Recaps

The Soul Returners seized Black Pine City's southern gate after [Dragon Roar Egg Yolk] injected the grand knight commander with four dangerous drugs. Meanwhile, [Why Not Q] and the Gungnir reached Archbishop Luorui'er's tunnel exit, where the Fitz Family's steward emerged to hold them back while urging his lady to escape.

• [Dragon Roar Egg Yolk] injected the grand knight commander with four "Dragon" drugs, and he collapsed, convulsing.
• [Ginseng Rooster] urged the Holy Crusaders to surrender, and the southern gate fell as the remaining defenders fled or gave up.
• Ed sent the Gungnir to escort [Why Not Q] and other Soul Returners to Archbishop Luorui'er's tunnel exit.
• [Why Not Q] warned the Gungnir about a poison-skilled servant, and the group identified the tunnel's location.
• The Fitz Family's steward emerged from the tunnel armed with poisoned maces and told his lady to escape while he fought the surrounding enemies.

The Soul Returners seized Black Pine City and pursued Archbishop Luorui'er through the underground passage beneath his mansion, while Gungnir knights held his guards at the tunnel exit. The Soul Returners advanced toward the battle as the old butler struggled to break the knights’ coordination.

• [Why Not Q] asked the Gungnir knights to hold off the old butler while he and his companions dug a hole to plant the rescued children.
• The old butler and his household guards emerged from the tunnel and fought the Gungnir knights, whose teamwork kept them from suffering serious injuries despite being outmatched.
• The Soul Returners took the remaining defenses of Black Pine City, and [Ginseng Rooster] led more than a hundred players to Luorui'er's mansion to enter its secret passage.
• [Ginseng Rooster] found the decaying bodies of workers who had been forced to dig the tunnel before the company killed them.
• The old butler smashed a Hoofed Beast and pinned its rider, but three Gungnir knights blocked his attempt to finish the fallen rider.

Gungnir and the Soul Returners clashed with Luorui’er’s household retainers after her Forget-Sorrow Mint and bloodied spider lily drove both sides into a frenzy. As the battle turned into a deadly melee, [Ginseng Rooster] used a temporary Root Network seed to contact Boss Ed.

• Gungnir’s coordinated attacks wounded the old butler, who accidentally revealed that Luorui’er had emerged from the tunnel.
• Luorui’er released the full strength of her symbiotic plant, intensifying everyone’s strongest emotions and reviving her fallen retainers.
• Luorui’er planted a blood-red spider lily and ordered her retainers to kill the rebels, while the Soul Returners called for her capture and the destruction of Black Pine City.
• The retainers, Gungnir members, and Soul Returners fought a bloody battle in which many were killed or gravely wounded, and the retainers underwent Tree Transformation.
• [Ginseng Rooster] recognized that the battle had gone out of control and used [Dragon Roar Egg Yolk]’s temporary Root Network seed to contact Boss Ed.
• The blood-red spider lily crumbled to dust in a muddy pit as [Ginseng Rooster] waited for Ed’s reply.

Luorui'er fled the fallen Fitz Province after accepting a new task from Cardinal Sailesi, while players subdued the berserk half-treants on the battlefield. The players then discovered a widespread bug that left many of them trapped in unresponsive bodies.

• Luorui'er told Cardinal Sailesi that Fitz Province had fallen and accepted his new assignment before escaping into the woods.
• Luorui'er reflected that opposing the rebels had been a mistake and considered fleeing the church if Sailesi gave her another dangerous task.
• Players emerged from the temporary teleportation point, killed the half-treants, and restrained the berserk players.
• [Good Times Don't Last] contacted [Shit Appraisal Master] outside the game and asked him to kill his unresponsive body so he could respawn.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] killed [Good Times Don't Last], then found urgent forum posts showing that numerous players were trapped in the same bugged state.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] showed the forum posts to the players around him.

Ed investigated how Luorui'er had escaped and concluded that Cardinal Sailesi was manipulating events from the shadows. After restoring the injured Gungnir members, Ed returned to Black Pine City determined to advance his power.

• Ed arrived at the Root Network, stabilized the Gungnir members, and questioned the resurrected [Good Times Don't Last] about the battle.
• [Good Times Don't Last] explained that Luorui'er had used a symbiotic plant to enrage both sides, while Luorui'er disappeared unnoticed.
• Ed judged that a high-tier individual had interfered and suspected Cardinal Sailesi was helping Luorui'er from afar.
• Ed examined [Forget-Sorrow Mint] with Little Green and "Little Blue" and confirmed it could not drive players completely insane.
• Ed used the plant to restore the Gungnir members, gave them several days off, and returned to Black Pine City.

