Chapter Summaries

Hudson approved plans to develop salt production and use coastal raids and trade to destabilize the Orc Empire, while the Behemoth Clan prepared to leave its ancestral camp. The chapter ended as Prince Butzwig appeared before Alex, threatening the already weakened chieftain with a challenge from within his clan.

• Jacob briefed Hudson on plans for fisheries, animal husbandry, and coastal saltworks, and Hudson approved the development strategy.
• Hudson ordered Jose to expand shipbuilding, train a fleet, and form marine forces that could raid beastfolk settlements and recruit pirates.
• Hudson planned to use trade and coastal attacks to foment conflict among the beastfolk and force the Orc Empire away from the coast.
• Chieftain Alex ordered the Behemoth Clan to pack and migrate from its former imperial camp to escape political danger.
• Prince Butzwig arrived to confront Alex, whom clan members blamed for the Behemoth Clan's loss of royal status and ancestral land.

Alex was forced to accept death after Butzwig seized power, while the Silver Moon Wolf Emperor explained why the other royal clans had abandoned the Behemoths. Meanwhile, Snow Moon Territory continued developing, and Viscount Cayou arrived at New Moon Port, where Knight Shirudi reunited with old friends.

• Alex accused Butzwig of making him answer for the old Behemoth Emperor’s failures and warned him about Hudson, but Butzwig refused to take the bait.
• Alex asked for poisoned chicken soup, and Butzwig ordered it brought to him while the Behemoth Clan prepared to leave for the Near East Region.
• The Silver Moon Wolf Emperor told Daniel that the Behemoth Clan’s fall was the consequence of its former power and that rulers should not pity the defeated.
• Hudson’s Snow Moon Territory expanded its coastal outposts as ships and nobles arrived at New Moon Port.
• Viscount Cayou ordered his party to camp in the city and sent Knight Shirudi to learn which nobles had recently arrived.
• Baron Adrian welcomed Shirudi, and the two old friends discussed how their relationship with Hudson had changed as his status rose.

Hudson reviewed New Moon Port’s losses and rejected selling its properties cheaply, choosing instead to lease them under strict rules. Facing Snow Moon Territory’s growing deficits and labor shortage, he ordered a covert reopening of trade with the Orc Empire through smugglers and slave traders.

• Hudson learned that New Moon Port’s monthly losses had fallen, and Rudolf proposed promoting the port’s goods to nobles across the kingdom.
• Hudson rejected Jacob’s plan to sell a third of the port’s shops and residences, keeping them under his ownership and ordering market-rate leases and protections against coercion.
• Jacob reported Snow Moon Territory’s massive development expenses, labor shortage, reliance on Mountain Territory’s income, and projected annual deficits.
• Hudson proposed secretly issuing border-crossing passes to smugglers and slave traders in exchange for taxes, purchasing labor slaves, and letting traders use points earned from slave sales to buy equipment.

Northern Noble leaders debated whether to join Hudson’s newly opened smuggling trade, while political pressure mounted against him in the kingdom. Meanwhile, the Frankish Kingdom’s campaign against the Dawn Holy See spread across the continent, and Arcanists’ claim that the gods were dead left Hudson facing a scandal tied to the Arcane Academy.

• Duke Rodriguez argued that the Northern Nobles could profit by trading Beastfolk slaves under Hudson’s rules, and the other dukes considered the risks.
• Smugglers filled New Moon Port’s inns and taverns, bringing Snow Moon Territory its first smuggling-tax revenue.
• After ministers and nobles attacked the trade in court, Hudson told Baron Jose to claim the army’s training had let smugglers slip through, then ordered him to stall and quietly invite other powers to join.
• Church representatives from several countries accused the Dawn Holy See of ten major crimes, while the Frankish Church declared Charles III a saint for exposing its corruption.
• With the god silent during the Church crisis, Arcanists publicly declared that the gods were dead, giving Hudson trouble because he was honorary president of the Arcane Academy.

