Recaps

Victor arrived with the Two Rivers Territory army and used its disciplined formation to intimidate the Horseshoe Tribe leaders. He exposed Jell’s and Luda’s conflicting claims, then ordered both to accompany him to the tribe so they could prove themselves trustworthy.

• Jell saw the approaching army and believed Victor’s support would let him take control of the Horseshoe Tribe, while Luda feared for his family’s fate.
• Victor halted his army before Jack’s force, impressing the watching Barbarian warriors with its discipline and strength.
• Victor praised Jack for his service, then had Jack introduce Jell as a potential ally.
• Victor threatened Jell over discrepancies between his account and Jian’s, then called Luda to question him.
• Luda and Jell accused each other of helping Anlie gain power, and Victor cut off their argument by ordering both to accompany him to the Horseshoe Tribe.

Victor reached the Horseshoe Tribe camp after Jell and Luda turned against Wen Xi and set his family’s tents ablaze. Anlie’s followers remained behind crude defenses, and Victor ordered Jell to demand their surrender as night approached.

• Victor released Luda and his surviving men, then sent Luda and Jell to the Horseshoe Tribe camp to seize their chance to prove themselves.
• Santos sent Centurion Jian, Jell’s younger brother, to Victor, who ordered Jack to keep him under guard.
• Luda and Jell joined forces to attack Wen Xi’s family, and Luda burned their last refuge after the assault drove them inside.
• Victor arrived at the camp, praised Jell and Luda, and ordered his troops to block mass escapes while they advanced toward Anlie’s defenses.
• Anlie called out that he had acted under Lord John's orders and asked Victor to spare his people, but Victor signaled Jell to demand his surrender.

Victor’s forces captured the Horseshoe Tribe’s camp, killed the rebel leaders, and restored order. After receiving the tribe’s tribute and the loyalty of its First Warrior, Shang Ye, Victor tested Shang Ye in a duel and invited him to serve at his side.

• Victor sent Ron and his armored guards over the wooden wall, and they broke through the Horseshoe Tribe’s defenses.
• Jell and Luda presented Victor with the heads of Anlie and An Sheng, and he ordered them to stabilize the camp and protect its people and livestock.
• Victor’s troops left the camp to rest while Jell and Luda organized the tribe’s property and livestock.
• Jell and Luda brought Shang Ye to Victor, and Shang Ye pledged his loyalty.
• Victor challenged Shang Ye to a duel, tested his strength, then ended the match and asked him to stay by his side.

Victor secured the Horseshoe Tribe’s loyalty and two hundred warriors, then received Iron Birch Territory’s formal transfer of the tribe’s vassalage. While surveying the grassland, he discovered a vast limestone deposit that could support large-scale cement production.

• Victor appointed Shang Ye captain of the guards, released Jian, and agreed to take unstable members of the Horseshoe Tribe as herding slaves.
• Jell and Luda offered Two Rivers Territory two hundred warriors and agreed to settle on the grassland, while Victor promised to pay the soldiers’ upkeep and sell the tribe supplies at market prices.
• Victor counted about 2,100 gold coins and over 3,000 silver coins among the seized treasures, while Jell and Luda handed over unstable members of the tribe.
• Santos arrived with two messengers from Iron Birch Territory, and Victor received Alex’s letter and the token transferring the Horseshoe Tribe’s vassalage to him.
• Victor replied to Alex and sent the messengers away with Silver Maples.
• Victor found an exposed limestone deposit estimated at more than five hundred million tons, making cement production and faster construction possible.

Victor arranged for the Horseshoe Tribe to mine limestone and established a river route to transport it, then returned to Wood Fort Town with news of the campaign’s gains. At the docks, he was surprised to find his father, Former Baron Wembley, waiting to see the territory.

• Victor agreed that Jell and Luda would lead the Horseshoe Tribe in collecting limestone for supplies, and he made the tribe a vassal of the Golden Sunflower Family.
• Victor’s scouts found a tributary of the Great Fish River, which he named the Lime River, and he planned to use it to transport ore to Riverside Village.
• Victor settled the Horseshoe Tribe’s leadership and reporting duties, then ordered Number 1 to list the campaign’s spoils as he headed back.
• Victor left Jack and Santos in charge of the slow-moving return convoy and traveled by troop transport to Wood Fort Town.
• Victor found Former Baron Wembley at the docks, where his father congratulated him on the successful campaign and the tribe’s vassalage.

Victor and Wembley discussed their alliance with the Iron Birch Family, the Raine Kingdom’s plans for the Grand Duchy, and how to strengthen their family’s territories. Wembley arranged to send more serfs, literate Freemen, craftsmen, and equipment to Victor, leaving them committed to preparing for the turmoil ahead.

