Recaps

Li Lin persuaded the female priest and Geligao Li to continue toward the cave while preparing to manipulate their loyalties. That night, a demon used Geligao Li’s jealousy and painful memories to undermine his trust in the priest and the gods, leaving him confused about what he truly wanted.

• Li Lin withdrew his spell-amplified provocation and convinced the female priest and Geligao Li to enter the cave, search for clues, and retreat if the danger proved too great.
• The female priest told Li Lin she understood Catherine had sent him to protect her, and Li Lin urged her to follow Catherine’s wishes and keep her faith from wavering.
• A demon entered Geligao Li’s dream and taunted him about the female priest growing close to Li Lin.
• The demon showed Geligao Li an illusion of Li Lin and the female priest kissing, then revived the memory of the woman who had left Geligao Li for a priest.
• Geligao Li woke bewildered and questioned what he truly wanted.

Kalin and Anna forced the Mages' Association president to help them recover Magic Empire artifacts while Li Lin, Catherine, and Geligao Li entered Angela's cave. After Angela revealed herself and Li Lin used a holy-light device to weaken her aura, undead surrounded the cave entrance, and Li Lin ran out alone to draw them away.

• Kalin and Anna compelled the Mages' Association president to surrender his Magic Empire collection and help them search for artifacts across the continent.
• Kalin and Anna attended a curiosities auction in a southern city, where they hoped to find more Magic Empire items.
• Li Lin, Catherine, and Geligao Li reached a cavern containing a staged ritual altar and letters bearing a symbol associated with the northern countries.
• Angela emerged from the shadows, swallowed Catherine's holy-light spell, and threatened the three intruders.
• Li Lin threw a holy-light device that weakened the evil aura, then led the group toward the cave entrance as undead pursued them.
• Finding the entrance surrounded by undead, Li Lin handed the letters to Catherine and ran outside alone to draw the creatures away.

Li Lin returned to Ringwraith City after arranging events that could weaken the Temple, while Catherine drew the priestess into her influence with holy water and promises of religious purpose. After Geligao Li left the capital, Catherine brought the priestess to a sexual rite and used the holy water to make her accept it.

• Li Lin left the pursuit of Geligao Li and the priestess to Catherine, then returned east aboard his floating ship after hearing that Ringwraith City was operating normally.
• Catherine decided to win Li Lin's favor by guiding the priestess, and the priestess agreed to become her personal attendant and devote herself to the god.
• Catherine gave the priestess holy water that filled her with intense pleasure, then promised to give her a bottle each day.
• Geligao Li confronted the priestess about her changed behavior, but she rejected his concerns and urged him to follow his own path.
• Geligao Li left the royal capital the next day, unaware that Catherine's plan was only beginning.
• Catherine took the priestess to a secluded room, described sex with paladins as a rite of faith, and gave her holy water before the priestess was sexually exploited.

Li Lin returned to Ringwraith City, where Nisi had become an Arcane Mage, and organized the empire’s preparations for war with the Five-Nation Alliance. After setting the full-scale assault for one month later, he reassured Nia about the risks he had taken and prepared Angela for the coming battle.

• Li Lin returned to Ringwraith City and praised Nisi’s progress as an Arcane Mage, while Nia reported that Nisi had taken over Kalin’s Garden of Verdure and diplomatic affairs with the elves.
• Li Lin learned that the elves had assembled three thousand fighters and the Dark Elves five thousand, and he confirmed that the Chromatic Dragons would fight alongside his forces.
• Nia told Li Lin that Anna had found the Water Elemental Plane key and that Kalin and Anna had leads on the Wind and Fire Elemental Planes.
• Li Lin ordered a full-scale assault in one month, assigning the elves, Dark Elves, Angela, the dragons, Yi Aier, and Suoxiate their preparations and roles.
• Nia confronted Li Lin about risking his life with a dangerous spell, and he promised not to take such a risk again.
• Li Lin reflected on his bond with Nia and warned Angela to prepare carefully for the attack; Angela promised to destroy their enemies.

