Chapter Summaries

Li Ce concluded that the Shield Dragon was too heavily armored for ordinary arrows or Shilke’s sword to harm, and ordered his troops to track it instead. As it approached the enemy camp, Li Ce’s forces sprang their prepared attack, launching six enormous projectiles at it.

• Li Ce assessed the Shield Dragon’s heavy armor, great weight, and slow movement, and realized it threatened stationary camps more than mobile troops.
• Shilke and Li Tie tried shooting gaps in the Shield Dragon’s shell, but its thick, scaled hide stopped their arrows.
• Shilke charged in and struck the Shield Dragon with his Silver Steel Sword, leaving only a mark on its scales.
• Li Ce ordered his troops to stop wasting attacks and follow the Shield Dragon while he arranged further deployments.
• The Shield Dragon reached the outskirts of the opposing camp as the Wyvern Riders watched from above, confident it could not be stopped.
• Li Ce and his troops rushed away, and six enormous projectiles flew in from different directions and struck the Shield Dragon.

Li Ce’s forces used the Three-bow Ballistas and Tracking Arrows to wound the Shield Dragon and keep its Wyvern Rider occupied. Soros learned the High Priest’s Shield Dragon was in danger and sent the Raptor Cavalry racing toward the battlefield.

• Six Giant Crossbow Bolts struck the Shield Dragon, shattering shell fragments and driving several arrowheads into its body.
• Shilke and the others fired Tracking Arrows at the Wyvern Rider, forcing him to dodge and disrupting his control of the Shield Dragon.
• The six Three-bow Ballistas fired another coordinated volley, making the Shield Dragon stagger as the Wyvern Rider blew his signal horn for it to advance.
• The Wyvern Rider flew to Soros and reported that the enemy’s weapon had damaged the Shield Dragon.
• Soros recognized the Shield Dragon as the High Priest’s mount and ordered the Raptor Cavalry to rush to the battlefield.

Li Ce ordered the Crossbow Soldier Unit to retreat and then attack the Shield Dragon from the flanks while it destroyed the frontline camp. As the Shield Dragon endured their renewed barrage, Soros decided to commit his troops to the battle.

• The Shield Dragon advanced under concentrated ballista fire, and Li Ce judged that its wounds were still shallow while the Crossbow Soldier Unit faced growing danger.
• Li Ce ordered the Crossbow Soldier Unit to withdraw, then split into six squads and attack the Shield Dragon from positions on both flanks.
• The Shield Dragon crushed its way into the camp and swept its tail through the facilities, leveling nearly a quarter of the camp as the ballista squads fired again.
• Soros watched from outside the camp, realized the Shield Dragon might fall under the continued attacks, and ordered his troops to attack.

Li Ce’s forces countered Soros’s attempt to use Raptor Cavalry to destroy the Three-bow Ballistae, which had pierced the Shield Dragons’ armor. Soros’s feint and hidden attack failed as Zhou Chongshan’s cavalry and the Crossbow Soldier Unit’s escorts responded to the threat.

• Li Ce recognized that Soros had sent the Raptor Cavalry to target the Crossbow Soldier Unit and destroy its Three-bow Ballistae.
• Zhou Chongshan split his cavalry into two groups, then used mounted archery to suppress the Raptor Cavalry as they dodged the encirclement.
• A smaller Raptor Cavalry force emerged from the opposite side, and Li Ce realized the larger force was a feint.
• Shilke and Li Tie moved to protect the Crossbow Soldier Unit, following Li Ce’s earlier orders.
• Soros saw that his improvised plan had failed and felt trapped by Li Ce’s response.

Soros struggled to turn the battle around as his cavalry clashed with the enemy and the Shield Dragon was wounded. Under the Wyvern Rider’s direction, the Shield Dragon raided the camp for supplies, endured the Crossbow Soldier Unit’s final bolts, and left after eating its fill.

• Soros steadied himself and let the Raptor Cavalry continue fighting as the cavalry battle intensified.
• Shilke’s Elf Knights joined the effort to intercept the Lizardmen raiding squad, allowing the Wyvern Rider to direct the Shield Dragon again.
• Li Ce accepted that the enemy might destroy the forward camp and signaled his logistics troops to salvage supplies.
• The Wyvern Rider guided the Shield Dragon to the camp, where it crushed abandoned weapons and ate provisions while the logistics troops escaped with what they could.
• The Crossbow Soldier Unit exhausted its Giant Crossbow Bolts against the Shield Dragon, which survived and swaggered away from the ruined camp.

