Chapter Summaries

Brando recognized the metal discs in Tania’s chest as Earth Tablets bearing the original text of the Azure Poem, and used his knowledge of primordial runes to negotiate with her. He confirmed the discs came from the Hus Ruins and asked whether Tania truly wanted to find the Azure Spear, prompting Princess Griffine to object.

• Tania revealed three metal discs excavated from ruins north of the Gorse Plateau, and Brando recognized them as Earth Tablets.
• Brando identified the writing as Ancient Galongji and explained that the discs recorded the original Azure Poem.
• Tania became excited by Brando’s knowledge of primordial runes and suspected he wanted to make a deal with her.
• Brando asked whether the discs came from the Hus Ruins, and Tania confirmed they had been found in a huge palace there.
• Brando asked Tania whether she really wanted to find the Azure Spear, and Princess Griffine stood up to stop him.

Brando negotiated with Tania over the Azure Spear and the danger its discovery could bring to Eluin. Tania agreed to discuss a deal, and the chapter ended with her asking what Brando wanted in exchange.

• Tania realized that Brando and Griffine knew about the Azure Spear and offered to help locate it using her knowledge of Ambersell.
• Brando asked whether the Silver People would learn of the deal, and Tania confirmed she would report the Azure Spear to the Silver Society.
• Brando explained that the spear’s appearance meant it had chosen someone and warned that news of it in Eluin would attract powerful factions.
• Brando proposed that Tania publicly claim the spear if it went to Buga, or borrow it so Buga would help shield Eluin from trouble.
• Tania recognized that Brando was using the loan to make Buga take responsibility for Eluin, and Brando also asked to be paid for finding the spear.
• Tania accepted the arrangement in principle and asked Brando what he wanted.

Brando negotiated with Tania for Buga's help in securing Ambersell for Eluin and for access to ancient knowledge and magical equipment. He left intending to stir up trouble for the Temple of Flames once matters at the port were settled.

• Brando argued that the Temple of Flames and northern nobles should be driven from Ambersell so Eluin could reclaim the port.
• He proposed that the Silver Alliance and Buga's Wizards invoke the Sacred Covenant to force the Temple of Flames to relinquish its jurisdiction.
• Tania agreed to Brando's terms, including teaching him to decipher ancient writing and letting him study the three Earth Tablets.
• Brando asked Tania to repair his Fantasy Rank equipment and find talismans that increased physical ability and mental power.
• After Tania agreed to provide talismans later, Brando decided to cause trouble for the Temple of Flames.

While Dirfiel slept in Ambersell, Aker confronted her knight Nia and revealed that the Temple was investigating Dirfiel for demonic sorcery. Aker had Nia knocked unconscious and approached Dirfiel, intending to speak with her alone.

• Nia watched over the sleeping Dirfiel as she worried about Yanbao and her lady’s condition.
• Aker entered Dirfiel’s room, harassed Nia and a maid, and claimed he had come to visit his cousin.
• Aker told Nia that the Temple was investigating Dirfiel for practicing demonic sorcery and offered to protect them if Nia stopped opposing him.
• A cloaked man entered, attacked Nia with a terrifying force that harmed her, and knocked her unconscious.
• Aker ordered the man to remove Nia, then shut the door and approached Dirfiel’s bedside.

Aker tried to force Dirfiel to surrender the Yanbao family ring and began assaulting her, but Brando arrived and broke into her room. The chapter left Brando facing Aker, furious and ready to attack.

• Aker demanded that Dirfiel reveal the hiding place of the Ring of the Broken Sword of Yanbao and threatened her when she refused.
• Aker tore open Dirfiel's clothing and forced her onto the bed, but an unseen voice condemned him as a beast and a black longsword burst through the door.
• Nia woke while bound to a pillar and urged Brando to save Dirfiel after he and Princess Griffine entered the hall.
• Brando freed Nia, learned that Dirfiel was in her upstairs room, and rushed there with his Sword of Earth.
• Brando heard Aker threatening Dirfiel, shattered her door with a sword strike, and confronted Aker.

Brando rescued Dirfiel from Aker and his crystal-wielding servant, then learned that Aker had demanded the Ring of the Sword Protector. As he questioned Dirfiel about the turmoil in Yanbao, Brando began to suspect a connection to something like the Crystal Forest.

