Chapter Summaries

Edmund’s Marines captured Baron Benn’s castle in Sweet Sorghum Territory through a hidden drainage passage, and Hashim took revenge on the Baron’s family. The chapter left Edmund approaching the bloody aftermath in the castle basement.

• Edmund sent Bertley and Hashim with an elite unit to seize Baron Benn’s castle while the rest of his forces secured roads and escape routes.
• Hashim found a hidden passage beneath the castle wall, and Bertley led the soldiers through it despite suspecting it was a drainage outlet.
• Bertley’s troops caught Baron Benn asleep, disarmed the guards, and captured the castle in just over ten minutes.
• Bertley sent a signal, and Edmund arrived an hour later and asked to see Baron Benn.
• Bertley led Edmund toward the basement, where screams sounded, and Hashim emerged with blood covering his clothes.

Edmund interrogated Baron Benn for intelligence about nearby noble territories and the civil war, while Hashim and Bertley kept Benn captive. Edmund left without granting Benn water or release, leaving Hashim to continue dealing with him.

• Edmund checked that Hashim had not killed Baron Benn and learned that Benn's family had been locked up unharmed.
• Edmund introduced himself to Baron Benn and threatened to let Hashim hurt him if he refused to cooperate.
• Baron Benn agreed to answer Edmund's questions about nearby noble territories and the civil war.
• Edmund recorded the intelligence and left without responding to Benn's request to be untied or given water.
• Bertley poured a bucket of water over Baron Benn, and Hashim approached him with a vicious grin.

Edmund’s forces uncovered a fortune in Baron Benn’s castle, revealing how Benn had amassed wealth by impoverishing Sweet Sorghum Territory’s Freemen. After reserving the kingdom’s share, Edmund offered the remaining spoils to split with Texera and Gilles, leaving the two barons astonished.

• Edmund’s clerk valued the coins and precious goods found in Sweet Sorghum Castle at about 1,000 Great Gold Dragons.
• Edmund learned that Baron Benn had intensified his plunder of the Freemen after White Sugar devastated the territory’s coarse-sugar trade, driving many households into ruin or flight.
• Baron Benn had planned to expand his army with his accumulated wealth, but he could not bear the cost of hiring guards and waited for his troops at the front to return.
• Edmund’s expeditionary fleet made Baron Benn the second western noble killed during the Civil War and began the Kingdom Navy’s campaign across the western region.
• After Texera and Gilles returned from their blockade mission, Edmund offered them shares of the 500 Great Gold Dragons left after the kingdom’s portion was set aside, and they were stunned.

Edmund discussed how to distribute the spoils with Gilles and Texera, who agreed to take less than their allotted shares. He proposed giving part of the money to the soldiers while reserving the remaining spoils for headquarters to handle after the war.

• Gilles and Texera checked Edmund's figures and were astonished by how much they stood to receive.
• Gilles offered to take only 150 great gold dragons each and asked Edmund to keep the remainder.
• Edmund agreed, then proposed giving the leftover money and additional gold and silver to the accompanying troops.
• Edmund outlined a plan to divide future gold and silver proceeds among headquarters, the officers, and the soldiers, while sealing and recording other spoils for headquarters.
• Gilles and Texera agreed to Edmund's plan.

Edmund shared intelligence from Baron Benn and proposed using Sweet Sorghum Territory as a base to attack noble territories in the western region. He also revealed a secret plan to exchange homeland territories for much larger lands in the Grand Duchy of Vera, leaving Gilles and Texera eager to pursue the opportunity.

• Edmund concealed Baron Benn's true condition and suggested making his death appear to be an epidemic, then burning his body.
• Edmund explained that Sweet Sorghum Territory's two passages could be fortified as outposts while his forces attacked nearby western nobles.
• Gilles questioned whether hidden routes led out of the valley, and Edmund said scouts would survey and map the terrain.
• Edmund told Gilles and Texera that the Kingdom planned to relocate nobles to the Grand Duchy of Vera in exchange for territories four or five times larger.
• Edmund said the King had approved the plan and urged Gilles and Texera to earn greater merit and seek larger, more fertile territories.

Edmund persuaded Gilles and Texera to join him in concealing the nobles’ deaths and dividing the wealth and territory they seized in the Grand Duchy of Vera. The three formed an alliance, recruited local auxiliaries, and set out to attack more noble territories.

