Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Plot points and events

• Ilis bargains with Gu Yang, a senior figure in the Second Empire, for the Artes Program’s security key. In return, Gu Yang asks her to learn about the Golden Saint King’s powers, appearance, and possible connection to the Human Emperor Heavenly Soldiers.
• Ilis consults Su Yi. He advises her to answer truthfully while keeping the descriptions ambiguous: the Golden Saint King seems able to devour souls, resembles a crawling, four-limbed creature, and was not observed with Heavenly Soldiers nearby. Ilis later tells Gu Yang that the sighting may not reflect the god’s true form.
• Gu Yang accepts the information and gives Ilis the key, warning that activating the Artes defense array also requires three randomly selected physical safeguards.
• The chapter reveals Gu Yang’s identity as Sun Phiros Gu Entropy, a powerful young Second Empire commander and reformer. Frustrated by the corrupt old guard and cut off from interstellar communications, he wonders how to contact the Human Emperor’s Holy Son without endangering himself or his allies.
• Meanwhile, the Players who helped overthrow Diamond Star’s local council receive 150,000 Void Abyss Coins from Horus as compensation. They later stumble through a buried spaceship to an industrial planet in the Sealong Star Sector.
• After trying to challenge the planet’s fervent Human Emperor worship, the Players are reported as heretics and imprisoned in a heavily monitored mine. Repeated escape attempts fail, so they decide to ask Horus—once their enemy—for help.
• Su Yi learns of their predicament and recognizes their location as a major industrial region of the Second Empire.

Character developments and interactions

• Ilis demonstrates growing confidence as a negotiator, secures the key, and carefully protects her sources while building a useful relationship with Gu Yang.
• Su Yi guides Ilis’s diplomacy, encourages her to cultivate Gu Yang, and uses playful wording to describe the Golden Saint King’s infant form.
• Gu Yang/Sun is established as ambitious, proud, and genuinely reform-minded, but increasingly isolated by the empire’s ruling council. Ilis’s information leaves him uncertain about the Golden Saint King’s connection to the God Emperor.
• The Players shift from opposing Horus to considering him a benefactor: his generous payment complicates their old grudge, and their imprisonment finally pushes them to seek his aid.
• Ilis and Su Yi share a trusting partnership, while Gu Yang and Ilis begin a potentially valuable political alliance. The Players’ appeal to Horus sets up a renewed, unlikely connection with Su Yi’s circle.

Significant themes

• Trust and political pragmatism: Ilis and Su Yi weigh the risks and benefits of sharing information and cultivating a potential ally.
• Corruption and reform: Sun’s frustration highlights how entrenched institutions can silence even capable leaders.
• Shifting loyalties and reciprocity: Horus’s payment turns former enemies toward cooperation.
• Faith versus evidence: Uncertain reports about the Golden Saint King challenge assumptions based on symbolism and imperial doctrine.

Key plot points and events

• Winter reports that Horus has agreed to help Fun God and Bathing Emperor. In a few days, Players will give them legal identities; they can keep causing trouble, but under Winter’s direction. Winter explains that the region belongs to the Second Empire, a still-powerful successor to the Ancient Entropy Empire.
• Su Yi tells Kilman and Nine Blades that the Golden Saint King gave him umbilical cord blood. They take it as a sign of the Saint King’s trust and protection, strengthening their willingness to cooperate with Su Yi.
• Su Yi also reveals that he has made contact with a young Second Empire reformist and asks Kilman to help rescue six captured Pioneers on Tamas Industrial Star. Kilman agrees to provide Master Chief and Old Hunter with official identities as Patrol Bureau Inquisitors.
• Master Chief and Old Hunter set out with an Inquisitor team and two Golden Sisters. Their cover allows them to obtain the prisoners’ records, but a local Inquisitor says the captives fall under the General’s Mansion’s authority and cannot be released without its approval.
• Su Yi returns to Diamond Star with his allies, the Void Abyssals, and Astral Technology’s core staff. The population welcomes the returning warriors with great enthusiasm, generating a powerful surge of Faith Power for Su Yi.
• Diamond Star’s researchers begin analyzing the Void Abyssals’ combat performance, while Astral Technology’s team receives an exceptionally well-equipped, secure workshop. Su Yi tasks them with improving and commercializing their technology and advancing the Astral Algorithm.
• Su Yi plans to expand the Void Abyssal force to defend his four planets, while preserving time and resources for future offensive operations. He also agrees to discuss a technology partnership with headquarters.
• Ilis leaves Diamond Star with Emma, Dora, Players, and Void Abyssals to explore ancient ruins in the Mountain River Star Sector, hoping Emma’s and Dora’s psychic abilities can open them.

Character developments and interactions

• Winter acts as a broker, arranging cooperation with Horus and directing Fun God and Bathing Emperor’s disruptive talents.
• Kilman and Nine Blades grow more confident in Su Yi after learning of his connection to the Golden Saint King. Kilman also sees Master Chief and Old Hunter as useful allies in his political struggle against the Six Sages Council and the Religious Office.
• Master Chief and Old Hunter gain official authority and advanced equipment, turning their rescue mission into a covert operation under imperial cover.
• Su Yi increasingly acts as a leader and institution-builder: he consolidates his territory, invests in research and defense, and cultivates political and technological alliances.
• Ilis takes initiative beyond Diamond Star, pursuing the sector’s hidden history with Emma and Dora.
• Researchers and citizens alike are energized by Su Yi’s victories and the resources gathered under his rule.

Significant themes

• Power, legitimacy, and allegiance: Su Yi’s link to the Golden Saint King and the Inquisitors’ official credentials show how authority depends on recognized symbols as well as strength.
• Building power through cooperation: Military forces, researchers, political allies, and Players all contribute to Su Yi’s expanding influence.
• Technology as both defense and opportunity: Advanced equipment and research support planetary security while promising broader economic and strategic gains.
• Faith and collective identity: Diamond Star’s welcome demonstrates how shared victories can unite diverse peoples and strengthen Su Yi through Faith Power.
• Political division and resistance: Kilman’s struggle against the empire’s established factions frames the rescue and alliance-building as part of a wider contest for influence.

Summary

The narrator apologizes for missing updates because they spent the past two days gaming. Although they have already beaten the game, late nights disrupted their sleep schedule. They plan to take the day off to reset and begin catching up on the missed updates tomorrow.

• Key events: The narrator played games for two days, finished the game, and postponed updates. They will rest today and resume updates tomorrow.
• Character development: The narrator recognizes the effect of their late nights and decides to prioritize getting their routine back on track.
• Themes: Balancing leisure with responsibilities, recovering from disrupted habits, and making a plan to catch up.
• Character interactions: The narrator addresses readers directly with an apology and an update on their plans.

