Chapter Summaries

Zong Shen examined the treasures from the Magic Storage Chest and learned that the Silver Lion token and war banner could help him organize a powerful knight legion. After storing the useful items and displaying the damaged medal in his fortress, he received Vereesa’s report on the griffons and their teleportation beacon.

• Zong Shen studied a strategic map of the eastern regions and stored it as a clue for future Ruins explorations.
• He identified the Silver Lion Hand Carving as the Silver Lion Knights Order’s organizational token, which could promote knight heroes and provide formation bonuses.
• Zong Shen learned that the Lion Baptism Potion could improve attributes through a twelve-hour soaking, and he decided to consider candidates after the second Flame Demon Boss was defeated.
• He discovered that the Stormwind Honor Medal had lost its effects and placed it on the Lord’s Fortress mantel.
• Vereesa reported that the griffons had returned to their nests, returned the Thousand-Kilometer Teleportation Gate, and confirmed that beacon number 3 was set at the Griffon Nest.

Zong Shen planned new farming and mining training for his residents, arranged help for the delayed Scorpion-tailed Tiger cages, and approved extra funding for a large pasture. He left the evening meal to Vereesa and Maryl and prepared to visit the Magic Hall.

• Zong Shen decided to train Farmers in farming and mining, and instructed Maryl to coordinate the work with Howie, Dutra, and the agricultural apprentices.
• Zong Shen assigned Maryl to take blacksmith apprentices and cavalry to Xitano Village to help make the Scorpion-tailed Tiger cages.
• Maryl reported that Lord Mars had acquired cattle for the pasture beyond the budget, and Zong Shen authorized another fifty thousand Denar.
• Maryl joined Vereesa in the kitchen while Zong Shen ate with them and decided he would visit the Magic Hall himself.

Zong Shen replicated a Fourth-Order Comprehensive Training Ground, then set out with Reese Ulysses and Flying Tiger to bring Jiang Yi along on an operation to claim unowned territories left behind by lords killed in the Flame Demon campaign. Jiang Yi accepted his visitation request, but questioned how they would find the abandoned territories.

• Zong Shen used an orange-grade Building Replication Stone to create a second Fourth-Order Comprehensive Training Ground.
• Zong Shen and Reese Ulysses traveled to the Bear Monster Grove, where he took Flying Tiger out for the first time in several days.
• Zong Shen flew to Jiang Yi's territory, landed outside it, and obtained her approval to enter.
• Zong Shen told Jiang Yi he planned to take her out to inherit the territorial legacies of lords who had died in the Flame Demon campaign.
• Jiang Yi questioned how they would locate the ownerless territories.

Zong Shen took Jiang Yi to inherit valuable unclaimed territories, using Flying Tiger and Reese Ulysses’s Shadow Wormhole to gather buildings, soldiers, Farmers, and equipment. After searching eight of the ten marked territories, Zong Shen and Jiang Yi planned to continue claiming the remaining ones.

• Jiang Yi agreed to accompany Zong Shen and brought her two hero-level talents, while confirming that the resources from their earlier equipment sales had been listed for him to buy.
• Zong Shen used the Strategy Module to locate unclaimed territories and flew with Jiang Yi to one of the ten most valuable sites, where they found soldiers and Farmers waiting to be claimed.
• Zong Shen set the terms for dividing the spoils, then Reese Ulysses opened a Shadow Wormhole so Zong Shen could relocate buildings and personnel to his territory.
• Zong Shen and Jiang Yi divided the territory’s buildings, warriors, Farmers, resources, and equipment, with Jiang Yi accepting the arrangement and giving up her claim to relocated buildings.
• Zong Shen and Jiang Yi searched eight of the ten marked territories over three hours, while other lords claimed the remaining two and the number of nearby unclaimed territories fell to twenty or thirty.
• Zong Shen decided to keep inheriting the remaining territories with Jiang Yi despite no longer prioritizing their modest gains.

