Chapter Summaries

After scouts mapped Sauron settlements and strongholds near the border, Karl planned a campaign to clear the vulnerable camps while containing the unknown barracks on Gray Wolf Mountain. Edgar and Brendan reported that supplies, transport, and troops were ready, leaving the force poised to depart.

• Lucas, Felin, and the other scouts returned with intelligence, and Richter compiled their reports into a detailed map.
• Brendan estimated the strength of the Sauron camps and warned that the barracks on Gray Wolf Mountain was difficult to approach and its numbers were unknown.
• Karl planned to occupy Gray Wolf Valley, guard its entrance, monitor the mountain barracks, and strike the outlying settlements before deciding how to handle the stronghold.
• Edgar reported that supplies were ready and that Mr. Grimm had offered thirty wagons in exchange for priority consideration when buying nonmilitary spoils.
• Brendan said three battalions totaling 720 men had been selected, equipped, and prepared for the campaign.

Karl finalized a campaign plan to strike Sauron camps in the eastern mountain forest, beginning with the First Camp and advancing inward. He ordered the troops and logistics units into pre-battle readiness while emphasizing secrecy ahead of the expedition.

• Lyon reported that ninety-eight elite cavalrymen were ready, including veteran Border Army soldiers skilled in horseback archery and close combat.
• Elmont reported that his artillery unit had three mobile Minin Cannons, each with a trained five-man crew and two horses for towing.
• Karl outlined a step-by-step advance from the First Camp near Carnford to the larger Sauron camps, leaving the mountain barracks for last and ordering small squads to deal with villages.
• Brendan and the other officers approved Karl’s plan, and Karl ordered Richter to distribute maps and Brendan and Roland to prepare the troops for battle.
• Karl ordered Edgar to ready logistics and warned that anyone who leaked information about the campaign would be punished for treason.

Oliver prepared his militia company for a crucial role guarding the logistics convoy in the upcoming Summer Purge by driving them through punishing training. After suppressing their complaints with threats, he sent them out on a loaded march.

• Oliver learned that his best-trained militia company would guard the logistics convoy during the Summer Purge and selected an elite company to accompany the main army.
• Oliver ordered the soldiers to complete a loaded march, formation drills, and individual combat practice.
• When soldiers grumbled about the training, Oliver struck one with his Command Baton and threatened to expel or kill anyone who disobeyed.
• The soldiers armored up, shouldered heavy packs and weapons, and began jogging away from the training grounds.

Oliver supervised the recruits’ training and reconsidered his doubts about Tommy’s daily slogans as he saw the refugees grow into confident soldiers who felt they belonged to the Northern Territory. He acknowledged that the chants had helped instill loyalty and a desire to defend their homeland.

• Oliver rode alongside the troops, correcting their posture and punishing soldiers whose steps or formations faltered.
• The Platoon Leader led the recruits in chants declaring their loyalty to Lord Karl and Carnford.
• Oliver recalled how he had dismissed Tommy’s slogan program as ineffective and argued that soldiers were won over by pay, land, and security.
• Oliver observed that months of training and chanting had made the recruits more confident, disciplined, and invested in the Northern Territory’s future.
• Oliver admitted to himself that Tommy’s slogans had proven somewhat effective.

Albert watched Carnford’s army pledge itself to Karl rather than the kingdom and decided to report the military’s growth to the Empress Dowager. As the army prepared to march into the northern mountain forests, Karl told Lady Eileen and Princess Louise that he would lead the operation himself, prompting his mother’s alarm.

• Albert observed Oliver drilling soldiers whose slogans named only Lord Karl and Carnford, then resolved to send the Empress Dowager a detailed report.
• Karl finalized the campaign’s commanders and assignments, then ordered the army to march at dawn the next day.
• At dinner, Karl told Lady Eileen and Princess Louise that Carnford’s army would enter the northern mountain forests for a military operation.
• Lady Eileen learned that Karl would lead the troops personally and protested that he was putting himself in danger.

Karl told Lady Eileen and Princess Louise that he would personally lead Carnford’s army against the Sauron tribes, despite their fears. As the army prepared to march the next day, Lady Eileen composed herself and urged Karl to return safely.

• Karl explained to Lady Eileen why he needed to join the campaign, and she reluctantly accepted that she could not change his mind.
• Princess Louise was shaken to learn that Karl would personally lead the troops into battle.
• Lady Eileen wept as Karl tried to reassure her and Louise that the army was prepared and he would return soon.
• After the dinner ended, Lady Eileen steadied herself and gave Karl detailed advice for the campaign.
• Lady Eileen embraced Karl and told him she would be waiting for him to come home safely.

On the night before battle, Karl struggled with anxiety while Louise worried about him going to war. They reassured each other and fell asleep holding hands, leaving their relationship closer as Karl prepared to lead the army.

• After Lady Eileen left, Karl and Louise ate little and went to bed in silence.
• Karl lay awake worrying about the risks of the coming battle and his responsibility for the territory and its people.
• Louise asked whether Karl really had to go, and he explained that changing commanders would damage the army’s morale.
• Karl admitted that he had heard Louise tell him to be careful before, and Louise urged him not to charge at the front.
• Karl promised to command from the central army, and he and Louise clasped hands until he fell asleep.

