Chapter Summaries

Zong Shen weighed which mages to recruit, then learned that Zong Ze had merged with the Arcane Heart and glimpsed a secret he could not reveal. He bought a mix of Fire and Arcane Mages and began considering Fourth-Order troops, still torn between heavy lancers and aerial cavalry.

• Zong Shen compared the territory’s mage roster and debated recruiting Fire, Lightning, or Arcane Mages instead of Water Elementalists.
• Zong Shen read Zong Ze’s messages about merging with the Arcane Heart, glimpsing a hidden secret, and seeking the Arcane Spirit’s inheritance.
• Zong Shen replied that they would discuss their secrets in person and promised to help Zong Ze if needed.
• Zong Shen spent points on three Third-Order Fire Element Mage scrolls and four Third-Order Arcane Mage scrolls.
• Zong Shen surveyed Fourth-Order troops and struggled to choose between heavy lancers and aerial cavalry.

Zong Shen spent his challenge points on Fourth Order warriors, Rare Grade equipment, cold-weather supplies, scouting devices, and defensive structures. After using most of his points, he prepared to try the Points Lottery with 11,575 points.

• Zong Shen redeemed twelve Fourth Order Immortal Lancer Recruitment Scrolls, completing his villager recruitment and greatly increasing his territory’s combat strength.
• Zong Shen bought Rare Grade Wind-Riding Leg Guards for Vereesa, a Fire Spirit Wand for Pax, and an Aurora Guardian Greatshield for himself.
• Zong Shen spent points on sheepskin coats, military rations, Magic-Energy Thermal Orbs, and three Magic Energy Mechanical Falcons for himself, Vereesa, and Maryl.
• Zong Shen redeemed Fourth Order Arrow Towers, Third Order Elemental Arrow Towers, Goblin Landmines, Poisoned Barbed Nets, and Frost Traps.
• Zong Shen ended with 11,575 points and prepared to use them in the Points Lottery.

Zong Shen spent his remaining points on several lottery draws, winning a powerful piece of Power Demon armor and a Building Replication Stone alongside other rewards. After equipping the armor and considering how to complete its set, he used up all his points.

• Zong Shen spent 3000 points and won a Purple Holy Light Advancement Book, then spent another 3000 to win a Red Power Demon Battle Armor.
• The Strategy Module restored its annotation hints, and Zong Shen inspected the armor’s skills before replacing his Terokkar Violent Bear Armor with it.
• Zong Shen spent another 3000 points and won Love God's Enchanting Incense, which could raise a target’s Favorability or Loyalty to 100 but did not work on Epic-grade targets.
• Zong Shen used two 1000-point draws to win a Second Order Wolf Cavalry Recruitment Scroll and an Orange Building Replication Stone.
• Zong Shen spent his final 500 points on Powerful Camouflage Removal Water and exchanged his remaining 75 points for wood, exhausting his points.

Zong Shen spent his Beginner Challenge Fragments on rare items that strengthened his attributes and prepared his territory for future growth and defense. With the exchange finished, he looked ahead to developing his territory into a Great City.

• Zong Shen exchanged five Beginner Challenge Fragments for five Advanced Strength Books, then reviewed the rare rewards available.
• Zong Shen spent 35 fragments on the Statue of the God of Craftsmen, which reduced construction time and costs while increasing building durability.
• Zong Shen spent 40 fragments on the Red Gold Barrier Pillars, a defensive system capable of shielding a city.
• Zong Shen used his remaining 50 fragments to acquire the damaged Thunder Domain Wonder, whose three usable abilities could strike enemies with lightning and paralyze them.
• Zong Shen finished spending all his fragments and concluded that the three special buildings had laid the foundations for his territory to become a Great City.

Zong Shen recruited new farmers and soldiers to strengthen his territory before heading to Oduo Village, where he hoped to exploit the chaos and rescue villagers and soldiers while acquiring resources. The chapter ended with him inspecting the newly recruited Arcane Mages and noticing Otto’s unusual gray mark.

