Chapter Summaries

Li Wei and the Holy Maiden followed clues from the Holy Maiden’s record to a secret passage beneath the Throne, seeking the Origin Land and the darkness in the Mithril River. They opened an ancient stone door and found a vast, scorching space with a mithril tide, where an unimaginable being appeared.

• Li Wei learned from the Holy Maiden’s record that the master smith wanted the Mithril Guardian taken to the Origin Land to free Mithril Valley’s people.
• Li Wei followed the skeleton’s pointing finger and discovered a hidden staircase beneath the Throne.
• Li Wei and the Holy Maiden entered the passage, discussing the Mithril Guardian’s possible connection to a god’s statue.
• The pair reached an ancient stone door, heard the Holy Maiden’s warning about dangerous gods, and opened it.
• Li Wei and the Holy Maiden entered a vast, hot space where a mithril tide washed over a beach; the door shut behind them, and a dazzling light revealed an unimaginable being.

Li Wei and the Holy Maiden discovered a half-dead God of Stone bound inside a mountain of mithril and learned that the God of Nature had likely imprisoned him. After the Goddess of Night warned Li Wei that killing the god would set him free, Li Wei decided to leave, but the God of Stone attacked them.

• Li Wei and the Holy Maiden found a gigantic, vine-bound heart pumping mithril and concluded it belonged to a sealed god.
• The Holy Maiden identified Li Wei’s Natural Staff as the God of Nature’s staff and recounted how the God of Nature defeated and sealed the God of Stone.
• Li Wei used the staff to tighten the vines, and the God of Stone cried out that the God of Nature had taken his authority and tormented him.
• The Goddess of Night stopped time and warned Li Wei that killing the God of Stone would set him free.
• Li Wei decided to leave with the Holy Maiden, but the God of Stone formed a mithril Dragon and lunged at them.

Li Wei and the Holy Maiden fought a mithril guardian in the underground chamber, where Li Wei claimed the Forge Hammer and used it to destroy the lake’s hostile face. After escaping, he learned the hammer had recognized him, and the Grim Reaper Doll unexpectedly slapped away the Holy Maiden’s attempt to inspect it.

• The Holy Maiden identified the iron hammer as a Forge Hammer, while the mithril guardian used it to shape weapons and block the exit.
• Li Wei and the Holy Maiden struggled against the guardian, and Li Wei sent the Grim Reaper Doll to attack it.
• The Grim Reaper Doll cut off the guardian’s hammer-holding hand, and Li Wei grabbed the Forge Hammer before the mithril lake could reclaim it.
• Li Wei transformed the mithril into a Night Raven mecha and used missiles to destroy the face in the lake, then escaped with the Holy Maiden.
• The system awarded Li Wei quest rewards and ownership of the Forge Hammer, which the Holy Maiden said would have burned an unrecognized user to ashes.
• The Grim Reaper Doll slapped the Holy Maiden’s hand away when she tried to examine it.

Li Wei used controversy over Iron Legion’s depiction of demons to draw public attention to his claim that demons were not heathens, then challenged the Holy Lord Church to a radio debate. The Church chose Father Phillips to represent it, and he set off for the debate while the Church’s leaders worried about the Royal Family’s intentions.

• Li Wei reported Mithril Valley’s status to the Queen, who gave the Holy Maiden control of it and ordered mithril incorporated into the Empire’s military reforms.
• Winter halted the Mutated Creature Army’s advance, but the demon army moved faster through Francis, prompting Li Wei to revise Iron Legion’s storyline.
• After the Holy Lord Teachings Newspaper condemned Iron Legion’s depiction of demons, Li Wei let the dispute grow before publicly challenging the Church to a radio debate.
• The Holy Lord Church selected Father Phillips to debate Li Wei, and the unprecedented broadcast drew widespread public interest.
• Father Phillips prepared by cleaning his church, declined a ride from the Imperial Cathedral, and headed to the debate by subway.

Father Phillips arrived at the radio station to debate Li Wei about his claim that demons were a real race, while Li Wei used an opening story to challenge the trustworthiness of the Church’s account. The broadcast began with Father Phillips already feeling that Li Wei had gained the upper hand.

