Chapter Summaries

Zhou Xu learned that Shield Dragon shells were harvested and softened to make lightweight shields, then tested one and found it stronger than Great Zhou’s standard shields. He left his guards to test its durability and considered reserving the shields for elite troops despite their slow production and limited repairability.

• Zhou Xu learned that Lizardmen softened aged Shield Dragon shells in a pungent solution for seven to ten days before processing them.
• A Green Lizard craftsman showed Zhou Xu how the softened shells could be marked with a fingernail and explained that they hardened again within half a day.
• Zhou Xu examined a finished shell shield and discovered it was much lighter than it looked.
• Zhou Xu had a personal guard strike the shield with an enchanted crystal-iron saber, leaving only a shallow mark and showing it was stronger than Great Zhou’s standard shields.
• Zhou Xu noted that shell shields were difficult to repair and slow to produce, so he assigned his guards to test their durability while he attended to other matters.

Zhou Xu inspected the lizardmen settlements with Bolevin, who struggled with his weight but endured the journey and later began trying to lose weight. After testing the carapace shields, Zhou Xu arranged for materials and a craftsman to be sent to Great Zhou for research.

• Zhou Xu chose velociraptors for travel, but Bolevin crushed one when he tried to mount it, so Zhou Xu brought him a giant lizard instead and urged him to lose weight.
• Bolevin endured the painful ride while accompanying Zhou Xu to inspect settlements, and his injury gradually healed during the trip.
• Bolevin began a weight-loss campaign after the inspections.
• Zhou Xu concluded that carapace shields were durable but irreparable once shattered, and ordered carapaces and a green lizard craftsman sent to the Military Equipment Department for research.

Zhou Xu planned to consolidate the lizardmen’s eight Rainforest settlements into four, relocate their farmland to the plains after testing crops, and eventually build roads through the region. At the southern border garrison, Soros returned and relied on Tash and the other officers’ support to restore his standing among the lizardman soldiers.

• Zhou Xu planned to move the Rainforest farmlands to a large farm on the plains and ordered Zhao Geng to test transplanted crops there first.
• Zhou Xu marked four settlement locations on Bolevin’s map and planned to rebuild two existing settlements and establish two others.
• Zhou Xu decided that roads through the Rainforest would improve transportation and development, but postponed detailed surveys and construction plans.
• Soros returned to the southern border garrison after half a year and found that the lizardman soldiers viewed him with hostility.
• Soros reasoned that the Great King would not have entrusted him with an important post if he were a traitor, and Tash and the other officers supported his position.

In spring, Zhao Geng oversaw crop trials on the New Continent while Zhou Xu discovered tropical Rainforest spices and used chili peppers to season mutton. Zhou Xu declared the Rainforest a treasure trove, and Zhao Geng continued recording how the crops grew.

• The Agriculture Department began spring sowing in Black Moon Village while Zhao Geng remained on the New Continent with his team.
• Zhao Geng checked and recorded crops in two experimental fields, comparing plants from Black Moon Village with crops transplanted from the tropical Rainforest.
• Zhou Xu prepared mutton and poured hot oil over crushed tropical Rainforest seasonings.
• Zhou Xu ate the chili-seasoned mutton despite its intense spiciness and said the tropical Rainforest was a treasure trove.

Zhou Xu enjoyed spicy mutton and tricked Bamu into eating chili, then ordered spices to be cultivated and planned to use better food to encourage spending and work in Great Zhou. He left the people’s pursuit of delicious meals as a new incentive for the kingdom’s economic growth.

• Zhou Xu ate mutton with his homemade chili dipping sauce and complained that he lacked soy sauce and vinegar.
• Bamu flew into the hall demanding food, and Zhou Xu tricked him into eating a rib coated in the extremely spicy sauce.
• Bamu cried, crashed into the ceiling, and raced around the temple before recovering and staring in disbelief as Zhou Xu ate more sauce.
• Zhou Xu ordered Zhao Geng to bring the newly discovered spices, test them in the Experimental Field, and prepare land for large-scale cultivation.
• Zhou Xu planned to make people accustomed to flavorful food so their desire for seasonings would drive spending and encourage them to work harder.

