Ch. 21One last bout of madness

Le Shuya and Cheng Yu reported Lin Mo’s crimes, and Lin Mo tried to flee Jiangcheng before Cheng Yu confronted him at East Wharf. After learning that Le Shuya had exposed him and Tang Tang had deceived him, Lin Mo lost his system fragment and was shot by arriving police officers.

  • Le Shuya and Cheng Yu gave Chief Zhang evidence of Lin Mo’s crimes and his collusion with a powerful official, while Cheng Yu planted a sheet of evidence implicating the caller.
  • Lin Mo learned that his crimes could not be covered up, arranged an illicit boat, and headed for East Wharf to escape.
  • Cheng Yu found Lin Mo at the wharf and revealed that Le Shuya had exposed him and that Tang Tang had deceived him about her child and relationship with Lin Mo.
  • Yog and Miss Puppet took Lin Mo’s system fragment, and Miss Puppet shattered the pressure of the World Consciousness.
  • Le Shuya told Lin Mo she had planned to make him pay for her parents’ deaths; Lin Mo tried to shoot her, but police officers shot him dead.

Ch. 22The end

A year after Lin Mo’s death, Cheng Yu left Rainbow Company and arranged financial support for Lin Mo’s son before preparing to travel to another world with Yog. Yog sent Cheng Yu, Miss Puppet, and their companions to a mid-magic world connected to the Abyss, after revealing his true form during Cheng Yu’s summoning ritual.

  • Li Ming granted Cheng Yu two years off, and Cheng Yu said goodbye to Li Xuehong and the employees at Rainbow Company.
  • Cheng Yu told Le Shuya he had transferred his assets to Lin Mo’s son and admitted he had caused Lin Mo’s death; he also revealed his earlier coffee-and-motivation act had been a sham.
  • Cheng Yu converted his achievements into currency and learned from Yog that their next destination was a mid-magic world with a power ceiling from Silver One-Star to Epic.
  • Yog told Cheng Yu that Miss Puppet would help him recover Yog’s authority in the next world, then took the group to a deserted island after nightfall.
  • Cheng Yu drew a Door Seal and chanted to Yog-Sothoth, whose enormous true form appeared above the Chaos Sea and absorbed the light Yog had placed in the seal.
  • Yog and the others disappeared with Cheng Yu, leaving the island’s world consciousness stunned and the spectacle behind for scientists to observe.

Ch. 23A world of swords and magic?

Cheng Yu learned that he had arrived in the brutal Keynes World, where summoners exploited ordinary people and rival powers divided the continent. Yog explained how Cheng Yu could recover the world fragment, leaving him to consider how he might find and defeat its holder.

  • Cheng Yu entered the house from the previous world and asked his system about the new world, which it identified as the Keynes World from his first prize draw.
  • The system explained how summoners rose to power, sacrificed lower-class people for summoned creatures, and reshaped the continent through war.
  • Cheng Yu learned about the human powers, the Deep Sea Empire, the Northern Borderlands, and the Monster Forest where he had arrived.
  • Cheng Yu asked Yog for help finding the fragment's holder, and Yog said the holder might appear if Cheng Yu turned the world upside down.
  • Yog explained that killing the fragment's holder would recover the fragment but provoke the world's consciousness, while Cheng Yu considered sacrificing the holder to Yog through the Door Seal.
  • Yog warned that Cheng Yu would need to draw a person-sized summoning circle and complete the incantation within three minutes, leaving Cheng Yu doubtful he could manage it.

Ch. 24The Resolve to Stand Against the World and Miss Puppet's Identity

Yog explained the RXT Destroyer’s origins and revealed that Miss Puppet was its Supreme Intelligence. Cheng Yu accepted basic command access, bought steel through his system, and began looking for a place to build the Steel Main City.

  • Yog told Cheng Yu how the RXT Destroyer arose from an advanced civilization, waged war against the Wizard Civilization, and was defeated by the Progenitor of Wizards.
  • Yog revealed that Miss Puppet was the recreated Supreme Intelligence of the RXT Destroyer.
  • Cheng Yu decided he was ready to stand against the world, and Miss Puppet granted him basic access to RXT technologies and troops.
  • Cheng Yu viewed the RXT command interface, which listed its troop types and facilities, including a Steel Main City requiring 3,000 tons of steel.
  • Cheng Yu bought 10,000 tons of ordinary refined steel from the system shop and considered where to build the main city.