Plot points and events

• Inquisitor Wince explains that new rules require approval from the General’s Mansion before prisoners can be transferred, due to a recent cultist threat. Roxy agrees to question the captured Players first.
• At the mine, six Players are taken to an interrogation room and discover that Bloodline Old Hunter, Master Chief, Big Salmon, and Ultimate Organism have arrived in disguise to help them. Because the rules have tightened, the rescue team stages a fake interrogation: the captives pose as Shadow Legion cultists, and Bathing Emperor is tortured to make the story convincing.
• Watching the interrogation, Wince and Chief Inquisitor Ironhand conclude that the supposed cultists are unrelated to their enemies. Wince suggests using the newcomers as temporary reinforcements against Morgans, now a Void Abyss Prince.
• Meanwhile, Su Yi completes preparations at his headquarters and receives an urgent assignment from the company: command the Fourth Frontline Corps, reinforce the northwestern defense, recover an ancient Second Empire flagship, and help find a route through the Divine Fire-Sith Passage.
• The front has suffered catastrophic losses after Demons of Desire corrupted soldiers and several alien fleets attacked. Su Yi learns that the drifting 9.1-kilometer ship is the Six-Winged Angel, a legendary Tribulation-Class flagship with a Ship Spirit and a history tied to the Second Empire’s Golden Sisters. In Su Yi’s previous life, it was later corrupted and used by the Iron Plague Prince.
• Su Yi recruits Maria and the Northern Knights’ Players for the coming campaign. He plans to use their experience against the Demons of Desire, build alliances with alien factions, and demonstrate his usefulness to the company. He orders them to assemble at Diamond Star, while holding his private forces in reserve.
• The chapter ends as Su Yi receives messages from former allies Captain Chuck Rhine, A21, Laidi, and Kardi.

Character developments and interactions

• The captive Players cooperate with the rescue team’s improvised plan, accepting staged torture to secure their transfer.
• Wince shows cautious strategic judgment, proposing that the newcomers be recruited rather than treated as enemies; Ironhand is persuaded that the group poses no threat.
• Su Yi takes on a major command role and reveals himself as both ambitious and calculating: he wants the flagship, plans to shape the alliances at the front, and intends to let company forces absorb the initial pressure.
• Maria has consolidated control of Twin Sun Star and earned the title of Saint. Though reluctant to lose her Pioneers and Sorceresses, she agrees to help and expresses concern for Su Yi.
• The Northern Knights eagerly accept Su Yi’s orders, confident in their experience managing influence and connections behind the scenes.

Significant themes

• Deception and improvisation: The staged interrogation allows the Players to navigate restrictive procedures.
• Corruption and resistance: Demons of Desire can turn even disciplined soldiers against their allies, making the front’s threat both military and psychological.
• Ambition and strategic pragmatism: Su Yi pursues power and influence while treating military deployments and alliances as pieces in a larger plan.
• History changing: The early appearance of the Golden Saint King and the Six-Winged Angel suggests that familiar events from Su Yi’s past may unfold differently.

Key plot points

• Su Yi meets remotely with five fleet commanders, including Chuck Rhine, and orders them to stabilize the front rather than rush into counterattacks. He tells them to delay any conflicting headquarters orders until he arrives.
• Su Yi prepares for the war on three fronts: recalling the Northwind Knights Players, developing Atani’s shipboard soul-stabilizing field to limit Void Abyss influence, and arranging further Void Abyssal reinforcements. He believes the ancient Second Empire flagship Six-Winged Angel may be essential to establishing dominance.
• After recalling Rijia to defend Diamond Star, Su Yi departs with a joint fleet carrying roughly 100,000 people, including 60,000 Players and more than 30,000 Sorceresses.
• On the frontier, the company’s battered forces face Bloodthirsty Orcs, whose bone-and-blood technology makes them resistant to energy weapons and capable of powerful sorcery. At a besieged factory, Captain Cass explains their weaknesses, but the position is overwhelmed. Company soldiers and captains die in desperate fighting, including through mass self-sacrifice.
• Julie, a seductive Void Abyss emissary, exploits the survivors’ sense of abandonment and persuades them to join her cause. Her master, the towering Lord Copper Tomb, enters through a rift and annihilates the orc force with a display of overwhelming psychic power.
• Copper Tomb orders Julie to corrupt Gheros and bring him to the Void Abyss. Julie accepts, intent on avenging losses suffered by her sisters and their forces.
• Elsewhere, the company continues losing planets and defensive positions. At frontline command, Supreme Commander Malai Nuo and Chief of Staff Nasr recognize that the company is outmatched: its weapons cannot pierce enemy armor, and it lacks answers to alien sorcery and physical strength.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi shows strategic restraint, prioritizing troop discipline and a stable defensive line over a premature offensive. He also prepares defenses for Diamond Star while assembling a mixed force for the expedition.
• The fleet commanders accept Su Yi’s authority and agree to wait for him, despite possible pressure from headquarters.
• Atani reports that the soul-stabilizing technology is ready for production planning, though manufacturing will take about forty-five days.
• Cass and the defenders fight with determination despite dwindling numbers. Cass shares practical knowledge about the orcs, while the surviving soldiers’ faith in the company collapses when reinforcements fail to arrive.
• Julie manipulates the abandoned soldiers by validating their anger and redirecting their loyalty toward Copper Tomb. She is also tasked with corrupting Su Yi.
• Malai Nuo and Nasr confront the scale of the military crisis. Nasr’s blunt assessment—that the company is the weakest target with valuable resources—clarifies why enemy factions have joined against it.

Significant themes

• Abandonment and betrayal: Soldiers who have obeyed orders lose faith when their promised reinforcements never come.
• The cost of war: Positions and populations are destroyed in desperate defenses, while victory offers little relief from the mounting losses.
• Power and technological disparity: The company’s advanced equipment is obsolete against alien bodies, armor, and supernatural abilities.
• Manipulation through despair: Julie turns legitimate resentment into a path toward corruption and allegiance to the Void Abyss.
• Strategic patience versus reckless heroics: Su Yi’s insistence on stabilizing the front contrasts with the desperate, costly resistance unfolding there.

Plot points and events

• A riot at a munitions factory on Planet 14 destroys the Northern Shell Factory. Nasr suspects the enemy has found a way to spread corruption through the company’s communications.
• The Radiants launch a probing attack on the left flank. Their green flames spawn teleporting locust-like monsters that multiply as the fire spreads, overrunning the defenders’ position. An electromagnetic pulse activates the Anti-Incineration Space Shield, extinguishing the flames and allowing the troops to defeat the remaining attackers.
• The crisis exposes fractures within the company: wounded soldier Prince, furious at an officer’s treatment of him, is persuaded by his supposedly dead brother Howard to join the enemy’s cause. Howard claims the “Master” has altered their terminals so they can communicate beyond company control.
• Malai and Nasr discuss the delayed Fourth Fleet, commanded by the newly promoted Su Yi (also called Gheros). Senior commanders distrust his appointment and worry he lacks the rank and forces to make a difference. Nasr proposes using his arrival to raise morale; Malai fears that failure would make things worse. In any case, the slogan “Once the Saint arrives, everything will be all right” is already spreading.
• Su Yi prepares for the front with Girlfriend and Countess Karen, then consults Yellow Book about Demons of Desire. Yellow Book explains that tinted goggles blocking purple and red can limit their infection. Ilis discovers that Yellow Book has had at least ten thousand memories forcibly removed, suggesting he may possess memory-related Divine Authority.
• Su Yi’s people report that morale is low, enemy technology is more advanced than expected, and corruption may be spreading through communications. They also hear that soldiers are placing enormous hopes in Su Yi’s arrival.

