Chapter Summaries

Lorist appointed Morosinger and Willigson to lead the new Haneabada Archipelago Garrison Corps and planned how to use the freed slaves and captured wealth. He then ordered his officers to prepare to destroy the Chikede Merchant Guild’s approaching Northern Fleet, which he regarded as an enemy.

• Lorist appointed Morosinger commander and Willigson deputy of a five-regiment garrison corps for the Haneabada Archipelago, assigning them three years to establish its forces and bases.
• Lorist planned to recruit freed slaves into security battalions and transport 120,000 able-bodied people to the Northland to support the family’s growing military and construction needs.
• Sembawood returned while the Norton fleet continued transporting the archipelago’s captured wealth to Shirovas Island.
• Tagel reported that Muribak had told Haneabada’s slave traders about Norton territory on Shirovas Island, drawing slave-catching bands toward it.
• Lorist declared the Chikede Merchant Guild at war with the Norton Family and called for a plan to annihilate its Northern Fleet at Port Nubite.

Schumacher led the Chikede Merchant Guild's Northern Fleet toward Port Nubite to buy grain for the guild's new territory, the Urubaha Grand Duchy. The fleet found the harbor transformed into a trap, and Schumacher surrendered to Lorist's forces.

• Schumacher's fleet sailed toward Port Nubite, carrying a request for King Lud III to approve the purchase of one million pulu of grain.
• Schumacher and Kuchud saw a pyramid made of preserved human heads beside the harbor, and the shocked fleet fell into chaos.
• Lorist's soldiers and Repeating Crossbows surrounded the fleet while forces on Golden Shark Island and Duck Island blocked its escape.
• Lorist ordered the fleet to throw down its weapons and surrender, and Thunderbolt Trebuchets fired burning shots into the water behind it.
• After Kuchud warned that the fleet could not win, Schumacher ordered the sails lowered and the white flag raised.

Lorist reorganized the Norton Family Armed Forces and expanded the family’s military strength while developing the Northland and Shirovas Island. The chapter ended with news that the Forde Commercial Alliance had cut off the Second Prince by occupying Campana Province, prompting Lorist to head for Shirovas Island.

• Lorist announced plans for the Rock Army, Flying Tiger Legion, and Guard Legion, bringing the Norton Family’s regular forces to 225,000 men.
• Lorist assigned forces to defend the family dominion, planned a new passage and fortress through the Blade Mountain Range, and appointed Hanske governor of Shirovas Island.
• Lorist found that Shiward had mastered Dynamic Vision, then learned that Miss Teresi and Ilena were pregnant.
• Lorist approved Fatty Shi’s leave to train for Gold rank and later granted leave to silver three-star knights seeking to advance.
• Shiward reported that the Forde Commercial Alliance had seized Campana Province, trapping the Second Prince’s 170,000 troops in the Kingdom of Redlis and cutting them off from the Kingdom of Antinak.
• Lorist ordered preparations to travel to Shirovas Island after learning that Seriham had arrived there as a peace envoy.

Seriham visited Lorist on Shirovas Island to apologize for the Chikede Merchant Guild’s role in the conflict, ransom its captured Northern Merchant Fleet, and end hostilities. Lorist accepted the guild’s proposed settlement and agreed to peaceful relations.

• Seriham presented gifts and asked Lorist to release the Northern Merchant Fleet’s people and restore friendly relations between the guild and the Norton Family.
• Lorist recounted the guild’s role in the attack on Shirovas Island and said the fleet’s personnel would otherwise serve three years of hard labor.
• Seriham offered two hundred thousand Gold Fude to ransom the fleet’s people and proposed buying fifty-six thousand sets of Fine Iron 107 equipment over three years.
• Seriham offered to transfer the guild’s spice route to the Norton Family and gave Lorist plans for a floating-box pier.
• Lorist agreed to reconcile with the Chikede Merchant Guild and end their state of hostility.

Lorist learned that the Commercial Alliance had seized Campana Province and that Marquis Red had refused the Norton Family’s offer of military aid. After hearing that Imperial escorts had ordered Qilin Port’s garrison to bar Norton soldiers, Lorist prepared to go there and challenge the order.

