Chapter Summaries

Roland received the title of Viscount from Eric in a ceremony at Dawnlight Fortress, then granted honorary knighthoods to nine of his followers. The investiture ended with celebrations across Frost Island and Roland’s territory.

• Roland rode to Dawnlight Fortress in ceremonial dress as his subjects gathered to celebrate his coming investiture.
• Eric represented King Phillips and formally granted Roland the hereditary title of Viscount, along with tax exemptions and other privileges.
• Roland reflected on the wars and setbacks he had overcome before signaling Eric to yield the platform.
• Roland granted honorary knighthoods to O'Neal, James, Artur, Luke, Fili, Old Nob, Alice, Alredo, and Chopper.
• Roland’s investiture ceremony ended, and his territory celebrated throughout the night.

After Roland’s elevation to viscount, his enemies sought to reconcile with him, but a massive Sea Demon invasion threatened the region. Roland ordered his forces back to Frost Island and moved to secure the Black Knight Pirates’ help.

• Bob Dylan agreed to send Roland a congratulatory gift, while the Falcon, Kahn, Kram, and Brown Families sent envoys to repair their ties with him.
• Roland demanded that the three families seeking an alliance hand over half their wealth and said he intended to destroy them when he had the chance.
• A messenger reported that Servia’s Forbidden Spell had annihilated dozens of human forces and that three Sea Demon armies had invaded neighboring regions.
• Roland ordered Artur and Chopper to abandon their raids and return to his territory.
• Roland sent Leslie to persuade Elizabeth to bring the Black Knight Pirates to Frost Island to help resist the Sea Demon Clan.

As the Sea Demon Clan invaded with a 200,000-strong army, Roland prepared Frost Island’s defenses while brewing his first Level 10 Spirit Agility Potion. After using it to boost his Mental Power, he asked Nuwa to schedule his potion use and monitor his condition.

• The Sea Demon Clan invaded the Cloudwave, Emerald, and Spirittide seas, prompting human factions to prepare for war.
• Roland reinforced Dawnlight Fortress, withdrew forces from outer outposts, and prepared to defend Frost Island.
• Roland brewed a Level 10 Spirit Agility Potion after exhausting most of the materials Leslie had provided.
• Roland drank the potion and used the Skyfall Fireflow Meditation Method to absorb its effects, raising his Mental Power by 1.35.
• Nuwa estimated Roland would need about 320 days to reach Level 11, and Roland ordered her to plan his potion schedule and monitor his Mental Power.

The Sea Demon Clan’s invasion devastated the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands while the Human Alliance could not send aid. Roland welcomed Elizabeth and Reff’s weakened Black Knight Pirates to Frost Island, but an urgent report of a Beast Tide destroying numerous human forces forced him to summon his senior officers.

• The Sea Demon Clan advanced through the Emerald and Mystic Tide Sea Regions as the Noble Council and Pirate Alliance appealed to the Human Alliance for help, but the alliance could offer only supplies and access to a Military Merit exchange list.
• Elizabeth and Reff brought the Black Knight Pirates and their families to Frost Island after accepting Roland’s invitation, and Roland resolved to show them his territory’s benefits.
• Roland greeted Elizabeth and Reff, who recognized his breakthrough to Great Mage, and Elizabeth offered to share an Advanced Meditation Method.
• Reff and Monk glared at each other after Reff objected to Elizabeth’s generosity toward Roland, and Roland invited the visitors inland.
• A messenger reported that a Beast Tide of more than ten thousand sea magical beasts had destroyed numerous forces in the Azure Sea Region, so Roland ordered his senior military officers to assemble.

Roland prepared Dawnlight Fortress for the Sea Demon Clan’s advance while refusing to send troops to defend Double Gate Island. He maneuvered Reff and Elizabeth into agreeing that the Black Knight Pirates would fight on the front line, concealing his plan to weaken their power.

