Chapter Summaries

Ed fought Marba while players poured over the tree wall and disrupted the Tree Worship Church's plant-based attacks. Marba dodged Ed's techniques and challenged him to a duel, ending with Ed provoking the increasingly angry legion commander.

• Bennett accepted his bleak life among the Antasia's crew and hoped progenitor Antos would eventually return to rescue him.
• Ed struggled against the middle-tier grand knight commanders but used the alchemical golem and antigravity spell to evade them and crush their newly summoned plants.
• Players climbed over the tree wall and crowded the battlefield, preventing mutant plants from growing and taking over Ed's fight against the Holy Crusader officers.
• Ed and Marba faced each other as the other fighters made room, and Marba evaded the alchemical golem's Facebreaker and psionic net by slipping through gaps between the trees.
• Marba demanded that Ed defeat him to learn what he was, then threatened to tear off Ed's mask; Ed smiled and asked why Marba was getting worked up.

Marba trapped Ed and the remaining fighters inside a dome of Life-Claiming Camphors, claiming he had thwarted Ed’s reinforcements and resurrection. Ed revealed a rapidly growing mutated plant that pierced the dome and began bringing the dead players back, leaving one newly resurrected player confused about the respawn point.

• Marba’s Holy Crusaders slaughtered players inside the tree wall while Marba kept Ed occupied and claimed the dead could not resurrect in time.
• The Life-Claiming Camphors closed overhead, trapping Ed, Marba, the Holy Crusaders, and the players’ corpses inside a dome.
• Marba told Ed that Gorn had intercepted the reinforcements and that the archbishop could use Fir City’s fall to consolidate power.
• Ed explained that he had ordered the army not to return to reinforce them and said resurrection was easy, then dropped a seed into the blood-soaked ground.
• The seed grew into a huge mutated plant, pierced the dome, and produced a figure from one of its hollow trunks who asked if this was the new respawn point.

Players used the Resurrection Tree’s new passages to flood the sealed battlefield and overwhelm the Holy Crusader officers in a mass boss fight. Meanwhile, Ed kept Marba occupied with the alchemical golem, whose Psionic Energy circuits Ed could continually recharge.

• Players resurrected at a temporary point inside the Resurrection Tree, while the tree grew beyond the barrier and opened passages through it.
• A player scouted a hole through the tree wall, slid into the battlefield, and attacked a Holy Crusader captain; players outside and newly resurrected fighters soon poured in after him.
• The players and Holy Crusader officers fought amid ankle-deep blood, while Ed’s boss display identified the officers as a collective enemy with a marked threshold near thirty percent health.
• Ed used the mass battle to draw players’ attention away from Marba, whom he knew was holding back, while the two fought inside the barrier.
• Marba dodged the alchemical golem’s punch through a burst of blood, but the golem followed with a Psionic Energy attack as Ed restored its depleted circuits.

Ed endured Marba’s attacks while the players exhausted the Holy Crusader officers, then revealed his control over the Symbiotic Trees inside them. As the trees began abandoning their hosts and moving toward Ed, the officers’ fate remained unresolved.

• Ed used the alchemical golem and his instant teleportation to evade Marba while enduring waves of Disorder.
• The players reduced the Holy Crusader officers’ health to thirty percent, received an order to retreat, and withdrew from the fight.
• Ed changed to a plant-focused form and revealed that he could see the Symbiotic Trees growing inside the officers.
• Ed’s pressure caused the Symbiotic Trees to submit to him, and he beckoned one tree to loosen its bond with its host.
• A Symbiotic Tree pulled its roots from a cleric and swam through the bloody water toward Ed.

Ed used his presence to draw most of the mutated plants away from the Holy Crusaders, undermining their ability and will to fight. Marba concealed his own strength and weighed his escape as Seraphina flew to Ed’s side.

• A mutated plant reached Ed and rubbed against his foot, prompting many others to abandon the Holy Crusaders and gather around him.
• The Holy Crusaders realized that losing their symbiotic plants gave them a chance to survive, and their resolve to fight began to weaken.
• Ed told Marba he had already lost, while Marba secretly restrained his two plants and considered how to escape without revealing his true identity.
• Ed summoned Seraphina, who took flight toward Valhalla’s gates and laughed when she saw the castle and the enclosed area before it.

