Chapter Summaries

Richard organized modifications, armor, and weapons for the Fire Lizard Regiment while investigating a Precursor Defense Sub-Cannon. A year later, the Military Department notified him that the war had begun and ordered him to report to the Fourth-Ring Tower of Truth within one month.

• Richard sent Gerald plans to modify the Fire Lizards while asking him to cultivate five hundred Dragon Beasts, and he asked Anna to design weapons for the regiment.
• Anna recommended a Mind Hammer and Magic-Breaking Short Blade for fighting pseudo-Gestalt Organisms and proposed using micro-capacity Magic Pockets as bullet pouches.
• Richard studied the disassembled Precursor Defense Sub-Cannon as Gerald and other wizards finalized six low-impact modification surgeries for the Fire Lizards.
• The wizards completed the surgeries, tested the enhanced Fire Lizards, and began modifying the regiment as Richard obtained Anna's weapon designs and armor materials.
• A year later, an Owl delivered a Military Department notice ordering Richard to report to the Fourth-Ring Tower of Truth within one month because the war had begun.

Richard prepared to join the war, learned that strengthened dragon blood had made his Fire Lizard Warriors fanatical about battle, and gave Ulysses Soul Origin before leaving his Wizard Tower. Aboard a military airship, he reassured fellow Third-Ring Wizards that their disadvantage against the Star River Mayflies was temporary.

• Richard learned from Ulysses that Hogg and the Snake King had strengthened the Fire Lizards' awakened dragon blood, causing their intense enthusiasm for war.
• Richard gave Ulysses a bottle of Soul Origin, and Ulysses warned that his injuries would eventually force him into slumber.
• Richard informed people close to him that he was joining the war, secured his laboratory and Wizard Tower, and departed.
• Wizards at the Tower of Truth noticed signs of impending war as alchemical material prices fell and elite Third-Ring Wizards disappeared into the Military Department.
• Aboard a military airship, a lecturer explained that the Wizard World was at an absolute disadvantage against the Star River Mayflies.
• Richard addressed the worried wizards and described their disadvantage as a temporary result of differing warfare habits.

Richard rallied the wizards at a pre-war conference by promising that the Small Floating City could counter the Star River Mayflies and leading a detailed battle-planning session. At the Hub World, he received an ill-equipped Black Wizard squad and confronted veteran Vlad Lafati after Vlad questioned his judgment.

• Richard reassured the gathered wizards that the Small Floating City was nearly ready and guided them through battlefield deductions that restored their confidence.
• William Rivi watched Richard lead the conference and recorded his methods, while Richard and Ulysses privately acknowledged that Ulysses had supplied much of the analysis.
• Richard and the other wizards arrived at the Hub World, where White Wizards received regiments and Black Wizards were assigned smaller squads for reconnaissance and sabotage.
• Richard objected that his Black Wizard squad had been issued potions and scrolls but no vehicles, then criticized the equipment as unsuitable for the new war.
• Vlad Lafati challenged Richard's judgment, and Richard used his authority to demand whether subordinates could question their superiors at will.

Richard established his authority over the squad by punishing Vlad for questioning his orders, then explained why he had replaced their usual battlefield supplies with Dragon Beasts for reconnaissance missions. After the squad received mounts and supplies, Richard secured Chimera Pouches, but his request for high-speed vehicles was rejected because none were available.

• Richard pressured Vlad to acknowledge that questioning a superior violated the combat code, then ordered military judge Merill to whip him.
• Richard explained that the squad's upcoming missions would focus on reconnaissance and escape, making fast mounts more useful than a large stock of combat potions.
• Richard opened a Secret Realm Rift and provided the squad with Dragon Beasts led by Fire Lizard Warriors as temporary mounts.
• The logistics wizard distributed supplies, and Richard asked the logistics department for one hundred Chimera Pouches and one hundred high-speed vehicles.
• Richard's request for Chimera Pouches was approved, but his vehicle request was rejected; the squad rested while awaiting orders to join the war.

Richard’s squad traveled to Airship Field 124 and boarded a War Airship, where Delis described repeated command errors and shortages. At Hub World’s Logistics Command, Tian Jing tried to redirect aid and production, but conflicting needs and shortages caused confusion across the rear as airships departed for the front.

• Richard received orders to report to Airship Field 124 and led his squad there.
• Richard met Delis aboard the War Airship, and Delis complained about outdated equipment, supply shortages, and contradictory deployment messages.
• Tian Jing reduced the reinforcements requested by the Third War Zone and ordered supply priorities and factory production plans to change.
• The Magic Potion Department ordered factories to increase production, but broken machines and a lack of Alchemist Wizards obstructed the work.
• The Magic Potion Factory director confronted Angeles to requisition Alchemist Wizards, while both departments struggled to meet their production targets.
• Hundreds of War Airships carrying hundreds of thousands of wizards passed through the Teleportation Gate toward the front lines.

