Chapter Summaries

Li Ang used gunpowder to blast open Eagle Claw Fortress’s eastern gate, and the Noldo Elves mistook the explosion for magic, revering him as an Archmage. His forces entered the city and joined the fight against the Gatu people, while Li Ang rallied the Lion Knight Order and warned Gregory IV not to withdraw.

• Li Ang ordered Wendilf to fire a flaming arrow at a bundle beneath the eastern gate, and the gunpowder blast shattered the gate and frightened the Gatu people.
• The Noldo Elves believed Wendilf had awakened as a Sindar Elf and knelt to Li Ang after Amy called him an Archmage, while Li Ang led the troops into Eagle Claw Fortress.
• Li Ang’s fresh troops advanced through the city against the exhausted Gatu people, and he ordered Vendathir to take the Rangers onto the rooftops.
• Li Ang handed command to Sir Roland, raised the Griffin flag, and rallied the beleaguered Lion Knight Order to keep fighting.
• Gregory IV considered withdrawing his Raven Kingdom troops, but Li Ang warned him that he would attack if they left the city.

Li Ang used the Noldo Elves and his forces to force the Raven Kingdom and Lionheart Kingdom survivors to unite against the Gatu, then compelled both armies to lay down their weapons. He summoned Gregory IV and Duke Brennus to the eastern wall, having established the Noldo as disciplined allies and gained an opportunity to negotiate from strength.

• Gregory IV ordered his soldiers toward the gate, but mounted archers blocked their escape, and Wendy shot a Raven Kingdom soldier who tried to retreat after Li Ang ordered her to keep the armies in line.
• Gregory IV commanded his forces to attack the Gatu, and the Raven Kingdom soldiers, Lion Knights, Noldo Elves, and female adventurers fought together until every Gatu in Eagle Claw Fortress was killed.
• Li Ang warned Duke Brennus that he could withdraw his troops, then told the Lion Knights and Raven Kingdom soldiers to lay down their weapons and rest; both groups complied.
• Li Ang summoned Gregory IV and Duke Brennus to the eastern wall, making them pass through the Noldo formation so the soldiers could see the Elves were disciplined warriors under his command.
• Li Ang reached the eastern wall and judged that he had achieved his aim of presenting the Noldo as reliable mercenaries; further gains depended on negotiations with Gregory IV and Brennus.

Li Ang forced Gregory IV to transfer Dark Falcon Fortress and sign a ceasefire, then struck a deal with Brennus to remove his agents from Long River Town in exchange for backing his claims in Lion Lake City. After arranging the takeover of Dark Falcon Fortress and rebuilding a female-led force at Eagle Claw Fortress, Li Ang left the story poised to expand his influence across the region.

• Li Ang pressured Gregory IV into disarming his soldiers, transferring Dark Falcon Fortress as compensation, and signing a ceasefire agreement witnessed by Brennus.
• Li Ang revealed that Brennus had helped Granlon recruit troops in Long River Town and persuaded him to withdraw those agents in exchange for their joint claim that Forster remained in Lion Lake City.
• Li Ang sent Sir Roland and a small escort to take over Dark Falcon Fortress, while Raine pledged to serve Li Ang as long as he did not have to betray Ursula or the Falcon Knight Order.
• Raine asked whether Ursula could become Queen of Raven Territory, and Li Ang advised that she would have to prove herself stronger than Gregory IV in every regard.
• Amy established the New Falcon Claws at Eagle Claw Fortress, where she and Sarah began building an independent force of female soldiers and attracting new residents.

Li Ang returned to White Deer Fortress with the Noldo Rangers as his personal guard, while Baron Godric came back to find his territory transformed by new roads, markets, and trade. When Li Ang finally returned, he caught Godric secretly absorbed in reading The Centurion's Combat Career.

• Li Ang sent Vendathir and the female rangers to help Lesley coordinate trade with the Noldo, while Risadiran led a hundred male Noldo Rangers as Li Ang's personal guard.
• Godric rode a bus from Wheat Fragrance Territory to White Deer Fortress and saw the improved road, expanding market, and prosperous trade that had developed during his absence.
• Godric learned that Li Ang had gone to support Baron Leofric and that Noldo troops would be stationed in the renovated barracks.
• Godric entered the locked top-floor rooms and found black granules, iron shells, and pottery jars stored there.
• After waiting two days for Li Ang, Godric read The Centurion's Combat Career in his room until Li Ang returned and greeted him.

