Chapter Summaries

Huo Ling considered Rete’s offer to help the Sodo Merchant Association attack the Violet Merchant Association in exchange for spellcaster corpses. Before he decided, a delegation led by a legendary warrior arrived from the Violet Merchant Association, and Huo Ling let them enter the city.

• Huo Ling used his Calamity Coins to transform corpses into high-ranking undead.
• Rete told Huo Ling that the Sodo Merchant Association had lost its last battle after a hidden human legendary warrior helped the Violet Merchant Association.
• Rete offered Huo Ling a Sanctuary-rank spellcaster corpse and several Gold-rank spellcaster corpses if he joined the next attack, and Huo Ling asked for time to consider.
• Rete stayed in Huo Ling’s city and observed the strength of his undead legion.
• A Violet Merchant Association delegation arrived with a legendary warrior and a well-equipped Gold-rank woman, and Huo Ling ordered them admitted into the city.

Huo Ling prepared his undead forces before receiving Delia of the Violet Merchant Association and the legendary warrior Modo. Delia warned him against aiding the Sodo Merchant Association, but Huo Ling threatened them and readied his lair for a fight.

• Huo Ling summoned twenty Saint Domain undead to the hall and concealed the defensive spells he had cast on himself.
• Modo sensed the many Saint Domain auras in the city and warned Delia that Huo Ling could be dangerous to confront.
• Delia and Modo entered Huo Ling's hall, where a Death Warlord stopped Delia with its battle axe before Huo Ling granted them seats.
• Delia introduced herself as a representative of the Violet Merchant Association and said she had come to give Huo Ling a chance to live if he avoided the Sodo Merchant Association's terms.
• Huo Ling dismissed Delia's warning, threatened to kill her and Modo, and prepared his undead forces and hall defenses for battle.

Delia and Modo tried to persuade Huo Ling to abandon the Sodo Merchant Association and join the Violet Merchant Association, but Huo Ling rejected their offer and weighed their terms against the Sodo’s. The chapter ended with Huo Ling summoning his undead and ordering them to attack while giving Delia a chance to make an offer before Modo was surrounded.

• Delia offered to buy all the goods from Huo Ling’s territory at the prices he had already received, but Huo Ling asked why he should switch sides.
• Huo Ling revealed that the Sodo Merchant Association had offered him ten million Calamity Coins and several spellcaster corpses, including a Saint-domain corpse.
• Delia warned that accepting the Sodo’s offer would mean fighting a Legendary, but Huo Ling said he was not worried about facing one.
• Modo cautioned that the Sodo Merchant Association could not match the Violet Merchant Association’s strength, and Huo Ling replied that the Sodo could hire other Legendaries.
• Huo Ling threatened to kill Delia and Modo if the Violet Merchant Association could not meet his terms, then summoned Saint-domain undead to surround them.
• Delia protested that they were envoys, but Huo Ling ordered his undead to attack and told her to state her offer before Modo was killed.

Huo Ling used nearly forty Sanctuary undead to besiege Modo while sheltering behind a heavily supplied defensive shield. Modo struggled to protect Delia and break through the defenses, and the chapter ended with Huo Ling accepting heavy losses as the price of killing a Legend.

• Huo Ling ordered the Sanctuary undead to surround Modo, while Delia remained within Modo's defensive range.
• Modo parried the undead's attacks and sent a blade of radiant flame into Huo Ling's shield, but the shield quickly recovered and left Huo Ling unharmed.
• Huo Ling mocked Modo and strengthened his Death Warlords, while his mages supported injured undead and corpses replenished their strength.
• The Sanctuary undead shared damage and rotated out to recover, but Modo killed a Death Vanguard by piercing his armor and destroying his soul fire.
• Huo Ling prepared to lose at least half of his Sanctuary undead to encircle and kill Modo.

Huo Ling and his undead forces continued their siege of Modo, using Delia as a weakness and cutting off every escape route. Modo suffered increasingly severe wounds while Huo Ling’s forces took heavy losses, and the battle remained unresolved.

