Recaps

Velin led the Ice Sword Camp through the German Kingdom's royal palace while the Expeditionary Army crushed its defenders, searching for the entrance to a Demiplane. He found the location in Karak Palace, where Princess Rishana and her royal kin died rather than be captured; three days later, German City was pacified and the German Kingdom was destroyed.

• Velin entered the royal palace with the Ice Sword Camp and watched the Expeditionary Army's powerhouses battle the German Kingdom's defenders.
• Velin's soldiers fought through the palace guards as he used a map to search for the Demiplane's entrance.
• Princess Rishana prepared to die as enemy troops approached Karak Palace, and her three hundred guards were slaughtered after its gates were breached.
• Velin found the marked location in Karak Palace and stopped Rishana from killing herself before asking whether she and the other royal women wanted to live or die.
• Rishana chose death for herself and the royal women; Velin's officer killed thirteen women, and Rishana then stabbed herself.
• Velin ordered Rishana buried properly, and three days later German City was pacified and the German Kingdom was destroyed.

Marquis Roden arranged for the Fourth Legion to withdraw from German City, allowing Velin to secure the royal capital and secretly reach a hidden Demiplane beneath the palace. Kyle broke through its four layers of Magic Barrier, while Velin slept nearby.

• Marquis Roden decided not to interfere with Velin's plans and ordered the Fourth Legion's units to withdraw from German City within half a month.
• Lett informed Velin of the withdrawal, and Velin reflected on owing Marquis Roden a favor as Kyle predicted he might have to repay it soon.
• After the last unit left German City, Velin surrounded the royal palace with troops and entered Karak Palace with Kyle to find the Demiplane.
• Velin used Wood Heart Passage to take Kyle 150 kilometers underground, where they found a Magic Barrier.
• Kyle studied the barrier and broke all four layers after hundreds of attempts, while Velin fell asleep on a plant-grown reclining chair.

Velin and Kyle discovered a White Stone Slab that strengthened them, then entered a Demiplane through a Space Gate. After Kyle encountered a dangerous Magic Shield around the Demiplane’s heart, Velin used the Secret Key, and Kyle spoke the message it revealed.

• Velin and Kyle reached a golden hall, where standing on a White Stone Slab increased their Battle Qi and magic power.
• Velin sent Kyle through a Space Gate to secure the Demiplane while he waited outside.
• Kyle explored the vast jungle and found a Magic Shield protecting a stone monument atop a giant stump.
• A Greedy Mouth emerging from the shield devoured Kyle’s Battle Qi clone, and Velin hurried to Kyle after sensing a terrifying aura.
• Velin spoke the Secret Key, causing three enormous faces to emerge from the shield, and Kyle read aloud the message transmitted by Velin’s magic: “May the light of magic shine, and may the flame endure forever.”

Velin and Kyle encountered the remnant soul of Messier Xinherona Yiminghem Aberdovi, who explained the history of the Metagea Plane’s collapse and confirmed that its plan to survive the war had succeeded. After Messier vanished, the Heart of the Demiplane emerged, and Kyle began fusing with it while Velin waited.

• Velin identified three crystals as containing knowledge of the Laws of Clarity, Wisdom, and Speech, and Kyle stored them in his spatial ring.
• The stone tablet summoned the remnant soul of Messier Xinherona Yiminghem Aberdovi, who shared the magic script Lalibertad with Velin and Kyle.
• Velin told Messier that they came from another plane and described their findings about the Giant Rule and Bloodline Factors.
• Messier explained that the Metagea Plane had degraded itself to escape being devoured after a thousand-year war, and said their presence proved the gamble had succeeded.
• Before dissipating, Messier entrusted his named demiplane to Velin and Kyle; the Heart of the Demiplane emerged from the broken tablet.
• Kyle began fusing with the Heart of the Demiplane while Velin sat nearby and waited.

Kyle completed the recovery of the Messier Demiplane and removed its White Stone Slabs and ancient wall decorations, then returned to the surface and investigated the slabs’ mana. He later woke Velin and told him the demiplane was his, while keeping his concerns about the slabs to himself.

• Kyle left Velin sleeping in the Messier Demiplane, collected the White Stone Slabs and hall decorations, and returned to Karak Palace.
• Miller told Kyle that thirteen days had passed and that the Blackrock Army had suppressed three disturbances in the city.
• Kyle tested two White Stone Slabs, found that they fed mana into his body, and stored them while worrying they might be dangerous.
• Kyle returned to the Messier Demiplane and woke Velin, telling him that the fusion with the Heart of the Demiplane had succeeded and the demiplane belonged to him.
• Velin learned that Kyle had brought back the slabs and wall bricks, then headed for the gate to return to his study in German City.