Li Ang went to Long River Town to seize it and recover the King’s golden seal, but Granlon trapped him inside the city after luring him through the gates. The chapter leaves Li Ang separated from most of his forces as fighting begins, while unrest also keeps Fieltzwe and the Bacchus Empire from intervening against the Lionheart Kingdom.

• Li Ang told Godric he planned to make Amy the lord of Eagle Claw Fortress and explained how controlling Long River Town would connect his distant territories through Long River Express.
• Godric agreed to support Li Ang’s plan, gave him Amy’s golden Fleur-de-lis banner, and followed with guards as Li Ang marched toward Long River Town with three hundred men.
• Granlon greeted Li Ang at the city gate and claimed he had captured Forster, recovered the King’s seal, and held Long River Town only for its protection.
• Li Ang rejected Granlon’s explanation and ordered an attack after Forster urged him to charge, but the city gate shut and left Li Ang and his hundred Noldo Rangers inside while the rest of his force remained outside.
• Fieltzwe turned back to suppress an uprising led by the Three Prophets, while the Bacchus Empire fought widespread rebellions, slave uprisings, and attacks by the Snake Worship Cult, all fueled in part by King Ulrich’s money to Hila Yuzas.

Hila Yuzas’s opposition to Marius’s reforms grew into a rebellion that, alongside gladiator and Snake Worship Cult uprisings, plunged the Bacchus Empire into crisis. Marius sent Agason to secure Marasburg and prepared to face the danger in Siyuan City, while Alina reported unrest abroad and worried over the unfolding chaos.

• Hila Yuzas joined forces with Augustus and, aided by the Lionheart Kingdom, drew veterans and elite soldiers into a rebellion that advanced toward Siyuan City.
• Gladiators escaped Siyuan City’s arena, freed slaves, and gathered nearly ten thousand fighters near Erudition City.
• Snake Worship Cult armies spread across the empire, attacked Imperial Port, and captured Marasburg, severing connections among the core cities.
• Marius ordered Agason to retake Marasburg and told him that Titus had been recalled to deal with the threat near Olegaburg.
• Marius and Alina discussed accepting the gladiators’ surrender, the possibility of food shortages in Erudition City, and reports that Li Ang and the Noldo Elves were fighting the Gatu people.
• Marius reassured Alina that the crisis could help reform the empire, then left the hall with his sword.

Emperor Marius’s Imperial New Life Plan aimed to use Brutus’s gladiator uprising to end slavery and strengthen the empire, but a foreign Snake Worship Cult invasion and unexpected rebel advances forced him to revise his strategy. With Siyuan City threatened on multiple fronts, Marius deployed his remaining forces and personally took the front line.

• Luciana, renamed Alina, and Emperor Marius designed the Imperial New Life Plan around Brutus leading a gladiator revolt that would expose the abuses of slavery and eventually join the imperial forces.
• Brutus’s uprising grew into a large slave army, but the Snake Worship Cult invaded from across the sea and Hila Yuzas’s rebels received new supplies, disrupting the plan.
• Marius and Alina lost contact with Brutus and Elina, while the uprising army advanced to Erudition City and Kairos’s forces could no longer be reached.
• Marius changed course, ordered Brutus to work with Governor Justus to negotiate with the uprising army, and sent Agason to retake Marasburg and relieve Imperial Port.
• Marius ordered General Titus to join the Ash Descendants Empire and attack the Snake Worship Cult’s ports, then personally stood on Siyuan City’s outer defensive line and challenged the rebels.

Li Ang routed Granlon and Forster’s ambush in Long River Town and learned they had planned to capture King Ulrich in exchange for Prince Alanric’s pardon. Their adviser was Igor, whom Li Ang believed he had watched die at Seven Forks Fortress.

• Li Ang’s hidden guards counterattacked Granlon and Forster’s forces, while Noldo Rangers cut apart the falling fishing net and blocked the enemy cavalry.
• Granlon surrendered, and Forster surrendered after Li Ang threatened them; Li Ang then demanded an explanation for their alliance.
• Forster explained that Ursula and Kaidelen had betrayed him, and Granlon and Forster had joined forces after meeting at Payne Village and blaming Kaidelen for their troubles.
• Forster revealed that they had planned to lure King Ulrich into Long River Town, capture him unharmed, and bargain with Prince Alanric for pardons.
• Granlon identified Grand Scholar Igor as the mastermind, and Li Ang reacted in shock because he had seen Igor die at Seven Forks Fortress.

