Chapter Summaries

After Xinier befriended Cao Cao, Lin Yi ordered Alusi killed to prevent him from carrying Great Liang’s secrets back to the Great West Empire. Lin Yi’s declaration of war sent Great Liang’s forces into a full offensive, with Huo Qubing leading 300,000 troops toward the Great West Empire.

• Xinier eagerly befriended Cao Cao, and the two entered the Court of Diplomatic Reception together.
• Xuan Niao spotted Alusi watching the Xinma envoys and asked Lin Yi whether Net should kill him; Lin Yi approved the order.
• Lin Yi declared the Great West Empire an enemy, and Great Liang’s forces launched an all-out offensive across the west.
• Huo Qubing marched 300,000 troops toward the Great West Empire’s border while leaving Xue Rengui to handle the Moses Empire’s 100,000 troops.
• Mo Yi and Mo Er worried about Huo Qubing’s relentless bloodshed as the army prepared to invade.

Huo Qubing led the Feathered Forest Army into the Great West Empire to punish Abaddon for betraying Great Liang, and they swiftly seized Twin West Town. Abaddon learned that Huo Qubing was leading the invasion and began to suspect he had served Lin Yi all along.

• Huo Qubing ordered Mo Yi and his companion to hurry the campaign supplies, then rallied his soldiers against Abaddon for betraying Great Liang.
• Huo Qubing led the Feathered Forest Army across the weakly defended border and charged into the Great West Empire.
• The Great Liang troops broke through Twin West Town's garrison as nearby civilians fled, and the defending commander recognized Great Liang's banner.
• Abaddon received news of Twin West Town's fall and demanded to know who had invaded.
• The intelligence agent identified Huo Qubing as the attacker, and Delin suggested he might have been one of Great Liang's men from the start.

Abaddon learned that Huo Qubing served Great Liang, then faced his uncle Adolf, who surrendered the Great West Empire’s military authority and claimed to be Abaddon’s biological father. Abaddon accepted the possibility but set aside the revelation to focus on the threat Lin Yi posed to Great West.

• Abaddon realized Huo Qubing was Great Liang’s man and lamented that Lin Yi had made him look foolish.
• Adolf returned and told Abaddon he was handing over his military authority, then revealed that he was Abaddon’s biological father.
• Abaddon erupted in anger and threatened Adolf, but Adolf argued that he had protected Abaddon and his mother because they were his family.
• Abaddon began to believe Adolf’s claim and felt relieved that Adolf would keep it secret and support him.
• Abaddon and Adolf agreed that Lin Yi’s growing power threatened Great West.

Abaddon and Adolf planned to use five hundred thousand troops to destroy Huo Qubing, but a report revealed that the Great West Empire’s coast had also been attacked by a force from the sea. Abaddon realized Lin Yi had drawn him into another trap.

• Abaddon told Adolf that Huo Qubing had to be crushed and promised him five hundred thousand troops to stop the invading army.
• Adolf agreed to lead the effort and said he was eighty percent confident he could destroy Huo Qubing.
• A guard rushed into the hall with a military report, and Abaddon ordered Delin to have the guard taken away and killed.
• Abaddon read that an enemy force had attacked the coastal border from the sea, and he concluded that Lin Yi had orchestrated the attack.

Abaddon and Adolf recognized Great Liang’s navy as the force that had destroyed the Moses Empire’s army and discussed how to counter Great Liang’s attacks on the Great West Empire. Abaddon ordered an alliance with the Moses Empire and Ashina Tiandu, mobilized troops against Huo Qubing and the coastal force, and announced nationwide recruitment as he planned to conquer the west.

• Abaddon identified the mysterious force that had destroyed the Moses Empire’s three hundred thousand troops as Great Liang’s navy.
• Adolf warned Abaddon that the Great West Empire could not face Great Liang alone, and Abaddon agreed to bring the Moses Empire into the conflict.
• Adolf and Abaddon decided to compel Ashina Tiandu to hold the front against Great Liang while the Great West Empire attacked Huo Qubing and the coastal troops.
• Abaddon ordered Delin to notify Abide Leier that Great Liang’s navy had destroyed the Moses Empire’s army and to seek his help against Huo Qubing.
• Abaddon ordered his uncle to concentrate superior forces against Huo Qubing, assigned troops to contain the coastal force, and announced nationwide recruitment to conquer the west.

Abide Leier rejected Abaddon’s offer to join forces against Huo Qubing, recognizing that Great West intended to use the Moses Empire. With Xue Rengui advancing on his own army, Abide Leier focused on surviving the immediate danger rather than risking his troops for a promised share of spoils.

