Chapter Summaries

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.

After three days of drinking together, Balin and Thorin finally sat down with Lin Mo to discuss the weapons they had come to acquire. Lin Mo challenged their plans to simply transport and fire the equipment, leaving the dwarves facing the need to learn how to operate and maintain it.

• Balin and the others drank through another meal without discussing business, and Balin and Thorin woke on the third day badly hungover.
• Balin and Thorin swore off drinking with Great Xia and realized they had not yet discussed the weapons trade.
• Thorin told Balin that Great Xia's soldiers guarded their weapons closely, though he had picked up a few firearm-disassembly techniques.
• Lin Mo invited the dwarves to eat, promised there would be no pressure to drink, and served them congee before they discussed business.
• Balin said the dwarves would take the weapons home in Spatial Rings and use them against the Demon Clan.
• Lin Mo questioned whether the dwarves knew how to aim, coordinate bombardments, repair equipment, clear cannon jams, or read maintenance manuals.

Lin Mo persuaded Balin and Thorin to keep the Dwarves in Great Xia for training before taking their weapons home, then confessed that he had been delaying the equipment handover until supplies improved. Balin and Thorin accepted his explanation, and Lin Mo asked them to deliver some Spatial Rings early, leaving Balin hesitant.

• Lin Mo explained that the Dwarves needed to learn tactics, maintenance, and coordinated combat alongside their weapons.
• Lin Mo offered comprehensive military training for the Dwarves, and Balin and Thorin eagerly agreed.
• Lin Mo admitted he had a selfish reason for delaying the equipment handover: Great Xia lacked supplies and needed time to build its Permanent Portal.
• Balin and Thorin accepted Lin Mo's candor and agreed to wait a few more days for their equipment.
• Lin Mo asked Balin to deliver some Spatial Rings in advance, but Balin hesitated over the risk.

Lin Mo received a Spatial Ring from Balin, who explained how it worked and why it was protected from theft. The ring let Great Xia transport up to a thousand cubic meters of supplies each day before the Permanent Portal was completed, and Zhao Gang hurried off to prepare a list of urgent needs.

• Thorin agreed to let Great Xia train the Dwarves in operating its weapons and equipment, and Balin gave Lin Mo a Spatial Ring.
• Balin explained that Spatial Rings could store objects but not living things, and that each ring’s mental imprint warned its wearer if someone else tried to use it.
• Lin Mo discovered that his ring contained an empty space about ten meters across and learned that the Dwarves had used their rings to transport goods past the Demon Clan’s siege.
• Long Zhan led Balin and Thorin away to begin arranging their training after Thorin eagerly asked to learn to drive a tank.
• Lin Mo let Zhao Gang test the ring, then explained that it could carry a thousand cubic meters of supplies each day before the Permanent Portal was finished.
• Zhao Gang calculated that the ring could carry enormous quantities of ammunition and equipment, then hurried away to assemble a list of urgent supplies.

Lin Mo learned that Dwarf Commander Balin was a Seventh Order Battle Venerable and tested the Spatial Ring's ability to store objects. After returning to Blue Star, he showed Elder Zhao that he could use the ring to bring back large quantities of supplies, leaving the chief stunned by the prospect.

• Lin Mo asked Grom about Balin's strength and learned that the dwarf had reached the Seventh Order decades earlier.
• Lin Mo used the Spatial Ring to make a rock and a Mengshi military vehicle disappear and reappear, astonishing nearby soldiers.
• Zhao Gang gave Lin Mo the Expeditionary Force's supply list and asked him to raise the Permanent Portal's location with the chief.
• Lin Mo purified himself, hid the ring in a sealed bag beneath his tongue, and went to sleep in his tent.
• Lin Mo woke in his private room in Tianshu Underground City, returned the ring to his finger, and went to see Elder Zhao.
• Lin Mo produced the supply list with the Spatial Ring and told Elder Zhao he could bring back another batch of supplies, prompting Elder Zhao to identify the ring.

Lin Mo showed Elder Zhao a Spatial Ring and reported on his dealings in Terra, while they discussed Blue Star’s portal site and preparations for the Expeditionary Force. He then went to Central Ecological Park to find Elder Qian and Elder Liu, but found the World Tree had grown to a hundred meters and the elders were nowhere in sight.

• Lin Mo gave Elder Zhao a Spatial Ring, and Elder Zhao overcame its previous user's mental imprint and tested its storage ability.
• Lin Mo reported on the Permanent Portal plans, trade with the Elves and Holy Human Race, and his dealings with the Dwarves and Half-Orcs.
• Elder Zhao ordered the original Arctic site renovated for the Permanent Portal to avoid exposing Blue Star's weakness to outsiders.
• Lin Mo asked Elder Zhao to arrange supplies for the Expeditionary Force and left to show the Spatial Ring to Elder Qian and Elder Liu.
• Lin Mo arrived at Central Ecological Park, saw that the World Tree had grown to a hundred meters beneath a new dome, and asked a researcher where Elder Qian and Elder Liu were.