Character developments and interactions

• Malai remains composed under pressure but is exhausted and increasingly doubtful that one commander can turn the battle around. Nasr is more open to using Su Yi’s reputation as a morale tool, while recognizing the danger.
• Prince shifts from resentment toward his company to rebellion after Howard frames its officers as exploitative. Their secret conversation suggests enemy influence is reaching inside the ranks.
• Su Yi gathers intelligence and practical countermeasures rather than relying only on his reputation. His conversation with Ilis also reveals her perceptiveness: she detects Yellow Book’s strange condition and recognizes his possible power.
• Yellow Book appears knowledgeable and restless, with an extraordinary but damaged memory. Su Yi and Ilis agree he may be important, perhaps even a route into the Primordial Empire.
• Countess Karen accepts her separation from Girlfriend as an honor because she will serve the Twin Saints.

Significant themes

• Morale and expectation: Hope in Su Yi may steady the troops, but making him their sole savior risks catastrophic despair if he fails.
• Corruption and compromised communication: Enemy influence spreads both physically through supernatural flames and psychologically through communications and disaffected soldiers.
• Institutional distrust: Frontline soldiers feel expendable, while commanders distrust political appointments and fear being blamed for failure.
• Hidden power and damaged memory: Yellow Book’s forcibly erased memories hint at deep mysteries behind his identity and the nature of Divine Authority.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi arrives at the embattled frontier, where the company faces four major crises: trapped forces on eleven occupied Planets, the Bloodthirsty Orcs’ deadly Bone-Blood Technology, the Radiants’ ability to bypass defenses with flame teleportation, and the Demons of Desire’s remote corruption of rear personnel through compromised Communicators.
• After fifteen days in transit, Su Yi reaches the front. Soldiers greet him as a legendary savior and plead for him to defeat the cultists. He reassures them, promising that the enemy will have nowhere to hide.
• At allied headquarters, Commander-in-Chief Malai openly questions Su Yi’s appointment and abilities, while Chief of Staff Nasr takes a more conciliatory approach. They challenge him to identify which problems he can solve.
• Su Yi boldly pledges to resolve both the rescue crisis and the rear-line corruption within two months. He insists he is no ordinary man. Malai remains skeptical and orders the fleet to continue its plans without relying on him.
• Su Yi returns to his fleet and divides the work: Ilis and several allies will suppress the rear rebellion, identify its agents, limit further corruption, and raise morale. Su Yi will handle the front-line operation.
• He assembles 200 elite troops for a strike-and-rescue mission into an occupied Planet. His specially modified craft can resist electronic interference and conceal itself in the Void Abyss. Su Yi then shocks his officers by opening a Void Abyss Rift himself and stepping through.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi remains calm under intense expectations and turns skepticism into a bold public commitment. Rather than defend his reputation, he acts decisively, assigns responsibilities, and demonstrates extraordinary power.
• Malai is bluntly distrustful, viewing Su Yi’s exceptional promotion as a potential liability. Though shaken by Su Yi’s confidence, he refuses to stake the frontier’s plans on him.
• Nasr mediates between Malai and Su Yi, but also tests Su Yi’s promises. She recognizes the significance of his confidence and tells him success would make him a lasting frontier hero.
• The lower ranks place enormous hope in Su Yi; his declaration spreads quickly and lifts morale, even as senior officers remain doubtful.
• Johnny Allen, a rival fleet commander, dismisses Su Yi as arrogant and intends to judge him by his results.
• Ilis supports Su Yi’s plan and leads the effort against the rear-line corruption. Su Yi’s officers and elite troops follow his orders, while Kardi and the others are stunned by his ability to enter the Void Abyss unaided.

Significant themes

• Hope versus skepticism: Exhausted troops look to Su Yi as a savior, while senior commanders fear that their faith in him is misplaced.
• Leadership under pressure: Su Yi accepts responsibility publicly, then translates confidence into coordinated action.
• Reputation and proof: His title and prophecy inspire others, but his success must ultimately be demonstrated through results.
• Unconventional power and tactics: Su Yi’s specialized technology and personal abilities offer approaches beyond the company’s usual military methods.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Deputy commander Iris Barrett announces the Saint’s two initiatives to the Fourth Joint Fleet:
  • The Leap Plan: Su Yi will lead an elite team to rescue roughly 200 people from occupied Planet Four, with a two-day timetable.
  • The Forging Plan: Iris will purge cultists and traitors from the rear lines, restoring the fleet’s security and supplies.
• The announcements ignite morale among frontline troops. Soldiers who had lost hope begin carrying out orders with renewed energy, allowing commanders to repair defenses and counter nearby threats.
• At supreme headquarters, Malai and Nasr recognize that Su Yi’s specific, measurable plans have restored trust where vague orders had failed, and move to capitalize on the improved morale.
• Su Yi travels through the Void Abyss directly to Planet Four, using his unusual connection to a golden sun to navigate between the Void Abyss and the physical universe. He discovers that he can hear prayers through his connection to the Molten Fire Temple.
• On Planet Four, around 500 trapped company personnel are near death from injuries, infection, hunger, and thirst. Old Leto, a beleaguered former defense captain, is about to end his son Little Leto’s suffering when Su Yi appears.
• Su Yi introduces himself as the Saint and explains that Old Leto’s prayer led him to them. He restores Little Leto’s crushed lower body, heals other desperate survivors, and treats the group. He deliberately reserves the greatest rewards for those whose prayers demonstrate loyalty.

Character developments

• Su Yi demonstrates the practical power behind his reputation: he can cross the Void Abyss, respond to prayers, and perform dramatic healing. He also adopts a distinctly transactional view of faith, insisting that loyalty should be rewarded.
• Iris presents herself as a capable deputy commander, translating Su Yi’s arrival into concrete plans that soldiers can trust.
• Old Leto, who had nearly lost hope, sees his son saved and his faith vindicated. Little Leto awakens healed, while the other survivors regain hope.
• Prince remains hostile and distrustful despite the rescue announcement, privately wishing Su Yi would fail because his brother is trapped on Planet Seven. His comrade Steel Foot challenges his cynicism.
• Leto, a frontline captain whose father and brother are on Planet Four, shifts from defending the company to openly celebrating the Saint’s intervention.

Character interactions

• Iris addresses the troops directly, thanking them and announcing Su Yi’s rescue and purge plans.
• Steel Foot confronts Prince over his suspicion; Captain Leto also warns Prince not to undermine morale.
• Malai and Nasr discuss why Su Yi’s precise commitments have restored confidence and decide to act while morale is high.
• Old Tom tells Old Leto that prayer will not save them, but Su Yi’s arrival—and the rescue of Little Leto—forces him and the others to reconsider.
• Su Yi comforts Old Leto, credits his prayer with finding the survivors, and heals the trapped personnel before moving on to the next phase of the rescue.

