Chapter Summaries

Colonel Jett proposed a joint operation to protect Dormammu from criticism, and Dormammu put Jett in charge of selecting John’s deputy commander. John devised a plan to send the deputy to face Sellviya while he stayed away from Bahamut Town, but after nearly falling into the river, he was rescued by a silver-haired girl whose appearance terrified him.

• Colonel Jett proposed a joint operation and argued that the deputy commander should be intelligent, adaptable, and capable in combat.
• Dormammu appointed Colonel Jett to select the deputy commander, then continued the meeting while John endured the senior officers’ praise.
• John escaped to a riverbank and despaired over being sent to face Sellviya, whose hatred of the Empire made her likely to kill him.
• John planned to send the deputy commander to Bahamut Town as a decoy while he used the Encircle Town Policy to operate in the surrounding countryside.
• John stumbled toward the river, remembered he could not swim, and was pulled back to safety by a silver-haired girl.
• John recognized the girl’s silver hair and froze in fear.

John met Laiya Binote, the silver-haired Imperial officer assigned as his deputy commander for a joint operation in Bahamut Town. Though he was dismayed by her apparent weakness, Laiya resolved to stay by his side so she could restore the Binote Family.

• Laiya rescued John from falling into the river and handed him a detailed mission file about Bahamut Town and its surrounding settlements.
• John assumed Laiya was delivering intelligence on Colonel Jett’s behalf and asked who would serve as his partner in the operation.
• Laiya identified herself as the deputy commander, leaving John frustrated that his teammate was not the strong man he had hoped to use as a scapegoat.
• John tried to send Laiya away, and she interpreted his reaction as dissatisfaction with her abilities.
• Laiya remembered Jett’s claim that only John could help restore the Binote Family, then followed him with renewed determination to secure her place in the mission.

John learned that Jett had already submitted Laiya Binote as deputy commander for the mission, leaving him torn between protecting her and ensuring his own survival. He then found Wendy Brown leading the 14th Squad in a loud recitation and demanded to know what she was doing.

• John went to find Jett, but a guard told him Jett had left on a mission and had already submitted the personnel list to the general.
• John realized Jett and Dormammu had arranged for Laiya Binote to be deputy commander, and he worried that protecting himself would mean putting her in danger.
• John struggled to find a plan that would keep Laiya alive and get him through the mission safely.
• John came across Wendy Brown making the 14th Squad loudly recite Imperial principles while other soldiers watched.
• John grabbed Wendy by the head and asked her to explain what she was doing.

John tried to stop Wendy’s mission to spread his improvised speech as Maslow Quotations, but the soldiers embraced it and turned it into a growing study movement. When Wendy announced that the troops for the joint operation were assembled, John learned that Laiya Binote was a formidable special-forces ace and eagerly welcomed her onto his team.

• Wendy explained that Dormammu had ordered soldiers to study John’s speech as Maslow Quotations, and that she had been assigned to supervise the 14th Squad.
• John argued that loyalty should be proven through actions rather than forced recitation, but Wendy formed a study group and the soldiers began chanting his name.
• John ordered the crowd to disperse and returned to his tent, where Laiya arrived and he prepared to discourage her from joining the dangerous operation.
• Wendy reported that the other troops were assembled and recognized Laiya as the Binote Family’s ace newcomer, who had repelled a thousand-man Allied Forces unit.
• John immediately welcomed Laiya onto his team, saying the joint operation needed someone with her abilities.

John prepared to lead the 14th Squad on a suppression mission, pleased to learn that Laiya was a highly capable assault trooper and reassuring her about her place in the operation. Meanwhile, Sellviya considered leaving Bahamut Town after the Allied Forces’ defeat, but Baron Hardman’s envoy arrived to summon her to the castle.

• Wendy told John that Laiya had served as an assault trooper in the Black Eagle Special Forces, and Laiya said Colonel Jett believed she had no talents beyond combat.
• John encouraged Laiya, insisted she was essential to the joint operation, and assured Wendy that she was important too.
• John ordered Wendy to gather the 14th Squad so they could leave for the suppression mission.
• Sellviya read that the Allied Forces had been routed at the Walden Front and decided she might need to leave Bahamut Town and seek a new ally.
• Baron Hardman’s envoy arrived at Sellviya’s study and invited her to the castle to discuss an important matter.

