Chapter Summaries

Roland bought Borkan’s Dark Jade and divine artifact longsword from Zarick, then used Zarick’s public support to strengthen his political position. After Zarick promised to protect him and vanished, Roland was left wondering why Zarick valued him and what greater crisis lay ahead.

• Zarick told Roland that he would learn the secrets of God Kingdom level experts after reaching Legendary, then agreed to sell him Borkan’s Dark Jade and divine artifact longsword.
• Roland negotiated the price down to twenty million gold coins, payable within three months without interest, and received both treasures from Zarick.
• Roland hosted a banquet in Azure Tide City to display his connection to Zarick, shocking representatives from many factions and prompting envoys to seek alliances with him.
• The Three Great Kingdoms, angered by Roland’s ties to Zarick, joined forces in secret to eliminate him, while the Human Alliance avoided taking action against him.
• Zarick told Roland that the continent faced a greater crisis and promised to keep him safe, then vanished, leaving Roland uncertain about Zarick’s motives and the coming danger.

Zarick and Sabrina discussed whether Roland was the prophesied Child of Destiny, while the Demon Disaster reached a stalemate across the continent and Roland’s forces secured the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands. After Gustav pledged loyalty to Roland, Roland made him a hereditary baron and commander of the Storm Legion.

• Sabrina questioned whether Roland was Elarais’s prophesied Child of Destiny, and Zarick said he believed the prophecy and expected Cassius to benefit from his bond with Roland.
• After more than two years of devastating warfare, demon forces across the Saint Nor Continent had suffered heavy losses and gathered around the Spatial Rifts, while Reff and O’Neal defeated the demons in the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands.
• Roland met Gustav As at Black Fortress after Dylan Fikernando had rescued him from the Dark Angels, and asked what he planned to do with the Storm Pirates.
• Gustav pledged loyalty to Roland, who granted him hereditary baron status, Leftwood Island, and command of the thirty-thousand-strong Storm Legion.
• Roland promised to pay for treatment to restore Gustav’s severed arm, and Ulysses also pledged loyalty before Roland assigned him to learn the work of the Military Affairs Department.

After the battle ended the Demon Disaster in the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands, Roland learned that the Eleventh and Twelfth Legions had suffered heavy losses while elite legions were spared. He confronted Reff and O'Neal for risking ordinary soldiers to protect their own forces, then Elizabeth arrived as he was about to punish them.

• Roland welcomed Gustav into his territory, then heard Reff report the demons killed, Dark Jades collected, and the territory's casualties.
• Reff explained that the Eleventh Legion had lost many soldiers drawing off demons and covering the Mage Regiment, while O'Neal said the Twelfth had blocked the minotaur legion's retreat.
• Roland demanded to know why the Imperial Guard and Bulwark Legions had not taken the dangerous missions, and realized Reff and O'Neal had held back their elite forces.
• Reff and O'Neal knelt and admitted they were wrong as Roland condemned the unfair treatment of the ordinary legions.
• Elizabeth entered the meeting room after hearing the commotion, having rushed over to plead for Reff and O'Neal.

Roland punished Reff and O'Neal for mistreating other legions, then gave Dylan Fikernando Borkan's Dark Jade and the divine weapon Dark Abyss to help him advance to Legendary. As Roland's territory prospered after the unification of the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands, it approached the point where he could found a kingdom.

• Roland demoted Reff and O'Neal, confiscated their fiefs, docked their pay, revoked their battle merits, and ordered them to rebuild the Eleventh and Twelfth Legions within half a year.
• Roland gave Dylan Fikernando Borkan's Dark Jade and Dark Abyss, and Dylan said he would protect Roland's command once he reached Legendary.
• Dylan hurried off to see Caesar, while Elizabeth defended her father's loyalty and argued with Roland about her servants reporting to her.
• After the war ended, Roland redirected transport capacity to trade, and smuggling profits and the unified islands greatly expanded his territory's resources.
• Roland's territory exchanged grain and weapons for metal, Magic Crystals, and Magic Materials, strengthening its legions and bringing him closer to declaring a kingdom.

