Chapter Summaries

After Yog explained the painful truth behind Cheng Yu’s Final Trial, Cheng Yu chose to stop being a spectator and promised to create a spectacular Script. He left the Principal’s Office to rejoin Dile and the others, whose banter showed how close they had become.

• Dile and the others pledged to devote themselves to Kashi Star, and Yog praised their resolve.
• Cheng Yu entered the empty Principal’s Office, where Yog explained that the Final Trial had made Cheng Yu experience his most painful worldline and that he could choose whether to remain a spectator or become a performer.
• Cheng Yu thanked Yog, chose his path, and promised to present him with the most spectacular Script.
• Grete asked whether suffering was necessary for power, then asked if Yog could help his master; Yog said an opportunity would come later and told Grete to apologize when the time came.
• Cheng Yu rejoined Dile and the others, traded insults with Dile, and left the group smiling at how they had become companions.

Shatla commander Euphemia led an overwhelming force toward Legion, expecting an easy victory over the Mechanicus. Legion gathered intelligence and prepared fourteen combat series for the coming battle, which was scheduled to begin after the enemy’s thirteen-day advance.

• Wagner was stunned by the scale of the Shatla forces and met their commander, Euphemia.
• Euphemia ordered her army to advance slowly so the enemy would see the size of the operation.
• Legion compiled a report on Euphemia and estimated the Shatla forces would reach its position in thirteen days and seven hours.
• Legion’s Wisdom units reported that most combat series were ready, while some Decoder and Annihilator units faced production limits.
• Performer assigned Wisdom Z-0006 to coordinate Legion’s forces and ordered the battle plan released within three hours.
• Legion prepared fourteen of its twenty-eight series for battle while the approaching Shatla forces remained unaware of its reserves.

Euphemia led Shatra’s forces through the passage into the B3397 Universe after the Fafara Light forced it open. The Black Box Plan began, but the Legion’s first kinetic strike failed to seriously damage Shatra’s fortress.

• Euphemia reached the B3397 passage with the Shatra mercenaries while the surrounding alliances remained silent.
• Shatra’s Sword of Shatra used the Fafara Light to open the passage, and the Legion’s Strategic Command Center confirmed that the attack did not control the universe’s opening.
• Euphemia ordered the bastion and following forces into the B3397 Universe, and the Legion began the Black Box Plan.
• The Sword of Shatra halted when an ultra-high kinetic-energy strike hit its barrier, but the damage reduced its energy reserves by only one percentage point.
• The Performer ordered phase two of the Black Box Plan after Wisdom Z-0006 reported that the strike could not effectively damage the fortress.

Shatra’s mercenaries entered Legion’s home universe, only for the passage to close and their communications to fail, trapping Euphemia’s force. As Euphemia tried to restore control and scout their surroundings, Legion’s Strategic Command Center advanced its Black Box Plan.

• The Shatra mercenaries entered the B3397 Universe, and Jane told Ralph that the outcome was settled as the passage closed behind them.
• Ralph tried to contact Euphemia through the Demonic Web, received no reply, and feared that Shatra’s elite forces had been lost.
• Euphemia ordered her troops to reopen the passage with the Fafara Light, but it failed, and she discovered that the Demonic Web was down.
• Euphemia ordered the fleet to hold formation, sent the True Gods to scout, and deployed the Omniscient Eye for a shared view of the area.
• The Strategic Command Center identified the Omniscient Eye as a dimensional communicator and approved activating Binder 0-7.

The Legion deployed Binder 0-7 to infiltrate Shatla’s Omniscient Eye, while Euphemia’s forces failed to contact the outside or reopen their passage. The three True Gods witnessed the Mechanicus’s vast mechanical star systems and faced a barrage from them.

• Binder 0-7 entered the fourth dimension and merged into Shatla’s Omniscient Eye and another eyeball.
• Euphemia learned that the demonic web nodes were unresponsive and that her mages could not reopen the passage.
• Gordon marveled that the passage’s spatial parameters were perfectly seamless, while another mage urged him to consider demonic energy.
• The man wearing Quicksilver Armor and two figures saw countless star systems transformed into mechanical worlds and wondered where the Mechanicus came from.
• The Mechanicus unleashed a Milky Way Curtain bombardment, leaving the man puzzled about how the attack could work.

Berg survived the Legion’s saturation attack by fleeing into his alternate space, but the Legion tracked and seized him using Decoder 0-6 and Regulator 0-9. Bound and drained of strength, he learned nothing about the Legion’s goals as it approved the Black Box Plan’s Fourth Ring.

