pushed back the Hunting Lord’s spreading divine realm and Lord Payen destroyed its shrine, but the Hunting Lord manifested in the material world before they could celebrate. When the Great Shark attacked and revealed that the god had a health bar, the players prepared to fight it.

• Lord Payen resisted the Hunting Lord’s influence, and Granny Little Bach, Lord Oufug, and Ranger General Felosil joined forces to cleanse the corrupted land and contain the Hunting Wraiths.
• Knight Valand and the assembled warriors charged toward the shrine while Lumina sang “Butter-Fly” at Little Rich Bro’s request.
• Felosil unleashed Adel’s ancient power to destroy Hunting Wraiths, while Oufug cleansed the earth and Little Bach’s psychic vanguards trapped the Wraiths’ remnants.
• Lord Payen smashed the shrine with his holy lance, and Pablo destroyed the final gnoll idol with a buffed shot.
• The Hunting Lord appeared and prepared to strike, but the Great Shark charged it and dealt visible damage, revealing its health bar to the players.

The Lord of the Hunt awakened in Mossy Valley, devastating the godslayers and corrupting the gnolls as Lord Payn prepared to hold Him off. Murphy rushed to the crashed Sangaian sun ship, took Prince Khufu aboard, and searched for a way to activate the God's Scepter as the battle worsened.

• The Lord of the Hunt healed from the players' attacks and crushed a quarter of Mossy Valley with His skull flail, while Lord Ofger collapsed after protecting survivors with Gaia's Whisper.
• The Lord of the Hunt's awakening corrupted the Bloodscar gnolls, and German Bone-Biter cut down transforming attendants on the Genoa Peninsula.
• Lord Payn told Aurora to evacuate the survivors and revealed that the Secretblood Clan would take over if he fell, then heard a voice say help was on the way.
• Vილance warned Murphy that the Lord of the Hunt had been born and that Murphy held the final thread of His fate, so Murphy redirected his flight toward the crashed sun ship.
• Murphy subdued Prince Khufu's guards and entered the sun ship after Ieden opened its hatch, then ordered a search for the God's Scepter launch platform.

Murphy opened the Sun Ship’s sealed compartment and activated the Scepter of God’s orbital arsenal to attack the Lord of the Hunt, but the launch required a vote from three Eden District Management Committee members. Lord Paine cast the first yes vote, and Murphy turned to the imprisoned Vedia for another.

• Eden granted Murphy high-level access to the Sun Ship, and General Bhopal explained that the Sankhai had discovered but could not open a sealed compartment above the solar engine.
• Murphy used Vedia’s access device to open the compartment and found the Scepter of God’s control system, which connected to orbital weapons platforms and required a committee vote to launch.
• Murphy unlocked orbital Arsenal X9, aimed its weapons at Moss Valley, and began the launch sequence, but the system requested three committee votes.
• Lord Paine received the vote request while fighting the Lord of the Hunt and urged Ovag to evacuate everyone nearby before an orbital strike.
• The Earth Mother moved the players and other nearby allies to safety, and Lord Paine’s yes vote brought the tally to 1/3.
• Murphy asked Vedia, through the Book of Ten Thousand Curses, how he would vote on the launch.

Murphy secured the votes needed to launch the God's Scepter at the Lord of the Hunt while Gaia evacuated most of the fighters from Mossy Valley. As the weapon descended, Hogg blocked a killing blow meant for Lord Paine, and the chapter ended with the Lord of the Hunt facing the Creator’s judgment.

• Murphy persuaded the sealed Widia to vote for the bombardment in exchange for visiting Abyss City, then learned Lord Paine was waiting for the third councilor’s vote.
• After Lord Paine confirmed the vote and gave the signal, Murphy activated the God's Scepter, launching a causality-guided projectile toward Mossy Valley.
• Gaia teleported the exhausted godslayers away from the valley, but the Wise Wolf stayed behind to reach Lord Paine.
• The Lord of the Hunt overwhelmed Mossy Valley with its divine realm and attacked Lord Paine, while the approaching projectile streaked toward the battlefield.
• Hogg’s battle suit took the Lord of the Hunt’s blow as he shielded Lord Paine, and the evil god sensed the descending weapon just before it could strike.

