Chapter Summaries

After the Gagg clan’s defeat, the Werewolves launched a nighttime attack on the Frozen Earth Territory. The Fifth Watchtower fell under assault while Winter City’s defenders fought to hold the walls, and Foxskin Brunamigis faced a powerful Werewolf in an alley.

• Ves ordered the Werewolves to attack the human settlement that night after finding the battlefield littered with Werewolf corpses.
• At the Fifth Watchtower, a hunter sensed the Werewolves, and the soldiers fired a signal bolt before the attackers overwhelmed the gate.
• Harrington told Wolfskin Ulf and Foxskin Brunamigis that Winter City would have to defend itself without reinforcements from Rhino Horn Mountain.
• The Werewolves smothered Winter City’s flaming trenches with snow and charged the half-finished wall as Harrington rallied the defenders.
• Werewolves broke into Winter City, turning the defense into chaotic street fighting and forcing Foxskin Brunamigis to flee from a fast-moving attacker.
• Foxskin Brunamigis struck at the Werewolf with his longbow in an alley, but the creature blocked the blow with its jaw and swung its claws at him.

Winter City survived a werewolf assault at the cost of nearly eight thousand human lives, prompting Ryan to plan a chain of military fortresses. The chapter ended with news that Black Goat Orcs had breached Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress and threatened Cold Mountain City County, leaving Ryan fearing his territory could be surrounded.

• Foxskin killed a werewolf, and Borgeld led more than a thousand Armored Bears from Rhino Horn Mountain to drive the werewolves through Winter City.
• Harrington and Ulf assessed the aftermath: more than three thousand five hundred werewolves had died, nearly eight thousand humans had been killed, and many surviving werewolves had escaped.
• Ryan received Winter City's battle report and proposed building military fortresses between Winter City and the future Great Wall, while arranging grain purchases and scouting sites with Egil and Brandt.
• The Viscountess reported that Gagg's werewolves had bypassed and attacked the Fifth and Sixth Watchtowers before burning seven warehouses in Winter City.
• Lian En arrived with news that tens of thousands of Black Goat Orcs had breached Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress and entered Cold Mountain City County, where Viscount Landa was defending the county seat.
• Ryan realized that the breach could expose the Frozen Earth Territory to Orc attacks from both the north and south.

The Black Goat Orcs captured Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress and surrounded Cold Mountain City, while their werewolf allies used the siege to scatter orc forces across Northwind Province. As Ryan set out to help defend the region, a Saint Realm Black Goat chief shattered Cold Mountain City’s gates.

• The Black Goat Orcs slaughtered fleeing human soldiers after capturing Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress, and Viscount Landa struggled to defend Cold Mountain City from repeated attacks.
• Horla Winter led reinforcements toward Cold Mountain City and fought through an orc ambush to reach it, but rejected Landa’s plan to retake the fortress with their limited forces.
• Werewolf Ves revealed that the orcs had trapped the human army at Cold Mountain City so other orc forces could disperse and raid noble domains.
• Horla sent mobile forces to rescue the threatened domains, while Landa dispatched five thousand soldiers; the orcs attacked both the departing troops and Cold Mountain City.
• Ryan decided to leave Frozen Earth Territory and go to Northwind Province because losing Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress would expose his lands to attack from both sides.
• A Saint Realm Black Goat chief charged Cold Mountain City and smashed its gates apart with a single blow.

Ryan led the Stag Legion through orc-ravaged Northwind Province and gathered survivors near the Fragrant Mountain Plains. He prepared to retake the fortress, the survivors’ best chance of staying alive.

• The Black Goat Orc chieftain broke through Cold Mountain City’s defenses, and the orcs overran the city and surrounding territories.
• Ryan’s Stag Legion rescued villagers and cleared orcs from settlements, while Ryan refused to divert his army to help Baron Carlson defend his castle.
• Ryan defeated thousands of orcs on the Fragrant Mountain Plains and met soldiers who had escaped the fallen fortress.
• Ryan opened a Planar Gate to bring supplies from Bilki, then gathered 3,640 survivors and promised to lead them back to the fortress.
• Ryan rallied the survivors and his Knight Retainers for an attack, and they reached the fortress and entered through a hidden passage.

Ryan and the Stag Legion retook Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress from the Black Goat Orcs, then secured its food stores and established a garrison. The chapter ended with Ryan sending half the captured supplies through the Planar Gate to Bilki World.