• Seriham departed with the ransomed Northern Fleet personnel after telling Lorist how the Commercial Alliance had occupied Campana Province.
• Lorist told Bordefinger that he would help the Second Prince only by breaking the blockade in Campana Province, not by fighting in Majik Province unless the First Prince’s whereabouts were discovered.
• Hanske returned from the Imperial Capital with Marquis Red’s sealed order for the Norton Family to avoid the kingdom’s military affairs and guard its own dominion.
• Hanske reported that the Imperial escorts had ordered Qilin Port’s garrison to keep Norton soldiers ashore after Ready had disarmed knights who tried to attack refugees.
• Lorist ordered Sembawood’s Naval Legion and Bordefinger’s First Corps to prepare, then set out with Hughs to test whether Qilin Port would bar him from landing.

Lorist used the Imperial Capital’s order barring Norton troops from Qilin Port as a pretext to take control of the city’s defenses. Baron Fineston willingly authorized the arrangement, and the Rock Army took over Qilin Port on July 3.

• Lorist arrived at Qilin Port with a thousand guards and a legion, and his guards beat two drunken knights who tried to stop them from landing.
• Lorist went to Baron Fineston’s residence to demand the Imperial Capital’s order, and Fineston handed it over while criticizing the nobles who issued it.
• Lorist proposed training the Qilin Port garrison on Shirovas Island and stationing Norton troops in the city while the garrison was away.
• Fineston agreed to Lorist’s plan and issued an order transferring the garrison and inviting Norton forces to defend Qilin Port.
• On July 3, the Rock Army took over Qilin Port.

Lorist arrived at Dina Baron's Territory and ended Baron Andrew’s month-long siege with a quick cavalry assault, then learned the dispute had begun over Andrew’s attempted marriage scheme. After Ary asked him to release the prisoners, Lorist let Andrew and his sons go and followed her toward the castle.

• Kumod guided Lorist and his guards to Dina Baron's Territory, where Lorist spotted the castle under siege and ordered Ready to disperse the attackers without killing them.
• Ready’s cavalry overwhelmed the poorly equipped camp, captured Baron Andrew and his sons, and prompted Ary to open the castle gates.
• Lorist reunited with Ary, who confronted him about concealing that he was an earl and refused to become his concubine.
• Ary explained that Baron Andrew had attacked after she rejected his plan to unite their families through marriages and take over her territory.
• Lorist threatened to hang the prisoners, but Ary asked him to release them, so he returned their weapons and horses before she led him toward the castle.

Lorist visited Yalidoli and her family at the Dina estate, where Yalidoli struggled with whether to leave her home and become his concubine. After Anna revealed her real name and decided to go with Lorist, he warned that the Commercial Alliance might soon threaten their border territory, leaving Yalidoli still uncertain about her choice.

• Lorist presented gifts to Yalidoli, Finagali, and Anna, then met Yalidoli’s younger brother and the family knight Masa.
• Yalidoli told Lorist she had trained in Battle Qi and swordsmanship while waiting for him, but feared their status differences and asked for time to decide whether to leave.
• Lorist joined the family for dinner, fed Yalidoli’s younger brother generously, and arranged for his guards to stay in the abandoned stronghold.
• Anna visited Lorist’s room, revealed that her real name was Dilianna, and slept with him before Yalidoli interrupted them.
• Anna declared that she would go with Lorist as his concubine and urged Yalidoli to join them.
• Lorist warned Yalidoli that the Commercial Alliance might advance north and endanger her family’s territory, but she remained hesitant as he carried her toward the bed.

Lorist tried to persuade Yalidoli to leave Dina Baron's Territory with him, warning that the Kingdom of Antinak was in grave danger. After reports revealed the Second Prince was besieged and the Imperial Capital was turning its forces against the Norton Family, Yalidoli agreed to leave with Lorist and protect her family’s future.

