Recaps

Britney refused Fritz's proposal to arrange her marriage to John, then offered to become John's secret mistress and manage the Faoken Trade Guild, though Fritz forbade her from pursuing the plan. As John decided to retain the Hohenheim family's talented graduates in Faoken, Wendy reported that a Hohenheim young master had accused the casino of cheating and started a fight with its guards.

• Britney told Fritz that marrying John would risk humiliating him and harming the Hohenheim family.
• Britney proposed remaining in Faoken as John's secret mistress and helping him manage the Faoken Trade Guild, but Fritz ordered her not to pursue it.
• Britney reflected that self-interest outweighed promises of love and wondered what kind of man John would prove to be.
• John decided to keep the Hohenheim family's 156 higher-academy graduates and business talents in Faoken, but struggled to persuade Fritz to leave them there.
• Wendy told John that a Hohenheim young master had lost a fortune at the casino, accused its staff of rigging the games, and gotten his guards into a fight.

Gordon accused the House of Fortune Casino of cheating after losing twelve hands and started a fight with its security. John Maslow arrived to intervene, and Gordon froze when John recognized him.

• Gordon lost twelve consecutive Texas Hold’em hands, accused the casino of rigging the cards, and argued with the Lionfolk dealer.
• Scale Claw Black Marsh arrived with casino security, but Gordon ordered his guards to attack and demanded they capture the dealer.
• John Maslow entered the casino with Governor’s Office guards and asked the Goblin manager to take him to Room 3.
• John pretended to support the casino manager while the Hohenheim Family members were thrown out of Room 3, badly beaten.
• Gordon prepared to seek help at the Governor’s Office but froze when John asked what he was doing there.

John intervened after Gordon was beaten at a casino and offered the Hohenheim Family a Noble Offspring Reform Program to train its wayward young members. Fritz accepted the proposal with deep gratitude, then asked John what he thought of the Sixth Army Group.

• Gordon complained to John that the casino had cheated and beaten him, then offered to help clean up Faoken with eight hundred men.
• Fritz arrived, struck Gordon, and chased him with a chair after fearing his son's actions would endanger the Hohenheim Family's secret approach to Faoken.
• John stopped Fritz and proposed admitting Gordon to Faoken's Talent Training Program, which he presented as a Noble Offspring Reform Program.
• Fritz reviewed John's generous offer and accepted it, believing John was helping the Hohenheim Family out of admiration for the Empire's Hero.
• Fritz asked John for his opinion of the Sixth Army Group, leaving John uncertain as he paused with his tea.

John secured Fritz’s promise to connect Faoken with Marshal Donner and canvass votes for the Autonomous Region Restriction Act, while Roxy examined her defeat and resolved to evolve through harsher battles. The chapter ended as footsteps approached Roxy in the Sankaster estate.

• Fritz told John that Marshal Donner owed the Hohenheim Family debts and agreed to introduce him and seek support for Faoken.
• John gave Fritz an IOU for one million D to cover the costs of canvassing votes, and Fritz vowed to secure support for Faoken.
• Roxy reviewed her failures in the Fauken Campaign and recognized that her arrogance and poor leadership had contributed to her defeat.
• Roxy decided to pursue personal evolution through more brutal proving grounds and greater adversaries.
• Footsteps approached Roxy in the Sankaster estate.

Roxy was released from house arrest and ordered to lead a fifty-thousand-strong army against the Frostland Barbarians, with Morris Walderon assigned as her supervisor. At camp, she confronted her teacher Orco over his control of her past campaigns and proposed a dangerous trap that would use herself as bait.

• A royal envoy restored Roxy's command and ordered her to lead the Victoria Northern Expeditionary Army north, informing her that Morris Walderon would supervise the campaign.
• Roxy learned that General Orco was waiting at the army camp and met with him to discuss Morris's arrival and the expedition plans.
• Roxy accused Orco of interfering with her command in earlier battles, while Orco challenged her tactics and questioned her willingness to use ruthless methods.
• Roxy proposed luring the Frostland Barbarians into Bulong Icefield Valley with a three-sided encirclement, using her own ten thousand troops as bait.
• Roxy told Orco she was willing to risk her life for victory, presenting it as the lesson she had learned from her defeats to John Maslow.

