Recaps

John joined the Fauken Bay mission, built support for his plans, and led the Imperial forces through a string of victories against the Centaurs. After exposing Doran’s neglect and saving Tony’s division, John faced growing political suspicion and a dispute over Wendy’s punishment.

• John gained Conrad’s interest by arguing for the strategic value of Fauken Bay and warning that Allied Magecraft Technology could threaten the Empire.
• John secured the Five Tiger Generals’ commitment to the mission, left Sellviya in charge of administrative work in Dragon Eye Domain, and sailed for Fauken Bay.
• John rejected Toby Bright’s informal authority in Fang City, obtained the front’s deployment map, and sent Hawk to deliver Dormammu’s letter to Marshal Bob Ariel.
• John’s battalion rescued Samuel’s regiment and helped capture Horseshoe City, then lured Dolonin Morning Star’s cavalry into a devastating magical attack at Gale Valley Pass.
• John’s forces bombarded Damon Morning Star’s legion and helped Tony’s 1st Division counterattack, while Damon escaped and vowed revenge.
• John suspected Tony and other officers might be plotting against him as reports spread that Horseshoe City had fallen and the Saga Kingdom’s 101st Division had been destroyed.
• Wendy stopped Imperial soldiers from looting a Centaur shopkeeper, and John defended her against Tony by proposing to remove her as Guard Unit captain.

John Maslow reorganized the Imperial forces, lured Leon Li’s army into a series of ambushes, and destroyed the Seventh Legion with a flood at Starfall Town. Afterward, he discussed plans for the Faoken Front with Bob, while the story left Ian’s condition unanswered.

• John removed Tony from command, reorganized the 1st Division, and persuaded its commanders to support his plan to fight the Seventh Legion.
• John used Miles as bait to draw out Galil’s Shadow Orc assassins, while his troops defeated the Blackfeather Forces and drove Leon’s division through a chain of minefields and ambushes.
• Marda’s traps destroyed Damon’s Star-Chasing Cavalry Brigade at the Bee Slope Belt, and John’s forces inflicted heavy losses before Leon’s survivors escaped.
• As the Seventh Legion advanced, John used guerrilla attacks and battlefield traps to weaken it, then withdrew toward Starfall Town while Frank Francis pursued.
• John’s troops destroyed the upstream dam and prepared Starfall Town as a flood channel, while allied sea forces attacked Frank’s maritime blockade.
• Frank recognized John’s flood trap too late, and the flood swept away him, his soldiers, and much of the surrounding landscape.
• After the Third Navy and John’s troops burned the Seventh Legion’s corpses, John discussed the Faoken Front, future operations, and the Darkthorn Tribe with Bob, then asked how Ian was doing.

John took command of the Independent 3rd Division and drew Roxy’s Allied Forces into a series of traps at Chokehold Peak. After ten days of costly fighting, he withdrew into the Gloom Corridor while secretly planning a strike on the Darkmoon Clan’s city, as Roxy prepared to pursue him and hunt for a spy.

• John recruited Ian into Imperial Military Intelligence Section Five after revealing that Mister had arranged Lord Cain’s assassination, and Ian pledged his loyalty in exchange for protection and a chance at revenge.
• John assumed command of the Independent 3rd Division when Doran faked an illness, then devised a campaign against Roxy with help from Kambert and Roderick while Laiya secretly pursued Doran and later began surveilling him.
• John warned Bob that 241 Allied warships were heading toward Fauken Bay and advised the Third Navy to use the Bomia Archipelago’s terrain while Ian summoned a Kraken only as a last resort.
• Roxy identified Chokehold Peak as John’s planned ambush site and sent her forces there, while John had lightning rods installed to disrupt Orian Frost’s teleportation formula.
• John lured Gary Fang’s 112th Division into an artillery trap and sent Roderick’s Assault Amphibious Force to intercept Roxy’s City-Burner Corps, where Roderick and Gal began a duel.
• Roxy sent Lyria to attack the communications base and planned to teleport her Guard Regiment behind John’s lines, but Kambert’s plague attack delayed Lyria and John drove magical beasts toward Roxy’s route.
• John’s lightning rods disrupted Orian’s spell as magical beasts attacked Roxy’s force, but Orian sacrificed his internal magic circuits to teleport her troops to safety before the strongest beasts arrived.
• After ten days of costly fighting, John withdrew into the Gloom Corridor and secretly planned for Samuel to strike the Darkmoon Clan’s city, while Roxy prepared to pursue him, seek the 109th Division’s aid, and investigate a suspected spy.

John outmaneuvered Roxy in Gloom Corridor, captured Blue Lake City, and prepared to strike the Allied Forces as reinforcements and political support gathered. Meanwhile, Sellviya learned of John’s victories and was drawn into Dormammu’s plan to send her on the Dragon God Trial.

• Sellviya discovered that Mephisto Dragon had experimented on Celestine and killed him, then fought Anna Splinter and revealed that she might be Anna Binote.
• Elwin found Celestine’s mutilated subjects in Tracy Plonte’s hidden laboratory, burned the evidence, and ordered Anna and the others to keep silent.
• John appointed Balnabo Minister of Air Force Intelligence and learned through Will Hoffman that Roxy planned a divided attack, while [Dominion] began awakening within him.
• John set traps for the Allied Forces, while Siegfried rejected Doran’s attempts to recruit him and helped Hawk and Mia capture Davis Bacht’s force and deceive Roxy with a false report.
• John recognized that Roxy planned to collapse Gloom Corridor and feinted a massive magical strike, forcing her to cancel the demolition and withdraw as he advanced on Blue Lake City.
• Galil reached the Drow homeland, gained ancestral powers and relics, and returned determined to expose the Beastfolk’s lies while remaining loyal to John.
• John captured Blue Lake City and learned that Laiya, Hawk, and Mia had captured seven more cities, while Dormammu planned to send forces to the Fauken Front and make Sellviya undertake the Dragon God Trial.
• William invoked the Sacred Revenge Edict and secured a major military deployment, while John drew Edgar’s 2nd Division into his campaign and prepared a concealed camp at Moonfall River.
• John used false intelligence to split the Allied Forces, sent Edgar’s death squad to plant Mirror Crystal Sub-bodies around their headquarters, and moved the 2nd Division to Cloudfoot Valley before sending the 1st Battalion toward the next battlefield.