Recaps

Wendy, Hubble Hall, and Anbi fought Monka Battlecry's War Hatchet mercenaries in the fog while Arthur remained behind praying. The battle left Wendy immobilized but protected by a heroic spirit, while Anbi was injured after infecting Monka and was knocked off his back.

• Wendy charged Monka Battlecry, but his mechanical hatchet arm blasted her into a tree and the mercenaries attacked her armor's weak points.
• Wendy escaped the attackers with a magic item and wounded the Third Ring Spellcaster with her Flame Tongue sword while Hubble Hall used Grease Spell against the mercenaries.
• Monka's chain-linked hatchet knocked Wendy to one knee, and another Spellcaster immobilized her with Human Stasis Spell.
• Anbi ambushed the Spellcaster and disrupted his concentration, while a heroic spirit emerged from Wendy's armor to fight beside her.
• Anbi leaped onto Monka and bit his neck, infecting him with the Beastification Curse, but Monka slammed her against a tree and knocked her loose.

Wendy and her companions defeated Monka’s mercenary band, but a hidden spell killed the mercenaries before they could reveal their secret. Hubble Hall found a damaged Aether Barrier in the cave and realized the Southern Great Wall had collapsed from within.

• Monka stayed awake through Arthur’s dream spell, but surrendered when he saw Wendy’s powerful equipment and admitted the mercenaries had been waiting for information about something hidden in the cave.
• Monka began to reveal that the hidden object belonged to the Great Wall, but a Guardian Inscription caused his head and the sleeping mercenaries’ heads to explode.
• Hubble Hall identified the spell that had killed the mercenaries and searched the cave despite his uneasy instincts.
• Hubble Hall opened a locked black box and found a damaged, many-sided prism that he identified as one of the Southern Great Wall’s Aether Barriers.
• Hubble Hall told Wendy that the barrier’s damage meant the Southern Great Wall had collapsed from within, rather than being breached by the Beastfolk.

Hubble Hall explained that the damaged Aether Prism amplified psionic power and that spice could awaken psionics at the cost of severe mental corruption. After Wendy connected the mercenaries’ brain explosions to a possible conspiracy against the Great Wall, the prism was assigned to Tang Qi Weinberg, who was told only he could repair it.

• Hubble Hall explained how the Aether Prism used psionics to sustain the Great Wall’s barrier and how spice could awaken psionic abilities while corrupting the mind.
• Wendy realized the mercenaries’ exploding brains might have been caused by psionic inscriptions and suspected someone had sabotaged the prism and arranged a cover-up.
• Hubble Hall told Wendy that the mercenaries had hidden the prism while waiting for their companion and that he had reported the matter to his grandfather.
• Hubble Hall received word that the Starlight lord wanted the group to escort the prism south and hand it to Tang Qi Weinberg so he could help uncover the truth.
• Hubble Hall relayed Stella Starlight’s message that only Tang Qi could repair the Aether Prism, leaving Tang Qi confused about why she had chosen him.

Tang Qi led the beastfolk and goblin refugees across the Gray Mountains while Shalti watched with growing curiosity at how he kept the group united. In the Gravel Zone, Tang Qi discovered that the vanishing rocks were more than illusions when his foot found no support and he began to fall.

• Tang Qi recorded his duties, then organized the beastfolk to prepare for a weeklong crossing of the Gray Mountains.
• Tang Qi guided the group along a merchant-recommended route, and Shalti wondered how he had earned the beastfolk’s cooperation.
• Tang Qi played a marching song to lift the travelers’ spirits while Shivana, Dawn, Houke, and other beastfolk hunted nearby wild boars.
• Tang Qi noted the hazards of the steeper Gravel Zone as a beastfolk slipped and knocked two others down the slope.
• Tang Qi tried to demonstrate a safe foothold, but the rock beneath his boot vanished, leaving him falling despite his [True Sight].

