Recaps

Velin led the Seventh Thousand-Man Team in attacks on several Monster Clan tribes and learned that most of their able-bodied fighters had departed with divine messengers. After reporting his suspicion that the monsters were gathering an army, he received a document from Flora, who said his guess was right but not entirely accurate.

• Velin divided the force into teams and ordered an attack on the Goblin tribe while Kyle privately reported that more than ten soldiers wanted to leave their current nobles’ service.
• Velin’s four hundred men attacked the Goblin camp and quickly routed its defenders.
• Velin questioned a Goblin survivor, who said the tribe’s chief, great elder, and warriors had left with the God’s messenger, before Velin ordered the remaining Goblins killed.
• Velin’s force exterminated several more tribes and found that most of their fighters had also left with divine messengers.
• After half a month, the Seventh Thousand-Man Team returned to Deer Gate Mountain, where three sections of wall had been built, and Velin reported his suspicions to Flora.
• Flora told Velin that his guess was correct but somewhat off, then handed him a document.

Velin received orders to lead a combined force of ten thousand soldiers to defend the border, while the Famine Cult began its long-planned sacrifice of Fokris City. The ritual consumed the city, and Saint Albo Tasman intervened with the Life God Cult’s power to prevent it from spreading across the kingdom.

• Flora told Velin that monster forces had attacked Sailop Province and ordered him to combine his Seventh Thousand-Man Team with five thousand arriving provincial soldiers to build border fortifications.
• Flora encouraged Velin to use the assignment to gain command experience and told him to prioritize his life if he faced danger.
• Velin took command of the five thousand provincial troops and began seven days of intensive training to bring them under his control.
• The Famine Cult’s bishop, Lord Tefli, and their allies began the sacrifice in Fokris City, while a Famine Beast destroyed the Mage Tower and disabled the city’s defenses.
• Famine Cultists and priests activated a vast ritual that consumed the two hundred thousand people in Fokris City and unleashed an evil aura.
• Saint Albo Tasman invoked divine power as Life Churches across the provinces east of Monny Province joined together to contain the Famine Sacrifice.

After the Famine Sacrifice devastated Monny Province, Velin prepared his troops and territory for the spreading drought while Anastasia contained the famine’s power near Lake of Star Prayer. The chapter left Belder interpreting Velin’s warning and summoning Raimondo to discuss preparations.

• Anastasia sensed the famine’s power approaching and used the Elemental Pool to protect the land around Lake of Star Prayer.
• Saint Albo Tasman and the other Legends investigated the deaths of two hundred thousand people in Fokris City and decided the army should handle the Famine Cult.
• Velin received a warning that eight western provinces would suffer a drought and told the commander he had his own way of dealing with it.
• Velin ordered watchtowers, troop support, and forest clearing to strengthen defenses at Deer Gate South Mountain.
• Belder received Velin’s drought warning, realized it might relate to the food they had purchased, and summoned Raimondo.

Velin learned that the monster coalition attacking Xylos Province might seek a northern route, while the coalition’s leaders remained forbidden to invade Cadro Province. Nurul assigned Ratman Wizard Tatsol to lead a force through the Cadro-Xylos border, and Tatsol marched north under threat of execution if he fled.

• Velin learned that a natural Spatial Channel would form in Maple County Town in three years and considered buying nearby land for profit.
• After reviewing scouting reports, Velin predicted that the monster coalition attacking Xylos Province might head north.
• Nurul rejected Jangula’s proposal to attack through Cadro Province because the legends had declared it forbidden.
• Tatsol proposed sending a force through the Cadro-Xylos border, and Nurul ordered him to lead the mission.
• The monster commanders assembled two thousand troops for Tatsol, while two Low-Gold Half-Dragons were assigned to stop him from fleeing.
• Tatsol set off north with two thousand monster elites, three thousand Ratman warriors, and fifteen hundred Goblin laborers.

Velin prepared Deer Gate South Mountain Fortress for an attack by a monster army of more than ten thousand, rallying his troops to defend it until reinforcements arrived. The chapter ended as Tatsol sent plague-ridden Goblin and Kobold cannon fodder toward the fortress.

• Kyle warned Velin that at least five thousand enemies were attacking, and Velin ordered nearby troops to retreat to the fortress and sent warnings to allied forces.
• Tatsol led his troops onward after learning that four thousand cannon fodder had taken the Plague Potion.
• Ratmen searching near the fortress spotted human scouts, who escaped toward the mountaintop before the Ratmen could catch them.
• Kyle reported that the monster army numbered roughly ten thousand and included Ratmen, Goblins, Kobolds, other monsters, and at least two Half-Dragons.
• Velin promised to fight on the front line, and his commanders and centurions swore to defend the fortress, lifting the troops' morale.
• Tatsol sent several thousand plague-ridden Goblin and Kobold cannon fodder toward the fortress, intending to contaminate it before attacking the next day.

