Recaps

Velin defeated Brandon’s forces, captured him and his knights, and used Life Potion to treat his wounded soldiers. As Brandon’s family prepared to negotiate his ransom, Velin played chess with his prisoner and left the ransom terms unresolved.

• Velin defeated Brandon after misleading intelligence left the baron’s forces unprepared, and the surviving enemy soldiers surrendered.
• Belder reported Velin’s casualties and the prisoners taken; Velin assigned the captured serfs to castle construction and farming and offered Brandon’s family a chance to negotiate his ransom.
• Velin gave diluted Life Potion to the wounded, and Belder saw the severely injured soldiers begin to recover.
• Brandon’s wife ordered the Barony of Klevland locked down and summoned its remaining knights while preparing to redeem her husband and the other captured knights.
• Velin told Brandon that the ransom would depend on the prisoners’ standing in their territory, then won their chess game and left Brandon reflecting on his life.

Velin negotiated Brandon’s ransom with the Barony of Klevland, then returned to Lake of Star Prayer with the payment and prisoners as tensions with neighboring territories grew. After assigning the newcomers to military training and construction work, Velin learned that the craftsmen had completed their task.

• Velin demanded a large ransom from Brandon’s wife, who eventually signed a contract requiring the Barony of Klevland to deliver serfs, Gold Coins, grain, and oxen.
• Velin rejected Belder’s suggestion to poison Brandon and said he had a plan to deal with the neighboring territories’ alliance.
• Velin sent a letter to his cousin Brian in Ridge Territory, and Brandon returned to the Barony of Klevland after the ransom exchange went smoothly.
• Velin brought more than a thousand people and supplies to Lake of Star Prayer, assigning some to military training, castle construction, and work on the land.
• Orlando told Velin that the craftsmen had completed the task he had given them, and Velin hurried to see their work.

Velin tested the Three-Bow Ballista, freed the craftsmen, and ordered them to produce more weapons for his coming battle with Brandon. Meanwhile, Brandon recruited three neighboring lords with a promise of rich iron ore and prepared to attack Velin again.

• Velin tested the Three-Bow Ballista, saw it pierce three targets at long range, and learned that a team of four could build one in six days.
• Velin abolished the craftsmen’s slave status and promised rewards if they produced twenty ballistas within a week.
• Velin revised his battle plan, confident that the ballistas would help him defeat Brandon’s next attack.
• Brian gathered Ridge Territory’s troops and took eighty percent of its army to support his cousin.
• Brandon met with Violet, Caisley, and Barry, offered them most of the profits from an iron-rich site, and used Caisley’s Lie Detection Magic to prove his claim.

Velin welcomed his cousin Brian and Adrian, Brian’s Guardian Knight, then planned an ambush against the four territories preparing to attack his iron mine. As the allied army advanced toward the mine, Brandon grew suspicious and ordered his troops to slow down.

• Brian arrived at Lake of Star Prayer with fifty Bronze Knights, two hundred Knight Squires, and six hundred elite warriors, and Velin welcomed him.
• Velin explained his plan to Adrian: three hundred infantry and fifteen Bronze Knights would draw the enemy’s attention while Brian’s forces struck the flank and rear.
• Orlando reported that six recently purchased serfs had tried to escape, and Velin ordered them demoted and sent to the Salt Mine after the war.
• The four lords assembled a force of sixty Bronze Knights, three hundred Knight Squires, one thousand warriors, and three thousand serfs to attack the mine.
• Brandon, unsettled that his spies had not returned, ordered his five hundred troops to slow down as Violet led the allied army toward the mine.

Velin lured Violet’s forces into a battle and used hidden Mithril-speared Three-Bow Ballistae to devastate their cavalry before they reached his lines. As Violet and Velin fought, Brian’s cavalry attacked from the flank, while Barry’s force prepared to meet the charge and Brandon retreated after seeing the signal.

