Recaps

Russell bonded with the Shadowflame Dragon’s undeveloped Wyvern egg and chose to guide it into becoming a Black Oil Dragon. After resting for three days, he watched the Shadowflame Dragon fly back to Shadowflame Volcano and departed the battlefield with the remaining knights.

• Russell reflected on the battle’s consequences and the Shadowflame Dragon’s promise of protection in exchange for helping hunt Snow Giant Da and recover the stolen hope.
• Russell gave the Wyvern egg a drop of blood, forming a contract with its faint consciousness.
• Russell chose the Black Oil Dragon trait and mentally guided the Wyvern toward producing black oil.
• The Dark Dreamscape did not appear for four nights, and the Shadowflame Dragon’s wounds healed on the surface.
• The Shadowflame Dragon flew toward Shadowflame Volcano, and Russell left the battlefield with the remaining knights on Polly.

After the second Battle of the Fall, Russell settled into Swan Castle and explored the Dark Dreamscape with Little Dream Dragon and his companions. Unicorn Polly discovered that her horn could pierce from the dream world into reality and bring objects back into the dream, leaving Russell eager to test what she had retrieved.

• Russell arrived at Swan Castle with the surviving knights and spent the night recovering after the snowfield campaign.
• Russell and his companions explored the Dark Dreamscape and found a glowing object that looked like amber in a nearby marsh.
• Russell decided not to search for the suspected Amber Bug because the marsh was on the Sunflower Family's territory and he could not easily return to the spot.
• Polly pierced the Dream Clone and the dream world with her horn, lifted the amber-like object from reality, and attached it to her horn.
• Russell told Polly to keep the object until morning so they could check whether it had followed her into reality, then led the group onward to search for magical creations.

Russell discovered that Polly’s horn could bring magical objects from the boundary between dreams and reality, then awakened a tick Amber Bug whose ability let him convert Battle Aura and blood vitality. As Russell left Swan Castle with the knights, a distant Torrent Dragon roar raised fears that it had taken something important from the Shadowflame Grand Duchy.

• Russell tested Polly’s horn in the Dark Dreamscape and learned it could carry unconscious magical objects along the boundary between dreams and reality.
• Polly found an amber stone stuck to her horn, and Russell identified the tick trapped inside it.
• Russell fed the amber his blood, awakening Tick, who joined his Dream family and could convert Battle Aura into blood vitality and vice versa.
• Russell named Polly’s ability the Dream Horn and discussed her connection to Ice Cream.
• Russell left Swan Castle with the knights as heavy snow continued falling across the muddy roads.
• A distant Torrent Dragon roar reached Russell and the knights, who suspected the dragon had taken something important from the Shadowflame Grand Duchy.

The Torrent Dragon and Shadowflame Dragon reached an agreement that strengthened the Scorching Torrent Kingdom and set the Elder Council to govern while a future Grand Duke was chosen. Russell returned from the Fire Cloud Trade Route, where he parted from the other knights and was urged to meet Lord Boris’s sister.

• Marquis Arno told the Torrent Dragon that the Shadowflame Dragon opposed Princess Kunlaya’s bloodline inheriting the Grand Duke’s position, and the Torrent Dragon ordered him to delay the succession.
• The Torrent Dragon and Shadowflame Dragon negotiated beneath Shadowflame Volcano, then the Torrent Dragon roared after receiving what it wanted.
• Lord Welch announced that Shadowflame had accepted Marquis Arno’s proposal, and Marquis Arno restored the Elder Council and named himself and Princess Anxia to oversee the selection of the future Grand Duke.
• Russell reassured Little Dream Dragon that more Snow Demons would arrive with the Ice Age after they found few on the Fire Cloud Trade Route.
• Russell said farewell to the knights at Volcanic Oasis, and Lord Boris urged him to visit Pitcher Plant Manor and meet his sister.

Russell told Eric that he expected to become a Wyvern Knight and promised him a knighted lord title once he established his own Warm Enclave. After returning to Glimmering Market, Russell learned that three Elected Viscounts would compete to become Grand Duke.

• On the journey home, Russell urged Eric to work toward synchronizing with his Phantom Beast and revealed that he expected to ride the Black Oil Dragon within a year.
• Russell promised Eric that he would make him the first knighted lord under his command after establishing a Warm Enclave, and Eric pledged to work hard.
• During their journey, Russell searched the Dark Dreamscape for treasures and tried unsuccessfully to capture a Phantom Beast.
• At Glimmering Market, Russell learned that Baron Roman had gone to Redcastle and read an edict naming Kunsley Sunflower, Augustus Willow, and Mel Monochoria as Elected Viscounts who would compete for the Grand Duke's position.

