Chapter Summaries

Ma Zhi coordinated Pegasus Group’s assault with the military while secretly feeding information to List, leading the Federation Fleet into Maple Leaf Mining Group’s encirclement. After the military accused Pegasus Group of betrayal, Ma Jiahe suspected a mole but dismissed Ma Zhi, who continued to hide his role under surveillance.

• Ma Zhi and the military commander agreed to attack Maple Leaf Mining Group’s supply line, while Ma Zhi reported real-time data to List.
• The Federation Fleet fell into Maple Leaf Mining Group’s encirclement, and the military chief of staff warned Ma Jiahe that a spy must have leaked their position.
• Ma Jiahe realized there was a mole and ordered the fleets to relocate, requiring everyone to stay with a partner.
• Ma Jiahe reassured himself that Ma Zhi was innocent and praised him for organizing security measures.
• Ma Zhi stopped contacting List because he was under surveillance, relying instead on tracking beacons already planted throughout the fleet.

Ma Jiahe imposed strict surveillance on the Pegasus Group fleet to find the mole, but Maple Leaf Mining Group still intercepted detached fleets and triggered defections. With the fleet collapsing and Ma Jiahe himself under suspicion, he ordered a risky turn toward the enemy to win leverage before negotiating.

• Ma Jiahe secured complete authority, monitored Ma Zhi and other leaders, and relocated the fleet while cutting off external communications.
• After Ma Jiahe fell asleep, reports arrived that Maple Leaf Mining Group had found detached fleets and one fleet had surrendered.
• Ma Zhi took command of the relocation and told Ma Jiahe that many detached fleets had gone missing or were under siege.
• Ma Jiahe proposed turning back to attack Maple Leaf Mining Group, and Ma Zhi agreed to arrange it.
• As the fleet turned around, Ma Jiahe wondered whether he himself was the mole, then set the thought aside and focused on winning respect before surrendering.

Ma Jiahe’s fleet attacked the space industrial base, where Simon arrived with Mecha Knights to defend it and publicly welcomed Ma Zhi home. The broadcast threw Pegasus Group’s command center into confusion, and Ma Jiahe wrongly accused Ma Zhi of being the mole as their standoff continued.

• Ma Jiahe watched the industrial base’s reconnaissance footage and confidently ordered Ma Zhi to prepare for battle.
• Simon arrived at the base with transport ships and Mecha Knights while fighting began against Pegasus Group’s scouts.
• Simon piloted a Fallen Angel-series mecha and broadcast, “Welcome home, Minister Ma,” revealing Ma Zhi’s identity.
• Ma Zhi seized control of communications and accused Ma Jiahe of betraying Pegasus Group, splitting the command center into factions.
• The Space Carrier announced a surrender in Ma Jiahe’s name, and Ma Jiahe accused Ma Zhi of being the mole.

After Ma Zhi helped bring the Pegasus Group’s defeat to a bloodless end, Simon revealed that he had been working for Duke List and appointed him Deputy Commander of the Pegasus Galaxy Garrison. Ma Jiahe demanded treatment befitting his status, but Simon ordered him taken away as a prisoner.

• Ma Zhi and Ma Jiahe continued arguing as Pegasus Group warships were defeated and Mecha Knights boarded the Space Carrier.
• Simon boarded the captured carrier, revealed Ma Zhi’s allegiance, and welcomed him into Duke List’s service.
• Simon explained the wider war and appointed Ma Zhi Baron under the Duke and Deputy Commander of the Pegasus Galaxy Garrison.
• Ma Jiahe admitted defeat but demanded treatment befitting his status.
• Simon ordered Ma Jiahe taken away to experience the treatment of a prisoner.

Ma Zhi accepted Count Simon’s authority and was ordered to build Pegasus Planet’s defense system. He returned to the planet as Duke Palmer’s representative and began negotiating the remaining forces’ surrender.

• Ma Zhi offered to help stabilize the Pegasus Group, and Simon appointed him deputy commander with full authority over the fleet.
• Simon assigned Ma Zhi to lead the construction of Pegasus Planet’s defense system, providing him troops, ships, and administrative powers.
• Ma Zhi embraced his new position and returned to Pegasus Planet, where the remaining defensive forces went on alert.
• Ma Zhi contacted the planet’s leaders and urged them to surrender peacefully under Duke Palmer’s rule.
• The remaining forces asked Ma Zhi what terms they would receive if they surrendered.