Roxy learned that Orco had falsified her psychological assessment to restore her command and warned that John Maslow would defeat her unless she evolved. She left determined to go to Faoken and face John herself, as the Allied leadership planned to destroy Faoken after using the northern campaign as a pretext.

• Orco admitted that he had written Roxy’s assessment report and warned that she had not learned to cover her ruthless strategies.
• Roxy argued that the Frostland campaign could help her evolve and accused Orco of secretly engineering the conflict.
• Orco revealed that he had contained the scandal over Roxy’s attempt to slaughter allied troops and said Faoken had to be destroyed before the decisive war against the Empire.
• Orco explained that the northern expedition would provide an excuse to attack Faoken after the campaign, with the operation planned for a year later.
• Roxy rode toward the Sankaster estate and resolved to go to Faoken to face John Maslow personally.

After Fritz removed Britney from the Hohenheim family’s Talent Training Program, John decided to have Lunebo discreetly sound her out about a job with the Faoken Trade Guild. He then remembered the three captured Allied Forces Mages and prepared to interrogate them.

• Wendy gave John Fritz’s revised trainee list, which excluded Britney Ludwig Hohenheim from the Talent Training Program.
• John considered Britney’s ruthless history and suspected Fritz had a reason for leaving her out, but he kept Fritz’s changes in place.
• John told Wendy to send Lunebo to visit Britney and subtly mention that the Faoken Trade Guild was looking for branch heads.
• Wendy reminded John that three captured transcendent Mages had been imprisoned for eight days, and John decided it was time to interrogate them.
• John and Wendy grinned as they anticipated putting the captives through a harsh interrogation.

John Maslow interrogated captured Francia deputy commander Elvis Lincoln, using knowledge of his family conflicts and the threat of his ruin to force him to reveal who ordered the assassination. John then offered Elvis a chance to survive by becoming his informant inside the Allied Forces, leaving Elvis to consider the offer.

• John entered Elvis's cell with Wendy and recited details of Elvis's military record and strained position in the Lincoln Family.
• John warned Elvis that keeping him missing for three years would cost him his title, reputation, and protection, and Elvis revealed that Orco Dehart had pushed for the assassination at the Allied High Council.
• John concluded that Orco held a personal grudge against him and said Faoken would settle the account now that the assassination had failed.
• John offered Elvis a chance to survive by providing information about Allied High Command and its operations.

John pressured Elvis into accepting a secret role as an Imperial agent by arguing that the Empire could overwhelm the Allied Forces if unified and offering him a staged prison escape. Elvis agreed while secretly planning to remove any contract after returning to the Allied Forces, and John stopped at the doorway to say something more.

• John questioned Elvis about the war’s likely victor and warned that a unified Empire could defeat the Allied Forces.
• John gave Elvis a month to decide, then began to leave, prompting Elvis to ask what he would gain by accepting the offer.
• John promised Elvis freedom and a staged escape to the Francia Kingdom, while implying that the other two captured Mages might not survive.
• Elvis knelt and pledged to serve as an Imperial agent, though he secretly planned to seek the Valdren Family’s help to remove the contract.
• John headed for the door, then stopped and began speaking to Elvis without turning around.

John used fabricated intelligence and a hidden memory spell to recruit three Allied Forces Mages as agents, then released them according to plan. A week later, Fanny summoned him to the testing ground to reveal an unusual new Construct prototype.

• John explained to Wendy that he had implanted a false memory in Elvis and prepared another memory trap for Jarvis.
• John interrogated Jarvis and Morino, recruited both as supposed Empire agents, and photographed all three Mages as evidence of their defections.
• John released Elvis on the first day, Jarvis on the third, and Morino on the seventh while Fauken's development continued.
• Wendy told John that Fanny had finished her prototype ahead of schedule and urgently wanted him at the testing ground.
• John arrived at the testing ground, where Fanny pulled the black cloth from a strange, humanlike metal Construct.

John discovered that Fanny had developed the Steel Bone armor, a powerful mana-powered exoskeleton that far exceeded his expectations. After an ordinary Beastfolk soldier demonstrated its strength, John ordered Fanny to produce enough suits for an entire company within a month.

