Chapter Summaries

At the Mountain Tribe wedding, Mu Lu Mountain Mother used an ancestral decree to rally a large force for an attack on the Deer Moss River Tribe, placing Zuwaro’s Sea Tribe warriors at the vanguard. Zuwaro negotiated land and captives for his people, then prepared to leave with the expedition the next morning.

• Mu Lu Mountain Mother proclaimed that the Mountain Tribes must drive out the Deer Tribe and take the head of the Deer Moss River Chief.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother gathered three hundred-plus Mountain Tribe warriors and arranged for sixteen Mountain Tribe teams and four Sea Tribe teams to join the attack.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother named Mu Quan the expedition’s chief leader and Zuwaro its second leader, ordering Zuwaro’s armored Sea Tribe warriors to serve as the vanguard.
• Zuwaro rejected the offer of northern tundra and negotiated for captives, deer herds, and southern territory for the Sea Tribe.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother granted the Sea Tribe three hundred li of land between Second Son God Mountain and Youngest Son God Mountain.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother told Zuwaro to rest before the expedition departed the next morning and urged him to father a child with Musona.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro joined a Mountain Tribe raid toward the Deer Moss River, learning how reindeer sledges and the tribes’ scattered winter camps shaped the coming battle. As the expedition advanced, he kept the Bronze Tiger-Crouching Cannon’s true nature secret from Hunting Captain Mu Quan.

• Exploration Captain Zuwaro saw Kingdom Warriors emerging from the Mountain Tribe women’s tents and wondered how the tribes’ intermarriage might change their relationship.
• The Mountain Tribe Matriarch ordered her warriors to march north and destroy the Deer Tribe, and 320 Mountain Tribe hunter-warriors set out alongside 80 Kingdom Warrior Sailors on reindeer sledges.
• The expedition traveled for four hours before Hunting Captain Mu Quan stopped to rest and feed the reindeer and dogs.
• Hunting Captain Mu Quan explained that the Deer Moss River Tribe would likely learn of the raid in advance, but might not have time to gather all its scattered hunters and herders.
• Zuwaro reflected on the Mountain Tribe’s strength and asked when the kingdom’s reinforcements would arrive.
• Mu Quan asked about the heavy golden tube on Zuwaro’s sledge, and Zuwaro described the Bronze Tiger-Crouching Cannon as a thunder giant’s sacred ritual instrument.

Zuwaro watched the Mountain Tribe hunters wipe out a small Deer Tribe camp and kill most of its captured men under the snowfield’s old customs. He persuaded Mu Quan to spare male captives for the Sea Tribe, as the force prepared to raid the Deer Moss River Tribe the next day.

• The sled column encountered a small nomadic Deer Tribe camp, and Mountain Tribe hunters surrounded and slaughtered its people.
• Zuwaro watched the hunters pursue and kill the camp’s headman with sleds and arrows.
• Mu Quan ordered the captured men sorted by height and herding experience, killing most and keeping women and children.
• Zuwaro asked Mu Quan to spare male captives for the Sea Tribe, and Mu Quan agreed to hand over future male prisoners.
• Mu Quan announced that the hunters would make a two-hundred-li raid on the Deer Moss River Tribe’s main camp the next day.

The mountain tribes used a reindeer whirlwind to locate the Deer Moss River Tribe’s main camp and launched a decisive assault. Mu Quan divided the attackers among several routes, and Zuwaro ordered Shijian to lead the kingdom’s elite into battle.

• An old reindeer herder frightened the herd into a vast whirlwind, forcing the mountain tribes’ vanguard hunters to retreat around it.
• Mu Quan recognized the herd as belonging to the Deer Moss River Tribe and led his forces north to find its main camp.
• The mountain tribes arrived outside the camp, and the Deer Moss River Tribe’s warriors armed themselves and beat the leather drums to join battle.
• Mu Quan assigned Mu Ying, Mu Tu, and Mu Lu to attack from the east, north, and west while he prepared to suppress the camp’s archers from the south.
• Mu Quan told Zuwaro that victory would secure the northern grazing plains, and Zuwaro armored himself and ordered Shijian to lead the kingdom’s elite warriors into the assault.

The Kingdom and Hot Spring Mountain Tribe overwhelmed the Deer Moss River Tribe with a coordinated assault, leaving its chief and final defenders surrounded. Zuwaro prepared to fire the Tiger-Crouching Cannon before the gathered tribes, presenting it as the Main God's thunder.

