Recaps

Velin and Kyle’s forces launched a costly assault on Sollier City, then switched to a prolonged siege after the city’s Divine Shield resisted them. As the armies waited outside the city, a black-haired youth and his sister remained in their tent, with the youth reassured by her lack of prophetic dreams.

• Kyle led the Badako Army’s Third Camp up the siege ramps, and its soldiers fought their way onto Sollier City’s walls while Seven-Seal Warriors battled overhead.
• A bald defender retreated into the city after a skinny traitor overwhelmed him, and Kyle later ordered the Badako Army to withdraw after nine hours of fighting.
• Kyle reported more than 4,500 Badako soldiers dead and over 2,800 wounded, then proposed besieging Sollier City and destroying its reinforcements before attacking again; Velin approved the plan.
• Velin ordered Hebrew to take twelve thousand soldiers and clear enemy forces from other regions of Soliel Province, promising him an Auxiliary Army designation if he could form one.
• For ten days, the Fifteenth Army surrounded Sollier City without attacking, while Ilus refrained from sending out a surprise force.
• A black-haired youth returned to his tent with food and liquor, and his silver-haired sister told him she had received no relevant dreams.

Ilus’s forces recruited adventurers for a nighttime raid, but the attack on the Thousand Forts Army ended in heavy losses while the black-haired youth and his sister stayed behind. As the siege continued, reports of major victories across the region accumulated, and Velin prepared to attack Sollier City again.

• Grev announced rewards for adventurers joining a raid, while the black-haired youth and his sister decided not to participate.
• Grev ordered officers to identify and remove 183 adventurers who had avoided registering.
• More than a thousand adventurers and mercenaries raided enemy camps, but the Thousand Forts Army overwhelmed them; Fruman ordered the wounded prisoners executed or sent to the Badako Army.
• At dawn, the black-haired youth heard others conclude that the raiders had been wiped out, and he remained unsurprised.
• The Expeditionary Army won major victories, captured territory, and gained surrendered troops across the region.
• On May 25, Velin prepared to attack Sollier City again with Hebrew’s returning troops and his grandaunt’s husband.

Velin’s forces shattered Sollier City’s Divine Shield with newly built Divine Art Shield Inhibitors and stormed the city. Kyle confronted Archbishop Badaletaf in the north, where the archbishop summoned one hundred and fifty war beasts.

• Velin and Vitris settled on an attack plan, and Kyle worked out its details with Vitris before the army prepared siege equipment.
• On June 1st, 9755, four Divine Art Shield Inhibitors broke Sollier City’s Divine Shield, and Badako Army troops crossed the moat and breached the walls.
• Grev ordered the defenders to hold their positions, but he retreated into the city as the Badako Army overwhelmed the east wall.
• Badaletaf, gravely wounded by the shield’s destruction, told Musta to lead the Church’s Beast Callers and nuns north while he stayed behind to defend his faith.
• Kyle flew to the North City District and attacked Badaletaf with Putlock’s Spear, but the archbishop blocked it with shields and summoned one hundred and fifty war beasts.

Kyle defeated Badaletaf by luring him into a self-destruction high above Sollier City, while Velin’s forces crushed Ilus’s retreating army. The chapter left Ilus fleeing north as his Direct Lineage troops collapsed.

• Kyle fought Badaletaf with holy flames and Soul Intent clones while Vitlis cleared enemy forces from Sollier City.
• Kyle drew Badaletaf high into the sky, escaped his self-destruction with spatial movement, and watched the resulting blast rupture Reality Space.
• Kyle returned to Sollier City, while Velin led the attack against Ilus’s retreating army west of the city.
• Velin ordered Magic Energy Cannon bombardment and flanking attacks by the Ice Bear Knight Order and Star Moon Knight Order, scattering Ilus’s troops.
• Ilus’s guards disguised another man as him and helped him abandon his army and flee north.

