Recaps

Velin tested himself against Rogue at Xili Main Camp, hosted a farewell feast for the soldiers, and prepared to leave with Ilisis for Dany Province. The group reached the provincial capital and went to the Manor where Velin had stayed before.

• Rogue defeated Velin in fewer than ten moves, and Velin accepted that he needed more training before attempting to reach Gold rank.
• Velin asked Rogue and House to gather the soldiers for a farewell feast, and Ilisis arranged wine, ingredients, and a chef for him.
• Velin hosted more than a hundred people, praised his time at Xili Main Camp, and celebrated with the soldiers before they returned to their camps.
• Velin packed up, praised the twelve attendants he had trained, and joined Ilisis's heavily guarded party as they set out for Dany Province.
• Ilisis led the group through the gates of the provincial capital and took them to the Manor where Velin had stayed previously.

Velin accompanied his eldest brother Ilisis to the Commerce Meeting at West Wind Palace, where Ilisis gathered nobles and merchant families. The chapter ended with Ilisis addressing the assembled guests as they turned their attention to him.

• Velin planned to befriend the North Wind Adventure Team and brought Ilisis along to the Commerce Meeting.
• Velin and Ilisis ate breakfast, then rode in a lavish procession to West Wind Palace.
• Ilisis explained that Velin would oversee matters after he gathered the attending families.
• Selina Alshadd greeted Ilisis and thanked him for helping her family through a crisis.
• Ilisis took the stage at West Wind Hall and welcomed the more than one hundred assembled guests.

Ilisis formed the United Merchant Association with thirty-three allied forces to profit from the coming defeat of the Kingdom of Kuber, assigning Velin to manage it. On the ride home, the brothers estimated their profits and agreed on how to divide them among the family, the royal family, Miyali, and themselves.

• Ilisis revealed that the Kingdom of Kuber's front lines would soon suffer a defeat and proposed buying military supplies cheaply to sell at higher prices.
• Thirty-three forces joined the United Merchant Association and signed a contract to keep the news secret.
• Ilisis assigned overlapping regional acquisitions to the member forces, claimed ten percent of net profits for the Ex Family, and appointed Velin as the association's president.
• Ilisis ended the meeting and presented the gathering to outsiders as a banquet welcoming Velin; he opened the banquet with a dance alongside Selena Alshadd.
• After the banquet, Velin asked Ilisis about potential earnings, and Ilisis estimated a profit of three hundred million Gold Coins and outlined how the proceeds would be divided.

Velin and Ilisis met the North Wind Adventure Team by disguising themselves as novice adventurers and offering the hungry group a meal. After learning that the team had been robbed, Ilisis introduced himself and Velin to their captain, Amond.

• Kyle told Velin that the five young members of the North Wind Adventure Team had appeared in Dany Province.
• Velin dressed as an adventurer and brought Ilisis to Drunkard's Home, where they found the team struggling after their belongings were stolen.
• Yali apologized to Amond and the rest of the team, then broke down crying over losing their savings and belongings.
• Ilisis invited the hungry adventurers to share their food, and Velin ordered bread for them.
• Amond thanked Ilisis, who introduced himself as Isis and introduced Velin as his younger brother.

Velin and Ilisis befriended the North Wind Adventure Team and lent Amond fifteen Gold Coins, which he promised to repay. After the brothers cleared up a misunderstanding about Velin’s motives, the team discovered the loan was far larger than they had expected.

• Amond introduced the North Wind Adventure Team and described their plans to train in the Leya Great Forest before exploring the Misty Forest.
• Velin gave Amond fifteen Gold Coins, and Amond promised to repay the brothers a hundredfold.
• Velin and Ilisis left the tavern, then realized Ilisis had mistaken Velin’s desire to befriend the team for romantic interest in the girls.
• Amond gathered the team at their inn and entrusted the money pouch to Lilia for safekeeping.
• Amond opened the pouch and found fifteen Gold Coins issued by the Ilia Kingdom, leaving the team stunned.

Velin went to meet the North Wind Adventure Team and introduced Kyle, while Amond’s team thanked him for helping them get established in the Provincial Capital of Dany Province. Amond offered to help Velin in return, affirming their friendship.

