Chapter Summaries

Karl realized the Sauron militia could not withstand his cavalry and ordered the Carnford Army to abandon its steady advance and launch an all-out attack. As the infantry charged Gray Wolf Valley, Lyon’s cavalry moved to encircle the village and cut off the fleeing Sauron soldiers and civilians.

• Karl watched his twenty Light Cavalry rout the Sauron militia and saw women and children fleeing from the village.
• Karl ordered Brendan to charge immediately and told Lyon to encircle the Sauron forces and stop the fugitives from escaping.
• Brendan rallied the Carnford infantry and led them in a full-force assault toward the Sauron palisade.
• Lyon led eighty cavalrymen out from both flanks and rode toward the Sauron fugitives and civilians fleeing into the forest.

Carnford’s infantry charged down the slope and smashed through the hastily reformed Sauron defense at Gray Wolf Valley. Derek’s resistance collapsed, leaving the attackers surging toward the palisade and the fleeing Sauron troops.

• The Carnford cavalrymen cleared the infantry’s path by turning toward the flanks.
• Derek saw the Carnford infantry charge in a disorganized tide and struggled to steady his frightened soldiers.
• Derek and a small group of Sauron fighters formed a thin defensive line as both sides roared and charged.
• Roderick and Elton fought through the Sauron front as the armies collided in a bloody melee.
• The Sauron line collapsed, and Carnford’s charge swept toward the palisade and the fleeing defenders.

Carnford's infantry routed the Sauron garrison at Gray Wolf Valley after killing Derek, and the battle turned into a slaughter of the fleeing defenders. Elmont arrived with the cannons too late to fire and watched the victorious infantry mop up the survivors.

• Derek fought until a Carnford spearman stabbed him through the ribs, killing him at the entrance to Gray Wolf Valley.
• With Derek dead, the Sauron defenders broke and fled as Carnford soldiers pursued and cut them down throughout the village.
• Elmont brought three Minin Cannons to the artillery position and saw that Carnford's infantry had already overwhelmed the Sauron forces.
• Elmont concluded that Lord Karl's trained army was simply too strong for the Sauron people and sat down to watch the slaughter with his gunners, standard-bearers, and buglers.

Carnford forces crushed the Sauron garrison at Gray Wolf Valley, and Lyon ordered the captured women and children spared and held for Karl. After reviewing the victory and issuing orders for the wounded, fallen, prisoners, and spoils, Karl declared that Carnford’s expansion had only begun.

• Thorsten’s cavalry caught and slaughtered Sauron soldiers fleeing into the woods, while Lyon’s cavalry overtook families escaping into the mountains.
• Lyon ordered his men to stop attacking the unarmed women and children and bind them for Karl to decide their fate.
• Karl entered Gray Wolf Valley as Brendan reported that the garrison had been wiped out and Carnford had suffered fewer than ten casualties.
• Karl ordered Brendan to care for the wounded, honor the dead, count casualties and spoils, and clear the battlefield.
• Karl surveyed the fallen valley and said that Carnford’s campaign was only beginning.

After Lyon brought captured Sauron women and children to Karl, Karl decided to sell them into slavery rather than execute them and ordered his cavalry to rest and regroup. Lyon struggled with pity and guilt over the prisoners but returned his attention to the campaign, which Karl intended to continue before other Sauron tribes could prepare.

• Lyon reported that his cavalry had captured more than forty Sauron women and children after killing those who resisted or fled.
• Karl decided the surrendered prisoners would be sold to Mr. Grimm’s caravan for labor and counted with the other spoils.
• Karl ordered Lyon to rest the cavalry, care for the horses, and recall Thorsten’s pursuing troops.
• Karl went to the command post with Brendan and Edgar to review casualties, spoils, and the next target.
• Lyon reflected on his hatred of the Sauron people and his pity for the prisoners, then ordered guards to give them water and prevent escape.

After conquering Gray Wolf Valley, Karl’s army looted the settlement in an organized manner, harvested its ripe rye, and gathered livestock and supplies. Karl freed more than two hundred Goldspur captives and settled the army in the village for the night before preparing to advance on the next Sauron stronghold.