Richard arrived in the Star River World with the Black Wizard reinforcements and was sent to defend War Fortress No. 9 against Sun Mayflies. As a second swarm of a hundred thousand approached, Richard enlarged himself and prepared to face it alone.

• Richard entered the Star River World with thirty Type Five War Airships and learned that Star River Mayflies had overrun several fortresses.
• Richard's team received orders to patrol the mayfly swarms and was sent to support War Fortress No. 9, where Sun Mayflies were attacking.
• Richard's team reached the fortress as its defenders struggled to hold a gap in the defenses against a swarm of nearly a hundred thousand Sun Mayflies.
• A second swarm of a hundred thousand Sun Mayflies appeared, and the wounded fortress commander feared the defenders could not stop both swarms.
• Richard removed his wizard robe, expanded to over five meters tall, and signaled the defenders to stop casting as he prepared to confront the new swarm alone.

Richard destroyed the Mayfly General and drove the mayfly swarm away from Fortress No. 9, then learned about the Star River Mayflies and their subspecies. He returned to his team with the fortress’s research materials and prepared to travel toward Fortress No. 194 without support.

• Richard used lightning to break through the mayflies’ defenses and killed the Mayfly General with a powerful punch.
• Richard pursued the retreating mayflies with lightning arrows until they left the range of his spiritual perception, then returned to normal, exhausted.
• Thorin, commander of Fortress No. 9, showed Richard research on the Star River Mayflies and agreed to share all the fortress’s findings.
• Richard learned that Star River Mayflies had distinct clans and subspecies, including Sun Mayflies that fired high-heat rays.
• Richard shared the research materials with his team and reviewed their route from Fortress No. 9 through Fortresses No. 192 and No. 193 to Fortress No. 194.

Richard led a scouting party toward Fortress No. 192 while discussing the Star River Mayflies’ invasion methods with Ulysses. After Team Nine was attacked by a huge Mayfly swarm, Richard intercepted it and destroyed the swarm in seconds, leaving nearby Black Wizards stunned.

• Richard split the wizards into scouting teams and traveled toward Fortress No. 192 on a Dragon Beast.
• Richard and Ulysses discussed how the Star River Mayflies crossed into worlds and wondered what hidden advantage their costly invasion method held.
• Team Nine reported an attack by a Mayfly swarm of about a hundred thousand, and Richard flew to intercept it while ordering the other teams to advance toward the fortress.
• Ulysses proposed summoning the Snake King and Fire Lizard to wipe out the swarm, and Richard agreed to end the battle within one minute.
• A hidden Black Wizard team watched Richard approach the swarm and initially assumed he was recklessly sacrificing himself.
• Richard’s gigantic snake, Alchemy Puppets, and Aurora annihilated the swarm in less than ten seconds, and the Black Wizard captain recorded him.

Richard and his squad destroyed a hundred-thousand-strong mayfly swarm and returned to Fortress No. 192, where Commander Rico asked him to help eliminate another dangerous swarm in exchange for anti-mind-control gemstones and their production knowledge. While considering the offer, Richard discovered a tiny mayfly egg on his collar, leaving its arrival unexplained.

• Richard, the Snake King, Ulysses, and the Fire Lizard Warriors killed or captured the entire mayfly swarm in forty-five seconds, then returned to Fortress No. 192.
• White Wizards inspected Richard’s squad for parasitic mayflies before Commander Rico welcomed Richard and discussed the war with him.
• Rico asked Richard to clear a nearby mayfly swarm and offered gemstones that strengthened mental defenses, along with the knowledge to make them.
• Richard asked for six hours to consider the request and entered his Secret Realm to examine the captured mayflies with Ulysses, the Snake King, and Hogg.
• Ulysses found a transparent insect egg on Richard’s collar and suspected it belonged to the mayflies.

Richard joined Rico’s White Wizard Legion in an attack on a huge Star River Mayfly swarm, helping kill two Mayfly Generals before the rest escaped. Ulysses warned Richard that the wizards had been parasitized by mayflies just as Rico handed him a Crystal Ball containing the promised technique.

• Richard agreed to help Rico destroy the mayfly swarm in exchange for a technology, and Ulysses sensed something strange about Fortress No. 192.
• Rico led three thousand White Wizards into battle against five hundred thousand mayflies, whose precise coordination impressed Richard and disturbed Ulysses.
• The legion broke through the mayflies’ defenses, allowing Richard, Snake King, and Ulysses to attack and kill two Mayfly Generals.
• The remaining Mayfly Generals fled with their swarms, and Rico gave Richard a Crystal Ball containing crystals and the technique for making them.
• Ulysses warned Richard not to touch the Crystal Ball because the White Wizards had been parasitized by mayflies.

