Chapter Summaries

As the Truce Order neared its end, the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands’ powers formed alliances and prepared for war. Roland missed the alliance meeting because Elizabeth gave birth to their son at Black Fortress.

• Joshua warned Andre that the Storm Pirates’ alliance invitation concealed another agenda, and Andre ordered him to find a chance to cripple them first.
• Gustav told Ulysses that the major forces supported an alliance meeting but disagreed over where the allied army should strike; Ulysses said pressure from the Three Great Kingdoms would unite them.
• Autran and Storm Kingdom nobles formed military alliances, while the Terra Kingdom’s Revenge Alliance targeted Roland and the Mandy Family.
• Joseph sought an alliance with the Cavendish Family, and the divided powers agreed to focus on the Cloudy Waves Sea Region, defeat the Terra Kingdom, and drive the Three Great Kingdoms’ nobles from the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands.
• Roland stayed at Black Fortress while Elizabeth gave birth to a healthy son, then celebrated with her and their newborn.

Roland welcomed his sons Caesar and Ares while preparing Double Gate Island for a looming war against the Terra Kingdom’s eastern coastal nobles. He ordered his leaders to prepare for the conflict without relying on allies, then welcomed Olivia to the island as his subordinate.

• Roland’s son Caesar was born, and three days later Yulia gave birth to Ares, whose foundation Roland strengthened with Fire Dragon Essence Blood.
• Roland told his leaders that the Revenge Alliance planned to attack after the Truce Order ended and that a royal Saint Domain expert would restrain Olivia.
• Roland rejected James’s proposal to threaten alliance members and warned his leaders not to depend on the Cavendish Family, the Storm Pirates, or other allies.
• Roland ordered Fili to seek an alliance with the Mandy Family and reviewed Double Gate Island’s extensive military preparations.
• In July, Roland welcomed Olivia to Double Gate Island with a grand ceremony, and Olivia accepted her role as his subordinate.

After the Truce Order ended, the Three Great Kingdoms coordinated their armies against the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands’ nine local powers, catching the Storm Pirates and Cavendish Family by surprise. Count Roland recognized the kingdoms’ advantage but faced defections, a new threat from Terra’s army, and the loss of the Mandy Family as an ally.

• The nine local powers declared war on Terra’s nobles, but Autran and Storm’s armies drove them back into the Cloudy Waves Sea Region while Terra’s forces advanced toward Double Gate Island.
• Gustav demanded an explanation from the Storm Pirates’ executives, and Ulysses said the royal families had secretly forced their nobles to form an alliance.
• Roland explained that the Three Great Kingdoms had waited until the local powers were weakened before moving against them, while affiliated forces abandoned him and the Mandy Family defected to Autran.
• Roland criticized the Mandy Family’s decision, then learned Terra had deployed three hundred thousand troops, far more than expected.
• Leslie suspected Terra’s royal family had supplied the extra troops, and Roland cursed Phillips for targeting him after Roland poached a Saint Domain Mage.

Roland ordered Artur and the Green-Haired Turtle Knights to harass the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance’s supply lines while Double Gate Island prepared its defenses. As the alliance’s massive fleet entered the Chaotic Sea Domain, its leaders argued over Roland’s strength before learning that Green-Haired Turtle Knights had attacked their rear and inflicted severe losses.

• Roland ordered Artur to lead three battalions of Green-Haired Turtle Knights and the Second Fleet to attack the alliance’s supply lines when opportunities arose.
• Roland organized Double Gate Island’s defenses, and Earth Giants and the Mage Regiment built fortresses around key sites.
• Three hundred thousand troops from the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance sailed into the Chaotic Sea Domain aboard more than ten thousand ships.
• Amand challenged Cyril’s outdated intelligence about Roland’s Earth Giants and Mage Regiment, and Ansel reprimanded them for undermining the alliance.
• An urgent report announced that several thousand Green-Haired Turtle Knights had attacked the alliance’s rear and inflicted severe losses.

The Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance suffered repeated ambushes from Roland’s Green-Haired Turtle Knights as its fleet crossed the Azure Sea. Artur changed tactics to scattered raids, and the alliance reached Double Gate Island with nearly twenty thousand casualties while the turtle knights had lost more than half their force.

• The Green-Haired Turtle Knights ambushed the fleet’s rear, killing over three thousand soldiers and destroying two baronial families before withdrawing.
• Ansel ordered patrols and a new fleet formation after another raid hit the middle of the fleet, while the alliance’s counterattack killed more than a hundred turtle knights.
• Artur learned that his three companies had suffered over three hundred deaths and agreed that they could not continue fighting in large groups.
• Galen proposed splitting the Green-Haired Turtle Knights into platoon-sized units to strike vulnerable targets and retreat quickly, and Artur ordered the plan carried out.
• The dispersed turtle knights harassed the alliance for several days, and the fleet reached Double Gate Island after suffering nearly twenty thousand casualties, with more than half the turtle knights killed or wounded.

The Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance attacked Double Gate Island, but Roland’s three thousand Magic Pattern Warriors annihilated the first landing force and shocked the allied leaders. The alliance regrouped and launched a much larger assault from the harbor and around both sides of the island.

• Ansel, Cyril, Amand, and Kurt offered Roland surrender terms, but he insulted them and challenged them to attack.
• Cyril ordered the Oroko Family’s forces to attack, and Reff used Magic Crystal Cannons to disrupt the approaching fleet.
• Roland’s three thousand Bulwark warriors wiped out three to four thousand enemy soldiers without casualties.
• The allied nobles learned that the Bulwark warriors were Magic Pattern Warriors and agreed that Roland had to be destroyed.
• Ansel proposed a broad assault, and the alliance sent over a thousand warships toward the harbor while others searched for landing sites around Double Gate Island.

Roland faced the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance as Olivia prepared to help, but Frederick arrived and revealed that the royal family wanted her back while the alliance intended to destroy Roland. Olivia failed to secure peace for Roland, and he asked her to trust him and fight by his side.

• Olivia began gathering Fire Element energy to attack the approaching forces, but a battle qi slash interrupted her spell.
• Frederick appeared in the sky and told Olivia to return to the Terra Kingdom, leading her to realize royal experts had come to stop her from intervening.
• Olivia asked Frederick to withdraw the alliance in exchange for her return, but he offered only to protect Roland if Roland abandoned his territory and joined the kingdom.
• Roland reassured Olivia that the battle was inevitable and asked whether she would fight beside him; Olivia agreed.

Roland's forces faced the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance's assault on Double Gate Island while Kailon fought Pedro Harrison and Olivia battled Frederick. Roland's mages and the Green-Haired Turtle Knights shifted the fight, but the alliance's fleet and overwhelming numbers kept the battle raging.

• Olivia challenged Frederick, and Pedro Harrison attacked Roland until Kailon struck Pedro and drove him into the sea.
• Pedro returned to fight Kailon, while Roland's forces and the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance began a massive assault on Double Gate Island.
• Reff assigned his commanders to defend the port as the Bulwark Brigade and Flying Brigade struggled against the alliance's superior numbers.
• Roland's Mage Regiment inflicted heavy casualties until Ansel ordered the alliance's Magic Crystal Cannons to suppress the mages.
• Reff ordered Roland's cannons to counterattack, giving Artur's Green-Haired Turtle Knights an opening to attack the alliance's rear and slaughter its minor nobles.

Roland ordered his forces to withdraw to Black Fortress as the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance landed more troops and pressed its assault. The three light infantry legions sacrificed nearly all their soldiers defending the fortress network, buying Roland’s elite forces two days to recover while inflicting heavy losses on the alliance.

• After learning enemy warships had landed troops on both sides of Double Gate Island, Roland ordered Reff to begin an orderly withdrawal.
• Ansel ordered the alliance to pursue, but the mages’ scrolls and Luke’s cavalry stopped the chase, and the alliance found its route to Black Fortress blocked by small fortresses.
• Roland returned to Black Fortress, where Reff said the newly formed light infantry legions would defend the fortresses and Luke’s cavalry would execute deserters.
• The alliance attacked the fortresses, and Luke’s cavalry killed more than a thousand fleeing soldiers; the remaining defenders fought for two days and two nights before a few thousand survivors reached Black Fortress.
• Roland’s main forces recovered while the fortress defense inflicted nearly twenty thousand more casualties, bringing the alliance’s total losses above seventy thousand.

Ansel’s Allied Army launched a four-sided assault on Black Fortress, but the defenders inflicted devastating losses despite being heavily outnumbered. As Ansel committed fourteen Sky Warriors to the siege, Roland assigned his limited forces to hold them off while keeping his greatest trump card hidden.

• Ansel offered Roland another chance to surrender, but Roland countered by promising the nobles a share of the Azure Sea Region if they withdrew.
• Ansel ordered the attack, and Olivia faced Frederick while Kailon confronted Pedro as the armies began fighting around Black Fortress.
• Reff deployed the Bulwark Legion and allied defenders across the walls, where they used the fortress’s advantages to inflict thousands of casualties while losing only about one hundred soldiers.
• The allied nobles protested the losses, and Ansel ordered fourteen Sky Warriors to attack the defenders on the walls.
• Roland appointed O'Neal to command the next battle and sent Reff, Monk, Alice, and Edwin with mages to defend three walls against the Sky Warriors.