The Lord of the Hunt tried to resist a bolt of divine retribution, but the Scepter of God devastated his divine realm and left him barely alive. Lord Paine gathered the godslayers and led them into the ruined realm to finish him off.

• The Lord of the Hunt ignored the Chaos shadows' warning and was struck by the Scepter of God, which destroyed much of his body and divine realm.
• The surviving players learned from Oufuge that Murphy had unleashed the Creator's punishment, then heard Lord Paine call them to attack the wounded god.
• Aurora carried the godslayers to Mossy Valley, where they found Lord Paine, the battered Wise Wolf, and the collapsing entrance to the divine realm.
• Lord Paine led the players and their allies through the entrance and toward the Lord of the Hunt, who struggled to reach his fallen flail.
• Frode urged the godslayers to kill the Lord of the Hunt and claim the victory in Vam's name.

The godslayers defeated the Lord of the Hunt, and Lord Payin struck the final blow as the evil god’s body collapsed. The Lord of the Hunt escaped into Hugeson, who willingly surrendered control and awaited Murphy to destroy them both and free the gnolls.

• Niu Niu, Sister Pomegranate, Cat Bro, and the other godslayers attacked the weakened Lord of the Hunt as he fought back with tainted creatures.
• Madam Shui and Fire Bro protected their allies, while Lady Ivette rebuked Laynian and then struck the Lord of the Hunt’s exposed heart.
• Granny Little Bach ordered warriors below Gold rank to withdraw as the Lord of the Hunt’s body began to collapse.
• Lord Payin hurled Eternal Silence into the god’s shattered divine core, and the Lord of the Hunt fell as the godslayers celebrated victory.
• The Lord of the Hunt’s broken soul fled into Hugeson, who let the god take control and called on Murphy to bring down the blade that would end them both.

Murphy explained that the Scepter of God had killed the Lord of the Hunt and warned that he would use another shot to declare war on hidden enemies. As the eastern and Sanghese empires stood down from mobilization, the Pharaoh invited Murphy to his birthday celebration to judge whether he deserved Sangha’s allegiance.

• Murphy told His Highness Khufu that the Scepter of God had destroyed the Lord of the Hunt and that the Chaos forces behind the attack had been deterred.
• Murphy declared himself the Creator’s Swordbearer and promised to fire another Scepter of God at the Dark Mountains as a warning to his enemies.
• The Bureau of Celestial Observation confirmed the Lord of the Hunt’s death, canceled the Celestial Empire’s war preparations, and learned that Prince Bai of the Western Realm might attend the Pharaoh’s birthday.
• The Pharaoh ordered Sanghese forces to stand down after receiving news that Murphy and Venerable Paing had stopped the disaster.
• The Pharaoh invited Murphy to his birthday celebration to assess whether he merited Sangha’s allegiance and ordered his flagship to bring Murphy to Sangha.

The Hunting Lord's body was destroyed, though its divine soul escaped, and the survivors left its collapsing realm with the scattered divine bones. Murphy then used the Scepter of God to destroy a Dusk outpost, while Dusk's leaders prepared a new plan to reach the Heart of the World.

• Meow Brother, Niu Niu, and Sanwudou celebrated the Hunting Lord's death and gathered divine bones as the realm collapsed.
• Granny Bach revealed that the Hunting Lord had escaped by transferring its divine soul, while Lord Paine secured its shattered divinity and the NPCs gave the players the bones as a reward.
• Baburo left to rescue Claire in Ice Bay with Flod's help, and Lord Paine discussed the coming Sacred Blood Seal and unrest in Nordtov with the Secretblood Clan's contact.
• Murphy learned from Mannis that a Dusk outpost had uncovered an Eden armory, then obtained Lord Paine's approval to fire the Scepter of God and destroy it.
• Dusk's Scholar and Reverend discussed the destruction of their Slaveholder faction, the loss of Chaos allies, and a new plan to reach the Heart of the World and free the bound gods.