Lin Mo showed Qian Zhenhua and Liu Chengen a Spatial Ring, then reclaimed it after their brief study so he could carry emergency supplies to Terra. He tested the upgraded Pangu Mecha and began loading Warehouse Two’s supplies into the ring, leaving the watching soldiers stunned.

• Lin Mo demonstrated the Spatial Ring to Qian Zhenhua and Liu Chengen and lent it to them for eight hours of study.
• Zhao Kexia explained Pangu’s improved shock resistance and flexible-metal wiring, and Lin Mo tested the mecha under heavy bombardment.
• Secretary Li told Lin Mo that his listed supplies were ready, and Lin Mo reclaimed the ring from the reluctant academicians.
• Lin Mo used the Spatial Ring to make large piles of ammunition and other supplies vanish in Warehouse Two while the soldiers watched in disbelief.

Lin Mo welcomed the Holy Human Race delegation, including the seventh-order Element Walker Ryze, who had come to help build the Permanent Portal. Kael explained that Ryze had to stabilize the enormous passage between the two worlds, and construction was set to begin that afternoon.

• Lin Mo woke in the Terra Continent after Zhao Gang told him the Holy Human Race delegation had arrived.
• A dragon, pegasi, and lizard-like beasts brought the delegation to the Expeditionary Force's Forward Base, where Long Zhan ordered the soldiers to remain calm.
• Dragon Knight Reynolds greeted Lin Mo, while High Archbishop Kael bowed to the delegation's leader, Ryze, a powerful seventh-order Element Walker.
• Ryze examined Lin Mo and said he hoped Lin Mo could guide Terra and illuminate the continent.
• Zhao Gang arranged a welcoming banquet, where dwarf commander Balin teased Reynolds and drank with him.
• Kael told Lin Mo that Portal construction could begin that afternoon and explained that Ryze had to stabilize the passage between the worlds.

Lin Mo and the Holy Human Race established a portal base as Ryze created its foundation and activated the magic circle with overwhelming power. The portal’s spectacle drew an immense underwater Demon Clan force toward the coast, and Long Zhan ordered the Expeditionary Force to prepare for battle.

• Lin Mo returned to the warehouse and appeared over a hundred crates of supplies from Blue Star, then ordered the soldiers to inventory them.
• Lin Mo, Zhao Gang, and the Holy Human Race delegation reached the portal site, where Ryze formed a vast circular foundation and the mages arranged the magical materials.
• Ryze activated the magic circle, sending a towering pillar of light through the clouds and astonishing Lin Mo, Zhao Gang, and the soldiers.
• Long Zhan told Lin Mo that the land near the site had been cleared of Demon Clan forces, while the Expeditionary Force maintained defenses against possible attacks from the sea.
• A communications soldier reported countless underwater targets approaching at high speed, and Long Zhan ordered level-one combat readiness as the troops aimed their weapons toward the sea.

Great Xia forces devastated the Demon Clan’s low-ranking sea vanguard while Lin Mo and Long Zhan considered the threat posed by unseen elites. As Ryze’s permanent portal expanded, Long Zhan and Lin Mo reached it and began identity checks, but Lin Mo was asked an embarrassing question.

• Long Zhan ordered the Great Xia forces to open fire, and their cannons, rockets, lasers, vehicles, and helicopters slaughtered the Demon Clan’s vanguard in the sea.
• Lin Mo kept Kael, Balin, and the other powerful allies in reserve while Long Zhan warned that the missing high-ranking Demon Clan members might be probing the defenses or waiting for a stronger opportunity.
• Ryze expanded the permanent portal until it revealed a heavily armed Great Xia hangar on the other side.
• Long Zhan passed the portal’s password and biometric checks after admitting he missed the target three times in recruit training.
• The identification machine asked Lin Mo how many terabytes of material he had on his hard drive.

Lin Mo and Long Zhan connected Arctic Base to the Terra Continent, and Ryze reshaped the portal into a massive rectangle to improve passage. Long Zhan took command as Arctic Base’s forces poured through, and the chapter ended with the portal’s interior suddenly changing after the last missile vehicle emerged.

• Lin Mo and Long Zhan confirmed their identities, and Arctic Base stood down its weapons and began the connection.
• Drones flew through the expanding portal, followed by tanks and other military vehicles as the gate grew to ninety meters wide.
• Lin Mo remarked that a rectangular portal would improve throughput, and Ryze reshaped the stable circular gate into a rectangle.
• Ryze returned to camp to rest, and Long Zhan took command of Arctic Base’s deployment.
• Tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, missile launchers, drones, and attack helicopters streamed onto the Terra Continent for an hour.
• The last missile vehicle drove through, and the scene inside the portal suddenly changed.