Chapter Summaries

Charlotte secured Qiudro’s surrender and absorbed his thirty thousand orcs, sorting them between Cappadocia City and Dubrovnik City according to whether they were cannibals. After the black dragon praised Charlotte’s leadership, the group planned to infiltrate Emisfida’s camp while preparing Red Cliff City to become a Labyrinth.

• Charlotte persuaded Antonio to keep the Dragon-Beating Staff, earning the Brittany Family’s knights’ approval.
• Qiudro asked Domitian how to protect his Silverback Ape People from becoming Labyrinth Guardians, and Domitian told him to have them claim they were Non-Cannibals.
• Charlotte sent confessing cannibals to Dubrovnik City to become Labyrinth Guardians and sent the others to Cappadocia City for training and integration.
• The black dragon arrived, learned Charlotte had recruited Qiudro and his thirty thousand orcs, and became more devoted to Charlotte’s leadership.
• Charlotte and the others agreed that Qiudro would stay in place while Domitian infiltrated the orc camp, and Charlotte chose to Labyrinthize Red Cliff City.
• Emisfida believed two Saint Rank experts who said Qiudro had been taken away by Ox Demon Samson.

Emisfida worried that he could not match Ox Demon Samson and followed the black dragon’s advice to drink while Domitian secretly placed the Eye of Destiny in food prepared for him. After Domitian reported his success to Charlotte, Charlotte planned to infiltrate the orc camp and kill Emisfida once the curse took effect.

• Emisfida asked the black dragon how to answer Ox Demon Samson’s provocation, and the black dragon suggested seeking a divine weapon or outside help.
• The black dragon proposed borrowing Qiudro’s Dragon-Beating Staff, but Qiudro claimed Samson had already taken it, leaving Emisfida even more troubled.
• Emisfida, Qiudro, and the black dragon drank together; Emisfida ate roasted human flesh, while the other two abstained from eating.
• Domitian, disguised as a Lion Tribe warrior, slipped the Eye of Destiny into the roasted meat prepared for Emisfida, then left the orc camp for Red Cliff City.
• Domitian told Charlotte that the plan had succeeded, and Charlotte ordered his allies to infiltrate the camp and kill Emisfida after the curse took effect.

Charlotte led a party of Saint Rank allies disguised as beastfolk toward the beastfolk camp to kill Lion King Emisfida. While waiting for Domitian, Black Dragon, and Qiudro, Charlotte advanced in Bloodthirsty Battle Qi and began to fear the gods might discover his irreverent thoughts; then he spotted an unexpected figure in the sky.

• Charlotte led Antonio, Nanny Karen, Golden Goat Herolf, Sabastine, and the others toward the beastfolk camp in beastfolk forms.
• Antonio and Salor awakened Bloodthirsty Battle Qi during the journey, while the other Saint Rank companions failed to break through.
• At the camp’s outskirts, Charlotte hid the group, served them food, and went off alone to cultivate.
• Charlotte reached the second rank of Bloodthirsty Battle Qi and developed the Bear Strength ability.
• Charlotte wondered whether the Dragon of Eternity and Illusion intended the beastfolk to conquer another world, then panicked that a god might hear his thoughts.
• Charlotte saw a figure streak across the sky that was not Domitian, Black Dragon, or Qiudro.

Charlotte met Red Eagle, a pirate Saint Rank returning from the New Continent, and invited her to join the campaign against the orcs. Red Eagle agreed after learning of the Old Continent’s war, then revealed that the New Continent had become a battlefield for its Thirty-Six Great Evil Gods.

• Red Eagle asked why the cities near the Red Dragon Strait were empty, and Charlotte explained the orc invasion of Fars.
• Red Eagle identified the Crown of the Void as the orcs’ means of transporting their forces, and Golden Goat Herolf recognized her as a fellow pirate Saint Rank.
• Charlotte introduced himself and brought Red Eagle to the group’s hidden tent, where he explained the recent events on the Old Continent.
• Red Eagle asked whether the orcs had eaten the cities’ inhabitants, and Charlotte said yes before she offered to join the campaign against the orcs.
• Red Eagle told Sabastine that the evil god Tuletang had destroyed her fleet and that the Thirty-Six Great Evil Gods’ war had devastated the New Continent.

