Chapter Summaries

Li Ang set a trap for Gollus, the reckless gambler who had burned Noldo Forest, by using Rimusk to lure him into Shield Wind Fortress. Gollus charged inside with his cavalry, only for the gates to shut and the fortress to burn around them as Rimusk’s troops surrounded it.

• Li Ang explained that burning Noldo Forest would provoke the Noldo Elves and trigger ecological disaster, and concluded he needed to defeat the Baxians and seize Bacchus’s grain.
• Rimusk identified Gollus as the gambler who had set fire to the forest, while Ramon revealed he had once dealt the cards when Gollus lost his wife in a wager.
• Li Ang ordered Rimusk to lure Gollus into Shield Wind Fortress and threatened his family if he let him escape.
• Antonius gave Gollus the Shadow Legion’s command flag and withdrew, leaving Gollus in command as the Bacchus army faced Rimusk’s former comrades.
• Rimusk persuaded Gollus that Li Ang was vulnerable inside the fortress, and Gollus led about two hundred elite cavalry through its open gates.
• The fortress portcullis fell and fires engulfed Shield Wind Fortress as Rimusk’s troops surrounded it from outside.

Wendy burned Shield Wind Fortress, while Li Ang secured Rimusk's surrender and demanded provisions. After waking from Kairos's attempt to poison him, Marius ordered the Empire to prepare for defense and seek a deal to save the Shadow Legion; meanwhile, Li Ang's forces trapped Kairos near Trublen.

• Wendy set Shield Wind Fortress ablaze, and the Imperial First Legion scattered as Gollus's troops died in the fire.
• Li Ang released Rimusk's family and ordered Rimusk to send two hundred thousand pounds of food to White Deer Fortress within ten days.
• Marius woke in Siyuan City and learned that Kairos had used Snake Heart Stone on him, burned Noldo Forest, and attacked Li Ang's territory.
• Marius ordered the Empire to concentrate its forces around Calundru Castle and told Sura to capture Antonius in hopes of exchanging him for the Shadow Legion's cavalry.
• Li Ang returned to White Deer Fortress and pursued Kairos with Wendy, Vendathir, and the Noldo warriors.
• The Owl Knight Order and Wheat Fragrance Territory's farm owners held Kairos's cavalry at Trublen until Li Ang arrived with the main Noldo force.

Ols and the officers of Wheat Fragrance Territory used night raids and wagon forts to delay Kairos until Li Ang arrived with nearly two thousand Noldo Elves. Li Ang caught Kairos near Serenmis, but Kairos disrupted the Noldo cavalry and forced them into a costly clash with the Shadow Legion before retreating to a hilltop.

• Ols evacuated Trublen’s villagers and then led the Owl Knight Order in night raids that wore down and delayed Kairos’s forces.
• The officers of Wheat Fragrance Territory used scouting, cavalry harassment, and wagon forts to hold Kairos near Trublen for nearly ten days.
• Li Ang arrived with nearly two thousand Noldo Elves, and Kairos abandoned hundreds of men before fleeing toward Serenmis.
• Li Ang caught Kairos south of Serenmis, but Kairos scattered the Noldo formation with a charge of warhorses and turned the Shadow Legion into a spear-and-shield square.
• The Noldo Elves charged the formation and suffered heavy casualties until Li Ang’s grenades startled them into retreating.
• Kairos withdrew to a hilltop, where his crossbowmen held the high ground and prevented Li Ang from quickly defeating him.

Amy arrived at Cliff Bay disguised as Ursula, claiming she would trade warships for Fieltzwe military support to reclaim the Raven throne. She tried to persuade Hakon to act before Gregory IV returned, and Hakon stopped her to discuss the offer.

• Amy recalled how she had deceived Longsong Port, worked with Ursula, and used Ursula's banner to make Gregory IV retreat from Northern Bay.
• After learning that Fieltzwe forces had left Cliff Bay for Lion City, Amy returned with her fleet to trick the garrison into withdrawing.
• Amy landed at Cliff Bay and told Hakon she was Ursula, offering the fleet in exchange for Fieltzwe support against Gregory IV.
• Hakon said Vidis was away attacking Lion City, while Amy insisted she had to march on Raven City before Gregory IV returned.
• Hakon stopped Amy as she prepared to leave and asked to speak with her about the deal.

