Chapter Summaries

Lin En reflected on what made someone a protagonist and realized that every person could be the lead in their own life. He embraced his role as a deity who would give mortals a stage and ultimately reshape the Wasteland, vowing to make the Lord of Ashes resound across the world.

• Lin En watched Sivir pray in the Church and surveyed the players, refugees, and grinders across the Wasteland.
• Lin En considered how Knight Viel, Priest Enkai, and Graycliff Town’s old guard had each become the protagonist of their own lives.
• Lin En’s perspective shifted from seeing himself as a backstage player-manager to embracing an all-encompassing divinity.
• Lin En vowed to build a stage for the Fourth Catastrophe and give people a sky beneath which they could live without despair.
• Lin En declared that he would challenge the Weeping Madonna and the Righteous Gods, and make every corner of the Wasteland tremble beneath the Lord of Ashes.

Lin En comforted Sivir with a divine message, then turned to showing the players the full events of the day. He asked the system to turn the recorded battles into an official promotional video that would reveal Winterhold’s strength and the factions’ complexity.

• A surge of divine power flowed through the Ash Church, and Sivir realized the deity was gently stroking her head.
• Lin En told Sivir that the awakened Apostles had defended their home and that the spark she had protected had become a light on the Wasteland.
• Sivir accepted Lin En’s words as a divine edict and vowed to remain faithful unto death.
• Lin En reflected that most players had missed the day’s events and might underestimate Winterhold and the other factions.
• Lin En summoned the system and asked it to edit the day’s recorded battles into a high-quality official promotional video.

Lin En paid 1,000 faith points to create a verified Ninth Art account and began customizing a promotional video for Awakening of the Old Gods. Meanwhile, the Black Forest Branch’s high priest confronted Enkai for provoking Kairils and bringing Winterhold’s wrath down on the cultists.

• Lin En asked the system to register an official Ninth Art account and upload his promotional video.
• Lin En paid 1,000 faith points for the account and editing package, then received the verified account Awakening of the Old Gods Official Designer.
• Lin En previewed the video and ordered the system to alter it with extra edits, background music, and a pink filter.
• At the Black Forest Branch’s emergency meeting, the high priest saw Ovid’s corpse and heard that fewer than ten of the more than fifty cultists had returned.
• The high priest rebuked Enkai for fighting Kairils, warning that Winterhold’s red-robed archbishop could lead the Knight Order to destroy the branch.

Priest Enkai defended himself before the High Priest, blaming the battle on two Blood-Weeping Ridge survivors and accusing Ovid of causing his own death. The short priest’s attempt to accuse Enkai and Lin Shen of conspiring against Ovid failed when Enkai called on surviving cultists to confirm his account.

• Priest Enkai told the High Priest that two Blood-Weeping Ridge survivors attacked Kairils’s squad, triggering the chaotic battle.
• The High Priest focused on the survivors’ use of Calamity Tokens, while the short priest warned that Winterhold would retaliate.
• The short priest accused Enkai and Lin Shen of arranging Ovid’s death, pointing out that Lin Shen’s two squad leaders survived unharmed.
• Enkai denied plotting against Ovid and said Ovid had disobeyed orders and led his men into a fight with the wounded Kairils.
• Enkai offered the surviving cultists as witnesses, leaving the short priest unable to sustain his accusation.

The High Priest ended the dispute over Ovid’s failed mission and ordered the Black Forest Branch to reduce its outside activity to avoid provoking Winterhold. He then proposed recruiting two Blood-Weeping Ridge survivors, leaving Enkai humiliated and Lin Shen ready to seize an opportunity.

• The High Priest dismissed the deaths of Ovid and the low-ranking knights as insignificant and ordered the branch to cut back on outside activity.
• The High Priest asked Enkai whether the branch could contact two surviving Blood-Weeping Ridge fighters and recruit them.
• Enkai objected that the fighters would not be loyal, but the High Priest rebuked him for questioning the plan and reminded him he had yet to be punished for the failed mission.
• Enkai fell silent in humiliation as Lin Shen sensed an opening in the quiet chamber.

