Chapter Summaries

The Dark Empire launched a full-scale assault on the fortress as He Kai’s team worked to breach its armor. When the wall collapsed and knights rushed toward the opening, He Kai held back his team and the knights who had helped them, wary of the danger inside.

• The fortress commander chose to send ordinary troops into the fighting first, keeping the reserve knights protected while assigning a squad to prevent accidents.
• He Kai’s team struggled to damage the fortress’s thick outer armor, and He Kai warned his men not to assume that breaking through would mean victory.
• He Kai told his team to hold back when the passage opened and to help the knights who had rescued them if trouble arose.
• The fortress defenders sealed off the threatened section and prepared weapons and machinery behind temporary walls to attack anyone entering the breach.
• The wall collapsed, and knights surged toward the opening seeking merit; He Kai stopped his team and held back the knights who had helped them, drawing their angry accusations.

He Kai’s knights survived the fortress battle after its defenses trapped and devastated the attackers, then withdrew when the Dark Empire ordered a retreat. Back at camp, He Kai learned his order had lost more than thirty percent of its forces, but generous Merit Point rewards helped steady morale; he saved his points because Leon had told him the real reward was something else.

• The He Family’s knights held back other attackers while the fortress ambushed them in its narrow passageways, and the Sacrificial Civilization knights offered help but were ordered to remain in reserve.
• He Kai allowed selected knights to enter the fortress after the danger eased, and the He Family made an agreement with the Li Family.
• After half a day of fighting, the Dark Empire ordered a retreat, and He Kai’s group withdrew as repair robots began fixing the breached passageway.
• He Kai counted his returning knights and found that his order had lost more than thirty percent of its forces, with morale falling as the survivors faced the casualties.
• A squad announced Count Simon’s order granting the He Family Knight Order a week to rest and Merit Points as rewards for their performance.
• He Kai reviewed the reward exchange list but spent none of his Merit Points because he remembered Leon’s warning that the real reward lay elsewhere.

He Kai and Li Yang bonded over being abandoned pawns and discussed how Merit Points could help them reclaim their futures. Li Yang learned that Merit Points could be exchanged for noble titles, then He Kai asked him to share useful information in return.

• Li Yang invited He Kai to a hidden officers’ supply base to drink and talk about Merit Points.
• He Kai told Li Yang that Merit Points could ultimately be exchanged for noble titles.
• Li Yang said he intended to return alive and make his family repay what they owed him.
• He Kai reminded Li Yang that they first needed to survive and earn military achievements, then asked what valuable information Li Yang could offer.

Li Yang and He Kai strengthened their secret alliance, while Count Simon arranged to support He Kai’s group of abandoned soldiers. Simon maneuvered Leon into applying for Divine Grace on their behalf, leaving Leon to carry out the request.

• Li Yang offered He Kai contacts, fleet information, and Supernatural Weapons, and He Kai ordered twenty Knight’s Swords.
• He Kai and his allies met more often and pledged to return from the war alive together.
• Count Simon monitored the group’s gatherings and ordered plans adjusted to improve their chances of survival.
• Simon summoned Leon and asked him to find a discreet way to help He Kai’s group.
• After Leon suggested applying for Divine Grace, Simon instructed him to submit the application and said he had already recommended someone for it recently.

Count Simon secured Leon’s support by having him recommend He Kai and the others for divine grace, bringing them into Simon’s faction through Leon. At a warship gathering, Li Yang reported that the conglomerates planned to send newly trained knights to the front as reinforcements, despite their expected heavy losses.

• Count Simon offered to recommend Leon for divine grace, and Leon eagerly pledged allegiance to Simon’s faction.
• Leon submitted an application for divine grace for He Kai and the others, and Count Simon sent it to the Emperor for approval.
• Count Simon gave Leon the documents and list so Leon could inform He Kai and the others about the application and recruit them through his own connections.
• After rotating off the battlefield, He Kai went to the gathering, where Li Yang told the group that several conglomerates would send newly trained knights as reinforcements.
• He Kai and the others criticized the plan to send rookie knights, and Li Yang said the conglomerates considered their high death rate acceptable if enough recruits were sent.

