Chapter Summaries

Annan followed Shadow Song, a member of the Shadow Brotherhood, as she secured official permission to transport grain and brought him to Lesao Valley’s largest granary. She hinted that the granary was connected to a danger facing the kingdom, but had not yet revealed what it was.

• Shadow Song asked Annan to witness a truth that could affect the safety of the Dimon Kingdom and Middle Earth, and he agreed to accompany her.
• Shadow Song led Annan and Illymoyas to a gang compound in the Slum of Valley City, where they questioned a man about a missing pass.
• Shadow Song and Annan found Smokey at a casino and obtained the pass from him.
• Shadow Song exchanged the pass at City Hall for the post of Grain Transport Officer, then hired carriages and headed to the granary.
• Shadow Song brought Annan and Illymoyas to a hill overlooking the largest granary in Lesao Valley and described the grain shipped from there each day.

Annan investigated Shadow Song’s warning that Ratfolk had contaminated Valley City’s grain, but he found no visible evidence and learned that a Druid had given her the information. After gang members and guards tried to stop them, Annan went to City Hall, where he told Council Chairman Watts that the grain shipments could spread a plague across the Kingdom.

• Shadow Song told Annan that a Druid had warned her the Ratfolk contaminated Valley City’s grain, though detection and purification spells revealed nothing wrong with it.
• A smoker led gang members toward Annan and his companions, and Shadow Song killed the attackers before they could be questioned.
• Guards accused Annan’s group of trying to destroy the granary, so Annan had Illymoyas carry them to City Hall instead of fighting.
• Annan identified himself to the Knight Captain and asked to meet the councilors about the Ratfolk plot.
• Council Chairman Watts came out to meet Annan, who warned him that contaminated grain shipments could spread plague across the Kingdom.

A grain convoy from Lesao Valley struggled through orc attacks, a flash flood, and dangerous roads to deliver fresh wheat to the northern Defense Line. Wayne Constellation received praise for the delivery, and more Grain Wagons arrived outside the camp that night.

• A priest blessed the Grain Wagons as they left Valley City with an escort of soldiers.
• Orcs ambushed the convoy, but cavalry reinforcements drove them off and warned that a flash flood had blocked the main road.
• The convoy took a side path, waited for the swollen stream to subside, and crossed it with the guards’ help.
• The Grain Wagons survived damaged roads and falling rocks before reaching the northern camp on the third day.
• An officer inspected the fresh wheat, praised Wayne Constellation, and sent the grain to the camp kitchen.
• The soldiers ate bread made from the grain as another line of Grain Wagons arrived outside the camp.

Annan exposed Ratfolk contamination in Valley City’s grain and helped Watts impose martial law. He flew with Illymoyas toward the front to warn the soldiers, hoping they had not eaten the tainted supplies.

• Annan persuaded Watts to inspect Valley City’s granaries, but the first inspection revealed no contamination.
• Annan ordered Illymoyas to guard another granary, where she caught the Head Guard sneaking around.
• Watts used divine arts on a pile of grain and revealed Black Mist seeping from the contaminated supplies.
• Watts ordered Valley City placed under martial law and mobilized the Knights' Order and Mage Corps to search for Ratfolk.
• Deli revealed that he belonged to the Velasquez Family and that he had once been betrothed to Annan’s sister.
• Watts gave Annan his wheat-ear bracelet, and Annan set off with Illymoyas to warn the soldiers at the front.

Annan discovered that Ratfolk-contaminated grain had infected the human army at the Dimon front, where the curse turned soldiers against their comrades. He arrived with Illymoyas and summoned powerful allies to reverse the battle as the Ratfolk pressed their attack.

• Annan warned the frontline Camp that the grain from Lesao Valley carried Ratfolk Plague and flew toward the battlefield to alert the Holy Grail Knight.
• The infected Guard Captain and other humans mutated during battle, causing chaos in the human ranks as the Ratfolk advanced.
• The Holy Grail Knight refused to retreat, knowing that abandoning the line would doom Dimon Kingdom while the harvest continued.
• Illymoyas attacked the Rat Swarm with Dragon Breath and landed on the battlefield with Annan.
• Annan summoned the Skeleton King, Mr. Swaro, and Dean Breichim, who unleashed devastating magic and raised an immense tide of Undead against the Ratfolk.

Annan arrived at the Northern Frontier and helped Delatorre and the soldiers contain a Ratfolk attack and a grain-borne plague. After the crisis eased, Annan asked Delatorre how to become a Holy Grail Knight, leaving open his ambition to join their order.

