Chapter Summaries

Kloze’s forces struggled against the Fallen Ones and split up to reach Vulpine Town, while Sigismund drew the monsters away. Kloze encountered Fleur’s Oswood and his brutal cavalry near the town, but did not recognize the name.

• Kloze’s Silver Hand suffered heavy losses against the Fallen Ones, and the monsters repelled the Free Legion’s javelin volley by throwing the weapons back.
• Kloze accepted Sigismund’s plan to split the force into small groups and regroup near Vulpine Town, while Sigismund led the scouts away to lure the Fallen Ones.
• Sigismund failed to shake the tireless Fallen Ones and led his scouts toward Talboa instead.
• Kloze raised the Golden Griffin banner and fired a signal arrow near Vulpine Town, hoping to gather his scattered troops before joining Amy.
• Fleur’s Oswood and his cavalry assembled near Kloze, released wounded villagers, and demanded that Kloze surrender.
• A wounded villager identified Oswood as Fleur’s brutal executioner, but Kloze had never heard of him.

Kloze confronted Oswood's mounted bandits near Vulpine Town and discovered they were connected to the Lion Knight Order, while Risadiran and Scorpion Assassins infiltrated Lion City ahead of Li Ang's arrival. The chapter ended with Li Ang questioning a newly knighted gate officer who resembled someone he knew.

• Kloze protected the rescued villagers from Oswood's band and held his infantry in an anti-cavalry formation as more Silver Hand troops approached.
• A hooded rogue knight demanded Kloze's surrender and revealed a Lion Knight Order emblem, but Sammer accused him of stealing the armor, so Kloze cut him down and led a charge.
• Risadiran asked the Scorpion Assassins to infiltrate the Noble Council, and they killed the guards on the wall and hid their bodies before waiting for dawn.
• Li Ang entered Lion City with his guards after the gates opened to a welcoming fanfare.
• Li Ang asked a newly knighted gate officer his name and whether he was related to Queen Anna, noticing that the man resembled another knight.

Li Ang used Ols von Clancy’s supposed family connection to Princess Anna to secure a meeting with her, hoping to force her to clear Amy of heresy. At the Noble Council, he recognized the maid who arrived as one of the Three Prophets and warned her that King Ulrich might have noticed them.

• Inna introduced himself as Princess Anna’s follower and led Li Ang toward her after Li Ang claimed Ols von Clancy wanted to ask why he had not been invited to Anna’s wedding.
• Li Ang reasoned that Inna might be Ols’s unacknowledged son and that Princess Anna was likely one of the Three Prophets occupying an orphan’s body from a temple associated with Ols’s fiancée.
• Li Ang left his sword outside the Noble Council and followed Inna into a guarded reception room, where Inna said Anna would arrive shortly.
• A maid brought Li Ang fruit, and he recognized her as one of the Three Prophets despite her unfamiliar appearance.
• Li Ang exchanged guarded smiles with the maid and warned her that King Ulrich might have noticed the witches after killing two maids.

Li Ang coerced Cersi, one of the Three Prophets, into agreeing to help persuade King Ulrich to rescind the campaign order against Godric and Amy and instead have them investigate the heretics. He then concealed Queen Anna’s secrets before Ulrich, who left Anna to decide whether to lift a warrant against Li Ang’s knight.

• Li Ang asked Cersi whether the Three Prophets had accused Amy of heresy in Vulpine Town, and Cersi denied their involvement.
• Li Ang demanded that the Three Prophets persuade Ulrich to issue a new decree sending Amy and Godric to investigate the heretics, and warned that Amy’s supposed connection to the Dark Goddess could threaten them.
• Li Ang revealed that Anna’s paternity and unborn child could expose the Three Prophets, then warned Cersi that she could no longer use sorcery or return through another body inside the Noble Council.
• Li Ang used the Scorpion Assassins’ poisoned knives to threaten that the Three Prophets would be blamed for regicide if they refused to cooperate, and Cersi agreed to meet him later.
• When Ulrich arrived with Anna, Li Ang pretended to seek help for a knight related to Anna, and Ulrich let Anna decide whether to lift the knight’s warrant.

Li Ang persuaded Ulrich to revoke Malbert’s order and avoid a civil war, leading the king to issue new commands and prepare an ambush against the Baxians. At the adventurers’ inn, Cersi demanded Anna’s father in exchange for the Three Prophets staying out of Li Ang’s affairs, and Li Ang asked whether Sister Clancy was still alive.

