Chapter Summaries

Lin Feng used Level Zero: River of Death to summon a large army of undead against Kurome and the Jaegers Unit. As Esdeath approached, he transformed into a shadow and escaped, leaving Captain Ogre to hold off his pursuers.

• Kurome summoned zombies with Yatsufusa, including the Danger Beast Destaguru, and attacked Lin Feng.
• Lin Feng spent a skill point to upgrade River of Death and summoned more than ten undead, including Zank and several Danger Beasts.
• Lin Feng's undead fought Kurome's zombies, and his enormous zombie version of Dr. Stylish absorbed Destaguru's beam while regenerating.
• The fight grew into a melee of more than twenty combatants, but Lin Feng sensed Esdeath approaching and chose to retreat.
• Lin Feng used Form Transformation to vanish as Captain Ogre blocked the Jaegers Unit, and Run wounded Ogre with a volley of hardened feathers.

Esdeath realized that Lin Feng had killed Dr. Stylish and blamed herself for underestimating him, then vowed to make him her slave. Lin Feng returned to District Thirteen, left Seryu in charge for three days, and went to find Sheele.

• Esdeath froze Ogre, the Kaiser Giant Frog, Lin Feng’s undead, and Kurome’s puppets, then questioned the Jaegers about Dr. Stylish’s death.
• Esdeath concluded that Lin Feng had killed Dr. Stylish, blamed herself for failing to protect her comrade, and vowed to enslave Lin Feng.
• Lin Feng returned to the District Thirteen Imperial Guard station and asked Seryu to manage its affairs for three days while he handled urgent matters.
• Lin Feng went home to find Sheele, entered her room when she did not answer, and saw her lying on the bed.

Lin Feng gave Sheele the Teigu Ecstasy for All Things: Two Cuts to use for self-defense, while keeping his pistols. In the capital, Esdeath ordered the Three Beasts to assassinate loyal civil officials and blame Night Raid, with Wave assigned to accompany them as a guard if trouble arose.

• Lin Feng explained his meeting with Esdeath to Sheele and said he did not get along with her.
• Lin Feng gave Sheele Ecstasy for All Things: Two Cuts, and she tested the Teigu by cutting frozen bone.
• Esdeath told Liver, Nyau, and Daidara to assassinate civil officials returning from the western regions and frame Night Raid for their deaths.
• Wave arrived and said Minister Honest had assigned him to assist Esdeath’s subordinates.
• Esdeath told Wave to leave the fighting to the Three Beasts unless something unexpected happened.

Night Raid learned that the Empire had framed them for assassinations carried out by the Three Beasts, so Najenda planned a strike to expose the truth. Meanwhile, Lin Feng gathered information about Nyau and sensed that his chance to act was approaching.

• Night Raid members told Najenda that rumors across the Empire blamed Night Raid for crimes and turned the public against them.
• Najenda identified the Three Beasts as the assassins and assigned Bulat, Lubbock, and Tatsumi to attack them at The Godfather in District Four.
• Najenda said the Three Beasts and a blue-haired man named Wave would stop at the tavern before a secret mission at three in the afternoon the day after tomorrow.
• Lin Feng visited the restaurant owner in District Thirteen, who thanked him for paying the restaurant's taxes.
• Lin Feng asked about Nyau, learned that the feminine-looking man was associated with the Empire, and clenched his fists as he considered his opportunity.

Esdeath’s lackeys searched for Lin Feng while he and Night Raid prepared to attack the Three Beasts in District Four. Tatsumi tried to ambush Wave but was knocked unconscious, leaving the mission’s next steps uncertain.

• Esdeath’s lackeys failed to find Lin Feng at the District Thirteen police station, and Seryu worried about his whereabouts.
• Nyau, Daidara, and Liver waited at The Godfather tavern for Wave before carrying out Honest’s assassination order.
• Lin Feng, Tatsumi, and Wave approached the tavern by separate routes, while Bulat and Lubbock followed behind Tatsumi.
• Tatsumi recognized Wave outside the tavern and tried to kill him with a surprise sword strike.
• Wave summoned Grand Chariot, dodged Tatsumi’s attack, and struck him unconscious before returning to his ordinary form.

