Chapter Summaries

Evol VIII rejected Gatugen’s cautious strategy and arranged for Quili’s teacher to assassinate Raven, while Count Jonah arrived at Bolan City and learned Raven had already led his army back into battle. The chapter ended with Jonah demanding to meet Raven and discovering he had left six days earlier.

• Gatugen urged Evol VIII to negotiate with Raven while mobilizing the duchy’s forces, but Evol VIII rebuked him and ordered him to focus on rebuilding the economy.
• Evol VIII asked Cuiqi to contact Quili’s fifth-tier mage teacher and offer any price for Raven’s head.
• Count Jonah traveled through the Evol Duchy, saw evidence of Raven’s victories, and arrived at Bolan City with five thousand cavalrymen.
• Link explained that Raven had released grain and opened a serf auction, helping Bolan City’s markets quickly revive.
• Count Jonah complained that Raven had not received him, and Link revealed that Raven had departed with the army six days earlier.

Raven led his mounted army to Winterspring Valley, where Evol’s 200,000 troops inexplicably fled before he even attacked. His allies credited him with a brilliant stratagem, but Raven insisted he had no idea what had happened, and the chapter ended as the hyena arrived with the information he had requested.

• Quentin struggled to control the quarrelsome 200,000-strong army at Winterspring Valley, while Aragon warned him that Raven had arrived.
• Raven ordered his 19,000 mounted troops to approach the 70,000 Evolian soldiers who had marched out of camp, but the enemy formation scattered and fled before they met.
• Raven stopped his advance and sent scouts to investigate, suspecting that the apparent rout concealed a trap.
• The rest of the Evolian army fled north, and fires broke out in several camps, leaving Raven baffled as his troops found supplies and no ambushes.
• Hyde and Raven’s other allies praised Raven’s supposed strategy, but Raven told them he did not know why the enemy had fled.
• The hyena arrived and announced that he had gathered the information Raven had requested.

Raven ended his pursuit after the rout at Winterspring Valley and turned his attention to Blue Castle, where Quentin feared punishment for his defeat. A propaganda campaign instead made Quentin a celebrated commander, and Evol VIII placed all 320,000 troops under his command before an unexpected report drew the Grand Duke from the banquet.

• Raven rejected Hyena's suggestion to pursue the fleeing army and ordered the camps consolidated for Count Jonah's arrival.
• Quentin drank in seclusion at Blue Castle, convinced that Gatugen and Evol VIII would punish him for the defeat at Winterspring Valley.
• Marquis Aragon told Quentin that nobles had blamed their defeat on Raven's supposed 20,000 Heavy Cavalry and praised Quentin as the duchy's savior.
• Quentin learned that Evol VIII had appointed him commander of all 320,000 troops in Blue Castle and Bolan City.
• At the banquet, Gatugen urged Quentin to bear his new responsibility for the duchy's sake, then Evol VIII abruptly left after receiving a whispered message.

Flindor accepted Archduke Evol VIII’s request to kill Raven, though she intended to capture him for his knowledge and the vampire under his command. Meanwhile, Raven received Count Jonah and his cavalry at Winterspring Valley, then struggled with how to command the arriving reinforcements before forming a bold plan for Blue Castle.

• Aethermil confronted Flindor in the Palace of Swirling Flowers, but Archduke Evol VIII ordered him to stand down and welcomed her as a guest.
• Flindor studied the intelligence on Raven and agreed to take the job, bargaining for five items from the royal treasury while privately planning to capture him.
• Flindor examined Archduke Evol VIII and then comforted Cuiqi, promising to bring Raven to her after capturing him.
• Count Jonah arrived at Winterspring Valley with five thousand cavalry and pledged to serve under Raven, while explaining that further reinforcements would be delayed until June.
• After Jonah left, Raven worried that the count’s rank and nobles might complicate command during the planned assault on Blue Castle, then came up with a bold idea.