• Ryan led the Knight Retainers and soldiers through the fortress, where they fought the Black Goat Orcs and killed many before the orcs began awakening as powerful Black Goat Orc Warriors.
• Ryan and Brandt unleashed their strength, and Ryan used his legendary longsword to burn through the orcs as the Black Goat Orcs eventually retreated.
• Ryan ordered his troops not to pursue, rested them briefly, then led a cavalry charge against the orcs guarding the granaries and drove thousands toward the southern gate.
• Ryan sealed the fortress gates, declared victory, and allowed the surviving soldiers to take food and equipment in exchange for serving as the fortress garrison.
• Ryan ordered the soldiers to clear the battlefield, then had the Knight Retainers send half the captured supplies through the Planar Gate to Bilki World.

Ryan retook Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress and used the threat of a hundred thousand Orcs to force Northwind’s nobles and defenders to confront the invasion. As the Orcs attacked, Ryan promised lordship to the bravest warrior and defeated the Saint Domain Black Goat Orc chieftain, burning him to ash.

• Ryan sent the nobles a blood-written letter declaring that he would defend Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress and asking whether they believed he could hold it.
• The Black Goat Orc chieftain breached a baron's castle, killing its defenders and spreading fear among Northwind’s nobles.
• Ryan summoned thousands of warriors from Bilki and promised a lord’s title to whoever showed the greatest bravery in defending the fortress.
• The Orcs attacked Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress, while Ryan fought the Black Goat Orc chieftain and Brandt held off other powerful Orc warriors.
• Ryan endured the chieftain’s scimitar strike, pierced him with the Amber Sword, and burned the Saint Domain Orc to ash.

Ryan’s forces survived a prolonged orc assault at Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress, driving the orcs south into noble territories and forcing the nobles to fight back. Ryan returned to the Frozen Earth Territory, where worsening werewolf attacks and the demands of preparing mass Spirituality Blessings left him urgently securing food and supplies.

• Ryan endured the orcs’ day-and-night assault as the fortress defenders held out and the Black Goat Orc chieftain’s death helped drive the surviving orcs into retreat.
• The orcs ravaged Northwind Province, prompting nobles to arm serfs and summon help while Count Winter and Count Soron sent troops into the fighting.
• Ryan led his army back toward the Frozen Earth Territory after requesting reinforcements for Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress, and he urged trade guilds in Zero Crossing City to arrange guards for their caravans.
• Ryan learned that werewolves had occupied northern watchtowers, attacked Winter City, and gathered near Rhino Horn Mountain as work on the military fortress and defenses continued.
• Ryan ordered Beard to buy grain wherever possible, including from Northwind Province nobles at higher prices, and planned to hunt for meat before granting Spirituality Blessings to Fenrir’s people.

Viscount Rod’s counterattacks helped the nobles of Northwind Province drive the orcs back, though the victory left their territories devastated. Meanwhile, Ryan’s Frozen Earth Territory faced tens of thousands of Werewolves, whose pack tactics slowed construction of its defenses, until Borgeld led the Berserk War Bear Legion north to attack them.

• Viscount Rod rallied his family and soldiers, reclaimed his territory, and sent troops to help nearby nobles as other nobles joined the counteroffensive against the orcs.
• Human armies forced the orcs to retreat from Northwind Province, but the nobles found their lands and populations badly depleted and resolved to secure the Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress.
• Viscount Landa volunteered to inspect the fortress after Baron Ryan told him that spices there might offer a way to restore his family’s fortunes.
• Ryan returned to the Frozen Earth Territory and trained soldiers with his blessings as tens of thousands of Werewolves entered the Mountain Forest and fought to stop the military fortifications from being completed.
• Ves ordered the Werewolves to wear down the defenders through repeated attacks, while Fenrir hunters recognized the pack’s tactics and struggled to protect the construction workers.
• Borgeld led the Berserk War Bear Legion north to kill the Werewolves, and Ves feared the legion’s more than a thousand Armored Bears.

Borgeld and Volibear fought Abel and the Gagg Clan’s Werewolves while Ryan sent reinforcements and sought grain to sustain his growing army. Aethelred negotiated with Count Pascal, offering to help place the Pascal Gargoyle Legion in the Wonder Cathedral in exchange for more food, leaving Pascal newly hopeful about his family’s position.