• Lorist urged Yalidoli to take her family and documents away, promising the Norton Family would help her brother reclaim their territory when he came of age.
• Yalidoli refused to leave Dina Baron's Territory, believing the Second Prince and his army would withstand the crisis.
• After half a month, Lorist received a Molent Daily report that the Second Prince was trapped in Federiga Royal City and an emergency letter describing the Imperial Capital’s demands on the Norton Family at Qilin Port.
• Lorist explained the kingdom’s danger to Yalidoli and said he needed to leave immediately.
• Yalidoli agreed to go with Lorist as his lover, asking him to help her become a female Knight and train her brother as a Knight and lord.
• Lorist agreed to take the Dina family’s people and ordered them to prepare to leave the next morning.

Lorist withdrew the Norton Family from Qilin Port as the Imperial Capital secretly pursued peace with the Commercial Alliance and Princess Carrie became queen. With the new kingdom excluding Shirovas Island and leaving the Norton Family without a liege lord, Lorist prepared to investigate Second Prince before deciding what to do next.

• Bordefinger confronted the Royal Guard's Second Legion after its cavalry attacked the refugee camp, and Lorist agreed to hand over Qilin Port while keeping a separate camp for refugees.
• After reading reports of Second Prince's disappearance and the Commercial Alliance's peace negotiations, Lorist ordered his forces to leave Qilin Port and withdraw to Shirovas Island.
• The Imperial Capital asked Lorist to recognize Princess Carrie as queen and support a peace treaty, but he refused to sign, saying the Norton Family remained loyal to the missing king.
• Lorist learned that the Kingdom of Redlis had been divided among new territories and that Princess Carrie's reduced Kingdom of Antinak no longer recognized Shirovas Island or the Norton Family.
• Bordefinger urged Lorist to seize territory now that the Norton Family had no liege lord, but Lorist chose to train his forces and ordered Tagel to search for Second Prince without acting against him.

Lorist returned to the North, settled the Dina family and more than a hundred thousand refugees, and spent the next months strengthening his territory while preparing a trip to Molent City with his allies. After rejecting Queen Kerry’s marriage offer, he sailed with his companions and arrived in Molent City on July 11, 1775, ten years after leaving.

• Lorist brought the Dina family to Pebble Castle and planned training and education for Yalidoli and her young brother.
• Lorist chose to avoid war for two years, develop Taichuan Plains for the refugees, and expand Volibear’s intelligence work in the Four Central Duchies.
• Count Kemais, Baron Philim, and Baron Shahin visited Pebble Castle, and Lorist promised to take them to Molent City; he also treated Katerina so she could awaken Battle Qi.
• Lorist and his companions sailed aboard the North Sea, visited Shirovas Island and Qilin Port, and heard Marquis Red’s offer for him to marry Queen Kerry and receive Qilin Port.
• Lorist rejected the offer and continued to Molent City, arriving on July 11, 1775.

Ten years after Lorist left Dawnlight Academy, he learned that the Glass War and the Commercial Alliance’s shift to a lordship system had emptied Molent City’s Academy District and forced the academy to close. He offered to relocate Dawnlight Academy to the Norton Family’s territory, and Dean Levens and Great Swordsman Krudd agreed to send someone to inspect it.

• Lorist visited the deserted Dawnlight Academy and found Dean Levens frail and ill.
• Dean Levens explained that the Glass War and the Commercial Alliance’s political changes had severed trade, driven foreign students away, and led to the closure of most academies.
• Dean Levens said Dawnlight Academy had only a little over fourteen hundred students and would close after its remaining students graduated.
• Lorist blamed himself for auctioning the glass formulas, but Dean Levens told him the crisis had resulted from events beyond his control.
• Great Swordsman Krudd said he and Anfia would stay to care for Dean Levens, even after the academy closed.
• Lorist offered to move Dawnlight Academy to the Norton Family’s territory and fund it, and Dean Levens and Great Swordsman Krudd agreed to arrange an inspection.

Lorist revisited places from his youth in Molent City and learned that the Commercial Alliance’s changes had devastated the mercenary trade. After helping his old friend Gude and buying a Battle Qi manual as a memento, he continued revisiting memories from his past and headed for the Red Raven Tavern.

