Chapter Summaries

After returning to Double Gate Island, Roland met with his officials, arranged the distribution of newly purchased slaves and warriors, and learned that the Human Alliance’s Inspector General had arrived. The unexpected visit left Roland and his advisers wary as they prepared to receive Jay Finora.

• Roland returned to his prosperous territory after leaving his legions stationed at sea and assigning Kailon to gather the Earth Giants.
• Roland met with his officials, who handed him a large stack of urgent documents.
• Fili reported that the territory had traded 10,000 high-grade Magic Crystals for 480,000 people, including over a thousand Beginner Warriors and four hundred Intermediate Warriors.
• Roland ordered Jeffrey to prepare for the slaves’ arrival and told Reff to screen the warriors before assigning them to the Loyal Lion Legion and Black Knight Legion.
• A soldier reported that Jay Finora, the Human Alliance’s Inspector General for the Azure Sea Region, had arrived at the port with Griffin Knights.

Inspector General Jay confronted Roland over suspicions that he had helped the Hidden Valley Clan destroy the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance, but he had no evidence to prove it. Roland ordered rumors spread blaming the Cavendish Family and later paused his smuggling with the Hidden Valley Clan as Human Alliance inspectors scrutinized the Azure Sea Region.

• Roland met Inspector General Jay, who questioned him about the Hidden Valley Clan’s ambush that destroyed the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance.
• Roland blamed the inspection department and North Sea Fleet for failing to detect the priests, while Jay cited the Cindy Family’s fleet and questioned Roland’s role as alliance commander.
• Jay accused Roland of benefiting from the Terra Kingdom nobles’ losses and threatened an investigation, but Roland demanded evidence and had Monk escort him out.
• Roland told Leslie to monitor rivals and spread rumors blaming the Cavendish Family for the disaster.
• Human Alliance inspectors questioned the nine major factions, and Roland temporarily halted smuggling with the Hidden Valley Clan while Jay searched for evidence.

After the eastern nobles formed the Revenge Alliance, pirate captain Titus Dean’s crew found the final piece of the Redbeard Pirates’ treasure map. The map revealed that the treasure lay on Double Gate Island, within Count Roland’s territory.

• Ansel accused the nine local powers of the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands of aiding the Hidden Valley Clan and proposed an alliance to punish them.
• The nobles challenged the four great families’ authority, and Amand proposed a council system with votes weighted by rank.
• After the four great families conceded to the council plan, many nobles joined the Revenge Alliance.
• On Tidal Island, Titus Dean’s pirate crew found the last fragment of the treasure map after searching for over a month.
• Titus and his men assembled the complete map and learned that the treasure was on Double Gate Island, territory of Count Roland.

Roland inspected the territory’s shipyard and unveiled its first independently built four-sail magic warship, a costly milestone that strengthened his navy. He assigned it to the First Fleet and named it the Dawnbringer.

• Roland visited the expanded shipyard with Leslie, Reff, and other senior officials as Anthony reported its shipbuilding capacity and plans to secure raw materials locally.
• Anthony led Roland and the officials to a guarded dock, where they saw the completed four-sail magic warship built after a year of secret work and several failed attempts.
• Anthony described the warship’s size, magical construction, speed, armament capacity, and 800,000-gold-coin cost, explaining that future ships should be cheaper.
• Roland praised the shipbuilders and ordered Reff to assign the warship to the First Fleet, warning that its commander would be held accountable for its performance.
• Roland named the territory’s first four-sail magic warship the Dawnbringer.

Roland toured the Weapons and Equipment Workshop and inspected its newly developed Blue Gold Heavy Armor and Star Iron Battle Saber. He ordered the armor added to production, prioritizing the Bulwark Heavy Brigade, while the saber’s power impressed Reff.

• Roland arrived at the Weapons and Equipment Workshop with his companions and was greeted by chief steward Louis.
• Louis showed Roland the Blue Gold Heavy Armor, and O'Neal tested it by striking Johnny with sixty percent of his strength; the armor endured the blow.
• Tests showed that Advanced Warriors could only leave shallow marks on the armor and Intermediate Warriors could not penetrate it, while Louis said each set cost about eight hundred gold coins.
• James reported that the territory had 2,700 jin of blue gold in reserve and the mine produced 200 jin monthly, so Roland ordered the armor made first for the Bulwark Heavy Brigade.
• Louis presented a Star Iron Battle Saber, and Reff tested it by cutting an iron puppet in two and smashing several more.

Roland toured the territory’s weapons workshop, Warrior Academy, Mage Regiment, and Magic Herb Gardens. He left pleased by the academy’s devoted apprentices, Edwin’s preparations to become an Archmage, and the gardens’ expected income.

