Chapter Summaries

Evan reclaimed the battleship after Bassem’s defeat and secretly opened negotiations with William to let the Iron Bone survive. William offered intelligence about Octopus Ghost Harkins’s inner circle, leaving Evan with a lead that could bring him greater rewards than defeating Bassem.

• Evan evacuated the battleship with Milan and Gary, then returned aboard the Conch after Sorcery: Animated Plant faded.
• Evan claimed the battleship and renamed it Garratt, while William kept the Iron Bone anchored instead of fleeing.
• William told his crew to prepare to escape if he did not return, then headed to the battleship to negotiate with Evan.
• Evan sent the White Gull to meet William and spoke with him privately in the captain’s cabin.
• William offered valuable intelligence and revealed that some of Harkins’s most loyal men had gone somewhere other than White Whale Port.

Evan learned that Harkins had investigated the Leyton River Valley, but he could not determine the Pirate King's next target. After sparing William and letting the damaged Iron Bone escape, Evan claimed the captured battleship as the crew's new ship and ordered it cleaned.

• William told Evan that Harkins had gathered extensive intelligence about the Leyton River Valley and had kept his elite pirates mobilized.
• Evan considered the possibility that Harkins was preparing another massacre but could not identify his target from the available intelligence.
• William offered Evan three ancient Inca Empire gold coins in exchange for his life, and Evan accepted the coins and spared him.
• Evan decided not to use William to contact Anita, and the Iron Bone escaped while the navy crew stayed quiet.
• Evan inspected the captured battleship, named it the New Conch, and ordered his crew to clean the corpse-filled cabins.

Evan and Milan salvaged Bassem’s battleship, removed its lingering sorcery, and refitted it for naval service. The officers voted to rename the ship Storm Cape, and Evan’s crew prepared to take it back to the naval base for further repairs.

• Evan decided to replace the battleship’s catapults with the Big Thumb’s ten 9-pounder cannons.
• Evan and Milan searched Bassem’s cabin, recovered his black-sorcery research, and identified the Ghost Cloak’s powerful but irreversible side effects.
• Evan’s sailors cleaned the battleship and transferred the ten 9-pounders aboard, while Evan and Milan used occult symbols and a Spiritual Barrier to purge its baleful aura.
• Evan and Milan declared the battleship ready for service once its black sails were replaced, then invited the officers to suggest a new name.
• The officers voted for Milan’s suggestion, Storm Cape, as the battleship’s new name.

After capturing Bassem, Evan’s undermanned flotilla set out toward the coast, towing two ships behind its battleship. They stopped after spotting the returning Sirius Treasure Fleet, whose commander and a mysterious Curse School mage began identifying the forces stalking it.

• Evan’s crew raised the sails and sailed east, towing the Storm Cape and the Conch behind the Big Thumb.
• Evan ordered the flotilla to stop when seabirds revealed the Sirius Treasure Fleet and numerous distant ships following it.
• Aboard the flagship Guard Commander, Vice Admiral Adonis Auston asked Anduin whether the escort fleet should drive away the ships trailing the convoy.
• Anduin used a drop of blood to create a wide-ranging mirror that revealed the surrounding fleets and identified several suspicious forces.
• Impressed by Anduin’s ability, Auston proposed attacking a few major threats to warn off the other ships.

The Sirius fleet fired its Quasi-Legendary battleship’s Reverse Cross Halberd at a distant target, using Great Wizard Anduin’s magic to aim. Evan recognized the danger and turned the Storm Cape north to escape; the halberd struck its target, triggering a huge explosion.

• Sirius’s crew raised and loaded the Reverse Cross Halberd at maximum power.
• Great Wizard Anduin traced a magical line to guide the shooter toward a distant target.
• Evan ordered the Storm Cape and its two warships to turn north and put distance between themselves and Sirius’s fleet.
• Lieutenant General Adonis Auston ordered the shooter to fire the halberd.
• The golden halberd flew beyond ordinary sight, and two thunderclaps were followed by a massive fireball.

Evan’s Storm Cape was targeted by the Guard Commander’s deadly Bronze Halberd after it destroyed two Sark cruisers, but Evan used fog and a risky maneuver to help his ship survive. The damaged Storm Cape escaped north while the Treasure Fleet resumed its voyage, and a strange shark followed Evan’s ship.

