Chapter Summaries

Hall described his body-seizing and power-creating abilities to [Crown] in hopes of joining the Skeleton Alliance. [Crown] accepted him and led him with Sailesi to a place where Hall was told to choose a new code name before his form of life changed.

• [Crown] asked Hall to explain his abilities, and Hall said he could create doubles and seize weaker bodies but could not possess skeletons.
• Hall offered his loyalty, power, and ancient intelligence to the Skeleton Alliance, but [Crown] dismissed each as insufficient.
• Hall revealed that he could mass-produce High Tiers by distributing power among his doubles, drawing interest from [Crown] and Sailesi.
• Hall added that he could restore the original consciousnesses of High Tier bodies, including Rosalind, and [Crown] welcomed him into the Skeleton Alliance.
• [Crown] led Hall and Sailesi through the underground bone heaps to a crystal door, where Sailesi told Hall to choose a new code name before his form of life changed.

Hall confronted whether he would remain himself if joining the Skeleton Alliance meant abandoning his name, then chose the codename [Thousand Faces]. He and the injured Sailesi entered the crystal chamber for treatment, where [Crown] prepared to repair them both.

• Hall reflected on how his name preserved his identity through countless body changes and decided that a successor with his memories, power, and will would still be him.
• Hall entered the stone chamber and chose [Thousand Faces] as his codename.
• [Crown] invited the hesitant Sailesi into the chamber, reminding him that his missing leg needed repair.
• [Crown] explained that bones without memory imprints from Soul Returner mercenaries could be used to repair their bodies and reduce memory confusion.
• Sailesi lay on a crystal platform beside Hall, and Hall volunteered to undergo the procedure first.

[Crown] transformed Hall into a crystal-bodied skeleton, then asked Sailesi to take on another Holy Remains. Sailesi recognized the request as a test of his ambition and realized that accepting could put him at odds with [Crown].

• [Crown] used a crystal cluster to transform Hall, whose body became entirely crystallized while his memories and abilities merged with his bones.
• Sailesi reflected on his stalled ambitions in the Skeleton Alliance and the discrimination he faced as an outsider.
• [Crown] told Sailesi Hall might take hours or several days to awaken, then praised Sailesi's work in the operation.
• [Crown] asked Sailesi whether he would accept more Holy Remains and continue serving the Alliance.
• Sailesi noticed [Crown] looking at his missing leg and suspected he wanted to fit him with another Holy Remains, then recognized the question as a test of his ambition.

Sailesi convinced [Crown] that he should not receive another Holy Remains and accepted an assignment to secretly monitor Councilor [Thousand Faces]. As [Crown] prepared to attach leg bones, Vanessa’s delayed hypnotic Whisper activated, redirecting Sailesi’s loyalty toward the Theocracy.

• Sailesi rejected another Holy Remains and argued that the Alliance should choose other officers to inherit one.
• [Crown] promised Sailesi a seat on the Skeleton Council and ordered him to monitor Councilor [Thousand Faces] for signs of betrayal.
• After [Crown] left to fetch leg bones, Sailesi used [Dream of Rebirth] to preserve his self-awareness during the upcoming procedure.
• [Crown] returned and began hypnotizing Sailesi before attaching the leg bones.
• As Sailesi lost consciousness, Vanessa’s delayed Whisper activated, implanting the belief that he should secure benefits for the Theocracy.

Sailesi woke with his original arm restored and was ordered by [Crown] to replace [Hard Armor] in command of the Great Fortress defenses. As Sailesi flew southwest, he suspected the Holy Remains were being gathered in the Sand Capital, while Hall woke and identified himself as [Thousand Faces].

• Sailesi woke to find that [Crown] had restored his original arm and replaced his other missing limbs with blank-model bones.
• [Crown] ordered Sailesi to take command of the second defensive line at the Great Fortress and send [Hard Armor] back to the Sand Capital.
• [Crown] told Sailesi to protect the Sand Capital, allowing him to withdraw if necessary as long as he prevented a rout.
• Sailesi accepted the appointment and flew toward the Great Fortress, suspecting that the Holy Remains were gathering in the Sand Capital.
• Hall woke on the crystal platform and told [Crown] that he was [Thousand Faces].

After being appointed to the Skeleton Council, [Thousand Faces] accepted [Crown]'s mission to teleport stranded soldiers back from the Demon Realm and guard the Sand Capital plaza. As he began powering the teleportation array, a patrol officer interrupted the ritual and was seized.