Velin learned that the German Kingdom would be divided into the Bassarom and Nois duchies, then tasked Kyle with assessing native officers for noble titles and preparing weapons as rewards. After the division, Velin received 200 titles for the Fifteenth Army and began deciding who would receive them.

• Velin learned that the Expeditionary Force planned to divide the German Kingdom and resolved to secure a count’s title for Ilif Miens as promised.
• Velin ordered Kyle to investigate commanders and officers from four native armies, focusing on their loyalty and alignment.
• Velin told Kyle to sort valuable weapons from a city cache and reserve the rest as rewards for newly appointed nobles.
• The Fifteenth Army’s prolonged pressure forced German City’s factions to make concessions, while resisting families had been killed.
• The Expeditionary Army divided the former German Kingdom into the Bassarom and Nois duchies and issued 200 noble titles to the Fifteenth Army.
• Velin reviewed Kyle’s roster and began assigning three counts’ titles, forty-five viscount titles, and 152 baron titles.

The expeditionary command appointed Velin ambassador to the Titon Kingdom after its royal family asked to adopt the Goddess of Life’s faith. Velin initially disliked the assignment, but Kyle reminded him he could seek rewards from the Titon Kingdom himself.

• Duke East, Saintess Anastasia, and Duke Moravia approved accepting the Titon Kingdom’s request to convert and chose Velin as envoy.
• Duke Moravia warned that Velin might use the mission to slack off, while Anastasia praised his record and supported the appointment.
• Three days later, Velin received the order appointing him ambassador to the Titon Kingdom, with a reward of fifty Battle Merit.
• Kyle suggested Velin could take rewards from the Titon Kingdom, and Velin became eager to undertake the mission.

Velin prepared to lead a diplomatic mission to the Titon Kingdom, leaving Seraphina behind to study before traveling with Kyle to Nax City to meet Duke Ister. After receiving his mission and equipment, Velin planned to use his own troops to help the Titon Kingdom attack the Grand Duchy of Brera.

• Velin placed the Fifteenth Army under Hebrew's command and took twenty-four guards aboard the Star Moon Floating Ship, while Kyle warned Seraphina to study during his absence.
• Kyle and Velin left for Nax City, where Velin planned to collect a token and retrieve the missing griffin.
• Duke Ister gave Velin formal attire, shoes, a sword, and a purple-trimmed seal, then briefed him on the Titon Kingdom and its lack of a patron faith.
• Duke Ister instructed Velin to negotiate with the Hiliris Royal Family, purge the Church of the God of Storms, and encourage an attack on the Grand Duchy of Brera.
• Velin asked to command his own troops in the campaign against Brera, and Duke Ister agreed to send them once the clergy had been purged.

Velin reunited with Xing in the Floating City and watched Kyle help the griffon digest its stored Mana Energy and advance to Gold-grade. Xing left for Velin’s Demiplane with its mates, a book, and a case of Glowing Wine after trying to avoid studying.

• Velin and Kyle met a round, overfed Xing in the central Mage Tower of the Floating City.
• Kyle used Mass-Energy Conversion to help Xing digest its stored Mana Energy and advance from Silver rank to Gold-grade.
• Xing thanked Kyle, grew to seven meters long, then shrank back to its original size and tried to earn Velin’s praise.
• Velin gave Xing a Common Tongue Compendium, but Xing swallowed it and pretended to hide beneath its wings.
• Velin threatened to feed Xing piles of discarded experimental records unless it studied, and Xing reluctantly chose to become cultured.
• Velin gave Xing another book and twelve bottles of Glowing Wine, then sent it and its two mates into his Demiplane.

Velin went to the Seventh Security Management Office to meet the Titon Kingdom envoy, while Captain Carter confronted his sister Lisa over her ties to the resistance. After Kyle warned Carter that rebels planned to kill him through Lisa, Carter sent soldiers to arrest them and led Velin to the merchant’s residence.

• Velin left Duke of Moravia after discussing the missing griffin and headed to the Seventh Security Management Office with Kyle.
• Captain Carter demanded that Lisa reveal where Prit and the others were, then slapped her and threatened to have her memories wiped when she refused.
• Carter met Velin and Kyle, who showed him an order document allowing them to enter and warned him that rebels planned to poison him through Lisa.
• Carter ordered Deputy Captain Eller to lead soldiers to Minsk Street and arrest the rebels.
• Carter escorted Velin to the Titon Kingdom merchant’s residence, where three white-haired young men discussed the kingdom’s surrender and the Expeditionary Army’s plans.