• Li Ang told Ulrich that Malbert had betrayed the kingdom and explained why campaigning against Godric would make the king appear unjust and risk the kingdom’s defenses.
• Princess Anna supported Li Ang’s proposal to have Godric and Amy resist foreign invasions under the Royal City Guard’s supervision, while holding Andrew in Lion City.
• Ulrich issued a public decree assigning Li Ang to deliver orders to Godric and Amy and directing Rayman to ambush the Baxians near Seven Forks Fortress.
• Li Ang met Cersi at the adventurers’ inn, refused to cooperate with her beyond rescuing his friend, and heard her demand that he hand over Anna’s father.
• Li Ang asked Cersi whether Sister Clancy, Anna’s mother, was still alive.

Cersi explained how the Three Prophets had entered Longhowl Fortress and what happened to Sister Clancy and Anna, while Li Ang refused to hand Ols over and bargained for a meeting instead. Cersi learned that Ols’s son was among the Prophet followers, but Li Ang concealed his identity and pointed her toward the Royal City Guard commander in Vulpine Town.

• Cersi recounted that King Ulrich had promised the Three Prophets Longhowl Fortress in exchange for causing turmoil in Fieltzwe, but its residents and supplies had already been evacuated.
• Cersi said the Three Prophets took the starving orphans from Longhowl Fortress’s temple after Sister Clancy and Anna entrusted them with the children and then killed themselves.
• Cersi explained that the Three Prophets had adopted the children of Trublen and denied killing them, while admitting that they had helped the king purge the territory.
• Li Ang refused Cersi’s offer to take Ols, saying Ols should decide his own fate, and agreed to bring him to meet Anna after Amy and Godric’s matter was settled.
• Cersi reacted with killing intent when Li Ang revealed that Ols’s son served among her followers, and Li Ang falsely identified the Royal City Guard commander bound for Vulpine Town as the son.

Li Ang revealed Inna’s history and his devotion to Anna, while King Ulrich hesitated to face Philina after revoking his orders. Anna confronted Philina in the Noble Council Tower, where Philina exposed Anna’s secret and leaped to her death; Ulrich witnessed the fall as Inna, Li Ang, and Ols arrived.

• Li Ang introduced Inna to Ols, and Ols told Inna about the Three Prophets, but Inna still refused to turn against Anna, whom he loved and whose unborn child was his.
• Inna’s past was revealed: Gondor had raised him as an adopted son after pirates abducted him, and Inna fled to Lion Territory to avoid marrying Gudri.
• Ulrich went to Philina’s locked room but could not bring himself to enter, so Anna offered to speak with her instead.
• Philina accused Anna of being one of the Three Prophets and carrying another man’s child, and explained that the Noble Council Tower let her see what others could not.
• Philina declared that she would not let a heretic’s child inherit the throne, then jumped from the tower as Anna tried to stop her.
• Ulrich watched Philina fall into the garden and mourned beside her body as Inna, Li Ang, and Ols rushed into the Noble Council.

After Baron Gaden’s death forced Li Ang back to Lion City, Ols reported that the Lion Knight Order had massacred Crow’s Perch Village and that Godric and Amy were preparing to rebel. Li Ang found Philina dead at the Noble Council and, believing the crisis could no longer be settled, took her body and ordered the guard brought into the city.

• Sigismund led the Fallen Ones toward Harlingosburg, where Baron Gaden died defending the quarry workers before Li Ang’s Noldo Guard wiped out the attackers.
• The Royal City Guard demanded that Li Ang return to Lion City after Gaden’s death, so he traveled back with Inna and several masons as witnesses.
• Ols told Li Ang that the Lion Knight Order had massacred Crow’s Perch Village and nearby settlements, Andrew had disappeared, and Godric and Amy had decided to fight.
• Li Ang learned that Philina was being held in the Noble Council, then found her corpse below Anna’s window as Ulrich wept nearby.
• Ulrich rushed into the tower, while Li Ang took Philina’s body and shouted for Risadiran to open the city gates and bring the guard into Lion City.

After Philina was killed at the Noble Council, Li Ang brought his guard into Lion City and took control of the area, claiming he was protecting King Ulrich and purging suspected heretics. He sent Risadiran to deliver Philina’s body to Lord Godric and summon Amy’s cavalry, then prepared to enter the tower as Ulrich and Inna investigated inside.