Amy’s deal with Hakon led Fieltzwe forces to attack Raven City, forcing King Vidis to confront the threat of Raven retaliation while his kingdom teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. Amy abandoned Cliff Bay with its supplies and warships, leaving Fieltzwe and the Raven Kingdom trapped in a new conflict.

• Hakon and Haraven attacked Raven City with nearly three thousand troops, while Queen Ursula sent the Falcon Knight Order to help defend it.
• Vidis learned of the attack and feared that Raven retaliation would turn Mistveil City into a battlefield, worsening his debts and economic crisis.
• Amy revealed that she had exchanged twenty warships for Hakon’s attack and had arranged for ‘Ursula’ to remain in Cliff Bay under her control.
• Amy ordered Baudess to destroy Cliff Bay’s port, load the remaining ships and supplies, and leave rather than try to occupy the town.
• Amy set out to make Fieltzwe and the Raven Kingdom enemies, drawing Ursula and the other factions into renewed war.

Hakon negotiated with Raine and agreed to support Ursula’s rule over Raven Territory in exchange for food and an alliance, shifting the region’s political balance. With Lion Territory at peace and Amy back at Li Ang’s side, Li Ang continued training his Noldo forces while Kairos’s Shadow Legion remained besieged; General Sura arrived to negotiate on Emperor Marius’s behalf.

• Raine warned Hakon that his troops would run out of food and offered supplies and an alliance if Hakon publicly supported Ursula.
• Hakon agreed in principle to the deal, pending approval from Haraven and Horosga, and the three leaders formed the Vanskery Alliance in support of Ursula.
• Ursula was crowned Queen of Raven as Gregory IV returned and rallied his supporters, splitting Raven Territory’s lords into rival factions.
• Adarian seized Iron Oak Fortress, prompting Vidis and Fieltzwe forces to withdraw and bringing peace to Lion Territory.
• Amy returned to Li Ang with the Silver Hand and Horn Summon Ranger Corps while Li Ang trained his Noldo forces and kept Kairos’s besieged Shadow Legion contained.
• General Sura arrived under a white flag and told Li Ang that Emperor Marius wanted to make a deal.

Li Ang accepted the surrender of the Shadow Legion and agreed to ransom them to General Sura in one month, hoping to prevent the Noldo Elves from turning their vengeance into a war against all humanity. With the elves still homeless and unwilling to stand down, Felgornsal, Amy, and Alina proposed that Li Ang establish the Kingdom of Pendor and marry both Wendy and Amy to unite the Noldo with his realm.

• General Sura delivered Marius's letter, and Li Ang agreed to wait one month for Antonius's corpse before launching a full-scale attack on the Bacchus Empire.
• Sura returned with Kairos's head and the 1,512 surviving Shadow Legion soldiers, explaining that Kairos had killed himself after Sura tricked him into believing Antonius was dead.
• Li Ang accepted the Shadow Legion's surrender in exchange for twenty thousand bushels of grain and Antonius, to be delivered by Sura in one month.
• Li Ang ordered Kairos's body taken to White Deer Fortress and urged Felgornsal to calm the Noldo tribes, but Felgornsal said their lack of a home kept them from listening to reason.
• Felgornsal proposed that Li Ang marry Wendy and become king so the Noldo's attacks would be seen as his kingdom's military actions rather than a racial conflict.
• Amy and Alina urged Li Ang to establish the Kingdom of Pendor and marry both Amy and Wendy, with each becoming queen of a Noldo or Lionheart territory.

Li Ang established the New Kingdom of Pendor, declaring that he would unite its people and end the continent’s wars. After the ceremony, he discussed delaying his wedding and persuaded Ramon to invest in grain before a war with the Bacchus Empire made gold coins worthless.

• Li Ang learned that the Lion Territory and Noldo Territory would be the bride price for marrying Amy and Wendy, leaving him with no money but ample lands to offer.
• On July 4th, 358, Li Ang raised the new kingdom’s flag in Long River City and declared the New Kingdom of Pendor established.
• Li Ang vowed to end the continent’s wars and build a peaceful, prosperous kingdom, winning the crowd’s support as the lords pledged themselves to New Pendor.
• Amy placed a floral coronet on Li Ang’s head, and Li Ang said he would postpone the wedding until more guests arrived.
• Li Ang confronted Ramon about his illegal businesses and urged him to become a grain merchant, buying grain in bulk before war with the Bacchus Empire devalued gold.