Murphy celebrated the Hunting Lord’s defeat, rewarded the godslayers, and received purified divine spark fragments from Lord Payn. He learned the Hunting Lord’s soul had escaped and faced pressure to lead the vampires, while preparing to represent them at the Pharaoh’s birthday banquet.

• Prince Khufu returned from the Astral Plane and vomited after the journey to Moss Valley.
• Murphy examined the fertile soil left by the Scepter of God’s strike and praised the players for helping defeat the Hunting Lord.
• Murphy announced that Transia’s forces had also defeated Silver Wolf and rescued the North Wind God at Fortress Crimea, then awarded the godslayers quest rewards and titles.
• Lord Payn gave Murphy the largest of sixteen purified divine spark fragments and said the remaining pieces would be sent to allied leaders as harmless victory gifts.
• Lord Payn told Murphy that the Hunting Lord’s soul had escaped, and Murphy promised to deal with it.
• Lord Payn urged Murphy to take up vampire leadership after the Black Calamity and asked him to represent the vampires at the Pharaoh’s birthday banquet.

Murphy explored the Hunting Lord’s ruined divine kingdom, spoke with Ao about the gods’ weakening border contract, and helped Mannis plan to recover what Liji had stolen. After returning to the material world, Murphy was attacked by a ratman assassin, but the strike failed to harm him.

• Murphy toured the Hunting Lord’s ruined divine kingdom with Hu Fu and discussed a meeting about the Kafuhoka region with Andre.
• Ao appeared to Murphy, warned that the border contract was unraveling, and told him not to give Su’s divine core to Mannis.
• Ao revealed that Liji had been driven from Mistcloud Heaven and left Murphy a scroll for shaping a divine kingdom into a secret realm.
• Murphy told Mannis to ambush Liji away from Leviathan’s protection and asked to be sent back to Crimea Fortress.
• A ratman stabbed Murphy with a wolf-fang dagger, but the Omega Program dispelled its Devouring Light; Murphy stopped Maxim from killing the attacker and asked his name.

Murphy freed Blackservant Sen from the Dark Lord’s influence and learned that Twilight had sent ratmen to retrieve the Frost Dwarves’ relic, Winter’s Strike, from the Chaos Lands. He sent Maxim to alert Lord Balder and tasked Blackservant Sen with guiding the dwarves, gathering scattered ratmen, and becoming their leader.

• Blackservant Sen confessed that the Dark Lord had ordered him to assassinate Murphy and that he had joined the Dark Lord’s forces alongside the gnolls.
• The Dark Lord triggered the devoured divine power inside Blackservant Sen, but Murphy used the Omega Program to purge it and free the ratman from the Dark Lord’s influence.
• Blackservant Sen offered Murphy his loyalty, but Murphy told him to seek dignity and freedom before returning to serve anyone.
• Blackservant Sen revealed that Twilight had sent ratmen north to dig in the Chaos Lands and that giants had taken Winter’s Strike toward the gray desert to open a great treasure.
• Maxim flew to Fort Crimea to inform Lord Balder, while Murphy asked Blackservant Sen to guide the Frost Dwarves toward the relic and provided him with protective gear and a dagger.
• Murphy sent Blackservant Sen to find Hogg, gather scattered ratmen, and attack the Dark Lord’s cultists when possible.

After Baldur left to pursue the Cessan bandits and recover Winter's Bite, Murphy examined the deified crystal and learned that Su could use it to become the God of the North Wind again. Murphy planned to speak with Su after arranging the Silver Wolf’s remains and entrusted Triss with the shattered divinity of the Lord of the Hunt.

• Baldur thanked Murphy, explained that Gaia Tribunal was Frosthold’s execution weapon, and left with his people to hunt the bandit chief and recover Winter’s Bite.
• Murphy gave Baldur his insignia and offered help from the Wise Wolf or the Wolf Army if the Frost Dwarves encountered trouble.
• Murphy returned to Fort Crimea, where survivors gathered around fires and researchers collected samples from the Silver Wolf’s corpse.
• Triss returned the deified crystal to Murphy after it proved impossible for her to study, and Murphy’s appraisal revealed its powers, activation requirements, and Su’s stored identity.
• Murphy and Triss agreed to harvest and destroy the Silver Wolf’s corpse, and Murphy gave Triss the shattered divinity of the Lord of the Hunt to keep until Lord Oufuge recovered.

