Chapter Summaries

Lin Mo and Liu Youwan showed the Terra delegation Celestial Pivot City's livestock farms, indoor gardens, and energy facilities, leaving the visitors despairing at Great Xia's technological superiority. Lin Mo decided to cheer them up with mahjong and announced it as a Great Xia national treasure.

• Lin Mo and Liu Youwan led the delegation through automated livestock and plant-growing zones, astonishing the Half-Orcs and Elves.
• Thorin Ironbeard examined the city's pipes and energy systems, then admitted Great Xia's underground city surpassed the Dwarves' own.
• The visitors ate dinner in gloomy silence, overwhelmed by how thoroughly Great Xia's technology had outmatched their skills and magic.
• Lin Mo noticed the visitors' dejection, and Liu Youwan suggested mahjong as a distraction.
• Lin Mo announced that after dinner he would introduce them to a fun game and called it a Great Xia national treasure.

Lin Mo introduced mahjong to the visitors from Terra, and the game soon consumed the restaurant as they competed late into the night. Their excitement was interrupted when Long Zhan reported a new Demon Clan force arriving through the monitored spatial wormhole, including six likely Seventh Order units and a possible Eighth Order leader.

• Lin Mo explained mahjong and taught the visitors from Terra how to play.
• Annie won the first round, spurring the others to keep playing and compete through the night.
• Thorin, Kael, Elder Muyu, and the others grew absorbed in the game as their earlier dejection faded.
• Long Zhan called Lin Mo with an emergency report that a large batch of Demon Clan units had arrived at the monitored wormhole.
• Long Zhan said six of the newcomers were likely Seventh Order and their leader was likely Eighth Order.

Lin Mo and the others learned that the Demon Clan had received a suspected Eighth Order leader and six Seventh Order reinforcements, led by the feared Demon God Ao Lingsi. As they hurried back to the Arctic Base, Kael and Thorin recalled Ao Lingsi’s devastating role in the first invasion, and Lin Mo asked how powerful the Pope was.

• Lin Mo received word that new Demon Clan forces had arrived on Terra and ordered everyone to return to the Arctic Base.
• On the Subway, Lin Mo watched Long Zhan’s footage of an Eighth Order Demon Clan leader, six Seventh Order beings, and a massive army emerging from a spatial rift.
• Thorin identified the leader as Ao Lingsi, who had razed three Dwarven mountain cities nearly two hundred years earlier.
• Kael explained that the races’ top fighters had barely held Ao Lingsi back, and that the Pope had been gravely injured while the Merfolk king died fighting it.
• Lin Mo asked Kael what order the Pope was.

Lin Mo and the others learned that Great Xia’s nuclear strike against Ao Lingsi had failed, leaving them with no apparent way to stop the eighth-order Demon God. At the Astral Portal, Lin Mo arranged for his body on Terra to be sent back to Blue Star so he could maintain one body in each world.

• Kael told Lin Mo that the Pope was a half-step eighth-order mage who had only wounded Ao Lingsi more than a century earlier.
• Long Zhan informed Lin Mo that Ao Lingsi had intercepted Great Xia’s Dongfeng missile carrying ten nuclear warheads.
• Lin Mo watched footage of Ao Lingsi flying up and smashing the missile with one punch before its warheads could detonate.
• Long Zhan explained that Great Xia’s weapons could not reliably hit Ao Lingsi or penetrate its defenses, and said they were still discussing what to do.
• Lin Mo and the others reached the Astral Portal in the Arctic Underground City, and Lin Mo ordered a body he had left on Terra sent back to Blue Star.

Lin Mo returned to Great Xia’s command center as its leaders debated how to stop the Eighth Order Demon God Ao Lingsi. When the Demon Clan armies withdrew to assemble around Ao Lingsi, Great Xia realized it was likely the enemy’s next target.

• Lin Mo returned from the Astral Portal and arrived at the Command Center, where staff officers argued over whether to launch a nuclear strike.
• A senior staff officer proposed having Seventh-Order fighters carry nuclear bombs into close combat, but Zhao Gang warned that they might die without seriously injuring Ao Lingsi.
• Long Zhan proposed luring Ao Lingsi into a mountain range rigged with hundreds of nuclear bombs, then pointed out that the flying Demon God had no reason to enter the trap.
• Long Zhan said Terra’s races had not yet responded to Great Xia’s request for help.
• A communications soldier reported that the Demon Clan armies were withdrawing from the surrounding territories and converging near Ao Lingsi.
• Long Zhan warned that Ao Lingsi was gathering forces for an all-out offensive, and the command staff recognized that Great Xia was likely its intended target.

After learning that the Demon Clan had assembled an eighth-order Demon God and eight seventh-order foes, Long Zhan approved a plan to urgently seek an alliance with Terra’s races. Zhao Gang moved to contact them, while He Wuqi received an urgent message in the Holy Kingdom.

