Chapter Summaries

Ryan learned that the Church’s Black Swan assassins had attacked his castle while he was away, leaving Apia and his allies badly wounded despite their victory. He suspected the attack was tied to the Church’s political rivalries and promised to make Apia and the Catfolk stronger.

• Ryan visited Grand Mage Macken in Svadilfari, where Macken warned him that the Empire’s great noble families could wield power capable of standing against the deities.
• Ryan learned that his fiancée, Avril Melendez, would soon finish her studies and could come to the Frozen Earth Territory for their wedding.
• Black Swan assassins infiltrated Ryan’s castle on Rhino Horn Mountain but failed to find him, and Brandt and Apia fought them through the night.
• Ryan returned the next day to find part of his castle destroyed, Apia wounded, and seven pale assassins dead; six others had escaped.
• Ryan suspected the assassins had come from the Church and told Apia to become stronger, signaling that he would bestow blessings on the Catfolk.

After Church-linked assassins killed fifteen Light Pioneer baronets in Northwind Province, Marquis of Northwind rallied the local nobles and urged them to confront The Church. Ryan arrived at Thundercloud Mountain and challenged the Governor to provide evidence before they acted.

• Ryan learned that fifteen Light Pioneer baronets had been assassinated and that the surviving pioneers were hiding.
• Marquis of Northwind demanded that Knight Mulan kill the missionaries, but Mulan warned that the Archbishop’s Church token could summon a powerful Divine Descent Spell.
• Knight Mulan advised Marquis of Northwind to frame the killings as an attack on the Empire’s landed nobles, and the Marquis summoned every noble in Northwind Province to Thundercloud County.
• Ryan received the summons and traveled to Thundercloud County with the dried corpses of the Black Swan Assassins.
• Viscount Walter told Ryan that Marquis of Northwind wanted the nobles to uncover and burn all Church personnel in the province.
• Marquis of Northwind accused The Church of starting a war, but Ryan asked whether he had evidence linking The Church to the assassinations.

Ryan challenged the nobles to demand evidence before blaming the Church for the Northwind baronets’ murders, then revealed that assassins had targeted him as well. Marquis of Northwind declared war on the Church and ordered its members killed or expelled, while Archbishop Adriana’s group left Thundercloud County to resume spreading the Faith of Dawn.

• Ryan argued that the nobles had no evidence the Church had murdered the baronets and revealed that assassins had tried to kill him.
• Marquis of Northwind identified the assassins’ altered corpses as evidence of the Church’s methods and said Count William would investigate whom they served.
• Viscount Walter rallied the nobles by arguing that the Church threatened their control over their territories.
• Marquis of Northwind ordered the nobles to find Church members in Northwind Province and kill or expel them.
• Archbishop Adriana led the missionaries out of Thundercloud County and onward through other territories to spread the Faith of Dawn.

The Church’s missionaries quietly traveled through the Empire, offering healing and making the Church of Dawn known without openly preaching. In Frozen Earth Territory, Ryan secured a three-year agreement to supply the Grand Cathedral of Light with birch-bark books, a deal his efficient workshops could fulfill at enormous profit.

• Fidel Soron tried to keep Adriana and the missionaries out of Count Soron’s territory, but the Church’s status in the Empire meant he could not stop them from entering.
• The missionaries traveled through Dragon Mountain County and nearby territories, healing slaves and commoners while spreading word of the Church of Dawn through their actions.
• The missionaries reached Frozen Earth Territory, where Baron Ryan’s subjects were already deeply loyal to him and regarded him as blessed by the gods.
• Through the Marquis of Northwind, the Grand Cathedral of Light and Baron Ryan signed a three-year agreement for Ryan to provide ten thousand birch-bark books every three months at five silver coins each.
• Ryan calculated that Frozen Earth Territory could produce the books with ease and at less than one-third of a silver coin each, leaving him with a substantial profit.

