Recaps

As Demon God Cho'Gath raced toward Tianxiong Underground City, Lin Shigong and the Command Center chose to keep the Antimatter Bomb inside the city and sacrifice themselves to guarantee a hit. With most civilians evacuated to Celestial Pivot City but more than twenty thousand still refusing or delaying, the threat closed in.

• Cho'Gath survived the missile interception and came within thirty-five kilometers of Tianxiong Underground City, leaving less than eighteen seconds before he arrived.
• Lin Shigong ordered the Antimatter Bomb kept inside the city and asked the Command Center staff to face death with him.
• An old staff officer, a young communications soldier, and the other Command Center personnel stood ready to die rather than bring shame on their uniforms.
• The adjutant reported that Holy Human Race mages had helped evacuate more than ninety percent of Tianxiong City's residents to Celestial Pivot City.
• The adjutant told Lin Shigong that more than twenty thousand people remained because they refused to leave their belongings, doubted the danger, or kept delaying.

An Eighth-Order Demon God-Cho'Gath appeared above the World Tree, and his overwhelming pressure struck Great Xia’s Command Center and the evacuation crowds below. Lin Shigong’s soldiers forced themselves to stand firm, while the civilians remained in chaos as the threat descended.

• Lin Shigong ordered his adjutant to force every civilian through the portals, even if they had to be knocked out and carried.
• An immense pressure overwhelmed the Command Center, but Lin Shigong resisted it and rallied the fallen soldiers to stand.
• The Command Center’s screen showed Eighth-Order Demon God-Cho'Gath hovering above the World Tree, and the staff recognized that he had arrived.
• At the portals, civilians argued with soldiers over quilts, a teapot, and whether the disaster was real, delaying evacuation.
• The same oppressive force descended over the panicked crowd beneath the World Tree.

Cho'Gath terrorized the people beneath the World Tree and prepared to descend on their settlement, believing they had killed three of his Seventh-Order Demon Venerables. As an inexplicable warning made him stop in midair, the fate of the people below remained uncertain.

• Cho'Gath's mental pressure drove civilians and soldiers to the ground, but the veterans rallied and forced the civilians toward the Portal.
• The crowd spotted Cho'Gath hovering over the World Tree and fell into despair while soldiers continued urging them onward.
• Cho'Gath savored the humans' fear and recalled that they had killed three of his Seventh-Order Demon Venerables, including Kosla.
• Cho'Gath dismissed the humans' earlier victories as luck and began attacking the settlement beneath him.
• The humans' artillery, missiles, energy beams, and aircraft struck Cho'Gath's shield, and his roar disabled aircraft that then crashed.
• Cho'Gath prepared to descend and crush the settlement, but an inexplicable flicker of alarm made him halt in midair.

Cho'Gath shattered the human defenses in Antarctica and punched down the World Tree, destroying Tianxiong Underground City's only hope. As its defenders watched, he continued his leisurely slaughter, leaving them to rage and despair.

• Cho'Gath landed amid the Antarctic defenses, destroying missile positions and crushing a tank while shrugging off the attacks.
• Cho'Gath swept away an antiaircraft position and roared down two attack helicopters, incapacitating nearby soldiers.
• Cho'Gath reached the World Tree and punched through its trunk, causing the giant tree to collapse onto the ice.
• Lin Shigong and the underground command staff watched the World Tree fall as survivors grieved the loss of their sustenance and hope.
• A veteran squad leader and other defenders attacked Cho'Gath despite knowing their weapons could not pierce his shield.
• Cho'Gath walked through the defensive line, crushing soldiers and equipment while deliberately prolonging the slaughter.

Cho'Gath hunted survivors on the surface after the portals closed, leaving twelve thousand people trapped in its path. In Tianxiong Underground City's Command Center, Lin Shigong and his staff watched helplessly as the survivors fought to stay alive.

• Cho'Gath approached the portals, but they shut down before it could investigate them.
• Lin Shigong confirmed that about twelve thousand soldiers and civilians remained on the surface and announced their final battle.
• A squad leader sent his soldiers to hide civilians and keep them safe while Cho'Gath advanced across the icefield.
• The adjutant urged Lin Shigong to use nuclear bombs, but Lin Shigong pointed out that the blast would kill the survivors and might not harm Cho'Gath.

Lin Shigong prepared Tianxiong Underground City to lure the Demon God into range of an Antimatter Bomb, but six Burrowing Earth Dragons began tunneling toward the city’s outer walls. He ordered robots to plant explosives at their approach points, and the walls started cracking as the creatures drew near.

