Chapter Summaries

Zhou Xu reunited with his childhood friend Xie Liancheng outside the city, where Xie apologized for the accident that had separated them. Xie then explained Yan Sheng’s plans, leaving Zhou Xu convinced that his defeated enemy had become reckless and irrational.

• Zhou Xu decided to meet Xie Liancheng outside the city despite Shilke’s safety concerns, and left her behind because she lacked night vision.
• Zhuo Ge brought centaur soldiers to accompany Zhou Xu, who ordered Yoseph to intensify patrols and disrupt enemy scouts before heading east.
• Zhuo Ge identified Xie Liancheng, and the two childhood friends embraced and cried as they reunited.
• Xie Liancheng apologized for the graduation-trip accident, and Zhou Xu reassured him that he was alive and had become a king.
• Xie told Zhou Xu that Yan Sheng planned to act against him, and Zhou Xu concluded that Yan Sheng’s humiliation had made him reckless.

Zhou Xu questioned Xie Liancheng about Yan Sheng’s lightning attack and teleportation ability, then assessed whether mass conscription could destabilize the opposing country. The discussion left Zhou Xu knowing that a rebellion might be possible but that Xie Liancheng’s influence as a general was limited by his poor command ability.

• Xie Liancheng told Zhou Xu that Yan Sheng’s lightning attack was likely a True Word and that he also used a beast-hide scroll to teleport, though he rarely revealed either ability.
• Zhou Xu reasoned that Yan Sheng’s teleportation must have a major restriction because he had not used it to transport troops or supplies.
• Zhou Xu asked whether Yan Sheng’s conscription of seven thousand more soldiers could provoke unrest, and Xie Liancheng said it would cause trouble but might not trigger an uprising.
• Xie Liancheng admitted that he had little influence in the army because he could fight but could not command troops effectively.
• Zhou Xu used Eye of Insight to confirm Xie Liancheng’s attribute panel, which showed exceptional fighting ability but only two stars in Command.

Zhou Xu planned ways to stop Yan Sheng from assembling an army to attack Yellow Sand City, including infiltrating the city and assassinating Yan Sheng. Xie Liancheng identified Li Wenjian as a possible assassin, though he doubted the timid, battered transmigrator would act.

• Zhou Xu decided to disrupt Yan Sheng's recruitment of seven thousand soldiers before they could join an army of ten thousand.
• Zhou Xu asked Xie Liancheng to prolong his reconnaissance and find a chance to smuggle one of Zhou Xu's people into the city, and Xie agreed.
• Zhou Xu proposed killing Yan Sheng and explained that a less threatening person might get close to him more easily than Xie Liancheng could.
• Xie Liancheng said Yan Sheng had summoned four transmigrators and introduced Li Wenjian as someone who might hate Yan Sheng enough to kill him.
• Xie Liancheng explained that Yan Sheng had castrated Li Wenjian after he insulted him and tried to force himself on a concubine, then kept him nearby to torment him.
• Xie Liancheng warned Zhou Xu that Li Wenjian was a boastful but useless coward who might not dare to act against Yan Sheng.

After Xie Liancheng returned from an ambush, he followed Zhou Xu’s advice and kept the scouting force at a safe distance from Yellow Sand City, avoiding further clashes. Four days later, Kong Daqian arrived with reinforcements and told Zhou Xu how much better life had become for immigrants living in Great Zhou.

• Xie Liancheng returned to camp with wounded soldiers and blamed the deputy general for exposing their movements, then ordered the scouts to prioritize safety and only watch for major enemy movements.
• The deputy general agreed to Xie Liancheng’s plan, unaware that Zhou Xu had prepared the arguments for him in advance.
• The scouting forces on both sides avoided further battles for four days, while prisoners captured in the first operation were sent to perform hard labor.
• Kong Daqian arrived at Yellow Sand City with reinforcements and greeted Zhou Xu, explaining that he now held a minor post in Great Zhou’s agricultural division.
• Kong Daqian told Zhou Xu that immigrants in Great Zhou had enough food and lived in peace, unlike their former lives marked by hunger, oppression, and frequent conscription.

Zhou Xu explained Great Zhou’s stability and assigned Kong Daqian a role in countering Yan Sheng’s planned assault on Yellow Sand City. Kong Daqian prepared to infiltrate the enemy country with help from Xie Liancheng, while Zhou Xu assured Xie that Kong could be trusted.