• Lieutenant General Oston ordered the Guard Commander to fire another Bronze Halberd at Evan and Milan’s ships as the other vessels fled.
• Evan had Milan activate the Mist Silver Lamp, lined up the Big Thumb and the Sea Snail with the Storm Cape, then cut their towlines and ordered the Storm Cape hard to port.
• The halberd struck behind the Storm Cape, blasting apart part of its Poop Deck and rear mast, but Evan and the crew survived.
• Evan ordered the crew to dump supplies and ammunition so the Storm Cape could flee north at full speed.
• The Mist Silver Lamp’s fog concealed the surviving ship, and the Treasure Fleet continued toward Sirius’s homeland.
• A shark marked with Black Pentagrams emerged from the sea and followed the Storm Cape’s route.

After Evan’s ship barely escaped Sirius’s attack, he set course for Digard Island to repair it. Elsewhere, Chetley deposed the wounded Alik and abandoned him on a deserted island, where real cannon fire suddenly sounded nearby.

• Evan seethed over being ignored by Sirius’s Guard Commander and the white-haired wizard, then redirected the Storm Cape to Digard Island for repairs.
• Chetley used the Demon Monkey crew’s losses and Alik’s injuries to secure a vote dismissing Alik as captain and appointing himself.
• Alik asked to take his pet monkey, Little Jack, and the crew rowed him to a deserted island with a loaded musket before sailing away.
• Alik lay on the beach with Little Jack and realized that the cannon fire he heard was real and close.

Evan’s Storm Cape destroyed the Demon Monkey and killed its crew, while the wounded former Captain Alik was left stranded on an island and faced a shark-like creature. Back at Gabreid, Evan trained Gary as the Pirate Hunting results neared, with Evan’s team leading but some people still disputing who would be the true winner.

• Alik woke during the Storm Cape’s bombardment, realized he was no longer Captain of the Demon Monkey, and fell asleep on the beach.
• Evan ordered the Storm Cape to destroy the Demon Monkey, and Navy Soldiers killed the pirates who tried to escape.
• Alik woke at dusk, gravely injured and stranded with Little Jack, as a huge creature climbed onto the beach and attacked him.
• At Gabreid Military Port, Evan trained Gary, who had become a Formal Knight and been promoted to Captain Officer and Boatswain.
• Evan’s team remained at the top of the Pirate Hunting standings with 15,300 Gold Lions, though some people did not consider the winner fully settled.

Senior officers at the Third Fleet argued over whether Evan should receive the captured Storm Cape and a promotion, while Manison tried to use military rules to keep the battleship from him. The meeting ended with Manison’s motives exposed, but the dispute over the ship remained unresolved.

• Several Third Fleet officers debated Evan’s promotion and ownership of the Storm Cape, which they valued as a crucial battleship.
• Manison argued that the Storm Cape should be redistributed as public property and proposed giving Evan a Fifth-Rate Ship instead.
• Vice Admiral Snyder recognized that Manison’s proposal would burden the logistics department and signaled a major general to challenge him.
• The major general accused Manison of trying to secure the Storm Cape for his grandson, and Manison could not deny it.
• Manison privately resolved to hinder Evan’s advancement because of their family’s past conflict and his fear of losing influence.

Admiral Odrich received a Naval Headquarters order transferring Evan Garratt and his crew out of the Third Fleet, then confirmed Evan’s promotion and command of the renamed Storm Cape. In the New Continent, Anita and the Golden Horned Deer arrived at Coconut Tree Harbor, where Anita studied notices at the Juniper Tavern.

• An urgent order arrived during a dispute over Evan’s captured battleship, directing Evan Garratt and his crew to report to Newen Harbor and placing them under Naval Headquarters.
• Admiral Odrich announced that the captured Dry Bone Tomb would be renamed the Storm Cape and remain under Evan’s command, now as Lieutenant Colonel Evan.
• The Golden Horned Deer docked at Coconut Tree Harbor, where Anita’s reputation as a Grand Knight drew wary respect from the pirates.
• Old Sam welcomed Anita’s crew at the Juniper Tavern and offered them drinks.
• Anita declined to drink and browsed the notices posted on the tavern’s information wall.

