Recaps

Viscount Iron Tower prepared to defend his mountain fortress while arranging for his son Aidan and General Kota to escape. After receiving intelligence that more than twenty thousand Dwarves remained in the city, Velin and his officers planned an assault and siege.

• Viscount Iron Tower ordered Aidan to leave the city with General Kota and preserve the Iron Tower family name.
• Viscount Iron Tower asked Kota to protect Aidan, and Kota promised to do so.
• Kota and Aidan led two thousand soldiers out through the underground passages toward West Hill Province.
• Velin received reports that more than twenty thousand Dwarves were hiding in Iron Tower Mountain and preparing to resist.
• Moncas, Viscount Algenon, and Olcott proposed breaching the defenses, cutting off water, destroying outside tunnels, and besieging the city.
• Velin assigned Moncas and Olcott's troops to lead the assault, with Magic Energy Cannon support and Lord Grev's assistance.

Moncas’s army spent five days building siege engines before attacking Iron Tower City with Magic Energy Cannons and a mass assault. Grev killed Viscount Iron Tower, but the Dwarf defenders continued fighting and withdrew into the tunnels.

• Moncas’s forces constructed six basic siege engines while the Dwarves watched from Iron Tower City’s walls.
• Viscount Iron Tower ordered extra food and wine for the defenders, then prepared to resist the Human attack.
• Magic Energy Cannons battered the city as Moncas’s troops advanced, and Viscount Iron Tower ordered three thousand Dwarves to remain on the walls at all times.
• The Human Army pushed its six siege engines to the walls at the cost of more than four hundred soldiers, then sent two thousand troops up to attack.
• Grev beheaded Viscount Iron Tower and the Dwarves guarding his platform, then threw the Viscount’s head onto the walls.
• The Viscount’s death weakened Dwarf morale, but his officers kept fighting and retreated with their soldiers into the tunnels.

Moncas's army captured and burned Iron Tower City, while Velin managed the campaign's reports, supplies, and surrounding raids. By early September, hunger drove more dwarves to surrender, and Cassius imprisoned them for sale to slave traders.

• After eight hours of fighting, Moncas's army captured Iron Tower City's outer perimeter, and Olcott burned the city, killing thousands of dwarves in its tunnels.
• Velin prepared battle reports and a supply request, then divided the 135th Legion into groups to besiege Iron Tower City and raid nearby dwarf settlements.
• Velin ordered the nobles not to slaughter dwarf civilians and instructed Cassius to manage surrenders, water sources, and clear accounts of any sales to the Slave Guild.
• Slave Guilds entered Xigas Province as the Ironforge Mountain Dwarf Kingdom fought simultaneous wars against the Ilia and Bashio Kingdoms.
• By early September, hungry dwarves began surrendering from Iron Tower City's tunnels, and Cassius imprisoned the surrendered soldiers and sold them to slave traders.

Velin received orders to move his legion to the border and learned through the Guidance of Fate that an Undead Calamity would erupt in West Hill Province six months later. He secretly sent a coded warning to his Third Uncle as an undead force prepared to rise across the province.

• After the Ilia Kingdom adjusted its forces and Velin received orders to garrison three cities by October 20, he summoned his troops back from their looting.
• While discussing the war with Kyle, Velin received a warning that an Undead Calamity would erupt in West Hill Province in six months.
• Velin decided to warn his Third Uncle and sent a coded letter with six guards to Staff Officer Bamund at the Twenty-seventh Legion Command Department.
• In an abandoned mine, a Black Robe Skeleton reported to a Dark Knight that 837 mines and more than eight million undead across West Hill Province were ready.

The Dark Knight ordered the undead to consume the transformed demons, while Velin’s forces took up defensive positions in three cities. After learning of a predicted Undead Calamity, Bamund tried to alert Earl Hurricane and halt plans to cross the Misty River, as Velin saw the devastation left in Stone Mountain City.

