Chapter Summaries

The Sixth Legion attacked Ironwire City but withdrew after Lenster used catapults to destroy the bridges across the moat. Turas paused the siege for the night, ordered Shanno to fill in the moat, and reflected on having underestimated the city's defenders.

• Kadok ordered the defenders to shoot the conscripted laborers, while the Sixth Legion crossed the moat and assaulted the walls.
• Lenster told Kadok to use the catapults, which smashed the temporary bridges and prompted Turas to order a retreat.
• Kadok reported more than two hundred and sixty defenders killed or wounded, and Lenster ordered militia from the residents to reinforce them.
• Turas reprimanded Shanno for failing to fill the moat, then agreed to pause the siege while Shanno attempted the task that night.
• Turas ordered Shanno to execute one in ten of the soldiers who had fled and admitted to his adjutant that he had underestimated Ironwire City's defenders.

Turas ordered a midnight surprise attack on Lenster’s city while Shanno’s laborer corps worked to fill the moat and distract the defenders. Lenster and Kadok patrolled the walls and discussed dwindling arrow supplies as the attack approached.

• Turas ordered the First Regiment’s elite battalion and his guard unit to launch a midnight surprise attack while Shanno’s laborers filled the moat as bait.
• Shanno led the gagged laborers toward the city after executing one in ten who had fled during an earlier defeat.
• A city patrol spotted no approaching threat, then encountered Regimental Commander Kadok and Lenster on their night patrol.
• Kadok told Lenster that the city had enough food for half a year but was running short on arrows after fighting the Sixth Legion.
• Lenster ordered the city’s military workshop to produce arrows and offered to requisition materials in the Count’s name.

Turas's forces began a nighttime assault on Ironwire City after Shanno's laborers filled part of the moat. Lenster discovered the attack too late and gathered the city's lightly equipped defenders to contain Sailik's troops on the western wall.

• Lenster continued patrolling the walls while Shanno led laborers in filling the moat with bags of earth and stones.
• Sailik and Ivand waited for the moat work to advance, then set out with their troops under cover of darkness.
• Turas praised Sailik and Ivand as they marched toward Ironwire City, while Shanno redirected his laborers away from their route.
• After a whistling signal alerted the defenders to Shanno's group, Sailik charged the western wall with soldiers carrying ladders.
• Lenster spotted the filled moat and sent guards to inspect the other walls, but Sailik's troops climbed onto the battlements and scattered three patrol units.
• Lenster summoned Kadok and gathered a little over four hundred defenders, using their numbers to contain Sailik's landing force.

Sailik’s force failed to capture the wall after defenders reinforced the rampart and drove back the attackers. He escaped with the surviving soldiers and told Ivand that the defenders had reacted too quickly.

• Sailik killed one of the greatswordsmen, signaled his soldiers to withdraw, and formed them into a defensive retreat.
• Lenster recognized the retreat and ordered a patrol captain to alert the defenders and lead a charge.
• A wounded soldier and other injured men stayed behind to hold off the defenders while Sailik and the remaining soldiers descended the wall.
• Sailik hurled his axe at the defenders, slid down the ladder, and fled toward camp with his surviving soldiers.
• Sailik met Ivand and reported that they had failed to take the wall.

After Sailik’s night raid inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, Turas praised his guard unit while ordering Shanno to continue filling the moat. Lenster ordered Kadok to use incendiary bombs to disrupt the siege work, but at dawn the defenders saw that much of the moat had been filled.

• Sailik returned injured after his troops lost more than eighty men and inflicted an estimated three hundred casualties on the enemy.
• Ivand and Sailik reported to Turas, who praised Sailik’s efforts and ordered Shanno to prioritize filling half of the moat’s eastern and western sides.
• Kadok inspected the night raid’s aftermath, and Lenster warned him that enemy troops had filled part of the moat beneath the city.
• Lenster ordered Kadok to fire incendiary bombs at the moat every quarter hour and promised patrol captain Kachiri a promotion.
• At dawn, Ironwire City’s defenders saw that a considerable portion of the moat had been filled.

The Sixth Legion secured the Green Forest River crossing while Count Lloyd set out from Red Mountain City toward Ironwire City. Turas intensified the siege of Ironwire City, where Kadok reported dwindling ammunition and arrows to Lenster.

