Recaps

Velin listed the forces under his command and the reinforcements he had gathered for the coming war, startling the Counts with the scale of his preparations. The Counts then debated how much of the family’s strength to commit, with the Hurricane Count arguing they should support Velin as fully as possible.

• Velin detailed his standing army, specialized forces, and fleets, including ninety-seven Floating Battleships and nearly 15,000 Spellcasters.
• Velin said he had borrowed two legends and 100,000 troops from the Holy Dragon Kingdom, 150,000 troops and other forces from Duke Moravia, and planned to deploy 300,000 troops of his own.
• Count Andusi calculated that Velin had assembled 580,000 troops, while the Blood Moon Count remarked that Velin might even be able to overthrow the Silvis Family.
• The Counts joked about conquering neighboring kingdoms before returning to the question of how many troops the family should send.
• The Blood Moon Count urged the family to help thoroughly, Count Misis warned that heavy losses could invite attacks, and the Hurricane Count argued for supporting Velin to the greatest extent possible.

Velin secured the noble families’ agreement to provide troops for his war, building an army of one million and forty thousand. The families also pledged military supplies, leaving Velin responsible for winning battles and obtaining resources to sustain the force.

• Ilisis recorded each family’s troop contribution, and Blood Moon Count increased Blood Moon Territory’s commitment by five thousand soldiers.
• Count Misis agreed to provide one thousand Spellcasters, and Velin promised to return or replace them after the war.
• Ilisis and the other nobles stamped the agreement, officially authorizing the loan of four hundred and sixty thousand family troops to Velin.
• Velin combined the borrowed forces with Qixing Territory’s troops to assemble an army of one million and forty thousand.
• Hurricane Count, Count Andusi, and Blood Moon Count insisted that the families share the cost of supplies and support for their troops.

After learning that the Ex Family had assembled 460,000 troops for his succession, Velin planned to visit Xuemya’s parents and seek information about the royal family. Xuemya’s father insisted he was not angry about her absence, but when Velin and Xuemya arrived, he told the Head Maid to invite them in.

• Velin told Xuemya that the Ex Family had assembled 460,000 troops and risked having to lie low for centuries if he failed.
• Velin and Xuemya agreed to visit her parents so he could try to learn hidden information about the royal family.
• At Gilded Lily Manor, Xuemya’s father claimed he was not upset that she rarely visited, while her mother teased him about it.
• The Head Maid announced that the God-Bestowed Count had arrived, and Xuemya’s father ordered her to invite them in.

Velin and Xuemya visited her parents, Cyprian and Yulalia, at their manor, where the four gradually grew more comfortable with one another. Their conversation turned to royal affairs, and Cyprian began explaining the royal family's divided views on the Ex Family.

• Velin and Xuemya arrived at the manor and greeted Cyprian and Yulalia in the garden.
• Xuemya and Velin spoke with her parents about their grandchildren, Cyprian's retirement, and Yulalia's teaching at the First Magic Academy.
• Velin invited Cyprian and Yulalia to Qixing Territory, but they declined because they preferred to stay in the Royal Capital.
• Xuemya asked whether Cyprian might someday leave the Ilia Kingdom with them, and he said he did not know what his future self would decide.
• Cyprian had Yulalia raise a magical barrier, then told Velin and Xuemya that the royal family had three main factions with different views on the Ex Family.

Cyprian explained the royal family's three viewpoints on dealing with Velin's family and revealed that he supported friendly relations while honoring his ties to the Silvis family. After leaving Gilded Lily Manor, Velin and Xuemya headed for the western district to see how it had changed.

• Xuemya explained that Flavian Silvis led the royal family members who preferred to ignore Velin's family, while Cyprian described Hilarion Silvis's faction as advocating suppression.
• Velin learned that Hilarion had been imprisoned for thirty years and barred from official positions for five hundred years after an assassination attempt, and Xuemya explained his contempt for collateral branches.
• Cyprian identified the friendly-relations faction as the royal family's mainstream and said he supported it because he remained a Silvis despite being from a collateral branch.
• Velin reminded Cyprian that Xuemya had become part of the Ex Family through their marriage, and Cyprian acknowledged that this had been part of his deal with Angus.
• Cyprian refused to reveal what he had traded with Angus, and Velin and Xuemya later left Gilded Lily Manor for the western district.

