Chapter Summaries

Li Ang and his men lured the Gatu into attacking the cluttered camp, where the Charge Squad ambushed them. As the fighting continued, Lesley charged into battle and Ansen put himself between her and danger.

• Two Gatu centurions recognized the camp’s connection to Juan, then split their force to cautiously surround it.
• After scouts found no nearby ambush, the Gatu sent a company charging into the camp while the others watched with bows.
• Kloze burst from a haystack and cut down the leading centurion and his horse, while the Charge Squad attacked the other riders from hiding.
• Li Ang killed a Gatu fighter with his sword as crossbowmen opened fire, and Sarah took charge of the captive warlord.
• Lesley stabbed a Gatu man in the back, and Ansen killed the attacker charging her before dragging her beneath the barricade and standing guard.

Li Ang and his battered defenders fought off repeated Gatu attacks at the riverside camp, but the Gatu launched another charge after a ritual of self-mutilation. As the defenders became locked in desperate close combat, horns and approaching hooves sounded in the distance.

• Li Ang, Kloze, and the Charge Squad killed many Gatu attackers until the enemy retreated and regrouped outside the camp.
• A Gatu centurion and his men cut their own faces, then renewed the attack with volleys of arrows despite the captured warlord being held inside the camp.
• Li Ang and the defenders took cover from the arrows as the Gatu barrage wounded and killed several crossbowmen.
• Li Ang urged the crossbowmen not to flee, and the defenders met a fresh Gatu charge in close combat.
• While Li Ang fought with arrows lodged in his shoulder and thigh, distant horns and the thunder of approaching hooves sounded.

Li Ang survived the Gatu attack after Ralph and the Horn Summon Ranger Corps arrived and defeated the fleeing cavalry. Ralph then told him that Duke Alma had taken over Duke Elfwan’s household after rebels killed Elfwan, claiming he would raise Elfwan’s unborn child.

• The Gatu cavalry charged the Horn Summon Ranger Corps but were wiped out by Ralph and the mounted rangers.
• Li Ang discussed the brutal battle with Kloze while his wounded subordinates treated the survivors.
• Ralph arrived and apologized to Li Ang for failing to prevent the Gatu from escaping.
• Li Ang learned that rebels had killed Duke Elfwan and that Duke Alma had taken control of the household.
• Ralph revealed that Alma claimed Elfwan’s roughly fifty-year-old wife, Madam Bella, was pregnant with Elfwan’s child.

After Grand Duke Alma took control of Long River Town, Li Ang struck a deal with Ralph and sent disguised Rangers toward Lion Lake City. He questioned a captured Gatu warlord about a sword, but the man cared more about protecting the surviving horses.

• Ralph told Li Ang that Madam Bella had dismissed the Rangers from Long River Town and replaced the garrison with Duke Alma's men.
• Ralph traded Li Ang twenty sets of Horn Caller Ranger equipment and enough food for fifty men to last through winter in exchange for the captives.
• Raphael led about a hundred Rangers disguised as Gatu raiders toward Lion Lake City, and Li Ang gave him the blood-soaked helmet of the Gatu warlord.
• Li Ang and Ralph questioned the captured warlord about where he had obtained his sword, but he refused to answer until they threatened the horses.
• The warlord insisted that the horses must not be eaten, and Li Ang promised to care for them while warning him that horse-meat stew was still an option.

Li Ang spared the Gatu warlord Drash and recruited him to care for the captured horses, then gathered his wounded party and honored his promises to the fallen mercenaries. He recruited Lesley as quartermaster and led the survivors south toward a raided, unclaimed village to establish a territory.

• Li Ang learned that factions secretly sold weapons and equipment to the Gatu people, then asked the captured warlord about his name and recruited Drash as a groom by threatening to feed the horses to his men.
• Li Ang regrouped his battered party, recovered the belongings of fallen mercenaries, and recorded their losses before preparing to depart.
• Li Ang offered Lesley a quartermaster position, but she challenged him to drink; she outdrank him and joined the party.
• After Li Ang woke from his drunken stupor, Ansen warned him that Sarah was beating the prisoners, while Kloze asked about someone called Little Sister Number 88.
• Li Ang led his wounded party south toward a masterless village that Ralph had identified as a promising place to establish a territory.

