Recaps

Long Zhan learned that the nuclear explosion had killed the Seventh Order Demon Venerable, lifting the threat hanging over the Expeditionary Force. After Lin Mo purified the radiation in the next area, the army resumed its advance into Mist Forest.

• Long Zhan realized that holy light and the World Tree could neutralize nuclear fallout, leaving Great Xia free to use nuclear weapons without suffering their effects.
• The next morning, researchers analyzed the recovered battle-axe and concluded that it had been inside the nuclear explosion’s core zone, where no carbon-based organism could survive.
• Long Zhan declared the threat eliminated and ordered the Expeditionary Force to continue its original advance.
• Lin Mo and Kael flew over Mist Forest, where Lin Mo used holy light to clear radiation from the scorched earth.
• Lin Mo reported that the area was safe, and the steel torrent advanced toward the heart of Mist Forest.

After the Seventh Order Demon Venerable was destroyed, Lin Mo returned to Blue Star and briefed Elder Zhao on the Expeditionary Force’s progress. As Eagle Country’s eight-nation coalition approached Great Xia’s waters, Lin Mo revealed that Great Xia might no longer need to worry about nuclear radiation.

• The Expeditionary Force advanced rapidly through the weakened Demon Clan forces, and Long Zhan expected to reach Great Xia’s fief within two days.
• Secretary Li reported that Eagle Country and eight other nations had moved their military exercises forward and would reach Great Xia’s waters within two days, prompting Elder Zhao to order level-two combat readiness.
• Lin Mo arrived at Elder Zhao’s office and handed him a military USB drive containing the Expeditionary Force’s report.
• Lin Mo recounted how Long Zhan had used a nuclear bomb to destroy the Seventh Order Demon Venerable, and Elder Zhao approved the decision.
• Lin Mo said Great Xia might never again need to worry about nuclear radiation, leaving Elder Zhao stunned.

Lin Mo told Elder Zhao that Holy Light Purification Magic could remove nuclear radiation, prompting Elder Zhao to envision Great Xia using it to unify the world. Lin Mo then visited the Super Mecha Project Department, where Zhao Kexia showed him the nearly completed Pangu Super Mecha and explained that he would need to pilot it for final adjustments.

• Lin Mo told Elder Zhao that he had purified radiation-injured soldiers and a nuclear blast zone, and pointed him to recordings and test results.
• Elder Zhao realized that radiation purification could free Great Xia from nuclear deterrence and began imagining global unification.
• Lin Mo asked about the Pangu Super Mecha project, and Elder Zhao said Zhao Kexia had been working on it day and night.
• Lin Mo found Zhao Kexia in the underground hangar, and she showed him the nearly finished, armored mecha.
• Zhao Kexia explained that the Miniature Nuclear Fusion Reactor protruded from the mecha's back and said Lin Mo would pilot it for the final adjustments.

Lin Mo climbed into the Pangu Mecha and established a neural connection, then tested its controls and movement in the training ground. After routine testing went perfectly, he pushed the Mecha to its limits, and the researchers watched its speed exceed 150 meters per second and continue rising.

• Zhao Kexia ordered the Pangu Mecha disconnected from its supports and prepared Lin Mo to pilot it.
• Pangu authenticated Lin Mo, guided him into the cockpit, and completed brainwave synchronization and system diagnostics.
• Lin Mo moved Pangu through the training ground, testing its walking, running, jumping, rolling, and military boxing movements.
• Zhao Kexia called for performance-limit tests, and Lin Mo unleashed his abilities to accelerate Pangu.
• Pangu raced across the training ground, reaching a peak speed of 150 meters per second as the researchers tracked its rising speed.

Lin Mo completed Pangu’s combat and underwater tests, demonstrating its extraordinary speed, punching power, and armor while learning its vulnerability to concussive shock. He then visited the World Tree construction site, where Liu Chengen said the nuclear fission apparatus was ready for an experiment and described plans to expand the Underground City around the tree.