• Gilles and Texera reacted excitedly to Edmund’s plan, and Edmund explained how profitable the Sweet Sorghum Territory could be.
• Edmund persuaded Gilles and Texera to cooperate with him and conceal the truth about the nobles’ deaths.
• Gilles proposed recruiting local soldiers, and Edmund agreed to enlist bankrupt Freemen from Baron Benn’s territory and place Hashim’s family in his army.
• The three agreed to pay recruitment costs from their share of the gold and silver and use their spoils to equip and feed the soldiers.
• Edmund, Gilles, and Texera chose targets, with Gilles and Texera heading southeast while Edmund prepared to advance northeast from Sweet Sorghum.
• Gilles and Texera recruited five hundred auxiliaries in Sweet Sorghum and departed with their troops.

Edmund secured Sweet Sorghum Territory, recruited Hashim and Karask into his service, and prepared to lead troops northeast. Half a month later, Count Sibeth learned that a Ryan army had invaded the Western Three Counties and wiped out nine noble families, forcing him to take the Western Allied Army home.

• Edmund ordered Gilles and Texera to eliminate the direct bloodlines of nobles in their target territories, then learned Bertley had killed Baron Benn and dealt with his family.
• Edmund returned Hashim’s family land, made Hashim his retainer, and gave Hashim and Karask money and squad leader tokens.
• Gilles and Texera reported that they had swept through two baronies in four days with negligible losses.
• After the mountain-pass checkpoint was nearly complete and two auxiliary squads had been recruited, Edmund ordered his troops to advance northeast toward a viscounty.
• Count Sibeth learned that a Ryan army had invaded seven baronies and two viscounties in the Western Three Counties, leaving no survivors from the nine noble families, and told Turas he had to return.

Count Sibeth decided to withdraw the Western Allied Army after learning that the Raine Kingdom Navy was invading the Grand Duchy of Vera’s western territories. Turas persuaded him to leave two regiments at the front temporarily, while the invasion news was kept secret from the troops still fighting.

• Count Sibeth told Turas that Raine Kingdom Navy forces had conquered nine noble territories in twelve days and presented a surrender letter bearing Count Dragonblood’s seal.
• Turas urged Count Sibeth to keep fighting until the Northern Alliance Army was defeated, but Sibeth refused because his territory was under threat.
• Turas persuaded Sibeth to withdraw the Western Allied Army’s remaining troops while leaving two regiments on the front line until Turas could replace them.
• Count Sibeth began withdrawing his troops from Carn City the next day, and he and Turas kept the invasion news from the two regiments still fighting.

Turas lost much of the Duchy Army’s gains on the Carson Mountains front after Hulk and Gerard weakened their line, while Edmund, Gilles, and Texera held the Raine Kingdom’s captured territories against Count Sibeth. In southern Cornwall County, Victor advanced toward Ironvine Territory and sent Ron and James to destroy an approaching enemy force and learn who it was.

• Benjamin and Albert exploited the Second Legion’s weakened line, retook part of the defensive position, and forced Turas to regroup as both sides committed reserves.
• Count Sibeth attacked Edmund’s forces, but Gilles and Texera burned most of his supplies before his elite troops drove them back; he then withdrew while leaving detachments to watch the occupied territories.
• Edmund and his companions chose to defend the nine captured territories and sent for reinforcements, with Edmund returning to Sweet Sorghum Territory to see the ships off.
• Victor hurried the Southern Marching Legion downstream toward Ironvine Territory and sent out light cavalry to seek intelligence and contact the Iron Vine Family.
• After a messenger reported an enemy force of at least three regiments, Victor ordered Ron and James to attack it and capture prisoners for information.

Victor’s forces routed and captured a newly formed army of Hampshire nobles’ private troops in Ironvine Territory. Interrogations revealed Ironvine’s northern defenses still held, and Victor set out to bring his troops to Ironwire City.

• Ron and James’s light cavalry surprised the resting enemy force and routed it, then spent longer gathering prisoners than defeating the troops.
• Victor rode to the battlefield with his officers, captured more routed soldiers along the way, and was scolded by Ron for risking injury.
• Ron and James told Victor that the prisoners belonged to Hampshire nobles’ private armies and had entered Ironvine Territory after taking a long route north.
• The prisoners reported that Ironvine Territory’s northern defenses had not been breached and that its forces had withdrawn to Ironwire City.
• Victor concluded that the southern front likely still held and prepared to lead his troops toward Ironwire City.