• Zong Shen gathered his territory’s people and planned to lead a small, fast squad to Oduo Village while using the recruitment scrolls he had exchanged for.
• Zong Shen recruited twenty Rare Grade farmers and placed them under Maryl’s supervision, increasing the farmer ranks to sixty-five.
• Zong Shen recruited twelve Lightning Apprentice Mages, appointed Betty to lead their squad, and added them to the territory’s ranks.
• Zong Shen recruited Rhodok Crossbowmen and assigned them to Vereesa, then added five Dragon-kin Spear and Shield Warriors to the squad, unlocking Dragon Transformation Barrier.
• Zong Shen recruited three Fire Mages and four Arcane Mages; he took interest in Otto, a bald Arcane Mage with a Tier 4 summoning skill and a gray mark on his brow.

Zong Shen appointed Otto captain of the Arcane squad, then recruited twelve Fourth Order Immortal Lancers. After inspecting their powerful charge skills and heavy equipment, he found their level-ten piercing damage surpassed that of the much higher-level Heretic Giant-Strength Knights.

• Zong Shen inspected Otto’s attributes and learned that his Arcane Apostle spell made him another mage capable of summoning a Fourth Order warrior.
• Zong Shen appointed Otto captain, and Otto led the three other Arcane Mages into formation.
• Zong Shen recruited twelve Immortal Lancers, who emerged in armored gear and swore their allegiance to him.
• Cecilia’s attributes revealed that the Immortal Lancers had powerful charge skills, armored Andalusian horses, and a wedge formation squad skill.
• Zong Shen compared their piercing damage with the Heretic Giant-Strength Knights and judged the level-ten Immortal Lancers even stronger in that regard.

Zong Shen recruited the Fourth Order Immortal Lancers and accepted Howie as his fourth Hero after Howie asked to join the territory. Howie’s trade and supply-management talents gave Zong Shen a new administrator, while Quite remained a slave after losing the courage to ask for freedom.

• Zong Shen placed the Immortal Lancers behind the Wolf Cavalry and used his remaining recruitment scroll to bring the Wolf Cavalry to thirty-six soldiers.
• Howie knelt before Zong Shen and asked to be freed from slavery and allowed to serve him, and Zong Shen accepted him as a resident and Hero.
• Zong Shen directed Howie to stand beside Dutra rather than join the territory’s inner circle, while Quite’s attempt to step forward was stopped by the Kobold Prophet.
• Zong Shen examined Howie’s attributes and found that his trade skills and command abilities suited him to administration rather than combat.
• Zong Shen decided Howie could manage the territory’s supplies and routine trade through the Market.

Zong Shen reorganized his territory’s command assignments and led a force toward Oduo Village, while Maryl began planning the territory’s expansion. At Oduo Village, Viscount Kunier’s expeditionary force prepared a siege and waited for reinforcements after a failed raid on the Land of Buried Bones.

• Zong Shen assigned the territory’s farmers and soldiers to Maryl, Vereesa, Dutra, and himself, then selected 59 soldiers to accompany him to Oduo Village.
• Zong Shen led his group west toward Oduo Village as Tie Zhu returned from Dinan Village with winter supplies for the territory.
• Maryl received the supplies, placed the incomplete Thunder Domain Wonder and the Statue of the God of Craftsmen near the inner city, and planned the territory’s districts with Howie and Dutra.
• Viscount Kunier assembled his expeditionary force outside Oduo Village and prepared siege engines while the Raven Dome protected the village.
• Kunier’s raid on the Land of Buried Bones had failed when Raven Entanglement immobilized his Dragonborn Knights, leaving fourteen dead and forcing Aiso to retreat.
• Kunier waited for cavalry and a local Knights Order from Bang City to arrive before launching an all-out attack on Oduo Village.

Kunier’s Punitive Expeditionary Force began bombarding the Raven Dome over Oduo Village, while Zong Shen and other lords watched from a distance and waited for the Church and Kingdom forces to clash. Zong Shen remained on standby, with the Church’s plans at the Land of Buried Bones still set to reach their next stage at midnight.

