Chapter Summaries

Zhou Xu received Diak, the centaur representative, in Great Zhou’s council hall and began discussing the terms of an alliance between their peoples. Diak was left stunned by the hall and by Qiansui, the supernatural creature resting beside Zhou Xu.

• Zhuo Ge brought Diak to the council hall and explained that Zhou Xu was meeting with ministers.
• After the ministers left, Zhou Xu summoned the centaur representative.
• Diak froze when he saw Qiansui lying on the throne with Zhou Xu leaning against and petting it.
• Zhou Xu welcomed Diak and began outlining the mutual obligations of the proposed alliance between Great Zhou and the centaur race.
• Diak gathered his wits, recognizing that learning the alliance’s terms was the main reason for his visit.

After the enemy’s forces made contact with the centaurs, the High Priest and Soros weighed whether to attack them or face the Ratmen and the otherworld forces together. The High Priest chose to seek peace with the otherworld forces and sent Soros to ask the centaur chieftain for a meeting, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• The High Priest realized that the enemy’s increased number of centaurs meant the otherworld forces had made contact with them.
• The High Priest asked Soros whether the Lizardmen should attack the centaurs, and Soros outlined the dangers of either choice without committing to a recommendation.
• The High Priest decided that negotiating peace with the otherworld forces was the only way to break the deadlock.
• Soros warned that the Lizardmen could not cross the energy passage safely, so the High Priest directed him to seek the centaurs’ help in reaching the other side.
• Soros led Raptor Cavalry to the border and asked to speak with the centaur chieftain; the centaurs held their fire and sent a messenger to inform their chieftain.

Soros asked Tar to help convey the Lizardmen’s offer of peaceful coexistence to Great Zhou, and Tar agreed to send Centaur representatives. The five Centaurs crossed the energy channel and reached Grassland Village, where Zhou Xu called an urgent meeting to hear what had happened.

• Soros told Tar that the Lizardmen wanted to avoid war with Great Zhou and the Centaurs, and Tar agreed to consider passing on the message.
• Tar sent five Centaurs toward World Edge to deliver the message, while the Lizardmen High Priest personally opened the energy channel for them.
• The five Centaurs passed through the channel and signaled for help using the horns Zhuo Ge had taught them to use.
• Li Ce received the Centaurs and sent them with an escort to Grassland Village, then reported their arrival.
• Zhou Xu summoned Ye Jinghong, Zhuo Ge, Shilke, and Diak to the council hall, and Diak hurried there after learning his people had arrived.

Bal reported that the Lizardmen had approached the centaurs to discuss peace, while Zhou Xu focused on how their High Priest had opened an energy passage. Zhou Xu deduced that the High Priest could accelerate the formation of an existing passage, easing the immediate threat and allowing them to adjust their plans.

• Diak arrived at the council hall last and asked Bal whether something had happened to the centaur clan.
• Bal explained that the Lizardmen had proposed peace negotiations and described how their High Priest had opened an energy passage for the centaurs.
• Zhou Xu asked Bal to recount the High Priest's actions in detail while Ye Jinghong considered the risks of attacking the Lizardmen.
• Zhou Xu deduced that the High Priest accelerated the formation of an energy passage rather than creating one outright, and concluded the Lizardmen posed less danger for roughly half a month.
• Zhou Xu considered changing the work schedule so Wang Dong could pause his Enchanted Weapon work and take on other tasks.

Zhou Xu decided to negotiate peace with the Lizardmen, reasoning that the Ratmen would keep them occupied while Da Zhou developed its strength. He then asked Diak whether the centaurs would move to their world.

• Shilke calmly weighed the risks of war and peace with the Lizardmen, showing Zhou Xu that he would not let old hatred cloud his judgment.
• Zhou Xu chose peace and explained that the Lizardmen would remain weakened by their ongoing war with the Ratmen while Da Zhou gained time to grow stronger.
• Ye Jinghong praised Zhou Xu, and the council joined in before Zhou Xu called on Diak for the centaurs' position.
• Bal revealed that the centaur chieftain had authorized Diak to make decisions, and Zhou Xu asked Diak if his entire race would move to their world.

Zhou Xu persuaded Diak to move the entire centaur tribe to Great Zhou, offering them grassland territory and promising to make their departure a condition of peace talks with the Lizardmen. The next morning, Yoseph dragged the exhausted Bal to breakfast, where Diak caught Yoseph acting like a cafeteria expert.

