Chapter Summaries

Wood weighed the Temple of Flames’ response to the Azure Spear and Brando before receiving an unexpected imperial visitor. Meanwhile, Dejar and his companions arrived at Jandernel’s castle, claiming they had come as allies.

• Wood burned a secret imperial letter confirming that the Buga people had taken the Azure Spear from Port Ambersell and worried that the Temple’s leaders would pursue it.
• Wood reflected on the Temple’s divided stance toward Count Tonigell and the war against Golden Mane Toquenin, then learned that an imperial visitor had arrived.
• A duke and his companions discussed how to delay the Temple of Flames, suspecting it had noticed something wrong in Ambersell.
• Dejar reached Jandernel’s castle in the rain, claimed the group were the count’s allies, and threw an object onto the battlements for Jandernel to see.

Brando and Princess Griffine traveled back toward Tonigell after the events at Ambersell, while Brando kept Sacred Spear Azure’s true power secret. As Griffine warned that Anlek and Jandernel were joining forces, Brando concluded that breaking their alliance was urgent, though he and the Princess lacked the strength to do it alone.

• Roman ran wildly alongside the caravan while carrying Azure, and Freya asked Qian to keep an eye on her.
• Brando assessed Azure’s seals and hidden power, deciding that its apparent weakness and Roman’s careless handling helped conceal that it was genuine.
• After leaving Ambersell and passing through the Royal Knight Academy, Brando and Princess Griffine traveled toward Tonigell, where Su reunited with her father and Kagris was scolded by his father.
• Griffine told Brando that Anlek had met with Count Jandernel and might be plotting against her faction.
• Brando suspected that a secret Cruzian Knight Order had entered Eluin to support Anlek and resolved to break the alliance by targeting Jandernel, but recognized that he and Griffine needed help.

Brando assessed the war against Count Jandernel and Grand Duke Anlek as Princess Griffine entrusted him with command of the campaign and Flada's army. Griffine also asked him to awaken Magdal, while Roman later joined Brando for a walk.

• Aloz explained that Magdal was alive only as a soulless shell, and Princess Griffine asked Brando about the alliance against Jandernel and Anlek.
• Brando considered the enemy's strength, his own forces' limitations, and the need to seek reinforcements from Grand Duke Viero.
• Princess Griffine placed the war against Jandernel and Flada's army under Brando's command, telling him she trusted him.
• Griffine asked Brando to awaken Magdal, and he promised to try.
• Roman appeared and admitted she felt a little jealous; Brando offered to take her out for a walk.

As Fir Territory celebrated the Fire Festival and Medisa’s archery victory, Brando reflected on the territory’s growth and prepared for conflict with Count Jandernel. Meanwhile, Grand Duke Anlek left Magitan after arranging an alliance with Jandernel, who secretly planned to contact the Cruzian people.

• Fir Territory held its Fire Festival championship tournament, where Medisa won the archery contest and the residents celebrated her victory.
• Qian comforted Freya as they discussed grief, war, and the need to fight for a peaceful future.
• Brando showed off his cavalry uniform, observed Fir Territory’s prosperity, and told Princess Griffine he needed to persuade Grand Duke Viero.
• Medisa asked Antitina about her missing necklace, then noticed strange newcomers causing a commotion at the arena.
• Grand Duke Anlek departed Magitan after calling Count Jandernel a useful scapegoat in their planned alliance.
• Jandernel told his second son to contact the Cruzian people because they needed to learn certain things.

A Cruzian delegation led by Delphine and Laurenna arrived in Tonigell and observed the prosperous festival, while Firas noticed Roman and tried to flirt with her. The chapter ended with the local crowd staring at Firas as if he were an idiot.

• Medisa noticed the unusually armored Cruzian knights watching the championship outside Fir City.
• Delphine told Laurenna that Brando's recent rule and wealth likely explained Tonigell's changes.
• Laurenna warned her fiancé Firas not to cause trouble during their visit to Brando's territory.
• Roman walked through the festival selling ale and carrying the Silver Elf Princess's banner.
• Firas rode up to Roman and asked for her name, but the crowd looked at him with contempt.

