Chapter Summaries

The elves flooded Valentan with propaganda and rewards meant to turn its people against Taidariel and Kang De, prompting Leona to urge Kang De to flee. Hong San suspected the tactic revealed the elves were out of options after their bombardment had achieved unexpectedly great results; in his tent, Selendron appeared to confirm that the elves had suffered a hidden setback.

• The elves sent arrows, siege-engine shots, spells, and leaflets into Valentan, spreading accusations against the Taidariel Family and offering rewards for betrayal and Kang De's capture.
• Kang De and Hong San examined the leaflets while officials tried to warn the city's people and confiscate them.
• Leona urged Kang De to leave, warning that the leaflets would make civilians and nobles less trustworthy and put him in danger as the city weakened.
• Hong San argued that the elves' tactic might drive Kang De to escape, making it seem they were out of options unless the morning bombardment had succeeded unexpectedly.
• Selendron sealed an encrypted letter in the elves' camp and smiled weakly, believing Valentan's defenders thought he had run out of options.

Mayor Nick explained why the elves were trying to divide Valentan and urged Kang De to stay until the Gladiolus Legion arrived, promising a way to evacuate him if the city fell. Kang De trusted Nick and accepted his plans, while Nick later burned a letter from an elven noble and secretly summoned leaders of the Heaven and Earth Society.

• Nick argued that the elves wanted to weaken Valentan’s resolve and drive Kang De away because his presence made attacking the city costly.
• Hong San challenged Nick to guarantee Kang De’s escape if the Gladiolus Legion failed to arrive, and Nick revealed a sealed secret passage and promised to send Kang De away if necessary.
• Kang De stopped Hong San’s objections, said he trusted Nick, and accepted Nick’s map and letters for the event that Valentan fell.
• Kang De assigned tasks to Hong San, Leona, and the iron-headed figure as work continued at the Vidal Chamber of Commerce.
• Nick returned home, burned a letter and security device from an elven noble, and secretly ordered a subordinate to invite leaders of the Heaven and Earth Society.
• Nick laughed and cried alone, repeating that Kang De had believed him.

The elves tried to weaken Valentan with a day of propaganda before launching a night assault. Kang De prepared to defend the city, ignored the soldiers’ distrust, and opened fire as the battle began.

• Elven mages spread messages across Valentan, accusing Kang De of betraying the city and urging its people to distrust him.
• Leona urged Kang De to curse the elves back, but he stayed calm, and they realized the elves seemed unusually relaxed.
• The elves began attacking Valentan at night, and Kang De ordered Kan Fantian and the green skins to guard the courtyard and obey Leona.
• Kang De and Hong San went to the western wall, where Hong San explained that the elves wanted the night battle to increase human casualties and fear.
• A soldier hesitated to show respect to Kang De after hearing the elves’ propaganda, but Kang De told the soldiers he had come to protect Valentan and began shooting at the attackers.

During Valentan’s chaotic night battle, Kang De faced attacks from the elves and growing hostility from the defenders, while Hong San urged him to leave. Preston eventually escorted Kang De from the wall as the battle continued, and Hong San worried over the young man’s fate.

• Kang De fought on Valentan’s wall with javelins after the elves targeted him, while Iron Son provided limited support under fire.
• The elves used magical propaganda to blame Kang De for the war and urged the defenders to kill him, as Hong San feared the soldiers would turn against him.
• Kang De and Hong San fought off elves who breached the wall, but a maddened Valentan soldier blamed Kang De and nearly attacked him before an arrow killed the soldier.
• Preston arrived with his guards and persuaded Kang De to leave the wall, and Kang De agreed to go with Iron Son.
• Hong San filmed the fighting as evidence and worried that Valentan would fall before the Gladiolus Legion arrived, reflecting on Kang De as an inexperienced young man.

Kang De struggled with his helplessness as he tried to protect Valentan from the elven siege, while Iron Son promised to stand by him. The elves withdrew after their attack, but Kang De realized they had retreated deliberately to wear down the city’s defenders and let discord spread.

• Kang De told Iron Son that he grieved for Valentan’s people but could not protect them from the suffering ahead.
• Iron Son promised to support and protect Kang De, and prepared to reveal the name it had chosen for itself.
• Kang De heard the elves’ war horn and learned that they had withdrawn from the city walls.
• Hong San hurried to Kang De with news of the apparent victory and wondered whether reinforcements had arrived.
• Kang De warned Hong San that the elves had retreated on purpose to weaken Valentan’s defenders and spread discord.

