Chapter Summaries

Adrian captured about a hundred and fifty Barbarians while Derek advanced into enemy territory and seized a town near Ironwall City. The Barbarian commander sent Alpha Wolf Enrick to drive Derek out as the Locke main force approached.

• Adrian's troops captured the exhausted Barbarian Leader and around a hundred and fifty men, then Simon led his cavalry to search for stragglers.
• Derek received the victory report, assigned Baron Palmer to guard the prisoners, and led two Chiliarch Units deeper into Barbarian territory.
• Derek captured several Barbarian units, reclaimed a town, and used prisoners to reinforce its defenses while his cavalry attacked nearby forces and supply convoys.
• The Barbarian commander identified Derek's position on the map and ordered Alpha Wolf Enrick to eliminate the Locke force and bring the troops back.

Derek defended the town against Alpha Wolf Enrick’s Barbarian army, using a deliberately weakened wall and layered defenses to make the siege costly. By the fourth day, the Barbarians believed the defenders were close to collapse, but Derek’s preparations and concealed reserves left the town in better shape than they realized.

• Baron Palmer arrived before the town was encircled and told Derek he would introduce him to his daughter if they survived.
• Derek arranged the defenses with reserves behind the walls and deliberately weakened the southern gate to lure the Barbarians into a costly assault.
• Enrick ordered the Barbarian attack, then sent guards to direct the siege after seeing his soldiers suffer losses through disorganized charges.
• Over four days, the Barbarians repeatedly climbed the walls but were driven back, while Enrick grew suspicious that the Locke people had set a trap.
• Derek had prisoners and conscripted townspeople build up supplies and defenses inside the town, and he concealed the militia’s true losses from the Barbarians.

Derek lured Enrick’s Barbarian army into a fire trap inside the city’s barbican, then led the Locke forces in a counterattack. The blaze devastated the Barbarian legion, and Enrique realized the campaign had failed and his own position was doomed.

• On the sixth day of the siege, Enrick ordered a brutal assault and had the young chief of the Bomir Tribe executed when he resisted being sent to the front.
• The Barbarians broke through the wall, opened the gates, and poured into the city, believing they had won.
• Derek ordered the barbican set ablaze, trapping thousands of tightly packed Barbarian soldiers in the fire.
• Derek led the fresh Locke troops out through the eastern gate and struck the scattered Barbarians while their main force was trapped.
• Enrique saw the flames and fleeing survivors, concluded that most of the temporary legion was lost, and recognized the operation—and his own future—were finished.

Derek’s exhausted force surprised and overwhelmed the Barbarian southern camp, then pressured the main camp while Simon taunted it with a daring cavalry ride. Derek and his soldiers reached Ironwall City and announced that they would attack the Barbarian camp the next day.

• Derek led his soldiers in a night assault that routed the Barbarian troops and set their southern camp ablaze.
• The Barbarian commander refused to let the routed soldiers enter the main camp and ordered them around it under a rain of arrows.
• Derek sent Simon and a squad of knights to ride along the camp, where Simon cut down routed soldiers before retreating under arrow fire.
• Derek’s force circled Ironwall City, displayed the Triangular Flag, and declared that they would trample the Barbarian camp the next day.
• The Governor of Northern Province watched from the city wall and reconsidered his doubts about the Northland Knights.

Derek deceived the Governor about his small force and gained renown after his attack badly weakened the Barbarians. The Barbarian commander learned the truth, abandoned plans to strike back, and ordered a retreat before the Locke army arrived.

• Derek told the Governor that he commanded eighteen hundred men and promised to break the Barbarian main camp after resting, then left without entering the city.
• Sergei realized the renowned knight was his younger brother, and the Governor praised him after learning about the Ferrera Family.
• Baron Palmer offered Derek his daughters and estates, while officers flocked to pledge their loyalty to him.
• Derek camped more than ten li away and set up warnings, while Barbarian scouts revealed that his small force had defeated Lone Wolf Enrique and attacked their southern camp.
• The Barbarian commander rejected his generals' calls for revenge and ordered a retreat before the Locke army could arrive.

Derek pursued the retreating Barbarians after defeating them, while recognizing that their invasion had a larger purpose. Count Perella learned of Derek’s victory, rushed to Ironwall City, and moved to secure a marriage alliance with him as he sought official recognition for Derek’s achievements.

