Chapter Summaries

Nearly ten months after leaving home, Derek became an Elite Knight and expanded his weapons and armor production through trade with the Goat Caravan and Knight Cloya. As the new year approached, he decided to return home without challenging his elder brother for the Ferrera Family inheritance.

• Derek advanced to Elite Knight, while Little Tru taught the other blacksmiths to forge Ten-Temper Refined Iron and began making Half Plate Armor.
• The Goat Caravan returned with Derek's ordered grain and iron ingots, and Derek placed further orders for resources and people.
• Steward Vincent bought southern weapons and Half Plate Armor, ordering twenty sets of armor, one hundred Iron Swords, and three hundred spearheads.
• Knight Cloya's messenger reported that ten Warhorses and assorted weapons had been sold, leaving Derek's business limited by production capacity and a shortage of people.
• As the new year drew near, Derek decided to return home and dismissed the idea of competing with his elder brother for the Ferrera Family inheritance.

Derek returned to the Ferrera family after a year away, bringing gifts, soldiers, and well-equipped squires. His family welcomed him home, and he presented Baron Ferrera with a complete set of knightly equipment.

• Derek set out for home with soldiers, cavalry, and several carts of gifts while Adrian stayed behind to oversee the camp.
• Derek arrived at Ferrera Castle, where Lady Ferrera, Baron Ferrera, and his brothers had gathered for the New Year.
• Sheriff celebrated when Derek gave him a black warhorse, while Sergei and Marco inspected Derek’s impressive soldiers and squires.
• Baron Ferrera asked Derek what gifts he had brought, and Derek had Simon present him with a complete low-grade knight’s equipment set.

Derek impressed Baron Ferrera with a valuable suit of armor and strengthened his standing within the family. As war with the Barbarians seemed increasingly likely, the Baron agreed to support Derek’s growing operation in exchange for returns, offering him the family’s Estates.

• Derek presented the Ferrera Family with premium knight equipment, stunning his brothers and Baron Ferrera.
• Baron Ferrera acknowledged Derek’s growth and proposed that they speak as equals.
• Derek visited his uncles with gifts and heard that the Iron Lion Legion was increasing training and recruitment.
• Baron Ferrera told Derek that war against the Barbarians might soon begin and that the family planned to expand its forces.
• Derek confirmed that he would join the war and revealed that he had built a growing operation.
• Baron Ferrera offered the family’s Estates and other support in exchange for sufficient returns, while Derek asked for people and land.

Derek took over two family manors and expanded his military and settlement preparations while the Ferrera Family braced for war. After learning that a large Slave-Hunting Team would cross the Mountain Trail, he decided to seize its cargo after it entered Holy Cross Kingdom territory.

• Baron Ferrera granted Derek two mini manors in exchange for favorable prices on weapons and warhorses, training soldiers, and returning the manors when he gained his own fief.
• Baron Ferrera arranged promotions and training for Sergei, Sheriff, and Marco, then reorganized the family's soldiers and prepared for war.
• After the New Year, Derek took over the manors, recruited soldiers and free citizens, expanded facilities, and stockpiled supplies and equipment.
• Loyd told Derek that a large Slave-Hunting Team had repeatedly used the Mountain Trail and would soon pass through again, apparently carrying people for an important buyer connected to Holy Cross Kingdom.
• Derek decided to attack the team after it crossed into Holy Cross Kingdom territory and refused Loyd's offer to help, keeping his friend out of the operation.

Derek led an ambush against a Slave-Hunting Team in the Holy Cross Kingdom and captured the slaves it was escorting. He brought them to Deep Mountain Base, where he began screening them for military service or labor.

• Derek explained to Simon that the slave hunters would likely lower their guard near their own territory and chose the route by a small mound for an ambush.
• Derek led twelve cavalrymen in a surprise charge against the Slave-Hunting Team while spearmen attacked from behind the mound.
• Derek’s forces crushed the slave hunters, killed all survivors, and cleared the battlefield before withdrawing.
• Derek loosened the slaves’ leg ropes, warned them not to flee, and led them to Deep Mountain Base.
• Derek screened the slaves, planning to enlist the most obedient and assign the rest to work.