• Zhou Xu explained that moving the centaurs to Great Zhou would make mutual support easier and give the tribe room to roam and hunt.
• Zhou Xu promised to designate grassland as the centaurs’ tribal lands and require the Lizardmen to let them leave as part of peace talks.
• Diak agreed to migrate the entire centaur tribe to Great Zhou.
• Yoseph woke the exhausted Bal and hurried him to the cafeteria before breakfast ran out.
• Diak smacked Yoseph on the back of the head for acting smug while getting food.

Diak and the centaur delegation returned from Great Zhou after enjoying its grasslands and food, and Diak reported Zhou Xu’s peace proposal to chieftain Tar. Tar found the proposal persuasive, while Diak’s account of Great Zhou left him speechless, and the chapter ended with Yoseph excitedly telling the tribe about his experiences.

• The centaurs spent their remaining days in Great Zhou enjoying the grassland and its food before Diak led them to the border on the ninth day.
• Li Ce gave Diak the new signal, and the centaurs used it to pass safely through the energy passage when it opened on the tenth day.
• Diak noticed that the Green Lizard Priest looked nearly drained and realized the Lizardmen’s High Priest was absent, suggesting the Green Lizard Priest had opened the passage.
• Soros asked Diak whether the peace talks had succeeded, and Diak said he needed to consult his chieftain before answering.
• Diak returned to the centaur lands and told Tar about Zhou Xu’s proposal and what he had seen in Great Zhou; Tar found the proposal convincing.
• Yoseph excitedly recounted his experiences to a crowd of tribesmen after Diak left Tar’s tent.

The Lizardmen agreed to let the centaur tribe migrate, but the High Priest secretly ordered an ambush to wipe them out before they could cross to the other world. As Tar led the centaurs through the encirclement, an unexpected squad appeared outside it and charged toward them.

• Diak told Soros that the centaurs would agree to peace talks only if the whole tribe could migrate to the world across the way, and the High Priest approved the request.
• The centaurs gathered their belongings and traveled to the World Edge, where a Green Lizard Priest began preparing to cast the passage spell.
• When Lizardmen attacked, Diak shot at the Green Lizard Priest, while Tar ordered the centaurs to abandon their luggage and break through the encirclement.
• Soros withdrew under guard and coordinated the Lizardmen’s ambush, using the Raptor Cavalry to slow the centaurs as the encirclement closed.
• As Soros expected the slowed centaurs to be trapped, a centaur squad appeared outside the encirclement and charged toward it.

As Soros’s plan to encircle the centaurs was threatened by a squad attacking from outside, Yoseph charged ahead alone and tore open the Lizardmen formation with War Charge. Diak led the centaurs through the breach, leaving their escape underway as Soros struggled to respond.

• Soros realized that a centaur squad had arrived from outside and ordered preparations to counter-encircle them once the Lizardmen formation was complete.
• Yoseph urged the centaurs to follow him, accelerated far ahead of them, and charged the unfinished Lizardmen encirclement alone.
• Yoseph used War Charge to blast the Lizardmen aside and open a breach in their formation.
• The rest of the centaur squad caught up and widened the breach with a second charge.
• Diak led the centaurs through the opening at full speed.

The centaurs escaped the Lizardmen’s encirclement, but Tar succumbed to his wounds after the retreat. Diak became the new chief and vowed to lead the tribe and seek revenge on the Lizardmen.

• Soros ordered the Raptor Cavalry to pursue the centaurs, but recalled his troops when he realized they could not catch them or trap them again.
• The fleeing centaurs continued racing onward until Tar collapsed from his injuries.
• Tar woke in a secluded forest with Yoseph watching over him, and Diak came to see him.
• Tar thanked Diak for following the king of Great Zhou’s advice to leave a squad outside as a precaution, then urged Diak to lead the tribesmen before he died.
• Diak composed himself, announced that he was the new chief, and vowed that the centaurs would survive and eventually settle their score with the Lizardmen.

Diak reaffirmed that migrating to Great Zhou was the centaur clan’s best chance to escape the Lizardmen, while Zhou Xu prepared to launch an expedition if the clan had not arrived by the end of the month. The chapter left Great Zhou finalizing its plans and supplies for a campaign to aid the centaurs and confront the Lizardmen.