Leon visited He Kai and the other frontline officers to offer them military support and a chance to align with the duke’s interests. They accepted, and Leon revealed that he had applied for divine favor to protect them further.

• He Kai admitted that he and the other officers were no different from the families that treated soldiers as expendable, and Li Yang urged them to preserve their allies and resources.
• He Kai warned the group that the enemy fortress had received inexperienced new troops, and the officers shared other battlefield intelligence.
• Leon entered the officers’ meeting and reassured them that he had come with good news, not to punish them.
• Leon showed the officers surveillance records and explained that the military would offer them an opportunity to counterbalance the financial conglomerates.
• He Kai and the others accepted Leon’s offer, and Leon told them their previous battle assignments had been adjusted to help keep them alive.
• Leon revealed that he had applied for divine favor on their behalf.

Leon explained that believers could petition for divine grace, giving He Kai and the others hope of receiving power. Meanwhile, He Wei arrived with knights from the He Family and assessed He Kai’s camp, leaving the family’s intentions toward his command unresolved.

• Leon explained that those close to the gods could petition for divine grace, and He Kai and the others grew eager for the opportunity.
• He Wei arrived at the reserve camp with knights trained by the He Family and reunited with He Kai.
• He Kai completed the military procedures to receive the recruits and brought them back to his camp.
• He Kai showed He Wei the camp and described its forces, casualties, and plan to rotate new recruits into battle.
• He Wei questioned why the He Family’s losses were low, and He Kai explained that entire knight orders were sometimes wiped out on the front lines.
• He Kai invited He Wei to a welcome feast so he could see the situation for himself.

He Wei reconsidered his suspicions about He Kai after spending a night enjoying the camp’s entertainment, while He Kai kept him away from the coming battle. He Wei then told He Kai that the He Family was arranging a marriage and would let him choose among several candidates.

• He Kai brought He Wei to a rear dining hall and explained that traveling merchants provided entertainment for soldiers in the camp.
• He Wei indulged in the hall’s pleasures, then wondered the next morning whether He Kai had deliberately tried to weaken his resolve.
• He Wei watched He Kai train the recruits, and He Kai said he would leave He Wei safely in camp when their unit went into battle in two days.
• He Wei told He Kai that the He Family was arranging a marriage for him and that he could choose among noblewomen, He Family girls, and daughters of other conglomerates.

He Kai learned the He Family had arranged a marriage match because his battlefield survival had made him politically valuable, and he accepted without letting their gesture win his favor. During the battle, the Sacrificial Civilization deployed the evolved knight Abigail, who approved a plan to strike the enemy command structure.

• He Kai realized the He Family had only decided to invest in him after he proved he could survive on the battlefield, and he agreed not to refuse the arranged match.
• He Kai led his knights through another assault, warning the newcomers about the Sacrificial Civilization's superior fighters and preparing to dig tunnels into the fortress.
• Abigail arrived at the fortress as an evolved knight with golden wings and took command of the Sacrificial Civilization's forces.
• A knight officer explained the attrition battle and proposed precise attacks on the enemy's command personnel.
• Abigail approved the decapitation operation and promised to cover the officer if it failed and seek commendations if it succeeded.

He Kai’s tunneling operation opened a passage into the fortress, where Sacrificial Civilization Elite Knights launched a targeted attack against frontline commanders. As He Kai fled their pursuit, Leon rushed to help, and He Kai prepared to fight for his life until reinforcements arrived.

• The Sacrificial Civilization knights opened the passage, and He Kai’s veterans bombarded the breach before enemy knights charged out.
• He Kai realized the attackers were all Elite Knights and that they were targeting him, so he rallied his guards and sent a distress signal.
• Leon received He Kai’s call for help and set out with his men, then learned the attackers were a dangerous decapitation squad.
• The Sacrificial Civilization’s attacks on officers spread confusion across the battle line as He Kai fled under relentless pursuit.
• Leon’s force arrived with precise warship support, and He Kai stopped running and turned to fight as the enemy intensified its attack.