Raven rejected Count Jonah’s plan to burn and plunder the Evol Plain, warning that it could unite the local people against their army and leave its supply lines vulnerable. He sent William and Erna Da to infiltrate Blue Castle for intelligence, but new surprises soon disrupted his plans.

• Raven led the Eagle Army to Bluekeep and saw that its immense, heavily fortified walls made a direct assault impractical.
• Count Jonah proposed raiding the surrounding counties, destroying homes and grain, and driving refugees toward Bluekeep to force its defenders into battle.
• Raven opposed the plan, arguing that attacks on the local population could turn them into a hostile force and endanger the army’s supply lines.
• When Kingman insulted Raven and dismissed the Evol serfs, Raven ordered Hyena to give him thirty lashes, then cited the resistance in Iron Birch County as a warning.
• Raven told Count Jonah he would gather more intelligence before deciding how to confront Bluekeep, then assigned William and Erna Da to infiltrate the city.
• William accepted the mission after Raven paid him, but he howled in anguish when he discovered that one money pouch contained only Copper Coins.

As rumors unsettled the allied armies, Viscount Kingman and Viscount Kurle tried to seize supplies from the grain depot, but Simon resisted and Raven arrived to enforce military law. Raven killed Kurle and Kingman, and Count Jonah rode in to find them dead and confront him.

• Rumors that the Cairns Empire might abandon the army spread through the camps, unsettling the Highland Army as its remaining legions arrived.
• Viscount Kurle demanded supplies at the grain depot, and Viscount Kingman urged Simon to hand them over without Raven’s written order.
• Simon fired a red flare and defended the depot when Kurle led troops in to seize the supplies.
• Raven arrived, heard Simon’s account, and shot Kurle and Kingman when they tried to evade punishment.
• Raven ordered Hyena, Eric, and Simon to enforce military law against Kurle’s surviving soldiers.
• Count Jonah arrived, saw Kurle and Kingman’s corpses, and drew his sword on Raven as his Frigid Ice Battle Qi spread.

Raven executed Kingman and Kurle for attacking the supply camp, then refused Count Jonah’s demand for their bodies, driving Jonah to leave. After Raven prepared for the consequences, Flindor confronted him and attacked with powerful shadow magic, but Raven broke through her domain and struck back.

• Raven invoked imperial military law to execute Kingman and Kurle and ordered their corpses displayed despite Count Jonah’s protests.
• Count Jonah withdrew from the campaign, and Raven ordered stronger camp defenses and safer escorts for supply convoys.
• Raven anticipated that Jonah would retaliate against Evol’s commoners and resolved not to surrender command of the war.
• Flindor, Kuili’s teacher, appeared and attacked Raven after Jonah left, offering him a chance to swear allegiance and join the Mage Guild.
• Flindor trapped Raven in her Shadow Dome and summoned the Body Devouring Serpent when he refused to kneel.
• Raven broke through the shadow with golden light and crimson energy, then stepped forward and punched.

Raven defeated Flindor and learned that Archduke Evol VIII had sent her to kill him. After giving Flindor to Margaret and issuing orders to his officers, Raven collapsed from his injuries; three days later, the story shifted to the prime minister’s residence at Blue Castle.

• Raven broke Flindor’s Body Devouring Serpent and captured her despite the Shadow Dome and her concealment magic.
• Raven tortured Flindor until she admitted that Archduke Evol VIII had sent her to kill him.
• Flindor’s magic ran out, and Raven’s officers arrived; Raven ordered Hyena to raise a tent and gave Flindor to Margaret.
• Raven ordered Eric to deploy the legions and forbade the army from attacking without his command, then collapsed after instructing Eric to keep everyone out of his tent.
• Three days later, someone at the prime minister’s residence in Blue Castle asked whether Raven had been seriously injured.

Gatugen failed to persuade Evol VIII and Quentin to attack Raven, so Evol’s army instead moved against Count Jonah. Jonah’s campaign of pillage left him surrounded and poisoned by food taken from the locals, with most of his men and horses incapacitated as he ordered a breakout.

