Recaps

Iden planned the next day's siege of Luohai Port City, granting the Third Battalion Commander permission to fight and assigning Bamund to remain behind. In the city, General Red gathered troops and promised reinforcements to rally the defenders, though he had exaggerated the relief force's strength and arrival time.

• The Third Battalion Commander asked to join the assault so his battalion's banner could fly over the enemy city, and Iden granted his request.
• Iden ordered the siege to begin at nine the next morning with the Blue Veil Battalion and West Wind Battalion leading, supported by the First Floating Fleet, and said he would enter the battle if needed.
• Bamund agreed to stay behind while Greg entered the battlefield, and the two generals promised to share a drink after the battle.
• General Red learned that Viscount Spier had conscripted ten thousand warriors and City Lord Gares had recruited around eight hundred adventurers, bringing the city's forces to forty thousand.
• Red told the nobles that General Blackthorn would arrive with eighty thousand reinforcements by dawn the day after tomorrow, persuading them to contribute their guards and retainers.
• After the meeting, Red admitted to his deputy that he had exaggerated the reinforcements to keep the defenders from fleeing, then ordered him to send the messenger wine, meat, and a promise of royal recognition.

Iden’s forces launched a coordinated assault on Luohai Port City, breaking its defenses and driving the Okra Kingdom’s troops toward defeat. With the Holy Blood Shield shattered and the city center destroyed, Red ordered most of his troops to escape while he stayed behind to delay the enemy.

• Iden’s fleet and the Second Mage Corps attacked Luohai Port City, detonating buried Elemental Core Bombs and forcing Red to learn that the Holy Blood Shield had lost thirty percent of its mana.
• Iden ordered the beach bombarded before landing, and more than eight hundred Fast Attack Boats delivered Blue Veil Battalion and West Wind Battalion warriors to shore.
• Red reduced his forces’ bombardment and let the attackers approach, but the Blue Veil Battalion overwhelmed the Stone Armor Legion and broke through Luohai City’s gate.
• Iden halted the Floating Fleet’s attacks and redirected the Magic Energy Cannons behind the port while the invading troops fought their way into the city.
• The Holy Blood Shield shattered, and the falling meteor destroyed the Square Tower and much of the city center.
• Red ordered the Black Armor Unit to stay and hold off the enemy while the other troops escaped, then told his deputy to warn Heiji.

Iden defeated Red and gained sudden clarity about a problem that had troubled him, while Bamund ordered Luohai City secured and occupied. At Baiyan Port City, Blake discovered that the multicolored light in his soul could help him solve a longstanding cultivation problem, but it had shrunk considerably.

• Iden killed Red after a fierce aerial battle, and realized the insight he gained might be the favor his lord had spoken of.
• The Third Battalion Commander raised his battalion's banner beside the First Legion's banner in Luohai City.
• Bamund ordered troops to capture survivors, secure the city, expand the sweep into nearby settlements, and scout the surrounding area.
• Luohai City's last enemy unit surrendered, while the Second Legion's assault left Baiyan Port City in ruins.
• Blake questioned Felix about a woman who had escaped, then entered the Square Tower to investigate the multicolored light in his soul.
• Blake used the light to find an answer to a cultivation problem, and saw that the light had shrunk by two-thirds.

Blake tested whether killing natives with intact families affected the light within his soul, while reports of the invading army’s strength and victories spread through Baimu Province. Orlando judged Blake’s separate report crucial and left to brief his lord in person.

• Blake ordered guards to bring him one hundred civilians, prioritized natives from the evil faction, and killed them while checking for changes in his soul.
• Blake found that killing the civilians had not changed the multicolored light and continued testing his theory by choosing natives with intact families.
• Onis Okra learned that Luohai City had fallen and received a letter warning that Baiyan City faced fifty thousand enemy troops, including more than ten thousand Fourth-order Transcendents.
• Onis ordered the invasion information sealed while he requested reinforcements from the royal capital.
• Orlando compared the victory reports from the First and Second Legions, recognized the importance of Blake’s report, and departed for Supreme Command to inform his lord.

