Chapter Summaries

[Ginseng Rooster] persuaded Colin to attend a meeting of the surviving warlords by warning that his powerful army and absence could make him look like a traitor. Colin learned that [Ginseng Rooster] had already organized the meeting in his name, and they prepared to set out.

• [Ginseng Rooster] warned Colin that he might not survive until morning if he skipped the warlords’ meeting.
• [Ginseng Rooster] explained that only seventeen warlords remained and that Colin commanded nearly sixteen thousand troops, making his absence especially suspicious.
• [Ginseng Rooster] argued that the other warlords could brand Colin a traitor and kill him to unite their battered forces.
• [Ginseng Rooster] revealed that he had organized the evening meeting in Colin’s name, prompting Colin to seize him by the collar.
• [Ginseng Rooster] defended his decision by saying the meeting offered the warlords a chance to communicate and gave them both a better chance of surviving.
• Colin gradually calmed down, and [Ginseng Rooster] urged him to set out.

Colin prepared to attend a meeting with [Ginseng Rooster] and his guards, but [Gill's Cuisine] presented him with [Divine Wings]' damaged crystal-cluster sword. The relic reignited Colin's ambition, and he set off for the meeting with his resolve—and [Ginseng Rooster]'s plan—firmly in place.

• Colin chose to walk to the meeting and ordered [Western Sharpshooter] to bring ten military police and ten personal guards, while [Ginseng Rooster] accompanied him.
• [Ginseng Rooster] told Colin that [Gill's Cuisine] had brought him a gift, and [Gill's Cuisine] presented [Divine Wings]' crystal-cluster sword.
• Colin recognized the relic, reached for it despite the risk, and felt his ambition blaze up again.
• Colin cast aside the bone blade he had received after Shalier's death and strapped the crystal-cluster sword to his waist.
• Colin set out toward the meeting with [Ginseng Rooster], several capable Soul Returners, and the guards following behind.

As the Soul Returner Legion helped the Skeleton Alliance hold back the Blood Corpses, Ed and [Ginseng Rooster] prepared a Hongmen Banquet to carry out their plan. Colin arrived at the meeting site as [Gu Gugu] and [Ever-Changing Master Ye] turned its preparations into a comically oversized round table.

• Duma deployed the Soul Returner Legion between the corpse horde and skeleton army, following Ed's plan to provide cover while keeping the fighting manageable.
• Ed told [Ginseng Rooster] that the plan needed to succeed that night, before more Blood Corpses arrived and the Soul Returner Legion came under greater pressure.
• Colin walked through the battered camp toward the meeting site and asked [Ginseng Rooster] whether he could succeed; [Ginseng Rooster] confidently reassured him.
• [Ginseng Rooster] discovered that [Gu Gugu] and [Ever-Changing Master Ye] were building a giant round table for the warlords instead of arranging individual seats for the Hongmen Banquet.
• [Ginseng Rooster] explained that the banquet needed space for Colin, an empty center, and a sword dance, then wondered whether anyone needed to serve food to the skeleton guests.

Ginseng Rooster scrambled to salvage the warlords’ meeting after his players prepared Whale Tail’s remains as a grotesque centerpiece. He arranged a secret plan with Chosen of the Four Gods and gave Colin a prepared speech as they approached the gathering.

• Ever-Changing Master Ye and Gu Gugu proposed serving Whale Tail’s remains at the meeting, and Ginseng Rooster realized the arriving warlords would see them as a meal.
• Chosen of the Four Gods arrived carrying Whale Tail’s bones on a platter, so Ginseng Rooster ordered Gu Gugu to disguise it as a coffin and told Ever-Changing Master Ye to modify the round table.
• Chosen of the Four Gods revealed that he was still a Blood Corpse and could absorb nearby life force, and Ginseng Rooster whispered a secret mission to him.
• Ginseng Rooster left the others to carry out his plan and escorted Colin toward the warlords.
• Colin asked what to do, and Ginseng Rooster gave him a prepared speech in the Empire’s language for him to translate into Psionic Energy.

Colin and [Ginseng Rooster] gathered the seventeen warlords to decide the stranded Skeleton Alliance army’s next move and elect an acting councilor. Grant rejected the vote, killed Balovi, and declared that he was taking command.