At the Sea of Demons, Lich King Augustine confronted Pope Rodriguez Farnese and rejected his offer to return to the Church of Dawn, vowing to destroy the Holy Light Empire. Augustine revealed that the demons had maintained the Spatial Rift for a hidden purpose, leaving Rodriguez uneasy about their real plan.

• Rodriguez offered to restore Augustine’s family’s honor if Augustine returned to the light, but Augustine accused him of lying and recalled his family’s murder and the Church’s betrayal.
• Rodriguez urged Augustine to abandon his hatred, while Augustine condemned the light and vowed to destroy the Holy Light Empire and its followers.
• Rodriguez entered the sky and drove back the darkness, but Augustine and the demons stood their ground instead of retreating.
• Augustine asked Rodriguez why the demons had spent so much to maintain the Spatial Rift, making Rodriguez question their purpose.

Augustin revealed that the demons had maintained the Sea of Demons’ Spatial Rift for two thousand years so Demon Lords could descend and destroy the Holy Light Empire. Rodriguez summoned the Lord of Dawn’s power to trap and weaken the Demon Lords, then ordered the city evacuated as his hair turned white.

• Augustin revealed his plan and welcomed the descent of Fire King Axel and Evil Tyrant Stuart, who arrived in the Saint Nor Continent despite the strain on its laws.
• Axel and Stuart began fighting each other until Augustin persuaded them to target the Holy Light Empire and Church of Dawn instead.
• Stuart sealed the City of Saint Mandi in darkness, draining the life force of its inhabitants, while Rodriguez called on the Lord of Dawn and gained the power to oppose the Demon Lords.
• Rodriguez used Great Edict Technique to imprison and weaken Axel and Stuart, then ordered everyone to withdraw as his hair rapidly turned white.
• Alvafredi led the retreat, while Rodriguez struck Augustin with a point of light, sending him falling into the sea.

Roland inspected the first Type II Magic Crystal Cannon built by Zorn Malfoy and learned what was needed to produce them at scale. Although he initially refused Reff’s costly purchase proposal, he ordered the territory to complete the naval blockade plan within two years.

• Zorn Malfoy introduced the Type II Magic Crystal Cannon, describing its construction, costs, ammunition, and firing limits.
• Roland learned that mass production required a Transcendental Level Alchemist, a large alchemist workforce, a powerful energy source, and three thousand support personnel.
• Roland reflected that his territory still lagged behind the Three Great Kingdoms in alchemists and magic-pattern experts.
• Reff proposed buying 150 Type II Magic Crystal Cannons and 2,000 cannonballs to blockade the Three Great Kingdoms’ fleets, a plan costing nearly 50 million gold coins.
• Roland said the territory could not afford the plan immediately, then ordered the Military Affairs Department and Administrative Department to complete it within two years, before the Demon Disaster ended.

Roland learned that Fire King Axel and Evil Tyrant Stuart had devastated the Holy Light Empire after descending upon the Saint Nor Continent. He ordered intelligence gathering and emergency defenses, then directed his officials to expand the army and capitalize on rising wartime demand, as his territory prepared for the wider demon threat.

• Roland offered Zorn Malfoy a premium purchase price for his cannons and promised to help him reach the Saint Domain, winning his sworn loyalty.
• After seeing the Type II Magic Crystal Cannon flatten a hill, Roland received news that two Demon Lords had nearly destroyed the Holy Light Empire and killed Pope Rodriguez and many other leaders.
• Roland ordered Alredo to send Griffin Knights to gather intelligence and summoned the territory's senior officials to Black Fortress.
• Reff recommended reinforcing the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands, and Roland ordered defenses strengthened and elite legions deployed throughout the region.
• Roland tasked O'Neal and Luke with recruiting 300,000 soldiers into fifteen legions within a year.
• James proposed expanding smuggling as wartime prices rose, and Roland directed Leslie to involve friendly eastern coastal nobles of the Terra Kingdom.

