Chapter Summaries

Annan and the Third Princess arranged to fake her capture so the King and nobles would support a campaign against the Red Dragon Sorcerer, with Grand Marshal Garkin taking responsibility for the plan. While Free City appeared to leave and the Princess was declared missing, Shadow Song told Annan how her family had been destroyed and revealed the apology her father never got to make.

• The Third Princess proposed letting the Red Dragon Sorcerer capture her, and Annan agreed to pursue the plan with Grand Marshal Garkin.
• Garkin agreed to help, ordered his staff to erase evidence of Annan and the Princess's meeting, and took responsibility for preparing the deception.
• The Third Princess staged her abduction, while Annan made Free City appear to depart for Star-Moon Bay and Breeze City.
• A Royal Family messenger asked Annan to return to High Mountain City, and he pretended to consider the request while continuing the plan.
• Shadow Song told Annan that her brother and parents had died, then recounted how her father had regretted their last argument and planned to apologize before she ran away.

Annan learned that Dimon Kingdom had agreed to send teams north to rescue the Third Princess, believing the Red Dragon Sorcerer had abducted her. He returned to Free City and found the Third Princess safe there, determined to hunt the sorcerer with him.

• Annan declined the envoy's first summons, invited Fischer to join Free City, then followed him through a portal to High Mountain City.
• At the Royal Palace, Annan watched the King, the First Prince, Duke Brenda, and other nobles decide to send three Legendary teams north to search for the Third Princess.
• The First Prince thanked Annan for offering help and hinted that the Third Princess loved Honey Gingerbread, revealing that the rescue effort was meant to force the adults to act.
• Annan returned to Free City and visited the Third Princess, who explained that her bandaged arm helped make her abduction story believable.
• The Third Princess refused to return to Dimon Kingdom and insisted on hunting the Red Dragon Sorcerer with Annan, while Annan ruled out taking Free City along.

Annan joined three Legendary Archmages and the Skeleton King to hunt the Red Dragon Sorcerer in the northern mountains. After the group split up to search, Annan summoned notorious Villain Legion members to help find him.

• Sharla confronted the injured Mogrok over the failed Demon Gate operation and left to train Lolth’s Dark Elf.
• Annan said goodbye to Naven and Delatorre, who promised High Mountain City would remain safe and offered five thousand Challenge points for killing the Red Dragon Sorcerer.
• Annan traveled north with Andrius, Aetherlon, Meredith, and Leonäfa; the group fought ratfolk, demons, and orcs before learning the Red Dragon Sorcerer’s location from dwarves.
• Aetherlon’s prophecy indicated the Red Dragon Sorcerer remained in the mountains, so the five split up to search while Leonäfa sent summoned bones across the forest.
• Annan asked his advisers for help and ordered Olmedo to bring the Villain Legion’s Three Rotten Villains.

Annan and the Legendary Mages lured the wounded Red Dragon Sorcerer Nanako out with a waterfall of Gold Narls and nearly defeated her. Nanako summoned powerful worshippers from the Otherworld, and as the Skeleton King tried to evacuate Annan, one of the newcomers stopped short after Annan declared himself a Sorcerer.

• Annan asked Rex, Juster, and Aetheran for a way to draw Nanako out, and Juster suggested using treasure as bait.
• Annan scattered Gold Narls in the forest, and Nanako appeared as Andrius held her off.
• The Skeleton King weakened Nanako, Aetherlon trapped her, and Meredith struck her with a Legendary Meteor Spell.
• Nanako summoned white-cloaked worshippers who claimed they were bound to obey her under the Adventurer Association's Contract.
• The Skeleton King tried to teleport Annan away, but two Believers intercepted them, and one stopped its hand after Annan shouted that he was a Sorcerer.

Annan and the Legendary Mages defeated the Red Dragon Sorcerer with help from the Sorcerer Protection Association, whose believers revealed that they served Annan. The association vanished after giving Annan three Crystals, leaving him with powerful new allies and a pile of cursed Gold Coins.

