Chapter Summaries

Samael inspected Rome’s emergency army, entrusted its command to Pompey, and led it toward the eastern front. Seven days later, Persian forces broke through a Roman fortress with ritual magic and war elephants, leaving the defenders facing overwhelming Immortals.

• Samael ordered five hundred priests and one thousand magicians to join the assembled army, then left Brunhilde and other guards with Nero.
• Samael reviewed the fifty-thousand-man force and appointed Pompey to command it after assessing his experience and knowledge of Persia.
• Pompey led the army toward the eastern front while Samael traveled with it, and they reached the Persian border after seven days.
• Persian ritual spells shattered the fortress’s magical barrier and collapsed sections of its walls.
• Hundreds of rune-covered Persian war elephants charged through the breaches, crushing Roman defenses and opening the fortress to the Persian army.
• Masked Immortals advanced through the arrow fire, and the Roman defenders realized the fortress was doomed.

Darius III sent his masked personal guard into the Roman fortress, but the Roman defenders rallied when the War God's Roar sounded. Roman reinforcements then charged Persia's camp, leaving Memnon to face a sudden attack.

• Darius III declined Memnon's request to lead the vanguard and ordered his personal guard to advance into the city.
• The War God's Roar filled the sky with red light, restoring the Roman Soldiers' fighting spirit and sparking a desperate counterattack against the Immortals.
• Roman Legions appeared from the nearby hills and charged Persia's central camp, surprising Memnon with their numbers and approach.
• Scarlet Magic Formations appeared above the Persian flank, and thousands of Spell projectiles threw its defenses into chaos.

Samael and Pompey exploited Darius III’s poor command to ambush the Persian army, but the Romans’ advance stalled when the Meteor Legion’s arrows and Efreet fire struck them. The battle remained uncertain as the Persians counterattacked.

• Samael used his spatial authority and Rune magic to bring Pompey’s fifty-thousand troops to the battlefield, where Pompey waited until the Immortals entered the fortress before attacking the Persian flank.
• The Roman Legions broke through the Persian lines, spreading panic until Memnon rallied soldiers and punished deserters to halt the collapse.
• The Meteor Legion unleashed a rain of arrows that killed Roman and Persian soldiers alike, forcing the Romans to advance beneath their shields.
• Pompey ordered the Romans to push through the arrow barrage and close with the Persians, and the disciplined Legions pressed toward the enemy’s heart.
• Persian formations summoned Efreet, whose waves of fire burned Roman soldiers alive and checked the Roman advance.

Samael used the Roman Empire’s hidden bronze cannons to strike the Persian army and disrupt the fire spirits killing Roman soldiers. The Persians adapted by raising magic barriers and sending Flying Carpets toward the cannons, leaving the battle in a stalemate.

• Samael ordered the Roman bronze cannons to fire on the Persian secret mages, killing many and causing several fire spirits to lose control.
• Samael reflected that the cannons were remnants of Atlantis technology and that he had brought every hidden asset Rome could transport.
• The Persian army restored order with overlapping Magic Formations that blocked the cannon fire.
• Persian spellcasters mounted on Flying Carpets flew toward the Roman cannons to attack them.
• Pompey gathered mages and priests to confront the Persian spellcasters, and the battle became a stalemate.

Roman and Persian forces clashed as Roman spellcasters fell behind and Pompey’s legions were stopped by the Immortals near Darius III’s royal court. Pompey ordered a retreat, then used Roman cavalry to break Memnon’s attempted encirclement and lead his troops out.

• Roman magicians summoned Zeus’s lightning, but Persian Spellcasters invoked Tethra and resisted with firelight as the spellcasters’ battle turned against Rome.
• The Immortals cut down Roman soldiers and held their line against repeated attacks, forcing Pompey to abandon his attempt to pierce the Persian formation.
• Pompey ordered the legions to retreat before the Immortals could trap them deep in Persian territory.
• Memnon regrouped Persian troops and tried to surround the withdrawing Romans, but Pompey sent two cavalry forces crashing into their flanks.
• Roman Centurions charged through the scattered Persian soldiers, allowing the legions to escape while Memnon watched helplessly.