Significant themes

• Hope as a force multiplier: Su Yi’s arrival changes not only individual expectations but the fleet’s ability to fight and work.
• Faith, loyalty, and reward: The chapter portrays prayer as a genuine channel of communication, while Su Yi makes clear that devotion affects the help believers receive.
• Leadership through specificity: Clear targets, numbers, and timelines inspire more trust than vague assurances.
• Despair and mercy: The trapped survivors’ suffering contrasts sharply with Su Yi’s miraculous intervention, underscoring both the human cost of the war and the transformative power of hope.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi tells the roughly five hundred trapped survivors that only two hundred can leave in the first evacuation group. Old Leto and Old Tom, believing a second rescue is unlikely, volunteer to stay behind so the injured and younger people can go.
• To end the survivors’ desperate shortage of water, Su Yi conjures a barrel and fills it with clean drinking water. The miracle revives them physically and restores their hope and faith.
• Su Yi promises that everyone will be rescued: the second group will leave ten hours after the first. He assigns the people staying behind to use a specially modified radio to reassure other survivors across the planet that help is coming.
• Su Yi uses Matter Programming to clear a path through the collapsed ruins. Outside, the survivors find the city ablaze and alien forces fighting among themselves. Su Yi opens a Void Abyss Rift and brings in a ship and the Storm Assault Squad.
• As the first evacuees board, Bloodthirsty Orcs attack. Su Yi destroys thirty attackers with Ember Divine Flame and saves Captain Stanley from a headless orc’s lethal blow. The squad kills the remaining orcs, losing forty-six soldiers, then escapes aboard the ship through the Rift.
• Su Yi stays behind. A powerful orc Hunting Master named Ironfang attacks him with a bomb capable of producing extreme heat. Su Yi survives unharmed and heals from the blast’s impact. Ironfang recognizes that he faces an extraordinary opponent, and the chapter ends as the two prepare to confront one another.

Character developments

• Su Yi reveals an astonishing range of abilities—creating water, manipulating rubble, opening Rifts, stopping falling debris, and wielding the Goddess’s Ember Divine Flame. He is compassionate and reassuring toward the survivors, but also confident and decisive in battle.
• Old Leto and Old Tom begin ready to sacrifice themselves, reflecting their belief that the second rescue will never come. Su Yi’s water and promise change the survivors’ outlook; Old Leto accepts responsibility for the radio mission.
• Young Leto recovers from near death and becomes fervently devoted to Su Yi, volunteering to fight at his command.
• Captain Stanley and his elite squad witness Su Yi’s power firsthand. Stanley’s confidence in the Saint deepens after Su Yi saves his life, though the squad suffers heavy casualties.
• Ironfang is introduced as a skilled, battle-hardened hunter who seeks worthy opponents rather than indiscriminate slaughter. Su Yi’s survival finally gives him the dangerous challenge he has long wanted.

Significant themes

• Hope and faith amid despair: Water, rescue, and Su Yi’s promise transform the survivors’ fear and resignation into courage.
• Sacrifice and solidarity: Older officers volunteer to remain behind so others can escape, while survivors are tasked with encouraging people elsewhere.
• Power and belief: Su Yi’s unfamiliar abilities initially make some question whether he is truly the Goddess’s Saint; his use of Ember Divine Flame confirms his identity to them.
• The cost of survival: The evacuation succeeds, but the squad loses forty-six soldiers, underscoring that rescue does not come without sacrifice.
• A looming test of strength: The rescue gives way to a new confrontation, as the powerful and curious Ironfang meets an opponent who may finally match him.

Character interactions

• Su Yi counters Old Leto and Old Tom’s willingness to die with practical help and a promise that nobody will be left behind.
• The survivors respond to his miracles with obedience, renewed devotion, and a willingness to serve others.
• Su Yi directs Old Leto to lead the communications effort and Captain Stanley’s squad to protect the evacuees.
• Stanley urges Su Yi to board the ship, but Su Yi stays behind to face the approaching threat.
• Ironfang’s hunt for a powerful enemy brings him directly into contact with Su Yi, setting up the chapter’s next conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi confronts Ironfang, a powerful Bloodthirsty Orc Hunting Master. Ironfang attacks with a heated spore-filled smoke bomb and a bone blade, but Su Yi survives a devastating blow through his advanced armor and instant healing.
• Su Yi uses invisible Laceration Runes and the Dark Matter Program to wound Ironfang, then unleashes Ember Divine Flame. After challenging Ironfang to a direct test of strength, Su Yi traps him with flaming briars.
• Rather than kill Ironfang, Su Yi leaves him bound and humiliated, intending the story of the Hunting Master’s defeat to spread among the orcs and bolster his reputation. Ironfang vows revenge.
• Meanwhile, Su Yi’s ship returns to the Fourth Fleet base with the soldiers and company employees rescued from the front. Their emotional testimonies about his healing, protection, and overwhelming power are broadcast across the front line.
• The rescue silences doubts and slander against Su Yi and greatly boosts morale. At General Command, Malai declines to take attention away from Su Yi and orders the troops to execute Order Three, codename Scalpel, preparing to resist the enemy advance.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi demonstrates both formidable power and strategic restraint. He studies Ironfang’s toughness, uses the fight to establish authority, and deliberately spares him because a humiliated survivor can spread the story more widely than a corpse.
• Ironfang shifts from cautious curiosity to fury as Su Yi withstands his attacks, outmaneuvers him, and challenges his strength in a way that targets orc pride. His commanders arrive to find him trapped, intensifying his humiliation.
• The rescued survivors become fervent witnesses for Su Yi, praising him to reporters and transforming public skepticism into admiration.
• Malai and Nasr discuss Su Yi’s achievement. Malai remains cautious about judging him, but recognizes that Su Yi has fulfilled his part; command must now fulfill its own.

Significant themes

• Strength, honor, and reputation: Orc culture prizes strength, and Su Yi exploits its customs to provoke Ironfang and make the defeat memorable.
• Power as strategy: Su Yi’s choice to spare Ironfang turns a battle victory into a deliberate message to the wider orc forces.
• Faith and public perception: The survivors’ accounts reshape opinion of Su Yi and raise morale across the front.
• Shared responsibility: Su Yi’s rescue changes the situation, but Malai insists that the military must still do its own duty and hold the line.

Summary

• Key events: The author announces a large update on the 3rd: roughly ten chapters’ worth of material, released as five or possibly six double-length chapters. Daily updates at 7:30 are set to resume the following day, with frequent updates planned for September.
• Author’s reflections: After passing 1.2 million words, the author reviews the story’s progress and explains the recent slowdown. Illness and dissatisfaction with the conclusion of the previous planet’s hive storyline prompted a closer look at the outline and recent writing. The author still enjoys writing and believes the story’s direction and tone remain intact, but worries that the growing cast and hurried pacing have left some characters and setups underdeveloped.
• Character development: There are no fictional character developments in this interlude. Instead, the author reflects on characterization as a personal weakness and hopes to portray characters more effectively in limited space.
• Themes and interactions: The passage focuses on creative self-assessment, maintaining quality over a long serial, discipline, and gratitude to readers. The author directly addresses readers, apologizes for slow updates, thanks them for their support, and promises to repay their patience with more frequent chapters.