• Officers organized the soldiers to collect and record the settlement’s goods for equal distribution.
• Karl ordered Roland to lead the laborers and militia in harvesting the Sauron people’s ripe rye.
• Roland added captured cattle, goats, ponies, horses, and carts to the army’s logistics, while the soldiers loaded grain and spoils.
• The army rescued more than two hundred Goldspur captives, and Karl declared them free to return to Carnford.
• Karl ordered the soldiers to lodge in the cleared houses and care for the captured animals and warhorses.
• The army spent its first night in Gray Wolf Valley, planning to advance toward the next Sauron stronghold the following day.

Karl assigned Roland’s militia to guard Gray Wolf Valley while the main army continued its march, and chose Oliver to command the rear garrison. Oliver accepted the responsibility and vowed to keep the Sauron soldiers from threatening the army’s retreat.

• Karl explained that the army would depart at dawn but could not leave Gray Wolf Valley’s rear undefended against the Sauron soldiers on Gray Wolf Mountain.
• Roland agreed that two elite militia platoons and one hundred laborers could defend the narrow valley using its fortifications.
• Karl ordered the garrison to reinforce the valley’s defenses, watch the Sauron camp, and report any enemy advance to the main army.
• Roland recommended Oliver to command the garrison, and Karl approved the choice.
• Karl summoned Oliver and entrusted him with defending Gray Wolf Valley; Oliver accepted the order and swore to hold the position.

Oliver accepted command of the Gray Wolf Valley garrison and asked Roland for equipment and supplies to help defend it. Roland provided bows, arrows, armor, and whatever pottery jars and flammable materials Oliver could find, but refused to spare any additional men.

• After the meeting, Roland reminded Oliver that the army’s retreat depended on him defending Gray Wolf Valley, and Oliver vowed to hold the valley against the Sauron people.
• Oliver asked Roland for ranged weapons and armor, and Roland agreed to provide ten bows, three hundred arrows, five suits of Chain Mail, and ten suits of leather armor.
• Oliver requested more laborers, but Roland refused, explaining that the army needed its remaining people to transport wounded soldiers and supplies and protect the baggage train.
• Oliver recalled that the army had seized pottery jars, lamp oil, and animal fat, and told Roland he could use them to strengthen the defense.
• Roland let Oliver’s men take as many of those supplies as they could, leaving Oliver more confident about defending the valley.

After Carnford’s victory at Gray Wolf Valley, Karl organized the wounded, rescued Broomflower slaves, spoils, and prisoners for transport, then led the main force east toward another Sauron camp. He left Oliver in charge of the valley garrison while the army continued its advance.

• Karl addressed the rested soldiers and announced that Carnford would continue advancing after its victory at Gray Wolf Valley.
• The wounded and fallen, the rescued Broomflower slaves, and the first batch of spoils departed for Carnford with a letter from Karl reporting the battle to Edgar.
• Roland appointed camp laborers as overseers of the captured Sauron women and children and armed them with weapons and whips.
• Karl left Oliver to oversee the Gray Wolf Valley garrison and monitor Gray Wolf Mountain.
• Karl led the main force east into the forest toward the next Sauron camp.

Karl’s army raided Sauron border settlements, freeing Broomflower slaves and gathering supplies while leaving destruction in its wake. At Nalan Territory, the campaign stalled before a well-defended castle, and Karl’s officers warned that taking it could cost them hundreds of soldiers.

• Felin, Lucas, and the other scouts gathered intelligence and cleared obstacles ahead of Karl’s attacks on Sauron settlements.
• Karl’s army raided and plundered the weakened settlements, destroyed facilities, freed Broomflower slaves, and captured Saurons for sale or convict labor.
• The raids drove the Saurons into panic and established a buffer zone along Carnford’s northern border, though the violence began stirring a wider response.
• Nalan Territory’s civilians and many armed men fled ahead of Karl’s army, leaving its outer villages nearly empty while defenders gathered in the stone castle.
• Karl, Brendan, and Roland surveyed the castle, and Roland and Brendan warned that a direct assault could inflict hundreds of casualties.