Zhou Xu read Li Ce’s report about Ratmen harassment at the southern border and heard Bolevin’s assessment that a major offensive was unlikely until summer or autumn. With the energy passage set to open in three days, Zhou Xu planned to return to the other world and entrusted Bolevin with daily affairs in his absence.

• Zhou Xu learned the energy passage would open in three days and decided to prepare for a return to the other world.
• A wyvern rider delivered Li Ce’s report, which said Ratmen had launched harassment attacks but Soros had repelled them.
• Bolevin assessed that the Ratmen’s recent losses would prevent them from mounting a serious offensive before summer or autumn.
• Zhou Xu told Bolevin he would leave in three days and temporarily placed daily affairs in his hands.

After returning to Black Moon Village, Zhou Xu convened a court assembly to restart Great Zhou’s development projects, including research into brick-making. When he proposed sending construction workers to develop Lizardmen territory, Zhang Xiaoshan explained that the department was already stretched thin, so Zhou Xu suggested exchanging Lizardmen construction workers for a few experienced Great Zhou master craftsmen.

• Zhou Xu returned to Black Moon Village and met with Zhang Xiaoshan before attending a court assembly the next morning.
• Zhou Xu and the ministers discussed restarting halted development projects and establishing a brick kiln to produce bricks for buildings and defensive walls.
• Zhou Xu proposed transferring Construction Engineering Department personnel to develop the Lizardmen’s territory, but Zhang Xiaoshan explained that all 279 department members were occupied with ongoing work.
• Zhou Xu proposed exchanging Lizardmen construction workers for a few experienced Great Zhou master craftsmen to lead them.

After court, Zhou Xu introduced New Continent spices to Black Moon Village's cafeteria chefs and taught them several dishes. He priced White Cut Chicken at five wen and launched it at lunchtime, where Zhuang Mengdie and Wang Dachui each ordered a serving.

• After court, Zhou Xu went to Black Moon Village's cafeteria and taught the chefs to sample the new spices.
• Zhou Xu taught the chefs a dipping sauce and several stir-fried dishes, then set White Cut Chicken's price at five wen per serving.
• Zhou Xu had the cafeteria server promote the new dish to lunchtime customers as a dish made with New Continent seasonings.
• Wang Dachui balked at the five-wen price, but Zhuang Mengdie ordered a serving, prompting Wang Dachui to order one too.

Zhou Xu observed five Grassland Elves in Black Moon Village to assess how well they had integrated into Great Zhou. He then announced that he would establish a Population Survey Bureau and appoint them as its first members.

• The cafeteria’s expensive new dishes sold out quickly, and Wang Dachui lamented that he had arrived too late to get any.
• Zhou Xu reviewed the Grassland Elves’ personal files and selected five who were all in Black Moon Village.
• Zhang Xiaoshan confirmed that the five worked diligently and had harmonious relationships with others.
• Zhou Xu spent several days observing the five Grassland Elves and saw that they had integrated into Great Zhou’s community.
• Zhou Xu summoned the five Grassland Elves and told them they would be the first members of a new Population Survey Bureau.

Zhou Xu established a Population Survey Bureau and assigned five Grassland Elves to learn literacy and identify talented people with the Eye of Insight. He also arranged for Wang Dong to lead the bureau and began training new Enchantment craftsmen to ease the backlog of weapons awaiting enchantment.

• Zhou Xu explained the Population Survey Bureau’s duties and said he would bestow the Eye of Insight on the five Grassland Elves so they could find talented people.
• Zhou Xu appointed Wang Dong to lead the bureau, and Wang Dong agreed after Zhou Xu promised to establish an Enchantment Department and shift routine enchantment work to its staff.
• Zhou Xu began bestowing the Eye of Insight on the Grassland Elves one at a time and arranged for Wang Dong to teach them to read and write.
• Zhou Xu summoned the selected Enchantment craftsmen, bestowed the Primary Weapon Enchantment True Word on them, and had Wang Dong teach them to handle the waiting weapons.

Zhou Xu expanded the Enchantment Department and used spice profits to fund a brick kiln on the New Continent. He then told Shilke he planned to make the Elf Knights his personal guard so they could spend more time having children.