Ch. 25The Ambition to Steamroll a World

Cheng Yu established the Steel Main City, built up his legion, and upgraded the city to unlock a massive Research Institute and new weapons. After witnessing the Purger 0-2’s devastating firepower, he began to believe conquering the world might be possible.

  • Cheng Yu deployed the Steel Main City and Organic Fuel Energy Generators, then produced Basic Units to harvest resources and build a Model 0-1 Factory.
  • Cheng Yu produced Purger Model 0-1 units, organized them and the Basic Units into resource-gathering squads, and ordered production to expand.
  • Cheng Yu upgraded the Steel Main City to level two, unlocking defensive autocannons and the Research Institute.
  • Cheng Yu cleared space for and deployed the enormous Research Institute, then ordered new factories and additional Basic Units and Purger units.
  • Cheng Yu produced a Purger 0-2 and tested its heat-ray and thermal-melt cannon, then began to think that conquering the world might be within reach.

Ch. 26Target: The Magical Beast Lord

Cheng Yu sent his steel legion to attack the magical beast lord Ken, whose retreat led it to the neighboring lord Gu. After the Purifier 0-2 units annihilated Gu’s herd and wounded Ken, Gu surrendered and Cheng Yu ordered it brought back.

  • Cheng Yu learned that a magical beast lord had targeted his base and discovered a nearby iron deposit, then ordered more Purifier units built.
  • Cheng Yu led the steel legion toward the magical beast lord Ken, who charged into battle before retreating under the legion’s attack.
  • Ken fled into the territory of the gorilla-shaped magical beast lord Gu, drawing Gu’s herd into the conflict.
  • Cheng Yu ordered the Purifier 0-2 units to fire on Gu’s herd, destroying it and leaving Ken badly wounded.
  • Gu surrendered to Cheng Yu, who ordered his units to bring Gu back and recover the corpses and damaged units.

Ch. 27A Strategy Guide to the Monster Forest

Cheng Yu learned about the Monster Forest from Gu, then upgraded his technology and unlocked new military units. After testing the powerful Purger 0-3 and mapping the forest’s lords, he prepared to plan his expansion.

  • Cheng Yu spared Gu after Gu offered information, and Gu explained that the legendary Beast Lord ruled the Monster Forest while allowing its lords to fight among themselves.
  • Cheng Yu upgraded the Research Institute to level 2 technology, unlocking the 0-3 Model Factory and Wisdom units.
  • Cheng Yu learned about the legion’s weapon series and manufactured Wisdom Unit Z-01, whom he named Conductor.
  • Cheng Yu deployed the 0-3 Model Factory and produced a Purger 0-3, which easily cut a Purger 0-1 in half and could supply nearby 0-2 units with energy.
  • Cheng Yu summoned Gu and had it mark the locations of the forest’s lords on his map, turning the map into his strategy guide to the Monster Forest.

Ch. 28Achievement unlocked: Ruler of the Monster Forest

Cheng Yu’s mechanical army invaded the Monster Forest under the Conductor’s command, defeating the great lords’ forces and killing the Beast Lord. Days later, Cheng Yu unlocked the three-star bronze achievement Ruler of the Monster Forest.

  • Cheng Yu reviewed his forces and let the Conductor plan the campaign, while Miss Puppet corrected the Conductor’s greeting to Yog.
  • The Conductor led 92,000 mechanical units into the Monster Forest, and the army swept through the territories of the great lords.
  • Cheng Yu declared himself Yuri Constantine, apostle of the God of Primordial Darkness, and the wolf-like lord charged with a horde of monsters.
  • The Purger army annihilated most of the charging horde, but the Beast Lord struck the formation and forced the Conductor to reorganize his units.
  • The Conductor’s forces trapped the Beast Lord and killed it after enduring a prolonged battle.
  • The system awarded Cheng Yu the three-star bronze achievement Ruler of the Monster Forest.