• Long Zhan ordered first-level combat readiness and the evacuation of noncombatants from Terra to Blue Star.
• Great Xia’s staff officers considered artillery, plasma, laser, and nuclear attacks, but concluded they could not reliably defeat the Demon Clan alone.
• Long Zhan proposed using satellite footage to persuade Terra’s races to form an alliance, with abandoning Terra as a bluff if they refused.
• Lin Mo approved the plan, and Zhao Gang set out to contact the Holy Kingdom, Elves, Dwarf Clan, Half-Orc Clan, and Dragons Clan.
• In Holy Light City, He Wuqi received an urgent encrypted communication from Zhao Gang while Archbishop Benedict showed him a historic tower.

He Wuqi informed Benedict and Pope Gregory VII that Ao Lingsi had arrived with a powerful Demon Clan force and sought an alliance against an imminent invasion. The Holy Human Race agreed to join Great Xia, and its leaders began preparing a battle plan.

• Zhao Gang told He Wuqi that Ao Lingsi and six Seventh Order Demon Clan members had arrived on Terra and that the Demon Clan was mustering for an all-out offensive.
• He Wuqi urged Benedict to form a strategic alliance between Great Xia and the Holy Human Race.
• Benedict took He Wuqi and the Diplomatic Mission to Holy Light Cathedral, where Pope Gregory VII granted He Wuqi an audience.
• He Wuqi warned Gregory VII that Great Xia could not face the Demon Clan alone and said it would withdraw from Terra if the races failed to unite.
• Gregory VII agreed to an alliance and ordered Benedict to summon the High Archbishops and Knight Commanders to discuss a battle plan.

A Great Xia envoy warned the Elves and Dwarves that Ao Lingsi had returned with a large Demon Clan force and urged them to join a strategic alliance. Queen Ellari and King Muradin agreed, leaving Great Xia with both races committed to standing together against the coming offensive.

• The Great Xia envoy showed Queen Ellari footage confirming Ao Lingsi's return and warned that the Demon Clan was preparing an all-out offensive.
• The envoy said Great Xia might withdraw from Terra and close the Portal if the Elves refused to ally, and Ellari agreed to join the alliance.
• The envoy showed King Muradin the footage, and Muradin recognized Ao Lingsi as the demon that had destroyed three Dwarf cities and killed his father a century earlier.
• Muradin admitted the Dwarves were unsure they could hold Ao Lingsi off, but agreed that the Dwarf Clan would ally with Great Xia.

The Half-Orc Tribe and the Dragons Clan agreed to ally with Great Xia against the Demon Clan. Lin Mo negotiated with Thorin to send Dwarf craftsmen and 10,000 Dwarves to Blue Star, then argued over Thorin’s demand for a nuclear bomb.

• The Old Wolf King agreed to discuss an alliance with the Half-Orc tribes and stand with Great Xia against the Demon Clan.
• The Dragons King agreed to form an alliance with Great Xia and fight the Demon Clan.
• Lin Mo told Thorin that sending Dwarf Rune Masters to Blue Star could preserve their craft and help the Dwarf Clan survive if the Fief fell.
• Thorin demanded greater payment and permission for 10,000 Dwarves to go to Blue Star, and Lin Mo pretended to accept pending approval.
• Thorin asked Great Xia to sell the Dwarf Clan a nuclear bomb, but Lin Mo refused and the two argued over the danger and trust involved.

Lin Mo and Thorin agreed that Great Xia would retain control of a one-megaton nuclear bomb while the Dwarves gained the right to request its use. Ten thousand Dwarves arrived on Blue Star as their clan’s “kindling,” and Elder Zhao approved plans to invite other races in exchange for strategic resources.

• Lin Mo proposed that the Dwarves could buy the right to use a nuclear bomb, while Great Xia kept control of the launch.
• Thorin accepted the deal for a one-megaton bomb, and the Dwarf King approved the agreement.
• Ten thousand Dwarves crossed the portal to Blue Star with their tools and belongings.
• Lin Mo told Zhao Gang and Long Zhan that the Dwarves had agreed to move to Blue Star as a preservation group.
• Elder Zhao approved the arrangement and urged Lin Mo to offer similar preservation plans to the Elves and Half-Orcs in exchange for resources such as mithril and suspension crystal.

Lin Mo learned that every race on Terra had agreed to an alliance, and Elder Zhao approved the Terra Spark Plan while ordering Lin to prepare for evacuation if the Great Xia Fief fell. As the races prepared to form a joint command, Ao Lingsi returned and furiously punished Pyke for his subordinates’ failures.