• Zhou Xu’s explanation showed how Great Zhou’s professional army, abundant grain, and defensive wars kept its people stable and loyal.
• After living in Great Zhou, Kong Daqian had come to trust Zhou Xu and feel no desire to return to his former country.
• Zhou Xu told Kong Daqian that Yan Sheng planned to conscript seven thousand men and raise an army of ten thousand to attack Yellow Sand City.
• Kong Daqian agreed to serve Zhou Xu, and Zhou explained a plan that required him to infiltrate the enemy country.
• Kong Daqian was astonished to learn that Zhou Xu’s agent there was the Great General Xie Liancheng, and he felt confident that Yan Sheng would fall.
• Xie Liancheng asked whether Kong Daqian could be trusted, and Zhou Xu said he could, noting that Kong’s son, Kong Tiegan, remained in Great Zhou.

Zhou Xu's patrol teams drove the enemy back to Black Stone City, while Yan Sheng struggled to contain panic caused by the frontline defeat, a new conscription order, and delayed grain collection. He resorted to street patrols to suppress the people, then summoned Xie Liancheng, whose reconnaissance force had retreated after attacks by centaur mercenaries.

• Zhou Xu ordered Zhuo Ge and the patrol teams to intensify their offensive, and they found the enemy camp and forced its troops back to Black Stone City.
• News of the defeat and Yan Sheng's call-up of seven thousand men sparked panic and a rush to buy grain.
• Yan Sheng learned the autumn harvest had not been fully collected and ordered officials to stabilize the situation, while local authorities sent city defense forces to disperse crowds.
• Yan Sheng received word that Xie Liancheng had returned with heavy reconnaissance-force casualties and summoned him and the deputy general.
• Xie Liancheng reported that repeated centaur mercenary attacks exposed the camp and forced a retreat, while he and the deputy general concealed that the deputy general had revealed their position.

Kong Daqian spread rumors among the people of Black Stone City, using fears about scarce grain and military defeats to intensify their distrust of the authorities. He left the crowd panicked as he claimed the latest campaign had ended in a crushing defeat.

• Yan Sheng kept Xie Liancheng at the city lord's residence under the pretext of helping him recover, while monitoring him.
• Kong Daqian blended into a crowd in Black Stone City and warned people to buy grain as soon as it arrived.
• Kong Daqian claimed the authorities would distribute only a small amount of new grain, while the military and officials took most of the supply.
• Kong Daqian told the crowd that the war had already brought repeated defeats, including the fall of Yellow Sand City and the death of Long Zhantian.
• Kong Daqian claimed Xie Liancheng had also failed to defeat the enemy, several thousand soldiers had died, and His Majesty had fled ahead of the army.

Kong Daqian spread rumors in West Mountain City to stir up unrest after Black Stone City was sealed off. He was taken to Liu De, the Descendant of the West Mountain Jing King, who invited him to join a great undertaking.

• Rumors about the battle and Yan Sheng's flight spread to West Mountain City, growing more outrageous with each retelling.
• Kong Daqian used the funds from Xie Liancheng to stir up public unrest by discussing the rumors in crowded places.
• Two men in hemp clothes cornered Kong Daqian and asked whether he was Mr. Zhang.
• Kong Daqian agreed to go with the men, who blindfolded him and took him by donkey cart to meet Liu De.
• Liu De introduced himself as the Descendant of the West Mountain Jing King and invited Kong Daqian to join him in accomplishing a great undertaking.

Kong Daqian convinced Liu De that he was a brilliant Imperial Advisor and passed along Zhou Xu’s plan to stir up unrest, which Liu De eagerly began to implement. Though held at Liu De’s residence, Kong Daqian settled into his comfortable role and urged Liu De to wait for the right moment.

• Liu De offered Kong Daqian the position of Imperial Advisor and asked him to help plot a rebellion.
• Kong Daqian realized Liu De’s plans aligned with his mission, agreed to help, and repeated Zhou Xu’s strategy for creating chaos.
• Liu De praised Kong Daqian as a Divine Human and ordered his men to put the plan into action, while keeping Kong Daqian under guard.
• Kong Daqian adapted to life as Liu De’s advisor as their efforts to stir up unrest progressed smoothly.
• Kong Daqian advised Liu De to gather his men in secret and wait for the right moment, then ate fruit and thought of Great Zhou.

As Yan Sheng’s forced conscription and harsh response to growing unrest intensified public resentment, Liu De seized West Mountain City and declared that he would restore Jing State. The revolt gained momentum as the city’s people rallied behind Liu De, who proclaimed himself the West Mountain Jing King.

• Yan Sheng ordered a force of ten thousand to retake Yellow Sand City and continued enforcing conscription by forcibly seizing able-bodied men.
• After Yan Sheng’s threats against the commoners leaked, he ordered the city lord’s residence servants arrested and publicly executed, and the condemned servants cursed him before their deaths.
• Liu De raised a rebellion in West Mountain City, claiming descent from the West Mountain Jing King, and more than a thousand residents joined him with farm tools.
• Liu De’s rebels seized the city lord’s residence, the military barracks, and all four city gates, taking control of West Mountain City.
• Liu De declared that he would restore and rebuild Jing State, then proclaimed himself the West Mountain Jing King as the crowd chanted in support.

