Chapter Summaries

Roland learned that Yun Feng could make Dragon Blood Potion if he obtained pure dragon blood, then discovered a new system mission requiring him to find a Queen candidate. He left the mission unresolved and turned his attention to preparing Flowing City for spring farming amid dwindling food supplies.

• Roland agreed to give Yun Feng an order requesting pure dragon blood from Caslo so Yun Feng could brew Dragon Blood Potion.
• Roland checked Flowing City's Territory Panel, found little change in its population and forces, and inspected the shabby subsidiary territory of Tupte Forest.
• After Roland complained about receiving a condom from the system, it activated a mission to find a system-approved Queen candidate within a year, with reduced fertility as the penalty for failure.
• Roland cursed the system, wondered what its approval meant, and considered abducting Arwen as a possible Queen candidate.
• In Rivendell, Elrond sensed that someone was eyeing Arwen, while Arwen assumed Aragorn was thinking of her.
• Roland decided to prepare Flowing City's residents and soldiers to cultivate land in spring because the city's food stores were nearly empty.

Roland worried that an unidentified magical beast had entered Flowing City, but learned it was one of Ladyl’s griffon hatchlings. Ladyl told him the griffons were ready to fly and that he needed to choose Knights to bond with them.

• Roland ordered the Knights to search Flowing City for the swift creature he had seen, fearing it might be dangerous.
• Roland ate dinner, remained uneasy that the creature had not been found, and went to sleep.
• Roland woke at noon to find Ladyl waiting with news about the five Griffon Eggs he had brought.
• Ladyl explained that the griffons had hatched, could now fly, and would soon need riders selected for training.
• A griffon hatchling flew out from under Ladyl’s robe, and Roland recognized it as the creature that had alarmed him the day before.

Roland received fifty Lothlórien Rangers from his sign-in reward, then visited a tavern in Flowing City and reassured its frightened proprietress that he would not punish her for opening it. He left off asking where she had gotten her liquor.

• Roland received fifty Lothlórien Rangers and recalled the hidden Counterattack skill of Lothlórien Knights.
• Ladyl asked Roland for Smaug's flesh and blood to feed the five griffin cubs, and Roland played with one of them before leaving.
• Roland explored Flowing City's bustling marketplace and noticed its small tavern.
• The tavern's proprietress recognized Roland, knelt, and apologized for opening without a permit.
• Roland told the proprietress he would not blame her and asked where she had gotten the liquor.

Roland learned that Flowing City’s refugees could include citizens who brought property with them, and he met Luo Cuisi, a wealthy tavern proprietress and second-tier thief. He left her tavern and ordered his guards to discreetly investigate how many citizens lived in Flowing City.

• Roland checked the territory information and learned that the system would guide wandering Lagrange Civilians to his territory, some of whom might arrive with assets, and that he could train civilians as Swift River Infantry.
• Roland assured Luo Cuisi that he would not punish her for owning the tavern and promised her Lagrange’s protection because she had paid her taxes.
• Luo Cuisi told Roland that she was a second-tier thief, and he defended her profession from the people who looked down on her.
• Roland left the tavern, learned from a knight that Luo Cuisi was wealthy and had only about a week’s worth of wine left, and ordered his guards to investigate Flowing City’s citizens.

Roland learned that his mistaken instructions had left Caldo weakened, then reviewed Flowing City's scarce skilled citizens and ordered Seville to produce leather armor. Seeing grass emerge through the snow, he recognized that spring planting was approaching and resolved to grow more grain.

• Caslo told Roland that Yun Feng had taken ten drops of Caldo's essence blood for Dragon Blood Potion, leaving the Wyvern weakened.
• A knight reported that Flowing City’s skilled citizens included baker Xiaoxiao, blacksmith Babalos, and leatherworker Seville, alongside tavern keeper Luo Cuisi.
• Roland ordered officials to support Xiaoxiao’s bakery and let Babalos continue his blacksmith work.
• Roland directed Seville to use the city’s pelts, train apprentices, and outfit everyone with leather armor before the end of spring planting, promising a reward for timely completion.
• Roland spotted fresh grass emerging through the soil and resolved to prepare for spring planting and grow more grain.

