Chapter Summaries

The Swan Knights escorting Jessiava camped by the Swift River, where Trolls ambushed them with wooden javelins. The knights drove off the attackers and prepared to advance at dawn, still wary of getting entangled with them.

• The Swan Knights continued toward safety while keeping watch for Orcs and relying on Jessiava’s detection device instead of sending scouts.
• The party camped beside the Swift River, and the Swan Knights split their number to keep watch.
• Trolls ambushed the camp with wooden javelins, knocking two knights unconscious and threatening the warhorses.
• Jessiava protected himself with a magical shield as the Swan Knights mounted up and returned fire with their bows.
• At dawn, the captain ordered the Swan Knights to gather together and advance slowly rather than pursue the wounded Trolls.

Jessiava and the Swan Knights traveled through Orc-controlled territory, where Orc Warg Riders ambushed them while they tried to eat hot soup. The fourth-tier Ice Knight Captain killed the attackers, and the party prepared to continue after losing their bowl and cooking pot.

• The Swan Knights withdrew after fighting trolls, while an Orc Warg Rider spotted them and sent word to other Orcs.
• The Knight Captain questioned Jessiava about his earlier journey south, and Jessiava explained that Lagrange had sent heavy cavalry and Rangers to escort him along a peaceful route.
• Orc Warg Riders ambushed the Swan Knights as they lifted bowls of hot soup, and an Orc struck the Knight Captain into the river.
• The fourth-tier Ice Knight Captain unleashed ice blades that killed several Orcs and Wargs, then froze the remaining Wargs in place.
• The Knight Captain ordered his men to clean up and leave, while the knights mourned their shattered bowl and cooking pot.

At Lulong Fortress, Omsk reassured the troops that Roland would handle the eastern threat while they held their post. At the Swift River, Jessiava produced a goblin airship to help the stranded knights cross, though the Swan Knights remained wary of it.

• Reno and the commanders discussed the Chariot People’s movements and agreed Lulong Fortress’s forces should focus on defense.
• Apophis Breo explained that Roland had planned to keep enemies from reaching Flowing City and would meet them beyond Tupte Forest.
• Omsk assured the soldiers that the King would handle the northern threat and ordered them to remain at their posts.
• The Knight Captain and his knights struggled to find a way across the Swift River.
• Jessiava activated a Simple Magic Airship and offered it to ferry the knights across, but the Swan Knights doubted its safety.

The Swan Knights’ crude airship took flight as Gondor’s defenders discovered their unidentified cavalry and planned to intercept them. Meanwhile, Roland worried that the Eastern Yi would devastate Delvin and Tupte, and Nyx suggested a Wall Knight Order he could not afford.

• Jessiava powered the goblin airship, which flew slowly and low as the knights discussed its military potential.
• Lagrange’s light cavalry reported twenty unidentified, heavily equipped riders heading toward the kingdom’s border, and Reno and Omsk considered ambushing them.
• Omsk ordered Apophis Breo to have scouts learn where the riders planned to stop for the night.
• Roland fretted over the Eastern Yi threat and the likely destruction of Delvin and Tupte Territory, while Nyx reassured him that Flowing City could hold.
• Nyx mentioned a Wall Knight Order, and Roland recalled its formidable equipment and tactics while noting he could not afford to maintain one.

While Roland spent the night with Nyx, Apophis Breo, Reno, and Omsk attacked a camp they mistook for an enemy outpost. They realized too late that they had beaten Gondor’s Swan Knights and wondered whether to flee before the assault caused trouble.

• Roland comforted Nyx, then took her to bed as they spent the night together.
• Apophis Breo, Reno, and Omsk approached the Swan Knights’ camp and debated how to deal with the unfamiliar armored troops.
• Apophis Breo’s Battle Qi blast sent Reno flying, and Reno retaliated with a powerful Holy Sword Judgment that Omsk blocked.
• Apophis Breo punched Jessiava, while Omsk knocked the Swan Knights’ captain unconscious and Reno raced through camp, striking down the knights.
• Apophis Breo, Reno, and Omsk discovered that the camp belonged to Gondor and worried about the consequences of attacking their coalition allies.