• Velin deployed his troops while Brian moved three kilometers to the flank, and Violet advanced after Cesley found no traps ahead.
• Violet ordered a cavalry charge, but Velin’s hidden Three-Bow Ballistae fired three volleys of Mithril Spears and killed or wounded dozens of knights and squires.
• Velin’s Slave Soldiers closed ranks to meet the charge, and Violet fought through them toward Velin as the two leaders clashed.
• Belder fired a signal flare, prompting Brian to charge with his knights while Adrian followed with elite warriors; Brandon saw the signal and ordered his force to retreat.
• Barry spotted Brian’s approach and called it an ambush, while Cesley raised a wall before collapsing from exhaustion.
• Barry rallied his three hundred warriors, ordering the shield-bearers to defend the Barks Family as Brian’s cavalry bore down on them.

Brian and Velin defeated the opposing forces in the Second Ore War, captured three lords, and secured a large ransom. After celebrating, Brian returned to Ridge Territory as mining began at the Mithril Ore mine, while he refused Adrian’s request to investigate Velin’s secrets.

• Brian led his knights in a charge that broke the enemy formation, and Adrian’s six hundred elite warriors helped capture the command post and force Cesley’s surrender.
• Brian joined Velin and quickly subdued Violet, then the victors discovered that Brandon had escaped.
• Velin arranged for prisoners to be released after negotiations, and six days later received a substantial ransom and divided the spoils with Brian.
• Velin held a victory banquet on July 31, and Brian left for Ridge Territory the following morning as excavation of the Mithril Ore mine began.
• Adrian asked Brian why he would not investigate Velin’s territory, but Brian told him to stop probing and invited him to celebrate instead.

Velin organized his territory’s forces and resources after two battles, then prepared to capture a herd of Azure Purple Horses guarded by a Silver Low-Tier Centaur. After surveying the herd’s route, he realized he needed to find suitable bait to draw the Centaur away from the horses.

• Velin learned that Centaurs would herd Azure Purple Horses west of Lake of Praying Stars in fifteen days and decided to capture them despite the Silver Low-Tier Centaur.
• Belder, Andrew, Knight Landov, and Knight Greg reported the territory’s population, production, construction, and supplies at the monthly meeting.
• Velin ordered Belder to reorganize the army into infantry and archer companies, instructed the knights to continue their assigned work, and placed the warhorses under Hebrew’s management to help train Knight Squires.
• Orlando told Velin that seventeen of one hundred youths had met the training standards and that he was nearing High-Bronze Tier.
• Two days later, Velin surveyed the Centaurs’ route with two knights and found the terrain unsuitable for an ambush, so he set out to look for a way to lure the Silver Low-Tier Centaur away.

Velin lured Ariya’s Centaur patrol into an ambush to seize its herd of Azure Purple Horses. After devastating the Centaurs with Mithril-alloy Spears, he attacked the survivors, who scattered the horses and tried to escape.

• Velin selected a valley as an ambush site and returned to organize his men.
• Belder staged a chase with a blood-soaked knight and a bundle of Mithril, drawing Doris and ten Centaurs away from Ariya and the herd.
• Andrew’s soldiers fired Mithril-alloy Spears from hidden ballistas, killing Doris and most of his squad.
• Belder brought reinforcements and Doris’s head to Velin, who ordered eighty Three-Bow Ballistas to fire on Ariya’s Centaurs.
• Ariya ordered the Centaurs to scatter the Azure Purple Horses and led the survivors in a northwest breakout.

Velin returned to his territory with 137 Azure Purple Horses, while the fleeing Ariya followed him before eventually leaving. Two Mysterious Orbs awakened Orlando and Hebrew’s powers, and Velin began harvesting the territory’s first large crop of Bean Potatoes and Root Vegetables.

