Chapter Summaries

After taking sleeping pills, Avilan woke in Despair Fortress and discovered that Arthur was a conscious, responsive guardian NPC. He found the fortress in ruins and learned it was under invasion, leaving him facing an immediate threat.

• Avilan woke on his throne, tested whether he was alive, and recognized Arthur beside him.
• Arthur identified himself as Avilan’s loyal servant, and Avilan confirmed that he could hold a reasoned conversation with him.
• Avilan tried to contact the GM, then asked Arthur to scout the area around Despair Fortress.
• Avilan inspected the ruined fortress and found that he lacked the funds and items to revive its fallen servants.
• Arthur reported that Despair Fortress was under invasion and that their location had changed.

Avilan prepared Despair Fortress for the invading mercenaries, who entered seeking treasure and were trapped inside. Arthur summoned skeleton soldiers to attack them, while Avilan watched the bloody fight without fear.

• Avilan ordered Arthur to raise Despair Fortress's alert level and wait for him before confronting the invaders.
• Mercenary squads entered the ruins, looted equipment and coins, and followed Allen into the central castle.
• The fortress sealed the passages around the mercenaries in a lavish hall filled with valuables.
• Arthur summoned more than a hundred skeleton soldiers, surrounding the adventurers and starting a brutal battle.
• Avilan watched the fighting and felt a restless excitement at the sight of blood.

Avilan and Arthur slaughtered the adventurers who invaded their castle, sparing Allen’s group of four to question Agonsi about his Silver Badge. Avilan forced the survivors into a cruel choice, and the chapter ended with Eddie killing Agonsi to survive as an old man in the Radiant Glory Theocracy sensed evil awakening.

• Arthur killed Casmin after blocking his squad’s escape, and Agonsi used his Silver Badge to drive back nearby skeletons before Avilan seized and broke the badge’s power.
• Avilan’s forces killed the adventurers, leaving Allen, Eddie, Lippy, and Agonsi alive while Avilan questioned them about the badge.
• Allen begged Avilan to spare his teammates, but Avilan demanded that only one survivor be chosen and then ordered Eddie and Agonsi to fight.
• Eddie stabbed Agonsi, who accepted his death and urged Eddie to live, while Allen wailed and Eddie lowered his head in shame.
• An old man in the Radiant Glory Theocracy sensed that evil power was awakening as the Light Badge lit up.

Avilan dealt with intruders at Despair Fortress, discovered evidence that a Radiant Knights member had crossed into this world, and began organizing the fortress with Arthur. After learning their location from Eddie, he realized they lacked information about the nearby city’s strength.

• Avilan crippled Eddie after Eddie attacked him, then recognized a Silver Badge as belonging to the Radiant Knights and wondered whether one of their members had crossed over.
• Avilan summoned more than forty Horned Demons from corpses and ordered them to gather resources while Arthur fortified the forest around the ruins.
• Avilan read about demon instincts and concluded that his cruel impulses were psychological traits he could correct through time and self-control.
• Arthur suggested reviving Admiral Zhou Yu to help administer Despair Fortress, but Avilan learned the revival would cost one hundred thousand gold coins and could only be done once more.
• Arthur told Avilan that Despair Fortress lay near the borders of the Roen Kingdom, Kompno Duchy, and Kate Empire, with Essin City nearby, but he could not identify the city's strongest expert.

Avilan resurrected Allen, Lippy, and Agonsi with his ring and learned that Myth’s magical rules worked in the new world. When Lippy called the castle’s inhabitants evil demons, Arthur attacked him, leaving Allen and Agonsi horrified.

• Avilan told Arthur to put the captured human to work and asked him to retrieve Allen and the others’ bodies for an experiment.
• Arthur led Avilan through Despair Fortress to the cold storage, where Avilan used Radiant Resurrection on Allen, Lippy, and Agonsi.
• Avilan saw Allen’s attributes and realized that resurrection had cost all three men ten levels.
• Lippy asked whether Avilan and Arthur had defeated the evil demons in the castle, and Arthur seized him by the throat.
• Arthur’s black energy intensified as Allen and Agonsi watched in despair.

Avilan changed into the guise of a holy mage and surveyed the ruined Despair Fortress, vowing to rebuild it and fulfill Shen Jiecōng’s dream. At the gatehouse, he encountered Aslan and a squad of Horned Demons guarding the area.

