Chapter Summaries

Romain organized the reclamation of wasteland, directing thousands of laborers to break up compacted soil and improve it with peat and manure. Barro reflected on his father’s death and gained permission to teach agricultural knowledge, then joined his family and the workers to begin the work.

• Romain examined the wasteland’s sandy surface and clay beneath it, and planned to reclaim seven thousand to ten thousand mu using Heavy Plows, Pickaxes, and peat and manure.
• Barro reflected on how his father’s death had pitted the past against his lord’s vision of the future, and resolved to prevent such tragedies by spreading agricultural knowledge.
• Barro requested and received permission from Romain to establish classes and teach farming techniques.
• Barro and his family visited his father’s grave, then saw the strong livestock and refined-steel tools prepared for the reclamation work.
• Barro told his wife they should begin working, and they set out to help reclaim the wasteland.

Romain oversaw the spring reclamation and sowing of wasteland, then took Gevra and Sana to visit Garin with yellow berry jam. The three rode out from Origin Manor, leaving the fields behind them as farmers continued planting.

• Romain directed the orderly clearing, plowing, and sowing of different plots, but the shortage of working cattle and horses slowed reclamation to just over three thousand mu in half a month.
• Romain let Barro punish a few workers who slacked off, while the rest received meals, replacement tools, and sufficient rest as they worked.
• Gevra and Sana made more than a hundred jin of yellow berry jam from the berries they had gathered, and Green took some to the military camp.
• Gevra wanted to bring jam to Garin, so Romain decided to take her and Sana to visit him instead.
• Romain rode out of Origin Manor with Gevra and Sana, answering their questions about the crops as they passed farmers sowing the fields.

Romain confronted Garin about witchcraft and demanded that he train qualified witches, while arguing that the gods had done nothing to advance civilization. Garin warned him against pursuing witch inheritance, but Romain remained determined.

• Romain visited Garin with Gevra and asked how to cultivate qualified witches.
• Garin said the Church believed demons hid in the mist and warned Romain not to pursue witchcraft.
• Romain guessed that Garin meant the Demons, then insisted Garin train his witches.
• Garin explained that the Church’s witch hunts had intensified and that Gevra’s abilities were abnormal.
• Romain argued that the gods were meaningless to civilization and condemned the Church’s treatment of witches.

Garin explained the Church’s influence and the danger of opposing it, but Romain insisted that his remote fief and military strength could withstand the Holy See. After checking Sana’s recent awakening, Garin suggested it may have been triggered by Gevra and revealed why witches were hunted: their descendants could inherit magical potential.

• Garin argued that the Church provided people with spiritual comfort, while Romain said the Holy See would need a huge army and time to destroy his forces.
• Garin recounted how the Church had legitimized attacks on the Silver Moon Lord, leading neighboring lords to destroy his territory and exile his descendants.
• Romain asked Garin to help him and examine Sana, who had awakened around twenty days earlier and was growing stronger.
• Garin explained that Gevra may have triggered Sana’s awakening and said witches’ potential could be stimulated by external causes.
• Garin told Romain that women could become witches, men could become wizards, and witches’ descendants could inherit faint magical traits, which helped explain the Holy See’s persecution of witches.

Romain forced Garin to leave his mountain cabin and join the territory as a spell advisor, then received a joint demand from five powerful noble families to limit salt sales. He rejected their pressure and ordered their envoys dismissed, leaving a possible conflict over Sigg Town’s salt production looming.

• Romain gave Garin three days to move down from the mountain, and Garin agreed to advise Gevra and Sana on magic.
• Romain wondered about Garin’s knowledge and past but decided not to pry, then returned to the manor with Gevra and Sana.
• Seth delivered a letter signed by five noble families demanding justice for Count Kant and a yearly salt-sales cap of three hundred thousand jin.
• Romain planned to raise salt production to one and a half million jin, while Seth outlined the five families’ power and proposed possible alliances.
• Seth revealed that the five envoys were waiting at the docks, and Romain ordered them sent away with a defiant challenge to their masters.

Romain convened his War Knights to assess the coming attack by the Five Great Nobles and Count Kant, then inspected the recruits training in Sigg Town. He left the soldiers drilling and focused on strengthening the town’s defenses while reclaiming land and expanding iron production.