Marquis of Northwind used a costly divine miracle to ripen Thundercloud County’s wheat in a day, strengthening the Empire’s spread of the God of Light’s faith. Ryan then turned to Mage Yelena’s cold-resistant seeds, which could improve the Frozen Earth Territory’s harvest if their expensive cultivation succeeded.

• Marquis of Northwind summoned rain infused with Life Magic, ripening the wheat across a vast area in one day.
• Grand Mage Macken explained that the rain carried powerful Life Magic and that repeating the miracle would consume too much divinity.
• A farmer rejected a missionary’s Healing Art and pleaded for a miracle to increase his bean harvest so his family could survive winter.
• The missionaries reported that their efforts to spread Dawn had failed, while the Red-haired Woman Archbishop remained steadfast in her faith.
• Ryan learned from Mage Yelena that cold-resistant seeds could raise yields by five to ten jin per mu, though cultivating them would be costly for several years.

Count William's Family and the nobles of Northwind Province hunted the Black Swan Assassins, whose attacks killed many pioneers and barons before they targeted Marquis of Northwind. Legendary Knight Mulan killed the missionaries and expelled Archbishop Adriana, who fled to Ryan's castle in Frozen Earth Territory.

• Count Winter and Count Soron ordered the Black Swan Assassins found and handed over to the governor as nobles across Northwind Province joined the search.
• More than one hundred and eighty Black Swan Assassins died, while their attacks killed over thirty pioneers of the God of Light and three barons.
• Forty-three assassins attacked Thundercloud Mountain, forcing Marquis of Northwind to use his divine power and killing the three barons who had sought his protection.
• Legendary Knight Mulan declared the missionaries guilty and killed them, then defeated Archbishop Adriana and pursued her north until she crossed into the Northlands.
• A missionary sent a final message to The Church of Dawn, while Adriana arrived at Ryan's castle in Frozen Earth Territory covered in blood.

Adriana left Northwind Province after giving Ryan her Snow Eagle, while Marquis of Northwind celebrated the retreat of The Church’s missionaries. He soon turned his attention to the wealth of the Otherworldly Plane, and Ryan learned the Marquis planned to favor his own followers in dividing its benefits.

• Ryan gave the injured Adriana holy water, and she left for the Andara Kingdom after giving him her Snow Eagle.
• Marquis of Northwind celebrated driving off The Church’s missionaries and summoned Viscount Miles and Viscount Dragoon over the death of a viscount.
• Gardel urged Marquis of Northwind to claim a greater share of the Otherworldly Plane’s wealth, and the Marquis recognized the need for a lasting source of income.
• A messenger told Ryan that Marquis of Northwind had summoned the two Viscounts to Thundercloud Mountain, and Ryan chose not to get involved.
• Five days later, Ryan received a letter reporting that Marquis of Northwind had shifted his focus to the Otherworldly Plane and intended to prioritize his own followers.

Ryan devised a way for Viscount Miles to defend his family after Old Viscount Miles killed Viscount Dragoon, framing the death as an honorable tribute to noble ancestors while urging compensation. The chapter left Miles preparing to speak in the Imperial Capital as Ryan arranged work and forging orders to help the family pay.

• Ryan told the anxious Kristan Miles to stay at Frozen Earth Territory while he considered how to settle the dispute over Old Viscount Miles killing Viscount Dragoon.
• Ryan waited another day for Torston Dragoon to arrive, but Viscount Dragoon still did not come.
• Ryan told Kristan to describe Viscount Dragoon's battlefield death as an honorable duel that honored the ancestors of both noble families.
• Ryan instructed Kristan to go to the Imperial Capital, speak before the southern nobles, and acknowledge that the Miles Family owed the Dragoon Family substantial compensation.
• Ryan offered to provide Miles subjects with paid relief work and give the Miles Family weapons and shield orders to help fund the compensation.