Lin Shen publicly turned against Priest Enkai to win the High Priest’s favor and volunteered to recruit two second-tier experts. After secretly summoning Enkai to an abandoned stone room, Lin Shen knelt and declared that Enkai had been wronged.

• Lin Shen praised the High Priest and volunteered to recruit two second-tier experts for the Black Forest Branch.
• The High Priest praised Lin Shen, promised him a reward, and said he would consider him for the Divine Child Position.
• Lin Shen asked to leave that night with Deputy Squad Leader [You've Cried Already] to search for the experts.
• Lin Shen discreetly signaled Priest Enkai to follow him after the meeting, and Enkai suspiciously went after them.
• Inside a sealed stone room, Lin Shen knelt before Priest Enkai and said, “You've been wronged!”

Lin Shen convinced Priest Enkai that he had only pretended to betray him and proposed secretly recruiting Blood-Weeping Ridge’s two second-tier fighters to build their faction. The chapter ended with Enkai publicly expelling Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] while Lin Shen loudly mocked him to make their apparent split convincing.

• Lin Shen accused the High Priest of abandoning Priest Enkai and conspiring to strip him of authority.
• Lin Shen declared that the High Priest did not deserve his position, convincing Priest Enkai that he opposed the High Priest.
• Lin Shen claimed he had volunteered to recruit the two fighters from Blood-Weeping Ridge so he could secretly bring them to Priest Enkai’s side.
• Priest Enkai embraced Lin Shen’s plan and expressed renewed trust in him.
• Priest Enkai stormed from the chamber and publicly ordered Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] to leave.
• Lin Shen mocked Priest Enkai loudly, claiming that the High Priest valued him and that the Black Forest Branch belonged to the young.

Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] swaggered out of the underground camp on an assignment, using the High Priest’s favor to intimidate the cultists. After they left, Lofei went to confront the High Priest about promising Lin Shen the Divine Child position.

• Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] strutted through the camp, intimidating cultists with their new status as Divine Child candidates.
• Lin Shen kicked open the camp’s exit and ordered the guards to open the gate for his assignment.
• The guards let Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] leave for the Black Forest, then discussed how dangerous it was to offend him.
• Lofei watched the pair depart and hurried back to the Stone Chamber.
• Lofei asked the High Priest why he had promised Lin Shen the Divine Child position after previously promising it to him.

The High Priest reassured Lofei that Lin Shen was only an expendable pawn being sent to find the Blood-Weeping Ridge survivors, while secretly coveting the power of their Calamity Tokens for himself. Alone, he begged the Holy Lord to grant him that power and let him continue serving.

• Lofei complained to the High Priest that Lin Shen was an unworthy rival for the Divine Child Position.
• The High Priest revealed that he had promised Lin Shen the position only to use him to find the two Blood-Weeping Ridge survivors and their Calamity Tokens.
• The High Priest promised Lofei that no one could take away what he had promised him, and Lofei left the chamber reassured.
• The High Priest took out a Dark Red Crystal and a Small Black Coffin, recognizing them as Calamity Tokens meant for a future Divine Child or a blood sacrifice.
• The High Priest knelt and begged the Holy Lord to grant him the Tokens' power and let him remain a faithful servant.

The High Priest abandoned his vision of the Deity and kept the two Calamity Tokens close, deciding Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] might be his only chance. Meanwhile, Lin Shen concluded that the Black Forest Branch was doomed and planned to gather the main group to help secure the tokens.

• The High Priest came back to his senses, put both tokens into a bag, and hid it inside his robes.
• As Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] traveled through the Black Forest mist, [You've Cried Already] worried that the High Priest might distrust them.
• Lin Shen argued that Winterhold and the Black Forest Branch were headed for war and dismissed the promised Divine Child position as worthless.
• Lin Shen said their real goal was to obtain the two Calamity Tokens, and [You've Cried Already] agreed.
• Lin Shen decided to use their search mission as cover to log out and summon the main group, and both players vanished in flashes of white light.