After the Shield Dragon withdrew, Li Ce assessed the destruction of the frontline camp and found that the loss of its stored food had left Great Zhou with little margin for error. Soros reported that the Shield Dragon had survived its wounds and that the camp had been destroyed, while the High Priest vowed to deal with Great Zhou after the southern battle ended.

• The Shield Dragon withdrew, ending the battle as Great Zhou's cavalry broke off its pursuit near the Rainforest.
• Li Ce and the logistics troops salvaged weapons and assessed the camp's losses, discovering that most stored provisions had been ruined.
• Li Ce rejected hiding supplies because the Wyvern Rider's constant scouting made it too risky.
• Soros's troops removed the Giant Crossbow Bolts from the Shield Dragon, which suffered flesh wounds but no fatal injuries.
• Soros reported the Shield Dragon's injuries and the destruction of the camp to the High Priest, who ordered him to keep Great Zhou restrained until troops could return from the south.

The High Priest ordered Soros to keep the escaped centaurs from joining the opposing forces while preparing to strike during the next truce with the Ratmen. After half a month of calm, Zhou Xu reviewed Li Ce’s report and ordered more Giant Crossbow Bolts to be made for the next opening of the energy passage.

• The High Priest told Soros to intensify patrols so the centaurs could not join the opposing forces.
• The High Priest planned to use the next lull in the war with the Ratmen to destroy the opposing forces’ frontline troops, and Soros welcomed the prospect of being recalled.
• Half a month passed without the Great Zhou forces under Li Ce making a move, while both sides recovered and rebuilt after the previous clash.
• Li Ce sent a soldier through the reopened energy passage to report that the Lizardmen had not attacked, likely because the Shield Dragon’s shell remained damaged.
• Zhou Xu concluded that the Three-bow Ballista could threaten the Shield Dragon but that his misjudgment had left the Crossbow Soldier Unit short of Giant Crossbow Bolts.
• Zhou Xu ordered production of Giant Crossbow Bolts to be accelerated so a batch could be sent through the next energy passage.

Zhou Xu reviewed the costs and production timelines for vine and scale armor, then ended vine armor production and established a department dedicated to armor manufacturing. He also checked the Mountain Soldiers’ training report from Iron Mountain Village, which Wang Pengfei had brought him.

• Zhou Xu adjusted the next logistical supply arrangements using Li Ce’s latest front-line report.
• After reviewing Zhuang Mengdie’s comparison of armor production, Zhou Xu ordered the Handicraft Department to stop making vine armor and shifted Great Zhou’s troops to scale armor.
• Zhou Xu established the Armor Manufacturing Department and planned to divide equipment work among more specialized departments.
• Zhou Xu asked for the latest report on the Mountain Soldiers in Iron Mountain Village, and Wang Pengfei found and presented it.

Zhou Xu waited for the Mountain Soldiers to receive more training while reinforcing Li Ce’s forward camp with elite troops and supplies. Li Tie volunteered for a coming Rainforest operation but got no answer, as the Lizardmen’s High Priest reacted furiously to news that centaurs had spread false reports of an attack on the Lizardmen’s rear.

• Zhou Xu decided to wait before sending the newly trained recruits into the Rainforest and sent Shi Lei’s thirty elite Vine Armor Soldiers to reinforce Li Ce.
• Li Tie noticed the Sword and Shield Equipment and the arriving Mountain Soldiers, then asked Li Ce to let him join the upcoming operation.
• Li Ce told Li Tie to leave without confirming whether he could join, and Li Tie withdrew obediently.
• A Lizardman messenger reported that centaurs had appeared on the southern battlefield and shouted that another faction had attacked the Lizardmen’s rear.
• The High Priest smashed his treasured Old Civilization metal vessel in anger before the messenger could finish speaking.

The centaurs carried Zhou Xu’s warning about a second front to the Ratmen, hoping to draw pressure away from the Great Zhou troops. The Ratmen’s Jikum saw an opportunity in the Lizardmen’s divided forces, while the centaurs hid and waited for a chance to reunite with Great Zhou.

• The High Priest suspected that the opposing faction had manipulated the centaurs and resolved to prevent them from keeping contact with it.
• Yoseph reported to Diak that the Ratmen had slowed their offensive after hearing the centaurs’ warning, and Diak said they had done what they needed to do.
• Diak refused Yoseph’s suggestion to head toward the Great Zhou troops because the Lizardmen were searching for the centaurs, and chose to wait in hiding.
• Jikum reasoned that the Lizardmen would need to divert troops to eliminate the weaker enemy on their other front, creating an opening for the Ratmen to attack.

Jikum waited for what appeared to be a Lizardmen withdrawal before unleashing the Rat Tide against their forward camp, hoping to defeat them and rise to clan chief. The Lizardmen revealed their withdrawal had been a ruse, and Raptor Cavalry charged toward Jikum’s now-unprotected position.