Hudson confronted Caesar IV over the Arcane Academy scandal, then learned that academy elders had caused it while drunk and fled to avoid his anger. He negotiated compensation and urged Caesar to exploit the Church’s lost divine artifact to weaken it and build a rival church, leaving Caesar interested in the path toward empire.

• Hudson found the academy’s leaders missing and demanded that Caesar IV explain the kingdom’s lack of control over the Arcane Academy.
• Caesar IV showed Hudson a letter explaining that several academy powerhouses had started the scandal while drunk and that the other leaders had fled.
• Hudson accused the elders of using the excuse to evade punishment, and the queen said they had run because they feared his beating.
• Caesar IV proposed that the elders apologize and compensate Hudson, and Hudson accepted that the resulting benefits could make up for his damaged reputation.
• Hudson advised Caesar IV to leak news of the Church’s lost divine artifact and use it to encourage the Franks to break with the Church.
• Hudson outlined a strategy for weakening the Church and establishing a rival one, and Caesar IV agreed to have the Foreign Affairs Department pursue the idea.

The Frankish Church crisis deepened after the Church’s lost Inheritance Divine Artifacts became public, while the Alpha Kingdom sought to cover up the Arcane Academy’s blasphemous remarks. Charles III established a separate Church and began seeking support from other nations, but the artifacts remained in the mastermind’s hands.

• Frost reassured Morrison that the academy’s absent higher-ups would keep Robert’s breakthrough secret while the kingdom handled the scandal.
• Caesar IV ordered a search for the academy leaders and threatened to announce their funerals if they remained missing after three days; the ministers agreed to blame the Beastfolk.
• Pius VII learned that two Inheritance Divine Artifacts were missing and ordered Ulise to identify the leak and recover them.
• Charles III established a separate Church with a council of bishops after the loss of the artifacts weakened the Holy Mountain Church’s authority.
• Archbishop Edward reported that six national churches recognized the Frankish Church, and Charles III proposed finding the artifacts through negotiation or by letting the Holy Mountain Church act first.

Hudson returned to Snow Moon Territory as humanity’s struggle over the Inheritance Divine Artifact intensified, while Caesar IV faced the old Holy Domain experts he had declared dead. Meanwhile, Butzwig weighed a campaign against the Alpha Kingdom and ordered his forces to avoid Hudson and limit themselves to symbolic raids.

• Hudson ordered Tom to summon the frontline commanders for a meeting in three days as the human powers continued fighting over the Inheritance Divine Artifact.
• Robert and the other supposedly dead elders confronted Caesar IV, then chose to adopt new identities and teach at the academy rather than reclaim political power.
• Robert praised Caesar IV’s potential but urged the elders to deepen their cultivation and promised to hold Brian and Gallos accountable for their mistakes.
• Butzwig learned that Hudson had returned to Snow Moon Territory, making a surprise attack impractical.
• Butzwig canceled the original military plans and ordered his troops to avoid decisive engagements, especially if they saw the Dragon Bear War Banner.

Hudson faced an erratic Behemoth Cavalry incursion while weighing the costs of a new war against the Kingdom’s fragile finances. The Behemoths avoided battle, and Hudson’s account of the Near East’s labor boom showed how impoverished nobles and their subjects were earning money through his construction projects.

• Hudson learned that Behemoth Cavalry had entered an undeveloped region and argued that the Kingdom should first determine their objective rather than waste elite troops defending empty land.
• Wulanchimon led the Behemoth Cavalry around Snow Moon Lake while avoiding contact, since the weakened Behemoth Tribe had little to gain from provoking an all-out war.
• Hudson watched reports show the Behemoth Cavalry repeatedly approach and withdraw, then dismissed the idea of a counterattack because the Kingdom could not afford another war.
• Hudson considered expanding the Kingdom’s Magical Beast Knights and thought about having Maxim mate again to increase their numbers.
• Hudson’s discussion of the Kingdom’s finances revealed that many Northern Seven Provinces nobles were struggling, and some brought their people to work on his construction sites for wages and meals.
• Serfs working in Snow Moon Territory grew stronger on reliable food and pay, making Hudson’s projects a sought-after assignment among minor nobles.