Velin’s Fifteenth Army routed the Ilus Legion and occupied Sollier City. While searching a prisoner camp for the woman linked to Kyle by fate, Kyle passed a silver-haired girl who felt his presence but kept her head down.

• The Fifteenth Army defeated the Ilus Legion, killing more than thirty thousand soldiers, capturing over three thousand, and scattering the rest.
• After three days of cleanup, the Fifteenth Army secured Sollier City and confined thousands of prisoners in a camp outside the East City Gate.
• Kyle told Velin that his Angel Bloodline had led him to sense a woman in Sollier City whose fate was compatible with his.
• Velin and Kyle visited Prisoner Camp No. 3, where Kyle followed the sensation through the prisoners while Velin spoke with Erick Archibald.
• Kyle stopped beside a black-haired youth, and the silver-haired girl behind him felt that someone important had appeared nearby but kept her head lowered.

Kyle found Mengya and her brother, then used his Angel Bloodline to identify her as a suitable person to become his disciple. He renamed her Seraphina and began teaching her, while leaving her brother’s destination unresolved.

• Kyle brought the disguised silver-haired Mengya and her brother to Velin and confirmed that Mengya was the person he had sought.
• Kyle merged his Golden Blood with Mengya’s blood, and the Angel Bloodline produced a golden pendant and information for him.
• Kyle asked Mengya to become his disciple; she agreed, and he renamed her Seraphina.
• Kyle taught Seraphina the Common Tongue and told her that her brother had a better place to go than Kyle’s side.

Velin planned what compensation to demand from the Duke of Moravia while Kyle helped Seraphina master magic power through a dream. Velin reviewed his battle merit and learned that the North Ixi Kingdom Expeditionary Army had devastated the Yahewan City-state Kingdom, leaving him unsure whether he would see more battles before the war ended.

• After sending Seraphina and her brother to Sollier City, Velin received Kyle’s memories and considered demanding money, people, and Mage Apprentices from the Duke of Moravia.
• Five days later, Kyle finished a thirty-six-thousand-jin Priest Scepter and learned that Seraphina had mastered magic power and magic perception in a dream, though she felt exhausted afterward.
• Kyle told Seraphina she could arrange her own time and assigned her no more learning tasks.
• At the City Lord’s Mansion, Velin counted four hundred and sixteen and a half Battle Merit and hoped to earn enough for promotion to Qixing Count.
• Velin learned that the North Ixi Kingdom Expeditionary Army had occupied the North Milu Empire and the South Milus United Kingdom and was fighting the Angoya Empire in the Yahewan City-state Kingdom, where the conflict had killed over one hundred and fifty million people.
• Velin wondered whether he would have a chance to join the war after the Isian Kingdom captured the German Kingdom, then put the worry aside as someone knocked on his study door.

Velin gave Priest Lavia the Priest Scepter he had promised, then sent a letter to his grandfather describing the black-haired youth as the Child of Time and Space. Duke of Moravia rushed to meet the youth and asked him to become his disciple, while the youth began to recognize the connection to the Spirit of Time and Space.

• Velin handed Priest Lavia the newly made Priest Scepter in reward for reforming the Black Rock Island prisoners of war.
• Velin wrote a letter to his grandfather, and Miller carried it by griffin to the Floating City above Nax City.
• Duke of Moravia read that Velin had found the Child of Time and Space and teleported with Miller to Velin's location.
• Velin led his grandfather to Kyle's Manor, where Duke of Moravia hurried ahead and found the black-haired youth.
• Duke of Moravia sent the youth memories explaining who he was, then asked him to become his disciple.
• The black-haired youth recalled the Spirit of Time and Space's words about one who breaks free from predetermined fate.

Fast became the Duke of Moravia’s disciple, while Velin negotiated three conditions with his grandfather in exchange for finding him a Child of Time and Space. The Duke accepted Velin’s first two requests, and Velin left with one condition still undecided.

