Chapter Summaries

Sarna and Maxim fled the volcano, then realized someone was fighting the Red Dragon Sarayes and were interrupted by Miss Anna as the mountain began to erupt. Dunn transformed into a vampire and overpowered Sarayes, but the dragon unleashed Draconic Magic that drew on the volcano’s power, leaving Dunn facing a far greater eruption.

• Sarna and Maxim heard fighting inside the volcano and debated whether Colt or someone else from their group was battling the dragon.
• The volcano shook and vented ash, and Miss Anna appeared overhead and asked why Sarna and Maxim were still standing there.
• Dunn pinned Sarayes down and battered him, while Future Sight let him evade the dragon’s attempts to escape.
• Sarayes unleashed dragon breath, burning his own body as Dunn moved clear, then flew into the sky with many scales charred and cracked.
• Sarayes chanted Draconic Magic that linked with the volcano’s pulses, and Dunn realized the dragon was drawing on the volcano’s power to trigger an eruption.

Dunn tried to stop Sarayes’s Draconic Magic, but the volcano continued building toward an eruption even after he silenced the dragon. Trapped in the crater when the eruption began, Dunn sheltered himself with Dark Hole as the fire engulfed him and Sarayes.

• Dunn flew at Sarayes and battered his face, then used Bloodline strands formed from the dragon’s blood to clamp his jaws shut and interrupt his chant.
• Dunn realized the volcano would erupt anyway and tried to escape the crater, but Sarayes melted the binding with dragon breath and blocked his path.
• Sarayes grappled with Dunn until the volcano’s shaking stopped and its eruption began.
• Dunn used Dark Hole to form a black sphere around himself just before a pillar of fire engulfed him and Sarayes.

After surviving the volcano’s full eruption, Dunn pursued Sarayes as the wounded Red Dragon fled with part of his hoard. Dunn dragged him back with Black Vortex and stopped him from casting another eruption.

• Annie assured Sarna and Maxim that Dunn would survive the powerful volcanic eruption.
• Sarayes grabbed golden ore from the crater and fled, abandoning part of his hoard when he saw Dunn had survived.
• Dunn restored his head, realized Sarayes had used the eruption to uncover his treasure and escape, and pursued him with Dark Hole.
• Dunn used Black Vortex to catch Sarayes in midair and drag him back toward the crater.
• Sarayes tried to chant Draconic Magic for another eruption, but Dunn doubled the suction and bound him, sealing his mouth.

Dunn killed the Red Dragon Sarayes by repeatedly stabbing its reverse scale, then absorbed its blood and gained substantial strength. He examined his new abilities and stored the dragon’s corpse, intending to save some blood for Annie and find a professional to dismantle the body.

• Dunn restrained Sarayes with black arms and stabbed repeatedly at the dragon’s reverse scale until he pierced it.
• Sarayes died, and Dunn absorbed the dragon’s blood without letting any fall to the ground.
• Dunn saved some Dragon Blood for Annie and stored Sarayes’s corpse in his Spatial Ring.
• Dunn checked his Career Card and found that his attributes had increased and he had gained the Higher Being talent and Higher Lifeform feat.
• Dunn reviewed his new Transcendent Feats, including the useful Strength Balance and the less useful Wall-Crawling.

Annie completed her advancement to [Traveler] after witnessing Dunn slay the Red Dragon, and Dunn returned with Maddy alive. He gave Annie Dragon Blood Essence, and she demonstrated her newly strengthened power by transporting the group to their former oasis.

• Annie completed her advancement to [Traveler], and Maxim and Sarna congratulated her.
• Dunn arrived carrying Maddy, whom he had found alive at the foot of Volcano.
• Dunn gave Annie filtered Dragon Blood Essence, and she absorbed it, revealing that he had killed the Red Dragon.
• Annie used her new ability to move the group from the desert to the oasis where they had met before.

Annie explained her new [Traveler] abilities and returned to Oasis with Dunn and the others after their expedition. She asked Dunn about the rewards from slaying the dragon and learned that the haul was worth only about ten million gold coins because he had taken all its blood.

