Chapter Summaries

Charles assembled nearly his entire army to march against the Scorched-Earth Warcry Tribe, whose careless spread of news had angered Molly and Erika. After inspecting and inspiring his well-equipped troops, Charles led them toward a new victory over the orcs.

• The Scorched-Earth Warcry Tribe spread news of Charles’s situation, and Molly and Erika angrily blamed the orcs for endangering their battle.
• Charles dismissed their concern and said the orcs’ actions would give him a reason to deal with them afterward.
• Charles assembled eight hundred cavalry and five hundred infantry, leaving a hundred infantry and several advancing half-Blood Ring Knights behind to guard his laboratory.
• As the town’s residents admired the soldiers’ equipment, Charles inspected the formations and stirred the troops’ pride with the power of the Succubus.
• Charles urged the soldiers to prove that humans were brave warriors and called them to follow him to victory over the orcs.

Charles led his human army toward the Howling Children of the Wasteland’s supply center while half-elf lords doubted he could succeed. Elendil agreed to prepare reinforcements, though he feared Charles would refuse to retreat if defeated.

• Charles boosted his human soldiers’ morale and marched rapidly toward the enemy’s logistical supply center.
• Half-elf lords dismissed rumors of Charles’s campaign, criticized his reliance on human soldiers, and anticipated his failure.
• Elendil worried that Charles had rushed into a larger war without accepting half-elf troops, while Selena asked her father to send reinforcements.
• Elendil agreed to prepare a force to rescue Charles but doubted it could make a difference, fearing Charles would fight to the death rather than abandon his territory.

Charles marched with his growing cavalry force toward the Howling Children of the Wasteland, while Elendil offered a Verdant Crystal Swordsmen Regiment as a fallback rendezvous point. Charles and Yvenjieling reached the orcs’ logistical supply center at night, where Charles explained why he planned to strike their supplies instead of meeting their infantry head-on.

• Charles organized his Blood Ring Knights into a concentrated force and cavalry officers, renaming them Armored Knights.
• Charles received Elendil’s message offering a Verdant Crystal Swordsmen Regiment at coordinates in the central Land of Chaos, and he replied that he would rendezvous there if the battle went badly.
• The Howling Children of the Wasteland held back troops and prepared against Charles’s cavalry after rumors from the Scorched-Earth Warcry Tribe made Kurto Shatterbone wary.
• Charles and Yvenjieling scouted the Howling Children of the Wasteland’s logistical supply center with several dozen elite cavalrymen.
• Charles asked Yvenjieling why he chose the supply center as his first target, and she explained that destroying it could disrupt supplies and force the orcs to change their plans.

Charles scouted an orc logistics camp and planned to ambush its supply convoy. His concealed cavalry caught the convoy on the road, and the chapter ended as a knight killed an orc officer with a throwing spear.

• Charles used summoned birds to scout the orc supply camp and ordered Yvenjieling to record its layout and the carts preparing to leave.
• The human laborers loaded the convoy while orc overseers whipped them and denied them food.
• The supply convoy set out under orc guard, with laborers pushing the carts and orcs riding atop them.
• An orc spotted Charles's approaching cavalry, and an officer raised the alarm too late to stop the charge.
• Charles ordered his two-hundred-man cavalry force to attack, and a fully armored knight hurled a spear that pinned an orc officer to a supply cart.

Charles used a cavalry ambush on an orc supply convoy to draw reinforcements out of their camp, then led a force toward the enemy logistics base. The battle shifted into its decisive phase as the orcs charged into Charles’s prepared attack.

• A hundred-odd cavalrymen attacked the orc convoy, slaughtering its guards while the human laborers hid beneath the wagons.
• A whipped human laborer dragged a wounded orc beneath a wagon and killed him with the weapon he had dropped.
• Charles kept his main force hidden, intending to draw the orcs out rather than risk a costly assault on their camp.
• Orc officers, fearing Kurto Shatterbone’s punishment, sent a prepared force from the camp to retake the convoy.
• Charles saw the reinforcements through the birds in the sky and ordered most of his cavalry to attack them, while he and Bruce led mounted infantry toward the logistics base.