After the Holy Light Empire collapsed, Milo Habsburg and the Sacred Alliance’s other rulers debated how to respond to the Demon Lords and moved to protect the Church of Dawn’s survivors. Nations and races across the continents sent forces toward the Holy Light Empire as the chapter left its fate under investigation.

• Milo Habsburg convened the Sacred Alliance’s leaders and learned that the Church of Dawn’s Pope and Holy Maiden were at risk after the Holy Light Empire’s destruction.
• Arthur Arcmond said Fire King Axel and Evil Tyrant Stuart were seriously wounded and would need decades to recover, though he did not know how they had descended.
• Milo ordered the Hell Knight Order, led by Gaia, to rescue the Church of Dawn’s candidate Holy Sons and Holy Maidens, and sent imperial legions to the Holy Light Empire and its border.
• Milo asked Lillian Bauhinia to reinforce the empire’s border magic arrays, while Victor Oxley agreed to investigate the Sea of Demons and determine whether Rodriguez had died.
• Angest Hernandez and forces from the Arcane Empire, neighboring kingdoms, and distant nations headed toward the Holy Light Empire to investigate its collapse.

Cecilia led the remnants of the Church of Dawn north after the Holy Light Empire fell, and decided to seek refuge with Yulia and Roland in the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands. Meanwhile, Roland reached Level 17 Saint Domain, allowing Cassius to begin his own breakthrough.

• Demons overran the Holy Light Empire, forcing Cecilia and the surviving Church of Dawn members to flee to Red Stone Province.
• Cecilia recalled Amalfi's dying order to avoid the Sacred Alliance and Arcane Empires and rebuild the Church of Dawn with Yulia and Roland.
• Cecilia told her followers they would travel through the Black Belt Duchy and Knight Duchy, then cross the Mysterious Sea to reach the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands.
• Cecilia reassured the group that Roland's relationship with Zarick would secure passage, though she privately feared Roland might refuse them.
• Roland reached Level 17 Saint Domain and learned that Cassius could now begin breaking through from Level 16.
• Cassius asked Roland for Magic Crystals to fuel his breakthrough, and Roland agreed to send them.

Roland agreed to help Cecilia and her followers cross the Mysterious Sea, while barring Legendary members of the Church of Dawn from entering his territory for now. He then spent the rest of the year handling the territory’s administrative and military burdens.

• Roland dismissed his visitors and let Caesar take Eve out to play after Yulia brought him news from Cecilia.
• Yulia told Roland that Cecilia planned to bring about fifteen thousand followers and requested his help crossing the Mysterious Sea.
• Roland agreed to help Cecilia’s group and arrange a reception at the border, but said he would not welcome Legendary Church of Dawn powerhouses yet.
• Yulia promised to deliver Roland’s terms to Cecilia and left to handle the matter herself.
• Roland spent more than half a month overseeing territory administration, military affairs, potion refinement, and meditation until Year Fifty-Seven began.

Cecilia led the battered remnants of the Church of Dawn toward the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands, with Yulia arriving to rescue them from their dwindling supplies and failing ships. The survivors reached Double Gate Island, where Cecilia was left angry that Roland did not welcome her personally.

• Cecilia learned that the fleet was running out of food and water, several ships had to be abandoned, and they were still at least ten days from the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands.
• A Fire Element Dragon escorted the refugees through the Mysterious Sea, reminding Cecilia how much Roland's power had grown since she last saw him.
• Vio warned Cecilia that a Saint Domain expert was approaching, and Yulia arrived; Cecilia embraced her and broke down over Amalfi's death.
• Yulia provided the refugees with food, fresh water, and a plan to rendezvous with the receiving fleet within five days, while Cecilia mistakenly assumed she had taken control of Roland.
• The survivors transferred to Roland's merchant ships and reached Double Gate Island, where Cecilia complained that Roland had not come to greet her.