• Kunier recognized that the Calamity Raven Church had laid a trap involving both Oduo Village and the Land of Buried Bones, but prepared to attack rather than withdraw.
• Kunier ordered the Draconic Mages and soldiers to fire Dragon Flame Bombs, Heavy Position Crossbows, and Magic-Powered catapults at the Raven Dome.
• The Kingdom’s attacks damaged the Raven Dome faster than it could recover, and the Punitive Expeditionary Force continued its bombardment.
• More than a hundred opportunistic lords gathered around Oduo Village, hoping to exploit the conflict between the Kingdom and the Calamity Raven Church.
• Zong Shen arrived east of Oduo Village with Wolf Cavalry Squad 1 and Immortal Lancers, observed the bombardment, and chose to wait for the two forces to fight.

Zong Shen avoided a cavalry force heading to reinforce the Great City's Punitive Expeditionary Force and devised a plan to infiltrate the coming battle. He examined his new time-reversal skill and King Arthur’s ring, discovering the ring’s connection to Avalon’s lost royal treasury and the Sword in the Stone.

• Vereesa warned Zong Shen that cavalry from the east was approaching, so he moved his troops north and hid while they rode toward the Punitive Expeditionary Force.
• After the cavalry passed, Zong Shen considered using Transformation Potions to impersonate an infiltrator and Saintess Safri during the coming battle for Oduo Village.
• Zong Shen inspected the Extraordinary Miracle title and learned that its one-time skill could rewind the world’s timeline by 24 hours, even activating after his death.
• Zong Shen examined King Arthur’s Ring of Command and learned that it was one of three tokens connected to the legendary king’s hidden treasury.
• Zong Shen resolved to visit Avalon Imperial City if he had the chance and noted that the Sword in the Stone still awaited a worthy claimant.

Zong Shen recovered from despair about the forces controlling the world and used a Mechanical Falcon to scout the Punitive Expeditionary Force outside Oduo Village. He learned that the Raven Dome was weakening and that Safri was preparing the village for battle as the force continued its assault.

• The Strategy Module urged Zong Shen to focus on growing stronger, and he set aside his fears about the world's hidden powers.
• Zong Shen sent the Magic Energy Mechanical Falcon above Oduo Village and observed the Punitive Expeditionary Force and its Earthwalker Beast Carriages.
• A raven perched beside the Mechanical Falcon, inspected it, and flew off while Zong Shen watched the encampment.
• Safri learned from Erica that the Raven Dome would fall in about two hours and ordered the Deacons and soldiers to prepare for battle.
• Erica sent a raven with Safri's instructions to watch the laborers and check the Blood Pools and magical formations around Oduo Village.
• Zong Shen spotted the Dragonborn Knight Order and Dragonborn Rangers and envied the force's impressive troops.

Zong Shen prepared a Decoy Puppet as an emergency escape plan, then used a hidden tunnel to slip into Oduo Village. He began scouting toward the village center, where he intended to investigate its stores of wealth while the Church focused on the Punitive Expeditionary Force.

• Zong Shen spotted lords watching him near Oduo Village and sent the Mechanical Falcon to Vereesa with a Decoy Puppet for safekeeping.
• Zong Shen led his troops west, drew nearby lords' attention with a deliberate show of settling beside old trees, and entered a concealed tunnel beneath one of them.
• Zong Shen used the Oduo Village Tunnel Key to reach an abandoned outhouse inside the village and emerged without alerting the Church soldiers.
• Zong Shen moved east through the village, avoiding the Church's attention, and headed toward the central square and its Warehouse, traders' stopping points, and tenant-tax stores.

Zong Shen infiltrated Oduo Village and dismantled much of the Church’s inactive magical array to steal its valuable materials. He escaped through the tunnel and returned safely to his forces, planning to rest before carrying out his next plans.