Ed left Duma in charge of the Second Holy See’s campaign against the Tree Worship Church while he turned his attention to the Blood Corpses in the Wilderness of Chaos. He introduced Noya as Duma’s contact for administrative matters, and Duma wondered whether Geliwusi had decided what to do about the Holy City.

• The Soul Returners captured Black Pine City, and Ed planned to turn its churches into a dungeon, an Adventurers’ Guild branch, and a charcoal plant branch.
• Ed told Duma to manage the Tree Worship Church front and handle any cities whose leaders chose to join the Second Holy See.
• Ed insisted that surrendered Stained Ones still had to be investigated and punished according to the severity of their crimes.
• Ed told Duma to send Soul Returners who surpassed Low Tier Middle Grade to the eastern front, where the grand duke was nearing revival.
• Ed introduced Noya, a blue dragon remnant soul in his Root Network, as Duma’s contact for resources, Soul Returners, and quests.
• Duma considered writing to Geliwusi to urge him to decide whether to join the Second Holy See.

Cardinal Geliwusi received a warning from Duma about the Son of God and weighed the risks of leaving the Holy City. Back in Valhalla, [Shit Appraisal Master] learned that [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] was nearly finished building a new mobile fortress for the next expedition.

• Duma used Geliwusi’s intelligence channel to send a letter urging him to meet the Son of God and bring Luxiusi and Sailesi.
• Geliwusi destroyed the letter’s lower half and took the remaining intelligence about the Demon to the cathedral.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] returned from Black Pine City and found [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] assembling a new mobile fortress in [Orc Workshop].
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] explained that Gray’s blueprints had helped him build a vehicle designed to carry a Resurrection Tree, while [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] gathered Blood Corpses.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] asked whether the fortress could carry [Good Times Don’t Last], and [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] agreed on the condition that they did no business along the way.

[Traditional Eccentric Wheel] told [Shit Appraisal Master] that Antasia had awakened as a machine spirit after encountering a grand duke’s power and carrying something created by Ed. Seeing a chance to give their own vehicles intelligent assistants, [Shit Appraisal Master] urged them to build one quickly and visit the grand duke’s sealed grounds, though they still needed Gray to tell them where it was.

• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] explained that Antasia could communicate through the combined voices of Blood Corpses inside its engine.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] said Gray believed Antasia had awakened after exposure to a grand duke’s ability and while carrying a World Tree statue created by Ed.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] showed [Shit Appraisal Master] a Resurrection Tree seed, which could satisfy the condition involving Ed’s creations.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] realized the machine-spirit method could help his team equip mass-produced vehicles with intelligent assistants and offered to speed up their build.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] persuaded [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] to visit the grand duke’s sealed grounds early, and they decided to ask Gray where they were.

[Shit Appraisal Master] persuaded [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] to lead a small group on an early trip to the sealing grounds to provoke the Grand Duke and test their theory. Ed learned of their plan and turned it into a special exploration quest, leaving [Shit Appraisal Master] excited to set out.

• [Shit Appraisal Master] convinced [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] that his high trust with Gray made him a suitable choice to leave early.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] agreed to take [Shit Appraisal Master], [Lion Hidden in the Eyes], and [Good Times Don't Last] in his vehicle.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] and [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] split up to prepare the vehicle, gather supplies, and ask Gray for the sealing grounds' location.
• Ed learned of the plan from Little Green and decided it could benefit his plans.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] received a special quest to explore the Wilderness of Chaos and plant Stability Anchors, earning silver coins for each one deployed.

[Traditional Eccentric Wheel] and [Shit Appraisal Master] built a smaller mobile resurrection tank and set out with [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] and [Good Times Don't Last] for the Grand Duke’s sealing site. On the bumpy journey, the group began debating what to name the vehicle, leaving [Good Times Don't Last] to offer his suggestion next.

• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] returned with ten harmless Blood Corpses and reported that the nearby Wilderness of Chaos had been largely cleared of them.
• [Good Times Don't Last] bought twenty more Blood Corpses from [Soaring Clouds], and the group completed the mobile resurrection tank.
• Gray gave the group the approximate location of the Grand Duke’s sealing site and warned them that the trip would be dangerous.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] and [Good Times Don't Last] fought over the steering wheel as the tank jolted along, until [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] took control.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] asked the group to name the tank, and [Shit Appraisal Master]’s suggestions, “Om” and “Ad Space for Rent,” were rejected.