• Brando burst into Dirfiel's room, defeated the gray-cloaked figure with Sword of Earth, and killed it when its Mental Shock rebounded against his Willpower Barrier.
• Crystal shards from the figure's exploding head badly injured Aker, while Dirfiel escaped and Brando pulled her to safety.
• Princess Griffine helped Dirfiel change clothes, and Nia took charge of the dying Aker; about five minutes later, a final scream came from Dirfiel's room.
• Dirfiel told Brando that Aker had come to demand the Ring of the Sword Protector, and Princess Griffine said the Temple's lower ranks had been colluding with northern nobles over Dirfiel's use of Demonic Magic.
• Brando questioned Dirfiel about her uncle and recent events in Yanbao, then asked whether anything resembling the Crystal Forest had appeared there.

Brando identified the dead gray-robed man as a human transformed by Crystallization Sickness and warned that the sickness might be spreading near Yanbao, putting Baron Dale in danger. Dirfiel learned that her father might have suffered misfortune, while Princess Griffine summoned Brando to meet High Priest Wood to address the northern unrest.

• Brando explained that the gray-robed man was a Crystal Cluster and found signs that Aker had also been afflicted by Crystallization Sickness.
• Brando warned Princess Griffine that the sickness might be spreading near Yanbao and that Baron Dale could already be corrupted.
• Princess Griffine said Dirfiel was like a sister to her, then resolved to end the northern unrest and asked Count Yanila Su to investigate Yanbao.
• Dirfiel confronted Brando about her father's danger, and Brando told her that her father might be held prisoner or dead and urged her not to return alone.
• Brando assured Dirfiel that she could recover and avenge her father herself, then agreed to accompany Princess Griffine to meet High Priest Wood.

Brando traveled with Princess Griffine, Haruze, Antitina, and Roman to meet Wood, where he became intrigued by the timid young prince. After noticing signs that Haruze had studied Black Magic, Brando began questioning what the boy’s abilities and history might conceal.

• Edsa worried about the lingering damage from the storm while her master reassured her and waited for news.
• Brando met Princess Griffine’s carriage in Ambersell’s central square and joined her, Haruze, Antitina, and Roman on the way to see Wood.
• Brando studied Haruze and recalled the prince’s troubled future and rumors of his hidden talents.
• Haruze nervously withdrew his hands when he noticed Brando watching him, prompting Griffine to question him.
• Brando remarked that Haruze was only ten and realized the prince appeared to have studied Black Magic.

Brando noticed signs that Prince Haruze had secretly awakened to Black Magic and accepted the timid boy as his student. After the formal teacher-student ceremony, Haruze confessed that he had once copied a spell from books in the royal library, leaving Brando to wonder what the awakening meant.

• Brando recognized signs of Black Magic on Haruze’s hands and hinted that the Prince lacked courage rather than swordsmanship talent.
• Princess Griffine asked Brando to teach Haruze, and Haruze reluctantly accepted him as his teacher in a formal sword ceremony.
• After they arrived at High Priest Wood’s manor, Brando questioned Haruze privately about his magic and promised not to tell Princess Griffine.
• Haruze revealed that no one had taught him and admitted he had once read and imitated something from books in the royal library.

Edsa learned that Wood had arranged an opportunity for her master to meet someone, while Brando and Princess Griffine discussed the threats facing Eluin and the Temple of Flames’ position. Wood revealed that someone might resolve the northern crisis, then asked Griffine whether she knew her elder brother.

• Wood told Edsa to summon her master because the person he wanted to meet could be seen that day, while warning that success depended on their own efforts.
• Brando agreed to keep Haruze’s secret as the party joined Wood and Princess Griffine, who demanded to discuss the north.
• Brando warned Wood that Madara would threaten Eluin and that the Temple’s plans risked diverting the undead toward the east.
• Wood confirmed that Madara had recovered the Mercury Staff, and Griffine confronted him over the Temple’s failure to warn Eluin.
• Wood said the Temple’s support for Griffine depended on how she handled the northern nobles, then revealed that someone else could resolve the crisis.
• Wood asked Griffine whether she was acquainted with her elder brother, leaving her startled.