• Annan introduced himself to Delatorre and explained that Ratfolk had contaminated the grain from Lesao Valley.
• Annan and Delatorre agreed to focus on curing the contamination, and Annan recalled helping the Eighth Holy Grail Knight Mel investigate the Rikaner Kingdom three years earlier.
• Gray Silver Fortress initially refused to send mages, but Annan warned that the front line's fall would put the fortress in danger, and they sent the Mage Corps to purify the soldiers.
• Delatorre identified himself as the Eleventh Holy Grail Knight and told Annan that the Jana family and Minotaurs were fighting demons farther east.
• Annan showed the troops a Magic Film to raise their spirits, then asked Delatorre how someone became a Holy Grail Knight and said he wanted to become one.

Annan persuaded Delatorre to let him begin the path toward becoming a Holy Grail Knight, learning that it required ten thousand Challenge Points and that no one could verify his progress while the Lady of the Lake remained silent. As the Rat Plague spread through the Dimon Kingdom, Annan helped withdraw the battered defenders from the Camp and headed back toward Lesao Valley.

• Annan told Delatorre he wanted to become a Holy Grail Knight, and Delatorre agreed to arrange his initiation as a Grail Knight Squire.
• Delatorre explained that Annan needed ten thousand Challenge Points, awarded for completing challenges himself, and that the Lady of the Lake could no longer track them.
• Annan freed a civilian wrongly imprisoned as a Spy, earning one point in principle, but Delatorre told him his challenges had not yet begun.
• The Ratfolk stopped attacking the Camp while the Rat Plague continued spreading through the Dimon Kingdom from Lesao Valley grain.
• On Annan’s fifth day at the Camp, a messenger reported that the harvest was complete and another Holy Grail Knight was fighting the Plague near Lesao Valley.
• Annan opened a Portal to send the soldiers to Valley City, and Dean Breichim teleported himself and Annan away from the abandoned defensive line.

Annan arrived in Valley City with Delatorre and helped secure support for the Dimon Kingdom, while Shadow Song received a chance to atone for her crimes. After becoming a Holy Grail Knight Retainer, Annan learned that Delatorre and Naven were heading to the Fas Tundra, and Delatorre asked him to join them.

• The Council Chairman thanked Annan and Delatorre for helping the Dimon Kingdom and offered honors, while Annan asked about the King and the situation in the Fas Tundra.
• The Council Chairman offered Shadow Song a decree of atonement, and Annan persuaded him to entrust her with the criminals who might fight the Ratfolk.
• At the Victory Banquet, Delatorre introduced Annan to Naven, the twenty-third-ranked Holy Grail Knight, and Mel's approval was confirmed.
• Annan repeated the Holy Grail Knights' oath and became a Retainer, though the Lady of the Lake did not witness the ceremony.
• Delatorre and Naven said they would go to the Fas Tundra to face the threat to the Dimon Kingdom, and Delatorre asked Annan to come with them.

Annan led Valley City's people on a migration to Gray Silver Fortress as the Rat Tide reached their abandoned home. After arriving, he was suddenly pulled into a dream by the Demon Lord, who commanded him to kill a Legendary Red Dragon named Esalon or its minion.

• Annan declined to join the Holy Grail Knights heading east, and Shadow Song left with them as an honorary Warden.
• Annan and the old Council Chairman led Valley City's residents toward Gray Silver Fortress while elderly holdouts stayed behind to face the Rat Tide.
• The Rat Tide swallowed the old people defending Valley City, and the Council Chairman ordered the migration column to hurry as the threat approached.
• Annan called the Floating City to rescue civilians who could not keep up, and the column reached Gray Silver Fortress on the fourth day.
• When the sky over Fas Tundra appeared to burn, Annan collapsed, and Illymoyas carried him to the Floating City after Lilith said a powerful being had forced him into a dream.
• The Demon Lord ordered Annan to kill Esalon, a Legendary Red Dragon, or its minion, then used a red beam to make Annan obey.

After the Demon Lord threatened the souls of Annan’s fallen followers, Annan agreed to hunt a Legendary Red Dragon Sorcerer in the Fas Tundra. He traveled east with Illymoyas and arrived at the Northern Frontier’s gathering forces, where he reunited with Shadow Song.