Karl ordered preparations for a siege of Nalan Castle and learned that Elmont could breach its walls with Minin Cannons if they were brought close enough. He began explaining a plan to get the guns within range while protecting them from the defenders.

• Karl ordered Brendan and Roland to drill the troops in street fighting, gather timber from the villages, watch the castle, and provoke its defenders into wasting ammunition.
• Karl asked Elmont to assess whether the Minin Cannons could breach Nalan Castle’s walls.
• Elmont said he was confident he could bring down part of the wall by repeatedly firing solid shot from within forty to fifty meters, but warned that the gunners would be exposed to attacks from above.
• Karl told Elmont to prepare to move the cannons within fifty meters and promised to handle their protection; Elmont vowed to open a breach.
• Brendan and Roland returned with doors, beams, and tables from the villages, and Karl gathered his commanders around a map of the castle and villages.
• Karl rejected a direct assault and announced that his plan was to use cannons to blast down the walls from close range.

Karl explained how armored soldiers carrying angled planks and shields could escort cannons close enough to breach Nalan Castle, then ordered the Carnford Army to prepare an afternoon assault. The army advanced under the improvised mobile cover as Sauron defenders watched in confusion and growing unease.

• Karl revealed that armored teams would shield the cannons with planks and shields while they moved within firing range, then infantry would use street-fighting tactics to clear the castle after a breach.
• Brendan, Roland, Lyon, and the other commanders praised Karl's plan and prepared the soldiers, cannons, and ammunition for the attack.
• The Carnford Army ate a hearty lunch and assembled before Nalan Castle that afternoon.
• A Sauron sentry spotted the advancing army and sounded the alarm, bringing defenders and the castle commander to the walls.
• The Sauron defenders mocked the advancing formation of armored men carrying huge wooden shields, but grew uneasy as it steadily approached.

The Sauron commander realized Carnford’s advancing shield formation was protecting three cannons meant to breach the castle walls. Even armor-piercing arrows could not stop the infantry, and the cannons closed to within forty meters as the defenders prepared their last measures.

• The Sauron commander ordered the archers to fire ordinary arrows at the approaching Carnford shield formation, but the thick wooden shields held and the infantry kept advancing.
• The commander recognized the three dark iron tubes as cannons and understood Carnford planned to blast a breach in the walls.
• The commander ordered the defenders to bring out their scarce heavy arrows with armor-piercing heads, and the archers fired them into the advancing formation.
• Several Carnford heavy infantrymen were wounded, but their armor and discipline let them keep the shields raised and continue pushing forward.
• The Sauron commander ordered the defenders to prepare falling logs, boulders, and boiling oil as the cannons approached to within forty meters of the walls.

Carnford Musketeers suppressed the Sauron defenders’ counterattack, allowing the steel tortoises to reach Nalan Castle’s walls. The defenders cowered as enemy cannoneers prepared their iron tubes for a decisive assault.

• Sauron defenders raised stones, Battering Logs, and Fire oil to attack the advancing steel tortoises.
• Carnford Musketeers fired alternating volleys that wounded and killed exposed defenders and forced the archers to hide.
• The Sauron commander narrowly avoided a bullet and saw a guard shot through the forehead.
• The steel tortoises advanced to within thirty meters of the wall while their crews prepared the iron tubes under cover.
• The commander watched the defenders’ morale collapse as the enemy prepared its final attack on Nalan Castle.

Elmont and the Carnford artillery crews brought their Cannons within point-blank range of Nalan Castle and blasted a crater into its stone wall. Elmont ordered them to keep firing at the damaged section.

• Elmont halted the Iron Turtle formation less than thirty meters from Nalan Castle and ordered the shield bearers to open a firing lane.
• Elmont's three gun crews loaded their Cannons and fired simultaneously at a weak section near the base of the wall.
• The cannonballs blasted open the masonry, leaving a crater and spreading cracks through the wall.
• Elmont urged the gunners to target the crater again, and they began swabbing and reloading the Cannons.

