Chapter Summaries

Victor learned that Ironvine Territory had prepared a flood attack to destroy the enemy force invading Yalori Valley, using an underground river and carefully positioned camps. Lenster said Victor’s arrival was essential to carrying out the plan.

• Victor asked Lenster to explain Ironvine Territory’s counterattack, while Ferry offered to receive Victor’s reinforcements and arrange their camp.
• Victor inspected the defenses in Front Valley and asked Lenster whether waterways ran near the valley.
• Lenster showed Victor the Iron Vine Family’s detailed map of the Southern Four Counties and explained that Yalori Valley had once been a riverbed.
• Lenster revealed that the family planned to release water from an underground river through the old riverbed, flooding the valleys and sweeping the enemy into the Green Water River.
• Lenster explained that the main camp stood on higher ground than Rear Valley, and said Ferry and he could not execute the operation without Victor.

Victor discussed the enemy forces and the defenses of Yalori Valley with Lenster, then revealed that thirty thousand combat troops had arrived to support their plan. Lenster and Viscount Ferry thanked Victor and Count Colt for the reinforcements.

• Lenster told Victor that Yalori Valley had only eight thousand defenders and that the enemy had at least forty to fifty thousand troops near Tyre City.
• Lenster offered to gather twenty thousand troops for the plan, while Victor prepared to explain the size of his force.
• Viscount Ferry rushed in and told Lenster that Victor had brought more than twenty thousand troops.
• Victor explained that thirty thousand combat troops had reached Yalori Valley, while nearly ten thousand cavalry had been sent to Ironwire City.
• Lenster thanked Victor and Count Colt, and Viscount Ferry celebrated that their long-standing problem could finally be resolved.

Victor and Ironvine Territory’s leaders planned their operation and Viscount Ferry took command before arranging camps for Victor’s arriving troops. After examining Ferry’s deployment, Victor offered to reinforce the lightly defended central camp with his personal guards and two thousand soldiers.

• Victor declined command of the operation and agreed with Lenster that Viscount Ferry should lead it.
• Michael reported that Ferry had left without arranging a camp for Victor’s troops, and Ferry departed to settle them after apologizing.
• Lenster hosted Victor at a feast of Southern Region specialties while Ferry organized the troops.
• Ferry showed Victor a deployment map placing Ironvine Territory’s forces in the central camp and the Southern Marching Legion across Front and Rear Valley.
• Victor proposed bringing his personal guards and two thousand soldiers to reinforce the central camp.

Victor, Viscount Ferry, and Lenster finalized a battle plan that put Victor at the central camp. The next morning, Lenster showed Victor the hidden underground river cavern and revealed the sinkhole at the heart of their strategy.

• Lenster supported Victor’s request to stay at the central camp, and Viscount Ferry agreed.
• Victor, Viscount Ferry, and Lenster worked late into the night to finalize their plan.
• Viscount Ferry assigned Lenster to show Victor the cavern the following morning and took the night’s patrol himself.
• Lenster led Victor into the cavern, explaining how the Iron Vine Family had discovered and concealed it.
• Lenster showed Victor the cavern’s sinkhole and identified it as the core of the plan.

Victor inspected Ironvine Territory’s hidden cave and learned how its underground pool could flood the enemy’s valley, though doing so would sacrifice the cave’s entrance and strand the soldiers who opened the passage. Back at camp, he oversaw his troops changing into Ironvine vine armor to conceal their identities before the battle.

• Lenster showed Victor the cave’s unusual ecosystem and explained that water from its deep pool could flood the valley while draining away within half a day.
• Lenster explained that opening the tunnel from the pool would destroy the cave route and might trap the loyal soldiers assigned to release the water.
• Victor suggested that future technology might allow access through the cave’s opening above, and Lenster described how Mountain-Piercing Beasts had helped dig the tunnels.
• Victor and Lenster left the cave with most of its defenders, leaving one squad behind to open the tunnel when the plan was carried out.
• Victor inspected the black vine armor at camp as Marvin and Foss reported that fifteen hundred sets were enough to disguise the three vanguard detachments.

Victor prepared the Southern Marching Legion for battle against troops wearing vine armor while the Southern Noble Coalition gathered in Tyre City. The chapter ended with Melendo telling Asur that Hampshire nobles believed they had intelligence that would let them break through Yalori Valley soon.

