Chapter Summaries

James breached the Blacklin family’s camp through a weak section of palisade and routed its defenders, while Jackson’s cavalry tried to hold back a much larger Coalition of Nobles force. James arrived with four detachments after capturing Viscount Blacklin, leaving the two commanders to face the advancing enemy together.

• Eagle Eye showed James a weak stretch of palisade, and James ordered Pross’s cavalry to pull it down while Shax led the Heavy Cavalry through the breach.
• The Heavy Cavalry smashed into the Blacklin family’s defenders, and the following cavalry units hunted down the scattered troops.
• James left soldiers to handle stragglers and surrenders, then departed with the rest of his forces as Old Buck and his children watched in fear.
• Jackson learned that more than six thousand Coalition of Nobles soldiers were advancing in an orderly formation, and he worried that he could not stop them with his outnumbered light cavalry.
• James arrived, told Jackson that he had routed the Blacklin family’s last organized force and captured Viscount Blacklin, and brought four detachments to help.

James and Jackson identified that four of the Coalition of Nobles' six infantry squares were poorly trained and used cavalry harassment to rout them. They failed to break the two elite front squares, and their commander withdrew toward the Allied Army's camp after learning the Blacklin family's camp had fallen.

• James told Jackson that the Coalition of Nobles' army was vulnerable because only its two front squares were well trained and the others struggled to maintain formation.
• Jackson divided his seven Light Cavalry detachments into three groups to harass the front squares and attack the rear squares.
• Jackson's cavalry disrupted and separated the two rearmost squares, while concealed fresh troops struck the flank of a middle square and helped rout both rear squares.
• Jackson and James drove the fleeing soldiers toward the elite front squares, but their commander ordered them to shoot into the routed men, scattering them to the flanks.
• Jackson and James gave up after repeated attempts to disrupt the elite squares, and the Allied Army commander led his troops back to camp after learning that the Blacklin family's camp had fallen.

After James and Jackson reported their victory, Victor praised them and arranged for the captured Viscount Trik to visit the prisoner camp. There, Trik encountered his wounded soldiers and faced Eagle Eye, who blamed him for their defeat.

• James and Jackson reported the battle to Victor, who praised their performance and promised to seek credit for them.
• Victor told the captured Trik he would be kept in camp, then sent him to the prisoner camp the following afternoon to choose five servants.
• Trik found Knight Lynn and many wounded soldiers receiving care, and the prisoners gathered around him asking whether they could return home.
• Blacklin soldiers struck Lynn and drove the prisoners away, prompting Trik to shield him and challenge them.
• Eagle Eye revealed himself as the soldiers' captain, threw his helmet at Trik, and accused him of causing the troops' deaths and capture.

Knight Lynn reminded the prisoners that the Blacklin army had treated them well, turning them against Eagle Eye as his abuses came to light. Old Buck arrived with his guards to rescue Eagle Eye, revealing that he and his sons had risen from serf soldiers to become brutal overseers in the prisoner camp.

• Crick froze as Eagle Eye accused him, and the prisoners looked at him with resentment.
• Knight Lynn stood up, pulled Crick to his feet, and reminded the soldiers of the good treatment they had received from the Blacklin family.
• The soldiers recalled Lynn’s kindness and turned against Eagle Eye, surrounding him as he tried to escape.
• A squad of guards arrived, beat back the prisoners, and rescued Eagle Eye under the command of Old Buck.
• Old Buck and his sons were described as former serf soldiers who had become powerful, ruthless guards in the prisoner camp.

Old Buck and his guards attacked the prisoner soldiers until Knight Lynn and Viscount Trik intervened, but Michael stepped in to restore order and reorganize the prisoner camp. Trik selected five men to serve him and left with Michael, while the camp was placed under a new plan for guarding and recruiting Serf Soldiers.

• Old Buck's guards beat the prisoner soldiers, and Knight Lynn took a blow meant for Viscount Trik before Buck knocked him down.
• Buck explained the Serf Soldiers' harsh treatment, prompting Knight Lynn to accept blame and Viscount Trik to offer the guards freedom from serfdom and professional soldier status.
• Buck rejected Trik's offer and tried to attack him again, but the prisoner soldiers regrouped and blocked Buck.
• Michael separated the two groups, proposed disbanding Buck's guards and recruiting replacements with promises of freedom and land, and introduced himself as a former serf serving Viscount Victor.
• Michael told Trik to choose five servants, and Trik selected Knight Lynn and four other subordinates before leaving with Michael.
• Michael instructed the prisoner camp's officer to cooperate with the guards to stabilize the camp after Trik's departure.