• John recognized Fanny's exoskeleton as an early version of the Steel Bone Assault Type I armor and learned about its layered defenses, detection crystal, and strength-enhancing functions.
• Fanny explained that the armor could protect a wearer from a High Mage's attack, operate for eight hours, and greatly enhance an ordinary person's movement and strength.
• John asked Fanny to demonstrate the armor, and an ordinary Beastfolk soldier activated it successfully.
• At Fanny's command, the soldier jumped seven meters into the air and landed hard enough to gouge craters into the testing ground.
• John ordered Fanny to manufacture as many suits as possible and asked her to equip an entire company within a month.

John ordered Faoken to accelerate production of Fanny's Steel Bone Armor, recognizing its potential to strengthen his forces and pressure rival clans. After securing a production plan and promising to help Fanny repair her Ancient Construct, he left her feeling at peace with her choice to join Faoken.

• John planned to use Steel Bone Armor to persuade Kevin to cooperate and to pressure the Froststar and Venomfang clans after their failed assassination attempt.
• Fanny said the workshop could produce five hundred suits in a month, explained that each cost 3,000 D, and estimated future output of up to six thousand suits monthly with sufficient materials.
• John ordered Marda's Functional Group to prioritize armor production and equip 150 Rapid Response Force members within a month.
• Fanny asked John to move Marda's explosive tests away from her workshop, and John agreed to relocate them.
• John offered to gather materials so Fanny could repair her Ancient Construct after the first armor batch was complete.
• Watching John and the others together, Fanny felt reassured that joining Faoken had been the right choice.

John visited Meyer in the garden and discovered that Wendy had tricked her into planting carrots upside down, then helped her replant them. When Meyer doubted her worth as a sage, John reassured her that he believed she would become a hero who could stand on her own.

• John left the testing ground after confirming Steel Bone Armor production could meet its target, while Wendy stayed behind to test the armor.
• John found Meyer playing with Bread in the garden and startled her, causing her to collide with his chin.
• John discovered that Meyer had dug up her carrot seedlings and replanted them with their roots above the soil, following Wendy's false instructions.
• John explained how to plant carrots and helped Meyer replant the damaged seedlings.
• Meyer admitted she felt inadequate compared with other sages, and John told her he had never given up on her potential to become a hero and an independent sage.

John persuaded Meyer to begin the Sage Plan early by traveling to the Morning Star Clan, while secretly intending to help her mature through a staged crisis. As Meyer set out, the Empire opened a major assembly to deliberate on a bill restricting military expansion in autonomous regions, a measure aimed at Faoken.

• John explained that Fanny's Steel Bone Armor had accelerated his plans and asked Meyer to travel to the Morning Star Clan as the sage's successor; Meyer agreed.
• Meyer decided to ask Major Wendy to watch Fanny and protect her chances with John.
• Six days later, Meyer left Faoken with the Morning Star Clan's caravan, escorted by a hundred elite assassins from the Silver Moon Clan.
• In Ereno, 821 legislators gathered at Westru Palace as Wolf Caster opened deliberations on the Bill to Restrict Military Expansion in the Imperial Autonomous Regions on behalf of William Perus.

Wolf introduced the Restriction Bill, which would sharply limit the military and political autonomy of Faoken, and the Empire's factions prepared for a vote that seemed certain to pass. Fritz delivered Marshal Cain's mysterious letter to Donner Quixote, who agreed to try to influence the vote, leaving its outcome uncertain.

• Wolf presented three restrictions limiting autonomous regions' troops, heavy magic equipment, and senior officer appointments, with a vote scheduled four hours later.
• Gerald led the Reformists to a private meeting while Fritz held a list of twenty-seven councilors who planned to oppose the bill.
• Fritz recalled that his father, Marshal Cain, had left a sealed letter intended to persuade Donner Quixote to help.
• An hour before the vote, Fritz met Donner in a secluded lounge and gave him Cain's letter.
• After reading the letter, Donner agreed to see what he could do about the vote, though he left the result to Faoken's luck.

The Imperial legislature voted on the Special Act on Restricting the Military Expansion of Autonomous Regions, and the Old Guard Party initially held a commanding lead. With the Demon King's Army and Duke Mosesiris's Western Frontier faction voting against the bill, the Reformist Faction achieved a last-second reversal and defeated it.