Roland inspected Flowing City’s preparations for spring plowing and realized its tools and farmland were far from sufficient to feed the population. He ordered hoes from Erebor and postponed fieldwork when rain and lingering snow made it unsafe to begin.

• Roland ordered Caslo to organize farm tools and went with Reno to inspect the fields north of Flowing City.
• Roland calculated that Flowing City needed to reclaim twenty thousand mu of farmland and rejected Reno’s suggestion to melt down weapons for hoes.
• Roland sent Reno to Erebor with gold to order two thousand hoes.
• Roland discovered he had no carpenters to build the Curved-shaft Plow from a system blueprint.
• Caslo reported that at least three-quarters of the commoners lacked farm tools, while Reno explained that Roland was upset about spending his savings.
• When spring rain began, Roland agreed with Reno to wait for the snow to melt before starting fieldwork.

Roland prepared to reclaim land while Thorin agreed to forge farming tools, but the chapter turned to Roland’s discovery of a tiny Dragon of the Elves. After she petrified him with her breath, Roland subdued her, and Valfay recognized her as a rare dragoness from Gondolin.

• Bai Yi ordered his people to prepare for farming and worried about the Eastern Yi threat facing Roland.
• Thorin agreed to provide Roland with hoes in ten days despite his reluctance to have dwarves forge farm tools.
• Roland discovered a tiny creature from the system’s sign-in and learned she was a Dragon of the Elves when her breath turned him to stone.
• Roland broke free with Battle Qi, subdued the dragoness, and teased her while holding her by a wing.
• Valfay recognized the creature as a Dragon of the Elves, explained her natural regression and three-horned crown, and warned Roland that Mage Ladyl and Sage Yun Feng might punish him.

Roland acquired a sealed Dragon of the Elves after Yun Feng used Palm Seal Universe to suppress her. As Roland tried to name her Smurf, the dragon spoke up to reject the name.

• Roland struggled to keep the Dragon of the Elves restrained while Ladyl and Valfay debated what to do with her.
• Yun Feng used Palm Seal Universe to seal the Dragon of the Elves and warned that her chaotic elemental attributes required rest.
• Ladyl congratulated Roland on acquiring a Dragon of the Elves, while Yun Feng advised him to train her and keep the seal intact.
• Valfay asked Roland to give him the dragon, but Roland refused unless Valfay offered something of equal value.
• The Dragon of the Elves stood up and roared, then protested when Roland suggested naming her Smurf.

Roland ordered Flowing City’s able-bodied residents to gather outside the city for spring plowing, then met the dwarves delivering curved-shaft plows and worried when he could not find the oxen. Yun Feng explained that he had already moved the animals and cleared nearby beasts, and Roland apologized before turning to distribute the tools.

• Marcus used a Battle Technique to order everyone except the elderly, weak, sick, disabled, and pregnant to assemble north of Flowing City.
• Roland and Caslo organized the crowd and had the Knights control the lines as residents began leaving the city.
• Kili arrived with the dwarves’ farming tools, and Roland asked about the curved-shaft plows and the fifty oxen.
• Roland grabbed Yun Feng and demanded to know where the oxen were, then Yun Feng escaped with Flash and explained that he had sent light infantry to move them and clear nearby wild beasts.
• Roland apologized to Yun Feng and redirected attention to distributing the farming tools.

Roland organized civilians, soldiers, and priests for spring reclamation in Middle-earth, while dealing with the unruly Dragon of the Elves. The first hoe struck the soil, beginning the plowing.

• Roland directed Lance and Yun Feng to distribute equipment and harness plows, then ordered the Lothlórien Rangers to protect the civilians.
• Ivy joined the expedition with several priests, and Roland told Caslo to assign soldiers to guard them.
• At the reclamation area, Roland asked Reno to send out mounted scouts and check for danger within ten kilometers.
• Roland restrained Smurf with a magical rope after she struggled and unleashed her Dragon Might, and she failed to bite through it.
• A civilian from Flowing City drove the first hoe into Middle-earth's soil, beginning spring plowing.

