Recaps

Ed secured the Hive Will’s cooperation, connected the sea of flowers to his territory, and prepared the Soul Returners to infiltrate Fir City. The first operation began with Howling Pothos entering a chapel as a disguised cleric after an explosion drew attention elsewhere.

• Ed negotiated with the Hive Will, which agreed to cooperate with the Second Holy See and let its bees expand through a new corridor, though it refused to help restore order.
• Ed and the players completed the corridor to the sea of flowers, and the players unlocked the Great Adventurer quest to infiltrate Fir City.
• Antiya Lisi learned from Cardinal Sailesi that a third force was active in Aduolin Province and was ordered to reunite the province before spring.
• Ed learned Fir City would reconnect with nearby towns within seven days and moved the planned attack forward, while Willow completed a Stability Anchor prototype for the players to plant.
• Nuolun organized a trial deployment of twenty teams into Fir City, and Howling Pothos joined the mission to gather information and received a pheromone signal stick for extraction.
• Howling Pothos entered Fir City on a Soldier Bee, went undercover in the residential district, and collected a glowing plant sample for Ed.
• After an explosion drew clerics away, Howling Pothos killed one, took his clothes, and entered the chapel’s restricted area to investigate before the cleric’s death was discovered.

Howling Pothos uncovered the plight of Fir City’s Living Woods and helped Enzo’s family escape to Valhalla. He returned toward Fir City to bring Enzo the news, while other players investigated the city and its dangers.

• Howling Pothos rescued Zarke from the chapel’s hidden chamber and delivered him and experimental records to the Holy Crusaders, while Antiya Lisi tightened Fir City’s security.
• Antiya Lisi released the cathedral’s imprisoned test subjects, and living trees began hunting through Fir City as Zhong Lele captured an abusive nun and disguised herself as Sister Qieli.
• Ed removed the limits on entering and staying in Fir City, while Clear Soup Master was interrogated and subjected to experiments in the cathedral dungeon.
• Howling Pothos and Epic-Level Giant established a riverside fishing station, and Howling Pothos entered Fir City through a grate beneath the river.
• Howling Pothos befriended Living Wood, learned about the imprisoned experiment victims, and persuaded Enzo to trust him by offering to get Enzo’s family to safety.
• Howling Pothos and Enzo fought a crazed living tree, then Howling Pothos arranged for Enzo’s family to leave Fir City and evacuated them by Soldier Bees.
• Howling Pothos abandoned his body, respawned in Valhalla, and told Ed what he had learned, and Ed offered help, and Howling Pothos continued escorting Enzo’s family toward safety.
• After receiving an Ability Blessing Card from Ed, Howling Pothos confirmed Enzo’s family was safe, took an experimental fatigue drug, and returned through the ice hole toward Fir City to find Enzo.

Players prepared a covert operation in Fir City while Clear Soup Master infiltrated the city as a treant. Ever-Changing Master Ye’s rat-catching enterprise overwhelmed the rescue budget, so Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop helped redirect the rats and frozen fish into a plan to create two controlled Rat Kings, leaving the convoy poised to act.

• [Howling Pothos] gave Enzo his old corpse and asked him to help his companions and report prison developments from their meeting place in Enzo’s home.
• [Clear Soup Master] completed his treant transformation, explored Fir City, and rescued [That's Good Then] and [That's Really Bad] from two treants before taking the survivors along.
• [Zhong Lele], [Pond Fish and Old Abyss], and [Dark Archmage] arranged to replace nuns at the chapel and evacuate the orphans, while Ed revised and funded their proposal.
• Ever-Changing Master Ye turned the Thorn Rat bounty into a fishing operation, hired Dragonborn workers, and delivered thousands of rats until the Greenhouse’s purchase budget was at risk.
• [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] found cheap frozen fish near Fir City and proposed feeding it to the rats in the Holy Tree Garden to create a Rat King within the chapel grounds.
• Ever-Changing Master Ye completed his rat-catching work, paid his workers, repaid Ed’s cyber loan, and headed toward Fir City’s fishing spot.
• Nuolun agreed to cooperate with [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] and [Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop], who joined the convoy carrying rats and frozen fish toward Fir City.
• The players divided the rats and fish into two loads for the chapel and cathedral, and [Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop] codenamed the planned Rat Kings Little Boy and Fat Man.

The Soul Returners attacked Fir City's churches with Rat Kings, evacuated the orphans, and spread fabricated stories about Antiya Lisi while gathering intelligence. Duma took over Marba and reorganized the approaching reinforcements, which entered Fir City as Ed prepared players to cooperate against stronger enemies.

• The flying squadrons dropped Thorn Rats and frozen fish onto Fir City's churches, creating Rat Kings that attacked the clergy.
• Antiya Lisi destroyed the cathedral Rat King after it devoured [That's Good Then], while [Zhong Lele], [Pond Fish and Old Abyss], and [Dark Archmage] evacuated the orphans by air.
• Ed deduced that the Rat King had inherited Antiya Lisi’s restrictions through [That's Good Then], and the players used the surviving rats as cover for further infiltration.
• Duma escaped the Holy City, took Marba’s memories and identity, and consolidated the approaching knight orders into a legion by killing officers who opposed him.
• [Ginseng Rooster] and [Great Wei Boxing Champion] used the players’ surveillance of Antiya Lisi to print and distribute fabricated stories about his private life.
• A cleric killed [Ginseng Rooster] during his public storytelling, and Antiya Lisi punished the cleric and ordered preparations against the rebels.
• [Autumn Light and Osmanthus Shadows] discovered the approaching Holy Crusaders and reported their position after Nasen killed him and his Soldier Bee.
• Ed introduced cooperation quests for fighting powerful enemies, while Marba entered Fir City with reinforcements and criticized Antiya Lisi’s cautious strategy.