Velin’s forces endured the Ratman Plague Source Bodies’ assault at Deer Gate South Mountain Fortress, then avoided a poison plot by refusing to drink groundwater. The ratmen’s next attack failed, leaving Tatsol facing the Half-Dragons’ anger.

• Giant Ratman Tak sent Plague Source Bodies against Deer Gate South Mountain Fortress, where Velin’s soldiers held the walls until the monsters decayed and became inactive.
• Ratman Wizard Tatsol ordered his army to withdraw for the night, while Velin warned his troops that the ratmen might have poisoned the groundwater and forbade them to drink it.
• Tatsol assured two Half-Dragons that his army would take the fortress the next day, and the thirsty soldiers inside waited for rain instead of drinking from the wells.
• When light rain fell, Tatsol sent Giant Ratman Tak to seize the fortress, believing its defenders had died from thirst and poison.
• Velin’s archers ambushed the approaching ratmen, killing more than six hundred before they retreated, and a Half-Dragon confronted Tatsol over his failed plan.

The Ratman Wizard committed the monster coalition to a full assault on Velin’s Earthen Fort, where the outnumbered Defense Force faced near-certain defeat. Velin’s Command Token unleashed a freezing power that destroyed the invading monsters, while the Ratman Wizard’s attempt to betray a Half-Dragon ended with his death.

• The Ratman Wizard ordered Tak to commit every unit to capturing the Earthen Fort, then offered Magic Crystals for human heads to spur the monster coalition into attacking.
• The monsters charged the fort, with an Ogre trampling hundreds of Ratman Soldiers as Tak tried to move his troops out of the way.
• Velin refused Kyle’s plea to flee and joined the Defense Force as monsters broke through the walls and overwhelmed the defenders.
• After Gnolls knocked Velin down, his Command Token activated and froze every monster in the Earthen Fort, which then shattered into ice crystals.
• The Ratman Wizard ambushed a Half-Dragon with a Witchcraft Artifact, but the other Half-Dragon cut off his head; the surviving Half-Dragon later awoke and carried the Ratman Wizard’s head back with his companion.

Velin recovered from his battle wounds at the Deer Gate South Mountain Earthen Fort while Kyle reported the heavy casualties. The monster army retreated after Nurul learned that the Goddess of Life had defeated the God of Famine, leaving the Ilia Kingdom victorious but badly weakened.

• Kyle gave Velin blood to drink, then arranged for him to be carried to his room while he took charge of the fort.
• Flora visited Velin, told him to recover, and promised to introduce him to the regiment commander; Kyle then reported that only 2,786 of the fort's 6,431 people remained.
• Velin ordered the fallen soldiers cremated so they could be taken home after the war.
• Nurul announced that the legends had ordered an immediate retreat because the Goddess of Life had defeated the God of Famine, and the monster leaders blamed the Famine Cult for misleading them.
• Nurul struck the Minotaur commander out of the tent, ordered the Minotaur legion to cover the retreat, and assigned conscripted Goblins and Kobolds as slaves to replenish other legions.
• The monster army withdrew across the front, ending the battle in a costly victory for the Ilia Kingdom.

After the monster army retreated, Velin met Madmonchi, who offered to send ten thousand abandoned people to Velin’s territory. Velin received two battle merit for his service and later joined Brian, Olcott, and Edgar, who discussed their progress toward promotion.

• Velin reunited with Moira and Flora, then visited Madmonchi and Kadeqi Ex in their tent.
• Madmonchi asked Velin to greet his father, Angus, and offered him around thirty thousand people abandoned by Pioneer Knights; Velin agreed to take ten thousand.
• Royal capital officials recorded Velin’s two battle merit, leaving him twenty-eight short of promotion to Viscount.
• Velin spoke with Kyle about how difficult battle merit was to earn, then accepted Brian’s invitation to a gathering.
• At Brian’s tent, Edgar said he was close to earning enough battle merit for Viscount, while Olcott said he still needed to join at least three more campaigns.

Velin returned to Lake of Star Prayer after the Defense Force was disbanded and learned that his territory had prospered through the famine thanks to its grain reserves. He arranged for future arrivals and honored the fallen soldiers, then continued training to reach Silver Intermediate.