Bulat and Lubbock entered the tavern to find Tatsumi, but Nyau’s Teigu incapacitated Lubbock and forced Bulat into a fight with the Three Beasts. The encounter ended with Bulat recognizing his former commander, Liver, who urged him to return to the Empire.

• Bulat and Lubbock grew worried when Tatsumi failed to return and hurried to the tavern.
• Liver sensed danger, and the Three Beasts took positions to ambush whoever entered.
• Nyau played his Teigu, Scream, causing Bulat, Lubbock, and the tavern patrons to suffer hallucinations and mental paralysis.
• Bulat stabbed his thigh with broken glass to regain his senses, then rescued the unconscious Lubbock as Daidara attacked.
• Bulat identified Daidara, and Liver and Nyau revealed themselves to join the fight.
• Bulat recognized Liver as his former commander, and Liver invited him to rejoin the Empire under Esdeath.

Bulat fought the Three Beasts in his Demon Incursion armor, but protecting Lubbock let Liver and Daidara trap and batter him. A silent young man appeared at the bar and provoked Nyau, leaving the confrontation poised to shift.

• Bulat refused the Three Beasts’ offer and summoned Demon Incursion and Red-Backed Shrike to stop Daidara’s attack.
• Liver used Water Dragon Possession: Black Marlin to turn the customers’ drinks against Bulat, who used Daidara’s momentum to make him take the attack.
• Liver shattered the bar’s wine bottles and sent a massive water dragon at Bulat while Daidara threw an axe toward Lubbock.
• Bulat took the axe hit to protect Lubbock, then was caught in the water dragon’s assault and lost sight of Daidara.
• A young man appeared at the bar entrance and called Nyau a sissy, then accused him of collecting women’s faces.

Lin Feng overwhelmed Nyau and incapacitated Liver and Daidara while Bulat watched. After crushing Nyau’s joints, Lin Feng shot him with a blood-energy silver bullet.

• Nyau used Demon Summoning to transform and attacked Lin Feng with a powerful punch.
• Lin Feng blocked Nyau’s punch, broke his leg, and pinned him to the floor with shadows as Liver’s red-wine dragon struck Nyau instead of Lin Feng.
• Lin Feng used Mind Control to make Liver and Daidara hallucinate their deaths, leaving them unconscious.
• Lin Feng crushed Nyau’s wrists and ankles, then returned to his normal form while Bulat kept his distance.
• Lin Feng aimed his black Jackal at Nyau and fired a blood-energy silver bullet.

Lin Feng killed Nyau and left the tavern as Esdeath faced pressure from Minister Honest’s allies over Dr. Stylish’s death. Bulat killed Daidara, but Liver regained control and attacked him with blood drawn from the dead men, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Lin Feng received experience points for eliminating three Teigu users, assessed his increased strength, and escaped the tavern using Form Transformation.
• Esdeath admitted that Lin Feng had killed Dr. Stylish and said she wanted to capture and torment him before killing him.
• Bulat confirmed Lubbock was safe, then killed the severely wounded Daidara while Lubbock remained under the Teigu’s control.
• Liver regained consciousness just before Bulat could strike him and began fighting Bulat with Water Dragon Possession: Black Marlin.
• Liver drew blood from Nyau and Daidara and sent it at Bulat from behind, but Bulat swung his spear to keep the blood spears at bay.

Bulat defeated Liver but learned that Demon Incursion had pushed his body toward dragonification, making the armor too dangerous for him to use again. Wave arrived at the bar, returned the captured Tatsumi to Bulat, and left to report the encounter.

• Liver injected an enhancer and fought Bulat head-on, but Bulat overpowered him and evaded his poisoned blood.
• Liver warned Bulat that Demon Incursion had brought his body close to dragonification, and Bulat killed him with the Red-Backed Shrike.
• Bulat saw dragon scales on his jaw and realized he could no longer safely use Demon Incursion.
• Wave arrived at the bar, said he had come only to assess the situation, and asked Bulat about Nyau's remains.
• Wave dragged in the sleeping Tatsumi, whom he had caught ambushing him, and agreed to return him to Bulat while recording the incident.

After Bulat and Tatsumi defeated the Three Beasts, Bulat’s injuries forced him to give up using his Teigu, Demon Incursion, and pass it to Tatsumi. Tatsumi mastered the armor immediately and carried Bulat and Lubbock toward Night Raid’s headquarters.

