Chapter Summaries

Shen Heng gathered intelligence from the besieged Frontier-Pacifying City and weighed the risks of reaching it before a Calamity Beast attack. After considering the possibility of enemy reinforcements, he told Chen Hua they would not go over.

• Shen Heng monitored the voices inside Frontier-Pacifying City and heard Li Boyuan discuss the lack of detected Calamity Beast reinforcements.
• Li Boyuan said the city might be under siege and explained that the distant base could send only a small scouting unit without knowing the city's situation.
• Chen Hua worried that crossing to the city immediately would expose the team to heavy losses and waited to see what Shen Heng would decide.
• Shen Heng opened his eyes after reviewing the intelligence, and Chen Hua asked whether they would launch a surprise assault and take positions inside the city.
• Shen Heng told Chen Hua, "No, we're not going over!"

Shen Heng’s troops waited near Frontier-Pacifying City to learn whether the Calamity Beasts would attack or receive reinforcements, conserving their food as they repositioned to intercept them. On the fifth evening, Shen Heng sensed three fifth-tier beasts led by a Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni, and Qin Yu warned him about a possible weak spot.

• Shen Heng decided his fewer than two thousand troops would not approach Frontier-Pacifying City and ordered their food stretched over five days while they waited for Calamity Beast reinforcements.
• Qin Yu suggested sending a messenger to report the siege, and Shen Heng’s troops moved around to the other side of the city to prepare an interception.
• For four days, the troops waited without incident, eating half rations as their stamina declined.
• On the fifth evening, Shen Heng sensed three fifth-tier Calamity Beasts approaching, led by a Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni.
• Qin Yu told Shen Heng that the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni might be vulnerable where its hooked tail joined its body, based on her observations in a previous fight.

As nearly ten thousand Calamity Beasts charged toward Shen’s outnumbered force, Qin Yu and the others prepared to face them. Zhao Ming realized the team had developed a shared conviction in Captain Shen, and he joined Kuang Jie in trusting Shen to lead them to victory.

• Qin Yu’s inner voice warned her that revealing the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni’s weakness had nearly made her captain suspicious, and Qin Yu promised to protect the voice if Shen discovered it.
• Qin Yu saw the approaching Calamity Beasts and looked to Shen, who faced the threat in silence.
• Zhao Ming worried that fewer than two thousand fighters could not defeat the approaching tide of nearly ten thousand Calamity Beasts, while Kuang Jie urged him to trust Captain Shen.
• Zhao Ming noticed that none of the fighters nearby seemed ready to back down and reflected on how his trust in Shen had grown through earlier battles.
• Zhao Ming agreed with Kuang Jie that he trusted Captain Shen to lead them to victory.

The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni ordered the exhausted beast tide to continue toward Lord Mirror Water Beast and sent scouts ahead despite the bear and leopard Calamity Beasts’ objections. As the tide neared, Shen Heng resolved that his forces had to stop it before it joined the assault on Frontier-Pacifying City, then ordered everyone to be silent when figures flew toward them.

• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni learned the human city was sixty kilometers away and redirected the beast tide toward Lord Mirror Water Beast, thirty-odd kilometers ahead.
• The bear and leopard Calamity Beasts argued that the low-tier beasts were slowing them down, but the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni ordered the whole tide to keep moving without resting.
• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni sent the Sky-Skimming Harrier and other Calamity Beasts ahead to check for human ambushes, despite the bear and leopard’s doubts.
• Shen Heng watched the approaching tide of nearly ten thousand Calamity Beasts and concluded he had to defeat it before it joined the forces surrounding Frontier-Pacifying City.
• Shen Heng noticed figures flying toward his position and ordered everyone to be silent.

The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni remained wary as the beast tide advanced, despite the Sky-Skimming Harrier reporting no human ambush. A silent arrow killed the leopard-type Calamity Beast, and an enemy-attack warning rang out as explosions lit the canyon.

• The Sky-Skimming Harrier reported that it had found no humans lying in ambush, and the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni sent it ahead to lead the way.
• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni watched the surroundings while the bear-type and leopard-type Calamity Beasts rested.
• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni spotted a faint streak of light and recognized that a silent arrow was heading toward the leopard-type Calamity Beast.
• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni was briefly controlled, preventing it from warning the leopard or gathering Origin Power to stop the arrow.
• The arrow pierced the leopard-type Calamity Beast's skull, killing it before the beasts carrying it noticed.
• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni roared an enemy-attack warning, and firelight and explosions erupted among the beast tide.

