Chapter Summaries

Farid accepted Duke Leopold’s silver and agreed to join his cause against King Arthur, while Dean Massimo helped recruit other officers. In Ganard, Lawrence met with Brack, who reported labor shortages and unrest at the silver mine.

• Farid declared that he would join Duke Leopold, and his officers agreed to support the duke against King Arthur.
• Dean Massimo urged Farid and the officers to get their families out of the Royal Capital, and Farid began planning their departure.
• Dean Massimo explained that he and the other monastery dean had used Leopold’s silver and their connections to persuade officers to defect.
• Captain Lawrence arrived at the mining base in Ganard and asked its manager, Brack, about the silver mine.
• Brack complained that recent slave riots had killed or scattered hundreds of laborers and asked Lawrence for more slaves and warhorses.

Brack followed the Duke’s advice and appointed black slaves as overseers at the Ganard New Silver Mine, giving them better food and status in exchange for managing the other workers. Abraham quickly used his new authority to enforce work and build influence among the slaves, while focusing on improving his own position.

• Lawrence told Brack that the Duke had advised promoting some black slaves to oversee the others and seeking slaves through trade with nearby tribes.
• Brack reluctantly agreed to try the policy and selected several cooperative black slaves, including Abraham, as overseers.
• Abraham accepted the role and began whipping workers who slacked off, with a guard backing his authority when the other slaves resisted.
• The guard found that Abraham’s supervision improved the miners’ work and allowed him to take more rest.
• Abraham shared some bread with selected friends to recruit informants, then resolved to increase ore production so he could earn better treatment.

Lawrence inspected Brack’s shipment of silver and arranged to carry approved private goods back for him. Meanwhile, Abraham gained influence among the black slaves, and one of them revealed information to him.

• Abraham drove the black slaves to work faster by promising them meat soup, while the guards watched.
• Lawrence and Brack inspected the warehouse, where Brack showed him crates of silver ingots and other goods.
• Lawrence told Brack that Derek allowed stationed men to bring back some goods without worrying about customs.
• After the workers received meat soup and bread, black slaves began gathering around Abraham, who acted warmly despite despising them.
• A black slave who had secretly eaten his flatbread the previous day revealed information to Abraham.

Abraham betrayed a planned slave uprising at the mine and gained authority after Locke soldiers crushed the rebels. Meanwhile, Simon questioned how Dean Massimo had persuaded Monta Province’s Garrison Legion to surrender, and Massimo remained confident in his understanding of people.

• Abraham reported the hidden weapons and planned revolt to Brack, asking for subordinates in exchange for his service.
• Brack ordered the mine’s centurions to deal with the rebels, and Abraham became Foreman Leader and chose the Informer as his first subordinate.
• Abraham led Locke soldiers to the rebels’ weapons, and the soldiers swiftly defeated the uprising with firearms.
• The centurion’s squad found the crude stone weapons buried in an abandoned mine passage, while Lawrence and Brack completed the shipment and exchanged gifts.
• Simon asked Dean Massimo whether Monta Province’s Garrison Legion had truly surrendered, and Massimo said he understood people’s hearts and told Simon to wait and see.

Farid took Duke Leopold’s money and secretly pledged the Monta Province Garrison Legion and its military intelligence to Simon, agreeing to remain undercover and strike when the Royal Guard Legion arrived. As the province descended into war, Logue’s Fifth Royal Guard Legion reached Monta Province to take command of the king’s forces.

• Farid secretly met Simon and offered control of the eleven-thousand-man Monta Province Garrison Legion, deployment information, and details of the kingdom’s supplies and reinforcements.
• Simon asked Farid to stay undercover and turn against the Royal Guard Legion during battle, and Dean Massimo promised another five hundred thousand Silver Coins to secure his cooperation.
• Farid agreed, arranged for his family and money to travel to Derek’s territory, and asked Simon and Massimo to protect them if he died.
• Farid expanded his forces and opened stored weapons while Simon used the deployment map to target holdouts, leaving Monta Province engulfed in fighting.
• Logue led the Fifth Legion of the Royal Capital Royal Guard Legion into Monta Province and took authority over the region’s forces after checking on Farid’s family.