• Elder Zhao told Lin Mo to press the races for rare minerals without damaging their relations, then warned him to evacuate to the Holy Human Race if the Great Xia Fief could not hold out.
• Zhao Gang reported that every race on Terra had agreed to an alliance and was discussing a joint operational plan.
• Lin Mo told Zhao Gang that Elder Zhao had approved the Terra Spark Plan, and Zhao Gang agreed to have diplomats discuss it with the races.
• Long Zhan urged the races to send their highest representatives immediately to establish a joint command as the Demon Clan army poured through a vast wormhole.
• Pyke and Yaxes greeted Ao Lingsi upon his return, but when Pyke failed to answer his question, Ao Lingsi struck him into a mountain and called his subordinates useless.

Ao Lingsi learned of Great Xia’s victories on Terra and ordered every legion to assemble for a personal assault. Meanwhile, Great Xia evacuated Terra’s races and gathered their resources through the Portals as both sides prepared for war.

• Yaxes recounted how Great Xia had arrived on Terra, helped the Elves reclaim Emerald Leaf City, and killed Malphite and Vel'Koz with its weapons.
• Ao Lingsi kicked Pyke and Yaxes, spared them until the war ended, and ordered every legion to assemble for an attack on Great Xia.
• Lin Mo reviewed the resources and military support the Elves, Holy Human Race, Half-Orc Clan, Dragons Clan, and Dwarf Clan had provided.
• Zhao Gang coordinated the evacuation of Terra’s inhabitants and the transport of supplies, weapons, and Great Xia’s forces through the Portals.
• Lin Mo asked how the incoming races would be settled, and Zhao Gang said they would first stay in the biosphere before moving into an Underground City.
• A piercing alarm suddenly sounded.

Lin Mo and Long Zhan convened Terra’s leaders after the Demon Clan’s army of over ten million advanced toward Great Xia’s Fief, expected to arrive in six hours. When the allied leaders questioned Great Xia’s plan to deploy only one hundred thousand troops, Long Zhan defended the country’s strength through technology and long-range firepower.

• Lin Mo saw the Demon Clan’s vast army approaching, led by Ao Lingsi and eight Demon Venerables, and learned it would reach the Fief in six hours.
• Zhao Gang reported that Kindling personnel and allied supplies were being evacuated through the Portal, while Long Zhan summoned Terra’s leaders to a war council.
• Long Zhan outlined the enemy’s numbers and high-tier fighters, and the Dragons, Holy Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Half-Orcs declared the forces they could deploy.
• Long Zhan said Great Xia would send one hundred thousand troops, drawing angry objections from Muradin, Ellari, and Gregory VII.
• Long Zhan argued that Great Xia’s advanced weapons, drones, artillery, aircraft, missiles, naval forces, and surveillance made up for its smaller troop count.

Long Zhan secured Great Xia’s command of the allied forces by arguing that it understood both modern and traditional warfare. The joint operation began with a massive missile strike, but Ao Lingsi and his subordinates intercepted many of the incoming missiles before the survivors hit the Demon Clan Army.

• Long Zhan ordered the allied armies to assemble in Great Xia’s fief, and the Pope arranged a larger portal for the Half-Orc Clan.
• Long Zhan presented Great Xia’s plan for long-range attrition and layered defense, then established a joint command center with himself as commander-in-chief.
• Muradin and Queen Ellari challenged Great Xia’s authority, but Long Zhan persuaded the racial leaders to accept his command by questioning their knowledge of modern warfare.
• Long Zhan ordered the long-range attack, and Great Xia launched nearly two hundred missiles from its silos, vehicles, warships, and submarines.
• Ao Lingsi and eight subordinates intercepted dozens of missiles, but the surviving missiles accelerated to over Mach 20 and struck the Demon Clan Army.

Great Xia’s missile bombardment devastated the advancing Demon Clan Army, while Long Zhan adapted the next wave to strike at the Demon Venerables intercepting the missiles. After ten rounds, Ao Lingsi remained largely unharmed, but the Demon Clan force had fallen from ten million to six million before reaching Great Xia’s fief.

• Great Xia’s first missile wave tore through the Demon Clan Army, but nine Seventh Order Demon Venerables survived in the air.
• Long Zhan learned the Demon Venerables were intercepting missiles at thirty thousand meters and ordered nuclear bombs set to detonate at that altitude.
• Pyke tried to crush a missile from the second wave, but its nuclear blast engulfed him and left him charred and falling.
• Ao Lingsi warned the Demon Venerables to avoid the larger missiles and intercepted the most powerful warheads with his shield.
• Over five hours, Great Xia launched ten rounds of missiles, reducing the Demon Clan Army from ten million to six million before it reached the fief.

Great Xia exhausted its missiles and unleashed artillery against the advancing Demon Clan, then sent Terra’s champions to confront Ao Lingsi and his Demon Venerables. As the two sides faced off in the sky, the Pope, Queen Ellari, Muradin, and Warwick stepped forward to challenge the Demon God.