• Fast knelt and asked the Duke of Moravia to accept him as his master, and the Duke agreed to observe him for three years.
• Velin met his grandfather and demanded three conditions in return for finding him a Child of Time and Space.
• Velin drank the Duke’s wine, absorbed its energy, and took the bottle to bring back to his subordinates.
• Velin’s first condition was for the Duke to train three hundred mages from Qixing Territory, with a sixty-year limit for reaching Silver Mage rank, and the Duke agreed.
• Velin asked to borrow three Soul Intent Arcanists for the expedition campaign, and the Duke agreed after hearing Velin’s explanation.
• Velin left his third condition undecided, then wondered whether he had forgotten something important.

Velin expanded the Fifteenth Army, reviewed its resources, and began reorganizing it into three independent armies. He appointed commanders for the Upper and Lower Armies, leaving the Middle Army’s formation and leadership unannounced.

• Velin ordered Greg to gather new professionals into the Holy War Army 31st Army for Feng Lieske to train, and tasked Greg with distributing rewards to the Holy Crusaders.
• Velin reviewed provincial appointments and sent the Shadow Guard to investigate the officials’ backgrounds.
• By mid-November 9755, the Fifteenth Army had grown to more than two hundred thousand troops, with large reserves of food, equipment, and alcohol.
• Velin announced plans to divide the Fifteenth Army into Upper, Middle, and Lower Armies, each able to operate independently.
• Velin appointed Brian general and Freeman deputy general of the Upper Army, formed from the Thousand Forts Army, the Ninth Army, and Brian’s forces.
• Velin appointed Hebrew general and Priest Lavia deputy general of the Lower Army, formed from the Blackrock Army, the Tenth Army, the Ice Sword Camp, and the Ice Bear Knight Order.

Velin reorganized the Fifteenth Army, then led it to Karen City, where he received nobles from the First Legion's Third Army. Clever visited Velin privately, hoping for help with an earl who was obstructing him.

• Velin appointed Kyle commander of the Middle Army and Brian commander of the Upper Army, then encouraged Brian to try commanding more than sixty thousand men.
• Kyle reported that Silas Ansell's tombs had mostly been looted, and Velin sent him back to train the troops.
• Half a month later, Velin led more than two hundred thousand men toward the Andaman District, reaching Karen City twenty days afterward.
• Clever decided to seek Velin's help because an earl had targeted him and covertly obstructed him within the First Legion.
• Velin camped near Karen City and spent two days receiving visiting nobles from the First Legion's Third Army.
• On the night of December 18, Clever visited Velin, who welcomed him and poured him Glowing Wine.

Clever gave Velin an ancient diary by Silas Ansell and asked him to help resolve his conflict with Count Joshua Marcus. Velin agreed to investigate, then read the diary and learned how Silas developed muskets and cannons in the Ansa Kingdom.

• Clever presented Velin with Silas Ansell's diary and asked for help with Count Joshua Marcus, explaining that his attempts to meet or contact the count had failed.
• Velin asked Kyle about the Marcus family, invited Count Joshua to the Fifteenth Army camp, and promised Clever he would look into the conflict.
• After Clever and Kyle left, Velin read Silas's diary about developing a musket and then a reliable cannon using inscriptions and Blood Crystals.
• Velin learned Silas had connections to the Ansa Kingdom's Eldest Princess and concluded that the king's burning of the royal palace had destroyed other ancient books.

Joshua investigated Foster’s conflict with Clever and agreed to accept Velin’s offer to mediate. He arrived at Velin’s camp with Foster and supplies, and Velin began the mediation with Clever present.