• [Ginseng Rooster] arranged Councilor [Whale Tail]'s remains on a rotating coffin-platter and explained that the round table was meant to honor the dead and seat the warlords as equals.
• [Ginseng Rooster] proposed combining a strategy discussion with an election, so the warlord whose plan won the most votes would become acting councilor.
• A warlord endorsed the election, and [Ginseng Rooster] described it as democracy and a devolution of power.
• Grant proposed fighting through the Blood Corpses' encirclement and continuing the campaign rather than returning to the Alliance.
• When Balovi questioned the plan, Grant accused him of desertion and beheaded him.
• Grant drove his broken sword into the table and declared that he was taking charge.

Grant killed Warlord Balovi and took control of his troops, then challenged Colin to a duel. As Colin faced Grant, Ginseng Rooster tried to boost his confidence by listing Colin’s advantages.

• Grant’s broken sword killed Balovi, and the other warlords’ guards prepared to fight.
• Grant subdued Balovi’s guards and claimed their troops for himself.
• Ginseng Rooster challenged Grant on Colin’s behalf, prompting Grant to offer Colin a duel.
• Colin drew his vine-wrapped sword and accepted Grant’s challenge despite fearing he would lose.
• As Colin approached the dueling space, Ginseng Rooster began listing reasons Colin had the advantage.

Colin faced Grant in a duel for supremacy, unaware that [Ginseng Rooster] had weakened Grant through a hidden attendant’s draining abilities. The fight left Colin cornered, with no room to retreat and forced to block Grant’s next attack.

• Colin accepted Grant’s challenge and said they would settle who lived and died.
• [Ginseng Rooster] had placed [Chosen of the Four Gods] near Grant to drain his life force while hiding the effect.
• [Chosen of the Four Gods] weakened Grant and strengthened himself, narrowing the gap between Grant and Colin.
• [Ginseng Rooster] rang his brass bell to start the duel, and Colin and Grant fought with their swords.
• Grant adapted to Colin’s evasive footwork and used his bulk to drive Colin into a corner.
• Colin gritted his teeth and chose to block Grant’s attacks so he could counterattack.

Colin turned the fight around after Grant’s attacks lost their force, breaking one of Grant’s ribs and driving him back. As Colin pressed his advantage, Grant abruptly stopped to accuse the fight of being wrong.

• Colin blocked Grant’s opening slash and realized Grant’s attacks were weaker than expected.
• Grant became distracted by the weakness of his own attacks, allowing Colin to defend against more than a dozen strikes.
• Colin used a flying knee to break one of Grant’s ribs, surprising the watching warlords.
• Colin entered a focused fighting state and forced Grant to retreat with a series of counterattacks.
• [Ginseng Rooster] looked to [Chosen of the Four Gods], who nodded to confirm his involvement.
• After hearing a distinct boo, Grant lost his temper, turned toward the warlords, and declared that something was wrong with the fight.

Colin exposed Grant’s weakness and survived his accusations, while [Chosen of the Four Gods] proved his innocence with a gruesome stunt. Grant tried to rally the warlords with [Divine Wings]’s relic, but Colin revealed a much brighter divine weapon and pledged to bring their people back to the Skeleton Alliance and the Sand Capital if elected acting councilor.

• Grant claimed he had been sabotaged and accused [Chosen of the Four Gods] of draining his strength, but the warlords dismissed his excuses.
• [Chosen of the Four Gods] gouged out his eyes and passed them around so the warlords could verify their color and reject Grant’s accusation.
• The warlords condemned Grant for making excuses after losing to Colin and reminded him that he had ambushed Balovi.
• Grant displayed his broken sword, claiming [Divine Wings] had personally given him the relic, and the warlords fell silent.
• Colin unveiled a far brighter divine weapon and asked [Divine Wings] and [Whale Tail] to witness his pledge to return their compatriots to the Skeleton Alliance and the Sand Capital if elected acting councilor.

Colin defeated Grant, fused the two relic weapons into a towering saber, and took command as acting councilor. He ordered Grant and Balovi's forces to join his fight against the Blood Corpses and sent their guards back to spread news of what had happened.

• Colin cut off Grant's head and picked up his broken sword.
• Colin fused the two weapons into a horse-slaying saber before the warlords.
• Colin said he would take Grant's remains back to the Sand Capital for the Skeleton Council to judge and ordered that Balovi's remains and the fallen skeletons be brought home.
• Colin took temporary command of Balovi's and Grant's troops and ordered them to his territory to fight the Blood Corpses.
• Colin stopped a brawl between the guards, dismissed Balovi's and Grant's men, and ordered them to inform every Bastion Lord within an hour.

Colin secured the warlords’ support by promising to negotiate transport back to the Skeleton Alliance, then was elected interim acting councilor. The meeting ended with the warlords accepting his authority, while Colin and his allies remained in the hall.