• Wang Dong taught the Grassland Elves to use Primary Weapon Enchantment, and Zhou Xu bestowed Eye of Insight on five of them.
• Zhou Xu spread the New Continent's spices to other villages and invested the profits in a brick kiln.
• Zhou Xu decided to build the brick kiln on the New Continent so bricks could be used to construct a southern border wall against the Ratmen.
• Zhou Xu arrived on the New Continent and told Shilke he wanted the Elf Knights to serve as his personal guard.
• Shilke questioned the need for a personal guard, and Zhou Xu explained that the arrangement would give the Grassland Elves time to have children.

Zhou Xu organized construction and development across the Lizardmen's territory, establishing a mining site and choosing the former Centaur tribal grounds for a brick kiln and future industrial zone. After two months, both facilities were operating, and the Construction Engineering Department began preparing to upgrade settlements and build roads.

• Zhou Xu accepted Shilke's arrangement, promised him two months of leave, and returned to the temple to check in with Bolevin.
• Zhou Xu established a New Continent branch of the Construction Engineering Department and ordered its foremen to upgrade the nearby crystal mine.
• After surveying the area, Zhou Xu chose the former Centaur tribal grounds for a brick kiln and planned the site as a future industrial zone.
• Zhou Xu drew a layout for the site and assigned a veteran foreman to build the brick kiln.
• Over the next two months, the branch completed the mining site and brick kiln, then began planning to reduce the Lizardman settlements to four, upgrade them, and connect them with roads.

After the brickworks was completed, Zhou Xu learned that eggs in the Sacred Hatchery had begun hatching and went to see the newborn Lizardmen. Bolevin explained that the hatchlings would be raised collectively and fed nutritious white meat worms.

• Zhou Xu ordered the selected workers to begin operating the completed brickworks.
• Bolevin told Zhou Xu that eggs in the Sacred Hatchery had begun hatching, and Zhou Xu hurried there with Shilke and the others.
• Zhou Xu watched a baby Lizardman hatch into the pool and learned that the Sacred Hatchery water helped newborns adapt and strengthen their bodies.
• Bolevin estimated that four or five hundred Lizardmen would hatch in the batch and explained that they would be fed collectively rather than taken home by their parents.
• Bolevin showed Zhou Xu a room full of meat worms and explained that the hatchlings would eat the clean, nutrient-rich white ones.

Zhou Xu worried that a growing Lizardman population would strain Great Zhou’s food supply, but Zhao Geng’s successful crop trials eased his concerns. At the southern border, Li Ce prepared for increasingly frequent Ratmen raids as enchanted weapons arrived for the troops.

• Bolevin told Zhou Xu that hundreds of Lizardmen had hatched, more eggs would hatch later, and the Lizardmen were still reproducing, raising concerns about food supplies.
• Zhou Xu read Zhao Geng’s report that transplanted Rainforest crops grew on the plains and that potatoes and corn had been harvested successfully.
• Zhou Xu tasted the larger, sweeter corn and ordered large-scale cultivation of potatoes, corn, and crops from the Rainforest region.
• Li Ce and Soros discussed how Ratmen harassment would increase ahead of their usual late-autumn or early-winter attacks.
• A guard reported that enchanted weapons had arrived, and Li Ce ordered them distributed to soldiers without crystal-iron weapons.

Soros predicted that the Ratmen would likely delay a major assault until next year, while Zhou Xu dealt with failed tropical crops and ordered irrigation canals built for expanding farms on the New Continent. In the mountains, Shi Lei reached the edge of the world and found the vast Black Void.

• Soros told Li Ce that Great Zhou had destroyed the Ratmen’s forward outpost, making a major assault this year less likely, though both commanders remained cautious.
• As autumn arrived, the Ratmen increased their harassment, while Black Moon Village reported that most tropical seeds had produced poor-quality crops.
• Zhou Xu ordered the Construction Engineering Department to help the Agriculture Department dig canals to irrigate Area Two of the New Continent’s plains farm.
• Shi Lei reached the end of his expedition and recognized the immense Black Void as the edge of the world.

After learning that Shi Lei had reached the World Edge beyond the mountains, Zhou Xu asked Bolevin about energy passages and prepared for a possible threat. He sent a Raptor Cavalry squad to test whether the raptors could adapt to the colder climate, where their arrival left them struggling with the chill.