Li Lin launched a devastating magical missile assault on the Five-Nation Alliance’s front lines, then sent Angela and the Ghouls to invade the Vila Federation. As the Federation Council prepared to resist at its capital, the general proposed using an ancestral weapon.

• Li Lin’s Slow, Cloudkill, and Chain Fireball missiles devastated twelve front-line areas, killing nearly everyone there.
• Li Lin ordered Angela to advance into the Vila Federation, and she sent the fire-scorched Ghouls to attack every living enemy.
• The Five-Nation Alliance received reports that its front-line cities and fortresses had been destroyed, while a strange army appeared near Kasel Fortress.
• The Vila Federation Council debated evacuation, but the old speaker chose to stay and resist the Magic Empire’s invasion.
• A third of the councilors remained with the old speaker, and the general called for Kasel Fortress to hold and proposed using what their ancestors had left them.

Angela’s undead army destroyed Kasel Fortress, while Li Lin discussed the Magic Empire’s need for forces beyond the undead and received news of the elves’ successful campaign. The elves and Chromatic Dragons continued reclaiming human-held lands, and an ambush against an elven squad failed when their metal guardians cut down the soldiers.

• Angela sent her undead army against Kasel Fortress, using black clouds to extinguish the priests’ holy light before the undead overran the defenders and captured the fortress.
• Li Lin praised Angela’s victory but acknowledged to Nisi that the Magic Empire needed an army capable of more than fighting, then learned from Nisi that the elves had reclaimed most of their lost land with help from the Chromatic Dragons.
• Elves and red dragons attacked human border positions, defeating the soldiers and burning towns as the elves advanced through the region.
• Two red dragons flew toward a distant city, leaving hidden human soldiers to ambush a small elven squad in a ruined town.
• The elves summoned metal women that protected them and killed the soldiers, then reported to Her Majesty that the first stage of the suppression was complete.

Angela halted her undead army after destroying the Federation’s last fortress, while Li Lin warned her that the Temple was assembling forces and might bring the God of Justice into the battle. As the Federation prepared to defend the Saren River, Henderson charged ahead with his holy knights, and Angela ordered the undead to attack and kill everyone in their path.

• Angela destroyed the last fortress commander and ordered her army to wait, hoping to gather more guests for Li Lin’s welcome banquet.
• Li Lin told Angela that the Temple had assembled thirty thousand paladins and warned that the God of Justice might appear; he said he would come in person.
• Henderson learned that Catherine had kept Dideyasi’s holy knights from joining the offensive, refused to warn the Federation about his forces, and ordered his knights to charge.
• The old council chairman urged the Federation’s soldiers to defend their loved ones along the Saren River, and the troops shouted their resolve to fight.
• Angela stood before the undead army and ordered it to kill every living thing and destroy all who opposed Li Lin.

Angela’s undead army crossed the river despite the Federation’s cannons, knights, and fire, while the defenders struggled against its relentless advance. Just as their forces prepared for a final stand, Yi Aier and the Chromatic Dragons arrived to attack the defenders on Angela’s side.

• Angela’s undead crossed the polluted river under cannon fire, using their bodies to form a bridge as the Federation’s soldiers saw their dead loved ones among the ranks.
• The undead reached the far bank, where ten thousand knights charged them and were eventually overwhelmed by Ghouls.
• The Federation’s archers ignited oil carried by the fallen knights, but Angela summoned rain that extinguished the flames and let the undead continue advancing.
• The defenders formed a shield wall and received holy light from their priests as the old council speaker realized the enemy had not yet revealed its full strength.
• Yi Aier blasted a gap through the defenders’ ranks, and Chromatic Dragons emerged from the clouds and unleashed their breath attacks.