Samael used blood-red formations to trap and decimate the Persian Spellcasters, then ordered the Roman forces to retreat when Scheherazade’s Flame of Destiny weakened the trap and the Persian army regrouped. The Romans abandoned damaged equipment and withdrew toward the Ninth Legion’s garrison.

• Samael empowered the Roman soldiers and coordinated volleys of spells, arrows, and javelins against the trapped Persian Spellcasters.
• Scheherazade used the Flame of Destiny to burn away the blood-red mist, allowing the surviving Persian Spellcasters to flee.
• Samael recognized the Flame of Destiny and signaled Pompey to begin the Roman retreat.
• The Tenth Legion’s Centurions gathered their troops and broke out through the ruined fortress’s western gate as the Immortals and elephant troops withdrew.
• Pompey led the Roman forces toward the Ninth Legion’s garrison, leaving behind cavalry and Bronze Magic Cannons that were too damaged or cumbersome to move.
• Samael destroyed the remaining damaged Bronze Magic Cannons and led his men away after attacking weak points in the Persian formation.

Samael led Pompey’s exhausted Roman army through the wilderness while Persian scouts tracked them, and he planned an ambush in a ravine. After assessing the Romans’ heavy losses and the strength of the Persian Immortals, he saw the Persian force approach as the army rested.

• Samael shot down a Persian hunting hawk that had been following the Romans and learned from Pompey that the pursuers had tracked them for nearly a day and night.
• Samael and Pompey decided to rest in a narrow ravine and lure the Persian vanguard into an ambush.
• Samael reviewed the Roman and Persian casualties and worried that the Romans could not sustain the war against the larger Persian army and its Immortals.
• A large Persian force surged toward the ravine as the Roman army rested.

Samael and Pompey chose to risk destroying the Persian Immortals rather than retreat, but Persian reinforcements arrived as the Romans neared victory. The chapter left the Roman force facing a vast encirclement in the valley.

• Persian cavalry charged into the Roman formation, where traps and coordinated infantry tactics slowed them, but thousands of Immortals broke through and inflicted heavy casualties.
• Samael and Pompey considered retreating or gambling on destroying the Immortals before Darius III encircled them.
• Samael ordered the Romans to crush the Persian vanguard, and Pompey reorganized the legions to surround and divide the enemy.
• Roman combined arms reduced the Immortals to about a thousand while maintaining the legions' organization.
• Scouts reported fifty thousand Persian troops approaching from the east and sixty thousand from the southeast, including elephant units, and Pompey realized the encirclement had arrived.

Pompey used dust storms and Roman formations to ambush and devastate three Persian forces, but the Romans discovered that the Persians had captured the Tenth Legion and destroyed their garrison. Samael and Pompey faced an uncertain retreat with an exhausted army and the remaining Immortals still threatening them.

• Samael steadied Pompey as the Romans assessed their losses and the Persian forces closing in around them.
• Pompey left three thousand soldiers to hold the Immortals in the ravine and led the main force through dust storms to ambush two Persian armies, inflicting heavy losses.
• Pompey explained that the Romans had destroyed or scattered roughly one hundred thousand Persians and could now choose whether to fight or withdraw.
• Samael and Pompey prepared to retreat to the Ninth Legion's garrison, but spotted the Tenth Legion's bloodstained standard and realized it was a Persian trophy.
• Samael and Pompey understood that the Persians had captured the Tenth Legion and left the exhausted Roman force without a safe retreat.
• Samael gripped the Spear That Created a Nation as he and Pompey faced the threat of the remaining Immortals and another major battle.

Samael used Pompey's battered Roman Legion as bait to draw out the Persian army's hidden strength, but the Romans were pushed to the brink. As Samael prepared to end the stalemate, the Amazons arrived with a devastating attack, leaving the battle's outcome uncertain.

• Samael warned Pompey of the incoming magical bombardment, and the Romans formed a tortoise-shell defense that was damaged by the barrage.
• Pompey urged Samael to withdraw the finest troops inland, but Samael ordered him to hold the line.
• Pompey realized that he and his thirty thousand soldiers were serving as bait, then chose to fight alongside his men.
• Persian elephant troops and reinforcements shattered the Roman formation and pressed the legion deeper into the valley.
• Samael prepared to unleash the Nation-Building Spear, but Amazon archers struck the Persian ranks from afar and a silver-haired Amazon led the charge.