• Olcott and Edgar thanked Velin for warning them to stockpile grain, and Velin accepted their offer of future help.
• Velin asked Kyle whether he wanted to lead troops or stay at his side, and Kyle pledged to serve him for life.
• Three days later, the Defense Force disbanded, and Velin returned to Lake of Star Prayer five days afterward.
• Belder explained that he had traded grain for new residents and sold five million pounds of grain for nearly fifty thousand Gold Coins.
• Velin reviewed the autumn harvest accounts, ordered Belder to keep the remaining grain, and told him to prepare for ten thousand incoming people.
• Velin held a funeral for the fallen soldiers and continued training to advance to Silver Intermediate.

Velin welcomed Moira and merchant Hook to the Lake of Star Prayer, then accompanied Moira as she began investigating his experimental healing potion. After Kyle swore his oath as the fifteenth Guardian Knight, Velin showed Moira the potion plantation and received her list of supplies for testing and production.

• Moira arrived with ten thousand serfs and introduced Hook of the South Kuhl Merchant Guild, whom Velin agreed to host while he examined the experimental potion.
• Velin gave Moira the Wooden Knight carved with Angus's name, and Moira gratefully accepted it.
• Moira officiated as Kyle swore allegiance to Velin and became the fifteenth Guardian Knight.
• Velin took Moira to Magic Potion Plantation No. 1 and explained that its mutated blue vine grass could quickly stop internal and external bleeding.
• Moira pulled up a plant for testing and gave Velin a list of supplies costing around twenty thousand gold coins; Velin said he would gather them while she tested the plant.

Velin prepared to build the Magic Potion Workshop after learning that Ice Blue Potion could bring substantial profits. A news report about a Legendary Mage near the Lake of Praying Stars prompted him to make secret travel plans, and he left the castle with Kyle.

• Velin and Moira showed Hook the Ice Blue Potion, and Hook offered to buy each bottle for three Gold Coins.
• A year later, Velin heard that a Legendary Mage would stay west of the Lake of Praying Stars for ten days, and he reacted with sudden interest.
• Moira estimated the workshop’s costs and explained that an Elemental Pool would require expensive Magic Crystals; Velin decided he could afford it.
• Velin asked Moira to finish the workshop while he prepared to leave with Kyle and told her to request any further supplies from Belder.
• Velin sent Belder Moira’s materials, asked him to arrange a January 15th summary meeting, and postponed deciding what to do about Sweet Grass.
• Velin ordered Kyle to prepare ten days’ worth of rations and set out with him, keeping their destination secret.

Velin and Kyle rode west through the wilderness, where they encountered snow-white Minotaurs who worshipped Lady Solun and were traveling toward the Misty Forest. After advising them on their route, Velin continued his journey and arrived near his destination after twenty hours.

• Velin packed seven Seven-Colored Life Flowers into a wooden box, met Kyle at the castle gate, and rode west with him through the night.
• Velin and Kyle's horses became trapped in the earth, but Priest Sala and her snow-white Minotaurs revealed themselves and said they meant no harm.
• Sala told Velin that her group had come from Alp Island following Lady Solun's oracle, and Velin advised them how to reach the Misty Forest.
• Sala paid Velin with a Moonstone and released the horses; after Velin and Kyle departed, the Minotaurs transformed into humans and headed south.
• Kyle asked Velin about the Minotaurs, and Velin speculated that a Minotaur tribe might have converted to Lady Solun before recounting the Black Asia Orc faith rebellion.
• Velin and Kyle traveled for twenty hours and arrived near their destination.

Velin and Kyle met the Star Realm Merchant Grey and traded Seven-Colored Life Flowers for access to his goods. Grey offered to buy all seven flowers for 2,000 trade points and showed Velin a magical tool with a catalog of items to choose from.

• Velin and Kyle approached Grey’s mansion, passed the monster corpses outside, and followed Anliya inside.
• Grey introduced himself as a Star Realm Merchant who had paid an admission fee to enter their world, and he explained that the Minotaurs had tried to abduct Anliya.
• Grey served Velin and Kyle fruit tea, which strengthened Kyle’s Battle Qi to High-Bronze Tier and advanced Velin to Silver Mid-Tier.
• Velin presented seven Seven-Colored Life Flowers, and Grey examined one with his Know All spell.
• Grey offered 2,000 trade points for all seven flowers and presented Velin with a magical tool displaying a catalog of goods.

Velin examined Grey’s wares and described his territory’s needs, allowing Grey to devise a trade focused on livestock and useful plants. After arranging a 1,940-point selection, Velin had 60 Trading Points left and paused to consider what he wanted for himself.

