Chapter Summaries

Kang De returned to Danfeng Lucerne and restored military deterrence, while Hong San explained that soaring grain prices had fueled protests outside Maple Leaf Palace. Kang De drove into the crowd and then entered the audience hall, where he confronted Count Cassat and ordered him to keep talking.

• Hong San described how Kang De's return and military victories had reassured him, then deduced that an infection and new weapons had weakened the enemy fleets.
• Hong San told Kang De that people had gathered outside Maple Leaf Palace because grain prices had risen eightfold, and reminded him that loyal supporters remained.
• Kang De decided to answer the protests with force and led a convoy through the crowd, which fell silent and parted when he ordered it to make way.
• Kang De and Hong San entered Maple Leaf Palace as Count Cassat argued for giving up the mysterious substance in exchange for peace.
• Kang De sat in the audience hall and told Count Cassat to keep talking.

Kang De confronted Goth’s nobles and foreign envoys, using evidence of his victories and forceful threats to dismantle their pressure campaign. After the envoys left, he turned his attention to the Goth People remaining in the audience hall.

• Kang De demanded that Count Cassat speak, and Cassat denounced him while claiming that Goth’s nobles and commoners opposed another war.
• Kang De challenged the silent assembly to disagree with Cassat, then threatened him with the consequences of accepting the proposed terms.
• Kang De showed the imperial envoy photographs of the Empire’s defeated fleet and ordered him to warn the emperor and prepare to negotiate.
• Hong San killed a Council envoy who shielded himself from the photographs, and Kang De told the surviving envoy that the Council’s fleet had also suffered losses and surrendered.
• Kang De declared that the Empire and the Council would repay Princess Tina-Taidariel’s war loans, then sent the debt collector away.
• Kang De noted that the foreign representatives had left and addressed the Goth People who remained.

After defeating the foreign powers’ pressure, Kang De confronted Goth’s nobles for betraying him and declared that he would dismantle their influence rather than accept their customary apologies. He left the audience hall to see Tina while Hong San prepared to deal with the foreign envoys.

• Kang De accused Goth’s nobles of turning against him during the crisis and demanded that those who had supported or defended him stand apart from the rest.
• He rejected the nobles’ expected offers of apologies and compensation, and threatened to purge the entrenched interests that had betrayed him.
• When Grand Duke Reknos tried to intervene, Kang De ordered him to stay silent or leave, and Reknos remained seated without replying.
• Kang De announced that Valentan and the Paradox Element beneath Azure Waves Province would be his, then warned the nobles he would settle accounts with them later.
• A messenger arrived with news that the nations’ fleets at Distant Harbor had been attacked by strange monsters, and Kang De left the hall with his armed followers.
• Kang De told Hong San to handle the envoys and went to see Tina, joking that he would be away for five hours.

Kang De reunited with Tina and reassured her that he wanted her as an independent partner in rebuilding Goth, easing her fears that he might leave. Their passionate embrace was interrupted when A Xing confronted them outside the window.

• Kang De passed frightened servants on his way to Tina's room and reflected on his break with Goth's nobles and his plans to transform the country.
• Kang De reunited with Tina, who confessed her fear of losing him and admitted that she had used harsh measures partly to win his affection.
• Kang De told Tina he wanted her to become a confident, independent partner who would share his ideals and help him build a better Goth.
• Tina accepted his request, and Kang De kissed her passionately by the window.
• A Xing appeared pressed against the outside of the window and shouted at them.

After A Xing interrupted Kang De and Tina, she confronted them about her jealousy and lingering feelings for Kang De. Hong San then briefed them on postwar negotiations, and Tina urged Kang De to pursue an alliance with Twilight Moon.

• A Xing's sudden arrival and outburst drew the grand duke and Goth officials, forcing Tina and Kang De to stop their intimacy and offer a perfunctory explanation.
• A Xing accused Kang De of choosing Tina over her, and her distress stirred Kang De's thoughts about Yasha's lingering influence on her.
• Tina challenged A Xing to win Kang De for herself, but Hong San's arrival interrupted their quarrel and drew everyone into a discussion of state affairs.
• Hong San explained that Goth needed inducements as well as deterrence to keep the Empire, Twilight Moon, and the Arcane Council from forming an alliance.
• Hong San outlined the advantages of dealing with each power, and Tina proposed choosing Twilight Moon, citing its fleet's protection of Distant Harbor and Kang De's ties to the elven royal family.

Kang De began building an independent power base and recruited Lily to help expand his influence among the dragons. As he planned to develop Valentan, the underground world, and Distant Harbor, Lily offered to seek help from the dwarves, and Tina arrived at sea.