Velin traveled to the royal palace for the coronation ceremony, surrendering his space bracelet at the gate before entering the crowded grounds. His grandfather, Duke Moravia, met him and teleported him away before he could learn why.

• Velin departed Moon Shadow Manor with the other counts and their escorted carriages.
• The palace detection device flagged Velin's carriage, so he tossed out his space bracelet for inspection and the guards recorded it as Marquis Fregia Ios's property.
• Velin passed through the palace checkpoint and followed the signs toward Michael Palace, where nobles and other powerful figures had gathered for the coronation.
• Velin reflected on the importance of the assembled people and learned that King Michael was Karix Silvis's biological father.
• Duke Moravia appeared behind Velin, said he had come to find him, and used Space Teleportation to take him away.

Duke Moravia revealed that he had wagered with the other six dukes on Velin’s strength, putting military supplies for Velin’s war against the promise of training Gold-tier Spellcasters if Velin lost. The dukes brought their High-tier Soul Intent heirs to face Velin in a Demiplane, where Duke Moravia asked how he wanted to fight.

• Duke Moravia told Velin that the six dukes had agreed to provide supplies for an army of one hundred thousand for five years if Velin won, but Velin would have to train ten Gold-tier Spellcasters for each duke if he lost.
• Velin decided he would rely on the Ice Warriors rather than draw on the Blood Knight, Life Knight, and Death Knight’s powers.
• The six dukes returned with their chosen fighters: Melistella Leitend, Telius Enrich, Sarion Torog, Lecia Liman, Mesarion Mulstan, and Calebros Stoya.
• Duke Moravia opened a Demiplane passage, and the dukes and their heirs followed him inside.
• Duke Moravia asked Velin how he wanted to fight in the barren, low-Mana Demiplane.

Velin faced six young nobles in a duel before the coronation ceremony, but summoned 144 High-tier Soul Intent Ice Warriors to join him. The six opponents began fighting with coordinated tactics while the watching dukes considered how to connect their families to Velin.

• Velin proposed deciding the outcome with a single battle, and Duke Moravia set up an arena for the duel.
• Velin used the Karnus Bracer to summon 144 High-tier Soul Intent Ice Warriors, leaving the six dukes stunned by the odds.
• After the gold coin landed, the six opponents agreed to fight and focus on lasting as long as possible.
• Mesarion Mulstan charged first, while the other five coordinated their attacks and roles against the Ice Warriors.
• Duke Moravia praised the opponents' teamwork, and the six dukes began considering marrying their descendants into Velin's family.

Calebros Stoya was the last conscious duelist standing against Velin’s Ice Warriors, and he faced Orleskal Pordren, an Ice Warrior as strong as Velin. As their duel began, Calebros removed a ring and unleashed a storm of plants across the frozen arena.

• Six more Ice Warriors joined the battle, and Mesarion was blasted into a crater before Calebros summoned vine giants to reinforce the defenders.
• The six duelists fell behind against twenty-four Ice Warriors; Mesarion, Melistra, and Sarion lost consciousness, while Lesia suffered spell backlash.
• Before Telius fell, he placed seven Life Restoration Divine Spells on Calebros, who survived seven fatal injuries behind a ring of vine giants.
• The Ice Warriors withdrew and Orleskal Pordren challenged Calebros, while Velin sat at the arena’s edge to watch.
• Orleskal created a domain of ice, and Calebros removed the ring from his wrist, unleashing a green storm that made plants burst through the ice.

Calebros nearly exhausted himself casting [Nature Order] to transform the arena and its surroundings, but Velin supplied Soul Power that let him complete the spell. After the duel ended, Velin demanded one hundred thousand High-grade Magic Crystals for his help, while Duke Moravia insisted he would honor his promise to cover the cost.

• Dukes Moravia, Leitend, and Mulstan mocked Duke Stoya about Calebros's beauty, but Stoya accepted their remarks and judged his son more likely than the others' contenders to reach Legend.
• Calebros's Vine Giants struggled against the Ice Warriors, and he began to falter as his mana ran low.
• Calebros summoned Natural Power and began casting [Nature Order], creating a domain of vegetation that dispersed the Ice Warriors' ice and snow domain.
• Velin flew to Calebros and supplied him with Soul Power, while Duke Moravia stopped Duke Stoya from intervening and agreed to cover the costs of transforming the Demiplane.
• Calebros completed [Nature Order] and collapsed onto a flower; Velin healed him, then demanded one hundred thousand High-grade Magic Crystals for his help.
• Velin thanked the one hundred and forty-four Ice Warriors, dissolved their contract, and sent them back to the elemental space.