• Victor told Wembley about his territory’s development, recent difficulties, and the battle, then asked about his family in Golden Sunflower Territory.
• Wembley approved Victor’s agreement with the Iron Birch Family and advised him to support Count Colt while staying out of the family’s internal affairs.
• Wembley described the Grand Duchy’s political divisions and said the Raine Kingdom had an opportunity to take advantage of the Silver Maple Family’s weakness.
• Wembley planned to borrow about 13,000 gold coins against Golden Sunflower Territory’s future output and send Victor more serfs to develop his territory.
• Wembley told Victor he had brought fifty literate Freemen, craftsmen, and equipment, and assured him that Victor’s mother and siblings could be moved to Edelweiss Territory if necessary.
• Victor promised to develop his territory and build a new future for the family, while Wembley chose to remain in Golden Sunflower Territory.

Victor showed Wembley the territory’s settlements, industries, and plans for Sea Song Town, then welcomed the returning expeditionary troops with him. Wembley and Captain Jack departed south with livestock and supplies, leaving Victor to continue developing the territory over the winter.

• Victor toured Wood Fort Town, Pasture Village, Red Soil Village, Riverside Village, and Green Leaf Village with Wembley, explaining their facilities and planned industries.
• Victor described his plans to develop Sea Song Town as a transportation hub and shipbuilding center, and Wembley advised him to treat maritime trade as an experiment for now.
• Victor and Wembley inspected Sea Song Town’s docks before returning to Wood Fort Town as the expeditionary troops began arriving back.
• Wembley thanked Ron for his service and greeted James, Santos, and Knight Jack as they returned with their troops.
• Victor held a banquet to celebrate the territory’s officials, departments, and soldiers after the troops and spoils arrived.
• Wembley and Captain Jack sailed south on the 27th with three thousand sheep and fifteen hundred horses, while Victor waved farewell from the docks.

Victor reviewed Two Rivers Territory’s development and long-term plans, then inspected winter construction and fuel preparations after the first snowfall. After witnessing Sea Haze at Sea Song Town, he returned to Wood Fort Town, inspired to make the territory resemble his remembered hometown.

• Victor presented Two Rivers Territory’s construction, population, military, and economic figures at a summary meeting, and the officers and officials praised his leadership.
• On October 29, the first snowfall brought winter to the north, and Victor inspected housing and other projects to ensure they were ready for worsening weather.
• Victor sent messengers to Black Pine Territory to ask Marcus to focus on harvesting Black Oil Pine for fuel.
• At Riverside Village, Victor learned that the Horseshoe Tribe had gathered hundreds of tons of limestone ore and ordered a storage yard planned and the cement kiln construction accelerated.
• Victor arrived at Sea Song Town on October 30 and watched the Sea Haze over the unfrozen estuary before returning to Wood Fort Town.

After winter, Victor expanded farming, education, iron production, and construction across the Two Rivers Territory. New workers, supplies, and technology arrived, leaving the territory poised for rapid development.

• Victor required army squad leaders and higher-ranking officers to attend literacy classes, while Little Paru taught and Michael studied.
• Victor began spring planting across 400 hectares using newly made heavy plows and curved-shaft plows, and grass seeds were scattered at Pasture Village.
• Victor observed the Iron Beans at Red Soil Village thriving and planned an ironworks using the Martin furnace process.
• Victor asked Vitri of the Gorn Trading Company to gather Iron Beans and planned to expand their cultivation.
• Victor received successive shipments of serfs and supplies from the Golden Sunflower Territory and sent cashmere-processing technology and spinning machines to the Edelweiss Territory.
• Viscount Roy gave Victor two hundred Cavalry and their families and property, while the cement plant began production.

Victor received Count Colt’s summons for the Northern Frontier nobles to gather with troops in Enzo City and learned from Alex that the Barbarian Tribal Alliance planned to attack Durham County. He agreed to deploy Two Rivers Territory’s First Regiment, leaving Santos to defend the territory, and planned to march overland to the assembly point.

• Victor welcomed two messengers from Iron Birch Territory, accepted Count Colt’s summons order, and received a separate letter from Alex.
• Victor read that all nobles in the Three Counties of the Northern Frontier had to bring specified forces to Enzo City by the end of July or face charges of treason.
• Alex explained that intelligence pointed to Durham County as the Barbarian Tribal Alliance’s first target and urged Victor to bring more cavalry for the campaign.
• Victor assessed the opportunity to earn the merit needed to raise his family’s title and convened his military commanders.
• Victor appointed Santos to guard Two Rivers Territory and ordered the rest of the First Regiment, including its cavalry, infantry, and logistics detachments, to deploy.
• Ron and James recommended an overland march with light baggage, and Victor agreed to set out quickly for Enzo City.