The four contestants named their mobile fortress King of Fall Resistance, I Guess after [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] secretly altered the painted name for a joke. As the fortress crossed a barren desert, they heard someone calling for help and turned toward a patch of suspected quicksand to investigate.

• [Good Times Don't Last] proposed the name King of Fall Resistance, I Guess, and the group unanimously approved it.
• [Good Times Don't Last] found plant-based paint, and [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] painted a different, joke version of the name on the fortress.
• The four laughed at the name, and [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] suggested strengthening the fortress's armor to suit it.
• [Good Times Don't Last] heard cries for help, and the group spotted a person apparently trapped near a patch of quicksand.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] steered the fortress toward the cries while the others armed themselves, planning to rescue the person and deal with any enemy afterward.

[Lion Hidden in the Eyes], [Shit Appraisal Master], and [Good Times Don't Last] rescued the Eternal Domain knight Charlie and his horse from quicksand. Charlie revealed that the Eternal Domain had killed Antos and was hunting the vampires to extinction, then set off for Valhalla to deliver the news.

• [Good Times Don't Last] tried to rescue Charlie from the quicksand with a vine, but [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] instead crossed planks laid by the others and pulled him out.
• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] recognized Charlie as a messenger from the Eternal Domain and told him that they were warriors of the Second Holy See.
• Charlie announced that Their Majesties had slain Antos of Flesh and Blood and would continue hunting vampires until the race was eradicated.
• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] realized the Eternal Domain had taken Antos's body and kept quiet about the players searching Klaf City for Adelaide.
• Charlie asked for directions to the Second Holy See's capital, and [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] pointed him toward Valhalla.
• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] and the others pulled Charlie's horse from the quicksand, and Charlie rode toward Valhalla to reunite with his delegation.

After reporting Antos’s death, the players continued toward an unknown sealing site while the first-wave teams in Klaf City mapped the underground tunnels and searched for Grand Duke Adelaide. [Howling Pothos] noticed a blind spot in their exploration: the Blood Corpses that had dug their way down may have been summoned by someone powerful.

• The players speculated about what had happened to Antos and his lineage, then decided to travel quickly toward the unknown sealing site.
• The first-wave teams continued mapping Klaf City’s tunnels and estimated that they had charted roughly a third of the city.
• [Retreat Drum Player] and [Elderly and Children Fly First] proposed different locations to explore next, each citing clues that Adelaide might be nearby.
• [Howling Pothos] recalled that Blood Corpses had dug the tunnels leading into the dungeon and reasoned that a powerful Blood Corpse must have summoned them.

The players suspected Adelaide was sealed near Rotting Corpse Dark Lake and set out to investigate it. On the way, they found a carved arrow and calligraphy suggesting that members of the Eternal Domain were also exploring Klaf City’s underground passages.

• Howling Pothos reasoned that Adelaide may have stopped directing the Blood Corpses after noticing the invading players and proposed investigating Rotting Corpse Dark Lake.
• Howling Pothos, Retreat Drum Player, and Elderly and Children Fly First agreed to investigate the dangerous area, then led the players out through Klaf City’s underground caves.
• Benevolent Father Above found an unfamiliar carved arrow and calligraphy at an unexplored passage marked on the players’ shared map.
• Howling Pothos recognized the lettering from Antos’s sealing site and Gray’s Antasia and concluded that someone from the Eternal Domain had left it.
• Retreat Drum Player wondered whether another exploration team was underground, while Elderly and Children Fly First offered to check the map’s edit history.

[Elderly and Children Fly First], [Retreat Drum Player], and [Howling Pothos] realized the Eternal Domain expedition might be ahead of them in Klaf City, so they hurried toward Adelaide while debating whether they would fight their supposed allies. After several hours of travel, they reached the tunnel leading to the [Rotting Corpse Dark Lake].

• [Easily Soluble in Water] said someone had marked a passage three or four days earlier, suggesting the Eternal Domain expedition might have followed their route.
• [Retreat Drum Player] ordered the players to hurry and skip detailed exploration, while [Elderly and Children Fly First] warned that the Eternal Domain might steal their target again.
• [Howling Pothos] reasoned that Adelaide probably had not been found because the Blood Corpses had not entered a collective frenzy, though [Retreat Drum Player] warned that they might fight the Eternal Domain if it stood in their way.
• The three captains agreed that the [Rotting Corpse Dark Lake] held an enormous number of Blood Corpses, possibly more than half of those in Klaf City and the surrounding area.
• The players ran through the underground passages for several hours and reached the smooth stone tunnel leading to the [Rotting Corpse Dark Lake].

