Chapter Summaries

Russell discovered an Ouroboros Snake hiding beneath a snow fir and suspected its talents were connected to the Dark Dreamscape. After frightening it by trying to win it over too quickly, he followed Polly’s advice to give it time, leaving the snake hidden in its dream.

• In the Dark Dreamscape, Russell and the Little Dream Dragon followed the Ouroboros Snake’s hissing to a hollow beneath a snow fir and found it sleeping coiled with its tail in its mouth.
• The Little Dream Dragon regarded the Ouroboros Snake as highly as Polly, leading Russell to suspect it had a talent connected to the Dark Dreamscape and promise to make it their companion.
• Russell and the Little Dream Dragon searched the Black Wave Mountain Range for Snow Giant Da but found no trace of him or other notable creatures.
• The next morning, Russell heard the Ouroboros Snake’s thoughts and learned it wanted him to touch its tail and planned to hide in a dream.
• Russell spent the morning trying to reassure the snake, but it grew quiet, so Polly advised him to slow down and give it time.
• Russell accepted Polly’s advice and abandoned his immediate plans to meet or capture the Ouroboros Snake.

Russell returned to the Black Wave Snow Forest and persuaded Ouroboros Snake to acknowledge him as master. He brought Ouroboros to Wuyou Snake Manor, where he tested the snake’s abilities and named his dream-hiding talent Dream Concealment.

• Russell reassured Little Dream Dragon that they could not find Snow Giant Da and later returned to the Black Wave Snow Forest after the Knight Order’s campaign ended.
• Russell used Dream Escape Technique to convince Ouroboros Snake that he was the Lord of Dreams and urged him to accept a contract.
• Ouroboros revealed himself, said his name was Ouroboros, and acknowledged Russell as master when Russell touched his tail.
• Russell rode Rosai into the sky with Ouroboros wrapped around him, then settled the snake beside Cigar Courtyard at Wuyou Snake Manor.
• Russell tested Ouroboros’s Earth Walk Technique and dream-hiding talent, then named the talent Dream Concealment.

Russell trained with Harpe and managed Wuyou Snake Manor’s staffing and new Worm Grass discovery. He encouraged Catherine to move on from her deceased lover and promised to find her a suitable match, leaving her to consider a new future.

• Russell wondered whether Harpe still suited his development, but trained with the harpy dragon despite their slow progress.
• Catherine reported that the manor lacked officials because staff kept transferring to the Blackfire Land, and Russell told her to handle the problem as Chief Scribe.
• Catherine returned with news that Fluorite Mushroom Worm Grass was nurturing a Spirit Worm, and Russell instructed her to obtain Dragon Dung and fertilize it.
• Russell summoned Rosie to care for the new Worm Grass as Nicole and Whitt joined the other sprites at dinner.
• Russell learned that Catherine had once loved John, who died in the second Battle of the Fall, and urged her to find a knight to marry.
• Russell offered to have Katie help Catherine find a match and planned to transfer her to work with her sister while Charles appointed a new Chief Scribe.

Russell inspected the expanding Black Oil Mine and proposed a Vocational School in Glimmering Town to train young serfs in practical trades. He appointed Wai Maozi William to teach pottery and brickmaking, promising him a salary at least as good as his former earnings.

• Roland reported that the three Warm Enclaves were rapidly merging and described the thousands of serfs bought for reclamation, while Russell directed him to keep funding the work and buy more serfs.
• Russell declined to inspect unreclaimed Thunder Marsh, then went to the Black Oil Mine while Roland headed back toward Fluorite Castle.
• At the Blackfire Brick Kiln Factory, Russell learned that Little William had invited his father, Wai Maozi William, to help operate the black-oil-fired kiln without pay.
• Russell offered Wai Maozi William a paid teaching position at the planned Vocational School in Glimmering Town, where he would teach students pottery and brickmaking.

Russell inspected the Blackfire Brick Kiln Factory, named its smoke-treated bricks Blackfire Bricks, and rewarded the worker who discovered the process. At the Blackfire Scholarly Tower, Placido revealed plans to research equipment for locating Snow Giants, while Russell named his new castle Cigar Castle and reviewed the knights serving his territory.

• Russell inspected the brick factory and learned that black oil smoke made ordinary bricks tougher, then named them Blackfire Bricks and ordered greater production.
• Russell rewarded the worker who discovered the brick-treatment process with a Gold Coin and established a permanent invention award.
• Placido told Russell that he planned to return to Red Castle after the Black Oil Distillation Tower was completed and described research to locate Snow Giants.
• Russell named his new castle Cigar Castle and ordered a family flag featuring a unicorn and a crest combining a unicorn, Black Oil Dragon, and sword.
• Charles reported that fifteen Great Knights and forty-eight knights served the territory, and Russell read his notes on their performance.