Murphy spoke with Su about the Astral Realm’s mark on Cadman City and Su’s decision to rebuild its power without reclaiming its divine spark. As old Baldwin died after reconciling with Yegor, Su welcomed him as the first guard for its future divine kingdom.

• Su told Murphy that Cadman City would gradually lose its Astral Realm traits but would never again be fit for ordinary people to live in.
• Su refused to reclaim its divine spark and said it would ignite its divine fire in seven days before returning to the subspace battlefield.
• Murphy asked Su to witness his coming territorial discussion with the Wolf Maiden, and Su agreed.
• Old Baldwin asked Yegor whether he had forgiven him, and Yegor said he had never blamed him for the accident.
• Old Baldwin gave the damaged Wolfblood Holy Sword to the players, then died and entered the underworld.
• Su appeared in the underworld and invited old Baldwin to serve as a guard in its future divine kingdom.

Old Qin received the damaged Wolfblood Sacred Sword and a quest to seek Su’s help reforging it, while Murphy and Triss investigated the strange vampires in Cadman City. Old Norman reunited with Porter and Amber, explained how he had found peace with his past, and decided to stay in the city to protect its faithful.

• General Baldwin gave Old Qin the broken Wolfblood Sacred Sword as Old Baldwin’s final wish, and Old Qin accepted it.
• Old Qin’s adventurer’s assistant activated the final stage of the “Recover the Wolfblood” quest, which required him to ask Su how to reforge the sword within seven days.
• Murphy and Triss noticed something strange about the vampire elder in Cadman City, and Triss said the voices she heard there might explain the vampires’ changes.
• Old Norman returned to his lodgings and reunited with Porter and Amber, who told him that Natalie and Doctor Crow had grieved over his apparent death.
• Old Norman explained that facing death had helped him reconcile with his family and understand his purpose, then decided to remain in Cadman City and guide its faithful.

Murphy and Triss learned from Elder Hillier how the Mother of Midnight had saved Cadman City from chaos during its nine months in the star realm. Triss proposed shaping the godspawn’s faith into a gentler aspect, and Murphy planned to consult Mr. Crow.

• Murphy and Triss discussed the Mother of Midnight’s gentler voice, and Triss suggested it might possess multiple aspects despite its corruption.
• Triss and Murphy met Elder Hillier, who confessed that he had allowed the Mother of Midnight’s faith to spread through Cadman City.
• Elder Hillier recounted how the Mother of Midnight had calmed the city’s violent disorder and inspired the vampires to restore order.
• Murphy reassured Elder Hillier, kept Cadman City under lockdown, and appointed him acting mayor.
• Triss proposed using the city’s faith to shape a more rational aspect of the Mother of Midnight, and Murphy suggested asking Mr. Crow for help.

Lieutenant Mia led the People's Army into Cadman City to restore order and returned to Fink Street, where she unexpectedly reunited with her younger siblings and learned her parents were alive. Murphy and Triss surveyed the city's spatial distortions and discussed Transia's growing power, the threats ahead, and Murphy's resolve to face Hugson.

• Kudel ordered Mia to lead a People's Army unit into Cadman City, restore order with Acting Mayor Hillier, and bring the city's armed factions under control.
• Mia returned to ruined Fink Street, mourned her lost home and childhood friends, and found her little sister and brother alive.
• Mia learned that her parents had survived by hiding at Aunt Madeleine's house and that the family owed their survival to Murphy.
• Triss teased Murphy about his soldiers wanting him to become king as they examined the spatial folds in Cadman City.
• Murphy and Triss discussed the Blood Eagle Clan's growing strength, the need to prepare for future conflicts, and Murphy's plan to deal with Hugson.
• Murphy and Triss spotted Norman reporting to Old Porter, Amber, and Lady Natalie.