Chapter Summaries

Gray discovered that the silent settlement was infested with Blood Corpses, and nightfall unleashed the monsters as he tried to flee in his fortress. He realized that the Blood Corpses driving his fortress’s power assemblies raised another danger as he escaped.

• Gray suspected the nomads might be preparing an ambush and adjusted his fortress’s course to investigate the settlement.
• Gray spotted a mutated human arm emerging from a tent and recognized the settlement’s inhabitants as Blood Corpses.
• Night fell, and Blood Corpses crawled from the tents and reached for Gray’s fortress.
• Gray pulled the acceleration lever to flee, but the fortress’s power assemblies were also Blood Corpses.
• Gray recalled how the Demonic Tide had driven vampires and their thralls mad and transformed many surviving demon races into varieties of Blood Corpse.

Gray’s mobile fortress was pursued by a massive horde of Blood Corpses after nightfall, forcing him to discard his cargo to escape. As the horde closed in, he heard a great river ahead and hoped it might stop them.

• Gray realized Blood Corpses were appearing west of the Graycast Corridor and recalled how the Graycast Corridor used them to power mobile fortresses.
• A Corpse Tide emerged from the surrounding hills, forest, and wasteland and began chasing Gray’s fortress.
• Gray opened the fortress’s storage doors and dumped his cargo, but the Blood Corpses ignored it and kept pursuing him.
• Gray discarded the rest of his trading goods to speed up the fortress, suffering enormous losses as the horde drew closer.
• Gray heard waves ahead and realized a great river might offer his only chance to escape the Blood Corpses.

Gray armed himself and brought the fortress to a halt at the riverbank, where a horde of Blood Corpses surrounded it. As the creatures climbed onto the fortress, he fought them off and drew the attention of their unusual leader.

• Gray put on his armor and mechanical gauntlets, then drove the fortress toward the river while watching the pursuing Blood Corpses.
• Gray stopped the fortress at the riverbank and anchored it against the horde as the Blood Corpses tried to push it into the water.
• The Blood Corpses piled atop one another to climb the fortress, and Gray struck down the first creature to reach the terrace.
• Gray fought the climbing Blood Corpses with his gauntlets, kicking and tearing them apart while their leader directed the assault.
• Gray hurled a Blood Corpse's head toward the leader and imagined how his strength might have suited a berserker of the age before the Demonic Tide.

Gray fought off a horde of Blood Corpses until their leader overwhelmed him and damaged his clockwork vambrace. He escaped the terrace on a cable zip-line, but the leader grabbed his ankle and the other Blood Corpses leaped after him, leaving him surrounded again.

• Gray grew exhausted as he fought dozens of Blood Corpses, and their leader charged onto the terrace when it sensed his fatigue.
• Gray battled the leader, but its claws damaged his vambrace and jammed the clockwork mechanism; it also wounded his unmodified leg.
• Gray retreated from the advancing Blood Corpses until he was cornered, then threw down his vambraces and leaped from the terrace with the brass key and a cable.
• Gray used the key as a zip-line handle to speed toward the opposite bank, but the Blood Corpse leader leaped after him and caught his ankle.
• Gray kicked frantically as the other Blood Corpses jumped from the terrace and surrounded him beneath the moon.

Gray fought off the Blood Corpses while crossing the river, amputating infected flesh and sacrificing his mechanical wrist to escape the leader’s grasp. He landed in the water with the leader beneath him and let the thrashing monster carry him toward shore.

• Blood Corpses swarmed Gray on the zip line, and one scratched his right leg, causing the wound to turn black.
• Gray cut the infected flesh from his leg while the Blood Corpse leader and three others clung to him.
• The leader caught Gray’s blade, bit through his abdominal armor, and reached for his belt.
• Gray disconnected his wrist to free his blade, then used a hook from the wrist joint to cut the metal wire.
• Gray fell into the river with the leader, drove the hook beneath its collarbone, and pressed it underwater as it carried him toward shore.

Gray killed the Blood Corpse leader but suffered catastrophic injuries and amputated most of his body to keep the infection from spreading. He traveled west toward a last hope, then collapsed beneath a tree as an unfamiliar voice compared Yiden’s face to a wild Geodude.