Li Ang captured Igor when he returned to Long River Town, but Igor’s Twilight Knight escorts tried to kill him before he could be questioned. Jocelyn turned against the knights and surrendered, leaving Li Ang to investigate Igor’s strange return from death and the knights’ motives.

• Granlon refused to give Li Ang the king’s gold seal, while Forster explained how he and Granlon had planned to exchange territories and why they had gone to Eagle Claw Fortress.
• Li Ang offered Granlon and Forster a way to clear their crimes if they cooperated, then explained his suspicion that Igor had returned from death through Erebus’s power.
• Three days later, Granlon welcomed Igor into Long River Town, where Li Ang’s men trapped him in a fishing net and shut the city gate.
• Igor’s black-clad escorts attacked him, but Jocelyn defended him and surrendered while the soldiers killed the three attacking knights; two others escaped outside the gate.
• Li Ang questioned what Igor was and why the Twilight Knights had tried to silence him.

Li Ang captured Igor and learned from Jocelyn that the Dusk Knight Order had become corrupt and was cooperating with heretics who could revive the dead. Jocelyn joined Li Ang as a recruit instructor, while Igor remained unresponsive, leaving Li Ang to wonder why his condition resembled that of a captured Bacchus Empire spy.

• Igor failed to recognize Li Ang, and Jocelyn explained that Igor might have lost much of his soul after being revived.
• Jocelyn told Li Ang that both the Dawn and Dusk Knight Orders hunted him, then described how the Dusk Knight Order had turned toward heresy and dark rituals.
• Jocelyn revealed that Igor's organization had offered the Dusk Knight Order a method of reviving the dead in exchange for troops, and that Igor was to be killed if captured.
• Jocelyn explained that Igor resembled a revived Fallen One, whose damaged soul could leave him forgetful and unresponsive.
• Li Ang hired Jocelyn as his recruit skills instructor and promised to protect him from the Dusk Knight Order.
• Li Ang and his men failed to get a response from Igor, whose corpse-like state reminded Li Ang of a captured Bacchus Empire spy.

Li Ang exposed the supposed Igor as a Three Prophets impostor and arranged for Granlon and Forster to clear their names by destroying the heretics’ lair. After Long River Town was reclaimed, Li Ang returned to White Deer Fortress, where tensions threatened the new human-Noldo trade market.

• Li Ang realized that the supposed Igor might be an impostor, tore away his disguise, and discovered that the body wore Igor’s skin.
• Li Ang explained that the fake Igor had deceived both Alanric and Granlon and Forster to obtain the King’s seal, then proposed that they blame their crimes on the Three Prophets and recover the seal from their lair.
• Granlon and Forster agreed to write truthful confessions and, the next day, led their forces toward Misty Marsh Fortress with Li Ang’s letter requesting Baron Heriwold’s help.
• Li Ang and Godric reported the recapture of Long River Town; Li Ang returned to White Deer Fortress while Godric stayed to manage the town until the King’s decree arrived.
• At the planned human-Noldo trade market, Vendathir and Noel discussed Aldarian’s hostility toward the project, and Risadiran set out to warn Li Ang after learning Aldarian had disappeared with his troops.

Li Ang tested black-powder grenades on Alice and used one to frighten Lord Aldarian, who had come to warn him against entering Noldo Forest. The chapter ended with Aldarian thrown from his horse and Li Ang asking whether he still thought Li Ang could not defeat him.

• Li Ang taught Wendilf to throw Palm Thunder grenades and tested their effects on Alice, then comforted the frightened mare.
• Risadiran rushed out of the forest to warn Li Ang as Lord Aldarian arrived with cavalry and fired a powerful warning arrow that grazed Li Ang's temple.
• Wendilf attacked Aldarian, but he easily deflected her arrows; Li Ang stopped her and asked Aldarian why he had come.
• Aldarian threatened Li Ang and warned him to keep away from the Noldo and the Fenway Family, while Li Ang vowed to keep trading in the forest and threatened Aldarian's tribe.
• Li Ang threw a grenade beside Aldarian's horse, startling it so badly that it threw Aldarian into the dirt, and Li Ang challenged him again.