• Lin Mo drove Pangu to 120 meters per second and struck a force-measuring target with a punch registering 130.3 tons.
• Zhao Kexia explained that Pangu’s Zheng Gold armor resisted known armor-piercing rounds but that heavy explosions could harm its circuitry and pilot through shock waves.
• Lin Mo completed Pangu’s underwater test, and Zhao Kexia halted testing to allow two days for adjustments and bug fixes.
• Lin Mo considered using Pangu to test against Eagle Country’s fleet during its military exercise two days later, then left the hangar to check on the World Tree project.
• Lin Mo met Liu Chengen at the construction site, healed his fatigue with magic, and learned that the nuclear fission apparatus beneath the World Tree was ready for an experiment.
• Liu Chengen urged Lin Mo to secure the Spatial Ring once it arrived, while Lin Mo learned that the World Tree project would expand the Underground City to house a hundred million people.

Lin Mo returned from Terra and told Qian Zhenhua that a two-hundred-kiloton nuclear bomb had defeated the Seventh Order Demon Venerable. Elder Zhao and the researchers began the World Tree feeding plan, and the tree’s roots reached toward a nuclear reactor before stopping at its protective mesh.

• Lin Mo told Qian Zhenhua that the Expeditionary Force had faced a Seventh Order Demon Venerable and defeated it with a two-hundred-kiloton nuclear bomb.
• Qian Zhenhua asked Lin Mo to preserve the Demon Venerable’s weapon so he could study what had survived the blast.
• Elder Zhao arrived as Liu Chengen reported that the World Tree feeding preparations were ready, and Elder Zhao ordered the test to begin.
• Liu Chengen started nuclear fission reactor number one, and the World Tree’s roots grew toward its blue-lit core.
• Lin Mo worried the roots might damage the reactor, but Liu Chengen showed that a special metal mesh had stopped them short.

The World Tree surged to over forty meters as scientists in Great Xia monitored its growth and adjusted its energy supply. Meanwhile, Eagle Country assembled an eight-nation fleet in Antarctica, with General Jackson preparing to pressure Great Xia and seize its technology.

• Liu Chengen and Qian Zhenhua observed the World Tree’s rapid growth and approved increasing its energy supply through additional nuclear reactors.
• Liu Chengen halted further increases after the World Tree began failing to absorb some of the energy, and it reached a height of over forty meters.
• Elder Zhao and Lin Mo watched the World Tree as researchers documented its growth and sampled the changed environment.
• General Jackson’s fleet completed preparations at an Antarctic harbor, with five carrier battle groups assembled under the eight-nation force.
• Consul Mars told Jackson that the fleet’s exercise was meant to obtain Great Xia’s fusion and superconductivity technology, and Jackson threatened to seize ships or occupy its Antarctic facilities.

Eight nations launched a powerful naval fleet toward Great Xia’s Antarctic waters to seize its technology, while General Liu rallied Great Xia’s outnumbered forces by revealing their new cubic nitrogen ammunition. The chapter ended with him ordering the Kunlun, East Sea, and South Sea carrier groups to enter level-one combat readiness.

• Mars urged Eagle Country to exploit Great Xia’s weakened state, and Mike launched Operation Iron Pincer toward Great Xia’s Antarctic waters.
• Jackson led a fleet of six aircraft carriers, more than sixty major warships, and fifteen nuclear submarines toward Great Xia’s territorial waters.
• A staff officer reported the approaching force to General Liu, who steadied the command center by recalling Great Xia’s past defiance and mocking an enemy exercise with Peppa Pig.
• General Liu revealed that Great Xia’s fleet and combat aircraft carried cubic nitrogen ammunition capable of punching through major warships.
• General Liu ordered the entire fleet to enter level-one combat readiness.

The Great Xia fleet and an eight-nation coalition tested each other in a tense naval exercise, while General Liu used jamming, coordinated maneuvers, and electronic warfare to foil their probes. After Jackson ordered the cruiser Anti to fake a loss of control and charge the Great Xia destroyers, the standoff threatened to turn into a collision.