• Risadiran sounded the advance horn, and the Noldo Guard charged into Lion City while he and five Scorpion Assassins secured the empty gatehouse.
• Li Ang’s guard took over the gate without casualties, and Risadiran brought reinforcements to Li Ang outside the Noble Council.
• Li Ang ordered his men to surround the Noble Council tower and declared that he was taking control to protect King Ulrich.
• Li Ang sent Risadiran to take Philina’s body to Lord Godric and tell Amy to bring her cavalry to Lion City.
• Li Ang accused Princess Anna of possibly being controlled by heretics and demanded that the Noble Council guards surrender their weapons and leave.
• The guards complied, and Li Ang prepared to enter the tower to protect Ulrich while he and Inna investigated.

Li Ang sealed Lion City and entered the Noble Council, where Inna killed King Ulrich and Anna revealed her plan to shift blame for the regicide. After Anna fought Ols and leapt from the tower, Li Ang and Ols realized the woman they had faced might not have been the real Anna.

• Li Ang sealed Lion City, destroyed the winches at its side gates, and ordered that no humans be allowed to leave.
• Li Ang found Inna holding a sword to Ulrich’s throat while Ols confronted him and Anna stood nearby.
• Inna killed Ulrich, surrendered to Li Ang, and tried to take responsibility for the regicide to protect Anna.
• Anna accused Li Ang of being the true culprit, then abandoned her disguise and challenged him to fight.
• Inna attacked Li Ang from behind, but Ols drove Anna back and stabbed her before she leapt from the tower window.
• Li Ang ordered the Noldo Rangers to find and bind Anna, while Ols said she had not bled and might not have been the real Anna.

Li Ang exposed Anna’s apparent death as a body-shedding deception, arranged for Inna to kill Ulrich publicly, and searched the Noble Council for the surviving prophet. He uncovered a cook’s murders and learned the little Princess had been moved to Cliff Bay, while her true father was reportedly a guard named Ailian from Trublen.

• Li Ang concluded that Anna’s corpse was a dried shell and let Inna carry Ulrich’s body out of the Noble Council as a hostage.
• Inna killed Ulrich on King’s Avenue and escaped while guards and witnesses watched.
• Li Ang summoned Noldos to search the tower and found a cook named Cersi hiding among the maids with dismembered corpses in the cellar.
• Cersi confessed to killing the Queen’s maids and the little Princess’s four maids on Duke Brennus’s orders.
• Cersi revealed that Brennus had sent the little Princess to Cliff Bay and that her father was likely Ailian, a former Captain Commander from Trublen.

Li Ang investigated the plot surrounding Princess Philina’s death, then announced that King Ulrich had fallen in battle and blamed Queen Anna and the Fieltzway Alliance, setting the stage for war. After Amy arrived, Li Ang explained that Philina may have chosen her death to protect Amy and asked whether she wanted to become Queen.

• The fat cook told Li Ang that Duke Alma had once tried to arrange a marriage between his youngest son and Princess Philina, leading Li Ang to suspect that Alma and perhaps Forster knew Philina was not Ulrich’s daughter.
• Li Ang locked the cook in the tower, but his search found neither Cersi nor the Prophet using Anna’s identity.
• Li Ang told the nobles that Anna had led the heretics and murdered Philina, and that Ulrich had died fighting Inna, whom he identified as a Fieltzway spy.
• Li Ang’s account led the nobles to expect war with the Fieltzway Alliance and shifted attention toward the borderlands near Brennus and the Three Prophets.
• Amy arrived in Lion City and asked Li Ang how Philina had died; he said she had probably jumped from the tower to keep the kingdom out of heretics’ hands and protect Amy and Godric.
• Li Ang explained that Philina’s death had helped clear Amy of suspicion, then asked Amy whether she wanted to be Queen.

After Madam Philina’s death, Li Ang persuaded Amy to claim the regency so their enemies could not control the Silver Throne. Amy became Princess Regent and declared war on Fieltzwe, while Li Ang took command of the kingdom’s military affairs and prepared to eliminate Brennus and the Lion Knight Order.