After the battle, Li Ang’s party traveled south slowly while recovering and organizing their supplies. As the group prepared to camp, Li Ang heard a mysterious woman’s voice in his mind warning him to watch his back.

• Lesley coordinated the wagons and supplies as the injured party traveled south, while Li Ang let the carpenters share in the spoils.
• Li Ang encouraged Ansen to keep practicing archery by drawing his bow until his arms hurt, and Ansen obediently followed his advice.
• Eric led Alice at the front of the convoy, wearing Drash’s equipment, while Drash traveled with the Gatu Horses as a Gatu Wanderer Rider.
• Eric scouted ahead and stopped the party beside a grove, where Li Ang agreed to camp for the day.
• Li Ang suddenly heard a woman’s voice in his mind telling him to watch his back, though he could see no one nearby.

Li Ang’s caravan was attacked by a hidden archer, and Eric was struck by a powerful silver arrow. After Ansen failed to stop the crisis, Li Ang performed artificial respiration and revived Eric, while Sarah watched and murmured about a “Goddess’s Kiss.”

• Li Ang heard a mysterious warning, then an unseen archer shot Eric through the chest with a silver arrow.
• Li Ang chased the camouflaged assassin into the woods, but the attacker escaped before Kloze reached him.
• Li Ang identified the arrow as a Noldo Elf weapon and ordered the caravan to camp and prepare for another attack.
• Ansen treated Eric, but when he believed Eric was dead, Li Ang found a faint pulse and began artificial respiration.
• Eric resumed breathing, Ansen’s skill improved, and Sarah murmured about the “Goddess’s Kiss.”

Li Ang and his men captured an assassin who attacked their camp at night, using prepared traps to stop him. The Noldo Elf was left injured and humiliated, and Li Ang began questioning him about who had sent him.

• Li Ang kept watch at the camp and used Alice and a fake silhouette in his tent as part of a trap.
• When an archer attacked, Li Ang dodged the shot and pursued him toward the woods.
• The assassin fell into a concealed pit and was hauled up in a canvas sack by Kloze and the other men.
• Li Ang’s men beat the captive before lowering him and unwrapping the bundle, revealing a handsome Noldo Elf with a bleeding injury.
• Li Ang asked who had sent the assassin and threatened to have Kloze stab him again if he refused to answer.

Li Ang questioned the Noldo Elf Risadiran, who offered a Dragon Tear and promised to serve him as compensation for killing a subordinate. Risadiran used the supposed treasure to poison the camp and escape, leaving Li Ang mildly poisoned and Alice eager to pursue him.

• Li Ang threatened to cripple Risadiran and sell him, prompting the elf to admit he had taken a job from the Crimson Brotherhood but did not know the employer.
• Risadiran gave his name and offered the contents of his waterskin, claiming the glowing stone inside was a Dragon Tear and offering to serve Li Ang in repayment for his victim’s life.
• Alice reacted to the stone, and Li Ang recognized that it was poisonous just as the burly men collapsed and Risadiran broke free.
• Risadiran threw a small knife at Ansen and fled into the woods, but Li Ang blocked the attack and could not catch him before he disappeared.
• Ansen returned the stone to the sealed waterskin, and Alice tugged at her reins and pawed the ground as if asking to be released.

Li Ang and his companions recovered from the Snake Heart Stone’s effects with Alice’s help, and Ansen explained the stone’s connection to the Snake Worship Cult. Li Ang kept the stone and investigated who had hired Risadiran, leaving the camp determined to improve his defenses and capture the assassin.

• Alice found pungent crosswort, and Li Ang and Ansen used it to wake Kloze and the others from their unconsciousness.
• Ansen identified the stone as Snake Heart Stone and explained that it could induce sleep, while crosswort could counter its effects.
• Li Ang learned that Snake Heart Stones were often found at Snake Worship Cult altars and wrapped the stone carefully for storage.
• Kloze showed Li Ang the arrow hole in his heavy armor, and Li Ang reasoned that Risadiran’s employer likely knew his route and appearance.
• Li Ang considered his mysterious warning and possible enemies, then resolved to strengthen his defenses and capture Risadiran before settling beside Alice.

Li Ang led the caravan deeper into Long River Forest, believing the wounded elven assassin Risadiran was hiding there and intending to capture him. The journey remained quiet as the party learned more about the Noldo Elves and the human slave trade that had driven them to attack intruders.