• Diak reviewed the risks facing his clan and resolved that joining Great Zhou was preferable to remaining near the Lizardmen.
• Zhou Xu learned that the latest recruits had arrived and ordered them to begin training and master riding quickly.
• Zhou Xu told Li Ce that Great Zhou would send out troops by the end of the month if the centaur clan had not arrived.
• Zhou Xu explained that the centaurs’ mobility and combat strength were essential to resisting the Lizardmen, and Li Ce accepted the need to act.
• Zhou Xu, Li Ce, and the officers simulated the expedition on a sand table, settled on several tactics, and pushed preparations for provisions and equipment toward completion.

Li Ce’s forces refused to enter an energy passage that the Lizardmen had opened as a trap, while the Lizardmen High Priest considered the failed ambush and the pressure of the Ratmen offensive. Zhou Xu continued preparing an expedition, and when another passage opened several days later, Li Ce led the army out.

• Li Ce’s cavalry and crossbow squad surrounded the energy passage and waited until it closed without entering.
• Soros reported to the High Priest that no enemy troops had emerged, and the High Priest wondered whether they had seen through the trap or abandoned the Centaur tribe.
• The High Priest decided to send a recovered unit to the front, while the Ratmen’s renewed offensive limited his ability to attack the opposing world.
• Zhou Xu suspected the Lizardmen had opened the passage deliberately but continued preparing an expedition, reasoning that the Centaurs could recover while they waited.
• Several days later, another energy passage opened near the border, and Li Ce drew his blade and ordered the assembled army to march.

Soros prepared to defend World Edge as the energy passage reopened, but Shilke’s Elf Knights burst through and broke the Lizardmen’s formation. Zhou Chongshan’s human cavalry followed, and the battle for the passage began in earnest.

• Soros assembled his stretched forces when the energy passage reopened and ordered the Green Lizard Infantry to attack its exit.
• Shilke led the Elf Knights through the passage behind an Airflow Barrier, which deflected the poisoned spears.
• Soros sent the Raptor Cavalry to intercept the Elf Knights, but Shilke’s Gale Slash killed the lead rider and disrupted the charge.
• Shilke’s Elf Knights charged through the Green Lizard Infantry formation.
• Zhou Chongshan led human cavalry through the passage and ordered all troops to charge, seeking to secure World Edge for Great Zhou.

Li Ce's cavalry broke the Green Lizard Infantry's formation, forcing Soros to retreat into the Rainforest and report the enemy's strength to the High Priest. Li Ce's forces settled at the World Edge, where a Wyvern Rider kept watch from the sky.

• Li Ce's hundred human cavalry riders smashed through the Green Lizard Infantry's defensive square, and Soros ordered the Raptor Cavalry to cover the infantry's retreat into the Rainforest.
• Zhou Chongshan, Shilke, and the other cavalry leaders obeyed Li Ce's recall signal and stopped pursuing the enemy far from their rear forces.
• Soros set an ambush in the Rainforest, then left an adjutant to keep watch and rode to the temple to report to the High Priest.
• The High Priest accepted Soros's explanation for retreating and ordered him to hold the Rainforest defense line.
• Li Ce and his troops began building a camp on the plains of the World Edge, while Zhuo Ge spotted a Lizardmen Wyvern Rider watching them from high above.

Li Ce and his officers considered how the Lizardmen’s withdrawal into the Rainforest had disrupted Great Zhou’s plans to use cavalry on the plains. Zhou Xu’s strategy relied on Mountain Soldiers and the Centaurs for the coming campaign, while the war’s pressures continued to strain Great Zhou’s rear.

• Li Ce oversaw camp construction as both sides avoided further fighting after the initial clash, and his adjutant reported a few soldiers had been paralyzed by poison.
• Li Ce told Zhou Chongshan, Shilke, and Zhuo Ge that Soros’s decisive retreat had left Great Zhou with control of the World Edge area but made the next stage difficult.
• Li Ce and the officers recognized that their cavalry would be poorly suited to fighting in the Rainforest, where dismounted riders would be less effective.
• Zhou Xu had prepared for the Rainforest campaign by training recruits in mountain and forest warfare and transferring trained Mountain Soldiers from Shi Lei’s forces.
• Zhou Xu sent troops quickly to show the Centaur tribe that Great Zhou had not abandoned them, since he needed their strength against the Lizardmen and Ratmen.