• Hu Jianjun ordered Great Xia’s electronic warfare unit to prepare its playlist as the fleet went on alert.
• Admiral Jackson began the coalition’s exercise, and General Liu ordered Great Xia, Bear Country, and Country 80 to conduct their own drills.
• Two Cherry Blossom Country destroyers approached the territorial sea baseline, but the Xuanwu blocked them while jamming blinded their systems and forced them to retreat.
• General Liu ordered Great Xia fighters to escort Country 80’s aircraft and fired warning tracers across the coalition’s path.
• Great Xia’s Type 055 destroyers approached the coalition’s exercise area and broadcast Peppa Pig through its communications channels, frustrating Jackson’s officers.
• Jackson ordered the cruiser Anti to claim electromagnetic interference and steering failure, then charge straight at the Great Xia destroyers.

General Liu ordered the Black Tortoise Ship to meet the Antietam at full speed, relying on its Zheng Gold armor and refusing to fire first. As the ships raced toward collision, Li Tieniu and his squad eagerly gathered on the bow, hoping to earn military honors, while a sentry mistook their motives for patriotic sacrifice.

• General Liu ordered the Black Tortoise Ship to charge the Antietam without firing first, confident that its Zheng Gold-plated bow could withstand the collision.
• Commander Thompson ordered the Antietam to ram and sink the Black Tortoise, and Eagle Country's crew prepared for the ship to go down.
• Li Tieniu joked about getting wounded in a fight to earn a merit, and his squad leader scolded him before secretly leading the group toward the bow.
• The squad lined up on the bow to face the oncoming Antietam, eager for honors, while the Black Tortoise's commander sent an officer to find out why they were there.
• The squad leader declared that the sailors would defend Great Xia with their bodies, and the sentry praised him as badass.

The Black Tortoise Ship rammed the Antietam and split the cruiser apart while remaining undamaged, after which soldiers from both ships fought a massive deck brawl. Admiral Jackson watched in disbelief as General Liu celebrated the impact and considered asking for more Zheng Gold.

• The staff officer reported the squad leader’s words to the commander, who praised the soldiers’ courage as the ships closed in.
• The Black Tortoise Ship’s blue-green bow sliced through the Antietam’s armor, splitting the cruiser while the destroyer remained intact.
• The squad leader, Li Tieniu, and their men boarded the Antietam and attacked its soldiers, who fought back with fists after an officer forbade gunfire under General Jackson’s orders.
• Admiral Jackson and his staff watched the Antietam break apart and reacted with shock as reports confirmed the Black Tortoise Ship was undamaged.
• General Liu and his staff celebrated the ram, and Liu considered pushing for more Zheng Gold despite its scarcity.

After Great Xia soldiers boarded the damaged Anti under the pretext of humanitarian rescue, they beat and robbed its crew before withdrawing. The Black Tortoise Ship left Eagle Country sailors stranded in the freezing water and moved to block their fleet from rescuing them.

• General Liu saw Great Xia soldiers fighting Eagle Country sailors aboard the Anti and ordered the Black Tortoise Ship to conduct a so-called humanitarian rescue.
• Great Xia soldiers boarded the Anti, beat its sailors, threw some overboard, and took their epaulettes before retreating as the ship sank.
• Li Tieniu revealed that he had raided the bridge and taken several officers’ epaulettes, including the captain’s.
• The Black Tortoise Ship’s commander left the Eagle Country sailors in the water and ordered the ship to block any vessels attempting a rescue.
• The Black Tortoise Ship advanced between the Eagle Country fleet and its stranded sailors, while Jackson watched from the Freedom.

Lin Mo used the Pangu Mecha to infiltrate Eagle Country’s fleet and cripple the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth. The carrier lost its rudder and both propellers, while the confrontation between the fleets remained unresolved.

• Admiral Jackson ordered the Black Tortoise Ship targeted by fire-control radar, and its commander activated electronic countermeasures.
• Lin Mo piloted the Pangu Mecha across the seabed and evaded Eagle Country’s sonar buoy array.
• Lin Mo surfaced beneath the Queen Elizabeth, then cut off its rudder with the Pangu Mecha’s Zheng Gold saber.
• Lin Mo fired two nitrogen shells into the carrier’s propeller shafts, disabling both propellers and causing flooding and severe damage.