The Chromatic Dragons and undead army shattered the Federation’s defenses, but the Paladin Order halted the undead at the city’s breach. Angela revealed her power and fought off the paladins, then faced the holy knight Henderson as he arrived to attack her.

• The Chromatic Dragons devastated the Federation soldiers, allowing the undead to break through their defensive line before the dragons departed.
• Angela ordered the undead to bypass the soldiers and charge toward the breached city, but the Paladin Order struck their flank and forced them to retreat.
• Li Lin refused Nia’s offer to bombard the battlefield, trusting Angela to handle the paladins herself.
• Angela unfurled black wings, attacked the Paladin Order, and drove its knights and the Federation soldiers away from the breach.
• Angela opened the way for the undead to invade the city, then called the approaching Henderson her toy as he struck at her with his sword.

Angela and Henderson fought to a standstill before Angela fled to pursue a larger game, while Henderson ordered the Temple forces to slaughter Federation survivors to prevent them becoming undead. The Federation retaliated against the paladins as the city’s battle intensified, and both sides prepared to receive their respective powers as a sacred gate opened and a floating city emerged.

• Angela and Henderson repeatedly wounded and regenerated from each other’s attacks before Angela taunted Henderson about his family and escaped into the sky.
• Henderson ordered the paladins to kill every living Federation soldier and civilian as well as the undead, claiming this would stop the undead legion from growing.
• The old council chairman ordered Federation troops to treat the Temple as an enemy, and the battlefield descended into fighting among Federation soldiers, paladins, and undead.
• Henderson and the bishops gathered sacred power at an altar while Angela watched from a tower and whistled to begin her preparations.
• A vast sacred gate opened as Angela called for her master, and an enormous floating city emerged from the clouds while ghouls raised a grisly welcome of heads and corpses.

Li Lin confronted the God of Justice, who had descended in person to stop his campaign against the Five-Nation Alliance. After they fought to a standstill, Li Lin destroyed the gate to the Upper Realm and ordered the God of Justice back.

• The God of Justice descended onto the battlefield and confronted Li Lin, warning him to abandon his plan to wipe out the Five-Nation Alliance.
• Henderson attacked Li Lin, but Angela stopped his sword and drove him back.
• Li Lin and the God of Justice clashed with magic, shadow, light, and divine power, and Li Lin used Tear of the Meteor to fire an arrow at his opponent.
• The God of Justice unleashed a massive barrage of light against Li Lin, who endured it behind layered magical defenses before teleporting aside.
• Li Lin directed the three magical metal plates at the otherworldly gate and destroyed it, demanding that the God of Justice return to the Upper Realm.

Li Lin destroyed the God of Justice’s link to his avatar, then used a Temporary Mythal to seal the avatar’s divine power and defeat him in combat. After killing the saint, Li Lin ordered Angela to slaughter the paladins, leaving the city under darkness and fire.

• Li Lin destroyed the otherworldly gate with Hymn of Destruction, severing the God of Justice’s avatar from its source of power.
• Li Lin cast Temporary Mythal over the area and sealed the God of Justice’s ability to use divine power.
• Li Lin fought the God of Justice with daggers, overcame his attacks, and pinned him down after poisoning and cursing him with Gloomy Curse.
• Li Lin killed the God of Justice’s saint with a burst of negative energy, causing his body to explode into the sky.
• Li Lin ordered Angela to kill all the paladins, and she summoned her servants to carry out the command.

After the Magic Empire destroyed the Vila Federation, the neighboring countries reacted with fear, border closures, and renewed attacks, while Angela continued massacring Federation survivors. Li Lin began organizing the empire’s defenses and rebuilding its elite units, and Angela ended the chapter by bringing him an envoy from the Sea-Encircled Country.

