Recaps

Ed returned from Fir City to Valhalla and prepared to meet Gray, an old friend, and Gray’s wife, Nora. Their meeting began with Nora seeing Ed’s crown of verdant branches and understanding why he was called the Son of God.

• Ed told Duma to focus on resisting the Tree Worship Church’s coming counterattack and gave him a bracelet for Duolin.
• Ed left Fir City and returned his consciousness to Valhalla.
• Number Seven told Gray that Ed had returned and invited Gray and his family to visit.
• Gray told Nora that the Grand Foundry Master had personally approved his plans and advised her not to lie to Ed.
• Ed met Gray and Nora in his study, where Nora saw the branches forming a crown around Ed’s eye.

Gray told Ed and Nora how his plant-based modifications had changed him and the Antasia, prompting Graycast Corridor to seek wooden components for its machinery. He also described his progress toward becoming Grand Foundry Master, though roughly ten thousand candidates remained.

• Gray explained that trade runs between Graycast Corridor and the Great Labyrinth City would now take place monthly.
• Gray said plant-based components had become part of his body and helped the Antasia's Blood Corpses stay fed, so Graycast Corridor wanted to test wooden machinery parts.
• Ed learned from Nora that Graycast Corridor had no distinct seasons and that its poor soil produced crops tainted by metal.
• Gray said he had passed the preliminary selection for Grand Foundry Master after returning to the Great Labyrinth City with envoys, a modified fortress, and a new trade route.
• Gray told Ed that about ten thousand candidates remained in the selection.

Ed learned that Gray expected to advance in the Grand Foundry Master assessment and inspected the mechanical arms Gray had brought for trade. Gray revealed that, with [Lion Hidden in the Eyes]'s help, the Graycast Corridor had adapted replacement-type implants for enhancement-type use.

• Gray explained that the next assessment stage judged candidates by their long-term contributions to the Graycast Corridor, and he expected to pass with support from master craftsmen.
• Ed asked what goods Gray had brought, and Gray invited him to inspect the cargo aboard the Antasia with Nora.
• Gray showed Ed a mechanical enhancement implant that could be attached with bone pins or worn as an armguard.
• Nora used a clockwork nail gun to implant three bone pins in Gray's arm, and Gray explained that his wooden structure and regenerative abilities made the procedure painless.
• Gray introduced a sturdier replacement-type mechanical arm and said the Graycast Corridor had developed a way to use it for enhancement-type modifications with [Lion Hidden in the Eyes]'s voluntary help.

Ed approved Gray’s plan to sell mechanical arms to the Second Holy See’s Soul Returners after explaining that they could combine multiple power systems. Gray had brought two thousand arms to sell, and Ed began to hint at the size of the potential market.

• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] showed off his mechanical arm by juggling beanbags, drawing a crowd of excited players.
• Ed told Gray that Soul Returners could combine plant abilities with mechanical modifications and gave him permission to sell the mechanical arms.
• Gray explained that [Shit Appraisal Master] had arranged for [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] to publicize the arms around Valhalla.
• Gray said he had brought a thousand enhanced mechanical arms and a thousand replacement arms, and Ed asked how many Soul Returners the Second Holy See had grown to.

Ed arranged for Gray and Nora to sell mechanical arms to the Soul Returners in Valhalla, and the players bought out the Antasia’s stock within two hours. Most buyers left without surgery, leaving the players to figure out how to install the arms themselves.

• Ed told Gray there were fifty thousand Soul Returners in Aduolin Province and asked about the risks of mechanical-arm surgery.
• Nora said she was the best mechanic in the southern district, and Ed entrusted her with replacing the Soul Returners’ arms while allowing them to buy arms for private installation.
• Gray and Nora opened the Antasia’s cargo hold as a cyberware shop after Ed left.
• Lion Hidden in the Eyes directed players to the shop, and they rushed in and bought all the mechanical arms within two hours.
• Nora performed only a dozen or so procedures, while most players left with arms they planned to install themselves.
• Gray and Nora counted their earnings as players across Valhalla spent the night trying to attach their new arms.

