Chapter Summaries

Andre assured Marshal Baldwin that Kafhoka was under the Queen’s control, while the wolf girl met Ivanov and considered him for a role in her government. Ivanov persuaded her to employ him as a royal trickster, then left for Borisgrad to prove himself by dealing with an exploitative count.

• Andre left the Ice Palace to tell Marshal Baldwin that the Queen controlled the situation in Kafhoka and to prevent him from sending troops.
• The wolf girl summoned Ivanov, who admitted his crimes and argued that his experiences made him useful to the country’s reforms.
• Ivanov proposed serving as the wolf girl’s royal trickster, using deception and financial schemes against those who obstructed reform.
• The wolf girl assigned Ivanov a trial: make an extortionate count in Borisgrad disappear without provoking turmoil among the nobles.
• Ivanov reunited with Anna and the children in the carriage, reassured them that they were safe, and fell asleep from exhaustion.

Count André restored order in Bernier after the riots, executed those responsible for murder, and announced that victims of the Mistsea Trading Company's fraud could reclaim eligible principal through the Goddess of Wealth. He also declared that Kahovka would become autonomous after the rebellion was suppressed, leaving its people to choose whether to follow Nordtov or become independent.

• Count André arrived in Bernier with the Kahovka Legion, and soldiers and Thorn Clan members suppressed the remaining disorder.
• Warrior-monks of the Winter Wolf Church and Thorn vampires arrested rioters who had killed people, while others were ordered to return stolen goods or repay their value.
• Count André announced that the queen had pardoned Bernier collectively, then ordered the execution of sixty-six murderers.
• Count André announced that eligible victims of the Mistsea Trading Company's fraud could recover their principal through the Goddess of Wealth, excluding reckless investments over 2,000 gold coins.
• Count André declared that Kahovka would become an autonomous region after the rebellion was put down, and its representatives would choose whether to follow Nordtov or become independent.

At Artyom’s grave, Alyosha met Folsby Beng, another Elect of Wealth, who urged him to accept the Shrine of Wealth’s invitation and build power. The two agreed to work together on rebuilding Beneville and to find the city’s other Elects, leaving with a toast to the new era and the one that had ended.

• Alyosha visited Artyom’s grave to consider whether to join the Shrine of Wealth and heard advice from Folsby Beng, who revealed that he was also an Elect of Wealth.
• Folsby told Alyosha that his father had been murdered by bankers after helping Ivankov, and said the Beng family had profited from a deal with Ivankov.
• Folsby urged Alyosha to accept the Shrine of Wealth’s invitation, use Vivian’s connections, and rely on Anna as a trusted business partner.
• Alyosha proposed that he and Folsby take on Beneville’s rebuilding project to launder Folsby’s money and secure investment through Vivian’s father, and Folsby agreed.
• Alyosha suggested finding other Elects of Wealth among the investors who withdrew after receiving their first Class A product dividends, while Folsby said he wanted revenge and hoped to make the Beng name Beneville’s next legend.
• Folsby and Alyosha toasted the era of ambition and the old age that had fallen.

Players debated Boss Huo and Brother Crow’s financial scheme and speculated about Kafhoka’s future and a possible Vampire Dynasty. At the Crimson Cliffs in Ice Bay, Boss Huo announced his wedding, and he and Crow rejected becoming Chosen of Dutna before joking about their accomplishments.

• Players argued on the forums over Boss Huo and Brother Crow’s role in Kafhoka’s financial collapse, while Madame Water explained how the Thorn Clan’s control had made Kafhoka independent in name only.
• Little Ashina predicted that Lady Triss might become the first Midnight King after the Gray Desert Expedition and the clans resolved the Madblood Clan’s problems.
• Shyflower asked where Boss Huo and Shenyu were, and Giant Shark said they had boarded an airship to Ice Bay with Crow.
• At the Crimson Cliffs, Boss Huo told Crow and Shenyu he planned to marry Shenyu and use the profits from the scheme to fund a player gathering and donate to national development.
• Boss Huo and Crow each threw their holy emblems into the Storm Sea, rejecting Dutna’s offer to make them her Chosen.