• Father Phillips was mobbed by reporters outside the station before a staff member escorted him inside and revealed that Li Wei had already arrived.
• Li Wei greeted Father Phillips and introduced him to Dina Roster, the program’s host, before explaining how to use the studio microphones.
• Dina Roster opened the broadcast and introduced Li Wei and Father Phillips, then asked Li Wei why he believed demons truly existed.
• Li Wei told a story about two men who each gave a self-serving account of a fight, arguing that victims and perpetrators alike could distort the truth.
• Father Phillips realized Li Wei’s story had cast doubt on the Church’s account and regretted not speaking first, as he felt he had entered the debate at a disadvantage.

Li Wei exposed flaws in the Holy Lord Church’s account of demons during a radio debate with Father Phillips, using the Holy Scripture to show that the word predated the church’s explanation. He warned that demons had returned to Francis, promoted humanity’s ability to fight them, and learned that the seal had begun working again.

• Li Wei demonstrated how leading questions could distort memories, then explained that investigators relied on objective evidence and contradictions.
• Father Phillips traced the church’s identification of heretics as demons to Saint Fulin’s account, and Li Wei challenged him to explain where the word “demon” had originated.
• Li Wei used a passage in the Holy Scripture mentioning demons to undermine the claim that the word first referred to heretics, leaving Father Phillips unable to answer.
• Li Wei told listeners that demons had returned in Francis and urged them to trust in humanity’s weapons and ability to defeat them.
• Li Wei promised to explain the demons’ return in future installments of Iron Legion and advertised Imperial Comics.
• The Holy Maiden told Li Wei that the black mist had stopped spreading and the seal was working again.

Li Wei demonstrated an air-to-air homing missile and a rocket barrage system to the Queen and her officials, showing how the weapons could counter airborne monsters and devastate enemies at medium range. The Queen was impressed by the display, and Li Wei concluded that he could build an army of justice with his new weapons.

• The Queen and Princess Louise joined Li Wei at the Great Salt Lake to inspect his latest weapons.
• Li Wei demonstrated a homing air-to-air missile that pursued and destroyed a jet-powered airship balloon.
• Li Wei explained that the missile's Alchemy Array let it lock onto targets, alarming military officials and exciting the finance minister.
• Li Wei ordered more than twenty legged gun platforms to launch rockets, filling the sky with fire and setting the target area ablaze.
• The Queen approved of the display, and Li Wei reflected that his Forge Hammer had helped him build weapons for an army of justice.

Li Wei inspected the refitted Eye of the Sky and warned its crew not to underestimate the enemy as he assessed the threats beneath Derrin. After headquarters issued a plan to bombard and occupy the city, Li Wei reluctantly agreed to follow it.

• Li Wei showed the crew the mithril-armored Eye of the Sky, now faster and more heavily armed, and warned them that the war was not over.
• Li Wei used Soul Sight to spot countless creatures tunneling beneath Derrin and considered destroying the gateway or killing the creature leading the swarm.
• Li Wei sent his intelligence briefing to headquarters and left the battle plan to the brass.
• Headquarters ordered missile strikes on Derrin followed by an advance to occupy the city, despite its transformation into a mass of blood vessels beneath the snow.
• Li Wei questioned whether Derrin was still worth occupying, then agreed to follow the plan and learned Princess Louise had named the operation “Winter Is Coming.”

Li Wei directed the Empire’s assault on Derrin, using missiles and airships to break the city’s defenses and destroy Leviathan. The fleet began bombing Derrin as the battle officially opened.

• Li Wei used [Death's Eye] and [Puppeteer] to guide missiles past Derrin’s antiaircraft beams and destabilize the hive mind’s spiritual light.
• Li Wei ordered the bombardment to continue, and later missile waves destroyed the antiaircraft positions.
• Li Wei sent the airships toward Derrin while Aerial Mecha fought off the Mutant Flock with missiles.
• Li Wei ordered the Eye of the Sky to fire its Serajon main gun at Leviathan, and the shell tore through its defenses and killed it.
• The airships reached Derrin and began dropping bombs across the city.

Castin and Squad D entered the ruined Derrin City, where Beastmen emerged from the rubble and attacked the Empire’s soldiers. Castin opened fire, struggled to hit the nimble enemies, and regained confidence when a Mecha destroyed one with its cannon.

• Castin rode toward Derrin City in a Mammoth troop carrier as a veteran warned him about the dangers of real combat.
• The soldiers discussed the Empire’s new benefits and job referrals for servicemen who earned merit.
• Castin followed Squad D into Derrin City and found it reduced to rubble, while the squad leader warned that the Cront could burrow underground.
• Beastmen emerged from the ruins and tunnels, and the squad formed a defensive line as the horde charged.
• Castin fired at the Beastmen but struggled to hit them until a Mecha blasted one with its cannon, giving him confidence to keep fighting.