• The Dark Knight decided the eight generals should devour the transformed demons and consumed skeleton souls to calm his agitation.
• On October 10, Velin, Moncas, and Algenon took command of garrisons in Stone Mountain City, Stone Tree City, and Many Iron City, with orders not to cross the Misty River.
• Bamund received his nephew’s warning that an Undead Calamity would strike West Hill Province in six months and reconsidered the planned attack across the river.
• Bamund sent the warning and his command token to Earl Hurricane, asking that Velin’s role remain private to protect him from retaliation.
• Velin and Kyle surveyed Stone Mountain City, where most Dwarves had been killed or sold and fewer than ten thousand remained.

Velin’s forces uncovered a Dwarf Resistance Army hideout in Stone Mountain City, while Earl Hurricane Iorisis investigated a separate threat and secured orders restricting the 135th Legion. The chapter ended with Velin relieved that his Third Uncle had prevented the legion from entering West Hill Province.

• Velin had Kyle pay a one-armed Dwarf vendor for a wooden hammer and secretly follow him to uncover the Dwarf Resistance Army.
• The soldiers raided the one-eyed Dwarf’s hideout, killed him, and arrested more than four hundred Dwarves, who were sent to slave traders.
• After the raid, the remaining Dwarves hid in their homes and stopped wandering Stone Mountain City.
• Iorisis read Bamund’s letter and asked Bishop Kaden to investigate the matter, then urged Alfred Silvis to keep troops from crossing the Misty River into West Hill Province.
• Six days later, Velin received an order forbidding the 135th Legion from entering West Hill Province and credited his Third Uncle for the restriction.

Kaden discovered that the Bone Flower Council’s undead were active in West Hill Province and reported the danger by returning to the Sixth Commander's Department. The human army then abandoned northern Xigas Province, leaving the Dwarves to occupy it as the undead operation moved closer.

• Kaden found a sealing barrier in Cavern No. 33, exposed his presence, and alerted the undead at a distance.
• The Dark Knight learned that a priest of the Goddess of Life had found the barrier and ordered the operation to begin in three days.
• Kaden destroyed ten thousand undead in Cavern No. 33, found a Bone Flower Council symbol, and fled West Hill Province with the evidence.
• Velin received orders to evacuate Stone Mountain City, Many Iron City, and Stone Tree City, and the human legions retreated from northern Xigas Province.
• Jed Ironforge sent thirty thousand Dwarves across the Misty River to take over northern Xigas Province, while Burborn Silvis felt helpless about the retreat order from his uncle.

Governor Jed Ironfurnace and Duke Hador witnessed an Undead Calamity engulfing West Hill Province while the Dark Knight and Black Robe Skeleton searched beneath a town for a powerful artifact. They recovered the Triangular Black Crystal and prepared to leave with the Dark Knight’s Black Knights.

• Jed Ironfurnace saw the gray-black mist spread across the Misty River and ordered the army to rescue troops and supplies, abandoning West Hill Province’s civilians.
• Duke Hador recognized the Death Mist and waited for other Dwarven Legendaries rather than risk entering it alone.
• The Black Robe Skeleton located the item underground, and the Dark Knight corroded the town and dug down to reach it.
• The Black Robe Skeleton used a drop of black-energy blood to dissolve the radiant barrier, triggering a vast collapse and a pillar of dark light.
• The Black Robe Skeleton collected the Triangular Black Crystal in a specially made container and prepared a one-use Teleportation Array.
• The Dark Knight waited for the Black Knights, stored more than a thousand of them in his Dark Space, and signaled that they were ready to leave.

After the undead vanished from West Hill Province, the dwarf army was trapped in Xigas Province by advancing human forces and planned to retreat in two directions. Velin’s 135th Legion moved to block their route at Dwarf Stone Pass and prepared to attack the crossing from the west bank.