• Amond scolded Kaines for suspecting that their benefactors had ulterior motives, and Lilia put the fifteen Gold Coins away safely.
• After Isis returned to Xili Great Camp, Velin stayed at the Manor while Kyle delegated daily duties to Hilda and Sisina and took on more Butler responsibilities.
• Velin told Hilda and Sisina to stop dressing and washing him, then asked Kyle to accompany him on a stroll.
• Velin and Kyle went to the Drunkard's Home, where Velin waited for the North Wind Adventure Team and Kyle gathered material for an adventurer biography.
• Amond arrived with his teammates, greeted Velin, and met Kyle, whom Velin introduced as his friend.
• Amond thanked Velin for helping his team through a crisis, and offered to help Velin whenever he faced trouble.

Velin learned that the North Wind Adventure Team had a hidden ability and decided to avoid meeting them while he remained in Dany Province. After the Kingdom of Kuber’s army suffered a devastating ambush, Velin left his brother Isis to handle the merchant association’s preparations and set out for Risis’s territory.

• Amond’s team met Velin at Drunkard’s Home, and Lilia secretly used the Illusory Eye to check him before Amond warned her not to overuse it.
• Kyle told Velin he had also felt watched, and Velin suspected that the North Wind Adventure Team had cheats and instructed Kyle to keep quiet.
• On December 15, the Isle Half-elf Kingdom ambushed Kuber’s forces, annihilating half of four hundred thousand troops and destroying a third of their military supplies.
• Isis returned to oversee the United Merchant Association’s preparations, and Velin left him to manage the work while he traveled to Risis’s territory.
• Velin and fifteen subordinates departed southeast from the Provincial Capital of Dany Province for Huofeng Territory.

Velin traveled to Huofeng Territory to visit his fourth brother, Risis, and fulfill his promise to eat him into poverty. After reuniting, the brothers discovered they were both High-Silver and agreed to a duel.

• Velin's group hunted a strange magical beast and continued through Leya Great Forest, encountering a border patrol along the way.
• Velin arrived in Huofeng Territory and told the soldiers that he had come to eat their lord into poverty.
• Risis recognized Velin from Alvi's description and rode out to meet him.
• Velin asked about Huofeng Territory's towns and population, then told Kyle to describe Qixing Territory modestly if asked.
• Velin and Risis embraced, realized they were both High-Silver, and agreed to spar in a few days.
• Risis offered to show Velin Huofeng Town, and Velin insisted he would eat until Risis's heart ached.

Velin toured Huofeng Territory’s vast underground ranch cavern with Lixis, learning how its fertile land and Magic Beasts supported the territory. They returned to Lixis’s castle, where Velin arrived eager to try the local food and met eight Guardian Knights.

• Lixis showed Velin the underground Cavern, where thirteen kinds of Edible Magic Beasts were raised, and explained that only about thirty could be sent out each year.
• Velin learned that the Cavern’s fertile land produced abundant grain and that less than a third of the cavern had been developed because of limited manpower and slow-breeding Magic Beasts.
• Lixis explained that Huofeng Territory covered eighteen hundred square kilometers and that expanding into Leya Great Forest meant facing dangerous Magic Beasts, pests, and mutated plants.
• Velin and Lixis returned to the surface and headed to the red-walled castle, where Lixis explained that its unusual coating deterred flying Magic Beasts.
• Velin entered the hall, admired the food, and decided that Kyle should learn from Lixis’s chef.
• Lixis introduced Velin to eight Guardian Knights, three of whom had reached Silver Intermediate.

Velin visited Huofeng Territory, where Risis questioned Kyle about Velin’s people and territory and Velin learned about the region’s defenses against magical beasts. The next morning, Risis received word that Wind Wolves had entered neighboring Henggos Territory and ordered the troops to march, while Velin offered to join him.

• Velin introduced Kyle to Risis, who questioned Kyle about the Guardian Knights and Qixing Territory’s circumstances.
• At the banquet, Velin learned about Huofeng Territory’s army, militia, and encounters with magical beasts.
• Velin found Hilda and Sisina waiting outside his guest room as his personal guards, and they prepared his room for the night.
• The next morning, Risis received news that more than a hundred Wind Wolves had entered Henggos Territory and might attack Wind Forest Town.
• Risis ordered his troops to assemble and march, and Velin said he would go with him.

Velin joined Lixis in reinforcing Wind Forest Town after a Wind Wolf attack threatened Huofeng Territory. The pack grew to at least six hundred and was linked to a mutant beast; neighboring nobles began coordinating a response as Velin waited for Lixis’s orders.

