Recaps

Bobok and Boyang joined a heavily armed operation against Scarface’s gang, which was part of a sweeping crackdown across Two Rivers County. After implicated police leaders were removed, Bobok became acting branch chief and Boyang was promoted to regular patrol policeman, while the reason for the purge remained unclear to them.

• A municipal deputy chief arrived with an unfamiliar, combat-ready action team and ordered the South City Branch Bureau police to follow their list and route.
• The operation raided Scarface’s courtyard, subdued his gang, and arrested Scarface after he fought with a long saber.
• The police seized several hundred gold in coins and detained the gang members, many of whom were quickly sentenced or sent to prison.
• Bobok learned that coordinated raids had struck police branches and criminal groups throughout Two Rivers County, including the Dockworkers' Guild and the Construction Workers' Mutual Aid Society.
• The South City Branch Bureau’s leadership and several compromised officers were removed, and Bobok became acting deputy chief while Boyang gained regular patrol status.
• Bobok learned that the Police General Bureau chief had also been removed and reassigned as a company commander at a border fortress.

Victor investigated the attack on Old Ryan, a veteran whose leg was broken after he lost his store gambling and fell into debt with Scarface’s gang. The inquiry revealed that Scarface had tried to cover up the assault, while Old Ryan had left the city in shame without seeking help from the Veterans Affairs Bureau.

• Victor grew angry after hearing that gangsters had crippled a veteran with usurious loans and ordered the Internal Security Bureau to investigate.
• The investigation identified Old Ryan as a decorated veteran who had declined an official post and later made a living from farming and a general store.
• Scarface’s underling lured Old Ryan into gambling, led him to borrow money against his store, and then demanded the property when he could not repay the loan.
• Old Ryan fought the gangsters who came to seize his store, and they broke his leg while trying to subdue him.
• Scarface paid Old Ryan compensation and tried to conceal the incident, but Old Ryan left for the countryside without reporting it to the Veterans Affairs Bureau.

Victor cracked down on gambling, loan sharking, and gangs while ordering reforms to prevent their return. He also began planning a commercial bank and reaffirmed his goal of eventually ending slavery, as the operation concluded with public support for the government and patrol officers.

• Victor ordered strict laws against gambling and usurious lending, and punished officials involved with Scarface’s gang by stripping a deputy minister of his office and noble title while docking Powell’s salary.
• Victor directed the territory to establish strict standards for private loans and prepare a commercial bank offering secured loans, while forbidding people from being used as collateral.
• Victor restricted slave ownership to nobles and maintained that government-owned slaves would earn freedom after completing their contracted years of work.
• The Two Rivers County Government’s crackdown dismantled gray-market groups, drew praise from residents, and improved the patrol officers’ reputation.

Victor visited Caoyetown as his first batch of military vassals underwent transcendent modification, a safe procedure using the Path of the Knight he had developed. Everyone succeeded, and Ron showed exceptional aptitude, while the research base exhausted its best resources and could not conduct another large-scale round soon.

• Victor arrived at Caoyetown, where Isaac's research base had grown into a town of over 6,000 residents and developed a reliable method of transcendent modification.
• Victor saw Ron, James, and the other military vassals complete their physical examinations before the procedure.
• With Victor watching, Isaac oversaw the vassals' transcendent modification, and every participant succeeded.
• Viscount Santos regained his youthful appearance, while Ron grew larger after eating a huge meal and displayed outstanding aptitude.
• Isaac judged that Ron could become the first person in the territory to reach the Path of the Knight's first stage, but the research base had used up its finest resources.

Victor inspected the Territory Research Institute’s first person-portable firearm, a heavy breech-loading rifle made possible by the territory’s propellant and blazefire gel. The weapon’s bark cartridges and powerful test shots impressed him, though its smoke and noise still raised concerns.

• Victor brought the newly modified soldiers to Black Knight Camp and kept the transcendent unit there for observation and research, avoiding public exposure of the family’s capabilities.
• Victor arrived in Futuretown, where Yonicha and the senior researchers showed him a one-person firearm with a breech-loading design and a rifled barrel.
• Yonicha demonstrated a lightweight wooden support that let a soldier fire the eight-kilogram gun without holding it up for long.
• Yonicha explained that flooded willow bark formed the cartridge cases because blazefire gel corroded metal, and that local supplies could support production of millions of rounds annually.
• A soldier fired at targets from one hundred, two hundred, and three hundred meters, hitting them with devastating force.
• Victor approved of the firearm’s power but worried about the thick smoke and loud reports.