• Annan persuaded the Sorcerer Protection Association to stop protecting Nanako and let the Sorcerers settle their dispute.
• Annan and the Legendary Mages fought the Red Dragon Sorcerer, who collapsed onto his Gold Coins and stopped moving.
• The believers treated the Red Dragon Sorcerer's body and teleported it away after Annan learned that her soul remained.
• A believer told Annan that the association served true Sorcerers like him and gave him three Crystals to summon them again.
• The believers vanished, and Aetherlon warned Annan that the Red Dragon's blood had cursed the Gold Coins.

After Annan helped kill the Red Dragon Sorcerer, the Dimon Kingdom celebrated while the war paused for winter. In Free City, Annan learned the Rat Tide had also been pushed back and joined the festivities.

• Annan returned the Third Princess to the Legendary figures, and they confirmed that the Red Dragon Sorcerer was dead.
• The Third Princess thanked the Legendary figures, then Annan accompanied her to tell the royal family the news.
• High Mountain City celebrated the victory, and Grand Marshal Garkin told Annan that the Kingdom would focus on reclaiming land from the demons.
• Annan returned to Free City and learned from Olmedo that the Ratfolk High Priest and the main force’s command staff had been killed, scattering the Rat Tide.
• A young woman invited Annan to dance, and he accepted.

Annan celebrated Free City’s gathering before confronting the Demon Lord in a dream, who claimed to have destroyed his people’s souls. After learning that Ymir’s soul might return to the World Tree, Annan turned to Free City’s responsibilities and reviewed its needs with Ingrid.

• Lily left Idelia’s lap, crossed the rooftops with a Dried Fish, and rallied the cats to chase off dogs that pursued her.
• Annan dreamed that the Demon Lord swallowed the souls of his people, then woke angry and reflected that he had been prepared for the loss.
• Annan told Tadel that Ymir had died fighting the Ratfolk and apologized to Irilanze; Tadel said Elven souls returned to the World Tree and offered to look for Ymir’s soul.
• Annan asked Ingrid to brief him on Free City’s situation, and she explained its dependence on outside supplies, especially food and water, and the benefits of its growing reputation.

Annan handled Free City's administrative affairs with Olmedo, deciding how to treat the Villain Legion and the Jana Family. As invitations from High Mountain City arrived, an Imperial Envoy offered Annan a reason to leave for a grand military parade at Montreal Mountain.

• Olmedo told Annan that Ymir's soul had returned to the World Tree, then discussed plans for the minotaurs, the Jana Family, and the Villain Legion.
• Annan approved sending the Villain Legion to school before granting its members Free City Citizenship, and suggested renaming it the Disciplinary Legion.
• The Jana Family's women began abducting men from the streets, so Annan told Brino Jana to have them pursue normal relationships instead.
• Annan received many invitations to banquets in High Mountain City, but an Imperial Envoy invited him to attend a grand military parade at Montreal Mountain.

Annan departed High Mountain City aboard Free City and prepared its Legions for the victory parade at Montreal Mountain. There, he met a procession bearing the Montreal Golden Family’s symbol, but none of its members were familiar to him.

• Annan said goodbye to the old king, Delatorre, and Grand Marshal Garkin, asking Garkin to watch for Six-Armed Snake Demons.
• Annan ordered Free City to depart for Montreal Mountain and planned a later visit to Star-Moon Bay and Breeze City.
• The Old Housemaster learned Annan had left without visiting and decided to go after him.
• Annan assembled Free City’s six Legions, drilled them in formation, and had their armor polished and marked with battle emblems.
• Free City entered the Empire and approached a convoy displaying the Montreal Golden Family’s Magic Runes, whose members Annan found unfamiliar.

Annan returned to the Montreal Manor, recounted his adventures, and discussed Duke Kingsley’s son’s attack with Olin. He planned to settle part of the score during the Victory Parade, then began preparing Free City’s legions before spotting a carriage whose crest made his gaze turn cold.

• Annan reunited with the Old Ancestor at the Montreal Manor, brought Olmedo and Idelia to meet her, and told the family about his journey and deeds.
• Annan explained to Olin how Duke Kingsley’s son had targeted him over a refused Marriage Alliance, and Olin proposed confronting the Orr Empire’s delegation.
• Annan rejected a direct confrontation and decided to settle part of the score at the Victory Parade, which the Orr Empire would attend.
• Annan summoned the commanders of the Six Legions and arranged for two Instructors to teach the Foreign Races Legion to march in formation.
• Annan went to find Olin at the Knights’ Order’s Headquarters and saw an escorted carriage bearing a family crest that made his gaze turn cold.