• Jikum ordered the Ratmen to wait five days after scouts reported that Lizardmen troops were withdrawing from the front line.
• Jikum launched the Rat Tide at the Lizardmen camp, where the slave Ratmen overwhelmed the defenders with their numbers and hunger.
• Jikum ordered the Rat Tide to press its assault, hoping to break the Lizardmen’s defense quickly.
• Raptor Cavalry attacked from the flank, and Jikum realized the Lizardmen had faked their withdrawal and his position had lost the Rat Tide’s protection.

The Lizardmen routed the Ratmen and broke through their first nest before the High Priest halted the exhausted pursuit. At Great Zhou’s front, Li Ce received new equipment and waited for reinforcements, but multiple Shield Dragons soon appeared on the plains.

• Jikum ordered suicidal Rat Tide interceptions to slow the Lizardmen as his army retreated, and the Lizardmen broke through the Ratmen’s first nest.
• The High Priest stopped the pursuit and ordered the Lizardmen to camp and recover.
• Claw tortured Jikum, warned him that another failure would cost him his life, and ordered him to bring back Lizardmen heads.
• Great Zhou received supplies, Giant Crossbow Bolts, a Three-bow Ballista, Vine Armor, and scale armor, completing armor coverage for its forces.
• Li Ce chose to hold the camp and wait for the Mountain Soldiers rather than send cavalry into the Rainforest.
• More than a week later, several Shield Dragons emerged from the Rainforest onto the plains.

Li Ce learned that four Shield Dragons were advancing with Lizardmen troops protected between them, confirming that the Lizardmen intended to reclaim the plains. He ordered a flank attack on the wounded Shield Dragon, but the enemy quickly rearranged its formation to shield it.

• Li Ce realized the four Shield Dragons had likely been transferred from the Lizardmen-Ratmen battlefield, suggesting the Ratmen might have lost.
• Li Ce ordered the logistics troops to evacuate with the supplies, then abandoned the plan to surrender the camp after recognizing the Lizardmen might retake the plains.
• Li Ce mobilized the cavalry and expanded Crossbow Soldier Unit, then identified the Shield Dragon with a damaged shell and noticed Lizardmen troops advancing inside the four-beast formation.
• Li Ce ordered seven Giant Crossbow Bolts fired into the rear Shield Dragon, shattering its still-regrowing shell and wounding it.
• The Shield Dragons shifted formation, placing another beast between the Crossbow Soldier Unit and the wounded Shield Dragon.

The Lizardmen’s reinforcements threatened Li Ce’s forces as their Raptor Cavalry attacked the Three-bow Ballista and overwhelmed the defenders. Just as Zhou Chongshan’s cavalry faced encirclement, Diak’s centaur tribe arrived on the battlefield.

• Li Ce ordered the Crossbow Soldier Unit to keep attacking the Shield Dragons, but the newcomers’ shells proved tougher than the first one’s.
• Soros and the High Priest recognized the Three-bow Ballista as a threat, and the High Priest ordered the Raptor Cavalry to destroy it.
• Li Ce ordered the Crossbow Soldier Unit to retreat and sent Shilke’s Elf Knights to support the cavalry against the approaching Raptor Cavalry.
• Shilke’s Elf Knights struck the Raptor Cavalry with their Airflow Barriers, causing a pileup, and Zhou Chongshan charged into the disordered enemy.
• The Raptor Cavalry regrouped and began to encircle Zhou Chongshan’s outnumbered forces.
• Diak led the centaur tribe onto the plains battlefield as the cavalry fight turned against Li Ce’s troops.

Diak led the centaurs in a two-stage War Charge that routed the Raptor Cavalry and drove toward the High Priest's position. Just as the centaurs advanced on the Lizardman infantry, Chameleon Lurkers ambushed them and Giant Lizards charged from the enemy formation.

• Diak turned the centaur charge toward the High Priest instead of helping the Great Zhou cavalry.
• The High Priest ordered fifty Raptor Cavalry to activate Boiling Blood and intercept the centaurs.
• Diak used Yoseph's breakthrough as the first strike, then led the centaur main force in a second charge that scattered the Raptor Cavalry.
• Diak led the centaurs toward the High Priest's infantry position, expecting them to crush the Lizardmen on foot.
• Chameleon Lurkers appeared and attacked with blow darts, while Giant Lizards charged the centaurs from the Lizardman formation.