• Miller delivered Velin’s invitation, and Joshua agreed to visit the next morning after Mien suggested Velin wanted to mediate between him and Clever.
• Joshua summoned Foster and demanded the truth, learning that Foster had sent men to rob Clever and that they had been defeated.
• Joshua ordered Foster to return the next morning, then prepared gifts because he recognized that he had started the conflict.
• Foster arrived early with ten carts of supplies, and Joshua traveled with knights and guards to the Fifteenth Army’s camp.
• Velin welcomed Joshua, and the two entered the tent with Clever while Foster waited outside.
• Velin told Joshua that he wanted to mediate the conflict between him and Clever.

Velin mediated the dispute between Clever and Foster, leading to a settlement and further support from Joshua for Clever. After Clever left, Velin learned that Clever had helped the First Legion capture Ansa Kingdom's capital and decided not to investigate Foster's possible motives.

• Velin brought Clever and Foster together, and they settled their conflict with Foster agreeing to pay sixty thousand Gold Coins and provide armor, horses, and Magic Crystals.
• Joshua apologized to Clever and promised him an Auxiliary Army battalion and three hundred Red Snow Horses, which Clever accepted after Velin encouraged him.
• Velin gave Joshua twelve bottles of Glowing Wine, then Clever left the camp with ten carts of supplies.
• Kyle told Velin that Clever had discovered a secret passage during the assault on Ansa Kingdom's capital, and that Cadelion had kept the discovery quiet.
• Velin suspected Foster might have acted under outside influence but chose not to investigate, then asked Kyle to arrange a private banquet.

Velin’s Fifteenth Army conquered Lai Province and reorganized its many prisoners while preparing to attack German City. At a Fourth Legion meeting, Velin revealed his army’s strength as the Legion prepared to besiege the German Kingdom’s capital.

• Velin assigned three Soul Intent Arcanists to the Upper, Middle, and Lower Armies as the Fifteenth Army advanced into Lai Province.
• The armies captured Xikai City, Krus City, Grande City, and Lai City, routing German Kingdom forces and taking many prisoners; Velin ordered conscripts released and other prisoners enslaved or incorporated into the army.
• After Lava City fell, Velin received Marquis Rodenert’s order to attend a legion meeting in East Yi City and directed his troops to clear out remaining resistance in Lai Province.
• At the meeting, Marquis Rodenert announced that the Fourth Legion would attack German City and asked its commanders to report their troop numbers.
• Velin reported that the Fifteenth Army had 230,000 troops, including 190,000 Auxiliary Army soldiers, and said its Blackrock Army, Thousand Forts Army, and Badako Army could face Holy Crusaders head-on.
• The commanders’ reports put the Fourth Legion at 840,000 soldiers: 210,000 Expeditionary Army troops, 150,000 Holy Crusaders, and 480,000 Auxiliary Army troops.

Marquis Rodenert assigned the armies their routes for an offensive against the German Kingdom’s Royal Capital satellite cities, and the Fifteenth Army advanced toward Rostock. As the Old King struggled to secure support from the Angoya Empire, German commanders prepared to meet the invading forces, and Rostock’s defender faced the Fifteenth Army outside the city.

• Marquis Rodenert divided the offensive among four directions, assigning Velin’s Fifteenth Army to attack Rostock and setting March 3 as the start date.
• Velin briefed his unit commanders, and the Fifteenth Army left 6,000 troops to garrison Lai City before marching toward Rostock.
• At the Royal Palace, the Old King questioned Duke Truvia about the eastern allied army, and Duke Truvia promised it would reach the central region within two months.
• Minister Claudia reported that the Angoya Empire had not clarified its position, so the Old King ordered Elit to remain in its capital until the war ended.
• After hearing that the Army of Other Gods was advancing from four directions, the Old King summoned the German Kingdom’s commanders to the palace.
• On March 9, the Fifteenth Army camped thirty kilometers from Rostock, and General Yifli looked out from the city walls at the approaching force.

Ilius prepared Rostock City for a siege while Kyle investigated whether he could persuade the commander to surrender. After observing Ilius’s family tensions and defenses, Kyle confronted him in his bedroom and threatened the city if Ilius destroyed his clone.