Brando and Princess Griffine met her blind brother, Leven, who argued that their goals for Eluin could align despite their recent conflict. He proposed a radical solution to the kingdom’s crisis: making himself king.

• A maid brought the blind Prince Leven to Brando and Princess Griffine, and he greeted his sister after nearly ten years apart.
• Griffine confronted Leven about his past actions, while he said he did not seek forgiveness and remained a member of Eluin’s royal family.
• Leven asked to speak privately with Griffine and Brando, then claimed their interests were aligned and questioned whether Eluin had ever been truly united.
• Leven warned that Griffine’s centralizing reforms would threaten powerful nobles and that Eluin faced enemies beyond its internal factions.
• Leven proposed that Griffine make him king of Eluin.

Levin proposed becoming king of the north so Princess Griffine could unify the south, and Brando recognized that the First Prince had been pursuing his own ambitions all along. Griffine rejected his request but appeared likely to accept a political compromise that would buy Eluin time, though Levin’s true plans remained uncertain.

• Levin explained that he would become king of the north and shield Griffine while she unified the southern territories.
• Brando challenged Levin’s account and concluded that the First Prince had secretly pursued his own ambitions rather than serving as a pawn.
• Levin admitted he wanted control over his own destiny and warned Griffine that he would defeat her if she could not defeat him.
• Griffine refused Levin’s request, and Antitina later told Brando that she sensed he had concealed part of the truth.
• Levin was set to become head of the Xifah Family and prepare the north for war, while Brando believed the compromise would give Eluin time to recover.

After Eluin reclaimed Ambersell and the Silver People departed, Brando’s attention turned to the Buga envoy arriving in the port. The chapter ended with Brando recognizing the unexpected visitor as William Pist, the chief wizard of the Silver Alliance.

• The First Prince reclaimed the position of Grand Duke Xifahe, while Princess Griffine regained control of the White Lion Legion.
• At Brando’s and an elf lady’s instigation, Ambersell became a trade port of Eluin, and Princess Griffine thanked Brando during a walk along the harbor walls.
• Garlok recovered, accepted Antitina as his apprentice, and became the subject of a rumor about hiding among demon corpses.
• The naga and Silver Elves left Ambersell, and the Silver Elves took the precious ginkgo leaf with them.
• Brando gathered Princess Griffine, Freya, Antitina, and others to meet the Buga envoy, but William Pist appeared instead of the visitors Brando had expected.

Brando brought William Pistor and the others to the Underground Ruins after warning the Silver Storm that the coming Great Magic Tide could bring a new danger to Vonder. The group reached the prayer chamber, where William recognized the witches’ inheritance and asked Brando about his countermeasure.

• William Pistor arrived and explained that he had come because Brando had uncovered the Azure Spear and triggered a reaction tied to ancient divine weapons.
• Brando warned William that the Holy War and the coming Great Magic Tide signaled an age of turmoil, and William asked whether Vonder might repeat the War of the Saints.
• William revealed that the Buga Wizards were watching the chaos along civilization’s borders, while Brando privately believed they were looking in the wrong direction.
• Princess Griffine defended keeping the matter secret, and William silenced the nobles before Brando led the party into the Underground Ruins.
• William identified the prayer chamber’s magic circle as a powerful Bloodline Inheritance and asked Brando if he had prepared a countermeasure; Brando called for Candy Jar.

Brando and the others confirmed that the artifact in the hall was the true Azure Spear and agreed to let the Battle of Ambersell participants try to claim it. When Brando approached, a lightning guardian resembling Roman attacked him, then introduced herself as Ouvina and demanded to know the visitors’ purpose.

• William confirmed that the spear was the true Azure Spear and asked Brando how he intended to handle its reappearance.
• Brando chose to follow the plan he had agreed on with Tania and invited the Battle of Ambersell participants to try becoming the spear’s master.
• Princess Griffine urged Brando to approach first, believing he most resembled the Azure Knight.
• A lightning-fast woman emerged from the spear and pierced Brando’s chest, sending him flying; Brando realized she had no killing intent and was likely the spear’s guardian spirit.
• Medisa recognized that the guardian looked like Roman, and the woman identified herself as Ouvina before asking who the visitors were and why they had come.