• Abide Leier learned Great Liang was behind the recent events and dismissed Abaddon’s offer of ten percent of the spoils.
• The Great West envoy raised the offer to twenty percent, but Abide Leier ordered his guards to throw him out.
• James Quinton and Abide Leier concluded that Abaddon planned to exploit the Moses Empire and might turn against it after Great Liang was defeated.
• Abide Leier said the Moses Empire had to avenge its naval defeat to protect its dominance and interests among its colonies.
• Abide Leier revealed that Xue Rengui was approaching with two hundred thousand troops and argued that his own hundred thousand men could not afford a costly battle.

Abide Leier weighed retreat as Great Liang’s forces threatened to overwhelm his hundred thousand troops, and he urged the Moses Empire to intervene before Great Liang crossed the sea. In southern Frostwest, Ashina Tiandu struggled against Lin Rusong’s offensive as Ashley warned that Huo Qubing was heading toward the Great West Empire.

• Abide Leier told James Quinton that retreat might be necessary unless Abaddon defeated Huo Qubing or reinforcements arrived.
• Abide Leier judged that reinforcements from the Moses Empire would likely be delayed and began considering escape routes to avoid being surrounded.
• Abide Leier ordered James Quinton to warn their homeland that Great Liang planned to unify the Central Continent and then attack the Land of the Far West.
• Ashina Tiandu complained that Lin Rusong’s army of two million had launched a fierce offensive across southern Frostwest, leaving him overwhelmed by pleas for reinforcements.
• Ashley warned Ashina Tiandu that Great Liang was trying to defeat Frostwest quickly before turning on the Great West Empire, and said Huo Qubing was already heading there.

As Great Liang’s forces threatened Frostwest, A Long urged the allied leaders to attack rather than keep defending, but the ministers recoiled at the risk. The wounded Nishu arrived to warn Ashina Tiandu that Frostwest could not survive by defending its cities and had to stake everything on a desperate battle.

• Ashina Tiandu learned that Huo Qubing had gone to the Great West Empire, while Morandi and A Long worried about the threat to their capital.
• A Long argued that Great Liang’s attack was retaliation for the Great West Empire’s support of Frostwest and urged the allies to take the initiative against Lin Rusong’s forces.
• Frostwest’s ministers rejected the idea of attacking, and Ashina Tiandu hesitated as he saw their fear and remembered the wounded Nishu.
• Hu'er told Ashina Tiandu that Nishu was too badly injured to fight, but Nishu was carried into the deliberations to make a final contribution.
• Nishu warned Ashina Tiandu that Great Liang’s wall-destroying weapon made city defense futile and urged Frostwest to join forces with the Great West Empire for one desperate battle.

Nishu urged Frostwest to launch a decisive attack against Great Liang rather than wait for inevitable defeat, but estimated their chance of victory at only twenty percent. As he described Great Liang’s superior armor, firearms, repeating crossbows, and cannons, the court grasped the scale of the threat, leaving Ashina Tiandu and his ministers facing a desperate choice.

• Nishu argued that Frostwest had to stake everything on a surprise attack because its defenses could not withstand Great Liang’s weapons.
• Ashina Tiandu asked Nishu to estimate the odds of victory if Frostwest fought Lin Rusong with its two million troops, and Nishu answered that they had a twenty percent chance.
• Nishu explained that Great Liang’s soldiers wore full armor, its warhorses were armored, and its Red-Coat Cannons could topple city walls.
• A Long asked Nishu about Great Liang’s smoke-belching weapons, and Nishu revealed that its repeating crossbows could unleash ten times as many attacks as their archers.
• Nishu added that Great Liang’s firearms outranged bows and could pierce Frostwest armor, silencing the court and draining the ministers of their defiance.

Ashina Tiandu weighed Nishu’s warning that Great Liang’s superior weapons and forces left Frostwest with little chance of victory. He agreed to stake everything on a massive fight, ordering A Long to request another million troops while planning to conscript another million himself.

• A Frostwest official accused Nishu of exaggerating Great Liang’s strength or betraying Frostwest, and Hu'er angrily defended his brother.
• Nishu swore his account was true and said he had returned to seek a chance for Frostwest to survive.
• A Long backed Nishu, citing his own battles and Lin Rusong’s powerful attacks with Red-Coat Cannons.
• Nishu urged Ashina Tiandu to overwhelm Great Liang with numbers, arguing that delay would leave Frostwest no chance to fight back.
• Ashina Tiandu chose to fight to the death and ordered A Long to request a million more troops while planning to conscript another million able-bodied men.

Ashina Tiandu secured the Great West Empire’s agreement to join Frostwest against Great Liang, while Lin Yi received a Xinma delegation seeking an alliance against the Moses Empire. A description of the Ocean Ring’s vast whirlpool caught Lin Yi’s interest, as he suspected it might be this world’s Guixu.