Victor’s officers discovered that Ironvine Territory’s villagers had evacuated deliberately before invading Duchy forces pillaged their homes. After Michael tracked fresh wagon ruts to a grain-laden enemy battalion, Victor prepared to attack it.

• Victor inspected a village home, and Marvin and Knight Jack showed Foss that invading soldiers had damaged its belongings while residents had carefully taken their food and evacuated.
• Victor urged Foss and the other officers to keep learning, while Viscount Marcus praised Victor’s officer training.
• Michael reported fresh cart tracks, and Victor sent his squad to follow them.
• Michael returned the next morning with news that he had found a Duchy battalion of fewer than a thousand men hauling wagons full of grain.
• Victor learned the enemy force was nearby on the territory’s eastern side, and Michael urged him not to let the opportunity pass.

Victor sent Baron Brown’s cavalry, accompanied by Marvin’s detachment and Michael’s Guard Cavalry, to destroy a Duchy Army and gather intelligence. After Michael captured its battalion commander, his report revealed information that made Victor realize he was running out of time.

• Victor approved Baron Brown’s plan to attack the Duchy Army and sent Marvin’s cavalry and Michael’s Guard Cavalry along to support him.
• Victor continued marching the main army toward Ironwire City while Baron Brown’s force rode east.
• Baron Brown’s cavalry found the Duchy Army protected by a wagon fort and struggled to break through its defenses.
• Michael led the Guard Cavalry in a dismounted assault, defeated the Duchy Army, and captured its battalion commander.
• Michael learned that the Duchy Fourth Legion battalion had been searching for provisions and sent the intelligence to Victor.
• Victor read Michael’s report and realized time was running short.

Victor rushed the Southern Marching Legion toward Ironwire City after learning that the Duchy Army threatened to capture it, but he feared a more alarming report about the war in the south. The chapter left open whether the Grand Duchy would accept the East Sea Alliance’s offer to send troops in exchange for Devon County and Dorset County.

• A giant otter fled into the Green Water River as Ron and James led more than six thousand cavalrymen thundering along its bank, scattering birds and churning up the soil.
• Victor redirected Ron and James’s cavalry toward Ironwire City and loaded most of the infantry onto ships to speed the Southern Marching Legion’s advance.
• Baron Brown urged Victor not to trust the captured battalion commander’s report about Ironwire City’s danger, but Victor feared the Southern Four Counties might be lost even if his forces joined Count Lloyd.
• Baron Brown asked whether the Grand Duchy would accept the East Sea Alliance’s proposal to send three legions in exchange for Devon County and Dorset County.
• Victor and Baron Brown considered the proposal alarming because the East Sea Alliance was a bitter enemy and the two counties were prosperous foundations of the Grand Duchy.

Victor and Baron Brown discussed the East Sea Alliance’s demand for territory and the threat its intervention posed to their campaign. Victor left the bow convinced they could still win, while Baron Brown followed to ask how.

• Baron Brown doubted the Grand Duchy of Vera would agree to the East Sea Alliance’s territorial demands, but Victor argued that military defeat could force the Silver Maple Ducal House to accept them.
• Baron Brown pointed out that their forces could not match the East Sea Alliance’s regular legions and the Grand Duchy’s southern troops.
• Victor recalled that the Iron Birch Family had sold more than 20,000 warhorses to the East Sea Alliance, potentially strengthening the enemy and undermining their own side’s position.
• Victor laughed at Baron Brown’s worried expression, and Baron Brown joked that Victor’s speculations had made him anxious.
• Victor said he was preparing for victory, then left the bow for the cabin as Baron Brown followed to ask how they could win.

Victor presided over a dispute among the Southern Marching Legion's officers about whether to approach Ironwire City cautiously or attack quickly. He decided to take the main force south to support Ironwire City's Southern Front Forces, while Ron and James used their cavalry to distract the besieging Duchy Army.

• Marvin proposed resting near the ferry crossing, establishing a main camp, and attacking the Duchy Army when the Cavalry found an opening.
• Knight Jack argued for a rapid cavalry-led assault to break the Duchy's siege before Ironwire City fell.
• Marvin warned that the Duchy's Fourth Legion and its commander Truso were too capable to defeat through a surprise attack.
• Victor stopped Marvin and Knight Jack's argument and acknowledged the urgency of the siege and the need to preserve Ironvine Territory's forces.
• Victor announced that he would lead the main force south to help Viscount Lenster's Southern Front Forces, while Ron and James tied down the Duchy Army besieging Ironwire City.