• Tatsumi woke in the tavern and learned from Bulat that Wave had left and the Three Beasts were dead.
• Bulat revealed that Demon Incursion’s strain meant he could not use a Teigu again without undergoing Dragon Transformation.
• Bulat entrusted Demon Incursion to Tatsumi, who summoned the armor and spear without trouble.
• Bulat told Tatsumi to escort Lubbock away before the tavern’s illusion faded and Imperial Guards arrived.
• Tatsumi carried both Lubbock and Bulat from the tavern, using Demon Incursion’s invisibility as they headed for Night Raid’s headquarters.

Lin Feng entered the imperial palace and defended his execution of Dr. Stylish and Nyau with evidence, but Minister Honest persuaded the young emperor to order his execution. Esdeath stepped forward to carry out the order, eager to take Lin Feng for herself.

• A civil official told Esdeath that Lin Feng had been declared a wanted criminal and ordered killed on sight.
• Lin Feng entered the council chamber by turning from a shadow into a human body, startling Esdeath and Minister Honest.
• Lin Feng defended his actions to the emperor, presenting evidence that Dr. Stylish had experimented on Imperial Guards and Nyau had slaughtered commoners.
• The young emperor reviewed Lin Feng's evidence, but Minister Honest drew his attention to Lin Feng's shadow ability and urged him to order an execution.
• The emperor ordered Esdeath to execute Lin Feng, and she approached him with growing killing intent.

Lin Feng fought Esdeath in the imperial palace, where her ice attacks overwhelmed him and forced him to sacrifice a hand to escape. His rapid regeneration and shadow abilities kept him in the battle, but Esdeath broke through his illusion and continued her relentless assault.

• Esdeath trapped Lin Feng’s wrist in extreme ice and stabbed at his heart, forcing him to tear off his frozen hand to escape.
• Lin Feng regenerated his lost hand, surprising Esdeath, who guessed that he possessed shadow and regeneration Teigu abilities.
• Esdeath conjured a massive ice sphere and launched thousands of ice spears at Lin Feng, alarming the young emperor with the threat to his palace.
• Lin Feng used Form Transformation to become shadow and spread a blood-eyed illusion around Esdeath, but she dismissed it and pierced the eyes with an ice spear.
• Esdeath resumed her barrage of ice shards, demanding that Lin Feng submit.

Lin Feng and Esdeath fought until he trapped her between his shadow and his summoned hellhound, but Esdeath’s ultimate technique reversed the danger. Minister Honest stopped her from killing Lin Feng and declared that the empire needed his talent, leaving Esdeath puzzled by his change of heart.

• Lin Feng summoned a six-eyed hellhound, which shattered Esdeath’s ice spears while his shadow climbed toward her.
• Lin Feng wrapped his shadow around Esdeath, but she encased herself in frost and forced him back.
• Lin Feng revealed that the melting ice beneath Esdeath would leave her trapped between his shadow and the hellhound.
• Esdeath began to unleash Mahapadma, but Minister Honest ordered her to stop.
• Esdeath used Mahapadma to freeze the hellhound, then ended the fight after Minister Honest called it off.
• Minister Honest rejected Esdeath’s plan to keep Lin Feng as her prisoner and said the empire needed his talent.

After Lin Feng fought Esdeath before the emperor and Minister Honest, Honest protected him from punishment and secured his appointment as a royal palace lieutenant general. Lin Feng left with Seryu set to replace him as Imperial Guard captain, while Esdeath remained torn over her feelings toward him.

• Minister Honest decided to use Lin Feng as a counterweight to Esdeath and as a tool against Night Raid.
• Lin Feng reverted to his youthful form and reflected that he could not yet defeat Esdeath, though the fight had helped him display his strength before the emperor and Honest.
• Esdeath offered to finish Lin Feng, but Honest stopped her and persuaded the emperor to appoint Lin Feng lieutenant general instead of punishing him.
• Lin Feng accepted the appointment and asked for Seryu to take over his former post as Imperial Guard captain of District Thirteen, and Honest agreed.
• Lin Feng left the court unharmed as Esdeath struggled with her conflicting feelings about him.