Velin reviewed the Qixing Army’s battle reports and learned that the pursuit of blessings through killing could corrupt his troops. He ordered three secret policies for the First Corps to curb that danger while the army continued its campaign.

• Velin read the First and Second Legions’ battle reports and ordered Orlando to give Blake 500,000 gold coins and file a merit report for him.
• Velin and Orlando discussed how warriors might provoke resistance and massacre civilians to gain power and the World Mother’s blessings.
• Velin ordered three secret policies for the First Corps: test Aerans’ alignment and punish those judged evil, spread the Goddess of Life’s faith, and send soldiers who killed innocents to a death-penalty battalion.
• Velin told Orlando to correct troubling behavior promptly and observe the First Corps for half a year.
• After Orlando left, Velin reflected that the army needed to verify its policies before advancing further, while the Second and Third Corps used the time to improve.

Iden briefed the First Legion’s generals on secret orders to assess Aerans, support religious preaching, and enforce military discipline in the occupied territories. After the legion reported a 100,000-strong enemy gathering to the southeast, Kasper Okra considered his depleted forces and the dangers posed by the force that had captured Luohai City.

• Iden summoned the First Legion’s battalion generals and warned them not to reveal the three secret orders.
• Bamund outlined the legion’s occupations, deployments, and orders to assess Aerans, arrest evil elements, support Life Priests, and improve discipline.
• Greg warned the generals that officers would share responsibility if their subordinates slaughtered innocents.
• Iden urged the generals to remain loyal to the lord and Qixing Territory, then ended the meeting.
• Greg, Bamund, and Iden discussed a 100,000-strong enemy force gathering to the southeast and decided to report it to army command.
• In Bados City, Kasper Okra reviewed intelligence on the force that captured Luohai City and worried about his losses and the composition of the approaching army.

The Seventh Legion arrived in Luohai City and coordinated with Iden’s First Legion for its southward advance. Afterward, Iden learned more about the reclusive strategist Raphael Kolt, who asked Verlit to decline a future invitation and obtain a history of Baimu Province.

• Kasper received a report that the enemy was preparing a large-scale advance south and summoned nobles and commanders to a meeting.
• Iden welcomed Verlit and the Seventh Legion in Luohai City, verified their military order, and promised supplies and temporary Magic Energy Cannon support.
• Iden asked Bamund about Raphael Kolt and learned that Raphael had once advised Angus but had retired from public affairs.
• Greg decided to alert Orlando to Raphael’s talent, while Iden chose not to report the matter and let Greg handle it.
• Raphael asked Verlit to write Angus a polite refusal of the commander’s future invitation and to obtain a history book about changes in Baimu Province.

Kasper Okra learned that major reinforcements were coming and shared a resolve with his old friend to avenge Red or die in the war. After the Seventh Legion reached Bados City, Raphael suspected something about the enemy’s withdrawal and sent soldiers to investigate Black Abyss.

• Kasper Okra received word that the Frost Valley Legion, the Ashes Legion, and the Silverwing Sky Fleet were coming, with more troops to follow.
• Kasper and his old friend drank to Red and agreed to avenge him or die fighting the invaders.
• The Seventh Legion arrived outside Bados City, where Verlit and Kruva Ex assessed the enemy’s retreat from the Satellite Cities.
• Raphael pointed out Black Abyss on the map, and Verlit ordered a company from the Sixth Battalion to investigate.
• Raphael went to the Logistics Camp, while Kruva told Verlit they should wait for the investigating unit’s report.

The kingdom prepared a force of more than six hundred thousand soldiers to defeat the enemy forces in Luohai City and outside Bados City. Sigrin led a reconnaissance mission toward Black Abyss Town and, after sending his men back, used his secret ability to infiltrate the guarded valley.