• Gray killed the Blood Corpse leader by destroying its brain, then discovered that his legs and internal organs had been infected and badly damaged.
• Gray used the device implanted in his chest to restore his energy, then severed his spine to remove the infected portion of his body.
• Gray fashioned a support plate from salvaged metal and set off west with the World Tree ornament, using his metallic scent to avoid mutated monsters.
• Gray traveled for an unknown time before reaching his limit and leaning against a tree, unable to reach the hope he had been pursuing.
• As Gray closed his eyes beneath the tree, he heard someone describe Yiden’s face as looking like a wild Geodude.

[Xiexie Huigu] and [Second-Class Biscuit] found Gray badly damaged and rushed to bring him to Guide Ed Adrian, accepting an emergency quest to save him. A half-dragon offered them a ride, then accelerated the rickshaw so fiercely that it felt like flight.

• [Xiexie Huigu] and [Second-Class Biscuit] spotted a badly damaged figure in the forest and recognized him as Gray.
• Ed Adrian saw Gray's condition and sent the players an emergency quest to bring him to the castle.
• [Second-Class Biscuit] and [Xiexie Huigu] carried Gray toward the road, careful not to jostle his damaged body.
• A half-dragon offered them a ride in his rickshaw, and the players loaded Gray aboard.
• The half-dragon powered up and accelerated the rickshaw until the passengers felt as if they were flying.

[Second-Class Biscuit] and [Xiexie Huigu] brought the badly damaged Gray to Ed, who used Nutrient-Rich Resin to keep him alive. Two hours later, Gray woke and discovered that Ed had placed his lower body inside a tree trunk.

• [Second-Class Biscuit] and [Xiexie Huigu] rushed Gray to the castle, where they handed him over to Ed and their quest changed to [Awaiting Settlement].
• Ed placed Gray inside a hollow tree and filled it with Nutrient-Rich Resin, which stabilized his condition.
• Ed confirmed that Gray was alive but worried that his condition foretold trouble for the Second Holy See.
• Two hours later, Gray woke and learned that his lower body was inside the tree, then begged Ed not to put him on a Vine Sheep instead.

Ed treated the injured Gray and learned about the Blood Corpses threatening the area, then had Gray map the northern continent and explain its powers. The chapter left Ed wondering why the Eternal Domain and Graycast Corridor were at war despite their shared fight against the Demon Realm.

• Ed offered Gray a place to stay and paid work in exchange for information, while promising he could return to the Graycast Corridor later.
• Gray warned Ed that Blood Corpses were coming and explained their origins and the danger they posed.
• Ed showed Gray a map, and Gray marked the Tree Worship Church, the Demonic Tide-scarred region, the Eternal Domain, the Graycast Corridor, and the Demon Realm.
• Gray explained that most demons had become Blood Corpses and that the Eternal Domain and Graycast Corridor had been advancing into the Demon Realm.
• Ed asked why the Eternal Domain and Graycast Corridor were fighting, and Gray was surprised Ed already knew about their war.

Ed learned that Blood Corpses were spreading toward his region and planned to make their arrival the focus of a player defense event. Gray revealed that the Blood Corpses would track him there because their soul marks on him lasted forever, and Ed welcomed the news.

• Gray explained that the Graycast Corridor and the Eternal Domain were at odds over how to deal with Blood Corpses, and that their border remained in a stalemate.
• Gray said he had encountered a Corpse Tide and that Blood Corpses had never appeared along his route before.
• Ed suggested that a damaged seal on one of the vampire grand dukes might explain the Blood Corpses' return, and Gray said two elven sealing masters had sealed the grand dukes decades earlier.
• Gray confirmed that Blood Corpses would reach Ed's territory because they were drawn to places rich in life and because their soul marks remained on him.
• Ed decided to use the approaching Corpse Tide as the basis for a player defense event, then shouted “Wonderful!” when Gray said the marks lasted forever.

Zhong Lele recruited Gray to work for Ed, then published a post about his condition that stirred players’ curiosity about who had defeated him. Ed gathered nearby players and broadcast an account of the Blood Corpses before issuing a mobilization order for the coming corpse tide.