• Victor ordered his commanders to use heavy and armor-piercing arrows against the vine-armored soldiers and told them to share the plan with veteran detachments.
• Victor inspected the Southern Marching Legion's camps and confirmed that its units were ready.
• Viscount Asur Golden Sword Orchid arrived at the coalition's meeting and complained to Viscount Melendo about Cornwall County supplying the food.
• Melendo warned Asur to keep quiet around the Hampshire nobles, who controlled the Southern Front Forces.
• Melendo told Asur that Dawan had heard Hampshire had intelligence about Yalori Valley and expected to break through soon.

At a war council, Viscount Rusa announced that a trusted aide of the late Baron Sebas would hand over Yalori Valley’s outer wall in three days. The nobles agreed to prepare for the attack after Rusa promised them the freedom to plunder Ironvine Territory.

• Asur doubted Melendo’s claim that Dawan’s information was trustworthy, but Melendo insisted his cousin would not lie to him.
• Viscount Rusa announced that Ironvine Territory had received reinforcements, sparking accusations and a near-fight between Cornwall County and Hampshire nobles.
• Viscount Rusa revealed that Baron Sebas’s former aide had offered to open the outer wall and hand over his position on May 27.
• The nobles raised concerns about the Bed Crossbows and the possibility of a trap, but accepted the plan to take control of the wall before entering the valley.
• Viscount Rusa promised the nobles they could plunder Ironvine Territory after the victory, and they cheered before he ordered them to prepare for the attack in three days.

Viscount Asur and Viscount Melendo questioned whether an insider could really open the walls of Yalori Valley, and Viscount Dawan revealed that the plan involved more than Viscount Rusa had disclosed. He left them considering the Silver Maple Secret Guard and the possibility of opponents of Count Lloyd within the Iron Vine Family.

• Viscount Melendo proposed that he and Viscount Asur act together to gain credit, but Asur urged caution and doubted the claim that an insider could open the walls.
• Viscount Dawan arrived, and Melendo persuaded Asur to stay and ask him what he knew.
• Viscount Dawan confirmed that someone inside could help open the walls and said the grand duke had sent the Silver Maple Secret Guard as well as the Fourth Legion.
• Viscount Dawan explained that Viscount Rusa suspected there were still opponents of Count Lloyd among the Iron Vine Family and its vassal families.

Dawan persuaded Asur and Melendo to join him in attacking Ironvine Territory’s camp at Yalori Valley, offering gold and payment for any captured Bed Crossbows. Asur learned that Dawan might intend to sell the weapons to the East Sea Alliance, leaving him uneasy about helping.

• Dawan explained why the Silver Maple Secret Guard had not tried to assassinate Count Lloyd and revealed that Count Lloyd’s opponents had arranged an offer through the guard.
• Dawan asked Asur and Melendo to help attack the enemy camp at Yalori Valley, promising each man a thousand gold and offering three hundred gold for every captured Bed Crossbow.
• Asur and Melendo agreed, and Dawan promised to send weapons as a down payment on their cooperation.
• On the way to Melendo’s camp, Asur questioned Dawan’s generous offer, and Melendo explained that Dawan’s family had made its fortune through trade.
• Asur suspected Dawan planned to sell the Bed Crossbows to the East Sea Alliance, and Melendo said other nobles might sell them if Dawan did not.

Asur accepted the weapons and armor Viscount Dawan sent and prepared for battle. In Yalori Valley, Lenster and Viscount Ferry recruited Victor to help capture a unit of the Silver Maple Secret Guard, whom Lenster’s forces trapped in an ironvine net.

• Asur returned to camp, accepted Viscount Dawan’s equipment, and had Flamengo distribute it to the troops.
• Viscount Dawan read a report and concluded that Asur would not oppose him after receiving the supplies.
• Lenster and Viscount Ferry told Victor their plan was progressing and asked him to help eliminate the Silver Maple Secret Guard.
• Victor agreed, and that night Lenster led him and their guards to surround a valley supply depot.
• The Silver Maple Secret Guard rushed from the warehouse, but Lenster’s soldiers trapped them in an ironvine net.
• Lenster warned Victor to keep his distance because the captured guards used powders that could confuse or sedate their enemies.