• Velin ordered his men to capture the Azure Purple Horses and ignore the fleeing Centaurs, while Ariya hid nearby and vowed revenge for Doris and the lost herd.
• Velin led the captured horses toward Saipruo Province to shake Ariya’s pursuit, then returned to Lake of Star Prayer on August 25 after confirming she had left.
• Two Mysterious Orbs floated toward Orlando and Hebrew, and their Battle Method Cores transformed them into Silver Knights able to contract Knight Squires and form battle formations.
• Velin promised to support Orlando and Hebrew as they built Knight Orders and told them they could choose Knight Squires to contract.
• Velin organized the harvest of 3,000 mu of Bean Potatoes and 2,000 mu of Root Vegetables, which yielded 1.35 million jin and 400,000 jin respectively.
• Velin set the territory’s tax shares and ordered Belder to buy surplus Bean Potatoes and Root Vegetables from the Freemen.

Velin planned to seize a shipment of Mountain Copper escorted by Mountain Dwarves and prepared for the operation by summoning three relatives. Meanwhile, he strengthened his territory and army, issued military pay, and trained in hopes of reaching Silver Knight before the shipment arrived.

• Velin learned that more than two hundred Mountain Dwarves would transport Mountain Copper southwest of Lake of Praying Stars in twenty days, and decided to seize it.
• Velin sent three knights with letters to the territories of three Ex Family members while beginning farmland reclamation, improving weapons, and training his soldiers.
• Velin paid Iden for his battle achievements and military service, and Iden realized he was close to saving enough to start a family.
• Iden read a notice promising a woman to soldiers who turned in ten Gold Coins, prompting soldiers to discuss the benefit and their hopes of marrying.
• Orlando questioned Velin about the notice, and Velin explained that it would motivate the soldiers and circulate money through the economy.
• Velin returned to his cottage to cultivate Battle Qi, aiming to become a Silver Knight before the Mountain Copper operation, while his letters reached the three Ex Family barons.

Velin gathered his relatives at Lake of Star Prayer and planned an ambush on a Mountain Dwarf shipment of Mountain Copper. The allies set out with a plan to disguise their involvement by framing the Centaurs, while the operation risked implicating the Hax Family.

• Olcott agreed to join Velin after Abbott judged the letter credible and pointed out that the raid could earn Olcott the military merit he needed for promotion.
• Brian set out for Lake of Star Prayer with his knights, leaving Adrian to manage Ridge Territory, while Edgar ordered Alick to accompany him there.
• On September 16, Olcott, Edgar, and Brian arrived at Lake of Star Prayer, where Velin showed them a map of the Mountain Dwarves' route and swore his information was true.
• Olcott took command and assigned the knights to stop the High-Silver Warrior, engage the other Silver-ranked Mountain Dwarves, and eliminate the remaining transport personnel without letting anyone escape.
• Velin proposed using Doris's Centaur clan token to frame the Centaurs; Olcott approved the plan and ordered them to remove the token's scent with Deodorizing Potion.
• The group departed Lake of Star Prayer with three hundred and seventy-eight Bronze Knights and fourteen Silver Knights to ambush the Mountain Dwarves and seize the Mountain Copper.

Velin’s forces ambushed and defeated a Mountain Dwarf convoy, then divided the spoils before preparing his territory for the coming Gnoll attack. Guidance of Fate later revealed a Seven-Colored Life Flower beneath Lake of Star Prayer, and Velin learned it could heal injuries, extend life, and improve Magical Talent.

• Olcott, Edgar, Brian, and Velin’s troops ambushed the Mountain Dwarves, killed the convoy’s defenders, and planted a Centaur token as false evidence.
• Olcott, Edgar, Brian, and Velin divided the Mountain Dwarf heads and supplies according to kills and contribution, with Velin receiving ore, livestock, equipment, and heads.
• After the others left Lake of Star Prayer, Velin continued developing his territory and ordered Belder to gather usable resources within ten kilometers and destroy what could not be collected.
• Velin planned to use a scorched-earth strategy to hinder the Gnolls expected to attack in two months.
• Guidance of Fate revealed a Seven-Colored Life Flower growing in a cave beneath Lake of Star Prayer, and Velin read about its restorative properties and ability to improve Magical Talent.