Reno, Omsk, and Apophis Breo discovered the battered Goblin King Jessiava and realized they had mistaken him and his Swan Knight escort for enemies near Lulong Fortress. After treating Jessiava and explaining the misunderstanding to Knight Captain Holfa, they began introductions and negotiations.

• Reno decided the group should remain at the fortress overnight rather than leave the Swan Knights unattended.
• Omsk found Jessiava barely alive in the grass, and Reno, Apophis Breo, and Omsk chose to heal him.
• Jessiava recognized Reno, explained he was returning to the Eastern Mountain Range, and identified the fallen soldiers as Swan Knights from Dol Andros.
• Holfa awoke, found his weapons set aside, and questioned the men who had defeated his knights.
• Omsk, Apophis Breo, and Reno introduced themselves and explained that the clash had been a misunderstanding because the Swan Knights had approached their fortress.

Holfa arrived at Lulong Fortress with Reno and the others, then asked to travel to Flowing City to meet Prince Roland and establish diplomatic ties between Dol Amroth and the northern kingdom. Reno and Omsk warned him that the north remained under threat from the Chariot People of Rhûn and could provide only a guide, but Holfa still chose to go.

• Holfa marveled at Lulong Fortress as he traveled with the group after reaching an understanding with the Lagrange Kingdom.
• Reno explained to the Swift River Infantry that the Swan Knights from Dol Amroth were escorting Holfa back to the Eastern Mountain Range, and Merk Leopold invited them inside.
• Holfa told Reno, Apophis Breo, and Omsk that he wanted to meet their prince and establish diplomatic ties, citing Gandalf’s warning that darkness was reviving.
• Reno sarcastically reminded Holfa that the northern kingdoms had fought several major battles while the southern nobles had stayed out of the struggle, and Holfa apologized.
• Omsk warned that the Chariot People of Rhûn were nearing the region, while Reno said the group could provide Holfa only a guide to Flowing City.
• Holfa thanked them and insisted that he would still meet their prince.

Roland learned that Gondor had sent Swan Knights to escort Jessiava and arranged for Nyx to receive them. Holfa then asked Nyx to form an alliance, claiming he could represent Dol Andros and House of Prince Dol Amroth.

• Omsk suggested that Holfa and the Swan Knights rest before traveling to Flowing City.
• Yun Feng told Roland that Gondor had sent two teams of Swan Knights to escort Jessiava, the Goblin King.
• Roland ordered that the guests be received according to protocol and gave Nyx authority to host them in the Queen of Lagrange’s name.
• Valfay proposed leading his rangers into the wasteland, but Roland warned him that his troops were unsuited to field battles.
• Holfa met Nyx and asked to form an alliance, saying he could represent Dol Andros and House of Prince Dol Amroth.

Nyx and Yun Feng dealt with Holfa’s delegation as the kingdom prepared for war, while Roland waited for word of the enemy. Lagrange scouts then discovered a Chariot People vanguard, and their captain chose to attack despite orders to avoid a direct confrontation.

• Nyx postponed negotiations with Holfa until his party returned, and Yun Feng warned him that war was near before sending guards to watch the delegation.
• Roland confirmed that scouts had found no enemy movements and ordered the kingdom to keep watch and respond only when the enemy acted.
• A squad of Lagrange Light Cavalry found roughly five hundred Chariot People near Delvin Town, and the captain sent Luoxin Babury to warn His Highness.
• The captain and three remaining cavalrymen stayed behind to confront the vanguard, driven by memories of fallen comrades and the Chariot People’s earlier attacks.
• The captain ordered his men to kill the enemy, although His Highness had instructed them not to engage head-on.

Captain Okan and three Duchy Light Cavalrymen unexpectedly met a Chariot People squad and turned a dangerous pursuit into a victory with their horse archery. As Chariot People reinforcements approached, Okan ordered his men to recover their arrows.