After inheriting twenty-two unclaimed territories with Jiang Yi, Zong Shen returned to his territory and organized the new people, defenses, and supplies. The next morning, he reviewed the completed arrangements, met the new heroes Johnson and Clough, and received Maryl’s report.

• Zong Shen and Jiang Yi finished inheriting the nearby unclaimed territories, then Zong Shen escorted Jiang Yi and her heroes home with their share of the gains.
• Zong Shen returned to his territory, assigned Maryl, Howie, and two refugee heroes to sort the people, defenses, and supplies, and went to sleep before the next Flame Demon Boss campaign.
• Luna woke Zong Shen the next morning and told him that the Ruins beneath the Bandit Camp had been completely filled in.
• Howie introduced Johnson and Clough to Zong Shen, who welcomed them and noted their differing loyalty levels.
• Zong Shen reminded Howie to send two hundred farmers to the mine and have everyone attend agricultural skills training.
• Maryl presented Zong Shen with a notebook listing the population and supplies received the previous night.

Zong Shen reviewed the resources, buildings, troops, farmers, and heroes gained from inheriting dozens of unclaimed territories, and recognized that claiming such territories could be highly profitable after future raids. After breakfast, he confirmed Maryl’s work assignments and collected spring water for emergency use.

• Zong Shen reviewed the inherited resources, equipment, buildings, and troops, including an [Ancient Guardian] and a [Juvenile Knowledge Ancient (Orange)].
• Zong Shen noted that dozens or hundreds of territories could become unclaimed after future Flame Demon Boss raids and resolved to inherit them using the Strategy Module, Flying Tiger, and Reese Ulysses’s Shadow Wormhole.
• Zong Shen reviewed the 412 farmers and seven hero-level talents among the recruits, then returned Maryl’s notebook after breakfast.
• Zong Shen directed Maryl to take 200 farmers and the dwarf workers to the mine, hand the farmers to Dutra, and then go to Xitano Village to make ten iron cages for Scorpion-tailed Tigers.
• Zong Shen collected several liters of [Moon Goddess Spring] and [Magic Spring] from the territory’s storage chest as emergency reserves.

Zong Shen inspected the Knowledge Ancient, read in the library, and prepared for the day's Flame Demon Boss while his people carried out territory tasks. After stripping away the last Evil Grime from the Holy Spirit Heart, he triggered a violent clash between its Holy Light and his demonic power.

• Zong Shen examined the juvenile Knowledge Ancient, learned that it could train Elf troops, and considered using Moon Goddess Spring Water to accelerate its growth.
• Zong Shen read Gluck's Marching Memoirs in the Advanced Library while Maryl led Farmers, heroes, and an escort toward the Mine.
• Zong Shen contacted Vereesa, Doris, and Luna to order the warriors to gather before noon, then returned to the Lord's Fortress.
• Zong Shen used his demonic power to break down and absorb the remaining Evil Grime covering the Holy Spirit Heart.
• Holy Light burst from the Holy Spirit Heart and clashed with Zong Shen's demonic power as the heart tried to break free, but Zong Shen forced the disturbance under control.

Zong Shen swallowed the Core of Chaos and fused the Holy Spirit Heart with his Demon Heart, gaining new powers without triggering a clash. He then assembled troops for the Flame Demon attack and summoned twenty-five warriors from stored recruitment scrolls.

• Zong Shen swallowed the Core of Chaos after the Strategy Module explained that it could reconcile conflicting powers.
• Zong Shen fused the Holy Spirit Heart into his body, where the Core of Chaos kept it and the Demon Heart from conflicting.
• Zong Shen gained the Holy Spirit State and Light-Dark State transformation skills, then chose not to test them before the coming battle.
• Zong Shen left the fortress and prepared a force of ranged troops and a small cavalry contingent for the attack on the Flame Demon.
• Zong Shen activated twenty-five recruitment scrolls, and the summoned warriors appeared as their cocoons of light faded.