The Second Holy See’s advance party entered the underground lake and began searching for the place where Adelaide was sealed. Meanwhile, the four players traveling in the King of Fall Resistance, I Guess found the Antasia’s abandoned cargo and prepared to activate the fortress’s Machine Spirit.

• Howling Pothos, Elderly and Children Fly First, and Retreat Drum Player helped the exploration team silently descend into the cave on a woven vine net.
• The players formed up along the shore of Rotting Corpse Dark Lake and began searching for traces of Adelaide’s seal without entering the water.
• Good Times Don’t Last used Gray’s map to guide the King of Fall Resistance, I Guess across the Wilderness of Chaos toward the Antasia’s discarded cargo.
• Lion Hidden in the Eyes and Traditional Eccentric Wheel woke up and joined the others in the cab after the fortress reached a hill overlooking the cargo.
• The four recalled that their plan was to expose themselves to a suspected grand duke’s Psionic Energy fluctuations in hopes of activating the Machine Spirit.

Four players tried to find a way to frighten the sealed grand duke and decided to dig up his grave, but their fortress ran into a horde of Blood Corpses. As the pursuing horde pressed close, the overworked engine failed, and [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] jumped into the engine compartment to remove a broken-down Blood Corpse.

• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] proposed that the players dig up the sealed grand duke's grave to frighten him.
• The four players drove the King of Fall Resistance, I Guess over a slope and nearly crashed into a vast gathering of Blood Corpses.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] steered the fortress away from the horde, while [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] apologized for nearly causing a crash.
• The players realized they could not escape the Blood Corpses long enough to dig up the grand duke's grave.
• A Blood Corpse broke down after nearly a hundred and twenty hours of heavy driving, and [Shit Appraisal Master] ordered the others to clear it from the engine compartment.
• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] opened the floor trapdoor and jumped into the noisy engine compartment.

[Lion Hidden in the Eyes] found and discarded another failing Blood Corpse, worsening the mobile fortress’s power shortage as pursuers closed in. He proposed using vines and [Traditional Eccentric Wheel]’s transformed body to fish Blood Corpses from the pursuing horde, and the group began the operation.

• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] inspected the engine compartment, removed a Blood Corpse with a broken shin from its station, and tossed it out of the fortress.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] and [Good Times Don't Last] worried that the loss of Blood Corpses was slowing the fortress and letting the pursuers catch up.
• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] suggested capturing Blood Corpses from behind the fortress and explained his plan by comparing it to a Bungee Zombie from Plants vs. Zombies.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] transformed his upper body into a crane-like fishing rod while [Good Times Don't Last] secured vines around [Lion Hidden in the Eyes].
• [Shit Appraisal Master] kept the fortress steady as the group began Operation Bungee Zombie.

[Lion Hidden in the Eyes], [Traditional Eccentric Wheel], and [Good Times Don't Last] caught a Blood Corpse by lowering the Dragonborn into the horde on vines, but two more corpses grabbed on and had to be cut loose. After they hauled their catch onto the deck, [Good Times Don't Last] stopped [Shit Appraisal Master] from returning to his driving and insisted they catch two more.

• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] swung down into the Blood Corpse horde while [Good Times Don't Last] controlled the vines and [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] anchored the fishing-rod-like setup.
• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] grabbed a Blood Corpse, but two more Blood Corpses latched onto its legs, leaving all three men struggling to haul them up.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] called for help, and [Shit Appraisal Master] ran from the control lever to assist.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] and [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] worked together to cut the two extra Blood Corpses loose without damaging their target.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] tossed [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] and the captured Blood Corpse onto the deck, where the group subdued it.
• [Good Times Don't Last] stopped [Shit Appraisal Master] from returning to drive and told him they still needed to catch two more Blood Corpses.

The King of Fall Resistance, I Guess plunged into a pit, leaving the fortress stranded between Blood Corpses above and below. The four companions secured the intruding Blood Corpses and assessed their trapped situation.

• [Shit Appraisal Master] returned to the driver's seat, but the King of Fall Resistance, I Guess fell into a pit and slammed into the ground.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel], [Lion Hidden in the Eyes], and [Good Times Don't Last] were thrown onto the engine compartment floor, though the Blood Corpses there remained restrained.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] shut the rooftop doors as Blood Corpses followed them into the fortress, and [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] knocked down one that had crawled inside.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel], [Lion Hidden in the Eyes], and [Good Times Don't Last] confirmed that some connecting rods had broken but the chassis was undamaged.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] gathered the group to take stock, and [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] described their position as being trapped between Blood Corpses above and below.