Chapter 338: “Sorry, You Can’t Corrupt Someone Who’s Already Fallen”

Key plot points and events

• On the commander-in-chief’s orders, the front-line forces begin the next stage of Scalpel’s plan: using company personnel and supplies as bait to provoke conflict among the alien factions. Their renewed morale helps the military carry out its orders smoothly.
• In the rear, explosions destroy three ration-production lines on Planet 16. The attack was carefully planned by thirteen infiltrators, all of whom died in the blast, leaving the authorities with few leads. Malay authorizes Su Yi’s three accompanying leaders as Special Investigation Inquisitors, giving them broad powers to investigate corruption and treason.
• Ilis arrives on Planet 16 with Players and Sorceresses. At the factory, she exposes director Jerry’s negligence and misconduct by reading his memories, then executes him with her soul-burning black Ember Divine Flame.
• Ilis offers leniency to managers who admit ordinary wrongdoing, while Madam Sewei identifies roughly 120 managers who have embraced the Pleasure Virus and betrayed the company. They transform in an attempt to resist but are killed by the Players.
• Ilis’s team takes over the factory, rescues confined workers, appoints new managers, and broadcasts a warning: innocent employees need not fear, but traitors should surrender or face execution.
• Over the next week, the team divides into small units and searches across the planet. They capture 9,422 fallen traitors; many are executed, some receive temporary pardons, and others are imprisoned. The purge alarms remaining infiltrators, who begin plotting retaliation.
• On the eighth day, Pile Driver and Lilith are lured into a trap at a food-processing plant. Their attackers bind them with tentacles and expose them to the Pleasure Virus, expecting them to be corrupted. Pile Driver breaks free, joking that they cannot corrupt someone already fallen; Lilith then takes control of the Pleasure and its tentacles.

Character developments

• Malay recognizes that the rear is vulnerable to long-established infiltration. He sets aside his usual cautious approach and grants Ilis’s group sweeping authority, prioritizing security over production efficiency.
• Ilis demonstrates both investigative power and ruthless judgment. She distinguishes between ordinary misconduct and deliberate treason, offering a chance to repent while punishing those who knowingly embraced the cult.
• Madam Sewei and the Sorceresses prove crucial in identifying corrupted employees, providing cover for the Players’ ability to detect traitors.
• Pile Driver and Lilith reveal that their existing connection to Pleasure makes the attackers’ corruption strategy ineffective; Lilith appears able to command the attackers’ powers.

Significant themes

• Security versus accountability: The company must root out infiltration without unjustly condemning innocent workers.
• Power and responsibility: Corrupt managers abuse their authority, while Ilis uses extraordinary power to enforce a new order.
• Fear as both weapon and consequence: Public executions reassure ordinary workers but also push hidden traitors toward desperate retaliation.
• Irony and reversal: The attackers’ attempt to corrupt Pile Driver and Lilith fails because they are already aligned with—or empowered by—the force the attackers wield.

Character interactions

• Malay consults Nasr about the factory bombing and authorizes the investigation team after weighing the cost of a broad internal review.
• Ilis confronts Jerry, exposes his failures, and offers leniency to managers who confess; Madam Sewei then identifies the traitors among them.
• Ilis addresses Planet 16’s workforce directly, promising protection for the innocent and consequences for collaborators.
• The hidden traitors coordinate online, dismissing the investigators’ numbers and planning traps.
• At the chapter’s close, Pile Driver and Lilith turn the ambush around, leaving their attackers stunned when the Pleasure Virus fails to control them.

Plot and key events

• Madam Sewei and Pile Driver expose and eliminate Desire Demon agents among the workers on Planets 16, 18, and 15. Sewei uses Su Yi’s program to control the Pleasure Virus, while Emma and Dora’s divine senses help the other purges proceed quickly.
• Su Yi’s repeated rescues of nearly five thousand trapped personnel restore the frontline’s morale. Malai uses the renewed determination to build a second defensive line, but suspects the enemy’s silence signals a coming assault.
• Su Yi explains how to reduce remote corruption: soldiers can filter purple and red from their visor sensors. He also worries that Copper Tomb, a Void Abyss Divine General, may be directing the enemy.
• Unable to send help directly, Nine Blades helps Su Yi devise a diversion. Copper Tomb’s base is the Cassini Star System, where a wall bearing the Human Emperor’s runes may tempt the Second Empire to attack. Su Yi hopes this will force Copper Tomb to defend his territory.
• At Planet 2, Copper Tomb presides over a vast sacrificial stronghold and orders Julie to make the front experience “true despair.” He is holding a Human Emperor Heavenly Soldier, Xiao Qingshan, who refuses to reveal why he came.
• The assault begins: ten billion Demons of Desire emerge through thousands of Void Abyss breaches and advance on the Iron Front. Malai orders the fleet to battle stations and the defenses open fire, but the defenders know they are vastly outnumbered.

Character developments and interactions

• Madam Sewei firmly rejects the “traitor” accusation and turns against those who surrendered to the Desire Demons; Pile Driver supports the operation.
• Su Yi shifts from rescue missions to strategic planning, anticipating the enemy’s attack and preparing multiple contingencies.
• Malai and Nasr turn recovered morale into defensive preparations, while Malai remains wary of the enemy’s unexplained delay.
• Nine Blades and Kilman assist Su Yi by identifying Copper Tomb’s base and suggesting how to draw the Second Empire into the conflict.
• Copper Tomb is revealed as the enemy commander: powerful, confident, and bent on exploiting desire across the material universe. He taunts Xiao Qingshan, who remains defiant, while Julie reports on Su Yi’s countermeasures and receives his orders.

Significant themes

• Hope and solidarity: Su Yi’s rescues reassure soldiers that they will not be abandoned, restoring their will to fight.
• Corruption versus resistance: The purges and visor adjustment show that the enemy’s influence can be resisted through vigilance and knowledge.
• Strategy under overwhelming odds: Su Yi seeks indirect leverage against Copper Tomb even as the front faces an enormous numerical disadvantage.
• The cost of war and corrupted power: Planet 2’s sacrificial horrors contrast sharply with the defenders’ efforts to protect their people and territory.