Ch. 29Diversifying Legion Warfare

After conquering the Monster Forest, Cheng Yu upgraded his main city and research technology, unlocking advanced factories, energy infrastructure, and a Short-Range Space Jump Gate. With the legion expanding its capabilities, he prepared to begin conquering the world.

  • Cheng Yu converted the Ruler of the Monster Forest achievement into 60,000 currency and reviewed the legion’s casualties and surveyed resources.
  • Cheng Yu upgraded the Steel Main City to level three and deployed a Resource Converter and Satellite Launchpad.
  • Cheng Yu raised the Research Institute to technology level three and unlocked the Model 0-4 and Model 0-5 Factories, the Short-Range Space Jump Gate, and the Omni-Type Energy Architecture Machine.
  • Cheng Yu produced a Purger Model 0-4 and learned about its siege weapons and support capabilities.
  • Cheng Yu built a Purger Model 0-5, an enormous aerial combat unit, and deployed the Omni-Type Energy Architecture Machine at a suitable magnetic-field location.
  • The system explained how the Short-Range Space Jump Gate linked two pairs of rods, and Cheng Yu saw it as a way to move his legion across the world.

Ch. 30Reactions from all sides

News that Cheng Yu had taken control of the magical beast forest unsettled powers across the continent, while he learned that the forest’s steel production was nearly exhausted. Yog also noticed that the local Abyss seemed to mirror the Abyss he knew, leaving the connection uncertain.

  • At the Kurland United Kingdom Royal Academy, Ryan Blackforest and Instructor James discussed the forest’s new ruler and dismissed the threat, trusting the Undying Prince to guard Twilight Fortress.
  • Karen VI Gold and Help Gold sensed something was wrong with the northern frontier, and Help promised to investigate after the conflict with the Jebel Theocracy.
  • Frank Duendo forwarded the report to the Xipu Federation’s chief councilor, while Archbishop Lanchi Lubel arranged for Luthers Mephitican to investigate the north; the Orc Empire and Elven Homeland took no action.
  • Phil Raging Waves ordered an army assembled so he could meet the magical beast forest’s new overlord.
  • The system woke Cheng Yu to warn him that the forest’s steel output was nearly depleted.
  • In Steel Main City, Yog wondered whether the Abyss in this world was connected to the one he knew and consulted his true body.

Ch. 31A hymn to the Lizardmen's courage

Cheng Yu deployed three new Wise Units to conquer surrounding territories, Wetland Swamp, and White Cloud Basin. Artist’s legion defeated the Lizardmen after Cheng Yu rejected their request to submit without surrendering their home, leaving him to honor their courage even as his army exterminated them.

  • Cheng Yu ordered two additional Wise Units, Artist and Performer, to be manufactured so Conductor could coordinate multiple campaigns.
  • Cheng Yu assigned Artist to Wetland Swamp, Performer to White Cloud Basin, and Conductor to the factions surrounding Monster Forest.
  • Artist’s legion froze the swamp to advance and killed several giant crocodiles that attacked its forces.
  • Cheng Yu offered the Lizardmen a chance to surrender, but refused their request to submit only in name and leave their lives and home untouched.
  • The Lizardmen charged Artist’s legion through overwhelming fire, losing nearly three hundred thousand warriors before reaching melee range.
  • Artist’s mechanical legion exterminated the Lizardmen, and Cheng Yu described their doomed resistance as a hymn to their courage.

Ch. 32White Cloud Basin and the King of the North

Cheng Yu spared White Cloud Basin from destruction by securing the beastmen’s submission, then bought an augmentation item from the system. Fifteen days after the offensives began, he controlled the entire north and earned the title King of the North.

  • The Performer’s army tunneled into White Cloud Basin, where Cheng Yu saw the beastmen’s peaceful settlement and considered the Conductor’s proposal to purge them.
  • Cheng Yu traveled to the front and offered Roar Zell’s people the right to remain in White Cloud Basin if they submitted and accepted his control of its land.
  • After the beastmen accepted his terms, Cheng Yu earned the Peaceful Deterrer achievement and bought the Source of Augmentation for ten thousand currency.
  • Fifteen days after the three armies launched their offensive, Cheng Yu controlled the entire north and earned the King of the North achievement.