Roman encountered Firas, a Cruzian noble who tried to stop her, and Freya intervened when he reached for her standard. Delphine escalated the confrontation, and Freya attacked her, but Laurenna’s Flash Sword wounded Freya repeatedly as the fight began.

• Firas introduced himself to Roman as the future heir of the Barano family, but she mistook him for a wine buyer and walked away.
• Firas reached for Roman’s standard, and Freya blocked his sword with the Lionheart Sacred Sword.
• Delphine ordered Firas to take Freya’s sword and said he could kill her if she resisted.
• Freya denounced the Cruzian delegation, unleashed her Valkyrie power, and knocked Firas from his horse before charging at Delphine.
• Laurenna intercepted Freya with the Flash Sword, cutting her forehead, arm, shoulder, and lower abdomen.

Brando rescued Freya from Laurenna and confronted Delphine, while Madara’s leaders considered renewed conflict with Eluin after attacks on undead nobles. The chapter left Brando recognizing the Blood Staff’s provocation as a familiar historical event and seeing it as an opportunity.

• Qian blocked Laurenna’s sword with the Azure Spear, and Brando froze the Cruzian knights before catching Freya and confronting Delphine.
• In Madara’s Saintly Palace, the eastern Black Knights pledged allegiance to the Supreme King, while Instaron and Tagus discussed the kingdom’s reunification.
• Tagus recalled that humans had recently attacked two dark nobles in western Madara, including destroying a vampire’s castle, and suspected a conspiracy.
• Chog, the Blood Staff, asked the Supreme King for permission to punish humans for provoking Madara.
• Brando questioned Delphine about her attempt to take revenge and recognized the letter’s events as a familiar historical scheme that could benefit him.

Brando recognized that the coming September Conflict could help Princess Griffine unify the southern territories and strengthen Eluin, so he decided to act before the Blood Staff’s invasion. He ordered Delphine imprisoned for arranging an attack on Freya, while Princess Griffine publicly supported him and Delphine vowed revenge.

• Brando reviewed the historical invasion route and decided to use the September Conflict to secure the southern territories and win Grand Duke Golan-Elson as an ally.
• Brando judged Delphine responsible for attempting to harm Freya and ordered Antitina to take her to Fir Castle’s dungeon while he awaited Lady Veronica’s answer.
• Laurenna pleaded for Delphine, but Brando explained that the attempted attack could have led to Freya’s death and war between Eluin and Cruz.
• Delphine mocked Brando’s reasoning, and Princess Griffine publicly defended him and affirmed Eluin’s right to protect its people.
• Delphine threatened to target Brando’s allies if she survived, but Brando dismissed her warning and Antitina led her away with the soldiers.

Brando questioned Laurenna about the Cruzian discovery that fragments from three destroyed Gates of Flames could form another portal, a threat that could let demons or Cultists rebuild one in Eluin or even carry the fragments back to Cruz. He learned that Veronica had been asked to help, and the chapter left him weighing the danger while Laurenna hesitated to explain more.

• Brando released Laurenna and Firas from their magical restraints after Delphine was taken away, and Laurenna urged him to consider the Empire carefully.
• Brando recalled Firas and Laurenna's future rise to prominence, then asked Laurenna when Cruz had discovered the missing Gate of Flames fragments.
• Laurenna said the Cruzian people had discovered the fragments two months earlier, after the Temple of Flames found that the missing pieces could form a new portal.
• Brando considered the danger of the fragments being used to rebuild a portal in Eluin or carried back to Cruz, and recognized why Veronica had asked him for help.
• Laurenna told Brando that a high-ranking Temple of Flames figure had sought Veronica's help, but she did not know who it was; she then hesitated as Brando criticized the choice of envoy.

Brando learned that Delphine targeted him because she blamed him for Viscount Elman’s death, then deduced that Grand Duke Anlek was seeking Dragon’s Heart to power a teleportation gate. He planned to help the Cruzian people for political advantage and pursue the heart, which could also restore Princess Magdal, after taking care of personal business.