• Romain asked Dick and the War Knights to estimate the enemy’s forces and plans, and Dick assessed that seven or eight thousand troops could not break through Sigg Town’s defenses.
• The War Knights discussed how the enemy might approach, including a likely advance from upstream and the need for boats, while Romain warned them not to lower their guard.
• Romain considered how wars could leave nobles with scattered holdings, then prioritized plowing the remaining four thousand mu and preparing for spring planting.
• Romain noted that the coal and iron department produced over a thousand jin of steel daily and that the Water-powered Trip Hammer and Blacksmith Shed were increasing output.
• Romain visited the military camp, where Dick reported that the captured recruits were training diligently under Jet’s strict supervision.
• Romain recognized several apostles among the recruits and judged their discipline promising but superficial, knowing that properly training the army would take years.

Romain supported the conscripts with generous provisions and ideological lessons, then visited the school and checked on Niriel. The chapter ended with Niriel rejecting Dias’s appeal to help the displaced people of Sea Fortress and telling him she would consider their plight herself.

• Romain used promises of better living conditions and regular pay to persuade the conscripts to follow him, strengthening their training with ideological education.
• Romain taught the schoolchildren basic words while Niriel managed their classes and prepared literacy materials.
• Romain asked Niriel about the school, suggested a vegetable-harvesting outing for the children, and recommended Hans Germann help her.
• Dias asked Niriel whether there was hope for the displaced people of Sea Fortress, but she said their homeland was too far away and reminded him that she served Romain.
• Niriel told Dias to focus on his work as a teacher and said she would consider the people’s plight herself.

Romain harvested vegetables in Sigg Town and expanded and reorganized his army as news arrived that the Guerande Family had sent troops into the region. He left the story with his enlarged forces undergoing intensive training while he prepared for the threat.

• Romain led more than a thousand children in harvesting three hundred thousand jin of vegetables, then planted Spring Wheat and additional crops across the fields.
• Merchants told Romain that about a thousand soldiers bearing the Guerande Family’s crest had appeared upstream and received a warm welcome from Count Kant.
• Romain ordered another recruitment drive for eight hundred men, aiming to raise his army to two thousand, and established a logistics department under his own direction.
• Romain organized the troops into infantry brigades and specialized units, assigning commanders including Aaron, Green, Nathson, Kao, Jet, Dick, and Dota.
• Romain ordered the army to train intensively and directed the Blacksmith Shed and Woodworking Factory to produce weapons and equipment at full capacity.

Ten days after the standoff at Sigg Town, Steve Guerande explained why the nobles had chosen to move against Romain, while merchant traffic dwindled and allied families gathered to plan an attack. Count Kant warned that Sigg Town’s young lord was no easy target, but Vilichka insisted the coalition had methods to defeat him.

• Ten days passed, and the Vilichka and Simon armies assembled in Kant Territory as merchants avoided Sigg Town amid the threat of war.
• Steve Guerande reflected that the nobles had delayed attacking Sigg Town until Count Kant’s defeat and the killing of a noble gave them justification.
• At the planning meeting, Foucault Vilichka mocked Carter’s forces, and Carter’s head intimidated him before Count Kant halted their dispute.
• Steve noted that the Bechtels Family had not arrived, while Vilichka argued that their coalition had enough troops to take Sigg Town.
• Count Kant warned that Romain was not easy prey, but Vilichka claimed they had their own methods and the count repeated that Romain’s army was well equipped and trained.

Guerande and Vilichka assembled forces to march on Sigg Town, while waiting for Bechtels to join their decision. Bechtels sent only Frant, who declined to take part in the salt-mine struggle, and the assembled nobles prepared to advance after a day of rest.

• Steve Guerande worried that Count Kant's resistance could make an attack on Sigg Town costly, though the allied forces greatly outnumbered Kant's troops.
• Vilichka waited for Bechtels rather than seize Sigg Town early, while the families gathered ships to transport their forces.
• Five days later, Frant arrived in Kant Territory with a hundred mounted men bearing Bechtels' greetings.
• Frant told the nobles that Bechtels had sent him to assess the situation, and he would not participate in the salt-mine struggle.
• Count Kant, Carter, and Simon welcomed Frant, whose arrival eased tensions among the assembled parties.
• After a day of rest, everyone prepared to march on Sigg Town.