After Ma Lou rescued the wounded Kairils from the Cultists, he bragged about the battle in a viral forum post, prompting players to debate Winterhold’s likely response. The thread ended with a player advertising a paid Kairils photo album.

• Ma Lou posted that Kairils had sacrificed his weapon to help the refugees escape a hundred Cultists.
• Ma Lou claimed he fought the Cultists, rescued Kairils, and carried him to the Graycliff Town aid station.
• Players mocked Ma Lou’s story and worried about Kairils’ injuries.
• Forum users debated whether Winterhold would attack the Black Forest Branch and how powerful its forces were.
• I'm Not Jiahao advertised a Kairils Battle-Damaged Limited-Edition Photo Album for 52 Renminbi.

After eating, Ma Lou discovered that the official designer had posted an edited video of the Winterhold main quest, drawing huge attention to Kairils’s battle. The video ended on Kairils charging into the Cultists to rescue Knight Viel.

• Ma Lou finished his takeout and rejected Jiahao’s request to pin an advertisement on his forum thread.
• Ji Luo and Lu Ziye told Ma Lou that the official designer had posted a video of the day’s battle and that Ma Lou appeared in close-ups.
• Ma Lou opened the verified designer’s viral post, bragged in the comments about being a First Closed Beta player, and watched the video.
• The video showed Lu Ziye disguised as a Blood-Weeping Ridge follower as Kairils and the knights fought the Cultists.
• Knight Viel fell from his horse and urged Kairils to escape with the others, but Kairils detonated his Long Halberd and charged into the Cultists to save him.

Ma Lou watched an official video that recast his rescue of Kairils as a heroic moment, clearing his shame from the infamous Venom dance meme. Just as he prepared to brag about his new reputation, the video's final bonus began with music he recognized, and he hurriedly paused it.

• The video showed Kairils standing alone against the Cultists before Ma Lou carried him through the black fog behind a miniature barrier.
• Viewers recognized Ma Lou in the footage and flooded the comments with praise, calling him a tough hero and God King Ma.
• Ma Lou celebrated that the video had cleared his name and imagined how he would boast to Kuang Shao, Lao Lu, and the others.
• Ma Lou noticed the video still had over a minute remaining and saw comments warning viewers about a bonus at the end.
• When the bonus began with familiar, catchy music, Ma Lou panicked and paused the video.

Ma Lou watched a fan edit that turned footage of him riding behind Jiahao into a romantic scene, then angrily denied the rumors as the group chat teased him. Jiahao appeared in the chat and responded by telling a story about his own past romance rumors.

• Ma Lou resumed the video and saw a pink-filtered edit set to romantic music that showed him pressing against Jiahao on horseback.
• Ma Lou protested that he had only leaned on Jiahao because he was dizzy, then raged at the developers for editing the footage out of context.
• Members of the expeditionary command group chat teased Ma Lou and called him Jiahao’s sister-in-law.
• Ma Lou insisted he was straight and demanded that Jiahao help clear up the gossip.
• Jiahao said he had been busy handling orders, then recounted a rumor about a romance with an older female student during his Ivy League studies.

Jiahao joked about cashing in on rumors, then Lin Shen revealed that the Black Forest Branch’s High Priest wanted to recruit Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs]. The two eagerly agreed to join the Cultists, but Lin Shen warned them not to rush in blindly.

• Jiahao claimed the official video had boosted sales of his Kairils photo book and proposed a collaboration with Ma Lou, who shut him down.
• Lin Shen reported that the Cultists in the Black Forest Branch believed Winterhold would leave them alone if they hid underground, and he predicted the branch would soon be destroyed.
• Lin Shen said the High Priest had named Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] as recruits because they had Calamity Tokens and second-tier combat strength.
• Lin Shen urged the two to join the branch as executives so they could loot its stores before Winterhold destroyed it, prompting them to eagerly accept.
• Other players envied the pair and asked to join, but Lin Shen cautioned Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] that they should not rush into the branch.

