Chapter Summaries

Russell suppressed another Snow Demon uprising and returned with Hail Beads and Ice Soul Beads before visiting Baron Roman. He then rushed back to Cigar Castle when he sensed Tobacco Elf Nicole beginning to evolve, and stayed by her side as she faced the painful transformation alone.

• Russell swept through the snowy plains on Black Oil Dragon Rosai, defeated the Snow Demons and Riding Blue Skins, and brought a bag of Hail Beads and Ice Soul Beads to Cigar Castle.
• Russell visited Baron Roman at Fluorite Castle, warned him about Riding Blue Skins, and learned that Roman planned to patrol the snowy plains with Clay Dragon Ross.
• Russell sensed that Nicole needed him, flew back to Cigar Castle with Rosai, and found her trembling in the sprite room as she began to evolve.
• Russell considered asking the Shadowflame Dragon for help but decided against it, then arranged for the servants to stay away and prepared to stand guard over Nicole with a Frost Cigar.

Russell monitored Nicole as she struggled through evolution, considered expanding astronomical observation, and inspected a steam-carriage prototype that he renamed the Volkswagen Steam Carriage. The chapter left the vehicle poised for production while Nicole’s evolution remained uncertain.

• Russell kept Nicole close and recorded her condition as she endured the painful start of her evolution.
• Russell heard Edok report that the observatory had named the unlocated planet Missing Number One and could not observe it during the blizzard.
• Russell sent Gelontan Baimai Gen to deliver a letter to the Grand Scholars' Round Table and return to his family for Dragon Birth Festival.
• Charles and Lightley presented the steam-carriage prototype, and Russell rejected the Mercedes name in favor of Volkswagen Steam Carriage.
• Russell drove the prototype around Cigar Castle and told Charles to keep riding horseback so he would continue training his Battle Aura.

Russell discovered that Nicole’s evolution had not failed when she transformed into a Tobacco Great Elf after inhaling cigar smoke. He introduced her as Your Excellency Nico to Cigar Castle’s servants and ordered generous rewards for them.

• Russell woke to find Nicole sleeping peacefully and assumed her evolution had failed.
• Nicole asked Russell for cigar smoke, and after inhaling a wisp, she became excited as magic gathered around her.
• Nicole grew into an exquisite Tobacco Great Elf with wings, a tobacco-leaf hat, and the ability to speak.
• Russell named her Your Excellency Nico and led her to meet Cigar Castle’s servants.
• Butler Morris and the servants welcomed Nico, and Russell ordered bonuses for every servant.

Nicole evolved into a Great Elf, prompting celebrations across Thunder Flame Territory and Glimmering Light Territory. Russell kept the Fluorite Mushroom surname for now, leaving his eventual establishment of the Dragon Blood Family for the future.

• Nicole rode on Polly's back around Cigar Castle while Harpie returned to the Oak Forest and Ouroboros left to fight on the snowfields.
• Russell's follower knights announced Nicole's evolution throughout Thunder Flame Territory and neighboring Glimmering Light Territory, where subjects received rewards and celebrated.
• Eric told Baron Roman and Madam Meryl about Nicole's evolution, and they arranged to travel to Cigar Castle and began planning a celebration banquet.
• Nicole fell asleep in the Jade Box after playing all morning, while Charles and Grove congratulated Russell on her evolution.
• Russell told Charles that he would not change his surname yet, since he expected to establish the Dragon Blood Family in the future.

Russell welcomed his family and guests to celebrate Nico’s evolution into a Great Elf while letting the nobles believe the Shadowflame Dragon would soon choose him as its rider. Across the Grand Duchy, nobles interpreted Nico’s success as a sign of Russell’s impending rise, and Lord Kunbei defended his decision to support him.

• Russell chose to preserve the misunderstanding that the Shadowflame Dragon would become his partner, though he expected to contract with the Little Dream Dragon instead.
• Russell and his household welcomed Baron Roman, Madam Meryl, and the gathered relatives, nobles, scholars, and guests to Cigar Castle.
• Nico flew into the banquet hall, where the guests celebrated her evolution and Old Madam Ingrid reflected on the family’s future.
• Nobles across the Grand Duchy received invitations to Nico’s celebration and viewed her evolution as evidence that Russell would soon rise to power.
• Lord Kunbei told his butler that he supported Russell’s ascent to protect his descendants and challenged Kunbif’s right to criticize him.

Russell visited Count Merlin during the Dragon Birth Festival, where his grandfather urged him to seize the chance to become a Dragon Knight and support the evolution of Nico. Russell then met with the Grand Scholars, who approved his proposal to build observatories to search for the missing planet he believed was home to the Frost Trolls.