• Gatugen learned Raven was wounded and proposed attacking the Eagle Army, but Evol VIII and Quentin rejected the plan and agreed to target Count Jonah instead.
• Jonah ravaged Valley Wave Town and its surrounding villages while celebrating with his soldiers and dismissing Raven’s warnings about turning the people against him.
• An Evol scout reported that the Imperial Guard had surrounded Jonah’s position, and Jonah discovered he had only about 300 men nearby.
• Jonah realized that red sorghum stalks fed to his men and horses had poisoned them, leaving barely 200 fighters capable of fighting and many horses unable to stand.
• Jonah mounted his horse and ordered everyone still able to move to break through the encirclement with him.

After waking from a 23-day coma, Raven learned that Evol’s army was marching on Count Jonah but decided to keep the Eagle Army outside Blue Castle. Intelligence gathered by William and Erna Da, along with Margaret’s memories of the Palace of Swirling Flowers, gave Raven a new plan to strike at Evol VIII, though he still needed a way past the enchanted grilles and the Reincarnated Angel.

• Raven woke, heard Eric report that 120,000 Evol troops had marched out from Blue Castle, and ordered him to keep the Eagle Army in place rather than rescue Count Jonah.
• William and Erna Da presented Raven with detailed maps of Blue Castle’s drainage network and city defenses, and he rewarded them with Sin Blood Crystals.
• Margaret told Raven that Flindor’s memories included details about the Palace of Swirling Flowers and its Reincarnated Angel, Aetheriel.
• Raven devised a plan for elite soldiers to enter through the drainage network and attack Evol VIII beneath the Palace of Swirling Flowers, then considered Flindor’s storage ring as a possible solution to the obstacles.

Raven used Flindor’s supplies to brew the Ascension Potion and endured a dangerous breakthrough from the Third Tier to the Fourth Tier. After mastering a Tier 4 spell, he left his underground room and prepared to launch a general offensive.

• Raven searched Flindor’s ring, found the Rockheart Flower he needed, and decided to advance to the Fourth Tier while keeping her death secret.
• Raven ordered Eric to arrange a tunnel and underground room beneath his tent, and the Eagle Army dug it while the Wind King Troops flew toward Bluecastle.
• Raven spent eight days brewing the Ascension Potion, then used it to compress and rebuild his magic power until he reached the Fourth Tier.
• Raven chose Flindor’s Elemental Decomposition scroll and mastered the Tier 4 arcane spell after forty-two days of study.
• On June 7, 1200, Raven left his room, summoned the officers to the central command tent, and ordered a general offensive.

On Evol Duchy’s 599th anniversary, Quentin prepared Blue Fortress for the Eagle Army’s long-awaited decisive assault while the city held a public celebration. As the enemy’s catapults began their bombardment, Quentin steadied his panicked soldiers, but news arrived that the southeastern fort had fallen and the city gate was close to being captured.

• Quentin resented the anniversary celebration because it diverted troops from defending Blue Fortress against the Eagle Army’s Wind King Troops.
• At dawn, Raven’s Eagle Battle Flag appeared as the Eagle Army advanced, and Quentin ordered the city’s defenses into position.
• Quentin saw that many soldiers were terrified and urged them to stand firm as the Eagle Army’s eighty-two catapults began firing from long range.
• A boulder smashed a ballista and killed eight soldiers, prompting Quentin to shoot a fleeing man and threaten deserters’ families before rallying the defenders.
• The Eagle Army halted before entering the defenders’ catapult range, and a messenger reported that the southeastern fort had fallen and the southeastern city gate was about to be captured.

Eric led the Eagle Army through a secret tunnel into Blue Fort’s sewers, where they used Serpent Head Fruits to release poisonous green smoke and seize the southeastern bastion. As the Eagle Army advanced along the walls, Quentin learned that Evol’s army was pursuing Count Jonah and the Imperial Guard, and ordered a counterattack from both sides.