• Arthur threatened Allen and the other two with harm to their village unless they worked, and they joined the Horned Demons’ searches for gold.
• Avilan examined the equipment taken from the guild warehouse and dressed in a white mage robe with the Light Spear Staff.
• Avilan secured his demon tail around his waist after realizing that removing it would greatly weaken him.
• Avilan floated down from the fortress and resolved to restore it in honor of Shen Jiecōng.
• Avilan reached the gatehouse and found Aslan leading four Horned Demons on guard duty.

Avilan encountered Arthur and the newly revived Navy Admiral Zhou Yu while traveling in disguise through Despair Fortress. He appointed Zhou Yu to plan the fortress’s recovery and external infiltration, then revealed his true appearance to her.

• Arthur recognized Avilan, and he and the Horned Demons knelt to salute him.
• Avilan found that Zhou Yu had been revived and allowed her to accompany him after Arthur left with his men.
• Zhou Yu advised repairing the Gold Pool and infiltrating the surrounding nations to support Despair Fortress’s restoration.
• Avilan tasked Zhou Yu with drawing up plans for both priorities and removed his hood to reveal his face.

Avilan entered the Messiah Great Forest with Zhou Yu and marveled at its trees and brilliant night sky, which reminded him of his absent friend Shen Jiecōng. Inspired by the view, Avilan entertained the idea of conquering the world, while Zhou Yu offered to lead Despair Fortress’s army at his command.

• Avilan learned from Zhou Yu that the forest’s Virgo Fruit was valuable for making recovery potions and was smuggled across borders for profit.
• Avilan flew high above the forest and admired the moonlit landscape and star-filled sky, thinking of Shen Jiecōng and the fortress he had built.
• Zhou Yu transformed into her Flame Lord form and praised the stars as adornments to Avilan’s greatness.
• Avilan joked that he might conquer the beautiful world, and Zhou Yu offered to lead Despair Fortress’s army to do so.
• Avilan cautioned Zhou Yu not to underestimate the world’s creatures, though he admitted that conquering the world might be interesting.

Avilan left Despair Fortress to explore the Messiah Great Forest, where he hunted monsters and learned that blood sacrifices could summon permanent demons. He sent one Horned Demon back toward the fortress and continued searching the forest for more monsters to turn into laborers.

• Avilan wondered whether old friends from his former life might have transmigrated and hoped they would learn of Despair Fortress.
• Avilan got lost in the Messiah Great Forest and chose a path at random, then encountered a Venomous Giant Snake that attacked him.
• Avilan survived the snake's venom, bound and killed it, then roasted some of its meat.
• Avilan sacrificed the snake's flesh and blood to summon three Horned Demons, sending one toward Despair Fortress.
• Avilan hunted other monsters to summon more Horned Demons and sensed a group approaching him.

Avilan encountered a Ratkin tribe in the Messiah Great Forest and recruited its starving inhabitants to work in his territory. After they agreed to follow him, he discovered their village had no names for its residents.

• Avilan met a group of Ratkin who told him powerful monsters had vanished after he killed them, then invited him to their village.
• Avilan learned from the Ratkin that an earthquake had stirred monsters in the Messiah Great Forest and that human adventurers were entering it more often.
• Avilan reacted angrily to the Ratkin village’s heap of garbage and demanded to meet its chieftain and strongest warrior.
• The Ratkin elder told Avilan that the village held a little over three hundred Ratkin, and Avilan requisitioned them to repair his territory in exchange for food.
• The Ratkin eagerly swore loyalty to Avilan when he promised they would eat their fill, and he gathered them to travel to Despair Fortress.
• Avilan asked the Ratkin elder for his name, but the elder explained that Ratkin had no names and called over the leader who had accompanied him.

Avilan granted a Ratkin chief the name Mole Xiu, causing him to evolve into a powerful Ratman, then gathered Ratkin tribes to work in Despair Fortress. Zhou Yu assigned the Ratkin to city work and ordered them to bathe, while Avilan returned to the fortress with Horned Demon guards.