• Zhou Xu summoned Bolevin and asked whether an energy passage always appeared at the World Edge.
• Bolevin explained that World Shards drift without direction and that energy passages formed only when nearby shards attracted and entangled with each other.
• Zhou Xu decided to reinforce the mountain garrison with Mountain Soldiers and proposed testing a Raptor Cavalry squad before transferring more troops.
• Bolevin arranged for a new recruit squad to travel through the energy passage alongside returning Mountain Soldiers.
• The troops emerged on the Old Continent in late autumn and struggled with the sudden cold, with the Raptor Cavalry suffering the most.

The Lizardmen soldiers failed to adapt to the increasingly cold, high mountain environment, so Zhou Xu abandoned the plan to settle them there. On the southern battlefield, Li Ce’s forces repeatedly routed the Rat Tide and won the Lizardmen soldiers’ genuine loyalty.

• The Lizardmen soldiers became severely ill as they traveled deeper into the mountains, and the Squadron Leader sent two squads to escort them back while he reported their condition to the lieutenant.
• Zhou Xu heard the news a month later and gave up on moving the tropical Lizardmen into the mountains.
• The Ratmen launched their winter offensive, but Li Ce’s southern forces defeated the Rat Tide five times with disciplined formations and cavalry support.
• Li Ce sent cavalry to harass the Ratmen and lure pursuers toward the main army, while Jikum struggled to respond at the border.
• After repeated victories, the Lizardmen soldiers came to admire Li Ce and accepted his command.

Zhou Xu sent one hundred green-scaled Lizardmen craftsmen back to their homeland to help develop a commercial district and prepare the territory for future growth. After returning from Black Moon Village, the craftsmen amazed their clansmen with stories of life beyond the Rainforest but soon found themselves longing to go back.

• Zhou Xu planned to turn ancient buildings in the Lizardmen's territory into shops and prepare nearby land for facilities and future development.
• Zhou Xu ordered one hundred eloquent green-scaled Lizardmen craftsmen from the Polishing Department to return and assist with development.
• The craftsmen arrived in the New Continent, shed their winter clothes in the tropical heat, and saw how much the plains had changed.
• The returning craftsmen reunited with their clansmen, showed off their unfamiliar clothes, and told stories about Black Moon Village.
• After several days in their homeland, the craftsmen found themselves unaccustomed to life there and wondered when they could return.

Zhou Xu opened a commercial street in the Lizardmen territory, where the local Lizardmen eagerly spent their first wages and a cafeteria was set up for them. Meanwhile, Zhao Geng’s plains farm produced its first harvest, and the New Continent’s brickworks began sending bricks south.

• Zhou Xu arranged shopkeepers and green lizard assistants for the commercial street, which opened after a week of preparation and drew crowds from across the territory.
• The Lizardmen explored the shops with uncertainty until familiar green lizard assistants guided them, and the goods sold so quickly that many shops ran low on stock.
• Green lizard assistants reminded the Lizardmen to save money for later, while Zhou Xu converted a large ancient building into a cafeteria.
• Zhou Xu tasted mangoes from Zhao Geng’s plains farm, praised their sweetness, and prepared rewards for Zhao Geng’s Agriculture Department as he planned to make the farm Great Zhou’s main granary.
• The New Continent’s brickworks produced its first batch of bricks, and the transport team began shipping them south with a workforce made up mostly of Lizardmen.

Li Ce’s forces spent the winter harassing the Ratmen while Zhou Xu prioritized building larger walls around the Southern Territory garrison. By spring, Jikum’s troops were worn down and he concluded that breaking the Lizardmen’s Spear Formation would require Giant Rat Knights, whose deployment depended on Claw’s approval.

• Li Ce’s border forces repeatedly harassed the Ratmen, while Zhou Xu directed the Construction Engineering Department to build expanded walls around the garrison camps.
• The Lizardmen maintained their strength through rotating harassment forces as the Ratmen lost troops intercepting them throughout winter.
• Jikum learned that the Lizardmen had appeared nearby again and regretted sending out the Rat Tide earlier in the winter.
• Jikum recognized that the Spear Formation and its supporting cavalry had made the Rat Tide ineffective against the Lizardmen.
• Jikum concluded that Giant Rat Knights were needed to counter the Raptor Cavalry, but he lacked enough troops and needed Claw’s approval to deploy them.