Yan Sheng struggled to conscript troops as rebellions spread across his country, while Zhou Xu remained in Yellow Sand City and summoned Zhuang Mengdie from Great Zhou. When she arrived, Zhou Xu took her to the city walls to explain his plans for a ballista suited to city defense.

• Yan Sheng ordered the remaining Dragon Generals to suppress rebellions and summoned Li Wenjian in a rage when he realized he could not gather seven thousand soldiers.
• Zhou Xu stayed in Yellow Sand City because his Skeleton Soldier army and cooperation with Shi Lei were important to the frontline defenses.
• Zhou Xu decided to summon someone from Great Zhou rather than leave Yellow Sand City himself.
• Nearly a month later, Zhuang Mengdie arrived with the logistics troops, and Zhou Xu showed her a blueprint for a single-bow ballista.
• Zhou Xu explained that the existing Three-bow Ballistas could not be mounted on city walls, then took Zhuang Mengdie up to the walls to demonstrate the problem.

Zhou Xu explained the problems with mounting the Three-bow Ballista on Yellow Sand City's walls and proposed a more stable metal design. Zhuang Mengdie then devised a smaller ballista with a rear support that braced against the wall, leaving Zhou Xu excited by her idea.

• Zhou Xu showed Zhuang Mengdie why the Three-bow Ballista was too large and difficult to secure on the walls.
• Zhuang Mengdie proposed a rotating bearing, then considered metal construction, but Zhou Xu warned that a bearing alone would not be strong enough.
• Zhou Xu presented drawings for a more stable design that traded some range and power for flexible wall-mounted firepower.
• Zhuang Mengdie proposed shrinking the ballista and adding a rear support that would brace against the outer side of the wall and absorb recoil.
• Zhou Xu praised Zhuang Mengdie's idea as a way to escape the limits of adapting a cannon-like weapon.

Zhou Xu and Zhuang Mengdie designed and built a portable city defense crossbow in Yellow Sand City. After Zhuang Mengdie forged its intricate core component, the first city defense crossbow was assembled and debuted.

• Zhuang Mengdie and Zhou Xu finalized a design for a portable city defense crossbow that two or three soldiers could move and operate.
• Zhuang Mengdie and her assistants began making the crossbow, with her concentrating on forging its core component.
• Brother Li explained that the core component required twenty-seven precisely forged parts and could not be repaired by filling gaps with molten metal.
• Zhuang Mengdie assembled the precisely fitted core component, and the team quickly completed Great Zhou's first city defense crossbow.

Zhou Xu supervised the first tests of the city defense crossbow, measuring its range, blind spots, and firing arc. After the support frame proved unstable when aiming sideways, he and Zhuang Mengdie considered using mobile crews or deploying more crossbows instead.

• Zhou Xu brought three reserve crossbowmen to test the city defense crossbow on a concealed section of the wall facing World Edge.
• The crossbowmen fired at targets in the distance, and Zhou Xu found the weapon's effective killing range was about 450 to 500 meters.
• Zhou Xu tested targets closer to the wall and confirmed the crossbow could strike as far inward as the sixth row, with a blind spot beyond it.
• Zhou Xu had the crossbowmen test targets to the left and right, and the support frame became unstable as they changed their firing angle.
• Zhou Xu discussed the problem with Zhuang Mengdie, who agreed that moving the crossbowmen or deploying more crossbows would be more practical than redesigning the support frame.

Zhou Xu ordered production of City Defense Crossbow bolts and sent Zhuo Ge’s Centaur cavalry out as winter approached, while Yan Sheng’s forces struggled to suppress rebellions. After Dragon Shattering Heaven requested reinforcements for an attack on West Mountain City, Yan Sheng prepared to march, but Centaur cavalry appeared outside Black Stone City.

• Zhou Xu confirmed the City Defense Crossbow’s bolt specifications with Zhuang Mengdie and ordered specialized bolts into production.
• As late autumn neared its end, Zhou Xu gave Zhuo Ge instructions and sent his Centaur cavalry out of Yellow Sand City.
• Xie Liancheng visited the badly beaten Li Wenjian, whispered to him, and left; Li Wenjian later became resolute.
• After winter arrived, Yan Sheng learned that his three commanders had failed to suppress the rebellions, which were backed by the local people and difficult to attack in fortified cities.
• Dragon Shattering Heaven asked Yan Sheng to send reinforcements from Black Stone City to attack West Mountain City, and Yan Sheng prepared to march.
• Centaur cavalry appeared on the outskirts of Black Stone City.