• Derek harried the retreating Barbarians, avoiding larger forces and driving off smaller ones, while suspecting their invasion was part of a wider scheme.
• Cesar told Count Perella that Derek had killed over ten thousand Barbarians and forced their army to retreat.
• Count Perella sent Cesar to the Ferrera Family to propose that his granddaughter marry Derek, offering a Knight Fief as her dowry.
• Count Perella hurried to Ironwall City with the Knight Order and confirmed the scale of Derek’s victory.
• Count Perella urged Governor Jeffery to recommend Derek for the title of Viscount and two baronies, and Governor Jeffery agreed to write an initial commendation.

After the Barbarians withdrew, Derek received acclaim for the victory and impressed Governor Jeffrey with his modesty at a banquet. He warned Sergei that the war might not be over, and shocking news arrived soon after, followed by two orders from the Royal Capital.

• The dispossessed nobles returned with armies to reclaim their lands while Second Legion units guarded against another Barbarian invasion.
• Derek returned to Ironwall City, where he and his soldiers received a warm welcome and attended a banquet.
• Derek credited the victory to the Northern Lands' allies, earning Governor Jeffrey's praise and a prominent place at the feast.
• Derek met Sergei, who had been appointed a Centurion, and warned him that the Barbarians might still pose a threat.
• Shocking news arrived, followed by two successive orders from the Royal Capital.

After the Barbarians captured Saint Myra Province, the King of the Locke Kingdom recognized the Barbarian Kingdom and arranged to take over the province, granting Derek a new title and command while pushing him toward a likely war with the Holy Cross Kingdom. Derek prepared to lead the advance force, wary of both the Holy Cross counterattack and the Barbarians’ intentions.

• The King named Derek Court Viscount and Baron of Augusta, appointed him Commander of the newly established Saint Myra Legion, and granted him territory in Saint Myra Province.
• The King recognized the Barbarian Kingdom and established diplomatic relations in exchange for the Barbarians handing over Saint Myra Province to the Locke Kingdom.
• The King’s and Noble Senate’s envoys formally invested Derek and urged him to set out for Saint Myra Province.
• The Governor promised three years without taxes and full Kingdom support for the province as nobles prepared for the Holy Cross Kingdom’s counterattack.
• Count Perella told Derek that the First and Second Legions would merge and asked how to handle the approaching conflict.
• Derek advised taking over Saint Myra Province quickly while staying alert to the Barbarians, and Count Perella assigned him to advance ahead and test their mettle.

Derek accepted command of the Saint Michael Legion and set out for Saint Myra Province, where he used the alliance treaty to confront the retreating Barbarians. He left the story in a tense standoff with Barbarian Great Commander Wilson over captured soldiers and the province’s handover.

• Derek took command of the Saint Michael Legion, integrated his trusted men, and quickly set out for Saint Myra Province.
• Derek accepted Count Perella’s proposed marriage but insisted it be postponed until the province was stable, then secured more supplies.
• The Saint Michael Legion intercepted a Barbarian unit near the Holy Cross Kingdom’s border, and Simon accused its soldiers of violating the alliance treaty before capturing them.
• Derek’s forces arrested more Barbarians under the pretext of stopping a slave-hunting team, halting the army’s transport of people and supplies.
• Derek met Wilson and refused to release the captured men, invoking the treaty and demanding that the Barbarians complete the formal handover of Saint Myra Province.

Derek forced the Barbarians to release their captives and resettled more than a hundred thousand freed serfs in Augusta Territory, then rapidly seized resources and expanded his forces in Saint Myra Province. With the Holy Cross Kingdom preparing a counterattack, Derek went to the front line to defend his gains.

• After three days of negotiations, Wilson agreed to release his men in exchange for Derek's promise to do something for him.
• Derek arranged for the abducted serfs to settle in Augusta Territory, where he provided food, granted them freedom, and began recruiting them into his private army.
• Derek seized mines, estates, and town offices while reorganizing his forces, and Count Perella and other nobles arrived to claim territory in Saint Myra Province.
• Derek's expanded Saint Michael Legion and private army made him the province's dominant local power amid continuing disorder.
• As the Holy Cross Kingdom prepared to counterattack, Derek headed to the front line and ordered his forces to hold the fortified position against any enemy advance.