Ch. 33An Envoy from the Deep Sea Empire

Cheng Yu rejected Phil Raging Waves’s demand to let the Deep Sea Empire use the Northern Borderlands, revealing that the Scourge controlled the region. Phil returned to the empire, where the Naga Queen ordered a larger force to be sent against Cheng Yu.

  • Cheng Yu reviewed the Scourge’s growing troop numbers and chose to produce more troops before marching south.
  • Phil Raging Waves led a Naga delegation to the Far North Coast and demanded to speak with Constantine, whom Cheng Yu addressed through a Purger.
  • Phil asked Cheng Yu to allow the Deep Sea Empire passage through the Northern Borderlands, explaining the route’s importance to its invasions and slave trade.
  • Cheng Yu refused, declared the entire Northern Borderlands his territory, and named his faction the Scourge; Phil threatened war.
  • Phil reported the encounter to the Merfolk King and Naga Queen, who ordered the second elder to lead an army three times larger.

Ch. 34The battle for the far northern coast (Part one)

The Deep Sea Empire assembled an army of more than nine hundred thousand to invade the Northern Borderlands and ordered the Second Elder to strike Twilight Fortress along the way. Cheng Yu prepared Steel Main City's defenses at the far northern coast as the uneasy deep-sea commanders set out for the battlefield.

  • The Naga Queen and Merfolk King appointed the Second Elder to lead an army of more than nine hundred thousand against the Northern Borderlands and Twilight Fortress.
  • Kadrian Blackforest received word that Constantine had unified the Northern Borderlands, concealed the information, and prepared to request reinforcements for Twilight Fortress.
  • Cheng Yu and the system assessed the Deep Sea Empire's forces and deployed troops and 0-5s to defend the far northern coast and other likely landing sites.
  • The Second Elder realized the campaign could damage her standing, while the Shark Commander warned that the monarchs might be trying to curb their influence.
  • The Second Elder told the Shark Commander to avoid talking with her in front of the Giant Octopus Elder, then ordered the army to march toward the far northern coast.

Ch. 35Battle for the Northern Coastline (Part 2)

Cheng Yu’s co-linked mechanical forces repelled the Deep Sea Empire’s invasion of the Northern Borderlands, turning its landing into a devastating defeat. The chapter ended with three million Shuttle Fighters annihilating every deep-sea soldier still in the shallow coastal waters.

  • The Deep Sea Empire sent nearly seven hundred thousand troops toward the northern coastline to punish Cheng Yu and display its might.
  • The Shuttle Fighters’ explosive and piercing beams were checked by the Giant Whale Warriors and the Naga Mages’ magical shields, while the land defenses struck the Crab Warriors as they came ashore.
  • The second elder used waves, giant conches, Merfolk Knights, and Shark Warriors to counter the defenders, but 0-2 units froze the waves and marine troops while 0-4 units shattered the conches and ice barriers.
  • The mechanical legion resumed its bombardment, inflicting heavy losses and forcing the second elder to order a retreat toward deeper waters.
  • Three million Shuttle Fighters unleashed Piercing Beams from the sky and annihilated every deep-sea legion member remaining in the shallow coastal waters.

Ch. 36The Battle for the Far Northern Coast (Part Two)

The Deep Sea Empire’s second assault on the far northern coast ended in a devastating defeat, though one Merfolk Mage survived long enough to carry back the Second Elder’s memories. The Naga Queen and Merfolk King began learning what had happened as Cheng Yu considered how to handle the empire’s next attack.

  • The Second Elder refused to retreat and ordered the remaining Deep Sea Empire forces to attack so they could learn how the enemy fought.
  • Cheng Yu’s forces froze the second wave, but the Giant Octopus Elder and Merfolk Knights broke into the 0-2 formation before the defenders overwhelmed them.
  • The Second Elder, Shark Commander, and most of the Merfolk Mages disintegrated under the 0-5s’ sonic attack, while the sole escaping Merfolk Mage was sent to warn the monarchs.
  • Cheng Yu learned that his forces had lost fewer than a hundred thousand units, and he considered negotiating with the Deep Sea Empire before resorting to special measures.
  • The Naga Queen demanded an account of the army’s destruction, and the Merfolk King began searching the surviving Merfolk Mage’s memories.