Seraphina uprooted the Resurrection Tree and stirred the bloody water inside the tree-wall barrier, sweeping the Holy Crusaders into a whirlpool. After the waves settled, she prepared to blow bubbles with the tree as a straw.

• Ed led the players and Symbiotic Trees into the castle, then shut the gates against the Holy Crusaders.
• Marba tried to command the Life-Claiming Camphors to open a path, but they rejected him and asked who he was.
• Seraphina landed on the tree wall, saw the Holy Crusaders in the bloody water, and mistook the Resurrection Tree for a bubble-tea straw.
• Seraphina uprooted the Resurrection Tree and stirred the bloody water, tossing the Holy Crusaders around and injuring some of them.
• Marba recognized Seraphina as a dragon and wondered whether she was Nige Ganhuo.
• Seraphina stopped stirring and prepared to blow bubbles.

Seraphina helped the players defeat the Holy Crusaders by roasting them inside the Resurrection Tree’s bloody mud, while Duma abandoned his Marba disguise and died in the flames. With the first quest complete, the players prepared to pursue the remaining objectives.

• Seraphina blew fire through the Resurrection Tree, boiling the bloody mud and driving the Holy Crusaders underwater.
• Seraphina combined flames from above with exploding bubbles below, leaving the Holy Crusaders no way to escape.
• Duma dropped his Marba act and let the dragonfire burn him to death.
• The players cheered as the group boss died and they received their quest rewards.
• The players left Valhalla to seek the Holy Crusaders’ main force and retake Fir City.
• Parasitic Boston Ivy bound the weakened Tree Worship Church elites so they could be taken captive.

After the battle in Valhalla, Motley welcomed the captured Tree Worship Church elites into the Wild Hunt, while Ed settled Seraphina’s fee and prepared to speak with Duma. Duma arrived in demon form and, asked whether he was Marba, answered that Marba and Duma were separate.

• Motley told the bound Tree Worship Church elites that they would survive and welcomed them into the Wild Hunt.
• Ed let the Shattered Castle return to its disordered state and met Seraphina, who demanded the remaining eight hundred gold coins for her help.
• A burning scrap of clerical robes summoned Duma, who appeared before Ed and Seraphina in his demon form.
• Ed asked Duma whether Duma was Marba, and Duma replied that Marba was Marba and Duma was Duma.

Ed confronted Duma about probing his identity and offered him a paid position instead of accepting a vague pledge of loyalty. Duma read the employment contract for his new role as Soul Returner Legion Commander and began to cry.

• Ed asked Duma what price he would pay to put the matter behind them, and Duma offered to serve him and advise him on warfare.
• Duma knelt and pledged to die in Ed’s service, but Ed refused the wording and proposed an employment contract.
• Ed assigned Duma the position of Soul Returner Legion Commander, with a salary of one hundred gold coins a month after an eight-month probationary period.
• Ed planned for Duma to defend the border against the Tree Worship Church’s counterattack after the Second Holy See took Aduolin Province.
• Duma carefully read the contract and let a tear fall onto it before signing.

Ed learned that Duma had served as commander of the demon allied forces for two hundred years without pay, then offered him appropriate compensation for working under him. Duma began explaining how he had led his people after the last Demon King was assassinated, and the chapter left him about to describe how he sought a safer leader for them.

• Duma broke down while holding Ed’s contract and revealed that the last Demon King had never compensated him for two centuries of service.
• Ed told Duma that anyone working for him would be paid and explained that Duma needed to protect local civilians because only certain beings could be resurrected.
• Ed asked Duma what had happened after he stepped down as commander, and Duma explained that the last Demon King’s assassination scattered the demon races and ended his authority.
• Duma clarified that he had not formed a mercenary band; instead, the demons who remained with him effectively made him their chief.
• Duma said he had feared humans would kill his people if they followed him, so he had wanted to find someone else for them to serve.

Duma recounted how he settled his people, traveled the world, and eventually came to investigate the suspected revival of the Tree God at Cardinal Geliwusi Kruger’s request. Ed recruited Duma as the Soul Returner Legion Commander and gave him the persona Nige Ganhuo, but Duma’s true name proved so long that he filled the contract’s first page and turned it over.