• Shijian led the Kingdom's heavy-armored warriors through the Deer Tribe's southern defenses, where their armor and close-combat skill routed the defenders.
• Mu Quan and Shijian joined forces to break the eastern and western defenses, while Mu Tu attacked from the north and helped rout the tribe.
• The victors gathered the Deer Tribe's surviving women, children, and surrendered men, while the chief and about fifty fighters held out behind the inner palisades.
• Shijian suggested using Gunpowder Arrows to burn the tents, but Zuwaro ordered the Tiger-Crouching Cannon brought forward instead.
• Zuwaro removed his armor, performed a ritual dance before both tribes, and lit the cannon while aiming it at the Deer Moss River chief.

Zuwaro used the Tiger-Crouching Cannon to help destroy the Deer Moss River Tribe and negotiated for captives and reindeer with Mu Quan. A jar of unfamiliar northern wine led him to discover paper sealing it and suspect that another ship had reached the northern coast.

• Zuwaro's cannon fire killed the Deer Moss River chief and several hunters, and the Kingdom's warriors captured the remaining defenders.
• Mu Quan's forces took the Deer Moss River camp, pursued fugitives, and arranged the captives, wounded, weapons, and reindeer.
• Zuwaro and Mu Quan agreed to divide the captives and reindeer, with the Sea Tribe taking 460 people and part of the herd.
• Mu Quan brought Zuwaro wine from the defeated chief's tent, and they learned it had come from a large ship farther north.
• Zuwaro examined the wine jar's seal and recognized the material as paper.

Zuwaro led a party north across the snowy plains to find the Big Ship Tribe and trade for horses, leaving Mu Quan’s camp before the coming blizzard. They found the five-masted ship and its camp, where Murakami Suemichi feared the approaching sled party might be hostile tribesmen.

• Zuwaro persuaded Mu Quan to provide thirty sled hunters and agreed to give him all the liquor they might trade for.
• Zuwaro and thirty Mountain Tribe hunters traveled north with thirty kingdom warriors, searching the frozen coast for the ship.
• On the third morning, Mu Tu and Wu Hai spotted a ship and a small camp near a river on the distant coast.
• The party advanced until Xiong Da counted five masts on the ship and saw the camp’s bonfires.
• Watanabe Masumi and Murakami Suemichi spotted the approaching sledges, feared another attack, and ordered the men to arm themselves.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro met Murakami Suemichi and Watanabe Masumi at their camp and negotiated for their horses. Zuwaro offered his Sun Hummingbird Gold Amulet for all three horses, leaving the exchange unresolved.

• Zuwaro led thirty Mountain Tribe hunters and thirty Kingdom Warriors to the camp and assessed its Wagoku guards, Joseon sailors, and three horses.
• Murakami recognized the Kingdom Warriors’ bronze armor and weapons, then offered wine to show peaceful intent.
• Zuwaro and Murakami met at the camp entrance and used gestures to understand that Zuwaro wanted horses.
• Murakami agreed to offer the two Yakut snow horses, and horse keeper Sukeichiro brought a white snow horse for Zuwaro to inspect.
• Zuwaro asked for all three horses and offered Murakami his Sun Hummingbird Gold Amulet in exchange.

Zuwaro used gold amulets to bargain with Murakami Suemichi for the three horses, exploiting the ship magistrate’s astonishment at their purity and value. Murakami agreed to trade two horses but resisted giving up the Jurchen Horse, so Zuwaro called for more gold and quietly ordered his warriors to prepare.

• Murakami Suemichi and Watanabe Masumi tested Zuwaro’s amulet and confirmed it was nearly pure red gold.
• Zuwaro offered two gold amulets for the first snow horse, and Murakami accepted the trade.
• Murakami traded two more gold cakes for the second snow horse after Sukeichiro brought it over.
• Zuwaro offered two additional gold cakes for the Jurchen Horse, but Murakami refused, saying it was reserved for the family head.
• Zuwaro ordered Shijian to collect the warriors’ gold amulets and told him to have the warriors make ready once all three horses were secured.

Zuwaro traded thirty gold cakes to Murakami Suemichi for the Jurchen Horse, then discovered that the horse’s feed included raw peas and soybeans that might be planted. As he gave Sukeichiro a gold amulet, the Kingdom Warriors attacked the camp and began taking captives alive.

• Murakami Suemichi and Watanabe Masumi coveted Zuwaro’s thirty gold cakes, but Murakami agreed to trade the Jurchen Horse for them.
• Zuwaro accepted two sacks of peas and soybeans from Sukeichiro and realized the raw beans might be plantable.
• Zuwaro handed the horse to Xiong Da and gave Sukeichiro a gold amulet, while Murakami and Sukeichiro agreed to split it.
• A warrior struck Sukeichiro with a spear shaft, and the Kingdom Warriors attacked, ordering their forces to capture the camp alive.

Zuwaro’s warriors captured the Wagoku camp, its leaders, and its supplies after a sudden raid. When Watanabe Masumi discovered that Zuwaro could write in Classical Chinese, the two began communicating in writing, and Watanabe identified his people as Wa.