Brando and his companions met Ouvina, who revealed herself as the Azure Knight and demanded that they defeat her to earn the Azure Spear’s recognition. Brando found a way to challenge her outside the hall’s protections, but Ouvina used Fate Power to reverse history just as Charles’s spell struck.

• Ouvina identified Brando’s unusual authority, recognized Freya as a descendant of the War Goddess Guard, and revealed that she was the Azure Knight.
• Ouvina explained that the group could earn the Azure Spear’s recognition by defeating her, and said her strength in the hall matched her prime.
• Brando realized that Ouvina’s strength was restricted to the hall and ordered Charles to use Dragon Strike Technique to break the floor and change the battlefield.
• Ouvina seized Brando to stop Charles, but Brando argued that laws in the hall prevented her from harming anyone.
• Charles released Dragon Strike Technique and shattered the floor, but Ouvina invoked Fate Power, History Reversal.

Ouvina used Fate Power to reverse the damage in the hall, then overwhelmed Brando and the others with her control of lightning, time, and space. As William prepared to help, Brando tried to draw Ouvina’s attention and create an opening for the archmage.

• Ouvina reversed the destruction in the hall and returned Charles’s Dragon Strike Technique to his hand.
• Ouvina struck the people in the hall with lightning, while William raised a shield and Brando resisted with Fool's Talent.
• Brando attacked Ouvina with the Sword of Earth, but she blocked him and countered with powerful techniques that he barely evaded.
• William used an Earthquake Spell to disrupt Ouvina’s Stone Resonance Spear and save Brando from being struck.
• Ouvina slowed time throughout the hall and began charging a powerful attack as Brando and William realized they needed to force her out.
• Brando advanced toward Ouvina, hoping to use Flash Sword to distract her while William cast a spell.

Brando, Qian, and William fought Ouvina as her Fate Power blocked attacks and threatened to overwhelm them. Qian interrupted Ouvina’s charged attack, but Ouvina summoned legendary heroes, so Brando grabbed Qian and fled into the collapsing ruins.

• Brando discovered that Ouvina’s Fate Power made him believe he could not strike her, stopping his sword short.
• Qian appeared behind Ouvina and attacked, while Brando damaged the hall to force Ouvina to divert her attention to repairing it.
• Qian’s spear struck Ouvina and interrupted her charged skill, allowing Brando and William to bring the hall close to collapse.
• Ouvina restored the hall, then summoned legendary heroes, including Saint Osore and Gilt, to attack Brando.
• Brando admitted they could not win, called to Master William, and leaped into the darkness below with Qian.

After Brando and Qian survived the collapse of the underground hall, William returned with the weakened Ouvina, who revealed that she was the Azure Sky and agreed that Brando’s group had won. The group wondered how Qian had resisted Ouvina’s Fate Element, and William pointed to Aloz as a possible clue.

• Brando shielded Qian from the collapsing hall and later helped her climb out of the rubble.
• Brando and Qian searched the cavern for William and Ouvina, then spotted William carrying the unconscious Ouvina.
• William explained that Ouvina’s power had weakened after she left the hall, and Ouvina woke and admitted she was the Azure Sky.
• Ouvina agreed that Brando’s group had won but asked how Qian had broken through her Fate Element.
• William suggested that Aloz might explain how people could change their fate, and Brando realized what had happened.

Brando persuaded Ouvina to choose Qian as the successor to Azure Sky, and Qian formed a pact with the spear’s will. The reunited group learned the artifact’s powers, leaving Brando to consider its extraordinary attributes.

• Brando argued that Qian could grow into the role and urged her to accept the Azure Spear, despite Ouvina’s doubts about her confidence and strength.
• Ouvina examined Qian’s past, asked what she wished to protect, and agreed to form a pact with her.
• Qian accepted Ouvina, who transformed into the Sacred Spear Azure and merged with her.
• The Lightning Cage dissipated, allowing Roman, Medisa, Charles, Freya, and Princess Griffine to rejoin Brando and Qian.
• Brando inspected Azure Sky and read its attributes, including its curse, lightning attacks, and defensive domain.