Chapter Summaries

Regsal led the Thunderclap Pirate Group in an attack on three enormous ships, but their weapons destroyed his boat and left him captured. Nevall asked Regsal to work with him because the pirates’ nearby island base might hold something useful.

• Regsal saw three giant ships approaching and decided to attack them because his pirate group was running out of supplies.
• Regsal and his deputy watched pale blue lights strike the sea, and the resulting explosions and waves smashed their boat apart.
• Nevall’s crew rescued the unconscious Regsal and brought him aboard one of the iron ships.
• Nevall asked Regsal about the Thunderclap Pirate Group’s island base and proposed working together.
• Regsal stared at Nevall in disbelief, unsure what the man could want from him.

Nevall brought the captured Thunderclap pirates to Thunder Island and offered to improve their lives in exchange for cooperation. He revealed that the President had instructed him to seek a maritime supply base in Rulson Kingdom's waters, and he saw the pirates' island as an opportunity.

• Nevall asked Regsal how many people lived on Thunder Island and brought him ashore with sailors and several well-dressed young men and women.
• Nevall had Regsal choose islanders to guide the newcomers around, then inspected the pirate settlement and its poor treehouse shelters.
• Nevall offered Regsal money and other benefits in exchange for cooperation, and Hayes described how the President's support had transformed his former pirate community on Karasga Island.
• Nevall told his deputy that the President had instructed him to seek a maritime supply base and that he planned to use money to win the Thunderclap Pirate Group's cooperation.

Xu Yi and Elder Lysania traveled through the Rulson Kingdom to find the hidden Azshara Tribe and open talks about cooperation. Elder Lysania discovered the tribe concealed behind an Elf Barrier, and the pair stepped through its doorway.

• The Xinfei Merchant Guild fleet left Thunder Island after exchanging valuable supplies for fresh water, while Nevall expected Regsal to accept their proposed partnership.
• Nevall and his first mate discussed turning Thunder Island and nearby islands into an overseas base and bringing the surrounding waters under the guild’s control.
• Xu Yi and Elder Lysania drove through the Southwestern Province to seek the Azshara Tribe, hoping to encourage cooperation between the elves and the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• Elder Lysania sensed a strange Elf Barrier, opened a doorway through it, and invited Xu Yi to enter on foot.

Xu Yi and Elder Lysania entered the hidden Azshara Tribe, where Elder Windini welcomed them and explained that the Royal Court no longer existed. Windini said an old friend had wanted to meet Xu Yi, and the chapter ended as a youthful voice spoke behind him.

• Xu Yi and Elder Lysania crossed the Azshara Tribe’s barrier and found an immense, carefully shaped forest unlike the lands around the other elven tribes.
• Elder Windini emerged with the Azshara elves, and Elder Lysania recognized the New Moon Scepter and greeted her as an envoy of the Royal Court.
• Windini explained that the Royal Court had vanished and introduced herself as the elder of the Azshara Tribe.
• Windini led Xu Yi and Elder Lysania to a sculpture garden and said its statues honored the last elven king and grand elders who died in the Race War.
• Xu Yi asked Windini why she had invited him, and she said an old friend wanted to meet him.
• A clear, youthful voice spoke behind Xu Yi and exclaimed at how tall he was.

Xu Yi met Lumi, a gnome who revealed that her people had sailed west from the Sains Continent more than two thousand years ago. After examining her mana airship blueprint, Xu Yi learned that Lumi wanted to work with the Xinfei Merchant Guild to develop magic machinery.

• Xu Yi discovered that the girl in the Azshara Tribe was Lumi, a gnome whose Tana Family was the last to remain on the Sains Continent.
• Lumi told Xu Yi that her elders had believed another continent might lie west across the Endless Sea, where the gnomes had sailed.
• Xu Yi became excited at the prospect of finding the gnomes and asked Lumi about their departure route and the evidence for their elders' theory.
• Lumi explained that she had summoned Xu Yi because she admired the Xinfei Merchant Guild's magic machinery and knew he had proposed its inventions.
• Lumi showed Xu Yi a magic-powered mana airship blueprint, and he recognized its stronger performance but high costs and mana consumption.
• Lumi told Xu Yi that she wanted to work with the Xinfei Merchant Guild to make magic machinery.