• Lin Shigong confirmed that Tianxiong Underground City had been evacuated and that the Antimatter Bomb and layered defenses were in place.
• A technician detected six Burrowing Earth Dragons tunneling toward the Third through Fifth Layers, with the fastest expected to reach the Fourth Layer in twelve minutes.
• Lin Shigong ordered robots to plant Cubic Nitrogen Explosives inside the walls at all six seismic-source locations.
• Combat Robots carried the explosives to their assigned positions and connected their fuses to central control.
• At the Fourth Layer’s G4-17 Section, the wall shook and cracked as the Burrowing Earth Dragons chewed through the concrete.

Lin Shigong destroyed two Burrowing Earth Dragons by detonating explosives in the tunnels, then sent a vehicle carrying the Antimatter Bomb into position as Cho'Gath approached the Underground City. Cho'Gath began widening the northern tunnel by force and marched underground toward the human nest.

• Lin Shigong ordered explosives detonated, killing two Burrowing Earth Dragons and sealing their tunnels against the Demon Clan Army.
• Lin Shigong ordered the vehicle carrying the Antimatter Bomb to move out as Cho'Gath turned toward the Underground City's entrance.
• Cho'Gath learned that all six Burrowing Earth Dragons had been wiped out and chose to enter through the northern tunnel leading to Tianxiong Underground City.
• Cho'Gath tore open the tunnel entrance and widened the passage so he could walk upright into the underground route.
• Cho'Gath marched along the tunnel toward the human nest while missiles exploded harmlessly against his Energy Shield.

With Cho'Gath expected to reach Tianxiong City in two hours and eleven Burrowing Earth Dragons closing in, Lin Shigong planned to let the Demon God enter the city and detonate the Antimatter Bomb. A young Staff Officer proposed moving the bomb into the tunnel to attack Cho'Gath before it reached the city, giving the defenders a chance to survive.

• A technician calculated that Cho'Gath would reach Tianxiong City in two hours, while another reported that eleven Burrowing Earth Dragons were approaching.
• Chen Jianguo told Lin Shigong that six Burrowing Earth Dragons were heading for Tianyong City and his forces were laying mines; Lin said his plan was to wait for Cho'Gath to enter Tianxiong City before detonating the Antimatter Bomb.
• A young Staff Officer proposed transporting the bomb down the intact section of tunnel and detonating it three or four kilometers from Tianxiong City when Cho'Gath reached it.
• The officers embraced the plan, noting that the bomb and a military truck were ready, and prepared to calculate Cho'Gath's progress so they could detonate it at the right moment.

Lin Shigong moved the Command Center team and their equipment to the Tianxiong branch of Great Xia Industrial Bank’s underground vault so they could survive the Antimatter Bomb’s detonation. The team established communications and prepared to seal themselves inside when the bomb exploded, with their estimated survival chance rising to at least seventy percent.

• Lin Shigong ordered the team to dismantle the Command Center equipment, gather supplies, and retreat to the bank vault far from the planned detonation point.
• Lin Shigong led more than twenty technicians and staff officers through the empty Tianxiong Underground City to the vault.
• A technician retrieved the access code, and the team moved supplies into the vault and ran a fiber-optic cable to restore communications.
• Lin Shigong told everyone to cut the cable and close the vault doors as soon as the Antimatter Bomb detonated.
• The adjutant asked technician Liu about their odds of survival, and Liu estimated at least sixty percent, possibly seventy percent.

Fourteen special operations soldiers waited beside a truck carrying an antimatter device as Cho'Gath dug toward them. After easing their nerves with jokes, the soldiers prepared to detonate the device, while Cho'Gath abruptly stopped several kilometers away.

• The captain offered cigarettes to the fourteen soldiers as Cho'Gath's digging rumbled closer through the tunnel.
• The soldiers joked about the antimatter device and Four admitted he had been single for over ten years, exposing his stories about past relationships as a lie.
• The soldiers' laughter faded, and they silently waited for Cho'Gath to reach them so they could press the detonator.
• The captain crushed his cigarette and stood with a hunter's gaze as the soldiers held their positions.
• Cho'Gath stopped digging, his arms freezing in midair as his scarlet pupils contracted and his enormous head leaned forward.

Cho'Gath sensed the Antimatter Bomb at the end of the tunnel and retreated rather than risk his life, then ordered Burrowing Earth Dragons to converge on Tianxiong Underground City. Great Xia realized the bomb had deterred the Demon God but had not killed him, and seismic monitors reported fourteen Burrowing Earth Dragons digging toward the city.