Victor oversaw rapid expansion in Two Rivers Territory as fleets delivered supplies and serfs, farmland and infrastructure grew, and factories began operating. By the end of June, the territory was preparing for winter and expanding its military production, though it still faced food, housing, and steel supply challenges.

• Baron Wembley organized fleets that delivered eight batches of supplies and serfs to Two Rivers Territory in May, while Captain Jack struggled to keep up with the work.
• Victor's territory reclaimed 1,600 hectares along the Great Fish River and completed 150 kilometers of irrigation and drainage canals, while engineers built border sentry posts and a river fort.
• Golden Sunflower Territory delivered nearly 8,000 tons of wheat, and Victor planned to rely on winter wheat and crop rotation for future food supplies.
• Victor gave Vitri 3,000 gold coins to buy iron materials, and Vitri delivered nearly 150 tons of iron; Victor had meanwhile expanded Iron Bean cultivation to 300 hectares.
• Muyuan Town completed its livestock sheds, and construction continued across the territory as officials worked toward building nearly 7,000 homes for the projected population.
• Riverside Village completed the first phase of its factories, which employed more than 3,000 people, and Victor ordered the Arms Factory to increase armor production for his troops.

Victor inspected newly completed armor at the Arms Factory, approved plans for a heavily armored cavalry unit, and agreed to shelter the Horseshoe Tribe after it reported that the Great Tribal Alliance planned to attack the northern counties. The story left Victor preparing to receive the tribe’s people and livestock as war approached.

• Victor inspected the first four hundred suits of half armor and assigned Santos and Fola to check and accept the delivery.
• Victor showed Ron the chainmail samples and planned to equip the First Cavalry Squadron with chainmail, half armor, and reinforced felt horse armor.
• Victor proposed giving each heavy cavalryman two packhorses so riders could save their armor for battle, and Ron supported the plan.
• After the inspection, Victor arranged for the armor to be delivered to the camp at Wood Fort Town.
• Jell told Victor that the Great Tribal Alliance intended to attack the northern counties and asked to bring the Horseshoe Tribe to Two Rivers Territory for refuge.
• Victor agreed to shelter the Horseshoe Tribe.

Victor mobilized Two Rivers Territory and reorganized its forces to prepare for a possible invasion by the Barbarian Tribal Grand Alliance. He established river-based defensive positions and placed Santos in charge of the territory’s military affairs in his absence.

• Victor ordered the Horseshoe Tribe to patrol the border and moved its members to Pasture Village.
• Victor consolidated personnel and supplies in Wood Fort Town and gathered residents from Red Soil Village and Green Field Village there.
• Victor strengthened the auxiliary forces, completed the regiment’s professionalization, and established a territory-wide militia system.
• Victor deployed the inland fleet to support rapid reinforcements among Wood Fort Town, Riverside Village, and Sea Song Town.
• Victor reorganized the First Regiment and created the Two Rivers Territory Garrison Army under Santos, giving it authority to coordinate patrols, militia, and supplies.

Victor finalized the Two Rivers Territory’s expedition plans, prepared the territory’s defenses under Santos, and led the assembled army southwest toward Durham County. In Stream Territory, Baron Brown agreed to join Victor’s march with three hundred Light Cavalry.

• Victor finalized the army’s marching plan, strengthened its logistics, and ordered the territory’s departments to prepare for the expedition.
• Victor recalled the Horseshoe Tribe’s cavalry, sent four hundred Barbarian Cavalry with Jell and Luda, and placed the remaining warriors under Santos’s command.
• Victor instructed Powell and the other stewards to cooperate with Santos and prioritize the territory’s security while he was away.
• On July 10, Victor’s expeditionary force left Wood Fort Town and reached Stream Territory after a swift march.
• Baron Brown granted Victor permission to cross his lands, then sent his infantry home and joined the march with three hundred Light Cavalry.

Victor's army arrived in Enzo City to answer Count Colt's summons, and Victor arranged to replenish its dwindling supplies. The Gorn Trading Company's local branch agreed to deliver the needed provisions to his camp the next day, though Vitri had not yet arrived.

• Baron Brown guided Victor's forces through Northern Frontier territories, where local nobles respected Victor's large army.
• After eleven days on the road, Victor's force reached Enzo City, where Captain Ian directed them to the expeditionary camp.
• Victor settled his troops and entered Enzo City with his guards while James and Brown returned to camp to rest.
• Victor visited the Gorn Trading Company and learned that Vitri was still in Northwind City.
• The branch president told Victor the company had ample supplies and would deliver his requested provisions to the camp the next day.