• [Crown] formally appointed Hall as councilor [Thousand Faces] and tasked him with bringing the stranded soldiers back from the Demon Realm.
• [Crown] gave [Thousand Faces] command of the Wing Army and ordered him to kill anyone who emerged from the teleportation array who was not an ally.
• [Thousand Faces] used a crystal token to gather the Wing Army and surrounded the central plaza for the soldiers' arrival.
• [Thousand Faces] located the camp and steadily infused the plaza's runes with psionic energy for several hours.
• A Sand Capital patrol officer broke through the blockade, shouted for the ritual to stop, and was pinned down by two Wing Army soldiers on [Thousand Faces]'s order.

[Crown] and [Thousand Faces] learned that the skeleton allied army in the Demon Realm had rebelled after its high-tier leaders died and Colin seized control. With the Sand Capital at risk if the teleportation array were activated, they planned how to deal with Colin and the stranded soldiers.

• A patrol captain reported that five skeleton soldiers had escaped the Demon Realm and said Colin had killed Grant, declared himself acting councilor, and gathered the army under his command.
• [Crown] learned the report had been delayed because Crystal Cluster Palace guards had refused to let the patrol captain see the councilors.
• [Crown] ordered the guards who had been on duty replaced and initially ordered them dismantled, then told the Wing Army officer to destroy them instead.
• [Thousand Faces] suggested negotiating with the Theocracy and the Graycast Corridor, seeking a trade or extradition for the rank-and-file soldiers, and finding a chance for him to inspect Colin.

The Skeleton Alliance completed its mass teleportation from the Central Demon Realm to the Sand Capital, where Colin was hailed as a hero. As the soldiers cheered their return, a Wing Army officer seized Colin and demanded to know who had ordered him back.

• Colin boasted to [Ginseng Rooster] about the Skeleton Alliance’s small losses, while [Ginseng Rooster] privately judged that Nuowa could easily kill him.
• Duma confirmed that Nuowa knew enough about Nors to teleport the army safely, and they joked about the possibility of sending troops into the Skeleton Alliance’s toilets.
• Nuowa completed the spell, and Duma announced the start of the teleportation, which Colin had named the Rainbow Bridge.
• The Skeleton Alliance arrived in the yellow sands near the Sand Capital and cheered Colin for bringing them home.
• Colin ordered the army to return to the Sand Capital and await the councilors’ orders, but a Wing Army officer dragged him down and demanded to know who had told him to come back.

Colin confronted a Wing Army officer who accused the returning troops of desertion and unauthorized negotiations, while Colin blamed the councilors for abandoning them without orders. The officer ordered the troops divided among their legions and summoned Colin to the Sand Capital to answer to the councilors, leaving the soldiers fearing for his safety.

• The Wing Army officer accused Colin and his troops of deserting the battlefield and risking the Alliance with unauthorized peace talks.
• Colin challenged the officer, saying the councilors had fled or died without leaving orders and the troops had acted to survive and return home.
• Colin overpowered the officer’s grip and demanded to know what orders the councilors had issued.
• The officer ordered surviving warlords to return to their legions and newly appointed warlords to take their units to the Holy City for verification.
• The officer ordered Colin, as acting councilor, to accompany him to the Sand Capital, and the gathered soldiers feared the councilors intended to kill him.

[Ginseng Rooster] challenged the Wing Army officer’s orders, arguing that Councilor [Thousand Faces] might be a fraud and that Colin deserved councilor status. The officer agreed to relay the warlords’ demands, but [Thousand Faces] then appeared in person, leaving [Ginseng Rooster] unsettled by his strange crystalline form.

• [Ginseng Rooster] questioned who [Thousand Faces] was and challenged the officer to explain the newly emerged councilor’s authority.
• [Ginseng Rooster] argued that if [Thousand Faces] had inherited Holy Remains, he should recall the truth and clear the soldiers’ names; the warlords cheered.
• [Ginseng Rooster] declared the order potentially forged and unlawful, citing Colin’s achievements and strength as proof that he was more qualified to become a councilor.
• The Wing Army officer backed down and offered to pass the warlords’ demands to the councilors, including their requests to rest, explain the battle, and investigate the betrayal rumors.
• [Thousand Faces] descended and identified himself, while [Ginseng Rooster] noticed the councilor’s eerie, many-faceted crystalline body and dim psionic flames.

[Thousand Faces] tried to control Colin’s mind, but retreated after discovering other powerful consciousnesses inside him. His attack exposed the danger awaiting the skeleton army at Sand Capital, leaving Colin and the warlords to consider whether crystallized vampires had taken the city.