Ma Zhi took control of Pegasus Group’s security system and restored order as production resumed. At Sirius Fortress, List and Simon planned a raid to ease the pressure from the Blue Star Federation, but List refused to let Simon lead it.

• Ma Zhi offered Pegasus Group’s public security personnel severance or continued employment, and its middle- and lower-ranking managers surrendered to him.
• Ma Zhi’s forces took over the planet’s security system, suppressed unrest, and helped Pegasus Galaxy resume production after the senior leadership surrendered.
• List arrived at Sirius Fortress as the Blue Star Federation continued its counteroffensive and the fortress consumed supplies at an alarming rate.
• Simon argued that the Great Xia Empire needed to counterattack and pressure the Blue Star Federation, and List agreed.
• List and Simon planned a raid behind enemy lines, but List rejected Simon’s offer to lead it and ordered him to stay by his side.

List launched the North Wind Assault Team to infiltrate the Blue Star Federation’s fleet while Sirius Fortress mounted a coordinated counterattack. Leon slipped through the defenses and began attacking isolated warships, leaving the assault underway.

• List gathered volunteer knights, named them the North Wind, and sent them off with a banner and personal farewells.
• Sirius Fortress dispatched warships to counterattack as the North Wind knights infiltrated the Blue Star Federation’s layered defenses.
• Leon evaded a laser cannon and broke through the defensive line into the fleet’s rear.
• Leon punched through a frigate’s hull, then used the crowded battlefield and support vessels for cover as he planned further ambushes.

Leon and the Mecha Knights used guerrilla and wolf-pack tactics to wreak havoc on the Blue Star Federation fleet, forcing its commander to order ships to hold position and fight back. After hiding from the fleet’s tightened defenses, Leon’s squad abandoned an attack on an escorted Space Carrier and withdrew, where they spotted an important group of ships retreating.

• Leon teamed up with Sidekick to ambush and destroy the three warships chasing him.
• Leon gathered more than a dozen Mecha Knights, and they used wolf-pack tactics to destroy a battleship.
• The Blue Star Federation fleet commander ordered ships to hold position and sent mobile forces to encircle the Mecha Knights.
• Leon ordered his squad to hide and search for a major target as the fleet’s rear grew eerily quiet.
• Leon rejected an attack on a Space Carrier escorted by half a fleet, and his squad retreated.
• Leon and the others found a group of ships withdrawing while the auxiliary ships remained in place.

Leon and his elite knights discovered a lightly defended Energy Supply Fleet and launched an attack, hoping to seize a rare chance for glory. The fleet’s escorts detected the approaching Mecha Knights, raising the danger as the assault began.

• Leon’s squad found the Energy Supply Fleet, and the knights silently prepared to attack despite the risks.
• Leon said he had once wanted to join the Northland Knights but hoped North Wind would become the name of a new knight order, then ordered everyone to move out.
• The Energy Supply Fleet continued retreating toward the rear, while its captain and an officer discussed the battle and their hope of getting home safely.
• The escort ships’ radar detected Leon’s approaching Mecha Knights, alerting the fleet and making the attack more dangerous.

Leon led the North Wind Assault Team in an attack on the Blue Star Federation's Energy Supply Fleet, destroying its defenses but losing half his men, including Sidekick. The fleet's weakened firepower let List's forces at Sirius Fortress launch a counterattack as the Blue Star Federation ships began retreating.

• Leon and his comrades charged through the defensive fire, with Sidekick shielding Leon as they reached the outer escort ship.
• Leon disabled the escort ship's firepoints, opened a gap in the defense, and let the other Mecha Knights wreak havoc among the supply fleet.
• After the attack, Leon counted eight survivors and could not find Sidekick, then discovered his destroyed mech and towed it away.
• The Blue Star Federation support ships arrived to find the Energy Supply Fleet wrecked and its vital energy gone.
• List noticed the Blue Star Federation fleet's weakened firepower and ordered Sirius Fortress to press forward, prompting a fierce counterattack.
• Leon and the survivors returned to find half the Blue Star Federation fleet's ships retreating.