Derek prepared Birch Castle for a siege and refused to abandon the fortress as a large Holy Cross Kingdom army arrived. Earl Connor Rad recognized Derek’s careful defenses and anticipated a difficult battle.

• Derek repaired Birch Castle and trained his soldiers as Holy Cross Kingdom scouts gathered nearby.
• Derek ordered his troops to defend the castle rather than fight in the open, knowing he had no territory to retreat to.
• The Holy Cross Kingdom army arrived and forced Slave Soldiers to assault Birch Castle to test its defenses.
• Derek stopped Simon from leading a cavalry charge after spotting an infantry square guarding against a surprise attack.
• Earl Connor Rad learned that Von Derek commanded the defense and praised the castle’s preparations.

Derek held Birch Castle against Earl Connor’s relentless attacks while using the siege to teach his officers about strategy and survival. After the Holy Cross Kingdom suffered enormous losses and withdrew at the winter solstice, Simon suggested a surprise attack, leaving Derek to decide whether to pursue them.

• Derek rejected Earl Connor’s attempts to lure him out and taught Simon and the other officers to prioritize strategic victory and protect commanders with decoys.
• Earl Connor continued attacking Birch Castle and ordered the assaults intensified despite mounting casualties and the approaching winter.
• Locke Kingdom nobles entered Saint Myra Province, while Count Perella sent small units across the defenses to pressure the Holy Cross Kingdom’s forces.
• Derek controlled the defenders’ exhaustion and suppressed early signs of mutiny as the siege grew more deadly.
• After three days of furious assaults around the winter solstice, the Holy Cross Kingdom army began withdrawing after losing tens of thousands of men.
• Simon proposed a midnight surprise attack on the retreating army.

Derek rejected a risky night attack on Earl Connor’s retreating army and sent Simon with cavalry to monitor it instead. Simon discovered signs that the retreat was a trap, but the chapter ended before he could act on his suspicion.

• Derek weighed the rewards and dangers of attacking the Holy Cross Kingdom’s twenty thousand soldiers, then decided to preserve his forces rather than risk Birch Castle.
• Derek ordered Simon to escort Earl Connor’s retreat with one banner of cavalry and assess the enemy’s condition.
• Simon saw abandoned supplies and scattered Slave Soldiers, mistaking the retreat’s disorder for proof that the Holy Cross Kingdom was near collapse.
• Hidden Holy Cross Kingdom troops reported Simon’s cavalry to their commander, who kept the ambush concealed as Earl Connor’s forces formed a trap along the route.
• Simon noticed that the number of stoves at a camp site did not match the size of the retreating army.

Simon used misdirection to keep Earl Connor’s Holy Cross Kingdom army searching for him until approaching heavy snow forced it to withdraw. Simon returned to Birch Castle, where Derek’s allies celebrated and learned how he had outmaneuvered the enemy, while Derek prepared for the trouble ahead.

• Simon realized the Holy Cross Kingdom army had hidden part of its force, then used branches and dust to lure Earl Connor’s troops into a fruitless pursuit.
• For seven days, Simon’s cavalry appeared and vanished around the encirclement as the Holy Cross Kingdom army searched for them and grew exhausted.
• When heavy snow approached, Simon withdrew, and Earl Connor recognized that Derek’s forces had fooled his army and ordered information gathered on Viscount Von Augusta Derek.
• At Birch Castle, Count Perella and the others celebrated the enemy’s retreat, and Simon returned and recounted his actions.
• Derek told Count Perella that Simon was his freeborn commoner Knight Squire and accepted that the coming trouble would unfold on his own territory.

Derek accepted Count Perella’s public recognition as a Northland Knight and used his growing prestige and authority to attract noble followers. Count Perella encouraged Derek’s influence, hoping to secure the Perella Family’s future interests in Saint Myra Province.

• Count Perella welcomed Derek before the Northland nobles and presented him as a model of the new generation of Northland Knights.
• Derek accepted the title and vowed that his generation would preserve the Northland Knights’ reputation.
• Derek considered using his political authority as Commander of the Saint Myra Legion to rally younger Northland nobles.
• Several nobles approached Derek to place their younger sons under his command.
• Count Perella advised Derek and saw him as a future ruler of Saint Myra Province whose ties to the Perella Family could protect its interests.