Velin led Orlando and Hebrew to a hidden cave beneath Lake of Praying Stars and harvested twenty-three mature Seven-Colored Life Flowers. After swallowing one, he broke through from Bronze to Silver Low-Tier and then gathered his fourteen Guardian Knights to announce that he would invest in cultivating them.

• Velin, Orlando, and Hebrew entered a hidden cave beneath Lake of Praying Stars and carefully collected twenty-three mature Seven-Colored Life Flowers, leaving the immature plants undisturbed.
• Velin swallowed a Seven-Colored Life Flower and, after an experience lasting about twenty hours, advanced from Bronze to Silver Low-Tier.
• Velin reflected on the requirements for reaching legendary rank and decided to focus on cultivation before worrying about gaining the world's favor.
• Belder informed Velin that the knights had assembled, and Velin went to the meeting room with the box of flowers.
• Velin praised his fourteen Guardian Knights for their loyalty and said he would spare no expense in cultivating them, then revealed the Seven-Colored Life Flowers.

Velin rewarded his knights with Seven-Colored Life Flowers, then organized the territory to recruit and train more fighters as Lake of Star Prayer developed. He inspected the castle construction and learned that the walls and several key facilities were complete, while the weapon repair area and Stable remained under construction.

• Velin gave Seven-Colored Life Flowers to fourteen knights and decided to reserve the eight remaining flowers for loyal and valuable people.
• Belder and the other twelve knights consumed their flowers and became Silver Knights, so Velin authorized them to recruit Knight Squires and offered a magical plant to the knight who trained the most and best Bronze Knights within a year.
• Belder, Andrew, Randolph, Greg, and the remaining knights took charge of patrols, mining, gathering, and other duties as Lake of Star Prayer entered a period of rapid development.
• Velin visited the construction site after Eunice requested his presence and praised her work on the Outer City Wall and inner wall.
• Eunice showed Velin the marked construction plan, which confirmed that the walls, water storage area, granary, and latrines were complete while the weapon repair area and Stable were still being built.

Velin toured the castle construction and ordered a basement before Belder reported that Goblins had revealed an iron mine north of the village. Velin confronted the Goblin spokesman Geli, who continued to insist the mine was real even as Velin threatened him.

• Velin ordered Eunice to finish a basement before continuing the castle’s second construction phase, then toured the completed areas with her.
• Eunice demonstrated a small flame and offered to inscribe magic arrays, but Velin refused to provide her with Magic Materials.
• Velin returned to the village and wondered whether Guidance of Fate would last longer after his rise to Silver Knight.
• Belder told Velin that captured Goblins had revealed an iron mine twelve kilometers north, so Velin rode there with him.
• Geli planned to escape and admitted to himself that he had invented the mine, but he told Velin the mine was real under pressure.
• Velin killed one Goblin while interrogating Geli, who repeated that the iron mine existed, leaving Velin more than halfway convinced.

Velin spared Gry after learning that a hidden Teleportation Array beneath the passage led to the goblins’ underground world, then focused on preparing Lake of Star Prayer for the coming Gnoll attack. At the Mithril Ore mine, Landov encountered two juvenile Rock Lizards whose scales had been strengthened by eating the ore.

• Gry revealed that the passage led to an operating Teleportation Array connecting the surface to Colorado, the Underground World, and Velin spared him.
• Velin ordered the passage sealed and concealed, then resolved to develop his forces and prepare for the Gnoll attack.
• When the Guidance of Fate did not arrive on November 1, Velin suspected its intervals had lengthened and ordered wider patrols and faster Mithril Ore excavation.
• Landov rushed to the mine after monsters injured four mining serfs and found soldiers surrounding two juvenile Rock Lizards.
• Landov attacked a Rock Lizard, discovered its scales were tougher than armor, and suspected the beasts had strengthened them by eating Mithril Ore.

Randolph captured two juvenile Rock Lizards that had mutated after eating Mithril Ore, and Velin considered training them as war beasts. When Eunice tried to tame them, one Rock Lizard unexpectedly submitted to Velin instead, leaving everyone stunned.

