Chapter Summaries

Kang De helped Hong San enforce Valentan’s draft after the Goth officer threatened the crowd, then confronted the militia leaders who resisted. The officer, Preston Valentan, asked Kang De how he would organize the recruitment, and Kang De proposed using the leaders’ guards’ families to persuade families facing conscription.

• The Goth officer warned Hong San that Valentan would use force if the militia failed to follow Mayor Nick’s orders, while the crowd stayed silent.
• Hong San explained that the group had to defend the city to protect their families, and Kang De ordered the three leaders to draft eight hundred militiamen and eight hundred reserves.
• Kang De used his axe to drive off the crowd’s pleas and stopped Chen Honghu from resisting the draft by overpowering and threatening him.
• Hong San admitted that he felt relieved people would see him as an ordinary man, and Kang De questioned whether he had decided to stay with them.
• Preston Valentan introduced himself as Mayor Nick’s brother, apologized for his earlier conduct, and asked Kang De how he would organize the recruitment.
• Kang De suggested that the militia leaders’ armed guards’ families persuade the families whose members faced conscription.

Kang De and Hong San assembled and prepared eight hundred militiamen to defend Valentan's western wall as the elven army approached. A troop of elven cavalry appeared in the distance, leaving the militia frightened but Hong San urging them to stay calm.

• Kang De suggested using the guards' families' resentment to pressure other able-bodied men into enlisting, but Preston refused to use the tactic.
• The guards' and leaders' family members organized their own protest, and Kang De and Hong San ordered the leaders to prevent it from turning violent.
• Kang De stopped further conscription after eight hundred able-bodied men had been gathered, warning that recruiting more people could provoke unrest.
• The mayor sent the eight hundred militiamen to the western city wall, where veteran soldiers assigned positions and taught them how to defend it.
• Kang De confronted a scar-faced veteran who spoke rudely to him, then a horn sounded and the militia spotted elven cavalry approaching.
• Hong San used his voice and authority to quiet the militia, reminding them that the cavalry could not attack the city before the elven army deployed.

Kang De and Hong San faced the elven army’s surprise assault on Valentan’s west wall as powerful spells devastated the defenses and killed many militiamen. The mage corps slowed the bombardment, but the elves’ archer corps advanced, leaving the defenders to hold the wall with their lives.

• Hong San warned the scar-faced veteran that the elves might launch a surprise attack, but the veteran insisted the mayor would respond if necessary.
• The elves opened a devastating magical barrage, and Kang De used his abilities and shields to protect himself and help stop panicked militiamen from running.
• Hong San tried to rescue a fleeing militiaman, and Kang De shielded them from an incoming spell and forced them back down.
• Valentan’s mage corps began intercepting the elven spells, reducing the pressure on the wall, though the bombardment continued and caused heavy casualties.
• The Dragonfang Army’s archer corps arrived on supply wagons and advanced toward Valentan as the scar-faced veteran ordered the militiamen to form a shield wall.
• The scar-faced veteran explained that Valentan’s weaker mages could not stop every spell, so soldiers would have to fill the gaps with their lives.

Kang De and Hong San defended Valentan’s wall as elven archers and mages overwhelmed the defenders, then discovered the elves’ next attack was a cavalry charge up magically raised earthen ramps. Kang De collapsed a ramp and attacked the fallen cavalry with gas cylinders and guns, finally disrupting the elves’ carefully planned assault.

• Elven archers bombarded the wall with ordinary and enchanted arrows, killing the scar-faced veteran and terrifying the defenders.
• Kang De urged Hong San to flee, but Hong San refused to abandon the militia who relied on him.
• Hong San explained that Valentan’s war machines were the city’s main defense, while elven mages targeted them and suppressed the city’s casters.
• Kang De and Hong San realized the elves’ next assault was cavalry, as their mages raised earthen ramps toward the wall.
• Kang De used the Element to collapse a ramp beneath the charging cavalry, then threw gas cylinders into the fallen riders and opened fire with his guns.

Kang De’s collapse of the magical slope and explosive attack shattered the elven cavalry’s charge, giving Valentan’s defenders a chance to counterattack and repel the surprise assault. The chapter ended with the city holding its ground in silence as Kang De asked Hong San what he had meant by “unless.”

• Kang De collapsed the magical slope, dropped two enchanted gas cylinders among the elven cavalry, and shot them to trigger devastating explosions.
• Kang De escaped the elves’ concentrated retaliation under the veterans’ shield formation, while Hong San urged the Goth soldiers to exploit the elves’ emotional mistake and counterattack.
• Valentan’s ranged troops attacked the exposed elven cavalry and nearby archers, and black-armored soldiers reinforced the wall with shields and javelins.
• The elven commander sounded the retreat horn, and the elven forces withdrew as Valentan’s defenders continued firing.
• Kang De and Hong San surveyed the silent, battered defenders, and Kang De asked what Hong San had meant when he said “unless.”