Tang Qi discovered that the Gravel Zone’s sudden gaps and headaches were caused by hidden Gray Oozes, while using Fairy Dust to fly the Rift Roar tribe’s women and children over the dangerous path. After the tribe smashed the exposed oozes, Tang Qi suspected their behavior concealed a further danger.

• Tang Qi fell on the rocky slope, and Shalti used [Entangle Spell] to stop him and Dawn from sliding farther.
• Shalti explained that travelers often suffered headaches and misjudged their footing in the Gravel Zone, so Tang Qi used [Fairy Dust] to teach the tribe’s women to fly with their children.
• Tang Qi noticed a rock’s outline shifting, realized it was alive, and Yiwu struck it with a Gravity Orb.
• Tang Qi identified the hidden creatures as Gray Oozes and ordered the Beastfolk to smash them with the flat sides of their axes.
• The Beastfolk destroyed more than a hundred exposed Gray Oozes, and Tang Qi wondered why they had followed the group before attacking only after being discovered.

Tang Qi waited in the Gray Mountains for the fog to clear, suspecting that an intelligent creature was behind the Gray Oozes’ strange behavior. A caravan led by Beltolan Ifrak arrived seeking shelter and guidance, but Tang Qi discovered through True Sight that its members were disguised Snakefolk.

• Tang Qi explained to Shalti that he believed the Gray Oozes had been influenced by a nearby psionic being and used the camp’s noise to lure its hidden master out.
• Tang Qi concealed the tribe’s green skin and greeted a caravan emerging from the fog, claiming that his group were mercenaries from Dragon Gold City.
• Beltolan Ifrak introduced himself as a merchant transporting rye to Wind Sand Islet, while his sister Bella proposed that the caravan and Tang Qi’s group travel together.
• Tang Qi welcomed the caravan into camp but recognized beneath their disguises that the visitors were Snakefolk.

Tang Qi traveled ahead with Bell and Bella’s disguised Snakefolk caravan, recognizing their deception while they tried to drug and enslave his group. He and Dawn revealed they had resisted the ambush, and Bell ordered the Snakefolk to attack Dawn.

• Tang Qi sent Shivana, Shalti, his double, and the remaining group to follow later while he went ahead with Jilago and several Beastfolk.
• Tang Qi identified Bell and Bella’s group as Pureblood Snakefolk, and the Snakefolk offered the travelers spiced wine laced with a drug.
• The Snakefolk used an illusory landscape to lead the group off the proper route, while Tang Qi pretended the drug had incapacitated him.
• Bella dropped her disguise and announced that the Snakefolk intended to collar the travelers and enslave them.
• Tang Qi stood up and revealed that he had known about the deception from the beginning; Dawn also rose, having only pretended to be drugged.
• Bell ordered the Snakefolk to attack, and Tang Qi said they only needed to fight Dawn.

Tang Qi exposed Bella and Bell’s plan to raise an army of slaves and seize Wind Sand Islet, then decided to bring them there for a reward. The story shifted to Leon Lionheart, imprisoned in the Gloom Cavern for 131 days, as a primordial snakefolk announced that the opportunity he had mentioned was near.

• Tang Qi found Bella’s antidote, cured the poisoned beastfolk, and questioned Bella and Bell about their kidnappings.
• Bella used nods and shakes to confirm that the snakefolk had been capturing slaves for half a year to raise an army and seize Wind Sand Islet.
• Tang Qi learned the snakefolk numbered about one thousand and chose to take their leaders to Wind Sand Islet for a reward rather than attack their cavern.
• Bell revealed that a shackled lion had seen through the snakefolk’s disguise spell, prompting Tang Qi to connect the clues to Leon Lionheart.
• Leon Lionheart sneezed in the Gloom Cavern, where he and Night Wind had been imprisoned for 131 days, and a primordial snakefolk told him his opportunity was close at hand.

The Deep Pit Lord prepared to use the [Aether Prism] to reclaim Wind Sand Islet, but an explosion and a sudden beastfolk assault disrupted his plans. The chapter ended as he raised the prism against a golden [Supreme Holy Slash].

