Chapter Summaries

Baron Cliff delivered the Northern Duchy’s free supplies to Prince Radick, who accepted the aid and began building his strength beyond the Southern Nobles’ control. After Radick purged spies and disappeared with his army, Count Began became furious at losing his hold over him.

• Prince Radick decided to gamble on the Northern Duchy’s offer and secretly left his military camp to meet Baron Cliff.
• Baron Cliff told Prince Radick that Duke Leopold had sent urgently needed supplies as a free gift, and Radick asked whether he would have to pay for them.
• Baron Cliff opened a warehouse filled with weapons, armor, food, and cloth, and Prince Radick accepted the supplies.
• Prince Radick’s confidants moved the goods in batches, re-equipped the recruits, and helped him purge spies.
• Prince Radick vanished from view with his army, and Count Began angrily demanded to know who had intervened.

Radick seized a dock and expanded his army by attacking a rival Southern Noble, then bought weapons and armor from Baron Cliff at inflated prices. Cliff revealed that Count Began was also buying equipment in bulk and that King Arthur had paid even more, leaving Radick suspicious of their plans as a large ship began unloading cargo by small boats at the dock.

• Radick expanded his army and captured a Baron’s territory and family, using the attack to secure a small river dock.
• Radick ordered elite soldiers to guard the dock secretly and had the captured family hanged as traitors to divert suspicion from his real objective.
• Radick bought large quantities of weapons and armor from Baron Cliff despite the steep prices.
• Cliff told Radick that Count Began was buying equipment in bulk and that King Arthur had paid at least thirty percent more for smuggled weapons and armor.
• Radick ordered his army expanded further and, that night, a large ship began ferrying cargo to the dock in small boats.

Derek returned to the front as the Locke Kingdom prepared to attack and rewarded the Northern Duchy's officers and soldiers with silver and food. His tour lifted the troops' morale, leaving the Holy Cross Kingdom's forces across the front uneasy.

• Radick received crates of goods by the river and ordered them stored before leaving enviously.
• The Locke Kingdom reassembled its army, while Derek returned to the front with supplies as Northern Duchy forces shifted west.
• Derek summoned the officers, praised their work, and distributed silver coins before drinking with them through the night.
• Derek inspected the Barbarian Heavy Infantry Regiment, corrected small flaws, and rewarded the soldiers with money and roasted pork.
• Derek continued touring the army units, raising morale and alarming the Holy Cross Kingdom's troops across the front.

Derek decided the Northern Duchy would take the initiative and bring the war into the Holy Cross Kingdom, while intelligence revealed that its armies were gathering cautiously under a divided leadership. He prepared to exploit the power of artillery and asked Barin whether he wanted to exchange his Fief.

• Derek surveyed the army’s morale and declared that the Northern Duchy should stop passively enduring attacks and carry the battle onto Holy Cross territory.
• Adrian and Man Niu supported Derek’s plan to strike the Holy Cross Kingdom.
• Derek learned that the Holy Cross Kingdom had not appointed a supreme commander because its King and the Church were at odds, and Baron Balin explained how his connections had obtained detailed intelligence.
• Derek discovered that Holy Cross forces had assembled in large formations and were relying on fortified cities and their greater reserves to resist him.
• Derek remarked that artillery had changed the times and asked Barin whether he wanted to exchange his Fief.

Derek’s army reached the formidable City of Sighs and began preparing to capture it as the key to breaking the Holy Cross Kingdom’s defenses. While Rogers’s cannons bombarded the city, its generals dismissed the threat and rushed to report to the King, unaware that a special unit was assembling a massive weapon outside.

• Derek rewarded Baron Balin with a promise of a better fief and led the army onward as the Northern Duchy launched a sudden offensive across the Holy Cross Kingdom.
• Derek’s forces reached the City of Sighs, where he rejected Adrian’s suggestion to surround it and declared that capturing the fortress was essential.
• Derek ordered Rogers to bring the cannons forward and fire on the city as a preliminary show of force.
• The City of Sighs’ generals ordered their troops to prepare defenses, then took cover when the bombardment began.
• The generals dismissed the cannons as ineffective and hurried to send reports to the King, while a special unit outside the city assembled a colossal object from heavy iron parts.