• Annie's [Traveler] class gave her three kinds of teleportation and the Dragon Breath Spell, making her powerful enough to kill opponents like Colt instantly.
• Annie explained that she had teleported the group outside Oasis because its spatial defenses prevented teleporting directly inside.
• The group returned to Oasis after losing one of their six members, then went to wash and rest.
• Annie visited Dunn's room and asked what he had gained from slaying the dragon.
• Dunn said the ores and dragon's body were worth about twenty million gold coins, but he corrected the estimate to around ten million after accounting for the dragon blood he had taken.

Dunn and Annie sought Sarna’s help finding professionals to process the dragon’s corpse, agreeing to pay them ten percent of the materials. Sarna arranged the work and, with her family’s approval, prepared to travel with Dunn and Annie the next morning.

• Annie asked how Dunn and she would handle the dragon’s corpse, and they realized they lacked anyone who could process it safely.
• Annie suggested asking Sarna for help, and Dunn agreed that Sarna’s powerful family could arrange processing while lowering the risk of losing the corpse.
• Sarna agreed to find processors who would take ten percent of the materials as their fee, and Dunn let them choose which parts to keep.
• Sarna warned Dunn to protect the dragon’s blood, and Annie explained that the blood had already been used up.
• Dunn and Annie said they would accompany Sarna, and she gladly dismissed the escort her family had sent for her.
• Sarna obtained her family’s approval, and the three agreed to set out the next morning.

Dunn and his companions detoured through the Gold Panning Plains so Sarna could see its nonhuman inhabitants, then encountered a pack of powerful, unfamiliar creatures attacking them. The chapter ended as Dunn recognized that the attackers were not native to the plains.

• Sarna asked to visit the Gold Panning Plains, and Annie and Dunn agreed to the detour.
• Sarna questioned Maxim and Maddy about the strange nonhuman races and creatures they encountered.
• Dunn noticed the inhabitants’ fear and hatred of humans, while a sludge-like creature warned the group that monsters were coming.
• A pack of pitch-black, many-limbed creatures charged through the plains, killing everything in their path.
• Annie cried out in alarm, and Dunn concluded that the attackers were too powerful to be native to the Gold Panning Plains.

Dunn watched a disciplined nonhuman army led by Gnolls defeat the monsters in the Gold Panning Plains and suspected the Gnolls were involved in something significant. As Dunn questioned a Gnoll officer, a High-Tier Gnoll arrived to invite the group to meet their king.

• Dunn noticed that the nonhuman army fought with unusual coordination and discovered that most of its commanders were Gnolls.
• Annie said there should be no Gnolls in the Gold Panning Plains, while Maddy explained that a sizable Gnoll tribe lived in the Withered Stone Wilderness.
• After the army defeated the monsters, Dunn chose to speak with the approaching Gnoll officers to learn what was happening.
• A Gnoll officer refused to answer Dunn's questions and insisted that Dunn answer his own first.
• A High-Tier Gnoll arrived and told Dunn's group that their king requested their presence.

Dunn and his companions met the Legendary Gnoll King, who introduced himself as Yeenoghu and asked for their help. He offered to explain the task and its reward before they decided whether to accept.

• A high-ranking Gnoll told Dunn that their leader was a king, and Dunn agreed to follow him.
• Dunn and his companions reached the Gnoll settlement and were escorted to the palace.
• Dunn and the others entered the palace, felt the Gnoll King's Legendary pressure, and bowed to him.
• The Gnoll King welcomed the group and said he wanted their help, promising to let them choose after hearing the task and reward.
• The Gnoll King introduced himself as Yeenoghu.

Yeenoghu told Dunn how a forbidden Legendary [broodmother] had awakened and driven the Gnolls from the Withered Stone Wilderness. Believing a prophecy referred to Dunn and his companions, Yeenoghu asked them to kill the broodmother while he fought its Legendary child.