After Valentan’s defense, Kang De watched the wounded and grieving soldiers and struggled with their hostility toward him. Preston apologized and urged him to understand the commoners’ fear, but Kang De erupted in anger before realizing that the soldiers who had fought beside him did not even know his name, Dong Zhuo; the chapter ended with the Heaven and Earth Society leaders silently agreeing on something.

• Kang De watched the wounded soldiers leave the walls and listened silently as some cursed him and demanded answers.
• Preston apologized for the soldiers’ hostility and said the nobles of Goth bore responsibility for failing to protect the people.
• Preston urged Kang De to show pity and responsibility toward frightened commoners, and Kang De asked whether he had not already done enough for them.
• Kang De vented his anger at the soldiers’ distrust, while Preston explained that they did not know him and saw him as proud and distant.
• Preston revealed that soldiers who had defended the city with Kang De did not know his name was Dong Zhuo, and Hong San offered his master’s saying about treating others as equals.
• As the Humvee drove toward the Vidal Chamber of Commerce, the leaders of the Heaven and Earth Society exchanged glances and joined their hands in agreement.

Kang De endured the elves’ propaganda and Valentan’s desperate civilians begging him to surrender himself, then rejected the idea that his life mattered less than theirs. He left the courtyard to confront the crowd and prepare to evacuate with his companions.

• Kang De worked in silence while the elves broadcast accusations that he planned to abandon Valentan, and he told Leona to wait before seeking Mayor Nick.
• A crowd of women, children, and elderly people gathered outside the Vidal residence, knelt, and begged Kang De to save them.
• Kang De recognized that the crowd expected him to give himself up and decided to value his life as much as theirs.
• Kang De told Leona and Hong San to prepare to leave, then walked out to confront the crowd and demanded to know why they were wailing.

Kang De confronted Valentan’s desperate civilians after they tried to pressure him into surrendering to the elves, then declared he would leave Goth once the war was over. The arrival of Nick interrupted the unrest as Kang De’s resolve to return home left Leona shaken.

• Kang De rejected the crowd’s pleas, promised to avenge them by defeating the elves, and angrily ordered them to leave.
• Kang De threatened the crowd, threw aside a woman who blamed him for her sons’ deaths, and reprimanded a man who insisted heroes had to sacrifice themselves.
• Kang De reflected that he pitied the people but would no longer try to teach them, and Valentan’s soldiers arrived to manage the crowd.
• Hong San showed Kang De footage of the confrontation, while Leona tried to comfort him.
• Kang De told Leona he would go to the elven capital, finish what he needed to do, and then return home, leaving her shaken.
• A disturbance broke out outside, and Kang De recognized that Nick had arrived.

Kang De offered to take Nick away from Valentan, but Nick refused and demanded that Kang De stay to defend the city, blaming him for bringing the elves’ assault. As the two clashed over duty and self-interest, Hong San spotted a suspicious person among the crowd.

• Kang De concluded that Valentan could no longer be defended and told Nick he could take him and two others to safety.
• Nick refused to leave, insisting that the Gladiolus Legion would arrive soon and the city had to hold out.
• Nick erupted at Kang De, accusing him of worsening the siege and insisting that Kang De stay and risk his life for Valentan.
• Kang De rejected Nick’s demands and threatened him, while Nick argued that killing him would cause the city to collapse and endanger Kang De’s companions.
• Hong San filmed the crowd outside the merchant association, recognized someone trying to slip away, and shouted for him to wait.

Hong San confronted Bruken-Rother and the Heaven and Earth Society members who planned to hand Kang De over to the elves, then returned to help Kang De pressure Mayor Nick into cooperating. The chapter ended with Nick facing a choice between surrendering and helping save Valentan or watching Kang De destroy everything he cared about.

• Hong San recognized Bruken-Rother among the crowd and demanded to know why he had joined the plan to seize Kang De.
• Bruken-Rother accused Hong San of abandoning the refugees and urged the crowd to capture Kang De in exchange for their survival.
• Hong San rejected the crowd’s demands, denounced the people behind the plot, and faced Song Baoyi and the Heaven and Earth Society leaders as they threatened to oppose him.
• Hong San returned to the Vidal Chamber of Commerce, where Kang De was holding Mayor Nick by the throat, and explained that Nick had instigated the disturbance.
• Kang De told Nick he did not care about Goth’s opinion of him, while Hong San warned that they could ruin Nick’s reputation and family unless he cooperated.
• Hong San offered Nick a chance to surrender and help preserve lives in Valentan, and Kang De agreed to support the offer.