• The Xialuo Kingdom and Kudel refused entry to Vila Federation refugees, while Lalia attacked Kudel and the Dark Elves seized nearby settlements.
• Angela met a young envoy from the Sea-Encircled Country amid her killings and ordered the Ghouls to take her to Li Lin.
• Nia, Yi Aier, Anna, Kalin, and Suoxiate discussed how to secure the empire’s new territory despite shortages of manpower and magic metal.
• Li Lin approved rebuilding the Eye of Death and the other personal guard units, and allowed a screened migration from the City of a Thousand Towers, initially accepting only mixed-bloods.
• Angela arrived at Li Lin’s meeting and reported that she had brought back a diplomatic envoy from the Sea-Encircled Country.

Falisi Shirley, the Sea-Encircled Country’s envoy, met Li Lin in Ringwraith City and offered an alliance with the Magic Empire. After revealing that Kudel had seized her country’s two continental fortresses and threatened its capital, Li Lin proposed showing her something before she committed to her decision.

• Suoxiate welcomed the newly awakened Falisi Shirley and escorted her to meet Li Lin in the tower.
• Shirley presented herself as the second princess and envoy of the Sea-Encircled Country, and Li Lin questioned whether her country was ready to ally with the Magic Empire.
• Shirley declared that her country would become the Magic Empire’s faithful ally if Li Lin accepted its sincerity.
• Nia revealed that Kudel had sent 150,000 troops, captured Moon Bay City and Sunset City, demanded fifty million gold coins, and dispatched a fleet toward the Sea-Encircled Country’s royal city.
• Li Lin said the crisis was not so simple and offered to show Shirley something before she made her decision.

Li Lin weighed the Sea-Encircled Country’s proposed alliance and decided to send Angela as an envoy rather than accept its offer outright. He showed Princess Shirley the Magic Empire’s ruined city to make clear the cost of receiving its aid, leaving her to consider his warning before a welcoming banquet.

• Li Lin told Nia that the Sea-Encircled Country’s desperate, nearly conditionless alliance proposal could conceal the ambitions of the person directing it.
• Li Lin chose Angela to handle the diplomatic visit, while Nia explained why she and the other available candidates could not accompany her.
• Li Lin instructed Angela to disguise her appearance and manner, and gave her a ring that stored fresh blood for her transformation.
• Li Lin invited Princess Shirley to the rear garden, then transported her to a ruined city filled with corpses and warned her that the Sea-Encircled Country must be prepared for such devastation if it wanted the Magic Empire’s aid.
• Li Lin gave Princess Shirley time to decide how to respond and invited her to a welcoming banquet.

At the banquet, Princess Shirley observed the Magic Empire and chose to seek Li Lin’s help to protect her country, despite the deaths his intervention might cause. Li Lin agreed to send an envoy with news of an alliance, then asked Nia to arrange an Astral Plane Meeting to investigate the God of Justice’s mysterious power.

• Princess Shirley noted the Magic Empire’s unusual politics, admired its female mages and five Ring Spirit Envoys, and learned that Holy Wrath and Fate's Protection Agent were still missing.
• Princess Shirley told Li Lin that her father had sent her to serve him, but Li Lin offered to let her remain as a guest instead.
• Princess Shirley declared her love for the Sea-Encircled Country and asked Li Lin to save its people, accepting that his help could bring suffering to others.
• Li Lin agreed to send an envoy to convey news of an alliance, and Princess Shirley thanked him before leaving the balcony.
• Nia teased Li Lin about his romantic history, then warned that they needed the Great Book of Law to defeat the God of Justice completely.
• Li Lin noted that the God of Justice’s power seemed strangely limited and told Nia to prepare for an Astral Plane Meeting.

Yi Aier analyzed the Federation’s secret cannon and concluded that its complicated design and construction methods likely came from another source. Li Lin connected the weapon to his suspicions about the God of Justice, then saw Yi Aier’s new proposal for a magical armored vehicle, which she had devised without knowing what a tank was.