Charlotte and his allies infiltrated the beastman camp, where they discovered thousands of imprisoned humans and watched Emisfida prepare to eat captives. Red Eagle recognized her brother among the prisoners, and Antonio launched the attack on Emisfida before the Eye of Destiny could take effect.

• Domitian arrived and revealed to Red Eagle that he, Black Dragon, Qiudro, Golden Goat Herolf, and Sabastine had joined Charlotte, leaving her to wonder whether Charlotte was a god's illegitimate son.
• Charlotte led the group into the beastman camp and discovered tens of thousands of humans held as food reserves.
• Emisfida planned to attack Fars territory to obtain more human rations after Ox Demon Samson and the other restraints on his rule were gone.
• Emisfida began eating two human captives while Charlotte held back, waiting for the Eye of Destiny inside him to take effect.
• Red Eagle recognized her brother among the prisoners and said she had to act.
• Antonio returned to human form, drew the Dragon-Beating Staff, and shouted at Emisfida to die.

Charlotte fought through the orc camp while Antonio and ten other Saint Rank experts battled Emisfida, the King of Ten Thousand Lions. Emisfida died after a brutal fight, and Antonio prepared to return to Strasbourg, but the face on the dead lion’s back opened its eyes.

• Antonio shattered Emisfida’s cleaver with the Dragon-Beating Staff as the Saint Rank experts formed an encirclement, and Red Eagle joined the fight.
• Black Dragon and Qiudro pretended to charge alongside Emisfida before turning on him, while Domitian wounded the lion with a surprise attack.
• Charlotte hid among the orcs, discovered Blood Spirit Rhino could consume Saint Rank corpses, and rescued the badly wounded Domitian by storing him in his mirror.
• Antonio and the other Saint Rank experts wore Emisfida down, while Charlotte watched from the air with Domitian and learned that the Eye of Destiny’s curse had appeared as a face on the lion’s back.
• Emisfida died from his accumulated wounds after Antonio struck him again, and Antonio said he would return to Strasbourg with Anne.
• The face on Emisfida’s back opened its eyes after the others left him for dead.

Charlotte destroyed the Eye of Destiny within Emisfida’s body by overwhelming it with mathematics, then prepared to take over the orc camp. With the orc leaders accepting the Black Dragon and Qiudro’s authority, Charlotte planned to seize the cities on the northern bank of the Red Dragon Strait.

• Charlotte used the Blood Spirit Rhino to consume Emisfida, but the Eye of Destiny invaded his mind with impossible questions.
• Charlotte defeated the Eye of Destiny by sending it increasingly difficult math problems, destroying its many faces and consciousness.
• Charlotte returned Red Eagle’s younger brother, and she departed with him after promising to repay Charlotte.
• Antonio, Domitian, and Sabastine left with their companions, and Charlotte gave Sabastine the warships.
• Charlotte waited three days for Golden Goat Herolf, the Black Dragon, and Qiudro to recover before taking over the orc camp.
• The orcs accepted the Black Dragon and Qiudro’s authority, and Charlotte planned to seize the cities on the northern bank of the Red Dragon Strait.

Charlotte captured eleven cities on the Red Dragon Strait and founded the Church of Destiny, converting most of the orcs into believers. After the Serpent of Destiny revealed that Mani had created the Emerald Scroll, Charlotte tested the god’s reactions and concluded the deity had played a harmless prank on him.