• Zuwaro’s heavily armored warriors overwhelmed the Wagoku camp, captured its leaders and nineteen other people, and took control of the ship, horses, and supplies.
• Zuwaro searched the camp’s stores and found furs, grains, iron tools, religious carvings, and other goods from the southern visitors.
• Zuwaro questioned Murakami Suemichi and Watanabe Masumi, then used written characters in the snow when they could not understand his speech.
• Watanabe recognized Zuwaro’s written characters and realized the distant leader could use Classical Chinese.
• Zuwaro wrote that his people were Rubber People from twenty thousand li east of the sea, then asked Watanabe where he came from.
• Watanabe considered the question and finally wrote that he was Wa.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro questioned the captured warrior monk Watanabe Masumi about his faith and discovered the ship carried new crops and pickled foods. Zuwaro planned to convert the prisoners to the Main God’s faith and celebrated their unexpected spoils, while the captives remained far from home.

• Exploration Captain Zuwaro learned that Watanabe Masumi was a warrior monk from Myoho-in and questioned him about the temple and its mission.
• Watanabe Masumi asked about the Main God and Divine Revelation, and Zuwaro explained that the prophecy had sent his expedition west to trade and prepare for the White-Skinned Demons.
• Zuwaro showed Watanabe Masumi the Main God Amulet and decided to convert the prisoners after returning to the southern port.
• Zuwaro learned the ship carried rice, millet, soybeans, peas, pickled daikon, and kimchi, and recognized the crops as valuable new acquisitions.
• Zuwaro concluded that the Joseon Sailors might accept the Main God first, then prepared a dinner of venison while the prisoners ate their own food.

Zuwaro questioned the captured Watanabe Masumi and Murakami Suemichi, then tried to win their submission by boasting of the Lake Kingdom’s army and immense gold wealth. He refused to let them sail south before reinforcements arrived and promised to show them the kingdom’s Gold Mountains and negotiate trade with the northern Wa tribes.

• Watanabe Masumi asked for porridge, and Zuwaro panicked when he learned the rice had been hulled and could not be planted.
• Murakami Suemichi explained that the ship’s Brown Rice and millet still had their bran and could be planted, easing Zuwaro’s concern.
• Murakami threatened Zuwaro with the Kakizaki Clan’s warriors and ships, then offered goods in exchange for the captives’ release and permission to take furs and ginseng.
• Zuwaro dismissed Murakami and Watanabe’s attempt to deceive him and claimed the Lake Kingdom had a vast population and a hundred thousand warriors.
• Zuwaro gave Murakami and Watanabe gold amulets and claimed the kingdom possessed thousands of gold and silver talismans and dozens of enormous Gold Mountains.
• Zuwaro declared that he would keep the captives in the north until reinforcements arrived, then send envoys to negotiate trade with the Ezo tribes and Temple-Shrines.

As the captives prepared to head south, Zuwaro rewarded skilled workers with warmth, food, and gold amulets to secure their cooperation. Several captives stepped forward to offer their trades, and the chapter ended with Otani Kengo being identified as a blacksmith.

• Zuwaro ordered the captives divided by skill, and Sukeichiro earned warm clothing and food by offering his horse-raising ability.
• Kim Seon-su revealed that he was a shipwright, so Zuwaro gave him a gold amulet, a warm tent, and special provisions.
• Park Sun-pan described his sailmaking skills, and Zuwaro also rewarded him with a gold amulet and warrior-level treatment.
• Seven other Joseon sailors offered their skills, but Zuwaro gave them no gold amulets.
• Otani Kengo stepped forward despite his injuries, and Watanabe Masumi identified him as a blacksmith.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro questioned Otani Kengo about his blacksmithing skills and learned that Otani was the son of a master swordsmith but could not forge refined-iron blades himself. Zuwaro assigned Otani to manage captured weapons under guard, arranged the remaining captives, and prepared to leave before the blizzard while considering what to do with the five-masted Zheyang Ship.

• Otani Kengo described eight kinds of tools used in a blacksmith’s forge, and Zuwaro rewarded him with a Gold Amulet.
• Zuwaro learned that Otani could not forge refined-iron weapons, though his father, Otani Ujifusa, had been a skilled Yamashiro School swordsmith who died five years earlier.
• Watanabe Masumi explained Otani’s family background and said his younger brother could forge refined iron, while Otani could repair weapons and guide other smiths.
• Zuwaro assigned Otani to manage the captured iron tools and weapons and ordered three warriors to watch him.
• Zuwaro arranged shelter and clothing for the remaining Kakizaki captives as the blizzard approached.
• Zuwaro headed toward the ice river to decide how to handle the captured five-masted Zheyang Ship before setting out.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro examined a salvaged Zheyang Ship with shipwright Kim Seon-su and compared its construction with the Kingdom's Longships. Kim Seon-su was horrified to learn the Kingdom built a similarly sized ship using three enormous timbers that he believed could have formed the keels of great Treasure Ships.

