Chapter Summaries

Victor Golden Sunflower led Golden Sunflower Territory’s cavalry in a surprise attack that routed Red Ginseng Territory’s column. Baron Freyzer escaped, while Sertis died defending a small force that surrendered after his fall.

• Victor Golden Sunflower’s cavalry caught and killed three fleeing riders, then continued its charge through the fog.
• Sertis warned Baron Freyzer and Rick that a large enemy cavalry force was approaching, but Red Ginseng Territory’s column scattered under the attack.
• Rick pulled Baron Freyzer to safety as the Golden Sunflower Territory cavalry surrounded the fleeing soldiers and called for their surrender.
• Sertis rallied nearly two hundred trained soldiers into a square formation and refused Victor’s offer to surrender in exchange for joining Golden Sunflower Territory.
• Victor ordered his cavalry to fire arrows and charge the formation, and Sertis fell in battle.
• After Sertis died, the soldiers in his formation lost their will to fight and surrendered.

Victor defeated Red Ginseng Territory’s army, captured more than six hundred prisoners, and advanced on Red Ginseng Castle while splitting his forces to secure them. He found that Ron had already taken the castle and sealed its warehouses, and asked him how he had captured it so quickly.

• Victor’s cavalry surprised Baron Freyzer’s marching army in the fog, routed it, and took most of its soldiers prisoner, though Freyzer escaped.
• Victor ordered the prisoners to dig pits for the fallen, then split his forces between escorting soldiers to Red Ginseng Castle and guarding the remaining Serf Soldiers.
• Victor led his troops to Red Ginseng Castle, where he found the Golden Sunflower banner flying and learned Ron had captured the castle and sealed its warehouses.
• Victor praised Ron and asked how he had taken the castle so quickly.

Ron captured Red Ginseng Castle while Baron Freyzer was away leading troops to Dos City, and Victor took control of the baron’s family and territory’s resources. Victor arranged to relocate serfs, supplies, and the families of captured soldiers, then returned to Golden Sunflower Territory, leaving Ron to guard the castle.

• After learning that Baron Freyzer had taken most of his troops north, Ron led his force through the fog and captured Red Ginseng Castle.
• Ron’s men overwhelmed the castle’s fewer than fifty defenders and captured Baron Freyzer’s wife, court ladies, and children.
• Victor secured the Baroness’s cooperation and ordered the territory’s stewards to inventory its supplies and serfs for ransom.
• Victor sent soldiers to relocate serfs and supplies from nearby farms and ordered two hundred Cavalry to bring the captured soldiers’ families to Golden Sunflower Territory.
• Victor left Ron in charge of Red Ginseng Castle and rode back to his territory with one hundred cavalry.

After taking Red Ginseng Territory, Victor returned to Golden Sunflower Territory to prepare to stop Perilla’s forces from interfering with Ron’s seizure of supplies and laborers. Meanwhile, Baron Freyzer failed to persuade Baron Charles to launch a full counterattack and left with only a squad of soldiers promised to him.

• Victor handed Red Ginseng Territory over to Ron and returned to Golden Sunflower Territory to prepare the cavalry for action.
• Baron Freyzer arrived in Perilla Territory with Fick and fourteen cavalrymen after fleeing his lands and abandoning his troops and family.
• Freyzer urged Baron Charles to lead Perilla’s forces to retake Red Ginseng Territory, but Charles refused to risk his army without knowing the situation there.
• Charles offered Freyzer a squad of soldiers and weapons to investigate and recruit serfs, promising further aid if Freyzer brought back reliable information.
• Freyzer angrily left, and Charles gave Fick a sealed letter to collect the squad and try to persuade Freyzer to return to Red Ginseng Territory.

Baron Freyzer left Perilla Territory to seek soldiers from Count Black, intending to retake Red Ginseng Territory later. Baron Charles prepared Perilla Territory’s defenses while expecting Count Black’s main army to arrive within days.

• Fick caught up with Baron Freyzer, who decided not to return to Red Ginseng Territory and instead planned to borrow soldiers from Count Black in Dos City.
• Baron Freyzer collected a squad of soldiers and military rations from Perilla Territory before departing with his Cavalrymen.
• Baron Charles learned that Freyzer had taken enough rations for a week and realized he planned to wait for reinforcements rather than fight immediately.
• Baron Charles told Colin, Indigo, and Osric to prepare Perilla Territory’s defenses, patrol the border, and reinforce its sentry posts.
• Baron Charles declined to guard the farms, believing the Golden Sunflower Family would not attack and Count Black would arrive in four or five days.

Victor assembled a force of cavalry and fortress troops to test Perilla Territory’s defenses and Baron Charles’s response. He captured a border sentry post, leaving the consequences of the attack unresolved.

