Chapter Summaries

Hudson argued that the Allied Army’s worsening supply delays required more labor or mercenaries, while the alliance debated expanding mercenary support. Meanwhile, the Elder Eagleman paid Maxim to contact the Sea Tribe, only to discover that Maxim’s supposed connections came from robbing them and that they had moved away.

• Hudson told Commander Blake that rain, mountainous terrain, sabotage, and a lack of manpower had slowed supplies, and said the Kingdom had exhausted its available labor.
• Hudson proposed hiring mercenaries and offering rewards for attacks on Beastfolk leaders, while Marquis Sunil supported using mercenaries in the mountains and forests.
• Commander Blake objected to large-scale mercenary employment, but Adolf offered to have the Mercenary Guild publish bounty notices for free, and Hudson urged the alliance to develop a plan for Human Parliament.
• The Elder Eagleman gave Maxim payment and asked when they could contact the Sea Tribe, and Maxim promised to take him there after gathering his treasure.
• Maxim flew the Elder Eagleman to the sea and found the Sea Tribe had moved away; he revealed that he had robbed them before, and the Elder Eagleman fainted in anger.

Maxim found a Shrimpmen tribe and left Elder Eagleman to negotiate with them before learning that the Merman Kingdom ruled the surrounding waters. At the Human Alliance front, Hudson visited Marquis Olavell and proposed that the allied command issue a bounty for Beastfolk without waiting for the Alliance Council, leaving the plan poised for a vote.

• Maxim introduced Elder Eagleman to the frightened Shrimpmen, then flew away and left him to negotiate.
• Elder Eagleman claimed to represent the Orc Empire and Dragon King Maxim, and the Shrimpmen told him the Merman Kingdom ruled those waters.
• As the Human Alliance Council argued over funding mercenaries, Hudson grew impatient with the delay in ending the war.
• Hudson visited Marquis Olavell and praised the Iberian Kingdom's Raptor Legion and the quality of its army.
• Hudson proposed that the allied command issue a bounty for Beastfolk without the Alliance Council's approval, and Marquis Olavell recognized that the plan could benefit the entire army.

The human coalition issued a Mercenary Recruitment Order offering bounties for beastfolk kills and noble titles for top performers, drawing mercenaries from across the continent. As Hudson faced growing pressure to supply them, the coalition’s gains stirred a dispute among Alpha Kingdom nobles over who would profit from the war.

• The Orc emperors learned that Maxim had ruined their attempt to approach the Sea Tribe, while Lion Emperor warned that the humans planned to recruit more mercenaries.
• On October 10, Holy Calendar 99989, the coalition passed the Mercenary Recruitment Order, setting different bounties for beastfolk and promising noble titles to leading mercenary companies and individuals.
• Mateo and Longxi persuaded the July Association to use the order to earn noble titles and build strength, while their elderly leader warned them to conceal their identities and sow discord among the Five Great Families and other nobles.
• Mercenaries flocked to the Orc Empire, and Hudson persuaded those transporting provisions to finish their work before seeking battlefield rewards.
• Duke Cavadia urged the Logistics Department to claim a share of the front-line gains, but Hudson and Marquis James deflected his proposal, and Hudson ordered the nobles to keep supplying the allied forces.

The Alliance Council debated how to contain the consequences of the frontline commanders’ unanimous decision to recruit mercenaries, while Hudson watched mercenaries and allied forces exploit the new system for profit. After the Locknerd Family accused him of reselling strategic supplies, Hudson prepared to face an investigation and insisted his goods came from the rear or were purchased spoils.

• Count Predrag proposed clarifying bounty durations and military merit standards, while Count Georgievich called for tighter control of the allied forces and Bishop Montesol opposed centralized command.
• Mercenaries joined the war and used increasingly ruthless methods against Beastfolk, while major powers disguised their own troops as mercenary groups to claim rewards.
• Hudson failed to find independent mercenary groups to recruit and instead profited by supplying the forces and trading through merchant guilds.
• Viscount Oran warned Hudson that the Locknerd Family had reported him to the Alliance Council and that Alliance and Kingdom investigators were coming to audit supplies.
• Hudson told Viscount Oran that the Northern Nobles would face greater scrutiny and said his resold supplies came from the rear or from recorded purchases of allied-force spoils.