• Roland inspected a costly Star Iron Battle Saber and ordered the territory to prioritize equipping its Advanced Warriors.
• More than a thousand Warrior Academy apprentices welcomed Roland, who rallied them to fight for and protect their home before sharing lunch and watching their training.
• Alice told Roland that Edwin had reached the peak of Great Mage and entered closed-door cultivation to attempt a breakthrough to Archmage.
• Roland ordered the territory to cover all the resources Edwin needed for his breakthrough.
• Alice reported that Double Gate Island had 9,800 mu of Magic Herb Gardens and that the low-level plants were expected to earn nearly 800,000 gold coins in June; Roland declined to expand the gardens further.

Roland’s territory came under attack when starving pirates slipped onto West Island to steal grain, prompting him to order a response and investigate the security failure. The pirates were quickly subdued, and Roland learned that the Administrative Department had issued their travel pass.

• Leslie reported that several Terra Kingdom noble families had secretly approached Roland, and Roland ordered Fili to accept them and seek evidence against the Four Great Harrison Families.
• Roland laid out the territory’s economic and military priorities, including plans to expand its forces and prepare for the end of the Truce Order.
• An alarm announced an attack on West Island, and Roland assigned Reff to command the response while ordering troops to defend Black Fortress and confront the attackers.
• Reff returned to report that starving pirates had posed as a merchant caravan, used a pass to reach West Island, and been subdued by the island’s defenders before his forces arrived.
• Roland discovered that the pirates’ pass had been issued by the Administrative Department, and Leslie promised a thorough investigation and harsh punishment for those responsible.

Titus and his men searched for the Redbeard Pirates' treasure while Roland dealt with a pirate raid on West Island and ordered Double Gate Island sealed. Titus found an underground cavern that held a chained Fire Element Dragon, as a Storm Eagle Knight discovered the entrance and signaled for help.

• Titus reassured Gab that he would rescue Embark and the other men after claiming the Redbeard Pirates' treasure.
• Roland ordered the captured pirates killed, but a young pirate's remark revealed that they had a captain and were hiding their true objective.
• Roland learned that the pirates were after the Redbeard Pirates' treasure and ordered Double Gate Island sealed while his forces searched for Titus.
• Titus and his men uncovered a hidden iron door and descended into an underground cavern, where they discovered a Fire Element Dragon imprisoned in chains.
• A Storm Eagle Knight found the concealed entrance and launched a magical firework to alert his nearby comrades.

Titus and his pirates discovered an imprisoned Fire Element Dragon beneath Double Gate Island, but their attempt to attack it ended in disaster. Reff captured Titus and Gab, then learned that the dragon wanted Roland brought to it.

• Titus told his greedy pirates they could not defeat the Fire Element Dragon, but agreed to let them try when they refused to leave empty-handed.
• The Fire Element Dragon killed the approaching pirates with golden flame, then told Titus it would spare him before pointing out Reff and his Earth Warriors behind them.
• Reff ordered his men to seize Titus and Gab, while one Earth Warrior went to report the dragon’s discovery to the count.
• Reff asked the dragon for its name, but it refused and demanded that Roland come see it.
• Reff withdrew from the cavern and reported the dragon’s demand to Roland.

Roland confronted Cassius, a trapped Fire Element Dragon who knew Roland’s secret alchemy success rate, and ordered his people to kill him. Cassius offered to become Roland’s mount to save himself, but Roland rejected the proposal after Nuwa warned that Cassius could break their master-servant contract once he recovered.

• Roland entered the cavern and learned that the dragon’s name was Cassius Zarick Artlis.
• Cassius revealed that he knew Roland’s secret potion-making success rate, so Roland ordered his warriors to kill him.
• Cassius threatened Roland with the Fire Dragon King’s revenge, but Roland insisted that the attacks continue.
• Reff, Monk, and the warriors wounded Cassius until he offered treasures, help expanding Roland’s territory, and finally a master-servant contract.
• Reff, Monk, and the others stopped attacking at the prospect of Roland becoming a Fire Dragon Knight, but Roland rejected Cassius’s offer after Nuwa warned him that Cassius could later break the contract.

Roland forced Cassius to sign a Symbiotic Soul Contract, binding their souls and sharing their power. After transforming into a Fire Element Dragon inside Cassius, Roland returned to his body and discovered his attributes had surged, but Cassius warned that he was close to death.