Roland inspected Flowing City and worried that food shortages would force him to open trade routes before the city was ready. A commotion among the civilians revealed a goblin, leaving its arrival unexplained.

• Roland ordered the civilians to rest and eat after working to reclaim farmland.
• Roland checked Flowing City's status and noted its growing population, available infantry recruits, and shortage of alcohol and food.
• Roland told Lance that Flowing City could run out of food within half a month and asked whether he should open trade routes.
• A crowd gathered around a small green-skinned figure identified as a goblin.
• A knight pushed through the crowd and asked what had happened.

Roland questioned Jessiava, a goblin found in his territory, and recognized that the goblin race had once possessed a glorious civilization. When Roland mentioned the lost goblin empire, Jessiava reacted with shock and anger, leaving Roland to reflect on an old legend.

• A knight reported to Roland that his men had found a goblin in the fields, and Roland ordered the creature brought in for questioning.
• Jessiava greeted Roland with an elegant noble's salute, surprising Caslo, Lance, and Reno.
• Roland asked Jessiava why he had entered the territory, and Jessiava said he had wandered south from Flowing City to earn food.
• When Caslo accused Jessiava of theft, Roland recognized that the goblin's unusual composure suggested he was no ordinary goblin.
• Roland spoke of the goblin empire's former glory, and Jessiava demanded to know how he knew before angrily declaring that humans could not regain the goblin race's trust.
• Roland recalled a game legend and wondered whether it had been true.

Jessiava explained how the Goblin Empire was devastated after elves and humans drew it into wars and abandoned it. He described the empire's final collapse, but left Roland without an explanation of what happened after its retreat from Mordor.

• Jessiava insulted Valfay, who drew his sword before elven soldiers restrained him.
• Roland threatened to execute Jessiava unless he explained why he had come, and Jessiava asked to speak privately.
• Roland agreed, while Yun Feng cast spells to protect him, and Jessiava recounted how the elves' promise of land drew the goblins into the War of Wrath, where their alchemists were massacred.
• Jessiava said the Goblin Empire later joined the War of the Last Alliance at the urging of human lords, attacked Mordor, and suffered heavy losses when the coalition failed to advance.
• Jessiava described the goblins' retreat, Sauron's pursuit, and the Nine-headed Chimeras and Demon Wyvern Knights that turned the empire into a living hell.

Jessiava revealed that he was the Goblin King, seeking Gondor’s help to restore his people, but he had lost his attendants and had no money. Roland offered to escort him in exchange for the goblins’ preserved alchemical research and recipes.

• Jessiava told Roland that Gondor had betrayed the goblins’ ancestors and that a curse threatened its royal bloodline until the old promise was fulfilled.
• Jessiava used the Goblin Secret Key to prove his identity as the Goblin King and explained that orcs had killed his attendants during the journey.
• Roland realized his group had accidentally dug Jessiava out of his hiding place, then tried to find a way to benefit from the goblin’s arrival.
• Yun Feng urged Roland to obtain the goblins’ alchemical knowledge, saying it could support an empire’s alchemical technology.
• Roland offered to send heavy cavalry to escort Jessiava to Gondor in exchange for alchemy results and recipes, and Jessiava accepted.

Roland secured a deal with Jessiava, the Goblin King, who handed over a ring containing goblin alchemical knowledge in exchange for an escort to Gondor. Yun Feng discovered the ring held forbidden-spell scroll formulas and magical equipment blueprints, leaving Roland eager to protect Jessiava and exploit the trove.

• Roland had Yun Feng prepare a Magic Contract and ordered Baron Lance to escort Jessiava safely to Gondor with one hundred heavy cavalry.
• Jessiava signed the contract, gave Roland his ring of goblin knowledge, and asked for a place to rest.
• Yun Feng examined the ring and found extensive alchemical records, including more than a hundred methods for making scrolls that could automatically form forbidden spells.
• Roland learned that the ring also held magical equipment blueprints and noted that missing materials limited the forbidden-spell scroll formulas.
• Roland decided to send fifty Lothlórien Rangers with Jessiava to strengthen his protection.