• Lorist explored the deserted Academy District and resolved to help Dawnlight Academy relocate to the Northlands.
• Lorist visited the quiet Mercenary Guild, reunited with Gude, and learned that mercenary groups had disbanded, their leaders had become nobles, and the remaining mercenaries struggled to find work.
• Lorist gave the struggling, half-drunk Gude money and offered to bring his family to the Northlands if they could no longer make a living in Molent City.
• Lorist bought the Burning Blood Battle Qi manual, recalling how his earlier inability to afford it had led him to cultivate the Golden Water Art.
• Lorist revisited the building associated with his first love, then listened to Uncle Jiro recount changes in the district before leaving him money.
• Lorist hired a carriage and told the coachman to take him to the Red Raven Tavern.

Lorist and his party stayed at the Dosleg Grand Hotel in Molent City, where Ready told him about a fight with a nobleman’s son who had harassed their women. The injured men’s supporters surrounded the hotel, and Lorist learned that the troublemaker was the son of Marquis Bejishanluo, the Alliance Council’s speaker; he agreed to wait three days before responding.

• Lorist visited the Red Raven Tavern, where he found Ready with Garilando, and Ready defeated his father in two brief sparring matches.
• Ready told Lorist that he and their guards had fought Marquis Bejishanluo’s son and his men after the young noble harassed Dina and Baron Shahin’s women on Triumphal Avenue.
• Lorist and Ready found hundreds of armed men outside the Dosleg Grand Hotel demanding that it hand over the killers.
• The hotel’s chief steward explained that Marquis Bejishanluo led the Alliance Council and would not accept a complaint against his son.
• Lorist agreed to keep his party inside for three days, then warned that he would show Marquis Bejishanluo no courtesy if the matter remained unresolved.

Marquis Bejishanluo planned to exploit the grain crisis and Molent City’s xenophobia to expand his power, while seeking revenge on the northern nobles who had injured his son. He ordered his forces to surround Dosleg Grand Hotel without entering it, leaving the nobles trapped and pressuring the Miledas Family.

• Bejishanluo’s attendant reported that the Miledas Family had refused to let the Alliance Council arrest the northern nobles and had stationed Great Swordsman Mike and three hundred guards at Dosleg Grand Hotel.
• Bejishanluo considered using his chamber’s grain reserves, anti-foreign sentiment, and a proposed Alliance legion to gain prestige and a seat among the expanded highest commercial council.
• Bejishanluo ordered his men to pay off Triumphal Avenue merchants and spread a false account portraying his injured son as a hero who had defended them from the northern nobles.
• Bejishanluo told his attendant to surround Dosleg Grand Hotel, send Great Swordsman Tang Homer and five hundred guards, and avoid entering the hotel grounds.
• Bejishanluo ordered his men to pay commoners in coarse grain to besiege the hotel and inspect its carriages, hoping to force the Miledas Family to hand over the nobles.

Lorist and his companions remained trapped in Dosleg Grand Hotel as a growing, organized crowd surrounded it over a distorted account of their clash with Marquis Bejishanluo’s son. After confirming North Sea was ready at the docks, Lorist decided to investigate the Luoshanji Chamber of Commerce’s warehouse that night.

• Lorist and Count Kemais discussed the hostile crowd, while Baron Philim warned that it was becoming organized and could soon storm the hotel.
• Lorist persuaded the hotel manager to let him disguise himself as a coachman and leave to seek help and check on North Sea.
• Lorist found the Peterson Merchant Guild’s leaders absent, then visited the docks and ordered North Sea’s crew to prepare for a quick departure.
• Lemmer gave Lorist information about the Luoshanji Chamber of Commerce, Marquis Bejishanluo, and the newspapers that had distorted the incident.
• Lorist told Lemmer to prepare supplies so they could visit the Luoshanji warehouse that night.