Xu Yi and Lumi agreed to work together at the Xinfei Merchant Guild Magic Research Institute, where she would help develop mana-powered ships in exchange for the guild eventually building one to carry her across the Endless Sea to search for her people. After learning Lumi was a third-rank Great Mage and offering her a generous salary, Xu Yi turned to Elder Windini to discuss a partnership with the elves.

• Xu Yi asked Lumi what she wanted in return for sharing the gnomes’ magic machinery knowledge, and she requested a deep-sea mana-powered ship to search for her people.
• Xu Yi warned Lumi that the guild’s ships were not yet safe for deep-sea travel and that building a suitable vessel could take five years or more.
• Moved by Xu Yi’s concern, Lumi agreed to share all of her people’s research, and they arranged for her to join the guild’s Magic Research Institute to study mana-powered ships.
• Xu Yi learned that Lumi was a third-rank Great Mage and offered her an annual salary of ten thousand gold coins plus bonuses.
• Lumi accepted the position and promised to take care of herself, and Elder Windini approached Xu Yi to discuss the elves’ partnership.

The Xinfei Merchant Guild’s fleet drew interest from Nixi City merchants, and Nevall used its visit to sound out potential suppliers of metal ore for Xu Yi. Xu Yi arrived at the harbor with a young girl, leaving Nevall stunned.

• Nixi City residents marveled at the three steel Mana-Powered Ships and their enormous cargo as the fleet unloaded for days.
• President Randolph asked Nevall to arrange transport for his goods from the Stantin Duchy, and Nevall said he would pass the request to Xu Yi.
• Nevall hinted that the Xinfei Merchant Guild wanted more metal ore, and Randolph agreed to consider supplying it.
• Nevall reflected that Xu Yi wanted mineral resources beyond what the Stantin Duchy and the fleet’s discoveries could provide.
• Xu Yi arrived at the harbor in a Mana Sedan with a girl around ten years old, and Nevall wondered if she was his illegitimate daughter.

Xu Yi met Nevall after the fleet arrived in the Rulson Kingdom and discussed mineral supplies and Lumi’s research into oceangoing mana-powered ships. Nevall discovered that Lumi was a gnome, leaving Xu Yi to anticipate the public sensation her return could cause.

• Nevall reported finding a valuable island offshore and told Xu Yi about President Randolph’s request; Xu Yi asked him to manage the island and consider the transport deal while pursuing mineral supplies without urgency.
• Xu Yi explained that cooperation with the Rulson Kingdom could provide the guild with substantial minerals, though it would continue seeking other sources.
• Lumi admired the three mana-powered ships and accepted that safe ocean voyages would require waiting several more years before she could build more powerful vessels.
• Xu Yi reminded Lumi that she was a guild researcher and would need to work on other development projects as well as ships.
• Nevall reacted with disbelief when Lumi identified herself as a gnome, and Xu Yi worried that revealing her publicly could cause an even greater sensation than Anise’s arrival.

After returning from the Rulson Kingdom, Xu Yi learned that more than eighteen thousand Xinfei Merchant Guild workers had gone on strike over pay, benefits, and unequal treatment. He ordered their dismissal and planned a broad reform of employee grading and compensation.

• Kennard told Xu Yi that workers had struck, and Xu Yi read their manifesto demanding equal pay and benefits for human employees.
• Kennard proposed negotiating with the workers, but Xu Yi rejected the plan because it would delay production and encourage future demands.
• Xu Yi ordered the dismissal of every worker who had joined the strike, despite Kennard warning that this could halt production and cost three million gold coins.
• Xu Yi told Kennard to reassess all remaining employees by skill and length of service, linking higher grades to better pay and benefits.
• Xu Yi said dismissed workers would have to start from scratch if they ever returned to the Xinfei Merchant Guild.

The Xinfei Merchant Guild’s mass layoffs disrupted production but created opportunities for rival guilds, which quickly hired the dismissed workers. Yaqi refused Luther’s attempt to recruit him for the Domino Merchant Guild and warned that Luther might regret leaving Xinfei.