• Wolf opened the vote, and the bill quickly gained 403 votes in favor against 187 opposed while the Neutral Faction abstained.
• The Demon King's Army's thirty-six legislators broke tradition and voted against the bill, raising the opposing count to 223.
• Neutral Faction legislators began voting against the bill, bringing the opposing total to 291 before their votes stalled.
• Alders Gray requested and received a five-minute extension for the Western Frontier faction to vote.
• After consulting Duke Mosesiris, Alders voted against the bill, and the faction's remaining 137 legislators followed.
• The opposing votes rose to 428, surpassing the 403 votes in favor and defeating the proposal.

The Restriction Bill failed after Duke Mosesiris changed his vote, giving the Reformist Faction a surprise victory over the Old Guard Party. Marshal Donner’s letter from Cain revealed the coercion behind his role, while Donner wondered whether the vote’s unusual unity had been arranged by the new governor or William.

• Wolf announced the final tally, and Gerald celebrated the Reformist Faction’s victory by inviting the legislators to a banquet.
• Michel led the furious Old Guard Party legislators out of the Upper House Hall, while Fritz realized his father’s letter had helped sway the vote.
• Michel threatened Donner by referring to his son’s wedding and the dangers of the Western Frontier, but Donner warned that he could support the Reformist Faction.
• Donner read Cain’s letter, which revealed that Cain had used both a debt of gratitude and threats to force him to help Hohenheim.
• Donner reflected on the unusual votes against the bill and wondered whether the new governor or William had coordinated them.

After the Restriction Bill targeting Faoken failed, Wolf investigated the surprising votes against it and realized William had outmaneuvered him through Moses's faction. William considered the Demon King's Army's unexplained vote and vowed to break free of Wolf's restraints, while Wolf prepared to keep fighting through new legislation.

• Wolf ordered Alexei to investigate the Demon King's Army's activities after its legislators broke their usual voting pattern.
• Wolf recalled Ailafia's visit to the Imperial Astronomical Observatory Ruins and sent Empress Diana a private family letter meant to prompt her to investigate the magitech facility.
• Wolf concluded that William had persuaded Moses's faction to vote against the Restriction Bill and resolved to challenge him with other proposals.
• William reviewed intelligence on the Demon King's Army's unexpected votes and suspected John Maslow might have influenced them.
• William revealed that he had persuaded Moses to support the Reformist Faction by threatening to accept Wolf's restraints and offering the Western Frontier three years of tax exemption.
• William declared that an emperor must break every shackle to restore the Empire, while Wolf smiled and prepared to continue his political struggle.

John learned that the Restriction Bill had been rejected and continued overseeing Faoken’s development, while his fabricated lead about the Thousand Blades Formula set Elena on a path toward the Kascga Family’s forbidden territory. After Wendy reported that the Gambling God Challenge was ready, John confidently declared that he would win.

• Fritz told John that the Restriction Bill had been voted down after the Demon King’s Army legislators and Western Frontier legislators opposed it, so John kept to his original plan for Faoken.
• John reviewed Faoken’s progress, including expanding mining and employment, and ordered Samantha to punish Beastfolk who stirred up hostility against the Morning Star Clan; her soldiers’ severe beating silenced the troublemakers but earned her the nickname Ironblood Demon Lord.
• John sent Elena a falsified account claiming that the key to the Thousand Blades Formula was beneath the Kascga Family’s castle, expecting her to attack the site and expose its connection to the Dark Star Lord research.
• Wendy barged into John’s office and reported that Bababo Yi had completed preparations for the Gambling God Challenge, with more entrants than expected and a venue that might be too small.
• Wendy offered to rig the competition or arrange a special qualifying spot for John, but he refused and proclaimed himself the inevitable winner.

John entered Faoken's Gambling God Challenge preliminaries, confident that his exceptional hand would let him crush his opponents. He raised the multiplier against a sleepy old man, who matched his triple super multiplier and left the match poised to begin.

• The Faoken Gambling God Challenge began in Revival City's central square, drawing more than three thousand contestants to compete in Bully Battle.
• John insisted on entering the preliminaries despite Marda's concern about his notorious bad luck, and she registered him.
• Wendy arranged stands and magical projections for the tournament, while Dr. Caroline monitored the arena for magical cheating.
• John drew seat three at table four and assumed his opponents, a merchant and a sleepy old man, would be easy to beat.
• John received four aces, four fours, and a long straight, while the old man claimed the bully role and John passed.
• John raised the multiplier to triple super, but the old man immediately matched his raise.