Players celebrated obtaining mechanical arms, while [Evergreen Tree] and his students struggled to understand how the devices worked. An abnormal bodily-damage alert forced [Evergreen Tree] out of the game, and he was flown with [Dawn Ah] and [Backstabbing Expert] to respond to an emergency.

• Players with mechanical arms celebrated and began planning experiments to attach extra limbs.
• [Backstabbing Expert] brought two mechanical arms to the Steady and Sure Biology Laboratory, where [Evergreen Tree] and [Dawn Ah] examined them.
• An alert detected abnormal bodily damage and ejected [Evergreen Tree] from the game.
• [Evergreen Tree] woke in a room of sleeping players, and a young man in black told him an emergency response unit needed his help.
• [Dawn Ah] and [Backstabbing Expert] also woke, and they boarded a helicopter with [Evergreen Tree] and the man in black, who ordered the pilot to fly to the airport.

Lü Yang, Li Yu, and the professor were brought to investigate sheep infected by a contagious mutation, and they found signs resembling Blood Corpses. Lü Yang noticed that one infected sheep had mutated less severely and questioned whether it differed from the others.

• Lü Yang, Li Yu, and the professor watched footage of a sheep attacking and eating a sheepdog, and learned that the infection had spread to more sheep at the ranch.
• The captain assigned the three experts to help decide whether to capture or kill the sheep, study them, and share information with influential allies in the World of Disorder.
• Lü Yang learned that the authorities considered his potion research experience sufficient to help advise on the crisis, though he would not make decisions alone.
• The group arrived at the sealed-off pasture and reviewed drone footage of the sheep pen.
• Li Yu identified features of the original infected sheep as resembling a Blood Corpse, and Lü Yang pointed out that another sheep seemed less mutated and asked what made it different.

The investigators discovered that the sheep’s infection symptoms weakened in later waves and began testing whether infected sheep could transmit the disease. Their experiment was interrupted when an aurora appeared outside.

• The professor’s team found that Sheep Number 48 had been infected by Number 22 and showed milder symptoms.
• The herdsman explained that Number 48 had been isolated in a corner pen because it had indigestion, and the team traced its infection through earlier waves.
• The professor’s team moved Number 48 into a cage and prepared uninfected sheep for experiments.
• Number 48 bit Number 1, and the observers watched Number 1 begin showing abnormal movements as they timed the infection.
• The video’s brightness changed suddenly, and a staff member entered the tent to tell the man in black that an aurora had appeared outside.

Li Yu sensed the real-world aurora’s psionic energy rapidly fading, and the professor compared its rise and fall to the tides. After the professor sent Li Yu to check the World of Disorder, Ed woke at dawn and sensed a conspicuous large-scale flow of psionic energy.

• The professor asked Li Yu and Lü Yang whether they felt anything unusual, then had Li Yu try to sense psionic energy.
• Li Yu entered a meditative state and felt unusually dense psionic energy surrounding him.
• Li Yu sensed the psionic energy rapidly dissipating and told the professor the aurora should have ended.
• The professor told Li Yu to check the World of Disorder, while Lü Yang stayed to record Sheep No. 1’s mutation.
• Ed woke in the World of Disorder and sensed psionic energy flowing on a conspicuously large scale.

Ed and Willow investigated violent psionic fluctuations coming from due east of Valhalla and suspected that one of the Twin Kings was fighting a powerful enemy. A strange aurora appeared after a deafening psionic shock, and Willow concluded that the High Tier being who had absorbed the energy had died.

• Ed sensed a distant vortex devouring the world's psionic energy and discussed the disturbance with Willow.
• Willow judged that the fluctuations came from a High Tier being, while Ed suspected one of the Twin Kings was involved.
• Willow guessed that the Twin Kings might have caught a grand duke and worried aloud that Wens could be their prisoner.
• A violent ringing struck Ed and Willow, and a blue-green aurora stretched across the sky.
• Willow, bleeding from her ears and nose, told Ed that the High Tier being who had absorbed the psionic energy was dead.

The Dragon-Hunting Expedition fought a blue dragon in the Demon Realm for seven days, but its resurrection strategy faltered when the dragon used psionic energy to freeze and seal its warriors. Xilǐ'er realized the gulf between his low tier and the dragon’s high tier when a single tail sweep killed him and Radish.