• Yi Aier studied the Federation’s cannon and discovered that its shells used compressed magic crystal powder to explode on impact.
• Yi Aier found unusual metal mixtures and unnecessary design components, concluding that the Federation probably had not developed the weapon itself.
• Li Lin considered which country might possess the technology and wondered whether the cannon had originated outside their world.
• Li Lin recalled learning that the God of Justice was immune to divine power and could absorb other gods’ power, leaving him more curious about the god’s identity.
• Li Lin praised Yi Aier’s analysis, and she showed him her plan for a levitating, turret-equipped magical vehicle inspired by a carriage.

Li Lin asked Yi Aier to develop weapons for export to the Sea-Encircled Country, with safeguards against harming mages, and she agreed despite her misgivings. After Yi Aier's fantasies triggered a blast of light, Li Lin and Nia devised a plan to hide a mage-only defensive spell in new school uniforms so the weapons would deactivate when attacking mages.

• Yi Aier explained that her powerful carriage weapon required more combat mages than the empire had, and she objected to making advanced weapons usable by ordinary people.
• Li Lin proposed that Yi Aier design less powerful weapons for ordinary users, with a spell-based safeguard, so the empire could sell them to the Sea-Encircled Country.
• Yi Aier agreed to make the weapons, then fantasized about Li Lin and accidentally sent a pillar of white light into the sky.
• Li Lin told Nia that Yi Aier could make export weapons but that disabling them around mages remained difficult.
• Li Lin suggested replacing mage robes with school uniforms containing a passive defensive spell that only mages could trigger, causing the weapons to stop attacking them.
• Li Lin wrote a proposed defensive spell on paper and showed it to Nia.

Li Lin introduced redesigned mage robes and academy uniforms, using status markers and built-in defensive and spell-slot enchantments to win the mages’ acceptance. Meanwhile, Angela reached the Sea-Encircled Country’s sealed border aboard a pleasure boat and prepared to force her way through.

• Li Lin explained to Suoxiate that the Magic Empire needed new mage uniforms and academy clothing to support its reforms and present a changed image.
• Suoxiate questioned the designs, including the students’ short skirts, while Li Lin described the robes’ level markers, automatic Mage Shield, and additional spell slots.
• Suoxiate arranged production, and four days later the mages began trading in their old robes for the new ones; most accepted the changes, while students also received their uniforms despite some girls’ objections.
• Angela traveled toward the Sea-Encircled Country on a luxury boat, using her demonic gaze to control a nobleman into paying for her comforts.
• The captain told Angela that Kudel’s navy had sealed the border and ordered the boat to turn back, but Angela insisted they continue and said she would make a scene.

Kaili Laden joined the first assassination unit after training under the humans and was accepted by Anna, the legendary assassin Gloomy Curse. Li Lin assigned the unit to assassinate high-ranking figures in the Five-Nation Alliance, while Anna prepared to begin the mission despite her fragile mental condition.

• After losing the Spider Queen’s favor, Kaili Laden left Dark Elf society and joined the assassination candidates recruited by the first matriarch.
• Kaili and twelve other trainees reached the Garden of Gloom and Silence, where Anna tested them with a sudden attack and declared them accepted into the Eye of Death.
• Anna revealed herself as Gloomy Curse Antanaxisi, and Kaili and the other twelve assassins knelt to follow her.
• Li Lin and Nia watched the selection and confirmed the first unit would target bishops, generals, and ministers in the Five-Nation Alliance, excluding Catherine.
• Li Lin embraced Anna and explained that her symptoms came from a deeply rooted belief that she had taken his illness onto herself.
• Anna asked when the mission would begin, and Li Lin said she could start the next day while warning her to prioritize safety and avoid temples.

Angela Christie crossed Kudel’s blockade and arrived in the Sea-Encircled Country as the Magic Empire’s envoy, announcing that the Arcane Mage would help defend it. The king welcomed the offer, but Angela said the country would have to provide compensation in return.