Trapped aboard the fortress by Blood Corpses, the four players worried about losing their progress and having their Resurrection Tree spawn point camped when it matured. [Good Times Don't Last] began proposing a better solution after [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] suggested blocking the resurrection slots.

• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] reminded the group that the Resurrection Tree on the rooftop deck would soon mature and could be camped by Blood Corpses.
• [Good Times Don't Last] and [Shit Appraisal Master] rejected posting about the danger or staying quiet, while [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] warned that curious players might find the teleport point and get infected.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] proposed having one of the four players repeatedly occupy the Resurrection Tree's slot to keep others from being spawn-camped.
• [Good Times Don't Last] suggested he had a better plan and asked [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] whether soil had been placed between the fortress walls.

[Traditional Eccentric Wheel] devised the Snake Plan to move the Resurrection Tree into the cabin, build an excavation assembly, and help the King of Fall Resistance, I Guess escape. Meanwhile, [Howling Pothos] told [Easily Soluble in Water] that Adelaide Lineage Blood Corpses had become more numerous around the Rotting Corpse Dark Lake.

• [Good Times Don't Last] proposed moving the Resurrection Tree sapling into the cabin so newly arriving players would teleport there.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] revealed a plan to build an excavation assembly and modify the King of Fall Resistance, I Guess so it could climb back to the surface.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] produced blueprints, supplies, and food to answer the team's objections, and the group voted to begin the Snake Plan.
• The four players began eating Scarlet Millet to prepare for cutting planks from their bodies and moving the Resurrection Tree.
• After two days exploring the Rotting Corpse Dark Lake, [Easily Soluble in Water] complained about the expedition, and [Howling Pothos] pointed out that Adelaide Lineage Blood Corpses had grown more numerous.

Players searching the Rotting Corpse Dark Lake discovered enormous flashing runes that suggested Grand Duke Adelaide was sealed nearby, and they began tracking the seal’s center. At Valhalla, Knight Charlie told Ed that Eternal Domain intended to deal with every grand duke, not just Antos.

• [Howling Pothos] explained that Blood Corpses of the Antos and Adelaide Lineages differed in their blood and apparent vitality, and [Easily Soluble in Water] inferred that Adelaide’s sealing site might be nearby.
• [Zhongde] spotted a faint, regularly flashing light underwater, and the players recognized it as part of a massive sealing pattern.
• The players replenished their disguises with Blood Corpses, spread out, and searched the lake for runes to locate Adelaide’s seal.
• At Valhalla, Knight Charlie told Ed that the Twin Kings meant for Eternal Domain to confront every grand duke and take responsibility for stopping the Blood Corpses.

Ed questioned Charlie about the Twin Kings’ campaign against the grand dukes and negotiated for the Eternal Domain to let his people hunt them too. He then handed Silvis over to Charlie, who agreed to take the supposedly dead knight back to the Twilight Capital.

• Ed challenged Charlie to clarify whose order the Twin Kings intended to restore, then secured Charlie’s agreement that both sides could hunt the grand dukes independently.
• Ed asked whether Charlie’s immortality had prevented him from escaping quicksand, and Charlie explained that Eternal Domain knights could be trapped without dying.
• Ed revealed that Silvis was staying in Valhalla and asked Charlie to take him back to the Twilight Capital.
• Charlie recognized Silvis as a knight listed among the fallen whose son had inherited his title and lands, but agreed to bring him home under Eternal Domain rules.
• Ed released Silvis from his cell and brought him to Charlie, who asked the awakened knight why he was there.

Ed sent Silvis south with Charlie, then learned that Soul Returners had found what appeared to be Grand Duke Adelaide’s seal in Klaf City and prepared to gather a force to break it. In the Cold Wave Caverns, a knight’s squire encountered a Blood Corpse that watched him without attacking.

• Ed issued Charlie a travel permit, and Charlie invited Silvis to join his delegation; Silvis agreed and left with the group for the south.
• Ed wondered why the Twin Kings were spreading news of Antos’s death and suspected they intended to exploit the resulting chaos.
• [Do Some Farm Work] told Ed that Gray had taken Soul Returners to explore an unknown sealed area and that an advance party had found what might be Grand Duke Adelaide’s seal in Klaf City.
• After confirming the seal had not been broken, Ed announced that he would gather more Soul Returners to prepare to break it.
• In the Cold Wave Caverns, a knight’s squire marked a cave as a dead end, then spotted a Blood Corpse peering at him from behind a rock without attacking.