• Victor learned that Alaric could provide only three cavalry squads because many warhorses were still recovering from the sea voyage.
• Victor took the cavalry to Number Two Fortress and learned from Diodor that Perilla Territory had reinforced its border sentry posts.
• Victor borrowed three squads, the patrol squad, and both ballistae from Diodor, then set out to probe Perilla Territory.
• Victor’s force approached a sentry post, where the defenders raised beacon smoke to alert Perilla Territory.
• Victor ordered an attack, and his troops tore down the wooden fence and captured the sentry post within minutes.

Victor captured Perilla Territory’s border outposts and seized a farm’s serfs and grain, while Baron Charles chose to withdraw and fortify his forces rather than confront him. Victor returned to Golden Sunflower Territory and abandoned plans for another attack as the Boler County coalition approached.

• Victor’s troops captured two Perilla Territory outposts, then took Farm No. 1 and drove its serfs and grain back toward Golden Sunflower Territory.
• Indigo reported the farm’s loss to Baron Charles, who refused Knight Colin’s request to lead an attack and ordered troops concentrated at Perilla Castle.
• Knight Osric proposed thinning the remaining outposts, and Charles ordered the serfs and grain at Farms No. 2 and No. 3 moved or hidden.
• Charles sent Indigo to escort people out of the territory and waited for Freyzer to inform Count Black, while worrying that Perilla Territory would struggle to recover its losses.
• Victor returned to fortress No. 2 with the captured serfs and supplies, set up a temporary camp, and abandoned his plan to attack Perilla Territory again.

Victor moved Red Ginseng Territory’s serfs and supplies to Golden Sunflower Territory while keeping pressure on Perilla Territory. In Dos City, Count Black learned that Baron Freyzer Red Ginseng had arrived with few troops after losing his domain to Victor.

• Victor arranged the transfer of Red Ginseng Territory’s serfs and supplies, prioritizing families and preparing dwellings for the newcomers.
• Victor stationed Alderick’s cavalry at Fort Two and ordered frequent reconnaissance of Perilla Territory, but Knight Indigo’s cavalry and Baron Charles’s defenses prevented progress.
• By the afternoon of the tenth, Golden Sunflower Territory’s population exceeded fifty thousand and its grain reserves surpassed eighty thousand tonnes.
• Count Black heard from Yellen that Baron Freyzer Red Ginseng had arrived in Dos City with only a little over sixty troops and asked for help reclaiming his territory.
• Count Black and Yellen concluded that Perilla Territory might also have fallen, then discussed the eleven nobles who had reported for the muster.

Count Black realized that the eastern nobles were challenging his authority and that Great Oak Territory faced threats from both the Duchy's Direct Legion and its neighbors. He ordered Yellen to maneuver Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo into helping Baron Freyzer, while leaving Victor to face the allied army himself.

• Count Black learned that ten nobles from Boler County could field a large force, but trusted Victor to defend against it and refused to intervene beyond providing intelligence.
• Count Black told Yellen to investigate Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo, whose troop numbers exceeded the standing-army limits set by the eastern nobles’ agreement.
• Count Black explained that coastal nobles had recalled ships from the Coastal Defense Fleet and that some were trying to turn Great Oak Territory’s navy against him.
• Count Black warned that the Direct Legion in southeastern Sextus County threatened Great Oak Territory after its losses and the fall of White Earth City.
• Count Black ordered Yellen to make Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo take the initiative in helping Baron Freyzer avenge his grievances.

Knight Yellen encountered Viscount Isold Olive, Viscount Leo Asparagus, and Baron Freyzer Red Ginseng rallying nobles to press Count Black for an early advance. He turned their proposal into the count’s plan to send troops ahead, and the three nobles agreed to deploy immediately.

• Knight Yellen arrived at the Main Camp and found Viscount Isold Olive urging nobles to petition Count Black to let him and Viscount Leo Asparagus lead an advance to recover Baron Freyzer Red Ginseng’s territory.
• Knight Yellen confronted Viscount Isold and explained that Count Black intended to send a force ahead to help Baron Freyzer reclaim Red Ginseng Territory.
• Knight Yellen said Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo could lead the force, and that he would report their deployment to Count Black.
• Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo returned to their camps to prepare their troops, while Baron Freyzer followed them gratefully.

Yellen arranged for Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo to march as the vanguard while Count Black prepared the rest of the army. Isold and Leo planned to combine their forces, reclaim the Red Ginseng Territory, and wait for the main army before attacking the Golden Sunflower Territory, but Count Black warned them that victory was essential.

