Chapter Summaries

Zhou Xu recruited Diak and Yoseph into Great Zhou, equipped the centaurs with scale armor and weapons, and arranged for them to train with the army. He then learned that no usable warhorses remained in the rear and explained why inferior horses could not serve in cavalry units.

• Zhou Xu examined Yoseph's attributes and found his potential in Martial Prowess, Endurance, and Spirit promising.
• Zhou Xu moved Diak and the other centaurs to Grassland Village to learn Great Zhou's tactics and receive new equipment.
• The centaurs received bows, crystal-iron spears, and adjusted scale armor, which Yoseph eagerly tested.
• Diak recognized the advantages of serving Great Zhou after receiving equipment that allies had not been given.
• Ma Guotao told Zhou Xu that no usable warhorses remained in the rear, and Zhou Xu explained that inferior horses would weaken a cavalry charge.

Zhou Xu corrected his attendant’s mistaken admiration of Wang Pengfei, then gathered his expeditionary force and crossed the energy passage to the occupied Lizardmen territory. The force arrived safely, where Shilke greeted Zhou Xu and arranged transport through the rainforest to the temple.

• Zhou Xu told his attendant not to imitate Wang Pengfei, whom he described as all talk and lacking real ability.
• Zhou Xu confirmed the warhorse issue with Ma Guotao and prepared to leave for the garrison camp with his expeditionary force.
• Zhuo Ge led the centaur tribe’s fifty-five soldiers, while the expedition also included one hundred and fifty infantrymen for Great Zhou.
• Zhou Xu ordered the expeditionary force to enter the energy passage and noticed the crossing seemed shorter than before.
• Shilke greeted Zhou Xu after the force emerged, and Zhou Xu learned that Li Ce could send Giant Lizards to carry them through the rainforest to the temple.

Zhou Xu arrived at the Lizardmen tribal lands, arranged for the centaur cavalry to bring weapons and equipment to the southern battlefield, and decided the Lizardmen should prepare to coexist with the Ratmen for now. He began developing the region for resources and future agriculture, leaving Great Zhou poised to establish a lasting presence and potentially defeat the Ratmen later.

• Zhou Xu reached the Lizardmen tribal lands on a Giant Lizard and met Li Ce, Soros, and Qiansui, while learning that Bamu had spent his time sleeping and eating.
• Li Ce reported that Bolevin's bluff had kept the Ratmen from attacking again, but Zhou Xu warned that the Lizardmen could not remain inactive for long.
• Zhou Xu ordered Zhuo Ge and the centaur cavalry to carry weapons and equipment to support the Lizardmen on the southern battlefield.
• Zhou Xu explained to Li Ce that the Lizardmen could not simply destroy the deeply rooted Ratmen and should accept a temporary stalemate when neither side could win.
• Zhou Xu arranged for miners to extract Sharp Crystal and planned to send farmers later to develop agriculture and establish Great Zhou in the region.

Zhou Xu focused on organizing Sharp Crystal mining while Bolevin, facing pressure from the Ratmen and doubts about his authority, staged a show of Lizardmen movement to buy time. Claw halted the Ratmen advance and ordered his army to defend, leaving both sides poised for a cautious confrontation.

• Zhou Xu reinforced the mine tunnels and arranged for mined Sharp Crystal to be transported to the plains camp under guard.
• Bolevin ordered the Lizardmen main force to appear ready to attack so the Ratmen would hesitate and adopt a defensive posture.
• Bolevin summoned Zhou Chongshan, who raised no objections to the plan, and Bolevin resolved to prove himself against Soros.
• Ratmen scouts reported the Lizardmen's movement, prompting Claw to personally take command at the front.
• Claw ordered the Ratmen to halt their advance and prepare to defend because he remained wary of Bolevin.

Bolevin tried to delay the Lizardmen’s confrontation with the Ratmen until reinforcements arrived, while Claw used Slave Soldier attacks to wear down the Lizardmen. When Bolevin’s army began retreating, Claw realized he had been tricked and ordered the Ratmen to pursue.

• Bolevin learned that the Ratmen had taken a defensive posture and led the Lizardmen’s main army forward to avoid suspicion.
• A Wyvern Rider told Bolevin that the Great King had sent the centaur tribe as reinforcements, though they would take ten days to half a month to arrive.
• Bolevin halted the Lizardmen’s army one day from the Ratmen and used Raptor Cavalry to repel repeated Slave Soldier raids.
• Claw kept sending Slave Soldier units to harass the Lizardmen, gradually exhausting their Raptor Cavalry.
• A scout reported that the Lizardmen’s main army had begun retreating, and Claw realized Bolevin had tricked him and ordered the Ratmen to pursue.