Roland used his Archmage power to hold off three Sky Warriors at the southern wall while the Terra Noble Allied Army suffered heavy casualties attacking Black Fortress. At night, Ansel stopped the allied nobles from seeking peace by assuring them that King Phillips would protect their interests in the Azure Sea Region.

• Malcolm and Ronald struggled against stronger, more numerous Sky Warriors, while Alice and Edwin held a stable position at the western wall.
• Roland cast Flame Rain Earth and Level 15 Purifying Flame, revealing that he was a twenty-seven-year-old top-tier Archmage and forcing the three Ansel Family Sky Warriors to keep their distance.
• The Terra Noble Allied Army suffered more than twenty thousand casualties in a day, while Roland's defenders lost just over three thousand.
• An elderly viscount proposed peace negotiations, but Ansel argued that the alliance had to honor its orders from King Phillips and continue fighting.
• Ansel promised that Phillips would send the North Sea Fleet to protect the nobles' interests in the Azure Sea Region, and the nobles agreed to keep fighting Roland.

After three days of brutal fighting at Black Fortress, Roland ordered his long-hidden Giant Brigade into battle as his forces neared exhaustion. More than a thousand Earth Giants shattered the allied army’s front lines, while Ansel and the other great-family leaders hesitated to commit their dwindling Magical Beast Knights.

• Reff warned Roland that his depleted forces and defenses could not sustain further fighting, and Roland ordered Alredo to send in the Giant Brigade.
• A Griffin Knight reported that more than a thousand fully armored Earth Giants were approaching, shocking Ansel and the allied nobles.
• Roland commanded the Earth Giants to attack, and they charged the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance under their giant chieftains.
• The Earth Giants tore through a ten-thousand-man legion, killing hundreds and driving the soldiers into panic.
• The allied nobles demanded that Ansel deploy the Magical Beast Knights, but Ansel, Amand, and Kurt insisted on waiting until the Earth Giants weakened.

As the Earth Giants began to tire, Roland summoned Cassius, a Fire Element Dragon, whose overwhelming presence shattered the Terra Noble Allied Army’s resolve. Roland offered the nobles terms to surrender, and the alliance began to collapse as families and soldiers laid down their weapons.

• Ansel sent more than six thousand Magical Beast Knights into battle against the weakening Earth Giants, prompting Cyril to declare Roland’s defeat was near.
• Roland flew from the city wall and summoned Cassius, whose dragon might made the knights’ mounts collapse and caused several nobles to faint.
• Cassius demanded that the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance submit or die, and Roland offered favorable terms to the twelve families that had secretly aided him.
• More than a dozen nobles accepted Roland’s offer, and over ten thousand soldiers under their command surrendered.
• When Ansel tried to rally the remaining nobles, Cassius landed before them and silenced him, triggering further surrenders until more than half the allied army had laid down its weapons.

Roland’s victory forced the Terra Kingdom’s allied nobles to surrender, while his Dragon Knight identity shocked the returning Saint Domain experts. The chapter ended with Roland pressing Frederick to blame the war on the four great families, leaving the royal family to choose between them and Roland.

• More than half of the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance’s nobles joined Roland, and the remaining traitorous families, including the Brown and Perez Families, submitted under his pressure.
• Frederick and Pedro returned and were stunned to find Roland riding Cassius, while Olivia arrived and learned that Roland was a Dragon Knight.
• Roland deferred Olivia’s questions about how he had defeated Cassius and turned his attention to Frederick and the four remaining great-family leaders.
• Roland asked whether the war’s misunderstanding had been caused by Ansel and the others, pushing Frederick to recognize that the royal family would likely sacrifice the four families to preserve its ties with Roland.

Roland forced Frederick and the remaining leaders of the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance to surrender after Cassius secured his victory. Leslie took control of the Oroko Family’s soldiers and had Cyril arrested, while the chapter ended with the allied army laying down its weapons.

• Roland explained that he had withheld Cassius’s existence to draw the enemy into a war they could no longer win, then demanded their surrender.
• Frederick urged Ansel and the others to end the war with dignity, while Cyril refused to surrender on behalf of the Oroko Family.
• Leslie arrived and called on the Oroko Family’s soldiers to recognize his claim; France Boro and Daniel William pledged their loyalty, and the soldiers surrendered.
• Leslie ordered France to take Cyril into custody as Cyril raged at the soldiers who had abandoned him.
• Ansel, Amand, and Kurt accepted Roland’s terms, and the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance’s remaining soldiers laid down their weapons.

After Roland defeated Terra Kingdom’s alliance with Cassius and overwhelming forces, the Storm Pirates learned of his victory while struggling against Storm Kingdom’s army. Gustav decided to ask Roland for help despite Ulysses’s doubts that Roland would intervene.