Plot and key events

• The Demons of Desire launch a massive assault on the company’s defensive line. Heavy artillery and powered armor slow them, but the fighting quickly becomes brutal and costly.
• The defense is fatally weakened when Prince, a hidden traitor, ambushes nearby soldiers and opens a breach. Surrounded troops fight to the last, many detonating themselves rather than surrendering.
• Under extreme pressure, Steel Foot’s armor synchronization surges from 70% to 200% after he witnesses his comrades’ deaths. He responds with a desperate, uncontrolled counterattack.
• Commanders Malai and Nasr struggle to coordinate the front. With the line projected to hold for only three days, they devise a deception: lure corrupted enemy agents away by claiming the company can seize a powerful Second Empire ship.
• The northwestern front fares better because Su Yi—known as Saint Gheros—fights in person. His Ember Divine Flame, Madfire, and summoned Ember Scions devastate the attackers and inspire the troops. Nasr then asks him to leave that sector and help execute the broader plan; Su Yi agrees.
• Su Yi consults Ilis, who offers to contact Gu Yang, but Su Yi decides to keep that option in reserve. He then proposes hiring the Human Alliance Pioneers under emergency mercenary rules.
• Su Yi asks the company for two trillion Void Abyss Coins, promising that the Pioneers can reinforce the line and help reclaim lost ground. The emergency meeting approves the plan and establishes a temporary two-trillion war fund.

Character developments

• Steel Foot transforms from a disciplined fighter into a furious, seemingly supercharged combatant after the deaths of his comrades. His faith and grief fuel his extraordinary armor synchronization.
• Su Yi openly embraces his power and growing celebrity. Rather than hide his abilities, he wants more followers and Faith Power, while also preparing for possible political upheaval within the company.
• Malai proves resourceful under pressure, turning the enemy’s infiltration into a possible distraction.
• Su Yi and Ilis show strategic restraint: they recognize Gu Yang as a backup but avoid approaching him too soon and weakening their bargaining position.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and loyalty: Soldiers fight and die for their comrades, families, and the Saint, often choosing self-destruction over capture.
• Faith as power and morale: Devotion strengthens Steel Foot and helps inspire the troops, while Su Yi’s public display of power may increase his influence.
• Leadership under crisis: Commanders must make rapid, imperfect choices amid overwhelming losses and unreliable troops.
• Pragmatism and leverage: Su Yi treats money, mercenaries, reputation, and political timing as tools for survival and future influence.
• Betrayal and trust: Prince’s treachery exposes the danger of corruption, while Su Yi argues that the Pioneers are dependable because of his personal ties to their leader.

Character interactions

• Steel Foot fights alongside comrades who encourage him to escape and avenge them; their deaths trigger his surge in power.
• Malai and Nasr debate the front’s prospects and coordinate a plan that hinges on Su Yi’s reputation.
• Nasr uses praise and duty to persuade Su Yi, but Su Yi already sees value in helping and agrees readily.
• Su Yi and Ilis discuss whether to seek outside help, settling on delaying contact with Gu Yang.
• Su Yi persuades Ma Li that the Human Alliance Pioneers are a better bet than ordinary mercenaries; Ma Li carries his proposal to company leadership.
• The company’s senior officials weigh the cost and risk, then approve Su Yi’s funding request.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• The Black Sun Group’s Supreme Board of Directors convenes to approve two trillion Void Abyss Coins for the border war. Its long-standing habit of saving profits in Goddess treasuries lets it fund the emergency.
• Su Yi outlines a rewards system for recruiting mercenaries: fighters earn points through missions and kills, then exchange them for supplies and rewards at the end of each of the campaign’s three stages—defense, counteroffensive, and retaking lost territory. Diamond Star will host the fund’s administration, boosting its role as a hub.
• In a private discussion, Su Yi reveals that some Players will infiltrate the Shadow Legion by joining it after “falling.” He says soul bonds and his newly acquired Golden Saint King’s Boon will prevent their genuine betrayal. He also reveals he can travel through the Void Abyss, an extraordinary ability that astonishes the leaders.
• The board backs Su Yi’s plan. He gains the support and attention of the company’s top leadership, and Black Oak explicitly authorizes him to do whatever serves the Goddess.
• At the front, Su Yi prepares to take the Iron Throne and part of the fleet toward the enemy, hoping to draw fire and negotiate with the orcs. Before he can depart, the Second Fleet collapses after traitors open its defenses and coordinate with the Desire Demons. The commanders decide to commit reserves, save the First Fleet, and temporarily abandon the southwestern line.
• On Diamond Star, millions of Players have gathered, expecting a new event. Rijia brings Mist an event plan prepared by Su Yi. Mist approves it, and the Players learn that the Apocalyptic Invasion Campaign offers a total of two trillion in rewards, sparking a massive, excited response.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi proves himself both a strategic commander and a political operator. He secures funding, uses the crisis to win the board’s confidence, and deliberately reveals his rare power to strengthen his standing. He also shows confidence in his ties to the Players and orcs.
• Black Oak and the senior leadership move from urgent scrutiny to wholehearted support after hearing Su Yi’s plan and learning of his Boon. Allison recognizes the value of channeling the fund through Diamond Star; the Ash Envoy tests Su Yi’s safeguards but ultimately supports him.
• Malai and Nasr admire Su Yi’s importance and ambition, yet worry about his safety. Their concerns are overtaken by the Second Fleet’s sudden collapse, forcing them to make difficult battlefield decisions.
• Rijia is nervous about dealing with Mist and considers using Star Slaves to ingratiate himself. Mist’s enthusiasm for the event plan reassures him—though his offer of AI Star Slaves leaves Mist speechless.
• The Players’ familiar banter about deadly ruins and failed adventures gives way to collective excitement when the event is announced.

Significant themes

• Crisis as opportunity: The invasion threatens the company but also gives Su Yi a path to power and influence.
• Faith, loyalty, and calculated risk: The company’s reserves belong to the Goddess, while Su Yi’s infiltration plan tests how far leaders will go to protect the front.
• Organization and incentives: The points system turns mercenary participation into a structured campaign and makes rewards part of military strategy.
• Collaboration across factions: Su Yi plans to use Players, company forces, and even orc connections against the invasion.
• Fragile command and internal betrayal: The Second Fleet’s collapse shows that the danger comes not only from external enemies but also from corruption and treachery within the ranks.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• An official trailer announces the Apocalypse-Class Desperate Desire Front event. It depicts a steel defensive line facing ten billion Demons of Desire, with Su Yi fighting amid catastrophic losses.
• Su Yi’s appeal to company executives secures a two-trillion budget and ends with a call for players to reinforce the front. Players immediately prepare to travel there, reporting to Emma or Dora.
• On Red Sun Star, 108 volunteers to lead a charge at the front. Winter assigns him Iron Pillar and two legions, while Mountain Dog, Iron Root, and Iron Pot are sent to protect Diamond Star. Winter warns that the war may spread to the planet and its shipping lanes.
• Madman, trapped in the dangerous Fierce Dragon Star Sector, reports discovering an Earth-sized dark star that may contain technology from the Ancient Entropy Empire.
• Diamond Star imposes emergency measures, organizes free player transports, and advertises event rewards. The player community—including famous veterans—mobilizes in huge numbers. Within two hours, more than 100 million Human Alliance Pioneers have joined, impressing the company’s leadership.
• At the front, the Second Combined Fleet’s line collapses, leaving the First Fleet exposed. Chief of Staff Nasr suspects internal corruption and urges Commander Doreen Gibson to retreat, but Doreen refuses to abandon a vital position.
• Nasr confronts Second Fleet commander Johnny Allen, whose forces flee after turning traitor. He boasts that he intends to help the company find a new master. Their betrayal leaves Nasr’s forces under heavy attack.
• A Desire Dragon assaults Nasr’s ship. Emma weakens it with her powers, and Nasr orders the final attack. Emma explains that Su Yi sent her and Dora because he anticipated trouble. Dora has also eliminated the demons that breached the ship and stabilized infected soldiers.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi is presented as both a formidable fighter and an effective leader: he secures resources, rallies players, and anticipates danger at the front.
• 108 eagerly embraces a battlefield command role, while Winter demonstrates strategic foresight by dividing forces between the front and Diamond Star and planning for a wider conflict.
• Madman remains committed despite extreme danger and provides potentially important intelligence to help Su Yi.
• The players’ excitement over rewards and respect for veteran figures show how deeply the game has become part of their identities and social lives.
• Doreen chooses duty over personal safety, refusing to abandon a strategically crucial position. Nasr stays composed under attack and leads the defense, though she is furious at Johnny’s betrayal.
• Emma and Dora reveal the extraordinary reach of Su Yi’s network. Their unusual powers overwhelm conventional defenses, and their arrival restores control just as Nasr’s ship faces disaster.