Victor evaluated the Type One Rifle’s smoke, range, power, and maintenance demands with Yonicha and the test soldiers. He test-fired the rifle himself and concluded that it was already excellent for combat and would greatly strengthen the Golden Sunflower Family’s army.

• Victor asked Yonicha whether reducing the powder charge could lessen the rifle’s smoke and report, and Yonicha explained that it would sharply reduce range and power.
• Yonicha said the rifle reached over 900 meters but was accurate only to about 500 meters, and that residue required cleaning the bore after fifty shots.
• A test soldier urged Victor to issue the Type One Rifle to the troops immediately, praising its potential to transform warfare.
• Victor told Yonicha that the Research Institute needed to make the rifle easier to maintain before it could be practical for soldiers.
• Victor test-fired ten shots, hit the target nearly every time, and judged that the rifle would greatly boost the army’s combat strength.

Victor approved an initial production run of Type One Rifles and ordered part of the Fourth Regiment rearmed for a combat trial next spring. He left the Arms Factory hopeful about the rifle but wary of costs and supply needs, while Burke and Yonicha discussed the project’s future and consulting fees.

• Burke told Victor the Arms Factory could produce about five hundred Type One Rifles a month at roughly one gold and five silver each, with capacity to expand and costs to fall.
• Victor set production at five hundred rifles per month and directed that about half of the Fourth Regiment be rearmed for testing, with further production depending on battlefield performance and rifle improvements.
• Victor toured ammunition and cannon production, judged ammunition output sufficient, and allocated funds for the Fourth Regiment’s rifles and technical maintenance.
• Yonicha asked Burke to pay the Research Institute’s consulting fees, and Burke agreed while privately resolving to gain more control over the rifle project.
• Victor told Santos that the Fourth Regiment would receive new weapons and carry out a mission next spring to test the Type One Rifle in combat; Santos pledged to equip and train his troops.

Victor prepared the army to adopt new rifles and considered how the Golden Sunflower Family could protect its rise if the Raine Royal House turned against it. Days later, a convoy delivered Type One Rifles to the Fourth Regiment, bringing an unexpected number of people with it.

• Victor told Santos to collect 200 trial rifles from Burke at the Arms Factory and train the Fourth Regiment to use and maintain them.
• Victor ordered the Army Department to send junior officers and veteran elites from other units to train alongside the Fourth Regiment.
• Victor estimated that the Golden Sunflower Family could eventually field a large army and considered moving to the Liege Archipelago if Balek I began suppressing the family.
• A few days later, Santos and the Fourth Regiment's senior officers welcomed an Arms Factory convoy delivering Type One Rifles, only to find that half its vehicles carried people.

Director Burke introduced the Type One Rifle to Viscount Santos and the Fourth Regiment, demonstrating its range and destructive power. Santos approved of the weapon, and Burke promised to train the regiment and accelerate deliveries toward equipping it with 2,000 rifles by the end of March.

• Burke brought crates of Type One Rifles to the Fourth Regiment’s barracks and explained that the new weapon was easy to learn and maintain.
• Burke’s workers test-fired rifles at targets 150 meters away, smashing all five and astonishing Santos and the watching officers.
• Burke described the rifle’s maximum range and accuracy, and the Fourth Regiment’s officers took turns firing it.
• Burke warned Santos that stray bullets could injure onlookers, so Santos ordered his Guard Corps to clear soldiers away from the range.
• Burke left technicians to train the regiment and promised monthly deliveries of about 500 rifles, while Santos offered to advance funds if needed.

Santos organized Type One Rifle training for the Fourth Regiment while other units came to observe, and the Arms Factory began modifying the weapon based on soldiers’ feedback. The chapter ends with Santos introducing dummy rifles so all soldiers could practice holding a gun steady.

• Santos trained the Fourth Regiment’s officers and veterans to use the Type One Rifle, while the Second Detachment learned its maintenance and basic repairs.
• Officers and veterans from other regiments and the navy arrived to observe, so Santos arranged for units to take turns visiting the camp.
• Visitors praised the rifle’s power, and some officers urged their commanders to seek equipment in the next rearmament batch.
• Fourth Regiment soldiers suggested reducing the rifle’s weight and simplifying its maintenance, prompting Burke’s technical team to work on modifications.
• Artillery officers proposed integrated fixed rounds, but the Army Department had rejected them because they cost more and Two Rivers County had no urgent need for faster artillery fire.
• Santos borrowed iron rods from the Steelworks to make dummy rifles, and the Arms Factory praised the training method for teaching soldiers to hold a gun steady.