• Abel led thousands of Gagg Clan Werewolves against Borgeld’s Armored Bear Legion, and Volibear helped her repel his attacks.
• Ryan ordered Brandt to support Borgeld and sent fighters to reinforce the military fort construction site, while worrying that his army’s food stores were nearly exhausted.
• Ryan sent Aethelred to Danube Province to buy grain, and Aethelred traveled with Avril’s letters and a large convoy.
• Aethelred met Count Pascal and asked him to sell grain, explaining that Frozen Earth Territory faced the Silvermoon Royal Court’s Werewolves.
• Pascal offered five hundred thousand jin of grain, and Aethelred proposed a larger purchase in exchange for persuading the Wonder Cathedral to host the Pascal Gargoyle Legion.
• Pascal realized the offer could give his family a way to improve its standing between the Empire and The Church.

Ryan’s forces struggled to withstand the Garg Clan’s escalating attacks while waiting for supplies and a fortified battlefield to be completed. As the Werewolves closed in on Winter City, Ryan secretly moved chains into position, and Brandt led the city’s soldiers in a potion-fueled counterattack.

• Aethelred returned from Volga Province with grain deals that eased Ryan’s shortage, while Ryan warned Borgeld not to waste the Berserk War Bear Legion in reckless attacks.
• Ryan inspected the secretly prepared fortress foundations and learned Brock needed fifteen days to finish the chains, but the Werewolves’ assaults forced the army to abandon the defense line and retreat to Winter City.
• Ryan blessed Parker as a Knight Retainer, then ordered Harrington and Mikaela’s forces to fall back to Winter City as Ves intensified the siege.
• Ryan led a group into the Mountain Forest and opened the Planar Gate, bringing out long iron chains while Knight Retainers cleared Werewolves and linked the chains to the buried metal stakes.
• Ross weakened some Werewolves with poisonous gas, and Brandt ordered the soldiers to drink Hound’s Heart and charge out of Winter City as Ves ordered the Garg bloodline to retreat.

Ryan’s army used the Hound’s Heart potion, a giant poisoned metal net, and a staged show of reinforcements to trap and overwhelm the Werewolves. As the potion’s power peaked, the human soldiers slaughtered the Garg Clan’s forces, while some Werewolves fled toward the mountains.

• Brandt pursued Ves’s retreating Werewolves, and Ross warned that the Hound’s Heart potion would last only long enough for a short decisive battle.
• Ryan waited for the Garg Clan to enter the designated area, then sent Mage Luna’s Golem Puppets and the Crystal Python to drag a vast metal net across the Werewolf army.
• Ross trapped Ves in a cage of refined iron and poisoned the net, weakening Werewolves who tried to escape its barbed mesh.
• Brandt led the potion-strengthened human soldiers against the trapped Garg Clan, while Borgeld and her Armored Bears attacked Abel and the other Werewolf nobles.
• Ryan staged a charge by bluffing troops behind the Werewolves, deepening their panic as the human army cut through them.
• Some Werewolves fled toward the mountains, and Ryan was relieved that they had not chosen to fight to the death.

Ryan dealt with the devastating aftermath of the battle that destroyed most of Frozen Earth Territory’s military strength, while the Silvermoon Royal Court’s Werewolf clans argued over the defeat and planned a broader invasion. The chapter left Ryan preparing to strengthen his defenses and considering an alchemical project involving the Great Boar and Mage Luna.

• The Werewolves fled after Ves and the Garg Clan were defeated, while Ryan sent the potion-stricken Knight Retainers through a Planar Gate for treatment and learned that only 3,850 soldiers had survived.
• Ryan learned that Borgeld’s soul was injured but repairable, ordered Morning Dew Holy Water sent to her, and saw Ross emerge with Ves’s head after consuming the metal cage with his alchemical arm.
• Brandt reported the enormous losses, and Ryan ordered the Werewolf corpses burned as the mountain fire and subsequent storm reduced the battlefield to ash.
• At the Silvermoon Royal Court, three Werewolves condemned the Garg Clan’s defeat, fought over the clans’ relative strength, and agreed to await their King before attacking human territory.
• Ryan visited the Great Boar, warned it that Werewolves were hunting its descendants, and promised to pass along its demand for Ross’s Gray Dwarf’s Eye in exchange for allowing Ross to draw its blood.
• Ryan considered fortifications as a substitute for expanding his depleted army and hoped Mage Luna could use the Gray Dwarf’s Eye to create a Golem Puppet for the northern defensive line.