• Ilius ordered Rostock City locked down, strengthened its defenses, and instructed the Beast God Church to prepare its Divine Shield.
• Velin asked Kyle whether Ilius might surrender, and Kyle assigned the task of testing him to himself.
• Kyle infiltrated Rostock City as a gray bird and overheard Ilius reject his nephew’s proposal to flee, insisting he would not abandon his people.
• Kyle observed Ilius’s late-night routines and let the assassin master leave to report back to the royal capital.
• Kyle entered Ilius’s bedroom as a black bird, revealed his identity, and warned that Rostock City would be slaughtered if Ilius destroyed his clone.

Kyle negotiated with Ilius to surrender the city in exchange for safely rescuing his family from the Royal Capital, and Velin approved Kyle’s plan to extract them. Later, Velin inspected a hidden arms cave containing enough weapons and armor for an army of fifty thousand, leaving its origins to be investigated after the capital fell.

• Kyle offered Ilius command of a thirty-thousand-man detached force and a count’s territory if he surrendered the city.
• Ilius agreed to surrender only if Kyle brought his family safely out of the Royal Capital, and Kyle accepted before leaving to report to Velin.
• Kyle told Velin about the bargain and said he could transform the Miens Family into animals to get them out; Velin warned him to stay safe.
• Velin ordered Devonshire to refine the siege plan, then inspected the army camp with his Guard Team.
• Freeman led Velin to a hidden arms cave containing armor, weapons, and supplies for roughly fifty thousand soldiers, along with twelve skeletons and an inventory ledger.
• Velin ordered the cave sealed until after the German Kingdom’s Royal Capital was captured.

Kyle entered German City and prepared to abduct Ilif’s clansmen from the Miens Family residence, while General Io’s suspicions led him to tighten control over a nearby noble household. The chapter ended with Io arriving with soldiers to occupy the residence, leaving Kyle’s nighttime plan at risk.

• Kyle saw the German Kingdom’s Seventh Princess pass through the aristocratic district and learned she was visiting troops at the Lumbus Barracks.
• Kyle used purple light to make patrolling soldiers attack one another, causing the Miens Family’s warning plaque to be destroyed in the ensuing fight.
• General Io investigated the dead soldiers, suspected an inside mole, and went to the royal palace instead of returning to the barracks.
• After meeting the king, General Io brought more than two hundred soldiers to a noble residence in the Third District and ordered his men to station themselves there.

Kyle gathered the Miens Family and secured Ilif’s agreement to open Rostock City’s North Gate in three days, setting the stage for an attack on the Noble Army. On the appointed night, Bartley killed the assassin who had been monitoring Ilif, clearing the way for the plan.

• Kyle bewitched the soldiers in German City, collected eighty-seven Miens Family members, and brought them to the Fifteenth Army’s camp.
• Kyle showed Velin the red scarf and told him what he had learned in the city, then explained Life Law Knowledge to him.
• Kyle met Ilif in Rostock City, and Ilif agreed to open the North Gate in three days and have his red-scarf-wearing men help slaughter the Noble Army.
• Three days later, Ilif moved his five thousand men to defend the North Gate and waited for an opportunity.
• Bartley killed the Low-Tier Holy Seal assassin who had been reporting on Ilif, and Kyle thanked Bartley and spoke with him about spell theory.

Ilif opened Rostock City’s gates for Velin’s army, and the Blackrock Army captured the city after a chaotic battle. Velin accepted Ilif’s surrender and made him commander of the Miens Army, while the Old King ordered the Miens Family executed.

• Ilif signaled his nephew to open Rostock City’s North Gate, then declared the uprising as soldiers marked themselves with red scarves.
• The Blackrock Army entered Rostock City and attacked the German defenders, while Great Priest Mutalin escaped with the Church of the Beast God’s clergy.
• Carlisle found the temple abandoned and withdrew his soldiers on an arcanist’s orders.
• By morning, the Blackrock and Badako armies had defeated Rostock City’s defenders, and Velin arrived to accept Ilif’s surrender and appoint him commander of the Miens Army.
• The Old King learned that Ilif had betrayed him and ordered the Miens Family arrested and executed.

