Recaps

[Shit Appraisal Master] and [Good Times Don't Last] accepted a mission from Gray Gris and the Great Labyrinth City's Machine Spirit to persuade hardliners to accept Machine Spirits and help expose traitors. They prepared Cuiske’s prized tools as gifts and set out to visit the suspects, unaware that Cuiske’s body had been repurposed to keep producing them.

• A messenger delivered letters from Gray Gris and the Great Labyrinth City's Machine Spirit, asking the two Soul Returners to help turn a plot against Gray into an ambush of the traitors.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] and [Good Times Don't Last] read the suspect list, recognized Suolaer Aoermo, and agreed to accept the assignment.
• The pair discussed the risks and decided that even if their efforts failed, Gray and the others would not be harmed.
• They gathered tools and parts produced by Cuiske, whose death had made his stamped goods valuable, and departed by Hoofed Beast carriage to visit the hardliners.
• Unknown to them, Ed had recycled Cuiske’s High Tier body, which continued producing the goods that would become prized rarities.

[Shit Appraisal Master] and [Good Times Don't Last] visited Suolaer Aoermo to deliver a Theocracy tool set and banquet invitation. They found Suolaer dejected and living in a disorderly, alcohol-filled home, and he examined the set’s serial number as [Good Times Don't Last] explained its production details.

• [Shit Appraisal Master] and [Good Times Don't Last] confirmed they had two traditional High Tier tool sets left for Suolaer Aoermo and Grand Artisan Ke'en Lisuo si.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] persuaded Suolaer to open his door by offering Theocracy-made tools and a banquet invitation.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] saw that Suolaer looked unkempt and had lost the fierce presence he had shown during the election.
• Suolaer let the visitors in, swept liquor bottles and other clutter off his table, and inspected the black storage box.
• [Good Times Don't Last] explained that the tool set’s serial number identified its High Tier producer, production batch, and individual set.

Suolaer received an invitation to a banquet where the Grand Foundry Master planned to appoint him to a new duty, while privately worrying about his worsening crystal affliction and his failure as an undercover agent. The visitors then invited Grand Artisan Keen, who agreed to discuss the shipyard’s problems at the banquet and proposed buying more quality timber.

• Suolaer learned that the Grand Foundry Master had invited him to a banquet in three days to discuss the Floating Corpse Sea exploration and formally assign him a new duty.
• After the visitors left, Suolaer examined the spreading crystal clusters on his arm and wondered whether the invitation was a trap.
• Suolaer reflected that he had failed to become Grand Foundry Master, investigate Gray, or devise an assassination plan, and concluded he was a poor undercover agent.
• The merchant duo visited Grand Artisan Keen, who promised to explain the shipyard’s low efficiency to the Grand Foundry Master at the banquet.
• Keen said he might contact the duo afterward to arrange purchases of higher-quality timber for shipbuilding.

[Good Times Don't Last] and [Shit Appraisal Master] found suspicious crystal grains in Suolaer and Keen’s homes, then posted photos online to ask for help identifying them. Meanwhile, Keen revealed that the covert meeting had been a test and announced a plan to assassinate the Grand Foundry Master in three days, before an unknown figure approached from the darkness.

• [Good Times Don't Last] found tiny crystal grains in the dust at Suolaer’s home, and [Shit Appraisal Master] found similar grains at Keen’s mansion.
• The two examined the multicolored grains and posted photographs on the forum to seek information.
• Suolaer entered a covert meeting where Keen said he, Suolaer, and Brenfield had received invitations to a banquet in three days.
• The undercover agents discussed using the invitations to rally opponents of Machine Spirits, while warning that the banquet might be a trap.
• Keen revealed that the meeting had tested the agents and announced they would assassinate the Grand Foundry Master in three days.
• Keen began to identify who had authority to test the agents as unfamiliar footsteps sounded from the dark room.

Giant Arms gathered the Graycast Corridor conspirators and outlined a plan to assassinate Grand Foundry Master Gray Gris at the banquet in three days. The new skeletal councilor [Nether Crossing] joined the plot and gave Keen, Suolaer, and Brenfield brooches, promising to protect them from the shadows.

• Giant Arms told the conspirators that he would kill Gray Gris at the banquet and leave them to manage the aftermath.
• A conspirator shared plans of the banquet hall’s structural weaknesses, while an informant warned about Balund, Grand Artisan Felix, and retired general Sailan.
• The group learned that Balund might possess a powerful mechanical weapon left by his dead brother, but Giant Arms said he had brought help.
• [Nether Crossing] emerged from the darkness, gave brooches to Keen, Suolaer, and Brenfield, and promised to protect them at the meeting.
• Giant Arms ended the gathering and said the plan would proceed as usual in three days.

