Chapter Summaries

Brando visited the newly completed Valarun Warrior Hall and discovered that it housed Bab and other legendary Cloud Giant craftsmen. He learned that Valhalla’s limits had reduced their abilities to roughly the level of Tama and Beru, leaving their greater potential for the future.

• Brando entered the Valarun Warrior Hall with Monica and Princess Medisa and watched Cloud Giants spar.
• Bab introduced himself as a craftsman, and Medisa recognized him and several other legendary masters.
• Bab explained that the hall was a forge where its craftsmen would make weapons and armor for Valhalla’s warriors.
• Brando asked Bab to produce one hundred sets of Fantasy Rank archer chainmail and longbows, but Bab said he could not.
• Bab explained that the craftsmen’s power was restricted by Valhalla’s current strength and that he and the others were now roughly on a level with Tama and Beru.

Brando sought to expand Eluin’s army with elite troops, and the arrival of the Divine Craftsmen promised to accelerate production of enchanted armor. Bab revealed the Valarun Warrior Hall could produce thousands of sets monthly, while Gorju hinted that the hall’s true value went beyond its forge and raised the name Valkyrie.

• Brando planned to build Eluin’s central army around the White Lion Guard and develop stronger forces to prepare for Madara and the coming wars.
• Brando asked Bab how quickly the Valarun Warrior Hall could produce White Lion Armor, and Bab said it could make two thousand enchanted sets a month by directing heroic spirit craftsmen.
• Brando realized the hall’s output could rapidly equip the White Lion Legion and Wind Archers, and Medisa laughed when he nearly drooled at the prospect.
• Gorju objected that making basic armor wasted the hall’s sacred value and argued that its purpose went beyond supplying weapons and armor.
• Bab explained that the Valarun Warrior Hall was a resting place for warriors in myth, then asked Brando whether he had heard of Valkyrie.

Brando learned that the Valarun Warrior Hall was connected to the Dawn Sanctuary, home of the powerful Valkyries, and discovered that Brunhilde was their Rank Nine queen. Bab explained that restoring the sanctuary would take centuries, but Brando could awaken Valkyries stranded in the mortal world by repairing their gear and recovering their steeds.

• Bab summoned Brunhilde, and Brando inspected her and found that she was a Level 60 Valkyrie with a combat rating of VIII.
• Bab clarified that Brunhilde was Rank Nine, while most Valkyries were Rank Eight, and explained that they could not be recruited directly through the Valarun Warrior Hall.
• Bab explained that the Valkyries lived in the Dawn Sanctuary, which the Cloud People could reconnect to Valhalla by forging a silver staircase over a process expected to take one or two thousand years.
• Bab revealed that wounded Valkyries remained asleep in their armor and weapons, and that repairing their gear and recovering their pegasi could awaken them.
• Bab named the materials needed to repair the Valkyries' equipment, while Monica said Brando would also need to build a Wind-Riding Steed nest, leaving him collapsing in dismay.

Brando weighed the costs and requirements of reviving the Valkyries, then prepared to join the war against the Blood Staff with the Wind Archer troops and allied forces. As the army advanced toward the endangered Golan-Elson region, Xiao Peiluo faced the question of how the Broken Sword Knight Order would take part.

• Brando learned that reviving the sleeping Valkyries required extremely rare materials, including a Wind-riding Steed nest, and that sending Brunhilde and the other Valkyries into battle would consume too much magic.
• Brando received reports that the Blood Staff had destroyed the White Wing Knights and was advancing toward Golan-Elson while the region's people panicked and sought aid.
• Quenir brought Funiya's greetings to Brando, and Brando promised that the druids' children would be treated well as the druids supported his plans for the Black Forest and Eluin.
• Xiao Peiluo considered the Broken Sword Knight Order's uncertain status under Brando's authority and recognized that its warriors wanted to join the coming war.

Brando’s plan to ambush Blood Staff in Slovafen brought the Broken Sword Knight Order close to joining the fighting, while Aike’s allied army assembled for the attack. The chapter left Aike struggling to control the impatient Viero knights, who began advancing before Tonigell’s army arrived.

• Xiao Peiluo asked Veronica and Prince Lainaret whether the Broken Sword Knight Order could fight under Brando, and learned that the knights could take orders from him if Count Tonigell allowed it while prioritizing the First Prince’s protection.
• Blood Staff advanced through Slovafen after the Vanmir Legion’s defeats, while Dark Lords noticed that more than five scout units had gone missing and warned Blood Staff of danger.
• Aike reviewed the ambush plan that Brando had persuaded Eluin’s leaders to approve, targeting Blood Staff before Count Jandernel.
• Aike’s coalition prepared to ambush Blood Staff in Slovafen with support from Lantorilan, Viero, and the Highland Knights.
• Viero’s knight lords mistook Blood Staff for an easy target and began advancing before Tonigell’s army arrived, leaving Aike struggling to control the coalition.