• Duma told Ed how he had settled demons among different groups before traveling through the kingdom, empire, and Holy City, where he met the Short-Eared Elves at Norse Port.
• After the demonic tide erupted, Duma fled toward the Holy City, befriended the cleric Geliwusi Kruger, and worked for him until he was sent to investigate the suspected revived Tree God.
• Ed realized that Geliwusi was the third cardinal in the Tree Worship Church’s factional split and decided to send him a hint through Duma.
• Ed appointed Duma commander of the Soul Returner Legion and named his new persona Nige Ganhuo, confusing Seraphina, who insisted that she was Nige.
• Seraphina explained that her nonaggression agreement did not prevent her from opposing the southern rebels, and Duma accepted Ed’s contract as a member of the Second Holy See.
• Duma began writing his true name on the contract, continued onto a fresh page, and left Ed speechless.

Ed confirmed Duma’s contract and new identity, then recruited him to help finish the campaign in Fir City. After registering Duma with the Root Network, Ed prepared to travel there with him for cleanup work and to introduce him to the army he would command.

• Duma wrote his extraordinarily long true name on the contract and explained that demons added the names of defeated opponents and important battle locations to their own.
• Ed discovered that Duma had used part of his true name as an alias and told him to use only “Duma” and “Nige Ganhuo” unless circumstances required otherwise.
• Ed collected a drop of Duma’s blood for Little Green to analyze and gave Duma a leaf that granted him access to the Root Network.
• Ed told Duma that Fir City was close to falling and asked him to handle cleanup work and get acquainted with the army he would command.
• Ed asked Duma whether he had a fast way to travel to Fir City.

Ed traveled with Duma through the Depths of the World and questioned him about his abilities. After reaching Fir City, Ed chose to remain hidden with Duma and watch events unfold from the depths.

• Duma demonstrated that he could bring Ed’s plant-based clone into the Depths of the World and travel rapidly without regard for terrain.
• Ed asked Duma to explain his powers, and Duma described Whisper, which could transmit thoughts and bewitch minds.
• Duma explained that the Depths of the World let demons separate enemies or retreat, and Ed recognized its combat potential.
• Duma described Incarnation, which could replace a person who agreed, kill them, and let Duma imitate their appearance and abilities while reading most of their memories.
• Duma and Ed reached Fir City, but Ed told Duma not to reveal himself yet because they would watch a show from the depths.

Antiya Lisi led his half-treant army into battle against the rebels while [Howling Pothos] prepared himself with living gauntlets and drugs. After Antiya Lisi wounded him with a wooden spike, [Howling Pothos] realized the archbishop used poison and shouted a warning before his wound began bleeding heavily.

• Antiya Lisi brought his half-treant warriors to the western district's wall and ordered them to attack the rebels.
• [Howling Pothos] used his bracers to grow gauntlets from his flesh, drank Nutrient-Rich Resin, injected himself with drugs, and disabled pain perception.
• Antiya Lisi noticed [Howling Pothos]'s surging aura and attacked him with a rain of arrows.
• [Howling Pothos] launched himself from a rooftop and struck the ground beside Antiya Lisi, who pierced his thigh with a wooden spike.
• [Howling Pothos] recognized the cool sensation as a sign of poison and shouted a warning about Antiya Lisi.
• Antiya Lisi withdrew the spike from [Howling Pothos]'s wound, causing blood to spurt from it.

[Howling Pothos] used Dragon Transformation and Blood Corpse Transformation to resist Antiya Lisi, then called on Grand Duke Adelaide for help. Adelaide said he lacked power to intervene and urged [Howling Pothos] to die fighting, leaving him furious and still facing Antiya Lisi.

• Antiya Lisi tried to transform [Howling Pothos] into a half-treant, but Dragon Transformation resisted the toxin long enough for him to dodge a lethal attack.
• [Howling Pothos] swallowed a Blood Corpse crystal to gain another power and Antiya Lisi concluded the rebels were allied with Blood Corpses.
• [Howling Pothos] prayed to the Blood Corpse progenitors and reached Grand Duke Adelaide, who confirmed he was in Fir City but said he could not yet break the seal or offer much power.
• Adelaide told [Howling Pothos] to die at Antiya Lisi's hands so the resulting Blood Curse stacks would help Adelaide locate Antiya Lisi after his revival.
• [Howling Pothos] realized Adelaide was offering no rescue and grew furious as he continued fighting Antiya Lisi.