Count Pierce tried to replace the strategic supplies he had stolen, but black-market prices and shortages forced him to place a costly order as Hudson called him to a logistics meeting. Meanwhile, Duke Pias searched for the vanished Count Geoff, and Hudson turned away mercenary representatives seeking help with soaring prices.

• Count Pierce negotiated with Snyder and ordered scarce strategic supplies at inflated prices, fearing the Alliance investigation would expose his deficit.
• A messenger summoned Count Pierce to a senior Logistics Department meeting, leaving him worried about Hudson's intentions.
• Duke Pias learned that Count Geoff had disappeared in Lutetia and ordered the investigation to continue after hearing of several possible suspects.
• Hudson told Adolf and the mercenary representatives that he lacked authority to expand their logistical support or control market prices.
• Adolf and the mercenary representatives left after Hudson advised them to seek support from powerful military factions.

Hudson watched the three Ghost Ships survive a lightning tribulation and advance, while the Beastfolk rulers moved to control the escalating struggle for royal status. The chapter left the Four Great Royal Clans debating a forced contest that could intensify the fighting.

• Norman and Karim learned the academy’s announcement was genuine and rushed to the laboratories to compete for Hudson’s potions.
• Hudson retreated from the lightning tribulation over the Misty Sea as the three Ghost Ships advanced to the Holy Domain.
• Maxim explained that Ghost Ships were foreign creatures whose kind had been mentioned in dragon memories more than nine thousand years earlier.
• The Ghost Kings told Hudson that the Ghost Ships had advanced, though they still needed to comprehend laws themselves, and Hudson ordered them to repair and remain cautious.
• The Silver Moon Wolf Emperor proposed limiting the imperial competition after more than a million Beastfolk died in internal fighting.
• The Eagle Emperor proposed a Royal Clan Contest based on legion warfare and threatened to suppress races that refused to participate.

Hudson opened the Near East Development Bank’s three branches while a student skills competition drew far more spectators and sponsors than expected. Meanwhile, Robert discussed the Orc Empire’s looming Legion War with Caesar VII and accepted responsibility for using the kingdom’s intelligence network to foment internal discord.

• Hudson opened three bank branches, which issued 136 Magic Crystal Cards and collected more than 300,000 gold coins in deposits from wealthy clients.
• The academy’s grand skills competition expanded with additional events and sponsors, but the unexpected crowd overwhelmed the student organizers and required the Royal Guard to restore order.
• Robert attended the competition as its biggest sponsor and honorary principal, then joined Caesar VII in discussing the Orc Empire’s plan to select a new royal clan through a Legion War.
• Robert warned Caesar VII that disrupting the Orc Empire’s succession could backfire if the Beastfolk united, but Caesar VII assigned him the task of stirring up internal chaos.
• Robert agreed to direct the kingdom’s intelligence agents in the Orc Empire, while promising not to activate them recklessly.

After the tournament, Hudson directed Near East Development Bank to expand carefully through lending, transfers, and banknotes while managing its risks. Meanwhile, the Tigerkin Tribe considered joining other races to challenge the five imperial clans, and Putru’s human connections aroused the Tiger Tribe Chief’s suspicion.

• Hudson presented tournament awards alongside ministers, while the King left early under heavy security.
• Hudson reviewed Near East Development Bank’s finances with Rudolf and ordered lending to begin cautiously, with collateral, risk checks, and Magic Crystal Card transfers.
• Hudson directed the bank to start lending in Northern Frontier before expanding in the Near East, and ordered territorial industries to accept its banknotes.
• The Tiger Tribe Chief questioned Putru about his plan to unite races against the five imperial clans and suspected that he had connections with humans.
• Putru urged the Tigerkin Tribe to act before the imperial clans could interfere, and the Chief hardened his resolve to pursue the alliance.