Brando recognized that his plans had underestimated the undisciplined forces allied with him, then sent the Broken Sword Knights to block Blood Staff’s retreat as Viero’s retainers attacked ahead of schedule. As the White Lion Guard and Wind Archers prepared to enter the battle, Sir Planchet mistook Skeleton Wizards for Liches and prepared to seize what he believed was an easy chance for glory.

• Xiao Peiluo warned Brando that the allied lords’ troops might disrupt his plans, and Brando assigned the Broken Sword Knights to block Blood Staff’s retreat.
• Freya reported that Viero’s, Lantorilan’s, and the Highland Knights’ armies had already attacked, and Brando ordered her to lead the Wind Archers alongside the White Lion Guard.
• Sir Planchet hid his retainers in a linden forest, hoping to kill Madara’s Liches and earn wealth and status.
• After seeing Skeleton Knights and a large undead army pass the forest, Planchet spotted robed Skeleton Wizards and mistook them for Liches.

Pranche’s premature charge triggered Viero’s left wing to attack Madara’s vanguard, but the knights panicked under Skeleton Wizard magic and routed themselves. The Blood Staff sent Fear Spirits to scout the Eluin position, leaving Viero’s exposed army facing imminent disaster unless Lantorilan and Tonigell arrived.

• Pranche led his attendants out of the grove, prompting the knights across Viero’s left wing to charge Madara’s vanguard.
• Viero’s commanders held back their other forces while the Blood Staff cautiously withdrew its main army, mistaking the attack for a trap.
• A Skeleton Wizard blasted Pranche apart, and the panicked knights collided, fled, and collapsed under their own disorder.
• Viero’s entire left wing routed within minutes, exposing the rest of the army to Madara’s attack.
• The Blood Staff recognized that something was wrong and sent more than a dozen Fear Spirits toward the Eluin position.
• Viero’s supreme commander realized the Fear Spirits could expose his army and hoped Lantorilan and Tonigell would arrive in time.

Brando learned that Viero's army had collapsed after attacking the Blood Staff's forces too early, ruining the planned ambush. He assembled his forces and set out to rescue the allies, hoping to stop the Blood Staff before it could join Jandernel.

• Viero's knightly retainers attacked the Blood Staff's vanguard prematurely, exposing their army and breaking Brando's planned encirclement.
• Caglis sent Brando a magical message reporting that Viero's left wing had been routed by several hundred skeleton soldiers.
• Brando gathered the Mage Corps, Wind Archers, White Lion Guard, and other forces as they prepared to march.
• Brando confirmed the intelligence for Xiao Peiluo, and the Broken Sword Knight Order rode south to scout the Blood Staff's army.
• Freya told Brando that Aiko had made contact, and Brando ordered the army to set out to save Viero's forces.

Count Jacques rallied Viero’s Army after Fear Spirits routed its cavalry, ordering the nobles to hold their position and await Lantorilan help. Blood Staff’s forces prepared to test the defenders, confident that the divided human armies posed little threat.

• Fear Spirits sent Viero’s knights and squires fleeing into the forest, killing many in the rout.
• Count Jacques used the priests’ Blessing of Courage and identified the attackers as higher-order undead.
• Count Zlin and Count Bomosh urged a retreat, but Jacques argued that escape was impossible and ordered the army to hold until the Lantorilans arrived.
• Jacques raised morale by saying Aiko would come to their rescue if they could endure long enough.
• Blood Staff learned that Viero’s Army was redeploying and ordered skeletons to test its strength.

Brando’s forces gathered in the Yusong Mountains as the war against Madara began, and he welcomed Caglis, Meria, and Kowen to the front. After encouraging Kowen to join his cause, Brando asked for news of the battle and learned how badly Madara had overwhelmed Viero’s Army.

• Mars and Yuriol watched the White Lion Infantry assemble as Brando and Freya prepared to face the invaders in the Yusong Mountains.
• Caglis arrived with Meria and Kowen, and Brando welcomed them and teased Caglis about Meria joining the military priest corps.
• Brando praised Kowen’s abilities and urged him to do more for Silman, persuading him to consider joining Brando’s cause.
• Caglis reported that Tomor had kept Viero’s Army from routing despite a devastating defeat, while Madara’s undead forces had proved terrifying.
• Brando’s soldiers understood that the undead kept advancing without fear or retreat and had to be destroyed completely to win.

Brando’s forces advanced toward the battle as he explained Madara’s new elite troops and rallied his soldiers under Eluin’s banners. The chapter ended with the Lantorilans turning to join the charge, Count Jacques’s trapped soldiers deciding whether to sound their horn, and the Blood Staff asking about the unknown army from Tonigell.