• Leslie reported that the Sea Demon vanguard had destroyed the Human forces east of Double Gate Island and was advancing on the island.
• Leslie explained that three pirate groups had concentrated nearly twenty thousand troops on Double Gate Island, while the Terra Kingdom’s North Sea Fleet refused to send aid.
• Roland ordered his commanders to reinforce Dawnlight Fortress and initially told O'Neal to keep the newly arrived Black Knight Pirates in the rear.
• Reff protested the order, and Roland persuaded Reff and Elizabeth that he had meant to protect the Black Knight Pirates; he then agreed to place them in the front-line defense.
• Roland privately revealed that he wanted to weaken the Black Knight Pirates so they could not threaten him after he absorbed their remaining forces.
• Leslie reported that Barton had requested aid for Double Gate Island, but Roland ordered him to ignore the request.

Roland rejected Elizabeth’s plan to ambush the Sea Demon Clan, betting instead that they would not risk a prolonged fight against his forces. The Sea Elf Clan’s fleet advanced under Natalie’s command, as she explained that the Beastkin Empire could help defeat humanity but must not be allowed to remain in the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands.

• Leslie and Monk left the meeting room, and Roland told Elizabeth that Junot had sent Monk to protect him.
• Elizabeth proposed joining the Skeleton King, Bloodscarlet, and Deep Sea Phantom Pirates to attack the Sea Demon Clan near Double Gate Island, but Roland rejected the risky plan.
• Roland argued that the Sea Demon Clan would retreat or send only a smaller force if it could not defeat them quickly, and he bet Elizabeth that it would not commit to a full attack.
• More than a hundred Sea Elf Clan warships advanced with thousands of magical beasts, which changed course after Natalie blew an ancient blue horn.
• Elsa asked Natalie why the Sea Elf Clan did not seek the Beastkin Empire’s help against humanity, and Natalie explained that she feared the beastkin would stay after the war.

The leaders of Black Fortress prepared to resist High Priestess Natalie’s Sea Demon Clan vanguard, which had come to seize Double Gate Island. After three costly beast assaults failed, Barton and the others believed the enemy would avoid risking its own troops, unaware that the siege might not be over.

• Barton, Tross, and Davis discussed their weak defenses, Roland’s refusal to join them, and the threat that he might absorb the remnants of the Black Knight Pirates.
• Barton, Tross, and Davis pledged their crews’ magic scrolls, cannonballs, crossbow bolts, and magic items to defend Black Fortress.
• Natalie led more than ten thousand magical beasts to Double Gate Island and used her ancient horn to launch an assault on Black Fortress.
• Barton used the Magic Crystal Cannons to devastate the beast horde, then relied on ranged weapons and defenders to repel the remaining attackers.
• Natalie refused Zell’s request to lead sea demons into battle, invoked Felicia’s plan, and sent two more waves of beasts to attack.
• Barton, Tross, and Davis celebrated after the assaults failed, assuming the Sea Demon Clan would not risk its own people.

Natalie repeatedly sent magical beasts against Black Fortress, exhausting its siege supplies and then exploiting the loss of its Magic Crystal Cannon ammunition to inflict severe casualties. The Sea Demon army withdrew again to gather more beasts, while Barton realized that Black Fortress might not survive its next return.

• Natalie led the Sea Demon army away after her first beast assault depleted Black Fortress's siege supplies, and Barton, Tross, and Davis celebrated their apparent victory.
• Three days later, Natalie returned with thousands of magical beasts and used her ancient horn to launch a renewed assault on Black Fortress.
• With its Magic Crystal Cannon ammunition nearly gone, Black Fortress relied on weaker defenses, and the attacking beasts inflicted heavy losses on the defenders.
• Barton sent the Blood Plain Pirate Group and Poison Hand Pirate Group to reinforce the walls, then ordered the Mage Regiment to attack the Thunder Squids; most escaped, with only one killed.
• Natalie sent successive waves of increasingly powerful beasts against Black Fortress, forcing Barton to commit his elite troops as the fighting continued through another day.
• After Black Fortress lost nearly seven thousand men, Natalie withdrew again to gather more beasts, and Barton feared the next assault would destroy them.