• Zhong Lele accepted Ed’s quest, met Gray at the castle, and discussed his compensation and contract.
• Zhong Lele published a popular post about Gray, prompting players to wonder who had left him in such a state.
• Ed summoned nearby players and broadcast his announcement, while Gray saw how much the settlement had grown since his last visit.
• Ed described the Blood Corpses and the approaching corpse tide, and Gray was puzzled that the players seemed eager rather than afraid.
• Ed issued a mobilization order calling on Soul Returners and ordinary believers to face the coming disaster.

Ed announced the coming Corpse Tide and organized defenses while players learned about the Bloody Night event and discussed how to earn contribution points. The forum’s most popular suggestion was to rename the event “Plants vs. Zombies.”

• Ed explained the Corpse Tide quest and its objectives, prompting the Soul Returners to react with excitement rather than fear.
• Xiexie Huigu abandoned his dungeon run by killing his companions, while ivy consumed the remains left behind.
• Ed placed White Wax Town’s NPCs under Duolin, who began recruiting volunteers for the militia; Darnell was the first to sign up.
• Players discussed the event and formed groups on the official forums, where Do Some Farm Work suggested calling it “Plants vs. Zombies.”

Ed mediated a tense confrontation between Gray and Xilǐ'er after they unexpectedly met, then learned that Xilǐ'er had fought Blood Corpses before. The chapter ended with Gray stunned to hear that Xilǐ'er had helped kill a Blood Corpse count.

• Ed decided to add an animation of players' souls leaving their bodies to the next update while Little Green continued testing teleportation trees.
• Xilǐ'er arrived to report on [Gungnir]'s training, but Gray was still present and the two men prepared to fight when they saw each other.
• Ed invoked the contract witnessed by the supreme red dragon and persuaded Gray and Xilǐ'er to disarm and shake hands.
• Ed warned them that Blood Corpses would soon threaten the territory, and Xilǐ'er offered to serve as the vanguard.
• Xilǐ'er said he had fought Blood Corpses in past campaigns and helped kill a count, stunning Gray.

Ed learned how Blood Corpse lineages and counts worked, then asked Gray to protect the local residents in [Gungnir] from infection. Gray offered enhancement implants from the Graycast Corridor, and Ed asked what equipment sets he could provide.

• Xilǐ'er explained that vampire soul marks belonged to separate lineages and that all Blood Corpses of the Wens lineage were in the Demon Realm.
• Gray explained that Blood Corpses descended from seven Grand Dukes of Blood and that only counts possessed special abilities beyond infection and strong vitality.
• Xilǐ'er said the Wens count could paralyze people through eye contact and heal by drinking blood, but its power had not affected him because he had no eyes.
• Ed asked Gray for ways to protect the local residents in [Gungnir] from Blood Corpse infection.
• Gray explained that the Graycast Corridor used mechanical modifications, including enhancement implants that could be fitted to unmodified people, and offered to share some blueprints.
• Ed asked Gray what equipment sets he could provide for [Gungnir].

Ed showed Gray that he could grow exceptionally hard wood into machine parts, then searched the player list for someone whose skills might help with Gray’s missing hand. He selected [Traditional Eccentric Wheel], who was still at the river trying to catch fish with [Ever-Changing Master Ye].

• Gray offered Ed blueprints for powered armor, half-plate, and charged-shot weapons, but warned that their brass components would be difficult to replace or obtain.
• Ed demonstrated a hard, wear-resistant wood he had created and explained that he could grow prototypes directly to the required dimensions.
• Gray agreed the wood could substitute for brass in some parts and asked Ed to repair his missing left hand so he could draw the blueprints more easily.
• Ed checked the player list and chose [Traditional Eccentric Wheel], who had described relevant skills in his questionnaire.
• At the river, [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] and [Ever-Changing Master Ye] waited for fish to bite, while [Ever-Changing Master Ye] planned to fish in seagull form after [Epic-Level Giant] took the boat.

[Traditional Eccentric Wheel] accepted a drafting quest and went to the castle to help Gray design a hand component. After he drew a precise gear plan, Gray was astonished and wondered whether he had stolen technical knowledge from the Graycast Corridor.

• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] spotted a quest seeking a draftsman to help Gray and left [Ever-Changing Master Ye] fishing to answer it.
• At the castle, [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] met Gray, Ed, and Xilǐ'er, and Ed introduced him as a Soul Returner with exceptional skills.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] described his drafting experience in an immersive way, leading Gray to wonder how long he had been doing the work.
• Gray asked [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] to draw a gear, and the player produced a precise three-view plan with clearly marked dimensions.
• Gray stared at the flawless drawing and suspected that [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] might have stolen technical knowledge from the Graycast Corridor.

Ed claimed the Soul Returners were reborn ancient souls, then used his power to craft wooden parts that repaired Gray’s mechanical arm. As Gray’s hand neared completion, Ed gave him a huge wooden hammer to use in place of his usual metal gauntlets.

• Ed told Gray and Xilǐ'er that the Soul Returners were ancient souls summoned to be reborn and had become leaves of the World Tree.
• Ed crafted a wooden gear from a twig, and Gray fitted it into his damaged left arm after confirming the dimensions.
• Gray tested the gear and asked Ed to add lubricant, so Ed began making wooden parts with oil for the rest of the arm.
• Gray and the Soul Returner [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] drew component sketches while Ed made parts, bringing Gray’s left hand close to completion.
• Ed asked what weapon Gray used, learned he favored metal gauntlets, and handed him an enormous wooden hammer to use temporarily.

Ed helped Gray regain the use of his left hand and gave him a hammer that could also help him move. The chapter ended with Ed asking Gray and Xilǐ'er to help develop a new training plan for [Gungnir].

• Gray admired Ed’s hammer, and Ed claimed he was the only member of the Tree Worship Church able to create such things.
• Ed demonstrated how Gray could use the hammer to vault across the study, then coached him as he practiced moving with it.
• Ed named the hammer “Getting Over It with Gray Gris,” prompting [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] to recognize the reference to a notoriously difficult game.
• [Traditional Eccentric Wheel] left the castle after Ed thanked him for his drafting help.
• Ed grew replacement finger components, and Gray assembled them into a working left hand before thanking Ed and pledging his friendship.
• Ed asked Gray and Xilǐ'er to help with new training ideas for [Gungnir], then asked whether they had heard of mechanized cavalry units.

Ed planned to create a mechanized cavalry unit by fitting hoofed beasts with enhanced bio-armor, while Gray and Xilǐ'er agreed to help with armor and cavalry training. The territory’s shortage of mounts was interrupted when [Shit Appraisal Master] bought an inferior Many-Footed Hoofed Beast and took it for a ride.

• Ed explained that enhanced bio-armor could protect hoofed beasts and help them fight Blood Corpses, and Gray said his wife was more skilled at modifying armor.
• Ed asked Xilǐ'er to teach cavalry tactics and help adjust the mounts, but Xilǐ'er pointed out that the territory had few hoofed beasts.
• Ed began considering possible sources of mounts when a notification reported that someone had bought an inferior Many-Footed Hoofed Beast from the Guide Shop.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] showed off his five-gold mount to [Zhongde] and explained that his special attribute now let him ride it.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] rode around the wilderness near the old castle and then encountered [Good Times Don't Last].

After [Shit Appraisal Master] and [Good Times Don't Last] noticed their businesses were doing better apart, Tiya returned home from training and reunited with her father. [Dark Archmage] rented a room at the inn before leaving on reconnaissance, and her warning about the coming Corpse Tide led Tiya and her father to suspect their ancestors’ inn was connected to the damaged Blood Corpse seal.

• [Shit Appraisal Master] and [Good Times Don't Last] exchanged greetings and realized they had made money more easily since splitting up.
• Tiya visited her father at the inn and told him she could run from the castle to White Wax Town without stopping.
• [Dark Archmage] arrived at the inn and rented a cool room for a month to store her belongings.
• [Dark Archmage] told Tiya and her father that the damaged Blood Corpse seal could bring a Corpse Tide and that she was leaving on an extended reconnaissance trip.
• Tiya and her father recalled that two Short-Eared Elf sealing masters had stayed at their family inn a hundred years earlier and wondered if it was tied to the seal.