• The blue dragon adapted to the Eternal Domain warriors’ resurrections by freezing them in place with psionic energy.
• Xilǐ'er asked a warlock to kill him before the freezing took hold, then resurrected and returned to the fight.
• The expedition’s captain ordered everyone still able to move to hold the blue dragon off for one minute, while a middle-tier knight knelt and activated the Eternal Domain’s mark.
• Xilǐ'er charged the blue dragon on Radish, but its tail severed them both, and he understood that the dragon had barely noticed him before.

As Xilǐ'er slowly revived, he watched a powerful knight gather the living metal and psionic staves of the expedition into a gigantic dragon-slaying sword. The knight wounded the blue dragon and severed its tail, then continued attacking as the dragon amassed psionic energy for a final strike.

• Xilǐ'er sensed an immense surge of psionic energy and saw the knight approach the blue dragon on foot.
• The knight called on the others to lend him part of their lives, and their living metal and staves formed an enormous longsword in his hand.
• The blue dragon unleashed nearly a hundred psionic attacks, but the knight's sword dispelled their light as he leaped forward.
• The knight cut open the blue dragon's abdomen and severed half its tail, then ignored the dragon's speech and readied another attack.
• The blue dragon drew in psionic energy from across the Demon Realm while the knight attacked along its neck and back, leaving a long wound.

Xilǐ'er watched the knight empowered by the Twin Kings battle the Blue Dragon, realizing the knight had knowingly accepted a fatal fate. As the dragon tried to flee into the sky, Xilǐ'er and Radish helped cripple its wing, allowing the knight to bring it crashing down.

• Xilǐ'er understood that the knight had known the Twin Kings' borrowed power would kill him when he led the Dragon-Hunting Expedition.
• Xilǐ'er urged his revival to hurry while the knight gained the upper hand against the Blue Dragon.
• The Blue Dragon took to the air, but the knight stabbed its ankle and another knight leaped from a cliff toward it.
• Xilǐ'er and Radish fell from the air after Xilǐ'er sliced through the Blue Dragon's wing membrane.
• The knight attacked the Blue Dragon's back and wing with twin blades until it crashed to the ground, its wing bones breaking through the membrane.

The Dragon-Hunting Expedition killed the blue dragon, but Xilǐ'er collapsed after being drenched in its blood, and the commander died permanently after the battle. In Valhalla and the City of Dusk, the others sensed the battle’s aftermath and mourned the end of the blue dragon bloodline.

• The knight beheaded the blue dragon, and Xilǐ'er passed out after its blood caused waves of heat and cold in his body.
• The commander learned that sixteen middle-tier knights, forty low-tier knights, and half the mage corps had been lost, then ordered the survivors to bring Xilǐ'er and the fallen comrades’ belongings to the City of Dusk.
• The commander explained that the dragon egg fragment was the juvenile dragon’s eggshell, then dissolved into motes of light and left behind his helmet.
• Ed, Willow, and Seraphina watched the aurora fade in Valhalla, and Ed asked Seraphina what she thought of the fluctuation.
• The Twin Kings discussed the expedition’s success, and a sigh was heard across the world as the blue dragon bloodline was declared extinct.

Seraphina told Ed and Willow that the last Blue Dragon had died, explaining how dragons sensed the extinction of their kind and how a dragon’s death could unleash phenomena tied to its authority. The chapter left the Amber Dragon’s fate uncertain, with Seraphina offering several reasons she might not have sensed its death.

• Seraphina explained that dragons sensed the extinction of an entire kind and mourned it, even though they might still fight other dragons.
• She confirmed that the sky-spanning aurora came from the dead Blue Dragon’s released psionic energy and said a stronger adult Blue Dragon could trigger a small Demonic Tide.
• Seraphina told Ed that Blue Dragons wielded psionic energy and frost, while other dragon kinds had their own distinct authorities.
• Ed asked why Seraphina had not sensed the Amber Dragon’s supposed death, and she said it might have survived, been defeated rather than killed, or escaped her notice while she suppressed her perception during the Demonic Tide.