Russell considered the candidates for Selecting the Young Master and decided to support his cousin Mel, then encountered his elder brother Roland in Glimmering Market. Roland was preparing to assist their father in Redfort, and the brothers agreed to share dinner and talk about Russell’s battlefield experiences.

• Russell studied the three candidates for Selecting the Young Master and reasoned that he would support Cousin Mel, though he was unsure which nobles would back him.
• Russell took Eric to Glimmering Market to buy gifts and spotted Roland riding through the street.
• Russell found Roland at his courtyard with Bar and learned that their father had joined the Elder Council as Minister of Finance and wanted Roland to assist him in Redfort.
• Roland recognized that Russell had become a Phantom Beast Knight and invited him to dinner to hear about the battlefield.
• Russell accepted Roland’s invitation to eat and drink red wine together.

Russell returned to Fluorite Castle as a Phantom Beast Knight and reunited with his family. He told Madam Meryl that the Shadowflame Dragon had given him a Wyvern egg and planned to establish a Warm Enclave west of Curved Blade Mountain, while asking her to keep the gift secret.

• Russell advised Roland that Lord Ross might have been traumatized by Snow Giant Da and that helping him resolve his turmoil could earn his recognition.
• Two days later, Russell returned to Guangguang River Valley as a Phantom Beast Knight and celebrated with his family at Fluorite Castle.
• Madam Meryl urged Russell to visit her and Laura often, and he promised he would not leave her behind.
• Russell showed Madam Meryl a Wyvern egg from the Shadowflame Dragon and explained that he planned to raise it and create a Warm Enclave west of Curved Blade Mountain.
• Russell asked Madam Meryl to keep the egg secret until his plans were settled, and she agreed.

Russell returned to Wuyou Snake Manor and arranged a fifty-Gold-Coin compensation payment for the family of John, who had died in battle. The family accepted the money with gratitude, leaving Russell troubled by how readily John's life seemed to have been assigned a price.

• Russell returned to Wuyou Snake Manor and asked Charles and Eric to calculate John's compensation from the battle spoils.
• Charles and Eric valued John's share and compensation at forty Gold Coins, and Russell added ten Gold Coins of his own.
• Russell visited John's family and personally gave his parents fifty Gold Coins, explaining how the payment was calculated.
• John's family knelt and thanked Russell, while their reaction stirred his indignation; he then left their home.
• Charles told Russell that such a response was normal, and Russell advised him to invest in his son's upbringing.

Russell inspected his territory, ordered Charles to find Grove a wife, and learned that fermented fertilizer had significantly increased crop yields. He decided to document and promote the technology through the Grand Scholars' Round Table, while leaving the story with Charles enthusiastically praising Russell's bond with the Shadowflame Dragon.

• Russell tasked Charles with finding a suitable wife for Grove and planned to build up his knightly forces.
• Russell rebuked Charles for secretly changing the custom so subjects knelt to worship him on their first daily meeting.
• Russell inspected the tobacco harvest and learned that the Cloud Mist and Frost Series cigars were still drying.
• Charles reported that crops treated with fermented fertilizer yielded at least thirty percent more, so Russell asked him and Catherine to prepare a report for the Grand Scholars' Round Table.
• Russell warned Charles not to misuse his position with women and reminded him that Katie had resumed cultivating Battle Aura and might become a Great Knight or Phantom Beast Knight.
• Russell declined to pursue the Grand Scholar title, saying he only wanted to promote the fertilizer, strengthen the Grand Duchy, and repay the Shadowflame Dragon.

After returning from the war, Russell oversaw Katie’s training and assigned her to help train Jerry’s mouse squads, then reviewed cigar production and sampled Mrs. Moore’s newly made tofu. He left the factory preparing for a surge in orders and rewarded Mrs. Moore for perfecting the dish.

• Russell praised Katie’s cultivation progress and promised to sponsor more Magic Potions.
• Russell assigned Katie to supervise Jerry as he trained the Treasure Seeking Mouse Squad and the Sentry Mouse Squad.
• Old Hans reported that the Cigar Factory had produced Frost Series Specialty Tobacco and Cloud Mist Series premium tobacco, and Russell ordered continued production and stockpiling.
• Mrs. Moore served Russell tofu she had made with salt water, and Russell rewarded her.