• A commander outlined a plan to annihilate the enemy forces and reclaim the fallen territories with more than six hundred thousand troops.
• Sigrin's squad captured enemy soldiers at a fortress, then sent the prisoners and most of his men to a designated assembly point.
• Sigrin ordered the remaining Low-rank Silver warrior and his men to retreat while he continued toward the fortress at the valley entrance.
• Sigrin removed his crystal necklace and used Silent Step to turn invisible, then slipped past the guards and the Magic Mirror.

Sigrin infiltrated the enemy camp beneath Black Abyss Town and gathered intelligence about its hidden forces and Floating Battleships, sacrificing his strength and lifespan to escape. Two days later, he reported the information to Verlit and asked him to care for his younger brother, Barn.

• Sigrin entered a guarded cavern beneath the valley and discovered a camp of at least ten thousand soldiers and several Floating Battleships.
• With only minutes of strength remaining, Sigrin eavesdropped on the soldiers and escaped the valley, losing much of his battle energy and class level.
• Sigrin drank a Blood Burning Magic Potion, spending his lifespan to evade the search and reach his brother and companions.
• Sigrin's companions killed the ordinary prisoners and carried him toward Bados City while Isolde Okla dismissed a report about the sentry post attack.
• Two days later, Sigrin told Verlit that at least sixty thousand enemy troops and ships were hidden beneath Black Abyss Town, then asked Verlit to look after Barn.

Verlit and Kruva submitted a plan to draw the Okra Kingdom’s forces to Batos City and destroy them in a decisive battle, following Raphael’s strategic guidance. Orlando and the First Corps commanders supported the plan, and Orlando prepared to seek approval and additional forces from Supreme Command.

• Verlit told Kruva that Raphael’s plan was to gather the Native Kingdom’s forces around Batos City and wipe them out, and Raphael ordered them to present it as their own strategic vision.
• Verlit and Kruva agreed to submit the plan, and Verlit asked that the intelligence officer who gathered the information be credited and considered for a restorative potion.
• Two hours later, Griffin Knights carried the Seventh Legion’s plan and intelligence about enemy troops in Black Abyss Town to Orlando at sea.
• Orlando asked Ignatius, Iletos, and Devonshire to review the plan, and all three agreed with its decisive-battle strategy.
• Orlando said he would report the plan to Supreme Command and seek Magic Energy Cannon units, then turned to Ignatius about naming its proposer.

Orlando secured Supreme Command’s approval for the Black Abyss Battle, a campaign to seize four provinces of Okra Kingdom, and began preparing the First Corps for war. The chapter ended with the legion commanders receiving their assignments and invasion timetable.

• Orlando presented General Raphael’s strategic concept to Velin, who approved it as the Black Abyss Battle and ordered logistical support and additional Magic Energy Cannons.
• Velin tasked Orlando with taking Baimu Province, North River Valley Province, and South River Valley Province, and arranged to meet an officer from the Seventh Legion in Luohai City.
• After returning to the First Corps, Orlando summoned its legion commanders and announced that the corps would commit all its troops to seize four provinces, including Camelot Province.
• Orlando ordered Verlit’s Seventh Legion to capture and defend Bados City, while the First and Second Legions displayed an offensive posture near Luohai City and Baiyan City.
• Orlando assigned the Tenth and Fifteenth Legions to land in North River Valley Province in early September and the Third and Sixteenth Legions to land in South River Valley Province in mid-October.
• Orlando designated the Fifth Legion as the corps reserve force.

Orlando organized the First Corps’ deployment for a decisive campaign against the Okra Kingdom, then welcomed Commander-in-chief Velin and showed him the fortified island base. Velin praised the preparations and heard that a local battalion had been formed, but stopped Orlando before he could reveal more.