After the elves withdrew from Valentan, Kang De and Hong San confronted the cost of the defense and learned that Mayor Nick had deliberately used the Heaven and Earth Society’s militia as expendable bait. The chapter ended with Nick challenging Hong San to explain what he thought war required.

• The defenders watched the elves retreat in good order, while Kang De and Hong San worried that Valentan could not withstand a fully prepared assault.
• A Goth officer thanked Kang De but argued that the militia had only fulfilled their duty, angering Kang De before Hong San stopped him from pursuing the argument.
• Hong San counted the dead and tended to the wounded, while Valentan’s defenders recorded seventy-nine dead and two hundred and fifty-three wounded.
• When Mayor Nick arrived to praise Kang De, Hong San approached him with a drawn sword and asked whether he had planned to use the militia to draw the elves’ attack while the regular troops waited in reserve.
• Nick admitted that he had deliberately stationed the militia on the wall because their lives were considered expendable, then defended the decision as necessary to protect Valentan.
• Hong San challenged Nick’s judgment of the poor and displaced Goth People, and Nick asked him what he thought war was.

Hong San collapsed after Mayor Nick defended sacrificing civilians to protect Valentan, and Kang De carried him away, condemning the Heaven and Earth Society for abandoning him. As Nick prepared to exploit the victory and brutalize captured elves, Kang De went with Leona to her home, exhausted and unwilling to talk.

• Hong San struggled to answer Mayor Nick's defense of conscripting civilians, then questioned the injustice of the poor being sacrificed and fainted after spitting blood.
• Kang De caught Hong San, confronted the Heaven and Earth Society for watching without helping, and carried him off the wall.
• Preston told Kang De that Nick believed every death should serve the war, but Kang De walked away without responding.
• Nick ordered the wounded elves mutilated and the dead displayed on the walls, threatening anyone who objected and preparing to address the victorious soldiers.
• Leona met Kang De in a carriage and offered medical help; he accepted her invitation to go to her home.

After hearing how Mayor Nick had deliberately put the Vidal Chamber of Commerce’s guards in danger, Leona proposed killing him to protect Kang De, her people, and Valentan’s civilians. Kang De understood the risks of leaving the city without a leader, but the chapter ended with him recognizing that Leona’s plan was difficult to carry out.

• Leona found Kang De carrying the apparently unharmed Hong San and learned that the mayor’s decisions had caused Hong San mental trauma.
• Leona cursed Nick for assigning forces to dangerous positions and proposed taking him out before the elves attacked again.
• Kang De warned that killing Nick could leave Valentan unable to coordinate its defense, while Leona argued that surrendering the city might spare it a worse fate.
• Leona explained that elven forces relied on brutal auxiliary troops to plunder conquered cities while preserving the Royal Army’s reputation.
• Leona laid out her reasons for killing Nick: protecting Vidal’s guards and employees, helping Kang De find Tina, and preventing Nick from dragging Valentan’s people to their deaths.
• Leona looked to Kang De to carry out the assassination, and Kang De judged her plan difficult.

Kang De rejected Leona’s plan to assassinate Mayor Nick, explaining that it would endanger her and the Vidal Chamber of Commerce, especially because the elves would target him after he helped defeat their assault. He comforted Leona and promised to help save her people, and she embraced him in tears just as Hong San woke and heard her cry that Kang De was Tina’s lover.

• Kang De considered why Nick’s harsh conscription policy had angered Leona and Hong San, then refused Leona’s suggestion that they assassinate the mayor.
• Kang De warned Leona that Nick would be prepared for an assassination and that his death could trigger chaos and put the Vidal Chamber of Commerce and the Heaven and Earth Society at risk.
• Kang De pointed out that the elves would seek revenge on him for thwarting their assault, undermining Leona’s assumption that she could take him away safely after the city fell.
• Leona realized her plan had been reckless and became ashamed and tearful, while Kang De reassured her that he understood her concern for the people under her care and would try to save them.
• Leona knocked Kang De’s hand away, then embraced him and cried as she blamed him for her worries and shouted that he was Tina’s lover.
• Hong San woke up and heard Leona’s final outburst.

After waking in Leona’s carriage, Hong San learned that the Heaven and Earth Society’s militia had been ambushed and decimated, and he struggled with whether to return to the survivors. Kang De pushed him to accept responsibility for organizing Valentan’s defense and to investigate the city’s forces and the approaching elves; the chapter ended with Kang De and Leona agreeing to fight rather than give up.