As the demons launched coordinated offensives across the Saint Nor Continent, Roland gathered his core officials to assess the crisis and the surge in wartime supply orders. He directed the territory to expand shipping through cooperation with the Three Great Kingdoms while trading supplies for talent, slaves, and Advanced Knowledge.

• Roland learned that demons had overwhelmed the Holy Light Empire and were attacking the Holy Alliance, the Arcane Empire, and the Elf Empire while other fronts kept the races' forces occupied.
• Leslie reported huge procurement requests from kingdoms and nobles, but explained that the territory could fulfill less than twenty percent of them with its current transport capacity.
• Roland approved using the Third Fleet to escort shipments while keeping the First and Second Fleets ready to defend the territory and its Spatial Rifts.
• Roland ordered James to negotiate with the Three Great Kingdoms to increase transport capacity and prioritize supplying the continental war.
• Leslie advised trading supplies mainly for talent from inland nations and slaves from Terra, Autran, and Storm, and Roland ordered the territory to acquire Advanced Knowledge as well.

Cecilia demanded that Roland accept the Church of Dawn’s branch on outrageous terms, unaware that her church was the one seeking refuge in his territory. Roland listened as she presented her conditions, leaving the meeting poised for his response.

• Cecilia insisted on seeing Roland that night, and Yulia escorted her to Black Fortress after O'Neal rebuked her arrogance.
• Roland welcomed Cecilia in his study and asked why the Church of Dawn had come to his territory.
• Cecilia announced that the church would establish a branch and grant Roland the title of Knight of Light.
• Cecilia demanded land, a grand cathedral, annual funding, access to believers, mandatory worship attendance, and salaries for the branch's clergy and warriors.
• Roland stared at Cecilia in disbelief as she claimed she had secured unusually favorable terms for him.

Roland rejected Cecilia’s proposed terms for the Church of Dawn and demanded that its branch submit to territorial authority. After Yulia showed Cecilia how other nations had treated the fallen church, Cecilia reconsidered and agreed to stay under Roland’s conditions.

• Roland offered to let the Church of Dawn establish a branch only if it surrendered its autonomy, funds, scriptures, and leaders’ loyalty to him.
• Cecilia refused Roland’s terms and left the study, while Yulia questioned whether his demands would drive her away.
• Roland explained that war made the Church of Dawn a security risk and gave Yulia a dossier about the church’s treatment elsewhere.
• Yulia showed Cecilia the dossier, which described other nations subordinating, exploiting, or outlawing the Church of Dawn.
• Cecilia accepted Yulia’s argument that preserving the church’s legacy mattered most and agreed to stay, hoping she could eventually regain its power.

After bringing the Church of Dawn under his rule, Roland faced a three-legion demon invasion aimed at severing his trade route with the Elf Empire. He gathered his forces at Whale Sand Island and refused to abandon the route, despite being heavily outnumbered and facing elite Hell Knights and necromancers.

• Cecilia and the remnants of the Church of Dawn swore allegiance to Roland, who appointed Yulia Cardinal Archbishop and placed the Holiness of Light Mage Tower under her command.
• Roland appointed Aaron commander of the Guardian Legion, with Vio as deputy, but the demons soon launched an invasion of the Boya Sea Region.
• After Zarick warned of demon troop movements, Roland sent his forces to Whale Sand Island, where legions and mage corps prepared defenses.
• Reff reported that three Demon Legions, including nearly ten thousand Ox Demons, two thousand Hell Knights, and two thousand necromancers, were targeting the region.
• Artur suggested temporarily abandoning trade with the Elf Empire, but Roland ordered his commanders to preserve the trade route at any cost.
• Reff reported that nearly one million Ox Demons had entered the Boya Sea Region and that the Hell Knight and Undead Legions were expected within seven days, bringing powerful war machines.

Roland struggled to find a way to defend the Elf Empire trade route against three Demon Legions, whose forces vastly outnumbered his own. Artur proposed shifting the trade route to Cavern Port, while Ulysses suggested layered defenses across the islands, a plan that left the commanders doubtful.