Romain prepared Sigg Town’s defenses against a fleet of nearly six thousand men, and the battle began as the attackers entered the river valley. His archers opened fire, while Romain used Magic Steel Arrows to pierce enemy shields and disrupt their advance.

• Frant and the nobles sailed toward Sigg Town, where they saw Romain’s army and a Wall of Steel waiting along the riverbank.
• The nobles ordered their ships to shore, and Sigg Town’s archers unleashed volleys at the approaching fleet.
• Romain joined the archers and fired a Magic Steel Arrow that pierced several soldiers and disrupted a boat’s formation.
• Kao handed Romain Magic Steel Arrows, and Romain fired another through a ship’s defenses.

Romain’s forces fought to hold the Bro River landing against the noble coalition, taking heavy pressure as more enemy soldiers reached shore. Jet ordered the center line to open, drawing the attackers into a breach where Nathson led the Third Infantry Brigade in a counterattack.

• The noble coalition’s fleet approached the shore under fire from Romain’s archers, suffering many casualties before landing.
• Jet ordered the heavy infantry and spearmen to form a defensive line and repel the first wave of landing troops.
• Jet killed a Carter Family Beast Warrior who had knocked down a defender, and the veteran troops steadied the line with a coordinated push.
• As more than a thousand enemy soldiers crowded the riverbank, Luca told Jet to pull the center line back and open a gap.
• A Carter Family Beast Warrior charging through the breach was killed by a throwing axe, and Nathson led the Third Infantry Brigade into the counterattack.

Nathson and the Third Battalion routed the noble army as it struggled to land and fight in the river valley. Romain celebrated the victory, treated the wounded, and used the battle to strengthen his rule, while the survivors prepared for the work of clearing the battlefield.

• Nathson led three hundred men of the Third Battalion in a charge that broke the noble army’s morale and sent its soldiers fleeing back toward their boats.
• The later fleets abandoned their landing, and the retreating noble army left wounded and stragglers behind as it withdrew under a rain of arrows.
• Barro told the reserve force that Romain’s warriors had won, then assigned the people to clear the battlefield and handle logistics.
• Romain brought prospective field-hospital staff to treat the wounded and teach them basic medical skills.
• Romain and his officers tallied eighty-nine dead, 262 wounded, more than five hundred enemy dead, and numerous prisoners and captured vessels.
• Romain told Dick to spread the news of their victory, aiming to reassure the people and increase his standing as their lord.

Romain assigned workers to farming, construction, and mining while planning to strengthen his apostles through repeated combat simulations. At Count Kant’s meeting, the nobles argued over their losses, and Frant identified the towering enemy as a likely Tier 3 Knight.

• Romain used simulations to train apostles with combat talent, expecting repeated deaths to improve their battlefield skills.
• Romain assigned workers across farms, construction, food production, workshops, and mining, sending three hundred people, including prisoners, to mine.
• Guerande, Vilichka, Carter, and Count Kant argued over which forces had failed to cooperate and suffered the battle’s casualties.
• Sir Simon praised Count Kant’s soldiers while suggesting that the enemy’s strength had overwhelmed all their armies.
• Frant said the towering enemy was likely a Tier 3 Knight once he mounted a horse.

Count Kant and the other nobles debated Romain Armor-Splitting’s unusually disciplined army and struggled to explain how he had built it. With a direct assault deemed too risky, Count Kant proposed blocking the river to cut off Sigg Town’s food supplies.

• The knights concluded that Romain’s troops had held formation and might be a professional army, while Frant urged them not to attack until they understood the situation.
• Carter argued that Romain’s resources might come from Grand Duke Armor-Splitting, but Vilichka doubted the duke would have exiled his own son to the remote territory.
• Count Kant explained that he had learned of the valley’s salt trade only last year and had found little out about Sigg Town because merchants dealt at its docks.
• The nobles noted that salt, grain, iron, and slaves could not readily explain how Romain had equipped and trained more than a thousand soldiers.
• Count Kant ruled out the grand duke’s backing and proposed blockading the river until Romain’s army ran short of food.

Garin taught Gevra and Sana the basics of witches, spells, and the dangers they faced, while Romain continued developing his territory and investigating Garin’s past. The young witches gained a foundation in supernatural knowledge, but Garin did not teach them spells, leaving Romain to wonder whether he should accelerate their training.