• [Thousand Faces] praised Colin, then invaded his mind through a blood thread and discovered two dormant high-tier skeleton consciousnesses alongside him.
• [Thousand Faces] withdrew after realizing Colin’s allies could awaken and overwhelm him, while Colin collapsed in pain and [Ginseng Rooster] warned the others that the councilor could control minds.
• [Ginseng Rooster] recognized [Thousand Faces] as Hall, and [Thousand Faces] fled toward Sand Capital after ordering the Wing Army officer to run.
• A warlord grabbed the Wing Army officer’s ankle, dragging him down with a chain of skeleton people, and the army captured him despite his surrender.
• News of Colin’s survival reassured the skeleton army, and [Ginseng Rooster] told the warlords that [Thousand Faces] was a vampire named Grand Duke Hall.
• Chalco asked whether Sand Capital had been taken over by crystallized vampires.

[Ginseng Rooster] explained why the council might have turned against the warlords and argued that they should purge the council’s traitors rather than call their action a rebellion. Colin hesitated over the risk of failure but asked whether they could win, and [Ginseng Rooster] said their chances were very good.

• [Ginseng Rooster] outlined three possible reasons for the council’s actions: cooperation with the vampires, an ongoing power struggle, or total vampire control.
• Philemon and the other warlords concluded that the council had grounds to execute them, and the meeting grew bleak.
• A burly warlord urged Colin to rebel, but [Ginseng Rooster] rebuked him and reframed the plan as purging traitors from the council.
• Colin admitted to [Ginseng Rooster] that he feared failing if he raised an army, though refusing to resist would also mean death.
• Colin asked whether they had a chance of winning, and [Ginseng Rooster] said their chances were very good.

Colin and the warlords decided to oppose Lord [Crown] and assessed the forces defending the Sand Capital. As they planned their next moves, [Ginseng Rooster] revealed he might be able to bring in more human reinforcements.

• Colin gave the order to act, and [Ginseng Rooster] resumed the warlords' meeting with the captured Wing Army officer.
• The Wing Army officer disclosed that the Sand Capital was defended by fifty thousand Wing Army troops and thirty thousand regular patrol troops, while the [Whale Tail] Legion had fifty thousand soldiers at a nearby harbor.
• [Ginseng Rooster] counted the forces available to each side, and a [Whale Tail] warlord volunteered to persuade the harbor troops to defect or remain neutral.
• The Wing Army officer warned that [Nether Crossing] had left the Sand Capital and that the handover to [Hard Armor] would take several days; he said [Hard Armor] was expected to return alone.
• Warlord Philemon urged the warlords to contact [Nether Crossing], and [Ginseng Rooster] agreed to arrange it before offering to find additional human troops.

Colin rallied more than a hundred thousand skeletons by claiming vampires had infiltrated the Alliance and were manipulating its councilors. He declared himself Councilor [Broken Sword], formed the [Broken Sword] Legion, and led them to march on Nors as he threatened to burn the Alliance if it could not be liberated.

• Colin learned that some soldiers had joined the faction for bloodshed and ordered the army assembled.
• [Ginseng Rooster] revealed he had prepared a speech anticipating the crisis and gave it to Colin to study.
• Colin told the assembled skeletons they had been betrayed and faced execution or imprisonment after returning from the Demon Realm.
• A Wing Army officer declared that the new councilor, [Thousand Faces], was a vampire seeking revenge on the skeletons.
• Colin named himself Councilor [Broken Sword], formed the [Broken Sword] Legion, and ordered it to storm Nors and kill every vampire.
• Colin spared the Wing Army officer and sent him to deliver a warning to [Thousand Faces], [Nether Crossing], and [Crown].

Loxor used the Green Dragon’s poisonous fog and his power from the Black Dragon to overwhelm Councilor [Hard Armor], but [Hard Armor] revealed a crystal-cluster defense that could outgrow the poison. After the fog dispersed, Luokenuosuos i looked down and found the [Hard Armor] legion surrounded by the imperial army.

• Loxor attacked [Hard Armor] with poisonous fog, a cursed eye, and a powerful force that trapped and slowed him.
• Loxor explained that his strength came from both the Green Dragon and the Black Dragon, then formed a poisonous dagger to strike [Hard Armor].
• [Hard Armor] shouted “Join!” and unleashed crystal-cluster armor that snapped the dagger and grew faster than the poison could corrode it.
• Loxor withdrew into the dispersing fog, reappeared as Luokenuosuos i above the battlefield, and saw the [Hard Armor] legion surrounded by imperial troops.

Luokenuosuos used [Hard Armor]'s weakened legion to destroy most of an elite skeleton force, deepening doubts about [Hard Armor]'s leadership. At the fortress, Sailesi reported that [Divine Wings] and [Whale Tail] had died in the Demon Realm, and [Hard Armor] learned that the Holy Remains had been returned to the Sand Capital.