• Velin browsed Grey’s goods and struggled to choose among the valuable plants, animals, and weapons with his 2,000 Trading Points.
• Grey questioned Velin about his territory, family protection, and subordinates before narrowing the choices to six items.
• Grey recommended one Golden Apple Tree, four Green Vine Trees, six Black Tea Trees, six Luo Niu Camels, twenty Black-skinned Meat Pigs, and two Glowing Grapes.
• Velin accepted Grey’s plan, which cost 1,940 Trading Points, and Grey opened a Gate of Space for Anliya to retrieve the goods from his Demiplane.
• Grey asked Velin what he wanted to buy with his remaining 60 Trading Points, and Velin took a few minutes to think.

Velin traded for Immersive Game Helmets, Origin Power Vines, and a Storage Book after meeting Grey, who revealed he had glimpsed fate around him. Velin returned to Lake of Star Prayer and saw that the influx of Freemen had prompted road repairs and other public works.

• Velin exchanged his remaining Trading Points for two Immersive Game Helmets and three Origin Power Vines, then received a single-use Storage Book from Grey.
• Grey told Anliya that he had glimpsed fate upon Velin and planned to visit him during their hundred years of travel in the world.
• Anliya sent Velin, Kyle, and their horses through a temporary Spatial Channel back to Lake of Star Prayer.
• Velin returned to the castle with the Storage Book and planned to develop his territory, economy, army, and strength.
• Velin saw Freemen repairing the road and learned from an officer that Lord Belder had organized them to work in exchange for two meals a day.

Velin held the annual summary meeting, awarded Belder for Lake of Star Prayer’s development, and set goals for the coming year. He left the story with a new pioneer team assigned to expand north and Landov tasked with planning five industries.

• Velin ordered two ranches built north of the castle for breeding Black-skinned Meat Pigs and Luo Niu Camels.
• At the annual meeting, Orlando reported that his team had opened territory, established settlements, and raised a population of eight thousand five hundred.
• Belder reported Lake of Star Prayer’s growth, and Velin declared him the victor and gave him and his team the reward chest.
• Velin ordered Andrew, Greg, Mike, Doxius, Alfer, and Adolf to form a new pioneer team and open at least four hundred square kilometers to the north.
• Velin directed Star Prayer Town and Orlando Town to absorb more people and prevent unrest, then assigned Landov to plan five industries.

Velin assigned Landov to prepare environments for five important plants and animals, then traveled to inspect Orlando’s Azure Purple Horse ranch. The chapter ended as Velin arrived at the ranch gates and the guards opened them.

• Velin tasked Landov with adapting two ranches to the requirements of three plants and two animals, giving him four companies of soldiers and access to supplies.
• Velin recalled his failed attempt to provoke retaliation from the Centaur tribe and resolved to find another chance to settle his grudge.
• Orlando assembled thirty-five knights to greet Velin, who inspected their formation and equipment and straightened Orlando’s red ribbon.
• Orlando told Velin that the Azure Purple Horse ranch covered five thousand mu and housed 387 horses, along with soldiers, herders, and nearby fields growing Wind Green Grass.
• Velin and his party reached the ranch, where the guards saluted him and opened the gates.

Velin inspected the Azure Purple Horse Ranch and Border Outpost Number Six, while granting the ranch permission to sell mare’s milk and cheese so long as the horses were not endangered. He told Orlando to accelerate land reclamation in preparation for famine-driven migration, then continued touring the border defenses.

• Velin admired the ranch’s grounds, inspected its clean stables, and learned from Har that Area One held 387 Azure Purple Horses and produced mare’s milk and cheese.
• Velin allowed Har to sell the ranch’s milk and cheese, with the profits going to the ranch after taxes, but warned him not to endanger the horses through overproduction.
• Velin rode across the grassland with Orlando and urged him to expand the Pioneer Action because famine might bring many Freemen to the area.
• Velin visited Border Outpost Number Six, where Chax and Enko showed him its rooms and observation platform.
• Velin encouraged the soldiers and continued inspecting the other outposts.

Velin endured a painful breakthrough to High-Silver, then inspected the completed Magic Potion Workshop outside Star Prayer Town. The workshop successfully produced Ice Blue Potion at about eighty percent of Layla’s handmade potion’s effectiveness.

• Velin advanced to High-Silver after enduring unusually severe pain caused by his unstable foundation, and Kyle gave him an Ice Blue Potion to help him recover.
• Belder told Velin that Lady Layla had completed the Ice Blue Potion Workshop, and Velin ordered preparations for its inspection.
• Velin inspected the workshop’s defenses and instructed Belder to move the nearby barracks, strengthen security, and strictly screen its workers.
• Layla demonstrated the workshop by processing Ice Blue Grass into two bottles of Ice Blue Potion, explaining that the results were about eighty percent as effective as her handmade potions.
• Velin accepted the workshop’s output and called for Kyle to bring him an item.