• Huo Ling chose to press the attack, sending undead to target Delia while he bombarded Modo with spells.
• Huo Ling weakened Modo with spells as the undead struck him, forcing Modo to spend stamina and battle aura while protecting Delia.
• Modo tried to escape by teleportation and flight, but Huo Ling interrupted his scrolls and Sanctuary undead surrounded him.
• Huo Ling’s Sanctuary undead suffered heavy casualties, while Modo accumulated wounds and grew increasingly exhausted.
• Huo Ling’s Death’s Eyes struck Modo with two rays, leaving wounds that lesser death laws prevented from healing.
• Modo’s counterattacks weakened as Huo Ling’s relentless attacks continued.

Huo Ling and the undead overwhelmed Modo after he abandoned Delia, and Modo died following nearly two days of fighting. His corpse and severed head were brought back to the ruined hall, while Delia was left alive and captured.

• On the second day of battle, Modo abandoned Delia, who fell to the ground and was captured by elite Dark Warriors.
• Huo Ling attacked Modo with Soul Scream and other Sanctuary spells while the undead kept him surrounded.
• The undead and Huo Ling bombarded Modo until a Death Warlord's axe split open his chest and a Death Vanguard's sword pierced his back.
• After Modo died, a Death Warlord severed his head, and Delia wept as an elite Dark Warrior threw her to the ground.
• A Death Warlord carried Modo's head and dragged his corpse back to the battle hall, which had been reduced to ruins.

After killing Modo, Huo Ling assessed his losses and received Rete’s advance reward from the Sodo Merchant Association. He refused Rete’s request to take Delia and killed her, leaving the Violet Merchant Association without two of its upper ranks.

• Huo Ling emerged from the hall after the battle, mourned the loss of eleven Sanctuary-rank undead warriors, and collected their remains.
• The Dark Warriors brought Delia before Huo Ling, who silenced her and had her beaten.
• Rete arrived believing Modo had merely been driven away, then discovered Modo’s corpse and learned Huo Ling had killed him.
• Rete offered Huo Ling fifteen million Calamity Coins and the corpse of a Sanctuary-rank spellcaster as an advance reward, and promised to secure more from the Sodo Merchant Association.
• Rete asked to take Delia, but Huo Ling refused and killed her with a spell.

Huo Ling managed affairs across Purgatory, the Alto Kingdom, and Red Dog City before receiving Rete, who reported the Sodo Merchant Association’s gains against the Violet Merchant Association. Rete gave Huo Ling three gifts, including supplies for undead and a Sanctuary-tier shaman’s corpse, leaving Huo Ling pleased with the alliance.

• Huo Ling turned Delia’s corpse into a Sanctuary-tier lich and continued creating undead with his newly acquired resources.
• Huo Ling developed his forces in Purgatory and the Alto Kingdom, then delivered An Ruirui’s trained magic herb cultivators to Red Dog City.
• Rete returned to Huo Ling with three Sanctuary-tier devil escorts and reported that the Sodo Merchant Association had reclaimed market share from the Violet Merchant Association.
• Rete gave Huo Ling materials worth twenty million Calamity Coins and ten recommendation scrolls for advancing mid-rank devils.
• Rete presented Huo Ling with the corpse of a Sanctuary-tier orc shaman, and Huo Ling accepted all three gifts with approval.

Huo Ling rewarded five mid-rank devils with recommendation scrolls for promotion to high-rank devils and promised more promotions to motivate the workforce. He sent the gathered devils to rest after months of fighting and labor.

• Huo Ling selected Slater and four other devils for promotion recommendations.
• Huo Ling demanded that Slater prove Carl Fortress had earned two million Calamity Coins, and Slater added his personal savings to reach the amount.
• Huo Ling inspected the funds and gave Slater a recommendation scroll, then awarded scrolls to the other four devils.
• Huo Ling announced the promotions to the gathered devils and promised five more scrolls for those who continued working hard.
• Huo Ling put away the remaining scrolls and gave the tens of thousands of devils the day off to rest.

Huo Ling discovered that the Lower Planes bloodlines were driving Augustine’s soldiers mad and offered two ways to salvage the demonic army. Augustine rejected turning them into mindless combatants and considered Huo Ling’s proposal to give him a high-rank devil bloodline so he could command them.

• Huo Ling learned that several hundred soldiers had lost their intelligence and went with Xili to inspect them.
• Huo Ling found that the soldiers’ Lower Planes bloodlines and accelerated growth had overwhelmed them with evil auras.
• Augustine arrived and asked Huo Ling how to save the afflicted soldiers and the rest of his demonic army.
• Huo Ling proposed destroying the soldiers’ minds and implanting combat instincts, but Augustine rejected making his subjects into living puppets.
• Huo Ling offered to modify Augustine with a high-rank devil bloodline so he could control the soldiers when their illness overtook them.