• Ashina Tiandu warned A Long that the Great West Empire could not avoid Lin Yi’s ambitions, and A Long promised to seek Abaddon’s approval for reinforcements.
• Great Liang continued supplying its western campaign while preparations for Li Mingzhu’s birthday filled the empire with celebration.
• Xinier and Prince Dada Nier visited Lin Yi, bringing gifts from the Xinma empress and a diplomatic letter.
• Dada Nier proposed that Xinma and Great Liang establish relations and jointly campaign against the Moses Empire.
• Lin Yi asked about the Ocean Ring, and Dada Nier described an enormous ocean whirlpool surrounded by small landmasses.
• Lin Yi wondered whether the whirlpool was the legendary Guixu and became eager to learn more.

Lin Yi negotiated with Xinier and Princess Dada over an alliance against the Moses Empire, agreeing to Great Liang taking seventy percent of the spoils. The chapter ended with Princess Dada asking to bring potato seeds to Xinma, and Lin Yi hinting that he might allow it under certain conditions.

• Lin Yi suspected the Ocean Ring held something valuable, while Xinier tried to dissuade him from visiting it and urged him to attack the Moses Empire.
• Zhao Gao revealed that Prince Dada was a woman, and Lin Yi said he had already noticed.
• Princess Dada offered Great Liang a share of the Moses Empire's spoils, and Lin Yi accepted after she raised the offer to seventy percent.
• Lin Yi agreed to the diplomatic letter but said the two sides still needed to discuss when to attack the Moses Empire.
• Princess Dada asked to take potato seeds back to Xinma, and Lin Yi began to set terms for allowing it.

Lin Yi offered Prince Dada a chance to obtain Great Liang’s potatoes in exchange for valuable goods, while secretly planning to use the deal to gather resources and intelligence from the Xinma Empire. After Prince Dada and Xinier left to consider what to trade, Lin Yi ordered further checks to confirm the empire’s existence.

• Lin Yi told Prince Dada that Great Liang would exchange potatoes only for goods of equal value, and Prince Dada eagerly agreed.
• Prince Dada and Xinier left the palace to discuss what valuable goods they could offer for the potatoes.
• Zhao Gao warned Lin Yi that Prince Dada was an impostor and urged him to punish the Xinma Empire, but Lin Yi deferred the matter until the empire’s existence was confirmed.
• Xuan Niao reported that Net had tracked the visitors from south of the sea through Sima Yi’s defense zone without any chance of them being switched.
• Lin Yi asked Xuan Niao to verify whether the Xinma Empire existed, and Xuan Niao said he had contacted Zhou Yu and expected a reply soon.

Lin Yi received Zhou Yu’s intelligence about the Xinma Empire and learned that its weapons included powerful black gold steel spears and large catapults. He ordered Zhao Gao to investigate the metal and question the captured Moses Empire general, Abide William, for more information about the empire and its sea routes.

• Lin Yi praised Xuan Niao, revealed that she was Sun Shangxiang, and learned she had chosen service in the Net over joining his harem.
• Yingge delivered Zhou Yu’s urgent report, which explained the Xinma Empire’s western origins and its conflict with the Moses Empire.
• Lin Yi learned that Xinma weapons included armor-piercing spears forged from black gold steel and large-scale catapults.
• Lin Yi told Zhao Gao to record the black gold steel and seek samples or ore from Great Liang’s territory or the Xinma Empire.
• Lin Yi ordered Zhao Gao to interrogate Abide William for information about the Moses Empire and nautical charts, and Zhao Gao promised to make him talk.

Lin Yi concluded that the Xinma Empire had risen by inheriting the legacy of a fallen nation and ordered an investigation into the ruins and the Ocean Ring. Meanwhile, the Xinma delegation debated the cost of trading for Great Liang’s potatoes and sweet potatoes.

• Tian Feng proposed that the mysterious ruins were the remains of a nation whose legacy had enabled Xinma’s rapid rise.
• Guo Jia suggested that the nation might have fallen to a powerful enemy or internal strife, and Lin Yi ordered agents to investigate the ruins and locate Xinma and the Ocean Ring.
• Lin Yi welcomed the prospect of new powers beyond the Central Continent and declared that Great Liang would join the coming contest.
• At the Court of Diplomatic Reception, Xinier warned that Great Liang’s strict control of potatoes and sweet potatoes meant Xinma would have to pay heavily to obtain them.
• Prince Dada told Xinier to call him Dada and corrected him that he was a prince, not a princess.