Burke delivered the final Type One Rifles to Santos, and Victor approved the Fourth Regiment’s early departure after confirming the expedition was prepared. The force set out across the grasslands, and Victor later learned that it had safely reached Outpost Number Four.

• Burke delivered the final six hundred Type One Rifles, completing the Fourth Regiment’s order of two thousand rifles.
• Santos asked Victor for permission to leave early to cross the grasslands before the spring thaw, and Victor approved after checking the regiment’s preparations.
• Victor granted the soldiers leave to notify their families before the long expedition.
• Victor escorted Santos and the expeditionary force toward Iron Mountain, where Santos continued onward with the troops.
• Victor received a telegram reporting that Santos had safely led the expedition to Outpost Number Four, then urged him to moderate the marching pace.

Victor reviewed intelligence about unrest among the Barbarians at Faith Order Headquarters and considered how the Expeditionary Army might exploit Mizhene’s control of its outer defenses. Meanwhile, Burke oversaw the Arms Factory’s expansion to fulfill the Army Department’s order for 5,000 Type One Rifles.

• Victor learned that Barbarians who had joined Faith Order Headquarters resisted its restrictions, and several escape ringleaders were executed while the other participants were sentenced to forced labor.
• Victor recognized that Mizhene’s troops could hide the Expeditionary Army’s approach, but he left battle planning to Santos because he doubted Mizhene’s loyalty and did not want to interfere from afar.
• Victor approved the Type One Rifle after its adjustments, and the Army Department ordered 5,000 rifles for delivery by the end of October.
• Burke used the Army Department’s deposit to buy equipment and materials, and he expected the Arms Factory to raise monthly production to 800 rifles and meet the deadline.

Burke delivered a successful sniper rifle to Victor, who ordered more rifles for his Personal Guard while the Arms Factory continued fulfilling the Army Department’s order. Meanwhile, Santos’s exhausted Expeditionary Army reached Snow Mountain and rested in a sheltered valley before contacting Mizhene, and Victor sought Keledu’s help as a precaution.

• An Arms Factory engineer showed Burke a sniper rifle that hit targets at six hundred meters, and Burke ordered copper-cased ammunition for further testing.
• After the rifle passed tests with the new cartridges, Burke presented it to Victor, who ordered a thousand Type One Rifles and a hundred sniper rifles for his Personal Guard.
• Victor told Burke to maintain uniform, interchangeable rifle parts and decided to keep the Arms Factory’s production plans unchanged.
• Santos brought the exhausted Expeditionary Army to a sheltered valley near Snow Mountain to rest and avoid revealing its condition to Mizhene.
• Santos sent a report of his plans to Two Rivers County, and Victor approved his cautious approach while trusting him to take Faith Order Headquarters.
• Victor sought out Keledu, intending to promote him to viscount after Faith Order Headquarters was taken.

Victor asked Keledu to assess Faith Order Headquarters and Mizhene’s loyalty, and Keledu judged the Order stable for now but vulnerable to unrest among its new Barbarian immigrants. Victor agreed to wait for tensions to erupt before deciding whether the Expeditionary Army should strike.

• Victor gave Keledu intelligence on Faith Order Headquarters and asked whether Mizhene could be trusted.
• Keledu concluded that the Faith Order was operating normally and that its Leader might be occupied with a special ritual rather than ill.
• Keledu believed Mizhene remained loyal but conflicted, and suggested giving him more time or bypassing him through Viscount Santos.
• Keledu warned that the approaching spring hunt could anger newly admitted Barbarian immigrants because the Faith Order forbade large-scale hunts during breeding season.
• Victor agreed that conflict was likely and decided the Expeditionary Army should wait, ready to exploit any unrest within the Faith Order.

After receiving Victor and Keledu’s intelligence and recommendations, Santos revised his battle plan and led the Expeditionary Army toward the Faith Order Headquarters. He reached the hidden mountain valley and prepared to seize its entrance fortress and the nearby heights.

• Victor compiled intelligence and recommendations from Keledu into a telegram for Santos.
• Konedia delivered the decoded telegram, and Santos revised his plan to avoid relying on Mizhene and wait for trouble within the Faith Order.
• Santos ordered Mizhene to keep his troops out of the battle, and Mizhene detained unreliable elements and opened a passage for the Expeditionary Army.
• Santos led the rested Expeditionary Army through the gap and reached the mountain valley two days later.
• Santos surveyed the ice-walled fortress and valley, identifying positions to capture with his 60mm mortars and Type One Rifles.

