Chapter Summaries

Hudson used the threat of a Central Three Kingdoms invasion to unite Alpha’s nobles around war preparations, then returned home to his newborn son. In the Black Forest Kingdom, Alexander V abandoned plans to confront Alpha directly and pursued its support for annexing the County of Corubia, including a fabricated accusation that Corubia had orchestrated an assassination.

• Hudson argued that the Central Three Kingdoms would invade north to overcome their strategic vulnerability, and Alpha’s nobles rushed home to prepare for war.
• Hudson returned to his territory, held his newborn son Franz, and was promptly replaced by Melissa after the baby began crying.
• Alexander V heard Claude’s opposition to war and listened as Duke Milton and Finance Minister Baxterlo warned that Alpha would be costly to fight.
• Marquis Krasna reported that Alpha’s envoy had reacted mildly to talk of Corubia’s annexation, and Alexander V ordered negotiations for Alpha’s support.
• Count Nicholas proposed withdrawing troops to ease tensions, and Alexander V ordered a thirty-li withdrawal and a fabricated report blaming Corubia for the assassination plot.

Hudson helped Governor Pierce plan the Blood Moon Defense Line, and the nobles of the Southeast Province accepted his recommendations as mandatory requirements. Meanwhile, the Alpha Kingdom and the Black Forest Kingdom accused the County of Corubia of arranging Prince Claude’s assassination, leaving Louis Vuitton III preparing to send his children into exile as the chapter ended.

• Hudson inspected the Black Stone Mountain Range and urged Governor Pierce to build a multilayered defense line with protected flanks, rear defenses, and beacon towers.
• Governor Pierce ordered Viscount Cayou to record Hudson’s recommendations as mandatory, and the nobles accepted his advice without dispute.
• After more than half a month, the nobles completed a preliminary construction plan modeled on the Northern Frontier’s Blood Moon Castle defense line.
• The Alpha Kingdom and the Black Forest Kingdom jointly accused the County of Corubia of arranging the attack on Prince Claude, and Louis Vuitton III fainted upon receiving the diplomatic note.
• Louis Vuitton III concluded that the County of Corubia would not survive the crisis and ordered Baron Edmonton to escort the prince and princess to the Iberian Kingdom.

Hudson condemned Caesar IV’s role in the plot to seize Corubia and sought to recruit Jose, while Charles III’s court saw the crisis as an opening for expansion. The chapter ended with Charles ordering a campaign of disinformation to justify a purge of the continent’s other races.

• Hudson concluded that the Alpha Kingdom’s joint diplomatic note with the Black Forest Kingdom had damaged political rules and credibility, and decided that writing to Caesar IV would achieve nothing.
• Hudson sent a letter to Mr. Jose, instructing Tom to prepare their people in the Royal Capital to receive him.
• Charles III asked his advisers how to respond to the Black Forest and Alpha kingdoms’ actions, and Prime Minister Bergson argued that the ensuing chaos could help the Frankish Kingdom expand into Opulus.
• Marquis Hesius warned that the crisis could coincide with the Great Tribulation of Ten Thousand Years and said the kingdom had little knowledge of that ancient event.
• Charles III ordered his people to spread a false story that other races planned to overthrow humanity, then use the resulting public outrage to call for a Great Purge.

The Church decided to exploit the Corubia crisis by triggering a bond panic against the Alpha Kingdom, while Caesar IV’s government negotiated with the Black Forest Kingdom to trade Corubia for debt relief. Caesar IV then considered demanding a larger share of Corubia’s wealth, land, and population, but his ministers warned against sending troops.

• Blake urged Pope Pius VII to act against the Alpha Kingdom, but Gure argued that the Church should prioritize its plans for the Ruthenia Kingdom and account for the other nations’ interests.
• Pope Pius VII ordered the Church to sell its Moxi Duchy and Alpha Kingdom war bonds and secretly encourage bondholders to demand early repayment.
• Count Francis told Caesar IV that the Black Forest Kingdom would annex Corubia and waive about 9.93 million gold coins in direct debts and war bonds, while Corubia’s debts to the Alpha Kingdom would also be erased.
• Grand Duke Newfoundland warned Caesar IV that Corubia’s nobles and wealth would be difficult to manage, and Caesar IV predicted the Black Forest Kingdom would eliminate many nobles before granting pardons to survivors.
• Duke Affierro proposed demanding a larger share of Corubia’s assets and population, while Count Francis opposed sending troops because the Kingdom Army’s plunder would likely fail to benefit the Treasury.