Li Ang prepared for a coming famine and another war with the Bacchus Empire while arranging the New Kingdom of Pendor as a realm of autonomous duchies. After Wendilf became Elf King and Duke of Noldo and Amy became Duke of Lionheart, Li Ang was left as a king without directly governed territory, while Maltis set out to seek a way to restore her soldiers’ souls.

• Li Ang told Ramon to buy grain, sheep, and especially goats in bulk, promising future returns, and agreed to guarantee Xingar’s independence.
• Felgornsal’s attempt to make the Noldo families swear loyalty to Wendilf met resistance from Aldarian, Isildur, and Keleborniel until Maltis appeared and pressured the leaders into accepting her.
• On July 12, 358, Li Ang established the Duchy of Lionheart under Amy and the Duchy of Noldo under Wendilf, leaving the New Kingdom of Pendor without land directly governed by Li Ang.
• Maltis left to investigate whether the souls of her undead Royal Guard could be recovered at their former underground base on the Vengdarian Continent.
• Maltis traveled to Imperial Port to find Kloze’s ironclad ship and use it to lead an expedition south.

After Li Ang received mixed diplomatic responses and learned how Sharavan Sheikh had united D'Shar’s leaders before his death, he invited Sarah to travel there as foreign minister. His wedding to Amy and Wendy became a model that spread new customs and business opportunities across the region, while Long River City attracted people seeking work, homes, and affordable grain.

• Sarah reported that Ursula requested an alliance, Gregory IV and Marius declared war, and Vidis sought trade without recognizing Pendor; Li Ang chose to invite Ursula and Vidis to his wedding instead of replying formally.
• Alina explained that Sharavan Sheikh had reconciled Kadan and Emil Xixis at Martyr's Fortress before killing himself, and Li Ang asked Sarah to visit D'Shar as foreign minister.
• Tavern-goers in Longsong Port and Xingar discussed Li Ang's lavish wedding and the profits to be made from selling goats, roasted lamb, carriages, and homes.
• People in Mistveil City, struggling with high grain prices and war taxes, considered moving to Long River City for jobs, housing, and cheaper food.
• Li Ang married Amy and Wendy on July 22 as rain extinguished the Noldo Forest fire, while his staff and lords handled diplomacy, publicity, grain purchases, and military preparations.
• On his wedding night, Li Ang discussed carriages, homes, and grain with his two Queens.

Li Ang prepared the New Kingdom of Pendor for war with the Bacchus Empire while Amy and Wendy led reconstruction and settlement efforts. After General Sura delivered Antonius’s head and grain late, Li Ang mutilated the freed Shadow Legion soldiers and declared war; Agason launched an attack, and Emperor Marius decided to lead his army in person.

• Li Ang assigned Wendy to rebuild the Noldo forest and expand carriage production, while Amy planned to resettle farmers around Deerheart Lake and prepare a reserve force.
• Amy began land reclamation around Lion City, and Wendy organized elves to restore the forest and build timber works and an Elf Carriage factory.
• General Sura delivered Antonius’s head and grain seven days late, and Li Ang released the Shadow Legion soldiers after having each lose a right thumb.
• Li Ang sent Antonius’s head to Shield Wind Fortress and marched toward Calundru Castle, declaring that the war had begun.
• Agason ordered his army to attack immediately after seeing the injured Shadow Legion soldiers, and Marius recognized that Li Ang had baited him into acting first.
• Marius ordered his armor brought so he could lead the expedition to Calundru Castle himself.

Li Ang’s plan to lure Agason’s army into an ambush at the Seren Wasteland was disrupted by an unexpected force of three thousand cavalry. Alina recognized that Emperor Marius was directing the maneuver, so Li Ang ordered a retreat and surrendered his chosen battlefield.