Selvia Reinhart retaliated against Steward Pino when he tried to force her to Baron Myka Hartman’s manor, killing his guards and leaving him gravely wounded. She arrived at the manor, where Myka dismissed his staff and addressed her as a Half-Dragon from the Empire.

• Steward Pino brought armed guards to Selvia’s home and used beaten Unity Society members to pressure her into accepting Baron Hardman’s invitation.
• Selvia transformed into her Half-Dragon form, tore off Pino’s arm, and killed all twelve guards.
• Selvia ordered Pino to take her to the baron and urged him to hurry so a physician might save him.
• At the manor, Baron Myka Hartman dismissed his secretary and guards before speaking privately with Selvia.
• Myka said Pino’s actions would not damage their friendship and invited Selvia, whom he identified as a Half-Dragon from the Empire, to sit.

Sellviya learned that the Allied Forces wanted her to assassinate John Maslow, the Imperial commander bound for Bahamut Town, in exchange for a place in the Fifth Allied Forces Battle Group. She accepted Myka’s plan but insisted on becoming his daughter to protect herself from being discarded afterward.

• Sellviya deduced that Myka had received special orders and learned that the Empire was sending John Maslow and more than six hundred troops to occupy Bahamut Town.
• Myka offered Sellviya a captain’s position in the Fifth Allied Forces Battle Group if she killed John Maslow, whom he described as a cunning commander responsible for the Allied Forces’ defeat.
• Sellviya questioned how she could assassinate John Maslow while facing hundreds of Imperial Mage Soldiers, so Myka explained the Star of Dawn’s plan to feign surrender, lure Maslow into trusting him, and distract his forces with a staged counterattack.
• Sellviya agreed to the mission but demanded that Myka make her his daughter instead of disguising her as a maid, tying their interests together before John Maslow arrived.

John led the joint force toward Bahamut Town and used a false threat assessment to persuade Laiya to cooperate with his plans. He left the troops resting by the Dom River, with Wendy forced to share his jeep ride and Laiya unknowingly positioned as his scapegoat.

• John led six hundred soldiers toward Bahamut Town, then regretted riding in a painfully jolting jeep after Wendy had knowingly refused to join him.
• John ordered the troops to rest by the Dom River and forced Wendy to ride in the jeep with him as payback for not warning him.
• John summoned Laiya to discuss the mission, and Wendy stayed when he insisted she learn how to command.
• John claimed the Allied Forces Fifth Legion might be hiding in Bahamut Town and using local villagers as informants, though he knew the enemy had likely fled the area.
• John planned to use the false threat to justify splitting the troops and privately regarded Laiya as the scapegoat for the defeat he intended to bring about.

John tried to persuade Laiya to lead a force to Bahamut Town as bait while he infiltrated nearby villages for intelligence. After clarifying that her task was simply to fight and hold the enemy’s attention, he got her to accept the mission.

• John proposed splitting the troops, with Laiya leading five hundred men toward Bahamut Town while he gathered intelligence with the 14th Squad and seventy soldiers.
• Laiya refused, doubting her ability to command and fearing she would ruin John’s plan.
• John challenged Laiya’s loyalty and courage, then explained that her force only needed to engage the garrison without decisively defeating it.
• Laiya understood that the bait mission suited her combat skills and firmly accepted John’s orders.

John sent Laiya to attack Bahamut Town as bait, expecting her to draw Sellviya into a fight, while Laiya misunderstood his warning as faith in her abilities and resolved to kill the red-haired woman. After Laiya left to prepare the troops, John caught Wendy trying to sneak away and dragged her toward his jeep.

• John warned Laiya to watch out for the dangerous red-haired Sellviya and to flee if she could not win.
• Laiya mistook John's warning for trust in her strength and resolved to kill Sellviya to prove herself worthy of being his blade.
• Laiya left to gather the troops and carry out John's bait plan against Bahamut Town.
• John noticed Wendy trying to escape into the bushes, and Wendy claimed she had been looking for a grasshopper.
• John grabbed Wendy by the collar and dragged her toward his jeep despite her pleas.