Hudson allowed the northern nations and the Corubians to leave Mountain Territory with their magical beasts, choosing to protect his territory’s reputation and repay a favor to Governor Pierce. Meanwhile, Marquis Relian occupied Corubia without a battle but struggled to decide how to handle Louis Vuitton III, who refused to leave his palace.

• Hudson ordered Kane to honor the agreements, let the Corubians leave, and ensure the departing parties stayed safe; he also sent word to Governor Pierce about their route.
• Hudson rejected Kane’s suggestion to seize the Corubians, citing Mountain Territory’s reputation and his debt to Governor Pierce.
• Louis Vuitton III waited in the royal palace after arranging an escape for his descendants, while Marquis Relian entered Corubia without meeting armed resistance.
• Marquis Relian told Louis Vuitton III that the Cult of the July Association had taken control of the government and invited him to the Black Forest Kingdom’s Royal Capital for his safety.
• Louis Vuitton III refused to leave the palace, and Marquis Relian revealed that his children had already been taken to the Royal Capital.

A continent-wide bond run threatened the Alpha Kingdom with a debt default, while King George revealed that the Moxi Duchy had secretly settled most of its debts. Hudson worried that the crisis would damage his trade plans, but was relieved to learn that Mister Jose was on his way to the Mountain Territory.

• Caesar IV convened his ministers to respond to the bond run, and Marquis Delgado warned that the Alpha Kingdom might need tens of millions of gold coins to withstand it.
• Marquis Delgado proposed allowing other powers to annex neighboring territories to reduce the kingdom’s debts, but Count Francis said the kingdom’s support would not be enough to satisfy their ambitions.
• King George learned that the Church was suspected of orchestrating the crisis against the Alpha Kingdom and ordered information sent to Caesar IV, pledging that the Moxi Duchy would stand united.
• Hudson feared the crisis would damage his international trade and force him to focus on domestic commerce instead.
• Tom told Hudson that Mister Jose had entered the territory with his family and was expected to reach the lord’s manor in five days.

Hudson welcomed Jose and his followers into the Mountain Territory, then revealed the kingdom’s looming bond crisis and tasked Jose with buying discounted bonds. Jose proposed a public bond-buying campaign as cover for their purchases, and Hudson agreed to build political support before acting.

• Hudson welcomed Jose and his followers with a banquet, and Jose gave him a roster detailing the newcomers’ backgrounds and abilities.
• Hudson told Jose that the Alpha Kingdom faced a possible debt crisis and explained that the Moxi Duchy’s response could preserve confidence in the kingdom’s bonds.
• Hudson assigned Jose to use two million gold coins to buy discounted kingdom bonds, with Kane assisting and Tom and Beldens arranging protection.
• Jose asked Hudson for more personnel and suggested using merchant associations to spread purchases across multiple locations.
• Jose proposed involving great noble houses in a public bond-buying campaign to disguise their own purchases, and Hudson agreed to raise the idea when the kingdom requested suggestions.

Caesar IV tried to keep the Alpha Kingdom from defaulting as the Moxi Duchy stabilized its debt crisis, but the Church drove creditors to demand early redemption. The chapter ended with Caesar ordering the Kingdom to sell royal bonds to the Church and use the proceeds to prolong the standoff.

• Caesar IV ordered the Alpha Kingdom to imitate the Moxi Duchy's efforts to reassure creditors and delay bond redemptions.
• The Alpha Kingdom's nobles offered little practical help, while a Church-backed run on bonds erupted on the final day of 99991; the Moxi Duchy reached an agreement with its creditors, but the Kingdom remained deadlocked.
• Pope Pius VII berated Church officials for failing to trigger a decisive crisis and ordered them to buy Alpha Kingdom bonds and demand redemption.
• Hudson halted his bond-buying operation after prices recovered, having spent 1.6 million gold coins to acquire bonds with a face value of 2.5 million.
• Marquis Delgado told Caesar IV that the Church was buying bonds to drain the Kingdom's cash, and Caesar ordered the royal family's bonds sold to the Church so the proceeds could be lent back to the Treasury.