After the war, Derek returned to Augusta Territory and began planning how to turn its rapidly growing settlement into a new city and strengthen his influence in Saint Myra Province. He left his companions with plans for industry, a Knight Order, and a powerful cavalry force.

• Derek won Knight Cesar's goodwill by agreeing to train his son, then saw off the nobles who had come to offer aid.
• Derek inspected the border outposts during a heavy snowstorm and returned to Augusta Territory, whose population had grown more than tenfold.
• Adrian reported that the newcomers had been settled and that the next step was building a castle-like inner city at the settlement's center.
• Derek told his companions to give the new city distinctive features and reorganize the army into a Knight Order that could include noble sons.
• Derek proposed expanding weapons and armor production, recruiting craftsmen for other industries, and strictly controlling the horse ranches to build a dominant cavalry force.
• Derek urged his followers to use Knight Squires as future officers and local officials to extend Augusta's influence across the Northern Province and Saint Myra Province.

Derek inspected Augusta Territory, assessed its stud farm and private army, and ordered the expansion of his cavalry. At the military camp, he reviewed newly made armor while the crossbow project remained stalled.

• Derek toured the new city and towns, then proposed that Adrian's father become Tax Officer.
• Derek inspected Philip's stud farm, where hundreds of warhorses were being raised, and ordered more cavalry to be added.
• Philip told Derek that he had hanged several slaves who tried to escape and had found no one behind the attempted flight.
• Derek inspected the Augusta private army and its blacksmiths, where Little Tru reported that the requested armor was ready but crossbow development had made little progress.
• Blacksmiths carried a suit of heavy armor before Derek and his attendants at the military camp.

Derek inspected new heavy armor and reorganized the blacksmiths before traveling to Pulan City to meet the Royal Capital army. The chapter left him fighting off an ambush he blamed on the Holy Cross people.

• Derek ordered Little Tru to produce at least a hundred suits of heavy armor and horse armor, and arranged for more workers to assist him.
• Derek spent several days in the military camp reinforcing his presence before setting out for Saint Myra Province after Old Count's letter arrived.
• Derek entered Pulan City with attendants and guards, where residents recognized his Two-Headed Dragon banner.
• Plain-clothed attackers and rooftop archers ambushed Derek and his party near the city gate.
• Derek judged the attackers to be Holy Cross people, drew his Knight's Sword, and charged at the forefront.

Derek defeated the assassins sent against him and suspected that someone among the Northland Nobles or the Royal Capital had leaked his movements. As he headed to meet the gathered nobles, he sent his retainers and the personal guard cavalry to raid targets in Pulan City.

• Derek and his retainers swiftly defeated the assassins, captured the survivors, and set off to meet the nobles.
• The Old Count ordered his guards to help, while Marquis Hussein offered assistance; news soon arrived that Derek had already wiped out the assassins.
• Count Perella mocked the Royal Capital nobles’ doubts about Northland Knights, and Marquis Hussein apologized while keeping up his polite manner.
• Derek stopped on the road, decided to strike back before meeting the nobles, and sent his loyal retainers in different directions to gather manpower.
• The personal guard cavalry split into two groups, and one group used lists from friendly nobles to force its way into Pulan City.

After an assassination attempt, Derek retaliated against businesses tied to the Holy Cross Kingdom and seized soldiers from the First Army of the Northern Expedition. He arrived before the assembled nobles with the captives and assassins, and Marquis Hussein warned him that killing royal soldiers would be treason.

• Derek ordered his knights to smash shops owned by families connected to the Holy Cross Kingdom and businesses that had traded with it.
• Northland Nobles complained to Count Perella, who defended Derek and told them to investigate how information about the assassination had leaked.
• Simon led armed cavalry into the First Army's camp and arrested a hundred soldiers, including several officers.
• Derek received the captured soldiers and brought them, along with the assassins, before the nobles gathered with Count Perella and Marquis Hussein.
• Marquis Hussein tried to persuade Derek to release his soldiers, warning that killing them would amount to treason.