Significant themes

• Collective action and leadership: A crisis on an immense scale cannot be solved by one hero; Su Yi’s organizing and the players’ mass mobilization become essential.
• Loyalty and betrayal: Doreen and Nasr remain committed to their people and mission, while Johnny defects for personal advantage.
• Sacrifice and duty: Doreen risks being surrounded rather than surrendering a position she believes is vital to the war.
• The widening scope of the conflict: The danger threatens not only the front but also Diamond Star, its supply routes, and the company’s internal stability.
• Power and community: Players are drawn by rewards, but their shared enthusiasm and accumulated strength make them a formidable force.

Key plot points and events

• After a betrayal threatens Nasr’s flagship, Emma and Dora arrive and swiftly eliminate the Desire Dragons attacking it. Their frightening abilities impress and unsettle the guards. Nasr thanks them, then returns her troops to the fight while the sisters promise to handle the remaining dragons.
• On Tamas Industrial Star, Roxy’s group agrees to help Ironhand investigate the Holy Body Cult in exchange for permission to take their rescued prisoners and for future local support. Over the next two weeks, the outsiders help capture seven cult members and stop four major disturbances.
• Lord Sun invites the investigators to a televised award ceremony, hoping to build public influence and attract loyal allies. The cyborg steward, however, serves the Six Sages Council and believes Sun remains under its control.
• Master Chief discovers from Sun’s status panel that Sun belongs to the secretive Time Rift, as does Ilis. Winter suspects a link to the Shadow Puppet Sanctum, but Su Yi clarifies that the Time Rift is a Deity organization concerned with hidden histories, memory, and weaving. He recognizes Sun’s name as potentially useful leverage.
• Ilis requests an emergency Time Rift meeting about the Desire Catastrophe. The Honored One agrees, but charges her a future task. Members gather, note the catastrophe’s reach, and ask after Gu Yang.
• At the ceremony, Master Chief secretly slips Sun a note from Su Yi. It reveals that Su Yi knows Sun’s identity and predicament, offers loyal helpers and an introduction to his student, and invites Sun to make contact through Delusion. Sun is shaken by the apparent reach of Su Yi’s network, but sees a chance to escape his political bind.

Character developments and interactions

• Emma and Dora demonstrate both their formidable combat power and their loyalty to Commander Gheros’s cautious strategy. Nasr responds with gratitude and relies on them to protect the fleet.
• Roxy and her team shift from rescuing prisoners to investigating local corruption, earning Ironhand’s trust and recognition from the authorities.
• Sun emerges as a reform-minded but isolated leader, desperate to secure allies while watched by the Six Sages Council. The note transforms his fear of being exposed into curiosity and hope.
• Master Chief and Old Hunter provide humor during the ceremony, then become key messengers: Master Chief alerts Winter to Sun’s identity and later delivers Su Yi’s note.
• Winter and Leg Kicker piece together the Time Rift clue and warn Su Yi. Su Yi reassures them, shares what he knows about the organization, and tells Ilis that Sun may be the key to changing the situation.
• Ilis moves from investigation to direct action, convening the Time Rift despite the cost. She also expresses concern for Su Yi before he heads to the front.

Significant themes

• Trust and loyalty under pressure: Characters must decide whom to rely on amid betrayal, surveillance, and political manipulation.
• Hidden identities and information as power: Status panels, secret affiliations, and Su Yi’s precise intelligence give the protagonists leverage over seemingly well-protected figures.
• Public image versus real control: Sun stages a public ceremony to project authority, while the steward and council quietly constrain him.
• Cooperation across factions: Outsiders, local inquisitors, and secretive organizations may become allies when their interests overlap, though such alliances can carry a price.

Plot points and events

• At the Time Rift meeting, Delusion (Ilis) offers information about the Human Emperor’s original Stigmata Runes, believed to be on a planet currently under Void Abyss invasion. Most members decline to pursue them because of other commitments.
• Gu Yang privately asks whether Delusion has a partner who promised to help him. Ilis confirms that her man knows about the Golden Saint King and can assist Gu Yang through his student.
• In return, Ilis asks Gu Yang to help rally the Second Empire against Copper Tomb in the Cassini Star System, take control of Sailong New District, and protect Su Yi’s fighters. Gu Yang agrees—then learns the student is Kilman Kalbanyan Ancient Entropy, the Human Emperor’s Holy Son. The revelation leaves him stunned.
• Back at the front, Su Yi secretly leads a 300,000-strong force aboard 200 ships on a detour toward the Six-Winged Angel. He puts a thousand Players in an assault unit led by Natural Jailer, intending to make their attack draw the enemy commander’s attention.
• Enemy commander Julie notices the secret redeployment and learns that Gheros’s Iron Throne has attacked near the Divine Fire Xisi Corridor. She initially suspects a diversion.
• The Players storm the enemy ships, shrug off corruption and mind-control attempts, and seize control of several vessels. Julie watches Su Yi lead the assault and secretly eavesdrops after the attackers cut the ship’s communications.
• Su Yi explains that diverting enemy troops was only a pretext: the true objective is to capture the ancient Six-Winged Angel. He reveals that its Holy Light Array is tied to a sacred concept bestowed by the Ancient Entropy Human Emperor on the Golden Sister Quinn, making the ship especially dangerous to the Demons of Desire. Julie realizes Su Yi knows crucial details about their target.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Yang shifts from his usual brashness to deference toward Delusion after learning she is Su Yi’s partner and Kilman’s teacher. His admiration for Su Yi’s network deepens, and he commits to Ilis’s political and military requests.
• Ilis/Delusion uses Su Yi’s reputation and promised assistance to secure Gu Yang’s cooperation. She is amused by his shock and privately hopes Su Yi stays safe.
• Su Yi reveals himself as a careful strategist: his conspicuous assault is both a feint and cover for the real goal of taking the Six-Winged Angel.
• Julie is confident and dismissive at first, but the assault and Su Yi’s knowledge unsettle her. Her adviser likewise mistakes the attack for a bluff before learning the ship is the true target.
• Natural Jailer and the Players demonstrate exceptional discipline and ferocity, fighting through the enemy’s defenses and remaining immune to its supernatural influence.