Zong Shen recruited three Wildhammer Dwarf Warriors, tested their strength against his Dragon-Slaying Greatsword, and appointed Stonehammer Nigu as their captain. As he prepared to hunt the Flame Demon Boss again, the system announced that the bosses had gained new resistances and more health.

• Zong Shen inspected the three Wildhammer Dwarf Warriors and found that Stonehammer Nigu had strong attributes and a Loyalty of 75.
• Zong Shen challenged the dwarves to lift the Dragon-Slaying Greatsword, but all three failed while he raised it effortlessly.
• Stonehammer Nigu and the other two dwarves apologized, knelt to show respect, and gained five Loyalty points each.
• Zong Shen appointed Stonehammer Nigu captain and organized his troops for another Flame Demon Boss raid using Scorpion-tailed Tigers and Frost Gems.
• At 12:05, the Lord System announced the Flame Demon Boss's spawn and gave all regional bosses 80% Frost and Water energy immunity and 10% more maximum health.

Zong Shen found that the Lord System had given the Flame Demon Boss 80% resistance to frost and water magic, preventing him from repeating his quick kill. He reached the nearby spawn site, cleared a path through the wildfire with stored lake water, and began attacking the Boss alongside his troops.

• The Lord System announced that the Flame Demon Boss had gained 80% resistance to frost and water magic, and Zong Shen decided to fight without relying on his gems.
• Zong Shen flew southeast with the Scorpion-tailed Tigers and opened a portal so his troops could reach the Flame Demon Boss site.
• Zong Shen used the [Water-Condensing Pearl (Purple)] to release fifty tons of water, extinguishing the surrounding grass fire and cooling the ground near the Boss.
• Zong Shen's ranged troops and mages began attacking while the Wolf Cavalry and Immortal Lancers guarded the formation.
• Zong Shen tested the Flame Demon Boss's defenses with the [Dragon-Slaying Greatsword], then activated [Strength Amplification] and [Power Demon Possession] to prepare a stronger assault.

Zong Shen and his troops dealt heavy damage to the Flame Demon Boss, then rested as more lords gathered for the battle. Jiang Yi arrived with Guide Legion members, while Zong Shen waited for the regional forces to grow before resuming his attack.

• Zong Shen used Heavy Cleave, Double Slash, and repeated Power Slash attacks to deal nearly four hundred thousand damage to the Flame Demon Boss before his buffs expired.
• Zong Shen’s troops continued attacking, bringing their combined damage to about six hundred and eighty thousand as the surrounding grassland burned away and other lords entered the field.
• Zong Shen withdrew to rest while his summoned Elemental Warriors and ranged troops kept attacking, and he watched his points increase as the Flame Demon Boss’s health fell slowly.
• Zong Shen estimated that more lords were needed to defeat the boss and waited for the regional forces to gather, resting beside Flying Tiger.
• Jiang Yi arrived with several dozen Guide Legion members, and she wondered whether Zong Shen might eventually tame the black dragon in the poisonous swamp.

Zong Shen resumed attacking the Flame Demon Boss and rediscovered the [Cruel Blood-Burning Arrow], whose percentage-based damage might help defeat it. He arranged for Mappel to fire it when the Boss was weakened, but the returning heat made close combat difficult, leaving him considering another trip to fetch lake water.

• Jiang Yi brought forty-two legion members to report to Zong Shen, who sent them to attack the Flame Demon Boss for points.
• Zong Shen reviewed his plans for strengthening and organizing the Legion while watching more lords join the battle.
• Zong Shen found the [Cruel Blood-Burning Arrow] and learned from the Strategy Module that its Blood-Burning effect could damage the Flame Demon Boss.
• Zong Shen gave the arrow to Mappel and ordered her to fire it when the Boss had less than 40% health remaining.
• Zong Shen summoned close-range fighters and attacked with knuckle dusters, but the Flame Demon Boss's heat returned after the lake water evaporated, prompting him to consider fetching more water.