Russell arranged for Old Hans to receive the tofu recipe and teach the residents to make it, then measured the expanded Dark Dreamscape and tested Little Dream Dragon’s speed. He traveled to Saiban Snow Forest to ask the fairy Saiban about controlling Phantom Beast Whisper and called out to her as she slept.

• Russell gave Old Hans Mrs. Moore’s tofu-making process to share with the residents.
• Russell measured the Dark Dreamscape at a 300-meter radius and assigned Hail Beads to his future Black Oil Dragon, Rosai.
• Russell flew through Xiangshui River Cave with Little Dream Dragon and the other Dream Clone companions to Saiban Snow Forest.
• Russell found Saiban sleeping in a snow cedar and shouted her name to wake her.

Russell met Saiban in Dream Clone and ate a Lucky Four-Leaf Clover leaf, changing Phantom Beast Whisper so he would hear only useful whispers. Saiban asked Russell to plant an oak forest as a new home, and the chapter ended with Russell learning that Snow Ghosts had entered the territory’s border.

• Saiban gave Russell a Lucky Four-Leaf Clover leaf that made Phantom Beast Whisper selective, though he warned that luck could bring losses as well as gains.
• Saiban asked Russell to scatter acorns and grow an oak forest, and Russell agreed to make it Saiban’s new home.
• Russell renamed Phantom Beast Whisper Lucky Whisper and found that he no longer heard Jerry or Kevin’s whispers during his patrol.
• Jerry reported that the Sentry Mouse Squad had discovered a Snow Ghost, and Russell ordered Ram to prepare his armor and Fox to summon the knights.

Russell led his knight squad against a group of Snow Ghosts, helping Katie adapt to battle and displaying his superior swordsmanship while defeating a Great Snow Ghost. After returning with more than twenty Hail Beads, he avoided celebrating because the Grand Duke had recently fallen, then fed a Hail Bead to the Black Oil Dragon Egg.

• Charles proposed establishing a second line of defense at Big Mouth Cavern, while Russell led the knight squad toward the Snow Ghosts discovered by Jerry’s Sentry Mouse Squad.
• Eric commanded the squad’s charge and helped Katie adjust to fighting as a knight before he and Russell joined the battle in earnest.
• Russell swiftly killed a Great Snow Ghost with his swordsmanship and collected its high-grade Hail Bead, while Eric defeated the other Great Snow Ghost.
• Katie learned that the Sentry Mouse Squad had found no other Snow Ghost groups, so Russell led the squad back to Big Mouth Cavern with more than twenty Hail Beads.
• Russell prohibited banquets for the next three months, gathered the Hail Beads at Cigar Courtyard, and fed one to the Black Oil Dragon Egg.

Russell fed the Black Oil Dragon Egg Hail Beads and hunted Snow Ghosts with Little Dream Dragon in the Dark Dreamscape. He then read the February Gazette, learning how the reorganized Elder Council would oversee the grand duke election and that the ban on noble celebrations would cover his birthday.

• Russell fed hundreds of Hail Beads, including superior ones, to the Black Oil Dragon Egg, which delighted the mind inside it.
• Russell rode Little Dream Dragon south through the dream snowfields, where they hunted Snow Ghosts until midnight without finding a Snow Demon.
• Messenger Knight Raphael delivered the February Gazette to Russell on Madam's behalf.
• Russell read that the Elder Council had adopted a nine-plus-three structure, with Kunsley Sunflower, Augustus Willow, and Mel Monochoria serving as candidate governing officials under the supervision of Princess Anxia and Marquis Arno.
• Russell considered which factions might support the three candidates and concluded that the election mattered little to him as a future Dragon Knight.
• Russell read the Elder Council's order banning noble banquets and balls for three months after Grand Duke Kunsitan's death, and realized the ban would include his April 21 birthday.

Russell received an Elder Council decree appointing him Assistant Volcano Minister and set out for Red Castle, leaving Eric and Charles to guard his territory and select children for training. On the road, he followed a whisper about honey and discovered a clumsy brown bear that fell from a tree.

• Commander Lucas delivered the decree appointing Russell Assistant Volcano Minister, and Russell agreed to travel to Red Castle.
• Russell told Eric and Charles to guard the territory and begin selecting strong children to train as knights, then chose Grove to accompany him.
• Russell visited Madam Meryl, gave her a Snow Demon Crystal for her birthday, and promised to visit his pregnant sister near Black Court Mountain.
• Russell and Grove crossed the wintry trade route, where Little Dream Dragon devoured many Snow Ghosts before they reached the Volcanic Oasis.
• Russell heard a whisper about honey, searched the forest with Grove, and spotted a brown bear that fell from a fir tree while trying to climb toward a beehive.