Victor watched Ironvine Territory capture a squad of Silver Maple Secret Guards and learned that their rare potion could greatly enhance their combat abilities. When more guards ambushed the battlefield, Victor protected Lenster and fought back, but two potion-enhanced attackers confronted him as another charged at the arriving guards.

• Ironvine Territory soldiers trapped ten Silver Maple Secret Guards in nets and dragged them down before they could take their medicine.
• Lenster told Victor that the guards used a scarce potion to boost their strength and that his family's records placed their total number below a hundred.
• Several more Silver Maple Secret Guards ambushed the soldiers, and Victor pulled Lenster out of the way of throwing knives.
• Victor killed one attacker who rushed him, while two others drank their medicine and turned to face him.
• Lenster's guards ran to help Victor, but one enhanced guard charged them while the other attacked Victor, whose sword met the attack with force approaching half his own strength.

Victor tested the Silver Maple Secret Guard’s abilities while fighting him and discovered that Number Five had become irrational and increasingly aggressive. When the two guards launched a coordinated attack, Victor revealed his full strength, defeated Number Five, and threw the other guard onto him.

• Victor held back while fighting one Silver Maple Secret Guard, who called for Number Five but received no response.
• Number Five fought the Iron Vine guards in an agitated state, ignoring their attempts to restrain him and growing more aggressive.
• The other Silver Maple Secret Guard used a shrill whistle to send Number Five charging at Victor, then attacked Victor from the flank.
• Victor knocked Number Five’s greatsword away and pinned the other guard’s saber with his blade.
• Victor grabbed the other guard by the calf and flung him onto Number Five.

Victor killed the mutated Number Five and tried to stop a captured Silver Maple Secret Guard from taking poison, but the man died before Victor could save him. After Lenster reported that the other Silver Maple Secret Guards had also been killed, Victor went to inspect the battlefield, suspecting the matter was not over.

• The Silver Maple Secret Guard tried to reach a hidden poison capsule, but Number Five rose in a mutated frenzy and killed a guard.
• Victor charged Number Five, crushed his hands, and beheaded him with a precise sword strike.
• The captured Silver Maple Secret Guard recognized Victor as Viscount Golden Sunflower, then swallowed poison and died before Victor could remove it.
• Lenster told Victor that the other Silver Maple Secret Guards had all died fighting and that his men had suffered losses.
• Victor asked whether the dead guards had taken poison and told Lenster to take him to the battlefield.

After the Silver Maple Secret Guard was defeated at great cost, Lenster and Victor learned that some of the enemy had become frenzied and kept fighting despite devastating injuries. Lenster sent his shaken soldiers away to recover and asked the surviving squad leader to explain what had happened.

• Lenster surveyed the battlefield and mourned the heavy casualties among his elite guards.
• Lenster and Victor inspected the Silver Maple Secret Guard's mutilated bodies, and the squad leader explained that some enemies had gone mad and attacked indiscriminately.
• The squad leader described how the frenzied enemies continued fighting after their limbs were severed, and one bit a soldier's face off.
• Victor advised Lenster to remove the shaken soldiers from the battlefield and calm them to prevent a camp mutiny.
• Lenster sent the soldiers away, reassured the squad leader, and asked him to recount the battle.

Victor and Lenster examined the aftermath of the battle against the Silver Maple Secret Guards and discovered that two had escaped. The survivors, Tooth One and Tooth Two, fled the area and decided to go to Ironwire City.

• A captain reported that the Secret Guards had resisted capture, killed the first squad captain, and caused heavy casualties before the soldiers killed them.
• Victor and Lenster inspected the corpses and found Iron Birch bark armor and an array of costly weapons, but counted only eighteen bodies.
• Lenster questioned the soldiers and confirmed they believed no Secret Guards were missing, while Victor reassured him that the valley would remain under watch.
• Victor asked for the guards' bottles and jars as spoils, and Lenster agreed to have them packed and sent to Victor's camp.
• Tooth One and Tooth Two revealed they were the only survivors of Tooth Squad and that Claw Squad had been wiped out.
• Tooth Two rejected Tooth One's plan to recover the Comfort Drug and led him toward Ironwire City.

Victor examined the bottles from Lenster and discovered that Number One had turned their black powder into a gem that could gather and store magic energy. Number One explained that the gem could eventually help Victor use Transcendent abilities or accelerate his modifications, though it would recharge slowly.