Derek unveiled heavy artillery and ordered it used against the City of Sighs, devastating the defenders and shattering their morale. The enemy general requested reinforcements and went to the front to rally his troops, but witnessing a shell wipe out a squad left the battle looking increasingly desperate.

• Derek reassured Man Niu that firearms would change the role of knights rather than make them disappear, then ordered the heavy artillery prepared for the next day.
• Derek directed the newly arrived heavy artillery to bombard the City of Sighs, where shells tore through the walls and devastated the defenders.
• Chiliarchs reported the horrific casualties and urged the general to retreat or surrender, but he rejected their pleas and replaced one officer with a personal guard.
• The general wrote a request for reinforcements and went to the front lines to rally his troops.
• A shell struck behind the city wall and wiped out a squad of soldiers in front of the general.

Rogers and Derek considered how to organize the Northern Duchy’s growing artillery force as its weapons proved decisive in battle. In the Holy Cross Royal Capital, King Bruno received alarming reports of the artillery assault on the City of Sighs and called a meeting to decide how to respond.

• Rogers directed his artillery crews to aim carefully and prepare their guns while hoping to prove artillery’s value to the Duke.
• Man Niu asked Derek for an artillery unit, and Derek said infantry regiments could receive guns but would have to wait for trained officers.
• Adrian considered sending trusted men to study artillery.
• King Bruno read letters from the City of Sighs that first praised the generals’ confidence, then warned that Northern Duchy artillery was devastating the city.
• King Bruno convened his ministers, and one advised him to seek the Pontiff’s help by offering the Church a few monasteries.

The Pontiff and King Bruno made a deal to restore the Military Chaplain System as the Northern Duchy’s invasion threatened the kingdom. At the City of Sighs, a full-scale attack began with a deceptive artillery strike that devastated the defenders gathered to plug a breach.

• The Pontiff considered Duke Leopold’s refusal to compromise and realized the King’s concessions signaled a dire situation at the front.
• King Bruno agreed to restore the Military Chaplain System in exchange for the church’s support, and he and the Pontiff made secret agreements.
• After a week of bombardment, the Holy Cross defenders at the City of Sighs learned that the Northern Duchy was launching a full-scale attack.
• The defenders found a collapsed section of wall and sent a thousand-man unit to block the breach.
• The Northern Duchy lured the defenders into position and hit them with artillery before withdrawing, leaving the Holy Cross soldiers devastated.

Derek’s forces captured the City of Sighs after a brutal two-day battle, opening the route to the Holy Cross Kingdom’s Royal Capital. News of the city’s fall reached a nearby relief army just as Northern Duchy cavalry appeared.

• Derek halted the bombardment, and Northern Duchy infantry renewed their attack while Rogers brought a cannon to the fighting.
• The battle raged through the day, and the Holy Cross defenders lost the city’s outer perimeter by nightfall.
• The next day, Holy Cross units surrendered, and Derek entered the fallen City of Sighs with his officers.
• Man Niu and Adrian urged Derek to march on the Royal Capital and capture the King and Pontiff.
• The relief army learned that the City of Sighs had fallen, and its scouts spotted Northern Duchy cavalry nearby.

General Gill abandoned a commoner-born knight and diverted the relief army away from the Northern Duchy forces. The cavalry discovered the camp Knight Roman was building to guard the supply route.

• After learning the City of Sighs had fallen, General Gill and the high command agreed to retreat and leave a force behind to cover their withdrawal.
• General Gill appointed Knight Roman to defend the rear supply route, promising him honors and giving him his sword.
• Knight Roman trusted General Gill and began building the camp, unaware that Gill had led the main army on a detour back toward the rear.
• The Northern Duchy cavalry assembled and swept toward the relief force, locating Knight Roman's camp after its scouts drew them in.