• Yeenoghu explained that he had advanced to Legendary and planned to unite the Withered Stone Wilderness before a horde of monsters began slaughtering its inhabitants.
• Yeenoghu initially delayed attacking, assuming a Wizard had released the monsters, and the [broodmother] used the time to produce a Legendary creature.
• The broodmother's army overran the Withered Stone Wilderness and forced Yeenoghu and his Gnolls to retreat to the Gold Panning Plains.
• Yeenoghu said a prophecy had foretold humans who could help him, and he recognized Dunn and his companions as those people.
• Yeenoghu offered to hold off the broodmother's Legendary child while Dunn and the others led elite Gnolls to kill the broodmother.

Dunn learned that Yeenoghu was Zi Rat, a fellow member of the Eye of the Firmament, and heard why Yeenoghu believed he could kill the weakened Broodmother. Trusting the Eye of the Firmament’s prophecy, Dunn decided to consider the dangerous hunt for the rewards and renown it could bring.

• Yeenoghu offered Dunn and his companions a place to rest after they hesitated to accept his request to fight the Broodmother.
• Yeenoghu asked Dunn to stay behind, revealed himself as Zi Rat, and recognized Dunn as Mr. Wei Sheep.
• Dunn returned to his guest room and reflected on meeting his fellow secret-organization member, feeling less concerned about his safety.
• Yeenoghu told Dunn that the Eye of the Firmament had prophesied Dunn would help him and that the Broodmother had weakened itself by accelerating the gestation of a Legendary child.
• Yeenoghu promised Dunn all the spoils, and Dunn considered trusting the prophecy and trying to kill the Broodmother for renown and the chance to strengthen himself.

Dunn persuaded Annie, Sarna, Maddy, and Maxim to join his planned attack on the Broodmother by revealing that Yeenoghu and a more exalted Eminence would support them. The group agreed to prepare, and Dunn decided to bring Sarna along after sensing danger when he considered leaving her behind.

• Dunn announced his plan to help the Gnolls attack the Broodmother, and Annie, Sarna, Maddy, and Maxim objected.
• Dunn explained that Yeenoghu would hold off the Broodmother’s child and that the Broodmother’s main body had been weakened.
• Dunn hinted that an even more exalted Eminence had assured him of the operation’s success, silencing the objections.
• Dunn told the group to rest while the Gnolls prepared for the attack.
• Dunn decided to bring Sarna along after sensing danger when he was about to leave her behind.

Dunn and his companions spent several days in the Gnoll city as Yeenoghu prepared a war against the Broodmother. When the Broodmother launched an all-out assault, Yeenoghu ordered Dunn and the others to join the defense while he sought the Broodmother's Child.

• Dunn learned that Yeenoghu was organizing the Gnolls and other tribes for a war to reclaim the Withered Stone Wilderness.
• As the city grew somber over the coming war, Annie said she wanted to leave, and Dunn reassured her that he would not fight a battle they were bound to lose.
• A horn sounded, and the city announced an enemy attack, prompting Dunn to suspect the Broodmother.
• Yeenoghu arrived and explained that the Broodmother's Child had likely guided the Broodmother into launching an all-out assault.
• Yeenoghu said he would seek the Broodmother's Child for a decisive battle in the Astral Plane and told Dunn and the others to join the fight outside the city.

Dunn and his companions set out with Harrison’s undersized Gnoll squad to reach the Broodmother, while the allied forces struggled to hold the front line. After they fought their way deep into the monster tide, a sudden burst of pressure announced that Yeenoghu had taken the Broodmother’s Child into the Astral Plane to fight.

• Dunn and his companions left the city, worried that too few Gnolls were available to protect their planned strike against the Broodmother.
• Harrison introduced his squad of thirty-eight Gnolls, including ten fourth-tier fighters, and led them toward the front line with Dunn’s group protected in formation.
• Harrison’s squad cut through the mostly low-tier monsters, while Dunn’s Conqueror’s Color Haki failed to affect creatures linked to the Broodmother.
• Dunn’s group drew monsters away from the defenders, helping the Gnoll allied forces regain some ground.
• A thunderous crash and immense pressure halted the battlefield before the pressure vanished; Yeenoghu had taken the Broodmother’s Child into the Astral Plane to fight.