Shen Heng’s forces bombarded the Calamity Beasts from the mountainside, while the beasts panicked and began to flee. Lord Gou Wang’s warning sent the retreat into chaos, leaving the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni unable to rally the beasts to attack.

• Shen Heng watched the bombardment scatter the Calamity Beasts and decided his forces needed to finish the fight quickly before facing the larger force on the other side.
• The exhausted Night Shadow Hound searched for Lord Gou Wang as the panicked beasts argued over whether to flee.
• A Phantom Wolf began running, and more Calamity Beasts followed as fear spread through the canyon.
• Lord Gou Wang warned the beasts that humans had ambushed them and ordered them to scatter away from the humans.
• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni denied giving the retreat order and tried to command an attack, but most Calamity Beasts fled while the nearby ones stared uncertainly.

As Frontier-Pacifying City’s defenders waited anxiously for the Calamity Beasts to attack, distant explosions and firelight suddenly appeared beyond the city. Lin Zhaoran concluded that reinforcements had arrived, though Yu Yanhui struggled to understand how anyone could have learned of their predicament.

• Cao Mingyu relieved Gu Lingxuan from duty, and the two discussed the danger of dying in the coming battle.
• Gu Lingxuan reflected that Bedrock City was secretly sending scattered, poorly supplied reinforcements and that revealing the plan too early could harm morale.
• A thunderous series of explosions and distant firelight appeared beyond Frontier-Pacifying City, drawing the attention of its defenders and residents.
• Lin Zhaoran told Yu Yanhui that someone must have come to reinforce the city, and Yu Yanhui questioned how they could have known to come.

Lin Zhaoran and Yu Yanhui learned that reinforcements from Bedrock City were fighting the Calamity Beasts, prompting Frontier-Pacifying City to prepare for battle. The Mirror Water Beast chose to investigate the human forces while ordering an attack on the city to prevent anyone from disturbing it.

• Lin Zhaoran concluded that human troops had engaged the Calamity Beasts and told Yu Yanhui to prepare to fight.
• A broadcast announced that reinforcements from Bedrock City were fighting the beasts, and Frontier-Pacifying City's residents rushed to their combat stations.
• A Sky-Skimming Harrier reported that Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni's forces were under attack and nearing defeat.
• The Hard-Armored Salamander urged the Mirror Water Beast to withdraw, but the Mirror Water Beast decided to go investigate the humans.
• The Mirror Water Beast ordered the Hard-Armored Salamander to send Calamity Beasts to attack the city while it went to the fighting.

The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni realized humans were imitating its voice to make the Calamity Beasts flee, while nearly invisible explosive arrows kept it from advancing. It sent a Blade-Spined Wolf to carry its counterattack order uphill and followed to protect it.

• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni discovered that a human was impersonating its voice and ordering the Calamity Beasts to withdraw.
• It dodged nearly invisible explosive arrows as it tried to rally the fleeing beasts and realized its progress was too slow.
• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni ordered a nearby Blade-Spined Wolf to spread the counterattack order, threatening it when it hesitated.
• The Blade-Spined Wolf ran uphill through the battlefield while the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni followed and blocked attacks aimed at it.

The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni tried to rally the Calamity Beasts while holding off human attacks, but the Blade-Spined Wolf repeatedly returned after being tricked by its orders. After the wolf finally left and failed to come back, the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni suspected it had fled and wondered whether war could really be fought this way.

• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni sent the Blade-Spined Wolf to relay orders while it stayed behind to cover its escape.
• The Blade-Spined Wolf returned after misunderstanding a warning, and the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni angrily sent it out again.
• The Blade-Spined Wolf came back a second time, and the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni threatened it before granting it one last chance to deliver the orders.
• The Blade-Spined Wolf left again and did not return, so the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni suspected it had fled and questioned how war could be fought like this.

The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni decided to withdraw from the mountain battle, hoping to gather the fleeing Calamity Beasts and lessen its punishment. It rescued the injured bear-type Calamity Beast from artillery fire, but the bear argued against retreating, and the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni asked why it had not used its own defense tactic.

• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni concluded that defeating the humans was no longer possible and chose to retreat, gather the fleeing Calamity Beasts, and reassess.
• As it fled outward, the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni found the bear-type Calamity Beast under artillery fire and detonated incoming shells with thrown gravel.
• The bear-type Calamity Beast urged the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni to attack the humans together, but the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni said they would retreat.
• The bear-type Calamity Beast insisted it could still fight despite its injuries, and the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni asked why it had not dug up ground to block the shells.

Shen Heng’s forces repelled the Calamity Beasts without casualties, but he warned that another beast tide was approaching from Frontier-Pacifying City. As that threat drew nearer, Shen Heng noticed a possible spatial change in the Erosion Zone.

• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni retreated, and the injured bear-type Calamity Beast followed as the remaining Calamity Beasts fled.
• Kuang Jie and Zhao Ming realized their force had won without casualties, though they had killed only a few thousand Calamity Beasts, and waited for Shen Heng’s orders.
• Shen Heng told Xu Ruiyu not to pursue the retreating beasts and ordered preparations against the approaching tide from Frontier-Pacifying City.
• Shen Heng explained to Qin Yu that the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni’s caution had allowed the humans to win without losses.
• Shen Heng noticed Origin Power threads around the Configuration moving faster and wondered whether the Erosion Zone’s spatial carrying capacity was nearing its limit.

After the battle, Shen Heng explained to Xu Ruiyu why using a third of their ammunition to repel the Calamity Beasts had been justified despite the lower kill count. He praised Xu Ruiyu’s growing judgment and encouraged him to believe he could become an outstanding commander.

• Xu Ruiyu reported that the battle lasted about twelve minutes and used roughly a third of their ammunition to kill around 2,600 Calamity Beasts.
• Xu Ruiyu questioned whether the force had wasted ammunition, and Shen Heng explained that they had to plan for battles that might not go as smoothly.
• Shen Heng told Xu Ruiyu that his ability to think through the decision showed rapid improvement.
• Shen Heng said Xu Ruiyu could become an outstanding commander, despite the difficulties caused by his talkative nature.
• Xu Ruiyu asked whether someone like him could really become a commander, and Shen Heng began to reassure him.

Shen Heng adjusted the defense plan against the Calamity Beasts advancing from Frontier-Pacifying City and led a force to prepare a rear attack. He and Qin Yu then watched more than fifteen thousand beasts gather in the woods, while Shen Heng weighed how to handle the Mirror Water Beast.

• Xu Ruiyu celebrated Shen Heng’s praise until Shen Heng told him to control his emotions and focus on the approaching Calamity Beasts.
• Shen Heng advised Xu Ruiyu to slap himself to suppress strong emotions, and Xu Ruiyu struck his cheek hard.
• Shen Heng decided the soldiers would hold a mountain while he led the fourth tiers and some third tiers out to attack the beasts from behind.
• Shen Heng and Qin Yu reached the woods several mountains away and found more than fifteen thousand Calamity Beasts resting there.
• Shen Heng studied the Mirror Water Beast at the center of the horde and wondered whether he needed to reserve Origin Power to fight it.

The Calamity Beasts discussed how a small human force had defeated the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni's much larger army, suspecting weapons and the Suanni's mistakes. The Mirror Water Beast ordered an attack, but instructed the Hard-Armored Salamander to hold back some low-tier beasts and most fourth-tier beasts as the army began to roar.

• The Sky-Skimming Harrier reported that about sixteen hundred humans lived on the mountain, most weaker than it.
• The Hard-Armored Salamander questioned how those humans could have defeated more than ten thousand Calamity Beasts and suggested their weapons and the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni's errors had contributed.
• The Hard-Armored Salamander defended its remarks about the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni when the Mirror Water Beast asked whether the Lion King had misjudged it.
• The Mirror Water Beast ordered the Calamity Beasts to attack and told the Hard-Armored Salamander to leave some low-tier beasts behind and send only some fourth-tier beasts first.
• The Hard-Armored Salamander relayed the order, and roars spread through the mountain forest.

Xu Ruiyu directed the soldiers’ cannon fire as the Calamity Beasts climbed the mountain, while Wu Hao’s group waited for Captain Shen’s signal to attack. As the beasts neared two-thirds of the way up, Captain Shen told them to wait a little longer.