• Victor dismissed his men and called on Number One after setting out the bottles and jars from Lenster's subordinate.
• At Number One's direction, Victor opened four green bottles and poured their black powder together.
• Number One reshaped the powder into a small black gemstone that could store magic-energy particles.
• Victor asked whether the gem could recharge Number One, and Number One said it lacked enough energy to sustain its operation.
• Number One explained that the gem could slowly gather magic energy for Victor and had been fitted with circuits to double its efficiency and provide protection.

Victor learned that Number One’s gemstone could detect hostile life forms but needed recharging, while Number One explained the Silver Maple Secret Guard’s enhancement materials and urged him to seek a supply. The next morning, Victor prepared for the Southern Noble Coalition’s arrival and learned about Viscount Rusa as the battle approached.

• Number One explained that Victor’s gemstone could detect nearby hostile life forms for ten hours per activation and could be improved with more materials.
• Number One concluded that the Silver Maple Secret Guard used drugs and magic-attracting powder to boost their fighters, and suggested the Silver Maple Ducal House might have a stockpile.
• Victor and Number One said good night, and Number One returned to dormancy before the coming battle.
• At headquarters, Lenster told Victor that a rebel battalion had taken over the outer wall and sent an envoy to negotiate with the Southern Noble Coalition.
• Viscount Ferry predicted that Viscount Rusa would wait until evening to attack and recounted how Rusa’s family gained power in Hampshire.
• Lenster told Victor that Ferry and Rusa had once competed for the same woman, who ultimately married Count Colt.

Victor learned that Viscount Ferry still cared for Count Colt’s first wife and had helped her son, Viscount John Green Banyan. Meanwhile, at Yalori Valley, Portland and Suas prepared to act against the nearly ten thousand troops there, hoping to avenge Bolton.

• Lenster told Victor that Count Colt’s first wife had been a famous beauty and that Viscount Ferry had given her son John money and supported his rise to viscount.
• Lenster explained that Viscount John had stayed out of the war and that the southern nobles had deliberately avoided attacking his territory.
• Viscount Ferry called Victor and Lenster over to check the map for omissions.
• At Yalori Valley, Suas ordered soldiers under Portland’s command killed to prevent them from revealing what the men in the valley had done.
• Suas offered Portland a squad to replace some of his lost troops, and Portland asked when Tyre City would send help as he planned to avenge Bolton.

Portland Ironvine and Suas led a force of dissidents and secretly coordinated with the Silver Maple Secret Guard to betray the Iron Vine Family by opening Yalori Valley's outer defenses. After taking over the outer wall, they waited for Viscount Rusa's coalition troops, though Portland doubted they would arrive in time.

• Portland Ironvine's grief over Baron Bolton's death led him to seek allies against the Iron Vine Family, and he joined forces with Suas, who wanted to avenge Baron Sebas.
• Count Lloyd and his commanders gathered the dissidents and their troops into a force under Suas, while Lenster planted an informant among them and kept their plans under surveillance.
• After Victor arrived with the Southern Marching Legion, Lenster and Viscount Ferry moved the dissident force to the outer wall, where Suas and his men began their plan.
• Lenster's informant witnessed Suas purge soldiers under Portland's command, while the rebels learned that Viscount Rusa's coalition troops were still on their way.
• Suas urged Portland to be patient, and their force formed a defensive line facing into the valley as they waited for the coalition troops.

Suas and Portland handed the outer wall over to the Coalition of Nobles’ relief force, led by Knight Gregory, while negotiating to keep their troops housed inside the fortifications overnight. After the Coalition seized their armory and equipment, Suas promised to meet Viscount Rusa in the morning, while Portland warned he would stop cooperating without an explanation.

• Suas and Portland welcomed Knight Gregory and the Coalition of Nobles’ troops at the outer wall as the relief force arrived.
• Gregory ordered the Independent Regiment to surrender the entire wall, but Suas persuaded him to let their troops stay in the barracks until morning.
• Suas and Portland helped Gregory’s troops take over the defenses, and Gregory imposed a curfew to conceal the handover from the enemy in the valley.
• Independent Regiment officers complained that the Coalition had seized their armory, Heavy Crossbows, and other equipment.
• Suas said he would meet Viscount Rusa in the morning and told his men to keep order, while Portland threatened to stop cooperating if they received no explanation.