• Count Merlin told Russell that the people were cheering for a new Dragon Knight, but Russell said the decision rested with His Highness Shadowflame.
• Russell told Count Merlin that Nico had evolved into a Great Elf after taking a puff of a cigar, though Count Merlin believed the shared smoking might also have helped.
• Count Merlin urged Russell to seize any opportunity to become a Dragon Knight and reminded him that the Fluorite Mushroom Family and Monochoria Family supported him.
• Russell left to discuss the observatory construction with the Grand Scholars and invited them to Nico's promotion celebration at Cigar Castle.
• Russell explained that the missing planet might be the Frost Trolls' home, and the Grand Scholars approved his proposal to build observatories throughout the Grand Duchy.

Russell checked on the Demon Seeking Tower research before leaving the Grand Scholar Tower, while the Shadowflame Dragon lamented that he had not visited her. During Nicole’s celebration banquet, an earthquake briefly shook Cigar Castle; Russell identified it as an ordinary quake and ordered an investigation of Thunder Flame Territory for casualties and damage.

• Grand Scholar Placido and the other Grand Scholars told Russell they had made little progress on the Demon Seeking Tower, and Russell encouraged them to continue researching.
• The Shadowflame Dragon sensed Russell arrive and depart without visiting her, then returned to resting in the magma.
• Guests including Baron Gevidas, Dyson Goldcap Mushroom, Meijie Monochoria, and Lord Welch arrived at Cigar Castle to celebrate Tobacco Great Elf Nicole.
• As Russell prepared to begin the banquet, an earthquake shook Cigar Castle, and Russell caught Butler Morris before he fell.
• Russell told Baron Roman and the guests that the quake was ordinary, and Meijie helped settle the guests’ alarm.
• Russell began the banquet and sent Charles to investigate casualties and property losses across Thunder Flame Territory.

After Nico’s promotion celebration, Russell investigated the earthquakes and ordered the Dagger Mountain Observatory to track Missing One, the planet that had briefly flickered in the sky. A second tremor left him suspecting the planet might be connected to the Frost Troll invasion, while Nico agreed to manage the elf quarters and care for the little elves and Spirit Worms.

• Russell asked Charles about the earthquake damage and learned that the tremors across Blackfire Land and nearby regions had caused few casualties and no known building collapses.
• Russell spotted a star flickering and vanishing, then flew to Dagger Mountain Observatory, where Sullivan identified it as Missing One.
• Russell ordered Sullivan to keep searching for Missing One and to establish observatories across the Grand Duchy after the Ice Age ended.
• A second earthquake shook Dagger Mountain, and Russell wondered whether Missing One and the Frost Troll invasion were connected.
• Russell returned to Cigar Castle and reassured Aunt Roby and Old Madam Ingrid that the castle would withstand the earthquakes.
• Russell asked Nico to manage the elf quarters and care for the little elves and Spirit Worms, and Nico accepted.

Russell suspected that Lost Number One’s appearance had caused a continent-wide tremor and prepared himself and his companions for a possible Frost Troll invasion. After Rosie found a wild thorn Spirit Worm, Russell contracted it and discovered that the Thorn Amber Bug had evolved into a Thorn Amber Elf, granting him the power to summon a vast, regenerating thorn forest.

• Russell concluded that the uniform earthquakes across the Shadowflame Grand Duchy and Scorching Torrent Kingdom might signal the opening of the Gate of Another World, and resolved to grow stronger with Rosai, Polly, Hape, and Ouroboros.
• Russell trained his Dragon Domain Lord and Wyvern Knight combat techniques, seeking to combine them with his swordsmanship.
• Rosie brought Russell an uncontracted Spirit Worm with unfamiliar markings, and led him to a newly born Worm Grass in the birch forest.
• Russell used Jade Powder and his blood to contract the thorn Spirit Worm, triggering the Thorn Amber Bug’s evolution into a Thorn Amber Elf.
• Russell discovered that the Thorn Amber Elf could create a regenerating thorn forest across a three-hundred-meter radius, then Nicole warned him that the newly contracted Spirit Worm was shedding its skin and seemed ready to split open.

The Thorn Spirit Worm evolved into a Thorn Sprite, which Russell named Jera, after Thorn's Prosperity helped trigger the transformation. Russell examined Thorn's new abilities and considered how amber, sprites, and other creatures were shaped by Earth Power, then arranged a small celebration for Jera with relatives.

• The Thorn Spirit Worm shed its skin and emerged from a cocoon as a newborn Thorn Sprite.
• Russell named the sprite Jera and ordered the Thorn Worm Grass preserved for a future Thorn Magic Potion Field.
• Nico took Jera and Rosie back to Cigar Castle, where she fought with Jera and then put her in the sprite house for training.
• Russell examined Thorn's growth and used it to study his five ambers, concluding that amber held spiritual obsessions while sprites were nurtured materially by Earth Power.
• Butler Morris suggested a celebration banquet, and Russell decided to invite relatives rather than outsiders during the Ice Age.