• Cho'Gath detected a tiny object ahead that threatened his life and concluded it was likely the weapon that had killed Ao Lingsi.
• Cho'Gath turned back to the surface and ordered the Burrowing Earth Dragons within a hundred kilometers to converge on Tianxiong Underground City.
• The staff watching the surveillance feed were baffled by Cho'Gath's retreat until Lin Shigong explained that he had sensed the Antimatter Bomb.
• The adjutant realized the bomb had kept Cho'Gath away but remained unused, leaving the Demon God alive and dangerous.
• A technician reported that seismic monitoring had detected fourteen Burrowing Earth Dragons digging toward Tianxiong City.

Lin Shigong ordered Tianxiong City to conserve ammunition, restart explosives production, and report its predicament after Cho'Gath sent Burrowing Earth Dragons to wear down its defenses. At headquarters, Han Niba learned the Antimatter Bomb had not detonated and asked whether Lin Mo had secured reinforcements.

• Lin Shigong estimated that Tianxiong City's high-powered explosives and cubic nitrogen bombs would last at most four days and ordered the military factories to restart automated production.
• The adjutant confirmed that Tianxiong City had enough raw materials for five years of consumption, and robots began operating the factories' assembly lines.
• At Tianshu Underground City's Command Hall, staff wondered why Cho'Gath had emerged from the tunnel unharmed and whether the Antimatter Bomb had detonated.
• The communications operator read Tianxiong City's report that Cho'Gath had detected the bomb, retreated, and sent fourteen Burrowing Earth Dragons toward the city to grind down its defenses.
• Han Niba concluded that Cho'Gath was more experienced than expected, and the officers recognized that the Antimatter Bomb was difficult to use against him.
• Han Niba asked how Commander Lin Mo's mission to the Terra Continent was progressing and whether he had secured reinforcements.

Lin Mo told Kael that the Demon Clan had appeared on Blue Star and asked to meet Lord Ryze urgently. Kael agreed to take him to the Holy City, and they flew there together on pegasi.

• Lin Mo hurried to the Holy Human Race’s shop at the Two-World Trade Center and told Kael that the Demon Clan had been discovered on Blue Star.
• Kael was shocked by the news, but believed Lin Mo after he said drones had captured conclusive footage.
• Lin Mo asked to meet Lord Ryze immediately, and Kael agreed to escort him to the Holy City.
• Kael and Lin Mo mounted pegasi and flew through a portal into the Holy Human Race’s territory.
• The two flew over the Holy City toward the church.

Lin Mo asked Ryze to send Holy Human fighters to help Great Xia repel a Demon Clan invasion, warning that Great Xia’s destruction would leave Terra without its only weapon capable of killing an Eighth-Order Demon God. Ryze hesitated over the risk, and Lin Mo argued that all of Terra’s survival depended on helping Great Xia.

• Lin Mo and Kael arrived at the Church and asked to meet Ryze, who received them inside.
• Lin Mo told Ryze that demons had emerged through a space wormhole inside an Underground City on Blue Star and that a Demon God might lead the invasion.
• Lin Mo asked the Holy Human Race to send high-order fighters to support Great Xia.
• Ryze considered the danger of confronting a Demon God, fearing that another major loss would weaken the Holy Human Race after the Pope’s death.
• Lin Mo reminded Ryze that Great Xia alone could make the Antimatter Bomb that had killed Ao Lingsi and warned that Terra would lose its last trump card if Great Xia fell.

Lin Mo secured the Holy Human Race’s agreement to send three seventh order fighters to support Great Xia, then went to seek help from the Elves. He found Princess Fendona at the Starwhisper Grove Ecological Experience Park, where she was posing for tourists.

• Ryze agreed that the Holy Human Race would aid Great Xia and send three seventh order fighters in exchange for standard payment.
• Lin Mo thanked Ryze and said he would seek aid from the Elves, Dwarves, and Half-Orcs.
• Kael warned Lin Mo that the other races might not be as accommodating, but Lin Mo said the Holy Human Race’s backing would help.
• Lin Mo returned to Great Xia’s Fief with Kael and headed to the Elves’ area to find Princess Fendona.
• An Elf shop assistant told Lin Mo that Fendona was at the Starwhisper Grove Ecological Experience Park.
• Lin Mo found Fendona posing for photos with Great Xia tourists.

Lin Mo told Fendona that members of the Demon Clan had appeared on Blue Star and asked her to bring him to the Elf Queen so he could seek help from the Elves. They reached the palace in Aivinol, where a guard paused them before they could meet the Queen.