Charles’s cavalry attacked the orc infantry, using Scorchflame’s witchcraft to empower twenty armored knights who smashed through the shield formations. The armored cavalry began charging into another formation as the orcs struggled to respond.

• Charles split his forces, sending Yvenjieling and Scorchflame with five hundred cavalry to attack the orc support force while he led the remaining two hundred.
• The orcs formed small shield squads, and Yvenjieling’s cavalry units rode around the flanks and fired arrows at them.
• Scorchflame cast enhancement witchcraft on the cavalry, especially the twenty armored knights at the core of the charge.
• The armored knights charged through the first orc shield formation, breaking it apart, while the following cavalrymen swept through the gaps and killed the survivors.
• The armored knights accelerated toward another shield formation as the panicked orc officer ordered his soldiers to throw spears.

Charles’s forces captured the orc supply camp and defeated the troops outside it, freeing the human conscripts and laborers. After Elias begged to join Charles’s guard, the Book of Causal Paths urged Charles to recruit him as an important figure from the original future, and Charles accepted.

• Charles led his cavalry and infantry in a surprise assault, blasting open the orc camp gates and overwhelming the defenders.
• Charles’s soldiers defeated the orcs inside and outside the camp, took many captive, and suffered only slight losses.
• The freed humans marveled at the victory, and Elias approached Charles carrying the head of an orc he had helped kill.
• The Book of Causal Paths identified Elias as an important person with considerable causal power and urged Charles to recruit him.
• Charles accepted Elias into his guard, and Elias thanked him.

Charles recruited Elias and ordered the captured enemy camp’s remaining supplies burned because his army could not hold the territory. As the camp went up in flames, the men he had released regretted not joining Elias, while Charles’s next move remained undecided.

• Charles offered Elias half a day to bring any relatives or friends who wanted to join his army, and the Book of Causal Paths explained why keeping Elias alive would yield more causal power than killing him.
• Charles wondered what the Book of Causal Paths feared, but set the question aside when he found no answer.
• Charles ordered Yvenjieling to distribute valuables and limited provisions, release the able-bodied men, and burn the rest of the enemy supplies.
• Charles released orc prisoners and several wolf cavalrymen as bait, then led his army out while cavalry set the camp ablaze.
• The departing men saw the camp burning, and one regretted not joining Elias before the group continued on its way.

After Charles’s attack destroyed the orc logistics base, Kurto Shatterskull ordered raids on nearby settlements while Lich Fang turned his army back to reopen the supply routes. Charles anticipated Lich Fang’s return and prepared to trap his infantry.

• Kurto Shatterskull learned the logistics base had been attacked and ordered wolf cavalry to seize grain from Scorched-Earth Warcry Tribe settlements.
• Lich Fang received news of the attack and worried that Charles’s cavalry might strike his army or Kurto Shatterskull’s forces.
• Lich Fang decided to abandon his advance on Charles’s territory and return to the ruined logistics base to reopen the supply routes.
• Charles learned that Lich Fang’s army was returning and said the infantry had entered the trap he had prepared.

At the ruined logistics base, Lich Fang tried to restore the Howling Children of the Wasteland’s supply lines and defend them against Charles’s cavalry raids. As Charles’s attacks spread across the territory, Lich Fang arranged to escort an important supply shipment himself, hoping to draw the cavalry into a fight.

• Lich Fang ordered his officers to rebuild a defensive camp and discussed ways to protect the supply route from enemy cavalry.
• Lich Fang approved building defensive outposts and gathering tower shields, prioritizing Kurto Shatterskull’s fight against the Scorched-Earth Warcry Tribe.
• Charles split his cavalry into companies to attack messengers and supply transports across the Howling Children of the Wasteland’s territory.
• Charles led mounted infantry in raids on settlements, plundering wealthy households to recover his military expenses.
• Lich Fang, angered by reports of losses and burned supplies, decided the raids had to be stopped.
• Lich Fang spread word that he would personally escort an important shipment to Kurto Shatterskull’s camp, hoping to lure Charles’s cavalry into attacking.