Viscount Qixing met Rogier Prescott, a Titon envoy, and learned about the kingdom’s factions before arranging to meet him again in Nax City. Rogier then persuaded his two deputies to support his plan to seize control of the kingdom, leaving their operation agreed but not yet underway.

• Velin introduced himself as Viscount Qixing, and Rogier Prescott welcomed him and presented a map of the Titon Kingdom.
• Rogier explained the kingdom’s Royalist, Noble, and Storm factions, and told Velin he was loyal to the nation.
• Velin invited Rogier to find him at the opera house on Minsk Street after he returned to Nax City in three days.
• Velin and Kyle returned to the Star Moon Floating Ship, where Velin admitted he was curious about what Titon women looked like.
• Rogier told his two deputy envoys that cooperation with the Expeditionary Army offered their organization and His Highness a chance to take control of the kingdom.
• The two deputies agreed to follow Rogier’s lead in the operation.

Velin met with Deputy Envoy Rogier in a private room at the Lislich Grand Opera House to negotiate the Expeditionary Army’s support for a royal family member’s claim in the Titon Kingdom. Rogier secured Velin’s agreement by offering the Storm Church’s wealth and an ancient ruin, and Velin arranged to meet him again in ten days.

• Velin and Kyle arrived at the Lislich Grand Opera House and arranged for Rogier to be brought to their private room.
• After Kyle raised a Magic Barrier, Velin asked Rogier whom he served, and Rogier revealed that his cause involved a royal daughter.
• Velin warned that he would either assist Rogier if persuaded or hand him over to the current king of the Titon Kingdom.
• Rogier offered Velin the Titon Kingdom, the Storm Church’s wealth, and an Ancient Ruins beneath the Former Kings’ tombs.
• Velin agreed to support Rogier and told him to deal with his guards as necessary, then set another meeting for ten days later.

Rogier’s diplomatic mission traveled aboard Velin’s Star Moon Floating Ship to Lankamdo City, where Velin planned to meet the Titon king in three days. At the royal palace, Merezhak Li Gertvos confronted his children over the Torien Manor incident before the queen intervened, and Rogier arrived seeking an audience.

• Rogier boarded the Star Moon Floating Ship with twenty-three members of the diplomatic mission, and learned from Miller about Velin’s powerful family connections.
• Kyle activated the ship’s defenses and sent it through a Space Rift, startling the Titon envoys with its power.
• After eight hours, the ship emerged above Lankamdo City, where Velin told Rogier he would meet the king in three days and reminded him of their deal.
• Kyle sent Rogier’s mission members down to the city, and Rogier borrowed horses to hurry toward the royal capital.
• Merezhak Li Gertvos questioned his children about the Torien Manor incident, but none admitted responsibility; the queen arrived and ordered them to behave before the ambassador’s visit.
• The queen received word that Rogier had requested an audience and ordered the guard to bring him in.

The Titon Queen ordered Rogier to prepare a grand welcome for the Expeditionary Army envoy, Velin Ex, and appointed him Assistant Foreign Minister. After revealing her ruthless control over the kingdom to Merezzakli, she left him shaken, while Rogier later met a young royal who approved his deal and requested a private meeting with the envoy.

• Rogier told the Titon Queen that envoy Velin Ex would enter the capital through the North Gate in three days, and she ordered the highest ceremony and made Rogier the new Assistant Foreign Minister.
• The Titon Queen ordered Merezzakli to deal with Torien Manor and eliminate the Srivy Family, then demanded that he meet her in Tira Garden that night.
• After Elsa left, Merezzakli realized she had likely arranged the massacres that had thwarted his attempts to gather supporters and seize power.
• Rogier met a young woman in a guarded garden and explained his agreement with the envoy and his suspicions about the Queen.
• The young woman dismissed her assassins and told Rogier she wanted to speak with Velin Ex alone after the welcoming ceremony.

Velin arrived in the Titon Kingdom as the Expeditionary Army’s envoy and was escorted with an elaborate honor guard through the capital. As the city welcomed him, two hostile Titon people abandoned their plan to assassinate him, while Velin wondered when he would see his wife again.

• Three days after the Floating Ship arrived above the Kask Hills, Velin and his guard met the Titon Kingdom’s welcoming party.
• Velin greeted the Low-Tier Holy Seal Warrior and proceeded to the hillside square with Kyle and twenty-four Silver Knights.
• Kyle released twenty-four silver wolves, and the convoy set off toward the Royal Capital with the Titon knights and ceremonial guards.
• Velin entered the capital through a newly prepared route and saw crowds, soldiers, and a musical welcome.
• Two Titon people in the crowd watched the Royal Capital garrison with hatred and gave up their plan to assassinate Velin.
• Velin admired the city and thought of his wife and the still-unfinished expeditionary campaign.