Michael reported that he had removed influential prisoners from the prison camp and proposed arming some serf soldiers to reduce the troops needed to guard it. Victor approved his plan, then reviewed intelligence about the duchy's forces gathering near Sunset City as he prepared for the approaching battle.

• Michael told Victor that he had moved influential prisoners out of the camp and proposed using serf soldiers to help guard the remaining prisoners.
• Victor praised Michael's growth, approved his proposal, and authorized him to coordinate the prison camp changes with Lodan.
• Victor read intelligence from Viscount Sonanda detailing the fleets and armies approaching Sunset City and their expected arrival times.
• Victor assessed that the enemy force would greatly outnumber his own, but believed Count Black's cooperation and family allies offered opportunities to exploit.

Victor studied the enemy deployments and concluded that limited supplies left him no good land targets, so he chose to strike the Coastal Defense Fleet first. Sodoma proposed trapping the nobles' fleet among submerged reefs, and Victor approved the plan while ordering him to contact Viscount Sonanda and bring Ron back.

• Victor assessed the Coalition of Nobles' forces and rejected plans to attack them because of their fortifications, supply limits, and the risk of exposing Count Black's allegiance.
• Victor decided to fight near his camp and attack the Coastal Defense Fleet to seize the initiative.
• Captain Jack supported the naval strike, and Sodoma proposed using a reef about twenty kilometers offshore to trap enemy ships.
• Sodoma explained that he would lure the nobles' fleet into submerged reefs, where ships would run aground and the Golden Sunflower fleet could attack them.
• Victor approved Sodoma's plan and ordered him to contact Viscount Sonanda and bring Ron back.

Sodoma secretly traveled by sea to meet his father, Viscount Sonanda, and discuss the battle plan. He reached the Coastal Defense Fleet’s anchorage, saw its expanded forces and new flagship, and confirmed that Viscount Victor had agreed to cooperate against the noble fleets.

• Sodoma sailed under blackout conditions to the agreed meeting point and signaled a Coastal Defense Fleet patrol ship.
• A former subordinate of Viscount Sonanda escorted Sodoma to an anchorage where more than a hundred ships had gathered.
• Sodoma saw the newly completed Wavebreaker, the Coastal Defense Fleet’s flagship, and boarded it to meet Viscount Sonanda.
• Viscount Sonanda greeted Sodoma with an enthusiastic hug before asking why he had come.
• Sodoma told his father that Viscount Victor had accepted the plan to cooperate with the Coastal Defense Fleet and eliminate the noble fleets first.

Sodoma explained his reef-based naval battle plan to Sonanda before departing with Ron to return to Rotten Tree Beach. Meanwhile, Count Colt assembled the Northern Alliance commanders at White Earth City and began a war council using Victor’s detailed map of the duchy.

• Sodoma told Sonanda that Victor had approved his plan to lure the nobles’ fleet into the Reef Zone with twenty bait ships, and Sonanda warned him that Felipe would be cautious.
• Sonanda escorted Sodoma and Ron from the fleet by patrol boat, and Sodoma ordered his flagship to sail quickly back to Rotten Tree Beach.
• Count Colt’s officers gathered at White Earth City, where Hawke boasted about defending the city until Alex announced the Count’s arrival.
• Count Colt opened the war council, and Alex displayed Victor’s detailed map of the duchy, which the officers applauded before the Count began assigning plans.

Victor appointed Sodoma commander of the southbound fleet so he could lead the battle plan with full authority. Ron returned from training the cavalry and, after Victor ordered him to take charge of his troops again, received some of Victor’s private wine.

• Sodoma asked Victor for permission to lead the fleet out of port, and Victor appointed him commander of the entire southbound fleet.
• Victor told Sodoma to coordinate the fleet’s duties with Captain Jack, Blox, and the other officers, and Sodoma left ready to carry out the mission.
• Ron teased Victor after Sodoma departed, and Victor ordered Ron to take back his troops from Jackson and reconnect with his men before the coming battle.
• Ron complained that Victor had given him work instead of a welcome banquet, so Victor secretly handed him a wineskin and warned him not to let James see it.
• Ron eagerly opened the wineskin, but Victor stopped him from drinking in the tent.