Crow visited Little Rich Bro, who was grieving Kasper’s apparent death, and urged him to seek answers in Transia’s dream world. Little Rich Bro entered the shattered nightmare and was pulled into a stable dream, where he found Kasper waiting for him.

• Old Huo told Crow that Ivan had settled in Borisgrad under the alias Baghramyan, while Anton had become a wanted bandit, and arranged for Old Master Niu’s guild to pursue him.
• Old Huo asked Crow to check on Little Rich Bro, who had been isolating himself and neglecting his home after Kasper’s apparent death.
• Crow and a group of friends visited Little Rich Bro, cleaned his villa, and listened as he described his grief and recurring visions of Kasper’s death.
• Crow suggested that Little Rich Bro search for Kasper by falling asleep inside the game, though he warned him to consider the costs of his relationship with someone he might never see.
• Little Rich Bro drank Mrs. Triss’s Special Magic Potion on the Machinot Line and entered the chaotic nightmare realm, where an unseen hand pulled him into a stable dream.
• Little Rich Bro found Kasper alive in the dream, and she teased him for keeping her waiting.

Little Rich Guy reunited with Kaspar in the dream and returned to the real world, while Murphy accelerated plans for a new game version. Meanwhile, Old Bach revived Meridin, who began forming a new organization as the Twilight Organization prepared for its final conflict.

• Little Rich Guy told the students that Kaspar had become a demigod of dreams and celebrated his reunion with her, then Crow asked him to care for his two dogs.
• Little Rich Guy agreed to take the dogs, and Murphy discovered his intimate encounter with Kaspar in the helmet footage and ordered the new version's promotion prepared within three days.
• The slave owner reported that Nordtov trading companies had collapsed after investing in Mistsea Trading Company, and Old Bach blamed Lady Dutana for the losses.
• Old Bach explained that the Chief Inquisitor had gone to claim a promotion and planned to begin the final battle at the Heart of the World, while the Twilight Organization was ordered to stop the Order faction from taking the Life Greenhouse.
• Old Bach's improvised cultivation pod revived Meridin, who announced plans to establish a new organization and invited Old Bach and the slave owner to join.
• Old Bach and the slave owner declined Meridin's invitation, and Meridin departed to meet a friend and consider how to prevent future tragedies.

Old Bach prepared an army in the Life Greenhouse while Sariful left to pursue his own path. Meledin recruited Vedia into the New Twilight, an organization formed to confront Steiner, seek godhood, and uncover the Creator’s secret aboard the Sentinel flagship Omega.

• Old Bach said the Life Greenhouse was growing chaos-resistant creatures to fight the Order expeditionary force and asked Sariful for biological samples as insurance.
• Sariful departed for the Eternal Rift, and Old Bach gave him a controller for failed perfect-life creations living in the Black Mist Mountains.
• Meledin found Vedia at the former Old God cage, survived Vedia’s test spell, and explained that Old Bach had helped restore him through the Life Greenhouse.
• Meledin invited Vedia to join his new organization, whose goals included defeating Steiner, entering the World Heart, and finding Omega in the Sea of Nothingness.
• Vedia joined the New Twilight and set off for Abyss City to rally its descendants, while Meledin planned to approach an old friend harmed by the Creator.
• Meledin asked Vedia whether a mind flayer creature had a soul.

Salivus Shadowblade found the dragons Old Bach had created in the Blackfog Mountains and took control of a black dragon, while its red mate set Abyss City ablaze. Amid the destruction, Bol learned that the King of a Thousand Curses had summoned the goatfolk to receive the ancestor’s astral projection.

• Salivus Shadowblade and Firna entered the Blackfog Mountains to investigate the scholar’s hidden creation, and a colossal black dragon emerged from the valley.
• Salivus used the control device to subdue the black dragon, and a red dragon arrived as its mate.
• Salivus rode the black dragon toward the Eternal Rift, and the red dragon attacked Abyss City with repeated blasts of dragonfire.
• Bol rescued his apprentices and other young people from a collapsing classroom but realized the dragonfire had made the city’s surface impossible to save.
• A messenger told Bol that the King of a Thousand Curses had summoned the goatfolk and would soon appear in Abyss City as an astral projection.