Charles chose to meet Lich Fang’s force head-on, first using cavalry harassment, road damage, and fire attacks to exhaust the orcs. After several days of torment, Charles began the assault by shooting down an orc scout and his dire wolf, and ordered his troops to advance.

• At a military council, Charles and his allies weighed whether Lich Fang’s three thousand troops were bait or reinforcements for Kurto Shatterskull.
• Charles decided to accept Lich Fang’s challenge and fight his force directly.
• Charles taught his cavalry to weaken the enemy through sabotage, raids, and harassment before the main battle.
• Charles’s cavalry damaged bridges and roads and repeatedly set fires, leaving the orcs exhausted and disrupting their march.
• An orc shaman tried to counterattack Charles but was badly wounded by his spells.
• Charles shot an orc scout and his dire wolf, then ordered his cavalry to keep moving and attack.

Lich Fang halted his orc army after sensing danger and discovered Charles’s cavalry approaching. Charles let the orcs arrange their wagons before harassing them with witchcraft and arrows, leaving the battle underway as the orc formation suffered casualties.

• Lich Fang noticed his wolf rider scouts were overdue and ordered his army to halt, form defenses, and send out another scouting squad.
• Charles’s cavalry scouts were shot down, confirming Lich Fang’s suspicions, and he ordered the army to brace for battle.
• Charles refused Yvenjieling’s suggestion to charge before the orcs finished arranging their wagons and instead led the cavalry in a harassment attack.
• Charles cast Thorn Lash on the orc infantry, while his knights fired arrows into the formation.
• The orcs attempted to counterattack with javelins and bows, but their weapons and aim were inferior, and Charles’s cavalry inflicted further casualties.

Charles wore down Lich Fang’s orc forces with rotating cavalry harassment, then struck hard when the exhausted soldiers lowered their guard. After three days, the orc infantry collapsed, and Charles prepared to seize victory.

• Charles ordered a hundred cavalrymen to keep harassing the orcs while the rest of his force rotated and rested.
• Lich Fang ordered his soldiers to rotate their watches, but Charles sent four hundred cavalrymen to break through the poorly arranged shield wall and capture or kill hundreds of orcs.
• Charles’s cavalry continued attacking, dragging captured orcs and supplies away, while orc infantrymen who tried to rescue them were also defeated.
• Lich Fang slowly advanced across the plain under constant harassment, and three days later the orc infantry collapsed.
• Charles raised his magic sword and declared that it was time to seize victory.

Charles routed Lich Fang’s exhausted orc army and defeated the orc commander with a barrage of spells. Lich Fang fell in battle, leaving Charles victorious.

• Charles led his cavalry against the fleeing orcs, driving them onward and shooting them from behind as their formation collapsed.
• Lich Fang gathered his remaining guards and charged Charles, hoping to kill the enemy leader.
• Charles and Scorchflame used thorn spells and Exploding Acorns to injure and scatter Lich Fang’s elite orcs.
• Charles struck Lich Fang with repeated Radiant Rays and summoned wolves to attack the survivors.
• Charles’s final spell killed Lich Fang, and Charles approached his body and told him he had lost.

Kurto Shatterskull captured the Scorched-Earth Warcry Tribe's stronghold, while Charles's forces defeated the orcs in a separate battle and took many prisoners. Charles decided to use the captured orcs to attack cities held by the Howling Children of the Wasteland, leaving his forces to prepare for further fighting.

• Kurto Shatterskull killed the Scorched-Earth Warcry Tribe's chieftain and took the tribe's stronghold after a costly assault.
• Kurto Shatterskull declared that he had dealt with the Scorched-Earth Warcry Tribe and challenged Sun Elf Imril to resist him.
• Charles's cavalry pursued the fleeing orcs, killing many and capturing others after Lich Fang died.
• Charles held a battle review with his officers, then told Yvenjieling that the prisoners would be used to attack cities.
• Charles ordered that any prisoners who resisted or tried to flee should be killed.

