Recaps

Ji Luo joined Lu Ziye and the others in ambushing two Winterhold Knights while Laughs recovered after Kairils killed him in one blow. The knights realized their attackers were not Abyss cultists and tried to negotiate, but the players chose to eliminate them rather than risk Winterhold retaliation.

• Ji Luo pulled Lu Ziye from the battlefield, learned that Laughs had been killed by Kairils, and charged toward the two knights with an Ash Spear.
• Kuang Shao, Bossy Guy, God Never Cries, and the other players coordinated attacks against the knights inside the Ash Mist.
• One knight realized the players wielded no Abyss power and called for a halt, claiming they were all warriors of the Righteous Gods Faction.
• The knight offered to let the incident go and threatened Winterhold's retaliation if the players kept fighting.
• Immortal Star Crazy Young Master rejected the threat, and Ji Luo, God Never Cries, Kindergarten Boss, and Immortal Star Crazy Young Master attacked the knights together.

The four second-tier players defeated the two Winterhold Knights in the Ash Mist, with [God Never Cries] using a false body to turn a fatal strike into a trap. Meanwhile, Kairils continued fighting Priest Enkai, whose borrowed pseudo-third-tier power lacked the control of true Blood Authority.

• [God Never Cries] let the left Winterhold Knight stab a fake body, then killed him with an Ash Spear while he was stunned by its explosion.
• The remaining Winterhold Knight fled, but Kuang Shao blocked his escape and Lu Ziye drained his blood and divine power with a flesh tentacle.
• Kairils and Priest Enkai continued their fierce battle amid the ruined forest.
• Kairils exploited Priest Enkai's inability to control his borrowed third-tier power to clash with him despite having only peak second-tier strength.

Lu Ziye returned after killing the two Second-Tier Knights pursuing him, while [God Never Laughs] reappeared alive after Kairils had pierced his chest. Their arrival stunned the battlefield, and [God Never Laughs] declared that he had come back to kill the Winterhold Knights.

• Kairils and Priest Enkai weakened each other in their prolonged battle, while Knight Viel planned to claim credit for finishing off Enkai.
• Knight Viel grew uneasy when the two Second-Tier Knights he had sent after the fleeing Cultist failed to return.
• Lu Ziye emerged from the grass unharmed and boasted that the two Second-Tier Knights had become his nourishment.
• Knight Viel demanded to know how Lu Ziye had killed the knights, and a voice from nearby offered to explain.
• [God Never Laughs] appeared alive despite Kairils having pierced his chest, then mocked Winterhold and vowed to send its Knights to their graves.

After the Winterhold Knights’ advantage collapsed and two Second-Tier Knights were presumed dead, Kairils judged the battle lost and ordered a retreat. He led the survivors toward Graycliff Town, protecting the four refugees as they escaped.

• Viel realized the two Second-Tier Knights he had sent away were likely dead, while Kairils faced the consequences of his squad’s disastrous decisions.
• Kairils assessed the enemy’s remaining strength and decided that retreating with his troops and the four refugees was more important than continuing the fight.
• Kairils launched a blast of freezing air at the cultists, fell back to his knights, and ordered everyone to mount up and retreat toward Graycliff Town.
• Viel led the way, the surviving First-Tier Knights formed a protective center around Ma Lou, Jiahao, and the two newcomers, and Kairils covered the rear.
• Ma Lou and Jiahao exchanged a glance as Kairils ensured the refugees were included in the retreat.

Ma Lou and Jiahao chose not to sabotage Kairils’s retreat, allowing the surviving Winterhold knights to escape toward Graycliff Town. Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] pursued them to ensure they left the area, while Priest Enkai’s exhaustion prevented the Cultists from giving chase.

• Ma Lou considered abandoning Kairils and letting the Cultists kill more knights, but felt guilty about betraying his integrity and dedication.
• Jiahao agreed that the mission’s main objective was already achieved and decided to let Kairils take more survivors back to Winterhold.
• Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] chased the fleeing knights, intending to drive them out of the area rather than let them turn back toward Fog Town.
• Ovid urged Priest Enkai to stop the knights, but Enkai said he was too exhausted after fighting Kairils to pursue them.
• Lin Shen wondered whether kicking the weakened Priest Enkai might earn him some experience.