Roland prepared Lance to lead an expedition escorting Goblin King Jessiava and carrying a diplomatic letter to Gondor, hoping to secure southern allies against Mordor. Lance planned a route through the Woodland Realm, while Roland remained concerned about threats to Flowing City and promised Valfay land for the Grassland Elves.

• Roland told Lance to contact Gondor's Chancellor Turgon, deliver a letter, and bring magic scrolls as gifts while escorting Goblin King Jessiava.
• Roland and his commanders worried that the Eastern Yi could attack across open terrain, leaving Flowing City with too few soldiers to patrol the vast region.
• Lance proposed crossing Mirkwood by way of the Woodland Realm, then traveling down the Anduin River by boat to Gondor; Roland approved his departure the following morning.
• Roland urged Lance to establish contact with the southern kingdoms and declared that the Lagrange Kingdom's fame would begin with the mission.
• Valfay reminded Roland of his promise to help the Grassland Elves establish a kingdom, but chose to remain in Flowing City for its free food and lodging.

Baron Lance injured his foot with his own armor, and Ivy healed him before he led Jessiava’s party toward Gondor. Their journey through the woods stopped when a ranger spotted a pegasus, and Lance went to look at it.

• Lance dropped his breastplate onto his foot and mangled it, so Ivy healed the injury with Dawn's Baptism.
• Lance prepared to leave with Jessiava and his heavy cavalry, quietly departing while Roland and the others worked in the fields.
• Jessiava insisted that the Five-Pointed Treasure Seeking Disk was guiding them along the right route as the party struggled through the woods.
• A ranger spotted a pegasus, and Lance ordered the party to stay still while he went to see it.

Lance led an attempt to capture a herd of Gale Pegasi, but they escaped by taking off without a running start. He abandoned the failed hunt and continued with his group to find a dry place to camp.

• Lance spotted six Gale Pegasi grazing in a forest clearing and organized his soldiers to surround them with bolas.
• Lance and his men sprang their ambush, ensnaring four Gale Pegasi as the herd fled.
• The captured pegasi spread their wings and flew away, leaving Lance and his soldiers stunned.
• Lance gave up the capture attempt, and Jessiava comforted him when he returned empty-handed.
• Lance ordered the group to continue their journey and find a dry place to camp before the expected rain.

Lance’s camp was attacked at night by a pack of Ghost Wolves that could resist physical attacks, but he and the Lothlórien Rangers defeated them using fire, Battle Qi, and disciplined formations. After the battle, the Rangers reported that all sixty-seven wolves were dead and delivered their magic crystals to Lance.

• Lance arranged the camp’s defenses and reassured the nervous Jessiava before the soldiers settled in for the night.
• Ghost Wolves attacked the camp, and Lance ordered the Rangers into the trees while the heavy cavalry formed up by the campfires.
• The Rangers’ Battle Qi arrows had little effect after the wolves activated their immunity to physical damage.
• Lance ordered the cavalry to light torches, forcing the Ghost Wolves out of their ghostly state so the soldiers and Rangers could kill them.
• A Lothlórien Ranger reported that the group had killed sixty-seven Ghost Wolves and handed Lance their magic crystals.

In Flowing City, Roland worried about Lance and his companions before turning his attention to breakfast and the Lagrange chefs’ bizarre dishes. He escaped the dreaded fermented raw caviar for now, though the chefs’ extravagant cuisine still made him wary of future meals.

• Roland worried that Lance and the others had been away for days, while Caslo and Reno reassured him that they were likely safe.
• Roland warned the staff not to serve him the fermented raw caviar again after it had made him vomit twice.
• Roland recalled the chefs’ other bizarre creations, including elaborate stuffed roasts and raw wild-boar intestine sashimi, which had once driven him to flip a table.
• Roland described how the master chefs’ unusual dishes had made him ask about the menu before every meal, while most people opposed returning to the previous cooks.
• Someone told Roland that breakfast would be vegetable porridge, baked white bread, cured meat, and an egg, and he relaxed at the ordinary menu.