Annan questioned Olin about the Rikaner Kingdom’s place in the Victory Parade, then visited Princess Sails at Purple Thorn Manor and confronted her visiting relatives. He learned that the Montreal delegation would take part in the parade and asked how many of them were coming.

• Olin told Annan that the Rikaner Kingdom had been added to the Victory Parade through the Empire’s Moderate Faction, and that Princess Sails was staying at Purple Thorn Manor.
• Annan found Princess Sails tending the garden and learned that she had not received visitors that month.
• Princess Sails welcomed Cynthia, Ah Anok, and Mengsong Montreal, who came to see her as relatives.
• Annan blamed Cynthia and Ah Anok for the Kingdom’s alliance with the Ratfolk and the Holy Grail Knight’s death, and Princess Sails agreed that the Kingdom had brought its troubles on itself.
• Annan challenged Mengsong Montreal, then asked how many members of the Rikaner delegation would attend the Victory Parade.

Annan prepared the Foreign Races Legion for the victory parade by ordering Lerick and Watt to drill them as if they were facing the Rikaner Kingdom in battle. He then began writing a new Magic Film script, revealing to Olmedo that he planned to finish filming 300 Warriors of Free City in five days.

• Annan told Lerick to train the Foreign Races Legion for the parade in seven days as if it were a battlefield.
• Lerick and Watt drilled the mixed-race soldiers in formations, and Lerick explained that discipline had helped them defeat a much larger enemy force.
• The instructors received treatment for their strained throats while Annan assured Lerick that armor was being made for every soldier.
• Lerick used a gentler approach to explain the parade and urged the Foreign Races Legion to treat it like a war.
• Annan worked on the script for 300 Warriors of Free City, then told Olmedo that filming would take five days.

Annan wrote a Magic Film script about Free City’s stand against the Ratfolk and arranged help to film it before the victory parade. Aloma was invited from Siltovis to serve as a consultant and actor, though she remained emotionally distant after the battle.

• Annan told Olmedo that the film had to be made in five days and wrote a script portraying the Elite Squad’s defense against the Ratfolk.
• Olmedo agreed to recruit Betty and the Bert Brothers, while Annan chose the Hellfire Legion to appear as themselves and decided to speak with Old Ancestor about the Empire.
• Olmedo brought Tina from the Tavern to help create the film’s Illusion Models, and Annan suggested inviting the reporter who had recorded the events of the battle.
• At the Innocent City Post, Baron Marek told Aloma that Annan had invited her to be a consultant and actor in the Magic Film.

Annan organized a five-day production of a Magic Film about the 300 Warriors of Free City, using Aloma’s recorded footage and survivors as actors. He said the film was the second most effective way to strike at the Rikaner Kingdom, after frightening them at the Victory Parade.

• Annan gave Aloma a script and comforted her as she grieved the fallen, telling her that Ymir’s soul had returned to the World Tree.
• Aloma asked about Little William, then went to seek him through the Auxiliary Legion.
• Annan assembled the filmmakers, settled casting for Blom and Sven, and assigned the Bert brothers to help direct.
• The group discussed how to adapt the battle scenes and agreed to use recorded footage and nearby terrain to meet the five-day deadline.
• Annan insisted the film needed a memorable, tragic ending and said it would help strike at the Rikaner Kingdom.

Annan directed the filming of "300 Warriors of Free City" while Free City's legions clashed over armor and ordinance enforcement. The film was completed in four and a half days, and publicity began ahead of its Premiere.

• The Blacksmith Shop repaired the Hellfire Legion's Plate Armor, leaving Luoxi and Jack envious of the Legion's polished gear.
• Luoxi's Guards arrested Foreign Races Legion Soldiers for violating the Free City Ordinance, prompting Orc Gar to complain to Annan.
• Annan sent Gar to Idelia for help, but Gar mistakenly went to another Orc Eldest Sister and returned with no solution.
• Annan and the Bert Brothers filmed their assigned scenes for "300 Warriors of Free City" and finished half a day early.
• The "Voice of Freedom" publicized Annan's four-and-a-half-day shoot, and the Moonlight Opera House displayed a Poster for the film.