• The Demon Lord tried to control Annan and ordered him to kill a Red Dragon Sorcerer, but Annan resisted using his Innate Spell.
• The Demon Lord showed Annan the souls of Ymir, Broken Fang, and other fallen warriors, then forced him to accept the mission by threatening to consume them.
• Annan woke and told Olmedo that he would travel to the Fas Tundra to investigate the Demon Lord’s target and join the Dimon Kingdom’s forces.
• Annan flew east with Illymoyas toward the demon-threatened frontier, where soldiers and supplies gathered beneath a fortified city on a mountain.
• Annan landed at a camp and greeted Shadow Song, who had been drilling prisoner soldiers.

Annan visited Shadow Song at the prisoner camp and urged her to contact the Shadow Brotherhood to help fight the Demons. He then flew to High Mountain City with Illymoyas, where Delatorre caught him after the dragon abruptly rolled in midair.

• Shadow Song disciplined the prisoners and told Annan the Shadow Brotherhood had made her retire.
• Annan suggested Shadow Song invite the Shadow Brotherhood to join the fight against the Demons, and she agreed to try.
• Annan flew toward High Mountain City with Illymoyas and discussed Shadow Song with her.
• Illymoyas announced their arrival to the Griffin Knights, who admitted them through the city's magical barrier.
• Illymoyas rolled in midair above the city, and Delatorre caught Annan as he fell.

Annan joined the Dimon Kingdom’s war council and was appointed Legion Commander of the reinforcements preparing to attack a Demon vanguard. After Free City’s weapons proved mostly ineffective against Demons, he returned to Shadow Song’s camp to seek the Demon Lord’s help and learn the Red Dragon Sorcerer’s weakness.

• Delatorre brought Annan to the Council Chamber, where the King and many council members saluted him and welcomed his support against the Demons.
• The council decided to attack the Demon vanguard and appointed Annan Legion Commander of the inexperienced reinforcements, giving him considerable autonomy.
• Annan asked Naven and Delatorre for live Demons, and they obtained several low-ranking captives for him to send to Free City.
• Olmedo tested Free City’s weapons on three Demons and found that Magic Muskets barely hurt them, while Mountain Copper Matchlocks and Magic Cannons were more effective.
• After learning of the test results, Annan found Illymoyas and returned to Shadow Song’s camp, intending to ask the Demon Lord for treasures and the Red Dragon Sorcerer’s weakness.

After Annan returned to his bed, he entered the Dream Realm and tried to persuade the Demon Lord to help him confront the Legendary Red Dragon Sorcerer Mogrok. He learned Mogrok’s abilities and weaknesses, but the group found no safe way to defeat it, leaving Annan to face the threat without their support.

• Lily startled Annan by leaping through his window, and Abby carried her away so he could sleep.
• In the Dream Realm, Annan asked the Demon Lord for its Treasure and help against Mogrok, but it refused and offered information in exchange for killing Esalon’s lackey.
• Annan told Olmedo, Idelia, Ingrid, and the others that the Demon Lord was male and shared Mogrok’s Summoning talent, arrogance, fear of sharp things, and dislike of cold.
• The group considered exploiting Mogrok’s weaknesses or using the Floating City, but Annan rejected plans that risked Free City and its people.
• Olmedo said they might have to rely on the Dimon Kingdom to stop the demon tide and Mogrok, then told Annan he was the one returning empty-handed.

Annan sought allies against the demons, warned Delatorre about Nanako, and visited Tasia and the Jana family at the Forgotten Ones' camp. Tasia promised to bring her people to Annan's city after the demon threat was defeated.

• Annan told Delatorre that Nanako led the demons and that killing her would make their forces collapse.
• Annan studied the enormous footprint of Heavenly God Basin and wondered if he could summon the Giant who made it.
• Annan went to the Forgotten Ones' camp and arranged for Ingrid to provide them with what they needed.
• Annan met the young soldier Soren, who asked to see his performance in The Mage Tower's Fall again.
• Annan found Brino Jana sparring and reunited with Tasia, who said her people would go to his city after they beat back the demons.

Annan recruited Brino Jana and the Forgotten Ones for Free City after the war, then visited High Mountain City's dungeon to enlist dangerous mage prisoners against the demons. He freed the archmage Lloyd, whose experiments had created an Evil Dragon Beast, and went to see the other two archmages.

• Brino Jana asked Annan to take the Jana Family back to the Snow Mountains and said they would visit Free City after the battle.
• Annan focused on recruiting the Forgotten Ones and Shadow Song's Prisoner soldiers, then sought spellcasters among High Mountain City's prisoners.
• Annan learned that the dungeon held three archmages and that Lloyd had been imprisoned for stealing a Dragon Egg and conducting a forbidden experiment.
• Lloyd explained that his experiment had produced a Red Copper Dragon that became a dangerous Evil Dragon Beast.
• Annan offered Lloyd freedom in exchange for fighting the demons, and Lloyd agreed.
• Annan had the Jailer open Lloyd's cell and asked to see the other two archmages.

