Recaps

Victor stopped East Sea Alliance agents from disrupting farm-loan efforts and helped resume agricultural production in the occupied territories. With winter wheat planted, he turned to reviving commerce through tax incentives and unified checkpoint policies.

• East Sea Alliance sent agents into the occupied territories to spread rumors that the Allied Army would seize farmers' land and crops in exchange for seed and tool loans.
• Victor stopped Vela Nobles from using troops against protesting farmers, then enlisted Duke Balek's Nightingale organization and Alex's Spy Organization to identify and remove the rumor-spreaders.
• Victor denied loans to farmers who joined the unrest and imposed collective punishment on their villages, while the first winter wheat crop was replanted by the end of December.
• Victor offered tax concessions and rebates to merchant guilds willing to enter the occupied territories and restore trade.
• Victor and the Vela Nobles introduced a unified checkpoint tax policy that let merchants travel through their occupied territories without paying duplicate tolls, attracting both Vela and East Sea Alliance guilds.

Victor welcomed East Sea merchants with tax rebates and gifts, and their growing trust brought him letters from moderate and surrender-minded nobles seeking his help. He and Alex decided to forward the letters to Duke Barick while keeping the merchant connections open, as Victor also continued to withhold gunpowder and cannon technology from the Raine Kingdom.

• Victor granted East Sea merchants tax rebates and welcomed their trade in Vela and Two Rivers County.
• Wealthy merchants sent Victor gifts, and he found letters asking him to broker a ceasefire or arrange the nobles’ surrender to the allied forces.
• Victor showed the letters to Alex, who advised forwarding them to Duke Barick while keeping communication with the merchants open.
• Victor declined Earl Stanley’s offer to buy the Two Rivers Legion’s mortars and their technology, intending to wait until Two Rivers County’s gunpowder technology advanced further.

Victor ordered a crackdown on spies in Two Rivers County and proposed selling gunpowder weapons to selected Raine and Vela buyers. After Earl Stanley asked him to delay sales to Raine nobles, Victor suspected the kingdom was heading toward civil war and urged Vela nobles to withdraw their investments from its heartland.

• Victor ordered the Intelligence Department and Internal Security Department to clear unknown outsiders from his lands, and they arrested many spies near the Arms Factory and Research Institute.
• Victor offered to sell Artillery and other gunpowder weapons only to the Raine Kingdom and certain Vela nobles, requiring payment in hard currency.
• Duke Barick and Earl Stanley met Victor to negotiate, and Earl Stanley asked him to delay sales to other Raine nobles for several years.
• Victor inferred that Earl Stanley still planned to suppress the Noble Faction by force and suspected the Raine Kingdom was headed for civil war.
• Victor told Alex and other leading Vela nobles his concerns, and they agreed to urge Vela nobles to sell their holdings in the kingdom's heartland and bring the proceeds home.

The Raine Kingdom’s Noble Faction seized the assets of Vela nobles who delayed withdrawing their businesses, prompting Alex and Victor to secure royal investigations and compensation. With the dispute settled, both sides prepared for war as the East Sea Alliance rebuilt its army, and Vela sent four more legions to the border.

• Vela nobles sold off businesses in the Raine Kingdom, but Raine nobles seized the assets of those who had not withdrawn in time.
• The affected nobles appealed to Alex and other Vela grand nobles, but Alex stopped them from retaliating and Victor sent their loss list to Duke Barick.
• The king investigated the seizures, punished more than a dozen Raine nobles, and sent compensation for the Vela nobles through Alex.
• Intelligence revealed that the East Sea Alliance had raised its forces to thirty-seven legions, so Alex arranged for Vela to send four additional legions to the border.

Alimi and Mamadu spotted a vast enemy fleet approaching the occupied port and prepared to abandon it. Alimi fled south with his six ships while Mamadu withdrew his troops inland and burned supplies, leaving the approaching fleet to find the garrison in flames.

• Alimi and Mamadu discussed the port’s defenses and the Vela Navy as a huge fleet appeared on the horizon.
• Alimi recognized the danger, and he and Mamadu sounded the alarm and assembled the garrison.
• Alimi urged Mamadu to retreat because his regiment could not resist the enormous fleet, and Mamadu confirmed that messengers had warned army headquarters.
• Alimi sailed south with his six warships, while several dozen enemy ships pursued him.
• Mamadu organized the troops’ withdrawal, destroyed supplies they could not carry, and set the garrison camp ablaze.

Prince Yonicha and Marquis Kayo discussed the Xister Kingdom’s assault on an East Sea Alliance port and their plans to use the coastal ports to support the war. Kayo then questioned whether the Alliance would honor its promise to cede four northern coastal counties after victory.