• Roland refused Cassius's offers until Cassius agreed to share thirty percent of his potion supply in exchange for signing the contract.
• Cassius recited the Dragon-language oath, and a mysterious force entered Roland's mind as the contract took effect.
• A miniature red dragon swallowed the golden scale in Roland's Sea of Consciousness, while Nuwa reported that Roland's attributes were rapidly rising.
• Roland's soul entered Cassius's body, where he appeared as a Fire Element Dragon, and Cassius explained that their souls could now inhabit each other's bodies.
• Roland returned to his own body and learned that his strength, constitution, agility, Mental Power, and level had increased dramatically through sharing Cassius's power.
• Cassius told Roland that he was going to die unless Roland dealt with him soon.

Roland and the warriors rescued Cassius from his restraints after feeding him Magic Crystals and meat, and Cassius explained how August Cubero had imprisoned him for nearly fifty years. Roland learned that August had planned to use Cassius’s Dragon Crystal to reach Legendary before he was killed by rival forces.

• Roland ordered Alredo to bring Fire Element Magic Crystals and meat so Cassius could recover before the warriors freed him.
• Cassius swallowed thousands of Magic Crystals and several tons of meat, healing his wounds and strengthening Roland through their Symbiotic Soul Contract.
• Cassius told Roland that August Cubero and two other Saint Domain Warriors captured him after he had been roaming the Cloudy Waves Sea Region.
• Leslie recalled records of a juvenile Fire Element Dragon’s rampage and said dozens of dragons had later searched the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands for Cassius.
• Cassius explained that August fed him rare treasures to strengthen his Dragon Crystal, but August disappeared before Cassius reached the Saint Domain.
• Roland concluded that August had been killed by the many factions he had antagonized while pursuing a breakthrough to Legendary.

Roland freed Cassius, learned how the dragon had discovered his secrets, and arranged to conceal him while he recovered. Cassius demonstrated that he could transform into elemental fire and enter Roland’s body, leaving Roland with a powerful hidden ally and the prison’s valuable anti-magic chains and spikes to investigate.

• Roland learned that Cassius used the Twisted Insight Technique to watch distant events and discover secrets on Double Gate Island.
• After Cassius was freed, he asked Roland to find a volcano where he could recover, and Roland arranged to secure an extinct volcano on Lava Island through the Jones Family.
• Roland ordered Reff to keep Cassius’s existence secret and told him to regain his strength before being publicly revealed.
• Cassius transformed into golden flames and entered Roland’s body, demonstrating his early mastery of Body Elementalization and making a passage-widening effort unnecessary.
• Roland ordered O'Neal to take August’s spikes and chains to Hard at the Alchemy Workshop for examination and possible reuse.

Roland captured Titus’s pirates, returned to Black Fortress, and struggled to obtain the rare materials needed to advance his potion-making. During a months-long lull in the continent’s wars, he invested heavily in his territory’s development, leaving several companions on the verge of major breakthroughs.

• Roland ordered Naldo to kill Titus and the other pirates while leaving their bodies intact, then returned to Black Fortress and left the remaining work to Reff.
• Roland realized that, despite becoming an Archmage through his contract with Cassius, he lacked Extraordinary Potion formulas and the rare materials needed to brew them.
• Cassius demanded more Fire Element Magic Crystals, but Roland refused and then considered obtaining high-level materials from the Mysterious Sea; Cassius warned that its resources belonged to the dragon race and could not be taken freely.
• As the continent’s major battlefields fell quiet, Roland developed his territory and spent at least six hundred thousand gold coins each month on Magic Materials for potion-making.
• Edwin became an Archmage, several warriors reached the peak of Earth Warrior rank, Alice became a Level 12 Great Mage, and Yulia approached a breakthrough to Archmage.

Roland trained Liana in Advanced Potion brewing before Leslie brought him news about Cassius’s disturbance and the Sea Demon Clan’s offer of Extraordinary Potion materials. Roland agreed to the deal and planned to demand all of the clan’s Extraordinary Potion formulas, leaving Leslie to negotiate with Felicia.

• Liana’s attempt to brew an Advanced Potion exploded, but Roland reassured her and praised her progress.
• Leslie discussed promoting Jonathan with Roland, then reported that the Jones Family was complaining about the noise and ash from Cassius on Lava Island.
• Roland ordered compensation for the Jones Family and surveillance to keep Cassius’s existence secret.
• Leslie told Roland that Felicia offered one hundred sets of Extraordinary Potion materials each month in exchange for seventeen potions.
• Roland agreed to the Sea Demon Clan’s terms and instructed Leslie to demand every Extraordinary Potion formula they possessed.

The Human Alliance and Beastkin Empire prepared to fight over the Northern Great Plains, but a Super Beast Tide erupted across the continents and forced both sides to abandon the battle. The beastkin withdrew to defend their western lands, while the Human Alliance turned to face the invading magical beasts.

