Chapter Summaries

Zong Shen received the full details of the four-day Winter Descends challenge while traveling through Bang City, then returned to the Central District with Baron Besos. Besos gave him a large shipment of winter supplies and a property deed, leaving Zong Shen well prepared for the coming cold.

• The system announced Winter Descends, a three-stage survival challenge featuring worsening cold, snow monsters, Winter Treasure Chests, and points for surviving.
• After the announcement, lords across Bang City rushed to gather cold-weather supplies, while Zong Shen continued to the Central District with Baron Besos.
• Baron Besos presented Zong Shen with a deed and a shipment of supplies worth an estimated 22,000 to 25,000 Denars, refusing payment.
• Zong Shen registered his blood on the deed’s magical mark and checked the list of clothing, heaters, food, and other supplies.
• Zong Shen planned to use the supplies to prepare for winter, sell some to Legion members, and put the remainder on the Market to fund his territory.

Zong Shen collected Bosbang’s supplies and reward, then left for his territory with Felix and his mother. Meanwhile, the bard Ingram reached the outskirts of Zong Shen’s settlement and waited while its patrol verified his identity.

• Zong Shen told Baron Besos he had a spatial magical item, cleared the area, and stored the supplies before receiving 13,000 Denars for capturing the Night Demon and killing Carlisle.
• Zong Shen assigned Felix and his mother to Luna, then departed Bosbang with his warriors and headed back toward his territory.
• Ingram reached the outskirts of Zong Shen’s territory after traveling through Xitano Village and was stopped by a Wolf Cavalry patrol.
• Ingram showed the patrol the Communication Crystal Zong Shen had given him, and the lead Wolf Cavalryman went to ask the Logistics Officer to verify his claim.

Maryl and Doris verified Ingram’s communication crystal and welcomed him into Zong Shen’s territory, where he hoped to build ties with Zong Shen and gain a chance to attend Lentax Great City’s tournament banquet. Meanwhile, Zong Shen learned that the Bulette desert near Bosbang concealed a spatial node to an unknown region, leaving him concerned that its creatures might eventually invade.

• Maryl tested Ingram’s communication crystal, confirmed it was genuine, and led him into the territory while Doris went ahead to make arrangements.
• Ingram explained to himself that he wanted to meet Zong Shen and hoped Zong Shen could take him to the banquet if he placed among the tournament’s top three.
• After crossing the Desert Zone, Zong Shen stopped beside the road and examined a warning sign about Bulette packs and night travel.
• Zong Shen asked the Strategy Module why the Bulettes had appeared and why they had not expanded their territory.
• The Strategy Module revealed that an unstable spatial node beneath the desert connected to an unknown region inhabited by Bulettes and other desert races.
• Zong Shen concluded that the node posed a serious danger to Bosbang if its crystal wall fully opened.

Zong Shen realized the continent’s apparent stability concealed many dangers, then encountered Hadro’s cavalry while traveling home. Hadro recognized him as the pig-riding man on a wanted notice and pursued him, but Zong Shen escaped and continued toward his territory.

• Zong Shen reflected on threats such as the Land of Buried Bones and the unknown region beneath the Desert Zone before rejoining his resting group.
• Hadro’s cavalry passed Zong Shen’s party on the road, and Harold later recognized Bajie from a wanted notice identifying Zong Shen as the man who rescued the Raven Saintess.
• Hadro ordered his cavalry to chase Zong Shen, but their horses could not match Bajie and the group’s other mounts, so the pursuit failed.
• Hadro abandoned the chase and headed to a nearby village to rest and seek clues about Zong Shen.
• Zong Shen continued traveling through the night, then shared diluted Moon Goddess Spring water with the mounts to help them recover.

Zong Shen returned to his territory after a successful trip to Bosbang and found its defenses and construction greatly advanced. He planned to sort the supplies and resume preparations for Winter, then shared a warm reunion with Mappel and Madeline.

• Zong Shen spent Moon Goddess Spring Water to refresh the mounts and hurried back toward his territory, thinking through construction and Winter preparations.
• Zong Shen reached the territory shortly after one in the morning and met Colby, whose patrol had collected beasts killed by the defensive towers.
• Zong Shen praised Colby’s initiative and saw that new buildings and defensive preparations had been completed during his absence.
• Zong Shen entered the Lord’s Courtyard and quietly greeted Mappel and Madeline, who hugged and kissed him before returning to their room.
• Zong Shen headed upstairs to find Maryl and sort the supplies brought back from Bosbang.

Zong Shen returned to his territory with supplies and had Maryl organize them while reporting on the mine, the Great City’s forces, and the arrival of Ingram. The chapter left Zong Shen preparing defenses for the mine and planning to meet the bard he had invited.