Augustine chose to preserve his own bloodline and let Huo Ling suppress the afflicted soldiers’ intelligence and program them with combat logic. Huo Ling then contained the worsening symptoms among the blacksmiths with a magic array, though they would have to remain within its range.

• Augustine refused to have his bloodline altered and chose Huo Ling’s first method for treating the afflicted soldiers.
• Huo Ling erased the soldiers’ intelligence and implanted combat logic, leaving them able to fight without other desires or thoughts.
• Augustine agreed to let unaffected soldiers keep their intelligence for now, while Huo Ling taught Xili the spells needed to treat future cases.
• Huo Ling found that the blacksmiths had grown more violent, developed physical changes, and begun preferring raw meat.
• Huo Ling set up a magic array across the forging workshop to suppress the blacksmiths’ urges, but it would keep them from safely leaving its range.

Huo Ling prepared equipment and potions to strengthen the Alto Kingdom’s demon army while Augustine bought time by sending peace envoys and bribes to the Ante Empire. With winter approaching and the Ante Empire’s mobilization expected to take months, the Alto Kingdom had at least half a year to develop its forces.

• Huo Ling finished setting up the array and planned to take the skilled blacksmiths to Purgatory after matters in the Alto Kingdom were settled.
• Huo Ling visited the court mages’ laboratory to produce potions for demon army soldiers who retained their intelligence and could continue advancing.
• Huo Ling determined that Calamity Coins could help promising soldiers reach Silver rank, though their accelerated cultivation would sharply shorten their lives.
• Augustine disbanded the nobles and soldiers he had summoned, then sent peace envoys carrying resources and magic stone currency to bribe officials in the Ante Empire.
• The Ante Empire slowed its war preparations after receiving the bribes, and the coming winter gave the Alto Kingdom more time to develop its army.

While Huo Ling developed his strength and territory in Purgatory, Rete brought him new spellcaster equipment and news that the God of Courage's divine envoys had arrived in Lovisa. Huo Ling wondered why a powerful human demigod from the Spirit Realm had taken an interest in the city.

• Huo Ling continued analyzing rules in Purgatory as his Saint-domain undead forces grew, and Shen Tinghan became pregnant with his second child.
• Rete visited Huo Ling and gifted him a complete set of Saint-domain spellcaster equipment, increasing his combat power.
• Rete explained that the Sodo Merchant Association had taken over most of the Violet Merchant Association's business after Huo Ling killed Modo.
• Rete told Huo Ling that divine envoys of the human demigod known as the God of Courage had recently arrived in Lovisa.
• Huo Ling learned that the God of Courage had intermediate divine power and wondered why his envoys had come to Lovisa.

Huo Ling learned that a divine legion devoted to the God of Courage would enter Lovisa to fight demons, creating an opportunity for devils to expand behind it. He identified a defensible, resource-rich valley for a future territory and waited for the legion to draw the demons away.

• Rete told Huo Ling that the God of Courage's divine envoy had brought a legion to Lovisa to fight demons in the New Land.
• Huo Ling realized that the legion's attacks could weaken nearby demons and let devil frontier lords claim territory with less resistance.
• Huo Ling canceled his cultivation plans and searched his territory's surroundings for a promising expansion site.
• Huo Ling found a small, resource-rich mountain range over four days' flight from Wace City and selected an enclosed valley for a city.
• Huo Ling chose not to attack the demons in the valley yet, expecting the divine legion to draw them away before he returned to claim the location.

Huo Ling used a Sanctuary-rank Death Vanguard to watch Lovisa’s clergy prepare a vast summoning array for the God of Courage’s divine legion. After days of preparation, the priests and angels began the summoning as powerful devils and two Legends guarded the city.

• Huo Ling sent a Sanctuary-rank Death Vanguard to Lovisa to observe the divine legion’s arrival and handle supplies.
• The Death Vanguard discovered that Lovisa’s clergy and city defenders had secured a large area to build a summoning array and portal.
• Huo Ling watched the preparations through the Death Vanguard and saw Sanctuary-level clergy and the God of Courage’s angels among the workers.
• The clergy used precious Legendary-grade materials and divine spell paint to complete the enormous array over several days.
• A devil legion arrived, and the Death Vanguard detected two Legends in the sky as Lovisa’s forces raised their vigilance.
• The clergy and angels began chanting and praying, filling the array with divine script as its materials ignited and magic power spread.