Priest Enkai stopped Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] from joining Ovid’s pursuit and revealed that he wanted Ovid to die, removing a rival for the Black Forest Branch Divine Child position. He left the two players with the choice of accepting his protection and scheme.

• Ovid led the remaining Cultists after the fleeing Winterhold Knights, while Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] pretended to follow.
• Priest Enkai called Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] back and warned that Kairils might have a hidden trump card beyond his Long Halberd.
• Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] feigned alarm about Ovid’s danger and offered to bring him back.
• Enkai refused, explaining that Ovid’s death would eliminate a rival for the Black Forest Branch Divine Child position.
• Enkai called the two his trusted men and asked whether they understood his intentions.

Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] won Priest Enkai’s confidence by pledging loyalty and offering to help purge his rivals in the Black Forest Branch. Their new alliance was interrupted by a freezing wind from the direction Ovid had pursued Kairils, and Enkai believed Ovid had been defeated.

• Lin Shen recognized Enkai’s attempt to win them over and knelt to pledge his loyalty, denouncing Ovid and the short priest as threats to the branch.
• [You've Cried Already] joined Lin Shen in swearing allegiance to Enkai, and Lin Shen stopped him from calling the priest his adoptive father.
• Enkai praised both men for their loyalty and judgment, and the three formed an alliance while concealing their separate motives.
• A bitter, freezing wind swept in from the direction Ovid had pursued, making Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] shiver.
• Enkai claimed Kairils still had strength and mocked Ovid, suggesting Ovid had been frozen into an ice sculpture.

Priest Enkai, Lin Shen, and [You've Cried Already] found the frozen battlefield and discovered Captain Ovid still alive. Lin Shen pretended to help him, then fatally drove the ice spear deeper and claimed he would take Ovid’s Divine Child position and experience.

• Priest Enkai led Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] through the forest, telling them to hide their satisfaction if Ovid had died.
• The group found a frozen battlefield where more than half of Ovid’s cultists had become ice sculptures, while a few survivors remained alive.
• Lin Shen found Ovid pinned beneath a tree by an ice spear and acted distraught as he called for Priest Enkai.
• Priest Enkai declared Ovid beyond saving, while Lin Shen pretended to try to remove the spear.
• Lin Shen shoved the spear deeper and twisted it, then whispered that he would take Ovid’s Divine Child position and experience before Ovid died.

Lin Shen pretended to grieve Ovid’s death while learning how the Winterhold Knights had defeated the cultists. Priest Enkai reflected that Kairils’s survival had spared the Black Forest Branch from a devastating war.

• Lin Shen received EXP and Ash Coins for participating in the kill, then acted heartbroken over Ovid’s death as Enkai and the surviving cultists praised his loyalty.
• A surviving cultist told Lin Shen that Kairils had killed Ovid and many others with an ice-crystal spear after Ovid provoked him.
• Lin Shen asked where the two red-robed brothers from Bloodweeping Ridge had gone, and the cultists said they had continued chasing the knights instead of helping Ovid.
• Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] felt relieved that Lao Lu and Xiaozi had pursued the knights and planned to check in with their group chat later.
• Enkai considered Kairils’s survival a fortunate outcome because it reduced the risk of an all-out war between Winterhold and the Black Forest Branch.

After the survivors returned toward their Branch, Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] confirmed that the knights seemed to be heading for Winterhold, but Lu Ziye spotted a force approaching Fog Town. Kairils then discovered Cultists blocking the knights’ route ahead and ordered his squad to prepare for battle.

• Priest Enkai ordered the surviving Cultists to collect the Winterhold Knights’ bodies and return to the Branch to report what happened.
• Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] watched the knights ride toward Winterhold, and [God Never Laughs] logged out to report that the first stage of the plan was complete.
• Lu Ziye stayed behind to follow the knights, then spotted a mass of figures on the horizon heading toward Fog Town.
• Knight Viel urged Kairils to seek revenge on the Cultists, but Kairils told him their priority was reaching Graycliff Town alive.
• Kairils spotted an ambush ahead, drew his White Long Halberd, and ordered the knights to prepare for battle.