Farid met with Logue, the newly arrived commander of the Royal Guard Legion, and secretly passed the legion’s deployment map to Simon. Simon assessed the threat and prepared to create an opportunity against Logue’s forces while coordinating with Burdett.

• Logue summoned Farid to discuss Duke Leopold’s precise attacks and the possibility of moles among Monta Province’s nobles and army.
• Farid concealed his betrayal, blamed possible informants, and helped Logue plan a new defensive line.
• After Farid left with the deployment map, he sent an exact copy to Simon, who estimated the Royal Guard Legion had forty to forty-five thousand trained soldiers.
• Simon told Farid he intended to create an opportunity, while Logue arranged his troops in overlapping frontline positions backed by reserve camps.
• Simon met with Burdett and prepared to rely on the strengthened, high-morale Monastery Knight Order for tactical operations against the Locke Kingdom.

Simon ordered Burdett and the Monastery Knight Order to launch a sudden attack, intending to lure Logue into committing his reinforcements. As Bruen’s late-moving reserve force approached, Burdett’s scouts awaited their report and an outsider assured him the plan was on schedule.

• Simon told Burdett to crush a force passing through the area, keeping his larger plan secret from him.
• Burdett prepared the Monastery Knight Order for battle, polished his weapons, and prayed with a cross bearing the inscription Derek.
• Logue praised Farid’s cooperation in a report to King Arthur, then learned that Bruen’s reserve troops and three thousand-man units had not reached their positions.
• Bruen, delayed after drinking with an old friend, received Logue’s order to hurry but dismissed the warning and continued toward the front with scouts and a vanguard.
• Burdett waited with his armed knights as an outsider identified Bruen’s troop movements and said the attack should proceed as planned.

Burdett led the Monastery Knight Order to ambush General Bruen’s Royal Guard Legion after its scouts encountered Northern Lands scouts. The heavily armored cavalry charged the disorganized army, leaving Bruen desperate for reinforcements as the attack began.

• Burdett ordered the Monastery Knight Order to advance after scouts reported encountering Royal Guard Legion scouts, while the Monta Province noble watched them ride out.
• General Bruen halted his marching army and ordered defensive formations after learning his scouts had encountered scouts from the Northern Lands.
• Burdett’s heavily armored cavalry approached, and Bruen’s soldiers struggled to form ranks amid conflicting orders.
• Bruen recognized the attack as a planned ambush and sent a messenger to call for reinforcements.
• Burdett’s Knight Order charged into the soldiers of the Royal Guard Legion, shouting for the Duke.

The Monastery Knight Order routed General Bruen’s forces in a swift ambush before withdrawing, while Logue gathered troops to surround them. Commander Bodet realized Simon had arranged for the trapped knights to serve as bait and held his position on high ground.

• General Bruen led his guards against the charging Monastery Knights, but he and his men were cut down.
• Commander Bodet ordered the Monastery Knight Order to withdraw after their ambush, leaving the routed soldiers behind.
• Logue received reports of Bruen’s defeat and the enemy’s location, then ordered troops to destroy the Monastery Knight Order and attack its reinforcements.
• General Farid’s forces surrounded the Monastery Knight Order, whose losses remained small as they scattered the light infantry sent to intercept them.
• A guide told Commander Bodet that General Simon had arranged for the knights to break toward the Garrison Legion if threatened, and Bodet led them to occupy high ground and wait.

Farid kept the Royal Guard Legion from attacking the surrounded Monastery Knight Order while Logue gathered reinforcements and planned to use the order as bait. Logue believed he had trapped the Northern Duchy, but Farid secretly prepared to betray him if the order faced destruction.

• Farid inspected the battlefield and used the Royal Guard Legion's defeat to deepen the officers' fear of the Northern Duchy forces.
• Farid concluded that the Monastery Knight Order might try to break out and stopped the defeated general from urging an attack before Logue arrived.
• Logue reached the battlefield after hearing a survivor describe how a Monastery Knight had spared a helpless enemy during the retreat.
• Farid suggested attacking at night, but Logue refused and planned to let some of the Monastery Knight Order escape so he could strike at their reinforcements.
• Logue praised Farid's loyalty and promised they would win renown together, while Farid privately thought about choosing Logue's coffin.