Derek trained a larger force at Deep Mountain Base and warned Simon to watch for a slave-soldier riot, which Simon crushed after an informer exposed the plot. Back at the estate, Derek expanded his military and civilian administration while preparing troops and blacksmiths for the coming war.

• Derek intensified training at Deep Mountain Base, taught military tactics to his Knight Squires, and left Simon in charge while warning him that dissatisfied Slave Soldiers might rebel.
• A group of Slave Soldiers plotted to steal weapons and start a riot, but an Informer told Simon about their plans.
• Simon promised the Informer a Decurion position, surrounded the would-be rioters with armed soldiers, and ordered them killed.
• Derek noticed new names on the Panel after the unrest but dismissed the incident as minor.
• Derek converted one estate into a military camp and another into a Blacksmith Shop, settling craftsmen's and officers' families there.
• Derek discovered that the Panel's third page tracked civil administration, including farmers, and began training blacksmiths to make basic weapons.

Derek inspected upgraded knight equipment, managed his Warhorse breeding operation, and reviewed the army training at Baron Ferrera’s estate. He learned that the King had issued a mobilization order and that southern and central forces were preparing to march north.

• Little Tru showed Derek the latest knight equipment, and Derek tested its defenses and mobility before asking him to design gear for Heavy Infantry.
• Derek organized weapons and resources, inspected the Northern Horses, and considered seeking territory beyond the kingdom’s control so he could expand safely.
• Derek visited Baron Ferrera’s estate, where Marco and more than three hundred soldiers trained under Derek’s Knight Squires.
• Derek checked the Panel, assessed the soldiers’ levels, and discovered that stored experience points were reduced when characters advanced in level.
• Marco told Derek that the King had issued a mobilization order and that southern and central regions were preparing to march north after spring plowing.

Derek sought new sources of Iron Ore as the Ferrera blacksmiths consumed their stockpile while the Northern Province prepared for war. He found a promising mine owned by the Garcia Family, but their arrogant second son, Harvey Garcia, received him instead of the family heir.

• Derek rejected Simon's suggestion to rob ore suppliers and visited families controlling mines, but their small offers could not meet his needs.
• Baron Ferrera advised Derek to seek out smaller mine owners, and Derek began visiting them for any available ore.
• Derek learned that the rising Garcia Family had recently discovered a sizeable mineral vein but lacked skilled blacksmiths.
• The Garcia Family ignored Derek's calling card for three days before inviting him to their fortified estate.
• Derek met Harvey Garcia, the arrogant second son, and grew angry that the Garcia Family had not sent its heir to negotiate.

Derek rejected Harvey Garcia’s attempt to trade iron ore for Ferrera manpower, escaped the Garcia estate after Adrian forced a path through its warriors, and continued dealing with contempt as he pursued resources. Meanwhile, a well-equipped band of barbarians from the northern wilderness entered the buffer zone and advanced toward the Northern Lands.

• Harvey Garcia tried to deny Derek iron ore unless the Ferrera Family provided blacksmiths for his friends, but Derek insulted Harvey’s offer and refused.
• Harvey ordered Aud and his warriors to stop Derek, but Adrian knocked the men aside and Derek threw a sword past Harvey, embedding it in the wall.
• Derek left the Garcia estate on his warhorse, then encouraged Adrian to endure their hardship and vowed that the Garcia Family would someday beg for forgiveness.
• Derek encountered further insults from merchants, recorded their names in his ledger, and returned to the estate after the iron ore shortage had mostly been resolved.
• A band of taller, well-armed barbarians from farther north entered the buffer zone, and their commander mocked the Locke people as they approached the Northern Lands.

Derek and the Ferrera Family confronted the Barbarian invasion of the Northern Province, which had caught the nobles and kingdom forces unprepared. After the Governor ordered a provisional legion to reinforce Ironwall City, the family prepared to send Marco and its troops to war while Baron Ferrera stayed behind.