Anita learned from a newspaper that her younger brother Evan was alive and had become a celebrated young naval officer in the Faletis Kingdom. Determined to reunite with him without endangering his future, she adopted the title Emerald Light and planned to travel there in secret.

• Molly found a newspaper report naming Evan Garratt among the Tulip Alliance's Naval Rising Stars and asked Anita to check whether he was her brother.
• Anita read that Evan was a sixteen-year-old Battleship Captain and Navy Lieutenant Colonel, and recognized him through his name and the report's mention of Gell Cowper.
• Anita rejoiced that Evan was alive, then worried that her identity as a pirate could harm his naval career.
• Molly advised Anita to suppress the surname Garratt and build her public identity around the title Emerald Light.
• Anita agreed to use the title and resolved to reach the Faletis Kingdom discreetly so she could see Evan again.

Evan traveled to Newen Harbor after receiving an urgent transfer order, continuing his studies of Animation School sorcery during the voyage. There, he was secretly escorted to the battleship Frost White Sword, where he met Anthony Cramer and began to suspect the real reason for his summons.

• Evan sailed aboard Storm Cape toward Newen Harbor while studying the Inheritance Secret Scroll and planning to develop Venus flytraps into defenses against cannonballs.
• Milan stayed aboard as Evan’s Navigator after sharing a cryptic prophecy that the Prophecy School had conveyed to its members.
• Storm Cape reached Newen Harbor in less than ten days, and a civilian colonel escorted Evan away from his crew to a classified location.
• Evan traveled south through thickening fog and boarded a small boat that carried him to a second-rate ship of the line.
• Evan recognized the ship as Frost White Sword and saw Anthony Cramer, which helped him guess why he had been summoned.

Evan joined Anthony aboard the Frost White Sword for a naval test of the Siren's Song, the Alchemy Tool they had invented. The test forced a Large Species Sea Monster to surface, revealing a Sea Devil and leaving the observers to face the creature.

• Anthony welcomed Evan aboard and explained that the kingdom was testing the Siren's Song, which could drive Sea Monsters away with infrasonic waves.
• Evan detected a Sea Monster through the fog as the Frost White Sword reached the testing ground and signaled the other three warships.
• The navy activated the Siren's Songs aboard the four warships and maneuvered to confine the underwater Sea Monster.
• The infrasonic waves drove the creature to surface, and the observers identified it as a Large Species Sea Devil serving Sea Monster Mother Ecto.

Evan and Anthony’s Siren’s Song passed its sea trial when four battleships destroyed a Sea Devil without casualties. They joined Principal Princeton aboard the Weston Castle, where royal and Church representatives praised the invention and discussed its promise for ocean exploration and military sales.

• A Sea Devil attacked a nearby battleship, whose cannon crews stopped its charge with a broadside and destroyed its ability to move with a second.
• Evan arrived aboard the Frost White Sword and saw that the successful trial had ended without casualties.
• Evan and Anthony celebrated the Siren’s Song’s success before Principal Princeton summoned them to the Weston Castle.
• Evan and Anthony boarded the First-Rate Ship and greeted Princeton and the royal delegation, including a representative from Marquis Hansa’s family.
• Old Bishop Benedict confirmed the device’s effectiveness and said safer voyages could accelerate ocean exploration, while the kingdom considered selling it through the Church.

Evan’s “Siren’s Song” passed its military assessment, earning praise and rewards from the Kingdom’s leaders. After the observation team departed, Evan extracted three Essence Fruits from the Large Species Sea Devil’s corpse, leaving him with a major harvest.

• The assessment team confirmed that “Siren’s Song” met its design goals and recommended it for the military’s Alchemy Weapon list.
• The royal and Church representatives celebrated the test’s success, then left to handle production and follow-up work.
• Crown Princess Livina and Principal Princeton praised Evan, and Princeton promised him Academic Points, Formal Wizard-level authority, and his requested Golden Compass; Anthony also received rewards.
• Evan asked Princeton for part of the Sea Devil’s remains, then used his upgraded Extraction Potion on the corpse.
• Evan fed the extraction tree the Sea Devil’s scattered tentacles, and three Essence Fruits ripened as the monster’s body was consumed.

Evan shared the Essence Fruits from the sea monster with Princeton and Livina, then kept the fruit Princeton returned so he could strengthen himself and pursue advancement. After returning to shore, Evan reflected on whether he could combine the Wizard’s Path with the Knight’s Path and realized that Beast Breath could help someone he knew.