Karl recovered from his exhaustion and prepared to lead his army north. After farewells with Lady Eileen and Louise, he joined the marching column, leaving them watching from the castle.

• Karl and Louise woke still holding hands, then awkwardly let go and spoke about his recovery.
• At breakfast, Karl comforted the tearful Lady Eileen and promised to return safely.
• Brendan reported that the army and baggage train were ready, and Karl ordered the march to begin.
• Karl embraced Lady Eileen and Louise before mounting his warhorse and riding toward the marching army.
• Lady Eileen and Louise watched Karl join the front of the column as it headed north.

After evidence linked the missing hunters’ deaths to trained Carnford soldiers, Derek concluded Gray Wolf Valley faced an imminent attack and began preparing its people for war. He sent a messenger to warn nearby Sauron territories and ended by arming and equipping the village’s fighters as best he could.

• Derek’s searchers found dried human blood and dismantled traps in a secluded ravine, confirming that the missing hunters had encountered people.
• Annie and the other hunters’ wives broke down when villagers showed them the evidence, while Derek concluded Carnford soldiers had killed the hunters and infiltrated Sauron territory.
• Derek ordered a young messenger to warn the chiefs at Blackwater Bay, Oak Valley, and the mountain barracks and ask them for support.
• Derek counted Gray Wolf Valley’s potential fighters and ordered its rusty weapons and armor repaired and distributed.
• Derek had villagers make sharpened wooden spears and crude leather armor for the militia and strong laborers.

As Gray Wolf Valley prepared nervously for a possible Carnford attack, Derek tried to rally his frightened people to defend their home. Karl’s army advanced cautiously through the eastern wilderness, where the difficult terrain slowed its march and taught Karl to account for real conditions in future plans.

• Derek strengthened Gray Wolf Valley’s defenses and posted sentries as fear spread among the villagers over the deaths of three hunters and rumors about the Carnford Army.
• Derek rejected flight and surrender, then urged his men to defend their homes and ordered them to reinforce defenses and practice fighting.
• Karl deliberately slowed his army’s advance toward Gray Wolf Valley and set camp beside a stream after covering less than fifteen kilometers on the first day.
• Karl sent cavalry squads led by Lyon and Thorsten to scout around the main force while he rode along the column to inspect its field condition.
• Pathfinders hacked a narrow route through the forest, and Karl recognized how terrain could slow troops, exhaust them, and strain supplies.

Karl led Carnford’s army through enemy territory, relying on cavalry scouts to guard the vulnerable marching column and keep its morale and readiness intact. Near Gray Wolf Valley, musket shots and fighting broke out in the forest ahead, and Karl ordered the army to halt.

• Karl relied on Light Cavalry scouts’ reports to detect threats around the marching army.
• The baggage train carried supplies and the soldiers’ armor while laborers followed under the army’s protection.
• On the fourth morning, the army resumed its march northeast toward Gray Wolf Valley.
• A scout reported that the outskirts of Gray Wolf Valley lay five li ahead, with no large-scale gathering spotted.
• As Gray Wolf Valley came into view, musket shots and battle cries erupted in the forest, and Karl ordered the army to stop.

Karl’s troops armed themselves after scouts encountered Sauron sentries near Gray Wolf Valley, and Karl prepared the infantry for battle. The chapter ended with the soldiers forming up as the enemy waited ahead.

• Karl ordered the soldiers to collect armor and weapons while Otto told the musketeers to load their guns.
• Karl and his officers watched the road as the supply workers huddled by the wagons, frightened by the fighting ahead.
• The scouts returned and reported that Sauron sentries had ambushed them, wounding one soldier; the scouts killed two and drove the others into the woods.
• Karl examined one dead Sauron sentry, ordered the wounded scout treated, and told Lyon and Thorsten to assemble their cavalry on the flanks.
• Karl ordered the infantry to form battle formation and prepare to fight.

Karl struggled to organize his troops in the difficult woodland terrain before the attack on Gray Wolf Valley. He ordered the cannons to bombard the Sauron village from a slope and had Roland prepare a defensive reserve around the baggage train in case the vanguard was defeated.

• Karl ordered his soldiers to form battle lines, but roots, uneven ground, and inexperienced recruits made the formation chaotic.
• Elmont asked Karl where to deploy the three Minin Cannons, and Karl ordered him to keep them behind the army until the infantry crossed a slope, then bombard the village in Gray Wolf Valley.
• Karl went to the rear of the army and told Roland to form a defensive position in front of the baggage train.
• Karl explained that Roland's militia must protect the baggage train and serve as a reserve and retreat point if the vanguard lost.

Karl ordered the Carnford People's army to advance toward Gray Wolf Valley after its officers forced the disorganized infantry into combat formation. In the valley, Derek learned that the enemy had arrived and questioned scouts who had been driven back by Carnford cavalry.