After fleeing the fallen Holy City, Sailesi sought refuge with the Skeleton Alliance and agreed to become one of them. [Crown] explained the transformation and led him to a chamber of failed experiments, where Sailesi asked whether becoming a skeleton would preserve his memories.

• When Ed attacked the Holy City, Sailesi escaped with trusted followers and sent Luorui'er away disguised as his double.
• Sailesi avoided the Empire’s ambushes and reached the Sand Capital, where the Skeleton Council welcomed him but offered membership rather than political asylum.
• Sailesi accepted that joining the Skeleton Alliance required him to become a skeleton and declared his intention to join.
• The five councilors approved Sailesi’s request and set a major operation with [Giant Arms] as his test for becoming a councilor.
• [Crown] led Sailesi into an underground chamber filled with crystallized bones from failed experiments and assured him that the transformation would not affect his memories.

Sailesi accepted the Skeleton Alliance’s demand to abandon his old name and emerged from the transformation as the prospective councilor Nether Crossing. In the present, Ed received a warning that two Skeleton Alliance councilors planned an assassination at a banquet in three days, prompting him to seek help from two retirees.

• [Crown] explained that Sailesi would need to abandon his former name and choose a title to join the Skeleton Alliance.
• Sailesi entered the transformation chamber and, days later, emerged as the prospective councilor Nether Crossing.
• Gray Gris sent a mechanical carrier pigeon carrying a warning about an assassination planned for a banquet in three days by Giant Arms and Nether Crossing.
• Ed read the warning and worried that the Skeleton Alliance was preparing to fight on two fronts with two of its five councilors.
• Ed appeared beside two retirees in the countryside and began telling them about the situation.

Ed brought Balund and Aiboke to Great Labyrinth City to plan against the Skeleton Alliance's assassination attempt on Gray. They arranged to target four high-tier attackers while the Soul Returners handled the middle-tier enemies.

• Balund crushed his fishing rod in anger, and Ed decided that he, Balund, and Aiboke would travel to Great Labyrinth City.
• Balund transported them to a trusted satellite city, where they boarded a small mobile fortress and reached Great Labyrinth City a day later.
• Ed, Gray, Gray’s wife, the machine spirit, and the reinforcements discussed the attackers and identified [Giant Arms], [Nether Crossing], Keen, and Brenfield as their four high-tier combatants.
• Ed proposed focusing on the four high-tier enemies while the Soul Returners dealt with the middle-tier attackers, and Gray agreed to prepare Corridor Guard uniforms for them.
• Ed asked why the Graycast Corridor lacked a secret intelligence agency, and Balund explained that limited resources and concerns about abuse of power had kept them from creating one.

Ed and the others planned to extend Great Labyrinth City’s oversight and set a trap for Skeleton Alliance spies during a banquet. Players secretly prepared to join the operation as Gray Gris arrived at the gathering, where the ambush was expected to begin.

• Ed proposed developing Machine Spirits in the satellite cities and having Great Labyrinth City oversee them, and the Machine Spirit agreed to try the idea.
• [Good Times Don't Last] and [Shit Appraisal Master] discussed suspicious crystals found in Great Labyrinth City before receiving a quest to disguise themselves as Corridor Guards and arrest Skeleton Alliance spies.
• Ed limited the quest to five hundred players in Graycast Corridor and the Wilderness of Chaos, while Suolaer and the others prepared for the banquet.
• Two days later, players gathered at the banquet hall, recorded the guests’ arrivals, and watched the tile where the planned ambush would begin.
• Gray Gris arrived wearing soft armor beneath his formal suit and greeted the guests with a raised wineglass.

At a banquet, Gray delayed a suspected assassination attempt while quietly warning Sailan that several attendees wanted him dead. He left the gathering’s defense to Sailan and had the general secretly send his grandson to safety.

• Gray descended into the banquet hall and refused Brenfield’s request to speak, choosing to talk with Sailan first instead.
• Players disguised as servers and guards monitored Brenfield and shared their observations with the mission group.
• Gray reminded Sailan of their earlier agreement on military machine spirits, then told him that someone at the banquet planned to kill him.
• Sailan pledged to protect Gray, and Gray told him to protect the other guests because arrangements were already in place.
• Gray asked Sailan to send his grandson to a rear compartment without alerting the conspirators, and Sailan arranged to give the boy a stomachache as a cover.