Lin Mo disabled the Queen Elizabeth and De Gao with the Pangu Mecha before retreating from the Freedom under a depth-charge attack. The Eagle Country fleet panicked and withdrew, leaving General Liu to wonder whether Lin Mo had caused the chaos.

• Lin Mo targeted the De Gao and used the Pangu Mecha to sever its rudders and destroy its propellers, repeating his attack on the Queen Elizabeth.
• Lin Mo moved toward the Freedom, but Pangu AI warned that the carrier had deployed sonar and defenses while enemy forces converged on his position.
• A depth charge's shock wave struck the Pangu Mecha, and Lin Mo retreated toward a deep-sea rift.
• General Liu ordered his forces to remain on alert and not pursue as the Eagle Country fleet pulled back and bombarded the sea around Lin Mo's last known position.
• Lin Mo contacted General Liu, who asked whether he was responsible for the Eagle Country fleet's strange behavior.

Lin Mo revealed that he had disabled Eagle Country’s two aircraft carriers, but Elder Zhao urged him not to escalate the confrontation while Great Xia prepared for a stronger future. After Lin Mo returned to the Arctic base, he watched Great Xia publicly deny responsibility for the incident, leaving Eagle Country without proof of the underwater attack.

• Lin Mo told General Liu that he had removed the rudders and propellers from Eagle Country’s Queen Elizabeth and de Gaulle, and he proposed striking the disabled fleet.
• Elder Zhao advised Lin Mo and General Liu against fighting, warning that a nuclear escalation could devastate the world and arguing that Great Xia needed time to grow stronger.
• Lin Mo agreed to hold back, then asked General Liu to send a submarine to collect him after his long run across the seabed.
• General Liu sent a Wolf Pack attack submarine to carry Lin Mo and the Pangu Mecha to Antarctica Base, and Lin Mo later traveled to the Arctic base.
• A New Hope Plan staff officer showed Lin Mo footage of Eagle Country accusing Great Xia of sinking the Antietam and attacking its carriers, while Great Xia’s spokesperson denied the claims and demanded evidence.

Lin Mo woke at the Expeditionary Force’s new Forward Base on the Endless Plains after Great Xia’s fleet humiliated Eagle Country’s forces without starting a war. Zhao Gang and Long Zhan chose a site for the Permanent Portal and outlined plans to defend it and connect it to Terra’s sea, while Lin Mo questioned whether ships should instead be built there.

• Lin Mo watched a video of Eagle Country soldiers floundering in the sea and learned they had been ransomed, then heard that Operation "Iron Pincer" ended with Eagle Country’s fleet withdrawing in disgrace.
• Lin Mo woke in a transport truck and learned that the Expeditionary Force had reached the Endless Plains and begun building a Forward Base.
• Lin Mo told Zhao Gang and Long Zhan how he had thwarted Eagle Country’s fleet, and they praised him for inflicting losses while avoiding an immediate war.
• Zhao Gang and Long Zhan selected a site 2.3 kilometers from the coast for the Permanent Portal and planned defensive lines, fortifications, and a canal for Blue Star’s ships.
• Zhao Gang proposed movable modular decking over the canal to serve as a road and aircraft apron when ships were not passing through.
• Lin Mo asked why Great Xia would not build a shipyard on Terra instead of bringing Blue Star’s ships through the Portal, since Blue Star also faced a tense situation.

Lin Mo negotiated with High Archbishop Kael to buy a giant Permanent Astral Portal and large quantities of Holy Human Race supplies so Great Xia could bring its fleet to Terra Continent. The purchases totaled 22.11 million gold coins, and the chapter ended with the deal calculated at US$7.37 billion.