• Eight dwarf legends arrived in West Hill Province, discovered there were no legendary undead, and vented their anger by violently destroying the land.
• The Twenty-seventh Legion resumed its advance, while the Twenty-eighth Legion blocked the dwarf army’s retreat toward Duke Hador's Territory.
• Jed Ironfurnace rejected a proposal to retreat to West Hill Province and decided to split the army, sending Andra and three thousand soldiers north by boat while leading the rest south toward Gray Mang Wasteland.
• Jed Ironfurnace ordered the dwarf nobles to each provide one thousand soldiers for a fifteen-thousand-strong vanguard, and they agreed after he promised to contribute three thousand of his own troops.
• Velin ordered the 135th Legion to cross the Misty River and establish defenses on the west bank of Dwarf Stone Pass, then told Kyle to have Cassius destroy anything on the east bank that could be used to build boats.

Jed led the exhausted Dwarf army to the Misty River, where Velin’s forces prepared to stop their escape. The Dwarves began crossing under heavy arrow fire, leaving their fate unresolved.

• Jed ordered five thousand Dwarves to form a vanguard for the crossing at Dwarf Stone Pass.
• Velin learned that a Soul Intent Iron Hammer Warrior had broken through Rassel’s 134th Legion and ordered his forces to prepare for the Dwarves’ arrival.
• Jed sent Dwarf soldiers into the Misty River with ropes attached to iron chains to guide the army across.
• Velin’s archers fired on the crossing Dwarves, killing hundreds and turning the river red with blood.
• The Dwarf soldiers cut the ropes of fallen comrades and continued toward the West Bank despite their sinking morale.

Jed Ironfurnace led the Dwarves across the river and attacked the Human forces, while Velin’s army tried to contain the crossing. By nightfall, the Humans had stopped many Dwarves but about ten thousand escaped, and Velin ordered the battlefield cleaned up.

• Jed Ironfurnace crossed the river under armor and killed hundreds of archers on the East Bank, allowing the Dwarves to seize the shore and cross in force.
• Velin called on Grev to confront Jed, while Human commanders ordered Orlando’s knights and Viscount Moncas’s troops into action.
• Orlando and Hebrew led four hundred knights in a charge that broke through a Dwarven vanguard, while Grev held off a Dwarven Gold Warrior.
• Velin redeployed the 135th Legion to destroy larger groups of Dwarves, but about ten thousand Dwarven troops broke through the encirclement by nightfall.
• Jed forced Grev back and escaped, after which Orlando and Hebrew presented Velin with three Gold-grade Dwarven heads.
• Velin gave the Orlando brothers Glowing Wine and ordered Cassius and Star Prayer Camp to gather allied dead and collect Dwarven heads for War Merit.

After the 135th Legion’s costly victory at Dwarf Stone Pass, Velin received commendations and a new order to clear the Dwarf Resistance Army from the Cave Hills. He also learned from Bamond’s secret letter that his family had secured him additional Battle Merits for his earlier actions.

• The casualty report recorded heavy losses for the 135th Legion and 16,472 recoverable dwarven corpses, including six dead Gold-grade dwarves.
• Madmonk praised Velin’s performance, promised reinforcements, and said the 135th Legion’s results merited at least sixteen Battle Merits.
• Velin received eighteen Battle Merits for the legion, three for his command, and twelve for the four Gold-grade dwarven heads, bringing his personal total from the battle to sixteen.
• Velin read Bamond’s secret letter, which credited him with thirty additional Battle Merits for saving the 6th Commander Department from major losses, then burned the letter.
• The Twenty-seventh Legion ordered Velin to take the 135th Legion to the Cave Hills and eliminate the Dwarf Resistance Army threatening the supply route.
• Viscount Auric celebrated earning five Battle Merits in the battle and told his son that their family’s sacrifices had been worthwhile.

Velin reorganized the reinforcements and continued the march with the 135th Legion, which reached the devastated Cave Hills. He inspected the ruined mining region and identified the mark of a massive spell cast by another legion.