• Kadok saw that the Sixth Legion had filled much of Ironwire City's moat with forced laborers and corpses.
• Turas sent Dirac and the Cavalry battalion to reinforce Wendu at the crossing.
• Gaba's fleet reached the Green Forest River crossing, and Gaba learned that no Ironvine troops had passed through recently.
• Count Lloyd left Red Mountain City with 12,000 men after Viscount Ferry agreed to defend the city and wait for Baron Eamon.
• Turas ordered repeated attacks on Ironwire City, and the Third Regiment suffered over a thousand casualties, many killed by Turas's own supervisory force.
• Kadok told Lenster that Ironwire City's incendiary bombs and arrows were nearly exhausted.

Lenster and Kadok endured another costly assault by the Sixth Legion, while Turas ordered preparations for renewed attacks. Count Lloyd reached the Green Forest River, drove Gaba’s troops from key positions, and prepared to force a crossing.

• Lenster reorganized Ironwire City’s defenses around the heavy crossbow unit, increased bolt production, and limited ammunition use per defense.
• The Sixth Legion launched a larger assault with siege towers and battering rams; Ironwire’s defenders repelled it after two breaches, though Kadok and Lenster’s guards suffered heavy losses.
• Lenster learned the Garrison Regiment had dwindled to little more than one battalion, but Kadok reminded him that two battalions of able-bodied recruits could still fight.
• Turas ordered Shanno to lead his remaining laborers in the next assault and directed the Sixth Legion to rebuild siege equipment and attack again the next day.
• Count Lloyd learned that Gaba held the Green Forest River crossing, sent for boats and reinforcements, then used ranged troops to force Gaba’s men from key positions.
• Count Lloyd halted the cross-river volleys after Gaba withdrew and ordered his troops to cut down trees for a crossing.

Count Lloyd's troops attempted to cross the Green Forest River to reach besieged Ironwire City, while Gaba prepared to defend the crossing with help from Dirac's Cavalry. The fighting left both armies locked in a fierce battle on the riverbank.

• Dirac informed Gaba that his Cavalry had arrived nearby, and they met before dawn to plan their defense.
• Gaba withdrew from the riverbank as Count Lloyd's forces assembled, and Count Lloyd's officers devised a crossing plan using raft barricades and a flanking force.
• Count Lloyd sent more than a thousand soldiers across the river, and his troops used rafts as walls while ranged units covered their landing.
• Gaba ordered a charge against the beachhead, but Count Lloyd's ballistae and catapults inflicted heavy losses.
• Gaba pressed his troops into close combat with the crossing force, and the two sides became locked in a fierce battle on the riverbank.

Gaba’s Fifth Regiment held Ironvine Territory’s landing forces in a bloody stalemate while Count Lloyd committed his cavalry against Dirac’s Sixth Legion Cavalry. Ironvine Territory’s cavalry won the clash by charging with the winter sun behind them, and Dirac fled toward Gaba with his surviving riders.

• Gaba ordered the Fifth Regiment to keep the landing forces locked in close combat, using battlefield supervisors to drive fleeing soldiers back into the fight.
• Count Lloyd’s third wave failed to land, and his fourth wave was broken by Dirac’s Sixth Legion Cavalry after it landed farther downriver.
• Lepond offered to lead his heavy infantry in an assault, but Count Lloyd refused and ordered Ironvine Territory’s cavalry into battle instead.
• Count Lloyd sent his cavalry westward with the rising sun behind them, leaving Dirac’s charging troops facing into the glare.
• Ironvine Territory’s cavalry defeated Dirac’s force, and Dirac fled toward Gaba with the surviving Sixth Legion riders.

Dirac fled with Gaba and the Fifth Regiment remnants after Count Lloyd’s forces retook the river crossing, repaired the drawbridge, and prepared to confront Wendu’s troops. Turas learned of the defeat and ordered his army to withdraw from Ironwire City.

• Dirac knocked Gaba unconscious and led him and the Fifth Regiment soldiers away from the lost battle.
• Count Lloyd’s river-crossing troops broke the remaining Fifth Regiment resistance, secured the crossing, and captured the surviving soldiers.
• Count Lloyd’s craftsmen repaired the drawbridge, and he decided to wait for Wendu’s troops before returning to Ironwire City.
• Dirac brought Gaba and the Fifth Regiment remnants to Turas, who blamed Wendu’s failure to arrive and ordered his troops to prepare to withdraw.

Turas ordered the Sixth Legion to retreat from Ironwire City because it could not take the inner city before Count Lloyd’s larger force arrived. As the legion withdrew, Lenster and Kadok spotted a battered force of a thousand men approaching from behind the city and heading toward the Sixth Legion’s camp.