Centaur mercenaries appeared outside Black Stone City, forcing Yan Sheng to abandon plans to send troops to West Mountain City and call a council to discuss the crisis. Xie Liancheng agreed to lead cavalry against the mercenaries, seeing the mission as a chance to leave the city.

• Yan Sheng learned that centaur mercenaries had appeared outside Black Stone City and feared that their main army might follow.
• Yan Sheng called a council because sending troops to aid Dragon Shattering Heaven could leave Black Stone City vulnerable.
• Yan Sheng's subordinates proposed sending cavalry to restrain the centaur mercenaries and looked to Xie Liancheng to lead them.
• Yan Sheng asked Xie Liancheng what he thought, and Xie Liancheng agreed to lead the cavalry.

Xie Liancheng led Black Stone City’s cavalry out to meet Zhuo Ge’s Centaur mercenaries, using their staged battle to exchange intelligence. He returned with information for Zhou Xu’s side as the Centaurs withdrew, leaving his soldiers convinced they had won.

• Xie Liancheng led cavalry out of Black Stone City, and Zhuo Ge ordered the Centaurs to retreat so they could meet beyond the city’s watch.
• Xie Liancheng pursued the Centaurs, while Yan Sheng and the others praised his apparent bravery from the city wall.
• Zhuo Ge turned his forces to face Xie Liancheng, and the two exchanged deliberately weak blows as their cavalry clashed around them.
• Xie Liancheng and Zhuo Ge withdrew from the melee while pretending to fight and quickly exchanged intelligence about Yan Sheng’s homeland.
• Xie Liancheng returned to the battlefield and announced that Zhuo Ge had fled, prompting the Centaurs to retreat and his confused soldiers to celebrate a victory.

Xie Liancheng returned to Black Stone City after a staged clash with the centaur mercenaries, and Yan Sheng rewarded the cavalry after accepting their embellished account of the battle. Zhou Xu learned that unrest was spreading through Yan Sheng’s realm and decided to let his forces weaken each other before intervening; Kong Daqian remained missing.

• Xie Liancheng told Yan Sheng that he had driven off the centaur chieftain, blaming his mount for failing to catch the retreating enemy.
• A cavalry officer embellished his unit’s performance, and Yan Sheng rewarded the soldiers to raise morale.
• Yoseph delivered Zhuo Ge’s intelligence to Zhou Xu, who learned that the centaur allies had lost track of Kong Daqian.
• Zhou Xu assessed Yan Sheng’s limited troops, the public’s resentment, and the failed conscription effort, identifying Black Stone City’s garrison as the key force for suppressing rebellion.
• Zhou Xu decided to let Yan Sheng’s forces and the rebels exhaust one another, keeping his own troops ready to intervene later.

As winter brought famine to West Mountain City, King Jing Liu De sought Kong Daqian’s advice on how to feed his people without weakening his army. Kong persuaded him to seize grain from wealthy merchants and local gentry, leaving Kong to prepare for either outcome.

• Liu De hurried to Kong Daqian and explained that West Mountain City faced a grain shortage, while he feared using the government stores would leave his army unable to defend the city.
• Kong Daqian urged Liu De to search the homes of wealthy merchants and local gentry who had hoarded grain.
• Kong argued that Liu De’s claim to rule rested on benevolence and siding with commoners, persuading him to order a search of the merchants’ and gentry’s homes.
• Liu De assembled his soldiers and officers and set out to carry out the searches.
• Kong Daqian reflected that the action might strengthen Liu De or plunge West Mountain City into chaos, and he went inside to make preparations.

Kong Daqian realized that Liu De had taken his advice to an extreme and now treated him as a divine figure, while Zhou Xu remained unaware of the upheaval in Yan Sheng’s country. In Black Stone City, resentment over Xie Liancheng’s cavalry receiving rewards sparked a fight between cavalrymen and infantrymen that grew into a major clash.

• Liu De reported that his soldiers and the commoners had raided the wealthy merchants’ and gentry’s homes, executed their families, and distributed seized grain through porridge stalls.
• Liu De declared that seeing Kong Daqian was like seeing the king and handed him his sword, leaving Kong Daqian to wonder if he had ruined everything.
• Yoseph reported to Zhou Xu that Yan Sheng’s worsening grain shortage and loss of cities had crippled the country’s internal development.
• Xie Liancheng’s cavalry returned victorious against the centaur mercenaries, but their repeated rewards and promotions had stirred resentment among other troops.
• An infantryman mocked the cavalry’s abilities, the cavalry confronted him, and both groups’ soldiers joined a brawl that escalated into a large-scale clash.