• Caglis reported that Count Jacques’s Vieroan forces were nearing defeat, while Aeko’s Lantorilans remained locked in combat with Madara’s Skeleton Cavalry.
• Caglis described Madara’s powerful Spider Swordsmen, and Brando recognized them as newly fielded troops before warning his army about Madara’s strength.
• Brando rallied his soldiers beneath Eluin’s banners and declared that they would crush Madara’s forces; he identified the troops ahead as Imperial Chosen led by Morgin and Sir Viscag the Silent.
• Aeko heard Brando’s trumpet, recognized the arrival of the Tonigellians, and ordered the Lantorilans to turn and charge.
• Count Jacques urged his nobles to sound the horn and seek help for the sake of their families, while the Blood Staff asked where the unfamiliar Tonigellian army had come from.

Brando’s White Lion Guard faced Sir Viscag’s undead army as Brando used a concentrated Mage Corps to bombard and disrupt the enemy’s formation. The chapter ended with Freya ordering the charge while the Blood Staff sent Fear Spirits toward the western bank.

• Sir Viscag assessed the approaching White Lion Guard and underestimated it, while Brando’s army advanced under widespread magical enhancements.
• Brando explained to Caglis that wizards represented battlefield firepower and prepared his Mage Corps to attack the undead.
• Sir Viscag ordered his Spider Swordsmen to spread out, but the first magical bombardment tore gaps through their front line.
• Sir Viscag recognized that the White Lion Guard could advance like cavalry and tried to move up his rear ranks as a second bombardment struck the space between his lines.
• Count Jacques saw Fear Spirits surge from the Blood Staff toward the western bank, and Freya raised her sword and ordered the White Lion Guard to charge.

Freya led the White Lion Guard through Madara’s front line while Hypamira’s powers protected the soldiers and shattered Morgin’s defenses. The arrival of enchanted arrows from the Black Forest brought down more than twenty Fear Spirits, leaving both armies astonished by the hidden force supporting Brando.

• Freya charged with the White Lion Guard as Eluin’s mages bombarded the center of Madara’s line, and Hypamira cast Aegis Sacred Song to shield the advancing soldiers from the undead’s shock wave.
• The White Lion Guard broke through Sir Viscag’s line, killed Liches, and caused their low-level undead to collapse as their Soul Fire failed.
• Hypamira struck Morgin with the Attribute of Mountains, shattering his magical barrier and destroying his body, while his soul fled to its phylactery.
• Fear Spirits attacked the Mage Corps, but Mcdonald redirected the mages toward the skeletal swordsmen as the archers prepared to respond.
• Fini’s stray arrow signaled the archers to fire a storm of enchanted arrows, which cut through the Fear Spirits and brought down more than twenty of them.
• Blood Staff recognized the archers’ extraordinary range, and Count Jacques realized that he had misunderstood the source of Brando’s support.

Medisa’s Wind Archers devastated Blood Staff’s Fear Spirits with holy arrows while Brando’s forces broke through the undead’s front lines. As the battle reached a stalemate, Brando revealed a hidden reserve: silver Pegasus knights answering Medisa’s horn.

• Medisa ordered the Wind Archers to fire holy Arrow Three, destroying most of the diving Fear Spirits and forcing the survivors to retreat.
• The White Lion Guard and Mage Corps defeated the undead regiments Viscag and Morgin, while Hypamira’s blessings strengthened the advancing troops.
• Brando assessed the battlefield as both armies struggled to reorganize, and Blood Staff believed Tonigell had no reserves left to attack its flank.
• Medisa blew the Dragon Horn Long Trumpet, and thousands of silver Pegasus thundered onto the battlefield, shocking Blood Staff.

Brando used Medisa’s Lingge Guard as mounted archers to harass Blood Staff’s flank while the White Lion Guard attacked Madara’s main force. As the battle reached its decisive stage and the enemy believed Eluin’s mages had exhausted their mana, Charles restored their power with Mana Potions.

• Medisa led the Wind Archer girls to mount the summoned silver warhorses, while Brando summoned Tiger Sparrow and the other White City Vanguard knights.
• Brando directed the Lingge Guard around Blood Staff’s flank, where they dismounted and fired holy Enchanted Arrows before riding away from the advancing Skeleton Warriors.
• Blood Staff committed troops to contain the Wind Archers, then gathered its forces against the White Lion Guard as Freya and Hypamira led the charge.
• The White Lion Guard clashed with Madara’s main force while Eluin’s Mage Corps exchanged volleys with the Liches and Skeleton Mages, eventually falling silent.
• After the enemy celebrated the apparent exhaustion of Eluin’s mages, Charles ordered the magical barrier dispelled and his mages drank Mana Potions, restoring their depleted power.