• Velin agreed to help Lixis, gathered Kyle and the attendants, and set out with more than a thousand troops for Wind Forest Town.
• Lixis and Velin met Afah, who reported that Wind Wolves had destroyed six villages and killed over a thousand people in Hengges' Territory.
• Afah explained that nearby villagers had been evacuated and able-bodied people kept to help defend the territory.
• A scout reported that three Wind Wolf Packs had joined the attack, bringing their numbers to at least six hundred and putting Redwood Town under siege.
• Lixis explained that a Mutated Magical Beast could gain great power by consuming Mutated Plant fruit, but would have a drastically shortened lifespan.
• The troops rested and reorganized in Wind Forest Town while neighboring nobles sent messengers to coordinate an attack; Velin waited to follow Lixis's lead.

Risis and the other barons trapped the Wind Wolf Pack, driving the White-haired Wind Wolf and its surviving wolves south. Baron Hengges later arrived at Redwood Town with a dead White-haired Wind Wolf and more than twenty newborn cubs.

• Risis joined the armies gathered at Grass Mountain, where the barons planned to destroy the intelligent Wind Wolf Pack.
• The White-haired Wind Wolf judged the humans’ positions and ordered one of its Silver Mid-Tier subordinates south while the pack attacked Redwood Town.
• Risis’s army advanced on the wolves, fought off an ambush from underground tunnels, and forced the White-haired Wind Wolf and the surviving pack to retreat south.
• Risis recognized that the White-haired Wind Wolf had fallen for the trap and waited for Baron Hengges to handle the cleanup.
• Domai Hengges arrived at Redwood Town with the corpse of a White-haired Wind Wolf and more than twenty Wind Wolf Cubs.

Risis divided the Wind Wolf spoils with Velin, who took two cubs and bonded with them before accompanying Fourth Brother back to the Provincial Capital of Dany Province. At the Manor, Velin saw that the Kingdom of Kuber was paying steep prices for military equipment, revealing the scale of its battlefield losses.

• Risis lifted the State of War and gave Velin his choice of two Wind Wolf Cubs from the spoils.
• Kyle cared for the cubs until they opened their eyes, and Velin decided to raise them himself.
• Velin spent a week visiting Huofeng Territory with Fourth Brother before they departed for the Provincial Capital of Dany Province.
• Velin and Risis arrived at the Manor and found Ilisis and several knights sorting through documents and supply lists.
• Velin read a price list showing that Fine Grade warrior equipment cost far more in the Kingdom of Kuber than in the Ilia Kingdom.

Velin and Kyle visited the North Wind Adventure Team, where the team repaid the money they had borrowed and shared news of their recent mission. After returning to the Manor, Velin learned of an upcoming banquet at West Wind Palace and awaited Guidance of Fate as the Mystic Fantasy Realm’s opening drew near.

• Velin put off training until he returned to Lake of Star Prayer and arranged to visit the North Wind Adventure Team after learning they were back in Danying Province.
• Velin and Kyle met the five adventurers at Drunkard's Home, where Amond said their mission had disrupted a Withering Cult ritual and Kaines had found an opportunity.
• Amond repaid the money lent by Velin and Brother Siss, gave Velin the team's address, and thanked them for their help.
• Kyle told Velin that Yali seemed to be a couple with Kaines after he saw her hold Kaines's hand without resistance.
• Calons invited Velin to a banquet at West Wind Palace in five days, while Ilisis anticipated the profits from his transaction and Velin waited for Guidance of Fate.

Velin attended the West Wind Palace Banquet with his brothers and reunited with the silver-haired girl, Xuemiyya Silvis. They introduced themselves properly and moved to the balcony, where Xuemiyya began teaching him about the Axi Magic Kingdom.

• Velin remembered that the Sweet Fruits Verit gave him were tickets to the Mysterious Illusory Realm and decided to give one to his eldest brother.
• Velin spent four days preparing formal attire for the West Wind Palace Banquet, then traveled to West Wind Palace with Ilisis and Risis.
• At the banquet, Ilisis was drawn into business discussions, while Velin lost track of Risis and wandered around alone.
• Xuemiyya Silvis reunited with Velin and revealed that she was a Low-Gold Arcanist in the inspection delegation.
• Velin introduced himself to Xuemiyya, and they went to the balcony, where she began explaining the history and structure of the Axi Magic Kingdom.