Hudson inspected the Great Swamp Canal and ordered the territory to develop coastal salt-making and fishing, while Jose took charge of building a port and relocating a shipyard. A royal letter then tasked Hudson with secretly transporting war bonds across the continent to help the kingdom profit from the Church, and he decided to sell some of his own low-interest bonds along the way.

• Hudson found that the Great Swamp Canal was too narrow and shallow for its planned shipping capacity, and Jacob explained that low water flow and the dry season were to blame.
• Hudson approved continuing canal development at the Department of Political Affairs’ pace and directed it to pursue salt production and fishing using materials in the territory archives.
• Hudson assigned Jose to oversee port construction and the relocation of Berkshire Shipyard, while reassuring him that Governor Pierce and Maxim would deter interference from the Dalton Family.
• Griffon Cavalry delivered a royal letter, and Hudson accepted Caesar IV’s secret mission to transport war bonds abroad so the kingdom could sell them to the Church and later buy them back.
• Hudson planned to carry some of his own low-interest bonds on the mission and sell them along the way.

Hudson persuaded Maxim to transport the Church’s war bonds while Church leaders tried to force the Alpha Kingdom into financial collapse through mass redemptions. The operation exposed widespread corruption and proved less effective than expected, but the chapter ended with Bishop Montesol overseeing the public destruction of verified bonds.

• Maxim refused to carry cargo without payment, and Hudson eventually persuaded him to accept ten chests of gold coins for the job.
• Pope Pius VII ordered the Church to redeem its bonds before buying another batch after officials discovered that the Alpha Kingdom was paying out faster than expected.
• Church officials falsified purchase figures and pocketed funds, prompting Pius VII to threaten punishments and dispatch a thousand Cenobites to enforce his orders.
• The Alpha Kingdom raised more than ten million gold coins with help from merchant guilds, and its swift redemptions and rising bond prices frustrated the Church’s attempt to drain its finances.
• Hudson and Maxim transported the bonds, and Bishop Montesol checked their magical marks before overseeing their public destruction in Lutetia Square.

Alpha Kingdom kept repaying war bonds with money obtained through a hidden scheme, leaving Pope Pius VII to realize the Church was losing millions without collapsing the kingdom’s credit. Meanwhile, Hudson was pressured into becoming the public face of an Arcane Academy founded by old anti-Church figures, and the Church prepared to withdraw.

• Alpha Kingdom staged public bond buybacks and burned the redeemed bonds, restoring creditors’ confidence while concealing its role in the sales.
• Pope Pius VII noticed that the number of bonds destroyed exceeded Alpha Kingdom’s known overseas issuance and ordered repayment operations suspended pending an investigation.
• Church investigators reported that Alpha nobles were also selling bonds, and Pope Pius VII recognized that the Church’s purchases might be funding Alpha Kingdom’s repayments.
• Robert and other senior figures pushed Hudson to lead an Arcane Academy, and Hudson agreed only if they served as instructors and secured royal support.
• The senior figures named Hudson the academy’s founder despite his protest, while Pope Pius VII ordered the Church to stop before its losses grew further.
• Pope Pius VII decided the Church should return home after the bond scheme caused heavy losses and Alpha Kingdom showed no signs of financial collapse.

After profiting from the bond runs, the Alpha Kingdom resolved to repay its debts and establish an Arcane Academy, while the Church cut its losses and began planning a war against the Dwarves. Pope Pius VII approved contacting the Ruthenia Kingdom for a temporary alliance, leaving the Church poised to pursue its expansion plans.

• Hudson secured the honorary dean title, and the great nobles agreed to found the Arcane Academy and send their direct descendants there.
• Marquis Delgado reported that the Alpha Kingdom had earned about two million gold coins from the bond runs, and Caesar IV ordered the Kingdom to repay its debts over eight years.
• Pope Pius VII canceled the Church's bond-run plans and ordered its remaining Alpha Kingdom bonds sold to limit losses.
• Blake proposed allying with the Ruthenia Kingdom to attack the Dwarves, while Gure argued that the Church should first subdue Ruthenia.
• Pope Pius VII ordered an approach to the Ruthenia Kingdom about a temporary alliance that could also weaken it.