• Envoys from Autran and Storm Kingdom raced to recruit Roland after news spread that he had defeated Terra Kingdom’s three hundred thousand troops.
• Vidar and Butler urged Gustav to negotiate an end to the war, but Gustav explained that Storm Kingdom’s royal family had made the conflict difficult to stop.
• A messenger delivered news that Roland had summoned Cassius and forced more than a hundred thousand enemy troops to surrender.
• Gustav considered asking Roland for support, but Ulysses warned that Roland’s forces had suffered heavy losses and that the Storm Pirates had not aided him when he was attacked.
• Gustav resolved to ask Roland for help anyway, and Ulysses agreed to do what he could.

After learning that Roland had formed a Symbiotic Soul Contract with Cassius and gained the Fire Dragon King’s protection, Phillips abandoned plans to attack him and sent Cameron to repair their relationship. At the Solomon Family, the elders discussed luring Roland back, while Junot recognized that the family’s past treatment of him made his return unlikely.

• Cameron told Phillips there was an eighty percent chance Roland had formed a Symbiotic Soul Contract with Cassius, but Phillips said he still wanted to continue the war against Roland.
• Cameron explained that the Terra Kingdom would need at least ten Saint Domain experts, including three Saint Domain Mages, to capture Roland and prevent his escape.
• Gram’s attendant reported that Zarick had asked Gram to look after Cassius, prompting Phillips to promise the kingdom would protect the Fire Dragon King’s child.
• Phillips ordered Cameron to visit the Azure Sea Region and mend the kingdom’s relationship with Roland, offering him a ducal title if he could resolve Roland’s resentment.
• The Solomon Family’s elders discussed how to persuade Roland to return, while Junot privately blamed them for the suffering that had made Roland hate the family.

Seven days after his victory over the Terra Kingdom Noble Alliance, Roland reviewed the devastating casualties and organized the recovery and defense of the Azure Sea Region. Leslie’s return to the Oroko Family was confirmed, but he agreed to help Roland settle matters before leaving.

• Roland studied the casualty report, which showed enormous losses across his forces, while Leslie insisted their victory had been worth the sacrifices.
• Roland ordered the fleets to blockade the Azure Sea Region, compensation for fallen soldiers to be paid, Military Merit records to be checked fairly, and depleted legions to be rebuilt.
• Roland instructed Old Nob’s Supervision Department to watch for spies as outsiders began arriving in the territory.
• Roland congratulated Leslie on becoming Count and teased him about their respective titles before asking about the Oroko Family Council of Elders.
• Leslie said Pruol had brought more than half the elders to the Azure Sea Region and admitted he could not kill his brother Cyril.
• Leslie agreed to delay his return to Heglan and help Roland settle affairs in the Azure Sea Region first.

After receiving recruitment offers from several kingdoms, Roland weighed their generous terms against his plans for the Azure Sea Region and the soldiers’ anger toward Terra Kingdom. He accepted his advisers’ recommendation to meet Terra Kingdom’s delegation, while ordering the Administrative Department to address the soldiers’ concerns and blame the Harrison, Mastin, and Beck families for the war.

• Noble delegations arrived at Double Gate Island, and Leslie’s relatives pledged loyalty to him, securing his return to the Oroko Family and inheritance of its count’s title.
• Leslie reported that Storm Kingdom offered Roland a dukedom, major political authority, tax exemptions, and access to advanced knowledge and military equipment.
• Autran Kingdom offered a similarly powerful position and an exchange of territory, but Roland rejected the idea of letting it gain a foothold in the Azure Sea Region.
• Leslie detailed Terra Kingdom’s offer, which included a dukedom, authority over noble discipline, substantial tax and trade benefits, training, discounted equipment, and Saint Domain-level mage equipment.
• Leslie and the other leaders recommended Terra Kingdom, and Roland ordered Fili to arrange a meeting with its delegation and the Administrative Department to address the soldiers’ concerns.

Roland reviewed the offers and demands from noble families, rejecting requests for Cassius’s Life Essence and postponing marriage proposals for Caesar. After hearing competing advice about whether to aid the Storm Pirates and Cavendish Family, he set the decision aside and ended the meeting with an order concerning Joseph.

• Fili reported that House Germanic offered magical beasts in exchange for Cassius’s Life Essence, and Roland refused while asking Fili to seek other terms.
• Fili revealed marriage proposals from seven ducal houses and twenty-two marquis houses for Caesar, and Roland ordered them rejected for now.
• Roland threatened any outsiders who tried to use his routes to the Beastkin Empire without permission.
• Fili said the Storm Pirates and Cavendish Family wanted help against the Autran Kingdom and the Storm Kingdom, prompting senior officials to debate whether to aid them.
• Roland postponed a decision on helping the Storm Pirates and Cavendish Family, then told Fili to send Joseph of the Mandy Family away.