Chapter Summaries

Li Si, disguised as the mercenary Aiden, met with Old Downs at a tavern in La Ningte to learn about the Fies Kingdom’s covert agents in Ice Peak City. After hearing about three agents whose identities he could use, Li Si chose one and prepared to enter the city under a new identity.

• Li Si arrived at La Ningte Tavern disguised as a mercenary and asked to see Old Downs as Aiden.
• Old Downs greeted Li Si privately and confirmed that Earl Solo had ordered him to obey Li Si’s commands.
• Old Downs revealed that Viscount Luo Yi, Financial Officer Kinnear Simon, and City Guard Army squad captain Theodore Eddie were Fies Kingdom covert agents in Ice Peak City.
• Li Si asked whether he could use the agents’ identities, and Old Downs agreed without hesitation.
• After learning the three men’s circumstances, Li Si chose one identity for his plans in Ice Peak City.

Li Si took over the identity of Kinnear Simon, the Dillon Kingdom’s Financial Officer, to gain access to Ice Fortress Royal Palace, where a coming slaughter would unfold. As he settled into Simon’s office, he considered why Duke Gana had arranged Simon’s appointment and whether King Lukar had approved it.

• Kinnear Simon arrived at Ice Fortress Royal Palace, and the guards discussed his military past and his standing as Financial Officer.
• Li Si chose Kinnear Simon’s identity over those of Viscount Luo Yi and a City Guard Army squad captain because the palace was the center of the coming slaughter.
• Li Si entered Simon’s office and examined the black armor left behind by the injured former soldier.
• Li Si recalled that Duke Gana had appointed Simon as a figurehead Financial Officer, while Simon had left for the Fies Kingdom after handing over his identity.
• Li Si wondered whether King Lukar had intended Simon’s appointment and considered where to begin.

Disguised as Kinnear Simon, Li Si met Minister of Finance Gilberto Salas, who instructed him to challenge Financial Assistant Flur Philip, a man aligned with Duke Strand Ward. Li Si recognized the assignment as part of a growing political clash between King Lukar and Duke Ward.

• A young official summoned Li Si, disguised as Kinnear Simon, to meet Gilberto Salas.
• Gilberto showed Li Si a letter from Duke Kirk Ghana ordering Kinnear to follow Gilberto's instructions.
• Gilberto explained that Flur Philip served Duke Strand Ward and that King Lukar opposed Duke Ward's expanding influence.
• Gilberto assigned Li Si some of Flur's affairs and told him to make trouble for Flur and find grounds to accuse him.
• Li Si returned to his office and concluded that the kingdom was moving against Duke Ward across several fronts.

Li Si learned that the Dillon Kingdom’s unrest stemmed from King Lucar’s growing conflict with Duke Strand Ward, then began investigating Financial Assistant Flur Philip at Gilberto’s direction. After spotting a promising document among Philip’s records, Li Si arranged to inspect two sites with Hans Cruz the next day.

• Li Si understood that King Lucar and Duke Strand Ward were nearing open conflict over power in the Dillon Kingdom.
• Hans Cruz told Li Si that Gilberto had ordered a review of the kingdom’s finances and identified Flur Philip’s tax and funding responsibilities as areas to investigate.
• Hans gave Li Si memoranda of Philip’s work, and Li Si chose to begin with last year’s tax collection.
• Li Si selected two documents and told Hans to verify the tax records while accompanying him to inspect the locations the next day.
• Hans read the title of one selected document: Ice Peak City Royal New Garsa Warehouse Funding Approval.

Li Si investigated the rebuilt Garsa Warehouse as a possible source of trouble, then encountered Financial Assistant Flur Philip, who invited him to Duke Ward’s soirée. Philip used a hidden magical influence to make Li Si accept, and they left the palace together, while Hans went to alert Minister of Finance Salas.

• Li Si suspected something was wrong at Garsa Warehouse and agreed to inspect it alongside the city wall repairs.
• Hans arranged the audit and inspections, believing Li Si was being positioned as a figurehead and a convenient target.
• After spending the day alone in his office, Li Si was visited by Flur Philip, who invited him to Duke Ward’s soirée.
• Philip secretly used Intermediate Subconscious Suggestion on Li Si, but Li Si resisted it and pretended to accept its influence.
• Li Si left the Ice Fortress Royal Palace with Philip in a carriage bearing Duke Ward’s crest, while Hans headed to Minister of Finance Salas’s room.
• Li Si noticed several more identical carriages waiting outside the palace.