After the defeat at Double Gate Island, Roland prepared Dawnlight Fortress to face the Sea Demon vanguard but planned escape routes in case his counterattack failed. At Beast Slaying Island, Garvin Jones resolved to defend the North Sea Fleet while worrying that the missing Felicia might be preparing a trap.

• The Skeleton King, Blood, and Deep Sea Phantom pirate groups abandoned Double Gate Island after failing to stop the Sea Demon vanguard, sending panic through the Azure Sea Region.
• Leslie reported Dawnlight Fortress’s supplies to Roland, who decided to abandon static defense and attack the Sea Demons, while secretly ordering warships to prepare escape routes from Frost Island.
• Garvin Jones learned that the Sea Demon vanguard was approaching Frost Island and ordered the Human Alliance to locate Felicia’s army within three days.
• Garvin Jones rejected a proposal to send troops to support Roland, reasoning that Felicia might be hiding nearby to lure the North Sea Fleet into splitting its forces.
• After learning that the Beastkin Empire had assembled more than three million Orc troops, Garvin Jones and the North Sea Fleet vowed to defend the kingdom’s coast without reinforcements.

Roland launched his forces against the sea elf-backed magical beast horde at Frost Island and won a decisive victory, forcing Natalie to retreat. He ordered the battlefield cleared and his commanders summoned, knowing Natalie would return with a larger horde.

• Natalie brought her sea elf fleet toward Frost Island, expecting Roland's forces to take the bait, while Roland prepared to counter the attack.
• More than four thousand magical beasts landed and charged Dawnlight Fortress, but Roland's cannons and five thousand elite soldiers struck first.
• Luke's cavalry, turtle knights, aerial knights, Earth Giants, the Black Knight Pirates, and other forces broke the horde while Monk and Reff held off the three Super Magical Beasts.
• Roland's army killed nearly three thousand magical beasts, and Natalie withdrew after the survivors fled and Roland's soldiers retreated beyond her spell range.
• Roland ordered the battlefield cleared, the casualties tallied, and all brigade and company commanders to assemble, anticipating another attack.

After the battle at Double Gate Island, Roland assessed his forces’ losses and gains, then arranged defenses for the Sea Demon Clan’s expected return. Reff questioned Elizabeth about her future with Roland, and she agreed that the Black Knight Pirates should eventually join Roland’s territory as her dowry if they survived the crisis.

• Roland heard the casualty reports and promised to compensate the wounded and rebuild the Light Cavalry Brigade.
• Leslie reported that the battle yielded 3,100 magical beast corpses and materials worth about 35,000 gold coins, and Roland ordered magic equipment forged for distinguished soldiers.
• Roland warned that the Sea Demon Clan would return and assigned forces to scout Frost Island’s waters, guard Dawnlight Fortress, and wait outside it for an opportunity to act.
• Reff asked Elizabeth whether she intended to marry Roland and who would lead the Black Knight Pirates afterward.
• Elizabeth said she hoped Reff would take over the Black Knight Pirates, and Reff proposed bringing them into Roland’s territory as her dowry after they overcame the crisis.

After enduring four waves of Natalie’s magical beast attacks, Roland approached her with a proposal to ally with the Sea Elf Clan. Natalie remained skeptical until he offered access to human Magic Potions, leaving her newly interested in the possibility.

• Natalie led repeated magical beast assaults on Dawnlight Fortress, and Roland’s cannons, mages, and soldiers repelled them while exhausting most of the fortress’s defensive supplies.
• As Natalie prepared to withdraw, Roland contacted her and warned that the Sea Elf Clan could not hold the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands against the Human Alliance.
• Natalie dismissed Roland’s warning, but he threatened to join the North Sea Fleet if they could not reach an agreement.
• Roland proposed an alliance, offering to trade human supplies through him, and Natalie questioned what humans could provide that the Sea Elf Clan lacked.
• Roland named Magic Potions, and Natalie’s disdain faded as she considered the offer.