Ma Lou and the battered knights discovered that a powerful Bloodweeping Ridge cultist army was blocking their route to Graycliff Town. The two forces recognized each other as enemies, and the exhausted knights faced what seemed like a hopeless confrontation.

• Ma Lou worried that the unexpected roadblock would ruin the plan to help Kairils and the others escape safely.
• A Bloodweeping Ridge force of over a hundred cultists marched toward Fog Town as its leaders discussed the missing siege army and suspected Winterhold had destroyed it.
• The Bloodweeping Ridge leaders saw Winterhold knights riding toward them and prepared to fight.
• Kairils's battered squad recognized the cultist army ahead and realized they were trapped with almost no strength to defend themselves.

Surrounded by the Blood-Weeping Ridge Army, Kairils apologized to his knights and urged them to survive, stirring Knight Viel to confront his own shame. Kairils charged the enemy alone, leaving the others to follow behind him.

• Kairils acknowledged the danger, apologized for changing the route, and told the knights to prioritize staying alive.
• Viel remembered how Kairils had protected and supported the squad despite their distrust and schemes against him.
• Viel broke down in shame, and Kairils told him that true knighthood did not depend on armor or a warhorse.
• Kairils unleashed his divine power and charged the Blood-Weeping Ridge Army, calling the others to follow.

Kairils led the Winterhold Knights in a desperate charge through the Blood-Weeping Ridge Cultists, while Knight Viel fought to protect the four players. Viel was knocked from his horse and sacrificed himself to hold back the Cultists as Kairils continued to lead the others toward safety.

• Knight Viel rallied the remaining First-Tier Knights to stay with Kairils and break through the Cultists together.
• Kairils unleashed his winter divine power and carved a gap through the Cultists' formation, with Viel and the other knights fighting behind him.
• Viel recalled his baptism and realized that his armor represented duty, an oath, and faith.
• The Second-Tier Cultist captain ambushed Viel, shattered his horse's ribs, and hurled him into the Cultists.
• Viel ordered Kairils to get the others to safety, then charged the captain and his surrounding enemies to hold them back.
• Kairils kept moving forward rather than turn back, focused on getting the group out alive.

Kairils sacrificed his Long Halberd to blast a path through the Cultists and gave Ma Lou the Winterhold Knight Captain Emblem so the others could escape. After the Knights and players rode clear, two Knights wanted to return for Kairils and Deputy Squad Leader Viel, but their companion argued that they should survive and report the attack to Winterhold.

• Kairils detonated his Long Halberd, freezing the Cultists at the front and opening a path through the encirclement.
• Kairils gave Ma Lou the Winterhold Knight Captain Emblem and stayed behind to hold off the Cultists.
• The Knights and Ma Lou's party escaped through the opening as Kairils fought the pursuing Cultists with a Bone Blade.
• Two Knights stopped and prepared to return for Kairils and Deputy Squad Leader Viel, but a third blocked them and urged them to report the attack to Winterhold.

Two young Winterhold Knights and four players abandoned their escape plan and chose to return to help Kairils, who was surrounded by Cultists. They prepared to ride back into the battle, though the chapter ended before they reached him.

• A young knight questioned whether they could leave Kairils behind, and his companion agreed that they had to repay their debt to him.
• Ma Lou and Jiahao considered returning despite the risk, and all four players rejected the safer route back to Graycliff Town.
• Ma Lou called out to the knights and asked them to take the refugees back to the battlefield.
• Jiahao said the four refugees would ride in from the flank and draw the Cultists' attention away from Kairils.
• The young knights were moved by the refugees' offer, and Jiahao insisted they could not live with themselves if they abandoned Kairils.

Two knights and four refugees turned back toward the Cultists to rescue Viel, while a cowardly knight fled after being denied the captain’s protective badge. As the Cultist captain struck at the exhausted Viel, an ice spear blocked the blow and a blue-and-white warhorse charged into the fight.