• Sarah urged Li Ang to change course for Long River Town, but he refused, deciding to continue south and search the forest for Risadiran.
• Li Ang armed himself for danger, while Kloze sharpened the party’s swords and the caravan proceeded under careful guard.
• John explained that hunters avoided the forest because of the Noldo Elves, and Sarah described how slavers transported captured elves for sale.
• The account recounted how human rulers and nobles had abducted Noldo Elves for their beauty, creating a lucrative slave trade and provoking the elves to fight back.

Li Ang found Risadiran being attacked by the Ebony Gauntlet Knights and pretended the elf was his slave to claim him. The knights let Risadiran go, misunderstanding Li Ang’s interest in him, and warned him not to let the elf roam free.

• Li Ang learned that the Noldo Elves had made Long River Forest perilous for humans and decided they should be allies rather than enemies.
• Sammer reported fighting ahead, and Sarah scouted the road and identified the Ebony Gauntlet Knights.
• Li Ang saw the knights trying to capture the injured Risadiran and rode forward, claiming the elf as his slave.
• Li Ang’s men backed up his bluff, and Risadiran cried out for him to save him.
• The Ebony knight released Risadiran and warned Li Ang about trusting the Noldo, while Ansen asked Sarah what fetish the knight meant.

Li Ang questioned Risadiran about the assassination contract and learned that a pale-faced bard had hired him in Long River Town. After hearing Risadiran’s history and confirming Eric would recover, Li Ang brought the captured elf to Eric, who demanded that Risadiran pay a huge sum.

• The Ebony Gauntlet Knights left after inviting Li Ang to visit Cliff Bay, and Li Ang’s convoy continued on with Risadiran bound in a carriage.
• Li Ang questioned Risadiran, who said a hooded bard with a corpse-like face had hired him in Long River Town to ambush Li Ang.
• Risadiran explained that he was an exiled Noldo noble, pursued by humans after killing a lord who tried to cheat him out of payment.
• Li Ang asked Ansen about Eric, learned he was recovering, and brought Risadiran to see him.
• Eric declined revenge and told Li Ang to make Risadiran pay a huge sum.

Li Ang forced Risadiran to swallow a filthy fake poison to prove his loyalty, then ordered him to respect the party and find the person who had hired him. The convoy reached Ailedge Village, where Li Ang learned how Lord Rainier had burned and looted his own territory before fleeing the Gatu, who later robbed his convoy.

• Li Ang gave Risadiran a pill he claimed was the Hundred Day Soul Severing Pill, and Risadiran swallowed it to join the party.
• Li Ang ordered the wounded Risadiran to tend to Eric, respect the party, and find the person who had hired him once he recovered.
• Li Ang promised to help Risadiran's people if they were captured or enslaved, while warning that he helped only his own people.
• The convoy arrived at Ailedge Village, a former Knight's Territory left ownerless after Lord Rainier fled.
• Rainier had looted his own subjects and burned the village before abandoning it to the Gatu, who later caught and robbed his convoy.
• Ralph and his Ranger Corps had saved Rainier from the Gatu.

Li Ang chose the ruined Ailedge Village as the site of his territory and explained how its position made it a vital trade route to White Deer Fortress. He launched plans for a market and gathered his people to announce Wheat Fragrance Territory’s development plan, beginning with a puzzling drawing.

• Ralph told Li Ang that Ailedge Village was unclaimed land and suggested settling nearby refugees there.
• Li Ang and his party arrived at Ailedge Village and found it burned out and deserted.
• Li Ang ordered Lesley to establish a market, explaining that Ailedge controlled the only practical trade route between White Deer Fortress and the kingdom’s heartland.
• Li Ang told Lesley that trade with White Deer Fortress could help her rebuild her caravan, and she thanked him.
• Li Ang convened Wheat Fragrance Territory’s first all-staff meeting and began presenting his plan with two circles and a curved grilled sausage drawn on a board.

Li Ang organized Wheat Fragrance Territory’s development and assigned his followers work to establish its districts, repair houses and roads, and secure the area. He discovered that two refugees had become territorial residents who could be upgraded, and he set out to attract more villagers by offering them farmland.