• Turas refused Ivand’s request for another assault and ordered the Sixth Legion to withdraw before Count Lloyd arrived.
• Turas surveyed Ironwire City with Sailik and admitted that his unauthorized campaign might cost him his life, while Sailik urged him to seek the Grand Duke’s forgiveness.
• Turas ordered the wounded evacuated first, with Ivand’s First Regiment bringing up the rear to meet the remnants of the Fifth Regiment.
• Lenster and Kadok saw the Sixth Legion march north and realized it was retreating from Ironwire City.
• Sentries reported an unidentified force behind the city, and Lenster and Kadok saw about a thousand battered men heading toward the Sixth Legion’s camp.

Lenster learned that Count Lloyd had defeated a Sixth Legion detached force and was returning to Ironwire City, lifting the defenders’ spirits. Turas withdrew his army, while Count Lloyd later destroyed Wendu’s Third Regiment and the remaining Sixth Legion forces left Ironvine Territory.

• Lenster confirmed Count Lloyd’s victory through a letter delivered by his Cavalry, then announced the news to Ironwire City’s defenders and residents.
• Lenster ordered the gates opened to admit the Cavalry, welcomed the celebrations, and reminded the defenders to remain alert.
• Turas ordered the Sixth Legion to withdraw north and burn its camp, while Lenster and Kadok watched the army depart.
• Count Lloyd ambushed Wendu’s forces, annihilated the Third Regiment, and saw the Second Regiment flee after abandoning its baggage train.
• Turas ordered Wendu executed, then led the regrouped Sixth Legion troops out of Ironvine Territory.

The fighting in Cornwall County ended in a snow-driven ceasefire, while Ironvine Territory fortified its borders and the Sixth Legion’s intervention fueled political conflict in the duchy. In the north, Victor and Veronica married, and Victor was astonished by the generous decree Count Colt gave the Golden Sunflower Family.

• Count Lloyd withdrew to Ironvine City after failing to catch Turas, and the fighting in Cornwall County came to an end with the Iron Vine Family retaining four baronies.
• Viscount Ferry and Baroness Kailan held the southern border against the Coalition of Nobles until heavy snow prompted both sides to accept a ceasefire.
• Ironvine Territory strengthened its northern and southern defenses, while Turas handed the Sixth Legion over to Ivand and went to Silver Maple City to seek a chance to survive.
• The Sixth Legion’s actions divided the Noble Council, and Grand Duke Mora and the War Department clashed over whether Turas should be saved or executed as Prime Minister Count Lagos stayed neutral.
• Viscount Benjamin and Alex arrived in Wood Fort Town as the Golden Pear Family and the Golden Sunflower Family established a new relationship, and Victor and Veronica held their wedding.
• Alex presented Victor with a decree drafted by Count Colt and signed by the Northern Alliance Army’s nobles, and Victor was astonished by its generosity.

At his wedding, Victor received a decree allowing the Golden Sunflower Family to expand north without restrictions, then heard Alex explain the Iron Birch Family’s plans for nobles after overthrowing the Silver Maple Ducal House. The proposed alliance with the Raine Kingdom would also let them expand south by land and sea.

• Alex presented Victor with Count Colt’s decree granting the Golden Sunflower Family unrestricted northward expansion, and Victor tried to refuse it.
• Alex and Viscount Benjamin confirmed that the Northern Alliance Army’s great nobles had unanimously approved the decree as a reward for Victor’s campaigns.
• Alex told the wedding guests that the Iron Birch Family planned to remove territorial restrictions and offer allied nobles chances to expand and raise their titles after overthrowing the Silver Maple Ducal House.
• Victor asked how interior nobles who did not want northern lands would benefit, and Alex explained that the Raine Kingdom could help them expand south instead.
• Alex said the Raine Kingdom’s navy would join the land advance against the East Sea Alliance, which lacked an organized navy in Tears of God.

After Victor and Veronica’s wedding, Alex privately explained the worsening military situation in the Southern Four Counties and the forces expected to gather against Count Lloyd. He told Victor that the Iron Birch Family could send another legion to reinforce the eastern theater while keeping its advantage on the main front.

• Victor saw Viscount Benjamin’s family and Alex off from Wood Fort Town after the wedding.
• Alex told Victor that Count Lloyd could face overwhelming forces in Cornwall County when spring arrived, including nobles from Hampshire.
• Victor said he and Count Black were already under pressure fighting in the Eastern Four Counties.
• Alex explained that Count Lloyd’s uprising had tied down four duchy legions and enabled the Iron Birch Family and Allied Army to build up their forces.
• Alex showed Victor the planned deployments and said a spare Allied Army legion could be sent to reinforce the eastern theater.

Alex told Victor that the real breakthrough in the war would come at Carn City, after the Raine Kingdom Navy attacked the Western Three Counties and forced enemy forces to withdraw. The next day, Victor inspected his territory’s military preparations and found its three regiments nearly ready for war.