Velin began negotiations with the Titon Kingdom by meeting King Merezzakli and Queen Elsa, then navigated the royal banquet without making promises to the nobles. He toured Kongmingsi Manor with Rogier and Kyle, leaving the night’s exploration unfinished.

• Velin presented Duke East’s official letter to Merezzakli and Elsa, who welcomed him and invited him to a royal banquet.
• Merezzakli introduced Velin to the Titon Kingdom’s ministers, nobles, military leaders, and Storm Church priests.
• At Elsa’s banquet, Velin greeted the nobles politely and evaded their attempts to secure promises from him.
• Rogier escorted Velin, Kyle, and the guards to Kongmingsi Manor, where Velin asked to see its art collection.
• Velin and Rogier toured the gallery late into the night, covering less than a tenth of its paintings before Rogier offered to continue the tour the next day.

Velin waited while factions in the Titon Kingdom courted him, then agreed to meet the person behind Rogier Prescott. As he investigated the kingdom’s power structure, Marquis Servis ordered a test of the Third Princess and continued purging officers tied to the Storm Church.

• Velin told Kyle to accept gifts from visiting nobles but make no promises until Velin understood the kingdom’s factions.
• Marquis Servis reported that Rogier Prescott might serve the Third Princess, and the masked woman ordered him to test her while continuing to send gifts to Velin.
• The masked woman ordered the purge of officers connected to the Storm Church from the Third, Eighth, and Sixteenth Legions so their 150,000 soldiers would obey only her.
• On November 18, 9757, Velin arranged for Kyle to meet Rogier’s patron at Wilk Mountain that night.
• Velin reviewed records showing which princes and princesses controlled several legions, while the forces behind ten legions remained unknown and the Third Princess Ailebella had only about six hundred guards.

Velin reflected on Queen Elsa’s ruthless political history before returning to the main world and discussing negotiations with Kyle. He planned to meet the person behind Rogier, while Xing received another chance to study Common Tongue.

• Velin threatened to shear Xing into a featherless griffin if she failed to improve her Common Tongue, then entered the main world to tease her.
• Velin caught Xing trying to flee and, after she pleaded with him, granted her another chance to study.
• Velin and Kyle discussed the negotiations, and Kyle reported gains worth approximately thirty-five million Gold Coins.
• Velin told Kyle to invite the person behind Rogier to the Messier Demiplane that night for a meeting.

Velin and Kyle met the masked Ruili in the Messier Demiplane, where she revealed that Queen Elsa planned to eradicate rival factions and centralize power in the Titon Kingdom. Ruili also disclosed that Princess Alebella was both Elsa’s daughter and the daughter of Elsa’s dead brother Babivie, possibly through a secret tied to an ancient ruin beneath the Royal Tomb.

• Kyle met the masked Ruili on Wilk Mountain and brought her into the Messier Demiplane to speak with Velin.
• Ruili explained that Queen Elsa had once caused more than one hundred million deaths to secure her power and was preparing to eliminate the kingdom’s factions.
• Ruili said Elsa’s plan had accelerated as the Storm God fell silent and the Storm Faction’s influence contracted.
• Velin guessed that Alebella was Babivie’s daughter, and Ruili confirmed that she was also Elsa’s biological daughter.
• Ruili recounted that a palace fire concealed Alebella’s birth and said the secret might involve an ancient ruin beneath the Royal Tomb.

Velin and Kyle made a wager about Ruili’s identity before Velin went out to explore Titon City. In the North City District, Velin witnessed Young Master Nois humiliate a young man connected to the Beibei Chamber of Commerce, who then collapsed.

• After Ruili left the Messier Demiplane, Velin and Kyle speculated about her identity and wagered on whether Velin would win a year of freedom or promise not to slack off.
• Velin used Parasitic Sleep to put the spies outside Cummings Manor into a deep sleep, then set out to explore Titon City with Kyle and guards.
• In the North City District, Velin watched Young Master Nois insult and beat a young man for competing with him over Julia.
• Young Master Nois refused his guard’s suggestion to target the young man and the Beibei Chamber of Commerce, citing the king and queen’s orders against serious incidents during negotiations.
• The young man collapsed unconscious, and several men in the crowd carried him away as Velin watched the spectators disperse.

Velin investigated the assassination attempt on Princess Alebella and ordered Kyle to capture the surviving assassin. Kyle uncovered a connection to the Kamit Merchant Guild but found no clear mastermind, leaving Velin to suspect either Nurtured Death Warriors or a plot by Elsa herself.