• Yellen told the nobles that the army would depart the next morning and reported to Count Black that Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo had agreed to lead the vanguard.
• Viscount Leo went to Viscount Isold's camp, where Isold reassured him that Count Black was unlikely to defeat their combined forces.
• Isold and Leo decided to unite their troops, help Baron Freyzer reclaim the Red Ginseng Territory, and wait for the main army before advancing on the Golden Sunflower Territory.
• Isold and Leo broke camp and led their armies south as Count Black and Yellen watched them depart.
• Count Black told Isold and Leo that they must reclaim Baron Freyzer's territory and win decisively, promising them foremost credit for the victory.

Count Black sent intelligence to Viscount Golden Sunflower by carrier pigeon and prepared to leave at dawn, while Alex withdrew from Sextus City after failing to draw out the Fifth Legion. In Wood Fort Town, Old Baron Wembley received news of Victor’s campaign in the west and hoped Victor would overcome the pressure.

• Count Black told Yellen he had arranged to send intelligence to Viscount Golden Sunflower by carrier pigeon, then ordered the troops to prepare to depart at dawn.
• Alex and Viscount Hawke withdrew their forces from Sextus City after the Fifth Legion refused to leave the city, ending the fighting there for the time being.
• Alex ordered the combined forces to sweep the farms on their way back to White Earth City.
• An officer reported to Old Baron Wembley that Victor had taken Red Ginseng Territory and then returned after the baron of Perilla Territory abandoned its outer lands.
• Old Baron Wembley read the intelligence and believed Victor would overcome the difficulties facing him.

Victor learned that the punitive army’s vanguard had split its forces and approved an offensive against it in Red Ginseng Territory. He halted the transfer of spoils and supplies to prepare for battle, leaving the story with nine detachments gathering for an attack.

• A messenger delivered intelligence to Victor, and Foss and Holmes recommended attacking the enemy’s separated forces with more than five thousand troops.
• Victor ordered Foss to remain at Fortress One, Diodor to defend Fortress Two, and Holmes to bring troops and horses to Red Ginseng Territory in three days.
• Steward Boon reported that Red Ginseng Territory had yielded relocated Freemen and serfs, wheat, goods, and livestock, and Victor told him to secure the people and supplies already transferred.
• Victor went to Red Ginseng Castle, stopped the remaining transfers, and told Ron that Viscount Olive and Viscount White Asparagus would bring a roughly seven-thousand-man vanguard.
• Victor told Ron that nine detachments would assemble in Red Ginseng Territory to strike the vanguard, and Ron eagerly agreed with the plan.

Victor prepared to fight the forces of Viscount Olive and Viscount White Asparagus on the riverbank plain, relying on the canals and a hidden force led by Holmes. As the enemy vanguard approached, Ron rode out with the cavalry to delay them and conceal Holmes's position.

• Victor explained to Ron that he would abandon Red Ginseng Castle and fight on the plain between the canals, with Blackwater River behind his forces.
• A messenger delivered Holmes's letter confirming that his troops had reached a position northwest of the battlefield, where Victor planned to use them for a surprise attack.
• After a beacon signaled the approaching punitive army, Victor ordered Ron to lead the First Regiment's Cavalry and Alix's cavalry battalion north, fight while retreating, and hide Holmes's position.
• Ron accepted the Golden Sunflower flag and rode north with more than seven hundred cavalry.

Victor prepared a shield-wall defense at the docks and coordinated with the fleet as Viscount Isold's army approached Red Ginseng Territory. After learning that Viscount Golden Sunflower had concentrated his troops and supplies by the docks, Isold ordered his army to speed up and drive off the enemy cavalry disrupting its march.

• Victor arranged three Heavy Infantry detachments in an arc around the docks, with archers, crossbowmen, and a concealed position for Ron's cavalry behind them.
• Victor signaled the fleet and docked vessels to begin moving as preparations for the battle continued.
• Knight Fick reported to Baron Freyzer, Viscount Isold, and Viscount Leo that Red Ginseng Territory had been stripped of grain, wealth, and nearly eight thousand serfs, but that Baron Freyzer's family was safe and Lady Mary had retaken the castle.
• Fick advised the nobles to hurry to the docks, where Viscount Golden Sunflower's army was guarding supplies and preparing to withdraw by water.
• A messenger reported that Golden Sunflower cavalry was harassing the vanguard, and Viscount Isold ordered the army to increase its speed and placed Viscount Leo's cavalry under his commander.

Ron harassed the Vanguard Army with his cavalry, then withdrew after killing nearly a hundred enemy cavalrymen. Victor watched the Vanguard Army deploy near Red Ginseng Castle and waited for it to attack.