• Berg endured the Legion’s concentrated attacks, then escaped through a silver Door with the surviving male True God’s head while the female True God was destroyed.
• Wisdom Z-0006 ordered Decoder 0-6 units to infect Berg’s alternate space with Void memes as part of the Black Box Plan.
• Berg found his Silver Palace turning purple, detonated the silver portion of his hyperspace, and fled into the resulting spatial turbulence.
• Regulator 0-9 stabilized the turbulence and pulled Berg back, while the male True God and Berg’s left arm vanished into the spatial turbulence.
• Mechanical Ouroboros bound Berg, and Wisdom Z-2587 reported the Black Box Plan’s third phase complete before the Performer approved the Fourth Ring.

Cheng Yu joked with the system about Legion’s preparations while training, then recoiled when Dile teased him by repeating a phrase associated with the God of Amusement. Elsewhere, Euphemia learned that her scouting squads had suffered devastating losses and the Shatla Expeditionary Force had lost its tactical map, communications, and command system, leaving it to hold position and wait.

• The system told Cheng Yu that Legion was preparing to begin its fight, but Cheng Yu trusted Conductor, the others, and Regulator 0-9 to handle the battle on home turf.
• Cheng Yu learned that the system had received an upgrade from Big Shot to help resist the God of Amusement’s corruption, and the system warned him not to say that god’s name.
• Dile teased Cheng Yu by calling him “Young Man,” and Cheng Yu involuntarily panicked before dismissing his reaction as a response to a frightening thought.
• Euphemia counted the losses among her True God scouting squads and blamed herself for underestimating the enemy.
• The Omniscient Eye tactical map went dark, and Euphemia heard a returning True God describe the enemy as overwhelmingly superior.
• With communications and command systems paralyzed, Euphemia ordered the Shatla Expeditionary Force to hold position and prepare its formations.

Euphemia’s fleet faced a mysterious Legion assault that erased shielded ships, neutralized the Godslayer Spear, and caused Magic Colossi to overload. With her forces unable to defend themselves effectively, Euphemia ordered the Endgame Corps to charge, but another disaster struck.

• Euphemia warned the fleet of an incoming attack, but a spring-coil beam collapsed a shield and destroyed the ship and units it protected.
• Gordon recognized the attack as apparent energy instant-writing technology while countless mechanical-eyed spheres filled the distant sky.
• Euphemia ordered the fleet to stop using shields and fired a Godslayer Spear, but Enabler units suppressed its energy before it could explode.
• Another beam passed through a starship but overloaded a Magic Colossus, which its mage pushed away before it exploded.
• Euphemia ordered the Magic Colossus Corps out of the fleet and led the Endgame Corps into a charge, but a new crisis began.

Euphemia tried to lead the Endgame Corps in a direct assault, but the enemy disabled their spatial gate and other weapons. After Euphemia destroyed one Annihilator 0-7, the Legion sent in a swarm of them, surrounding the Shatra mercenaries.

• Euphemia ordered the Endgame Corps to discard their equipment and prepare to charge, but their spatial gate failed to open.
• Euphemia rallied the remaining Shatra True Gods for a final assault, while a female True God unsuccessfully tried to fire the Dimensional Annihilation Cannon.
• Euphemia challenged Mechanicus to a fair fight, and Performer deployed Annihilator 0-7 to gather combat data.
• Euphemia destroyed Annihilator 0-7 with one punch, prompting the Legion to update her combat profile.
• More Annihilator 0-7 units emerged through spatial wormholes until they surrounded the Shatra mercenaries.

Euphemia fought seemingly endless Annihilator 0-7 units while the Legion collected data to develop countermeasures against Gold Creatures. The Legion then trapped Euphemia and Shatla’s mercenary army by distorting space, and a black sphere containing them appeared deep within the Legion’s universe.

• Euphemia destroyed waves of Annihilator 0-7 units, unaware that the Legion repeatedly repaired and redeployed the same robots.
• Performer declared data collection complete and ordered the Legion to devise and simulate countermeasures based on Euphemia.
• The Annihilator 0-7 units withdrew, while swift Assault Unit 0-6 robots attacked Shatla’s forces; Euphemia rescued the survivors but could shoot down only a few attackers.
• Performer announced that stage four of the Black Box Plan was complete, and Wisdom Z-0006 began executing its final stage.
• Regulator 0-9 distorted space around Euphemia and Shatla’s mercenary army, eventually compressing them into a black sphere.
• The black sphere appeared deep within the Legion’s universe and was sealed inside blue energy barriers on a mechanical platform.

After Shatra’s expedition vanished in the B3397 Star Sector, Ralph visited Jane to negotiate for the missing soldiers, but learned the Mechanicus took no prisoners. Shatra backed away from war, while the Mechanicus’s victory made it known across the Star Sea as the first non-Giant civilization to defeat a Giant.