• Zuwaro boarded the Zheyang Ship with Kim Seon-su and inspected its five masts and sail arrangements.
• Zuwaro examined the ship's Plate Rudder and wooden anchors embedded with stone.
• Zuwaro studied the ship's complex keel framework, and Kim Seon-su explained how its sections conserved scarce, valuable hardwood.
• Zuwaro described how the Kingdom built Longships with three enormous whole-log keels and solid copper nails.
• Kim Seon-su realized the Kingdom had used three thirteen-zhang giant timbers for a small ship and wept as he cursed the waste.

Zuwaro prepared to leave the northern camp with the captured shipwright Kim Seon-su, sailmaker Park Sun-pan, and a newly seized five-masted ship, intending to bring its sailing technology back to the Lake Kingdom. The expedition headed south through the snow, while Murakami Suemichi and Watanabe Masumi mourned their losses and waited for a chance to escape.

• Zuwaro reassured Kim Seon-su that the Lake Kingdom would reward his shipbuilding skill and treated him with respect, leaving Kim bewildered by the kindness.
• Zuwaro decided to leave the frozen five-masted ship ashore until spring and take Kim and Park back so the kingdom could study their shipbuilding techniques.
• Shijian reported that the sleds were full, so the expedition left furs and some crops behind while loading supplies and captives.
• Zuwaro ordered the Mountain Tribe hunters and Kingdom Warriors to head south with the loaded sleds before nightfall.
• Murakami Suemichi mourned his lost ship, goods, and companions, while Watanabe Masumi recited Buddhist scripture and resolved to endure captivity and seek escape.

Zuwaro returned from the northern campaign and brought captives to Divine Twin Smoke Port, where he held a blood-oath festival to convert them to the Main God. When Deer Tribe shamans resisted the ritual, Zuwaro ordered them killed and their blood mixed into the wine.

• Zuwaro returned to the Hot Spring Mountain Tribe with supplies, reindeer, and captives, and the old grandmother welcomed him while postponing discussion of territory.
• The Mountain Tribe celebrated its victory by slaughtering reindeer and feasting, while Murakami Suemichi and Watanabe Masumi considered the tribe’s strength and the possibilities of serving the Rubber People.
• Zuwaro took Musona, Kingdom Warriors, Deer Tribe captives, and captured Joseon Sailors and Wagoku samurai to Divine Twin Smoke Port for a conversion festival.
• Zuwaro staged the ritual with blue fire and cannon blasts, and the Priest Apprentices cut the captives’ hair and led them through prayers before they drank Blood Wine.
• Several Deer Tribe shamans and apprentices resisted the conversion, so Zuwaro ordered the Kingdom Warriors to kill them and mix their blood into the wine for the captives to drink.

Zuwaro oversaw the blood-oath conversion of the Deer Tribe captives and the Big Ship Tribe prisoners, while Watanabe Masumi concluded that the Rubber People might descend from the great Shang. The chapter left Watanabe facing the prospect of sacrificing his little finger because he had no hair to offer.

• Zuwaro had more than four hundred Deer Tribe captives drink Blood Wine and accept the Main God's mark and faith.
• Murakami Suemichi underwent conversion and prayed to Huitzilopochtli to protect him and help him return home.
• Watanabe Masumi saw the ritual's weapons, symbols, and Chinese writing and decided the Rubber People might be descendants of the great Shang.
• Watanabe's conversion stalled when the priest noticed he was bald and offered his little finger as a substitute sacrifice.

Zuwaro and the Main God’s priests converted Japanese and Joseon captives through blood rituals, marking the faith’s first arrival in the far northeast. At the Olmec holy city, Xolotl began a New Year sacrifice by promising the assembled chiefs a miracle, and a Divine Giant Eye appeared in the sky.

• Watanabe Masumi endured the loss of a finger and a forehead carving before being accepted as a Rubber People believer.
• Fire Snake shaved Otani Kengo’s topknot and carved the Main God’s emblem on his forehead as Otani repeated the priest’s prayers.
• Kim Seon-su and Park Sun-pan underwent conversion rituals, with the timid shipwright frightened and the low-ranking sailmaker eager to join the Rubber People.
• The priests completed the first conversions of Northeast Asian captives, extending the Main God’s nominal faith to the Old Continent.
• At the Olmec pyramid, Xolotl addressed assembled chiefs and warned that obedience would bring blessings while defiance would bring sacrifice and death.
• A Divine Giant Eye appeared above the chiefs, and Xolotl declared that the Main God had arrived.