Ron returned to his regiment and discovered that its two Light Cavalry battalions had been sent south without any horses. Jackson explained that transport limits had forced the army to leave the mounts behind, and Ron learned James's regiment faced the same shortage.

• Ron returned to camp, where Jackson welcomed him and persuaded him to eat before inspecting the troops.
• Jackson and the other officers tried to hide the troops' condition from Ron, but he insisted on inspecting the camp.
• Ron ordered a cavalry battalion to assemble and realized its soldiers had no horses.
• Ron angrily demanded an explanation, and Jackson said transport limits had left both of Ron's Light Cavalry battalions without mounts.
• Jackson confirmed that two of James's battalions had also been sent without horses, which somewhat eased Ron's anger.

Ron confronted Victor over the transfer of warhorses from his Cavalry units, but Victor explained the compensation and replacement plan. Ron left to apologize to Jackson and help reassure the affected soldiers.

• Ron learned that his remaining Cavalry warhorses and Heavy Cavalry squadron would be transferred to Regimental Commander James and set off to confront Victor.
• Victor explained that concentrating the warhorses would let the Heavy Cavalry operate effectively in the coming large battle.
• Ron objected that losing the horses would deprive his veterans of a chance to earn merit, but Victor pointed out that he had not read the military order carefully.
• Victor promised to raise the affected cavalrymen's merit evaluations by one grade and give Ron's troops priority for replacement horses brought from the Northlands.
• Ron agreed to apologize to Jackson and work with him to reassure the soldiers whose horses had been taken.

Ron transferred his Heavy Cavalry and warhorses to James’s regiment, securing promises and wine in exchange for command authority. Meanwhile, Sodoma’s decoy fleet lured the Coalition of Nobles into pursuit, leaving the fleets separated as the trap began.

• Ron delivered his Heavy Cavalry and warhorses to James, then pressured him into making concessions over command authority.
• Sodoma led the old ships in a decoy fleet while Captain Jack and Blox commanded the larger rear fleet.
• Sodoma attacked Coalition of Nobles scouting cutters, sinking all but one ship and deliberately letting the survivor escape to summon Viscount Sonanda’s fleet.
• Thick fog forced both Sodoma’s fleet and the Coastal Defense Fleet to anchor close to each other without realizing it.
• As the fog cleared, Sodoma’s decoy fleet sailed away, and the noble fleets pursued it, separating from the Great Oak Fleet.

Totti Red Hemp pushed to lead the pursuit, but Captain Van Dyke slowed his ships and let the other fleets take the risks. Sodoma used discarded ballast to make the decoy fleet look desperate to flee, drawing the nobles farther ahead while their lords’ ambitions pulled them toward Victor’s landing site.

• Totti Red Hemp ordered his ships to speed up, but Captain Van Dyke overruled him and moved the Red Hemp fleet to the rear.
• Van Dyke told his first mate he would let other fleets take the risks before Red Hemp joined the fighting.
• Sodoma ordered his sailors to dump crates and barrels overboard, increasing the decoy fleet’s speed and making it appear to be shedding cargo to escape.
• The noble fleets ignored Sodoma’s signals to slow down and accelerated their pursuit, leaving Sonanda’s coastal defense fleet behind.
• The noble lords sought military merit and personally led their private armies toward Victor’s landing site.

Victor visited the front line while worrying about the fleet he had entrusted to Sodoma and Captain Jack, and discussed the enemy camp with James. He returned to camp still waiting for news of the naval battle, while James continued the blockade.

• Victor inspected the front and saw James's cavalry harassing the Allied Army while keeping a safe distance from its camp.
• James rode to meet Victor and warned him that bringing only one troop of guards to the front was too bold.
• Victor admitted he had come because he could not sit still while the fleet fought at sea, and James reassured him.
• James reported that at least eleven noble houses were cooperating unusually smoothly, and Victor said they would learn more when the Great Oak Territory's army arrived.
• Victor returned to camp with his guards, while James continued blockading the enemy camp's gates.

Sodoma survived being swept overboard by a wave, then ordered the decoy fleet to reduce sail and close formation as a storm approached. Meanwhile, Totti pressed Captain Van Dyke to pursue more aggressively, but Van Dyke defended his cautious approach and praised Viscount Sonanda’s naval experience.