• Laurenna explained that Delphine blamed Brando for Viscount Elman’s death and had attacked him out of grief and resentment, but Brando refused to release her yet.
• Laurenna told Brando that Temple of Flames prophecies suggested Grand Duke Anlek had moved the teleportation-gate fragments north, and Brando deduced that they were heading for Dragon’s Heart near Falling Needle Hill Road.
• Brando told Princess Griffine that Eluin should help the Cruzian people because the crisis could persuade Grand Duke Viero and possibly Golan-Elson to join their side.
• Brando revealed that Dragon’s Heart could provide a magic core to awaken Princess Magdal, and decided to find it before Grand Duke Anlek could use it to build a teleportation gate.
• When Griffine asked if he was leaving immediately, Brando said he first had personal business to handle.

Brando took Freya to the border of the Black Forest and climbed down a cliff to uncover an ancient Hall of Fate. He reached the center of its stone formation, where he expected to receive an Element Awakening quest.

• Brando led the wounded Freya through the Grahall Mountains to the border of the Black Forest, near the Eternal Song Forest.
• Brando tied a rope to a Ghost Tree and climbed down the cliff while Freya waited above with his clothes.
• Brando found a hidden platform and uncovered twelve stone tablets depicting Eluin’s moons.
• Brando recognized the site as the Hall of Fate, an ancient formation that granted Element Awakening quests, and walked toward its center.

Brando traveled to the Frost-dyed Forest Maze to awaken the Elements, but the quest did not activate despite his apparent readiness. After finding a log message that his unlock requirements were unmet, he asked Saint Osore for help and learned that he might need his own deck.

• Brando recalled the Frost-dyed Forest Maze’s history and its young dragon gatekeeper as he approached the stone formation to awaken the Elements.
• Brando reached the formation’s center, but received no quest prompt and feared he might be unable to awaken the Elements.
• Brando checked his character log and found the message “Unlock permission requirements not met.”
• Brando considered whether his Elite Template or Spellweaver system was preventing the quest and called on Saint Osore for advice.
• Saint Osore asked whether Brando had his own deck and told him that he needed one to awaken the Elements.

Brando realized he needed to abandon the power he had accumulated and rebuild his own laws to become a formal Spellweaver. As he created the Knight of Fran and reshaped his cards and world, Tumen appeared through a Gate of Light.

• Saint Osore questioned how Brando had reached Element Manifestation without mastering his own power, and Brando connected his unusual progress to his dual heritage.
• Brando decided to return to his original path, become an apprentice again, and build his own laws rather than keep blindly enriching his world.
• Brando summoned his scattered cards and domains, then collapsed his Elemental Pool and began forming a new law around the Knight of Fran.
• Brando established Roxar's Market, the Gemstone Plains, and Storm's Nest as the knight's domain, and transformed the Rubis Mercenary card into White City Vanguard Eternal Song II.
• A Gate of Light opened, and Tumen stepped through, greeting Brando as he officially became a Spellweaver.

Brando met Thomen, who explained that Brando needed to make the Spellweaver’s borrowed power his own. Brando began reshaping his cards into a deck rooted in his identity as a knight, and the chapter ended as several of his cards transformed into Fran Knight spells.

• Saint Osore appeared beside Brando and confronted Thomen, her former teacher, who questioned the legacy of the nations she and the other sages had founded.
• Thomen and Saint Osore discussed Brando, whom multiple powerful figures had chosen, and Thomen praised his progress in understanding the limits of borrowed power.
• Thomen told Brando that becoming a true Spellweaver required turning the deck’s blueprint into knowledge and laws of his own.
• Brando declared that what belonged to the knight should return to the knight, and Blade of White Sun transformed into the spell Hymn.
• Brando reshaped Side-by-Side Charge, Golden Radiance Banner, Silver Steed, and the Holy Sword into Group Charge, Inspiration, Cavalry Preparation, and Heavenly Armament.

Brando explained that Vonder’s many professions came from a handful of core Strength Systems and defended building a deck that combined them. He revealed that his plan drew on Tricyman’s theory of Spellweaver creatures, leaving Tumen to recognize the direction Brando intended to take.

• Brando absorbed six cards into his chest and explained how he classified Vonder’s professions into twelve Strength Systems.
• Brando said he would build his deck around representative professions from those systems, such as the Knight of Fran and the Silver Wizard of Buga.
• Tumen warned that Brando could use only a limited number of systems at once and that his spell-heavy deck would be easy to counter.
• Brando argued that no deck could be perfect for every situation and that a team could surpass any individual’s strength.
• Tumen realized Brando planned to use Tricyman’s theory of Spellweaver creatures, which Brando identified as Tricyman’s most precious legacy.