Ryan began an economic blockade against the Dragoon Viscount's Territory, leaving Viscount Dragoon to suspect that Ryan was behind the collapse of his trade. Irina questioned Ryan about the blockade, but he denied that Viscount Dragoon was planning a war and left the reason unexplained.

• Ryan's traders rejected or reduced purchases of goods from the Dragoon Viscount's Territory, while other territories also stopped exchanging supplies with it.
• Viscount Dragoon's manager reported the losses and blamed a coordinated effort targeting the territory, possibly connected to Baron Ryan.
• Viscount Dragoon spared the manager but blamed Ryan and regretted his earlier decision to link Ryan to his father's death before the Marquis of Northwind.
• Irina told Ryan that Blade Rose would focus on trade in the South and asked why he had ordered a refusal of the Dragoon territory's supplies.
• Ryan told Irina that Viscount Dragoon was not planning to start another war.

Ryan learned that the marquis’s army had fought the Natives in the Otherworldly Plane, then followed the trail of the Azure Lion Tribe to find its survivors. He captured familiar tribesmen who remained angry with him despite having received his blessing.

• Ryan ordered preparations to travel to the Other Plane after learning the marquis’s army would return in two days.
• Ryan visited Marquis of Northwind, who spoke confidently about the Empire’s war in the south and offered him dried meat from the Otherworldly Plane.
• Ryan entered the Otherworldly Plane and separated from the marquis’s army to search for the Azure Lion Tribe.
• Ryan found the tribe’s settlement in ruins and followed traces toward its safehouse.
• Ryan’s retainers blocked the Natives’ spears and pinned the Azure Lion warriors down.
• Ryan questioned the captured warriors about using the weapons he had given them, and they recognized him with anger and resentment.

Ryan learned that the Marquis of Northwind’s forces had driven the Native tribes into hiding, then gave the Azure Lion Tribe a flag to protect it. He visited the Black Bear Tribe, arranged for captured people to be returned, and asked whether it had found anything valuable.

• Ryan challenged the Natives’ claim that he belonged with the Empire’s invading forces and asked Cao what had happened.
• Cao explained that the army had seized Native guides, fought the tribes, and forced them to retreat into the Mountain Forest; he admitted the Azure Lion Tribe had thrown Ryan’s goods into the river.
• Ryan gave the Azure Lion Tribe a flag bearing Rhino Horn Mountain’s outline and said it would keep the army from troubling them.
• Ryan followed a Native to the Black Bear Tribe, where he advised Xiong to boil river water and ordered him to return the captured people.
• Ryan told the Black Bear Tribe to wait before returning home and asked whether it had found anything worth his attention.

Ryan bargained with Xiong for the location of a Magic Crystal mine and discovered that Count Soron was already mining it. Ryan raided the mine and took more than eight thousand Magic Crystals, then considered acting directly in the Otherworldly Plane as conflicts between nobles, barons, and Native tribes intensified.

• Ryan showed Xiong a Magic Crystal and negotiated for information, raising the prices of weapons and tools while refusing to promise him a beast-controlling potion.
• Xiong revealed that Count Soron was mining a Magic Crystal deposit, and Ryan inferred how the count concealed and transported the crystals.
• Ryan sent a Native to fetch help, then led a nighttime raid on Count Soron's mine and took more than eight thousand Magic Crystals through the Planar Gate.
• Ryan continued through the Mountain Forest World, encountered several Native tribes, and fought with two tribes that no longer trusted him.
• Ryan observed that barons were hunting across Native lands because no unclaimed hunting grounds remained, and considered intervening directly in the Otherworldly Plane.

Ryan exploited the lords’ fractured alliance, ambushing a weakened group and sharing some of their spoils with the Azure Lion Tribe. He also learned that Knight Mulan had found the divine magical beast’s trail, while rivalries among the lords continued to undermine the Marquis of Northwind’s plans.