Hudson returned to his territory and directed its labor, trade, salt production, and shipyard relocation while discussing the Mountain Territory’s development with Jacob and Jose. In Blood Moon County, Governor Pierce learned of the Coslo Family’s new port and shipyard and decided to let Hudson discover the costs of maritime trade for himself.

• Hudson returned to his territory, rejected pressure to stay involved with the Arcane Academy, and reflected on why he opposed the Church’s unchecked power.
• Hudson ordered Jacob to send Beastfolk slaves to build the Blood Moon Defense Line and to trade for experienced farming serfs and other needed resources.
• Jacob reported that the County of Corubia’s nobles had sold only 1,586 households of serfs, and Hudson ordered their return and resettlement in his territory.
• Jacob reported that salt production had reached about eight hundred pounds a day, while Jose described the shipyard relocation and the royal family’s permission to use the old site for two more years.
• Governor Pierce learned that the Coslo Family was building a port and shipyard, but decided not to interfere because he expected maritime trade to consume Hudson’s resources.

Governor Pierce and the Black Forest Kingdom’s leaders maneuvered to secure their interests in Corubia, while the Church prepared pressure campaigns against Ruthenia. The Arcane Academy opened in Canglan City, but reports of armies mobilizing left the Alpha Kingdom expecting a new Continental War.

• Governor Pierce assigned Count Hudson’s Beastfolk slaves to dangerous work and dismissed Viscount Cayou’s concerns about Hudson’s influence over the Arcane Academy.
• Alexander V ordered officials to pressure Louis Vuitton III into endorsing Corubia’s merger with the Black Forest Kingdom, while Count Nicholas proposed using the July Association as a pretext to purge local nobles.
• Pope Pius VII ordered agents to stir up conflicts between Ruthenia and the Dwarf Kingdom and spread claims that Ruthenian officials were colluding with dwarves.
• The Arcane Academy opened in Canglan City in a former Liufeng Family residence, and Caesar IV attended its inauguration alongside powerful elder nobles.
• Count Francis warned Caesar IV that the Church and several kingdoms were preparing for war, suggesting another Continental War was approaching.

Caesar IV warned that a Continental War could erupt within ten years and ordered the Alpha Kingdom to rebuild its forces and prepare its academies. In the Mountain Territory, Hudson reached food self-sufficiency and redirected labor toward new industries and military training, leaving the territory preparing for a more uncertain future.

• Caesar IV discussed the weakening alien races and the danger that humanity’s powers would turn on one another, then ordered the nobles, army, and academies to prepare for war.
• Hudson reviewed the Mountain Territory’s improving finances and instructed Kane to keep refining the newly produced paper.
• Jacob reported abundant fish catches, and Hudson ordered dried fish added to residents’ rations; he also approved performance-based rewards and reduced land reclamation.
• After Jacob warned that the territory would soon have a grain surplus, Hudson chose to slow reclamation gradually, resume reserve training, and establish youth and girls’ training camps under his personal direction.

Hudson celebrated Mountain Territory’s bumper harvest while resisting the kingdom’s plan to station two legions in the Southeast Province. As tensions over the garrisons grew, reports emerged that magical beasts were gathering in the Black Stone Mountain Range, signaling a possible beast tide.

• Hudson assessed the record grain harvest and the Southeast Province’s collapsing grain prices, but decided to wait before building his reserves.
• Hudson told Melissa that he would oppose the kingdom’s plan to station two legions in the Southeast Province because it threatened the fragile balance with the Dalton Family.
• Duke Affierro informed Caesar IV that nearly all southern frontier provinces had refused the proposed garrisons, and Caesar ordered provinces to restore their private armies within three years.
• Sorcerer Yuli reported to Governor Pierce that hundreds of magical beasts were gathering in the Black Stone Mountain Range and warned that a beast tide might be approaching.
• Governor Pierce sent Sorcerer Yuli to Mountain Territory to ask Count Hudson to investigate the gathering beasts.