Victor met Alex Iron Birch, who revealed that Count Colt had arranged a battle plan with the Barbarians and gave him intelligence on the Tribal Alliance’s invasion. Victor realized the Iron Bone Tribe was likely collaborating with Iron Birch Territory, while Alex confirmed he was expected to command a regiment.

• Victor returned to camp, where Baron Brown introduced him to Northern Frontier nobles and helped him build relationships.
• Victor traveled to a manor in Enzo City and reunited with Alex Iron Birch, who said Victor would become regimental commander of the Second Regiment of the Second Legion.
• Alex told Victor that Count Colt had reached an agreement with the Barbarians and explained the Tribal Alliance’s formation and the Iron Bone Tribe’s history.
• Alex handed Victor intelligence showing that the Tribal Alliance would attack on three routes with 150,000 men.
• Victor inferred that the Iron Bone Tribe was Iron Birch Territory’s partner, and Alex joked that Victor knew too much.

Victor learned the Tribal Alliance battle plan from Alex, then attended the prewar conference and was appointed commander of the Second Legion’s Second Regiment. Viscount Benjamin ordered the legion to march on Hot Water Fortress, with Victor’s cavalry regiment in the vanguard.

• Alex told Victor that the Raine Kingdom could not provide timely military support and explained Count Colt’s plan to defeat the Tribal Alliance’s central and right-wing forces.
• Alex revealed that Victor would support the Second Legion’s attack on the alliance’s right wing, then burned the intelligence and battle plan with Victor.
• Victor kept the plan from his subordinates while waiting for the prewar conference on the twenty-eighth.
• The conference appointed Victor Regimental Commander of the Second Legion’s Second Regiment and assigned Baron Brown to command the Second Squadron of the Fourth Regiment.
• Viscount Benjamin announced that the legion would march to Hot Water Fortress in North York County and ordered Victor’s Second Regiment and the First Regiment to lead the advance the next morning.

Victor's Second Regiment joined Viscount Benjamin's army as it marched to intercept the Tribal Alliance's right wing, and Victor questioned Benjamin about the enemy's target, Hot Water Fortress. Benjamin explained that the fortress controlled an unavoidable mountain pass but was defended by only two hundred men, while assuring Victor that his scouts had been sent ahead.

• Viscount Benjamin ordered the First and Second Regiments to set out, and Victor observed the Golden Pear Family's sizable heavy cavalry during the march.
• A messenger summoned Victor to Benjamin, who praised Victor and asked whether the Second Regiment could keep pace.
• Victor assured Benjamin that his soldiers were experienced and asked why the Tribal Alliance was attacking Hot Water Fortress instead of more vulnerable territories near the Great Fish River.
• Benjamin explained that the river was a natural barrier and that Hot Water Fortress controlled a pass through the mountains, making it impossible for the Tribal Alliance to bypass.
• Benjamin told Victor that Count Colt had left only two hundred defenders at the fortress, but said his mounted sentries and reconnaissance cavalry had already been deployed.

Victor traveled with Benjamin’s army toward Hot Water Fortress, where scouts reported that eight thousand Barbarians had surrounded the fortress. Benjamin ordered a forced night march and dawn raid to break the siege and send reinforcements.

• Benjamin befriended Victor, discussed a possible marriage match for him, and shared private rumors and military experience during their march.
• The army reached a town in Iron Birch Territory near Hot Water Fortress on August 2, and Benjamin ordered a two-day rest and reconnaissance.
• On August 3, Benjamin learned that Barbarians had surrounded Hot Water Fortress with roughly eight thousand troops.
• Benjamin planned to lead elite cavalry in a dawn raid while Marvin took two companies to reinforce the fortress garrison.
• Victor offered four hundred and fifty cavalry and two hundred horses for Marvin, and Benjamin ordered everyone to assemble for a forced march at five o’clock.

Victor proposed a night attack to break the Barbarian siege of Hot Water Fortress and led two hundred Light Cavalry to strike the enemy camp from the rear. The assault force reached its position unseen, and Victor scouted the open camp gates before the attack began.

• Viscount Benjamin led the reinforcements toward Hot Water Fortress after sending Light Cavalry to clear the valley road.
• Victor learned that Captain Marvin's infantry had withdrawn from the fortress as part of a plan to lure the Barbarians away.
• Victor proposed using the valley's shadows to send Light Cavalry behind the Barbarian camps, and Benjamin approved the plan.
• Victor took command of two hundred Light Cavalry while Benjamin prepared to attack from the front.
• The army rested near the Barbarian camp, then Victor led the assault force silently through the valley before dawn.
• Victor scouted the camp and identified two open gates for the rear attack.