• Victor questioned how the eastern front could support the main front, and Alex explained that Victor would command the eastern forces before heading south to aid Count Lloyd.
• Victor guessed that the Raine Kingdom Navy was the true breakthrough point, and Alex revealed it had agreed to attack the Western Three Counties and draw enemy troops away from Carn City.
• Alex departed for the south, while Victor watched him leave and returned home.
• Victor inspected the camp with James, Santos, and Marvin, checking the soldiers’ training, supplies, equipment, and unit readiness.
• Victor visited the General Staff and Logistics Department, then concluded that his territory’s preparations for the coming war were progressing well.

Victor inspected the territory’s farms and factories as he prepared to be away, learning that supplying his expanded army had depleted the Military Stud Farm’s horses and strained logistics. At the Arms Factory, he advised Veronica on failing engine belts and ordered Jimmy to prioritize Iron Birch Territory’s orders while scheduling regular equipment maintenance and worker breaks.

• Victor visited the Military Stud Farm, where Luoza reported that supplying the army had reduced its horses and threatened next year’s output.
• Victor reassured Luoza that the Military Stud Farm could recover over the coming year, then went to Riverside Village to inspect the engines.
• At the Arms Factory, Victor found Veronica and her engineers arguing over leather belts that kept snapping under continuous production.
• Victor suggested reinforcing the belts with steel or copper wire and gave Veronica’s engineers further instructions.
• Jimmy told Victor that winter had slowed production and that the factory was struggling to meet Iron Birch Territory’s orders.
• Victor ordered Jimmy to cancel the territory’s heavy-weapons production, prioritize Iron Birch Territory’s orders, and give workers half a day off every three days for equipment inspections and repairs.

Victor reassigned some heavy-weapons orders to the Machine Factory after the Arms Factory’s engines malfunctioned, then returned to Wood Fort Town with Veronica when heavy snow halted his inspections. He confirmed the settlements’ winter preparations and ordered Powell to prepare for northern expansion alongside next year’s war.

• Victor shifted some heavy-weapons production from the Arms Factory to the Machine Factory and reassured Veronica that Jimmy would not punish the engineers.
• Victor persuaded Veronica to return to Wood Fort Town instead of visiting the Steelworks, then left to continue his inspections.
• A local Barbarian warrior warned Victor that heavy snow would last several days, so Victor ended the inspection and returned to Riverside Village to collect Veronica.
• Victor questioned Powell about winter preparations, and Powell confirmed that every settlement had food and fuel stockpiled for half a month.
• Victor asked Powell about expanding north during next year’s war, and Powell said the territory could establish settlements along the Lime River.
• Victor ordered Powell to convene a meeting and begin preparing for expansion before spring.

Victor and Old Baron Wembley traveled through heavy snow to the Government Affairs Office, where Victor opened a meeting to plan the Two Rivers Territory’s expansion now that it had unrestricted expansion rights. The officials welcomed the opportunity, and Victor asked them to set short- and long-term goals while the territory prepared to expand alongside his campaign next year.

• Victor and Wembley discussed snow-clearing, the importance of roads, and their prospects in the Civil War during the carriage ride to the Government Affairs Office.
• Victor and Wembley arrived at the meeting, where several local officials were absent because of the heavy snow and urgent work in their jurisdictions.
• Victor told the assembled officials that the Two Rivers Territory could now expand in any direction across the Northern Barrens without the old restrictions.
• Victor asked the officials to propose short- and long-term expansion goals, explaining that resources would initially be limited but the territory would focus more heavily on expansion after the Civil War.
• The officials welcomed the new opportunities, and Victor urged them to maintain their enthusiasm and present their plans.

Victor finalized Two Rivers Territory’s expansion preparations and redirected its winter efforts toward war and army training. Meanwhile, Turas was released from prison through Count Lagos’s intervention and learned that he would lead the Western nobles’ legion when spring came.

• Victor approved a plan to settle the land east of the Lime River, establish northern settlements, and relocate the Horseshoe Tribe to the former Blazing Fire Tribe site.
• Victor urged the territory’s officials to prioritize preparations for the war, and the departments mobilized their people and resources through the winter.
• Victor joined the recruits’ drills and training to improve the army’s readiness and strengthen his ties with the troops.
• Audrey told Turas that Count Lagos had persuaded Grand Duke Mora to seek his release from prison.
• Audrey explained that Turas would be reinstated and, after replenishing the Sixth Legion, would lead the Western nobles’ legion to attack the northern nobles’ heartland in the spring.