• Ron found that the enemy cavalry knew Northlands Cavalry tactics and could block his route to the Vanguard Army's main force.
• Ron used his horses' superior endurance to catch the enemy cavalrymen who fell behind and shot nearly a hundred of them dead.
• Ron ended his harassment and kept his cavalry trailing the Vanguard Army from afar as Viscount Isold hurried toward the Red Ginseng Territory dock.
• Victor spotted the Vanguard Army near Red Ginseng Castle and saw Viscount Olive and Viscount White Asparagus establish their command position ahead of the castle.
• Ron returned to Victor, reported the cavalry's losses, and arranged for the Heavy Cavalry to change horses and armor.
• Victor watched the Vanguard Army form up and distribute food and water, while he held his position and waited for its attack.

Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo rejected Baron Freyzer’s advice to delay the battle and prepared to attack Victor’s forces. Their first assault with nearly two thousand Serf Soldiers collapsed under arrows and the Golden Sunflower Heavy Infantry’s spear wall, leaving Isold determined to force another charge.

• Baron Freyzer urged Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo to wait for Count Black’s main force, but they sent Freyzer back to the castle and resolved to attack.
• Isold and Leo planned a frontal assault, using Serf Soldiers to test the Golden Sunflower formation before committing their regular troops.
• Victor ordered his archers to target the advancing Serf Soldiers while keeping his crossbowmen in reserve.
• Heavy bowmen shot down many Serf Soldiers, and the Heavy Infantry’s shield wall and spears killed those who reached the front line.
• The surviving Serf Soldiers fled, and Isold ordered one in ten of them killed before they were reorganized for another charge.

Victor’s Heavy Infantry and the Vanguard Army clashed after both sides rallied their troops, and Golden Sunflower Territory’s crossbowmen and archers stalled enemy attacks on the flanks. The central formations then collided, inflicting heavy casualties on both sides and leaving the battle locked in a stalemate.

• Victor ordered his Longbowmen to clear the corpses and wounded Serf Soldiers from the Heavy Infantry’s spears, while Viscount Isold’s guards executed more than a hundred deserters to restore the Vanguard Army’s discipline.
• Heralds announced punishments for retreat and rewards for killing enemies or capturing Victor, as both armies prepared to advance.
• Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo sent their Pikemen and Sword-and-Shield Soldiers forward, while Victor resolved to destroy the Vanguard Army before its next full-scale offensive.
• At less than one hundred and twenty meters, Victor’s Heavy Crossbowmen halted the Vanguard Army’s left flank, and his Longbowmen blocked its right flank with armor-piercing arrows.
• The Vanguard Army’s Pikemen charged into the Heavy Infantry, whose longer spears devastated the first two enemy ranks before advancing Pikemen began penetrating their armor and the center fell into a bloody stalemate.

Victor’s Golden Sunflower army broke the Vanguard Army after drawing its forces into a close assault and unleashing hidden ship-mounted Catapults and Bed Crossbows. As the Vanguard Army routed, Ron pursued its troops, while Viscount Isold and Viscount Leo found their northern escape blocked by another Golden Sunflower force.

• Viscount Isold ordered the Vanguard Army to push forward as the Golden Sunflower army’s arrow fire slackened, but Heavy Infantry slaughtered the advancing Sword-and-Shield Soldiers with spears and Wolf Tooth Hammers.
• Victor sent Bow and Crossbow Troops into the Heavy Infantry formations, restoring the defensive line as Isold committed his remaining reserves and drove the packed Vanguard Army onward.
• Victor signaled the docks, where hidden Catapults and Bed Crossbows fired into the Vanguard Army’s tightly packed center, causing it to collapse and flee.
• The ship-mounted weapons struck both wings, and Victor ordered the steel crescent forward as Ron led Heavy Cavalry against formed troops and Light Cavalry hunted fleeing officers.
• Viscount Isold lost command of himself, and Viscount Leo ordered the cavalry north, only to find a Golden Sunflower force blocking their route at Red Ginseng Castle’s moat.

Ron’s Cavalry routed the Vanguard Army while Holmes’s infantry blocked the two viscounts’ cavalry. Holmes’s phalanx and halberdiers shattered their charge, leaving Viscount Leo and the wounded Viscount Isold surrounded.

• Ron led two hundred Heavy Cavalry through three Vanguard Army formations and killed two battalion commanders, breaking the army’s ability to threaten the Golden Sunflower forces.
• Viscount Leo’s charge failed to break Holmes’s infantry phalanx, so he returned to Viscount Isold for a plan to escape.
• Viscount Isold split the cavalry, leading the lancers to draw Holmes’s attention while Viscount Leo brought the horse archers toward the phalanx’s weaknesses.
• Holmes charged his spearmen into the lancers’ exposed flank, and his halberdiers joined the fight, pulling riders from their horses and breaking the cavalry formation.
• Viscount Leo led the horse archers to aid Viscount Isold, but panicked horses disrupted their ranks and Holmes’s reserve unit surrounded them.
• Viscount Leo supported the wounded Viscount Isold as the remaining riders were trapped, and Isold admitted that they could not escape.