Brando and Medisa’s forces broke Blood Staff’s flank, turning the battle against the undead into a rout. Blood Staff fled as the Viero army recognized that victory belonged to Tonigell’s forces.

• Brando ordered the Wind Archers to use Holy Silver Arrows and Edge of Stone bolts to devastate the undead guarding Blood Staff’s exposed flank.
• Medisa led the Wind Archers into a mounted charge while Brando and twelve knights opened a path through the Black Knights.
• Brando’s Sword of Earth and Piercing Strike shattered the Black Knights’ formation, and Medisa used Encouragement of Justice and Group Charge to strengthen her archers.
• Blood Staff saw its flank collapsing and abandoned its attempt to stop Brando, fleeing with the remaining Skeleton Cavalry.
• The undead began retreating as the Viero soldiers and nobles realized that Tonigell’s forces had decided the battle.

After the Blood Staff’s defeat, Brando warned Count Jacques that Madara had already unified and possessed a far stronger army than the one they had faced, urging Eluin’s nobles to recognize the kingdom’s danger. The allied forces drove the undead south, but the Blood Staff escaped with surviving Skeleton Cavalry, leaving Brando to hope the nobles would use this chance to prepare Eluin for war.

• Brando explained to Count Jacques that the undead had flaws but Madara’s reformed army could keep fighting even after its upper command structure fell.
• Brando warned Count Jacques that Madara had at least a thousand Imperial Chosen and that Eluin needed to make itself a less appealing target.
• Count Jacques grew alarmed by the threat and sent messengers north to seek Grand Duke Viero’s advice.
• The allied forces of Viero, Lantorilan, and Tonigell pursued the undead and destroyed most of the Sea of Dead Moons’ mercenaries, but the Blood Staff escaped with surviving Skeleton Cavalry.
• Brando sent Kowen back to the Silman Hills to take over the battlefield cleanup and keep Tonigell’s strength out of public view.

Blood Staff led the retreating Undead Army into a head-on confrontation with the Broken Sword Knight Order, whose knights secretly prepared to use magic rings against the Skeleton Cavalry. Watching from afar, Alvitt concluded Blood Staff was doomed and recognized that Eluin’s strength could affect the Empire’s plans.

• Blood Staff found the camp empty and realized an enemy had appeared behind her, while Blund and Xiao Peiluo’s group waited with the Broken Sword Knight Order across the riverbank.
• Blood Staff sent Skeleton Cavalry to test the knights, and Blund’s squad wiped them out; the Dark Mercenaries identified the Cruzian force as a Tier Four cavalry unit.
• Blood Staff ordered the Skeleton Cavalry to charge, while Xiao Peiluo told the Broken Sword Knights to conceal any strength above Gold Rank and prepare their first attack.
• An aged Lich sensed the knights were preparing a spell, and the Cruzian knights raised their magic-ring-covered hands as light flashed through their formation.
• Alvitt left after watching the battle and said Blood Staff was finished, blaming Instaron’s manipulation and warning that Eluin’s unexpected strength could give the Empire reason to reconsider its ambitions.

After the allied forces defeated Blood Staff and Count Jandernel, Freya earned fame as Eluin’s Valkyrie while Brando quietly traveled to Brags with Freya and Antitina. He had received an unexpected letter from his mother asking him to return home, and the chapter ended with him wondering whether the Highland Knights or Madara had arranged it.

• Freya commanded the allied forces to defeat Count Jandernel, and her victory made her famous as the Valkyrie of Eluin.
• Brando encouraged Freya to accept her abilities and let her enjoy the recognition, while Antitina supported his praise.
• Brando left the allied forces after defeating Blood Staff and traveled to Brags with Freya and Antitina after receiving a letter from his mother.
• Brando suspected that the Highland Knights had prompted his mother’s letter and worried that Madara might be manipulating events.
• The three reached Antitina’s properties on Gravedigger Street, where Brando and Antitina remembered their first meeting.

Brando, Antitina, and Freya returned to Antitina’s former room in Brags, where they discovered someone had searched it months earlier and learned the Patrol Cavalry had once looked for her. Viscount Test appeared by the river and began explaining how the Lionheart Sword had led to his ruined condition, leaving Brando waiting to hear the secrets he promised about the past.

• Brando used Antitina’s key to enter her old room, and Antitina explained how debt had driven her family into poverty after her father disappeared.
• While cleaning, Antitina found signs that intruders had entered through the window and searched her drawers and books months earlier.
• Brando sent a local boy to buy food and questioned him about the neighborhood, learning that the Patrol Cavalry had come looking for Antitina about a year before.
• Viscount Test confronted Brando from the overgrown steps by the Bucci River and said his ordeal was connected to Brando.
• Test began recounting how he searched for the Lionheart Sword on behalf of the Circle of Unity.