• The Deep Pit Lord told Leon to prepare for their expedition and threatened a slave, but Leon stopped him from killing the man.
• A rose-scented powder and exploding alchemical oil filled the caves with fire, and the Deep Pit Lord used the [Aether Prism] to suppress the flames and drive the powder out.
• The Deep Pit Lord led more than two hundred snakefolk outside, where he found that a hazy barrier blocked his connection to the mammals' thoughts.
• Beastfolk emerged from the stone forest and attacked the snakefolk, prompting the Deep Pit Lord to raise the [Aether Prism] against a golden [Supreme Holy Slash].

Tang Qi’s ambush let the beastfolk and their allies overwhelm the snakefolk, until the Deep Pit Lord used the Aether Prism to unleash immense psionic gravity. Yiwu proved immune to the prism, reclaimed it, and ended the power crushing the battlefield.

• Tang Qi used Color Roses, Mercy of Dreams, and the stone forest to conceal the beastfolk before they attacked the snakefolk.
• Dawn and Shivana fought the Deep Pit Lord while Shalti’s fog and the beastfolk’s healing and ferocity drove the snakefolk back.
• The snakefolk’s escape route was sealed by a boulder, and the Deep Pit Lord decided to confront the attackers alone.
• The Deep Pit Lord used the Aether Prism to manifest psionic power, crushing everyone beneath immense gravity and demanding their surrender.
• Yiwu floated to the prism, resisted its power, and tapped it, collapsing the starry network and causing the Deep Pit Lord to fall.
• Yiwu returned with the prism to Tang Qi, who said its creator, Her Highness Eve Edel, could not be bound by her own creation.

Tang Qi took control of the Snakefolk cave and freed the captives, including the Dwarf Fireforged, whom he had met in Dragon Gold City. He then found Leon Lionheart imprisoned in the deepest cell and asked whether he wanted to be rescued.

• Bell led Tang Qi to a Snakefolk outpost while Bella's silence revealed that Bell had lied about where the entrance led.
• Tang Qi forced the Deep Pit Lord to order the Snakefolk troops to surrender, then demanded to see the prisoners, especially a black-furred captive.
• Tang Qi recognized Fireforged in the cells and ordered the Snakefolk to release him and the other adventurers.
• The Snakefolk opened the cells, and the freed captives cheered as Tang Qi continued to the last cell.
• Tang Qi found Leon Lionheart sitting in the gloom and asked whether he wanted to be rescued.

Tang Qi agreed to help the imprisoned Deep Pit Lord reclaim Wind Sand Islet and Dragon Gold City in exchange for the Snakefolk collars that controlled the slaves. He drew Leon into a private dream and challenged him to reveal what he truly wanted.

• Tang Qi and Shalti confronted Leon and Night Wind in the prison, where Yiwu blasted Leon with a Gravity Orb.
• The Deep Pit Lord offered Tang Qi the Snakefolk collars and the slaves’ lives if Tang Qi helped him reclaim Wind Sand Islet and rebuild the empire.
• Tang Qi proposed waiting until morning to travel and used a Resting Melody to bring Leon into a private dream.
• Tang Qi argued that Leon’s lawful surrender and concern for Yiwu showed he was not simply a power-hungry dictator.
• Tang Qi asked Leon what he truly wanted.

Tang Qi questioned Leon about his motives, the Southern Great Wall’s fragile defense, and Eve Edel’s death, while learning that Leon had sought to reach the wall as a prisoner. The chapter ended with Kandelian ordering Wind Sand Islet’s gates opened to receive grain as an army arrived through the burning battlefield.

• Leon told Tang Qi that he had stepped down because he was shackled and captured while serving his sentence, and explained that psionicists maintained the Southern Great Wall with Spice until their minds collapsed.
• Leon said Eve Edel’s former subjects and allies had opposed her ideals because they feared losing power, while he admitted he had shared their opposition.
• Leon said he had intended to serve his sentence, have his shackles removed lawfully, and help defend the Great Wall, and he was investigating how a Snakefolk obtained an Aether Prism.
• Tang Qi told Leon that Kandelian had slaughtered the people and emptied the granaries at Plague Outpost, prompting Tang Qi to suspect Leon had helped appoint the mage as its lord.
• An army transporting grain crossed the battlefield beneath Wind Sand Islet’s walls, and Kandelian ordered the guards to open the gates and accept the supplies.