• Orlando assigned the First Mage Legion to support the Seventh Legion, placed the Second Mage Legion in reserve, and told the First Knight Legion to remain ready for separate orders.
• Orlando told Verlit that the commander-in-chief would arrive in Luohai City and personally receive the officer who uncovered crucial intelligence.
• Velin arrived with the Second Floating Fleet, and Orlando and the First Corps generals welcomed him at the port.
• Velin inspected the island base, then praised Orlando’s work and reviewed the campaign plan to destroy the Okra Kingdom’s forces in the northwestern region.
• Orlando reported that Iden had formed Luohai City’s First Battalion from 5,325 Aerans, but Velin interrupted him and asked to learn the details during his inspection.

Velin and Kyle discussed the archipelago Kingdom Legendaries and the possibility of trading with them. Raxius returned to the Thunderclap Kingdom, reported finding the descended landmass to Duke Kiria, and learned that Velin was the Moon Knight; the chapter ended as his father pressed him to reveal what Velin had given him.

• Velin told Kyle he did not intend to drive away the five archipelago Kingdom Legendaries and hoped they might eventually trade and provide population.
• Raxius returned to the Kiria Duchy after ten years away, and Lord Aurien welcomed him before taking him to Duke Kiria.
• Raxius told Duke Kiria that he had found the landmass region east of the Xenops Subcontinent and encountered Velin Ex there.
• Duke Kiria recognized Velin's connection to Moravia and decided there was no need to buy the region's coordinates from Loen.
• Lord Aurien told Raxius that Velin was the Moon Knight, directly acknowledged by the Moon God's Crown.
• Raxius began asking his father what he should think if Velin had given him something, prompting his father to demand to know what it was.

Kexius’s father accepted the book Kexius had obtained from the Moon Knight, while Velin inspected the newly formed Aeran First Battalion in Luohai City. Velin praised Bailes’s work but told him to strengthen the unit’s formation discipline.

• Kexius told his father he had exchanged a map of an abnormal Space Fluctuation area for the Moon Knight’s book, and his father accepted it.
• Velin and Kyle arrived aboard the Second Floating Fleet, where Iden and the assembled officers welcomed them.
• Velin reassured the frightened Aeran officer Bailes and ordered Iden to begin the inspection with Luohai City’s First Battalion.
• Bailes assembled more than five thousand Aeran troops, and Velin assessed their ranks and military bearing.
• Velin told Bailes the unit was good but needed more formation training, and Bailes accepted the order with relief.

Velin reviewed Luohai City's purification and military resources, then summoned Sigrin, the officer who had uncovered the enemy's plan to hide troops in Black Abyss Town. Velin healed Sigrin's soul and body, restoring his life and strengthening him, and honored him as a hero of the First Corps.

• Bailes ordered the army to resume training after Velin and his party left the camp for Luohai City.
• Iden reported that purification had reduced the Aeran population from 515,358 to 335,852 believers, alongside 25,855 slave laborers, and that the First Legion's Death Penalty Camp was empty.
• Velin asked Verlit to bring in Sigrin, who had discovered the enemy's plan to hide troops in Black Abyss Town.
• Velin used [Healing—Soul] and gathered life force from the City Lord's Mansion's plants to restore Sigrin's soul, body, and lost lifespan.
• Velin declared Sigrin a hero of the First Corps after Sigrin's strength rose to just below Gold Low-tier.

Velin rewarded Sigrin for his intelligence work, appointed him General Verlit’s adjutant, and offered to arrange a teacher for his child. As Sigrin’s story spread through the First Legion and raised morale, the Floating Fleet sailed toward Baiyan City.

• Velin made Sigrin General Verlit’s adjutant and praised him for bringing vital intelligence to the army.
• Velin offered to find a teacher for Sigrin’s child and promised him command of a legion of sixty thousand Aerans once he could lead troops independently.
• Sigrin vowed lifelong loyalty to Velin and agreed to reveal his secret when he became a legion commander.
• Three days later, the Floating Fleet left Luohai City and headed south toward Baiyan City as Sigrin’s deeds spread through the First Legion.
• Bamund reviewed disciplinary violations caused by soldiers discussing Sigrin after lights-out and noted that the story had boosted morale.