• Li Ang positioned Sigismund’s Second Legion as bait while his other troops waited to attack the Bacchus army at the Seren Wasteland.
• Sigismund’s men retreated as planned, and Kloze’s Silver Hand joined them in surrounding the advancing Gladiator Corps while the Bacchus central army held back.
• Ols reported that three thousand additional Bacchus cavalry were moving toward Li Ang’s left flank, and Li Ang suspected they might threaten Long River City.
• Alina told Li Ang that Emperor Marius was likely using the Gladiator Corps to pin his forces in place, and Li Ang ordered the army to retreat.
• Li Ang’s forces withdrew twenty li toward Serenmis as the Bacchus army occupied their former camp, and Emperor Marius returned with the cavalry.

Emperor Marius, gravely ill, arranged a decisive battle against Li Ang and challenged him to fight openly. Li Ang accepted and planned to lead his forces straight at Marius, betting that the Baxian ranks would break when their emperor appeared to be in danger.

• Marius reprimanded Agason for his reckless attack, then revealed that opium was the only relief for his terminal illness and ordered Agason to lead the cavalry in the coming battle.
• Li Ang's council discussed the Baxian cavalry and the danger of facing their standardized infantry on open ground, then resolved to disrupt their formation.
• General Sura delivered Marius's belated wedding gift of west-coast fruits and conveyed his challenge to a frontal decisive battle the next morning.
• Li Ang accepted Marius's challenge despite his officers' concerns and ordered his forces to charge at Marius's position.
• Li Ang warned his officers that Marius might be bait, but argued that threatening the emperor could throw the Baxian ranks into disorder; the officers agreed to gamble and follow his plan.

Li Ang used a feigned maneuver to unsettle Emperor Marius and raise his troops’ morale before leading a cavalry charge at the Immortal Legion. The armies clashed, with Li Ang’s cavalry committed to breaking through the center while the infantry fought to protect its flanks.

• The Bacchus Empire advanced in disciplined formation while Li Ang positioned cavalry in the center and infantry on both wings.
• Li Ang ordered Leofric’s right-wing infantry forward and Kloze’s left-wing troops to retreat, causing Marius to halt and tighten his formation.
• Li Ang told his soldiers that the Baxians were afraid, then led the cavalry charge toward Marius’s banner.
• Marius ordered Agason to form the spear line, rallied the Immortal Legion, and prepared to fight alongside his soldiers.
• Li Ang’s cavalry charged directly at the Immortal Legion as the two armies formally clashed.

Li Ang led a cavalry charge through the Immortal Legion, relying on Alice’s leap and his own assault to reach Emperor Marius. The Immortals’ instinct to protect their emperor disrupted their formation, and Marius’s retreat lifted Li Ang’s troops’ morale as the battle continued.

• Li Ang and the cavalry charged through crossbow fire, and Alice carried him through the Immortal Legion’s shield walls despite taking wounds.
• Alice leaped over hidden anti-cavalry spears, allowing Li Ang to launch himself toward Emperor Marius.
• The Immortals ignored Marius’s orders to maintain formation and crowded around him to protect him from Li Ang.
• Li Ang fought off the Immortals while shouting that they could not stop him, and Marius’s guards began withdrawing with his banner.
• Li Ang’s troops saw Marius’s banner retreat and surged forward with renewed morale as cavalry reinforcements reached Li Ang.
• Despite his serious wounds, Li Ang ordered his troops to keep charging forward.

Li Ang’s forces defeated Emperor Marius’s army at the Seren Wasteland, but Agason arrived afterward with a warning that the Snake Worship Cult was provoking the war and had unleashed a disaster at Imperial Port. Li Ang realized the conflict concealed a greater threat and asked to meet Marius.

• Agason abandoned his planned raid on Li Ang’s supply lines and led three thousand light cavalry toward Marius’s retreating banner, suffering heavy losses before helping organize the Immortal Legion’s withdrawal.
• Li Ang’s cavalry drove the Bacchus Army from the battlefield, and both sides regrouped in camps as night fell.
• Agason entered Li Ang’s command tent to negotiate peace and reported that General Clerion had marched toward Lion City territory.
• Li Ang dismissed Agason’s concern about Amy and Deerheart Lake, then heard Marius’s message that the Snake Worship Cult was exploiting the war between the Bacchus Empire and the elves.
• Agason revealed that the cult held Kairos’s family and had caused the catastrophe at Imperial Port, where the dead rose and thousands of living people died.
• Li Ang recognized Az-Dahaka and Kavala as the source of the disaster and demanded to see Marius.