Five thousand Amazon Divine Blood Warriors routed the Persian forces and drove Darius III’s army into a ravine, forcing the Persian King to summon divine aid. Samael used the ritual to draw out Cyrus and struck him down, but Cyrus resurrected, leaving Samael poised to attack again.

• Five thousand Amazon Warriors charged the Persian ranks, broke through the Immortals, and drove Darius III’s forces into retreat.
• Memnon stayed behind with three thousand Immortals to cover the retreat, but the Amazons overwhelmed and killed him.
• Arash urged Darius III to flee, but Darius refused and summoned the Sword of the Dead and Book of Fate in a ritual to call the True God.
• Samael revealed a hidden divine-script prison and hurled the Spear of Nation-Building at Cyrus as he appeared on the Great Altar, striking him through the chest.
• Cyrus resurrected through the golden wheel, and Samael lunged at him with the Cross Spear, intending to kill him again.

Samael overwhelmed Cyrus while Arash sacrificed himself to protect the Persian king, but the desperate Persians invoked a taboo and summoned a god. The chapter ended as a red-black pillar of light shattered Samael’s barrier and a chilling presence descended.

• Samael relentlessly attacked the wounded Cyrus, driving him into the sky and then blasting him back toward the ground.
• Arash the Great Hero deflected Samael’s thorned spear with an arrow, then used Stella to try to save Cyrus before Samael’s runes destroyed his body.
• Dying, Arash urged Darius III to go, while the Persian army remained trapped and the priests received no answer from their god.
• Scheherazade reminded Darius III of a taboo they had found among extremist Zoroastrian followers, and he raised the Sword of the Dead in desperation.
• A red-black pillar erupted from the Persian formation, shattered Samael’s barrier, and heralded a god’s descent.

Angra Mainyu descended through the Great Altar and turned against Darius III and the Persians after revealing the emperor had betrayed the young vessel he once rescued. The god unleashed a catastrophe that consumed the battlefield, leaving Persians, Romans, Immortals, and Amazon Warriors trapped in a Red-black Mudflow.

• Angra Mainyu awakened in the young man's body as Persian priests realized their summoning had succeeded.
• Darius III offered his blood and pleaded for Angra Mainyu to bring Persia victory, but Angra Mainyu stabbed him for deceiving the young man he had once rescued.
• Angra Mainyu drained the priests and spread red-black threads that consumed Persian soldiers, while Darius III tried to drag him away.
• Angra Mainyu burned Darius III to ash and unleashed a Red-black Mudflow and fiery rain across the battlefield, consuming soldiers from every side.

Samael tried to stop Cyrus from escaping Angra Mainyu’s summoning, then contained the spreading corruption and confronted the summoned god. He blamed his involvement on having eaten grass before attacking Angra Mainyu with both spears.

• Samael saw Angra Mainyu devastate the ravine, but Cyrus broke through the barrier and escaped despite losing his left arm and leg.
• The black tide and fungal corruption turned fallen soldiers and infected survivors into monsters that slaughtered people across the battlefield.
• Pompey ordered the Romans to retreat and warned them to avoid the fire rain and fungal threads.
• Samael used meteors and a rune barrier to trap the black tide and mutated creatures, urging the surviving soldiers to leave and seal off the wilderness.
• Samael confronted Angra Mainyu, lamented that he had eaten grass, and thrust both spears at him.

Samael battled Angra Mainyu across a devastated wilderness, but Angra Mainyu summoned corrupted humans to torment and distract his opponent. Samael killed the surviving monsters, giving them a merciful end as the battle continued.

• Samael and Angra Mainyu fought amid the destruction caused by their powers, and Samael was wounded while striking Angra Mainyu with the Cross Spear.
• Samael used the spear to trap Angra Mainyu beneath a pillar of light and crushing gravity.
• Angra Mainyu corrupted nearby humans into monstrous creatures and sent them charging at Samael.
• Samael saw the creatures begging for water and food, while Angra Mainyu taunted him by spilling water onto the ground.
• Samael killed the monsters with falling Runic Glyphs, ending their suffering.