• Zong Shen asked Maryl to sort the supplies from Bosbang, distribute the fur coats, and send lower-grade fur materials to Alana for coatmaking.
• Maryl reported that the mine had produced 3,173 units of iron ore, 338 of copper ore, and 112 of mithril; Zong Shen ordered Favid to send four Hellish Two-Headed Hounds to guard it and Bajie to hide there.
• Maryl told Zong Shen that Blue Owl Knights had visited the territory and that the Great City Punitive Expeditionary Force had withdrawn from Oduo Village, which Colby found reduced to rubble.
• Maryl reported that the bard Ingram had arrived with Communication Crystal Number 10 and was staying in the Lord's Small Building; Zong Shen confirmed that he had invited him and approved Maryl's arrangements.

Zong Shen delegated supply management to Maryl and Howie, then rested before reviewing Maryl’s detailed inventory of the territory’s food, winter clothing, and heating supplies. The stockpile was sufficient to keep the territory largely safe through Winter, and Zong Shen began planning how to distribute it.

• Zong Shen praised Maryl’s work and entrusted her and Howie with handling the supplies and compiling an inventory.
• After resting, Zong Shen sent the exhausted Howie to sleep and asked Maryl to report the territory’s reserves.
• Maryl presented the food inventory, which showed enough provisions to feed several thousand people for half a month, plus more than a hundred cattle and sheep.
• Maryl listed the territory’s winter clothing, including thousands of coats and pelts, while Alana and several female farmers continued making more coats.
• Maryl listed heaters, Pine Oil Blocks, thermal orbs, stoves, kettles, and a sled; Zong Shen concluded the supplies could help the territory endure extreme cold and planned to meet its own needs first.

Zong Shen distributed winter clothing and supplies to his people, then inspected the territory’s newly planned districts and defenses. He ordered further preparations for the Winter Challenge, including stocking residences and building windbreak walls around the residential area.

• Zong Shen summoned Maryl, Doris, Luna, Vereesa, Favid, San Pang, and several Farmers to distribute winter supplies.
• Zong Shen assigned cold-weather clothing and heating supplies to the heroes, Warriors, Farmers, and Mine, then sent Luna and Favid to deliver provisions there.
• Zong Shen asked Maryl and Doris to inspect the territory with him and discussed using Tier 1 City Walls as windbreaks around vulnerable buildings.
• Zong Shen surveyed the agricultural, industrial, residential, commercial, central, and military districts and reviewed the territory’s defensive layout.
• Zong Shen ordered food, water, stoves, Pine Oil Blocks, and firewood to be distributed among the residences for four or five days, and directed that Tier 1 City Walls be built north, east, and south of the residential area.

Zong Shen organized preparations for the Winter Challenge by outfitting residents, distributing food, and ordering windbreak walls and reserve supplies for the living district. After Maryl suggested heating the pasture to protect pregnant livestock, he praised her initiative and headed there with workers to begin preparations.

• Zong Shen inspected the living district, where San Pang distributed sheepskin coats to the Farmers, and ordered Doris to hand out four days of food.
• Zong Shen directed Maryl to build three Tier 1 city walls as temporary windbreaks around the residential area.
• Zong Shen gave Vereesa rabbit-fur overshoes and ordered Howie and Doris to remain in the living district with reserve supplies and a Load-Bearer Mecha.
• Maryl suggested using thermal spheres and a large stove to keep the pregnant cattle and sheep warm, and Zong Shen praised her initiative.
• Zong Shen took Maryl and more than twenty Farmers toward the farming and ranching area to build windbreak walls around the pasture.

Zong Shen prepared the territory for Winter, checked on his Scout Squad in Dinan Village, and distributed cold-weather supplies to his legion members. With less than three hours until Winter began, he returned to the Lord's Small Building to inspect his spoils and unopened treasure chests.

• Zong Shen arranged windbreak walls, Thatched Sheds, hay, and Thermal Orbs for the livestock, then planned heating for the Stable.
• Zong Shen contacted Tie Zhu, told the Scout Squad to shelter from the cold, and heard about their rented shop and negotiations in Dinan Village.
• Zong Shen moved a Tier 2 Market into the Lord's Courtyard and announced that legion members could buy cold-weather supplies at cost through Jiang Yi.
• Zong Shen transferred supplies to Jiang Yi, including a Thermal Orb, winter clothing, and heaters, for her and her subjects.
• With less than three hours until Winter descended, Zong Shen returned to the Lord's Small Building to check his gains and two unopened treasure chests.