• After three days of rest, Velin led the army toward Cave Hills and passed through largely deserted Dwarf settlements.
• At Iron Tower City, Kyle reported that the legion had received 5,500 mostly inexperienced reinforcements and supplies.
• Velin let the viscounts and Barons select soldiers for their forces, then assigned the remaining 2,500 to a ration-transport battalion under Viscount Edgar, with Cassius organizing it.
• After resting for three hours, the legion resumed its march and arrived at Cave Hills five days later with 55,000 troops.
• Velin surveyed the barren Cave Hills and told Kyle that the vast pit had likely been created by the 128th Legion's mages casting Flame Storm.

Velin questioned why the 128th Legion had devastated the Cave Hills and learned that a Dwarf Resistance Army was hiding there. After Kyle reminded him that the mission was to keep supply routes open rather than destroy the resistance outright, Velin organized a blockade and escorts, leaving the army ready to put the plan into action.

• Kyle estimated the size of the crater and questioned why the 128th Legion had used so much magical power away from the main battlefield.
• Velin ordered Viscount Monsk to send scouts into the mountains and told his troops to camp where they were.
• General Madir rallied the Dwarf Resistance Army’s Gold-grade leaders, arguing that they could hold the Cave Hills against the larger Human Army.
• Velin studied the previous legions’ reports for three days before Kyle pointed out that the mission’s priority was keeping supply routes open.
• Velin proposed blocking the Cave Hills’ perimeter, using Elite Forces as a Mobile Force, and escorting the Logistics Unit through the area; the eight viscounts agreed.
• Velin assigned battalions to defend three perimeter zones, formed a Mobile Force of more than fourteen thousand men, and allocated about thirteen thousand five hundred to escort the Logistics Unit.

The 135th Legion prepared to leave the Cave Hills after months of quiet garrison duty, while news from the northern front revealed heavy losses for the 19th Legion. Velin handed over the region to Larot Simisis’s 143rd Legion, shared his legion’s methods and rations, and marched toward a new assignment.

• Dwarf General Madil refused to lower combat readiness despite pressure from his officers, then smashed the conference table and ordered wine.
• The 127th Legion and 129th Legion defeated dwarf forces, captured over twenty thousand soldiers, and opened a route into Hagar Province.
• Velin received orders to hand over the Cave Hills to the 143rd Legion and march to the border of Xigas Province, Latro Province, and Duke Hador’s territory.
• Larot Simisis told Velin that the 19th Legion had been ambushed and lost more than eighty thousand men, including nearly twenty thousand from his own legion.
• Velin shared his legion’s methods and left half its military rations for Larot’s exhausted troops before departing.
• Larot and Lyleit discussed Velin’s status as Earl Eagle Angus’s fifth son and the powerful figures accompanying him.

Velin received a secret mission to find an ancient Moon Elf Magic Puppet Legion hidden beneath Fire Tree Valley, then spent three months searching Fire Tree Plain without success. Guidance of Fate finally revealed a clue beneath a decayed tree thirteen kilometers away, and Velin led his troops toward it before dawn.

• Ryanlis delivered Velin the Sixth Commander's Department's order, which revealed that an Ancient Magic Puppet Legion was hidden beneath Fire Tree Valley.
• Velin assigned most of the 135th Legion to garrison and supply duties, keeping a small force of knights and loyal guards for the search.
• Velin led more than four hundred knights on a three-month patrol of Fire Tree Plain but found no entrance.
• After Kyle suggested the object might not be there, Velin received a Guidance of Fate message identifying a decayed tree thirteen kilometers away.
• Velin gathered the troops before dawn and set out to investigate the location.

Velin’s teams searched the forest beneath dead trees and uncovered six mysterious artifacts, prompting him to summon a master mage to investigate. Earl Hurricane arrived with reinforcements, agreed to support Velin’s future plans, and ordered two Gold Warriors to protect Velin’s forces.

