Recaps

Shen Heng and the defenders turned the Calamity Beast attack into a rout, then faced the powerful Mirror Water Beast. Gu Lingxuan, Lin Zhaoran, and Cao Mingyu weakened it by freezing and removing parts of its body, but it began recovering and changing tactics.

• Zhou Dehou and the defenders worried about Captain Shen’s absence until Shen Heng’s group attacked from behind the beast tide, giving Xu Ruiyu the chance to rally the soldiers.
• Shen Heng and his fighters ambushed the Calamity Beasts, killed the Long Python, and helped trigger a panic that sent the beast tide fleeing downhill.
• The Mirror Water Beast confronted Shen Heng, revealed that the Lion King had noticed him, and tried to recruit him before pursuing him through the retreating beasts.
• Shen Heng escaped the Mirror Water Beast’s seawater attack and reunited with Gu Lingxuan and the arriving fighters, who organized a plan to contain it while Xu Ruiyu led civilians away from the battlefield.
• Xu Jianing treated Shen Heng’s severe injuries, but Shen Heng stayed behind to fight as the Mirror Water Beast battled Lin Zhaoran, Gu Lingxuan, and Cao Mingyu.
• Lin Zhaoran and Gu Lingxuan repeatedly froze the Mirror Water Beast’s tsunami, while Cao Mingyu helped throw the frozen pieces away to prevent the beast from absorbing them.
• The Mirror Water Beast split into smaller bodies and recovered much of its strength, so Gu Lingxuan and Lin Zhaoran prepared to draw it into the air and knock away its frozen parts as it began to shrink.

Shen Heng’s group subdued the Mirror Water Beast with Li Daoyi’s help, while Jiang Xingwei’s team encountered the wounded Profound Crystal Griffin. Han Ling and her companions prepared Zhou Xuan to strike the Griffin with borrowed Origin Power and Origin Crystals as it closed in.

• Gu Lingxuan, Lin Zhaoran, Cao Mingyu, and Shen Heng fought the Mirror Water Beast to protect the retreating evacuees, and Qin Yu killed a Hard-Armored Salamander before joining the battle.
• The Mirror Water Beast detonated missiles formed through Rumination, but Li Daoyi arrived and restrained its copies while Shen Heng asked him to leave one alive for study.
• Li Daoyi left to handle the Calamity Beasts near Frontier-Pacifying City, while Shen Heng and Qin Yu went to tell the evacuees they could return.
• Jiang Xingwei held back from killing Han Ling’s gentle Stone-Armored Beast, then cleared Calamity Beasts around the Eye of Earth Marrow as the group collected Origin Crystals.
• Han Ling sensed a surviving Profound Crystal Griffin underground, and Cao Yiyi led the group away as it pursued them.
• With the Griffin closing in, Zhou Xuan carried the group underground, but its attacks shook their passage and it continued to catch up.
• Han Ling proposed worsening the Griffin’s injuries with a powerful attack from Zhou Xuan, whose Profitable Golden Spear could combine his power with Origin Crystals.
• The group chose Han Ling’s plan, and Zhou Xuan surfaced among the mountains before Cao Yiyi transferred her Origin Power to him through a contract.
• Zhou Xuan’s reserves rose to roughly seven times their usual amount, and he absorbed more power from the Origin Crystals as the mountain began to tremble.

Han Ling and the inspectors survived a desperate fight with the Profound Crystal Griffin, while Shen Heng’s allies faced growing threats and institutional changes across the Erosion Zones. The arc ended with Shen Heng’s forces counting heavy casualties after a major battle, as the danger from the Calamity Beasts continued to mount.

• Zhou Xuan wounded the emerging Profound Crystal Griffin, but it attacked the inspectors and repeatedly knocked them aside as their attacks barely slowed it.
• Han Ling kept fighting after sending the Stone-Armored Beast away, then used the Azure Talisman Jade to wound the Griffin and drive it into retreat.
• The Stone-Armored Beast saved Han Ling from the Griffin’s attack, and Zhou Xuan treated its severe wound with rapid-healing gel.
• Zhao Yonggang explained the new Defense Administration structure and discussed threats in Makua and the Plateau Erosion Zone with Lü Mingzhe.
• Le Gu Nan completed her laboratory studies but was advised by Yan Yu to join the Special Operations Squad and pursue an evolution of her ability before entering an Erosion Zone.
• Shen Heng completed a psychological assessment, met Li Daoyi, and asked him to keep Shen Shuning out of the Plateau Erosion Zone because of his foreboding.
• After returning to his squad, Shen Heng learned about Qin Yu’s Barrier inscription, studied it, and helped Han Ling practice Life Simulation.
• Shen Heng’s forces defeated a large Calamity Beast force, but the battle cost 4,762 soldiers their lives and left 3,215 seriously wounded.

Shen Heng weighed a costly ambush plan as hunters and soldiers encountered signs that Calamity Beasts were gathering for a larger operation. The arc ended with Xu Yu investigating the beasts’ movements while the rest of his squad returned to warn the base that the Ruins Realm planned to cut off supply lines to two cities.

• Zhou Zhenguo proposed ambushing Calamity Beasts in a valley, but Shen Heng opposed the plan and postponed it after weighing its risks and limited benefit.
• Shen Heng tested the Stone-Armored Beast’s combat skills, and the beast decided it no longer wanted to return to the Ruins Realm.
• Shen Heng approved Xu Yu’s squad to explore northwest, while Zhou Xuan secured permission to hunt with Lü Wenrui and a scout.
• Shen Shuning and Xiao Bai'er arrived at the Grassland Erosion Zone, learned about its dangers and military ranks, and met Lin Yuchuan, who described the risks of exploring wild Light Gates.
• Zhou Xuan, Lü Wenrui, and their scout fled three fifth-tier Calamity Beasts, and Zhou escaped underground after distracting their pursuers.
• Xu Yu’s squad reported an unusually high number of powerful Calamity Beasts, while Shen Heng learned from returning hunters that the beasts in the area had grown more numerous and stronger.
• Shen Heng left a soldiers’ performance with Zhou Zhenguo and Li Boyuan to investigate the hunters’ reports, while Xu Yu’s squad captured a Calamity Beast and learned the Ruins Realm planned to cut off the supply lines to two cities.
• Xu Yu took Lu Ning to investigate the captured beast’s destination while the rest of the squad returned to report the threat to Captain Shen and the base.