Velin learned more about the Axi Magic Kingdom and parted from Xuemiyya before joining Ilisis and Risis to celebrate their profitable transactions. The next morning, Angus confronted his sons for keeping him uninformed, then praised them for succeeding.

• Xuemiyya told Velin about the Axi Magic Kingdom, and she offered to guide him around its capital someday.
• Risis teased Velin about Xuemiyya, but Velin changed the subject and reunited with Ilisis.
• Ilisis estimated their Banquet profits, and the three brothers later confirmed they had earned about eight hundred and forty million Gold Coins.
• Ilisis told Risis that he would receive two percent of the profits, leaving Risis thrilled about investing in Huofeng Territory.
• Angus arrived the next morning, revealed Cousin Miyali had informed him about the deal, and praised Ilisis, Velin, and Risis for taking the opportunity and succeeding.

Velin decided to invest his 126 million Gold Coins in developing his territory and preparing for the war with the Dwarves. In Maple City, Duke and his associates paused their business expansion amid a crackdown, while Lightend and his teacher planned to turn the newly discovered underground entrance into a profitable destination for adventurers.

• Angus praised Ilisis’s handling of the money, and Velin said he would use his 126 million Gold Coins to develop his territory and prepare for the kingdom’s war with the Dwarves.
• Velin searched for Kyle to discuss the investment but learned from Hilda that Kyle had gone out to gather inspiration.
• Duke met with six associates in Maple City and postponed their acquisition plans, telling them to operate normally and report suspicious activity to the Constabulary Station.
• Lightend asked his teacher about the Spatial Channel, and his teacher said it led to an underground world and proposed asking Duke of Moravia to deploy an isolation barrier.
• Lightend agreed to contact Duke of Moravia, and his teacher proposed making the area a profitable adventurer destination like Seagloom City.

Lightend planned to develop Maple City with help from the royal family and other dukes, while Velin learned that his father intended to raise him to Viscount and prepare him for conflict in the Duchy of Bohan. After receiving his share of the profits, Velin gave his eldest brother Ilisis a ticket to the Mysterious Illusory Realm.

• Lightend asked Lilith to contact the royal family and other dukes about sharing the benefits of the Underground World, then returned to his room after the banquet.
• Angus told Velin that Grand Duke Bohan's decline had been confirmed and offered to raise Velin to Viscount before stepping down.
• Angus promised to place a branch of the family troops under Velin's name when conflict erupted in the Duchy of Bohan, and Velin vowed to reach Gold within half a year.
• Half a month later, Ilisis recovered the Ex Family's profits, and Velin received a share worth 126 million Gold Coins.
• Before returning to Lake of Star Prayer, Velin gave Ilisis a Sweet Fruit that served as a ticket to the Mysterious Illusory Realm.

Velin left Dany Province and returned to Cadro Province, where he planned to invest one million Gold Coins in property. Governor Fisk welcomed him and began recommending properties he owned.

• Velin left Ilisis and planned his return journey after saying goodbye to his brother.
• Velin and Kyle waited in vain for the North Wind Adventure Team, then left a farewell letter for Amond with an old man.
• Velin, Kyle, and fourteen others departed Dany Province and returned to Cadro Province.
• Velin planned to buy three streets and land outside the provincial capital to expand Qixing Territory and build a manor.
• Governor Fisk welcomed Velin, and Velin told him he wanted to invest one million Gold Coins.
• Fisk brought out a map and enthusiastically showed Velin the properties he owned.

Velin bought land and constabulary positions in West City District from Governor Fisk, then tasked Kyle with finding a manor. Meanwhile, Amond and the North Wind Adventure Team received Velin’s farewell letter and promised to meet him again.

• Velin agreed to buy Fifth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Streets for three hundred thousand Gold Coins and paid Fisk extra to handle the acquisition.
• Velin paid Fisk for constabulary posts in West City District and the Provincial Capital Constabulary Department.
• Velin gave Kyle information on manors outside the city and asked him to buy a suitable leisure manor and nearby land.
• Amond received Velin’s farewell letter from Grandpa Aaron and told the North Wind Adventure Team that Velin had left.
• Amond asked Lilith to keep the cloth bag as a token so the team could return it to Velin when they met again.