Brenfield’s attempt to kill Gray triggered a battle at the banquet, but Aiboke and Ed protected Gray from [Giant Arms]. As Brenfield called for everyone to attack, the disguised waiter restrained him and asked about his brooch.

• Brenfield fought the red spider lily brooch’s influence, then shoved Gray onto the stone tile to trigger [Giant Arms]’s attack.
• The road rose into a metal wall while nearby houses descended underground to protect the residents.
• Balund delayed [Giant Arms] with magic arrays, and Aiboke used his transforming armor and Ed’s vines to meet the attack.
• The collision destroyed the banquet hall, but Gray remained largely unharmed under Aiboke and Ed’s protection.
• Brenfield urged the others to attack Gray, but the disguised waiter seized his gauntleted hand and asked where he had gotten his brooch.

Brenfield escaped Ed’s vines by sacrificing his mechanical arms, then rebuilt himself and attacked with a powerful launcher. Ed recognized the spider lily as a clue to Lord [Nether Crossing], but before he could choose whether to pursue him or fight the two undercover agents, Sailan rushed into the ruined banquet hall.

• Brenfield tried to reach the spider lily brooch, but Ed seized his hand and vines began spreading through his body.
• Brenfield detached his arms and launched himself away, causing the arms to explode while Ed’s vine stole the brooch.
• Brenfield used a prepared metal pillar to rebuild his arms, then fired a barrage at Ed, who blocked the shots with a bark shield.
• Ke'en Lisuo si joined Brenfield in a standoff with Ed, and the two agents recognized him as the Son of God.
• Ed connected the spider lily and other clues to Sailesi, now known as Lord [Nether Crossing], and weighed whether to pursue him or fight the agents.
• Sailan, the retired general known as the Iron Hunt, rushed into the banquet hall from the smoke-filled ruins.

Ed realized Sailesi was targeting Gray and used the Great Labyrinth City's temporary rule to strengthen his plant power. He transformed Little Green into a [Clear Void Pine] as its domain began spreading.

• Sailan and Felix attacked Brenfield and Keen while protecting the banquet hall and its civilians.
• Ed noticed Suolaer was being overwhelmed by players and assessed the battlefields, leaving Sailesi as the only unoccupied high-tier enemy.
• Ed deduced Sailesi's mission was to reach Gray, found him already impaired by Sailesi's floral fragrance, and enclosed him in protective vines.
• Ed asked the Great Labyrinth City to make the surroundings favorable to plant growth, temporarily increasing his strength.
• Ed called on Little Green to transform into a [Clear Void Pine], and its domain of purity and clarity began expanding.

Ed’s Clear Void Pine domain freed Gray and others from Sailesi’s illusion, leading Ed to track Sailesi to a tower in the Great Labyrinth City. Ed confronted the crystallized councilor, who denied his identity before accusing Ed of refusing to let him live.

• Ed expanded the Clear Void Pine’s domain, restoring Gray’s senses and calming the people protected by Felix.
• Sailesi spread [Dream of Rebirth] through the Great Labyrinth City, making civilians believe they were in an unrestricted fighting tournament.
• Sailesi sensed the battle near the banquet hall going badly and felt someone tear through his illusion with power he associated with Cardinal Luxiusi.
• Sailesi realized Ed might have arrived and prepared to flee, but Ed appeared beside him and greeted him.
• Sailesi denied being the former Cardinal Sailesi and claimed Ed had driven him to abandon his old name, power, and status.
• Ed rejected Sailesi’s accusation and questioned how he could claim to be wronged.

Ed fought Sailesi, now fused with [Dream of Rebirth] and transformed into [Nether Crossing], while weakened outside his territory. Elsewhere, three battles raged through the Great Labyrinth City, leaving a group of Soul Returners stuck before their mission until Pixel Blue Dragon appeared and requested a special passage.

• Ed discovered that he could not strip away Sailesi's abilities because Sailesi had become a crystal-based fusion with [Dream of Rebirth].
• Ed entered combat against [Nether Crossing], facing a difficult fight without an advantage or an easy weakness to exploit.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] and his group emerged from an alley and saw three battles: two groups fighting near the ruins, [Giant Arms] battling a mech and a hooded mage, and Ed clashing with [Nether Crossing] in the sky.
• The sixty Soul Returners in Corridor Guard uniforms realized the crossfire blocked their route to arrest a middle-tier spy.
• Pixel Blue Dragon appeared and requested a special passage through the congested Great Labyrinth City.