Bol attended Widia’s summons in Mechanism VII and heard the King of Ten Thousand Spells urge the Goatmen to abandon Abyss City and follow him to the Gray Desert. After Widia hinted that Bol was a traitor, Bol returned to the surface and learned that stolen dragon eggs had brought the red dragon’s attack, prompting him and his disciples to prepare a move of their own.

• Bol chose to remain loyal to Murphy and sent his disciples to investigate why the red beasts had attacked Abyss City.
• Bol’s senior disciple persuaded the others to cooperate, promising rewards and future opportunities in exchange for their support.
• Widia appeared before the Goatman sorcerers, announced that the Pool of Truth had been discovered, and called on his descendants to leave Abyss City and join him in the Gray Desert.
• Widia warned that a traitor was among the Goatmen and asked that he pass a message to the right person.
• Bol returned to the surface, where his disciples revealed that someone had hidden stolen dragon eggs in the city and provoked the red dragon’s firestorm.
• Bol realized his disciples shared his idea and told them to prepare to act before they ran out of time.

Grand Astrologer Bohr and his disciples fled Abyssal City with dragon eggs, pursued by Department VII curse-warriors, until an insect swarm trapped both groups near the Gnoll Kingdom border. The All-Star Team rescued Bohr and agreed to retrieve the eggs, but an explosion struck their airship as they tried to escape.

• Bohr refused to abandon the dragon eggs and led his exhausted disciples toward a rendezvous with the All-Star Team near the Gnoll Kingdom border.
• Furry Great Immortal and Banchō Lion Beast spotted Bohr’s group surrounded by a swarm of strange bugs and rushed to help aboard their airship.
• The All-Star Team hauled Bohr and his disciples aboard while the bugs attacked the trapped goatfolk and curse-warriors below.
• Bohr revealed that the bugs had been drawn to the dragon eggs and persuaded the All-Star Team to rescue the remaining eggs, offering them one in exchange.
• After Furry Great Immortal objected to being called a huskyfolk, an explosion rocked the airship, and White Wolf reported that he had good news and bad news.

A swarm of gene-stealing insects attacked Broken Tooth Heights, and Murphy discovered that the dragon eggs had drawn them because one contained a parasite consuming dragon genes. Murphy ordered the egg taken for study and mobilized forces for the coming battle as he rushed to aid the gnolls.

• After the bread airship crashed near Broken Tooth Heights, Lion Beast gathered the survivors and questioned the captured goatman warriors, who denied releasing the insects.
• Popok organized the Broken Tooth Clan's warriors to meet the advancing swarm, and the gnolls clashed with the insects on the heights.
• Murphy learned that one of the dragon eggs at Valor Castle contained a foreign organism stealing dragon genes, and he sent Triss and Femis to take it to the Swamp Exclusion Zone.
• Murphy ordered garrisons at the Maginot Line and Shadowvale front to prepare for battle, then flew toward the Gnoll Kingdom.
• Murphy told Lord Paine to cancel the Holy Blood Legion's war exercise and send the Pursuer to support the fight at Broken Tooth Heights.

As the swarm attacked settlements across the Dark Mountains, Murphy and Overlord Pain planned a two-pronged response: hold the swarm at the Maginot Line while leading an expedition to destroy its source in the Gray Desert. A world-level mission summoned Transia’s players to the defense, and Grandpa Qin insisted on fighting at the line after revealing his power armor.

• After learning that the Blackfur Ratmen settlements were under attack, Popok sent Moonlit Wild Wolf and elite Cang Wolf fighters to evacuate the ratmen’s leaders and sages.
• The Lightchaser arrived at Fangbreaker Heights, where Murphy’s monitoring system revealed swarm attacks across Abyss City, Sin Fortress, the Vampire Coast, and the Eternal Rift region.
• Murphy and Overlord Pain agreed to send the Bloodbound Chapter and elite foreigners to the Gray Desert while the remaining forces gathered to fight the swarm in the Dark Mountains.
• A world-level mission called Transia’s players to join the fight at the Maginot Line and named the best performers as candidates for the Gray Expeditionary Force.
• Ge Bao ordered A-Cha to collect equipment from the Mechanicus factory, while Bro tried to persuade Grandpa Qin to leave the Maginot Line.
• Grandpa Qin showed Bro the Star Warriors power armor Murphy had given him and declared that he would defend the line himself.