Li Si attended Duke Ward’s banquet in Ice Peak City, pretending to be influenced by Intermediate Subconscious Suggestion while probing Philip for an opening to approach Duke Ward. The banquet’s host, Strand Ward, finally appeared.

• Li Si surveyed the gathered nobles and officials, noting that royalist Commander Markas Conrad had attended but Minister of Finance Gilberto had not.
• Li Si and Philip ate together, and Philip asked what Li Si thought of Gilberto’s order; Li Si implied he was not close to Gilberto.
• Philip offered to recommend Li Si for a lucrative infrastructure post, but Li Si declined and said he would finish Gilberto’s assignment first.
• Li Si deliberately confused Philip with his reserved responses so Philip would eventually lower his guard.
• Strand Ward descended from the second floor and greeted the banquet guests.

At Duke Ward’s banquet, Li Si rebuffed the duke’s recruitment offer while learning that Ward might be able to treat his injuries. After memorizing Ward’s aura, Li Si entered the Dream World that night and followed it to the duke’s dream, which depicted the Ice Fortress Royal Palace.

• Duke Ward welcomed the banquet guests and spoke privately with Li Si, offering him help with his injuries and inviting him to seek treatment.
• Li Si left the banquet without committing to Ward, while Philip believed the offer had made him more receptive.
• At home, Li Si used Lucid Dream and Sphinx Dream Building Art to enter the Dream World.
• Li Si used the aura he had memorized from Ward to guide a white dove through the Dream World.
• The dove led Li Si to Duke Ward’s bright dream of the Ice Fortress Royal Palace.

Li Si entered Duke Ward’s dream, reshaped it into a shadowy meeting room, and disguised himself as Death Cult member Moriarty to confront Strand Ward. He revealed that he knew about Strand’s secret cooperation with Abyss demons and named Shaz Wood, the mastermind behind the Demon Gate incident in Ice Peak City.

• Li Si entered Strand Ward’s dream and changed its palace setting into a dark room with a bronze table.
• Li Si disguised himself as Moriarty and awakened Strand by tapping on the table.
• Strand questioned Moriarty and reasoned that the encounter relied on a special method rather than overwhelming power.
• Moriarty proposed a partnership with Strand and suggested that Strand already cooperated with Abyss demons.
• Moriarty named Shaz Wood, exposing Strand’s greatest secret and identifying Shaz as the Demon Gate incident’s mastermind.

Li Si tried to recruit Strand Ward into the Death Cult, then discovered a powerful Legendary expert’s dream while leaving the Dream World. Realizing that Hitty Whitman might still be in Ice Peak City, Li Si decided to act more carefully and planned a surprise for Duke Ward.

• Li Si recalled Demogorgon’s role in the future World Tree Crisis and considered how the Demon Prince’s followers were influencing events in Ice Peak City.
• Li Si ended his dream meeting with Strand Ward, warned that Strand would soon need the Death Cult’s power, and sent him back to his bedroom.
• Strand woke beside a woman and wondered whether he would truly have to cooperate with the Death Cult or the Demon Envoy.
• Li Si spotted a blazing dream space that radiated immense pressure and fled the Dream World.
• Li Si returned to reality and suspected that the dream belonged to Hitty Whitman, Wrath of the Northlands, who was still in Ice Peak City.
• Li Si decided to conceal his actions more carefully and give Duke Ward a surprise the next day.

Li Si inspected the Ice Peak City walls and Garsa Warehouse, where he discovered a concealed underground space in Warehouse 8 that he suspected was part of Duke Ward’s arrangement. To avoid taking the blame himself, he recruited three players to destroy the warehouse with powerful bombs, leaving them to carry out the attack.

• Li Si inspected the city walls and Garsa Warehouse with Hans, searching for signs of Duke Ward’s plans.
• Li Si detected a large concealed space beneath Warehouse 8 but hid his discovery from Talib and left without exposing it.
• Li Si visited a mercenary tavern and offered Parisian Fugitive Saint, Cherry Little Rascal, and Retired Argumentative Auntie a quest to destroy Garsa Warehouse.
• The three players accepted the quest, and Li Si gave Saint two high-energy bombs to plant in Warehouse 8.

Li Si’s bombs helped Holy Mother, Calf, Antenna Short Circuit Baby, and Contrarian attack Garsa Warehouse, creating two enormous explosions that drew the attention of King Lukar and Duke Ward. The chapter left Duke Ward suspicious that the king or a hidden force was behind the attack, while he delayed deciding whether to cooperate with the Demon Envoy.