• Kang De told Lily he planned to establish his own army, territory, political influence, and other institutions separate from the Taidariel Family.
• Kang De negotiated Lily's share in his venture, promising her one percent initially and more for contributions, including contacting the Dragon Emperor and raising her influence within Dragon Island Defense.
• Kang De explained his plan to develop Valentan, exploit the underground world's resources, and take control of Distant Harbor, while confronting a major shortage of workers and expertise.
• Lily offered to approach dwarves who had been helped by her mother and recruit their mining and smelting expertise in exchange for a small share.
• Horus announced that three mages had arrived from Distant Harbor, and Kang De recognized Tina among them.

Kang De went to Distant Harbor to establish his authority, learned Stella had left for Danfeng Lucerne after transferring command of the Survey Corps to him, and recruited the surviving dragons as a show of force. He ordered Distant Harbor’s rulers to prepare for the captured fleets and purge those who had stirred up riots, making clear that he intended the city to know his power.

• Kang De learned that Stella had left for Danfeng Lucerne and transferred full command of the Survey Corps to him without leaving a message.
• Kang De ordered the mages to tell Distant Harbor’s rulers to await him and directed the Survey Corps to rest and regroup.
• Kang De asked Lily to recruit the surviving dragons, promising to remove their Paradox Element in exchange for their service and an oath to obey him.
• Kang De explained to Horus that dragons’ weakness to Paradox Element might stem from their origins in the previous era and from Yasha and the others’ resentment toward them.
• The eight surviving dragons accepted Kang De’s terms, and three delivered his orders to the fleets of the Empire, the Council, and the elves.
• Kang De told Distant Harbor’s governor to prepare to house the captured fleet personnel and arrest and publicly execute those involved in the riots, warning that he could use the prisoners to compel cooperation.

Kang De asserted control over Distant Harbor by ordering its rulers to punish those behind the riots, then arranged for the surrendered fleets to help investigate the city in exchange for curing their crews. He left the commanders with orders to form the Traitor Suppression Society and admitted Lily’s advice had partly persuaded him to give some rioters a chance.

• Distant Harbor’s rulers agreed to Kang De’s demands after realizing he could use the three surrendered fleets to force them to comply.
• Kang De told Lily he would sentence instigators and paid agitators to death while making ignorant rioters repay their crimes through labor.
• Kang De questioned Commodore Kavisalong about his fleet’s refusal to fight the Aberrant Dragons, then promised to treat the elves first and assigned them a task in return.
• Kang De ordered Niola and the other commanders to organize a joint investigation of the riots, with suspects sorted by their roles and circumstances.
• Kang De named the joint force the Traitor Suppression Society and told Lily he would reclaim 0.1 percent of her shares for taking her suggestion into account.

Kang De treated infected sailors from the three nations and recruited elf mages to help arrest rioters in Distant Harbor by offering them bracers that boosted their magic with sealed Paradox Element. After the operation began, he planned to use the substance to build a larger information network across the world.

• Kang De removed Paradox Element from infected sailors aboard the Knight Astolfo and arranged for the elves to help hunt Distant Harbor's rioters in exchange for their freedom.
• Kang De gave the elf mages bracers containing sealed Paradox Element and explained that they enhanced spellcasting but had to be worn under his conditions.
• Minigelite tested a bracer and discovered that it greatly amplified his magic, prompting the elf mages to accept the equipment and Kang De's terms.
• Lily recognized that Kang De had recruited the elves by combining treatment, work, and the promise of stronger equipment, while Kang De said spies could be useful employees.
• Kang De discussed making Lily heavy combat armor equipped with a Paradox particle light cannon, then told her to summon the Council's people for treatment and recruitment.
• Horus reported that the warship's temporary data link was limited, and Kang De decided to use Paradox Element to build a wider information system.

Kang De's forces sealed Distant Harbor and began arresting the people behind its riots, using Horus's intelligence to coordinate raids and aerial bombardments. Firestorm Squad captured Cunning Fox Delisa, and Alset prepared to interrogate him as Kang De considered the mage for recruitment.

• Stella ordered the Survey Corps to seal Distant Harbor's land routes, while Kang De's forces hunted the riot's instigators across the city.
• An Inquisition hunter pressured Nien Toka into naming accomplices and bribers by threatening his family, then sent the resulting lead to Horus.
• Horus redirected Firestorm Squad to attack Cunning Fox Delisa's log warehouse, and Kang De approved a drone bombardment that destroyed its defenses.
• Firestorm Squad and its allies stormed the warehouse, and Alset captured Delisa after pursuing him into a nearby building.
• Kang De praised Alset and asked him to demonstrate his mental-magic skills, while Horus recommended keeping the mage under consideration for recruitment.
• Alset began using mental magic to make Delisa reveal what he feared most.

The elven navy stormed Sound of the Tide Manor and captured Luent Tinston and other members of the family over their suspected role in the riots. As raids and arrests spread across Distant Harbor, Kang De reviewed the growing list of suspects at dawn.