• The wavering knight asked Ma Lou and the others to give him the captain’s badge, but the two knights threatened him and drove him away toward Graycliff Town.
• The two knights urged the four refugees to flee if the squad fell, then led them back toward the Cultists.
• The players followed the knights across the wilderness, determined to fight rather than run.
• The Cultist captain raised his greatsword to kill the weakened Viel, but an ice spear struck the weapon and hurled him backward.
• A blue-and-white warhorse charged through the Cultists and into the center of the battle.

Kairils and Viel were trapped and outnumbered by Cultists, but an unexpected group of riders appeared to harass the enemy from a distance. The chapter ended with the Cultist captain and the besieged knights watching the newcomers’ bizarre distraction.

• Kairils and Viel fought back-to-back against the Cultists, and Viel refused Kairils’s plan to escape alone.
• Kairils reminded Viel that he had heard the insults Viel made about him in Graycliff Town, prompting Viel to apologize.
• Kairils forgave Viel and urged him to fight to stay alive, and Viel agreed.
• The Cultist captain ordered his soldiers to wear down Kairils and Viel rather than risk attacking them directly.
• Four refugees on two warhorses rode around the encirclement, and [Even Monkeys Have Dignity] taunted the Cultists from behind Jiahao.

Ma Lou and the other refugees returned to distract the Cultists surrounding Kairils and Viel. Their attack enraged the Cultist captain and opened a gap in the enemy line, leaving Kairils ready to lead a breakout.

• Ma Lou, Don't Dream of the Day, and Mosquitoes Faint at the Sight of Blood rode back and pelted the Cultists with stones and chunks of wood.
• Ma Lou hurled a stone at the Cultist captain’s crotch, and the captain blocked it with a Blood Shield.
• Ma Lou taunted the furious captain, who ordered half his forces to pursue the refugees and left gaps in the formation around Kairils and Viel.
• Two Winterhold Knights charged from the bushes and smashed into the Cultists’ weakened flank, freezing and crushing several enemies.
• Kairils seized the opening and told Viel to prepare to break out.

Kairils and Viel broke through the Cultists’ encirclement and reunited with two First-Tier Knights, but a Blood Spike ambush destroyed their horses and left them trapped. A Blood-Weeping Ridge priest and the pursuing Cultist captain closed in, leaving the four Winterhold Knights facing a fight to the death.

• Viel hacked through the Cultists blocking his path, and Kairils hauled him onto his horse to break through the encirclement.
• Kairils and Viel reunited with two First-Tier Knights in the Withered Grove and led them toward the Deadwood Forest.
• A barrage of Blood Spikes killed their horses, and the four knights used their remaining divine power to shield themselves.
• A red-robed priest emerged from the woods and revealed that a Winterhold Knight who had tried to escape alone was dead.
• The priest and the Cultist captain surrounded Kairils and the other knights, and the priest ordered the Cultists to attack.

Jiahao and Ma Lou lured more than twenty Cultists into a secluded valley and slaughtered them with ash magic. On the main battlefield, Kairils stood alone against the surviving Cultists, badly wounded but still fighting, as the Blood-Weeping Ridge Priest recognized Winterhold’s Genius Knight.

• Jiahao led Ma Lou and their companions away from the battlefield, where he and Ma Lou prepared to ambush the pursuing Cultists.
• Ma Lou ordered the attack, and he and Jiahao bombarded the Cultists with Ashen Missiles, engulfing the valley in explosions and Ash Mist.
• On the main battlefield, the Cultist captain knelt with his right arm and Crimson Longsword frozen by the Power of Winter.
• All three Winterhold Knights guarding Kairils had been killed, leaving Kairils alone and grievously wounded against the Cultists.
• Kairils killed a Cultist with a sword stroke while the Blood-Weeping Ridge Priest watched and recognized him as Winterhold’s Genius Knight.