• Ryan’s forces attacked the battered soldiers of five allied lords, killed them all, and gave the Azure Lion Tribe one-tenth of the weapons and armor.
• Ryan discussed the divine magical beast with Knight Mulan, who admitted he had found its trail but expected the Otherworldly Plane to stop protecting it within two or three years.
• Ryan stayed on Thundercloud Mountain for several days and watched the lords form competing groups as disputes over the spoils grew.
• The lords’ infighting and reduced forces dealt heavy blows to the Marquis of Northwind’s development efforts, while the allied army dwindled from around three thousand soldiers to roughly two thousand.

Ryan challenged the nobles over their claims in the Otherworldly Plane, then asserted a share of a copper mine and watched resource disputes threaten Northwind Province with war. After Count Soron’s soldiers entered Ryan’s territory, Ryan led his retainers to attack their camp by the river.

• Ryan berated five lords who accused him of killing their army and threatened to imprison them for slandering a Baron.
• Nobles fought over a copper mine, and Ryan claimed six percent of its output on behalf of all Northwind nobles.
• Baron Carlo refused to surrender the mine, and disputes over resources—including Magic Crystal Mines—pushed Northwind Province toward war.
• Knight Mulan warned Ryan that the great Southern nobles, the Imperial House, and Northwind’s rulers would all seek the Magic Crystal Mines.
• Ryan heard that Count Soron’s soldiers had arrived at Thundercloud Mountain, then entered the Otherworldly Plane and learned they were camped by the river.
• Ryan ordered his retainers to kill Count Soron’s soldiers and charged into their camp with his Knight’s Greatsword.

Ryan destroyed Count Soron's army after it discovered his Gold Mine, then seized Soron's Magic Crystal Mine and its workers. Count Soron accused Ryan of starting a war between nobles, and Knight Badley entered the Otherworldly Plane to search for evidence as Ryan protested to the Marquis of Northwind.

• Ryan questioned the surviving knights, learned they had found the Gold Mine, and executed them before having their bodies and camp concealed.
• Ryan warned Cao that the White Calamity would soon destroy the Mountain Forest World and ordered the Azure Lion Tribe to keep silent about the massacre.
• Ryan took Count Soron's Magic Crystal Mine, claimed its slaves and soldiers, and killed the Apprentice Knights he believed were loyal to Soron.
• Ryan sent the captured workers to the Azure Lion Tribe and carried the mined Magic Crystals through the Planar Gate, while other nobles began hauling ore from the Mountain Forest World.
• Knight Badley accused Ryan of killing Count Soron's soldiers and declared the Soron Family considered it a war to the death, but the Marquis of Northwind asked for evidence.
• Badley led more than a thousand soldiers through the Planar Gate to search for evidence, and Ryan complained to the Marquis of Northwind about Badley's threat.

Ryan led his forces into the Otherworldly Plane to confront Knight Badley at the Magic Crystal Mine, where Grand Mage Macken summoned a Stone Giant that overwhelmed the Sky Knight. The battle turned in Ryan’s favor, but Badley kept rising after repeated blows, and Ryan realized he had broken his arm.

• Ryan learned that Knight Badley had ravaged the Azure Lion Tribe and headed for the Magic Crystal Mine, then camped with his forces in the Otherworldly Plane.
• Grand Mage Macken promised to defeat Badley and created a Stone Giant using Life Magic and Magic Crystals.
• Ryan and eight hundred Native warriors ambushed Badley’s mine, and four hundred Knight Retainers joined the attack as the Natives’ charge met resistance.
• Badley shattered the Stone Giant with a powerful combat technique, but Macken reassembled it, and the giant repeatedly knocked Badley into the rubble.
• Ryan’s forces began turning the battle around as the Stone Giant weakened Badley, but Ryan grunted when he realized his arm had broken.

Baron Ryan defeated Count Soron’s army, killed Sky Knight Badley, and took six hundred prisoners, openly escalating their conflict over the Magic Crystal Mine. Count Soron resolved to pay the ransom and personally lead the Dragonblood Warrior Legion against Ryan, while nobles across Northwind Province braced for war.