• Kang De ordered the arrest of the Tinston Family after Horus gathered evidence linking them to the riots and an imperial spy.
• Commodore Kavisalong led the elven navy's assault on Sound of the Tide Manor, breaching its defenses and defeating its guards.
• Kavisalong killed the family’s mage defender, and the elves captured Luent Tinston and several relatives.
• Luent accused Kang De of oppression and claimed his son had gone to the imperial capital for help, while the elves mocked his faith in the Empire.
• Horus directed further interrogations as allied forces swept through Distant Harbor businesses and made more arrests.
• At dawn, Kang De examined the expanding list of suspects and picked up a red marker.

Kang De assigned the forces that had crushed Distant Harbor’s rebellion to hunt fugitives, manage prisoners, and restore seized businesses, then ordered a public reckoning for the condemned traitors. He sent Colonel Henry to rally the city behind the executions while he prepared to leave briefly and asked Lily to notify the Dragon Emperor.

• Kang De reviewed reports from the three commanders, approved rewards for the soldiers, and assigned Kavisalong, Niola, and Henry Baker to pursue fugitives, oversee the reformation camp, and reopen seized businesses.
• Kavisalong and Niola discussed Henry’s brutal interrogations and his efforts to win Kang De’s favor, then considered the military power Kang De could build from the three nations’ forces.
• Kang De gave Henry a list of condemned traitors and ordered him to secure a joint statement, public executions, and the city’s participation in deciding the punishments.
• Kang De told Lily that the Dragon Emperor should come speak with him soon because he planned to leave for a day or two; Lily agreed to pass on the message.
• Lily offered to accept 0.5 percent of Kang De’s shares, but Kang De refused, and she shut the door on his lewd reply.

Kang De rejected Distant Harbor’s proposed punishments and demanded that nobles who betrayed the city lose their titles and be punished more harshly than commoners. His declaration that he would hold the powerful accountable sent the city’s nobles into an uproar, while a gray-haired man saw an opportunity in the turmoil.

• Kang De learned that Distant Harbor had sentenced its noble conspirators to honorable hanging and its commoner accomplices to brutal executions, then ordered Colonel Henry to tell the nobles to reconsider.
• Kang De pressured Henry to understand that noble status would not protect the guilty, and Henry agreed to deliver the warning.
• Colonel Henry told the assembled nobles that Kang De had rejected their verdict and demanded that the traitors be stripped of their noble status before trial and execution as commoners.
• Kang De addressed the Justice Hall, arguing that powerful nobles should pay far more for their crimes than impoverished commoners, and threatened to punish Goth’s ruling class.
• After Kang De’s words provoked panic and anger, a gray-haired man seized his son’s wrist and said their fortune had come.

Han Zezheng sought to bring his family into Kang De’s service, hoping to secure their future among the Cathayan diaspora in Distant Harbor. Kang De declined a binding oath for now and asked Han for a favor instead.

• Han Zezheng and Han Guangcheng met Colonel Henry outside City Hall, and Han asked him to arrange an audience with Kang De; Henry returned Han’s jeweled watch and agreed to pass along the request.
• Han Zezheng explained to his son that he wanted to serve Kang De early, both to gain favor and to protect the Han family from the Goth nobles if Kang De’s confrontation with them went badly.
• Henry presented Kang De with information about the Han family, and Kang De agreed to meet them, praising Henry’s preparations.
• Kang De spoke with Han Zezheng about the hardships Cathayans faced in Distant Harbor, and Han offered his family’s allegiance unto death.
• Kang De rejected the binding oath, telling Han that they could help each other as fellow wanderers, then asked him for a favor.

Distant Harbor’s nobles rejected Kang De’s demand to strip the rebel nobles of their titles before executing them, and rallied around a joint protest. Han Zezheng returned from meeting Kang De, announced his support for the ultimatum, and revealed Kang De’s offer to rebuild Distant Harbor’s maritime trade; the chapter ended as the crowd shouted for him to repeat the promise.

• Distant Harbor’s nobles rejected Kang De’s demand and the governor organized them to sign a protest and boycott the next day’s execution.
• The hall panicked when its doors opened, then calmed after judicial officers cast spells and discovered Han Zezheng standing there.
• Han Zezheng recalled that Kang De had rejected his offer of allegiance but invited him to cooperate through shared interests and mutual gain.
• Han Zezheng declared that he had visited Kang De and brought his ultimatum demanding the rebel nobles lose their titles and face the lowborn’s punishment.
• Han Zezheng announced that Kang De would meet with supporters after the execution to discuss making Distant Harbor the Endless Ocean’s leading maritime trade center, prompting calls to hear the promise again.

Kang De hosted the Dragon Emperor while Han Zezheng read the charges against Distant Harbor’s traitors, and the two powerful men tested each other’s intentions. They ended on friendly terms after Kang De explained that he was paying and feeding citizens to attend the executions so they would trust that he kept his word.