• Contrarian proposed using one bomb to destroy the warehouse gate and another to blow up Warehouse 8, and his companions agreed to the plan.
• Contrarian let a guard carry him close to the gate, then detonated his bomb, destroying the gate and killing himself and the guard.
• Holy Mother, Calf, and Antenna Short Circuit Baby slipped into the warehouse and threw the second bomb through a window into Warehouse 8, then died in the blast.
• Li Si watched the second golden pillar rise and considered the successful explosions the first move in his plan to provoke King Lukar and Duke Ward.
• King Lukar suspected Duke Ward was responsible for the explosions, while Duke Ward wondered whether the king had gained hidden support and hesitated over cooperating with the Demon Envoy.

Li Si used the Garsa Warehouse bombing to direct suspicion toward Duke Ward, and the discovery of a hidden underground space convinced King Lukar to order Financial Assistant Philip's arrest. Duke Ward realized the space had been intended for a Demon Gate and faced an unexpected visit from Demon Envoy Shaz Wood.

• Li Si told Hans Cook that the Garsa Warehouse bombing suggested a serious hidden problem and persuaded him to report it to Gilberto.
• Gilberto informed Lukar, and Anna Xifus revealed that the explosion had uncovered an empty underground space beneath Warehouse Number Eight.
• Anna argued that the evidence pointed to Duke Ward despite doubts about whether he had arranged the bombing, and Lukar ordered Philip arrested for interrogation.
• Duke Ward learned of the discovery and realized the underground space was one of the planned sites for a branch Demon Gate.
• Demon Envoy Shaz Wood offered Duke Ward a cup of Styx Water as he angrily wondered who had caused the explosion.

Li Si returned home after Philip was arrested, while Duke Ward met Moriarty again in the Dream World. Moriarty offered to help make Ward king and planned another major attack in Ice Peak City, leaving Ward alarmed that events were slipping beyond his control.

• Li Si returned home satisfied after Philip was dragged away and Hans temporarily took over Philip's position.
• Duke Ward woke in the Dream World and questioned Moriarty about the explosions at Garsa Warehouse in Ice Peak City.
• Moriarty offered to help Duke Ward become the future king of the Dillon Kingdom.
• Duke Ward asked what the Death Cult could do, and Moriarty proposed setting off bigger and more spectacular fireworks in Ice Peak City.
• Duke Ward woke in his bed, dismissed Fayez, and worried about Moriarty's planned attack.

Li Si planned a citywide spectacle to introduce Moriarty and recruited nine players for a timed, secret mission to prepare its opening acts. As Duke Ward and Bella discussed Philip’s arrest, Ward said he was waiting for an opportunity.

• Li Si noticed that dreams across the Dream World reflected the Garsa Warehouse explosion and realized he could use Dream Refraction to strengthen his plans.
• Li Si scouted Ice Peak City and chose ten sites for a second fireworks display, saving the Ice Fortress Royal Palace as Moriarty’s main target.
• Li Si assigned nine players a secret Silver-level mission with timed tasks and generous rewards for the spectacle’s prelude.
• Duke Ward told Bella that he was not worried about Philip’s arrest and was waiting for an opportunity.

Li Si launched a spectacular attack on the Ice Fortress Royal Palace, drawing away its defenders with citywide explosions before confronting Abbas and the kingdom’s experts. He escaped after detonating a high-energy bomb that shattered the palace’s defensive barrier and engulfed the palace courtyard in a golden pillar of light.

• Bella complained to Duke Ward about the family’s losses and asked whether he was waiting for help as explosions and pillars of light erupted across Ice Peak City.
• Li Si watched the disturbances draw palace guards away, then flew toward the Ice Fortress Royal Palace to begin his attack.
• Abbas recognized Li Si as Moriarty and attacked him, but Li Si evaded the sword strike with Teleportation Spell and taunted him.
• Li Si unleashed a storm of blue meteors that forced the palace experts to defend the royal barrier, which flickered under the assault.
• Li Si dropped a Top-Tier High-Energy Bomb into the palace courtyard and teleported away as the barrier shattered and a golden pillar of light burst skyward.

Li Si escaped to a hidden shelter after attacking Ice Peak City and the Ice Fortress Royal Palace, where he recovered from his injuries and gained a new trait and milestone. In the palace, King Lukar questioned Abbas about Moriarty, and Anna suggested the Death Cult might be connected to Duke Ward.