Kang De and his companions escaped Valentan after Nick helped them leave, while the city’s people mistakenly celebrated Nick as their savior. Pursued by the elves, Kang De chose to seek out the Gladiolus Legion rather than go directly to Tina.

• Nick helped Kang De bind Hong San and leave Valentan, while the crowd praised Nick and overlooked Kang De’s sacrifice.
• Hong San confronted Nick, then Kang De’s Hummer fired rockets at the elven camp as the group escaped over the city wall with the warbikes and their passengers.
• Kang De’s party fled northwest as Valentan’s mage corps fought the elves, and Kang De reflected on the city’s likely fall.
• Selendron ordered scouts to pursue the escaping party after learning that the greenskins’ mounts and Kang De’s war chariot had been spotted.
• Kang De decided to find the Gladiolus Legion using Nick’s letters, hoping to learn what Tina’s second brother was like.

After helping the Vidal Chamber of Commerce escape, Kang De decided to take Leona to the Gladiolus Legion while struggling with the injustice he had suffered in Goth. At the legion’s nearby relay point, a messenger delivered grim news from Nick Valentan.

• Kang De reunited with the exhausted Vidal Chamber of Commerce members, and Hong San reported that the elves had not pursued them vigorously.
• Kang De suggested leaving Leona behind, but then decided to take her to the Gladiolus Legion, prompting her to angrily accuse him of playing with her.
• Leona discussed her views on wealth, power, and the people who became corrupt, while Kang De reflected on the injustice he had faced in Goth.
• Iron Son identified the Gladiolus Legion’s route, and Kang De led the group to a nearby relay point where they found a tearful messenger.
• The messenger told Kang De that he served Nick Valentan and had been ordered to deliver a letter, wishing he had never had to see Kang De arrive.

Kang De heard Nick's letter explaining why Valentan would fight to the end and asking him to remember the city's people. Although Leona warned that returning could only get him killed, Kang De decided to go back and witness Valentan's fall.

• The messenger delivered Nick's letter, and Hong San read that the Gladiolus Legion's promised reinforcements never existed and Valentan was doomed to fall.
• Nick explained that he had forced Kang De to leave because he believed Valentan had to resist the elves, despite the danger to its civilians.
• Hong San read the testimony and battle records that Nick had prepared to document Kang De's bravery and protect him from future slander.
• The messenger said he would stay alive and spread Valentan's story before departing.
• Kang De announced that he was returning to Valentan, and Leona tried to dissuade him.
• Kang De told Leona he knew he could not save the city and was going back to watch its people die.

Kang De returned alone toward Valentan to witness and remember the war, while Leona and Hong San stayed behind and the orcs grappled with what Nick’s sacrifice meant. As the siege began, Kang De told the Autobot that war was the lives and promises it destroyed and vowed to end it.

• Kang De instructed Leona, Hong San, and the orcs to stay behind before driving toward Valentan, and Leona kissed his cheek and demanded that he return alive.
• Hong San defied Kang De’s order and followed him, while Leona admitted she wanted to be able to act rather than stand by helplessly.
• Kan Fantian told Leona he felt envious after hearing Nick’s words, and she offered to explain what he envied.
• Kang De explained war to the Autobot as sacrifice, invasion, loss, and the lives that should have been safe, then renewed his vow to end it.
• An elite force entered Valentan by the secret route Nick had revealed as the elven troops launched a massive siege, while Kang De raced toward the battlefield.

Elven squads infiltrated Valentan and unleashed fires and panic as Nick Valentan used their secret passage to trap 1,500 soldiers in a tunnel collapse. Enraged, Selendron ordered the Dusk Warband to assault the city without restraint, and Valentan fell as Nick and the chief mage prepared to face their fate.

• Elven advance squads emerged inside Valentan, burned key sites, killed civilians and officials, and spread chaos while the main force prepared to enter.
• Nick Valentan and his mages collapsed the underground passage, burying more than a thousand elven soldiers.
• Selendron learned of the tunnel collapse and ordered the Dusk Warband to take Valentan and kill everyone.
• Elven forces broke through the walls and gate, overwhelming Valentan's exhausted defenders.
• Nick told the chief mage that the city had fallen, then prepared to face the elves with him.