Brando used Tricyman’s method to transform Medisa’s card into Fran Knight, a Spellweaver creature, and discovered that he possessed two Elemental Pools. He realized that his dual souls could let him divide out twice as much Spellweaver authority as a normal person.

• Brando decided to summon a Spellweaver creature despite Tumen’s warnings about the risks and limits of Tricyman’s flawed method.
• Brando used his laws to transform Medisa’s Unicorn Knight card into Fran Knight, granting her the Spellweaver ability.
• Tumen recognized Fran Knight as a card that could rewrite Spellweaver history but warned that supporting multiple Spellweaver creatures could weaken Brando’s deck.
• Brando revealed that he possessed two Elemental Pools, shocking Tumen and Saint Osore.
• Brando realized that both of his souls held Spellweaver authority, allowing him to divide out twice as much authority as an ordinary Spellweaver.

Brando confirmed that his two Elemental Pools gave him a unique Spellweaver path with two decks and double permissions. He manifested his second permission around Charles, creating the Beinka world and a Silver Robe Mage card.

• Brando saw that his second Elemental Pool had extraordinary capacity and discovered that he could maintain two separate decks.
• Tumen asked whether Brando had foreseen this path, and Brando admitted that he had; Tumen accepted his answer and urged him to choose his cards.
• Brando chose to make Charles the core of his second permission and warned him that he would lose his ability to die and return to life.
• Brando manifested a world of towers, a great tree, and an azure sea, then named it Beinka and described it as the source of a Silver Wizard's power.
• Brando transformed Charles's card into a Silver Robe Mage with the Spellweaver ability.

Brando completed his third deck, became a true Spellweaver, and gave up his card book along with the cards he did not keep. Tumen congratulated him and gave him a mysterious treasure map, while Brando remained confident he could solve the mana demands of his deck.

• Brando transformed Radiant Trumpeter into the Priestess of Himilud and created the holy-white kingdom in the Mountains of Anjou.
• Brando gained the Song of Blessing card and completed his third deck.
• Brando selected thirty cards for his reserve deck and let the remaining cards and his card book disappear into the vortex.
• Tumen congratulated Brando on becoming a true Spellweaver and warned him that his deck would strain his mana resources.
• Brando told Tumen he already had a solution, and Tumen gave him a mysterious treasure map.

Tumen bid farewell to Brando and Saint Osore before disappearing, and Brando found a stone tablet connected to Freya. Later, Macaro delivered Aike a letter calling him to meet in Valdenburg, while Aike and Yula discussed his confinement and her prediction.

• Tumen told Brando he would have to follow his own path, then answered Saint Osore's question about his supposed death before vanishing.
• Saint Osore asked Brando why he was in the wilderness, and he claimed he was treasure hunting before retrieving a stone tablet from the mountain wall.
• Brando recognized the tablet as an artifact that belonged to the Valkyrie and said he intended to return it to its rightful owner.
• Aike waited with Yula in the castle and complained that her prediction of an event that day had not come true.
• Macaro arrived with a letter for Aike from Fir Territory, and Aike learned that they were to meet in Valdenburg.
• Aike asked why they were going to Viero Province while Jandernel was at war, then admitted that Yula had told him about the news despite his house arrest.

Brando returned to Valhalla and learned that the World Tree Fortress had grown into a powerful territory with new defenses and hundreds of developing Tree Nests. Monica revealed that Valhalla was a surviving replica of Babel Fortress, leaving Brando curious about its ancient origins.

• Monica reported that Valhalla had reached the third level, its Moon Tower had boosted teleportation, and its Tree Nests were growing hundreds of Ancient Tree Roots.
• Brando watched Haruze train against an Ancient Tree Root and encouraged him after it knocked him down.
• Monica showed Brando the proposed Elf Arrow Tower, and he approved the design after learning the Crystal Pool could power up to forty towers.
• Monica explained Valhalla’s three-tier layout and said Audum was building a city wall in the lower city, which Brando questioned.
• Monica revealed that Valhalla was one of several replicas of Babel Fortress and that it was the only surviving backup, a masterpiece of its era.