Li Ang drove Lord Aldarian away with an experimental grenade, but Aldarian’s accusations about Pendor’s royal family and a past Noldo plan raised new questions about Felgornsal’s history. Meanwhile, the first trade with the Noldo began weakly, and Li Ang planned to make them rich and dependent on his market, though he considered restarting after its poor opening.

• Li Ang’s grenade defeated Lord Aldarian, who accused him of being tied to Pendor’s royal bloodline and raised his bow against him.
• Wendilf and Risadiran confronted Lord Aldarian, who withdrew after warning that Felgornsal’s past plan had failed and asking where the king’s son was.
• Wendilf left to ask Felgornsal about the old plan, while Lord Aldarian and his troops vanished and the first merchants reached the Noldo market without further attacks.
• Li Ang learned that Noldo merchants lacked currency and that the market’s limited goods and uncertain road had kept trade small.
• Li Ang planned to expand trade by supplying necessities cheaply and buying Noldo goods at high prices, binding the Noldo to his commercial platform.
• Li Ang considered slowing down and starting over after the market’s poor opening.

Li Ang established the Eastern Bank while preparing for King Ulrich’s arrival, then staged a public feud with Godric to influence the king’s decisions about their territories. Ulrich convened Li Ang, Godric, and Malbert to discuss investiture and territorial arrangements, leaving their positions unsettled.

• Li Ang suspended Noldo Forest trade until the road was completed and ordered a bank built in White Deer Fortress and the Noldo Forest market, offering deposits ten percent annual interest and planning loans.
• Merchants across the region discussed the Eastern Bank, and Lesley worried that Li Ang’s deposit promises could bankrupt the bank if borrowers were scarce.
• After King Ulrich’s envoy summoned him to Long River Town, Li Ang told Godric that the king might separate them politically and suggested they stage a public fight.
• King Ulrich arrived in Long River Town with Lord Malbert and saw Li Ang’s Noldo Ranger guards, Vendathir, and Wendilf.
• Godric and Li Ang acted out a dispute over their business funds and Eagle Claw Fortress, and Godric punched Li Ang in front of the king.
• Ulrich gathered Godric, Li Ang, and Malbert around a table and said he had come to issue investiture decrees but would have to reconsider their territories in light of their apparent feud.

Ulrich rewarded Li Ang, Godric, and Malbert with new titles and fiefs, then left after taking the hundred thousand dinars Li Ang owed him. A royal tax assessment burdened Li Ang with an extraordinary quota, and Malbert came to trade White Deer Fortress for Li Ang’s northwestern businesses after learning the fortress faced similarly crushing taxes.

• Ulrich made Li Ang an earl and Commander of Eastern Military Affairs, granted him Long River Town, assigned Godric Eagle Claw Fortress and northern command, and gave Malbert White Deer Fortress.
• Malbert warned that his troops could not hold White Deer Fortress, but Ulrich told him to hire Noldo mercenaries and ended the meeting.
• After the investiture, Li Ang told Ulrich he could not repay Godric because he had used the money to gather the hundred thousand dinars owed to the king; Ulrich left with the payment, and Malbert departed as well.
• Li Ang and Godric celebrated their arrangement at Long River Express, where Li Ang expected Malbert to avoid governing White Deer Fortress and trade its revenue for shares.
• A royal tax officer set an annual tax quota of one hundred and fifty thousand dinars for Li Ang’s territory, prompting Malbert to return and propose exchanging White Deer Fortress for Li Ang’s northwestern businesses.
• Malbert revealed that White Deer Fortress had been assigned a fifty-thousand-dinar annual quota despite having only ten thousand residents, leaving Li Ang stunned.

Li Ang and Malbert arranged for Amy to take over White Deer Fortress after King Ulrich raised eastern taxes fivefold. Amy returned as its lord just as Pande Bank prepared to open, but she worried that she would no longer be able to stay by Li Ang’s side.

• Li Ang and Malbert discussed the heavy tax quota and agreed that Malbert would transfer White Deer Fortress to Amy in exchange for Lord Godric’s shares in northwestern businesses.
• Li Ang kept Pande Bank’s headquarters in White Deer Fortress, and Amy returned after signing the transfer agreement with Malbert.
• Amy reported that Eagle Claw Fortress had been restored and that her new Falcon Claws had attracted recruits, bringing her force to four hundred.
• Amy teased Li Ang about rumors surrounding his reputation, then worried aloud that she might no longer be able to appear by his side now that she was lord of White Deer Fortress.