Roland negotiated an alliance and trade relationship with the Sea Elf Clan while the Sea Demons temporarily withdrew from Frost Island. Dawnlight Fortress remained in danger, as it had lost most of its defensive supplies and the Sea Demons were expected to return.

• Roland told Natalie he was a Master Apothecary and an Intermediate Magic Pattern master, and argued that an alliance would benefit both sides.
• Natalie initially rejected Roland’s offer because he could not supply Magic Potions immediately, but High Priestess Felicia, speaking through Elsa, advised her to secure him as a potential ally.
• Natalie offered an alliance in exchange for intelligence on humanity, future Magic Potions within Roland’s capabilities, and a promise that his forces would remain on Frost Island until the war ended.
• Roland agreed and negotiated trade with the Sea Elf Clan for magical equipment, rare materials, food, and minerals in exchange for supplies.
• Natalie led the Sea Demon army away from Frost Island, while Roland’s people recognized that Dawnlight Fortress remained vulnerable and Roland departed with Leslie, O'Neal, and the others.

After surviving the Sea Demon crisis, Roland revealed that he had allied with the Sea Demon Clan and planned to exploit the weakened northern Azure Sea Region by seizing Double Gate Island. He ordered a major military expansion, with Elizabeth promising the 200,000 gold coins needed to fund it.

• Roland reviewed the battle’s casualties and depleted supplies, then announced that he would expand the army.
• Roland revealed his alliance with the Sea Demon Clan and told Leslie, O'Neal, Alice, and Elizabeth to keep it secret.
• Roland declared his intention to sweep through the northern Azure Sea Region and seize Double Gate Island, and O'Neal and Elizabeth pledged their forces.
• Leslie estimated that Roland’s proposed expansion would leave the territory about 200,000 gold coins short.
• Elizabeth offered to provide the 200,000 gold coins, and Roland ordered the territory to prioritize and carry out the expansion plan.

Roland used a recording of his wager with Elizabeth to ask her to marry him after he reclaimed Double Gate Island. Elizabeth announced that she had accepted his proposal and invited the Black Knight Pirates’ senior officers to join Roland’s territory, leaving Roland ready to introduce them to Frost Island’s officials.

• Roland played a Recording Crystal to remind Elizabeth that he had won their wager, then asked her to marry him after he reclaimed Double Gate Island.
• Elizabeth brought Roland to the Black Knight Pirates’ camp and announced to Reff and the senior officers that she would marry Roland while keeping the Black Knight name alive.
• Edwen Louis agreed to follow Elizabeth into Roland’s territory, encouraged by Alice’s access to powerful potions.
• Malcolm, Ralph Scott, and Ronald Williams also agreed to join Roland’s territory.
• Roland welcomed the four officers and led them with Elizabeth toward Dawnlight Fortress, while Reff grumbled that Roland had forgotten him.

As the Sea Demon Clan devastated the human factions of the Azure Sea Region, Roland reorganized the Black Knight Pirates’ remnants and expanded his territory’s army into the region’s strongest force. When Fayez warned that military costs threatened the territory’s finances, Roland refused to cut military benefits and offered to cover any shortfall by selling Magic Potions.

• The Sea Demon Clan abandoned its assault on Frost Island and swept through the southern Azure Sea Region, destroying five major factions and dozens of smaller ones in less than half a month.
• Roland promoted Reff, reorganized the Black Knight Pirates’ remaining forces into his army and fleet, and expanded his forces to more than seven thousand soldiers.
• Fayez confronted Roland’s officials over monthly military expenses of at least one hundred thousand gold coins and proposed reducing military pay and benefits.
• Reff angrily opposed Fayez’s proposal, and Roland ordered both men to sit down.
• Roland declared that military benefits would not be reduced and said he would sell Magic Potions to cover any financial shortfall.

Roland’s council reviewed the Sea Demon Clan’s campaign and prepared to reclaim Double Gate Island while waiting for forces and supplies. By June 15, the continental war was easing, and Felicia was ordered to halt her advance; she decided to destroy the North Sea Fleet before withdrawing.