• When the B3397 Star Sector passage reopened, Shatra found that Euphemia and the expedition’s soldiers had vanished from all communications and the demonic web.
• Shatra’s leadership decided not to send more troops and instead sent Ralph to Jane to seek information and negotiate.
• Ralph offered to end Shatra’s conflict with the Mechanicus in exchange for its prisoners, but Jane said the Mechanicus took no prisoners and would destroy its enemies.
• Jane warned Ralph that Shatra’s conflict with the Vax Corporation could resume and that the Balchik Warlord Alliance might exploit any weakness.
• Ralph and Shatra’s leaders suspected that the Vax Corporation and the Balchik People had helped defeat Shatra’s forces, though they had no evidence.
• The war between the Gonzales Co-Link and the Mechanicus ended, and civilizations across the Star Sea recognized the Mechanicus as the first non-Giant civilization to defeat a Giant.

After Shatra’s defeat, the Star Sea speculated about who had helped the Mechanicus, while the Mechanicus benefited from its peaceful outcome. Jane secured approval for a vast base and brought the Mechanical Planet to the Star Sea Alliance headquarters, naming it Thousand Mechanisms Star.

• The Star Sea’s giants and smaller civilizations speculated that the Vax Corporation or Balchik Warlord Alliance had backed the Mechanicus against Shatra.
• The Legion entered a golden period as the peaceful end of the conflict drew attention across the Star Sea network.
• Jane met Owen at the Star Sea Alliance headquarters and applied to establish a Mechanicus base.
• Owen approved Jane’s application, and Jane said the base would arrive in about three days.
• Jane brought the Mechanical Planet into orbit by warping it directly to the headquarters.
• Jane named the Mechanicus base Thousand Mechanisms Star.

Berg, a survivor of Shatla's campaign against the Mechanicus, returned through spatial turbulence and reported what he remembered to Duke and Shatla's leaders. Though Shatla suspected the Vax Corporation or Balchik, the Legion revealed that Berg was an infiltrator and began building an intelligence network as Cheng Yu and the others prepared for the Qualification War on Kashi Star.

• Berg fell from a spatial rift into a Shatla city, where security forces recognized him and reported his survival to the Shatla Homeworld.
• Duke and Shatla's senior officials questioned Berg about the campaign, and he described the sealed passage, failed communications, and mechanized star systems.
• Duke named the Vax Corporation the prime suspect while leaving open the possibility of Balchik's involvement, and ordered Berg to rest before meeting him at the Demonic Web Center.
• Duke ordered the Man with Glasses to monitor Berg, despite his normal readings and soul fluctuations.
• The Legion identified Berg as Infiltrator 0-6, raised his clearance, and approved construction of an Infiltrator Network Computer.
• Cheng Yu and the others prepared to venture into space and get ready for the Qualification War on Kashi Star.

Dile and his companions arrived in Star Sea City and went to register as Star Hunters, where they learned that the Hunter King was honoring master hunters. Cheng Yu recognized the Hunter King as Shen Qing, an old acquaintance from the Sandbox World, and wondered why Shen Qing had looked toward their group.

• Dile and his companions reached Star Sea City and decided to join the Star Hunters to gain experience.
• Dile learned that the Star Hunters' leader, the Limit-Breaking Hunter King, was appearing to award honors to master hunters.
• A Star Hunter explained that completing any bounty on the Blood Sea Wanted List could earn a hunter master rank, and Cheng Yu learned that Mad God was listed there.
• Cheng Yu recognized the Hunter King as Shen Qing, the player who had called himself Nation's Number One Devoted Lover in the Sandbox World.
• Shen Qing looked toward Dile's group, and Cheng Yu wondered whether he had been looking at Dile or Bennett and what role he would play in the unfolding events.

Cheng Yu and his companions learned why a Star Hunter had been disappointed and watched Dile and Ning Qing turn the man’s misconduct into a public spectacle. The group left the Starry Sky Hunter Headquarters with Bennett remarking that he felt like an odd one out among them.

• Dile questioned a disappointed Star Hunter, then he and Ning Qing beat the man after he propositioned them and Tang Lan.
• The Star Hunter explained that Shen Qing planned to choose a final disciple from among the Star Hunters, so hunters flocked to his public appearances in hopes of being noticed.
• Dile knocked the Star Hunter unconscious, disguised himself as a burly female mercenary, and carried the bound man into the women’s restroom.
• Dile raised the alarm about a pervert in the restroom, and a Star Sea Security Department officer found the naked, bound Star Hunter in a stall.
• Bennett said he felt he was not perverted enough to fit in, while Cheng Yu called himself a closet freak.

Dile and his companions registered as hunters, rejected the obligations of forming a Hunter Guild, and took on missions to grow stronger before the Qualification War. After debating team names, they settled on the Azure Dragon Study Group.