Emperor Florian rejected aid from the South and left the northern defense to the Empire’s nobles, while Ryan prepared Northwind Province and Frozen Earth Territory for what he believed would be a full Orc invasion. Ryan stockpiled supplies, strengthened Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress, and continued building defenses as Orc forces gathered in the north.

• Emperor Florian ordered the nobles to raise troops against the Orcs, refused to seek southern aid, and kept the Templar Knight Legion in the capital.
• Ryan warned Shaya that the Orc invasion had not truly begun and persuaded her to solicit supplies in the Marquis of Northwind’s name.
• Ryan sold his Gold Mine to Count Winter and made further deals, spending five hundred thousand Gold Coins to acquire food, craftsmen, and other supplies.
• Ryan warned Viscount Landa that the Orcs would soon launch a full-scale invasion, prompting Landa to seek more people for Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress.
• Ryan ordered roads and mountain fortresses built in Frozen Earth Territory as Borgeld reported that unfamiliar Orcs were gathering in the north.

Grayk joined a Lantern Merchant Guild expedition into the Northlands to seek a treasure, while Worby and Frozen Earth Territory maintained ties with the Frost Giants. The treasure hunters encountered powerful Goblins in underground caverns and fled toward Snow Valley, where Worby’s group faced the pursuing monsters.

• Grayk accepted the caravan manager’s offer to join a secret expedition after learning the Lantern Merchant Guild was seeking treasure in the Northlands.
• Grayk traveled with the Lantern Merchant Guild, the Feral Wolf Adventurer Group, and other recruits into the Northlands, where they encountered a Frozen Earth Territory caravan and the Andara Kingdom’s army.
• Worby delivered gifts to Lord Raglov and received a huge gemstone from the Frost Giant, then warned the Andara Kingdom’s knight and the Lantern Merchant Guild away from the Frost Giants’ valley.
• Worby learned that the Andara Kingdom’s army and the Lantern Merchant Guild were seeking Goblins in underground caverns, so he stayed in Snow Valley to observe events.
• The Goblins overwhelmed the army and drove the surviving soldiers and merchants into flight; Grayk escaped with Sack, while Worby’s group watched the pursuers arrive in Snow Valley.

The awakening of the evil god Hobii triggered catastrophe in the Northlands, while the Andara Royal Family’s attempt to bargain with it turned many of its members into corpse ghouls. As Orc clans prepared to invade human lands and Ryan investigated the turmoil, Egil gave him the seed Nastrond on the final day of his dying world.

• The Goblins sacrificed blood and the Crown of Unir at an altar, awakening an evil god whose power Ryan sensed from Frozen Earth Territory.
• Pope’s oracle sent Archbishop Adriana’s missionaries north, while King Adams’s attempt to remove his family’s curse caused Royal Family members to become corpse ghouls sealed in a dungeon.
• Silver Wolf Hati left the Orc gathering to confront the evil presence, and the Orc clans agreed to invade human territory after his return.
• Ryan learned from Worby and his scouts that the Andara Royal Family had awakened a god and that dead Orcs had risen during a fierce battle in the Northlands.
• On the final day of Egil’s world, Egil gave Ryan a dark-green seed named Nastrond.

Ryan grew the Nastrond thorn seed into a self-sustaining defensive thicket as Orc armies launched a continent-wide invasion. With Frozen Earth Territory facing two Legendary Werewolf leaders and its fortress line unfinished, Ryan searched for a Legend he could persuade to help.

• Ryan planted the Nastrond seed and fed it Spirituality, growing a vast thorn forest that could reproduce and return a small amount of Spirituality to him.
• The Behemoth Royal Court attacked Twilight Fortress, while Orc armies invaded all six northern provinces of the Empire and lands beyond it.
• Ryan refused to command Northwind Province, then hurried back to Frozen Earth Territory after learning that Orcs were gathering near his territory.
• Ryan sent tens of thousands of citizens to Winter City and prepared the unfinished fortress line to face two Werewolf Clans led by Earl and Draco.
• Ross warned Ryan that two Legendary Orcs were approaching, and Ryan considered offering his Godbone Potion to a Legend before remembering a nameless Legendary knight who had guarded the previous Marquis of Northwind.