• Luokenuosuos confirmed that [Hard Armor] had shared his power with his soldiers and planned to exploit the legion's weakness.
• [Hard Armor] ordered the surrounded skeletons to break out, and the warlord escaped with fewer than half his troops while the imperial army annihilated those left behind.
• Luokenuosuos commended Alfonso Lange, while the Skeleton Alliance's troops grew doubtful of [Hard Armor] after another defeat.
• [Hard Armor] returned to the fortress and met Sailesi, who reported that the Demon Realm mission had cost about forty thousand combat troops.
• Sailesi told [Hard Armor] that [Divine Wings] and [Whale Tail] had died fighting three vampire grand dukes, and that [Divine Wings] had covered his return with the Holy Remains.
• [Hard Armor] learned that Sailesi had brought the Holy Remains to the Sand Capital and admitted that the fighting on his front had gone poorly.

Sailesi took command of the Skeleton Alliance’s defensive line while Hard Armor prepared to return to Sand Capital. Meanwhile, Ginseng Rooster recruited players for a rebellion near the capital, using Temporary Resurrection Trees to bring them to the front.

• Sailesi explained the Demon Realm expedition’s situation to Hard Armor and told him that Councilor Crown had ordered him to hand over command and return to Sand Capital.
• Hard Armor agreed to transfer command and told the warlords that Nether Crossing would lead the defenses, citing Sailesi’s role in killing a vampire grand duke and gaining a new Authority.
• Ginseng Rooster posted a recruitment order announcing that the Broken Sword Legion planned to march on Sand Capital with around 170,000 rebels and appealed for players to bring their own supplies and equipment.
• Players argued about the rebellion and its lack of pay, while eager combatants signed up in growing numbers.
• After sign-ups passed a thousand, Ginseng Rooster led fifty volunteers to an open space, where they entered Damage Sharing Mode and formed the nutrients for a Temporary Teleportation Resurrection Tree.

Colin watched the Resurrection Tree produce a vast force of eager Soul Returners, far more than he had expected. With a thousand assembled and more possibly coming, he formed them into an assault squad and ordered the [Broken Sword] Legion to march on Sand Capital.

• A Soul Returner emerged from the Resurrection Tree and immediately asked Colin when they would attack Sand Capital.
• The Resurrection Tree began ejecting cocoons, and Soul Returners poured out until their numbers reached a thousand.
• [Ginseng Rooster] told Colin that this was only the first batch and that more Soul Returners might arrive.
• Colin organized the thousand Soul Returners into the [Broken Sword] Assault Squad and appointed himself captain.
• Colin ordered [Ginseng Rooster] to tell the warlords to break camp, then marched south toward Sand Capital with the Soul Returners.

The Wing Army officer reported that Colin had openly rebelled and rallied soldiers against the Skeleton Alliance, citing the councilors’ orders and insulting several leaders. [Crown] ordered [Hard Armor] to suppress the rebellion, while [Nether Crossing] was already taking over his duties.

• The Wing Army officer returned to the Crystal Cluster Palace and told [Crown] and [Thousand Faces] that Colin had rebelled outright.
• The officer explained that Colin accused [Thousand Faces] of ordering the killing of over a hundred thousand vampires and claimed [Crown] had been bewitched into making the order.
• [Crown] erupted in anger when he learned Colin had called him a mediocre ruler, while [Thousand Faces] was relieved that Colin had insulted both of them.
• The officer reported that Colin had also called [Nether Crossing] a coward for withdrawing during the Demon Realm war, but had not insulted [Hard Armor].
• [Crown] ordered [Hard Armor] to quell the rebellion and called for attendants.

[Crown] mobilized the Sand Capital’s forces to prepare for rebellion and assigned [Thousand Faces] to produce middle-tier skeletal soldiers. He brought [Thousand Faces] to an underground bone storehouse, where they began assembling an army.

• [Crown] ordered troops to assemble in the Sand Capital, sent a Wing Army officer to secure the Crystal Cluster Palace, and arranged for fifty thousand elite troops to be gathered at the Great Fortress.
• [Crown] rejected [Thousand Faces]’s offer to command the campaign against the rebellion and instead asked him to mass-produce middle-tier fighters.
• [Crown] led [Thousand Faces] through the underground passages to a vast storehouse filled with sorted skeletal remains.
• [Crown] activated the storehouse, and Psionic Energy threads assembled bones into a skeletal person that [Thousand Faces] immediately possessed and strengthened.
• [Crown] praised [Thousand Faces] and sent hundreds of golden Psionic Energy threads raining across the bone-filled chamber.