Richard discovered that mayflies had parasitized his Black Wizard squad and learned that nearly everyone at Fortress No. 192 was infected. After removing the larvae and reporting the outbreak, he returned to attack the fortress, where the mayflies struck first and incapacitated Rico.

• Ulysses told Richard that every wizard in his squad and nearly everyone at Fortress No. 192 except Rico had been parasitized by mayflies.
• Richard had Snake King anesthetize his squad in the Secret Realm Fragment, where the Sacred Tree Elves removed the larvae and Richard sealed them as specimens.
• Richard told the squad about the infestation and reported the Parasitic Disaster to War Zone Command, then flew back toward the fortress to strike first.
• The mayflies communicated through their Mind Network, realized they had been discovered, and decided to control Richard.
• A mayfly mental attack shattered Rico's shield and knocked him unconscious; when he awoke, Old Wizards told him that mayflies had invaded the fortress.

Richard fought the parasitized wizards inside Fortress No. 192 while the Snake King’s swarm hunted the Mayflies, then prepared to defend the fortress against an approaching army of six hundred thousand. The Mayflies formed the dangerous Sky’s Vision array in front of Richard and Ulysses, leaving the battle poised to begin.

• Richard used Divine Blessing to withstand the Mayflies’ psychic attacks, summoned the Snake King, and ordered him to kill everyone except Rico.
• The Snake King discovered that Rico was controlled by the Mayflies, and Richard told him to keep Rico alive as they clashed.
• The Snake King released a tide of venomous snakes that hunted and overwhelmed the parasitized wizards throughout the fortress.
• Richard killed wizards moving Wrath of the Sun God, secured the dangerous potion, and flew to the fortress’s upper platform to prepare its defenses.
• Richard and Ulysses rallied the Fire Lizard Warriors and faced the approaching Mayfly swarm, which formed two shields around the dangerous Sky’s Vision array.

Great Wizard Twilight ordered that Fortress No. 192 be held and promised its operative a Wizard Star Medal if he could withstand the Mayfly attack until reinforcements arrived. At the fortress, Richard and Ulysses kept the swarm back until Snake King emerged and prepared to clear a path for Richard.

• Great Wizard Twilight learned that Mayfly parasites had spread through twelve fortresses and affected an estimated thirty thousand personnel.
• After hearing that the operative at Fortress No. 192 had brought its interior under control, Great Wizard Twilight ordered the fortress preserved and promised the operative a Wizard Star Medal.
• Richard and Ulysses used Thunder and divine arts to hold off the six-hundred-thousand-strong Mayfly army while Ulysses suffered an eroding wound.
• Three reinforcements appeared in the sky, but Snake King emerged from Fortress No. 192 and announced that he had dealt with the parasites.
• Snake King flew through the Thunder net and told Richard he would clear the way for him.

Richard and his allies defeated Su’s mayfly swarm, but the Mayfly General self-destructed and devastated Fortress No. 192. Richard rescued his Fire Lizard Warriors and called for help, and Twilight promised reinforcements as a black-robed Necromancer appeared.

• Su ordered its combat swarm into formation, but Richard killed Su with a dazzling attack.
• Ulysses weakened the remaining mayflies’ defenses, and the Snake King tore open their formation so Richard could attack the Mayfly General.
• The wounded Mayfly General triggered a self-destruction that destroyed Richard’s Secret Realm Rift and badly damaged Fortress No. 192.
• The Snake King shielded Richard from the blast, and Ulysses carried it into the secret realm for treatment.
• Richard revived his Fire Lizard Warriors with Life Recovery Potions, discovered the Second Company Commander had advanced to a third-level creature, and reported the fortress’s losses.
• Twilight told Richard reinforcements would arrive shortly, and a black-robed Necromancer appeared above him.

Richard was praised for saving Fortress No. 192, then received a new mission to defend the depleted Fortress No. 384. As he gathered supplies and traveled there with a military escort, he began considering how to adapt the Military Department’s power armor for his Fire Lizard Regiment.

• Great Wizard Twilight killed the mayfly swarm, confirmed that Richard had preserved Fortress No. 192, and awarded him a five-pointed star medal.
• Great Wizard Twilight transferred command of Fortress No. 192 to Operative Geof and assigned Richard to defend Fortress No. 384, promising to seek his transfer to the rear after the war.
• Richard selected supplies from the logistics list, suspected the Military Department had prepared a world-destroying weapon in case the war went badly, and secured approval to requisition humanoid Alien Slaves.
• Richard traveled toward Fortress No. 384 with a War Airship and a force of five thousand armored wizards.
• Richard learned how Lightning Type 3 Alchemical Power Armor amplified its wearer and wondered whether he could adapt that technology for his Fire Lizard Regiment.