Zong Shen collected lake water to cool the Flame Demon Boss and encouraged nearby Lords to join the raid. While waiting for the Water-Condensing Pearl to fill, he considered retrieving the dangerous Arcane Crystal Fragment beneath Lake Heart Island but decided against it.

• Zong Shen sent summoned Warriors to attack the Flame Demon Boss while he rode Flying Tiger to Lake Heart Island for water.
• Several Lords recognized Zong Shen at the lake, and he used the Water-Condensing Pearl to draw in fifty tons of water.
• A blond Lord greeted Zong Shen, who told the group to hurry to the Boss battle before the Flame Demon Boss was defeated.
• The Lords departed for the raid, while Zong Shen continued collecting water and considered the Arcane Crystal Fragment buried beneath the lake.
• Zong Shen decided not to retrieve the Arcane Crystal Fragment because it was buried deep and too dangerous to recover.

Zong Shen returned to the Flame Demon battlefield after storing fifty tons of lake water and used it to cool the Flame Demon Boss, creating a brief opening for close combat. He smashed through the Boss’s stone shell before retreating as its heat returned, leaving the battle to continue with his troops’ ranged attacks.

• Zong Shen left the Arcane Crystal Fragment in the lake, finished using [Water Storage], and rode Flying Tiger back to the battlefield.
• Zong Shen poured fifty tons of lake water over the Flame Demon Boss, cooling its body and forming a hard stone shell while steam forced nearby Lords to retreat.
• Zong Shen stood beside the Flame Demon Boss and hammered its stone shell with his knuckle dusters, dealing tens of thousands of damage and earning several thousand points.
• The Flame Demon Boss’s shell broke apart and its heat returned, so Zong Shen climbed onto Flying Tiger and withdrew to his Warriors.
• Zong Shen’s ranged troops continued attacking intermittently as their ammunition and Magic Spring Water ran low, while the exhausted mages meditated between attacks.

Zong Shen waited for the other lords to lower the Flame Demon Boss's health so he could use a Blood-Burning Arrow without exposing his transformation abilities. As the battle intensified, he withdrew his forces to rest and watched the Boss begin its lava counterattacks, still waiting for more lords to arrive.

• Zong Shen rejected using Holy Spirit State to preserve his hidden transformation abilities and decided to save his Blood-Burning Arrows for when the Boss's health fell below 40%.
• Zong Shen withdrew his forces from the front lines and let the other lords attack while nearly two thousand lords gathered around the Flame Demon Boss.
• Zong Shen sent Vereesa back to his territory to replenish arrows, crossbow bolts, and supplies while his soldiers rested and recovered.
• The Flame Demon Boss's health fell below 70%, and it began pounding the ground to scatter lava across the surrounding area.
• Zong Shen watched the lords evade the magma strikes and chose to keep resting while he waited for more participants to arrive.

Zong Shen waited as more lords gathered to attack the Flame Demon Boss, then led his forces into another intense assault. After fighting at close range and earning more points, he retreated with a scalded face and hands, while the boss remained alive.

• Vereesa returned with supplies as the number of participating lords grew to around three thousand and the Flame Demon Boss's health fell to 49%.
• Zong Shen surveyed the lords' trading fair, found no worthwhile bargains, and prepared Madeline to use the Blood-Burning Arrows once the boss's health dropped below 40%.
• After the Flame Demon Boss's magma counterattack, Zong Shen led Vereesa and the others into the battle, where mages and archers unleashed a barrage of attacks.
• Zong Shen ordered his commanders to watch for danger, then charged the boss and struck it with the Dragon-Slaying Greatsword for several minutes, earning more than three thousand points.
• Zong Shen retreated from the heat and poured water over himself, revealing a reddened face and blisters on his hands.