Velin learned the Magic Potion Workshop could mass-produce Ice Blue Potion and negotiated a supply contract with Hook of the South Kuhl Merchant Guild. The chapter ended with their three-year commercial contract sealed by divine authority.

• Velin gave Layla a mithril dagger, and Layla explained that the workshop could make two bottles of Ice Blue Potion from one Ice Blue Grass in three minutes, though it needed regular breaks.
• Velin asked Belder to include the workshop's operating guidance in its manual and summoned Hook to negotiate a trade deal.
• Hook explained that he had waited in Star Prayer Town because of the potion's value and his ties to the territory's lord.
• Hook used his summoned White Feather Bird to analyze the Ice Blue Potion and offered to buy it for three Gold Coins per bottle.
• Velin agreed to supply six thousand bottles annually and signed a three-year commercial contract with Hook, which was sealed by divine authority.

Velin bid farewell to Layla, then worked with Randolph to prepare ranches and find suitable sites for new crops. He released the Black-skinned Meat Pigs and Luo Niu Camels and set out for Green Vine Tree Hill.

• Velin held a farewell banquet for Layla and offered to discuss selling Ice Blue Magic Potions to the Sixteenth Knight Order.
• Velin gave Layla a gift for Flora and teased Kyle about possibly calling Layla his aunt in the future.
• Randolph reported that the Green Vine Tree site was ready, found a battlefield canyon suitable for Black Tea Trees, and failed to find a suitable location for Glowing Grapes.
• Velin claimed the canyon as his territory and ordered people to plant his flag there.
• Velin released the Black-skinned Meat Pigs at one ranch and the docile Luo Niu Camels at another.
• Velin instructed the ranch staff to care for the Luo Niu Camels and headed for Green Vine Tree Hill.

Velin claimed the mana-rich valley for his settlement, but his plans were interrupted by Charles, an arrogant noble who challenged his authority. After Charles’s group fled, Velin ordered a masked raid on their belongings, and the next morning carriages arrived at his camp as Charles returned to the provincial capital in disgrace.

• Velin surveyed the valley with Randolph and planned to build a fort, station soldiers, and plant Green Vine Trees.
• Charles arrived with slaves and servants, dismissed a warning about a nearby army, and led his party toward the camp.
• Orlando beat Charles’s knight after Charles demanded the camp’s land, and Velin ordered Charles and his people to leave.
• The knight apologized and led Charles’s group away, and Velin told Orlando to rob their belongings that night while masked.
• Orlando led men north after dark, carriages arrived at the camp the next morning, and Charles returned to the provincial capital with little more than his clothes and a badly injured knight.

Velin seized Charles's possessions and slaves after Charles's group left the territory, while Charles returned to Cadro Province and begged Governor Fisk for help. Fisk ordered Charles to apologize to the people he had provoked and sent Kazak to prepare an apology gift.

• Orlando reported that Velin's men had taken Charles's belongings, grain, Carriages, and more than two hundred slaves, and Velin decided to sell the adult toys instead of burning them.
• Velin arranged to clear a canyon and prepare land for planting Black Tea Trees.
• Charles reached the Provincial Capital of Cadro Province after nearly a month and begged his uncle, Governor Fisk, to defend him.
• Charles recounted his grievance to Fisk, who ordered him to apologize rather than retaliate.
• Fisk told Kazak to take Charles to apologize and prepare three bolts of Cloud Silk Fabric as a gift.

Velin received Kark, a representative of Lord Madmonk and the Sixteenth Knight Order, and agreed to sell the order Ice Blue Magic Potions. After Kazak and Charles arrived in Star Prayer Town seeking an audience, Velin put them off until the next day, leaving Charles terrified of the punishment awaiting him if Kazak failed to obtain forgiveness.

• Kark told Velin that the Sixteenth Knight Order had been elevated to a third-rank Silver Knight Order and was expanding under Lord Madmonk.
• Velin agreed to sell the Sixteenth Knight Order two thousand bottles of Ice Blue Magic Potion at three Gold Coins per bottle, and Kark paid six thousand Gold Coins.
• Kyle reported that Kazak, the son of Cadro Province's governor, had arrived with Charles and wished to see Velin.
• Velin told Kazak to wait until the next day, and Kazak became angry when he heard the news.
• Kazak warned Charles that he would spend the rest of his life as a pig unless Kazak obtained Velin's forgiveness, and Charles collapsed in tears.