• Evan gave Princeton and Livina an Essence Fruit, ignored Anthony’s eager gaze, and claimed the fruit Princeton returned to him.
• Princeton and Livina approved Evan’s proposal concerning the Alchemy School and the Animation School, while Princeton explained that wizards below Crown rank could not know which path was best.
• Evan recalled Princeton’s warning that Beast Breath would poison his Animated Spirit Power and considered how pursuing both wizardry and knighthood might affect his future.
• Evan returned to Storm Cape after celebrating with Anthony and decided that someone he knew could use the Beast Breath.

Harkins met with Heinmütz at the Deep Sea Brotherhood’s headquarters, where sea monsters were hatching for an assault on the coast and a raid for the Black Sea’s Heart of the Ocean. Harkins agreed to the plan while secretly seeking the power to advance to the Fourth Order, and another figure approached him as the chapter ended.

• Harkins inspected the sea monster eggs and told Heinmütz that the creatures were developing smoothly and that he controlled intelligence on Leyton River Valley.
• Heinmütz said the eighty-seven sea monsters could crush the coast and ordered Harkins to seize the Heart of the Ocean from the underground grand vault.
• Harkins promised to lead the sea monsters in the attack, and Heinmütz vanished after telling him to wait for notice of his action.
• Harkins reflected that he wanted to break the shackles of his Exiled Prisoner path and reach the Fourth Order by freeing a powerful prisoner.
• A stout figure emerged from the darkness behind Harkins.

Harkins reassured Norber that he would be rewarded for his service to the Deep Sea Brotherhood’s plan, while Heinmütz ordered Tienkute and Petrich to secure the Heart of the Ocean. The Brotherhood’s leaders feared the Heart could enable the Sea Witch, the former Black Sea Goddess Hipponoe, to revive and challenge Ecto’s rule.

• Norber reported that the sea monster hatchery was on schedule, and Harkins promised to ask the Goddess to restore him to human form and possibly make him Harkins’s heir.
• Heinmütz instructed Tienkute to meet Harkins at sea and bring the Heart of the Ocean back safely when the operation began.
• Heinmütz warned Tienkute and Petrich that the Sea Witch’s revival threatened Ecto’s rule over the Black Sea.
• The chapter recounted how Hipponoe, an immortal healer, was drowned repeatedly for eight hundred years, became the Sea Goddess of the Black Sea, and was later sealed by mortals.
• Tienkute and Petrich pledged to obtain the Heart of the Ocean and prevent the Sea Witch’s revival.

Evan returned to Newen Harbor after the Naval Rising Star Project and reunited with Gell and Daphne at Cowper Manor. He revealed his wizard identity to Gell and presented him with a mysterious box, leaving its contents undisclosed.

• Evan traveled from the harbor to Cowper Manor, where Gell and Daphne welcomed him warmly.
• Evan told Gell and Daphne that the Storm Cape was now under navy headquarters and that Newen Harbor would be his home port.
• Evan asked about Angie and learned that Dilys had taken her to a salon gathering.
• Gell asked about the dangers of Evan’s pirate-hunting operation, and Evan reassured him that he had won and that the Mist Silver Lamp had helped.
• Evan sent the servants away, explained that his wizard identity was officially endorsed, and handed Gell an exquisite wooden box.

Evan gave Gell a bottle of Beast Breath to help him advance to Grand Knight, then told him that Heimer Raymond had joined Pirate King Octopus Ghost Harkins and taken part in the White Whale Port Massacre. Gell resolved to face the mistake he had helped create, and Angie arrived, easing the room’s tense mood.

• Gell recognized Evan’s Beast Breath and tried to return it, but Evan explained that Principal Princeton had advanced him the potion from the Alchemy School’s stockpile.
• Gell accepted the potion and said he expected to complete Flesh Liberation in six months to a year and would repay Evan after advancing to Grand Knight.
• Evan told Gell that Heimer Raymond had joined Octopus Ghost Harkins as an Exiled Prisoner and had played a part in the White Whale Port Massacre.
• Gell reflected on Heimer’s past and vowed to end with his own hands the mistake he had created.
• Angie entered the room, and her arrival softened Evan and Gell’s serious mood.