The Seventh Legion launched a massive assault on Bados City, overwhelming its defenses with sustained magical bombardment and ground attacks. Kasper died fighting Kruva Ex, and Kruva planted the Seventh Legion’s banner on the command platform.

• Kasper ordered the Holy Blood Shield raised and prepared Bados City’s defenders as the Seventh Legion’s forces advanced.
• Verlit ordered repeated bombardments that shattered the shield and destroyed large parts of the city and its western defenses.
• Kasper ordered his troops to engage in close combat and sent Heiji away to warn Black Abyss Town.
• The Seventh Legion stormed the walls, where its stronger warriors gained the advantage over the Stone Armor Legion’s defenders.
• Kruva Ex confronted Kasper after Kasper burned his lifespan, then killed him and planted the Seventh Legion’s banner on the command platform.

The Seventh Legion captured Bados City after its defenders collapsed into infighting and flight, while Commander Verlit warned his officers not to underestimate future enemies. At First Corps headquarters, Orlando and the others assessed the victory’s heavy ammunition cost and waited to see how the Okra Kingdom would respond.

• A middle-aged noble ordered his men to abandon the East City Gate, and the Stone Armor Legion’s battle flag fell as defenders fought one another to escape.
• A young man raised the Okra Kingdom’s flag, rallied more than eighteen hundred defeated soldiers, and led them out of Bados City.
• After thirty hours of fighting, Verlit questioned Sigrin about the siege, then stressed the need for contingency plans and restraint against every enemy.
• Verlit watched Aeran prisoners being escorted away and worried that Supreme Command’s order about gaining the world’s blessing by killing enemy powerhouses could drive his soldiers mad.
• At First Corps headquarters, Orlando replaced the white flag on the sand table with the Seventh Legion’s red flag, while Ignatius, Devonshire, and Iletos discussed the victory, its supply costs, and the Okra Kingdom’s likely response.

After Bados City fell, Isolde and the other commanders planned to retake it using provincial troops while preserving their elite legions, and Heiji agreed to serve as deputy commander of the Ashes Legion. The chapter ended with the King of Okra Kingdom asking the twelve dukes how to respond to the military disaster and Isolde’s plan to continue the Baimu Counteroffensive Campaign.

• Isolde told the commanders that Bados City had fallen and that they needed to reassess the enemy and retake the city.
• Sagan and Vincent Cedric calculated that their available provincial forces totaled just over two hundred thousand, while Liana Okla urged the king to be consulted and proposed a scorched-earth strategy.
• Isolde provisionally approved the scorched-earth strategy, ordered more troops from neighboring provinces, and told the governor of Baimu Province to withdraw from Baimu City.
• Isolde asked Heiji to serve as deputy commander of the Ashes Legion, and Heiji agreed after Isolde urged him to preserve the Stone Armor Legion’s legacy.
• At a royal meeting, the King of Okra Kingdom asked the twelve dukes to consider Bados City’s fall, the Stone Armor Legion’s destruction, and Isolde’s plan to continue the campaign.

Elissina presented the kingdom’s leaders with a blue steel fragment whose improved runes let weaker metal break a fragment of the strongest Black Steel. She revealed that a young, self-taught Country Mage had created the runes, leaving the assembled mages stunned.

• Dukes Onard and Solon and the other leaders agreed that Okra Kingdom must resist the invasion at sea without showing weakness.
• Elissina proposed reforms and demonstrated that a Blue Steel Fragment shattered a stronger Black Steel Fragment after striking it.
• The twelve Ninth-tier Transcendents examined the fragment, and Master Morgan studied Elissina’s book before successfully reproducing its three unknown runes.
• Elissina revealed that the improved rune was created by a young man who had taught himself magic as a Country Mage, shocking Master Morgan and the other leaders.