Velin negotiated with Duke Moravia over the price of his Seven-Colored Crystals, while Moravia arranged to keep part of the supply and resell the rest to Karix. Velin left the hall but got lost in the royal palace.

• Duke Moravia offered to pay Velin for purifying the demiplane, and Velin settled on a fee of one hundred thousand High-grade Magic Crystals.
• Duke Moravia tricked Velin into admitting that his Seven-Colored Crystals did not come from purified Demon souls, then negotiated a purchase of five hundred thousand crystals.
• Velin quoted a price of one hundred and twenty thousand High-grade Magic Crystals for the crystals, and Duke Moravia accepted before heading to meet Karix.
• Duke Moravia planned to keep three hundred thousand crystals and sell the remaining two hundred thousand to Karix for seventy-three thousand High-grade Magic Crystals.
• Velin left the hall, became disoriented among the royal palace’s identical buildings, and decided to find a guard to ask for directions.

Velin wandered through the palace complex and overheard Princess and guard Thor, discovering that she intended to use him to advance her political plans. He decided to make them gifts to Valient, then reached the altar’s viewing area and took a seat near its top.

• Velin found Princess pressuring Thor to become her personal guard by promising to advance his younger brother’s career, and Thor reluctantly agreed.
• After Thor left, Princess tried to use her Soul Skill [Time-Space Splendor] to glimpse her future but suffered a bloody tear when she could see nothing.
• Velin judged that Princess and Thor might become valuable allies and decided to give them to Valient as gifts in exchange for a favor.
• A High-tier Soul Knight stopped Velin in the palace complex, then let him pass after Velin explained that Duke Moravia had left him there.
• Velin reached the altar, greeted nobles on the way, and sat in a stone seat near the top.

Velin attended the Ilia Kingdom’s coronation ceremony and learned how the altar’s seating and the Legends’ role reflected the kingdom’s hierarchy. He discovered the identities of the men seated beside him, including the Ascetic Monk Elder Scent, whose name stirred familiar memories.

• Velin sat between an unidentified middle-aged man and an old Ascetic Monk while the coronation guests filled the altar’s tiers.
• Velin watched his elder brother arrive with two powerful young marquises as the ceremony’s seats filled.
• The old man and Marquis Philerian explained that the Legends would take their seats when the coronation began and that the ceremony’s length depended on the royal family.
• Velin learned that the middle-aged man was Ianlius Philerian and recalled rumors surrounding the previous marquis’s wife and children.
• A guest greeted Elder Scent, and Velin recognized the Ascetic Monk’s name and realized they shared a distant family connection.

Belgrave began the succession ceremony to abdicate after ruling Ilia for 124 years, while the kingdom’s people and foreign envoys reacted to the coming coronation. The ceremony had started, but Valient Silvis’s coronation and the war expected to follow remained ahead.

• Eight hundred Gold Knights entered the palace square, and Belgrave climbed the altar as memories of his reign and its many wars surfaced.
• Twelve Legendary figures, the Pope, and the Saintess arrived, while Velin wondered about Tadius and Anastasia.
• Calix Silvis told Belgrave to begin, and Belgrave announced the succession ceremony for the 26th King of Ilia.
• Thirty-six warriors sounded horns across the Royal Capital, prompting residents, soldiers, merchants, and envoys to consider what the new reign might bring.
• Felix Silvis heard the horns from his manor and remembered how deeply he had once wanted them to sound for him.

Felix received a politically dangerous appointment to govern Saint Lun Province, but Tilia forced him to choose between staying with her and dying; he chose to keep living beside her. At Valient's coronation, Belgrave began the final rite before the Goddess of Life, with Saint Anastasia preparing to remove his crown.

• Felix read his appointment as governor of Saint Lun Province and recognized it as a trap set by the new king.
• Tilia confronted Felix with a broken blade and demanded that he choose between killing her and staying with her; Felix crushed the blade and carried her inside.
• Valient approached the altar as Gold Knights and guests saluted him, while Velin represented Qixing Count in acknowledging the new king.
• Belgrave introduced Valient to the twelve Legends, and Valient bowed to each one.
• Belgrave knelt before the statue of the Goddess of Life as Saint Anastasia appeared, and the Goddess witnessed the coronation.
• Saint Anastasia began recounting Belgrave's reign before removing his crown and crowning Valient.