• Karl told Roland to protect the supply train and hold the reserve position.
• Brendan reported that the First Battalion and Third Battalion were ready, and Karl ordered the attack.
• The Carnford People's army began advancing toward the forest slope and Gray Wolf Valley.
• Sauron scouts rushed into Derek's Council Chamber and reported that Carnford cavalry had attacked them.
• Derek questioned the scouts, who said they had seen cavalry, men clearing a path, and a long column whose size they could not determine.

Derek gathered roughly three hundred Sauron defenders and ordered Gray Wolf Valley to prepare for the Carnford People’s attack. The defenders held their positions until the first enemy appeared on the ridge, an armored warrior whose presence shook their confidence.

• Derek counted the forces he had assembled, including a small core of veterans and a larger group of poorly equipped recruits.
• Derek ordered the wounded sentries treated and asked the village leaders what they would do against the approaching Carnford People.
• The elders and headmen called for a fight, and Derek ordered the defenders to take their assigned positions behind the palisade.
• More than three hundred Sauron people assembled at the village entrance and waited for the enemy to appear.
• A young Carnford warrior in chain mail and a helmet appeared on the ridge with a steel spear, frightening the defenders.

Derek faced a large, disciplined Carnford force at Gray Wolf Valley and struggled to keep his hastily assembled defenders from panicking. He rallied them by claiming the enemy’s best-equipped soldiers were merely household troops and promising plunder, but doubts lingered as the Carnford formation advanced.

• Carnford soldiers in blue armor emerged in ordered ranks and filled the hillside opposite Gray Wolf Valley, vastly outnumbering and outclassing Derek’s defenders.
• Derek’s Sauron soldiers and the outside leaders grew afraid as the size and equipment of the enemy force became clear.
• Derek recalled that lords often placed household troops at the front and convinced himself that the rest of the Carnford force was poorly trained and vulnerable.
• Derek urged his men to attack the household troops and promised them the enemy’s armor, weapons, and other spoils.
• The Sauron defenders and outside leaders shouted battle cries and steadied their line, though many still doubted they could defeat the approaching Carnford Army.

Karl surveyed the Sauron camp in Gray Wolf Valley and prepared his forces for battle. As Brendan’s infantry advanced and Lyon’s cavalry moved into position, Karl awaited the first clash, confident his army would win.

• Karl used a telescope to estimate the Sauron force at three to four hundred men and identified its commander, crude defenses, and archers.
• Brendan led the Carnford infantry down the slope in an orderly formation toward the Sauron camp.
• Karl ordered Lyon to send two ten-man cavalry squads to harass the enemy while the rest concealed themselves near the wooded edge, ready to pursue and flank a collapsing formation.
• Lyon’s cavalry quietly advanced into position as Karl watched the opposing forces and prepared for the battle.

Derek tried to keep the Sauron defenders from breaking as Carnford’s overwhelming main force appeared on the hillside. After executing a fleeing veteran and ordering the village’s noncombatants into the mountains, he faced a light-cavalry attack on both flanks.

• Derek saw Carnford’s main force, numbering hundreds and possibly close to a thousand, advance down the hillside, and the Sauron defenders panicked.
• Derek killed a veteran who tried to flee, then threatened the defenders into holding their ground and fighting for their families.
• Derek sent several boys to lead the women, elderly people, and children into the mountains behind the village.
• Twenty Carnford light cavalry riders swept around both sides toward the gate palisade at Gray Wolf Valley village.
• Derek ordered the archers and slingers to hold steady and fire at the approaching cavalry.

Derek’s Sauron defenders briefly regained confidence after driving Carnford’s cavalry back with arrows and stones. The cavalry dismounted and answered with a volley of armor-piercing arrows, plunging the tightly packed defenders into chaos.

• The Sauron defenders fired arrows and stones at the approaching cavalry, which withdrew beyond their weapons’ effective range and circled nearby.
• Derek used the cavalry’s retreat to rally his men, though he knew the main threat was the steel formation advancing down the hillside.
• The Carnford cavalry squad leader ordered his twenty riders to dismount and prepare their bows.
• The cavalrymen fired armor-piercing arrows into the tightly packed Sauron formation before Derek could get his men to raise their shields.

Carnford cavalrymen used arrows and Muskets to devastate the Sauron defenders at Gray Wolf Valley and shatter their morale. As Carnford’s infantry advanced, the remaining defenders huddled behind their ruined barricade, unable to resist.

• Carnford cavalrymen shot successive volleys of arrows into the Sauron formation, killing and wounding soldiers and striking Derek’s helmet.
• Derek led more than twenty guards in a charge against the cavalry, but they mounted up and rode out of reach.
• The cavalry turned back and fired their Muskets at Derek’s retreating men, killing and wounding several and grazing Derek’s arm.
• Derek ordered his men back behind the barricade as their courage collapsed, while the cavalry dismounted and prepared to resume firing arrows.
• Carnford’s infantry continued advancing toward Gray Wolf Valley as the Sauron defenders cowered behind the damaged barricade.