Knight Martin led the Northern Duchy’s Augusta knights in a surprise night raid on Roman’s unfinished camp. They broke through the sentries, set fires, and spread chaos as the soldiers woke in confusion.

• Roman trusted his defenses and went to sleep without checking the surrounding area himself.
• Knight Martin persuaded the Augusta knights to attack the camp, aiming to cause disorder rather than kill as many soldiers as possible.
• Martin led the charge through the outer sentry post and over the unfinished fence, killing a sentry and entering the camp.
• Augusta cavalry struck from the darkness while the knights threw torches around the camp.
• Fires and sudden attacks threw the waking soldiers into panic and confusion.

After Martin’s raid devastated the Holy Cross army, Roman realized General Gill had abandoned him as a scapegoat and surrendered to the Northern Duchy. He was brought before Duke Leopold, and the chapter ended as Roman learned the identity of his captor.

• Martin and his knights escaped after setting the Holy Cross camp ablaze, leaving the army in chaos and suffering heavy losses.
• Roman reported his failure to General Gill and requested help, but an army bearing the Two-Headed Dragon Banner arrived instead.
• Roman deduced that Gill had withheld news and abandoned him, then ordered his army to surrender and vowed revenge on those who had betrayed him.
• The Northern Duchy’s soldiers searched Roman and brought him to a carriage, where Martin watched him with unusual interest.
• An attendant introduced the man before Roman as Duke Leopold and demanded that Roman pay his respects.

Derek accepted Roman’s offer to serve the Northern Duchy and sent Baron Balin back to his family’s territory to stir support against the Holy Cross Kingdom. Balin reached home under the Northern Duchy’s banner, where his uncle mistakenly treated his party as hostile Locke nobles.

• Roman knelt before Derek and offered his service in exchange for revenge on the Holy Cross Kingdom, and Derek accepted while warning that Roman’s possessions and loyalty now belonged to him.
• Derek’s attendant knight warned Roman not to mistake the duke’s mercy for weakness and said he would keep watch over him.
• Derek allowed Baron Balin to return to his homeland and meet the Holy Cross nobles, assigning attendants to protect him.
• Roman received Northern Duchy officers and elite soldiers, while Balin gathered his men and traveled into Holy Cross territory.
• Balin reached Earl Connor’s tense territory, where Knight Kane surrounded his convoy before recognizing him and asking why he carried the Locke banner.

Baron Balin returned to Connor Family territory under the Northern Duchy banner, making his new allegiance public. Earl Connor allowed the return and told Corison that Balin would keep his title but would cede a Barony to the family as compensation.

• Balin announced his Northern Duchy banner and reassured Knight Kane that the Duke's army nearby and Connor Family territory would protect him.
• Knight Kane accepted Balin's status and escorted his convoy through the territory, while news spread that Balin had returned as a Baron of the Northern Duchy.
• Earl Connor received the news and silently allowed Balin's ostentatious return.
• Corison confronted Earl Connor, insisting that Balin's title belonged to the family.
• Earl Connor ordered Corison to stop contesting Balin's title and said he would have Balin cede a Barony to the family as compensation.
• Corison questioned whether Balin would agree to give up a Barony.

Barin returned to Earl Connor’s castle, where Corison welcomed him under their father’s orders and received a valuable suit of armor. Meanwhile, Derek hunted with a newly made gun, unaware of the reunion at the castle.

• Earl Connor told Corison to serve Duke Leopold faithfully and to greet Barin warmly, warning him not to make reckless decisions.
• Corison waited at the castle gates as Connor Family vassals gathered to welcome Barin and Knight Kane.
• Barin embraced Corison and privately assured him that he had not returned to contest the family estate.
• Barin gave Corison a rare Heavy Knight Armor from Augusta, and the brothers went inside to meet Earl Connor.
• Derek tested a modern-style gun while hunting with Little Tru and praised the weapon.

Derek showed Little Tru muskets obtained from the Southern Nobles and revealed how his craftsmen had secretly gathered their various designs. He ordered Little Tru to produce ten thousand muskets within half a year while asking about improvements to the steam engine.