Li Wei discovered that killing a Beast General severed the Beastmen’s collective control, allowing the Empire to turn the battle around. After Tini surrendered, she revealed the True God’s plans, the living Portal’s origin, and its current inability to invade directly, leaving Li Wei determined to capture the Portal and strike back in the other world.

• Li Wei used underground noise to expose Burrowing Beasts, then shot a glowing Beast General and discovered that its death left nearby Beastmen confused and vulnerable.
• The Empire learned to target larger Beast Generals, regrouped, and began advancing as the Beastmen army collapsed.
• Tini, a Beast General from another world, broke free of the True God’s influence enough to surrender to imperial troops.
• Li Wei interrogated Tini, who explained that the True God had sent Beast Generals to aid Cront, planned to transform this world, and could no longer open a passage after Li Wei wounded it.
• Tini revealed that the Portal was alive and formed from the Emperor’s flesh and blood, while Li Wei concluded that the Empire should capture it and attack the True God directly.
• General Haig agreed to report Li Wei’s proposal to the Emperor while the army continued its original advance.

Li Wei’s forces struggled against the Alien Monster’s increasingly powerful giants and Beastmen as their ammunition dwindled. Li Wei flew the new mithril Night Raven into battle, defeated a winged Beast General, and reached William II, who opened a passage to the other world so Li Wei could confront the culprit.

• Tini used her keen sense of smell to locate Beast Generals, helping the imperial army stabilize the fighting in Derrin, while the Alien Monster’s giants attacked with poison-spore weapons.
• As supplies ran low and more giants advanced, Li Wei ordered the Night Raven prepared and left Lieutenant Horn in command.
• Li Wei flew the new mithril fighter into the aerial battle and sliced through a winged tiger Beast General at supersonic speed.
• Li Wei reached the ruins of the royal capital and found William II fused into a pool of blood.
• After Li Wei said he intended to destroy the culprit, William II opened the passage to the other world and let him through.

Li Wei flew the Night Raven through a world transformed into a grotesque mass of flesh and fought his way toward the source of its mutation. He discovered that the atmosphere was sealed beneath a membrane and tore it open, then transformed the Night Raven and charged at the True God’s exposed soul light.

• Li Wei piloted the Night Raven through swarms of bat monsters and dodged attacks from tentacles as he headed toward the strongest green light.
• Li Wei shot open the sky membrane and realized that the world’s atmosphere was trapped beneath it, with vacuum beyond.
• The True God confronted Li Wei through a face in the hillside and threatened to capture him.
• Li Wei blasted holes in the membrane with the Night Raven, creating a massive storm that tore apart the True God’s surroundings.
• Li Wei transformed the Night Raven into a Mecha and plunged through the whirlwind toward the True God’s soul light.

Li Wei piloted the Night Raven through the flesh giant’s head and discovered the Alien Monster fused to the ruined Throne. He tricked it into being sucked into space, destroyed it, and prepared to return home as the world lost its atmosphere.

• Li Wei drove the Night Raven through the giant’s eye and carved through its brain to reach its core.
• Li Wei found the Alien Monster fused with the old man’s ruined body and the fragments of the Throne.
• The Alien Monster expected Li Wei to destroy its body and free it, but Li Wei blasted open the skullcap behind it instead.
• Li Wei’s airflow tornado pulled the Alien Monster into space, where it froze and could no longer transfer to another world.
• Li Wei fired missiles to destroy the frozen monster, confirmed its soul radiance had vanished, and prepared to leave the doomed world.

After the alien creature’s defeat, the Empire decided how to handle the surrendered people of Cront and offered them a choice between an injection that removed their transformations and execution. Li Wei completed his mission and improved his abilities, but the Empire still faced the demon army from Francis and an uncertain New Year banquet.

• The Queen approved Derint’s potion to eliminate the Beastmen’s vulnerability to control, despite its severe effects on fertility, and Li Wei announced the choice to the prisoners.
• Some prisoners volunteered for the injection, while a Beast General tried to escape with flying Beastmen and was killed by a missile.
• Li Wei reviewed his SSS mission reward, spent 30 physical attribute points, and gained Lightning Strike and Truth Seer.
• Li Wei noted that the demon army from Francis remained a threat and worried after the Queen invited him and the frontline officers to the Royal Palace’s New Year banquet.

