Chapter Summaries

After Earl Connor fled Saint Peter Province following Duke Leopold’s victory, he accepted that his influence had ended and planned for Baron Balin to serve the victorious Duke. With the Holy Cross army defeated, Locke Cavalry spread across the province and the eastern border descended into turmoil.

• Earl Connor fled with Baron Balin and his remaining valuables after the battle, then stopped to rest when night fell.
• Baron Balin realized that Duke Leopold had won and admitted his happiness, and Earl Connor told him he was not angry.
• Earl Connor said he would retire, return home, and prepare the family’s future through trade.
• Earl Connor planned to assess what he could offer Duke Leopold before sending Baron Balin back to help pacify the newly conquered territory.
• Derek’s victory left the Royal Private Army destroyed and General Michel captured, while Locke Cavalry’s arrival sent local nobles into panic and threw the eastern border into turmoil.

Viscount Yanes visited his father-in-law’s family and urged them to declare allegiance to Duke Leopold rather than risk being crushed by the invading forces. He left after persuading them and sent Leopold a letter claiming credit for the agreement, while planning to persuade more nobles.

• Viscount Yanes rode to his father-in-law’s castle, where William greeted him with armed guards and an unusually flattering manner.
• Yanes met his father-in-law and told him to declare allegiance to Duke Leopold and accept the Duke’s supervision.
• Yanes warned his father-in-law and William that General Simon might come for them if they refused, and urged them to act before other nobles did.
• Yanes convinced the father and son to pledge allegiance, reassure the commoners, and cooperate with Leopold’s actions.
• Yanes wrote Duke Leopold a letter claiming he had persuaded the family, sent it by an attendant, and planned to persuade others.

After the Billie Family surrendered, nobles across Saint Peter Province followed suit as Derek advanced toward the Holy Cross Kingdom’s heartland. Derek sent Simon to seize Bobby, a Church Knight Commander who had challenged him, and secured the neighboring nobles’ quiet cooperation.

• Viscount Billie surrendered to Viscount Yanes, and several Saint Peter nobles opened their castles and defected before the Locke army arrived.
• Viscount Yanes cursed the opportunistic nobles and hurried to persuade others to surrender before they could claim merit.
• Derek led his main army west while receiving letters from neighboring nobles, officials, and priests seeking ties with him.
• After reviewing reports, Derek ordered Simon to bring Bobby to him so they could discuss the meaning of God's glory.
• Duke Leopold reassured nearby leaders about business and asked them to facilitate Bobby’s arrest, and the nearest Royal Legion general decided to turn a blind eye.

Simon led the Church Knight Order through the front line and attacked its camp with two cannons. Commander Bobby rallied his knights and charged, but Simon’s faster Northland Knights began accelerating as Bobby realized he had misjudged their warhorses.

• Simon led the Locke people through the front line while the Holy Cross Kingdom's patrols let them pass.
• Simon brought Rogers and two cannons to the Church Knight Order's camp and opened fire.
• Bobby organized his knights, rallied their morale, and led them in a charge against Simon's force.
• Rogers fired more shells, disrupting the Church Knights' formation before they reached the Locke knights.
• Bobby expected the Locke knights to lack enough room to build speed, but Simon's Northland Knights accelerated rapidly.

Simon and the Northland Knights crushed Bobby’s Church Knights in battle and brought the prisoners across the border. Derek questioned the captured Bobby about the Church’s slander against Duke Leopold.

• Simon led the Northland Knights in repeated charges that routed the Church Knights, leaving fewer than one in ten alive and breaking their will to resist.
• The Northland Knights captured the survivors and returned with Bobby and the other prisoners, alarming the Holy Cross Kingdom’s border army.
• When the Holy Cross general considered attacking, the Locke supporting army fired cannon shots, and the Northland Knights galloped across the border with their prisoners.
• Simon ordered his men to check whether Bobby was alive, and they found him breathing and carried him before Derek.
• Derek showed Bobby the Church’s accusations against Duke Leopold and asked whether Bobby still stood by his views.