Charles turned captured orcs into an allied force and used them to seize another Howling Children of the Wasteland logistical stronghold. After learning Kurto Shatterskull had conquered the Scorched-Earth Warcry Tribe, Charles considered exploiting the enemy soldiers’ families and settlements to gain an advantage.

• Charles told the captured orcs they could live if they served him, and they joined his army.
• Charles’s forces attacked and captured a logistical stronghold, killing the first-tier orc shaman Lich Fang.
• A messenger brought Charles Elendil’s news that Kurto Shatterskull had taken the Scorched-Earth Warcry Tribe.
• Charles sent word to his allies that his forces had destroyed Lich Fang and his army.
• Charles studied a map and considered using the families and property in enemy-held settlements as leverage or spoils of war.

Charles reassured his Orc prisoners that he would spare them and promised food, wives, and land in exchange for obedience and military service. The Orcs rallied to his offer, leaving Charles confident that they would follow his army for now.

• Charles led more than two thousand Orc prisoners across the Howling Children of the Wasteland's territory, while Molly worried that they might rebel.
• Charles told Molly that the prisoners would not rebel soon and that he planned to use them to attack settlements and spare his own troops.
• At the campsite, Charles assured the Orcs he would not kill them and promised to provide food, wives, and land to those who served him.
• An Orc questioned Charles's promise, and Charles offered him an Orc wife at the next settlement or the freedom to leave the army.
• Charles promised land and female Orcs to every Orc who earned military merit, and the prisoners erupted in approval.

Charles captured several settlements, strengthened his forces by rewarding soldiers with land and wives, and became a focus of attention across the Land of Chaos after defeating Lich Fang. Kurto Shatterskull learned how badly Lich Fang’s army had been beaten and feared his depleted wolf cavalry could not stop Charles.

• Charles looted wealthy orc households, set up temporary rule in captured settlements, and put Charlotte in charge of managing them.
• Charles awarded farmland and captured orc wives to soldiers who had distinguished themselves, binding them more closely to his army.
• Elendil and his officers discussed Charles’s victory over Lich Fang, while Selena argued that Kurto Shatterskull might avoid challenging him.
• Kurto Shatterskull pieced together the details of Lich Fang’s defeat and realized Charles’s cavalry might have overwhelmed his forces if it had arrived earlier.
• Kurto Shatterskull asked his wolf cavalry officer whether he could stop Charles’s cavalry, and the officer admitted his fewer than three hundred riders were outmatched.

Kurto Shatterskull rallied his remaining forces to stop Charles from raiding the Howling Children of the Wasteland’s territory. Charles prepared his better-equipped Orc Blood-Pact Warband and planned to use the captured families of Kurto and other leaders as leverage when battle began.

• Kurto learned that only a little over five thousand soldiers remained and considered an officer’s proposal to attack Charles’s smaller force.
• Kurto resolved to return and drive Charles out of the tribe’s lands, rallying his officers with a furious roar.
• Charles’s forces comprised about eight hundred cavalrymen and twelve hundred human mounted infantrymen, while his Orc Blood-Pact Warband numbered more than twenty-two hundred.
• Charles equipped the Orc Blood-Pact Warband and strengthened its loyalty by granting its officers land and wives from wealthy orc families.
• Yvenjieling told Charles that Kurto’s family and the families of other high-ranking orc officers had been placed in prison carts to use as hostages before the battle.

The Crimson Caravan Alliance judged that Imril had the advantage over Kurto Shatterskull and decided to contact the Sons of the Broken Blade. Meanwhile, Charles used captured family members to unsettle Kurto’s army, but Kurto killed the messenger who delivered the news and ordered his officers to keep it secret.

• Ross and the Crimson Caravan Alliance discussed Imril’s growing strength and concluded that Kurto Shatterskull would struggle to defeat him.
• Ross ordered the alliance to contact the Sons of the Broken Blade and support Imril as a promising business partner.
• Charles built a camp and sent a loyal messenger to tell Kurto that his family members were captured and that some had been given to surrendered orcs.
• Kurto’s officers reacted angrily to the news, and Kurto accused the messenger of spreading falsehoods to disrupt his army’s morale.
• Kurto tore the messenger in two and forbade anyone from repeating the news.