Samael rejected Angra Mainyu’s hatred of all humanity and struck him with the Spear That Builds Nations, but Angra Mainyu’s counterattack left Samael gravely wounded. The Amazon Queen fought through the sinners to reach him as he collapsed, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Samael told Angra Mainyu that humans could be flawed without deserving universal hatred, and Angra Mainyu insisted humanity should be destroyed.
• Angra Mainyu unleashed a tide of resentful souls against Samael, who invoked his authority and hurled the Spear That Builds Nations through him.
• Angra Mainyu transformed into a black wolf-like god, used the Sword of the Dead to summon deranged sinners, and inflicted matching wounds on Samael.
• The Amazon Queen and her warriors charged through the sinners to reach Samael, while several warriors were killed and devoured.
• Samael collapsed as his consciousness faded, and the Amazon Queen continued toward him.

Samael woke in the wasteland after the battle and learned that Rome’s defenses and Nero’s protection had been arranged. He handed Hippolyta the Spear of Nation-Building and entrusted the Amazons with protecting Rome, then learned more about their ties to the Mount of the God of War.

• Hippolyta told Samael that the Ninth Legion had withdrawn to its repaired garrison, Pompey was managing the city, and Amazons remained to support him.
• Hippolyta explained that Penthesilea and five Amazon sisters had taken two thousand warriors to protect Nero in the City of Seven Hills.
• Samael gave Hippolyta the Spear of Nation-Building and entrusted the Amazons with Rome’s defense because he did not intend to stay there.
• Hippolyta said the Amazons had ignored his signal during the Trojan War because they had reclaimed their faith in Artemis and sided with the Mount of the God of War.
• Samael realized that many major Olympian gods had ties to the Mount of the God of War and wondered why the Amazons had become so fierce; Hippolyta’s answer showed him that it was his fault.

Samael learned from Hippolyta that the gods had gone to the Inner Sea of Stars, where the rumored Planetary Great Source was said to grant its holder power to reforge the planet. He suspected the rumor was a pretext and that the Greek gods had gone there to find a hidden means of restraining divine powers.

• Samael recalled that his suggestions had inspired reforms to Amazon traditions and helped make the Amazons a formidable warrior race.
• Hippolyta told Samael that the gods of Mount of the God of War had gone to the Inner Sea of Stars, a hidden region inside the Earth discovered after the war of the giants.
• Hippolyta explained that the war had continued for more than a century because the empires sought the rumored Planetary Great Source, which could supposedly reforge the planet and make its controller a god above gods.
• Samael argued that the Planetary Great Source might not exist and that revealing the Inner Sea of Stars would not stop the empires from believing Greece possessed it.
• Samael reasoned that divine restrictions forced the gods to leave human armies to fight in their place, then suspected the Inner Sea of Stars held a taboo that could balance the gods and restrain their descent.

Samael updated Skadi on the war in Persia and asked her to direct Boudica’s search for Avalon toward the Horned God Kernunnos. After their call, Hippolyta treated Samael’s severe injuries, and he realized Skadi had likely been badly hurt fighting Attila.

• Skadi told Samael that she had driven Attila back and that Britain was safe for now.
• Samael asked Skadi to tell Boudica to seek Kernunnos for clues to the Six Fae Clans and Avalon.
• Samael told Skadi that he had killed one Persian god and crippled another, and she urged him to be careful.
• After the connection ended, Samael inferred that Skadi had been injured because she had only driven Attila back.
• Hippolyta supported Samael when his chest wound hurt and treated the cursed injuries across his chest.

Samael and Hippolyta planned to travel to the ruined Persian Empire while Skadi prepared a portal and a spatial marker for her journey to Greece. Several days later, an injured Samael and Hippolyta arrived in a Persian town disguised as a married couple.

• Samael explained that Rome’s eastern and western fronts had temporarily eased, then asked Hippolyta to accompany him to Mesopotamia in the Persian Empire.
• Skadi recognized that Samael was badly hurt and told Boudica she would build an altar and portal to the Shadow Realm before going to Greece.
• Boudica agreed to arrange the construction and privately wondered whether Samael’s wife might soon come to check on him.
• Travelers in a Persian inn discussed monsters emerging from the Wasteland of Death and warned that the ruined battlefield remained dangerous.
• Samael and Hippolyta arrived at the inn in disguises, with the injured Samael leaning on Hippolyta as they requested a room and meals.