As the Dusk Warband massacred Valentan’s civilians and defenders, a village girl named Steve stood up to them and Kang De arrived in time to save her. Preston died asking Kang De not to let Valentan’s people remain like cattle and sheep.

• The Dusk Warband slaughtered civilians across Valentan, ignoring the elves’ promises of mercy and setting the city ablaze.
• A small squad of Valentan soldiers charged the elves, and their officer died lamenting that the people behind the enemy had not resisted.
• A frail firefighter from Kana Village picked up a spear and defied the elves, but Kang De swooped in and killed the officer threatening her.
• Kang De and the Autobots attacked the elves, while Hong San joined the fight and helped defeat them.
• Kang De found the dying Preston, who looked at the fleeing people of Valentan and begged him not to let them be cattle and sheep anymore.

After Preston died defending civilians, Kang De tried to protect a brave girl and argued with Hong San, who chose to return to the Heaven and Earth Society alone. Kang De drove toward city hall to find Nick as the elves surrounded him, while Selendron captured Nick and prepared to torture him.

• Kang De closed Preston's eyes and told the frail girl to hide, enchanting a battered shield for her protection.
• Kang De urged Hong San to help save people who could fight, but Hong San chose to go to the Heaven and Earth Society's headquarters.
• Hong San said Kang De had taught him to be human and that he wanted to protect people despite their flaws, then left after kneeling to his master.
• Kang De cursed Hong San and charged toward the city's center in the Humvee, drawing the elves away from their slaughter as they surrounded him.
• Selendron's troops stormed city hall, killed its defenders, and captured Nick Valentan alive.
• Selendron threatened to torture Nick and his family, but Nick declared that when the country was about to fall, family was no use.

Selendron tortured Nick and taunted Kang De, but an explosion brought Kang De back into the battle and drew the elves away from their massacre. As Kang De confronted Selendron and Hong San’s resistance collapsed, a powerful red-haired woman arrived, learned Kang De was in the city, and set off toward the fiercest fighting while Hong San lost consciousness.

• Selendron threatened Nick’s family and tortured him, then ordered the elves to hunt for Kang De after hearing explosions from the city.
• The elves abandoned their attacks on civilians and rushed to kill Kang De, while surviving humans began to rally and fight again.
• Kang De arrived in an alchemical war chariot, but Selendron used Nick as a hostage and blocked Kang De’s cannon attack with a shield.
• Selendron severed Nick’s arm and leg as Kang De vowed to destroy the elves and told Nick to prepare to return to Earth.
• Hong San held back the elves’ shield wall until a red-haired armored woman intervened, asked where Kang De was, and rushed toward the fighting after Hong San pointed her into the city.
• Hong San smiled at the survivors, said good people were rewarded, and slowly closed his eyes.

A Xing arrived in Valentan and rescued Kang De from the elves, while human reinforcements began attacking the Dusk Warband’s camp. The chapter ended as scouts discovered that at least five Elven Royal Army warbands were advancing on the city.

• A Xing burst into the elven ranks, reunited with Kang De, and explained that she had come after hearing his voice through the radio transmitter.
• Kang De ordered A Xing to attack Selendron, and she defeated the wounded commander but spared his life when Kang De intervened.
• Kang De tried to comfort the grievously wounded Nick, who urged him and the others to flee; Selendron insisted that everyone coming to help would die.
• A human force attacked the Dusk Warband’s lightly defended camp, and A Xing heard its arrival while Kang De confronted Selendron.
• A cavalry patrol spotted a vast force containing at least five Elven Royal Army warbands approaching Valentan and warned the human army that it faced the main elven force.

After witnessing the suffering and sacrifices in Valentan, Kang De awakened the Crimson Scroll’s power and devised a way to use vehicles from Earth as weapons against the advancing elven army. He unleashed a devastating barrage on the elven vanguard, then continued toward the main force.

• Nick told Kang De that he did not regret his sacrifices, though he grieved for Valentan’s people, and Kang De awakened to the Crimson Scroll’s power of mercy.
• Kang De sent Iron Son through a portal and had Cassandra carry him high above Valentan on her giant eagle.
• Kang De used his powers to enchant vehicles from Earth, repeatedly sending them through portals and accelerating them until they became blazing projectiles.
• Kang De ordered Cassandra to fly toward the elven vanguard, then opened a portal and sent the falling weapons crashing into the cavalry formation.
• As the barrage devastated the vanguard, Kang De told Cassandra to keep going because the elven main force was still approaching, while Selendron watched in horror.