• Roland learned that the Human Alliance and Elf Empire would send no reinforcements and asked his commanders how to fight the demons.
• Reff argued against making a last stand on Whale Sand Island, while O'Neal proposed using the Three Fleets and Mage Regiments to engage the demons at sea.
• Artur suggested moving trade with the Elf Empire to Cavern Port in the Dwarf Kingdom to shorten and better protect the route, and Roland ordered Alredo to begin negotiations.
• Ulysses proposed having the Three Fleets buy time while legions built core defenses on six islands and secondary defenses across more than a hundred others.
• Reff and the other commanders questioned Ulysses's plan because it would divide their already outnumbered forces among many islands.

Roland approved Ulysses’s plan to spread the army across island strongholds and use the fleets to counter the demons, then ordered the deployment into action. At the Mysterious Sea, the demon commanders learned Roland had withdrawn from the southwestern Boya Sea Region and argued over whether to blockade the Elf Empire or attack him.

• Ulysses explained how reinforcements from the six forward islands and the naval fleets could surround demon forces, and Roland chose his plan after the other officials offered no alternative.
• Roland appointed Reff overall commander and named O'Neal and Ulysses deputy commanders, ordering the army to follow their command.
• On March 30, Reff ordered hundreds of thousands of troops to spread across the sea into more than a hundred strongholds, while two fleets and their escorts sailed toward the Mysterious Sea.
• Seven days later, Vasily, Herman, and Zacharia learned Roland had abandoned the southwestern Boya Sea Region and was establishing defenses along the Whale Sand and Locke line.
• Herman proposed that his Undead Legion blockade the Elf Empire's coast while the other legions attacked Roland, but Zacharia and Vasily resisted provoking Roland and ultimately agreed to the blockade.

Roland learned that the demon army had halted its offensive and was blockading the Elf Empire’s coast, apparently believing he had abandoned trade there. He ordered limited naval attacks and defenses to protect a shifted trade route, leaving the demons pinned down by his fleets as both sides avoided a full-scale war.

• Ralph learned that more than ten thousand demon warships had sailed west, and he redirected his fleet while scouting their movements.
• Roland established his field headquarters on Tidewatch Island and learned that the demons had encamped along the Elf Empire’s coast, sealing Spudden Harbor.
• Roland and Reff concluded that the demons had mistaken his withdrawal from the southwestern Boya Sea Region for an end to trade with the Elf Empire, and Roland heavily rewarded Artur for the suggestion that had helped delay war.
• Roland ordered the First and Second Fleets to attack the blockade without excessive losses and told the Flying Legion to defend the Whale Sand Island line while concealing the shifted trade route.
• Ralph’s fleets repeatedly struck the demons, and Roland’s Saint Domain experts repelled their counterattacks until Vasily and Herman deployed Dark Fire Magic Crystal Cannons and Hell Catapults to curb the assaults.
• The demons remained trapped near their own doorstep despite their three-million-strong army, while the expected major war gave way to continuing small clashes.

Roland's forces prepared for war after Arturo discovered that the demons had failed to stop trade through the Elf Empire's new route via the Dwarf Kingdom. The demon legions advanced toward Roland's island defenses, where Roland rallied his commanders with doubled Military Merit and hereditary titles as rewards.

• Artur, Dwight, and Rondo reached the Saint Domain under Roland's command, while trade resumed through the Dwarf Kingdom and exceeded its former volume.
• Arturo confronted Zacharia, Herman, and Vasily on Tushan Island and ordered them to attack Roland after learning they had failed to block the new trade route.
• Vasily, Herman, and Zacharia blamed one another after Arturo's departure and set out without holding a proper pre-battle meeting.
• Three days later, Reff told Roland that the demon legions had mobilized and their vanguard would reach Whale Sand Island within five days.
• Reff described the island defenses and available reinforcements, and Roland promised doubled Military Merit and hereditary titles for battlefield achievements.