• Okan rallied his three Light Cavalrymen, who were hunter-born archers equipped with bows and armor.
• The Light Cavalrymen encountered five Chariot People chariots, and Okan ordered them to flee from the charge.
• Okan and his men wheeled around and shot down eight Chariot People with Armor-Piercing Arrows.
• The surviving spearman fled while the last chariot driver tried to escape and was killed by the archers.
• Okan ordered his men to recover their arrows as Chariot People reinforcements approached.

Okan and three Duchy Light Cavalry riders harassed a Chariot People vanguard with arrows while trying to keep their distance and escape its encirclement. As the enemy force closed in and more Chariot People arrived, Okan led his men toward the hills in an attempt to break through.

• Okan stopped his men from firing again and rode away, while the Chariot People vanguard general chose to continue toward the human kingdom's towns instead of pursuing them.
• Okan turned his four riders around to chase the Chariot People, then ordered them to fire volleys and maintain a two-hundred-meter distance.
• The Chariot People general split his forces into groups to encircle Okan's riders as their main force approached.
• Okan's men killed several charioteers with armor-piercing arrows, but the Chariot People retaliated with javelins that fell short.
• Okan ordered his riders to break through toward the hills before the chariots could block their path.

Okan’s light cavalry harassed the Chariot People but struggled to conserve their horses and arrows against the enemy’s relentless pursuit. Okan decided to keep delaying them until Luoxin Babury could deliver the warning and reinforcements could arrive, while Luoxin raced toward the king.

• Okan’s cavalry escaped the Chariot People after drawing them eastward and inflicting at least fifty casualties.
• Okan counted the remaining arrows and told his men their goal was to stall the enemy until reinforcements arrived.
• Okan reassured the cavalry that the Chariot People were still nearly a hundred li from the border and Luoxin Babury had covered much of the route to deliver the warning.
• Luoxin Babury rode at full speed, knowing Okan and the others were waiting for the king’s reinforcements.

Luoxin Babury brought urgent news that Chariot People had attacked a scouting unit southeast of Delvin Town, and Roland rushed to respond. Roland sent Caslo and Ajax to find the scouts, then gathered Knights to march east and reinforce them.

• Roland brooded over the Chariot People’s advance and recalled that Smaug had been a quasi-divine beast whose death had allowed Thorin and Bard to survive.
• Luoxin Babury raced into Delvin Town with urgent intelligence, narrowly avoiding a child in the road.
• Luoxin crashed into Roland’s courtyard and reported that more than five hundred enemy vanguard troops had engaged the scouting unit sixty li southeast of town.
• Roland sent Caslo and Ajax to locate the scouts, then ordered the Knights and Badel to gather for a march east.
• Roland left the heavy cavalry behind and said that two Dragon Knights could easily defeat the five hundred vanguard troops.

Okan and three Light Cavalrymen tried to delay the Chariot People’s advance, but their commander sent most of his force onward and left a small unit to pursue them. Okan’s group widened the gap and planned to attack the pursuers after dark.

• Okan’s arrows barely harmed the Professional Soldiers, so he ordered his riders to target the enemy’s ordinary Warriors instead.
• The Chariot People’s commander split off ten chariots and twenty Professional Soldiers to pursue Okan while the main force continued toward its target.
• Okan’s group escaped a javelin attack, then killed a First Tier Novice Warrior and several others when the pursuers lowered their shields.
• Okan led the four riders in a barrage of Lobbing Shots that opened the distance, leaving their hands bloody from repeated bow fire.
• As night approached, Okan’s group rested farther away and planned to deal with the exhausted pursuers after dark.

Okan and four exhausted Duchy Light Cavalrymen treated their wounded hands and prepared to ambush the Chariot People at night. Meanwhile, Roland marched through the darkness with his force as Caslo and Ajax searched for the enemy, and he discussed his promise to Grand Duke Nyx with Lavien.

• The Chariot People's commander worried that his force had wasted a day chasing cavalry and that he would be punished if he failed to earn merit before reinforcements arrived.
• Caslo and Ajax continued searching for the enemy after nightfall, hoping to spot five bonfires.
• Okan led his four men away from their pursuers to search along the Swift River for supplies, then boiled cloth to clean and wrap their badly injured hands.
• Okan and his men ate lizards and bugs, put out their fire, and prepared to lie in wait near the pursuing force.
• Roland led his army through the night while Badel kept the ranks in order, and Lavien reminded Roland to honor his promise to Grand Duke Nyx.