• Zhao Gang told Lin Mo that Great Xia needed to move Blue Star's fleet to Terra Continent rather than wait years to build ships there.
• Lin Mo invited High Archbishop Kael to negotiate and requested a ninety-meter Permanent Astral Portal so ships could pass through.
• Kael agreed to price the portal at 7.71 million gold coins and estimated that it would consume nine Spatial Crystals a day.
• Lin Mo ordered seven thousand Spatial Crystals and nine thousand bottles of Pure Holy Water, declining to buy the Holy Human Race's Energy Crystals.
• Lin Mo agreed to purchase one million jin of Holy Gold ore for ten million gold coins, bringing the total order to 22.11 million gold coins, or US$7.37 billion.

Lin Mo negotiated a 7.37-billion-dollar equipment allowance with Kael and arranged for the Holy See to begin building a Permanent Portal. He then placed a major order with Elder Muyu for magic crystals, mithril, Life Spring Water, and a Life Fruit, leaving the Elf elder trying to persuade him to buy more.

• Kael accepted Great Xia’s 22.11-million-gold-coin order and agreed to arrange delivery while considering which equipment to buy with his 7.37-billion-dollar allowance.
• Kael promised to send mages and construction materials soon so work on the Permanent Portal could begin.
• Lin Mo invited Elder Muyu to negotiate a purchase of one million magic crystals, one hundred thousand jin of mithril, ten thousand bottles of Life Spring Water, and one Life Fruit.
• Elder Muyu urged Lin Mo to buy more Life Fruits or a World Tree seed after hearing the 28-million-gold-coin total.

Lin Mo saw off Warwick, Grom, and the Half-Orcs after they finished training with Great Xia’s weapons. Warwick said they needed to return to defend their tribespeople from the Demon Clan, and Lin Mo prepared to show them the equipment they had purchased.

• Elder Muyu accepted the trade limit of twenty-eight million gold coins after Lin Mo explained Great Xia’s limited delivery capacity.
• Warwick told Lin Mo that the Half-Orcs had mastered the weapons and needed to leave to help their people fight the Demon Clan.
• Lin Mo agreed to see the Half-Orcs off and arranged for their purchased weapons and equipment to be prepared.
• The Half-Orcs gathered at their camp, grateful for Great Xia’s hospitality and warmly attached to its soldiers.
• Lin Mo led Warwick and Grom to the armored vehicles and asked how many they planned to take back first.

Warwick explained how the Half-Orcs would use Great Xia’s vehicles and supplies to travel more than two thousand kilometers back to their tribe, baffling Lin Mo with their plan to push the vehicles themselves. After the two groups exchanged farewells, the Half-Orcs set off with their combat vehicles powered by muscle.

• Warwick listed the vehicles, fuel, ammunition, and personnel the Half-Orcs would take on their journey home.
• Lin Mo warned Warwick that the Half-Orcs would run out of diesel before reaching their tribe, but Warwick said they planned to push the vehicles.
• Lin Mo and Warwick settled the remaining supplies and assigned soldiers to load fuel and ammunition onto the transport and combat vehicles.
• Lin Mo, Zhao Gang, and Long Zhan embraced Warwick and Grom as Great Xia’s soldiers solemnly saw the Half-Orcs off.
• Warwick led nearly a thousand Half-Orcs in a farewell bow, then ordered them to move out.
• Werewolves, Cat People, Winged People, and Fox People steered the vehicles while Bearmen and Minotaurs pushed them down the road, leaving Lin Mo and the Great Xia soldiers stunned.

After the Half-Orcs departed with a large share of the Expeditionary Force’s troops and equipment, Lin Mo agreed to halt territorial expansion and focus on defending and building their coastal base. The next morning, surveillance spotted fast-moving riders, and Lin Mo recognized them as Dwarves arriving on goats before summoning Thorin Ironbeard.

• Zhao Gang arranged for troops, wounded soldiers, and equipment to be brought back from Emerald Leaf City and Firefly Leaf Valley.
• Long Zhan urged the Expeditionary Force to suspend territorial expansion, conserve ammunition, and prepare for a possible joint counterattack.
• Lin Mo approved the plan and ordered the army into a strategic defense phase, with troops rotating between rest, security, and base construction.
• That night, Lin Mo studied Kael’s magic books and practiced controlling his magic power.
• The next morning, satellite surveillance detected a fast-moving group near the boundary of Mist Forest and the Endless Plains.
• After drone footage revealed Dwarves riding goats, Lin Mo summoned Thorin Ironbeard, who recognized the newcomers on the screen.