Zong Shen’s forces withdrew while the lords continued weakening the enraged Flame Demon Boss, then Madeline used a Blood-Burning Arrow that dealt enough damage over time to kill it. The lords received bonus chests and damage-based points, while they fought over the arrowheads left in the crater.

• Zong Shen ordered his army and the [Guide Legion] to withdraw as the Flame Demon Boss’s health neared 40%, and Jiang Yi led the legion away.
• The Flame Demon Boss entered an enraged state, widening and intensifying its attacks and killing several lords and warriors who remained within range.
• Zong Shen signaled Madeline, who fired a Blood-Burning Arrow into the Flame Demon Boss’s forehead and then retreated on the Flying Tiger.
• The arrow’s blood-burning effect dealt 250,000 damage per second, killing the Flame Demon Boss as its body turned to rock and scattered into powder.
• The lords rushed to claim the fallen arrowheads until a silver banner announced Zong Shen’s final blow and bronze banners awarded participants two chests and extra damage-based points.

After claiming the rewards for defeating the Flame Demon Boss, Zong Shen traveled to a neighboring region to test whether he could earn points by damaging its Boss. The test succeeded, but as he and Mappel left, local lords pursued them and demanded that he surrender his territory.

• Zong Shen received bonus points and a Flame Demon Chest for his damage and final blow, bringing his total score to 782,684.
• Zong Shen ordered the Guide Legion to guard the portal, then flew east with Mappel to the neighboring region’s Flame Demon Boss spawn point.
• Zong Shen asked the Strategy Module about the Boss’s health and tested his plan by having Mappel shoot it without using a skill; his points increased after the damage.
• As Zong Shen and Mappel ran back toward their mount, several lords and their cavalry pursued them.
• The bald lord in a horned helmet confronted Zong Shen and demanded that he surrender his territory or face death.

Zong Shen repelled a group of Lords who tried to rob him, killing their bald leader before returning to Mappel and waiting for the Flame Demon Boss to weaken. He settled in a small forest near a native village, planning to attack once the Boss’s health fell to around forty percent.

• The bald Lord and his forces charged Zong Shen, who used [Chrono Domain], a Type III Goblin Bomb, and [Flame Scorch] to devastate them.
• Zong Shen pursued the fleeing bald Lord and killed him with a charged [Power Slash], while the surviving troops retreated.
• Zong Shen reunited with Mappel on Flying Tiger and headed south to wait for the Flame Demon Boss, whose damage dealt by Mappel could also count toward his points.
• Zong Shen chose a small forest near a native village as a secluded waiting place and planned to strike when the Boss’s health reached about forty percent.

Zong Shen and Mappel used the Blood-Burning Arrow to kill the Flame Demon Boss in a neighboring region, earning a groundbreaking reward before the Lord System barred further cross-region attacks. As Zong Shen flew away, an unknown force stopped time and scanned him and the arrow, then released him with the Strategy Module dormant for 24 hours.

• While waiting, Zong Shen contacted Maryl and Luna, learned that the Mine's new Farmers and Wolf Cavalry had arrived, and considered strengthening its defenses.
• Zong Shen and Mappel flew to the Flame Demon Boss, and Mappel struck it with the Blood-Burning Arrow when its health reached 40%.
• The arrow's Blood-Burning effect dealt 250,000 damage per second and killed the Flame Demon Boss; Zong Shen retrieved the nearly spent arrow and fled on Flying Tiger.
• Golden banners announced Zong Shen's cross-region kill, granted him a groundbreaking reward, and reduced the challenge temperature and awarded points to lords in his region; the Lord System then prohibited further cross-region attacks for the challenge.
• Time stopped around Zong Shen as a red beam transported him to a strange void, where an unknown force scanned him and the Blood-Burning Arrow; the Strategy Module briefly warned that it was entering dormancy for 24 hours.
• Zong Shen returned to his original position with Flying Tiger and Mappel, and realized the inspection had been real.