• Angela split the sea with her fan, destroying two of Kudel’s warships and opening a path through the blockade for her ship.
• The Sea-Encircled Country’s people spotted the arriving merchant ship, and soldiers sealed the dock as the governor came to meet Angela.
• Angela introduced herself as the Magic Empire’s envoy and went with the governor to the royal palace.
• Angela told the king and his ministers that the Arcane Mage had decided to help protect their country from Kudel’s navy.
• Angela said the Magic Empire expected compensation in return for its aid.

Li Lin ordered Kalin to patrol Ringwraith City while he reviewed Angela’s assessment of the Sea-Encircled Country’s king. At the Imperial Magic Academy, he introduced himself to the students and announced a trial for those seeking to become his direct students.

• Li Lin sent Kalin and her personal guard to patrol Ringwraith City for up to five weeks.
• Nia told Li Lin that the king of the Sea-Encircled Country had agreed to the Magic Empire’s demands, and Li Lin read Angela’s report describing the king as ambitious but ineffective.
• Li Lin and Nia secretly inspected the academy and discovered that a little elf student had unusual aptitude for summoning magic.
• Li Lin introduced himself to the assembled academy students as an Arcane Mage and the academy’s current administrator.
• Nia announced that students who broke through her barrier could challenge Li Lin for a place among his direct students in the Eternal Library.

Li Lin tested the academy’s strongest students, selected twenty as Nia’s direct students, and offered them spells from the Eternal Library. Afterward, news from Catherine revealed that someone was rallying the nations against the Magic Empire, prompting Li Lin to push for a weapons prototype as soon as possible.

• Li Lin fought the thirty-five students who entered Nia’s barrier, countering their coordinated attacks and defeating most of them.
• Li Lin chose the twenty students who remained standing as Nia’s direct students and gave each the chance to choose a low-level spell from the Eternal Library.
• Li Lin and Nia discussed forming a unit of Magic Scholars and giving the mages who wanted to fight real bodies, with Li Lin proposing experiments on a thousand living people.
• Suoxiate delivered Catherine’s letter to Li Lin, who learned that someone was trying to unite all nations to destroy the Magic Empire.
• Li Lin told Nia to have Yi Aier produce a prototype of her new weapon as soon as possible, saying the situation could not wait.

Henderson rescued Mobius from an undead attack and recognized him as the boy named in the God of Justice’s oracle. After Mobius swore to become a paladin, Henderson told him the Magic Empire had returned and planned to rally the continent against it.

• Henderson reached a village overrun by undead and rescued Mobius after the Ghouls killed his parents.
• At their camp, Mobius mourned his family and asked Henderson to train him as a paladin.
• Henderson accepted Mobius as his squire, and Mobius swore to serve the God of Justice.
• Henderson told Mobius that the undead were people transformed by the Magic Empire and that its Arcane Mages had returned.
• Henderson said they would return to the Temple and ask every nation to unite against the Magic Empire.

Catherine opposed Henderson’s plan to unite the nations against the Magic Empire until Mobius proved himself, and proposed winning a decisive victory to restore the Temple’s standing. Li Lin arranged an undead attack for Catherine to defeat in ten days and ordered her to watch Mobius, leaving her eager to earn his reward.

• Catherine challenged Henderson’s plan to rally every nation against the Magic Empire and questioned Mobius’s ability to lead.
• The Archbishop rejected Henderson’s proposal until Mobius demonstrated his abilities, while Henderson refused Catherine’s offer to train the boy.
• Catherine urged the Temple to win a clear victory before seeking allies, and the meeting ended without deciding how to achieve it.
• Catherine reported the meeting to Li Lin, who told her not to harm Mobius and instructed her to report anything unusual about him.
• Li Lin arranged for five to ten thousand undead to march toward Xialuo and Dideyasi in ten days, promising Catherine equipment to help her defeat them.
• Catherine accepted Li Lin’s orders and, alone in her bedroom, fantasized about receiving a reward from him.