• The Beastkin Empire gathered its forces outside the City of Guardianship, where Durontan faced Rodriguez Farnese, Gaia Arcmond, and Seraphim as both sides prepared for war.
• Messengers reported that the Immortal Blazing Phoenix, Hydra, and Earth Bear had led tens of millions of magical beasts out of the Monster Mountain Range and into the South Continent, North Continent, and Beastkin Empire.
• Durontan learned that magical beasts had breached major western clans and, despite the risk of losing the Northern Great Plains, ordered the beastkin army to withdraw and defend the empire.
• The Human Alliance did not pursue the beastkin and left defenders at the City of Guardianship before turning its forces toward the Super Beast Tide.

Roland learned that a Super Beast Tide had devastated much of the continent and threatened the Beastkin Empire from several directions. As Jay’s investigation disrupted the territory’s trade, Roland and Leslie decided to enlist other powers to remove him without killing him.

• Leslie told Roland that the Immortal Blazing Phoenix, Hydra, and Earth Bear races had launched a Super Beast Tide, causing more than ten million deaths in less than seven days.
• Leslie reported that the magical beasts had split into multiple fronts, while the Mysterious Sea and the ice ape race also showed signs of unrest.
• Roland ordered Leslie to monitor the continent, including the Beastkin Empire, and acknowledged that he did not want the Human Alliance to gain prestige from the crisis.
• Leslie explained that Jay’s investigation had disrupted the territory’s trade and forced its population trade with the Sea Demon Clan to stop.
• Roland proposed that Harrison, Oruoko, Cavendi, the Storm Pirates, and other affected powers work together to deal with Jay, and Leslie agreed to contact them.

As magical beasts ravaged the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands, the Sea Demon Clan and Roland’s forces faced advancing Beast Tides. After the Terra Kingdom nobles abandoned the Azure Sea Region and withdrew their support, Roland prepared to defend his territory against the ice ape invasion himself.

• Servia ordered the Sea Demon Clan to use a Level 19 Forbidden Spell against the approaching Beast Tide, killing hundreds of thousands of beasts but suffering heavy casualties in the counterattack.
• A Saint Domain-level ice ape led more than a hundred thousand ice apes into the Azure Sea Region, threatening Roland’s northern territories.
• Leslie told Roland that more than a hundred noble forces, including Harrison and Oruoko, had retreated to the Terra Kingdom, while the North Sea Fleet had withdrawn to Highland City.
• Roland learned that Human Alliance inspectors had left the Azure Sea Region and ordered Leslie to bring Kailon and a thousand Earth Giants back with weapons and equipment.
• Roland ordered his affiliated forces to gather at Double Gate Island and prepare to resist the ice ape invasion.

Ice Soul explained that the ice ape clan was marching south because worsening cold and hunger threatened its survival. With High Priestess Ella and the Ice Elves, the clan began freezing the Azure Sea Region into a polar wasteland.

• Ice Fiend questioned Ice Soul about the ice ape clan's planned invasion and its chances against humans and Orcs.
• Ice Soul explained that the Frozen Realm was becoming harder to survive in, so the clan needed a new home as well as food.
• Ice Soul revealed that the ice ape clan was waiting for the Ice Elves, and High Priestess Ella arrived with more than three thousand of her people.
• Ella led the Ice Elves in casting Extreme Cold Storm while Ice Soul promised to protect them.
• The spell spread freezing winds and heavy clouds across the sea, rapidly icing over the Azure Sea Region.

Roland reviewed the rapid growth of his forces as they prepared for the Ice Ape Clan’s invasion of the Azure Sea Region. Reff proposed striking the Ice Apes at sea, but Roland took O'Neal’s warning seriously and grew wary when he learned the enemy had waited more than five days without attacking.

• O'Neal reported that the Imperial Guard Legion had expanded and that Kailon’s Earth Giants would soon strengthen its Giant Brigade.
• Chopper, Ronald, Alredo, and Alice reported the strength of their legions, flying troops, and Mage Regiment, showing that Roland’s forces had more than ten thousand professionals and sixty-five Earth Warriors.
• Roland told his officials that a Saint Domain Ice Ape commander had led 120,000 Ice Apes toward the Azure Sea Region.
• Reff proposed using warships and cannon fire to attack the Ice Apes at sea, and several officials enthusiastically supported his plan.
• O'Neal questioned whether the Ice Apes would really swim into the Azure Sea Region without anticipating the danger, and Roland ordered the officials to share their intelligence.
• Alredo reported that over 100,000 Ice Apes had been stationed along the Northern Ice Island and Northern Source Island line for more than five days without launching an attack.