• Velin divided more than four hundred knights into search teams, and Kyle joined the hunt for clues beneath dead trees.
• Velin sorted the recovered relics and selected six that emitted a mysterious glow.
• Velin sent Ryanlis to request a learned master mage from Lord Iorisis, and Ryanlis returned with Lord Brent and Earl Hurricane.
• Brent identified the Broken Sword as Moon Elf craftsmanship and began examining the artifacts in Velin’s tent.
• Velin asked Earl Hurricane to support a major undertaking he planned after the war, and Iorisis agreed to help persuade the family’s other earls.
• Earl Hurricane ordered Rogue and House to lead their men to Velin’s camp and protect the area.

Brent assembled an ancient magic instrument, and the commanders’ efforts to activate it led to a major troop buildup at Fire Tree Plain. Velin’s legion was reassigned to Leica City as the northern war worsened and Ilia shifted from offense to defense.

• Brent pieced together eighteen artifacts into an ancient magic instrument, and the commanders devised eight ways to test it.
• Velin’s 135th Legion moved its camp thirty kilometers away while the 126th Legion took over the encampment.
• After more than ten legions gathered at Fire Tree Plain, Velin’s legion was ordered to garrison Leica City, where he camped outside the ruined city.
• The Bashio Kingdom lost two more provinces after a disastrous retreat, bringing its lost territory to six provinces.
• The Ilia Kingdom withdrew nearly a million troops from three provinces and shifted to defense, while the dwarves’ morale rose but their army remained passive.

After months of quiet garrison duty, Velin received orders to defend Black Forest Fortress against a Dwarf army and hurriedly prepared the stronghold for battle. By the end, the fortress had been reinforced and manned, while the enemy's arrival remained ahead.

• In December 9733, Alfred Silvis, Iorisis, Alex Simisis, and Asad Lightend discussed the war and Velin's possible marriage to Xuemiyya Silvis.
• On January 15, 9734, Velin received a new order from the Twenty-seventh Legion and summoned his eight Viscounts.
• Velin read the order sending the 135th Legion to Black Forest Fortress to block the Dwarf army advancing from Hagall Province.
• The 135th Legion marched to the fortress, where Velin assigned scouts, cleared nearby vegetation, gathered logs, and ordered a moat dug.
• Within ten days, Velin had strengthened the fortress with ballistas and Magic Energy Cannons and set minimum troop levels for its walls.

Velin learned that the Dwarf army was advancing toward Black Forest Fortress after defeating Ilian forces, so he secretly requested reinforcements from Earl Hurricane by claiming to have found a clue to ancient ruins. Earl Hurricane recognized the disguised plea and sent Shirley Ex and three others to Black Forest Fortress.

• Bruce Ironfurnace led a large Dwarf army south, and its vanguard defeated two Ilian legions in Denchibi Province.
• Velin and Kyle worried that the Dwarf forces might concentrate on Black Forest Fortress, so Velin wrote Earl Hurricane a coded request for reinforcements.
• Earl Hurricane suspected Velin was using the ancient-ruins claim to ask for help and summoned his daughter Shirley Ex.
• Earl Hurricane ordered Shirley Ex to take Gorina, Mideen, and Garcia to Black Forest Fortress.

Velin welcomed Earl Hurricane’s reinforcements at Black Forest Fortress and kept the location of a dangerous Outer Space ruin secret. On April 10, conflicting scout reports revealed that a large Dwarven force was approaching the fortress, but Velin could not determine its size.

• Velin reassured Gorina and the other Soul Intent experts that he held no grudge against Shirley Ex, then gave them silver dragon scales as gifts.
• Gorina briefly transformed after handling the scales, revealing her giant dragon blood, before Garcia brought her back to herself.
• The Fifth Commander Department’s feigned defeat stirred Bruce Iron Furnace and pressured Naslu Black Hammer to summon his generals and nobles.
• Velin received a Guidance of Fate hint about a sealed Outer Space ruin near the fortress and chose not to tell anyone about it.
• On April 10, Velin reviewed contradictory reports from six outposts and found that he could not tell how many Dwarven soldiers were advancing.

Velin prepared Black Forest Fortress for an invasion by Marquis Dalag’s eighty-thousand-strong Dwarf army. On April 27, the Dwarves began their assault on the northern wall, and Karak led the first wave up newly formed siege ramps.