Derek used Bobby’s punishment to warn the Church against opposing Grand Duke Leopold, while King Bruno and the Church’s leaders reacted to the growing threat. The Pontiff left a heated Church meeting to meet the King, as the conflict with Leopold remained unresolved.

• Derek handed Bobby over to a Monastery Knight, who had Bobby and other Church Knights hung up after they denounced each other as heretics.
• King Bruno reacted furiously to the Locke people’s actions, then decided to meet the Pontiff and deal with Leopold before resuming the conflict with the Church.
• Church leaders debated whether to launch a holy war against Leopold and John Hadley, while the Pontiff remained silent about the Church’s fabricated saints and miracles.
• A cleric announced that King Bruno requested an audience, and the Pontiff adjourned the meeting to see him.

The Pontiff and King Bruno discussed Duke Leopold’s growing challenge to Church and royal authority, but neither agreed to confront him directly. As Derek consolidated his victories, Virut returned to the Northern Province with a thousand soldiers, alarming Baron Chrono.

• King Bruno urged the Pontiff to address Duke Leopold’s claims of sainthood, but the Pontiff only promised an investigation.
• The Pontiff decided to send an investigative delegation to the front lines.
• Derek held the front while reclaiming Saint Peter Province and building up the Leopold Family’s territory and forces.
• Virut secretly returned to the Northern Province with a thousand-man unit from Duke Leopold’s army.
• Baron Chrono feared Virut would be punished for leaving his post, and Virut revealed that Duke Leopold knew of his actions.

Virut traveled to the Ferrera Family and secretly recruited Mountain Wolf Loyd for a private operation, invoking his authority as Duke Leopold’s knight. Loyd agreed to gather troops after hearing the target, while Virut kept him at the estate and sent Wood back in his place.

• Virut told Baron Chrono he planned to visit Baron Ferrera, leaving his father to infer the political purpose of the visit.
• Virut marched his unidentified thousand-man unit openly through the Northern Province and took up residence with the Ferrera Family.
• Virut met Loyd and Wood, then asked how many troops Loyd could mobilize from the Duke’s mountain camp.
• Virut ordered Loyd to bring fifteen hundred men for a private operation, warning that he might face punishment and claiming Duke Leopold would have no part in it.
• Loyd asked to hear the target and agreed to gather his men after Virut named it.
• Virut told Loyd to remain at the Ferrera estate and sent Wood back instead.

Virut took command of Loyd’s bandits and led them in secret toward the Garcia Family’s castle after receiving a message from Baron Adrian. He launched an attack, catching the weakened family by surprise.

• Wood returned to the mountains, halted bandit activity, and many of Loyd’s men quietly left.
• Young Viscount Perez questioned Baron Ferrera about the bandits, then learned Virut had arrived in the Northern Province.
• Virut took command of Loyd’s three thousand men and marched without banners, while Young Viscount Perez tried to guess his destination.
• Virut received a message from Baron Adrian telling him to vent his anger, then ordered his army to attack the Garcia Family’s castle.

Virut’s army surrounded the Garcia Family’s castle and used artillery to bombard it, while another force moved into the family’s territory. The castle remained standing, and Virut ordered the bombardment to continue and prevent anyone from escaping.

• Viscount Garcia rallied his family and prepared to seek help after seeing Virut’s three thousand troops outside the castle.
• Virut deployed artillery and explained its power to Loyd as the artillerymen prepared to fire.
• Virut split his forces, sending one group to watch the castle and another toward towns in the Garcia Family’s territory.
• Harvey mocked Virut for dividing his troops, but Viscount Garcia rebuked him.
• Virut’s artillery struck the castle walls and battlements, forcing the Garcia Family indoors.
• Virut ordered the artillery to keep firing and instructed his men not to let anyone escape.

Virut led the assault that destroyed the Garcia Family’s castle and ordered Viscount Garcia’s execution. He had deliberately tested whether the nobles would punish him for killing a fellow noble, risking his position to show loyalty to Duke Leopold.