John and Wendy traveled toward Stone Village, where Wendy intercepted a suspicious merchant caravan and John initially ordered her to release it. After learning the caravan carried goods worth 500,000 D, John abruptly reconsidered his dismissal.

• Wendy pleaded to leave John's bumpy jeep ride, and John ordered the driver to stop.
• Wendy fled after spotting John's intent to torment her, then returned and reported detaining a suspicious merchant caravan.
• John told Wendy to release the merchants and lecture the soldiers about upholding the Empire's image.
• Wendy said the caravan's gold and luxury goods were worth about 500,000 D, and John reacted in disbelief.

Dick Hardman’s caravan was stopped by an Imperial unit near Stone Village, and John became determined to seize the gold he found in their wagon. John accused the caravan of being Allied Forces spies and threatened to execute them unless they proved their identities.

• Imperial soldiers stopped Dick Hardman’s disguised caravan near Stone Village as it tried to leave Walden Territory.
• John uncovered the wagon’s gold and jewels while Dick offered him half the valuables to prove the caravan’s loyalty to the Empire.
• Dick realized John was scrutinizing the cargo’s inscriptions and serial numbers rather than simply bargaining for the valuables.
• John decided to claim the gold by portraying the caravan as thieves and concealing his excitement from those watching.
• John accused Dick’s group of being Allied Forces spies and demanded proof of their identities, threatening to execute them under Imperial regulations.

John accused Dick’s caravan of being Allied spies, then used the threat to pressure Dick into handing over the gold as a supposed voluntary donation. After declaring the merchants innocent, John faced Wendy’s renewed suspicion that they should still be sent for interrogation.

• John accused Dick’s caravan of being Allied Forces spies, and Dick feared his group would be killed or interrogated.
• John suggested the caravan had brought its gold to support the Empire, and Dick eagerly agreed to the explanation.
• John hinted that the Imperial soldiers needed assistance, and Dick offered all the gold to John’s unit in exchange for a written donation certificate.
• John accepted the certificate, declared Dick and the caravan innocent, and prepared to release them.
• Wendy told John she still considered the caravan suspicious and recommended sending them to the interrogation department.

John realized that Reddick’s caravan might be carrying Allied Forces military funds and decided to keep them in custody rather than seize the gold or report them. He told Wendy his apparent greed had been a test, then offered to escort Reddick and the caravan to Bahamut Town while promising to protect them.

• Wendy warned John that the caravan’s gold was too valuable for ordinary merchants, prompting him to suspect they belonged to the Allied Forces.
• John decided to hold Reddick and the caravan so he could return the funds if they were Allied Forces members and pursue his plan to change jobs.
• John praised Wendy and claimed he had deliberately acted greedy to test her judgment, and Wendy believed him.
• John told Reddick he suspected his identity and proposed escorting the caravan to Bahamut Town until their identities and safety could be verified.

John Maslow questioned the captured merchant Reddick, whom he mistakenly believed was an Allied Forces ally and a potential partner in his plan to defect. Reddick tried to preserve his merchant identity under John's threatening questions, and John invited him into the jeep to talk further.

• Dick recognized John Maslow as the target of the Allied Forces' assassination plan and panicked, fearing the plan had been exposed.
• John considered Reddick a possible Allied Forces spy and decided to question him while pretending to be friendly.
• John reassured Reddick that Imperial soldiers would not harm him or his Lineage unless he had betrayed their trust, then asked to learn about business.
• Reddick forced a smile and agreed that family should help one another and that he was happy to discuss business.
• John mistook Reddick's frightened response for confirmation that he was an Allied Forces ally and invited him into the jeep for a private conversation.

John tried to signal to Reddick that he wanted to defect to the Allied Forces, while Reddick mistook the conversation for an Imperial interrogation and praised the Empire instead. The two continued toward Stone Village, with John still hoping to get Reddick to discuss his journey to the Victoria Kingdom.