Thorin’s Dwarves arrived with valuable goods but were pursued by a huge Demon Clan force, which Lin Mo and Long Zhan destroyed with a rocket barrage. After Thorin went to welcome his people, Lin Mo and Long Zhan planned to keep the Dwarves at the base for several days until the Permanent Portal was finished.

• Thorin recognized the arriving Dwarves, but a drone revealed at least thirty thousand demons chasing them across the plains.
• Thorin pleaded for help, and Lin Mo agreed as Long Zhan ordered rocket artillery strikes against the Demon Clan army.
• Thermobaric bombs, cluster bombs, and missiles devastated the pursuing demons, allowing the Dwarves to escape.
• Thorin thanked Lin Mo and rushed out to meet his people.
• Lin Mo and Long Zhan decided to delay the Dwarves’ departure until the Permanent Portal was finished, and Lin Mo told Wu Suowei to bring the car to the forward positions.

Lin Mo welcomed Thorin, Balin Copperhammer, and their battered Dwarf delegation to the Expeditionary Force camp and arranged a lavish feast with baijiu. As the meal began, Zhao Gang and the soldiers encouraged the Dwarves to drink, and the feast’s drinking contest was just getting underway.

• Thorin introduced Balin Copperhammer, commander of the Dwarf delegation, to Lin Mo, who offered the weary, wounded Dwarves a place to rest.
• Lin Mo privately instructed Wu Suowei to prepare a feast and plenty of baijiu, and to recruit soldiers skilled at persuading others to drink.
• Zhao Gang convinced Balin to attend the welcome banquet despite the Dwarves’ bloodstained condition.
• The Dwarves arrived at a feast of hearty dishes and baijiu, where Great Xia soldiers sat among them to serve and encourage them.
• Zhao Gang proposed a toast to friendship, and the Dwarves praised the strong liquor after drinking their bowls.
• Balin and Thorin thanked Lin Mo by draining bowls of baijiu, and Zhao Gang refilled their bowls and urged them to drink again.

Zhao Gang and the Great Xia soldiers welcomed the Dwarves with a banquet and repeatedly toasted them, drawing them into Great Xia’s drinking customs. Balin and Thorin drank until they passed out, with Thorin still wondering whether a cup could really keep fish.

• Zhao Gang offered Balin and Thorin a series of toasts to respect, friendship, and their shared fight against the Demon Clan, and the Dwarves enthusiastically drank along.
• The Great Xia soldiers spread across the tables, teaching the Dwarves drinking games and using appeals to friendship and respect to persuade them to keep drinking.
• A young soldier told Thorin that leaving liquor in his bowl was taboo because it could “keep fish,” and Thorin drained the remainder before being toasted again.
• Balin called Zhao Gang his brother and praised Great Xia’s hospitality before falling asleep, while Lin Mo saw that the Dwarves and soldiers had passed out around the banquet tables.
• Thorin was the last to collapse, still asking whether fish could actually be kept in a cup.

Lin Mo and the Great Xia officers used a lunch invitation and deceptively mild rice wine to keep Balin Copperhammer and Thorin drinking while delaying their negotiations. Balin and Thorin repeatedly drank bowls of rice wine, believing it was barely alcoholic.

• Lin Mo learned the Baijiu was gone and ordered the cooks to serve the remaining Baijiu, Cooking Wine, and rice wine at lunch.
• Lin Mo visited the Dwarf camp, where Balin Copperhammer and Thorin praised the previous night's liquor and accepted his invitation to eat.
• At lunch, Zhao Gang poured Balin and Thorin rice wine and claimed it was sweet, low in alcohol, and useful for curing a hangover.
• Balin and Thorin sampled the rice wine, found it sweet, and kept drinking bowls of it after Zhao Gang proposed toasts.