He Kai was nearly killed during the Sacrificial Civilization’s attack, but Divine Grace gave him the strength to survive until Leon and the North Wind Knight Order could rescue him. He returned to camp with catastrophic losses and urged He Wei to restore morale, while He Wei abandoned thoughts of taking command.

• He Kai was overwhelmed by elite Sacrificial Civilization Knights, but his prayer was answered with a surge of Transcendent Power that let him hold out.
• Leon threw He Kai a Knight’s Sword, helped cut off the pursuers, and led the North Wind Knight Order into the battle.
• The Dark Empire’s forces suffered a major defeat after the Sacrificial Civilization’s decapitation operation killed many officers and disrupted frontline command.
• He Kai and the surviving troops retreated; only around a hundred of the thousand men He Wei had sent returned.
• He Kai told He Wei they needed to stabilize morale, and He Wei agreed, abandoning his plan to seize command.

He Kai stabilized the army after the battle and later joined Li Yang and the others aboard the flagship to receive Divine Grace. During the ceremony, Derek empowered them all, and Leon underwent a dangerous transformation that gave him six pairs of pitch-black wings of light.

• He Wei used He Kai's ability to avoid taking on greater responsibility while helping stabilize the army.
• He Kai reviewed the Staff Department's battle analysis, then told Li Yang and the others how the fortress nearly got him killed.
• Leon led He Kai and the others into a chapel aboard the flagship for a Divine Grace ceremony.
• Derek descended through the Fallen Angel statue and emptied everyone's Experience Pool to grant them new power.
• Derek's lingering gaze caused Leon's Transcendent Power to evolve, giving him six pairs of pitch-black wings of light.

Leon received a sacred transformation that gave him angel-like wings and strengthened the faith of the knights around him. Meanwhile, Derek used his new mythical power to bring a stone statue to life, draining Heavenly Mountain’s energy and triggering a widespread power outage.

• Leon sensed his changed power, withdrew it, and accepted the priest’s explanation that the Lord had granted him a gift.
• The gathered knights felt their power grow, and Leon told them that Divine Grace marked their true start on the path of knighthood.
• Derek learned that his descent had consumed energy equivalent to 2.5 Space Carriers and sensed that his own power had undergone a qualitative change.
• Derek focused on a granite knight statue, causing it to awaken, move, and grow feather-soft wings made of stone.
• The statue’s creation rapidly depleted Heavenly Mountain’s energy, forcing its equipment into low-power operation and alarming its residents.

When Derek’s power began draining Heavenly Mountain’s energy, Tiona and Tru rushed to replenish its reserves while Derek continued his experiment. He created a living Angel Knight bound to him by faith, leaving him convinced he had taken a step toward becoming a god.

• The superbrain warned that Heavenly Mountain’s energy was rapidly depleting, and Tiona ordered Tru to replenish it while trying to learn Derek’s status.
• Tru opened the energy warehouses and redirected nearby supply ships to send their reserves to Heavenly Mountain.
• Derek continued pouring Transcendent Power into the animated statue, sensing that his power was developing a miraculous quality and that the statue still lacked a soul.
• Tiona reached the ninth level as the energy reserves began rising, and the Angel Knight awakened and knelt before Derek, calling him Master.
• Derek ordered the Angel Knight to demonstrate his abilities, observed his Divine Power and unusual recovery, and concluded that his experiment had brought him closer to the domain of gods.

After the Divine Emissary Pegasus came to watch Leon fight, Count Simon revealed that Pegasus was a sacred Stone Golem created by the Lord. Leon realized humanity could be replaced and feared the approaching final assault, which Simon decided to advance.

• Count Simon introduced Pegasus to Leon, and Pegasus asked to see Leon fight in a real battle.
• Count Simon arranged for Leon to join the upcoming final assault, and Pegasus left.
• Count Simon told Leon that Pegasus was not human but a Stone Golem created by the Lord.
• Leon feared that humanity was replaceable after learning the Lord had created other life-forms.
• Count Simon reassured Leon and decided to move the final assault forward.