• Romain focused on farming, infrastructure, and troop training while Garin began teaching Gevra and Sana about the supernatural.
• Garin explained that witches had individual Innate Spells, warned the girls not to confront War Knights directly, and described the dangers and legends surrounding Cangyue.
• Garin broadened Gevra and Sana’s knowledge but avoided teaching them spells, saying their abilities would depend on their own talent and understanding.
• Romain listened to Garin’s lessons and had Jet investigate Garin, but Jet knew little about the Church clergyman and Garin kept his past secret.
• Dick believed Garin belonged to a secret society, while Romain considered how long witches took to develop and wondered whether to force Gevra and Sana’s growth.

Romain weighed the risks and resource costs of enhancing Gevra and Sana, deciding their unstable foundations made it unwise for now. At Dragon's Keep, the aging Grand Duke Armor-Splitting welcomed the Grand Duke of Angry Tide and his party, ending the meeting's opening with jokes that masked his sorrow.

• Romain calculated the resources needed to raise apostles' attributes and concluded that training should bring them to E+ before he helped them break through.
• Romain decided not to enhance Gevra or Sana because both Witches were still adapting to their powers and bodies.
• The Grand Duke of Angry Tide arrived at Dragon's Keep with two hundred Surging Wave Knights and his retinue to discuss state affairs with the Grand Duke Armor-Splitting.
• The Grand Duke Armor-Splitting mistook Makol for Pine, then asked Pine and Gale whether they had been sulking.
• Makol joked about being mistaken for Pine and toasted the Grand Duke Armor-Splitting, prompting laughter as the old grand duke hid his sorrow.

At a banquet gathering the continent’s powerful nobles, Grand Duke Armor-Splitting confronted Pine over the killing of his loyal vassal, Aaron Moa, and demanded to know what Pine intended. Pine admitted he wanted Gale to become the next Grand Duke Armor-Splitting and promised to uphold the Conqueror’s Order, but Alster still did not trust him.

• Bechtels presented a chest of blood salt to Grand Duke Armor-Splitting as nobles and knights gathered at the banquet.
• Pine told Alster that Gale and Makol had killed Aaron Moa after Moa supposedly acted against them, and Alster accused Pine of plotting against his loyal vassal.
• Pine admitted he had needed the Armor-Splitting Family’s strength and revealed that he wanted Gale to become the next Grand Duke Armor-Splitting.
• Alster agreed to let Gale take the grand duke’s seat if Pine and Gale swore to uphold the ancestral precepts and the alliance with the Conqueror Family.
• Pine promised Alster he would uphold the Conqueror’s Order, but Alster said he did not trust him, and Pine insisted that he knew what he had destroyed.

Pine persuaded Alster to publicly support the war and give Gale a chance to claim the Armor-Splitting legacy. In private, Alster challenged Gale’s claim to inherit, saying neither of them had lived up to the family motto, “To Cleave Through Thorns.”

• Alster questioned Pine’s plan to seize power, but Pine demanded the Split Armor family legacy and Alster agreed to speak with Gale.
• Pine announced that Alster and Gale would support the war, then raised a toast to the Black Iron King and the Conqueror’s Order.
• After the banquet, Gale admitted to Alster that he wanted his position and said he had spent years waiting for his father’s approval.
• Alster told Gale that he could give him the position but neither of them could truly claim the legacy, because Gale had never fought for what he wanted.
• Alster explained that a true Split Armor had to carve out a path alone, and said he and Gale were both castoffs of the age.

As Alster lay dying after an assassin poisoned him, he appointed Gale as his successor and asked him to restore Moya’s family honor. In his final vision, Alster saw the world’s looming upheavals and the young man in the river valley, realizing his death marked the arrival of the new era.

• Gale asked Alster for the family inheritance, and Alster promised it to him before telling him he was his favorite child.
• A Witch infiltrated Alster’s bedroom and slashed his scalp with a poisoned dagger before escaping after a Divine Stone exploded.
• As Gale and Scholar Yihe tried to save him, Alster named Gale the next Duke Armor Break and urged him to restore Moya’s family honor.
• Alster died as those present blamed the Witch, while Scholar Yihe sensed a conspiracy surrounding Dragon's Keep.
• In his final vision, Alster saw threats and upheavals across the world, then saw the young man in the river valley transform a field into a golden wheat harvest.
• Alster realized that the new era had been drawing near and that his death was the way to usher it in.