Roland regained his confidence after Gewen reminded him of his strengths, while Russell hunted a Riding Blue Skin and discussed the threat of Missing Number One with Baron Roman. Russell then agreed to help Mel arrange his engagement to Annie Xuanfuhua in the Scorching Torrent Kingdom.

• After lunch, Russell flew with Baron Roman to the snowfield and easily killed the Riding Blue Skin that Baron Roman and Ross had failed to defeat.
• Gewen reassured Roland that his gifts for governing and his warm personality made him valuable, and Roland felt his confidence return.
• Russell told Baron Roman that he still feared Frost Da and suspected Missing Number One was the Frost Trolls' world, though neither of them understood how the Trolls could have reached the Dragon Sleep Continent.
• Baron Roman gave Russell three Ice Soul Beads, but Russell returned them for Baron Roman to use for Phantom Beasts for Roland or the other knights.
• Russell received Mel's letter asking him to accompany him to the Scorching Torrent Kingdom to arrange his engagement to Annie Xuanfuhua.
• Russell met Mel at Red Castle, learned that Grandfather supported the match, and agreed to help arrange the engagement.

Russell agreed to accompany Mel to his engagement banquet, while Mel’s parents argued over his marriage and the Grand Duke’s succession. The chapter ended with Russell reviewing Cigar Castle’s affairs with Butler Morris.

• Russell agreed to accompany Mel to his engagement banquet and learned they would leave Red Castle on March 10.
• Count Merlin asked Russell to convey his greetings to King Ares if he met him at the banquet.
• Mel worried about marrying Annie and about Madam Kunna’s opposition to the marriage.
• Madam Kunna argued with Meijie over Mel’s chances of becoming Grand Duke, and Meijie defended Russell’s strength and status.
• Butler Morris told Russell that two maids had been dismissed after Leona investigated their fight over cleaning.

Russell traveled from Cigar Castle toward the Scorching Torrent Kingdom with Mel and Saislo, taking precautions against ambushes as he journeyed to Mel’s engagement party. At Swan Castle, Mel worried about the Sunflower Family’s hostility, while Kunspe considered ordering his knights to slay Russell and was rebuffed.

• Russell left Cigar Castle in Butler Morris and Leona’s care, visited his family, and departed for Red Castle aboard Black Oil Dragon Rosai.
• Russell joined Mel, Saislo, and a knightly escort at Red Castle, then traveled with them toward the Scorching Torrent Kingdom.
• Russell refused invitations from Grand Duchy Noblemen, insisted the party stay at relay stations, and promised to draw away any danger they encountered.
• At Swan Castle, Mel wondered whether Kunsley might kill them in their sleep, while Kunspe asked his attendant knights if they would slay Russell.
• Kunspe’s attendant knights refused to answer and told him to rest, prompting him to call them trash.

After leaving Swan Castle, Russell and Mel traveled across the Ice Snow Great Wall toward Black Horse Snow Forest. As Polly sensed a familiar scent among the party, an unknown voice began searching for its source.

• Baron Kunbif scolded Kunsley and Kunspe for failing to act against Russell and Mel, then returned to Swan Castle resigned to guarding Fire Ant Swamp.
• Kunsley and Kunspe argued over their failures, their status, and who would control the family.
• Russell and Mel traveled for seven days along the snowbound trade route, using wyverns to guide the party through blizzards.
• Mel explained that Black Horse Snow Forest was the birthplace of the Nightmare Ghost Horse, descended from a herd discovered by Grand Duke Quentin Shadowflame.
• Polly told Russell that the scent of horses in Black Horse Snow Forest disgusted her.
• An unknown whisper sensed a familiar scent among the humans and wondered whether it came from the ponies.

Russell searched Black Horse Snow Forest for the intelligent Phantom Beast he had sensed and found a black horse tied to dreams and lightning. He discovered it was a Pseudo-Nightmare Beast Dragon and left the chapter confident it would become his fourth contracted Phantom Beast.

• Russell heard the Lucky Whisper and set out alone on Harpie to find the Phantom Beast in Black Horse Snow Forest.
• Russell used Dream Gaze and Dream Listening with Hail Beads to locate the creature, while Polly sensed the black horse's disliked aura nearby.
• Russell approached the Phantom Beast, spoke to it through the Dark Dreamscape, and persuaded it to stay instead of fleeing.
• Polly recognized the blue-flamed mane as a Pseudo-Dragon Horn, and Russell named the creature a Nightmare Beast and explained its potential to advance into a pseudo-dragon.
• Russell met the Pseudo-Nightmare Beast Dragon's gaze and decided it would be his fourth contracted Phantom Beast.