After Lin Feng was promoted to lieutenant general, he returned to District Thirteen to tell Sheele she could move with him and to deliver Seryu’s appointment as captain. He left Seryu in charge of the district, promising to visit often.

• Minister Honest spread word that Lin Feng had been promoted to lieutenant general so he could use Lin Feng to keep Esdeath in check.
• Lin Feng rejected his new noble clothes, visited Sheele, and invited her to come live near the palace with him.
• Lin Feng returned to the District Thirteen office and reassured Seryu that he had killed Dr. Stylish and Nyau because he wanted to.
• Lin Feng gave Seryu the personnel transfer letter naming her the new captain of the District Thirteen Imperial Guard.
• Seryu worried that Lin Feng would no longer train with her, and Lin Feng promised to visit District Thirteen often.

Lin Feng moved into his luxurious lieutenant general’s residence with Sheele and suspected the palace had sent Chelsea to watch him. Chelsea revealed a shapeshifting ability and insisted on speaking with him, leaving Lin Feng startled by her powers.

• Lin Feng left the Imperial Guard, completed his checkout, gave savings to his former coworkers, and traveled toward the palace with Sheele.
• Lin Feng and Sheele arrived at his lavish new residence, where he arranged a room for her and reflected on the empire’s excesses.
• Chelsea arrived claiming she had been assigned as the residence’s maid, but Lin Feng accused her of being sent by Minister Honest and shut the door on her.
• Chelsea slipped a heart-marked paper under the door, transformed from it into human form, and surprised Lin Feng with her ability.
• Chelsea addressed Lin Feng by name and curtsied, while Lin Feng recognized that she was likely a Teigu user and listened to what she wanted to say.

Chelsea explained that her disillusionment with the Empire and Nyau’s death led her to seek out Lin Feng and ask to join him. After demonstrating her transformation ability, she earned Lin Feng’s trust and became his potential ally.

• Chelsea revealed that she had worked as a secretary and assassin for the Empire but had grown disgusted with the corrupt officials she was ordered to target.
• Chelsea said she had sought Lin Feng because he killed Nyau, whom her organization had been unable to reach.
• Chelsea explained that she belonged to the noble democratic faction and wanted to join Lin Feng in changing the country.
• Lin Feng asked Chelsea to show what she could do, and she transformed into Sheele to demonstrate her ability.
• Lin Feng considered how Chelsea could have used her disguise to attack him, then decided he trusted her.

Lin Feng accepted Chelsea as an ally and hired her to help manage his estate and teach Sheele to cook. At Night Raid headquarters, Najenda reported that Bulat’s injuries had ended his fighting career, while Mine blamed Lubbock for what happened.

• Lin Feng agreed to let Chelsea join his side after she offered to teach Sheele how to cook.
• Chelsea revealed that she had considered joining Night Raid, but chose Lin Feng after hearing he had killed Nyau.
• Chelsea called Sheele Lin Feng’s wife and offered cooking lessons, easing Sheele’s worries and smoothing over the awkward introduction.
• Lin Feng checked his Template System and saw that he had 34.59 experience points and 3 skill points.
• Najenda told Night Raid that Bulat could no longer fight and would train Tatsumi, the new wielder of Demon Incursion.
• Mine blamed Lubbock for Bulat’s injuries, but another member reminded her that they had not known the Three Beasts possessed those Teigu.

Najenda briefed Night Raid on Honest’s plan to control the Path of Peace through its assistant, Bolic, and ordered them to kill him before the sect’s uprising. Meanwhile, Honest assigned the Four Rakshasa Demons to protect Bolic, while Lin Feng learned from Chelsea that Honest was gathering allies to seize control of the capital’s local forces.

• Najenda told Night Raid that Honest had placed Bolic inside the Path of Peace and intended to use its followers during the planned uprising.
• Najenda explained the sect’s widespread influence and ordered Night Raid to kill Bolic before Honest could take control of its forces.
• Honest dispatched Sten, Suzuka, Mez, and Ibara to protect Bolic when the riots began.
• Chelsea moved into Lin Feng’s residence as his personal housekeeper, teasing Sheele by calling her the mistress.
• Chelsea told Lin Feng that Honest was focused on the Path of Peace and would have little time to concern himself with the lieutenant generals.
• Lin Feng realized Honest sought control over the local forces and networks spread throughout the capital.