Princess Dada and Xinier discussed using trade to obtain potatoes from Great Liang, but decided their priority was to assess its strength before making any commitments. Xinier urged Dada to accept a marriage alliance with Great Liang’s emperor, but she resisted and chose to wait for an opportunity to learn more.

• Princess Dada told Xinier to catalogue Xinma Empire’s goods for trade and personally investigate Great Liang’s strength.
• Xinier realized Dada valued learning Great Liang’s power more than immediately acquiring potatoes, and she said she would refuse any excessive trade demands.
• Xinier reminded Dada that the empress intended her to marry Great Liang’s emperor, and Dada recalled Mary An Da’s order to win him over in bed.
• Xinier argued that marrying into Great Liang would give Dada security, but she declined to decide and said Great Liang’s westward campaign offered a chance to observe it.
• Xinier’s returning investigators arrived, and he demanded to know why they had come back so soon instead of properly assessing Great Liang’s strength.

Xinier and Princess Dada heard how their disguised agents were repeatedly arrested and beaten while gathering intelligence in Great Liang. After reading translated reports on Great Liang’s military strength, conquests, and ambitious plans, Xinier warned that they had badly underestimated the empire.

• Xinier and Princess Dada questioned their returning agents, who wept and described being arrested by the Hundred Riders and beaten by the Black Ice Platform and a group in black.
• The agents explained that they had disguised themselves as merchants traveling with Western caravans, yet were identified and attacked repeatedly.
• The agents said a kindhearted person had helped them find intelligence and handed over copies of Great Liang Daily, Southern Daily, and Northern Daily, along with a translation.
• Princess Dada questioned whether the newspapers counted as useful intelligence, and Xinier grew suspicious of the unnamed helper.
• Xinier read reports that Great Liang had destroyed a two-million-strong army, was preparing for a major western war, and planned extensive military, economic, naval, and educational development.
• Xinier told Princess Dada that they had underestimated Great Liang and that it was about to soar into the heavens.

Princess Dada and Xinier learned that Great Liang had crushed powerful nations and was fighting three empires in the west, prompting them to reconsider the Xinma Empire’s plans and seek friendly trade. Meanwhile, Xing Daorong reported to Lin Yi that he had delivered the intelligence to the Xinma delegation.

• Princess Dada read the intelligence about Great Liang’s military strength and agreed that the Xinma Empire could not compare.
• Xinier urged Princess Dada to consider a marriage alliance, but she ordered the information verified before deciding.
• Princess Dada learned that Great Liang was fighting the Frostwest Empire, the Great West Empire, and the Moses Empire, and had nearly defeated the Frostwest Empire.
• Princess Dada decided to promote friendly trade with Great Liang and strengthen the Xinma Empire while the western war continued.
• Xing Daorong told Lin Yi that he had delivered information about Great Liang to the Xinma Empire, and Lin Yi approved his efforts.

Lin Yi weighed Great Liang’s relations with the Xinma Empire while receiving updates on the western campaign. He learned that Adolf had reconciled with Abaddon by surrendering his troops, while Xue Rengui continued pursuing the retreating Abide Leier.

• Xing Daorong urged Lin Yi to destroy the Xinma Empire, but Lin Yi chose to maintain contact and use its help against the Moses Empire.
• Guo Jia and Tian Feng suspected the Xinma empress had sent Princess Dada as a beauty trap, and Lin Yi dismissed the matter for now.
• Tian Feng reported that Huo Qubing had broken through two Great West Empire defenses and now faced Adolf, whom Abaddon had brought back into his camp.
• Tian Feng explained that Adolf had voluntarily surrendered his troops, and Lin Yi and Guo Jia praised him for putting the Great West Empire’s survival first.
• Tian Feng reported that Abide Leier had retreated after Xue Rengui found him, and Xing Daorong mocked him for fleeing.

Lin Yi learned that Frostwest planned to fight Great Liang in the Xiling Corridor, while Abide Leier remained isolated and unable to receive help. At the corridor, Lin Rusong targeted the arriving enemy reinforcements and ordered Zhao Yun to attack their rear.

• Lin Yi and Guo Jia concluded that Abide Leier would not receive support soon and left him to Xue Rengui while they focused on Frostwest and Great West.
• Sun Shangxiang reported that Frostwest planned a decisive battle in the Xiling Corridor, where Great West could send reinforcements.
• Lin Yi anticipated that his father would not let the enemy finish preparing for the battle.
• At the Xiling Corridor, Lin Rusong observed the assembled enemy army and its continuing reinforcements, then dismissed Xu Zhong and Bai Zizai's offers to lead an assault.
• Lin Rusong ordered Zhao Yun to break through and slaughter the enemy reinforcements in their rear.