Leon learned that the North Wind Knight Order would take a more dangerous role in the final offensive, which Simon had moved forward because the Emperor was watching. The assault began with a day of bombardment, and He Kai’s Knight Order charged toward the fortress behind the first wave.

• Simon told Leon that the North Wind Knight Order would enter the first wave and take on a more important mission, and Leon accepted the increased risk.
• Leon warned He Kai that his life would be protected during the coming mission, and He Kai realized Leon had secured special consideration for him.
• The fleet tightened security and issued the order to begin the final offensive the next day.
• Space Carriers advanced and both sides exchanged bombardment for a day while the Knight Orders waited to deploy.
• Simon ordered the Knight Orders to charge, and He Kai’s men followed the first cannon-fodder units toward the fortress.

He Kai’s forces breached the fortress and met only weak resistance, while Leon suspected the enemy was luring them toward a hidden trap. In the fortress core, Abigail refused to retreat because she sensed powerful presences that could advance her evolution.

• He Kai ordered his knights to press the assault without retreating and led them through the fortress breach.
• He Kai’s elite squad smashed the inner defensive line, and he reported that the fortress’s resistance seemed suspiciously weak.
• Leon and Dust advanced through a separate passage, and Leon agreed the lack of opposition suggested a trap.
• The Blue Star Federation Military Government had planned to abandon the fortress after consolidating its territories and leave its defenders unaware of the decision.
• The fortress commander urged Abigail to retreat, but Abigail refused because she sensed approaching powers that could bring her closer to godhood.

Leon and Abigail met on the battlefield and fought with holy power, tearing apart a fortress as its commander tried to destroy them. Derek stopped the fortress’s energy explosion and began guiding both knights’ transformations, while their battle continued without a victor.

• Abigail challenged Leon, and the two revealed their wings and clashed inside the fortress.
• Leon and Abigail’s fight wrecked the fortress as the commander fled and triggered its self-destruction.
• Derek descended into Pegasus and stopped the energy explosion before it could detonate.
• Dust ordered the knights to capture the enemy troops after the fortress’s soldiers lost their will to resist.
• Derek channeled energy into Leon and Abigail, guiding Leon’s physical evolution and shaping Abigail’s control over her wings of light.

Leon and Abigail’s battle ended when the Sacrificial Civilization’s knights began retreating from the fortress, leaving both fighters stronger and eager to meet again. After the Dark Empire’s victory, Leon encountered the god-created Divine Emissary Pegasus and reunited with allies who had suffered heavy losses.

• Leon and Abigail continued evolving under a god’s gaze until the Sacrificial Civilization’s knights called Abigail to retreat.
• Abigail kicked Leon away, introduced herself, and withdrew after saying she hoped they would cross blades again.
• Leon stopped Dust and the other knights from pursuing Abigail, warning them that a god was watching.
• Leon recognized Pegasus as the Divine Emissary, and Pegasus said the Lord was watching Leon before wandering through the fortress.
• Leon searched for survivors and met He Kai, who thanked him for helping the He Family Knight Order survive the battle.

After the battle, Leon and He Kai returned to the command carrier and discussed how He Kai might benefit from the victory despite the He Family’s plans. He Kai chose a knightly title rather than a baronial title, preserving the He Family’s trust while pledging to serve Duke Palmer.

• Leon saw that He Kai’s mech had suffered a deep gash, and He Kai said he was simply glad to be alive.
• Count Simon described the severe losses and warned that the Blue Star Federation Military Government’s resolve meant the war might continue.
• Leon argued that He Kai should take a role replacing the conglomerates’ influence, but Count Simon explained that He Yun had chosen He Wei to inherit the He Family’s power.
• Count Simon offered He Kai either a share of the knights’ titles and fiefs or a separate baronial title, and He Kai chose the knightly title.
• Count Simon reminded He Kai that the Dark Empire’s nobles held power, and He Kai’s choice left him a chance to inherit the He Family’s influence.