• Ryan’s Stone Giant killed Knight Badley, and Count Soron’s army surrendered after the battle.
• Ryan kept six hundred soldiers as prisoners, sent them to mine Magic Crystals, and claimed the battle’s spoils while suffering heavy casualties among his Native warriors and retainers.
• Ryan returned through the Planar Gate with Magic Crystals, beasts, firewood, and prisoners, and asked the Marquis of Northwind to return Count Soron’s sword.
• Count Soron ordered one hundred thousand Gold Coins paid for the prisoners and decided to lead the Dragonblood Warrior Legion to confront Ryan.
• Count Winter heard of the conflict and suspected the Marquis of Northwind was helping Ryan by controlling access to the Planar Gate.

Ryan faced Count Soron’s army on the Swampland, where Soron sought to recover his prisoners and defeat the Frozen Earth Territory. Ryan’s cavalry struck first, but Soron’s Dragonblood Warrior Legion countered until Mage Luna used her magic to turn the battlefield against them.

• Ryan assessed his territory’s three levels of war potential and concluded he could only afford a regular war against Count Soron.
• Count Soron arrived with the Dragonblood Warrior Legion and one hundred thousand Gold Coins, while Ryan fielded eight hundred cavalry, two hundred militia, and six hundred prisoners.
• After the prisoners returned to Soron and began putting on their armor, Ryan’s cavalry charged and devastated them before the Dragonblood Warrior Legion could intervene.
• Count Soron used the Wind Devil Dragon's Sigh scroll to speed up his heavily armored warriors, who struck back at Ryan’s cavalry.
• Ryan called on Mage Luna, who softened the Swampland and raised stone pillars that smashed Dragonblood Warriors into the swamp as she attacked the charging Sky Knights with floating stones.

Mage Luna survived Fidel’s Raging Tide and rebuilt a body from stones, turning the battle back against Count Soron’s forces. Count Soron ordered a retreat as Ryan’s outnumbered defenders continued fighting.

• Mage Luna’s stone body battered the two Sky Knights, then she used Life Stance to turn the battlefield into a swamp and threaten the Dragonblood Warriors.
• Fidel unleashed the Sanctuary-level scrolls and then the forbidden spell Raging Tide, whose lightning spear shattered Mage Luna’s body.
• Count Soron believed Mage Luna was dead and sent the Dragonblood Warriors against Ryan’s eight hundred Knight Retainers.
• Mage Luna’s five emblems survived, and she assembled a new body from flying stones before using Life Stance and falling boulders against the Dragonblood Warriors.
• Fidel said he could not use another Raging Tide, and Count Soron ordered his army to withdraw.

Ryan defeated Count Soron's Extraordinary Legion and forced him to give up seventy percent of the Otherworldly Plane's Magic Crystal Mine, while revealing Count Winter's hidden Gold Mine. The battle strengthened Ryan's standing but cost him many retainers, and Adriana's prayer sparked a powerful change in The Church; Ryan later returned to Frozen Earth Territory and resumed his lordly life.

• Ryan confronted Count Soron after the battle and demanded seventy percent of the Magic Crystal Mine as the price of defeat.
• Ryan told Count Soron that Count Winter had discovered a Gold Mine, and Count Soron accepted Ryan's terms while considering an alliance against Count Winter.
• The nobles discussed Ryan's victory and recognized that his forces had the foundations of an Extraordinary Legion, while Ryan mourned the loss of 210 retainers and planned incentives for families to have children.
• Adriana praised Ryan as a devout believer before Dawn, and a flame appeared at her brow as the Pope and High Priests gathered around her and affirmed the Church's northern mission.
• Ryan distributed pensions to soldiers' families and asked the scantily dressed female official, addressed as Viscountess, how he should reward her.