The Blood-Weeping Ridge priest decided to kill Kairils before he could escape, but two returning players distracted the Cultists with a taunting performance. As the priest and the Blood-Armored Captain attacked, Ma Lou arrived with a stone aimed at the captain’s crotch.

• The Blood-Weeping Ridge priest recognized Kairils as Winterhold’s Genius Knight and resolved to kill him while his divine power was depleted.
• [Don't Dream of the Day] and [Mosquitoes Faint at the Sight of Blood] rode back on a white warhorse and claimed the pursuing Cultists had gotten lost, provoking the survivors.
• The Blood-Weeping Ridge priest ordered the Blood-Armored Captain to kill Kairils while he charged at the two returning players.
• The Blood-Armored Captain gathered blood spikes to attack Kairils, but Ma Lou burst from the grass on another warhorse and threw a stone at the captain’s crotch.

Ma Lou rescued the grievously wounded Kairils and fled toward Graycliff Town while Jiahao charged into the Cultists to cover their escape. Left surrounded, Jiahao prepared to unleash his power, as the Cultists’ captain and priest pursued the fugitives.

• A stone struck the Cultist captain in the groin, interrupting his attack and leaving him doubled over in pain.
• Jiahao charged his warhorse into the Cultists while Ma Lou jumped off and carried Kairils away toward Graycliff Town.
• Jiahao was thrown from his collapsing horse but confirmed that Ma Lou had escaped with Kairils, then prepared to use his power without restraint.
• The Blood-Weeping Ridge priest killed two newcomers, watched their bodies turn to ash, and chased after Ma Lou and Kairils.
• The injured Cultist captain ordered his followers to seize Jiahao and threatened to torture him.

Jiahao revealed his second-tier strength and attacked the Cultists while Ma Lou carried the wounded Kairils toward Graycliff Town. As Kairils reflected on those who had died protecting him, he blamed his own weakness and vowed that greater strength could have saved them.

• Jiahao unleashed his sealed power, formed an Ash War Spear, and shocked the Cultists by revealing himself as a second-tier fighter.
• Jiahao struck the wounded Cultist Captain and used Ash Mist to blind the Cultists who rushed to attack him.
• Ma Lou carried the wounded Kairils through the forest toward Graycliff Town, and Kairils thanked him.
• Kairils looked back toward the battlefield and remembered Viel, the young First-Tier Knight, and the Fog Town refugees who had sacrificed themselves.
• Kairils lamented that his weakness had cost the lives of Viel and the others.

Ma Lou struggled with guilt over the players’ deception of Kairils, but chose to protect Fog Town and the server’s people. As they fled, Kairils saved Ma Lou from a sneak attack and ordered him to escape while he faced the returning Blood-Weeping Ridge Priest.

• Ma Lou resolved that he would deceive Kairils again to protect Fog Town and the players, despite feeling guilty.
• Kairils suddenly shoved Ma Lou into a muddy pit, taking a lethal blood-spike attack meant for him.
• Ma Lou realized Kairils had saved him without knowing the truth about the players’ scheme.
• Kairils ordered Ma Lou to flee and prepared to hold off the attacker.
• The wounded Blood-Weeping Ridge Priest emerged from the woods and mocked Kairils for detecting his sneak attack.

Kairils revealed that he had been recovering his divine power while Ma Lou carried him, then unleashed a lethal ice spear that pierced the Blood-Weeping Ridge priest before collapsing unconscious. The priest survived by swallowing a lump of flesh and advanced toward Kairils and Ma Lou, only to realize something was wrong with the supposedly helpless refugee.

• The Blood-Weeping Ridge priest charged at the apparently exhausted Kairils and threatened to kill him and Ma Lou.
• Kairils revealed that he had replenished his divine power during the escape and had been waiting for the priest to enter his killing range.
• Kairils blasted the priest through the chest with an ice spear, then collapsed unconscious from his wounds and exhausted power.
• The Blood-Weeping Ridge priest swallowed a shriveled lump of flesh, healed his wound, and headed toward Kairils and Ma Lou.
• The priest noticed Ma Lou's second-tier aura and realized that the situation was not what he had assumed.