The Tiger Tribe Chief ordered Putru to use his human contacts to obtain weapons, while Oruchi and Shi Youjiang arranged to supply retired Kingdom arms through the intelligence organization. At Butzwig’s camp, envoys invited the Hudson Tribe to join a coalition seeking new royal family seats, and Butzwig agreed after learning his tribe could regain its place.

• The Tiger Tribe Chief forgave Putru’s unauthorized contact with humans and told him to arrange a weapons purchase for the tribe.
• Oruchi and Shi Youjiang approved retired weapons for the intelligence organization, with Raze tasked to track their use and conceal their destination.
• The Tiger Tribe Chief told Putru to tell his contacts that the races planned to unite against the five royal families.
• Envoys from several major races visited Butzwig and proposed adding royal family seats through a joint petition when the legion war began.
• The envoys promised the Hudson Tribe a seat among the new royal families, and Butzwig agreed to join their plan.

Coslo reviewed the Near East Development Bank’s early results and the kingdom’s worsening cash shortage, then directed the bank to attract more deposits and expand its business. Meanwhile, Bihudson struggled to acquire weapons and lost smuggling revenue, leaving its leaders to seek new ways to obtain supplies.

• Coslo examined the bank’s lending figures and heard that the Royal Capital and Mountain Territory branches relied heavily on nobles connected to him, while Snow Moon Territory had many loan applicants but needed more deposits.
• Coslo and his officials linked falling prices, barter, and weak deposits to a cash shortage caused by war debts and capital flowing into Near East development.
• Coslo ordered the bank to improve its services, reduce withdrawals, attract smugglers’ money, and pursue a target of 500,000 gold coins in both gross book profit and net profit.
• Butzwig learned that smugglers were avoiding Bibopzhenglin because of its high taxes and unsafe routes, and he ordered the Bimons to stop extorting merchant caravans.
• Elias told Butzwig that human caravans would not sell weapons to Bihudson, while Coslo ordered that merchants who supplied weapons receive tax reductions and urged the Beastfolk to procure weapons in small batches.

The Alpha Kingdom struggled to contain a kingdom-wide money shortage that had disrupted trade, tax collection, and the royal domains. Caesar VII sought a response while Hudson and Duchess Ezekiel faced the crisis’s effects, and Duchess Ezekiel decided to send her unsold grain and supplies to the Near East front line.

• The Department of Political Affairs told Caesar VII that the Kingdom had no proven solution beyond injecting currency, while the Treasury Department agreed to accept taxes in kind.
• Caesar VII rejected paper currency and questioned why small and medium nobles sought tax relief, but the ministers warned that the Kingdom could not afford broad tax reductions.
• Hudson considered reducing purchases and relying on barter and gold notes, while recognizing that neither option could solve the Kingdom-wide crisis by itself.
• The Mountain Territory branch saw its lending business increase as merchants held onto cash and trade slowed.
• Duchess Ezekiel struggled to sell her bumper grain harvest and ordered her people to prepare to send the grain and other supplies directly to the Near East front line.

Near East Development Bank’s rapid lending and shrinking cash reserves drove Tammel to seek financing from merchants, while Duchess Ezekiel approached him to mortgage her businesses. The chapter left Tammel weighing the bank’s risks as Hudson arrived to find a crowd outside its branch.

• Duchess Ezekiel visited Tammel and offered to mortgage her businesses to Near East Development Bank for cash.
• Tammel warned Duchess Ezekiel that grain prices were poor and offered to connect her with a buyer, while she explained her urgent need for funds.
• Tammel gathered merchant association leaders on Snow Moon Lake and presented Near East Development Bank’s profits and financing opportunities.
• Tammel urged the merchants to join him in raising capital, arguing that the bank needed to expand before competitors copied its model.
• Tammel watched the bank’s cash reserves dwindle as customers crowded the branch, and Hudson arrived the next morning to find a line outside.

Hudson used the Near East Development Bank to attract investors, knowing that expanding credit could transform the continent and help finance his territory. Meanwhile, the Orc Empire’s Four Great Royal Clans and the Seven Tribes Alliance planned their next moves as rebellion spread, but the alliance’s leaders remained divided over how far to go.