Zhou Xu prepared food and weapons for the front line, then inspected training and mining at Iron Mountain Village. Meanwhile, Diak suspected Great Zhou’s troops had arrived and began a new operation, while Zhou Xu found Wang Pengfei boasting to villagers and being challenged over his claims.

• Zhou Xu confirmed that food supplies and weapons were ready for Grassland Village and ordered the Forging Department to focus on Sword and Shield Equipment.
• Yoseph reported that Lizardmen patrols had increased, and Diak suspected Great Zhou’s troops had arrived and told Yoseph to keep quiet while they carried out their assigned task.
• Zhou Xu inspected the Mountain Soldiers’ training and Iron Mountain Mine at Iron Mountain Village, trusting Shi Lei’s expertise with the recruits.
• Zhou Xu found Wang Pengfei lecturing villagers, who challenged his advice and mocked his claim that he had taught Zhou Xu to make cement.

Zhou Xu consulted Wang Pengfei about armor and used their discussion to develop plans for iron armor production. Back in Black Moon Village, he merged the Equipment Department and Forging Department into the Military Equipment Headquarters and began reviewing his designs with its deputy directors.

• Zhou Xu summoned Wang Pengfei and asked what he knew about armor, drawing on his scattered knowledge for ideas.
• Zhou Xu recorded the armor-production ideas he had organized and decided to bring forward the iron armor project.
• Zhou Xu merged the Equipment Department and Forging Department into the Military Equipment Headquarters, appointed Zhuang Mengdie and Wang Dachui as deputy directors, and established a Civilian Equipment Department.
• Zhou Xu showed Zhuang Mengdie and Wang Dachui his iron armor designs, and they recognized that neither former department could easily handle the work alone.

Zhou Xu inspected and tried on the first sample of composite armor, which combined solid iron plates and scale armor with a brimmed Saucer Helmet and face guard. After praising Zhuang Mengdie’s work, he identified fit and movement problems and suggested adjustments.

• The Equipment Department completed the first sample suit of armor, and Zhou Xu hurried over to inspect it.
• Zhou Xu examined the composite design, which used solid iron plates for vital areas and scale armor for flexible sections.
• Zhuang Mengdie explained how the armor plates were sewn onto hemp clothing and linked together.
• Zhou Xu tried on the Saucer Helmet and face guard, praised Zhuang Mengdie’s design, and found that they preserved his vision and flexibility.
• Zhou Xu moved in the armor, identified areas that restricted or rubbed against him, and proposed specific changes.

Zhuang Mengdie finalized the iron armor designs, and Zhou Xu approved the officer and soldier models for mass production. As supplies crossed the World Edge passage, Li Ce prepared for a Lizardmen attack, while Soros deployed a Shield Dragon to surprise the opposing forces.

• Zhuang Mengdie modified the armor sample, and Zhou Xu tested it and suggested a few minor adjustments.
• Zhuang Mengdie presented designs for officer armor and lighter soldier scale armor, and Zhou Xu reviewed them before mass production began.
• Li Ce and his troops received the first supplies through the World Edge passage while a Wyvern Rider watched and then flew off to report their movements.
• Li Ce ordered his troops to prepare for a Lizardmen attack and expand the outer guard perimeter by one thousand meters.
• Soros received the Wyvern Rider's report and sent a Shield Dragon out of the Rainforest to shock the opposing forces.

Li Ce and his troops discovered a Shield Dragon advancing toward their camp and tried to assess how to stop it. After ordinary arrows bounced off its shell, Li Ce realized the enemy expected the creature to crush their defenses.

• A patrol spotted the Shield Dragon, and Shilke led the Elf Knights to join them and search for other Lizardmen.
• Li Ce left Zhou Chongshan in charge of the area’s defenses and rode to meet Shilke’s group.
• Shilke reported that no other Lizardmen were nearby and that the Wyvern Rider was leading the Shield Dragon toward their camp.
• Li Ce ordered Shilke and Li Tie’s cavalry to approach from opposite sides and fire a probing volley of arrows.
• The arrows bounced off the Shield Dragon’s shell, and Li Ce recognized that ordinary attacks could not easily stop it.