At Wind Sand Islet, Kandelian and Uha learned the city was near starvation and that no further coalition troops had arrived, while Tang Qi heard how the Southern Great Wall’s defenders had been overwhelmed by powerful beastfolk forces. Tang Qi rallied the defeated adventurers to march south, then realized his presence might let him win over beastfolk as well as humans.

• Uha joined Kandelian, Damon, and Shedskin for a meal and learned that the city’s food was nearly gone and no other coalition troops had appeared.
• Tang Qi questioned captured adventurers, who described the coalition’s defeat by red hounds, dragons, and disciplined beastfolk spellcasters.
• Night Wind gave Tang Qi Leon’s note revealing that the Greenhouse had been found beneath the desert, and the Deep Pit Lord ordered the group to descend toward Wind Sand Islet.
• Tang Qi persuaded the demoralized adventurers and mercenaries to continue south by urging them to defend their homes and promising them recognition as heroes.
• Tang Qi realized his presence traits might help him win over beastfolk, while Shivana objected to the humans’ calls to drive them all out.

Tang Qi led the enlarged alliance toward Sandworm Hollow in search of food and supplies while investigating Leon’s account of the regicide. They found the coastal settlement destroyed and piled with corpses, and Tang Qi tried to rally the shaken survivors as the group entered.

• Fireforged proposed heading to Sandworm Hollow for supplies, and Tang Qi agreed as the alliance continued west across the Gray Desolate Plains.
• Tang Qi tested a claim in his journal about the nobles’ motives and received the Mind Barrier spell, deepening his doubts about Leon’s account of the regicide.
• Yiwu and Shalti detected the coast ahead, and Tang Qi encouraged the alliance by announcing they were nearing Sandworm Hollow.
• The Deep Pit Lord asked Leon about the secret passage to Wind Sand Islet, and Leon said the Aether Prism was needed to open it.
• The alliance found Sandworm Hollow burned and ruined, with corpse mounds and a tower of severed heads, and Tang Qi urged the survivors to turn their fear into anger against their enemies.

Tang Qi’s allied force searched the devastated Sandworm Hollow, rescued young survivors, and learned that beastfolk had attacked with hellhounds and other creatures. With food running short, Leon planned a scouting mission against the beastfolk, while Tang Qi recognized a growing connection between them, the Nine Hells, and Elusha.

• Tang Qi’s force found Lucy and a group of children hiding in a locked cellar, and Tang Qi put them to sleep before arranging to bring them along.
• Lucy told Tang Qi how the beastfolk attacked Sandworm Hollow, destroyed the ship, and killed her father, who had locked the children in the cellar to protect them.
• Tang Qi’s force found no food in the town and discussed reaching Wind Sand Islet with dwindling supplies, so Leon proposed scouting and harassing the beastfolk for provisions.
• Tang Qi put Shalti in charge of the scouting unit and warned her to withdraw if the enemy’s strength became dangerous.
• Shivana identified the attackers’ red hunting dogs as hellhounds, and Tang Qi resolved to investigate the links between the beastfolk, the Nine Hells, and Elusha.

Shivana learned that the Poison Wolf Tribe, led by the tongue-less Troll who drove her people from their homeland, was nearby, and she chose to face them openly. Tang Qi rejected a quick, casualty-minimizing attack because he aimed for a lasting peace through conquering the Beastfolk and converting them to his faith.