• Derek had Little Tru inspect a musket from the south, and Little Tru judged it inferior to their experimental models.
• Derek showed Little Tru several other muskets, including a flawed breech-loader, and explained that the Southern Nobles had secretly developed and traded different designs.
• Derek revealed that his elite craftsmen had infiltrated the nobles and obtained every musket model for him.
• Little Tru tested the guns and recognized how far their technology and craftsmanship lagged behind Derek's.
• Derek ordered Little Tru to manufacture ten thousand muskets within half a year and asked about the steam engine's progress.
• Little Tru warned that the production target would take at least a year without more workers, and Derek promised additional manpower and urged him to work safely.

Sheriff’s infantry training class received the new Duke Leopold Type Zero Rifle and learned it would soon be disbanded so its trainees could enter the army. Meanwhile, Viscount Chavez received a secret shipment of outdated firearms and Master Smiths from the Duke, leaving him better equipped to produce weapons in the south.

• Sheriff learned that the Duke Leopold Type Zero Rifle had been finalized and mass-produced, and that his training class would soon end.
• The instructor issued the trainees their new rifles and announced that they would travel to the temporary capital for the Duchy’s first-anniversary inspection before entering the army.
• The Northern Duchy shipped discarded but usable firearms south, and Viscount Chavez secretly inspected the cargo with the captain.
• Viscount Chavez fired one of the rifles and welcomed the news that the Duke had also sent Master Smiths to help him produce firearms.
• Viscount Chavez moved the shipment ashore by small boat while the northern ships continued upriver without docking.

Prince Radick received three thousand muskets from the duke and began forming a musketeer unit while investigating whether they could be copied. In Pulan City, Dagu put the Barbarian delegation in its place after its members insulted the Barbarian soldiers guarding them.

• Prince Radick was astonished to receive three thousand old muskets and ordered a musketeer unit formed while Master Smiths examined them.
• Delegations from several kingdoms gathered in Pulan City ahead of the Northern Duchy's first founding anniversary.
• Barbarian nobles insulted the Barbarian soldiers assigned to guard them, provoking the soldiers’ anger.
• Dagu arrived, whipped the guarding soldiers, and ordered the offending nobles arrested and their teeth knocked out.
• Dagu warned the Barbarian delegation to behave and told its leader he could apply to see the duke.

Dagu reunited with Guli and remembered the chieftain’s old wish to lead Derek’s horse. During an audience with Derek, Dagu raised the request, and Derek agreed to find Guli and let him lead his horse once.

• Dagu threatened the barbarian delegation after its envoy accused him of provoking war, then returned home from his duties.
• Dagu visited Guli in the capital and reunited with Xiao Wo De, who worked for the chieftain.
• Guli told Dagu about his growing business and recalled that he had once asked Derek to let him lead his horse.
• Derek arrived in Pulan City, reviewed reports, and met with officers, including Dagu.
• Dagu told Derek about Guli’s old wish, and Derek agreed to arrange for Guli to lead his horse once.

Guli was chosen to lead the duke’s horse on Celebration Day, while Pulan City prepared to host a military review attended by foreign delegations and local dignitaries. The procession displayed the Northern Duchy’s battle-hardened knights and captured carriage, and the review began with the Barbarian Heavy Infantry revealing their faces to the watching envoys.

• An Attendant Officer told Guli that Chiliarch Dagu had secured him the honor of leading the duke’s horse, and Guli eagerly accepted.
• Sheriff and the infantry training class assembled outside Pulan City after months of intensive training.
• Foreign delegations and invited local figures gathered in Pulan City for Celebration Day as crowds filled the streets.
• Battle-scarred knights marched before the delegations, followed by Guli leading the duke’s horse in traditional Barbarian clothing.
• The duke, duchess, and young duke rode in a captured open carriage bearing the Holy Cross Kingdom’s royal markings, angering its envoy.
• The Barbarian Heavy Infantry began the review and raised their visors together, making the Holy Cross Kingdom’s envoy laugh at the Barbarian envoy.