• Charlotte captured the eleven cities on the northern shore of the Red Dragon Strait and established temples of the Serpent of Destiny.
• Charlotte founded the Church of Destiny, set its doctrines and ranks, and converted most of the orcs into believers.
• The Serpent of Destiny declared that Charlotte had done well and granted him twelve portions of Joy of Destiny.
• The Serpent of Destiny told Charlotte that the Eye of Destiny was Mani, the creator of the Emerald Scroll, but refused to explain how Mani had become that way.
• Charlotte realized that the Serpent of Destiny had responded to his test with a prank and decided not to test the god again.
• Charlotte left his room and saw his three Clever Cats roaming around the household.

Charlotte sought Black Dragon’s advice on demanding justice from Strasbourg without endangering the orcs, but learned that the Fars Emperor’s coldness likely stemmed from fear of the powerful Brittany Family. He realized his growing success and closeness to the family made him a political threat, leaving him to understand why Count Brittany had urged him and Anne to settle abroad.

• Charlotte discussed his wish to seek justice from Strasbourg with Black Dragon, while insisting he would not risk the orcs’ lives by marching on the capital.
• Black Dragon advised Charlotte to wait until his rewards and new status gave his words greater influence.
• Black Dragon suggested the Fars royal family’s cold treatment of Charlotte was connected to the Brittany Family’s immense power.
• Charlotte realized the Emperor might see him as a dangerous potential son-in-law whose rise would further strengthen the Brittany Family.
• Charlotte understood why Count Brittany had suggested that he and Anne settle in another country.

Charlotte received a new appointment that expanded his authority over the Red Dragon Strait, then learned that Duchess Mesu had betrayed the Empire of Fars and joined Byron with the Northern Fleet. Her defection erased the Empire’s recent naval gains and left the war at sea in a more dangerous state.

• Black Dragon warned Charlotte that his limited rank and the Brittany Family’s influence left few paths for him to rise in Fars, and Charlotte told him to keep their discussion of marriage to His Majesty Brittany secret.
• Charlotte ordered Black Dragon to continue moving orcs to Cappadocia, encourage human immigration there, and restore trade through the Red Dragon Strait.
• A messenger from Strasbourg promoted Charlotte to second-rank Councillor of the twenty-third grade and appointed him General Affairs Officer of the eleven Red Dragon Strait cities and Commander of the Red Dragon Sea Theater.
• Charlotte expanded the West Wind Knight Regiment by incorporating the orc warriors, making it the largest Knight Regiment on the Old Continent.
• An imperial messenger and the Imperial Rose Fleet in Menilman confirmed that Duchess Mesu had defected to Byron with her family and the Northern Fleet, devastating Charlotte with the news.

Charlotte learned that Grand Duchess Mesu had defected to Byron in exchange for warships and seized the Fontainebleau, weakening Fars and reshaping its navy. As the war shifted, Archpriest Augsladin visited Charlotte on serious business.

• Byron promised Grand Duchess Mesu two Magic Alchemical Warships and lent her six Saint Rank vampires to help seize the Fontainebleau from Minfoster Port.
• Grand Duchess Mesu defected to Byron with her territory, fleet, and family, leaving Fars without a Legendary Warship of its own.
• Menilman and Sophia Garland gained ranks, ships, and influence as the Fars navy reorganized after the rebellion.
• Fars’s offensives slowed while Byron fought a series of smaller naval battles against the combined Fars and Inglima fleets.
• Archpriest Augsladin visited Charlotte, declined his gift of young beastmen, and said he had come on serious business.

Charlotte declined Archpriest Augsladin’s request to join a diplomatic mission to the Lionheart Dynasty and stayed in Red Cliff City. After Augsladin left, Charlotte unlocked the Blood Spirit Rhino’s new weapon form, a flying sphere, and broke through to the Fifteenth Order, but he found the weapon drained his energy too quickly for sustained use.

• Archpriest Augsladin asked Charlotte to serve as his deputy on a diplomatic mission to the Lionheart Dynasty, but Charlotte refused because of his military and trade responsibilities.
• Augsladin learned how powerful and prosperous Charlotte had become, abandoned his request, and left Red Cliff City.
• Charlotte secluded himself to unlock the Blood Spirit Rhino’s weapon form and advanced to the Fifteenth Order.
• Charlotte transformed the Blood Spirit Rhino into a spherical flying vehicle that could shrink to a thumb-sized pellet, but its heavy energy consumption limited its flight and combat time.
• Charlotte stored the Blood Spirit Rhino in the Bloody Vortex, and Whispers of Destiny urged him to find the black dragon or Golden Goat Herolf.