Bolevin used ambushes and a ten-day delaying retreat to bring the Lizardmen safely to their border camp while Claw pursued. Claw launched the exhausted Ratmen Slave Soldiers into an all-out attack, and the chapter ended as the Rat Tide swarmed over the Shield Dragons.

• Claw pursued Bolevin's withdrawing Lizardmen, while the Raptor Cavalry repeatedly ambushed the Ratmen vanguard and withdrew.
• Bolevin delayed Claw for ten days and reached the Lizardmen border camp ahead of the Ratmen.
• Suspecting Bolevin was buying time, Claw ordered the Slave Soldiers to attack without resting.
• Bolevin sent the Raptor Cavalry to harry the Rat Tide, but the Ratmen pressed on toward the camp's defenses.
• Bolevin ordered the Shield Dragons forward with infantry behind them, and the Ratmen Slave Soldiers swarmed over the Shield Dragons.

The Lizardmen and Ratmen fought a fierce melee while the Raptor Cavalry tried to strike the Ratmen regular army, but Claw anticipated their moves and kept them from reaching their target. Seeing the Lizardmen risk falling behind before the King's reinforcements arrived, Zhou Chongshan led his cavalry into the battle.

• Shield Dragons crushed Slave Soldiers beneath them as Lizardmen infantry charged into the melee.
• The Raptor Cavalry circled the Rat Tide to reach the Ratmen regular army, but Claw recognized the maneuver as suspicious and withheld an encircling attack.
• The Raptor Cavalry abandoned their disrupted charge, withdrew to the perimeter, and attacked the Ratmen position again, this time clashing head-on with a wave of Slave Soldiers.
• Zhou Chongshan judged that the Lizardmen might suffer heavy casualties before the King's reinforcements arrived and ordered his cavalry to charge.

Zhou Chongshan led the Great Zhou cavalry into battle against the Ratmen, initially smashing through their slave troops with overwhelming charges. The Claw then used successive Rat Tides to sap the cavalry’s momentum and trap them, leaving Zhou Chongshan desperate to break out.

• Zhou Chongshan charged the Great Zhou cavalry into the Ratmen Slave Soldiers, whose ranks the cavalry crushed with ease.
• The Claw recognized that the attackers were humans and ordered Rat Tides to intercept them.
• Zhou Chongshan gauged the distance, slowed his cavalry, then accelerated to break through another Rat Tide.
• The Claw sent multiple Rat Tides to flank and block the cavalry, preventing them from slowing down and building up speed for another charge.
• Zhou Chongshan realized the cavalry was losing momentum and ordered an immediate breakout as the Rat Tides closed around them.

Bolevin used the Great Zhou cavalry to convince Claw that the Lizardmen had another trump card, concealing the Centaur forces approaching as the real threat. Claw ordered the Ratmen army to rest and recover while he reconsidered whether to attack again.

• Zhou Chongshan escaped the Rat Tide after the Raptor Cavalry opened a gap, and his exhausted troops rode away.
• Claw ordered the Rat Tide to retreat, while Bolevin reflected that the Great Zhou cavalry had helped disguise his plan and draw the Ratmen's attention away from the approaching Centaurs.
• Claw questioned Jikum about the human cavalry's origins, and Jikum suggested that the earlier battle on the Lizardmen's border might already have ended.
• Jikum advised Claw to rest the army, probe the Lizardmen again, and retreat if needed; Claw accepted and ordered the troops to recover.

Zhuo Ge arrived at the Lizardmen camp with Great Zhou reinforcements and a supply of Enchanted Weapons and armor, lifting Bolevin’s spirits as the Ratmen threat loomed. As the equipment was distributed, Zhou Chongshan received his new officer’s armor, inspiring Zhuo Ge to seek a similar reward through his achievements.

• Bolevin welcomed Zhuo Ge and the support force after they reached the Lizardmen camp without stopping along the way.
• Zhuo Ge revealed wagons of Enchanted Weapons, astonishing Bolevin, Tash, and the gathered Lizardmen.
• Bolevin ordered the limited weapons and armor to go first to the elite main force and introduced his general, Tash, to Zhuo Ge and the others.
• The Great Zhou cavalry received scale armor to replace their moldy vine armor, and Zhou Chongshan received the officer’s armor Zhou Xu had promised him.
• After seeing Zhou Chongshan’s impressive armor, Zhuo Ge vowed to distinguish himself and ask the Great King for a similar suit.

The Lizardmen used Zhou Xu’s Steady Spear Advance Formation to repel Claw’s Rat Tides, while cavalry attacks broke the enemy’s flanking assaults. As Claw committed another Rat Tide, Zhuo Ge judged the moment had come and led his hidden troops into a charge.