Russell held a barbecue dinner at Cigar Castle and formally accepted outstanding knights as his followers. After the ceremony, he called Eric forward, leaving the gathering poised for another announcement.

• Russell arrived at Cigar Castle on Rosai and welcomed the knights to his first dinner there.
• Russell gathered his eight existing followers beside him before more than sixty knights.
• Russell accepted Great Knights Mickel, Summer, Edok, Kane, Netvis, and Frank as followers through a loyalty oath ceremony.
• Russell named twelve outstanding Armored Knights as followers and concluded the ceremony.
• Russell silenced the gathering and called Eric before him.

Russell granted Eric a lordship, making him the first lord under Baron Thunderflame and prompting the knights to celebrate. He then called the dejected Charles forward, leaving the knights wondering what Russell would say to him.

• Russell declared that he would share his glory with Eric and grant him the title of lord.
• Eric knelt before Russell, who made him a lifetime lord, granted him an estate, a Phantom Beast, and the authority of a lord.
• The knights and servants cheered for Lord Eric, and Eric struggled to contain his joy before apologizing for losing his composure.
• Russell noticed Charles's dejection and called him forward.
• Charles hurried to Russell, trembling with excitement, as the knights turned their attention to him.

Russell granted Eric and Charles lordships in recognition of their service, then celebrated with them and his knights. While Russell slept peacefully, Eric and Charles spent the night awake, each imagining what their new status would bring.

• Russell granted Charles the title of lord, along with a manor, serfs, and the authority of a lord, and Charles swore lifelong service to him.
• Charles and Eric toasted one another at the barbecue feast, restoring their standing as equals.
• Russell told Charles he would continue helping develop Blackfire Land and that he and Eric would receive planned manors once the land became self-sufficient.
• After the feast, Russell returned to Cigar Courtyard and went to bed, while Eric stayed up talking excitedly to Kevin about his lordship.
• Charles lay awake imagining life as a lord and reconsidered his former interest in Catherine.

Russell’s grants of titles to Eric and Charles stirred discussion across Blackfire Land, while Russell focused on strengthening his powers. At Cigar Courtyard, Velim Jinnali arrived with a letter from Mel Monochoria for Russell.

• News spread that Russell had ennobled Eric and Charles, and people debated Charles receiving a fief despite his lack of military merit.
• Eric inspected the reclamation sites and received respectful greetings, while Charles rode out with officials and later welcomed his brother Roland warmly.
• Russell left day-to-day management to others and trained with Harpe, strengthened his bond with Ouroboros, and coordinated with Polly.
• Velim Jinnali, a Phoenix Bird Baron from the Scorching Torrent Kingdom, arrived at Cigar Courtyard and presented a letter from Mel Monochoria for Russell.

Welim Jinnali visited Russell to seek advice on becoming a Dragon Domain Lord, carrying a letter from Mel about his successful diplomatic mission and love for Annie Xuanfuhua. Russell warned Welim that the dangerous advancement could not be achieved without a strong foundation, and Welim revealed that his great-grandfather’s advice had mentioned that same foundation.

• Welim introduced himself as a newly inherited Phoenix Bird Baron and explained that his family’s territory had dwindled to an estate.
• Welim delivered Mel’s letter, which said Mel had secured an alliance between the two nations and fallen in love with Annie Xuanfuhua, daughter of Earl Ade Lieyang.
• Russell learned that Welim was Annie’s cousin and that Mel had sent him to seek Russell’s guidance about becoming a Dragon Domain Lord.
• Welim said he wanted to restore his family’s prestige with Lily, his Phantom Beast Pseudo-Dragon Descendant, and Russell warned him that pursuing the rank was extremely dangerous and required a strong foundation.
• Welim said his great-grandfather had also warned the family to prepare their foundations, prompting Russell to ask whether the family knew about Amber Bugs.

Velim Jinnali showed Russell his family’s Amber Bug, Round Shield, and asked to learn how to advance to Dragon Domain Lord. Russell agreed to teach him, then went to Red Castle, where Mel’s love for Annie Xuanfuhua brought him into conflict with Count Merlin over the duchy’s future.