The Locknerd Family’s report of Hudson’s alleged embezzlement triggered an investigation and panic among nobles whose own logistical accounts had major deficits. As the nobles suspected Hudson of controlling the strategic-supplies black market, he ordered his stock sold quickly, fearing desperate allies might seize it.

• Duke Cavadia and three other dukes confronted Duke Pias over the Locknerd Family’s report to the Human Alliance and demanded that he cover their logistical deficits.
• Duke Pias said the investigation team would arrive before new supplies could be shipped, while Duke Agalon questioned whether the Locknerd Family had solid evidence against Hudson.
• Duke Pias claimed at least thirty percent of the strategic supplies on the market came from Hudson, prompting Duke Cavadia to suspect Hudson controlled the black-market trade and that the report targeted the Northern Nobles.
• Duke Pias warned that the report could provoke conflict between the Northern Nobles and nobles from other regions, while anger over the impending investigation spread through the coalition army.
• Nobles crowded into Hudson’s tent, hoping he would resolve the crisis, and Hudson ordered Tom to sell their strategic supplies as quickly as possible.

Count Pierce bought scarce strategic supplies at heavily inflated prices to cover his embezzlement before an investigation, while Duke Pias learned that Geoff had vanished and ordered a search for the mastermind. Hudson turned away mercenary representatives seeking cheaper supplies, leaving them to lobby powerful factions for support.

• Count Pierce agreed to buy strategic supplies from Snyder at soaring prices and asked him to coordinate for shortages of consumables.
• A messenger summoned Count Pierce to a senior Logistics Department meeting, and he left a deposit for the supplies.
• Duke Pias learned that Geoff had disappeared in Lutetia after reporting the scandal to the Alliance Council, and ordered his people to keep investigating.
• Mercenary representatives told Hudson that rising food and supply prices made fighting unaffordable, but Hudson said he lacked authority to control the market or expand their support.
• Hudson advised the mercenaries to seek backing from powerful factions, and Adolf and the other representatives departed.

Hudson confronted the Logistics Department over missing supplies before the Kingdom and Human Alliance investigations, forcing nobles to cover their deficits. The nobles blamed the Locknerd Family and sought Hudson’s help obtaining supplies, but he redirected them toward the black market as the investigation approached.

• Hudson gave the logistics officials ten days to make up their deficits before an internal inspection and warned that the investigations could bring deadly consequences.
• Duke Pias blamed Geoff’s report on possible Cult of the July Association influence, but Count Pierce challenged his explanation and Hudson widened the rift between them.
• Counts Cales and Martinez demanded that the Locknerd Family compensate the nobles for their losses, prompting others to join in.
• Duke Cavadia urged Hudson to solve the shortages caused by merchants hoarding goods, but Hudson warned that no one could safely interfere with the trading platform and described ways to obtain supplies.
• Marquis James backed Hudson’s proposal and reminded the nobles that the Kingdom’s investigation team would arrive in ten days.

Hudson used the logistics crisis to protect his position and profit from nobles scrambling to replace missing supplies, while relatives and lesser nobles sought his help. As Duke Cavadia and Duke Pias faced a shortage of goods, Duke Dias proposed using the dragon that had attacked the Locknerd Family if their situation worsened.

• Hudson defended his decision not to destroy the Locknerd Family and submitted a resignation letter that limited his stated responsibility to a failure of oversight.
• The nobles rushed to buy strategic supplies, while Hudson arranged extra aerial patrols and watched the trade bring him profits.
• Viscount Oran and other nobles confessed their supply shortages to Hudson, who offered to connect them with merchants if they paid the market price.
• The merchant associations refused to fill the orders of Duke Cavadia and Duke Pias's families, leaving them unable to rely on the black market.
• Duke Cavadia warned against staging an incident to cover the shortages, and Duke Dias suggested they might use the dragon that had attacked the Locknerd Family.