Russell captured a Phantom Beast Brown Bear by luring it with honey and making it acknowledge him as master. He arranged for Grove to try to form a contract with the bear as they continued toward Red Castle and Black Court Mountain.

• Russell led Grove to the Phantom Beast Brown Bear, which tried to scare them off with roars and wind blades.
• Russell had Grove cut down honeycomb and used the bear’s hunger for honey to win its trust.
• Russell made the bear choose between acknowledging him as master or losing access to honey, and it submitted after he promised even better honey.
• Russell assigned the Phantom Beast Brown Bear to Grove to contract and told him to care for it on the journey.
• Russell tested the bear’s rapid-fire wind blades and named it the Wind Blade Brown Bear.

Russell witnessed Grove become a Phantom Beast Knight after he bonded with the Wind Blade Brown Bear, Bill. At West Archway Town, Russell met Cousin Mel and then brought Rain Dragon Cigars to Baron Roman’s residence, hoping to promote them among the nobility.

• Grove bonded with Bill and advanced to the primal breath tier, becoming Russell’s second Phantom Beast Knight.
• Grove thanked Russell and said he wanted to pursue Ms. Fanny, and Russell promised to ask Charles to arrange another meeting.
• As Russell’s party approached Shadowflame Volcano, Little Dream Dragon hibernated, and Russell entered West Archway Town using his credentials.
• Cousin Mel received Russell and explained that he was handling miscellaneous duties as one of the candidates for Grand Duke.
• Russell gave Mel Cloud Mist Series Rain Dragon Cigars and discussed cigar sales at Sancha River Mouth.
• Russell went to Baron Roman’s residence and set down boxes of Rain Dragon Cigars, hoping to make them a noble status symbol.

Russell visited the Grand Scholar Tower to present Fermented Fertilizer Technology to Grand Scholar Alex, who praised him as a natural-born scholar. The invention was received with interest, and Russell left having gained the approval of a respected Grand Scholar.

• Russell failed to find Baron Roman and Roland in the tower, then rode Polly through Red Castle to visit the Grand Scholar Tower.
• Alice guided Russell to Grand Scholar Alex, who recognized him for inventing Reading Glasses for Old Madam Ingrid.
• Russell presented materials on Fermented Fertilizer Technology, explaining how fermentation turned harmful manure into beneficial fertilizer.
• Alex examined the technique and praised Russell as a natural-born scholar.

Russell impressed Grand Scholar Alex with his fermented fertilizer technology and ideas for classifying plants, but declined an invitation to pursue scholarship. After returning to Redfort, he learned that his appointment as Assistant Volcano Minister was connected to the succession of the aging Volcano Minister.

• Alex praised Russell's fermented fertilizer technology and planned to present it to the Grand Scholars' Round Table for verification.
• Russell explained a systematic plant classification system, impressing Alex, who urged him to join Grand Scholar Tower; Russell declined because he had a territory to govern.
• Russell left Grand Scholar Tower, visited Cousin Mel for dinner, and returned to Baron Roman's tower that night.
• Russell asked Baron Roman why the Elder Council had appointed him Assistant Volcano Minister, and Roland said the dragon had recognized Russell.
• Baron Roman explained that Lord Quintke was preparing to retire and that Lord Welch would succeed him as Minister of Volcanoes.

Russell told Baron Roman and Roland that he had contracted a Black Oil Dragon Egg and would become a Black Oil Dragon Knight, declining the Assistant Volcano Minister position. Baron Roman pledged the Knight Order's Hail Beads to help hatch Rosai, while Roland struggled with his brother's newfound status.

• Russell refused to serve as Assistant Volcano Minister and revealed that he had contracted the Black Oil Dragon Egg, naming the dragon Rosai.
• Baron Roman and Roland reacted with astonishment, and Baron Roman praised the Shadowflame Dragon before returning the egg to Russell.
• Russell asked for Hail Beads to nurture Rosai, and Baron Roman promised that the Gloomlight River Valley Knight Order would provide them.
• Russell encouraged Roland to try bonding with one of Red Castle's eleven riderless wyverns, then said he would not report for the assistant post but was willing to learn dragon language.
• After Russell left, Baron Roman scolded Roland for feeling dejected, but Roland lamented that Lord Ross had never considered recognizing him.