List learned that a squad of knights had attacked an Energy Supply Fleet, explaining the Federation Fleet’s retreat, and moved to establish his own Ace Knight Order. Leon’s squad stood down as the Federation rearguard resisted Sirius Fortress for a day before surrendering.

• List learned that the Federation Fleet’s unusual behavior followed an attack on an Energy Supply Fleet, and decided to build an Ace Knight Order.
• Virut approved List’s plan, and List ordered meritorious knight squads, including Leon’s, to withdraw from the fighting.
• Leon reported his squad’s experiences to the fortress and received orders to stand by rather than attack the retreating fleet.
• Leon and his men watched the Federation rearguard form a defensive sphere and hold off Sirius Fortress for an entire day.
• The Federation rearguard broadcast its surrender while its defensive line remained largely intact.

After List established the North Wind Knight Order, the Federation Government debated how to respond to the Angel Civilization and whether to align with the Seraphim or the Fallen Angel. Minister He offered the Fallen Angel’s rewards as leverage, leaving the cabinet considering a more transactional path to power.

• Leon learned that the rear guard had held out because the Blue Star Federation promised doubled death benefits and a chance to surrender without charges, and he asked an official to look after his brother’s remains.
• List honored the fallen with benefits and publicly formed the North Wind Knight Order, while Derek watched without objecting.
• The Federation Government concluded that retaking Sirius Fortress by force was unlikely and that negotiations with List could eventually follow a war of attrition.
• Minister He urged the cabinet to reconsider its relationship with the Maple Leaf Mining Group and choose between the Seraphim and the Fallen Angel.
• The ministers condemned the Fallen Angel in public but sought greater authority, so Minister He revealed that it offered Transcendent Power and Angel Armament in exchange for faith.

Minister He was tasked with negotiating benefits for the Blue Star Federation while List established the North Wind Knight Order and assigned Leon to train a group of captured prisoners as Knight Apprentices. The former prisoners began their apprenticeship under Leon, with He Kai among those assigned to him.

• The cabinet set its negotiation limits, and Minister He received the task of securing the captured soldiers’ extradition and privately negotiating for various factions.
• List established the North Wind Knight Order, named himself commander, and appointed Simon, Virut, and Leon as deputy commanders.
• Leon brought a group of captured prisoners to the order as Knight Apprentices and warned them to obey.
• Leon assigned each prisoner to a Formal Knight, taking He Kai and a younger apprentice under his own supervision.
• The Knight Apprentices began their first lesson by polishing mechs under the watch of Formal Knights.

He Kai and Wu Hua endured Knight Apprentice training while waiting for their backers, but the North Wind Knight Order received a new deputy commander first. Duster Gide took charge of logistics and formed a special battalion to protect the Duke, leaving Leon to accept a test of his loyalty and ability to adapt.

• He Kai told Wu Hua that he was distantly related to Minister He Yun, and Wu Hua asked him to look out for him.
• He Kai and Wu Hua endured exhausting training and manual labor as Knight Apprentices.
• He Kai learned that the Knight Order would receive newcomers and a new deputy commander, while Minister He Yun was also expected to arrive.
• Duster Gide arrived with two battalions of Knight Squires and was welcomed as the new deputy commander.
• Duster told Leon that he would take over logistics and form a special battalion to protect the Duke.
• Leon agreed to hand over logistics, while Duster regarded the change as a test of Leon's loyalty and future prospects.

Dust established himself as an effective deputy commander and secured the first stage of the North Wind Knight Order’s guard assignment for List. After assessing Leon to the Duke, Dust was invited to dinner, and their public show of closeness was set to spread through the fortress.

• Dust brought the Gide Family’s Transcendent Knight Squires and efficiently organized the Knight Order’s logistics, while remaining distant from Leon.
• Dust visited List and asked when the North Wind Knight Order would begin guarding him.
• List assigned Dust to start with the outer perimeter, making him prove himself before entrusting him with closer security.
• List asked Dust to assess Leon, and Dust described him as talented and capable but inexperienced and politically insensitive.
• List invited Dust to dinner, and their meeting became a public display of the Duke’s growing closeness with him.

He Kai watched Deputy Commander Dust’s growing influence and Leon’s worsening position at the North Wind Knight Order. After Baronet Richard brought rare Fallen Knight Potions, Leon offered to help him, not realizing that personal favors were separate from official business.