The Soul Returners opened a hidden passage and used [Aluode]'s impersonation tactics to trick Morris into leading his family into it. As Morris's family entered the tunnel, [Aluode] ordered the players to seize them.

• Pixel Blue Dragon guided the Soul Returners through a newly opened underground passage toward Morris's building.
• [Aluode] organized the players into squads and disguised more than twenty of them as Graycast Corridor Guards.
• [Aluode] convinced Morris that the Grand Foundry Master was dead and a manhunt was coming, and promised to escort his family to safety.
• Morris gathered his family of eight and followed [Aluode] to the hidden passage.
• After Morris signaled that his family had entered, [Aluode] told the players to get ready and grab them.

The Soul Returners captured Morris and exposed his role in a plot to assassinate Grand Foundry Master Gray Gris. After turning their attention to the captured Suolaer Aoermo, [Aluode] entered his cell to assist with the interrogation.

• [Aluode] and the Soul Returners restrained Morris and threatened his family until he admitted he had cut corners while building the banquet hall.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] revealed that Morris had plotted to assassinate Grand Foundry Master Gray Gris, shocking Morris's family.
• [Aluode]'s squad delivered the captured criminals and their relatives to the Corridor Guard and requested to question Suolaer Aoermo.
• The warden allowed [Aluode] to interrogate Suolaer Aoermo with Corridor Guard recorders present, hoping the Soul Returners could question the hard-to-pressure orphan.

[Aluode] interrogated Suolaer Aoermo in Great Labyrinth City's prison, using a seed called Green Tooth Headphones to inflict unbearable itching inside his ear. He pressed Suolaer to explain why he betrayed Graycast Corridor, while the recorders waited for his confession.

• The warden dismissed concerns about letting a Soul Returner interrogate Suolaer and returned to his room to await the results.
• [Aluode] recalled that [Ginseng Rooster] had asked him to learn the truth behind Suolaer's betrayal after the accusation proved true.
• [Aluode] told Suolaer that a double agent had helped Graycast Corridor anticipate the clique's plans and that his confession would serve as a reference.
• [Aluode] slipped a Green Tooth Headphones seed into Suolaer's ear and controlled its roots as they spread through his ear canal.
• Suolaer cried out in pain, and [Aluode] urged him through the seed to confess.

[Aluode] interrogated Suolaer Aoermo and uncovered how the Skeleton Alliance had recruited him as a spy and arranged First Mate Cooper’s death. Suolaer admitted that he had killed Cooper and concealed the truth, leaving his betrayal exposed.

• [Aluode] forced Suolaer to reveal that the Skeleton Alliance had captured and tortured him in Sand Capital nearly two years earlier.
• Suolaer explained that the Skeleton Alliance used crystal clusters and medicine to control him and assigned him to gather information about the Graycast Corridor.
• Suolaer said his spring voyage reached Sand Capital, where Councilor [Whale Tail] offered to support his bid to become Grand Foundry Master.
• Cooper overheard [Whale Tail] reveal Suolaer’s identity, and [Whale Tail] pressured Suolaer to kill the first mate as proof of loyalty.
• [Whale Tail] had Cooper controlled and later released him, prompting Cooper to lead a mutiny during the return voyage.
• Suolaer killed Cooper and other witnesses, fabricated a story about Cooper’s mutiny, and obstructed the investigation to hide the truth.

[Aluode] sent the recorders’ notes to [Ginseng Rooster], and the warden ordered an overnight interrogation as the fighting in Great Labyrinth City continued. [Giant Arms] and [Nether Crossing] planned to create an opening to withdraw, while Ed’s aerial battle with Sailesi remained nearly even.

• [Aluode] photographed and translated the recorders’ notes, sent them to [Ginseng Rooster], and left without removing the seed in Suolaer’s brain.
• The warden read the notes, recognized the case’s significance, and ordered the recorders to interrogate the suspects through the night and produce names before dawn.
• [Giant Arms] fought Balund, Aiboke, and Great Labyrinth City amid widespread destruction, then coordinated with [Nether Crossing] to seek a chance to withdraw.
• Ed shifted his battle with Sailesi into the sky to protect the city, but an outer-district house was still destroyed by an attack’s aftershock.
• Ed and Sailesi fought to a near standstill, with Ed’s level already past 70 on Little Green’s hundred-level scale.

Ed refused Sailesi’s offer to end their fight and condemned him for sacrificing people to his plans. As Sailesi appeared to trigger an escape, Keen and Brenfield vanished from their battle with Sailan and Felix, and [Giant Arms] broke into the ruins.