• Prince Yonicha feared the smoke rising from the port meant the enemy was burning it, but Marquis Kayo assured him the southeasterly wind would hinder the fire.
• Yonicha acknowledged his past failure at Stone Mountain City and entrusted Kayo with guiding the battle while promising to follow his advice.
• Kayo explained that capturing the port would let the Xister Kingdom exploit the trade winds, restrict enemy fleet supplies, and help its forces defeat Ryan and Vela’s army.
• Yonicha and Kayo discussed the enemy’s fuel-hungry, wheel-powered ships and how controlling the coast could limit their range.
• Kayo asked whether the East Sea Alliance would honor its promise to cede four northern coastal counties after the war.

Prince Yonicha and Marquis Kayo prepared the Xister Kingdom’s forces to support the East Sea Alliance’s counteroffensive against the Raine-Vela Allied Army. Sixteen legions waited at the ports, with a joint force of more than sixty legions set to cross the sea and reclaim the occupied territories.

• Prince Yonicha said every noble councilor of the East Sea Alliance would sign the agreement guaranteeing the four occupied counties to the victors.
• Marquis Kayo declared that his elite troops would demonstrate the Xister Kingdom’s strength and win the war.
• The Xister Kingdom committed sixteen legions to support the East Sea Alliance, fearing Raine’s expansion across the Silver Moon Strait.
• The Xister Kingdom’s troops assembled at coastal ports and waited for the navy to clear a route across the sea.
• Prince Yonicha and Marquis Kayo prepared to lead a joint force of more than sixty legions in a counteroffensive against the Raine-Vela Allied Army.

Prince Yonitsa and Marquis Kayo led the Xister Kingdom’s fleet to capture a harbor for landing the kingdom’s army in East Sea Alliance territory. They reached the port and learned it was secure and largely undamaged, leaving it ready to receive the arriving forces.

• The Xister Kingdom’s leaders aimed to defeat the Ryan-Vela coalition and establish a landing route for their army.
• Prince Yonitsa and Marquis Kayo arrived aboard the Fjord with a combined fleet carrying 180,000 troops.
• The Vanguard Army’s landing troops secured the harbor and town and imposed martial law.
• Marquis Kayo asked an officer about the harbor’s damage, and the officer reported that the enemy had destroyed only its garrison camp and supplies.

Marquis Kayo’s forces landed in the Vela coastal prefecture without resistance, while the Vela command ordered its three coastal legions to withdraw inland and yield four prefectures to the Xister Kingdom’s Expeditionary Army. The chapter ended with Vela troops packing up across the region and preparing to retreat without engaging the enemy.

• Marquis Kayo ordered his personal legion ferried ashore quickly, and his troops landed by noon without encountering enemy forces.
• Marquis Kayo and Prince Yonitsa watched the fleet sail south two days later, as the remaining troops and supplies finished landing.
• Mamadu arrived at the prefectural capital and found Labuyard’s War Department packing to leave.
• Labuyard told Mamadu that Duke Alex and Marquis Victor had ordered the three coastal legions to withdraw inland and abandon the coast.
• Labuyard and Mamadu prepared to gather their legion and retreat, while troops in towns across the four prefectures began packing up as well.

Alex and Victor learned that the Xister Kingdom was sending 600,000 troops across the sea and arranged with Earl Stanley to lure them deep into occupied territory before encircling them. After a month of planned withdrawals, the East Sea Alliance and Xister Kingdom celebrated retaking much of the lost land, unaware that the retreat was part of the trap.

• Victor had established an intelligence station and relay network that warned Blade Ridge City of the Xister Kingdom's movements before Labuyard reported the enemy encounter.
• Alex and Victor learned the Xister Kingdom had assembled 15 to 20 legions, about 600,000 troops, and planned to let them land before attempting to annihilate them.
• Alex and Victor reported their plan to Duke Barick and Earl Stanley, who agreed to have the Raine Kingdom pin down the East Sea Alliance and send at least four legions to help surround the Xister army.
• Alex and Victor abandoned Vela's four coastal counties and planned further elastic retreats to draw the enemy deeper, stretch its supply lines, and create an opportunity for encirclement.
• Over the next month, the Xister Kingdom retook four coastal counties and the East Sea Alliance recovered five counties, prompting its nobles to believe victory was near.

The Vela and Raine armies began a month-and-a-half land and sea campaign to encircle the Xister Kingdom Army, with Victor leading the Two Rivers Legion on a hidden route behind the enemy. At Vorka City, a Xister legion faced a sudden assault and struggled to hold its camp while trying to summon reinforcements.