• Hudson watched the chamber of commerce representatives leave with news of the bank’s business model, expecting investment to fuel industry and eventually shake the old aristocratic order.
• The Seven Tribes Alliance rebelled against the Four Great Royal Clans, and fighting across the grasslands left the Lionmen settlement destroyed.
• The Four Great Royal Clans debated seeking outside aid and dividing the alliance, while Daniel proposed sowing discord and crushing one or two tribes.
• Butzwig urged the Seven Tribes Alliance to offer political rights and reduced tribute to recruit allies, while the Tiger Tribe Chief urged caution and the Leopard Tribe Chief advocated threatening or joining the Alpha Kingdom.
• Butzwig warned that the Alpha Kingdom was an unreliable ally because Hudson commanded its frontline army, and the seven tribal chiefs remained deadlocked over strategy.

Hudson and Rudolf presented Near East Development Bank’s growth and defended its risky Near East lending at a financing conference, seeking six million gold coins from powerful investors. The guests began submitting valuations, while Hudson’s proposal left them weighing how much the bank was worth.

• New Moon Port prospered as trade, smuggling, and the influx of Beastfolk slaves brought revenue and labor to Snow Moon Territory.
• Hudson and his allies supplied Near East Development Bank with funds as its loans grew far beyond its cash reserves, while gold notes gained recognition in Southeast Province.
• Rudolf presented the bank’s achievements to influential nobles and merchant association leaders at a financing conference on Snow Moon Lake.
• Viscount Lauren challenged the bank’s exposure to Near East risks and questioned its projected profits, and Rudolf defended its loans and political value.
• Hudson announced that the bank sought six million gold coins and asked the investors to write down their valuations for the next round of negotiations.

Hudson secured investment and resources for the Near East Development Bank, whose rapid expansion made it the Kingdom’s leading creditor before he curbed its growth. He then reviewed Snow Moon Territory’s five-year development plan and decided to use magic to speed up its waterworks construction.

• Hudson set the Near East Development Bank’s valuation at 23.6 million gold coins and invited investors to contribute money or resources in exchange for shares.
• Count Jonas proposed separating cash financing from resource-for-equity investments, and Hudson agreed to expand the financing while protecting the bank’s operations and his right of first refusal.
• Investors quickly purchased the six million gold coin financing quota, and the bank’s valuation rose to 65 million within three months as Hudson’s ownership fell to 46 percent.
• The bank expanded its branches and gold-note use, issued loans to the royal family and nobles, and became the Kingdom’s major creditor before Hudson slowed its rapid growth.
• Hudson reviewed the Department of Political Affairs’ five-year plan for Snow Moon Territory and approved it with adjustments to agricultural irrigation and waterworks.
• Hudson realized Maxim and Beldens could use magic to build reservoirs and canals quickly, so he told the Department of Political Affairs to plan the sites while he arranged construction.

The Four Great Royal Clans decided to suppress the Seven Tribes Alliance, threatening the stalemate that had kept the Orc Empire too divided to interfere in the Near East. Hudson warned that the Kingdom’s peaceful period was nearing its end, and Caesar IV agreed to recruit mages to finish the defense line before a Beastfolk invasion.

• Daniel urged the Four Great Royal Clans to strike the Seven Tribes Alliance, and the Lion Emperor and Bearman Emperor supported him while the Eagle Emperor yielded.
• The Orc Empire’s rival camps mobilized their followers for war, and Alpha Kingdom spies sent news of the escalation to Hudson.
• Hudson judged that the Kingdom’s development window would last at least another year and ordered Jose to draft a proposal recruiting Earth Mages and Undead Mages for defense-line construction.
• Caesar IV accepted Hudson’s proposal after Prime Minister Grand Duke Newfoundland warned that the royal family’s investments in the Near East depended on its safety.
• Caesar IV ordered the recruitment plan implemented and prepared to visit the Magic Academy and the Arcane Academy to persuade the mage lords himself.