Okan and three Light Cavalrymen infiltrated the Chariot People's camp and began silently killing the sleeping soldiers. A wounded Third Tier warrior woke and attacked them, leaving Okan and two comrades to flee on horseback as she gave chase.

• Okan led three Light Cavalrymen toward the Chariot People's camp, where they found only two sentries on watch.
• The men shot the sentries, slipped into the camp, extinguished the fires, and began killing the sleeping Chariot People soldiers.
• Okan's group killed several soldiers before Battle Qi Flame erupted and tore one Light Cavalryman apart.
• A wounded Third Tier woman emerged from a tent and attacked the survivors, so Okan ordered the men to run.
• Okan and two Light Cavalrymen mounted horses and fled, but the woman seized a horse and chased after them.

Caslo and Ajax searched for the Chariot People and realized Okan’s scout cavalry may have drawn their vanguard away. Okan and the two surviving riders made a last stand against Naruye, who recognized them as the cavalry that had attacked her camp.

• Caslo told Ajax the missing scouts may have lured the Chariot People’s vanguard away, and they decided to widen their search.
• Okan and two surviving cavalrymen stopped fleeing and prepared to face their pursuer, determined to return to their unit or die fighting.
• Naruye introduced herself as a Third Tier Berserker of the Lukadi Tribe and mocked the Lagrange Empire.
• Okan named his regiment and ordered the three riders to charge Naruye for the glory of the Empire.
• Naruye recognized the charging riders as the cavalry unit that had returned to raid her camp.

Naruye fought four Light Cavalrymen and killed them, but Okan mortally wounded her with a hidden Mithril Dagger before she struck him down. The battle ended with both Naruye and Okan dead.

• Naruye attacked Okan and two Light Cavalrymen with her Battle Halberd, but their charges failed to pierce her Battle Qi defense.
• Naruye killed two riders and wounded the third, while the last cavalryman struck her shoulder and helped bring down her warhorse.
• A dismounted cavalryman and Okan exploited Naruye’s fall, but she activated Berserk, shattered Okan’s sword, and killed the remaining rider.
• Naruye dragged Okan from beneath his horse and questioned his defiance before hurling him away and lifting him by the throat.
• Okan secretly drew a Mithril Dagger and stabbed Naruye after shouting, “In the name of the Empire! Long live!”
• Naruye’s Battle Halberd struck Okan, and both fighters died.

Caslo and Ajax found the remains of their Lagrange soldiers and captured the wounded Naruye, who admitted her side had slaughtered them. After gathering what they could and burying the dead mounts, they flew to find His Highness, while Roland was told that three Chariot People soldiers had been captured alive.

• Naruye killed Okan and mutilated the bodies before treating her wound.
• Ajax and Caslo spotted the remains of their people, and Caslo descended to investigate.
• Caslo struck Naruye down and stopped Ajax from killing her, insisting she be kept alive for His Highness.
• Ajax disarmed, bound, and gagged Naruye, then helped gather the soldiers' remains with Caslo.
• Caslo and Ajax departed with Naruye, while Roland received three wounded Chariot People prisoners.

Roland interrogated Steel Fang Chariot Tribe captives and learned their commander had brought four thousand men, including one thousand light chariots and four hundred medium chariots. After hearing that the enemy had tortured his scouting cavalry to death, Roland confronted Naruye, who spat in his face, and vowed to make her watch her army's destruction; Valfay suspected her father was the enemy commander.

• Roland tortured the surviving Chariot People captives until one revealed the size and composition of their force.
• Caslo told Roland that the scouting cavalry had been tortured to death, and Roland ordered Naruye brought before him.
• Naruye spat bloody phlegm in Roland's face and cursed him, but Roland stopped Caslo from killing her.
• Roland vowed to keep Naruye alive to witness her army's destruction, while Valfay suspected her father commanded the opposing force.