• The Barbarians attacked the Northern Province and neighboring Holy Cross Kingdom, seizing several cities and killing a count before news of the invasion reached Derek ten days later.
• Baron Ferrera warned that the Barbarian vanguard had reached Ironwall City and that its fall could expose the province and put Watch City in danger.
• Derek proposed preparing for both victory and defeat by evacuating some family members, keeping Baron Ferrera at the castle, and marching to support the front; Marco agreed and cited their brother serving in Ironwall City.
• The Knight Commander delivered the Governor’s order forming provisional legions and appointing Count Perella to lead the Second Provisional Legion in reinforcing Ironwall City.
• Baron Ferrera ordered Marco to lead the family’s forces while he remained behind, and asked Derek to look after his brother.

Derek gathered his trained troops and joined Count Perez’s Northern Province Second Legion, earning favorable treatment from registrar Cesar Urpin. After reviewing the legion’s register, Count Perez ordered Derek’s men placed near the front so he could inspect them during the parade.

• Derek issued orders to ready his troops and led them to join Simon’s slave soldiers outside Count Perez’s Territory.
• Derek presented his forces to registrar Cesar Urpin, who recognized their quality and arranged them a better campsite.
• Derek found his older brother Marco, whose camp was less favorably placed.
• Count Perez reviewed the legion’s register and questioned Cesar about Derek’s unusually strong forces.
• Cesar vouched for Derek, and Count Perez ordered Derek’s troops placed near the front for inspection at the parade.

Derek impressed Count Perella during the Northern Province Second Legion’s military review by demonstrating the exceptional skill and endurance of his knights. The count declared Derek worthy of being a Chiliarch.

• Derek took a prominent position in the review as Count Perella inspected the legion and noticed Derek’s unusually elite troops.
• Count Perella asked Derek to demonstrate his abilities, and Derek ordered his knights to armor up and mount their horses.
• Derek’s knights performed precise charges, spear volleys, and formation changes that amazed the assembled troops and Count Perella.
• Count Perella praised Derek’s knights and, after awkwardly asking whether Derek was married, declared him worthy of being a Chiliarch.

Count Perella promoted Derek to Chiliarch of the provisional Northern Province Second Legion and assigned him additional troops after Cesar argued in his favor. Derek thanked Cesar by giving him one of his three Superior Warhorses.

• Count Perella debated whether Derek's performance and background justified the Chiliarch appointment.
• Cesar reminded Count Perella that Derek came from the Perella Knight Order and that the Second Legion was provisional.
• Count Perella appointed Derek the Legion's tenth Chiliarch and ordered five hundred soldiers and three hundred farmers added to his force.
• Cesar delivered the appointment document and explained that he had spoken in Derek's favor.
• Derek gave Cesar a Superior Warhorse to thank him for his help.

Derek took command of his chiliarch unit, reorganized it with recruits Cesar had supplied, and marched with the Second Legion toward Ironwall City. The Perella Knight Order arrived, and the legion increased its pace in orderly formation.

• Derek gave Cesar a warhorse, and Cesar repaid him by sending carefully selected recruits and junior officers to join his unit.
• Derek reorganized the chiliarch unit, appointed loyal officers, and addressed his new subordinates at a gathering.
• The Second Legion departed for Ironwall City, where the siege had lasted fifteen days, and marched for five days.
• Derek recognized the arriving Perella Knight Order, which had grown with former knights and Knight Squires.
• Count Perella's troops accelerated the Second Legion's march without disrupting its formation.

Derek received command of the Tenth Chiliarch Unit and was assigned to clear a district south of Ironwall City as the Second Legion prepared to drive back the Barbarians. After learning that small Barbarian detachments were roaming his area, he ordered his forces to move against them.

• Count Perella announced that the Second Legion would drive out the Barbarians and avenge Chris Jefferies, then assigned Derek's Tenth Chiliarch Unit a district to clear.
• Derek spoke with Knight Cloya, who congratulated him on becoming a Chiliarch and urged him to earn military merit and stay cautious.
• Derek sent Simon ahead with cavalry, then led his unit to the town in his assigned district, where the local militia had resisted small Barbarian raids.
• Simon reported that fewer than two hundred Barbarians were roaming the area, and Derek ordered the cavalry to move against them while Adrian took command of the elite hundred-man unit.

Derek pursued the barbarian raiding parties and used his elite cavalry to provoke them into a fight. After Derek and Simon routed the barbarian cavalry, the remaining leaders camped in confusion, unsure whether to flee or await reinforcements.