Ed and Seraphina discussed the possible fate of the Amber Dragon and the blue dragon’s death before negotiating another loan. After Seraphina collected an outstanding payment, Ed learned that the blue dragon’s death might have caused unusual auroras in the real world, raising questions about the worlds’ connection.

• Seraphina suggested the Twin Kings might have subdued the Amber Dragon to protect the stability of their rule, and Ed wondered if they had tried to capture the blue dragon as well.
• Ed asked whether any red dragons besides Seraphina remained, and she said she did not know and would rather die than be enslaved.
• Ed asked Seraphina for another loan, and she agreed to lend more at a higher interest rate while keeping the hundred-year term.
• Seraphina remembered an outstanding payment, and Ed paid her using money that had come from Duma’s wages.
• Ed saw reports of unusual auroras in the real world and suspected they were connected to the blue dragon’s death and a deepening link between the worlds.

After the last blue dragon's death, Duma warned Ed that the extinction of the blue dragons could weaken the world's original Psionic Energy rules and eventually strengthen the Demonic Tide. In the real world, Li Yu reported that the game's auroras had coincided with those in reality, while researchers investigated the game website's update and concluded that the worlds' disease-like effects were tied to Psionic Energy.

• Duma contacted Ed and explained that the blue dragons' extinction could dissipate original Psionic Energy rules and strengthen the Demonic Tide in the coming years.
• Ed ended the call and edited the official World of Disorder game website.
• Li Yu told the researchers that auroras had appeared in the game at the same time as in reality, and suggested both events might be the same phenomenon.
• A staff member reported that the official game website had briefly reloaded, and the researchers began comparing its updated version with the old one.
• The researchers reported that Sheep No. 1's infection had stabilized at a lower level than the original host's, and prepared to introduce Sheep No. 2.
• The professor explained that the two worlds differed below the cellular level and suggested that Psionic Energy caused both the World of Disorder's disease-like effects and its poison.

A research team discovered a hidden file-upload page on the World of Disorder website and debated what to send as their first message to the civilization behind it. They uploaded a cat picture and received a casual meme-like reply, leaving the team stunned and the young man in black triumphant.

• The professor hypothesized that the spreading toxin required Psionic Energy to reproduce, which explained why it was weakening in their world.
• A technician found a hidden upload page inside the World Tree on the World of Disorder website.
• The middle-aged man in black decided to send a file before another group could make first contact.
• After debating what to upload, Lü Yang suggested a cat because World of Disorder had none.
• The team uploaded a picture of a staff member's cat and received the reply, "Bro, nice cat. Pat, pat."
• The young man in black celebrated and told the minister he had been right that "Brother Tree is watching you" was a meme.

Ed opened a file-upload webpage for official organizations to share firsthand reports of disorder in the real world, but first received a cat photo. After officials sent him footage of a sheep’s mutation, Ed identified Blood Poison as its cause and wondered how the disorder had reached their world.

• Ed restricted access to his new webpage to official organizations and received a photo of a cat, which he answered with an internet meme.
• A team in the real world debated how to communicate with Ed and decided to send unedited surveillance footage of Sheep No. 2’s mutation.
• Lü Yang and the professor predicted that any guidance from Ed would arrive in the game rather than through the webpage.
• The team sent the sheep’s mutation footage, and Ed watched it without replying because the video provided the evidence he wanted.
• Ed recognized the sheep’s condition as Blood Poison from a Blood Corpse, then ruled out a full connection between the worlds because Little Green had found no reports of zombies.

Ed concluded that Blood Poison could spread in the real world only where Psionic Energy allowed it, and prepared for a more dangerous spring Corpse Tide. Xilǐ'er recalled receiving a Blue Dragon’s blessing and, after advancing to the Middle Tier, accepted a new mission from the Twin Kings.

• Ed reasoned that the Blue Dragon’s death in the Demon Realm may have carried Blood Poison into the real world, where Psionic Energy scarcity limited its spread.
• Ed anticipated the return of Blood Corpses as spring arrived and took confidence from his control of Aduolin Province.
• Xilǐ'er fought a Blue Dragon in the Demon Realm and struggled to explain why the Twin Kings had ordered its death.
• The Blue Dragon praised Xilǐ'er's will and bestowed a blessing so he could see the road ahead and find his true self.
• Xilǐ'er awoke before the Immortal King, learned he had advanced to the Middle Tier, and received orders to lead his private troops against reviving beasts in the Wilderness of Chaos.