Charles III approved a continent-wide war against the alien races, while Hudson discovered a beast tide was heading toward Southeast Province. After Governor Pierce urged him to mobilize the province, Hudson faced the burden of commanding the nobles’ private forces.

• Marquis Hesius presented a fabricated assassination of Frankish envoys as a pretext for war, and Charles III’s ministers backed an attack on the Half-Orc Kingdom.
• Marquis Hesius outlined the human kingdoms’ plans for a simultaneous Continental War, including the risks to the Northern Continent, and Charles III ordered the Frankish Kingdom to fight openly.
• Hudson inspected the beast tide and learned from Beldens that only three high-level magical beasts led it; Maxim demanded payment to fight, so Hudson offered bounties for capturing living beasts.
• Hudson told Governor Pierce that the beast tide was approaching Southeast Province, and Pierce urged him to issue a military mobilization order using the nobles’ private forces.

Hudson managed Blood Moon County City’s defense against an unusually organized beast tide while concealing that Maxim’s hunts might have attracted the beasts. In the Royal Capital, Caesar IV’s advisers assessed the approaching continental war and chose to delay the Alpha Kingdom’s involvement while seeking an agreement with the Elves.

• Hudson ordered workers to retreat to strategic positions as the beast tide overwhelmed the unfinished Blood Moon Defense Line, and Governor Pierce warned that the beasts seemed drawn to something in the city.
• Hudson ordered the city’s magic crossbows, magic crystal cannons, and catapults to fire, while the beasts’ disorganized magical counterattacks struck their own ranks as well as the defenders.
• At the Emerald Palace, Count Francis reported escalating conflicts between human kingdoms and alien races, and Caesar IV asked whether a continental war was imminent.
• Marquis Delgado proposed seeking debt relief, but Grand Duke Newfoundland urged the kingdom to avoid early involvement and wait for the conflict to develop.
• Caesar IV ordered the Military Affairs Department to prepare a response plan and told the Foreign Affairs Department to pursue a binding non-aggression pact with the Elves.

Hudson held Blood Moon County City against the magical beast horde while Maxim returned injured, and the fighting revealed a mysterious aura around the city. Elsewhere, Corubia was annexed, the Dwarf Kingdom prepared for a looming Continental War, and reinforcements arrived at last, setting the stage for Hudson’s counterattack.

• Maxim returned from the Black Stone Mountain Range battered and with only one surviving magical beast, while Hudson dismissed his complaints about being ambushed.
• Hudson ordered repairs after a Magic Crystal Cannon exploded and part of Blood Moon County City’s wall collapsed, then noticed a faint aura connected in his mind to the Blood Moon Horn.
• Louis Vuitton III accepted Corubia’s annexation into the Black Forest Kingdom, but resisted Marquis Relian’s demand for one hundred thousand troops and two hundred thousand laborers.
• The Dwarf King learned that the Opulus Kingdom had allied with the Church and ordered the dwarves to halt weapon deliveries to humans and prepare the alien races for war.
• Hudson was woken and told that reinforcements had arrived, signaling the start of the planned counterattack.

After reinforcements defeated the beast tide, the exposed Magic Crystal Mine beneath Blood Moon County City became the focus of a struggle among Southeast Province’s nobles. Viscount Autumn pleaded for mercy as the nobles debated the aftermath, while Guna and her grandfather prepared to flee before they were trapped in the city.

• Governor Pierce recognized the blood-red beam as proof of a large Magic Crystal Mine, and Hudson urged him to postpone dealing with it until the beast horde was defeated.
• Hudson led the army’s counterattack while Maxim charged through the monsters, scattering the horde; its three high-ranking magical beasts withdrew toward the Monster Mountain Range.
• Guna sensed danger from the mine’s exposure and persuaded her grandfather to abandon their goods and escape with Little Wolf.
• The army cleared the battlefield and counted tens of thousands of casualties, including the destruction of five Knight's Territories and one barony.
• Hudson raised the destroyed territories and the Magic Crystal Mine at the postwar meeting, where Governor Pierce confronted Viscount Autumn over his family’s secret mining.
• Viscount Autumn pleaded with the nobles to let him atone for his crimes and save his life and inheritance.