Diak’s centaurs were surrounded by giant lizards and regrouped Raptor Cavalry, while the High Priest watched the Great Zhou cavalry fight the Lizardmen to a stalemate. Soros realized that new scale armor, battlefield experience, and the fighters Zhuo Ge, Shilke, and especially Zhou Chongshan had strengthened the Great Zhou forces.

• Diak ordered his centaurs to scatter and attack the giant lizards with bows, but the Raptor Cavalry regrouped and surrounded them.
• The High Priest mocked the centaurs’ failed attack and noticed that the Great Zhou cavalry was holding its own against the Raptor Cavalry.
• Soros recognized that newly delivered scale armor and the soldiers’ experience had improved the Great Zhou cavalry’s combat strength.
• Soros identified Zhuo Ge, Shilke, and Zhou Chongshan as key forces in the battle, and was especially surprised by Zhou Chongshan’s fighting.
• Zhou Chongshan killed Lizardmen and Raptor Cavalrymen with a spear and saber, then picked up enemy weapons as he fought through the melee.

Zhou Chongshan fought Gruul in a clash of technical skill against brute strength, while Zhuo Ge killed an opposing Lizardmen general in a charge through the Raptor Cavalry. Zhuo Ge raised the enemy general’s corpse on his spear and announced his death.

• Gruul attacked Zhou Chongshan, who countered with a sabre and short spear and forced him onto the defensive.
• Zhou Chongshan analyzed Gruul’s strength-based fighting style and used his weapon techniques to suppress his attacks.
• A Lizardmen general challenged Zhuo Ge as he charged through the enemy ranks.
• Zhuo Ge pierced the Lizardmen general with his iron spear, hurled him into the Raptor Cavalry, and then struck him through the neck.
• Zhuo Ge lifted the dead general on his spear and shouted that the enemy general was dead.

After the Raptor Cavalry withdrew behind the Shield Dragons, Li Ce ordered the Great Zhou cavalry to pursue them through the formation. He realized too late that the four Shield Dragons had transformed the plain into a complex battlefield that favored the Raptor Cavalry’s speed and agility.

• Zhuo Ge displayed a Lizardmen officer’s corpse, shaking the Raptor Cavalry’s morale, and Li Ce ordered a fierce attack.
• The High Priest ordered the Raptor Cavalry to withdraw, and Zhou Chongshan wounded Gruul’s left shoulder with a thrown spear.
• The Raptor Cavalry sheltered among the Shield Dragons, blunting the Great Zhou cavalry’s arrows and blocking the Giant Crossbow Bolts.
• Li Ce halted the crossbow barrage and ordered the Great Zhou cavalry to charge through the Shield Dragons’ gaps and attack the Raptor Cavalry.
• Li Ce watched the Raptor Cavalry maneuver around the Shield Dragons and realized the battlefield now favored their agility.

Li Ce withdrew the Great Zhou cavalry from the Shield Dragons’ terrain and redirected them toward the Lizardmen High Priest, forcing the High Priest to respond. As the High Priest sent Giant Lizards to intercept them, a Bone Whistle recalled the beasts, leaving the charge’s outcome unresolved.

• The Shield Dragons altered the battlefield, allowing the Raptor Cavalry to use their leaping tactics more effectively and putting Li Ce’s cavalry at a disadvantage.
• After spotting the Lizardmen formation, Li Ce ordered a retreat and redirected Zhou Chongshan’s cavalry to charge the High Priest.
• The High Priest called for the Raptor Cavalry to support him, but Zhou Chongshan’s faster warhorses widened their lead as Li Ce moved the Crossbow Soldier Unit.
• The High Priest sent ten Giant Lizards to intercept the charging Great Zhou cavalry, while Soros recognized the danger but could not stop the order.
• A Bone Whistle sounded, and the Giant Lizards abandoned their interception and rushed toward its source.

The High Priest and Soros watched their Giant Lizard ambush fail after the enemy used a stolen Bone Whistle to lure the beasts away. As the Great Zhou cavalry charged, Shilke’s Elf Knights strained to break through the Lizardmen infantry, and Zhuo Ge and Zhou Chongshan surged ahead to lead the attack.

• The High Priest and Soros realized the enemy had used the Bone Whistle and learned commands to lure away the Giant Lizards, leaving the ambush useless.
• The High Priest ordered the Green Lizard Infantry to attack from the flanks and the Blue Lizard Infantry to form a final defensive line against the charging Great Zhou cavalry.
• Shilke led the Elf Knights through the encirclement with an Airflow Barrier while the Green Lizard Infantry threw short spears and the Blue Lizard Infantry spread out to drain its strength.
• As the Airflow Barrier neared collapse and the Blue Lizard Infantry converged, Zhuo Ge and Zhou Chongshan rushed past Shilke to spearhead the charge.