• Dile and his companions reached Starry Sky Hunter Headquarters and declined to form a Hunter Guild after learning it required a monthly mission and carried harsh penalties for failure.
• The group visited the mission hall, where hunters discussed Mad God’s top position on the blood sea wanted list and the Kabonebog Church’s bounty against him.
• Dile accepted dozens of missions, and the team left the headquarters to complete their first one.
• Dile proposed naming the team the Azure Dragon Gang, but Cheng Yu suggested the Azure Dragon Study Group instead.
• Tang Lan objected to the embarrassing name, but Dile persuaded her to agree, and the Azure Dragon Study Group officially formed.

Dile’s team accepted a beginner mission to help evacuate citizens of the Gonzales Co-Link, which Cheng Yu suspected might be targeted by Legion. After hearing that the mission could become deadly if the Mechanicus intervened, Dile chose to take the risk and revealed a protective hourglass from the Principal.

• Dile showed Cheng Yu and the others the mission to help the Gonzales Co-Link evacuate its border citizens for star origin points and a possible request for assistance.
• Cheng Yu connected the Gonzales Co-Link to Legion’s plans, while Tang Lan questioned whether a potential war was too dangerous for a beginner mission.
• A veteran Star Hunter explained the Mechanicus’s rise and warned that the evacuation mission could turn into a nightmare if the Mechanicus retaliated against the Gonzales Co-Link.
• Dile tried to reward the hunter with a hundred thousand star origin points, then gave him a personal token from Kashi Star in Balchik instead.
• After the hunter advised them to choose another mission, Dile asked the Azure Dragon Study Group for their views and decided to take the gamble.
• Dile showed the group an hourglass from Teacher Jimmy, which could give them one chance to start over if they encountered danger.

Dile and the others chose to make their first objective a risky journey, while Cheng Yu learned that the Legion planned to attack the Gonzales Co-Link for a resource. He bet on the attack happening, leaving the shuttle passengers confident that the Mechanicus would avoid war.

• Dile revealed that the Sands of Time could send him back to before he left Kashi Star with his memories intact, then announced the Azure Dragon Study Group's first objective.
• Cheng Yu and the others boarded a cheap shuttle, where passengers debated whether the Mechanicus would attack the Gonzales Co-Link and most bet it would not.
• Cheng Yu contacted Conductor and learned that the Legion planned to seize resource No. 9995 from Gonzales to manufacture Annihilator 0-9.
• Cheng Yu told Conductor to prioritize the Legion's development while doing its best to avoid harming civilians or damaging property.
• Cheng Yu opened a Star Sea Network account, secretly funded it through Infiltrator 0-8, and bet everything on the Mechanicus going to war.

Cheng Yu and his companions arrived on Patricia to join the Gonzales Co-Link’s defense effort, registering as the Azure Dragon Study Group and traveling to Mining City. The chapter left them at the city’s outskirts, where each Hunter was linked by a line of light to a Gonzales soldier for assignment.

• Cheng Yu reviewed Patricia’s population and cities, then arrived in Port City with his companions and a crowd of Star Hunters.
• Alpha welcomed the Hunters, warned that the Mechanicus might attack, and offered compensation to anyone who stayed even if the mission proved unnecessary.
• Dile registered his five-member team under the name Azure Dragon Study Group and learned that they were assigned to Mining City.
• Cheng Yu and the other Hunters boarded a Gonzales spaceship and traveled to Mining City.
• A Gonzales commander directed the Hunters to follow the lines of light above their heads to their corresponding soldiers, and Cheng Yu saw a line connecting him to one soldier.

Cheng Yu’s group began a mission to maintain order and find technical workers in Mining City, while Dile objected to leaving ordinary residents in an underground shelter. Meanwhile, Jane submitted the Mechanicus’s Declaration of War to the Star Sea Alliance, prompting Ralph and the other powers to consider the coming conflict.

• Wood led Cheng Yu’s group into Mining City to search for technical workers and maintain order, explaining that ordinary residents would be sheltered in the Underground Fortress.
• Dile protested the plan to leave residents behind, but Bennett stopped him and urged him to consider the leaders’ choices in a crisis.
• Jane arrived at Star Sea Alliance Headquarters and submitted the Mechanicus’s Declaration of War to the Adjudication Council.
• After learning that the council could not convene for several days, Jane left the declaration with the receptionist, who immediately relayed the news to the council.
• The council head contacted Ralph, who ordered the matter reported to the Homeworld and Lord Duke.
• The Six Giants learned of Jane’s declaration and stayed silent, with some hoping to use the conflict to uncover the Mechanicus’s hidden strength and supporters.