• Xu Ruiyu ordered the firing positions to conserve ammunition and open fire on the climbing Calamity Beasts.
• The soldiers’ shells killed and scattered many beasts, but the tide continued up the mountain over the fallen bodies.
• Wu Hao waited with his group for Captain Shen’s order while the Calamity Beasts advanced.
• Chen Hua urged Captain Shen to act before the beasts climbed too high, and Wu Hao realized they were nearing two-thirds of the way up.
• Captain Shen said the time was not right yet and told them to wait a little longer.

Commander Li Boyuan told Frontier-Pacifying City’s inspectors that roughly eight thousand humans faced twenty-four to nearly thirty thousand Calamity Beasts, including a massive force closing in on Captain Shen’s outnumbered group. The meeting ended with Cao Mingyu and another inspector arguing over whether the city should risk sending reinforcements.

• Yu Yanhui and Lin Zhaoran hurried to a meeting after the commander summoned Frontier-Pacifying City’s strongest inspectors.
• Li Boyuan explained that Captain Shen’s eighteen hundred people had driven off around eleven thousand Calamity Beasts, but about fourteen thousand more were heading toward them.
• Li Boyuan estimated that the city and Shen’s group had around eight thousand people against twenty-four to nearly thirty thousand Calamity Beasts, including an S-Class Calamity Beast.
• Li Boyuan proposed sending people to reinforce Shen, but an inspector warned that leaving the city could expose both the rescuers and its defenders to danger.
• Cao Mingyu argued that Shen’s group had stayed to help the city despite the risk, and the opposing inspector demanded to know how they could safely break through the Calamity Beasts.

Li Boyuan told the conference that Shen Heng needed support for a risky plan, and the group debated whether to break out of Frontier-Pacifying City. After Gu Lingxuan argued that staying alive through Bedrock City’s sacrifice would be shameful, more people favored going, and Li Boyuan called for a vote.

• Li Boyuan explained that Shen Heng had sent intelligence and proposed organizing a force to support his plan, but left the decision to them because its chances were uncertain.
• Lin Zhaoran asked what would happen if they refused to go, and Li Boyuan said Shen Heng would attempt the plan alone and order the others to scatter if it failed.
• Gu Lingxuan argued that supporting Shen Heng could improve the odds and that surviving through their comrades’ sacrifice would be shameful.
• Cao Mingyu agreed with Gu Lingxuan, and Lin Zhaoran proposed that Gu Lingxuan and Cao Mingyu go while she and Yu Yanhui stayed behind.
• Li Boyuan asked everyone to vote on whether to go.

The Sky-Skimming Harrier reported that Steel Claw had been killed after humans concealed their strength and launched a sudden counterattack. As the human elites approached, Mirror Water Beast hesitated to send more Calamity Beasts forward and ordered the Sky-Skimming Harrier to go.

• The Sky-Skimming Harrier told Hard-Armored Salamander and Mirror Water Beast that Steel Claw had been killed during a human counterattack.
• The Sky-Skimming Harrier described a wall of ice trapping the pursuing Calamity Beasts, and Mirror Water Beast deduced that the humans had concealed their Origin Power.
• Hard-Armored Salamander realized that hidden human powerhouses had ambushed Steel Claw and called the humans despicable.
• The Sky-Skimming Harrier reported that Iron Spine was pursuing the approaching humans alone and would likely struggle to stop them.
• Hard-Armored Salamander urged Mirror Water Beast to send more Calamity Beasts forward, but Mirror Water Beast told him to wait and ordered the Sky-Skimming Harrier to go.

The Mirror Water Beast concluded that the humans had defeated the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni without an ambush and ordered the Calamity Beasts to press the attack. As the beast tide surged toward the mountaintop, Shen Heng prepared his people for the fight and urged them to stay safe.

• The Sky-Skimming Harrier reported that it had found no nearby humans and that reinforcements from the city would arrive in seven or eight minutes, with Iron Spine's Calamity Beasts following later.
• The Mirror Water Beast watched a low-tier Calamity Beast break through the human defenses and decided the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni's defeat had been caused by the humans' own strength.
• The Mirror Water Beast ordered the Calamity Beasts to advance and defeat the humans before reinforcements arrived.
• Shen Heng revealed that he had stirred the beast tide into action and watched the Calamity Beasts charge toward the mountaintop.
• Chen Hua and the others reviewed Shen Heng's instructions to avoid unnecessary fights, let most fleeing beasts escape, make conspicuous attacks, and kill any beasts trying to command the rest.
• Shen Heng stood and told his comrades to stay safe, prompting Chen Hua to grin.