Hudson cooperated with Duke Affierro’s investigation, while the audit found no evidence of wrongdoing in his logistics department. The Northern Nobles, fearing exposure over their supply deficits and other crimes, hired the Red Dragon Maxim to burn their warehouses, and Hudson and Affierro went to inspect the attack.

• Duke Affierro arrived with the Kingdom’s investigation team and ordered an immediate audit of Hudson’s accounts and supplies.
• Hudson opened his department’s records and warehouses to inspection, and the team found no sign of embezzlement or unusually high losses.
• Duke Cavadia and the Northern Nobles discussed their supply deficits and feared the king was preparing to use the investigation against them.
• Duke Cavadia ordered the Red Dragon to attack the warehouses, and Maxim set fires across the camp while soldiers fled.
• Hudson reported the attack to Duke Affierro, who recognized the apparent arson plot and set out with Hudson to see the damage.

Hudson learned that Human Alliance experts were hunting Maxim and secretly led military experts into the Ula Mountains to capture the Red Dragon first. Meanwhile, the Orc Empire faced collapse and decided to unleash the Black Calamity and potentially open the Hell Gate if the humans continued their advance.

• Duke Affierro confronted the Northern Nobles over the ruined warehouse, while Hudson ordered the site sealed and inspected.
• Hudson agreed to pursue Maxim, then learned from Beldens that human experts from another faction were hunting the Red Dragon.
• Hudson ordered Beldens to track Maxim and gathered army experts to capture him before the Human Alliance could.
• The Eagle Emperor and Alex discussed the Orc Empire's worsening defeats, and Alex proposed releasing the Black Calamity and opening the Hell Gate as last resorts.
• The Lion Emperor approved Alex's proposal and prepared for the Orc Empire to fight the humans to the death.
• Hudson led military experts through the Ula Mountains in secret to seize Maxim before the rival hunters could reach him.

Hudson’s forces captured the wounded Red Dragon Maxim and brought him to the main camp, where Hudson threatened him into signing a contract. Maxim became the fourth Giant Dragon on the continent to contract with a human, while the Human Alliance’s investigators began tracing who had taken him.

• Maxim was repeatedly pursued in the Ula Mountains until Hudson’s experts struck him with a Dragon Slaying Spear and subdued him using Dragon Intoxicating Incense.
• Hudson’s forces carried the sleeping Maxim back to the main camp, while Morrison’s party followed and the Human Alliance’s investigators arrived at the battle site.
• Hudson and Beldens woke Maxim, restrained him with chains and a Gravity Domain, and threatened to kill him and use his remains if he refused to cooperate.
• Hudson offered Maxim a contract in exchange for his freedom, then threatened to strip and carve him up when he refused.
• Beldens struck Maxim, Hudson refused to protect him, and Maxim signed the contract with his true name.

Hudson used his new contract with the Red Dragon to redirect scrutiny from the dragon’s attack toward evidence that the Northern Nobles had illegally sold military supplies. Duke Affierro agreed to report the matter to the king while Hudson prepared to delay the Human Alliance investigation team and quietly steer it toward the northern nobles.

• Morrison learned that the Red Dragon had voluntarily contracted with Hudson, and he left Duke Affierro to handle the political consequences.
• Duke Affierro warned Hudson that the Human Alliance investigation team might suspect the kingdom had staged the warehouse fire, but Hudson presented evidence linking the Northern Nobles to illegal sales and the burning of empty warehouses.
• Hudson told Duke Affierro that the recorded value of the partially tallied stolen supplies exceeded ten million gold coins, and Affierro said he would convene the Logistics Department and report to the king.
• Hudson revealed further evidence and mentioned the Northern Nobles’ secret meeting with the Church, while making clear that he could only delay the alliance investigators rather than stop them.
• Duke Affierro asked Hudson to hold off the investigation team, and Hudson resolved to guide its inquiry toward the Northern Nobles so outside pressure would force them to answer for the crimes.