After returning to Qixing Territory, Velin gave Belder funds for city construction and secretly planned to build a new castle and treasure vault. He then tasked Eunice with renovating Qixing Manor in Kadlo Province, while Belder continued juggling the territory’s many responsibilities.

• Velin completed the purchase of Qixing Manor outside Kadlo Province and returned to Qixing Territory with Kyle.
• Belder told Velin he needed capable administrators and special funding for Star Prayer City, so Velin allocated two million Gold Notes among Star Prayer City, Orlando Town, and Blue Gauze Town.
• Velin and Kyle agreed to keep his remaining fortune secret from Belder, and Velin inspected his hidden treasury before deciding to build a New Castle.
• Velin visited the Stable and gave Eunice an Intermediate Magic Crystal as a bonus, then ordered her to renovate Qixing Manor with a company of men sent by Cassius.

Velin assigned official posts and funding to Raymond for development in Cadro Province, then began organizing an assassin training ground and inspecting the academies. The chapter ended with Velin visiting the Mage Academy and meeting Kelt, who had become an instructor despite losing his cultivation.

• Raymond recommended loyal candidates for the posts Velin had purchased, and Velin approved the appointments and gave Raymond 600,000 Gold Coins to develop three streets in Cadro Province.
• Velin ordered Kyle to place two guard companies under Hilda and Sisina, and tasked them with selecting one hundred slaves in Bagamo to train as assassin seeds at a site on the nearby hill.
• Kyle reported that Mage Drien could not properly deploy barriers, so Velin postponed the matter and planned to inspect the three major academies before entering cultivation.
• Velin visited the Mage Academy and learned from Kyle that its good grounds were maintained by three Druids, whom Velin considered recruiting to improve New Castle.
• Velin met Kelt, who had lost his cultivation but was working as a basic instructor at the Mage Academy, and encouraged him to keep going.

Velin toured the Mage Academy and Knight Academy, assessing their facilities and the work of their instructors. He left impressed by Devonshire’s training methods and the students’ rapid progress.

• Velin spoke with Kelt, then met Holmes and watched him lead students at the Mage Academy.
• Velin finished touring the Mage Academy and decided that building a new castle in the territory could not be delayed.
• Velin praised Drien and the other mages, then agreed with Kyle that they should be given more difficult tasks.
• Velin watched Devonshire put nine hundred students through punishing training at the Knight Academy.
• Greg and Imogen explained that Devonshire had developed a Breathing Technique and three training methods, and that many Knight Apprentices had advanced to Bronze Knights.
• Velin chose not to interrupt the training and waited until the students were dismissed before praising Devonshire’s value as an instructor.

Velin visited the Knight Academy and Priest Academy, heard their leaders’ needs, and assessed how the schools were developing. Dexhil requested further support for the Knight Academy, while Lavia said Andrew’s help had the Priest Academy doing well.

• Velin praised Dexhil’s training at the Knight Academy, and Dexhil requested more Blackskin Pork, equipment, assistants, and a second training base; Velin agreed to help.
• Velin traveled to Blue Gauze Town and learned that Andrew and Delland had cultivated Wind Orchid Trees to beautify the town’s roads.
• Velin watched Lavia lead male priest trainees through strenuous training and toured the Priest Academy with him.
• Velin saw female trainees take over the men’s training while the men prayed, and Lavia explained that priests needed physical strength as well as devotion.
• Velin offered the Priest Academy support, but Lavia said Andrew’s assistance had allowed it to develop well.

Velin toured Blue Gauze Town with Andrew, inspecting its streets, Luo Niu Camel breeding grounds, and Blue Gauze Lake. He rewarded the breeders and approved Andrew’s plans for developing the lake before ending the day at a town barbecue.

• After leaving the Priest Academy, Velin asked Andrew to guide him around Blue Gauze Town and advised him to keep talented subordinates close.
• Andrew showed Velin the Luo Niu Camel breeding grounds, where Hamed reported that the herd had grown to thirty-five camels.
• Velin rewarded the breeders with five Silver Coins each and Hamed with two Gold Coins, then encouraged them to keep up their work.
• At Blue Gauze Lake, Andrew described plans for breeding grounds and Leisure Manors, and Velin told him to proceed with them.
• Velin spent the afternoon at the lake with Andrew and attended an open-air barbecue that night, where he met Blue Gauze Town officials.