The Southern Barbarians’ cannons battered the fortress wall until the Sauron defenders lost hope of holding it. The commander ordered a retreat into the city, where the soldiers prepared to fight from the streets and buildings.

• The Southern Barbarian artillerymen fired a second round, widening the breach in the wall and bringing it close to collapse.
• The Sauron commander ordered his archers to shoot the artillerymen, but they stayed behind cover and lobbed arrows uselessly into the air.
• Seeing the archers’ fear and the wall’s failing state, the Sauron commander ordered the army to retreat into the city and prepare for street fighting.
• The Sauron soldiers hurried down from the wall and took positions at street corners, in buildings, and on rooftops for a final stand.

Elmont's cannon fire brought down a section of Nalan Castle's wall, and Brendan ordered the Carnford forces to begin their assault. The First and Third Battalions charged through the breach as the attack on the castle began.

• Elmont ordered the guns to keep firing until the battered wall collapsed, creating a breach more than ten meters wide.
• Elmont halted the bombardment when the cannons overheated, and the crews pulled them back to cool.
• Brendan assigned the First Battalion to seal the rear gate and advance along the inner wall, while Roland's Third Battalion was to seize the central routes and Otto's musketeers were to support the infantry.
• Brendan ordered his soldiers to treat anyone not wearing a Carnford uniform as an enemy, and Lord Karl sounded the signal for a general assault.
• Brendan gave the attack order, and the First and Third Battalions charged toward the breach.

Roderick led the First Battalion’s assault platoon through the breach in Nalan Castle’s wall and drove off the scattered Sauron defenders. He secured the opening as Brendan and the battalion’s main force poured into the fortress.

• Roderick organized his soldiers into three Mandarin Duck Formations and led them up the rubble slope toward the breach.
• Sauron skirmishers ambushed the platoon, wounding two Sword and Shield Bearers, but Roderick and his soldiers counterattacked with shields, swords, and spears.
• Roderick ordered the platoon to advance, forcing the surviving Sauron defenders to flee into the castle’s streets and alleys.
• Roderick secured the breach and ordered the Musketeers to fire on the fleeing Sauron soldiers, ending resistance near the wall.
• Brendan led the First Battalion’s main force through the breach into Nalan Castle.

Roderick’s assault platoon pushed through Nalan Castle, routing a Sauron squad before an ambush of archers forced them to retreat. The platoon regrouped behind cover as Brendan’s First Battalion advanced through the breach and formed up nearby.

• Roderick ordered his platoon into formation and used six Matchlock Rifles to break the charge of roughly twenty Sauron soldiers.
• Roderick led the platoon’s counterattack, wiped out the Sauron squad, and ordered his troops to keep advancing toward the next intersection.
• Sauron archers ambushed the platoon from buildings on both sides of the street, wounding two spearmen and striking a Sword and Shield Bearer with a heavy arrow.
• Roderick ordered a retreat and helped drag the wounded behind a ruined wall and street corner.
• Roderick saw Brendan’s First Battalion pass through the breach and form up nearby.

Brendan ordered Otto’s Musketeers and bowmen to suppress the Sauron archers ambushing the Carnford Army in the street, then sent Roderick’s squad through an alley to attack them from behind. The alley’s twisting lanes left Roderick lost, and the chapter ended as he used a crouching soldier as a boost to look over the walls.

• Roderick reported that Sauron archers had ambushed the street and wounded three Carnford soldiers, so Brendan ordered Otto to lead the Musketeers and bowmen in a suppressing volley.
• The Sauron archers stayed behind cover and continued firing, wounding another Musketeer as the exchange of fire stalled the advance.
• Brendan sent Roderick’s replenished assault platoon through a nearby alley to reach the archers’ rear flank and disrupt their formation.
• Roderick led his squad into the alley, but its repeated turns disoriented them and left him unsure of their location.
• Roderick halted the squad, ordered a soldier to crouch, and stepped onto the soldier’s knees and shoulder to gain height.