Li Ang visited the dying Emperor Marius in Seren Village, where the two friends discussed fate, Kavala, and the Snake Worship Cult before agreeing to end their war. Marius prepared to lead Bax’s forces against the cult at Imperial Port while Li Ang withdrew his troops.

• Li Ang entered enemy territory with Alina and Risadiran to meet Marius, who welcomed him as a friend despite their battle the previous day.
• Marius spoke of his mortality and his view that accepting fate after giving everything was stronger than chasing immortality, and Li Ang recounted his encounters with Kavala and the Snake Worship Cult.
• Marius explained that he had fought Li Ang to prevent further elven advances after the burning of Noldo Forest, then offered grain from Erudition City in exchange for peace.
• Marius revealed that the Snake Worship Cult had taken Imperial Port after a masked monster wiped out its garrison, and that Ivaylo was said to have defected.
• Marius said he would lead Bax’s forces to Imperial Port to fight the cult, and Li Ang agreed to withdraw his troops after sharing a final toast with him.

Alina persuaded Li Ang and Emperor Marius to keep their war going as a deception while secretly coordinating to destroy the Snake Worship Cult. After the two rulers staged a defeat and failed peace talks, Li Ang assembled forces at Amera Fortress and prepared to march south against the cult.

• Alina proposed that Li Ang continue advancing while Marius staged a retreat, drawing the Snake Worship Cult and its allies into the open so the two nations could attack them together.
• Li Ang and Marius agreed to secretly redeploy their forces, while publicly claiming that their peace talks had failed and the war would continue.
• Agason asked Li Ang what would happen to the Bacchus Empire after Marius died, and Li Ang promised to help fulfill Marius's wish for the Empire to let its people live in peace.
• A public account portrayed the Battle of Seren and the failed peace talks as a contest of heroic honor, while concealing the rulers' cooperation and their forces' secret movements.
• On August 20, Li Ang reached Amera Fortress with about two thousand troops; after hearing that Wendy's patrol had found no enemies in Noldo Forest, he ordered Isildur to assemble at Pavlon for a march south.

Li Ang waited at Amera Fortress for Wendy and the explosives while Wendy and Vendathir struggled with Lord Aldarian’s resistance to the Noldo chain of command. Wendy needed Aldarian’s powerful troops for the coming campaign, but his forces remained under his own authority as the chapter ended with the command problem unresolved.

• Li Ang waited at Amera Fortress for Wendy to deliver grenades and for her party to search the Duchy of Noldo for hidden enemies.
• Wendy traveled to Amera Fortress with explosives as Lord Aldarian continued to accept her deployments while resisting her direct orders.
• Vendathir complained to Wendy that the layered command structure could delay their response during the coming war.
• Wendy explained that her own forces numbered fewer than two hundred, leaving her dependent on Lord Aldarian’s more than eight hundred troops.
• The chapter described how the Noldo families’ traditions shaped their warriors and how Lord Aldarian’s tribe had gained many Twilight Knights by rewarding battlefield merit.

Wendy tried to stop Lord Aldarian from sabotaging Li Ang’s alliance with the Bacchus Empire by redirecting his attention toward Vendathir and Isildur. At a staged dinner in Wolvun Fortress, Isildur announced he would court Vendathir, and Lord Aldarian demanded a duel.

• Vendathir told Wendy that Lord Aldarian planned to head to Wolwen and attack Erudition City instead of cooperating with Li Ang’s forces.
• Wendy and Vendathir realized Lord Aldarian wanted to weaken Li Ang and the Bacchus Empire so the Noldo Elves could gain greater influence over the continent.
• Wendy arranged for Vendathir to appear romantically involved with Isildur, hoping to distract Lord Aldarian and provoke him into a lawful duel rather than an attack on Erudition City.
• Two days later, Isildur declared at a dinner in Wolvun Fortress that he intended to court Vendathir, while Vendathir feigned hesitant acceptance.
• Lord Aldarian became furious at Isildur’s attempt to win Vendathir and demanded a duel.