Valient was crowned the 26th King of the Ilia Kingdom after Belgrave abdicated, and he swore to defend the kingdom and uphold the Goddess of Life’s faith. The coronation gave way to a lavish banquet, which Velin eagerly enjoyed.

• Saintess Anastasia formally accepted Belgrave’s abdication and removed the crown from his head.
• Anastasia crowned Valient Silvis, who swore to protect Ilia, uphold justice, and serve the Goddess of Life’s faith.
• The Goddess of Life acknowledged Valient, and the assembled guests pledged their loyalty to him as king.
• Valient invited the guests to rise and then be seated as the honor guard departed and attendants prepared the banquet.
• Velin praised the food and began eating alongside Marquis Philerian and Elder Scent.

Valient learned how the kingdom’s decision-making layer was organized and began choosing ministers with Belgrave’s guidance. Belgrave gave him a book recording their predecessors’ planted allies and warned him never to use the nobles’ weaknesses in it as weapons, while nine appointments remained undecided.

• The chapter described the kingdom’s ministers, regional military patrols, and three other officials who, with the king, formed the thirteen-member decision-making layer.
• Valient asked Belgrave about appointing the God-Bestowed Count as Foreign Minister, and Belgrave advised against it; Valient then selected Ilisis Ex, the Eagle Marquis.
• Valient chose Ismael Asterix as Finance Minister, surprising Belgrave, who said the choice showed Valient understood his intentions.
• Belgrave advised Valient to place pieces for future generations and handed him a black book recording allies planted by Belgrave and his father, warning him not to use the nobles’ weaknesses listed inside.
• Belgrave said he would leave the palace in three days, and Valient reviewed the parchment, finding nine positions still open for him to fill.

Valient and Duke Moravia struggled to fill ministerial posts, while Imol tried to avoid becoming Military Patrol Minister by finding Anklor, Galros, or persuading Velin to take the post. Velin traveled with Xuemya to meet Imol at High Tower Mountain Manor, expecting his uncle to ask for help and resolving to demand fair compensation.

• Valient considered appointing Velin Interior Minister but gave up and continued selecting other candidates.
• Duke Moravia ordered Imol to become Military Patrol Minister unless he captured Anklor or Galros within half a month, or persuaded Velin to take the role.
• Xuemya told Velin that Imol had invited him to High Tower Mountain Manor, and Velin agreed to go while warning he would expect compensation for any help.
• Three days later, Imol learned that Velin's carriage was approaching and ordered the manor staff to welcome him properly.
• On the way to the manor, Velin told Xuemya that if Imol appealed to his feelings through his mother, he would tell Grandfather.

Imol welcomed Velin and Xuemya to his lavish estate, hoping to persuade his nephew to help him. Velin accepted the feast but remained carefully formal, leaving Imol to consider how to win his agreement.

• Imol greeted Velin and Xuemya with a guard of honor and invited them into his estate.
• Velin kept a polite distance from Imol, making Imol suspect that his nephew was treating the visit as a formal engagement.
• As Imol showed off his costly grounds, Velin privately considered whether he could rob his uncle, while Imol offered him a Phantom Leopard to eat.
• Velin and Xuemya reached the cliffside pavilion, where Velin admired the magical spectacle created by Imol's arrays.
• Velin accepted Imol's prepared food and decided he would agree only if the favor Imol asked was not too serious.

Velin rejected Imol’s effort to persuade him to become Military Patrol Minister after learning that the position could place him under Duke Moravia’s control. He left with Xuemya, while Duke Moravia watched from above and sent someone to check on the Magic Crystals.

• After finishing the lavish meal, Velin discussed ministerial positions with Imol and suggested that Imol wanted to become Military Patrol Minister.
• Imol explained that Velin’s grandfather had proposed the appointment, prompting Velin to recall his father’s diary and the Military Patrol Ministers’ unwritten subordination to Duke Moravia.
• Realizing the position could put him in danger, Velin told Imol that he and Xuemya had to leave.
• Imol directly asked what it would take for Velin to serve as Military Patrol Minister, but Velin urged him not to disappoint his grandfather and departed.
• Duke Moravia watched Velin leave, wondered how he had learned about his father’s affairs, then vanished to find Karix and check whether the Magic Crystals were ready.