• After the Xister Kingdom abandoned its caution, Prince Yonicha and hardline generals took command and prepared to attack west with more than ten legions.
• Vela and Raine forces maneuvered to encircle the Xister Kingdom Army, while Victor led the Two Rivers Legion through an unknown mountain route to block its escape and reinforcements.
• The Vela Navy moved to disrupt the combined Xister Kingdom and East Sea Alliance fleet and draw it into battle with the Two Rivers Fleet.
• At Vorka City, Xister cavalry ordered auxiliary soldiers and laborers to report to the front as enemy forces attacked from behind and beside the city.
• The Xister Legion Commander learned that the attackers had likely used an unknown trail, and ordered a regimental commander to break through the cavalry blockade to seek help.
• The Legion Commander sent for camp auxiliaries and urged his officers to hold out for three days, despite poor morale and the enemy's superior equipment and fighting ability.

Victor oversaw the Two Rivers Legion’s assault on Vorka City, ordering James to seal off the battlefield and Santos to limit casualties and preserve the city’s defenses. By the afternoon of the second day, the Two Rivers Legion had captured the city and camp, and many Xister Kingdom troops had surrendered.

• Victor asked James to blockade the battlefield so Xister Kingdom troops could not escape and report the encirclement.
• Santos reported that the attack was progressing well despite the defenders’ use of auxiliary troops and civilian laborers.
• Victor ordered Santos not to rush the assault and to avoid damaging the city walls, camp facilities, and supply stores.
• The Two Rivers Legion slowed its advance but continued to overwhelm the poorly equipped defenders.
• By the afternoon of the second day, the Two Rivers Legion had captured Vorka City and its military camp, forcing many Xister Kingdom troops to surrender.

After taking Vorka City, Victor prepared the Two Rivers Legion to hold the encirclement against the Xister Kingdom’s approaching forces. He then considered the Golden Sunflower Family’s growing prosperity and the severe shortage of technical personnel limiting its railways, fleet, and military industry.

• Peniad surrendered Vorka City and welcomed Victor, who stopped James and the other officers from mistreating him.
• Victor inspected the city and rallied the Two Rivers Legion to hold the pocket against a possible enemy force nearly ten times its size.
• The chapter described the Golden Sunflower Family’s expanding population and prosperity, which allowed it to send more than 50,000 people to war without disrupting life at home.
• Victor identified the shortage of educated technical workers as the main limit on railway construction, steamship maintenance, and production of advanced equipment.
• Victor estimated that expanding education could ease the territory’s shortage of technical personnel within four or five years.

The Two Rivers Legion fortified Vorka City and relocated its residents as the Xister Kingdom army discovered the city had fallen. Prince Yonicha’s eleven-legion main force was surrounded, leaving the six legions outside the encirclement as its only hope of reopening a retreat route.

• The Two Rivers Legion repaired Vorka City's defenses and forcibly relocated residents, giving them compensation.
• The Two Rivers Legion prepared to hold Vorka City and block the retreat route of the Xister Kingdom's main army.
• The Xister Kingdom army discovered Vorka City had been recaptured and tried to turn back toward it.
• The Vela Legion and four Raine Kingdom legions attacked the Xister Kingdom's main force from all directions.
• Prince Yonicha realized his eleven encircled legions could not safely withdraw and depended on the six legions outside the encirclement to retake Vorka City.

Prince Yonitsa and Marquis Kayo organized the Xister Kingdom Army’s defense and coordinated an assault on Vorka City, but the Two Rivers Legion’s artillery stalled their attacks until its ammunition began to run low. The Xister Kingdom forces reached the city walls, and the Two Rivers Legion withdrew inside Vorka City, where it held substantial supplies.

• Prince Yonitsa committed two legions to join the six outside Vorka City while withdrawing the main army into a concentrated defensive system on Marquis Kayo’s advice.
• The two Xister Kingdom forces attacked Vorka City at different times, allowing the Two Rivers Legion to counterattack and inflict heavy losses with artillery.
• Marquis Kayo inspected the battlefield and urged the commanders to coordinate simultaneous attacks from both fronts.
• The Xister Kingdom Army coordinated its assaults, and the Two Rivers Legion conserved its dwindling artillery ammunition.
• The Xister Kingdom Army captured the outer trenches and advanced near the city walls, prompting the Two Rivers Legion to abandon its outside camp and withdraw into Vorka City.

The Two Rivers Legion held Vorka City against repeated Xister Kingdom assaults while Alex’s forces failed to destroy two enemy legions that escaped a salient. At a war council, Alex proposed concentrating the Vela Army’s offensive on two breakthrough points.