Victor persuaded the officers to attack the Coalition of Nobles in the south before attempting to rescue Count Lloyd at Ironwire City. The next morning, Gale arrived at the fleet, and Victor spotted Little Paru and a group of Cavalry waiting on the riverbank.

• Victor proposed prioritizing the southern front, and the officers agreed that the plan would avoid another costly positional battle while targeting the weaker Coalition of Nobles.
• Knight Yellen admired the independent thinking of Two Rivers Territory's officers and hoped to learn from the campaign.
• Victor assigned the units their combat tasks, dismissed the meeting, and rested for the night.
• The next morning, Gale swooped down onto the ship's deck, and Victor greeted the eagle.
• Victor saw Little Paru and a group of Cavalry waving to the fleet from the riverbank.

Victor brought Little Paru and Gale to the southern campaign and assigned them to help James and Ron track the enemy and contact Ironwire City's defenders. As the army's forces began their separate missions, Victor studied the difficult terrain and searched for a route to join the Iron Vine Family's Southern Front Forces.

• Victor summoned Little Paru and Gale, who arrived after a forced journey from Golden Sunflower Territory.
• Little Paru reunited with Michael, and Victor praised Gale for recovering from the wound sustained at Rotten Tree Beach.
• Victor assigned Little Paru to accompany James and Ron, monitor enemy movements, and contact Ironwire City's defenders using Alexander's insignia.
• James and Ron agreed to take over ten thousand Cavalry to distract the Fourth Legion and protect Little Paru and Gale.
• Victor sent the main fleet toward the crossing to join the Southern Front Forces while he studied a map and planned their route.

The battalion commander at the Green Water River crossing faced a massive fleet approaching from upstream while Ironvine Territory was under attack. The fleet claimed to be the Southern Marching Legion arriving to reinforce Count Lloyd, but he remained unsure whether to let them land as they continued toward the crossing.

• The battalion commander used training to steady his anxious soldiers while maintaining guards at the crossing.
• After hearing five warning-bell rings, the battalion commander climbed the watchtower and discovered a huge troop fleet upstream rather than an enemy army approaching from Ironwire City.
• The battalion commander ordered his soldiers to defend the crossing and destroy its facilities with prepared oil if they could not hold it.
• A boat from the fleet identified its troops as the Southern Marching Legion of the Northern Frontier Allied Army and requested permission to land.
• The battalion commander hesitated, and the fleet began advancing toward the crossing.

Victor brought reinforcements to the Ironvine Territory, secured the ferry crossing after clearing up a misunderstanding with its commander, and reached the Southern Front Forces at Yalori Valley. Lenster Ironvine welcomed him with relief, believing Victor’s arrival could save the Iron Vine Family.

• A force sent by Count Lloyd seized the ferry fortress gate while Victor’s fleet landed, and the garrison began surrendering.
• Victor sent Michael to show the garrison commander a token from Viscount Ferry, proving Victor’s forces were allies; the commander apologized and joined them.
• Victor and his guards traveled with Manzo to the Southern Front Forces’ camp in Yalori Valley, where Victor surveyed Viscount Ferry’s defenses.
• Manzo returned with Viscount Ferry and Lenster Ironvine, and Viscount Ferry greeted Victor warmly.
• Lenster clasped Victor’s hand and thanked him for bringing help, relieved that the Iron Vine Family might yet be saved.

Victor met Lenster and Viscount Ferry at Iron Vine Territory’s southern defensive line and proposed a battle plan instead of attending a welcoming banquet. He learned that Count Lloyd had deliberately withdrawn to Ironwire City to stretch the Duchy’s supply lines, and Victor’s arrival gave the Iron Vine forces the reinforcements they needed to counterattack.

• Lenster greeted Victor enthusiastically, then invited him to a banquet with Viscount Ferry.
• Victor declined the banquet and immediately presented his battle plan to Lenster and Viscount Ferry.
• Lenster thanked Victor and promised to report his help to his father, Count Lloyd.
• Viscount Ferry explained that Count Lloyd had retreated to Ironwire City because the northern territory lacked grain and supplies after the Duchy’s Sixth Legion ravaged it.
• Viscount Ferry said Count Lloyd had evacuated residents and supplies, intending to draw out the enemy’s supply lines until reinforcements arrived.
• Victor’s arrival gave the Iron Vine forces the strength to begin their planned counterattack.