The players planned to meet the undercover duo near Fog Town the next day, while Ji Luo reflected on the game’s possibilities and the coming conflict. The next morning, Ma Lou found Graycliff Town eerily deserted and discovered four winged warhorses outside the aid station.

• Lin Shen and the others agreed to meet [You've Cried Already] and Phone Bro near Fog Town at noon the next day to stage a convincing encounter.
• Ji Luo encouraged the players to keep leveling and hoped they would share in the spoils when Winterhold’s army attacked the Black Forest Branch.
• After resting, [Even Monkeys Have Dignity] logged into the abandoned courtyard in Graycliff Town and found its streets completely empty.
• Ma Lou went to check on Kairils at the aid station and saw four white, blue-striped warhorses with enormous feathered wings.
• One of the winged horses beat its wings and sent freezing air across the ground, coating it in ice crystals.

Ma Lou mistook Winterhold’s Snowwing Pegasi for potential pets and approached them, unaware of their importance. Two Winterhold knight commanders emerged from the aid station and ordered him executed for insulting Winterhold’s dignity.

• Ma Lou watched the Snowwing Pegasi and fantasized about taming them for his guild.
• He approached the winged warhorses, hoping to discover a way to tame them.
• An unfamiliar voice from inside the aid station ordered Ma Lou executed as a noisy lowborn.
• Two heavily armed Winterhold knight commanders emerged and confronted Ma Lou.
• Ma Lou realized the commanders had come with the Snowwing Pegasi to save Kairils, but they ignored his attempt to explain himself.

Kairils stopped the Knight Order commanders from harming Ma Lou, defended him as a friend, and confronted his superiors over their treatment of the refugee. He then pulled Ma Lou aside and asked him to confirm that he had carried him to Graycliff Town.

• A Knight Order commander prepared to freeze Ma Lou, but Kairils called him a friend who had saved his life, and the High Priest ordered the commanders to return inside.
• Kairils left the aid station despite his severe injuries and told the commanders to treat Ma Lou with respect, arguing that Winterhold’s dignity did not come from oppressing the weak.
• Kairils took Ma Lou to a secluded street corner while the commanders complained to the High Priest, who said Kairils should be given absolute privilege as long as he remained faithful to Winterhold.
• Kairils asked Ma Lou whether he had carried him on his back from the Wilderness to Graycliff Town, and Ma Lou admitted that he had.

Kairils thanked Ma Lou for saving him and invited him to Winterhold to testify about the Cultists' attack. Ma Lou eagerly accepted in his thoughts, thrilled to become the first player to enter the powerful city and gain access to a new storyline.

• Kairils asked Ma Lou's name, and Ma Lou introduced himself as someone from Fog Town.
• Kairils rose despite his injuries and thanked Ma Lou for carrying him back to Graycliff Town, while recalling Viel and the other knights who died.
• Kairils invited Ma Lou to Winterhold to testify about the Cultists' crimes and offered to help him return to Fog Town safely later.
• Ma Lou privately celebrated the invitation, imagining himself as the first player on the server to visit Winterhold.

Ma Lou accepted Kairils’s offer to travel to Winterhold and formally became his friend. Meanwhile, players gathered near Fog Town for competing guild training pushes, while Embers Kindling’s remaining members hunted stronger mutants in the Black Forest; by noon, two Cultists were lurking near Fog Town’s west gate.

• Ma Lou pretended to agonize over Kairils’s invitation, agreed to accompany him to Winterhold, and privately planned to profit from exclusive images.
• Kairils formally introduced himself and offered Ma Lou his friendship, and Ma Lou shook his hand, struck by how real it felt.
• More than a hundred Ash Robe players gathered near Fog Town as Undying Stars and the Free Players Alliance raced to train healers into second-tier Weeping Priests.
• With most of its members away, Embers Kindling sent Ji Luo, Kindergarten Boss, I’m Not Jiahao, and God Never Cries into the Black Forest to hunt lone Second-Tier Mutants.
• At noon, two figures in dark red Cultist robes lurked among the bushes near Fog Town’s west gate.