• O'Neal reported that Felicia’s Sea Demon army had crushed human factions across the southern Azure Sea Region, spared the Mandy Family, and seized nearly a million people and large amounts of wealth.
• Leslie concluded that the Sea Demon Clan intended to use the Azure Sea Region as a buffer but would still attack the North Sea Fleet and other human fleets; Roland ordered preparations to reclaim Double Gate Island.
• Reff estimated that the expanded army needed at least three months to become combat-ready, Old Nob requested another month to complete intelligence gathering, and Leslie warned that procurement costs would at least double.
• Human forces launched counteroffensives across the continent, and Rodriguez Farnese used three Level 20 Forbidden Spells to wound Lich King Augustine and kill two Legendary Demons.
• Felicia learned that the Elf Empire had ordered the Sea Demon Clan to stop as the continental war waned, then told Natalie they would first eliminate the North Sea Fleet.

Garvin Jones led the North Sea Fleet into battle against Felicia’s Sea Demon army to prevent it from reaching the Beastkin Empire. The fleet suffered heavy losses despite reinforcements and powerful warships, and Garvin sent allied nobles’ forces to support its beleaguered flanks.

• Garvin Jones ordered the North Sea Fleet to gather more than fifteen hundred warships near Beast Slaying Island after learning Felicia’s army would arrive within three days.
• Felicia brought more than thirty thousand sea magical beasts and twenty thousand Sea Demon warriors to fight the fleet, while Garvin’s four-masted magic warships opened fire.
• Felicia’s mages shielded the Sea Demons as they boarded the human ships, and Garvin sent the First and Second Squadrons to encircle the central battle.
• Garvin deployed human flying beast knights, and Felicia answered with Horned Eagle Knights and Spirit Wing Dragon Knights, giving the Sea Demons the advantage in the sky.
• After the First and Second Fleets suffered heavy casualties, Garvin refused to move the Mage Regiment and ordered the eastern coastal nobles’ allied forces to support both fleets.

Garvin Jones and Felicia committed their forces to a costly battle until Garvin sent eight magic warships to attack Felicia’s vessel. Felicia’s hidden Saint Domain allies revealed themselves, and she trapped Frederick and his companions as the fighting escalated.

• Garvin Jones and Felicia poured their remaining ships, warriors, and mages into the battle, leaving both armies with heavy losses.
• Garvin ordered eight four-masted magic warships to rush Felicia’s vessel while their cannons covered the approach.
• Frederick and two other Saint Domain Warriors charged Felicia, but a Saint Domain Shadow Demon Leopard intercepted Frederick.
• Eunice of the Flame of Destruction appeared beside Felicia, shifting the balance against Frederick and the North Sea Fleet.
• Frederick ordered a retreat, but Felicia trapped him and the other Saint Domain Warriors inside a mist-filled barrier, and the Saint Domain battle resumed.

The Human Alliance ended the continent-wide war by accepting the Sea Demon Clan's terms, then learned that the fighting had concealed a devastating attack on humanity's forces in the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands. Roland prepared to seize Double Gate Island after the Sea Demon Clan withdrew, but learned that nobles from three kingdoms would soon enter the Azure Sea Region and threaten his expansion plans.

• The Sea Demon Clan devastated humanity's naval forces in the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands, but the Human Alliance ultimately accepted its peace terms after the elves, orcs, and dwarves threatened to resume the war.
• The Human Alliance discovered that the other races' war against humanity had covered the Sea Demon Clan's offensive, which had destroyed seventy percent of humanity's forces in the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands.
• Yulia told Roland that the Human Alliance had signed a ceasefire agreement, and Roland ordered her to monitor the continent's intelligence while preparing to launch his expansion plan.
• Roland told Elizabeth that he planned to retake Double Gate Island once the Sea Demon Clan withdrew from the Azure Sea Region, and she eagerly agreed.
• After Felicia withdrew her forces, Leslie informed Roland that nobles from Terra, Autran, and Storm would soon enter the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands under the Human Alliance's orders, threatening his plans to expand.