• Wu Hua told He Kai that Dust had met and dined with Duke List, and He Kai refused Wu Hua’s suggestion that they seek a transfer.
• Dust stayed away from the Knight Order while gossip about his connection to the Duke continued, and Leon struggled to hide his pressure.
• Dust warmly welcomed Baronet Richard and introduced him to Leon, then hosted Richard for drinks.
• Richard revealed a case containing Knight Potions and ten valuable Fallen Knight Potions, and Dust bargained theatrically for them.
• Leon offered to fulfill any request Richard had, prompting Richard to call him an honest man for misunderstanding the limits of personal connections.

Dust explained his unconventional interpretation of faith to Leon, then drank an enhanced Fallen Knight Potion and transformed his Divine Power into an exceptionally powerful black form. The fortress detected Dust breaking through his limit, a change that could also clear the stain on his family.

• After Richard left, Dust privately showed Leon the Knight Potions and explained that they could awaken Transcendent Power, though they carried risks.
• Leon objected to the potions because he believed Transcendence came from the gods and valued the years of effort he had spent training.
• Dust argued that both Knight Potions and Fallen Knight Potions could be the Lord's will, prompting Leon to reconsider his understanding of faith.
• Dust drank the enhanced Fallen Knight Potion and declared that he was willing to fall into hell for the Lord.
• Dust's Divine Power turned intensely black and overwhelmed Leon with its pressure, while Leon's fighting spirit grew stronger.
• The fortress monitoring device alarmed, and List realized Dust had broken through a limit no Transcendent Knight had previously surpassed.

Dust advanced into a high-level Transcendent Knight after taking a Fallen Knight Potion, and Leon took one as well before the two resumed their outwardly tense partnership. The Blue Star Federation government delegation arrived as Leon and Dust stood guard beside List, leaving the Knight Order waiting to see what would happen next.

• List learned that Dust was taking a Fallen Knight Potion and ordered a banquet to be held after Dust advanced.
• Dust completed his advancement, explained the potion as the Lord's blessing to Leon, and Leon drank one himself, though his transformation was weaker.
• Dust told Leon to maintain their professional boundaries, then said the duke would oversee the remaining potion distribution.
• Wu Hua told He Kai that rumors said Dust and Leon had clashed over the potions, while He Kai argued that Leon remained trusted by the duke.
• Minister He Yun arrived with the Blue Star Federation government delegation, and List summoned Leon to stand guard beside him alongside Dust.
• The Blue Star Federation delegation arrived as Leon and Dust stood near List in the palace.

List negotiated with He Yun, a Blue Star Federation minister who had helped the Great Xia Empire acquire territory, offering him a path to turn He Kai into a knight in exchange for cooperation. After the meeting, List ordered Leon and Dust to accelerate training their apprentices and prepare Transcendence Knight Potions for promising candidates.

• Leon compared his strength with Dust's as the Blue Star Federation delegation arrived, while He Yun reflected on his pursuit of Transcendent Power and the deal he had made with List.
• List welcomed He Yun and credited him with helping the Great Xia Empire take the Sirius Galaxy, and He Yun declined an offer to meet the younger members of his family.
• He Yun asked when He Kai could become a knight, and List said the process could now take one month instead of two years.
• List prepared ten Transcendence Knight Potions for the delegation's candidates, expecting several to become knights despite the risks of rushing their training.
• List summoned Leon and Dust and ordered them to train their Knight Apprentices quickly, select promising candidates, and give each one a Transcendence Knight Potion.

Leon told He Kai and Wu Hua that they could compete for a chance to become Formal Knights and gain their freedom, while concealing the dangers of advancement. After a month of training, both were selected, but He Kai emerged from the promotion alive and discovered Wu Hua had not come out.

• Leon told He Kai and Wu Hua that ten apprentices would be chosen for the Knight Trial and that successful candidates could become Honorary Knights and gain their freedom.
• He Kai and Wu Hua trained intensely with an unrestricted supply of Transcendent Potions, unaware that other apprentices viewed them strangely.
• The North Wind Knight Order selected ten apprentices, including He Kai and Wu Hua, to attempt promotion to Formal Knights.
• He Kai drank the blood-red potion in his meditation room and endured agonizing pain before awakening with Transcendent Power.
• Leon congratulated He Kai after he emerged, but He Kai asked where Wu Hua was when Wu Hua still had not come out.