• John asked Reddick why his caravan included elderly people and children, and Reddick claimed he had taken them in out of kindness.
• Reddick described the caravan's jewelry, accessories, and clothing business, and offered to have clothes tailored for John.
• John praised the Victoria Kingdom's tulips and hinted that he wanted to travel there, hoping Reddick would recognize his defection signal.
• Reddick praised the Empire's chrysanthemums instead, believing he had avoided John's trap.
• John concealed his frustration, agreed that he liked chrysanthemums, and asked Reddick about his planned business in the Victoria Kingdom.

Dick tried to convince John that he had come to the Victoria Kingdom to trade for silk and recruit silk-making craftsmen, while John weighed the story against his suspicions. John exposed a gap in Dick’s knowledge of the kingdom’s silk laws and asked whether he had been lying.

• Dick told John that he hoped to recruit silk craftsmen and bring silk production to the Empire to earn Emperor William Perus’s favor.
• John considered the history of Xianqin and concluded that Dick’s plan sounded plausible, but he remained suspicious.
• John praised Dick’s supposed business foresight, and Dick believed he had convinced him.
• John asked Dick about a Victoria Kingdom law that had placed silk production under royal control six years earlier.
• Dick’s smile stiffened and he broke into a cold sweat as John asked whether he had been lying.

John Maslow used a false accusation about Victoria’s trade decree to frighten Dick Reddick into nearly confessing his ties to the Allied Forces, then revealed that he had made a deliberate mistake. John concluded that Dick was his ally, and the jeep arrived at Stone Village.

• Dick Reddick panicked when John appeared to suspect him of being an Allied Forces spy, but John offered him an excuse for recruiting foreign merchants.
• Dick accepted John's explanation and claimed that his private channels let him bypass Victoria's oversight of merchant recruitment.
• John challenged Dick's account by pointing out that the cited decree concerned iron ore prices, not silk trading rights, and Dick grew convinced he was trapped.
• Dick prepared to betray his father and the Allied Forces to save House Hartman, but John corrected himself and said the silk reform bill had been introduced three years earlier.
• Dick changed the subject by praising John's loyalty to the Empire, while John privately recognized Dick as an ally.
• Wendy announced over the communications device that the jeep had arrived at Stone Village.

John confronted his soldiers after Wendy mistakenly detained Mike as an Allied Forces spy, then tried to reassure the terrified villager and repair the Empire’s reputation. He ordered Mike’s injury treated and continued toward Stone Village, reflecting on his isolation and his limited ability to change the world around him.

• Wendy detained Mike, believing his flight from the Imperial soldiers proved he was an Allied Forces spy, and offered to interrogate him.
• John dismissed the guards, apologized to Mike, and explained that the Imperial Army had come to camp and announce new policies rather than harm civilians.
• Mike revealed that he was sixteen and planned to marry Mary, while John offered him a wedding gift as compensation for Wendy’s actions.
• Mike nervously praised John and the soldiers as good people, prompting John to recognize how deeply civilians feared the Imperial Army.
• John ordered the soldiers to treat Mike’s forehead wound and walked toward Stone Village, troubled by his loneliness and inability to change the larger system.

John arrived at Stone Village and tried to reassure its frightened villagers that his Imperial soldiers had come to inspect, not plunder. After giving them canned meat and ordering his men to protect the village, he visited Chief Ernest’s home, leaving Ernest bewildered by his unexpected kindness.

• John greeted Chief Ernest and explained that the Imperial Army had come to inspect Stone Village, while Ernest feared they would repeat the Allied Forces’ earlier abuses.
• John told Ernest to send the villagers back to their work and offered help, surprising Ernest by showing no anger when the villagers dispersed.
• John gave Ernest twelve cans of meat as a first-visit gift, then ordered his soldiers to camp outside the village, patrol nearby, and avoid harming farmland or villagers.
• John slowed his pace to accommodate Ernest’s limp and stopped to admire the scenery, making their walk to Ernest’s home take an hour.
• At Ernest’s home, Ernest reflected on John’s strange conduct, then poured him a cup of warm water and thanked him.