• The cannons destroyed the Garcia Family’s ballistae, blasted through the castle walls, and scattered the defenders’ countercharge.
• Virut entered the ruined castle and confronted the kneeling Viscount Garcia, who offered money and his services in exchange for his life.
• Virut ordered Viscount Garcia and his family executed despite the Viscount’s pleas and threats.
• Virut considered that the real danger lay in how the nobles would respond to his killing of a Viscount.
• Virut reflected that he had taken the risk to test the nobles’ allegiance and repay Duke Leopold for recognizing and caring for him.

Baron Virut’s presence at the destruction of Viscount Garcia’s family triggered a crisis among the Northern Province nobles, who feared Duke Leopold was behind the killings. As the nobles gathered to confront Virut, military exercises near Count Jefferies’s territory discouraged him from acting, leaving the Northland nobles assembled and on edge.

• Nobles delayed answering Viscount Garcia’s plea for help until they arrived to find him and his family dead, hanging from the castle walls.
• A knight recognized Baron Virut at the ruined castle and urged him to flee, but Virut persuaded him to report the truth.
• The noble coalition erupted into confusion over Virut’s role, while many nobles defended Duke Leopold and rejected the idea that he had ordered the killings.
• Little Viscount Perez wrote to his father as he led men to the scene, while Count Jefferies prepared to mobilize his troops.
• Armies from Melgen Province and Augusta Territory conducted a joint exercise near Count Jefferies’s lands, and their artillery fire prompted an apology and compensation.
• Nobles from across the Northland arrived with troops, gathering in unusual numbers around the Garcia Family’s ruined castle.

Baron Virut admitted that he had destroyed the Garcia Family, then used the nobles’ debate over their punishment to gather Duke Leopold’s supporters. At a secret meeting in the Garcia castle, Virut proposed making the Northern Lands independent under Duke Leopold as their Grand Duke.

• Baron Chrono and the other nobles decided to question Virut about the Garcia Family, but Virut arrived before they chose an envoy.
• Virut admitted he had wiped out the Garcia Family, and the younger Viscount Perez said his punishment should be discussed with Duke Leopold.
• Virut secretly summoned nobles who had supported Duke Leopold and declared that the four northern provinces should become independent under a true Grand Duke.
• Several nobles supported Virut’s proposal to make Duke Leopold Grand Duke of the Northern Lands, while the younger Viscount Perez reacted with alarm.

Virut led the Northland Nobles in urging Derek to establish the Northland Duchy, while Derek rejected them publicly and viewed their actions as a step toward independence and greater central power. The nobles waited for support, and Governor Ronald Farquhar arrived at Swan Castle and offered to lead a rebellion against King Arthur.

• Virut rallied the Northland Nobles, detained those who opposed them, and led the group to Swan Castle to ask Derek to establish a duchy.
• Derek rebuked Virut and refused the nobles’ request, leaving them to debate their next move in the military camp.
• Virut told the wavering nobles to wait for help, believing Derek had allowed their actions to unfold deliberately.
• Governor Ronald Farquhar arrived at Swan Castle, knelt before Duke Leopold, and offered to serve as his vanguard against King Arthur.

Governor Ronald pledged his support to Derek, who agreed to help stabilize Saint Peter Province without declaring a duchy. As nobles gathered at Swan Castle to urge Derek to found a state, Adrian arrived and a proposal emerged to have Andrew preside over the proclamation.

• Ronald offered Saint Peter Province to Derek, who agreed to assist while refusing to discuss founding a duchy.
• Nobles and knights arrived in growing numbers at Swan Castle to urge Derek to proclaim himself duke and found a state.
• Counts Jefferies and Perez watched the gathering and realized Derek had gained broad support among the Northern Lands' nobles.
• Derek relied on the loyalty of commoner-born knights and other supporters while waiting for the right moment to act.
• After Adrian arrived, Virut proposed having Andrew preside over the matter of proclaiming the duchy.

Virut and the nobles arranged for Andrew to lead a staged declaration establishing the Northland Duchy, with Derek appearing to resist. The chapter ended with Adrian urging Derek to lead them against King Arthur’s expected persecution.