• Hong San woke in Leona’s carriage, and Kang De told him that Mayor Nick’s ambush had killed Chen Honghu and several other militia leaders.
• Hong San said he understood why the frightened survivors had failed to support him, but he still wanted to return to the unit.
• Kang De argued that Hong San should not go back without a plan, then pressed him to use his military knowledge to help defend the city.
• Hong San agreed to investigate the mayor’s defense plans, reinforcements, city forces, and the elven army.
• Kang De told Hong San to devise a plan and threatened to have Nick send the remaining reservists into battle if he gave up.
• Kang De told Leona that he would help Hong San save his people and that they should fight the elves rather than surrender in advance.

Kang De met Mayor Nick, who offered to spare the Vidal Chamber of Commerce’s militia and the Heaven and Earth Society’s fighters in exchange for Kang De and Hong San helping defend Valentan. Nick revealed that he had ordered the elves’ corpses desecrated, making the city’s survival even more urgent.

• Kang De worried that he could not leave Valentan while Hong San, Leona, and the city remained in danger.
• Leona told Kang De that Mayor Nick had arrived, and Kang De went to meet him despite her hostility toward the mayor.
• Nick thanked Kang De for stopping the elves, and Kang De asked him to release the Vidal Chamber of Commerce’s militiamen from wall duty.
• Nick agreed to spare the Vidal militiamen and the Heaven and Earth Society’s fighters, then admitted he had ordered the elves’ bodies desecrated.
• Nick asked Kang De and Hong San to help defend Valentan, offering to satisfy their needs in return.

Kang De questioned Mayor Nick’s request for help defending Valentan and demanded the information needed to take on greater responsibility. Nick revealed that reinforcements were expected within three to five days, leaving the city to hold out until then.

• Mayor Nick asked Kang De and Hong San to help defend Valentan, and Kang De questioned whether Nick was treating them as expendable assets.
• Kang De asked about the enemy and learned that the elven Dusk Warband numbered twelve thousand, but Nick refused to reveal the city’s true strength.
• Kang De challenged Nick’s confidence that the conscripted militiamen would not resist being used as cannon fodder, and Nick explained how easily trained soldiers and magic could suppress them.
• Kang De asked whether the city had any hope and how long it needed to hold, and Nick said reinforcements would arrive in three to five days.

Kang De learned that Mayor Nick planned to hold Valentan until the Gladiolus Legion and nearby reinforcements could help annihilate the Dusk Warband, though Kang De suspected Nick was hiding something. He agreed to help defend the city and left with Leona to consult Hong San, ending with Leona striking him after he joked about splitting her with an axe.

• Nick revealed that reinforcements from Kunke City, Tanyin City, and Red Creek Valley could arrive within three to five days, and that the Gladiolus Legion led by Landisidun was also approaching.
• Kang De questioned whether the reinforcements would come and pointed out that the elves could target them, prompting Nick to explain his plan to surround and destroy the Dusk Warband.
• Leona accused Nick of risking civilians for personal glory, and Nick angrily defended the strategic importance of holding Valentan even at great cost.
• Kang De agreed to help defend the city but warned Nick to remember those who sacrificed their lives and not to deceive or exploit him.
• After Nick left, Kang De told Leona he suspected the mayor was concealing something, and Leona thanked him for trusting her.
• Kang De joked that he would split Leona with an axe if she leaked the secret, so she jumped behind him and struck his head with a karate chop.

Kang De, Hong San, and Leona analyzed Mayor Nick’s plan and debated whether he had a hidden reason for revealing it. They agreed to help defend Valentan while preparing for the coming battle, and Kang De asked Leona to obtain elven armor and weapons for his arriving helper.

• Hong San studied the map and judged that reinforcements could arrive in three to five days, though Nick’s claims about the Gladiolus Legion could not be verified.
• After watching Nick’s recorded explanation, Hong San warned that the plan was too sensitive for Nick to have revealed so freely and considered how the elves might respond if they learned of it.
• Kang De and Hong San speculated that Nick might secretly hope the elves would withdraw, but concluded they could only guess at his motives and still had to help defend the city.
• Kang De said he had called for one helper and explained that it could improve the city’s defenses by working through the night.
• Kang De asked Leona to procure elven armor, experienced fighters, and city-defense weapons, and she went to arrange it herself.
• Hong San suggested that Leona’s informal, irritable behavior showed she did not consider Kang De an outsider, while warning him not to complain about it to her.

Kang De developed a crude fire infusion that turned arrows into armor-piercing projectiles and began preparing enchanted ammunition for Valentan’s defense. He sent Hong San to show the arrows to Mayor Nick, while his awaited companion drove through the night with greenskin allies.