Caesar III punished the Northern Nobles for selling military supplies but avoided publicly exposing the scandal, while Hudson cooperated with the Alliance investigation team as it pursued stronger evidence. An urgent Beastfolk ultimatum warned that a plague had been unleashed, raising the stakes as the investigation continued.

• Caesar III rejected a mild proposed charge, ordered the Northern Nobles to cover the supply shortfall, barred those involved from postwar benefits, and sent Hudson a letter of inquiry.
• Hudson dismissed the kingdom's inquiry and defended the injured Red Dragon when Marquis Jerome asked to question it.
• Hudson answered Bishop Caveh's accusations and gave the Alliance investigation team access to the Logistics Department's accounts.
• Marquis Jerome sought to place suspects under supervision, and Hudson agreed to cooperate while requiring evidence and notice before arrests of noble officers.
• An urgent dispatch informed Hudson and the assembled officials that the Beastfolk had released a plague and demanded that the coalition withdraw.

Hudson agreed to stop the allied advance as a plague spread through the army, while the alliance’s investigation into military supply corruption intensified. The five Northern dukes faced overwhelming evidence of their crimes, and Hudson joined the investigators as they confronted them.

• Hudson urged the allied forces to inflict heavy losses on the beastfolk before spring, but Blake and Marquis Olavell argued that the plague and threat of otherworldly forces made further advances too dangerous, and Hudson ultimately went along with ending the offensive.
• With the advance halted, the alliance investigation team arrested more Northern Nobles, and Duke Pias accused Hudson of betraying their faction while Duke Cavadia suspected Caesar III was behind the pressure.
• Duke Pias warned that the five great northern dukes would soon be exposed, while Duke Agalon proposed confessing and Duke Dias cautioned that doing so could destroy their standing among the kingdom’s nobles.
• The alliance investigation team arrived at the dukes’ camp alongside Duke Affierro and Hudson, and Marquis Jerome demanded that the five dukes confess or face interrogation.
• Bishop Caveh presented evidence and witness testimony about the burned warehouses and smuggled military supplies, while Hudson urged the dukes to cooperate and seek leniency.

The five Northern dukes accepted responsibility for reselling military supplies and arranged their affairs before their deaths ended the Northern Nobles’ dominance. Hudson struggled to manage the front and its postwar distribution, while Caesar III rebuked Crown Prince Caesar for judging Hudson through personal prejudice.

• Duke Cavadia accepted that he and the other four dukes would bear the military-supply charges and asked for time to arrange their final affairs.
• The five dukes wrote their wills and prepared their heirs to take over, while Ciss grieved over his lack of inheritance rights and uncertain future.
• Hudson handled logistics, collapsed troop morale, plague control, and postwar benefit negotiations after Duke Affierro returned to the Royal Capital.
• Caesar III and Crown Prince Caesar discussed Hudson’s fief distribution report, and Caesar III ordered the Crown Prince to review it and request revisions.
• Crown Prince Caesar criticized Hudson’s command, but Caesar III defended Hudson’s record and rebuked his son for letting his grudge distort his judgment.

After the armistice ended the war, Hudson resigned his military posts and navigated disputes over the Orc Great Plains and the kingdom’s fief allocations. Caesar III revised the nobles’ collective proposal to grant Hudson most of his demands, leaving him responsible for persuading the nobles to accept the king’s terms.

• On March 13, 99990, the Human Alliance and the Orc Emperor signed an armistice that ended the war and divided the territories each side controlled.
• Hudson completed the distribution of strategic supplies, resigned as chief logistics officer, and later resigned as commander-in-chief, but Caesar III kept him involved in settling the nobles’ disputes.
• Viscount Oran told Hudson that the Hollisir Family planned to move its strategic focus from Fengyun Province to the Northern Frontier, and Hudson promised to help it secure a northern fief.
• Hudson encouraged the nobles to jointly sign a fief division plan after the Royal Capital rejected earlier proposals, then submitted their collective demands to Caesar III.
• Caesar III revised the report to meet most of Hudson’s demands, rejected the Coslo Family’s claim to its ancestral lands, and ordered Hudson to persuade the nobles to accept the revised terms.