• Li Ang outlined plans for residential, commercial, and agricultural districts, then discussed registering a family coat of arms after Kloze found a wing design beneath the sword’s outer layer.
• Ansen agreed to repair usable houses, while Li Ang appointed the wounded Eric and John as acting administrators and assigned them road repairs.
• Two former refugees from Horton Village urged Li Ang to find the former villagers of Ailedge Village, and he granted them a manor to grow wheat.
• Li Ang saw that the two refugees were now labeled territorial residents in his party list and had gained an upgrade option.
• Li Ang tasked the new residents with recruiting nearby villagers and promised farmland in exchange for thirty percent of their harvest, while Sammer was assigned patrols and Kloze took charge of security.

Li Ang had Kloze uncover the unusual sword’s hidden griffin emblem and decided to register a matching crest and banner at White Deer Fortress. He and Sarah reached the fortress, where its guards escorted them to meet Baron Godric and required them to surrender their swords before entering the main tower.

• Kloze returned Li Ang’s polished sword, revealing its dark, unusually sharp blade and hidden griffin emblem, which Li Ang recognized as a likely pledge from the Griffin Knights to the Pande royal family.
• Li Ang summoned Sarah to design a banner and crest based on the griffin, and they planned to register them and his pioneer territory at White Deer Fortress.
• Li Ang and Sarah traveled along a rough mountain road to White Deer Fortress, a heavily fortified border castle ruled by Baron Godric.
• Guards inspected Li Ang’s noble insignia and escorted him and Sarah into the castle, while attendants told them that visitors entering the main tower had to disarm.

Li Ang met Baron Godric to register his territory and learned that Godric had once served the royal family before being stripped of his rank and exiled. Godric agreed to help build Li Ang’s territory and warned him to prepare for war.

• Baron Godric recognized Li Ang’s Griffin banner and invited him into his reception room without requiring him to surrender his sword.
• Godric explained that a knight had once entered his castle and taken a girl, costing him his royal position and leading him to ban weapons in the inner castle.
• Li Ang hinted that the knight had rescued the girl from kidnappers, and Godric laughed in agreement.
• Godric sent his daughter Amy upstairs with Sarah to practice swordsmanship while he examined Li Ang’s sword.
• Li Ang asked what he should do after his parents’ deaths, and Godric said the kingdom had not been hunting them down.
• Godric asked Li Ang for his banner, promised to find people to help build his territory, and urged him to strengthen his forces before war came.

Li Ang brought White Deer Fortress’s refugees to Wheat Fragrance Territory and persuaded Godric to join him in a share-raising scheme based on a real but inaccessible gold mine. The chapter ended with Godric set to raise funds in Long River Town and Sarah appointed marketing director of Mondesny Co., Ltd.

• Godric gave Li Ang more than a hundred refugees from Ailedge to help rebuild Wheat Fragrance Territory.
• Li Ang proposed a joint-stock company to Godric and described how they could raise money by promoting a gold-mine project.
• Godric revealed that a high-purity gold mine really existed in the mountains, though cliffs and harsh conditions made it impossible to reach.
• Godric supplied the refugees with grain in exchange for shares in Mondesny Co., Ltd.
• Li Ang appointed Sarah the company’s marketing director and told her and Lesley to accompany Godric to Long River Town to raise funds and gather information.

Li Ang and Lesley launched an investment scheme for an open-pit gold mine, with Baron Godric lending his name and influence to attract investors. After the executives left for Long River Town to raise funds, Li Ang remained in Wheat Fragrance Territory, relying on the project to build wealth, followers, and security.

• Kloze noticed Wheat Fragrance Territory had gained many new people and full warehouses after Li Ang returned, and he saw Li Ang, Sarah, and Lesley emerge exhausted from a four-hour meeting.
• Li Ang told Kloze to escort Sarah and Lesley to Long River Town, while Lesley worked on the investment proposal.
• Baron Godric passed through Wheat Fragrance Territory, greeted Li Ang as Chairman, and called Lesley General Manager.
• Lesley’s proposal advertised an open-pit gold mine with a 1000% annualized return, and Godric subscribed to 15% of Mondesny Co., Ltd.
• Li Ang arranged company shares for his subordinates and sent the executives to Long River Town to raise funds, counting on Godric’s reputation to help sell the project.