Logue prepared Monta Province’s forces to meet the Northern Duchy, but Simon’s attack and Farid’s planned defection shattered the formation. Logue realized too late that the battle had been a trap, leaving his forces in crisis.

• Logue repelled the Knight Order’s breakout and arranged Monta Province’s troops to face the approaching Northern Duchy.
• Simon assessed Logue’s defenses and ordered his soldiers to attack the Royal Guard Legion’s position.
• Farid secretly prepared the Garrison Legion’s officers to defect while the Northern Duchy drew Logue’s attention into the battle.
• Simon waited until the Royal Guard Legion was fully engaged, then raised the agreed signal for Farid to act.
• Farid’s officers put on armbands, denounced King Arthur, tore down the kingdom’s banners, and led the Garrison Legion against its former allies.
• Logue recognized Farid’s defection as part of a trap and concluded that his position could not be salvaged.

Simon captured Logue after the Northern Duchy defeated Farid’s army and took Monta Province. As the Southern Nobles gathered knights for an undisclosed maritime operation, Derek received news of the victory and planned to meet Lawrence before going to Monta Province.

• Farid accepted defeat as the Northern Duchy's army broke his forces, while Logue's soldiers surrendered under the promise that they would not be killed.
• Simon climbed onto the platform, overpowered Logue, and ordered his guards to tie him up, then urged him to meet Duke Leopold to seek a chance to survive.
• With Farid and his allies cooperating, the Northern Duchy took Monta Province and expanded to five provinces with a population of over five million.
• Prince Radick mistook the knights gathering at Count Began's estate for support, then investigated after his grandfather said they were handling a business problem.
• Radick discovered that knights across the south were boarding ships, while Derek received intelligence about the Southern Nobles' mobilization and Simon's victory.
• Derek decided to meet Lawrence first and then travel to Monta Province.

Lawrence returned to Digen Port, handed over his goods, and received instructions from Duke Derek about the New Continent. Derek revealed that population growth and faster ships would bring large-scale migration much sooner than Lawrence expected, then promised him Silver Coins and scolded him for advising others to sell their goods in batches.

• Lawrence returned to Digen Port and gave gifts to Andrew and the customs workers while Andrew rewarded the soldiers with silver ingots from the Duke.
• Lawrence warned Andrew to take responsibility for the handover, then sent overseas goods to the families of those stationed abroad and told them to sell in batches.
• Derek received Lawrence at Swan Castle and asked for his firsthand recommendations about the New Continent route.
• Derek told Lawrence that infant births had doubled, deaths had fallen, and a Master Smith was developing a ship that could cross between continents in one month.
• Lawrence vowed to clear obstacles at sea for Derek after realizing migration and noble land grants would come soon.
• Derek said he had sent Lawrence a chest of Silver Coins and criticized his advice to sell overseas trinkets in batches.

Derek arrived in Monta Province, secured the support of Melgen Monastery, and checked on Simon as he reorganized the province’s forces. He met with local leaders and ordered royal loyalists executed, while the imprisoned Logue was summoned from his cell.

• Derek warned Lawrence that spies were watching him, leaving Lawrence too frightened to investigate and resolved to work honestly.
• Derek reached Melgen Monastery, thanked Dean Massimo and Dean Rosanara, and praised the promising young men they had recommended.
• Simon visited Derek, sparred with him, and discussed the pressures of commanding Monta Province’s armies.
• Derek met surrenderers and local nobles to stabilize Monta Province, while rejecting pleas for mercy for collaborators captured by Farid.
• Derek had the royal family’s loyal supporters sent to the gallows, and Logue learned that the jailer had come to take him out of his cell.

Derek met captured General Logue and persuaded him to secretly serve the Northern Duchy by promising to rescue his family later. He staged Logue’s death, and King Arthur believed the report and blamed Farid for Monta Province’s fall.

• Derek met Logue without shackles and asked him to explain his plan to stop the southern march.
• Logue described his strategy, and he and Derek discussed its strengths and weaknesses for an hour.
• Derek offered Logue a place in his service, and Logue accepted after Derek promised to arrange his family’s escape from the Royal Capital.
• Derek had a mangled corpse presented as Logue’s body, and observers sent news of the supposed execution to the Royal Capital.
• King Arthur accepted Logue’s reported death, ordered condolences for his family, and raised the bounty on Farid.