• Lin Mo found Fendona at the park and told her that the Demon Clan had appeared on Blue Star.
• Fendona agreed to take Lin Mo to the Elf Queen and hurried with him to the Griffins.
• Lin Mo and Fendona flew through a Portal to Aivinol, the Elf Royal City built throughout a giant world tree.
• They rode their Griffins to the palace atop the tree, where Fendona requested an audience with the Queen on Lin Mo's behalf.
• The palace guard recognized Lin Mo and asked them to wait while he attended to the request.

Lin Mo asked Elf Queen Ellari to send high-order combatants to Blue Star to help Great Xia fight the Demon Clan, but she resisted because doing so would weaken Terra’s defenses. He argued that helping Great Xia now offered a strong chance of victory, while allowing it to fall would leave the Elves and Terra facing certain defeat.

• Lin Mo entered the Elven palace with Fendona and explained that the Demon Clan had appeared on Blue Star.
• Lin Mo asked Ellari to send high-order combatants to help Great Xia, but she warned that their absence could endanger the Elves on Terra.
• Fendona tried to remind Ellari of Great Xia’s past support, but Ellari stopped her and said that support had been a transaction, not a favor.
• Lin Mo argued that Great Xia was the only race with weapons capable of killing an Eighth-Order Demon God, and that its destruction would expose Terra to a future attack.
• Ellari maintained that keeping her forces on Terra was the safer immediate choice, so Lin Mo argued that helping Great Xia now offered a high chance of victory while waiting meant certain defeat.

Lin Mo negotiated with Ellari for Elven aid against the Demon Clan’s invasion of Blue Star, agreeing that Great Xia would help the Elves twice unconditionally in exchange for three Seventh Order combatants. The deal was put into a magic contract, but its severe penalty for Great Xia breaching the agreement left Lin Mo objecting.

• Lin Mo offered the Elves payment and an unconditional future promise of assistance, and Ellari demanded two future interventions in return.
• Lin Mo argued that helping Great Xia also protected Terra, and Ellari waived the hiring fee while insisting on her terms.
• Lin Mo accepted the deal, and Ellari said the Elves would send three Seventh Order combatants while she stayed on Terra.
• Ellari drafted a magic contract requiring Great Xia to help the Elves twice unconditionally and transferring Great Xia’s Terra holdings to the Elves if Great Xia broke the agreement.
• Lin Mo questioned Ellari about the contract’s harsh breach-of-contract clause.

Lin Mo secured the Elves’ aid for Great Xia by signing a contract that committed three Seventh-Order Experts to help Blue Star. Meanwhile, Great Xia’s missile attacks irritated Cho'Gath without damaging his shield, and he sent more Burrowing Earth Dragons to tunnel toward Tianxiong City.

• Ellari challenged Lin Mo over the contract’s breach clauses, and he agreed to sign, pledging Great Xia’s Terra assets as compensation if the Elves’ Three Elders were harmed.
• Ellari and Lin Mo sealed the contract with their blood, and she promised to send the Three Elders to Great Xia’s fief at once.
• Lin Mo told Fendona that Ellari had been right to protect her people, then left with her to seek aid from the Dwarves and Half-Orcs.
• Great Xia repeatedly struck Cho'Gath with conventional missiles, slightly draining his Dark Purple Shield but causing him no damage.
• Cho'Gath ordered more Burrowing Earth Dragons to tunnel toward Tianxiong City after explosives had destroyed many of them and their tunnels.

Cho'Gath fled the missile barrage and reached Eolseu, Korea's underground city, intending to vent his anger on its inhabitants. The city’s people remained unaware that the Eighth-Order Demon God had arrived above them.

• Cho'Gath roared in anger, then flew southeast toward another human settlement after learning of its location.
• Cho'Gath detected a dense population beneath the ice, landed above the underground city, and sensed no threat.
• The chapter described how Korea obtained a small Antarctic territory from Eagle Country and built Eolseu as its last core city.
• Eolseu's lower-class residents endured cramped housing, ration lines, and dangerous labor while elites enjoyed abundant luxuries.
• Park Chang-da chose to keep Korea's population underground, where leaders used horror livestreams and entertainment to occupy them.
• Cho'Gath stood above Eolseu as its residents remained oblivious to the danger approaching them.

At Eolseu Underground City, Park Chang-da and his staff mistook approaching nuclear explosions for Eagle Country’s successful counterattack and began planning how to profit. Their celebrations ended when an immense, unseen pressure struck the Command Center, forcing everyone, including Park Chang-da, to the floor.