• Erna Da guided Eric and the Eagle Army through the tunnel to Blue Fort’s sewer network, where they placed 4,700 Serpent Head Fruits beneath the city walls.
• Eric ignited the Serpent Head Fruits, and the spreading poisonous smoke drove residents and defenders from the southeastern fortress.
• Eric led the Eagle Army into the bastion, defeated Mustache and the guards on its upper level, and ordered his soldiers to take the walls and leave no survivors.
• The Eagle Army captured the southeastern towers and began opening the city gates before Quentin could organize a response.
• Quentin saw Count Jonah’s cavalry fleeing with Evol’s army in pursuit and ordered the Imperial Guard to reinforce Blue Fort while the other commanders attacked the Eagle Army’s main force.

As Raven's forces defended Blue Castle, Archduke Evol VIII celebrated the apparent arrival of reinforcements, while Count Jonah rejoined the Eagle Army and learned Raven had already seized the southeastern bastion. Lanza's Independent Legion attacked Aragon's exhausted troops and broke their formation, leaving the battle turning against the Evolians.

• Archduke Evol VIII learned that Quentin, Aragon, and Archibald were advancing on Blue Castle and claimed his celebration had baited Raven into attacking.
• Count Jonah reached the Eagle Army after fleeing with fewer than three thousand of his original force and found Weston commanding in Raven's place.
• Weston told Count Jonah that Raven had taken Blue Castle's southeastern bastion through a tunnel and asked him to rest before supporting Raven.
• Count Jonah warned Weston that Aragon's pursuing force included at least a hundred thousand elite troops, but Weston pointed out that Lanza's Independent Legion was charging them.
• Lanza and his soldiers attacked Aragon's exhausted army out of vengeance for Bolan City's dead and the remnants of Count Frank's forces.
• The Independent Legion shattered Aragon's formation, and Lanza urged his troops to pursue Aragon's banner.

Marquis Aragon’s forces routed under Lanza’s attack, and Aragon was abandoned by his guards and captured by the Independent Legion. Lanza refused to judge Aragon himself, leaving the soldiers harmed by his rule to take revenge, while Archibald waited for Quentin’s army to emerge and surround the Eagle Army.

• The Independent Legion shattered Aragon’s formation, sending his troops fleeing and forcing him to order a retreat.
• Aragon’s Personal Guard cut down their own soldiers to clear a path, then abandoned him after his wounded horse threw him and Lanza’s spear pinned his leg.
• Aragon tried to bargain with Lanza, then insulted him and his father; Lanza revealed the suffering of David’s family and the other victims in his army.
• Lanza stepped aside and let the Independent Legion’s soldiers take revenge on Aragon, who died amid the attack.
• Archibald watched the southwest gate open and prepared to hold his position as Quentin’s army moved out, while Eric faced a new crisis.

Eric’s Eagle Army opened Blue Castle’s southeastern gate, allowing Raven’s Heavy Cavalry to charge toward the Palace of Swirling Flowers while the city’s defenders were drawn away. William fought the red-robed archbishop Bother, who revealed himself as a Light Knight, and learned Raven had launched a raid on Evol VIII; the chapter ended as William prepared to fight Bosa amid Bosa’s warning that the Eagle Army’s main camp was under attack.

• As Evol’s defenders rallied around the southeastern gate, Eric ordered it opened, and Raven’s 1,000 Heavy Cavalry charged into Blue Castle.
• The cavalry split into three groups and rode east toward the Palace of Swirling Flowers, but Bother trapped nearly sixty knights with a divine spell.
• William broke free of Bother’s Prophecy, knocked the holy scripture away, and revealed that he was a Blood Clan earl named William von Vladimir.
• Bother revealed his Light Knight powers, while William said he had acted as bait so Raven could raid the Palace of Swirling Flowers and target Evol VIII.
• Bosa claimed his Holy Knights had held back two cavalry groups and that Quentin’s forces were attacking the Eagle Army’s main camp, then urged William to surrender.
• William summoned Crimson Rain and challenged Bosa, insisting the Eagle Army had won six battles without a defeat.