Dunn’s group raced through the monster hordes toward the Broodmother after Yeenoghu drew the Broodmother’s Child into the Astral Plane. When high-tier monsters slowed their advance in the ruined Withered Stone Wilderness, Annie unleashed powerful magic to clear a path for the group.

• After Yeenoghu took the Broodmother’s Child into the Astral Plane, Dunn ordered the group to advance at full speed toward the Broodmother.
• Harrison led the charge as the high-tier Gnolls fought through the monster encirclement and reached the Withered Stone Wilderness.
• Dunn’s group saw that the wilderness had been devastated by bloodshed and negative energy, while Dunn learned the Broodmother was still about a hundred li away.
• Dunn kept Sarna’s enhancement ability in reserve and ordered her to heal the Gnolls sparingly, then told Annie to act before the group became trapped.
• Annie summoned violent winds, rain, ice, and lightning, destroying the surrounding monsters and clearing a long path ahead.
• Dunn ordered the group to charge toward the Broodmother before the monsters could surround them again.

Dunn's party fought through the Broodmother's powerful monster horde as Annie used her ultimate spell to clear their path. They reached the edge of the enormous pit and saw the Broodmother, while Annie had exhausted her magic and Dunn carried her.

• Annie's magic attacks helped Dunn's party reach the depths of the Withered Stone Wilderness, but a swarm of high-tier monsters blocked their route to the Broodmother's pit.
• Flying monsters engaged Annie while the others attacked the party, and Gnoll Warriors died as the defense began to collapse.
• Annie unleashed a giant fire dragon's Dragon's Breath, destroying nearly all the monsters over several miles and opening a path forward.
• Dunn caught Annie after she teleported to him and began to fall from exhaustion, then carried her as the party hurried onward.
• Dunn's party reached the enormous pit and saw the Broodmother at its center.

Dunn and his allies fought through the Broodmother’s fourth-tier guards while Sarna strengthened the party. Dunn pierced the legendary Broodmother with Black Feather and detonated dragon-blood threads inside it, causing it to explode.

• Dunn used Conqueror's Color Haki to free the party from the Broodmother’s oppressive aura and realized it could counter a legendary being’s influence.
• Dunn handed Annie to Sarna and ordered Harrison and the others to hold off the Broodmother’s guards while he attacked it.
• Sarna cast enhancement spells as the Gnolls engaged the guards, while Maxim and Maddy protected Sarna and Annie.
• Dunn’s Blood Piercing attacks failed to penetrate the Broodmother, so he transformed and prepared Black Feather with Haki and burning bloodlines.
• Dunn drove Black Feather through the Broodmother’s defenses and detonated dragon-blood threads inside it, making the Broodmother explode.

Dunn's attack on the Broodmother failed to control its corrosive blood, and its cry devastated his allies as it healed and fought back. The Broodmother then gave birth to a hundred Fourth Tier monsters, including fliers, while Dunn resolved to keep fighting.

• Dunn wounded the Broodmother, but its corrosive blood resisted his control and drenched him.
• The Broodmother's cry incapacitated many Gnolls, and the group suffered devastating casualties.
• The Broodmother rapidly healed, and Dunn cut down nearby weaker monsters before charging it.
• The Broodmother struck Dunn with its tentacles, then opened bloodshot eyes and fixed its gaze on him.
• The Broodmother rapidly gave birth to a hundred Fourth Tier monsters, many of them capable of flight.

Dunn fought through the Broodmother’s fourth-tier monsters, then used an explosive dragon-blood attack to break free and reach Annie. As he hesitated over whether to leave Sarna behind, she revealed a Legendary Treasure that needed time to unseal, but Dunn doubted she could use it.

• Dunn endured repeated wounds while fighting the monsters and realized the Broodmother had detached from the Mycelial Carpet to pursue him.
• Dunn dispersed burning dragon-blood beads in an explosion, wounding the monsters and escaping their encirclement.
• Dunn flew to Annie and considered whether to take her and Sarna with him as the Broodmother targeted him.
• Sarna told Dunn she had a powerful Legendary Treasure that needed time to unseal and asked him to hold off the Broodmother.
• Dunn questioned whether a third-tier person could meet the requirements to use a Legendary Treasure.