Ryan secured Knight Mulan’s help to defend the Frozen Earth Territory, while the Silvermoon Werewolf King delayed his assault and struggled against the foreign god’s influence. The Emperor agreed to send Rosalind to Northwind Province in exchange for Grand Duke Mayers taking its tax revenue for thirty years, leaving the province’s defense tied to a costly political bargain.

• Ryan sent a letter offering Knight Mulan a Godbone Potion in exchange for help against the Werewolf Legendaries, and Mulan accepted.
• Ryan brought Mulan to Winter City, where Foxskin reported that the Werewolves had not launched a full assault.
• The Silvermoon Werewolf King ordered the Orcs to wait, explained his strategy, and suppressed the corpse energy influencing him.
• Viscount Landa urged Northwind’s nobles to send reinforcements, and Flying Wolf Cavalry and the Dragonblood Warrior Legion arrived at Fragrant Mountain Plains.
• Grand Duke Mayers persuaded Emperor Columbus III to send Rosalind to Northwind Province in exchange for thirty years of its tax revenue.
• The Emperor ordered the Nightmare Knights to defend Gaze Fortress, while Grand Duke Mayers told Rosalind the deal was settled and hoped they would survive the crisis.

As the orcs pressed against the Frozen Earth Territory, Ryan’s people held the fortress line while bards spread tales of Brandt and Egil’s exploits. Inspired by the war, Lennon Hatton formed the Ashen Adventurer Group in Zero Crossing City and set his sights on becoming a Braveheart.

• Ryan told Mulan he would keep paying whatever price was needed to defend his territory, and Mulan affirmed his faith in Ryan.
• Borgeld and the defenders fought off daily orc attacks at the Mountain Forest fortress line as scattered orcs threatened the lands around Winter City.
• A bard recounted how Brandt and Ryan fought the Earl Clan Werewolves, then traveled to Zero Crossing City to share news of Egil’s exploits.
• Lennon Hatton, moved by stories of Egil and Ashen Knight, rode to the Braveheart Guild and registered the Ashen Adventurer Group.
• Lennon promised to help the group’s members qualify to become knights, drawing eager recruits and inspiring other knights to consider forming adventurer groups.

Rosalind arrived in Thundercloud County and told Shaya that Northwind Province had to withstand the orcs without reinforcements. At Twilight Fortress, Harald used Soul Dust against the Behemoth King, but the spell drove the Behemoth Giant Beast into a frenzy and shattered the fortress; meanwhile, Hati launched a massive assault on Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress.

• Rosalind told Shaya that the Emperor and Grand Duke would send no reinforcements, and Shaya agreed to issue orders to Northwind Province's nobles.
• Harald used Brenner's Forbidden Spell: Soul Dust to erase the memories of the Behemoth King and Behemoth Giant Beast, leaving the King weakened and the giant beast frenzied.
• The Behemoth Giant Beast charged Twilight Fortress, broke through its walls, and let the orcs pour into the breach as Harald watched the defenses collapse.
• After learning that the Behemoths had breached a human fortress, Hati ordered the Werewolves to attack Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress and chose to hold back himself.
• Matteo rang the alarm bell as the Werewolves formed living ladders, climbed the fortress walls, and began landing among the human defenders.

Rosalind fought Suno, a Werewolf of the undying Suno Clan, while the Werewolves overwhelmed Fragrant Mountain Plains Fortress and forced the humans into a desperate defense. The Dragonblood Warrior Legion and Flying Wolf Cavalry struck back, but Hati summoned thousands of Silvermoon Wolf Riders to attack the fortress.

• Rosalind defeated Suno in combat, but Suno rose again and attacked with the relentless strength of the Undying.
• Mateo killed a wounded Suno Werewolf after a Flying Wolf Cavalry rider disabled it, then joined the desperate defense of the fortress.
• Rosalind urged Viscount Landa to retreat, but Landa refused, citing the 250,000 civilians and soldiers trapped inside and ordering the troops to fight to the death.
• Werewolves opened the fortress gates and poured inside, prompting thousands of Dragonblood Warriors and the Flying Wolf Cavalry to charge into battle.
• Hati observed the human counterattack, howled for reinforcements, and led thousands of Silvermoon Wolf Riders toward the fortress.