• Avilan named the Ratkin chief Mole Xiu, and the naming consumed mana essence that transformed him into a level-21 Ratman.
• Avilan tested Mole Xiu's strength against a Magic Shield and found that the Ratkin chief was only level five.
• Avilan gathered more Ratkin tribes and returned to Despair Fortress with over a thousand Ratkin, including six Ratmen.
• Avilan ordered Zhou Yu to put the Ratkin to work and ensure they were fed, while Arthur requested that Horned Demons guard the fortress.
• Zhou Yu warned the Ratkin to obey the rules and ordered them to bathe daily.

Mole Xiu and his Ratkin followed Allen’s order to bathe, while Avilan gathered his subordinates at Despair Fortress and announced his goal of making the fortress and his name legendary. After the gathering’s fervent pledge of loyalty, Avilan had mysteriously vanished from the throne.

• Allen directed Mole Xiu and the Ratkin to wash in the river, and Mole Xiu led his clansmen there rather than flee.
• After more than a month of repairs, Avilan received his gathered subordinates in Despair Fortress’s Throne Room.
• Zhou Yu subtly created a breeze to make Avilan’s entrance more regal, and Avilan acknowledged her gesture.
• Avilan declared that they would make Despair Fortress an eternal legend and spread the name of Demon King Avilan throughout the world.
• Avilan’s subordinates praised him and prayed fervently, then raised their heads at Arthur’s instruction to find Avilan gone from the throne.
• Arthur told Zhou Yu to repeat what Avilan had said to her.

Arthur and the others interpreted Avilan’s words as a wish to conquer the world and swore to offer it to him, while Allen and his companions were horrified by the plan. Avilan resurrected Mi Yue to strengthen the fortress, and half a month later she and Zhou Yu concealed Despair Fortress behind an illusion barrier.

• Zhou Yu told the gathered guild members that Avilan had spoken of claiming the new world, and Arthur led them in vowing to offer it to him.
• Allen and his companions realized the guild intended to conquer the continent and struggled over whether to oppose Avilan or help him.
• Arthur brought Mi Yue to Avilan and explained that the Bloodkin progenitor could create Bloodkin and Midnight Bats for the fortress’s defenses.
• Avilan accepted Mi Yue’s services, while Mi Yue’s hopes of gaining power by becoming his wife were disappointed.
• Zhou Yu and Mi Yue raised a vast illusion barrier that hid Despair Fortress and its urban area within the Messiah Great Forest.

Avilan ordered Zhou Yu to lead an army against three foreign settlements near Despair Fortress, hoping to eliminate threats and capture strong enemies as slaves. He joined the expedition himself, and the force reached Bulin Heights, where Zhou Yu sent five Horned Demon Commanders to scout.

• Zhou Yu reported that repairs to Despair Fortress were progressing slowly because its resource wells produced too little to support rebuilding.
• Mi Yue told Avilan that Goblins, Ogres, and Catfolk had settled near Despair Fortress, with two groups attacking and plundering others.
• Avilan ordered Zhou Yu to take one thousand troops and wipe out the three settlements, while Mi Yue stayed behind to defend Despair Fortress.
• Avilan joined Zhou Yu's force as it traveled toward Bulin Heights, bringing fifty Horned Demons, twenty Ratmen, and Ratkin troops.
• At Bulin Heights, Zhou Yu sent five Horned Demon Commanders to scout the dense forest.

Avilan and Zhou Yu attacked the Goblin camp, where Zhou Yu’s overwhelming fire magic routed the bandits and killed their leaders. The camp was left in ruins, yielding prisoners, gold, and hundreds of corpses for blood sacrifices.

• A Horned Demon Commander reported the locations and strengths of the Goblin, Catfolk, and Ogre camps to Avilan and Zhou Yu.
• Zhou Yu led a thousand subordinates to the Goblin camp and opened the assault with Flaming Arrow.
• Zhou Yu killed the Goblin leaders with Flame Burst Bomb and drove the Ratkin to fight bravely by promising recognition and possible evolution to the best warriors.
• Zhou Yu used Flaming Arrow, East Wind Surge, and Flame Suffocation to wipe out the fleeing Goblins and silence the camp.
• Avilan surveyed the aftermath as his forces collected fewer than four thousand gold coins, over eight hundred usable corpses, and fewer than a hundred prisoners.

Avilan named Mize leader of the Horned Demons and led his forces to confront the Catfolk. After the Catfolk refused to submit and threatened Despair Fortress, Zhou Yu revealed her overwhelming power as a fourth-tier Great Mage.