• Kyle confirmed that Marquis Dalag commanded eighty thousand Dwarves advancing toward Black Forest Fortress, and Velin placed the fortress under a state of war.
• Marquis Dalag sent Karak’s goat riders to destroy human outposts and ordered Moximi’s unit to scout for ambushes and traps, while Velin withdrew the remaining defenders.
• Three days later, the Dwarf army encamped six kilometers from the fortress, and Velin inspected the walls and adjusted the defenses.
• On April 27, Velin ordered the fortress’s cannons, crossbows, and archers to attack as Karak advanced with twelve Siege Engines and the Dwarves exchanged ranged fire with the defenders.
• The Siege Engines absorbed nearby material to form twelve ramps against the northern wall, and Marquis Dalag ordered Karak to lead the first assault as the human infantry formed ranks to meet them.

The Dwarves launched their first assault on Black Forest Fortress, where Velin’s defenders held the wall through a brutal battle. After two weeks of rebuilding and preparation, Velin received an order from the Sixth Commander’s Department that signaled an end to his city defense.

• Marquis Dalag sent a second wave of ten thousand Dwarves toward the fortress and dispatched Haider and Faisal to fight Shirley and Gorina.
• The Dwarves called a ceasefire at night, and Shirley destroyed all twelve siege ramps after returning to the wall.
• Velin read Kyle’s casualty report, which recorded heavy losses for both armies and 664 Star Prayer Camp soldiers lost so far.
• For the next half month, the Dwarves gathered materials and trained elite troops while Velin repaired the fortress and reforged weapons.
• On May 10, Velin received an order from the Sixth Commander’s Department to the 135th Legion.

The Dwarves launched a second siege of Black Forest Fortress with Rune Cannons powered by enslaved people, whose scarlet shots spread deadly slime across the walls. After Marquis Darag recognized the weapons’ evil nature, he ordered the Cave Dwarves killed and the towers burned, ending the assault before it began.

• On May 15, Velin ordered the Magic Energy Cannons moved into the fortress towers and reduced the number of soldiers on the walls as Marquis Darag advanced with forty thousand Dwarves.
• Count Moximi led the assault formation while Cave Dwarves powered eighteen Rune Cannons with enslaved people.
• The Rune Cannons fired scarlet shells that coated the walls in resentment-filled slime, burning soldiers who were struck.
• Kyle identified the slime as the resentment of intelligent beings, and Karak urged Marquis Darag not to use the weapons.
• Marquis Darag ordered Karak to execute five hundred Cave Dwarves, take away three hundred slaves, burn the mobile towers, and withdraw the army.
• The Dwarves retreated to camp, ending the second siege; Black Forest Fortress lost 236 soldiers, while five hundred Cave Dwarves were killed.

Marquis Dalag was removed from command and sent to serve as a temple guard after a church purge devastated the Dwarf army. As Isia's forces encircled the Dwarves in Dengxibi Province, Governor Barisan Bruce Ironforge split his remnant army and led a decoy force toward Black Forest Fortress, where the Hurricane Legion was waiting.

• A high priest's Alignment Check led to Dalag's dismissal, the appointment of Earl Moximi Ash as commander, and the execution of Dwarf nobles, officers, and soldiers.
• Haider advised Moximi and the Dwarf commanders to hold their positions, while Velin chose not to risk a surprise attack.
• King Kailam Ironforge ordered troops to relieve the encircled army, reinforce threatened provinces, and pressure Isia from the west.
• Governor Barisan Bruce Ironforge and General Hok agreed to split their more than thirty thousand surviving troops, with Bruce drawing the humans toward Black Forest Fortress.
• Bruce led ten thousand older Dwarf Warriors toward Black Forest Fortress under his banner, while Hok later took the other twenty thousand toward Grey Mountain.
• A complete Hurricane Legion waited for Bruce's force 150 kilometers from Black Forest Fortress.