• Amy told Li Ang she had wanted to become a knight like Count Valera, and he explained that she had to take the Silver Throne to protect their people and defeat their enemies.
• Amy told Li Ang that Godric planned to remain in Crow's Perch Village to fight their enemies, and Li Ang urged her to rest before going to the Throne Hall.
• Li Ang used troops and Cersi’s confession to convince Lion City’s nobles that Brennus and the Lion Knight Order were traitors, and they unanimously elected Amy Princess Regent.
• Amy declared war on Fieltzwe to avenge King Ulrich, and she offered the dukedoms of Lion Lake City and Cliff Bay as rewards for defeating their enemies.
• Li Ang took complete command of Lionheart Kingdom’s military affairs as the kingdom prepared for war and the coming fight against Brennus.

After the Lion Knight Order withdrew from Vulpine Town, Amy elevated Herriwold and Leofric to Earls and assigned them new territories while declaring war on Fieltzwe. Li Ang then used letters, money, and his contacts to ensure the neighboring powers were drawn into conflicts of their own, leaving the continent in widespread war on Midsummer Day.

• The Lion Knight Order withdrew from Vulpine Town as its morale collapsed, while Godric continued searching for Andrew near Far Country.
• Herriwold and Leofric swore allegiance to Amy, exchanged territories, and received earldoms; Leofric took Misty Marsh Fortress and Herriwold went to govern Brave Shield Fortress.
• Amy declared war on Fieltzwe, and Li Ang prepared to keep Bax, Raven, and Dexia from exploiting the Lionheart Kingdom's crisis.
• On Midsummer Day, the Bacchus Empire declared war on Dexia, Raven declared war on the Lionheart Kingdom and then sought peace, and Fieltzwe prepared to face the Lionheart Kingdom's revenge.
• Li Ang persuaded Emperor Marius to turn against Dexia and helped Ramon expand his arms business there, fueling conflict between the Dawn and Dusk Knight Orders.

Gregory IV declared war on Lionheart Kingdom, but withdrew after Ursula’s forces captured eastern Raven Territory with Li Ang’s support. Amy and Li Ang then negotiated an alliance with the Raven messenger, offering to help recover Xiaolu City in exchange for the Raven Kingdom attacking Cliff Bay and capturing Brennus; the agreement remained contingent on Gregory IV’s approval and an exchange of national treasures.

• Gregory IV declared war on Lionheart Kingdom and marched toward Misty Marsh Fortress, but recalled his army after learning that Ursula’s rebels had captured Xiaolu City.
• Ursula and Sir Rayman restored the Falcon Knight Order with Li Ang’s support, seized Xiaolu City, captured Duke Andermar, and gained Count Stephen’s allegiance after Sir Rayman rescued Faramond.
• Gregory IV’s messenger, Lord Gastov, asked Amy and Li Ang to negotiate peace and form an alliance after the Raven army’s retreat came too late to stop the declaration from reaching Lion City.
• Li Ang offered to help the Raven Kingdom retake Xiaolu City and rescue Duke Andermar if Gregory IV attacked Cliff Bay and captured Brennus.
• Amy required Gregory IV to send Dragon’s Fang as collateral while Lionheart Kingdom temporarily handed over the Lion Territory Banner Spear, leaving the proposed alliance awaiting his approval.

Amy secured Raven Kingdom’s recognition of her succession through an alliance and the exchange of royal weapons, while Alina arrived to study under Li Ang. Li Ang’s warning to the gravely ill Emperor Marius prompted a covert plan to raid Fieltzwe’s wealthy western ports, and Amy collected Alina’s costly tuition.

• Gastov returned with Gregory IV’s signed alliance and Dragon’s Fang, and took Amy and Li Ang’s signed pact and the Lion Territory Banner Spear back to the Raven Kingdom.
• Alina delivered Emperor Marius’s condolences to Amy, then asked Li Ang to teach her and gave him Marius’s letter explaining that she had been sent away for her protection.
• Li Ang told Amy that Marius was seriously ill with suspected lead poisoning, and sent him advice to avoid alcohol and eat nourishing foods.
• Marius understood Li Ang’s letter as a warning and ordered General Sura to send the Shadow Wolf Pack to raid Fieltzwe’s western ports while keeping the Bacchus Empire’s involvement concealed.
• Li Ang presented Alina with an invoice for eight thousand denars in tuition and other fees, and Amy happily took it to Governor Justus for payment.