Significant themes

• Information and deception: Both Ilis and Su Yi use carefully controlled intelligence to shape others’ choices and misdirect the enemy.
• Hidden connections and shifting status: Gu Yang’s assumptions collapse when he discovers the links between Delusion, Su Yi, and Kilman.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: The Players risk their lives—and even detonate themselves—to protect comrades and accomplish the mission.
• Ancient power in the present: The Six-Winged Angel’s enduring sacred protection shows how the Human Emperor’s legacy still shapes the current war.

Key plot points and events

• Su Yi reveals to his allies that the ancient Second Empire ship, the Six-Winged Angel, is protected by an A.T.S. Array—and claims he already has the key to activate it. The Demons of Desire debate whether he is bluffing, but Julie orders a force sent to stop him; they divert only a tenth of their troops so the main assault can continue.
• The human front is near collapse after catastrophic casualties and the defection of the Second Joint Fleet. Commander Malai struggles to hold the line, but the enemy redeployment eases the pressure slightly. The Thirty-Fifth Regiment retakes Station Fifteen at enormous cost, giving the defenders a temporary foothold and renewed hope.
• Su Yi heads toward the Six-Winged Angel, but detours to recruit the Bloodthirsty Orcs on Planet Four. He defeats Hunting Master Ironfang in a brutal unarmed duel, killing him and winning the orcs’ respect.
• Su Yi urges the orc war leader, Dragon Ridge Iron Spine, to fight the Demons of Desire rather than let them take the ancient ship. Dragonspine recognizes the attempted manipulation but welcomes the prospect of battle. The orcs mobilize, and their collective war fervor suppresses Su Yi’s Faith Power and prevents him from opening a Void Abyss Rift.
• Su Yi returns to find the Six-Winged Angel surrounded by Demons of Desire. Julie threatens him, but his companions’ crude, irreverent replies undercut her menace.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi combines strategic deception, knowledge of ancient technology, and personal combat to recruit the orcs. He accepts Ironfang’s challenge without relying on his usual equipment, then leverages victory to appeal to the orcs’ love of battle.
• Malai is pushed toward desperation by mounting losses but continues to hold the line, using Su Yi’s apparent success to restore morale.
• Ironfang is consumed by shame over his earlier defeat and seeks death through repeated duels. His final loss gives Su Yi the standing he needs, while illustrating the orcs’ merciless respect for strength.
• Dragonspine sees through Su Yi’s attempt to influence him but is willing to act because fighting matters more than schemes. He turns the orcs’ enthusiasm into a mass mobilization.
• Julie is alarmed by Su Yi’s knowledge and the threat he poses to the ship, but remains confident that she can defeat him. Her threats are immediately mocked by Su Yi’s allies.

Significant themes

• Hope and morale in war: Even a limited enemy withdrawal gives exhausted human defenders the will to keep fighting.
• Strength and honor: Orc society equates defeat with death and grants respect to whoever proves strongest.
• Strategy versus instinct: Su Yi manipulates political and military circumstances, while the orcs knowingly prioritize combat over strategic caution.
• The cost of survival: Both sides suffer extreme losses, and holding even a damaged position demands thousands of lives.

Plot points and events

• Julie leads a powerful fleet against Su Yi’s badly outmatched Iron Throne. Su Yi rallies his 300,000 troops and drives straight toward the enemy, hoping to board their ships rather than win a gun battle.
• Before his ship is destroyed, a fleet of red-skinned Orcs attacks Julie’s forces. Their assault disrupts the enemy formation and helps Su Yi’s soldiers launch boarding attacks. The Orcs are also trying to seize the Six-Winged Angel, Julie’s flagship.
• Julie diverts a third of her forces to protect the flagship, easing pressure on the human front. Malai’s battered defenders seize the chance to hold their positions and begin repairing them.
• Malai later uses prisoners and a Radiant-attracting liquid as bait, drawing the Radiants into the battle. Their attack on the Demons of Desire further weakens the assault, though the Radiants eventually claim part of the front and begin attacking the humans as well.
• For the next two weeks, Su Yi uses raids and provocations to keep the Orcs and Demons of Desire fighting each other. The human army nevertheless suffers catastrophic losses: of its original 30 million soldiers, fewer than two million remain.
• Malai continues commanding from a Regeneration Pod after a devastating injury, using a brain implant to communicate. On the front, the badly maimed Steel Foot and young Little Leto encounter Prince, a former ally turned enemy. Prince attacks them, but Iron Pillar—a powerful commander sent by Su Yi—rescues them.
• Other formidable fighters arrive, followed by waves of high-level Gifted appearing through teleportation beams. The exhausted defenders recognize them as the reinforcements sent by Su Yi.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Yi proves willing to risk himself alongside his troops. His presence, combat videos, and leadership keep the survivors’ morale from collapsing, while his tactical maneuvering prevents the enemy factions from uniting.
• Julie remains Su Yi’s bitter rival. Her fleet initially overwhelms him, but the Orc attack forces her to redirect troops and fight on multiple fronts.
• Malai persists as commander despite being nearly killed, demonstrating resolve and ingenuity in devising the Radiant bait operation.
• Leto’s family and unit embody the human cost of the war: his father dies, his brother is left a corrupted remnant, and his unit dwindles to a fraction of its original strength.
• Steel Foot fights on despite losing his limbs and suffering a shattered spine, sustained by his desire for revenge and loyalty to the Saint. Prince taunts him and threatens to turn him into a Desire Slave, but Iron Pillar intervenes before Prince can kill him.
• Prince reveals a new, powerful form and openly embraces his transformation and allegiance to his master. The scene contrasts his chosen corruption with Steel Foot’s steadfast faith and sacrifice.
• Iron Pillar introduces himself as one of the Ten Pioneers and confirms that Su Yi sent him and the other reinforcements.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and endurance: Soldiers keep fighting despite overwhelming losses, grievous injuries, and near-certain death.
• Leadership and hope: Su Yi’s example and continued presence sustain the defenders through their darkest moments.
• Factional self-interest: The Orcs and Radiants intervene not out of solidarity, but to pursue their own goals; their rivalries are what give humanity room to survive.
• Loyalty versus betrayal: Steel Foot’s devotion to the Saint is set against Prince’s betrayal and embrace of a new identity.
• Reversal and renewal: After a prolonged period of despair, the sudden arrival of reinforcements shifts the emotional balance of the battlefield and offers humanity a chance to fight on.