Victor and Ron raided the Barbarian camp to create chaos while Benjamin led the Second Legion’s cavalry in a decisive assault. Benjamin killed Val and routed the Barbarians, after which Victor joined him with only forty or fifty men remaining.

• Victor and Ron split up to attack separate entrances, destroy banners, set fires, and spread news of the Barbarians’ defeat.
• Victor’s cavalry killed a scouting party and sowed chaos in the camp, while Ron’s raid was slowed after a patrol raised the alarm.
• Benjamin waited as the Barbarians focused on Victor, then led more than a thousand cavalrymen in a charge against the camp.
• Val gathered six hundred guards to intercept Benjamin, but the Heavy Cavalry broke through and killed him and his guards.
• Benjamin’s cavalry routed the remaining Barbarian forces, and Victor joined him with forty or fifty men left.

Victor and Viscount Benjamin led the Second Legion’s Heavy Cavalry in a series of charges that shattered the Barbarian camp and defeated its reinforcements. As dawn broke, the battle ended in victory, and Ron helped the exhausted Victor remove his armor and keep warm.

• Benjamin ordered Victor to put on fresh armor and rejoin the advance as the Heavy Cavalry drove the disorganized Barbarians south.
• Barbarian reinforcements were routed when they charged the Heavy Cavalry, while Captain Marvin’s men blocked the other approach with fire.
• Victor broke through the Barbarian camp and killed its Legion Commander, destroying the defenders’ remaining resistance.
• Benjamin led the Second Legion toward the left valley pass, where repeated cavalry charges broke the Barbarian formation.
• At dawn, Victor found Ron after the fighting ended, and Ron removed Victor’s armor and covered him with felt to protect him from the cold.

After defeating the Barbarian vanguard, Victor led the wounded survivors away from Hot Water Fortress as the Barbarian main force arrived. The retreat reached the border town, but Benjamin was feverish from a possibly poisoned wound, and Victor prepared for another battle.

• Captain Marvin cleared the battlefield and replenished the assault force while Benjamin ordered the troops to rest and then fainted, placing his soldiers under Victor's command.
• Victor tallied the losses, left wounded soldiers and a hundred mounted archers with Marvin to defend Hot Water Fortress, and began planning the retreat.
• Pim recognized the Golden Wolf Banner's signal, and a scout reported that at least three thousand Barbarian Light Cavalry were approaching.
• Victor led the remaining cavalry through the valley and used a burning baggage train, ignited by archers from Hot Water Fortress, to disrupt the pursuers and buy time.
• At 4:00 p.m. on August 4, Victor and the exhausted force reached the border town, where he found Benjamin feverish from a wound that might have been poisoned and organized for another battle.

Victor repelled a Barbarian pursuit force, then organized a campaign to deny the enemy intelligence and prepare for a decisive battle on Black Stone Plain. After winning support from Baron Brown, he studied a detailed terrain map and refined his battle plan.

• Victor's troops wiped out the Barbarian pursuers, and beacon fires from Hot Water Fortress signaled that the enemy main force had arrived there.
• Victor learned the regiments' losses, confirmed Viscount Benjamin's condition was improving, and ordered eighteen hundred Light Cavalry to hunt Barbarian Rangers and protect their intelligence advantage.
• For six days, Victor's cavalry hunted enemy scouts and small units while reinforcements arrived, including Baron Brown and his troops.
• Victor showed Baron Brown a plan to lure the Barbarians' right-wing army onto Black Stone Plain, and Brown agreed to support it.
• Victor replenished supplies, then used Number 1's detailed three-dimensional map to refine his battle plan.

Victor presented his plan to lure the divided Barbarian tribes into a decisive battle on Black Stone Plain, overcoming opposition from Viscount Hawke with Viscount Benjamin’s support. The Second Legion marched at dawn, and Victor set out for the battle with command authority in hand.

• Victor explained that Bloodhoof’s forces were weakened by tribal conflict and proposed drawing them into a decisive battle on the plain.
• Viscount Hawke challenged Victor’s command and demanded a military vote, prompting Raymond and other officers to defend Victor.
• Viscount Benjamin silenced Hawke, approved Victor’s plan, and gave him authority to punish any officer who disobeyed.
• Baron Brown revealed that the Fourth Regiment had prepared hay carts soaked in Fire Oil as bait in Eaglebeak Valley.
• Victor inspected and encouraged his soldiers, promising rewards for their service.
• At dawn, Victor and the army advanced toward Black Stone Plain as the decisive battle began.