Annan recruited the Black Widow, Emiliano Haili, and Big to fight the Demons threatening the North. With three Archmages freed or persuaded to join him, he prepared to face the coming war while still worrying about how to tell the Elf Mentor the bad news.

• Annan learned that Emiliano Haili, the Black Widow, was imprisoned for abducting the King's sixteenth son and visited her cell.
• Annan told Emiliano Haili about the Demons advancing from the north and recruited her by offering to consider going on a date with her.
• Annan brought Emiliano Haili and Lloyd to Big's cell, where Big agreed to fight the Demons.
• Big bent apart the Fine Iron bars with his bare hands, astonishing Annan with his strength.

Annan freed the Three Archmages under Devil Contracts and brought them, a newly recruited Warden, and the Prisoners to the Camp. He gathered the Prisoners and the Archmages to make an announcement, but his opening speech was interrupted by the crowd.

• Annan had Apprentice Devils prepare contracts binding the Three Archmages to help him deal with Nanako, then led them out of the Dungeon.
• Annan recruited a Jailer and his family for Free City, appointed him Warden, and took the Archmages to the Camp.
• Annan brought Della to help Shadow Song manage the Archmages and had the Warden transport all the Prisoners from High Mountain City.
• Shadow Song counted 396 Prisoners, and Annan gathered them with the Three Archmages for an announcement.
• Annan began calling the Prisoners scum and villains, but one Prisoner interrupted to add perverts, prompting laughter and whistles.

Annan organized the Prisoners into the Villain Legion and gave Della and Shadow Song two days to train them as Warriors. After the Kingdom ordered the Legion to move in front of Highmountain City, Grand Marshal Garkin arrived to confront Annan about his choice to support the city instead of fighting ratfolk.

• Della punished a heckling Prisoner by having the Warden drag him away, and Annan showed the Prisoners a recruitment film before ordering them to build a Head-Mound from demons' heads.
• Annan assigned Della, Shadow Song, the Black Widow, Bigg, and Lloyd to prepare the Prisoners for battle, while forbidding the Black Widow's undead and Lloyd's evil Alchemy.
• Annan asked Illymoyas about Lloyd's past experiments on a dragon, and she warned that the Dragon Clan would seek revenge against anyone who harmed its kin.
• Della and Shadow Song trained the Prisoner Soldiers as Annan turned away fans who came to see him.
• A messenger ordered Annan to move the Villain Legion to the mountains north of Highmountain City, placing it in front of the city as a human shield.
• Grand Marshal Garkin arrived and challenged Annan, asking where his army was.

Annan assembled the Villain Legion and Prisoners, then began preparing them to clear demons from the perimeter while using three captured Lemures for combat practice. After checking Grand Marshal Garkin’s orders with Jana, he mobilized the legion for its first assignment.

• Annan brought Grand Marshal Garkin to meet the nine-hundred-strong Villain Legion and Prisoners, and Garkin assigned them to clear small groups of demons along the perimeter.
• Annan arranged for three demons to be delivered so the Prisoners could practice fighting them, and Lloyd explained the Lemures’ weaknesses and the dangers of demon blood.
• The Prisoners took turns striking the demons while the Protection School mages stood ready to heal them; Annan learned that Nalu’s unusually tough body might be mutated or altered by experiments.
• Annan checked Grand Marshal Garkin’s orders with Jana, who confirmed the legion had been given safe, menial mercenary work rather than being sent as cannon fodder.
• Annan mobilized the Villain Legion and told the captive demons they would catch other demons to share their suffering.

Annan led the villain Legion to investigate revolting monsters south of High Mountain City, where they discovered the creatures worshipped the Source of Plague. As the monsters approached, Lloyd advised retreating, but Annan demanded another way to fight.

• Annan decided to send a team south to investigate the monsters and the missing Elite Squad despite the late hour.
• The Black Widow rode with Annan, told him about her past, and tried to kiss him before Della announced their arrival.
• Annan ordered Shadow Song to scout the forest, but Della spotted the monsters approaching.
• The Black Widow illuminated the enormous, rotting creatures, and Lloyd explained that they were plague monsters formed from dead excrement.
• Lloyd urged the group to run, but Annan asked for another option and Lloyd suggested killing the monsters with spells before they reached them.