Baron Roman urged Roland to stop waiting for a dragon and contract a Phantom Beast, while Russell was summoned to dine with Princess Anxia. After a pleasant meal with Anxia and Kunlaya, Russell left, and Anxia quietly raised the possibility of marrying Kunlaya to the Scorching Torrent Kingdom.

• Baron Roman scolded Roland for dreaming of riding a dragon without contracting a Phantom Beast and told him to visit the riderless Wyverns after he contracted one.
• A palace envoy delivered Princess Anxia's invitation for Russell to dine with her in the Inner Castle.
• Princess Anxia welcomed Russell, asked him to call her Madam, and invited Kunlaya to join their meal.
• Russell chatted with Kunlaya about his unicorn Polly and answered her questions about the outside world.
• After Russell left, Princess Anxia asked Kunlaya whether she would accept being married to the Scorching Torrent Kingdom, but Kunlaya said she wanted to stay near home.

Princess Anxia confided in the Shadowflame Dragon that the king planned to send Kunlaya away in a marriage alliance, and she recalled the trauma of her own forced marriage. The Shadowflame Dragon suggested Russell Fluorite Mushroom as someone it liked, while Anxia reassured Kunlaya that she would not let her leave; Russell departed thinking about visiting family and earning money.

• Princess Anxia told the unresponsive Shadowflame Dragon that the king intended Kunlaya to replace Kunstan in a marriage alliance.
• Anxia recalled eloping with a palace guard at seventeen, suffering abuse, and being forced by her father to marry Marquis Kunteluo.
• The Shadowflame Dragon said it could barely look after itself, then added that it liked Russell Fluorite Mushroom.
• Princess Anxia returned to the palace with Kunlaya and promised she would not let her daughter leave, though Kunlaya said she did not want to marry.
• Russell left the Inner Castle, planned visits to his sister and grandfather, and worried about raising money for the Warm Enclave.

Russell relayed Count Merlin’s demand that Lord Ross come to Red Castle and answer for desertion. Baron Roman decided to take responsibility himself, while Russell reflected that Ross needed to confront his own reluctance to accept a rider.

• Count Merlin told Russell to pass on his order for Lord Ross to apologize at Red Castle or face a desertion charge.
• Russell delivered Count Merlin’s message to Baron Roman, who objected to treating Ross’s delay as desertion.
• Baron Roman decided to bring Ross to Red Castle and apologize in his place because he had ordered Ross not to support the dragon.
• Russell supported Baron Roman’s decision and said the family owed Ross for protecting the Gloomlight River Valley Knight Order.
• Baron Roman reminded Russell that dragons were partners whose pride and service the family must respect.

Russell left Red Castle for Black Court Mountain to visit his pregnant sister Rowena, carrying gifts from Roland and Mel as well as his own. He crossed the Ice Age’s buried trade route with Grove and reached Black Court Mountain’s border, where Polly urged him to travel without slower companions next time.

• Roland gave Russell a long-tailed pheasant Phantom Beast egg for Rowena’s child and asked him to bring the gifts he had prepared.
• Mel gave Russell a gemstone longsword for Rowena and returned to his busy duties at Red Castle.
• Russell set out northeast with Grove and Bill, while Polly flew ahead and explored each night.
• Russell and Grove struggled through the frozen cavern and snow-buried Black Fire Trade Route, with Bill clearing a path using wind blades.
• After crossing the trade route, Polly complained about the slow journey, and Russell agreed that they could travel alone next time.

Russell traveled to Black Court Mountain and reunited with his pregnant sister Rowena at Black Court Castle. He secured Cooper’s agreement to make Black Court Mountain an exclusive distributor of Rain Dragon Cigars.

• Russell and his companions hunted Snow Ghosts across the Ice Age snowfields, and Little Dream Dragon ate several hundred Hail Beads.
• Russell arrived at Black Court Castle and was welcomed by Madam Kunti and Cooper, who led him to visit Rowena.
• Russell reassured Rowena that Roland had stayed at Red Castle to help their father with official duties, then discussed her pregnancy and the Shadowflame Dragon.
• Russell gave Rowena gifts from himself, Roland, and Mel, including jewelry, a sword, and a Phantom Beast egg.
• Russell offered Cooper the Black Court Mountain Rain Dragon Cigar distributorship, and Cooper agreed to sell only Russell’s cigars there.