John lost the first round of the Faoken Gambling God tournament to Akweiler Torry, a retired underground gambling champion, despite believing his hand guaranteed victory. Laiya later told John that Wendy had advanced by instantly defeating two opponents, including Francia Kingdom’s God of Gambling, and rejecting his request to become her apprentice.

• John confidently played his powerful hand, but Akweiler Torry used a seventeen-card combination to defeat him in the preliminary round.
• John refused to accuse Akweiler of cheating, and the old man advanced while John left the competition in frustration.
• Laiya reported that Akweiler was a sixty-seven-year-old retired card player who entered the tournament because he was bored.
• John learned that Wendy had advanced after playing a fourteen-card straight flush and two bombs, leaving both opponents unable to play.
• Laiya told John that Francia Kingdom’s God of Gambling, Pierre Casson, begged Wendy to teach him, but Wendy rejected him.

John learned how the Governor’s Office members fared in the card tournament while Filiche Bevin met Balga in Revival City and reported that his investigation into the mysterious spatial mage had stalled. Filiche revealed that he had come to Faoken to assess John, who had claimed authority over the Eye of Truth Corps.

• John heard that Wendy, Marda, Lunebo, Miles, and Igodala qualified, while Laiya was eliminated, Caroline was escorted out, and Balga withdrew.
• John saw the tournament praised as fair, and its advertisements and lucky-bag raffle brought the Governor’s Office extra income.
• Balga confronted Filiche Bevin, who had disguised himself as an old man, and Filiche revealed his true appearance.
• Filiche told Balga that his investigation had found no match for the mysterious spatial mage who acted in the Imperial Capital.
• Filiche explained that he had come to Faoken to investigate John’s claim that he commanded the Eye of Truth Corps and to judge his abilities.

The tournament narrowed to four semifinalists, and Wendy advanced through the top-twenty round with seemingly impossible wins that convinced Filiche she was a skilled gambler. As the semifinals began, John expected Akweiler to win, while Marda argued that Wendy’s extraordinary luck would carry her to victory.

• John changed the tournament to Triumph, and the competition eliminated all but two hundred contestants before the ranking rounds narrowed the field to four.
• Akweiler, Wendy, Igonila, and Zhizhi reached the semifinals, with Zhizhi using a cautious strategy taught by Ace.
• Wendy won all four hands in her top-twenty match despite poor odds, leading Filiche to believe she was an unbeatable expert.
• Filiche planned to use his Crown Tier power to cheat in the final and defeat Wendy while keeping his identity as Akweiler concealed.
• The next morning, Marda told John that her review of Wendy’s matches suggested the Goddess of Luck favored her, but John dismissed the idea and predicted Wendy would lose.

Akweiler defeated Zhizhi, and Wendy narrowly beat Igonila in two abrupt semifinal matches, bringing Akweiler and Wendy to the final. Akweiler mistook Wendy’s genuine panic for masterful deception and prepared to face her using only his gambling skills.

• Akweiler beat Zhizhi after both went all in with three of a kind, and Zhizhi left the arena dejected.
• Igonila and Wendy both went all in without looking at their cards, and Wendy won with 2, 3, 6 against Igonila’s 2, 3, 5.
• John moved the final forward, and Wendy and Akweiler agreed to draw their own cards.
• Wendy tried to unsettle Akweiler with an intimidating act, but Akweiler inspected the cards and displayed his expert handling skills.
• Wendy realized Akweiler was a genuine gambling expert and worried that her limited skills would not be enough.
• Akweiler interpreted Wendy’s anxiety as deliberate acting and resolved to compete against her through technique rather than Crown Tier power.

Wendy’s reckless all-in bluff made Akweiler fold a straight flush, but he soon saw through her pretense and took control of the final. The chapter ended with Akweiler going all in with four Tens and challenging Wendy to fold.

• Akweiler dealt the first round and secretly switched cards, giving himself a straight flush while leaving Wendy with a weak hand.
• Wendy went all in immediately, and Akweiler folded, convinced she had secretly improved her cards.
• Wendy revealed a pair of Aces and mocked Akweiler, who showed his straight flush and realized she was a card-playing rookie.
• John hoped Akweiler would defeat Wendy, while Akweiler angrily handed her the deck and watched her clumsy shuffle.
• Akweiler went all in in the next round and revealed four Tens, asking Wendy whether she would fold voluntarily.