Annan arranged screenings of his Magic Film across Montreal Mountain and explained to Francois how economic pressure could serve as a form of war. He invited the Rikaner delegation to the premiere, where Mengsong Montreal expected Annan to yield.

• Francois negotiated with theater owners and secured nine additional venues for the film, bringing the total to ten theaters.
• Annan and Francois discussed the Victory Parade, the film, and how commercial warfare could harm ordinary people while nobles escaped blame.
• Annan decided against holding a premiere but sent invitations to nobles and wealthy people, including the Rikaner Kingdom.
• Mengsong Montreal told Cynthia and Anok about the invitation to the film's premiere, and Anok warned that it might be a trap.
• Mengsong Montreal dismissed Anok's concern and looked forward to seeing Annan yield.

Annan screened “300 Warriors of Free City” for invited guests, including Monsong Montreal and his companions, whose interruptions angered the audience. The film ended with the crowd mistaking the Rikaner visitors for the hostile envoys shown onscreen and beating them.

• Annan welcomed Monsong Montreal, Cynthia, and Anok to the premiere despite disliking them.
• The audience watched the film recount Free City's battles against the Ratfolk and Blom's decision to lead three hundred warriors.
• Monsong Montreal loudly criticized the film and tried to dismiss Blom's confrontation with the Rikaner envoy as fiction.
• After the film, an audience member identified Monsong and his companions as Rikaner envoys, and the crowd attacked them.
• Anok tried to protect Monsong, while guards arrived and pretended to restrain the crowd as they kicked him.

Annan used the theater scandal to embarrass the Montreal Family and rejected an Orr Empire envoy’s demand to stop screening his film. He then inspected his Six Legions before the Victory Parade, which was set to begin at dawn.

• Annan arranged signing stations so theatergoers could claim responsibility for beating up the Montreal Family, and the City Guard dropped the matter.
• Annan asked Olmedo to prepare gifts for influential people who had signed the list.
• Annan refused Special Envoy Plant’s demand to stop screening "300 Warriors of Free City" and warned that he could make another film about Broken Fang.
• Annan persuaded Plant to stay silent, and Plant later told Duke Kingsley that Annan would be difficult to make bow.
• Annan inspected his Six Legions before the Victory Parade and rejected Rex’s suggestion to use laxatives against the Rikaner Kingdom.
• At dawn, Annan arrived at the camp and asked his troops whether they were ready.

Annan watched Free City's legions march in the victory parade, where they won loud cheers and admiration from the crowd. The Rikaner Kingdom's troops followed to boos, and Evelyn proposed a story about a cavalryman who had tripped to discourage the kingdom from executing him.

• The Bone King opened the victory parade with a brief speech, and magical fireworks lit the sky.
• Blackwatch, the Bluegold Guard, and the Allied Forces marched past Annan and the spectators.
• Free City's legions marched in formation, and the crowd cheered especially loudly for the Guard Legion and Hellfire Legion.
• Frimond Oli praised Free City's cavalry, while Annan modestly said the force had only potential.
• The Rikaner Kingdom's dispirited soldiers followed Free City's troops and received boos, and one cavalryman tripped.
• Evelyn suggested publishing a story about the fallen cavalryman in hopes of preventing the Rikaner Kingdom from executing him.

After the victory parade, Annan attended a banquet where nobles sought to meet him and buy his Magic Muskets. He was arrested on suspicion of killing Montreal’s special envoy and, after being taken to a comfortable dungeon, was summoned to an interrogation room to learn what had happened.

• Gar complained that the celebration was only a walk, while Lerick praised the young men and told them about the banquets.
• Annan directed nobles interested in Magic Muskets to Olmedo and learned from Frimond Oli that the emperor would not attend the banquet.
• Guards arrested Annan under orders from the Imperial Military Department after telling him that Montreal’s special envoy had been killed.
• Annan went willingly to the dungeon, where he read a history book until the warden summoned him.
• Annan met the warden and a stranger in the interrogation room, then asked them to explain the envoy’s death.