• Randolph and the soldiers interrupted the juvenile Rock Lizards’ magic, knocked them unconscious, and ordered them bound and sent to Lake of Star Prayer.
• Velin inspected the Rock Lizards and decided they might be useful as war beasts, then asked Belder to fetch Eunice because she knew something about beast taming.
• Eunice agreed to try taming the Rock Lizards, and Belder removed one beast’s chains at Velin’s order.
• The freed Rock Lizard charged toward Velin, then stopped, lay down, and exposed its belly in apparent submission.
• Velin stroked the Rock Lizard’s chin as it acted meekly before him.

Velin tamed two Rock Lizards and prepared Lake of Star Prayer for an approaching Gnoll invasion. After ordering everyone to retreat into the castle, he considered how to defend his people and profit from the wider turmoil.

• Velin fed the Rock Lizards, named them Little White and Little Yellow, and sent them to be washed.
• Velin offered Eunice a Low-Grade Magic Crystal for her work, while Belder suggested harsh treatment of the Half-elves.
• Iden's patrol spotted a vast Gnoll army about ten kilometers away, and he led his warriors back to report to Belder.
• Belder told Velin that the Gnolls were approaching, and Velin declared Lake of Star Prayer in a State of War and ordered its people into the castle.
• Velin watched the retreat and reasoned that the monster invasion would strike Lensa Province hardest, then focused on defending Lake of Star Prayer.

Gnoll Commander Rogus led more than three thousand Gnolls toward Velin’s castle at Lake of Star Prayer, while Velin prepared its defenders for battle. Rogus ordered two brigades to test the castle’s strength, beginning the first attack.

• Rogus ordered his Gnoll forces to advance toward the human territory, believing the operation was a test and resolving to survive it.
• Velin learned that more than three thousand Gnolls were approaching and prepared the castle’s defenders, supplies, and traps.
• Rogus halted outside the village, kicked a clan chief who questioned him, and ordered the Gnolls to bypass the village and target the castle.
• Velin had Belder sound the gongs and drums, and more than eight hundred defenders took positions along the castle walls.
• Rogus reached the castle with his force and ordered the Third Brigade and Fourth Brigade to attack and test its strength.

Velin’s forces repelled the Gnoll assault on the castle, but suffered casualties and spent valuable ammunition and stones. Rogus planned another test for the next day, while Velin prepared for the possibility that stronger Gnolls would join the attack.

• Rogus ordered over a thousand Gnolls to attack, and Velin’s Three-Bow Ballistas opened fire as the force approached the castle.
• Belder’s soldiers defended the Outer City Wall with shields and dropped heavy stones on Gnolls climbing the wall.
• Rogus ordered a retreat at dusk, and the Gnolls dragged away their dead to use as food.
• Belder reported that the defenders had suffered eighty-six casualties and collected 224 Gnoll heads, while the enemy had lost or suffered wounds among more than four hundred Gnolls.
• Velin warned Belder that the next day could bring Silver Rank Gnolls and ordered the captured heads preserved for their War Merit.
• Rogus planned another assault as a test and considered bypassing the castle if his force could not take it quickly.

Rogus led more than two thousand Gnolls in a second assault on Velin’s castle, but Velin and Orlando wounded him and forced the attackers to retreat. After learning the Gnolls had headed east, Velin planned to intercept them and recover his losses.

• Rogus ordered the Gnolls to attack the Outer City Wall, where the defenders killed many attackers but suffered heavy casualties.
• Rogus threw an iron arrow at Velin, who deflected it and revealed his position; Rogus climbed the wall and fought Velin to a stalemate.
• Orlando struck Rogus from the flank and severed his arm, forcing him to flee while Velin and Orlando fought through his guards.
• Rogus gathered the nine surviving clan chiefs and ordered the Gnolls to eat and then bypass the castle to attack human lands farther east.
• Velin counted 117 dead defenders and the Gnoll heads taken as spoils, then learned from Knight Randolph that the Gnolls had headed east.
• Velin ordered the bodies handled to prevent plague and decided to intercept the Gnolls on their route east.