[Howling Pothos] realized Antiya Lisi’s feet had rooted into the ground, limiting his movement, and returned to provoke him. Antiya Lisi sensed middle-tier power around the rebel and discovered it came from a card in his hand.

• [Howling Pothos] dodged Antiya Lisi’s attacks and saw that the archbishop’s feet had become roots connected to the ground.
• Antiya Lisi realized that overusing his abilities had caused his body to transform into a tree and root itself beneath the battlefield.
• Antiya Lisi judged that his roots and poisonous symbiotic plant still gave him overwhelming strength in the city.
• [Howling Pothos] returned and endured a barrage of Antiya Lisi’s wooden arrows with his dragon scales.
• Antiya Lisi sensed middle-tier power surrounding [Howling Pothos] and realized the power came from a card in his hand.

[Howling Pothos] used Ed's Ability Blessing Card and chose to match Ed's psionic energy compatibility, then prepared to use blood corpse transformation against Antiya Lisi. The chapter ended as he swallowed a handful of corpse poison crystals and shouted, “My turn, draw!”

• [Howling Pothos] revealed Ed's Ability Blessing Card and decided to use it rather than lose to Antiya Lisi.
• [Howling Pothos] saw Ed's status as a Lich Warlock and realized Ed was fighting elsewhere in Valhalla.
• [Howling Pothos] chose to raise his psionic energy compatibility to Ed's level for one minute.
• Antiya Lisi sensed the surge of psionic energy and waited to see how [Howling Pothos] would attack.
• [Howling Pothos] swallowed a handful of corpse poison crystals to trigger blood corpse transformation and shouted, “My turn, draw!”

[Howling Pothos] ate blood corpse crystals and summoned Grand Duke Antos to possess his body so he could fight Antiya Lisi. Antos transformed him into a powerful alien-like blood corpse, leaving the battle poised for a confrontation.

• [Howling Pothos] ate all the blood corpse crystals in his pouch and prayed to Grand Duke Antos for help against Antiya Lisi.
• Grand Duke Antos recognized [Howling Pothos] as a blood descendant of the Antos Lineage and questioned him about his request.
• [Howling Pothos] offered his life and let Antos take control of his body, while Antiya Lisi's attacks were blocked by an invisible force.
• [Howling Pothos] activated recording mode as Antos's power transformed his body into a towering, clawed blood corpse.
• The transformed [Howling Pothos] roared on the battlefield before Antiya Lisi.

Antos used [Howling Pothos]'s body to evade Antiya Lisi's attacks, while [Howling Pothos] realized the blessing card had only thirty-eight seconds remaining. Antiya Lisi trapped the Blood Corpse inside a venomous enclosure, forcing it to stop moving as the fight continued.

• Antiya Lisi attacked the Blood Corpse with venomous spikes, but Antos dodged and baited him with bursts of speed.
• [Howling Pothos] recognized that Antos had concentrated the Dragon Transformation and Tree Transformation powers in the Blood Corpse's legs and checked that the blessing card had thirty-eight seconds left.
• Antiya Lisi formed a cane and raised a cage of spikes around the Blood Corpse, trapping it inside a conical space.
• Antiya Lisi filled the enclosed space with venomous rain, and the Blood Corpse stopped moving to avoid absorbing more venom.

The grand duke controlling Howling Pothos’s body tried to infect Antiya Lisi, but the archbishop disrupted its movements and pinned it with venomous spikes. The Blood Corpse then invoked its authorities, transforming its body into blood, flesh, and bone.

• The grand duke decided to infect Antiya Lisi and take his body as a vessel.
• The Blood Corpse bounced off the barrier to evade Antiya Lisi, but Antiya softened the barrier beneath its feet and broke its momentum.
• Antiya Lisi shot venomous wooden spikes from the barrier, impaling the Blood Corpse and injecting it with poison.
• The Blood Corpse named its authorities: Blood, Flesh, and Bone, then its body collapsed into blood, flesh, and bones.