• The Two Rivers Legion repelled attacks by eight Xister Kingdom legions, which lost nearly thirty thousand troops without taking Vorka City.
• Prince Yonitsa and Marquis Kayo used a feint to cover the withdrawal of two Xister Kingdom legions from a narrow salient, and most of their troops escaped before the Vela Army caught on.
• Alex regretted failing to destroy the retreating legions, then convened the Vela and Raine Kingdom commanders for a war council.
• Alex reported that Victor had confirmed Vorka City was secure and criticized the allied forces’ poor communication and slow movements.
• Viscount Ferry endorsed Alex’s proposed change, and Alex announced that the Vela Army would concentrate its offensive on two breakthrough points.

Alex proposed that the Vela-Raine Allied Army attack two mountain passes held by the Xister Kingdom Army to open new routes for deploying troops and force the enemy to spread its reserves. The commanders accepted the plan after Alex pledged elite troops and artillery for a rapid assault.

• Alex showed the commanders a detailed map of the Xister Kingdom Army’s occupied territory and offered them copies.
• Alex explained that capturing two lightly garrisoned mountain passes would open routes into the enemy’s flanks and create room to deploy more Allied legions.
• A commander warned that the narrow passes could cause heavy casualties and let the enemy reinforce the defenses piecemeal.
• Alex argued that elite troops could break through quickly because the Allied Army had better armor, equipment, and soldiers than the Xister Kingdom Army.
• Alex said Victor’s artillery would support the attack, and the commanders raised no further objections.

The Allied Army used attacks on the mountain passes to draw Xister Kingdom reserves away from other fronts, then broke through its weakened defenses and forced a retreat. Marquis Kayo and Prince Yonicha weighed their options as shortages of military supplies threatened the isolated Xister forces.

• The Iron Birch Family and Raine Kingdom sent legions that broke through two mountain passes and attacked the Xister Kingdom army’s flanks, but supply problems stopped their advance.
• The Allied Army exploited the weakened defenses and broke through several lines, prompting Marquis Kayo to abandon the outer defenses and retreat with half the territory lost.
• Prince Yonicha asked Marquis Kayo about sending more troops to attack Vorka City or deploying the Reserve Force, but Marquis Kayo refused to weaken the main defenses.
• Marquis Kayo asked about supplies, and Prince Yonicha said the army had food for more than three months but would run short of arrows within a month.

Marquis Kayo and Prince Yonicha devised a way to replenish the Xister Kingdom Army’s dwindling arrows by firing them across Vorka City into the encirclement. Victor discovered the scheme and ordered Artillery and Catapults to attack the riverbank with Flowering Shells if the Xister Kingdom repeated it.

• Marquis Kayo worried that the Xister Kingdom Army could not replenish its arrows and asked Prince Yonicha whether the besieged enemy could leave Vorka City.
• Marquis Kayo proposed firing arrows over the city walls, and Yonicha identified the nearby riverbank as a suitable place for the arrows to land.
• The Xister Kingdom legions fired volleys toward the riverbank for three nights, while troops inside the encirclement later searched the shore and collected arrows.
• Victor investigated the strange activity and learned from James that the Xister Kingdom had fired roughly two million arrows into the encirclement.
• Victor ordered James to have the Artillery and Catapults attack the riverbank with Flowering Shells if the enemy tried the method again.

Victor left the battle arrangements to James and the Two Rivers Legion's officers as the defenders prepared for another Xister Kingdom attack. A precisely aimed nighttime barrage of Flowering Shells devastated the enemy archers, leaving the Xister Kingdom with nearly three thousand casualties.

• Victor entrusted the battle's practical command to his officers while maintaining morale in Vorka City.
• The Xister Kingdom archers gathered near the walls at night to repeat their previous attack.
• The Two Rivers Legion's artillery fired Flowering Shells at the archers' calibrated positions, and James ordered five volleys.
• The explosions threw the dense archer formations into panic, while Xister Kingdom troops struggled to restore order.
• The Xister Kingdom counted nearly three thousand casualties, almost wiping out one legion's archer force.

Xister Kingdom’s efforts to resupply its encircled army with arrows failed, leaving Prince Yonicha and Marquis Kayo with no solution beyond relying on their allies. The East Sea Alliance also remained stalled against Raine Kingdom, while outside powers and the East Sea Nobility hesitated to commit further resources.