As the war paused, Li Wei returned home and planned an amusement park to help Kront’s transformed prisoners integrate into the Empire. He prepared for the New Year banquet, where the Queen would announce the Holy Maiden’s resurrection, while the demon army in Francis remained an unresolved threat.

• The Sasha Alliance annexed the Duchy of Seth, Kront annexed Francis, and the Olucci Empire withdrew after heavy losses, while the Empire destroyed Derrin and claimed victory over Kront.
• Li Wei discussed the transformed Kront prisoners and planned an amusement park city where they could work and help visitors accept them.
• Li Wei showed Alice, Sophia, and Katie amusement park plans, describing rides and asking Erin to contact Uncle Hank about mechanical-doll makers.
• Li Wei acknowledged that the Empire could not attack Francis until it replenished its ammunition and learned more about the demons hidden in the black fog.
• Li Wei anticipated that the Queen would announce the Holy Maiden’s resurrection and restore her title as Thistle Knight at the New Year banquet.

Reporter Daisy Caroline interviewed Li Wei about his crime-prevention campaign, his art and music, and the mysterious singer Muse. The interview ended with Li Wei summoning Muse, who emerged from a pool with a fish tail.

• Daisy Caroline arrived at Li Wei’s clock tower for an exclusive interview and met his puppy, Betty.
• Li Wei argued that crime could be prevented by protecting honest workers, punishing criminals, and improving the conditions that drove people to crime.
• Li Wei explained that comics appealed to ordinary people because they combined accessible stories with images, and he said his songs came from his homeland.
• Daisy asked about the singer Muse, and Li Wei summoned her from the pool.
• Daisy saw Muse emerge with a fish tail and was stunned.

Daisy interviewed Li Wei about legendary creatures returning, his planned amusement park, rebuilding the Empire, and technological progress. He defended the Empire’s reunification and government support for workers displaced by machines, while dismissing critics who offered no practical solutions, leaving Daisy expecting the interview to stir controversy.

• Daisy met the Little Mermaid, and Li Wei explained that legendary creatures such as Water Sprites were returning to the world.
• Li Wei said humans should cooperate with friendly creatures and kill those that threatened humanity.
• Li Wei announced plans to build a large amusement park in the war-affected regions after the war, with the Queen’s approval.
• Li Wei argued that new communications and transport made imperial reunification more viable by reducing the distances that had once weakened central control.
• Li Wei said technological progress would create new industries and jobs, while the government should help displaced workers through support and retraining.
• Li Wei dismissed critics who worried about technology’s effects without offering solutions, and Daisy warned that the published interview might cause trouble.

After Li Wei’s interview stirred debate across the Empire, Justice Buckley invited him to discuss how environment and evidence should shape judgments of criminals. Li Wei met Buckley’s estranged children on the way to the manor, and dinner ended with him sensing something unusual among the guests.

• Li Wei’s interview sparked public debate about crime, technology, taxation, fantasy species, and entertainment machines, while newspapers focused on different parts of his remarks.
• Justice Buckley invited Li Wei to discuss crime, and Li Wei drove to Buckley Manor after saying goodbye to Alice, Sophia, and the Little Mermaid.
• Li Wei found Nicole Buckley and Charlie Buckley stranded with a broken car on the mountain road and gave them a ride; Charlie complained that his father had neglected the family for his work.
• At Buckley Manor, Li Wei discussed criminal evidence with Justice Buckley, explaining how a victim’s injuries and crime-scene traces could reveal a perpetrator’s intent.
• Li Wei joined Justice Buckley, Nicole, Charlie, Sutton Harry, and two visiting guests for dinner, where he sensed that something was wrong.

Li Wei witnessed a tangled confrontation at High Judge Buckley’s Manor, where Mike, Freddie, Harry, and Charlie exposed their overlapping affairs and feelings. After the group scattered, Li Wei learned Nicole had driven off alone into the dangerous night and went after her.

• Li Wei noticed tension between Charlie, his sister Nicole, and the newlywed couple Mike and Freddie during dinner and the drawing-room gathering.
• Charlie accused Freddie of having been with him before her marriage, and Freddie admitted it, prompting Mike to reveal that his feelings for Charlie were genuine.
• Harry revealed that he and Mike had been lovers for twelve years, while Charlie demanded to know whether Mike’s feelings for him were real too.
• Mike left with Freddie, Harry departed after confronting him, and Nicole slapped Charlie before running out; Li Wei chose not to interfere in their romantic disputes.
• The butler told Li Wei that Nicole had driven away from the Manor, so Li Wei set out into the dark mountain roads to find her.