Cardinal Sailesi worried about the Stained Ones’ worsening position as rebel scouts fought Holy Crusaders near Fitz Province and his political struggle with Luxiusi intensified. He considered using the coming Corpse Tide to retake Aduolin Province, then tried to calm himself through meditation.

• On the Holy City’s annual celebration marking winter’s end, Sailesi read a military report describing clashes between rebel scouts and Holy Crusaders along the Aduolin–Fitz border.
• Sailesi judged that the enemy was growing stronger and knew the Stained Ones could not surrender after their crimes and his role in founding the movement.
• He recognized that his struggle with Luxiusi had become a physical contest between their roots beneath the Holy City, while Geliwusi’s allegiance could decide the balance.
• Sailesi planned to send more knight orders to Fitz Province and considered attacking Aduolin Province alongside the approaching Corpse Tide.
• He closed his eyes and began adjusting his breathing and emotions through meditation.

Sailesi met a ratman envoy from the Empire, who demanded repayment and offered troops before attacking him. Sailesi trapped the envoy in a dream, learned what he knew, and arranged for him to wake believing he had completed his mission.

• Sailesi met the black-robed envoy and argued over the Empire’s demands and its offer to send troops into the theocracy.
• The envoy revealed himself as a ratman assassin and attacked Sailesi in the study.
• Sailesi’s attendant heard the fight, then followed Sailesi’s instruction to leave the envoy alone and bolt the guest-room door from outside.
• Sailesi used a dream to learn about recent events in the Empire while the ratman imagined he was beating Sailesi.
• The ratman passed out, and Sailesi planted a suggestion that he would wake believing he had completed his mission and set off home.

Sailesi discovered that rebels had seized a crude serialized story depicting him and Antiya, and flew into a rage after reading its title. Meanwhile, Soul Returners in southern Aduolin discussed their army’s reward-and-punishment system and expected their next major campaign to target the Blood Corpses.

• Sailesi instructed his personal attendant about deployments in Fitz Province and found a folded sheet enclosed with the archbishop’s dispatch.
• Sailesi read the title of a blasphemous-looking story featuring himself and Antiya, then tossed it aside in fury.
• Soul Returners joked about the serialized story, The Secret History of Sailesi, while riding back from patrol in southern Aduolin Province.
• The chapter explained that Duma used individual rewards and quest notes warning of villagers’ potential losses to motivate the Soul Returner army.
• Two Soul Returners wondered why no new campaign had begun and concluded that the Blood Corpses were their greatest enemy.

Ed announced a new event that let players choose between defending against Blood Corpses in the Wilderness of Chaos or disrupting Fitz Province’s operations. As players prepared for both fronts, Seraphina left the Obsidian Bank headquarters to stroll through Valhalla.

• Ed published the [Where the Army Points] announcement, offering players a choice between eastern and southern fronts.
• Ed planned to let players choose their missions and said he could adjust rewards if the player numbers on either front became unbalanced.
• Players gathered in Valhalla to form parties and buy supplies for the event.
• Players heading to Fir City had supplies prepared by Duma, while those bound for the Wilderness of Chaos had to bring their own provisions.
• Seraphina created an illusion of herself behind the counter, put on an outer robe, and left the Obsidian Bank headquarters for a walk through Valhalla.

Seraphina visited Gray and Nora’s sold-out stall and examined custom mechanical arms, considering the business opportunities in selling them. She identified the dragon-scale arm Gray was presenting as fake.

• Soul Returners rushed around after receiving exciting news, while Seraphina made her way to Gray and Nora’s mobile fortress stall.
• Seraphina asked whether Gray had brought mithril ore or any mechanical arms, and Gray explained that his goods had sold out but he still had several custom arms.
• Gray laid out the custom mechanical arms, and Seraphina chose to inspect a distinctive combat model.
• Gray claimed the arm’s fist contained rare Amber Dragon scales, and Seraphina called it fake.