• Xister Kingdom’s elite archers suffered losses while moving through darkness, and the Two Rivers Legion repeatedly stopped attempts to transport more arrows into the encirclement.
• Prince Yonicha and Marquis Kayo ended the arrow transport operation after learning that nearly two million arrows had already been delivered to the encircled forces.
• Marquis Kayo concluded that Xister Kingdom could not escape its predicament alone and would have to depend on its allies.
• The East Sea Alliance’s veteran forces stalled against Earl Stanley’s defenses, while its newly formed legions remained limited to defensive duties.
• War grand dukes of the Chaos Lands lost interest in joining the conflict as the East Sea Alliance’s position stabilized.
• The East Sea Nobility refused to spend its remaining reserves on expanding or strengthening the army, preserving wealth for a possible retreat or new lives elsewhere.

The East Sea Alliance’s costly stalemate against the Raine-Vela Allied Army fueled noble demands for a more aggressive campaign, while many nobles secretly hoped to weaken both the invaders and the Xister Kingdom. Count Valbi recognized that the Alliance had little time to strengthen itself, but his divided council and fragile political support left him unable to lead the army to the Xister Kingdom’s aid.

• The East Sea Nobility struggled to fund more than forty legions as the deadlocked war threatened to exhaust its money and supplies.
• East Sea nobles proposed intensifying attacks and replacing the commanding general, blaming his caution for the lack of progress.
• Many nobles opposed the Xister Kingdom’s territorial gains and wanted both it and the Raine-Vela Allied Army to suffer crippling defeats.
• Count Valbi warned that the East Sea Alliance and Xister Kingdom together could not withstand the Raine-Vela Allied Army if Raine sent more troops east.
• Count Valbi wanted to lead the Alliance’s army to help the Xister Kingdom, but his divided faction and weak political foundations prevented him from controlling the council.

With the East Sea Alliance refusing to help, the encircled Xister Kingdom Army fought on until its forces reopened a supply route through Vorka City. Alex and Victor had deliberately let the Xister Kingdom believe the route was safe, and Alex ordered the final assault as Xister troops began leaving the city’s siege lines.

• Count Valbi refused Prince Yonitsa’s request for support, and the Vela-Raine Allied Army intensified its attacks on the encircled Xister Kingdom forces.
• Xister troops captured Vorka City’s outer wall, allowing supplies to reach the encircled army and raising its morale.
• Prince Yonitsa and Marquis Kayo debated whether to fight or retreat, then reinforced weak points and reclaimed several enemy-held wedges.
• As the supply route stabilized, Xister forces began leaving the siege lines around Vorka City to reinforce the encircled army.
• Victor telegraphed Alex that the snake had left its hole, and Alex ordered every legion to prepare for the final assault.
• Alex and Victor’s plan had deliberately drawn the Xister Kingdom into reinforcing its encircled army while the Two Rivers Legion remained protected in Vorka City’s inner city.

Alex and Victor planned to draw more Xister Kingdom troops into their encirclement, then destroy the kingdom’s seaborne invasion force while the Vela Navy tied down the allied fleet. Earl Stanley’s strong defense gave them time to pursue this broader goal, which they hoped would leave the Raine–Vela Allied Army freer to defeat the East Sea Alliance and deter neighboring powers.

• Alex and Victor planned to lure more Xister Kingdom troops into the encirclement before counterattacking and striking the forces outside it.
• The Vela Navy assembled its fleets and civilian supply ships so it could fight a decisive battle and prevent the enemy fleet from freely transporting troops and supplies.
• Earl Stanley’s Raine troops held firm against the East Sea Alliance, giving Alex and Victor time to revise their plan.
• Alex and Victor decided to try to annihilate the Xister Kingdom’s seaborne invasion force and reduce its ability to support the East Sea Alliance.
• Alex and Victor expected the blow against the Xister Kingdom to deter the war grand dukes of the Chaos Lands from aiding the alliance or interfering after the war.

Prince Yonicha chose to counterattack despite Marquis Kayo’s cautions, but first sent troops to capture Vorka City’s inner city. As the Xister Kingdom Army assembled a massive siege force, veteran defenders restored the Two Rivers Legion’s morale ahead of the assault.

• Prince Yonicha ordered a counteroffensive while Marquis Kayo persuaded him to take Vorka City’s inner city first.
• Yonicha sent four legions to reinforce the siege, bringing the force to ten legions and roughly three hundred thousand troops.
• The Xister Kingdom Army gathered catapults and bed crossbows and launched another assault on Vorka City’s inner walls.
• New recruits on the walls lost confidence at the sight of the enemy army and its siege engines.
• Two Rivers Legion veterans rallied the defenders, who had conserved supplies and withdrawn into the inner city without losses when the outer city fell.