• Kang De was absent from the public trial as Han Zezheng read the charges against Distant Harbor’s accused traitors.
• The Dragon Emperor thanked Kang De for saving Lily and the eight dragons, then warned that Kang De’s power could bring the era to an end.
• Kang De and the Dragon Emperor argued over whether Kang De and his Paradox Element were too dangerous to leave unchecked, until Lily interrupted them.
• Kang De and the Dragon Emperor joked about a marriage alliance and agreed they were both suspicious of each other.
• Kang De explained that each citizen who attended the executions would receive a silver coin and a meal in exchange for registering their identity and address.
• The Dragon Emperor praised Kang De’s plan to earn the citizens’ trust by keeping his promise, and the two men laughed together.

Kang De and the Dragon Emperor became allies through a deal involving tablet distribution, dragon-backed weapons, and Kang De’s plans for Distant Harbor and the Broken Isles. As executions began in the city, Kang De watched the cheering crowd and toasted the ignorance and madness he intended to destroy.

• Kang De gave the Dragon Emperor a tablet showing evidence of Cuixisi’s betrayal, and they agreed to sell devices and cooperate on future content.
• Kang De told the Dragon Emperor he wanted to become one of the most powerful figures in Distant Harbor by reshaping its trade and first making the Broken Isles less prosperous.
• Kang De proposed arming dragons with his weapons, and the Dragon Emperor agreed to lend support after Kang De visited the Broken Isles.
• Kang De explained that he wanted to improve the peasants’ lives because they did not deserve their suffering, and the Dragon Emperor agreed to partner with him while remaining wary.
• Kang De gave the Dragon Emperor two power banks and explained that the tablet would need recharging, prompting the Dragon Emperor to curse and laugh before leaving.
• Kang De and Lily watched nobles being executed as the crowd cheered, and Kang De raised his tea in a toast to the ignorance and madness he planned to destroy.

After negotiating a strategic partnership with the Dragon Emperor, Kang De accepted eight dragon mercenaries and began distributing food, money, and identity tags to Distant Harbor’s residents. Watching a starving fisherman eat instant noodles, Kang De explained that he wanted the city’s trust to become its most valuable currency.

• Kang De negotiated Dragon Island’s support against the Broken Isles in exchange for cooperation on trade, technology, and weapons.
• The Dragon Emperor sent eight former conservative dragons to serve Kang De as mercenaries, and Kang De agreed to cover their expenses and arrange training through Horus.
• Kang De and Lily visited the distribution points, where Horus organized residents into lines and exposed a man who had tried to collect rewards under a false identity.
• Horus registered Rick Leyer, gave him an identity tag, a silver coin, and food, and warned him not to eat in the crowded street.
• Kang De followed Rick into an alley and watched him weep as he ate the instant noodles, telling Lily that this was the outcome he sought.

Kang De used food, silver, and a promise of jobs to win over Distant Harbor’s commoners, while his lavish banquet impressed the city’s military and elites. As he began reviewing the day’s results, the nobles opposing him met in secret and resolved to test whether he could keep feeding the city.

• Kang De’s order announced that Distant Harbor would soon hire workers, who could use their wages to buy meals, and the city’s commoners celebrated.
• A poor family saved some of its food and silver, and the father vowed to join Kang De’s hiring program so they could eat well regularly.
• At Sound of the Tide Manor, Kang De hosted a buffet banquet that astonished the city’s officials, merchants, and military guests with abundant sweets and modern foods.
• Kang De’s soldiers and the Survey Corps also received lavish food, winning over troops who had envied the commoners’ meals.
• Kang De called a meeting with fleet commanders, Han Zezheng, and two turncoat representatives to review the day’s results.
• Nobles opposing Kang De gathered in secret and decided to challenge his influence by seeing whether he could feed the entire city.

Kang De used Distant Harbor’s execution ceremony to win over ordinary residents and ordered economic pressure against his opponents. He planned Blue Fly Academy and a military camp to educate and train the city’s children, then turned his attention to those responsible for the conditions that had left children begging on the streets.

• Horus reported that roughly 235,000 residents attended the executions, and Kang De ordered a targeted campaign to drain his opponents’ workers and businesses.
• Niola and Kavisalong showed interest in Kang De’s sugar and spices, but Kang De told them to carry gifts and messages to their governments while remaining his prisoners.
• Kang De ordered Niola, Han Zezheng, and the others to identify skilled people and proposed Blue Fly Academy for the children of those working for him.
• After Henry Baker suggested orphanages for homeless young beggars, Kang De rejected the idea and laid out a plan to house, train, educate, and eventually employ them through a children’s military camp.
• Kang De directed the group to identify and deal with the people whose actions had driven children into poverty and onto the streets.