• The Blue Lizard Infantry advanced with crystal-iron war spears and repeatedly repelled the Rat Tide’s frontal charges.
• Claw sent Rat Tides against both flanks, but the Green Lizard Infantry attacked them with javelins.
• The Raptor Cavalry and Zhou Chongshan’s Great Zhou cavalry charged the flanks and scattered the Rat Tides.
• Claw committed another Rat Tide despite his setbacks, while Zhuo Ge watched the enemy forces and gauged their numbers.
• Zhuo Ge ordered all his troops to charge with him.

Zhuo Ge led the Centaur Clan into the battle to aid the Lizardmen, while Claw committed most of the Ratmen forces and unleashed Giant Rat Knights against the enemy formations. The Centaurs broke through one attack with War Charge, but another group of Giant Rat Knights blocked their path.

• Zhuo Ge led the Centaur Clan in a charge against the Ratmen, catching Claw off guard and forcing him to send troops to intercept them.
• The Raptor Cavalry charged into the Rat Tide, but Giant Rat Knights ambushed them, broke their momentum, and exposed the Lizardmen's flank.
• The Giant Rat Knights attacked the Lizardmen's square formation, throwing its ranks into disarray while Zhou Chongshan's cavalry could not provide support.
• Diak sensed the danger to Zhuo Ge's Centaurs and used War Charge to blast through the first Giant Rat Knights.
• Claw's next group of Giant Rat Knights appeared ahead of the Centaurs, blocking their advance.

Zhuo Ge’s centaurs were pinned down by Giant Rat Knights before they could reach the Ratmen regular army, and the relocating enemy widened the gap. Zhou Chongshan led Great Zhou cavalry to help them break through the Rat Tide, but the exhausted forces could not escape their pursuers, so Zhuo Ge turned back to fight.

• Zhuo Ge led the centaurs into a head-on clash with the Giant Rat Knights, and the cavalry became entangled.
• The Claw moved the Ratmen regular army farther away while the Rat Tide and another group of Giant Rat Knights caught up, leaving Zhuo Ge unable to continue his mission.
• Zhou Chongshan saw the centaurs surrounded and ordered the Great Zhou cavalry to support them.
• Zhou Chongshan’s charge disrupted the Rat Tide, allowing the centaurs and Great Zhou cavalry to join forces and scatter it.
• The two cavalry forces tried to withdraw to the battlefield’s edge, but the Giant Rat Knights pursued them as the Great Zhou horses tired.
• Zhuo Ge wheeled around and led his centaurs back into battle against the pursuing Giant Rat Knights.

Zhou Chongshan and Zhuo Ge helped defeat the Ratmen’s rearguard as the main Ratmen force withdrew, and the Lizardmen regained the advantage. The battle report reached Zhou Xu, who learned the Ratmen had paused their attacks and that his Evolutionary Leader talent had relayed Lizardmen enhancements to his other subjects.

• Zhou Chongshan and Zhuo Ge wiped out the Giant Rat Knights but held back from pursuing the retreating Ratmen to preserve the Lizardmen’s main force.
• The Lizardmen steadied their formation and reclaimed the advantage as Zhou Chongshan, Zhuo Ge, and their troops joined the fight.
• Zhou Chongshan and Zhuo Ge noticed their stamina had improved and attributed the blessing to Zhou Xu.
• The battle ended with the Ratmen repelled, and Bolevin arranged for the Lizardmen to burn the corpses and sent the battle report to the rear.
• Zhou Xu learned the Ratmen were unlikely to attack again soon and reflected that his talent had spread Lizardmen strengthening effects to his other subjects.

Zhou Xu brought development personnel to the World Edge region to begin farming the plains and studying the rainforest’s medicinal plants. He left Zhao Geng to develop the first plot and arranged for Ye Yan’s team to camp in the rainforest with Lizardmen guides and soldiers for protection.

• Great Zhou sent development personnel and supplies through the energy channel after Zhou Xu halted further conscription.
• Zhou Xu showed Zhao Geng the plain and river, dividing the land into ten plots and assigning the Agriculture Department to cultivate and compost Plot One.
• Zhou Xu led Ye Yan and the Medical Department into the rainforest to study its medicinal plants and explained why he wanted to protect the ecosystem.
• Ye Yan asked to camp near the plants he was studying instead of staying in the Lizardmen tribal lands.
• Zhou Xu told Soros to select two Lizardmen familiar with the rainforest and assigned ten soldiers to guard Ye Yan’s team.

Zhou Xu received Bolevin, Tash, and the returning Lizardmen officers, rewarded their service, and reassigned command of the southern border. The Lizardmen left to rest while Li Ce and Soros prepared to take up their new posts against the Ratmen.