Santos launched the Expeditionary Army’s attack on the Faith Order after unrest among Barbarian immigrants distracted its forces. The army captured the valley entrance fortress and advanced toward its objectives as the Faith Order’s apostles gathered to organize a response.

• Santos learned that clashes between Barbarian immigrants and Order Warriors had escalated into a riot, so he abandoned his wait and prepared to attack.
• Before dawn, explosions struck the fortress at the valley entrance while Order Warriors remained stationed at the immigrant settlement.
• The Expeditionary Army stormed the damaged fortress, and its Heavy Infantry wiped out the remaining defenders within thirty minutes.
• After receiving the victory report, Santos ordered the army to advance into the valley and left a rearguard with cannons to watch Mizhene’s forces.
• The Faith Order’s apostles began organizing a counterattack, but unrest at the immigrant settlement tied down many of their troops.

The Faith Order gathered its forces to retake the valley-mouth fortress, while Mizhene secretly offered to cooperate with Santos and become a hostage. The apostles’ assault was driven back by the Expeditionary Army’s rifles and artillery, though Order Warriors remained locked in close combat at the front.

• The Faith Order’s first force was routed by the Expeditionary Army, and the apostles summoned soldiers from across the region while sending a messenger to Mizhene.
• Mizhene detained the apostles’ messenger, then secretly told Santos he would feign an attack and enter the Expeditionary Army camp as a hostage; Santos accepted and used Mizhene’s reports to track Faith Order movements.
• The apostles assembled fifteen thousand troops and advanced on the fortress, unaware that the Expeditionary Army knew their plans and had prepared its riflemen and artillery.
• The Faith Order’s Order Warriors charged through rifle fire, reached the Expeditionary Army’s front, and forced its troops to give ground in close combat.
• Santos ordered the artillery to bombard the Faith Order’s rear, splitting its forces and prompting the commanders to retreat while the front-line warriors continued fighting.
• Santos admired the trapped Order Warriors’ courage and decided to give them a chance to live.

Santos tried to persuade the Faith Order’s Order Warriors to surrender, but most refused and continued fighting until the Expeditionary Army killed thousands and captured only a little over a hundred. After the battle, Mizhene identified a captured metal rod as the Faith Order’s sacred artifact, “Judgment,” and explained its destructive power.

• Santos ordered the Expeditionary Army to offer the resisting Order Warriors a chance to surrender, but most refused and resumed their charge.
• The Expeditionary Army redeployed its riflemen against the Order Warriors, and after repeated attacks only a scant hundred or so surrendered.
• The Faith Order’s armed forces suffered a devastating defeat, while the purple-robed warriors retreated with most of their “Judgment” rods.
• An officer presented Santos with a metal rod captured from beneath fallen purple-robed warriors.
• Mizhene identified the rod as “Judgment” and explained that the artifacts could unleash thunder and lightning when activated together.

After the Faith Order retreated, Santos’s Expeditionary Army occupied the valley, took in surrendered barbarian immigrants, and relied on Mizhene’s troops to gather hostile believers. The army settled into the cleared houses for a hot meal as Santos and Mizhene inspected the camps, while Santos prepared to report concerns about religious affairs to the Duke.

• Mizhene explained how the Faith Order’s Judgments worked, and Santos ordered the captured weapons separated and packed for the Territory Research Institute.
• The Expeditionary Army drove the Faith Order’s forces out of the valley with artillery, and the retreating troops abandoned the settlement of barbarian immigrants.
• The Expeditionary Army fought the hungry immigrants when they rushed out for supplies, then accepted their surrender and put them to work.
• Mizhene offered his troops to gather Faith Order believers, and Santos handed them responsibility for clearing the occupied areas; the believers cooperated with fellow Order Warriors.
• Santos decided to report the believers’ hostility to the Duke, while the Expeditionary Army secured shelter and prepared hot meals for its soldiers.
• Santos and Mizhene inspected a camp and met Little Roger, who promised not to fall asleep while on sentry duty again.

Santos brought Mizhene to a temporary camp, where they saw soldiers enjoying a hot, generous dinner. Mizhene learned more about the Golden Sunflower Family’s army and began looking forward to joining it.

• Santos led Mizhene into the camp to inspect the soldiers’ dinner.
• The cooks served the soldiers wheat, beef stew, and cream of mushroom soup, while the Detachment Commander told Santos that the officers would also have cream cake.
• Santos praised the army’s logistical support as he watched the soldiers eat happily.
• The Detachment Commander guided Santos and Mizhene around the camp.
• Mizhene admired the army’s organization and unity and felt anticipation about joining the Golden Sunflower Family.