• Zong Shen observed the Punitive Expeditionary Force’s slow assault on Oduo Village’s shield and judged its commander’s tactics wasteful.
• Zong Shen crossed the village under cover, found a blood pool and the inactive magical array, and began removing its Mithril pillars and other materials.
• Zong Shen avoided Church soldiers and archers as he stripped materials from the array’s four outer sections and surveyed the village’s captives and central buildings.
• Zong Shen collected 2,148 units of Mithril, 288 Advanced Magic Rune Stones, several Frost Gems, and Gem Powder before deciding to withdraw.
• Zong Shen returned through the tunnel, concealed its entrance, and rested near his Immortal Lancers and Wolf Cavalry.

Zong Shen disguised himself as Baron Besos's envoy, persuaded Kunier to accept his credentials and the returned Dragonborn Knight emblem, then urged the cautious commander to attack Oduo Village. The chapter left Zong Shen leading the Immortal Lancers toward the village's southeastern barrier to set an example for the Punitive Expeditionary Force.

• Zong Shen used a Transformation Potion, Baron Besos's identity card, and Hammond's emblem to disguise himself and approach the Punitive Expeditionary Force with Cecilia and the Immortal Lancers.
• Zong Shen claimed to be named Quite and said Baron Besos had sent him; Kunier questioned his story but accepted the genuine identity card and recognized Hammond's emblem.
• Kunier returned the identity card and emblem, promised Zong Shen a reward at the Dragonborn Knight Order's Lentax Great City branch, and let the Immortal Lancers join the force.
• Safri recognized Zong Shen as the thief who had stolen the Mithril and lost her raven spy after Dragonborn Rangers shot it down.
• Zong Shen urged Kunier to launch an attack, then volunteered to scout Oduo Village; after Kunier agreed, Zong Shen led the Immortal Lancers toward the southeastern barrier.

Zong Shen harassed Oduo Village’s Raven Dome and persuaded Kunier to lead the Punitive Expeditionary Force into a full assault. As the battle began, Zong Shen slipped away with his own troops and regrouped with Colby, waiting for his Transformation Potion to wear off before the real show began.

• Zong Shen led the Immortal Lancers in repeated hit-and-run attacks on the Raven Dome, rapidly reducing its durability.
• After hearing Zong Shen’s argument, Kunier recovered his resolve and ordered the Punitive Expeditionary Force to prepare a coordinated assault on Oduo Village.
• Kunier rallied his soldiers and led more than two hundred knights forward while the infantry, rangers, and mages advanced behind them.
• Zong Shen avoided the frontal attack and rode north with Cecilia and the Immortal Lancers, then turned northwest to reunite with Colby, Bajie, and Wolf Cavalry Squad 1.
• Zong Shen’s troops formed a screen around him as nearby lords watched the Punitive Expeditionary Force begin its full-scale attack.

Zong Shen watched the Punitive Expeditionary Force attack Oduo Village while the Calamity Raven Church defended its stronghold. As the Blue Owl Cavalry entered the village, the Church’s archers and halberd warriors revealed a formidable defense, and Zong Shen suspected the Church still had hidden advantages.

• The Punitive Expeditionary Force broke the Raven Dome and methodically cleared the traps surrounding Oduo Village while the Church gathered its defenders around the Tower of the Raven.
• Zong Shen watched the battle through his Magic Energy Mechanical Falcon, fed his warriors, and told them to study the tactics.
• More than ten lords joined Kunier’s attack, while Zong Shen suspected Kunier had accepted them as expendable cannon fodder.
• The Blue Owl Knight Order broke through the eastern defenses and entered the village, losing several knights to traps.
• The Blue Owl Cavalry halted before the Cold Raven Halberd Warriors, and Church Heavy Archers fired ice-infused arrows as the cavalry raised a blue barrier with their Chain Flying Sickles.