Lorist and Lemmer set fire to the Luoshanji Chamber of Commerce’s grain warehouses, exposing its stock of moldy wheat and drawing the commoners away from Dosleg Grand Hotel. Lorist led his companions out of the hotel and began fighting through the guards, ending in a duel with Tang Homer.

• Lorist and Lemmer broke into the warehouses, discovered the stored wheat was moldy, and learned it was being used to brew wheat beer.
• Lorist ordered Lemmer to damage the moldy-wheat warehouses while he set fire to the wooden storehouses, killing guards who tried to stop him.
• Lorist returned to Dosleg Grand Hotel and lured the surrounding commoners toward the blaze, then organized carriages to evacuate his companions.
• Great Swordsman Mike warned Lorist that Tang Homer and hundreds of guards blocked the way, but Lorist refused to stay and Mike let the group leave.
• Lorist charged into Tang Homer’s formation, killed the bearded swordsman who challenged him, and cut through the guards.
• Tang Homer launched a surprise attack, and Lorist fought him through dozens of exchanges before facing him on foot.

Lorist and his companions fought their way out of Molent City, then negotiated the Commercial Alliance’s response to the grain crisis from Shirovas Island. The grain deal was arranged, and the chapter ended as the Norton fleet and Lorist’s companions prepared to return North.

• Lorist killed Great Swordsman Tang Homer and led his party through the Luoshanji Chamber of Commerce guards to Hidden Gold Bay, where they sailed for Shirovas Island.
• Great Swordsman Mike reflected that Lorist’s party had escaped and that the Luoshanji Chamber of Commerce had suffered devastating losses.
• The Seven Giants stripped Marquis Bejishanluo of his title and ordered the Luoshanji Chamber of Commerce dissolved, while their vice president asked Lorist to provide grain.
• Lorist refused to supply grain from Norton territory but suggested that the Commercial Alliance buy Antinak’s surplus and offered Norton ships to transport it.
• The vice president secured a purchase of five million pu of grain from Antinak, and Great Swordsman Krudd, Anfia, three Dawnlight Academy instructors, and Lorist’s returned companions arrived at Shirovas Island.
• Lorist, Count Kemais, Baron Shahin, Baron Philim, and the others boarded the North Sea and headed back North.

Lorist handled the growing burdens of governing his domain, helped establish Dawnlight Academy at Bin Mountain, and made plans to discipline and educate his sons. The chapter ended when Shiward told him that Princess Sylvia was traveling to the Northland and would arrive in two days.

• Great Swordsman Krudd chose a site at Bin Mountain for Dawnlight Academy, and Lorist and the other Northland nobles donated the land and one million Gold Fude for its construction.
• Lorist approved the death sentences for the first murder case in the family domain and considered Christon's warnings about crime, gangs, and the need for a criminal code.
• Lorist sent his spoiled eldest son to Malek's wife for strict discipline and left Heriles at Nico Academy for study.
• Shiward told Lorist that Princess Sylvia had come to the Northland and was expected to arrive in the family domain around noon the day after tomorrow.

Lorist learned that Grand Duke Fissabrun had built up a large army and invited him to a Knight Tournament in Winderbury, which Lorist initially suspected was a trap. He discovered the tournament was intended to find Princess Sylvia a husband and that she hoped he would attend, leaving him startled by Count Kemais’s insistence that he accept.

• Shiward told Lorist that the Fissabrun family’s five-year trade agreement had one year remaining and described Grand Duke Fissabrun’s expanding forces and campaigns against the Grass Barbarians.
• Princess Sylvia arrived, asked to buy standard equipment, and invited Lorist to Grand Duke Fissabrun’s Knight Tournament in Winderbury the following May.
• Lorist hesitated to accept the invitation, then gave Princess Sylvia an emerald jewelry set and let her and Cindy choose other jewelry from his collection.
• When Lorist again tried to decline, Princess Sylvia revealed she would turn twenty-five next year, then stormed out after he failed to understand the tournament’s purpose.
• Cindy and Count Kemais explained that the tournament was meant to find Princess Sylvia a husband, and Count Kemais urged Lorist to attend because she appeared to favor him.