• A wave swept Sodoma off the stern deck, but the captain, First Mate, and sailors hauled him back aboard, leaving him bruised but unbroken.
• Sodoma saw the worsening weather and ordered all ships to lower one set of sails, form a tight formation, and draw close to the Wavebreaker.
• The pursuing noble fleets reacted differently to the storm, with Red Hemp’s fleet slowing while others tried to catch the decoy fleet.
• Young Master Totti confronted Captain Van Dyke about slowing down, but Van Dyke insisted the fleet must prioritize safety and cited Viscount Sonanda’s experience.

Sodoma’s decoy fleet lured the noble fleet into the Reef Zone, where hidden reefs split and crippled its ships as Captain Jack and Blox’s forces closed in. When the trapped nobles sent distress signals, Totti urged Van Dyke to help, but Van Dyke ordered the Red Hemp Territory fleet to turn around.

• Totti stayed on deck and watched Captain Van Dyke keep the Red Hemp Territory fleet together through the storm.
• Viscount Sonanda identified Van Dyke’s fleet and ordered Elfie to close in on its flagship once battle began.
• Captain Jack spotted Sodoma’s returning decoy fleet, raised anchor, and prepared his ships for battle.
• Sodoma led the Wavebreaker through the Reef Zone, losing several decoy ships before turning to attack the noble fleet trapped among the reefs.
• Captain Jack and Blox’s main fleets attacked the noble fleet from both sides, while Sodoma’s ships boarded vessels at the front.
• Totti urged Van Dyke to answer the nobles’ distress signals, but Van Dyke ordered the Red Hemp Territory fleet to turn around.

Sodoma led the Wavebreaker in a boarding assault and fought with startling speed and strength as the noble fleet began to collapse. After returning to the ship, he noticed that the Red Hemp Territory fleet had fled, leaving the pursuit to Great Oak Territory’s coastal defense fleet.

• Captain Van Dyke ordered the First Mate and sailors to protect Totti, while Totti struggled to learn what had alarmed them.
• Sodoma rammed the Wavebreaker into a large noble ship and swung aboard to attack its crew.
• Sodoma cut down four sailors with extraordinary speed and strength before the Wavebreaker’s boarding party overwhelmed the enemy.
• The boatswain persuaded Sodoma to return to the Wavebreaker and resume command as the allied fleet closed in on the stranded noble ships.
• Sodoma noticed that a dozen or so noble ships were missing and learned that the Red Hemp Territory fleet had fled toward Great Oak Territory’s coastal defense fleet.

Captain Jack and Blox’s bed-crossbow fleet devastated the noble fleet in the Reef Zone, forcing most of its ships to surrender. As Totti tried to warn the arriving Great Oak Territory fleet to retreat, Captain Van Dyke turned the Red Hemp fleet away to take Totti home, hinting that the Great Oak ships faced another enemy.

• Captain Jack ordered his fleet to close in and unleash accurate volleys from its bed crossbows, ravaging the noble ships and killing and wounding their crews.
• Baron Russell agreed to surrender, and the Yellow Celery Family flagship raised a white flag; the other ships followed, while Sodoma’s forces boarded vessels and confiscated weapons.
• The Red Hemp fleet escaped the battle, and Totti apologized to Captain Van Dyke for doubting his decision to retreat.
• A lookout spotted the Great Oak Territory fleet approaching, and Totti repeatedly signaled for it to turn back, but it continued toward them.
• Captain Van Dyke took the helm and turned the Red Hemp fleet away, telling Totti that the Great Oak fleet might have an enemy of its own.

Totti took command of the Red Hemp Territory fleet and welcomed a delegation from the Great Oak Territory fleet, believing they wanted to discuss battle plans. Elfie seized Totti and held a knife to his throat, leaving Totti’s guards facing down the armed delegation.

• Totti directed the Red Hemp Territory fleet toward the Great Oak Territory fleet and imagined forming a coastal defense force with them.
• The First Mate told Totti that Great Oak Territory wanted to send people aboard to protect him and discuss the next battle plan.
• Totti welcomed the arriving delegation without noticing that Great Oak Territory’s ships had enclosed the Red Hemp Territory vessels.
• Elfie introduced himself as a captain sent ahead by Viscount Sonanda and asked Totti to dismiss those around him.
• Elfie seized Totti, held a knife to his throat, and forced Totti to order his men to lower their weapons.