• Shivana dreamed of her tribe's defeat and remembered her old chieftain's lesson that survival required self-control.
• Tang Qi told Shivana that the nearby Beastfolk included the Poison Wolf Tribe and its mute Troll leader, who had driven the Rift Roar Tribe from its oasis.
• Shivana wanted to attack at once, but Tang Qi urged her to win openly and honorably, and she resolved to settle the score that way.
• Leon confronted Tang Qi over risking soldiers for honor and argued that they should defeat the Beastfolk with the fewest casualties possible.
• Tang Qi argued that driving the Beastfolk away would not prevent them from returning and declared that he intended to conquer them and make them accept his faith.

Shivana led a 3,000-strong allied army to confront Tumor’s Beastfolk, while Tang Qi’s plan sought to unite the tribes under his claimed authority as Gruush’s prophet. Shivana challenged Tumor to single combat, and he accepted, setting the battle’s outcome on their duel.

• Tumor ordered his allied tribes to march despite days of harassment by Great Wall scouts, then spotted Rift Roar’s banner approaching with a much larger army.
• Shivana descended from the giant turtle carrying the allied army and recited Tang Qi’s proclamation, demanding that the Beastfolk surrender and kneel to Tang Qi Weinberg.
• Tang Qi told Leon that his religious claim would legitimize bringing the Beastfolk into the alliance, while acknowledging that some people would reject it.
• Shivana taunted Tumor and the Beastfolk, then resisted Tumor’s attempt to unsettle her with mockery.
• Shivana challenged Tumor to fight her, wagering that the losing side would surrender its lives, and Tumor stepped forward to accept.

Shivana fought Tumor in a Beastfolk gladiatorial duel, using her Rage abilities and a returning enchanted Great Axe to overcome his strength and poison. She left Tumor kneeling and helpless with his limbs severed, as the duel’s outcome turned against the Poison Wolf chieftain.

• Tumor struck down at Shivana with his spiked club, but she used Rage to brace herself with the strength of a savage bear.
• Shivana’s Wild Surge sent shadowy tentacles into Tumor, draining his stamina and allowing her to knock his club aside and wound him.
• Tumor’s poisonous blood slowed Shivana, but she endured the venom and continued the fight while her temporary protection lasted.
• Shivana blinded Tumor with a burst of light, then discovered she could throw her enchanted Great Axe and call it back to her hand.
• Shivana repeatedly hurled the returning axe, severing Tumor’s right arm, left leg, and left hand, then striking his chest as he fell to his knees.

Shivana defeated Tumor, but Pus’s false translation triggered a battle before the allied army forced the Beastfolk and Goblins to surrender. Tang Qi Weinberg took the prisoners under his authority and defended his plan to reform them, while survivors remained wary of their former enemies.

• Shivana defeated Tumor and demanded the Poison Wolf Tribe surrender, but Pus mistranslated his plea and provoked an attack.
• Dawn healed Shivana and carried her from the battlefield as the allied army overwhelmed the charging Beastfolk and drove them to flee.
• Tang Qi sounded a halt, and the surviving Beastfolk and Goblins surrendered and knelt before him as the great prophet.
• Tang Qi ordered Jilago to confine the prisoners, feed them minimally, teach them the Ironblood Bible, and admit those who learned it into the temporary army.
• Survivors from Sandworm Hollow questioned Tang Qi’s decision to spare the Beastfolk, and he argued that discipline could reduce violence and make the world safer.

Tang Qi's allied forces occupied the beastfolk camp, where they captured three prophets and uncovered evidence linking the beastfolk to devils. He recognized the mark left by the prophets' exploding brains as one associated with Hope, and planned to use the surviving prophet to sway the beastfolk before continuing toward Wind Sand Islet.

• Tang Qi rationed the captured supplies and limited the allied forces to three cups of beer, though he allowed helmetfuls for the adventurers who tried to evade the rule.
• Shalti's scouts returned with three captured prophets, a red dragon hatchling, and Bell's folding carriage and magic bag.
• The Deep Pit Lord tried to read a prophet's mind, but the captive's head exploded when asked who his sovereign was, leaving a distinctive symbol in blood.
• Tang Qi recognized the symbol from Hope's teleportation circle and realized the red weasel had concealed the truth about her mission and possibly the scabbard she took.
• Tang Qi ordered the Deep Pit Lord to control the remaining female prophet and make her tell the beastfolk she had embraced the true doctrine, promising to help him reclaim his homeland at Wind Sand Islet.