• Bolevin led Tash and the Lizardmen officers into Zhou Xu’s hall, where Tash sensed Zhou Xu’s divine presence and bowed in reverence.
• Bolevin reported on the southern border, and Zhou Xu assessed Tash as a versatile fighter well suited to battle the Ratmen.
• Zhou Xu promoted Tash to Lieutenant and Bolevin to Captain, rewarded the other officers, and ordered Bolevin to assist with development in the rear.
• Zhou Xu appointed Li Ce General Commander of the southern border forces and made Soros a Lieutenant and Deputy Commander.
• Bolevin accepted his new assignment eagerly, while Li Ce and Soros accepted orders to depart for the southern border.

Zhou Xu rewarded Zhou Chongshan, Zhuo Ge, and Diak for their battle service and learned that his talent had strengthened Zhuo Ge. He then discovered Wang Pengfei had shirked his battlefield assignment and left him responsible for sanitation at the temple.

• Zhou Xu awarded Zhou Chongshan two thousand coins and a warhorse, making him Great Zhou’s first private horse owner.
• Zhou Xu gave Zhuo Ge and Diak two thousand coins and a suit of armor each, then learned Zhuo Ge’s physical strength had been enhanced by a blessing.
• Zhou Xu told Zhuo Ge and the others to report future blessings so he could study their effects.
• Wang Pengfei returned and vaguely suggested attacking the Ratmen, but Zhou Xu asked what else he had to report.
• Wang Pengfei admitted nothing more, and Zhou Xu assigned him to clean around the temple after learning he had hidden during battles and failed his task.

Zhou Xu began planning the vast new territory and asked Bolevin to explain the Lizardmen’s population and military strength. He decided to keep 2,000 Lizardmen stationed on the southern border while reducing forces elsewhere to restore the labor supply.

• Zhou Xu postponed training the Construction Engineering Department and planned to inspect the new territories himself before transferring the department from the mountains after spring began.
• Zhou Xu called Bolevin to confirm the Lizardmen population breakdown; he knew Great Zhou had 6,732 Lizardmen and 8,096 subjects in total but needed details on soldiers and civilians.
• Bolevin admitted he could only estimate that more than 4,000 Lizardmen had fought, then explained that the former standing force had numbered 3,000 before the war mobilized additional able-bodied adults.
• Zhou Xu concluded that he needed to retire some Lizardmen soldiers to replenish the labor force but decided to retain 2,000 on the southern border against the Ratmen.
• Zhou Xu determined that the Lizardmen could sharply reduce troops stationed in their homeland and other settlements because the centaurs and nearby threats no longer posed the same danger.

Zhou Xu reorganized the Lizardmen’s forces and inspected their settlements, focusing on the facilities used to raise velociraptors. He learned how the hatchery worked and how slowly the mounts bred, leaving him with the challenges of protecting eggs and raising hatchlings.

• Zhou Xu ordered Bolevin to leave two thousand troops at the southern border camp and return the rest to their original posts.
• Zhou Xu toured the Lizardmen’s territory with Bolevin and decided to leave the Old Civilization buildings near the temple untouched.
• Zhou Xu visited the velociraptor sheds and asked a Green Lizard keeper what the separate rooms were used for.
• The Green Lizard keeper showed Zhou Xu a newly laid clutch and warned him that the mother velociraptor was agitated.
• The Green Lizard keeper explained that velociraptors laid one clutch of two to five eggs per year, took about 180 days to hatch, and needed at least a year before they could be ridden.

Zhou Xu visited the Lizardmen’s breeding grounds and learned why velociraptor and wyvern eggs could not be incubated in the Sacred Hatchery. He also investigated the scarce wyvern population and Shield Dragons, whose shells had once served the Dragonmen and Lizardmen as a source of defensive equipment.

• Zhou Xu asked whether velociraptor eggs could use the Sacred Hatchery, and the keeper explained that mothers needed to guard and teach their hatchlings and might reject or eat eggs carrying unfamiliar scents.
• Zhou Xu and Bolevin visited the wyvern breeding ground, where the keeper said the Lizardmen had eight wyverns, including six on the southern battlefield, and only two females, both carrying eggs.
• The wyvern keeper explained that wyverns usually laid one egg, rarely two, once a year, and that their eggs took about ninety days to hatch; wyverns also could not use the Sacred Hatchery.
• Zhou Xu learned that the Lizardmen had nine Shield Dragons, fewer than before the Plains War, when four had been killed by Enchanted Crossbow Bolts.
• Zhou Xu learned that Shield Dragons had served as logistical units in the Old Civilization Era, shedding carapace that the Lizardmen made into shields and armor.