• A warlord questioned how Colin would return the assembled forces to the Skeleton Alliance, and Colin promised to negotiate with the Theocracy or borrow ships from the Graycast Corridor.
• Colin hesitated before formally taking charge, but [Ginseng Rooster] guided the meeting into a vote for Colin as commander-in-chief and acting councilor.
• The fourteen eligible warlords unanimously voted for Colin, who declined a special codename and said he would return his weapon to the council once they reached the Skeleton Alliance.
• The warlords addressed Colin as councilor and left the meeting hall, while [Ever-Changing Master Ye] and [Gu Gugu] crawled out from under the table.

After becoming acting councilor, Colin relied on [Ginseng Rooster] to explain the Soul Returners’ arrival and asked him to recruit more for the Fang Soldiers. [Ginseng Rooster] went to negotiate while the birdwatching duo discussed their evacuation plan, as Skeleton Alliance soldiers began searching for a rune-covered bone that could teleport them.

• Colin promised rewards to his followers, returned to his camp, and faced a crowd of Bastion Lords pledging loyalty to him.
• Colin asked [Ginseng Rooster] about a supposed rift among Theocracy leaders, and [Ginseng Rooster] claimed the Soul Returners had come to the Demon Realm because they needed a war to fight.
• Colin asked [Ginseng Rooster] to recruit Soul Returners for the Fang Soldiers, and [Ginseng Rooster] agreed to ask whether any would join the Alliance.
• [Ginseng Rooster], [Gu Gugu], and [Ever-Changing Master Ye] crossed into Soul Returner territory to meet Duma and discuss their “Dunkirk Evacuation” plan.
• Skeletons in a camp on the southern side of the Skeleton Alliance army camp found a pale finger bone engraved with teleportation runes.

Colin’s skeleton military police took over Lord Grant’s camp while Colin waited amid uncertainty about the million Blood Corpses. At Duma’s feast, [Do Some Farm Work] revealed a plan to use the Blood Corpses to accelerate agricultural mechanization after the Soul Returners secured the main camp for a city.

• Colin sent skeleton military police to take over the camp, where they began questioning the troops and searching for supplies and belongings.
• [Ginseng Rooster], [Gu Gugu], and [Ever-Changing Master Ye] complained to Duma about their harsh desert posting while eating and drinking at his tent.
• Duma explained that he wanted the troops to vacate the main camp so the Holy City could build a city there, and that Nuowa had agreed to arrange the requested teleportation.
• [Do Some Farm Work] joined the group and said that he and [Ginseng Rooster] were both helping their respective sides with advice.
• [Do Some Farm Work] proposed moving into the main camp to make more than a million Blood Corpses harmless and use them to fast-track the Theocracy’s agricultural mechanization.

[Ginseng Rooster] and [Do Some Farm Work] discussed the Blood Corpses’ role in Machine Spirit production before the Soul Returner Legion finalized terms for the Skeleton Alliance’s withdrawal. The Skeleton Alliance’s council considered the proposal, but Colin worried about the loss of their camp and whether the Soul Returners would keep their promise to teleport the army home.

• [Do Some Farm Work] explained that Ed could create plant-and-animal organisms to replace Blood Corpses as the basis for new-energy Machine Spirits.
• [Ginseng Rooster] and [Do Some Farm Work] agreed that they would receive the three grand dukes’ final response, while Duma departed for the front line.
• [Ginseng Rooster], [Gu Gugu], and [Ever-Changing Master Ye] returned to the Skeleton Alliance’s camp and presented the Soul Returner Legion’s terms to the council.
• [Ginseng Rooster] told the council that the Skeleton Alliance had to leave its camp intact and withdraw south, after which a teleportation master would transport its army near the Sand Capital.
• Colin weighed the loss of the camp against the promise of safe transportation and wondered whether the Soul Returners might break their word.

Colin faced pressure to accept the humans’ terms or find a way to strengthen the Skeleton Alliance’s bargaining position. He agreed to risk his life attempting to inherit [Divine Wings]’ Holy Remains, though no one knew exactly how to do it.

• Warlords debated whether to accept the humans’ offer to teleport the Alliance away, fearing the humans might break their promise.
• An old warlord argued that Colin could inherit [Divine Wings]’ Holy Remains and become a high-tier fighter, citing a past councilor who had advanced without the usual ritual.
• Colin agreed to attempt the inheritance and told the warlords to recover the relic and elect a new acting councilor if he died.
• The old warlord explained that inheriting Holy Remains required forming a psionic connection but admitted he did not know the precise method.
• Colin returned to camp and told [Ginseng Rooster] that he had to try because there was no other way.