• Velin followed the soldiers to Abigail Manor, where he learned that the Church of the Storm God had allegedly attempted to assassinate Alebella.
• Queen Elsa summoned Velin, condemned the attack, and vowed to destroy the southeastern region after negotiations concluded.
• Velin suspected the assassination might be a test of Alebella’s importance to Elsa and ordered Kyle to capture the assassin without letting her commit suicide.
• Kyle found the Six-Seal Assassin in an underground cave, captured her, and incapacitated four assassins who arrived to kill her.
• Kyle searched one assassin’s soul and discovered he served the Kamit Merchant Guild, then took the remaining captives to the Messier Demiplane.
• After hearing Kyle’s report, Velin considered that the assassins could be Nurtured Death Warriors or that Elsa had staged the attack to justify a purge.

Velin and Kyle interrogated the assassins who attacked Third Princess Ailebella and learned they belonged to the Flower of Teputa but knew little about its leadership or motives. As Queen Elsa’s purge shook the Royal Capital, Velin considered whether the attack had been meant to test Rogier and later requested formal negotiations with King Merezzakli.

• Velin ordered Kyle to torture-search one assassin’s soul, frightening the survivors into answering questions.
• A Five-Seal Assassin said his superior had ordered his team to clean up after the attack and take the female assassin to Bichir’s Shop if she was not badly injured.
• The female assassin identified the organization as the Flower of Teputa and said her superior had ordered the assassination of Third Princess Ailebella, but she did not know who had issued the order or why.
• Kyle confirmed through soul-searching that the surviving assassins had not lied, and he suggested the attack might have been designed to test whether Rogier served Ailebella.
• Velin ordered Kyle to watch Rogier discreetly, then buried the four assassins and planted fruit tree seeds over their bodies.
• Queen Elsa sent half the Elsa Legion into the Royal Capital to join the garrison in sealing the city and searching homes, and Velin later requested formal negotiations with King Merezzakli.

Velin and Kyle negotiated and signed the Titon Eleven Agreements with King Merezzakli and Queen Elsa, making the Titon Kingdom a Faith State of the Goddess of Life. After the Expeditionary Army's representatives left, Elsa ordered the kingdom's forces to assemble at the southeastern border and entrusted Merezzakli with leading them.

• Velin presented Duke Ister's deadline for purging the Storm Church, and Elsa negotiated to leave the completion date open for later extension.
• Over half a month of talks, Velin and the Titon Kingdom's rulers settled terms on military affairs, politics, faith, and indemnities.
• On January 8, 9758, Velin, Merezzakli, and Elsa signed the eleven agreements, preserving the kingdom's social classes under the Expeditionary Army's authority.
• After Velin and Kyle left, Elsa ordered territorial nobles to assemble their armies at the southeastern border and warned against secret contact with the Storm Church.
• Elsa asked Merezzakli to lead the forces in the field, and he agreed.

Velin met Queen Elsa to negotiate an extension to the deadline for eliminating the Storm Church, offering to secure Duke Ister’s agreement in exchange for three treasures. Elsa then confronted him about Alebella and revealed Ruili, exposing her ruthless reputation as the Blood Queen while leaving Velin to judge the danger she posed.

• Velin met Elsa at her castle, and she asked what the Titon Kingdom would have to pay to extend the deadline from six months to one year.
• Velin claimed his greedy grandfather could persuade Duke Ister to extend the deadline in exchange for unusual treasures, and Elsa agreed to prepare three.
• Elsa asked Velin about Alebella, and he stopped pretending not to know about the matter.
• Elsa had Ruili brought in and explained that Alebella was her brother’s daughter and the last of his bloodline.
• Elsa revealed that she had allowed rebels to expose themselves so she could kill them, and Ruili named her the Blood Queen.

Velin rescued Ruili from Elsa’s purge and learned that she was Lydia Gertvos, who chose to leave her former identity behind. He sheltered her at Cummings Manor, cut ties with Rogier, and later received the three treasures Elsa had promised.

• Velin took Ruili from Elsa’s castle, while Elsa declared Lydia dead and ordered a purge of families accused of colluding with the Storm Church.
• Ruili told Velin that Rogier had betrayed their deal and revealed her True Name as Lydia Gertvos before choosing to remain Ruili.
• Velin brought Ruili to Cummings Manor and promised to protect her while she decided whether to stay or leave.
• Kyle learned Rogier had betrayed Ruili, but Velin refused to interfere in the Titon Kingdom’s affairs and ordered Rogier turned away.
• Five days later, Elsa delivered the Black Cube, the floating book, and the perception-blocking stone; Velin sent them with Kyle to his grandfather for study.