Huo Ling watched the God of Courage summon an enormous army into Purgatory through Death Vanguard, including a million soldiers and eight Legendary commanders. The uneasy allies gathered as an archangel restrained his urge to attack the devils, reminding him that their mission was to fight demons.

• The God of Courage summoned high-ranking clergy and then twenty legions of living clerics, totaling two hundred thousand soldiers.
• Eighty legions of divine servants arrived, bringing the summoned force to one million soldiers at Silver-tier or above.
• Three human Legends and five archangels descended to command the divine army as the summoning ended.
• An archangel reacted with disgust to the devils, and a bishop told him to restrain himself because they had come to fight demons, not devils.

The God of Courage’s cardinal archbishop arranged for the legion to leave Lovisa City after receiving intelligence from Count Lovisa’s devils. Huo Ling learned that the god was named Kim and had retained considerable power after his plane merged into the Spirit Realm.

• The cardinal archbishop ordered a legendary temple knight to meet the devils and obtain intelligence about the surrounding area and troop deployment.
• A greater devil baron gave the temple knight a scroll and advised the legion to depart soon; the knight returned and urged the bishop to leave the city.
• The cardinal archbishop reviewed the scroll, looked toward Count Lovisa’s manor, and ordered the legion to set out and camp outside Lovisa City.
• More than a million troops of the God of Courage departed through the city gates over the course of a day, while devils discussed their arrival.
• Huo Ling learned through Death Vanguard that Kim had intermediate divine power in the Spirit Realm, though other gods had weakened far more after their planes merged.

Kim’s theocratic Kingdom of Courage supplied a massive divine army that marched from Lovisa into Purgatory, where its soldiers prayed to recover their strength. Huo Ling and other devils followed the army hoping to claim spoils, while the army’s leaders gathered at its central camp to organize their forces.

• Kim had unified his believers under the Kingdom of Courage, whose faith gave him moderate divine power and allowed him to field a huge army.
• Huo Ling led the Death Vanguard out of Lovisa behind Kim’s army, and other devils followed in hopes of sharing the spoils.
• After a day’s march into the wilderness, Kim’s army built a sprawling camp and gathered at idol altars to pray and restore stamina and divine power.
• Xavier, Borg, Gaden, Nico, and the other Legendary leaders assembled in the central tent as their attendants compiled intelligence and coordinated the legions.

Cardinal Xavier and the other leaders divided the divine army into three forces to attack the Abyss New Land and establish a rear base. Huo Ling learned that the largest legion was approaching his territory and began preparing an army to seize land before it arrived.

• Xavier, Gaden, Borg, and Archangel Nico discussed whether to attack demons first or build a divine city, then agreed to divide their forces.
• Xavier assigned Borg to lead four hundred thousand soldiers on one route, while Xavier and Gaden led six hundred thousand on another, with Gaden later staying behind to build a divine city.
• Huo Ling learned that Borg's largest legion was advancing near his territory and returned to prepare for its arrival in about a month and a half.
• Huo Ling organized over three hundred thousand Skeleton Warriors into thirty-four legions, supported by Silver-rank Skeleton Centurions and eleven Gold-rank Dark Warriors.
• Huo Ling's Skeleton Cavalry grew to twelve thousand Silver-rank riders, forming twelve battalions.

Huo Ling expanded and organized his undead forces before dispatching an expedition toward the Abyss New Land. Meanwhile, Kim’s legion crossed Purgatory and reached the Abyss New Land after two months of marching.

• Huo Ling’s forces grew to about forty-five thousand Dark Warriors, over five thousand wraiths, fifteen thousand cavalry, and a mage corps that included two Sanctuary-rank liches.
• After rebuilding his Sanctuary-rank undead ranks, Huo Ling selected half his troops to expedition while the rest stayed to defend Wace City.
• Huo Ling deployed sixteen legions of Skeleton Warriors, two Dark Warrior legions, cavalry, wraiths, elite troops, and spellcasters, alongside thirty thousand devils.
• Kim’s legion marched through Purgatory, where devil development sites scattered the demons and small groups were quickly wiped out.
• After two months, the God of Courage’s legion arrived before the Abyss New Land.