Colin tried to discover how to establish a psionic connection with Lord [Divine Wings]'s relic and asked Philemon about the creation of Councilor [Hard Armor]. Philemon explained that the relic had to connect to Colin's body, leaving Colin to realize the method might require him to cut off his own head with the saber.

• Colin asked [Ginseng Rooster] to hand Lord [Divine Wings]'s relic to the other warlords if he died.
• Colin considered whether the relic could be fused with his body like a councilor's Holy Remains, then summoned Warlord Philemon.
• Philemon recounted how a middle-tier skeleton man had fused with the previous [Hard Armor]'s Holy Remains after it fell in battle against the Starlight Empire.
• Philemon said that the new [Hard Armor] had made the Holy Remains part of himself by allowing them to connect to his body.
• Colin realized that connecting the saber to his psionic circulation might mean cutting off his own head with it.

Colin cut his neck halfway with the horse-slaying saber to connect it to his Psionic Energy and discovered that it contained the memories of the fallen warlords Osmond and Palmer. Their memories revealed that [Divine Wings] had killed them, and Colin said he needed power to take everyone back to the alliance.

• Philemon explained that Colin could cut halfway through his neck to connect the horse-slaying saber to his Psionic Energy without dying, then left rather than help him.
• Colin pressed the saber into his neck and extended his consciousness into it as the players watched from outside his tent.
• Colin found disjointed memories belonging to Osmond and Palmer rather than memories of [Divine Wings].
• Colin learned from their memories that [Divine Wings] had deceived Osmond and ambushed Palmer before killing both warlords.
• Osmond and Palmer's lingering thoughts asked Colin why he needed power, and he answered that he wanted to take everyone back to the alliance.

Colin’s body and soul were transformed by intense heat, allowing him to break through from Middle Tier to High Tier and master Psionic Energy Manifestation. After learning the Soul Returners had agreed to the deal, he ordered the gathered forces to assemble with their living soldiers and as many bones as they could carry so he could take them back to the Alliance.

• Colin forged his skeletal body in a furnace of psionic heat, transforming his bones into crystal clusters and breaking through to High Tier.
• Duma observed Colin’s advancement, reported it to Ed, and was told to leave it alone.
• Colin discovered he could manifest a crystal-cluster horse-slaying saber from his body and disperse it back into himself.
• [Ginseng Rooster] told Colin that the Soul Returner Legion Commander had reconsidered the deal and that the forces needed to gather in the center of camp for teleportation.
• Philemon, Chalco, and other warlords reported that their troops had assembled, and Colin ordered them to bring their living soldiers and as many bones as possible so he could take them back to the Alliance.

Sailesi rescued five skeleton soldiers who had fallen from the sky over the Floating Corpse Sea while hurrying toward Sand Capital with Hall and Snake Tail. The soldiers revealed they had followed him to the Demon Realm, but Sailesi postponed questioning them so he could deliver his mission’s spoils to [Crown].

• Several skeletons teleported to the skies above the Floating Corpse Sea and began falling toward its deadly waters.
• Sailesi, exhausted from keeping his Holy Remains and companions protected while flying toward Sand Capital, sensed the falling skeletons.
• Sailesi changed course and caught five skeletons, who recognized him as Councilor [Nether Crossing].
• One skeleton told Sailesi that they were soldiers who had followed him to the Demon Realm, and the others confirmed it.
• Sailesi continued toward Sand Capital, intent on handing over Divine Wings and Snake Tail to [Crown] before addressing the soldiers.

Sailesi returned to the Sand Capital with [Divine Wings]'s Holy Remains and reported to [Crown] that Rosalind had been killed, though the Alliance had suffered heavy losses. He also brought Hall before [Crown], where Hall immediately asked to join the Skeleton Alliance.

• Sailesi dumped five skeleton soldiers among the Hard Armor guards and hurried to meet [Crown].
• Sailesi collapsed before [Crown] after delivering the Holy Remains and explained that [Divine Wings] had self-detonated to wound Wens while [Whale Tail] had died in a sneak attack.
• Sailesi told [Crown] that the mission had succeeded because they had killed Rosalind, and that the new Holy Remains contained the authorities of Rosalind and [Whale Tail].
• [Crown] asked about the unconscious Hall, and Sailesi explained that he was an opportunist willing to join the Skeleton Alliance.
• Sailesi woke Hall, who introduced himself as vampire Grand Duke Hall and begged [Crown] to let him join the Skeleton Alliance.