• Virut and the others invited Andrew to Swan Castle, while Adrian watched the plan unfold.
• Andrew arrived and agreed to take responsibility for the next day’s actions after Adrian confirmed the Duke had planned them.
• Andrew led knight officers before Derek, and Derek allowed them to replace the Locke Kingdom’s flags with the Two-Headed Dragon Banner and dress him in ceremonial robes.
• Several dozen knights pledged allegiance to Grand Duke Leopold of the Northland as soldiers outside Swan Castle cheered the duchy’s establishment.
• Derek pretended to resist, and Adrian told him the declaration could no longer be undone and that King Arthur would treat it as rebellion.

Derek accepted the title of Duke Leopold and established the Northern Duchy, then issued orders to secure its borders, armies, and administration. As his officials began carrying out a prepared takeover of the Northern Lands, the nobles considered how to respond and the duchy faced the threat of conflict with its neighbors.

• Andrew urged Derek to accept the title, and nobles and knight officers swore loyalty to the newly founded Northern Duchy.
• Derek ordered Virut to watch the Barbarians at Yanle Mountain Fortress and sent Andrew back to Digen Port to reflect and reorganize customs and taxes.
• Derek sent Adrian to command his army on the Saint Peter Province front and asked Burdett and the Monastery Knight Order for support.
• Derek ordered Simon to take control of the Northern Lands' cities and armies, escorting those who left and hanging those who resisted.
• Derek appointed prepared deputies to administrative posts and issued new seals while constables received orders to carry out the duchy's takeover.

Sheriff Sorin and Simon helped Duke Leopold seize control of the Northern Lands after the Northern Duchy was founded. Simon captured a defiant Kingdom official and ordered him hanged, as resistance and chaos spread through the region.

• Sorin followed Duke Leopold's order, arrested the Kingdom's administrative officials in his town, and declared that the town now belonged to the Duchy.
• Sheriffs and garrisons across the Northern Lands seized control, while officers loyal to Leopold took over the Iron Wall Legion and imprisoned many of its officers.
• Simon arrived with troops trained in the Augusta Territory, reunited with Sorin, and requisitioned Sorin's two trained squads.
• Simon deployed his forces to bring towns under the Duchy's control, transferring officials who pledged loyalty and removing those who refused.
• After a hostile Kingdom official insulted Simon and cursed Leopold, Simon's soldiers captured him, and Simon ordered him hanged.

Derek’s forces advanced into the Northern Province as King Arthur learned that the four northern provinces had declared independence and prepared a campaign against Duke Leopold. Meanwhile, Simon entered Monta Province, where Dean Massimo arrived at the garrison camp to lobby its commanders for Leopold.

• Simon’s forces hanged resistance leaders, appointed local officials, and recruited soldiers as they advanced into the Northern Province.
• King Arthur learned that Duke Leopold had declared independence, flew into a rage, and killed the guard who delivered the news.
• King Arthur summoned his generals, accepted a plan to seek help from the Holy Cross Kingdom and the Barbarians, and offered the Barbarians recognition in exchange for their support.
• Simon arrived in Monta Province, where Melgen Monastery’s clergy lobbied nobles on Duke Leopold’s behalf as Northern troops gathered near the border.
• Dean Massimo entered the Monta Province Garrison Legion’s camp with Monastery Knights and two carriages.

Dean Massimo tried to win Legion Commander Farid and his officers over to Duke Leopold’s side with gifts of Silver Coins. Farid refused to betray King Arthur, but Massimo returned the next day with more money, leaving the legion commander to face ten days of mounting temptation.

• Dean Massimo arrived at the military camp, where Legion Commander Farid welcomed him while resolving not to betray King Arthur.
• Dean Massimo presented three chests containing two hundred thousand Silver Coins as a gift from Duke Leopold, but Farid refused to accept them.
• Dean Massimo said he would stay for ten days and would not force Farid, then left the chests behind.
• Farid ordered his men to arrange Dean Massimo’s accommodations and guard the money while he considered the visitor’s intentions.
• Dean Massimo returned the next day with three more chests of Silver Coins, and Farid wondered whether the gifts would continue throughout the ten days.