• Ed rejected Sailesi’s proposal to withdraw and argued that Sailesi had betrayed and sacrificed his own people during the Demonic Tide.
• Sailesi performed a Tree Worship Church salute, and Ed heard a crisp crack.
• Sailan and Felix gained the upper hand against Keen and Brenfield in the ruins of the banquet hall.
• The crystal-cluster spider lilies on Keen and Brenfield lit up, and the two traitors disappeared.
• [Giant Arms] shattered Felix’s metal cage and forced his way into the banquet hall.

[Giant Arms] broke the battlefield’s balance, defeating Ed’s duplicate and forcing Balund to seal the area as [Giant Arms] and [Nether Crossing] tried to escape. Ed returned in a new body, and a four-armed demon appeared beside Balund as the confrontation escalated.

• [Giant Arms] shattered Sailan’s shield and badly injured him while Felix remained immobilized.
• [Giant Arms] vanished through Balund’s Psionic Energy seals, and Balund ordered the armed mech to capture Keen and Brenfield.
• [Giant Arms] broke the airborne domain and destroyed Ed’s duplicate, then reclaimed the crushed finger bone from [Nether Crossing].
• Balund blocked [Giant Arms] and [Nether Crossing] as they prepared to flee, saying he had called for help.
• A tree outside the Great Labyrinth City launched a cocoon carrying Ed, who returned to the battlefield.
• Balund asked Ed what he had learned, and a four-armed crimson demon formed from the ash of Ed’s duplicate.

Duma confronted [Giant Arms] over his apparent connection to Duma’s past, but the fight resumed when [Giant Arms] refused to explain himself and Ed returned to the battlefield. Below, Aiboke subdued Keen and Brenfield, revealed himself to Brenfield, and had both traitors imprisoned by the Great Labyrinth City.

• Duma questioned [Giant Arms] about his identity, but [Giant Arms] said his current self had nothing to do with Duma.
• Duma prepared to fight, and Ed returned, giving his side a three-to-two advantage over [Giant Arms] and [Nether Crossing].
• [Giant Arms] and [Nether Crossing] chose to fight, and the two sides clashed in the sky above the Great Labyrinth City.
• Aiboke restrained Brenfield, who recognized him as the Grand Foundry Master and accused the brothers of deceiving the city; Aiboke tore off Brenfield’s limbs and had the city imprison him.
• Aiboke confronted Keen over his past choices and stripped away most of his mechanical parts before the Great Labyrinth City imprisoned him too.

After the battle damaged the Great Labyrinth City, Aiboke and his allies prepared the city for evacuation while Ed, Balund, and Duma drove [Giant Arms] and [Nether Crossing] farther into the sky. The fight continued to wear down the two enemies, and Duma unleashed an immense heat attack that turned the surrounding sky into a dead zone.

• The Great Labyrinth City transformed damaged districts as Aiboke relayed Balund's warning to prepare for evacuation.
• Sailan and Felix reunited with Aiboke, and Felix began building temporary housing for civilians.
• Ed, Balund, and Duma pursued [Giant Arms] and [Nether Crossing] southward until the Great Labyrinth City disappeared from view.
• [Giant Arms] ordered [Nether Crossing] to block three attacks so he could break the spatial lockdown and help [Whale Tail] locate them near the coast.
• Ed realized that [Giant Arms] used rune-inscribed finger bones as consumables and that the crystal-cluster spider lilies let the pair exchange positions.
• Duma condemned [Giant Arms] for using his kin's remains and raised the surrounding temperature until the sky became a matterless dead zone.

Sailesi and [Giant Arms] endured Duma’s flames while Balund’s enchanted engraving knife struck them, leaving both badly injured. Ed then revealed a trump card granted by Adelaide of [Absolute Punishment], whose transformed Symbiotic Tree began weakening Sailesi as the battle continued.

• Sailesi withstood Duma’s Flame Hell and urged [Giant Arms] to hurry charging his Psionic Energy.
• Balund launched his accelerated, hardened engraving knife at Sailesi, who sacrificed his right arm trying to stop it.
• The engraving knife pierced [Giant Arms]’s manifested psionic arm and destroyed his right shoulder, but Sailesi caught the severed arm and asked if he was ready.
• Ed transformed Little Green into a sinister tree and unleashed Adelaide of [Absolute Punishment]’s power.
• Sailesi felt his Psionic Energy slow and his heat resistance weaken as his crystal body began fading and breaking apart.