While Velin’s territory recovered and trained, Dwarf Marquis Dallag sent Karak’s army to raid Centaur clans after a shipment of Mountain Copper vanished and a Centaur Command Token was found at the scene. Karak traced the token to the Maglam Clan and marched toward it, unaware that the clan was about to face a devastating attack.

• The serfs returned to the village, while Belder, the knights, Orlando, Hebrew, and Velin continued training and the castle’s second construction phase began.
• After learning that his Mountain Copper shipment and its escort had disappeared, Dallag recognized a Centaur Command Token and ordered Karak to reclaim his losses tenfold from the Centaur clans.
• Karak led five thousand soldiers into Centaur territory, killing and plundering clans while demanding information about the Command Token.
• After wiping out six clans, Karak learned the token belonged to the Maglam Clan, a branch of the Twilight Hammer Clan.
• Mam imprisoned his daughter Ariya after she lost the Azure Purple Horse and prepared to retaliate against humans, while Karak’s army advanced toward the Maglam Clan.

Velin learned that Rogus’s gnolls planned to leave Cadro Province through Bedrock Mountain, while Guidance of Fate revealed that a Legendary Mage would fall near Lake of Star Prayer in seven days. Faced with a choice between intercepting the gnolls and saving the mage, Velin made his decision.

• Mike reported that five monster armies were attacking Cadro Province and that the gnolls had plundered several territories before planning to exit through Bedrock Mountain.
• Velin ordered Mike to continue scouting and told Belder to prepare the territory’s forces while he waited for more information.
• Rogus discovered that Drako was missing, had Drako’s clansmen dragged away to be roasted, and ordered the gnolls to begin their return journey in two weeks.
• On the night of January 1st, 9721, Guidance of Fate told Velin that a Legendary Mage would fall on Gray Mist Mountain in seven days and that saving her would earn thirty years of protection.
• After learning that the gnolls had begun returning south, Velin weighed the chance to seize their supplies against saving the mage and settled on a choice.

Velin traveled to Gray Mist Mountain to find the Legendary Mage and prepare for thirty years of safe development. He recruited Raimondo to lead a future caravan, while Rogus’s Gnolls rested nearby after splitting from their main force.

• Rogus led several hundred guards and their treasures north, suspecting the missing Dolago had been captured and their original withdrawal plan exposed.
• Velin took six Silver Knights and twelve Knight Squires to Gray Mist Mountain, where he camped and sensed the Legendary Mage’s location two kilometers northwest.
• Velin praised Cyril’s progress and reflected on using a master-apprentice system to prevent military cliques among his subordinates.
• Velin offered Raimondo, a former merchant-family member and Silver Knight, the chance to return to trade, and Raimondo agreed to obey.
• Velin planned to establish a caravan, sell rock salt, and build trade connections in Kadlo Province before heading northwest with his party the next morning.
• Several hundred Gnolls rested more than ten kilometers from Gray Mist Mountain.

Velin rescued an unconscious Legendary Mage in Gray Mist Mountain, but Rogus the Gnoll led several hundred Gnolls in pursuit of Velin’s retreating party. The Gnolls surrounded the humans as the mage began to stir, leaving Velin preparing to fight Rogus.

• Velin and his men waited as a Spatial Channel shattered and delivered a wounded woman in mage robes; Velin identified her as their future guardian deity.
• Velin gave the woman a seven-colored Life Flower, which turned into liquid and entered her body while she remained unconscious.
• A Knight Squire reported that more than three hundred Gnolls were approaching, so Velin ordered Raimondo to abandon the camp and retreat with the horses and supplies.
• Rogus discovered Raimondo’s group had fled, then led his Gnolls after them and found Velin’s party in Gray Mist Mountain.
• Rogus confronted Velin and vowed revenge while Velin’s seven Silver Knights prepared to attack; the Legendary Mage’s fingers twitched as if she were about to awaken.