Ch. 37An Unsettling Balance

Cheng Yu saw the newly unlocked Titan Assembly Plant and Metal Transmuter, but learned that the transmuter’s output was too small to solve the legion’s resource problems. Meanwhile, Kadrian spread news of the Northern Borderlands’ unification, prompting other powers to consider his motives, while the Abyssal Pope encountered a mysterious man who erased his memory of their meeting.

  • Cheng Yu inspected the Level 4 Steel Main City’s new facilities and learned that the Metal Transmuter could produce only a small amount of metal each day.
  • Kadrian decided to publicize the Northern Borderlands’ unification and its defeat of the Deep Sea Empire’s forces.
  • Red Blackforest chose to trust Kadrian’s judgment, while Help and the Xipu Federal Joint Council considered whether Kadrian’s intelligence was a warning or a smokescreen.
  • Rust and Lendo Tarn argued that Kadrian wanted to preserve the continent’s balance and that his sea folk slave trade made an alliance with the Northern Borderlands unlikely.
  • The Abyssal Pope ordered a cursory investigation and attention to the Naga, then encountered a mysterious man who stopped his mana and made him forget the encounter.

Ch. 38A discovery in the Abyss

Yog traveled to the Abyss, removed the Door Seal, and confronted the Abyssal Will’s agents, revealing his overwhelming power and learning more about the previous epoch. He returned to Steel Main City with a little black dog and warned Cheng Yu that an interesting enemy might become one of his most memorable.

  • Yog left Steel Main City alone and followed the river of blood on the 999th level of the Abyss to a door bearing his Door Seal.
  • Yog removed the seal, stopped the Dog-Headed Demon, and confronted a humanoid darkness that recognized him as the strongest being from the previous epoch’s laboratory.
  • Yog erased the Abyss and parts of the Chaos Sea, reduced the humanoid darkness to a black hair, then restored the vanished worlds and turned the Dog-Headed Demon into a little black dog.
  • Yog returned to the Final Void with the black dog and a mass of darkness, which he tossed into a golden orb before going back to Steel Main City.
  • Yog told Cheng Yu he had discovered an interesting enemy for him, then recalled how Shub had saved Yuan and Dao and how their arrogance led to their downfall.

Ch. 39The wind rises in the Northern Borderlands

Cheng Yu approved smelting his 0-1 units and agreed to an alliance with the Kurland United Kingdom while refusing its offer of the Fourteenth Princess. As James and Kadrian left for Twilight Fortress, Kadrian predicted the Deep Sea Empire would return with a much stronger army.

  • Cheng Yu decided to smelt three million 0-1 units into stronger chassis, despite reducing their numbers.
  • James and the Fourteenth Princess met Cheng Yu, offered an alliance, and proposed the princess as a token of goodwill.
  • Cheng Yu accepted the alliance but refused the princess, then introduced himself as Yuri Constantine, Grand Inquisitor of the Mechanicus.
  • After leaving, James asked Kadrian why they had approached Cheng Yu, and Kadrian said he wanted other powers to hesitate before acting.
  • Kadrian warned that the Deep Sea Empire would likely launch a stronger attack and that Twilight Fortress needed reinforced defenses.

Ch. 40The Calm Before the Storm

Cheng Yu prepared for the Deep Sea Empire’s second offensive by expanding and upgrading his army, while the empire approved a much larger attack led by the Merfolk King himself. Ryan set out for the Northern Borderlands, and Yog hinted that Cheng Yu would soon face a choice on a path that would make him an enemy of the world.

  • Cheng Yu exchanged his King of the North achievement for currency and ordered an eight-million-strong army, with every melee unit smelted once.
  • Old Jimmy persuaded the Merfolk King to multiply the planned invasion force fivefold, and the Merfolk King decided to command the offensive personally.
  • Ryan told Kadrian he would travel to the Northern Borderlands, and Kadrian warned him to protect the Black Forest Family’s reputation.
  • Yog told Miss Puppet that a signpost had appeared on the path of making an enemy of the world, while Grete secretly vowed to report on Yog to the Abyssal Will.
  • Cheng Yu sneezed in his sleep in the main city.
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