• Avilan summoned fewer than a hundred Horned Demons from the Goblin corpses and decided Despair Fortress needed a Demon Gate to expand its population.
• Avilan rewarded ten outstanding Ratkin with names, then named a Horned Demon Commander Mize, leader of the Horned Demons.
• Avilan led his warriors and bound Goblins toward the Catfolk camp, where Zhou Yu identified a powerful Catfolk warrior as a Third-Tier Great Swordsman.
• Mize warned the Catfolk that the Goblin camp had been wiped out and asked whether they would submit, but their leader mocked the threat and vowed to destroy Despair Fortress.
• Zhou Yu unleashed her aura and gathered a cloud of fire, shocking the Catfolk leader into recognizing her as a fourth-tier Great Mage.

Avilan brought the Catfolk into submission and recruited them to Despair Fortress, where he named their chief Miuo. The Catfolk packed up and set out for the fortress, while Avilan ordered that the remaining Ogres be killed so they could be used to summon Horned Demons.

• Mize confronted the Catfolk and demanded they submit to Avilan, while Zhou Yu displayed her fourth-tier power.
• The Catfolk chief chose to surrender rather than risk the lives of the more than a thousand clansfolk following him.
• The Catfolk chief and his warriors pledged loyalty to Avilan after Zhou Yu introduced him as their lord.
• Avilan named the chief Miuo, and Miuo felt demonic essence surge into his body before paying Avilan his respects.
• Avilan ordered the Catfolk to return to Despair Fortress and left Zhou Yu to manage the relocation.
• Nearly three thousand Catfolk, including the elderly, women, and children, followed Miuo toward Despair Fortress as Avilan ordered that no Ogres be spared.

Avilan welcomed Miuo’s Catfolk into Despair Fortress and ordered Mize to expand the fortress’s reach by suppressing nearby native forces for sacrifices. A month later, Despair Fortress had grown through Mize’s campaigns and the South District’s recovery, while Zhou Yu assessed its increasingly diverse population.

• Miuo led nearly three thousand Catfolk to Despair Fortress, where he became commander of the Security Battalion and his warriors joined the fortress’s forces.
• Avilan considered the need for more sacrifices and ordered Mize to lead three hundred elite Horned Demons against nearby native forces, sparing those who surrendered and avoiding powerful groups.
• Avilan’s meeting focused on repairing the Demon Gate, which would take more than a month, and Zhou Yu supported dedicating the fortress’s resources to it.
• Over the following month, Mize conquered four tribes and defeated more than a dozen bandit groups, bringing over two thousand people and more than four hundred Horned Demons to the South District.
• Zhou Yu surveyed the recovering South District, whose population included more than thirty-six hundred Ratkin, Miuo’s Catfolk, over a thousand Goblins, and more than five hundred Wild Men.

The Blood Church massacred Kelan Village and was discovered near Essin City, prompting Kalons to seek help against the cult. Meanwhile, Avilan left the Messiah Great Forest in disguise to visit a human village, staying close enough for Despair Fortress to send reinforcements.

• Zhou Yu watched the South District's residents take their scheduled break and wondered why Avilan treated them so well.
• Lord Valen's followers reported collecting 276 resentful souls and prepared to set out from a blood-soaked village.
• Kalons learned that Kelan Village had been massacred, with all 276 residents killed, and sent Essin City's elites to investigate.
• A knight reported that at least 500 members of the Blood Church were near Kelan Village, and Kalons asked his senior brother Cameron to bring help.
• Avilan disguised himself as a mage, left the Messiah Great Forest, and headed toward the nearest human village.

Avilan rescued Wellington and his little sister from two black-armored knights pursuing them through the burning Carter Village. After killing both knights with modified spells, he began a permanent summoning using their corpses as a blood sacrifice.

• Wellington fled Carter Village with his exhausted little sister as a black-armored knight chased them.
• When Wellington’s sister cramped and the knight raised his sword, Avilan intervened with Flame Shield.
• Avilan killed the first knight with Wind Blade and placed the siblings behind him as another knight appeared.
• Avilan used his modified Radiant Bullet to shoot the second knight through the forehead.
• Avilan covered the knights’ corpses in white light to begin a permanent summoning.