Hudson tried to navigate the deadlock between the king and the nobles by pushing for mass demobilization after the war, while the Human Alliance struggled to agree on how to govern the Orc Great Plains. He left the military conference defending a much smaller Standing Army as necessary for the kingdom’s finances, labor supply, and changing warfare.

• Hudson summoned senior officers and considered Caesar III’s plan, recognizing that the noble faction would resist it and that his own position between king and nobles was precarious.
• At the Lutetia conference, Charles III ended debate over the Orc Great Plains by calling for a vote, and Bishop Montesol supported the proposal as the sides submitted competing plans.
• Hudson urged the military conference to disband excess troops and reduce the Standing Army to roughly fifty to eighty thousand men, citing the kingdom’s debts and diminished military threat.
• Count Pierce challenged Hudson’s proposed cuts, warning that a small Standing Army could undermine the kingdom’s status and leave weakened noble families vulnerable.
• Hudson argued that elite troops and new methods of warfare could replace sheer numbers, and that the kingdom needed to conserve labor while improving combat power.

Hudson assessed the new Seven Grassland Nations, the Alpha Kingdom’s political constraints, and the suppression of Northern Nobles while urging his advisory group to prepare for changes. Caesar III refused Hudson’s resignation until military reductions were complete, then agreed to revise Hudson’s proposal as the kingdom faced mounting debt and the need to settle bond interest.

• Tom told Hudson that the Alliance Council planned to establish three kingdoms and four duchies on the Orc Great Plains, prompting Hudson to consider how the new states affected the Alpha Kingdom.
• Hudson ordered Tom to summon the advisory group and have them devise a plan for the kingdom’s changing situation.
• Duke Affierro reported that Hudson had submitted his resignation again, but Caesar III required him to remain commander-in-chief until the military reduction was complete.
• Caesar III told Duke Affierro to revise Hudson’s earlier report and implement it, conceding that the kingdom could not maintain its deadlock amid the changes on the plains.
• Marquis Delgado asked whether the kingdom should levy a debt repayment tax, but Caesar III rejected the idea and ordered him to find money to pay the bond interest.

Hudson received the title of Count of Laite County and fifty-six fiefs for his service in the war, while the kingdom’s other nobles claimed their rewards. He prepared more than twenty Coslo Family heirs to establish themselves in the Northern Frontier, leaving their success to their own efforts.

• Crown Prince Caesar greeted the five new Northern dukes, who presented themselves as beleaguered, and Hudson watched their political performance from the sidelines.
• Hudson returned to the banquet and invited Crown Prince Caesar to announce the war rewards; Caesar named Hudson the foremost contributor and granted him the title of Count of Laite County and fifty-six fiefs.
• Hudson learned that Viscount Oran had become a landed count at great cost, while other powerful families also secured substantial rewards.
• Hudson met with more than twenty Coslo Family descendants who had earned titles and told them they would have to build their own power in the Northern Frontier.
• Hudson promised each descendant three thousand gold coins and equipment for one hundred men, then doubted that his ambitious brother Evola would manage the challenge.

Hudson traveled home with Count Pierce and the province’s nobles, stopping at Quebec Island and learning about the Dalton Family’s maritime holdings and the risks of ocean development. Near the end of the voyage, a storm and marine magical beasts threatened the ship, and Maxim revealed Hudson’s status as a Dragon Knight by driving the beasts away.

• Hudson and Count Pierce traveled together by ship, signaling that the Dalton and Coslo Families would maintain peaceful relations for now.
• Count Pierce brought the nobles to Quebec Island, where Hudson saw the Dalton Family’s prosperous overseas base and considered maritime development.
• Count Oran warned Hudson that ocean development was risky and costly, advising him to focus on his marshlands before pursuing sea routes.
• A sudden storm and magical beasts threatened the ship, and a wave swept a soldier overboard.
• Hudson ordered Maxim to release his aura, and the Giant Dragon drove away the magical beasts and calmed the sea.
• The surviving soldiers hailed Hudson as a Dragon Knight, while the nobles reacted with surprise and unease.