Charlotte survived repeated assassination attempts by a Byronian sniper who used an ultra-long-range Alchemical Rifle and Earth Escape. After learning Byron had launched a widespread campaign of sniper assassinations, Charlotte worried about Anne and killed another attacker, though the middle-aged sniper remained active.

• Charlotte rushed to Golden Goat Herolf’s residence after the Golden Serpent Ring warned him, and Insight helped him evade a sniper’s Demon-Breaking Armor-Piercing Bullets.
• Golden Goat Herolf pursued the Byronian sniper but returned after the shooter escaped underground using Earth Escape.
• Charlotte deflected five bullets, then fired three shots at the sniper, but he burrowed away before Golden Goat Herolf could reach him.
• Charlotte learned Byron had sent over a thousand snipers into Fars and Inglima to assassinate officials and military figures, and he worried that Anne was also a target.
• Charlotte killed an assassin with Silver Rhino, then dodged another shot from the middle-aged Byronian sniper.

Charlotte hunted Byron snipers in the Red Dragon Strait and reunited with Julian, who asked to recover his instructor’s body before leaving to become an envoy to the Lionheart Dynasty. After learning that Anne Brittany would also be sent there, Charlotte decided he had to go protect her.

• Charlotte took a Byron sniper’s rifle and ammunition, then sent Black Dragon and Qiudro to organize patrols to hunt the snipers.
• Charlotte confronted Julian in Red Cliff City, and Julian asked to take his instructor Julien’s body back; Charlotte agreed to have it delivered outside the city with supplies.
• Julian revealed that he would withdraw his people and leave the army to serve as an envoy to the Lionheart Dynasty, then departed.
• Charlotte received an imperial dispatch stating that Anne Brittany would soon be sent as an envoy to the Lionheart Dynasty.
• Charlotte decided to go to the Lionheart Dynasty to protect Anne, even without an official position.

Charlotte returned to Strasbourg amid Byron’s sniper attacks and learned that Anne had already departed as an envoy to the Lionheart Dynasty. He caught up with her convoy and was invited to join it, leaving the city with Anne and his three Saint Rank subordinates.

• Charlotte reached Strasbourg at night but found a barrier preventing him from using the Infinite Mirror World, and he spent a sleepless night outside the city amid sniper attacks.
• At dawn, Charlotte went to Count Brittany’s residence, where an unfamiliar madam told him that Anne had left for the Lionheart Dynasty half an hour earlier.
• Charlotte learned that an aerial prohibition barrier prevented flight, so he and his three Saint Rank subordinates hurried out of Strasbourg on foot before continuing in Dark Luxury.
• Charlotte caught up with Anne’s envoy convoy, claimed the Brittany Family had sent them to protect her, and was assigned a place at the rear.
• Anne sent a maid to invite Charlotte and his companions to join her at the center of the convoy, where Charlotte saw the Brittany Family’s luxurious carriage.

Charlotte joined Anne’s diplomatic convoy and reacted jealously when Rembrandt Mosreid pursued her, while Nanny Karen encouraged his jealousy. That night, Anne met Charlotte in Nanny Karen’s Dreamscape, where they saw Rembrandt and other young people gathered nearby.

• Anne arrived in Miss Pumpkin with Nanny Karen and fifty Knights to join the diplomatic mission, while Charlotte worried Byron’s forces might attack the Fars envoy.
• A Knight named Rembrandt Mosreid mocked Charlotte and promised to protect Anne, so Charlotte ordered Golden Goat Herolf to blast the Knights away with his Battle Qi.
• Nanny Karen told Charlotte that Rembrandt was a Third-Order Transcendent from Duke Mosreid’s family who had been visiting Anne, and Anne promised to meet Charlotte in the Dreamscape that night.
• Charlotte entered Nanny Karen’s Dreamscape, where Anne leaped into his arms and Nanny Karen showed him Rembrandt and several other young people gathered nearby.