Lord Qin described the benefits and limits of living in a physical body as the game prepared to open to more players. Murphy watched the rapidly evolving insect swarm attack Transia’s defenses and committed players and resources to the coming battle.

• Lord Qin told Brother Bang that physical bodies improved psychic energy, combat skills, and immersion, but brought pain and other limits; he also dismissed questions about their intimate functions.
• Murphy observed the bugs build a nest in the Filthy Swamp, where they used consumed creatures to produce elite fighters with stolen traits.
• Murphy sent Terranova and Reynor Jim the legendary quest chain “Legacy of the Swarm” and learned that the swarm had built at least three nests across the Black Calamity Zone.
• The bugs attacked the Maginot Line, Fort Valor, and Shadow Valley, while Transian forces and players fought to repel them.
• Murphy summoned vampire warriors from the past, reserved thirty thousand game slots for the campaign, and assigned five thousand new players to reinforce Fort Valor.

As the swarm prepared a stronger attack, Qin and Maxim planned to destroy its fringe hives before they evolved further. At the Maginot Line, Little Ashina unveiled a mass-producible halfling mech, while Mud Brother tried to recruit players to invest in more mechanical projects.

• Qin reported that Number One Hive had grown to town size and was breeding stronger bugs, prompting plans for an airborne strike before the swarm adapted further.
• Maxim and Qin assigned Transian forces to destroy Hives One, Two, and Three, while the gnoll kingdom would handle the other four fringe hives.
• Mia warned that fliers might have established fringe hives elsewhere, but Maxim said the other powers had already been warned and the Underworld Army could respond if needed.
• Little Ashina revealed her Heavy Bear mech, climbed into its cockpit, and teamed up with Lumina to destroy a boulder with its grenade launcher and chainsaw.
• Mud Brother explained that the Mechanical Church could build the mechs quickly and cheaply, then pitched players on buying them and investing in his armored-train project.

Qin Ye led an airborne assault on the first hive in the Filthy Swamp, using the expendable Iron Bears to spearhead the attack. Little Ashina’s Iron Bear One tore through the swarm, while the Hive Master evacuated a strange creature and prepared to gather information about the attackers.

• Qin Ye and Happy Stick discussed the Iron Bears’ role in the assault and the possibility that Lord Murphy would eventually lead the players into the Shattered Astral Realm.
• Qin Ye ordered the airships to the first hive as the swarm rapidly replenished itself by recycling biomass from the battlefield.
• Fire Bro and July Three invoked Avalon and the Nether King Worm’s favor before flying bugs destroyed the Merchant Dynasty’s left engine, forcing its crew to prepare for a crash landing.
• Little Ashina piloted Iron Bear One into the swarm and crushed bugs as Pink Pear cleared a path with her Desert Tiger.
• The Hive Master sensed the attack, evacuated a strange swollen-bellied creature through old tunnels, and stayed behind to record the attackers’ strengths and tactics.

Little Ashina and the players destroyed Hive One, but the swarm went berserk after its Hive Lord died. At Shadow Valley, the players discovered that the bugs were rapidly adapting to their tactics, prompting Old Qin to share intelligence and urge a swift assault on the remaining hives.

• Little Ashina and Lumina piloted Iron Bear One through Hive One, but an elite bug ambushed the mech and disabled it before the players fought the Hive Lord.
• Little Ashina killed the Hive Lord, triggering a berserk attack by the remaining bugs, which the prepared defensive corps contained.
• After Hive One fell, the players headed to Shadow Valley and found Hive Two’s bugs had tougher armor, new combat tactics, and specialized ranged attackers.
• Goji’s squad discovered that the bugs had dug new tunnels and were using ambushes and suicide attacks, while Old Qin’s forces confirmed the swarm was rapidly adapting.
• Domestic 003 urged simultaneous attacks on Hives Two and Three, and Domestic 013 warned that the border hives might be gathering data for Hive Zero.
• Old Qin ordered 013 to share the swarm intelligence and agreed to provide it to the Northlanders and the Goldenbloom people.