• Derek recognized that the barbarians had organized scouts and ordered his cavalry to harass them and keep them from advancing freely.
• Simon’s cavalry provoked the barbarians into sending fifty-two riders after them, and Derek mounted with his rested team to counterattack.
• Derek led an armored charge through the barbarian cavalry’s exposed flank, inflicting heavy casualties before Simon charged from the other side.
• Derek and Simon’s cavalry broke the remaining barbarians, who returned to their convoy with only a dozen riders.
• The barbarian leaders debated abandoning their supplies or waiting for reinforcements, then made camp as night fell.

Derek’s elite infantry and cavalry routed a divided Barbarian force, and he chose to press farther into the area despite the risk of becoming separated from the Second Legion. Count Perella learned that the Tenth Chiliarch Unit had completed its mission as he prepared to draw the Barbarian army into battle before Ironwall City fell.

• Derek’s men cleared the previous battlefield, and the elite infantry century arrived before midnight and rested until dawn.
• Derek ordered an attack and promised his men half the spoils as the indecisive Barbarians split between fleeing, resisting, and standing idle.
• The elite infantry broke through the Barbarian defenses, and Derek’s cavalry charge turned the battle into a rout that ended in half an hour.
• Derek’s unit reported two cavalrymen and more than a dozen elite infantrymen killed, while taking more than eighty heads and capturing about the same number of prisoners.
• Derek decided to continue advancing despite the danger of becoming separated from the Second Legion.
• Count Perella planned to concentrate his forces within ten days and attack the Barbarians, then received word that Derek’s Tenth Chiliarch Unit had completed its mission.

Derek’s Tenth Chiliarch Unit harassed the Barbarians near Three Rivers Town while avoiding a costly assault, and other Locke forces reclaimed ground nearby. When Baron Palmer arrived with orders for their two units to capture the town and advance toward Ironwall City, he offered Derek command of the attack.

• Count Perez credited Derek with the first merit and assigned his unit a larger, more dangerous mission area.
• Derek camped near the Barbarian force at Three Rivers Town and repelled its attacks while his troops raided smaller groups nearby.
• Donick kept his warriors inside the town as Derek’s raids and the other chiliarch units’ attacks weakened the Barbarian forces and their offensive near Ironwall City.
• Ollie Palmer arrived with orders for his and Derek’s units to capture the town and advance as far as possible toward Ironwall City.
• Derek judged the town’s roughly five hundred Barbarians vulnerable but warned Palmer against surrounding them, and Palmer asked Derek to take command.

Derek took command of most of Baron Palmer’s forces and led a three-sided assault on the Barbarian-held town. After a day of relentless attacks, he predicted the Barbarians would try to retreat under cover of night.

• Baron Palmer trusted Derek to command the Eighth Chiliarch Unit of the First Legion, and Derek took control of the forces apart from Palmer’s personal unit.
• Derek divided the soldiers among three attacking sides and a reserve, leaving the northern side empty.
• Derek sent the Eighth Chiliarch Unit into the first assault to probe the defenses, then ordered elite infantry to intensify pressure on the eastern wall.
• The elite unit charged up the narrow wooden wall, disrupting the Barbarians’ combat rhythm as Derek continued the assaults throughout the day.
• Derek predicted the battle would end that night because he had seen signs that the Barbarians wanted to escape through the north gate.

Derek let the Barbarians escape through an undefended gate, then explained his plan to Baron Palmer. Adrian’s ambush force intercepted the exhausted Barbarians as they fled, and the chapter ended with their leader learning the Locke people had arrived.

• The Barbarian Leader ordered his warriors to leave quietly through the north gate with their valuables.
• After the townspeople discovered the Barbarians were gone, Derek and Baron Palmer entered the town, and Derek explained how he had planned for either a fight or a retreat.
• Adrian waited with his soldiers in the wilderness, following Derek’s orders to ambush the fleeing Barbarians.
• The Barbarians marched through the night, became scattered and exhausted, then stopped to rest.
• A Barbarian soldier warned the Barbarian Leader that the Locke people had arrived.