• A technician reported that more than forty suspected nuclear explosions had moved from the direction of Eagle Country’s Freedom Underground City toward Great Xia’s Tianxiong city area.
• Park Chang-da concluded that Eagle Country had broken through Great Xia’s blockade and was advancing into its territory.
• Park Chang-da and the staff celebrated the prospect of Eagle Country defeating Great Xia and discussed gaining supplies, territory, and access to the surface.
• Park Chang-da estimated that Eagle Country had a sixty to seventy percent chance of winning and approved preparations to support it.
• An incomprehensible pressure overwhelmed the Command Center, knocking down the secretary, officers, technicians, and Park Chang-da.

Ersu City’s Command Center detected underground seismic sources, but its terrified, poorly prepared garrison could not stop the Demon Clan Army from breaking through the city’s walls. As the defenses collapsed, Cho'Gath entered the city and looked down at the humans.

• Park Chang-da and the Command Center staff struggled under a terrifying pressure as technicians detected approaching underground seismic sources.
• Park Chang-da ordered the army to prepare, but the frightened troops could barely hold their weapons or reach the defensive line.
• A Burrowing Earth Dragon smashed through the outer wall, shrugged off gunfire, and charged through the defenders.
• Abyss Hellhounds, Heavy Armor Demon Soldiers, and other Demon Clan troops poured into Ersu City as Burrowing Earth Dragons broke through walls in all four directions.
• Korea's army collapsed within minutes, and Park Chang-da stopped breathing while watching the city fall on the surveillance feed.
• Cho'Gath emerged through the eastern main wall, rose through the ceilings, and grinned down at the humans.

Tianxiong City came under a growing assault from Burrowing Earth Dragons and elite demons infiltrating through tunnels, vents, and pipes. As Lin Shigong’s defenses ran short of robots and explosives, powerful demons began battering the city’s main blast gate, which was close to giving way.

• Burrowing Earth Dragons attacked Tianxiong City from all sides, and its factory-produced explosives and Combat Robots initially sealed their tunnels.
• Fifth-order and sixth-rank demons infiltrated through the main tunnel, ventilation ducts, and drainage pipes, overwhelming the city’s stretched defenses.
• Technicians and staff officers directed the remaining Combat Robots against intruders, while Lin Shigong watched the situation deteriorate.
• An information officer reported that demons were ramming the two-meter-thick blast gate at tunnel two, and its surveillance feed showed it buckling under repeated impacts.
• Lin Shigong ordered explosives placed inside the gate, but the information officer reported that C4 and Cubic Nitrogen Explosive were completely depleted and the next batch would take at least half an hour.

With explosives depleted and the tunnel gate close to collapsing, Lin Shigong ordered tactical nuclear bombs deployed to defend Tianxiong City. Before he could give the detonation order, Great Xia’s Seventh Rapid Response Brigade arrived through a Portal with troops, combat robots, vehicles, and urgently needed explosives.

• Lin Shigong learned that Tianxiong City had run out of C4 and cubic nitrogen as Demon Clan forces attacked through the tunnels and pipes.
• Lin Shigong ordered low-yield tactical nuclear bombs placed at the tunnel gate and breached pipe junctions, while moving the Antimatter Bombs to safety.
• Robots prepared the nuclear bombs as Lin Shigong watched battles and destruction spread throughout Tianxiong City.
• A Portal opened outside the Vault, and the Seventh Rapid Response Brigade of Great Xia’s Northern Theater Command announced its arrival.
• Great Xia soldiers, Combat Robots, armored vehicles, C4, and Cubic Nitrogen Explosive streamed through the Portal and advanced into Tianxiong City.

Zhou Shan arrived with the Second Division to reinforce Tianxiong City after Cho'Gath left for Ersu City, and he explained that Great Xia would not let the Demon Clan destroy the city through attrition. The division took control of the defenses, leaving the city prepared to hold out until Cho'Gath returned and could be trapped by the Antimatter Bomb.

• Zhou Shan and the Second Division emerged from the Portal, and Zhou Shan saluted Lin Shigong before ordering his troops to coordinate with the city's defenses.
• Lin Shigong questioned why a full-strength division had returned after the evacuation, since the earlier orders had been to remove civilians and most of the garrison.
• Zhou Shan explained that the evacuation had been necessary because detonating the Antimatter Bomb against Cho'Gath inside the Underground City would devastate the surrounding crust.
• Zhou Shan told Lin Shigong that Cho'Gath had left for Ersu City and was using cannon fodder to wear down Tianxiong City instead of entering the Antimatter Bomb trap.
• Zhou Shan declared that the Second Division would hold the city against conventional forces until Cho'Gath returned and Great Xia could destroy it with the Antimatter Bomb.