Tang Qi freed Bella from the Snakefolk camp and learned about the Aether Prism and the legend of an imprisoned god beneath Wind Sand Islet. After agreeing to help Bella steal the Prism, he discovered Shivana had made him a ring and realized what she had been trying to express.

• Tang Qi healed Bella after the Deep Pit Lord punished her, took her away from the Snakefolk, and asked her to care for the Red Dragon, whom he named Spitfire.
• Bella admitted that the Deep Pit Lord had sent her to steal the Aether Prism and explained that it could cause an addictive mental high; she revealed she had once retrieved it from the Great Wall.
• Bella told Tang Qi that the Deep Pit Lord believed an ancient god was imprisoned beneath Wind Sand Islet, and Tang Qi agreed to pretend to help Bella steal the Prism so he could uncover her intentions.
• Shivana arrived at Tang Qi's tent, grew upset when she learned Bella would stay there, and left after crushing the daisy ring she had made.
• Dawn pointed out the crushed flowers, and Tang Qi recognized that Shivana had woven them into a ring and realized he had missed her feelings.

Tang Qi confronted Shivana about her anger, and she revealed that she wanted to remain with him and give him a ring. After they reconciled and sat together outside camp, Shivana suddenly pounced on him.

• Tang Qi used Suggestion Spell to get Shivana to stop and explain that he had not planned anything with the snakefolk woman and cared about her feelings.
• Tang Qi proposed that he and Shivana split up, with her helping a new prophet infiltrate the beastfolk alliance, then offered her the Unfair Contract so she could regain her freedom.
• Shivana rejected the contract, told Tang Qi how much he mattered to the tribe, and admitted she had wanted to give him a ring and was jealous of the snakefolk woman.
• Tang Qi and Shivana made up and sat outside camp while she showed him how to weave daisies into a ring.
• After a nearby beastfolk couple's noisy encounter interrupted them, Shivana pounced on Tang Qi.

Tang Qi received rewards for bringing the Beastfolk to the Southern Great Wall, including a powerful prayer-based Heroism effect and the ability to attune to ten rings. He led the growing group across the desert to Leon's supposed secret-passage entrance, where moving sand began to threaten them.

• Tang Qi gained 351 followers, whose prayers could grant nearby believers Heroism for one minute, and received the Daisy Ring and Ring Collector feat.
• Shivana left Tang Qi after their night together, and he headed back to camp to continue the journey toward Wind Sand Islet.
• Tang Qi's journal recorded the group crossing the Gray Desolate Plains, capturing tribes bound for Wind Sand Islet, and converting prisoners to the Ironblood Bible.
• After entering the Little Desert, Tang Qi followed Leon's guidance to the secret passage but found only endless sand.
• Leon had Bella use the Aether Prism to open the passage and told Tang Qi to store the Sky Turtles; the sand suddenly began moving.

Tang Qi and the allied forces traveled inside a giant sandworm to reach Wind Sand Islet, then followed Leon through an underground passage toward the origin of Spice. The chapter ended as Tang Qi recognized a gigantic creature with three crimson eyes as an Aboleth.

• Leon told Tang Qi to keep the allied forces together as a sandworm swallowed them beneath the desert.
• Leon explained that the sandworm had been fed Spice by His Highness and was carrying them to the pyramid in seven hours instead of seven days on foot.
• The sandworm deposited the allied forces near a man-made tunnel, where Bella told Tang Qi she understood why someone had refused to give up the Aether Prism.
• Leon warned the group about mental instability and psychic attacks, and Tang Qi cast [Mind Barrier] on Dawn, Shivana, and Shalti.
• As the group entered a vast cavern, psychic sounds drove some adventurers mad, and Tang Qi looked up to see a huge creature with three crimson eyes and identified it as an [Aboleth].