Murphy assessed the spreading insect threat and ordered Adele and Shani to support the northern front while the Tower of Rings pursued the abbot. Near Fort Courage, Smoke and Youth destroyed an anti-air bug, but their plane crashed, and they spotted a strange bug protected by elite guards.

• Murphy and Triss discussed the insect hives’ growing threat, the danger to Nordtov, and the need to warn leaders across the continent.
• Adele delivered Sim’s note revealing that Maredin had returned, planned to recruit Sim, and had exposed the abbot’s plans and phylactery hosts.
• Murphy ordered Adele to accompany Shani and Ghost Intelligence Bureau agents to assist Andre’s White Mountain faction if the northern fighting worsened.
• Smoke and Youth attacked Hive Three’s artillery bugs from a plane, destroyed one, and were forced to parachute out after a kamikaze bug struck their aircraft.
• Smoke and Youth hid beside the wreckage and saw an unusual bug with a liquid-filled abdomen emerge from an abandoned tunnel under elite guard.

Yansang and the Big Bird Squad captured a strange insect that scientists identified as a gene messenger linking the insect swarm’s evolution across hives. Terranova and Jim received approval to study it and hoped to use it to develop controllable, powerful sacred beetles, while Matcha Popsicle proposed exploiting the messenger system to disrupt the swarm.

• Yansang and Student Sis lured elite insects into an ambush, and the Big Bird Squad arrived, killed the attackers, repelled Hive Three’s guards, and captured the strange insect.
• Meow Brother’s squad prepared to return the captured insect to Shadowvale, while Yansang logged off and found Student Sis waiting at his apartment; she demanded dinner and challenged him over their relationship.
• At Shadowvale, Matcha Popsicle and Terranova examined the insect and learned that its unusual fluids might carry information between hives and support the swarm’s evolution.
• Jim reported that the insect’s fluids contained combat-related genetic information, which the hive’s fungal carpet absorbed to shape future generations and coordinate swarm intelligence.
• Matcha Popsicle approved a dedicated lab for Terranova and Jim, and she proposed using the gene-messenger system to create bombs that could trigger faulty evolution in a hive.
• Terranova urged Jim to bring their sacred beetles, Schmidt and Aroye, into the experiment, insisting that Hades supported their effort to advance the beetles’ evolution.

Qin took command of the forces defending the Gnoll Kingdom’s border and planned rapid, overwhelming strikes against the evolving swarm while Maxim and Kudel prepared to attack Hive Zero. After Hive Two fell, the chapter followed Fort Valor’s defenders as a massive bombardment struck Hive Three and Countess Femis led the troops to finish the assault.

• Maxim and Kudel entrusted Qin with command of the People's Army and gave him the Underworld Tiger Tally for use only in dire circumstances.
• Qin proposed recruiting thousands of specialists, escalating firepower to prevent the swarm from adapting, and developing a gene-virus bomb; Maxim and Kudel approved his plan.
• Five Pairs of Wheels reported that Hive Two had been taken, its Gene Courier killed, and its broodmother captured for the arena.
• At Fort Valor, Master Yuri and the Winter Wolf priests decided to support the Wolf Maiden’s military reforms after seeing the swarm grow stronger.
• A bombing formation struck Hive Three with incendiary, white-phosphorus, and goldfire thermobaric bombs while Countess Femis ordered Fort Valor’s soldiers to follow her into the hive.

General Fleming learned that locust nests were spreading across the continent and was urged to support the Transians’ expedition against the Zero Nest in the Gray Desert. As swarms attacked Anjou and the northern front, Plantagenet and Nordtov forces used new weapons and Winterguard to fight back.

• General Fleming received Ron’s report that locusts were appearing across several regions and that the Transians planned to destroy the Zero Nest in the Gray Desert.
• Ron asked Fleming to propose that King Louis support the expedition, while warning that the locusts would eventually overwhelm the continent if their source survived.
• Flying insects attacked the Anjou camp after Greeny Legion airships crashed, and Ron offered Fleming anti-aircraft guns and Steel Bear Armor blueprints.
• Marshal Baldwin and a Winter Wolf bishop discussed joining the campaign against the Zero Nest and using the crisis to reform Nordtov’s military.
• Marshal Baldwin ordered the Winterguard deployed against the northern swarm, revealing that their mechanical designs drew on the Vam barbarians.