Russell befriended and named the Simulated Nightmare Beast Dragon Sembra, discovering its lightning-powered teleportation and Dark Dreamscape Recall talents. He returned to camp with Sembra and told Mel that a dragon in the Scorching Torrent Kingdom had taken a liking to him.

• Russell soothed Polly and rode alongside the Pseudo-Nightmare Beast Dragon, then named it Sembra.
• Russell discovered that Sembra could teleport over a hundred meters with its lightning-powered Lightning Escape Technique.
• Russell learned that Sembra could use Dream Recall to return to one remembered location after entering the Dark Dreamscape, and wondered if Snowflake's dragon flame could evolve the talent.
• Russell introduced Sembra to Polly, whose appearance inspired Sembra to dream of becoming a Pseudo-Dragon.
• Russell returned to camp with Sembra, astonishing Mel and Uncle Saislo with the Phantom Beast Pseudo-Dragon Descendant.
• Russell told Mel that a dragon in the Scorching Torrent Kingdom had taken a liking to him.

Russell bonded with Sembra and became a 4th Rank High Phantom Beast Knight, while discovering that his power showed no sign of reaching its limit. He rode ahead to test Sembra’s speed as Mel wondered whether Russell could contract more Phantom Beasts than anyone had before.

• Mel questioned Russell about whether the Torrent Dragon had taken an interest in him, but Russell said he had only been joking.
• Russell rode Sembra through the snow forest to the place where Sembra was born, finding an icy lake but no sign of a pseudo-dragon Cold Spring Point.
• At dawn, Russell used Battle Qi Chain to form a contract with Sembra, and they established a mental link without difficulty.
• Sembra’s Phantom Beast primal breath joined Russell’s other powers, strengthening his Dragon Breath and making him a 4th Rank High Phantom Beast Knight.
• Russell told Mel he had not yet felt the limit of his power and rode Sembra ahead to test its speed.

Russell arrived at Summer Chrysanthemum Castle for Mel and Annie’s engagement preparations, where he reunited with his student Welim. Welim asked Russell to help him hunt a powerful Riding Blue Skin and recover Jinnali’s fleshy crown, which the creature wore.

• Russell’s party crossed the snowfields and received a warm welcome from Baron Boske at Emerald Castle.
• Sir Age escorted Russell and Mel to Yellow Flower Hill, where Earl Ade welcomed them and Russell met Annie and his student Welim.
• Earl Ade’s household and Saislo arranged a small engagement banquet for Mel and Annie at the end of April, with King Ares and Russell expected to attend.
• Russell assessed Welim’s sword training and offered him guidance.
• Welim told Russell that his family had found Jinnali’s fleshy crown on a powerful Riding Blue Skin and asked for help reclaiming it.

Russell recovered Jinnali's flesh crown for Welim and returned it to Summer Chrysanthemum Castle, where Mel and Annie thanked him. The next day, King Ares invited Russell to the Blazing Sun Royal Palace, and Russell set out with Lord Sharman.

• Welim offered Russell a sprite in exchange for help, but Russell agreed to retrieve Jinnali's flesh crown for a little extra tuition.
• Russell and Hape searched the snow mountain near Cold Wind Corridor, and Russell defeated the riding blue skin and found the flesh crown.
• Russell gave the crown to Welim and told him that Jinnali's experience of dragon tribulation was sealed within it.
• Mel and Annie thanked Russell, and Annie worried that marriage into the Shadowflame Grand Duchy would keep her from her siblings.
• Russell trained with Sembra in the Phantom Beast pasture.
• Lord Sharman arrived with King Ares's invitation, and Russell followed him toward the Blazing Sun Royal Palace.

Russell met King Ares to discuss the Frost Star’s invasion and the Three-Dragon Sacrifice Method, which King Ares intended to pursue. Russell remained determined to protect the Shadowflame Dragon’s hope, and after the banquet he considered opposing King Ares once Snowflake was born.

• King Ares told Russell that observatories had confirmed Missing Number One was the Frost Trolls’ world and that its disturbances had caused earthquakes across the Dragon Sleep Continent.
• Russell and King Ares agreed to call the planet Frost Star and their own world Dragon Star, then discussed the difficulty of reaching space and counterattacking.
• King Ares said he and Scorching Torrent were ready to embrace the Three-Dragon Sacrifice Method, but Russell refused to abandon his promise to the Shadowflame Dragon.
• King Ares offered to connect Russell with his granddaughters through marriage, and Russell declined while saying he wanted to travel the Dragon Sleep Continent first.
• After the banquet, Russell asked Polly whether King Ares was resolute about the sacrifice, then decided that Snowflake’s strength might let him challenge King Ares and lead humanity himself.