• Li Si used a Space Coordinate to escape Ice Peak City, then rested and treated the injuries caused by his attack.
• Li Si learned that Hitty Whitman had caught the Top-Tier High-Energy Bomb and redirected its blast into the sky, destroying the palace's central spire.
• The system awarded Li Si the Provocateur trait and the Ice Peak City's Painful Fireworks milestone, and marked Moriarty's appearances in Ice Peak City as triggering Unending Conflict.
• King Lukar summoned Abbas to the palace's underground defensive core and asked whether Moriarty was the one who destroyed Wester Castle.
• Abbas identified Moriarty as a powerful Gold-level mage, while the ministers said they had never heard of the Death Cult.
• Anna urged the kingdom to investigate whether the Death Cult was connected to Duke Ward, leading Lukar to suspect the attacks had been meant to relieve pressure on him.

Li Si returned to Ice Peak City, gained more financial authority from Gilberto, and found signs that the Dillon Kingdom was preparing for war. In Duke Ward’s dream, Li Si used the palace attack to pressure him into accepting help, but Ward remained undecided about what he needed.

• Li Si returned to Ice Peak City disguised as Kinnear Simon and passed the palace’s stricter security inspections.
• Gilberto gave Li Si more of Philip’s financial duties, and Li Si accepted the role to gather intelligence.
• Li Si noticed increased military spending, supplies for the Luo Xue Mountain Range, and food procurement that suggested the kingdom had long been preparing for war.
• Li Si explored residents’ dreams and found that the golden pillar from the palace attack appeared in about half of Ice Peak City’s dreams, including Duke Ward’s.
• Li Si showed Duke Ward the attack in his dream and argued that Ward had no way back, prompting Ward to ask what help the Death Cult could offer.
• Duke Ward said he still needed to think about what he needed, so Li Si ended the dream and warned him not to disappoint him.

Li Si watched tensions rise in Ice Peak City as King Lukar’s preparations to invade the Fies Kingdom left Duke Ward increasingly isolated. After an assassination attempt pushed Ward to prepare for armed conflict, he considered accepting Demon Envoy Shaz Wood’s offer of Demogorgon’s aid, leaving the kingdom on the brink of a darker struggle.

• Li Si reconsidered his assumptions about Duke Ward and continued gathering intelligence while working at the Ice Fortress Royal Palace.
• King Lukar’s plan to invade the Fies Kingdom gained support as Duke Ward lost influence and opposed the war.
• Assassins attacked Duke Ward’s carriage, killing and injuring civilians, but his guards and a protective magical item saved him.
• Bella Milne, Viscount Bytes, and Ward’s other allies urged him to fight, and Duke Ward finally ordered them to prepare for battle.
• Demon Envoy Shaz Wood appeared before Duke Ward and offered Demogorgon’s power; Ward asked what help he could provide if Ward fought the king.

Li Si gave Duke Ward two Long-distance Directional Teleportation Gates to bring the Snow Bear Army and Snow Eagle Army to Ice Peak City, while Lukar and Jacobo prepared to betray him. Two days later, Ward abruptly left the city by Teleportation Array to join his approaching armies, and the final battle was about to begin.

• Li Si met Duke Ward in the Dream World and offered a way to send the Snow Bear Army and Snow Eagle Army to Ice Peak City, warning him to watch for moles.
• Li Si placed two crystal spheres bearing Long-distance Directional Teleportation Gates in Ward's hands and began preparing Dream Refraction as he anticipated the Demon Gate incident.
• Lukar learned Ward planned to leave Ice Peak City in about a week, ordered Jacobo to help surprise him, and confirmed that forces on another side were ready for the gate to open.
• Li Si continued gathering intelligence for Fies Kingdom as tensions grew in Ice Peak City and Ward summoned the nobles in his faction.
• Ward announced that his armies were about to arrive and led his faction through a Teleportation Array out of Ice Peak City; Jacobo hesitated as the final battle approached.

Duke Ward used a magical crystal ball to teleport the Snow Bear Army near Ice Peak City and ordered it to attack while arranging for the Snow Eagle Army to appear inside the city. As Lukar’s forces prepared to defend the capital, Lukar met with the Demon Envoy and sent Wood to help open the Demon Gate.

• Duke Ward gathered the nobles at his estate and told them to prepare for an attack on Ice Peak City, while Gold Mages confirmed that Li Si’s crystal ball could teleport an army.
• Duke Ward ordered the mages to activate the crystal ball, and the Snow Bear Army emerged through the Teleportation Gate and assembled outside the estate.
• Duke Ward sent Iden Woolf and the Snow Bear Army toward Ice Peak City, then ordered the mages to arrange for the Snow Eagle Army to teleport directly inside the city.
• Royal court mages detected the Snow Bear Army, and Anna led the ministers to organize the city’s defenses after learning that Lukar had left.
• Lukar met the Demon Envoy in a secret location and ordered Wood to help Duke Ward open the Demon Gate.