After Monta Province stabilized, Logue traveled with Lawrence’s fleet toward the New Continent and learned how extensive Duke Leopold’s overseas network and resources were. Near the New Continent, the fleet intercepted Southern scout ships, sinking their vessels and capturing the survivors for the silver mines.

• Derek stabilized Monta Province after a month, and King Arthur’s army failed in a counterattack.
• Logue boarded a gunboat with Lawrence, who explained the New Continent, the supply route, and the Southern Nobles’ involvement.
• At the White Sand Archipelago, Ben warned Lawrence that the Southerners had assembled a large fleet.
• Logue saw the overseas supply ports and learned that their resources could support Duke Leopold’s homeland.
• Lawrence’s fleet spotted Southern scout ships near the New Continent and sank them with artillery.
• Lawrence’s men rescued the survivors and planned to send them to the silver mines.

Lawrence warned Brack that the Southerners might attack the silver mine and arranged for Zorro’s temporary legion to help defend it. Meanwhile, Baronet Kallen and the Southern nobles agreed to attack the white-skinned settlers for their port and gemstone mine, and Adam began outlining a land assault.

• Lawrence told Brack he suspected the Southerners were planning a major operation and proposed having Zorro’s temporary legion watch over the silver mine.
• Baronet Kallen’s faction gathered captured firearms, recruited craftsmen to study them, and prepared weapons and knights for war against the white-skinned settlers.
• Adam presented the Southern nobles with a map of the settlers’ ports and gemstones, arguing that capturing their port would secure the gemstone mine.
• Baronet Kallen and the other nobles agreed to attack, and Adam said they should advance by land because the settlers’ ships were formidable.

Adam used a staged native attack on a port to lure its soldiers into pursuing the fleeing natives, then led them into an ambush by his cavalry. The cavalry routed the musketeers, and an Iron Can regiment emerged to launch the next attack.

• Adam gathered natives he had forced to migrate and ordered them to charge the port, promising food and freedom to those who returned to him.
• The port's soldiers fired on the charging natives, who fled, prompting the overseer to order his men to capture them as slaves.
• Adam and his men fled as the soldiers pursued them, and the musketeers shot one of Adam's companions before the group reached the waiting cavalry.
• Adam's knights charged from the woods, killed the mounted officer, and scattered the musketeers.
• An Iron Can cavalry regiment and light cavalry emerged from the woods after the enemy had been lured out.

Adam’s knights crushed the white-skinned forces, captured their port, and began searching its warehouses for rubies. Meanwhile, Logue and Lawrence’s northern settlement near the silver mine remained peaceful as they planned to bring more immigrants to the New Continent.

• Adam’s knights routed the white-skinned musketeers in the wilderness and stormed their port.
• The Light Cavalry scaled the port walls, opened the gates, and let the armored knights take the city.
• Adam ordered his men to secure the warehouses and search for gems.
• Logue built a militarized town near the silver mine with five hundred soldiers and captured black slaves to help clear the land.
• Lawrence returned with Silver Coins and told Logue and Brack he would petition the Duke to send more immigrants.

Derek used intelligence from Viscount Chavez to assess Prince Radick and decided to divert King Arthur from the Northern Duchy by sending Radick supplies. Baron Cliff received orders to contact Radick and deliver the stockpiled goods, leaving him to weigh the dangerous mission against the chance to rise in status.

• Viscount Chavez secretly sent intelligence about the Southern Nobles and Prince Radick to Derek.
• Derek learned that the Southern Nobles controlled Radick as a pawn and decided to give King Arthur a new target while he prepared the Royal Guard Legion.
• Derek arranged to send Radick aid through a northern front man rather than risk exposing Viscount Chavez.
• Baron Cliff inspected his warehouses and recalled how his risky trade for the Northern Duchy had brought him wealth and social standing.
• Baron Cliff received orders to contact Prince Radick and hand over his stockpiled supplies, and he recognized the danger and opportunity in the task.