Richard devised a way to command a White Wizard Legion through spiritual amplification and Radiation Control, then arrived at Fortress No. 394 and destroyed the Crimson Mayfly swarm besieging it. He took command from acting commander Mira, who remained unsure how a Black Wizard could lead White Wizards.

• Richard learned that he could exchange military merit for custom Alchemy Power Armor and considered raising the use of armored Alien Slave legions before the Truth Council.
• Richard approached Fortress No. 394, where Mira struggled to coordinate its defenses as the Crimson Mayflies destroyed several Alchemy Turrets.
• Richard flew into the swarm, killed its Mayfly General, and helped the White Wizards and War Airships wipe out the attacking mayflies.
• Richard introduced himself to Mira as the fortress's new commander and asked her to show him the fortress.
• Mira doubted that Richard could command a White Wizard Legion as a Black Wizard and began by offering to show him the fortress's weapons.

Richard assessed Fortress No. 394’s weak defenses and used its supplies and his own forces to strengthen them. He left Mira in charge of planning the deployment, while his Fire Lizard soldiers joined the fortress defense.

• Richard found that Fortress No. 394 had only two thousand defenders and repurposed the warehouse’s alchemical explosives as warning traps against invisible Mayflies.
• Richard proposed placing Alchemy Turrets in firing chambers in the mountains, but Mira explained the risks of attacks from every direction and the lack of enchanted construction.
• Richard summoned Ulysses, who briefly examined Mira’s Soul Talent before returning to help the injured Snake King reshape his body.
• Richard brought out the recovering Fire Lizard Warriors and told Mira they would assist in defending the fortress as soldiers, not slaves.
• Mira proposed using the Fire Lizards to operate the turrets and forming a rapid-response team, and Richard told her to make the military decisions she judged best.

Richard left fortress surveillance to Mira and studied a Mayfly Gem with Ulysses, discovering that it could release a powerful mental impact far greater than the force used to trigger it. He chose to investigate the gem's properties despite suspecting the Star River Mayflies had designed the technology to serve their own purposes.

• Richard monitored the desolate mountain range from the fortress command room until Mira took over, then entered the secret realm.
• Richard recorded Snake King and Ulysses discussing plans to reconstruct Snake King's body, but Ulysses ended the discussion before Richard could capture more.
• Richard showed Ulysses the Crystal Ball and Mayfly Gems from Rico, and Ulysses discovered that the Crystal Ball implanted a suggestion to make its recipient share the information.
• Richard and Ulysses tested the Mayfly Gems, and Ulysses triggered one to release a powerful mental impact before it turned cloudy and became useless.
• Richard compared the gem's impact with Ulysses's mental output, realized the gem had amplified the force, and decided it was worth studying while remaining wary of the mayflies' intentions.

Richard commanded Fortress No. 394 through increasingly skilled mayfly assaults, using traps, coordinated wizard formations, and his own overwhelming power to repel them. After a year on the front lines, he had become proficient at commanding the White Wizard Legion, but the mayflies’ disciplined retreat left him concerned about their growing experience.

• Richard reported his suspicion that the mayflies’ technology was being withheld from the Star River World, but the Command Department gave him no additional battle merit.
• Richard used hidden explosive traps to alert Fortress No. 394 to an attack by two hundred thousand emerald-green mayflies, then absorbed their poisonous energy mist.
• Mira linked the Fire Lizard Warriors to the Mind Network, and they silently acknowledged her orders as the wizards prepared to fight.
• Richard, Ulysses, Mira, and the wizards broke through the swarm’s defenses and killed its Mayfly General, forcing the surviving mayflies to retreat.
• The Command Department sent five hundred wizards and ten thousand Demon Pigmen to Fortress No. 394, which helped it withstand attacks over the following year.
• Richard helped drive back another mayfly assault, but watched the remaining Mayfly Generals retreat in disciplined order and recognized that the mayflies were becoming more seasoned.

Richard received an order to abandon Fortress No. 394 and led its wizards and Demon Pigmen toward Fortress No. 194 as the Star River Mayflies prepared a major offensive. At Fortress No. 495, Delis began evacuating but encountered an overwhelming swarm and chose ten wizards to delay it while the rest withdrew.

• Richard discussed the Star River Mayflies' growing strength with Mira and dealt with a new materials request from his Fire Lizard Artisans.
• The Third War Zone Command ordered Richard's unit to abandon Fortress No. 394 and withdraw to Fortress No. 194.
• Richard ordered the fortress stripped and evacuated, bringing the Demon Pigmen into his disguised secret realm before moving out.
• Delis received the evacuation order at Fortress No. 495 and concluded the mayflies' great offensive was beginning.
• When eight hundred thousand mayflies approached, Delis ordered most wizards to retreat and selected ten to maintain the Mind Network and delay the swarm.