King Vidis learned that Queen Angus would withhold Vanskery’s fleet unless Fieltzwe recovered her missing favorite, Milgan Kirik. Earl Aiding planned to use Inna the Provoker to kill Milgan and keep the Queen’s Guard in Fieltzwe, then offered Gondor a scheme that could restore Inna’s prospects and make them eligible for Valhalla.

• King Vidis learned from Earl Aiding that Queen Angus would not send her fleet unless Fieltzwe found Milgan Kirik, who was hiding in Deer Roost Village.
• Earl Aiding revealed that Milgan had admitted to assassinating Duke Alma and said he wanted to keep the Queen’s Guard and Heroine Warriors from returning to Vanskery.
• King Vidis understood that Aiding intended to kill Milgan and blame the Queen’s Guard Ruffians, but warned him that the scheme could cost them their place in Valhalla.
• Earl Aiding told Gondor that he had found Inna, and Gondor accepted that his adopted son did not want to return home.
• Earl Aiding told Gondor that Inna’s status as a kingslayer had made him a danger and proposed a plan that could help them both and make them eligible to enter Valhalla.

Gondor, Vidis, and Aiding planned to secure Inna a future by making him commander of the Heroine Warriors and bringing them under Fieltzwe’s control. Inna gained Milgan’s trust and led him and the warriors toward Longhowl Fortress, while armies across the region began major campaigns and Amy was crowned King.

• Gondor explained that he had promoted Inna as a hero so pirates would accept him, and Vidis and Aiding proposed making Inna commander of the Heroine Warriors and building a Valhalla in Mistveil City.
• Inna joined Milgan in Deer Roost Village, interpreted for the Heroine Warriors, and learned that Milgan had brought them to Pande under the pretense of lifting Queen Angus’s curse.
• Inna persuaded Milgan to seize Longhowl Fortress, and he became the trusted assistant who effectively commanded the Heroine Warriors.
• On July 15th, Inna and Milgan led the Heroine Warriors toward Longhowl Fortress as the Raven Kingdom attacked Cliff Bay, the Bacchus Empire invaded Dexia, and Fieltzwe faced the Lionheart Kingdom at High Cliff Fortress.
• Ulrich’s funeral took place near Deerheart Lake, and Amy was crowned King while Li Ang remained away from High Cliff Fortress.

After Ulrich’s burial, his soul was summoned by Althea and Kualis, where he revealed that the Noldo Elves lived east of Pande and that three witches had given him a potion made with Noldo blood. Amy was crowned Queen Sonade, named Li Ang Grand Duke and marshal, and sent him to reclaim Fieltzwe.

• Amy buried Ulrich in the Alfred family mausoleum beneath epitaphs honoring his rule and lonely death.
• Althea and Kualis questioned Ulrich’s summoned soul, and he told them the Noldo Elves lived in the forests east of Pande and had been doing well.
• Ulrich revealed that three witches serving the Dark Goddess Erebus had given him a potion made from the blood of Noldo nobles, before his soul vanished and became a small flame in a temple torch.
• Amy was crowned the Lionheart Kingdom’s first queen under her own surname, Sonade, with Li Ang conducting the coronation instead of a priest.
• Amy granted Li Ang the title of duke, and he urged her to restore Eunomia’s pendant and Kavala’s sword before accepting the mission to reclaim Fieltzwe.

Ursula considered Cadelon’s offer to seize Lion Lake City while Li Ang prepared to draw Fieltzwe’s forces toward the kingdom’s heartland and ambush Earl Aiding. In Lion Lake City, Forster revealed that the Seekers were summoning a demon and preparing a massacre, leaving the danger there unresolved.

• Ursula rejected Cadelon’s claim that he could help her take Lion Lake City until he proved he could control the Crimson Brotherhood, then decided to leave Raven Territory after Andongjia fled south.
• Li Ang learned that several Fieltzwe forces were gathering at Longhowl Fortress and ordered Leofric to attack Kaineburg and feign defeat to lure Vidis toward Lion Lake City.
• Li Ang asked Ols to deliver a message to Inna, recruiting him to help ambush Earl Aiding and the Red Sword at Longhowl Fortress.
• Forster told Wendilf that the Three Prophets had escaped Lion City by transferring their souls into corpses and that their escape point could reveal where they remained.
• Forster revealed that he had joined the Seekers, confessed to killing villagers, and warned that they were summoning a demon in Lion Lake City to cause a massacre.