Zong Shen opened two Silver Treasure Chests, gaining recruitment scrolls and several valuable items, then welcomed Bard Ingram. Ingram praised their mutual promise-keeping and began to make a request before continuing to Lentax Great City.

• Zong Shen inspected the Silver Support Chest and learned it guaranteed additional soldier recruitment scrolls.
• Zong Shen opened the Silver Support Chest, receiving two Rare Grade items, Wolf Cavalry and Necromancer recruitment scrolls, and other rewards.
• Zong Shen reflected on Necromancers, undead creatures, and his plan to collect the Demon Lord's Decrees and the Elven Key.
• Zong Shen opened the ordinary Silver Treasure Chest and gained a Mana Well blueprint, a city wall blueprint, equipment, skill, recruitment scrolls, and food.
• Bard Ingram came downstairs, greeted Zong Shen, and said he had a request before continuing to Lentax Great City.

Zong Shen promised to bring Bard Ingram to the nobles’ banquet if he placed in the tournament, while planning to use the contest to gain the attention of Lentax’s nobles. Meanwhile, Hadro returned to Bang City with news of the destruction of Oduo Village, and Baron Besos recognized Zong Shen in the wanted portrait but concealed it from his son.

• Zong Shen agreed to bring Ingram to the banquet if he placed in the tournament, raising Ingram’s favorability to 70 points.
• Ingram arranged to meet Zong Shen outside Lentax Mage Tower in thirty days, then rode west toward Lentax Great City.
• Zong Shen reflected that native inhabitants were noticing the lords’ strange behavior and might soon uncover the wider anomaly.
• Hadro returned to Bang City and told Baron Besos that Oduo Village had been destroyed, the Church’s Apostle Group had been defeated, and the Saintess had escaped with help from an unknown person.
• Hadro gave Baron Besos Lord Kunier’s portrait and orders to investigate illegal settlements; Baron Besos recognized the pictured figure as Zong Shen and told Hadro he would handle the matter.

Baron Besos redirected Hadro’s ambition toward courting Marquis Henry Lancaster’s daughter at an upcoming banquet, while privately weighing whether to protect Zong Shen from the wanted notice. He then questioned Zachary about Evans and ordered an investigation into Langkeon Village, where Evans’s hidden wealth might be concealed.

• Hadro told Baron Besos that he had seen a mysterious armored pig rider leading Heavy Cavalry and hoped to capture him for recognition.
• Baron Besos urged Hadro to pursue the Marquis’s newly adult daughter at a banquet in Lentax Great City, and Hadro eagerly turned his attention to the courtship.
• After Hadro left, Baron Besos hid a parchment scroll in a secret chamber and resolved to keep matters under control within Bosbang, hoping Zong Shen had no connection to the heretics.
• Baron Besos asked Sheriff Zachary Osborn whether Evans had awakened, and Zachary reported that Evans remained unconscious and that his manor’s secret chamber was empty.
• Baron Besos ordered Zachary to investigate Langkeon Village, where Evans’s caravan had been based and villagers had recently been killed by bear beasts.

Zong Shen examined the wealth and magical items recovered from Lord Mars's cellar, gaining a dream-controlling bracelet and a token tied to the Wild Wolf Tribe's ancient inheritance. The chapter ended when Arvid reported that Wolf Cavalry Squad 2 had caught two evil Goblin Scouts near the territory.

• Baron Besos's favorability toward Zong Shen fell by 15 points, but Zong Shen remained pleased that it stayed at 85.
• Zong Shen divided Lord Mars's cellar wealth according to the quest agreement and kept a pair of Bauhinia earrings for Luna, along with four magical items.
• Zong Shen equipped the Dream Bracelet, raising his Charisma and Wisdom and gaining a skill that could place groups of enemies into dreams.
• Zong Shen discovered that the Wild Wolf Tribe Token could lead him to the tribe's ruins and ancient inheritance, and he resolved to investigate after the challenges ended.
• Arvid reported that Wolf Cavalry Squad 2 had captured two evil Goblin Scouts near the territory.

Zong Shen dealt with two Goblin Scouts and recognized that their nearby tribe threatened the region, though he postponed confronting it. As Winter Descends approached, his territory’s preparations were complete, and he returned to inspect magical items and Evans’s belongings.

• Zong Shen learned that Goblin Scouts had been captured near his territory and recalled the Goblin Tribe and the ruins near its camp.
• Zong Shen ordered Arvid to kill the scouts and search for further goblin traces; he beheaded both scouts himself.
• Zong Shen considered the Goblin Tribe a future threat but decided his territory was not yet seeking a fight with it.
• Maryl’s cold-weather supplies were distributed, and Howie and Doris were assigned to oversee the residential area with a golem and emergency supplies ready.
• Zong Shen waited for Luna and Favid to return from the Mine, then went inside to inspect magical items and Evans’s belongings.