Li Ang opened Pande Bank and used its deposits to finance large-scale purchases and trade with the Noldo Elves, while the bank’s market and deposits rapidly expanded. Back at White Deer Fortress, he revealed to Amy his plan to issue enchanted, high-denomination credit coins.

• Lesley told Li Ang that Pande Bank had gathered more than three hundred thousand denars in deposits, and Amy returned to find him preparing to use the bank’s money to buy grain and supplies from noble estates.
• Pande Bank opened in White Deer Fortress on October first, offering confidential deposits, ten percent annual interest, and loans secured by goods; merchants flocked to deposit their money before tax season.
• Amy led procurement efforts across the new territories while Li Ang organized merchants into a caravan bound for Noldo Forest, where the reopened market quickly grew into a busy center of trade.
• The Noldo market’s merchants sold grain and cloth in successive caravans, and Noldo Elves used the bank to deposit earnings, withdraw cash, and secure loans against goods.
• After returning to White Deer Fortress, Li Ang reviewed the bank’s accounts with Amy and explained that he planned to issue high-denomination credit coins made from enchanted silver bearing Mithril inscriptions.

Felgornsal revealed that Li Ang descended from the Pande princess and the Noldo noble Madigan, then proposed that Li Ang and Wendilf become engaged to protect their alliance from Lord Aldarian’s provocations. Li Ang refused to make marriage a political bargain and challenged Lord Aldarian to come out of the forest.

• Felgornsal told Li Ang how the last Pande princess and the Noldo noble Maldarian had tried to restore the kingdom, and Li Ang realized Maldarian had been the prophet Madigan.
• Felgornsal explained that Lord Aldarian was enslaving Gatu prisoners and urging Noldo to capture humans, threatening peaceful cooperation.
• Felgornsal proposed that Li Ang and Wendilf become engaged, but Li Ang refused to decide marriage for political gain.
• After Felgornsal returned to the forest, Li Ang concluded that the Elf King was trying to bind him to the Fenway Family and shouted for Lord Aldarian to appear.

Li Ang used a demonstration of powerful chain explosives to persuade Lord Aldarian to negotiate rather than attack human trade routes, arguing that he wanted Noldo knowledge and craftsmanship instead of Noldo soldiers. Meanwhile, news arrived that Sir Roland had received Dark Falcon Fortress from Gregory IV, while Ursula’s army had failed to capture Xiaolu City and was refused entry into Lion Territory.

• Li Ang led Lord Aldarian to a cornfield and offered to sell him food, explaining that the captured Gatu slaves would need supplies and would be costly to maintain.
• Li Ang revealed that his soldiers could trigger powerful chain explosions, convincing Lord Aldarian that an army could not safely seize his territory.
• Li Ang told Lord Aldarian that he wanted the Noldo’s knowledge and craftsmanship, not their soldiers, and Lord Aldarian met with Vendathir before leaving.
• Li Ang learned that Count Stephen’s three-day defense had helped Duke Anderma preserve Xiaolu City, though Ursula’s forces had still inflicted heavy losses.
• Gregory IV transferred Dark Falcon Fortress to Sir Roland as compensation, while Count Stephen quietly offered Roland maps and goodwill.
• Ursula tried to lead her troops into Lion Territory as allies, but Ryman refused her.

Li Ang’s territory expanded its trade, education, and military ties while he returned to Long River Town and imposed a coercive plan to collect taxes. The chapter ended with Eric preparing to enforce forced loans against residents who refused to pay.

• Andongjia established a trading camp and language classes for the Misty Mountain people, earning followers and exchanging letters with Ansen.
• More Noldo Elves came to White Deer Fortress, worked in Li Ang’s guarded factories, and formed patrol squads and Noel’s mercenary force.
• Li Ang returned to Long River Town, where Eric had become its administrative officer.
• Li Ang ordered Eric to offer low-interest loans to residents struggling to pay taxes, while promising work to those with no money or assets.
• Li Ang instructed Eric to force loans on tax holdouts after November 15 and to arrest anyone who fled before repaying, saying they needed enemies.