• Velim showed Russell Round Shield and asked whether it gave him a chance to advance; Russell warned him that the attempt could be fatal.
• Velim declared he was willing to risk death to revive his family, and Russell agreed to teach him after he settled at the estate.
• Russell learned that Count Merlin and Mel were arguing about Mel’s wish to marry Annie Xuanfuhua, whose father was Ade Lieyang.
• Count Merlin warned that Mel’s marriage could threaten the Shadowflame Grand Duchy and said he wanted Russell to become Grand Duke instead.
• Mel compared Count Merlin’s demands to his regret over Snowflake Rhapsody, but Count Merlin insisted that the nation’s interests came before personal feelings.

Mel accepted that Count Merlin would not approve his marriage to Annie and planned to ask her to wait four years while he pursued a chance to visit her. Russell later left Red Castle and learned that playwright Nicholas was traveling through the Blackfire Land, gathering inspiration for a play about opening the Warm Enclave.

• Mel complained to Russell that Count Merlin had rejected his love for Annie and worried that the Selecting the Young Master contest could keep him from marrying her for years.
• Russell advised Mel to write Annie and ask her to wait until the contest ended, and Mel set a four-year limit and asked Russell to arrange for him to serve as an envoy to the Scorching Torrent Kingdom.
• Russell told Mel that he had taken Welim on as a student, then urged Mel to improve his swordsmanship and warned that Roland’s skills were advancing quickly.
• Russell declined Mel’s invitation to a ball, left Red Castle in disguise, and wandered around Furious Wind City as his plays remained popular.
• Nicholas traveled through the Blackfire Land with an old servant, gathering inspiration for a play about opening the Warm Enclave and hoping the Shadowflame Dragon would choose Russell as its knight.

Nicholas toured the Blackfire Land and watched Grand Scholar Placido’s Distillation Tower begin refining black oil into useful products. Placido left after completing his research, while the tower continued operating and supplying road crews and serfs.

• Nicholas explained to his attendant that smoke from the Blackfire Brick Kiln Factory was used to make blackfire bricks, then said he would spend another half year conducting field research in the Blackfire Land.
• Nicholas visited the Distillation Tower as Grand Scholar Placido and his students adjusted its chambers until it separated black oil into gasoline, kerosene, liquefied gas, lubricating oil, and asphalt.
• Placido told Nicholas that Russell had invented distillation technology and Fermented Fertilizer Technology, and urged him to portray Russell as a scholar in his writing.
• Placido departed for an urgent task, leaving his students to oversee the Blackfire Scholarly Tower and Distillation Tower.
• Nicholas followed the products’ distribution and saw asphalt sent to road crews and kerosene sent to reclamation sites to light serfs’ dormitories.

Nicholas learned about the many uses of black oil and accepted an invitation to the first Blackfire Festival. While inspecting Cigar Castle, Russell told Roland he wanted to travel widely and become a Dragon Knight, leaving Roland to reflect on how far his younger brother had already come.

• Nicholas reviewed black oil's products and uses, then accepted Promi's invitation to Baron Thunderflame's Blackfire Festival bonfire party.
• Roland explained that he would skip the festival and return home before traveling to the Volcanic Oasis to buy serfs.
• Roland teased Russell about finding a wife and producing an heir, while Russell said he was not ready for marriage.
• Russell told Roland he wanted to see other kingdoms and their dragons, and confirmed that becoming a Dragon Knight was his goal.
• Roland reflected that Russell's past achievements, once unbelievable to him, had all become reality.

On Blackfire Festival, Russell visited the serfs’ bonfire parties across Blackfire Land and promised to protect them. Familiar roars from the eastern marshlands interrupted the celebration, and Russell mounted Rosai to investigate while ordering the knights to keep the festivities safe.

• The serfs celebrated Blackfire Festival amid Blackfire Land’s expanding rivers, roads, and reclamation sites.
• Russell rode between bonfire parties, shared beer with the serfs, and promised to protect them.
• Russell finished visiting the serfs’ celebrations and prepared to return to the knights’ bonfire party with Lord Charles.
• Roars from the Torrent Dragon and Shadowflame Dragon sounded over the eastern marshlands.
• Russell summoned Rosai, mounted the Black Oil Dragon, and ordered Charles to protect the bonfire parties while the music and dancing continued.

Russell joined the Shadowflame Dragon and Torrent Dragon phantoms in fighting Snow Giant Da at Thunder Marsh. After their dragonflame weakened the giant, Russell decapitated it with his ultimate Sword of Thunder, leaving Snow Giant Da dead.