Santos freed Mizhene to lead a small force in the coming battle while the Faith Order's apostles debated whether to flee or defend their sanctuary. The next morning, both armies assembled, and the Expeditionary Army began attacking the Faith Order's barricaded positions.

• Santos assigned Mizhene and up to two thousand troops to defend a position on the Expeditionary Army's flank while keeping the rest of Mizhene's forces on guard duty.
• The Third Apostle argued for fleeing the valley with the army, but the other apostles opposed abandoning the believers and the Enlightened Sanctuary.
• The First Apostle ordered the Faith Order to keep fighting and preserve the Enlightened Sanctuary, even if they had to negotiate with the enemy later.
• The next morning, Santos's Expeditionary Army and the Faith Order assembled for battle, with the Expeditionary Army attacking and the Faith Order defending.
• The Expeditionary Army sent sword-and-shield troops forward with riflemen providing fire support, avoiding large-scale rifle use against the Faith Order's barricades.

Santos halted the Expeditionary Army’s costly street fighting and ordered artillery to bombard suspected enemy positions. The Faith Order also suffered heavy losses among its Order Warriors, and the apostles hesitated over whether to sacrifice their believer troops instead.

• The Expeditionary Army struggled against the Faith Order’s defenders in the streets and stopped fighting after less than half an hour, having suffered more than 500 casualties.
• Santos saw that nearly half the Expeditionary Army’s casualties were dead or severely wounded and decided not to keep trading soldiers for buildings.
• Santos ordered artillery to move farther into the city and shell buildings that might contain Faith Order troops.
• The apostles learned that more than a thousand Order Warriors had been killed or wounded, about a third of their remaining force.
• The Third Apostle proposed sending believer troops to wear down the enemy, but the other apostles hesitated because those young loyal recruits were potential future Order Warriors.

The Expeditionary Army used artillery and explosives to drive the Faith Order’s forces out of the urban district, while the apostles prepared the Purple-Robed Warrior Corps to unleash over a hundred Judgment arrays. After a patrol found a Judgment metal rod, Santos ordered his troops to retreat and summoned Mizhene to learn how soon the weapon could be used.

• The Expeditionary Army’s engineers demolished buildings alongside the artillery, forcing the Faith Order’s troops to retreat through the urban district.
• The apostles ordered the Purple-Robed Warrior Corps to set up Judgment arrays, despite knowing the chain lightning would kill their own believers as well as the enemy.
• An Expeditionary Army corporal’s squad killed three purple-robed Order Warriors and found a Judgment metal rod hidden in the ruins.
• Santos received the rod and ordered the Expeditionary Army to stop fighting and retreat from the urban district.
• Santos summoned Mizhene to ask when the Judgment artifacts might be ready to take effect.

The apostles discovered that Mizhene had betrayed the Faith Order and suspected Keledu had joined him. The First Apostle ordered them to halt attacks on Mizhene’s troops and conceal the truth from the believers to protect morale.

• Faith Order soldiers recognized Mizhene’s troops as former comrades and alerted the apostles.
• The apostles linked Mizhene’s betrayal to the enemy’s earlier breakthroughs and knowledge of their surprise attack.
• The First Apostle suspected Keledu had betrayed the Faith Order as well, prompting the Fourth Apostle to recall why Keledu had left to establish a new diocese.
• The apostles concluded that an important force now opposed them, though they could not determine whether Keledu considered his actions betrayal.
• The First Apostle ordered the troops to stop attacking Mizhene’s area and keep his betrayal secret from the believers.

The Faith Order’s apostles debated surrender and hoped to use Judgment to destroy the Expeditionary Army, while the First Apostle found their unconscious Lord unable to guide them. Santos’s forces withdrew before Judgment could strike, and the Faith Order decided to negotiate, with the Third Apostle volunteering to approach the enemy.

• The Third Apostle raised the possibility of surrender, but the First Apostle ordered the apostles to focus on battle and later prayed to the unconscious Lord for guidance.
• Santos’s Expeditionary Army began a careful retreat after learning the Faith Order was preparing Judgment.
• The Third Apostle ordered a full assault to stop the retreat, but the other apostles intercepted his order to keep the Order Warriors in reserve for a counterattack.
• The Expeditionary Army withdrew from Judgment’s range, forcing the Faith Order to end the battle without using the array.
• The Faith Order dismantled the Judgment array and the apostles agreed to seek negotiations, with the Third Apostle volunteering because of his ties to Keledu and Mizhene.