Velin appointed Ilius to lead the attack on Iqiq City, while keeping a close watch on the surrendered general. Ilius and Fray captured the city, and Velin began considering what to do after receiving their reports.

• Velin assigned Ilius to command a force of the Miens Army and Blackrock Army against Iqiq City, with Fray assisting and Carlisle and Bartley accompanying them.
• Velin visited his Demiplane, where he wondered why Xing had not returned and teased one of Xing’s mates.
• On April 3rd, 9756, the detached force led by Ilif marched from Rostock toward Iqiq City.
• Three days later, Ilif and Bartley killed Iqiq City’s archbishop, breaking the Divine Shield and opening the city to attack.
• Ilif captured Iqiq City in less than half a day, persuaded nearly ten thousand defenders to surrender, and secured the city’s supplies and valuables.
• Velin read the Shadow Assassin’s report and Ilif’s battle report, then formed new plans.

Velin coordinated the Fourth Legion’s restrained siege of German City, where the first major assault began under orders not to capture the capital. After watching the fighting, he discussed his great-uncle’s command abilities with the Blood Moon Count, who used the conversation to caution him against surrendering control of civil and military affairs.

• Marquis Roden ordered the Fourth Legion to pressure German City without breaching it, while intercepting selected messengers to draw German forces toward the capital.
• Velin arranged his Fifteenth Army’s deployments around Rostock and Iqiq City and told his commanders to conserve their strength until the decisive battle.
• On April 18, Brian led the first major assault at German City’s North Gate as more than three hundred thousand Fourth Legion troops attacked.
• Velin visited the East Gate, judged his great-uncle Vitlis’s command of the assault to be poor, and joined the Blood Moon Count at her pavilion.
• The Blood Moon Count explained that Vitlis had little experience managing military and civil affairs, then implicitly advised Velin not to give up control for too long.

Velin oversaw the Upper Army’s first siege and left Brian in command for the next half month. After four months and eight sieges, the German Kingdom’s defenses and allies had crumbled, and the Old King faced the kingdom’s likely collapse as the Church of the Beast God exhausted its reserves.

• Velin returned to the command tent after the siege, heard Brian report the Upper Army’s losses, and ordered him to hold the North Gate securely until the Lower Army relieved him.
• Velin told Brian to treat the command as an opportunity and return to Rostock with Kyle and his guards.
• Four months later, the Old King learned that the capital had 230,000 troops, Duke Truvia’s eastern army had been shattered, and the southeast might have fallen.
• Claudia told the Old King that the Angoya Empire had gathered troops on its western border but showed no sign of entering the war.
• The Old King called himself the German Kingdom’s Ruinous Monarch and left the great hall, while its ministers and generals considered their futures.
• The Pope of the German Kingdom’s Church of the Beast God reflected on the church’s depleted reserves after four months of siege and eight battles.

The Fourth Legion breached German City after a prolonged siege, and Velin led his troops into the capital as fighting spread through its streets. He encountered Auxiliary Army soldiers who had seized a manor and faced a terrified woman, then asked what had happened to her.

• Velin ordered the final assault on German City, and the Fourth Legion attacked the walls while the defenders used militia as the first line of defense.
• The Divine Shield shattered, the city gates were breached, and hundreds of thousands of troops entered German City.
• Velin ordered Hebrew to command the forces outside the city and prevent enemy troops from escaping, then rode toward the royal palace with the Ice Sword Camp.
• Fourth Legion troops fought German soldiers throughout the streets as looting and killing spread across the city.
• Velin identified soldiers from the Sixteenth Army at a manor, asked about a terrified woman, and heard a Three-Seal Warrior claim she had abused female servants.