• Russell arrived at Thunder Marsh and found Snow Giant Da fighting the Shadowflame Dragon and Torrent Dragon phantoms.
• Russell joined the battle and struck Snow Giant Da with repeated uses of Ultimate: Sword of Thunder, but only lightly wounded it.
• The Shadowflame Dragon and Torrent Dragon phantoms breathed dragonflame, weakening Snow Giant Da before they dispersed.
• Russell gathered his swordsmanship insights into one final Ultimate: Sword of Thunder and cut through Snow Giant Da's neck.
• Snow Giant Da's head flew from its body, leaving the giant dead.

Russell beheaded Snow Giant Da and helped Rosai escape with one of its eyeballs, but Snow Da Pilot proved even stronger and fled wearing Snow Giant Da as a cloak. After the Torrent Dragon’s phantom returned, Russell recounted the fight to it.

• Russell struck Snow Giant Da’s head with Ultimate: Sword of Thunder, burst one of its eyes, and had Rosai carry the eyeball away.
• Snow Da Pilot appeared on Snow Giant Da’s shoulder, ambushed Russell, and repeatedly attacked him with a club that seemed to shatter space.
• Russell distracted Snow Da Pilot with attacks and escapes through the Dark Dreamscape while Rosai fled with Snow Giant Da’s eyeball.
• Snow Da Pilot absorbed Snow Giant Da’s headless body and head into a cloak of white light, then ran toward the snowfield.
• The Torrent Dragon’s phantom returned, and Russell described Snow Da Pilot’s appearance and strength to it.

Russell pursued Snow Giant Da with Polly and Rosai, then used Little Dream Dragon’s Sound of Magic Power to locate Snow Da Pilot refining Snow Giant Da. Little Dream Dragon stole and swallowed a Star Crystal before Snow Da Pilot could stop it, while Russell promised it another crystal.

• Russell ordered Rosai to smash Snow Giant Da’s eyeballs, and Rosai found a human-head-sized Star Crystal.
• Unable to track Snow Da Pilot across the snowfield, Russell went to the Black Wave Snow Forest and slept while Polly guarded his body.
• Russell and Little Dream Dragon used the Sound of Magic Power to locate Snow Da Pilot refining white light into its growing body.
• Little Dream Dragon transformed a cluster of white light into a Star Crystal and swallowed it just before Snow Da Pilot could strike.
• Snow Da Pilot gathered the remaining white light into a cloak and fled, while Russell told Little Dream Dragon another Star Crystal awaited it.

Russell reported his battle with Snow Giant Da to Shadowflame Dragon, who identified the mysterious Snow Da Pilot as possibly a legendary Frost Giant. Russell theorized it was an unevolved creature from another world and named it a Frost Troll, then left as Shadowflame Dragon anticipated Snowflake's volcano erupting.

• Russell returned to Cigar Courtyard with Rosai and Harpe, collected the Star Crystal from Snow Giant Da's eyeball, and decided to save it for Little Dream Dragon.
• Russell visited Shadowflame Dragon and recounted how Snow Da Pilot appeared after he beheaded Snow Giant Da and later grew by refining its remains.
• Shadowflame Dragon explained that “Frost” meant frost in the Snow Demons' language and suggested Snow Da Pilot might be the legendary Frost Giant.
• Russell proposed that Snow Da Pilot was an unevolved creature that had urgently refined Snow Giant Da to grow stronger, and he called it a Frost Troll.
• Russell speculated that the Frost Troll might seek revenge or flee, while Shadowflame Dragon looked forward to Snowflake's volcano erupting soon.

Russell told Baron Roman about the Frost Troll and discussed the strange history of Thunder Marsh. He proposed raising warhorses there to create pseudo-dragon descendants, while their conversation ended with Russell suggesting that Dragon Domain Lords may have existed during the Dark Age.

• Baron Roman questioned why the Frost Troll had brought Snow Giant Da into Thunder Marsh, and Russell said neither he nor the dragons knew the reason.
• Russell explained that the Jinnali bloodline passed through radiation that transformed creatures of the same species, and described how Wester Jinnali had cultivated nine Pseudo-Jinnali Dragons.
• Russell proposed raising warhorses in Thunder Marsh, and Baron Roman approved investing in a ranch to cultivate pseudo-dragon descendants.
• Russell told Baron Roman that Wester Jinnali's Warm Enclave had steadily shrunk after his death, and they considered whether Cold Spring Points had once been Warm Enclaves.
• Russell suggested that Dragon Domain Lords might have been born during the Dark Age rather than before the great freezing.