Anne recalled how Charlotte made her feel safe amid the Empire of Fars’s worsening troubles, while Charlotte promised to follow her anywhere and reassured her that she was no ornament. In Nanny Karen’s Dreamscape, Charlotte overheard nobles insulting him and the Brittany family, and reacted when they mentioned Miss Pumpkin.

• Anne told Charlotte that she had loved visiting Nanny Karen’s Dreamscape as a child and that Antonio had used it to train.
• Charlotte promised Anne he would follow her to the ends of the earth, and reassured her when she said she wanted to help him.
• Anne reflected on the crises facing the empires and on how Charlotte had earned praise from her father and Antonio.
• Charlotte overheard nobles mock his origins, his achievements, and the Brittany family’s support of him.
• Charlotte asked Nanny Karen to excuse him after he heard the nobles mention Miss Pumpkin.

Charlotte set out to kill members of the Mosred family but was interrupted by a vampire girl who mistook him for a Byronian agent. After they shot the young Fars nobles and fled underground, Charlotte returned to the convoy and learned that his Saint Rank subordinates had clashed with the Fars delegation.

• Charlotte left the convoy with a rifle and ordered Herolf, Black Dragon, and Qiudro to hold off any Saint Ranks who moved against them.
• A vampire girl emerged from underground and stopped Charlotte, warning him that three Saint Ranks were among the Fars delegation.
• Charlotte claimed he had been sent to eliminate the Mosred family, and the vampire girl agreed to help by using his Demon-Breaking Armor-Piercing Bullets.
• The vampire girl shot Rembrandt and several other young nobles, then dragged Charlotte underground when Archpriest Augsladin's signal appeared.
• Charlotte and the vampire girl surfaced far away, saw three Saint Ranks fighting Augsladin, and exchanged the names Qian Nan and Julia before parting.
• Charlotte returned to the convoy, where Black Dragon reported that the Princess had struck Herolf and that Nanny Karen had not intervened.

Charlotte returned to the Dreamscape after the ambush and learned that Princess Axo was a powerful, taboo figure in the Empire. After leaving Anne for a summoned meeting, he heard more about Axo’s past and asked how she had become a widow, but Golden Goat Herolf left the answer hanging.

• Anne worriedly asked Charlotte whether he had been in danger during the convoy ambush, and Charlotte reassured her.
• Nanny Karen drew people into her Dreamscape, where they discussed the Byronian attack and warned that Princess Axo was a taboo subject.
• Nanny Karen told Charlotte that the second princess had summoned everyone to a meeting, so Charlotte said goodbye to Anne and returned to Dark Luxury.
• Black Dragon explained that Princess Axo had once been counted among Fars’s three greats, and Charlotte admitted that his humble upbringing had kept him ignorant of the Empire’s upper-class history.
• Charlotte asked whom Princess Axo had married and how she became a widow, and Herolf teased that the answer was a great secret.

Charlotte learned that Princess Axo was Zimmerman Axel Robin’s mother, then met with her after she summoned him. When Princess Axo asked whether he would choose Menilman or Anne, Charlotte declared that he loved only Anne Brittany.

• The black dragon told Charlotte that Princess Axo had married Felix Robin and was Zimmerman Axel Robin’s mother.
• Golden Goat Herolf said he would have avoided the convoy if he had known the Princess was there, and the black dragon explained that Felix’s official cause of death was suicide.
• A eunuch summoned Charlotte to meet Princess Axo, and Charlotte gave his full titles before greeting her.
• Princess Axo questioned Charlotte about his connection to Menilman and the Magic Alchemical Warship he had supposedly given her.
• Princess Axo asked whether Charlotte would choose Menilman or Anne, and Charlotte said Anne Brittany was the only girl he loved.