Elissina secured approval for reforms that forced Okra Kingdom's nobles to provide trained troops for the Bardos Recovery Campaign, while the kingdom's commanders and invading forces prepared for a widening war. The chapter ended with Okra forces responding to new landings in North and South River Valley Provinces.

• Elissina proposed weakening small and medium-sized nobles and creating a military merit system, and the reform passed with nine votes in favor and four abstentions.
• The King of Okra Kingdom issued a decree requiring nobles to provide trained troops, and the kingdom seized property from those who failed to meet their quotas.
• Isolde Okla received orders to commit four hundred thousand troops to the Bardos Recovery Campaign and resolved to ensure they died for something worthwhile.
• Orlando and Ignatius learned that the Okra Kingdom's conscription would nearly double the enemy forces facing the First Corps, and Orlando sent the intelligence to legion commanders.
• The Tenth and Fifteenth Legions landed at Baru'en and captured its port fortress, prompting Isolde to send Vincent Cedric to support the defenders.
• The Third and Sixteenth Legions landed in South River Valley Province and captured Caris, so Isolde dispatched Liana Okla to protect the supply route.

Chaos led the Noble Allied Army in a bloody assault on Bados City, where the Seventh Legion’s defenders inflicted heavy losses but also suffered damage and casualties. At night, Chaos ordered a retreat, leaving the exhausted defenders to collapse after surviving the siege.

• Five days after the troops assembled, Chaos’s fifty-thousand-strong Noble Allied Army began attacking Bados City from three directions.
• The Seventh Legion used Medium Magic Energy Cannons to devastate the charging soldiers, while Iron Cobalt Roarers damaged the city walls and were later destroyed by the defenders’ cannon fire.
• The armies fought across the walls, where Seventh Legion warriors proved far stronger than the Noble Allied Army’s soldiers, though both sides suffered heavy casualties.
• Chaos committed additional troops to the assault and allowed Ashes Legion warriors to kill low-ranking nobles who violated military discipline.
• After dark, Chaos ordered the Noble Allied Army to withdraw, and the exhausted Seventh Legion defenders collapsed beside their fallen comrades.

Verlit reviewed the Seventh Legion’s losses and prepared Bados City for the coming siege, while Chaos delayed his next assault to build up and divide the Noble Allied Army. At a camp near Bares Town, Greg organized the First Legion to attack the allied army the following day.

• Verlit received the Seventh Legion’s casualty report, then read a corps document and studied how to defend Bados City.
• Chaos assessed the heavy losses from the siege and decided to wait half a month for reinforcements before sending the noble troops into another assault.
• Greg told his generals that his force had a chance to defeat the larger enemy and assigned battalions to their positions for the next day’s battle.
• Bailes and Zohir felt pride in the Luohai Army’s place in the Qixing Army after months of training and support.
• Greg warned the generals that retreat without orders would be punished by execution and ordered them to assemble outside the camp for the attack.

The First Legion and the Noble Allied Army clashed on the banks of the Camelot River after Greg’s modified Triple-Bed Crossbows destroyed the enemy’s Iron Cobalt Roarers. The Noble Allied Army’s front lines began to rout under the First Legion’s attack, while Marquis Saloto committed more troops to keep the battle from collapsing.

• Marquis Saloto ordered the war drums sounded and sent the Iron Cobalt Roarers toward the front, while the young man beside him secretly told a trusted soldier to prepare.
• Greg ordered the Triple-Bed Crossbow units to fire, and their spears struck the Noble Allied Army before its weapons were ready.
• The First Legion’s magic-powered attack destroyed dozens of Iron Cobalt Roarers and killed hundreds of gunners.
• The First Battalion, led by its battalion commander and Bailes, charged the Noble Allied Army, and the two sides began fighting.
• The Noble Allied Army’s front formations broke and retreated, so Marquis Saloto sent more troops to stabilize the line while both flanks launched attacks.
• Greg watched the Blue Veil Battalion cut through the enemy and remarked that the Noble Allied Army was weaker than expected.