• Kang De tested Blazing Flame arrows and found that some pierced Eagle Gate silver armor by releasing a molten metal jet on impact.
• Kang De chose to infuse disposable arrows and javelins directly with Flame Element, accepting their fragility in exchange for faster production.
• Hong San warned Kang De to keep his enchanting ability secret, then agreed to demonstrate the arrows to Nick and discuss the mayor’s intentions.
• Nick rushed to Kang De after seeing the arrows, offered supplies and support, and agreed to admit Kang De’s companion when he arrived.
• Kang De told Nick that his companion’s arrival could improve the city’s defense, while the Autobot drove through the wilderness with Kan Fantian and other greenskins.

Kang De heard how Nick and Hong San had kept Valentan’s defenders alert through the night, then prepared to face the full elven assault as Twilight Moon’s overlord began attacking the city. He left the others behind and set out to kill elves.

• Kang De learned that Hong San had spent the night helping Nick counter elven raids and feints with an alert system and a mage ambush.
• Hong San explained that he had advised the defenders to provoke the elves with insults, humiliating them into reckless attacks that the humans could punish.
• Leona asked whether they could insult the elves again that night, but Kang De noted that a costly battle was about to begin.
• Twilight Moon’s overlord launched an assault, darkening the sky and sending spells toward Valentan.
• Kang De told everyone to stay inside, then shouldered his pack and announced that he was going to kill elves.

Kang De witnessed civilians suffer from the elves’ bombardment and helped extinguish a fire before heading to the walls with Hong San. There, they joined Preston Valentan as the elven assault intensified and a catapult crew was struck.

• Kang De and Hong San rode through Valentan as elven spells hit civilian districts, and Kang De reflected on the suffering of people caught in the war.
• Kang De extinguished a burning building while municipal officers prepared to rescue survivors, then rode on after Hong San reminded him that everyone had their own duties.
• Kang De noticed the determined municipal officer named Steve plunge into the fire to help with the rescue, and he told Hong San that she did not need a man’s name to prove herself.
• Kang De and Hong San reached the walls and met Preston Valentan, who urged Kang De to return to the safer rear lines.
• A spell smashed a catapult, killing its warlock and badly injuring the crew, so Preston rushed out to investigate and Kang De followed, offering to help.

Kang De and Preston discovered that the elves had destroyed the No. 5 catapult with a carefully planned Rending Stone Pierce, leaving a gap in the city’s defensive fire. The elves began their assault as the defenders returned to their posts, and Kang De left the ruined weapon to the engineers.

• Preston ordered reinforcements and repair crews to the damaged No. 5 catapult while Hong San explained its role in the city’s overlapping long-range defenses.
• Preston found the catapult’s magical core and transmission mechanism destroyed, then warned the other firing positions that the elves had used a ground-based Rending Stone Pierce.
• Preston rallied the officers and sent them back to prepare for the attack, while Kang De realized he could not repair the complicated weapon and left with Hong San.
• The elven commander ordered the infantry assault, reasoning that the humans would soon guard against the method used to destroy the catapult.
• Lord Ailras blew the horn, and the elven formations advanced as the defenders shouted along the city walls.

The elves attacked Valentan’s western wall with enormous wooden war puppets disguised as Wild Wood Spirits, while hidden elven troops and mages used them for cover. As the defenders struggled to stop the advance, Kang De decided to return to the destroyed number five firing position, hinting that he had a desperate plan.

• Hong San explained that the elves were using distant fog to conceal their siege preparations as the army advanced toward the western wall.
• The elves’ wooden war puppets emerged from the mist, frightening the defenders until messengers reassured them that the giants were artificial constructs, not true Wild Wood Spirits.
• Kang De spotted elven sharpshooters and spellcasters concealed among the puppets’ branches and decided he could not safely use his Extraction ability against them.
• Hong San realized that the elves were rushing to capture Valentan, possibly because they had detected the Gladiolus Legion’s plans.
• As elven attacks intensified and the city’s war machines struggled to respond, Kang De said he would return to the number five firing position with a plan.

Kang De infused a shattered catapult with Elements, transforming it into a crude, fearsome weapon that could still fire. Its first enchanted projectile struck an elven wooden puppet, and the Dusk Warband commander concluded that an ork mek was inside Valentan.

• Kang De blocked an elven sharpshooter’s arrows with his shield, returned fire with three explosive shots, and hurried off the wall with Hong San.
• Kang De reached the broken catapult at position five and used Fantasy Enchantment to transform it into a red, heavily modified machine.
• The warlock crew found that the catapult could fire, though its altered aiming scales forced them to estimate their shots.
• Kang De enchanted a stone projectile, which tore through a wooden puppet and scattered debris among the elves.
• The commander of the Dusk Warband saw the projectile strike and demanded to know how an ork mek had entered Valentan.