William fought Cardinal Bother with the blood-race spell The Last Supper, defeated him, and learned why he had helped Evol. As the Eagle Army and Evol forces clashed outside Blue Castle, Hyde faced the prospect of escaping the battle on a hidden gryphon.

• William summoned blood-colored figures with The Last Supper, and Simon caught Bother's enchanted warhammer before Judas corrupted it with blood magic.
• Bother unleashed holy light from the sky, but William summoned a bloodied figure on a cross that overcame the light and destroyed Bother's weapon and Martial Soul.
• Blinded and badly injured, William seized Bother, who explained that the church had aided Evol to earn its people's trust and expand its influence; Bother then asked William to kill him.
• The Eagle Army and Evol forces met in a chaotic battle outside Blue Castle, where Raven's army formed a defensive square while Evol's troops surrounded it.
• Jonne told Hyde that he had hidden a gryphon and asked whether Hyde wanted to escape the fighting.

Hyde refused Uncle Jon’s offer to flee the battlefield, determined to make his own mark in the war, while Quentin rallied Evol’s much larger army against the surrounded Eagle Army. As the Eagle Army’s lines began to buckle, Weston ordered an attack to share Raven’s burden, leaving the decisive battle at Blue Castle unresolved.

• Hyde told Uncle Jon he would stay and fight rather than be remembered as a coward who abandoned Raven, and Uncle Jon agreed to remain by his side.
• A boulder crashed near Hyde and Uncle Jon, and William asked Uncle Jon to use the illusion he had offered earlier.
• Quentin ordered Evol’s forces to attack and promised rewards for enemy heads and titles for soldiers who distinguished themselves, driving the army into a frenzy.
• Weston and Simon saw the Eagle Army’s position worsening, and Weston argued that the army had to support Raven instead of leaving him to carry the decisive task alone.
• Weston ordered an attack, and Link led the Second Legion forward.

Archduke Evol VIII discovered Raven’s intrusion and grew fearful, while Aetheriel confronted Margaret and her cursed puppets at the Palace of Swirling Flowers. Aetheriel overwhelmed Margaret’s attacks, but Raven intervened just as she faced defeat, leaving Aetheriel to face him.

• Archduke Evol VIII watched the palace’s recording of Raven and Flindor’s body entering through the drainage outlet, then ordered the dungeon prisoners and their birds brought out.
• Aetheriel warned the palace guards to stay alert as Margaret used illusions and cursed puppets to attack him and the six guard captains.
• Aetheriel exposed Margaret’s illusion, fought the transformed guard captains, and pierced their vital points with his Sacred Spring Battle Qi.
• Margaret turned the puppets into a clay mass that trapped Aetheriel, but he destroyed it and struck her with Sky Feather Rain Slash.
• Raven appeared beside Margaret, overwhelmed Aetheriel’s pink radiance with azure flames, and challenged him to prepare to die.

Raven battled Aetheriel in the Palace of Swirling Flowers, destroying the angel’s summoned army and surviving the heavenly flood before defeating him with a curse-powered punch. After Aetheriel died, Raven took his Angel Origin and prepared to meet His Grace the Archduke.

• Aetheriel transformed into his Angel's True Form and summoned the Heavenly Host to charge Raven.
• Raven cast Elemental Decomposition, erasing the Heavenly Host and severely damaging the Palace of Swirling Flowers.
• Aetheriel used the Gate of Heaven to unleash the Sacred Spring, but Raven's curse power protected him from the flood.
• Aetheriel charged Raven with Gryphus, and Raven fused his magic with the curse power to shatter the spear and crush Aetheriel with a punch.
• The Primordial Wildfire engulfed Aetheriel, and Margaret gave Raven his Angel Origin.
• Raven stored the Angel Origin and turned toward the depths of the Palace of Swirling Flowers to meet His Grace the Archduke.