• Long Zhan ordered Great Xia to save its remaining nuclear bombs and fire its long-range artillery and giant cannons at the Demon Clan vanguard.
• Ao Lingsi abandoned intercepting attacks and led nine Demon figures toward Great Xia’s heavy weapons positions.
• Long Zhan entrusted the fight to Terra’s leaders, and the Pope, Queen Ellari, Muradin, Warwick, and twenty other experts flew out to meet the nine enemies.
• Ao Lingsi mocked Terra’s champions for their defeat a century earlier, enraging the survivors.
• The Pope, Queen Ellari, Muradin, and Warwick released their powerful auras and locked onto Ao Lingsi.

The four strongest leaders of the Terra Continent attacked Ao Lingsi together, but the Eighth-Order Demon God effortlessly overwhelmed them and grievously wounded Warwick. As the Command Center watched the battle, Long Zhan ordered the giant cannons to target Ao Lingsi while Zhao Gang warned that the leaders would not last much longer.

• Queen Ellari, Pope Gregory VII, Muradin, and Warwick combined their attacks against Ao Lingsi, but his dark-gold shield stopped them all.
• Ao Lingsi appeared before Warwick and punched through the Pope’s shields, crushing Warwick’s chest and sending him hurtling toward the ground.
• Ao Lingsi kicked Muradin away, shattered Queen Ellari’s metal shield, and struck the Pope back as the leaders tried to respond.
• Long Zhan ordered the Plasma Giant Cannons and Electromagnetic Giant Cannons to lock onto Ao Lingsi and warned the four leaders to evade.
• Zhao Gang urged the Command Center to find another way to help, saying the leaders would not last much longer.

As the leaders of the allied races struggled to hold off Ao Lingsi, Long Zhan approved a suicide mission using Lin Mo’s Pangu Mecha and a nuclear warhead. Pangu raced toward the Demon God, who recognized it as another mechanical creation, as the battle’s final attack began.

• Ao Lingsi dodged the cannons and shrugged off attacks from Ellari, the Pope, Muradin, and Warwick, while Warwick and Muradin kept him occupied at the front.
• Long Zhan ordered the Command Center to prepare the Mutual Destruction Plan, but a staff officer proposed using the Pangu Mecha instead of a wounded Seventh-Order Expert.
• Lin Mo agreed, and Pangu took a five-megaton nuclear warhead wrapped in canvas and received instructions to detonate it near Ao Lingsi.
• Long Zhan warned the fighters to retreat at least four kilometers, while Ellari and the other Seventh-Order Experts prepared their own nuclear bombs as a last resort.
• Pangu launched toward Ao Lingsi, who noticed the mecha and dismissed it as another machine from a technological civilization.

Terra’s leaders lured Ao Lingsi into striking the Pangu Mecha as it detonated its reactor and a nuclear bomb, unleashing a massive blast. The explosion’s shock wave reached Great Xia’s defensive line, where the allied armies watched the distant mushroom cloud and wondered whether the Demon God had survived.

• The Pope, Elf Queen, Warwick, and Muradin retreated while keeping up their attacks, hoping to conceal Great Xia’s nuclear strike from Ao Lingsi.
• The Pangu Mecha closed on Ao Lingsi, who evaded its weapons and charged to punch its chest.
• The Pangu Mecha’s reactor self-destructed as its shoulder-mounted nuclear bomb detonated, creating a four-kilometer fireball and a towering mushroom cloud.
• Great Xia’s artillery and defensive weapons tore through the Demon Clan Army, while land mines and small nuclear bombs halted the advance of its stronger fighters.
• Kael and the allied soldiers shielded their eyes from the flash as the blast’s shock wave struck their defensive barrier.
• Kael watched the mushroom cloud and worried about Terra’s four fighters while hoping the explosion had killed Ao Lingsi.

Ao Lingsi survived the point-blank nuclear blast, crushing the allied forces’ hopes as the Demon Clan launched a fresh assault on their defensive line. Great Xia’s aircraft, drones, and weapons joined the allied air forces to fight back against the demon horde.

• Ao Lingsi emerged from the mushroom cloud with his shield intact and mocked the armies, while the Command Center confirmed that the Pangu Mecha had been destroyed.
• Kael detected Burrowing Earth Dragons surfacing ahead of the defensive line, and the demons poured through their tunnels into battle.
• Kael supported the soldiers with divine spells as the ground forces clashed with the advancing demons.
• A vast demon air force descended, and the Pegasus Knight Order and allied flyers took off to engage it.
• Great Xia’s iron birds, missiles, drones, and ground weapons struck the flying demons, while Dragons equipped with Great Xia weapon systems defended the Dwarf corps.