Valient finalized his Twelve Ministers, appointing Lakil as Palace Steward, and Xuemya explained how the roster signaled a plan to weaken the conservative nobles through two wars. Velin agreed to meet the new king the next day before returning home.

• Valient finalized the Twelve Ministers and appointed Lakil as Palace Steward.
• Xuemya analyzed the ministers’ factional ties and pointed out that the Conservative Noble Faction had no representative.
• Xuemya told Velin that Valient planned to weaken conservative nobles through two wars, then strip titles from those unable to meet their obligations.
• Velin called Valient ruthless and joked that he and Xuemya should retaliate against the royal family.
• Velin said he would meet Valient the next day and then head back.

Valient discussed his plans for ruling the Ilia Kingdom with Lakil, including the God-Bestowed Count’s ambitions and a secret marriage alliance with the Eagle Marquis’s family. The chapter ended when the God-Bestowed Count requested an audience with Valient.

• Valient persuaded Lakil to speak to him informally in private and asked him to help carry out a twenty-year plan to reform the kingdom.
• Valient told Lakil that he would not interfere with the God-Bestowed Count as long as the royal family’s rule remained secure, and suggested the Count might be building toward founding a country overseas.
• Valient said he had agreed to marry the Eagle Marquis’s daughter when she came of age, in exchange for secretly supplying the Marquis with military provisions for an army of five hundred thousand for ten years.
• Valient asked Lakil to deliver the supplies to the Eagle Marquis in batches, and Lakil agreed.
• A Head Maid told Valient that the God-Bestowed Count had requested an audience.

Velin visited King Valient with Xuemya and gave him information about people hidden within the royal palace. After seeing them off, Valient considered how to deal with those people and summoned General Landir.

• Lakil accepted the curved disk from Valient and left the palace through a side entrance.
• Valient changed his expression as Velin and Xuemya arrived, then welcomed them as family rather than as king and count.
• Valient poured wine for Velin and Xuemya, and Velin explained his gift: information about people concealed within the royal palace.
• Valient was shocked by Velin's revelation and said he did not know how to repay him, but Velin told him the gift made up for his earlier lack of a coronation present.
• After Velin and Xuemya departed, Valient considered how to handle the hidden people and ordered the Head Maid to invite General Landir.

Velin welcomed Kyle back with a second group of Spellcasters and learned that he had also arranged the purchase of 110 Floating Battleships. After deciding the third group would be the last and ordering a third fleet formed, Velin agreed to let Xuemya command a twelve-ship fleet centered on the five Arcane Eye Floating Battleships.

• Kyle reported that the Aixi Magic Kingdom had sold 110 Floating Battleships at a steep discount, with the Dawn Church covering the cost until repayment in a hundred years.
• Kyle brought 12,826 Spellcasters and their 87,935 family members, servants, and guards to Qixing Territory.
• Velin decided the third group of Spellcasters would be the last and told Kyle to compensate Iletos with another million gold coins.
• Velin ordered the Star Moon Department to begin forming a Third Floating Fleet around the newly acquired ships.
• Xuemya explained that the Arcane Eye Floating Battleships could monitor magical activity across vast areas, and Velin offered her command of a twelve-ship fleet built around the five vessels.

Velin and Xuemya discussed spellcaster recruitment and the Corrupt Cult’s unexplained withdrawal, then teased each other about whether she or Kyle mattered more to Velin. The chapter ended with Green cultivating in the Potion Cultivation Center using Kaike Seven-Colored Crystals.

• Velin told Xuemya he could provide only two hundred spellcasters for now, and they discussed the shortage of mind-branch Arcanists in Qixing Territory.
• Velin and Xuemya reviewed evidence that the Corrupt Cult had withdrawn after its stronghold was found without signs of battle, and wondered why its members had left their leaders’ bodies at the border.
• Xuemya asked whether she or Kyle was more important to Velin, and Velin said the weaker person mattered more.
• Velin left for the Floating Battleship construction base, while Xuemya said they would talk again if he returned that night.
• On January 7th, 9788, Green absorbed Soul Power from twelve Kaike Seven-Colored Crystals in the Meditation Room.