The Blue Owl Cavalry attacked Oduo Village but struggled against the Cold Raven Halberd Warriors in the narrow eastern road, then retreated while dragging four warriors away with their Chain Flying Sickles. In the west, Kunier ordered the lords' forces to lead the assault as catapults and Position Military Crossbows battered the Church defenses and Tower of the Raven.

• Church Heavy Archers fired frost-imbued arrows as Cold Raven Halberd Warriors charged the Blue Owl Cavalry on the narrow eastern road.
• The Cold Raven Halberd Warriors killed several riders, but Blue Owl Cavalrymen hooked four warriors with their Chain Flying Sickles and dragged them out of the village during their retreat.
• A second group of Blue Owl Cavalry searched along the northeastern edge of Oduo Village for a way inside.
• The Punitive Expeditionary Force attacked from the west, bombarding Cold Raven Halberd Warriors and nearby homes with purple catapult shells.
• Position Military Crossbows fired bolts into the Tower of the Raven, damaging its structure and striking Church Heavy Archers inside.
• Kunier ordered the lords' forces, who had planned to watch from the sidelines, to take the lead in the assault.

The punitive force advanced into Oduo Village, while Raven Saintess Safri prepared a trap to bind the invaders. After the Magic Array was found destroyed, Safri awakened the Raven Power in her warriors, who suddenly turned the battle against the leading lords.

• Kunier forced the lords and their troops to lead the assault into Oduo Village as the punitive force bombarded the village and drove the Cold Raven Halberd Warriors back.
• The lords grew confident as their forces advanced deep into the village with little resistance.
• Safri ordered her followers to activate the Blood Chain Magic Array, but a female Deacon reported that its matrices around the Blood Pools had been dug up.
• Safri chose to awaken the Raven Power in the Apostle Group Warriors, using her own power and accumulated Faith Power to begin a large-scale ritual.
• The transformed church warriors charged the invaders, and Cold Raven Halberd Warriors swiftly cut down the leading Wolf Cavalry and overwhelmed the lords' advance.

Safri’s Raven Ritual drove the Calamity Raven Church’s warriors into an apparently unstoppable frenzy, turning the battle for Oduo Village into a massacre. Kunier led the remaining Dragonborn Cavalry into the village and tried to contain the mutated attackers, but the fighting remained unresolved as the chapter ended.

• The Cold Raven Halberd Warriors ignored arrows and attacks that dealt no damage, slaughtering the lords’ forces while four Black Shadows dragged away the Blue Owl Cavalrymen pulling them.
• Heretic Giant-Strength Knights charged through the Avalon Light Infantry, while Church Heavy Archers and Calamity Mages unleashed strengthened attacks that killed fleeing lords and more soldiers.
• Safri rose above the Tower of the Raven as kneeling Church Deacons offered Faith Power; Kunier recognized her Raven Ritual and led the surviving Dragonborn Cavalry into the village to stop it.
• Dragonborn Rangers, mages, and knights fought the mutated Church warriors but could not kill them, so the Dragonborn Knights pinned the Heretic Giant-Strength Knights down with multiple lances and began pulling back their front line.

Zong Shen sent Vereesa to rescue the captives in Oduo Village while he rode to the Land of Buried Bones to infiltrate the Church’s excavation site. Disguised as Safri, he convinced the guards to let him descend into the newly opened ruins, where the Saint Elders were seeking Balnazzar’s Demon Soul.

• Zong Shen watched the battle through the Magic Energy Mechanical Falcon and ordered Vereesa to approach Oduo Village from the east to rescue the bound villagers and captured warriors.
• The Saint Elders learned that Safri had begun the Raven Ritual and forced their Magic Energy Drill into Overclock mode, breaking through into the bunker ruins before the machine melted down.
• Zong Shen rode to the Land of Buried Bones with Wolf Cavalry and Immortal Lancers, then used a Transformation Potion to imitate Safri.
• Zong Shen showed the Church guards Safri’s Token and claimed he could maintain the ritual while helping the elders obtain the Demon Soul.
• The guards accepted Zong Shen’s disguise, and he climbed down the shaft into the ruins.