Zong Shen inventoried the remaining treasures from Lord Mars's ancestors and Evans Manor, finding a key to Azshara's ancient sewers, records that could help him with Baron Besos, and a powerful dagger. He ended with 970,000 Denars added to his fortune and planned to study the knight trial badges after handing over the rest of Mars's inheritance.

• Zong Shen inspected the Excellent Grade Scorching Guard and stored it, then learned the Azshara Sluice Gate Key could open sewer gates beneath the Bandit Camp and provide access toward the Mountain Bunker.
• Zong Shen considered the rewards and recruitment privileges offered by the Avalon and Swadian Knight Trial Badges, deciding to study them after completing the inheritance handover.
• Zong Shen found Evans's trade and family account books and kept them, considering that Baron Besos might value records connected to the Haywood Family.
• Zong Shen discovered the Legendary Acid-Eroded Shadowfall Dagger, judged its dagger form unsuited to his style, and stored it as a backup.
• Zong Shen chopped open Evans's Runic Money Box with the Executioner's Broadsword and collected its 970,000 Denars, bringing his total holdings to roughly 1.5 to 1.6 million Denars.

Zong Shen upgraded his Lord’s Courtyard to Level 4, then retrieved and treated five captives, including Isidore and four Cold Raven Halberd Warriors. The warriors woke up bound and asked Zong Shen where they were.

• Zong Shen decided not to repair his battered broadsword and used the Level 4 City Lord's Mansion Upgrade Certificate to expand the courtyard and Lord's Small Building.
• Zong Shen considered how the territory's growing population would require housing and infrastructure as reforms approached.
• Zong Shen released Isidore and four Cold Raven Halberd Warriors from the Captive Space, finding Isidore near death and the warriors injured but stable.
• Zong Shen gave Isidore Moon Goddess Spring, removed Vereesa's arrows, bandaged his wounds, and tied him up.
• Zong Shen bound the four Cold Raven Halberd Warriors and gave them Moon Goddess Spring; after they woke, one asked who Zong Shen was and whether they were still in the Land of Buried Bones.

Zong Shen detained Isidore and the Cold Raven Halberd Warriors, then examined loot from two Silver Treasure Chests and discovered several useful items. He equipped a time-manipulating pocket watch and tested a disguise mask, leaving the remaining loot for inspection.

• Zong Shen sent Isidore and five Cold Raven Halberd Warriors to the residential area under Wolf Cavalry guard, leaving their recruitment or disposal to Howie.
• Zong Shen examined the Chrono Pocket Watch IV, equipped it, and gained 16 Wisdom along with abilities that slowed enemies and extracted Time Value from monsters.
• Zong Shen reviewed his attributes, noting that his Strength had reached 135 and that his growth had slowed after the Dungeon Challenge ended.
• Zong Shen used the Shapeshifter's Illusory Mask to take Baron Besos's appearance, voice, clothing, and mannerisms, then added it to the items he carried.
• Zong Shen identified an Artisan's Hammer for San Pang and a Mount Transformation Pearl, then continued examining the remaining treasure.

Zong Shen examined the rewards from his Silver Support Chest, including a mount-transforming pearl, a transport carriage blueprint, and a tool for controlling corpses and undead. He learned the Mana Well blueprint and added the building to his territory’s construction options, leaving his remaining chest rewards to examine.

• Zong Shen put away the Mount Transformation Pearl and learned the Transport Carriage Crafting Blueprint, noting that he needed a Basic Workshop to craft carriages.
• Zong Shen examined the Thorn of the Dead Commander, which could briefly revive corpses or control certain undead.
• Zong Shen considered the Mana Well’s ability to restore mages’ Magic Value and support their combat endurance.
• Zong Shen mastered the Mana Well Construction Blueprint and added the building to his territory’s Construction options.

Zong Shen built a Mana Well and sorted through his rewards before Luna and Favid returned from the mine. He recruited eight wolf cavalrymen and two necromancers, who pledged their service to him.

• Zong Shen built a Mana Well and activated Mana Boiling to increase its production of mana spring water.
• Zong Shen learned a Second-Order Levitation skill, learned a Third-Order City Wall blueprint, and equipped Dispel Gloves.
• Luna reported that the mine was operating normally and that its recent output had been stored in the mining area warehouse.
• Zong Shen sent Favid to organize the warriors and activated eight Wolf Cavalry Recruitment Scrolls and two Necromancer Recruitment Scrolls.
• Eight wolf cavalrymen pledged their loyalty to Zong Shen, followed by the necromancers Edgeworth and Meli.