• Customers received apologies from the Xinfei Merchant Guild after its layoffs delayed orders, while rival household magic machinery brands gained sales.
• Other merchant guilds competed to hire the more than eighteen thousand dismissed Xinfei workers, and all found new jobs within half a month, often at higher salaries.
• Luther tried to persuade Yaqi to join the Domino Merchant Guild, offering its higher pay and the recruitment bonus he had been promised.
• Yaqi challenged Luther’s complaints about unequal treatment by pointing out that the dwarf technicians had stronger qualifications than he did.
• Yaqi warned Luther that the Xinfei Merchant Guild offered a brighter future and left after saying their friendship would end if Luther remained unreasonable.
• Luther rejected Yaqi’s advice and went to look for another Xinfei worker to recruit for the Domino Merchant Guild.

Yaqi and Luna discussed why they stayed with the Xinfei Merchant Guild despite other guilds offering higher wages, and welcomed the new workers' union as a way to submit suggestions. At the understaffed steel plate processing and welding workshop, Yaqi saw newly arrived Fully Automatic Magic Machine Tools that promised to make the workers' jobs easier.

• Yaqi told Luna he had refused Luther's offer to join the Domino Merchant Guild, and Luna explained why the Xinfei Merchant Guild's benefits mattered more to her than higher wages elsewhere.
• Yaqi and Luna discussed the new workers' union, and Luna suggested asking the guild to build more toilets near her workshop.
• Yaqi and Luna joined workers discussing the mass layoffs as they headed to their separate workshops.
• Yaqi saw that the steel plate processing and welding workshop had lost many workers and felt confident that the president would overcome the disruption.
• Zonuk introduced machines brought by engineers from the Magic Machine Tool Research Center as newly developed Fully Automatic Magic Machine Tools.

Xu Yi showed Lumi the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s precise automatic machine tool and brought her to discuss flaws in her Mana-Powered Ship designs with the shipyard engineers. As Lumi became eager to work with the engineers, Xu Yi returned to headquarters, where Kennard warned him they were in serious trouble.

• Canby and Sanchelli demonstrated the automatic Magic-Powered Punch-Forging Machine Tool, and Xu Yi told Lumi to study his mechanical theory books to understand its design.
• Xu Yi took Lumi to the shipyard, where engineers listed problems in her Mana-Powered Ship plans and backed their criticisms with calculations and model tests.
• Lumi accepted the engineers’ findings and grew excited about developing a deep-sea Mana-Powered Ship with the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• Xu Yi left Lumi discussing the designs with the engineers and returned to the Administrative Headquarters.
• Kennard told Xu Yi that the guild was in serious trouble.

Xu Yi and Kennard discussed the financial and market consequences of the mass layoffs at the Xinfei Merchant Guild. Xu Yi accepted the short-term losses and planned new partnerships, while keeping military magic machinery technology exclusive to the guild.

• Kennard reported that new orders had nearly halved and that lost markets and worker compensation had cost the Xinfei Merchant Guild more than five million gold coins.
• Xu Yi defended the layoffs, arguing that they had resolved the strike and improved the guild’s efficiency, while Kennard acknowledged the guild could absorb the losses.
• Xu Yi said he welcomed buyers turning to other brands because he wanted magic industry to spread beyond the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• Kennard warned that the Norton Duchy and Rekaf Duchy planned to cooperate with other guilds, and Xu Yi ordered him to identify those guilds and require them to follow established standards.
• Xu Yi instructed Kennard to offer the two duchies cooperation and some magic machine tool technology, but confirmed that military magic machinery would remain exclusive to the Xinfei Merchant Guild.

Old Mawol learned that the well-paid Amli Merchant Guild workers were building a road through Noxus Town and hoped the guild might hire local people. One worker told him the Xinfei Merchant Guild was expected to invest in the Norton Duchy, leaving Old Mawol curious about its power.

• Three Amli Merchant Guild workers told Old Mawol that construction had paused to let an important convoy from the Candel Empire pass.
• Old Mawol recalled the workers’ high wages and regular hours, which had made many young townspeople eager to join the guild despite its restrictions on hiring Norton Duchy residents.
• Old Mawol asked the workers whether his nephew could get a job, and they said local recruitment would have to wait for an agreement with the duchy.
• One worker advised Old Mawol not to rush his nephew into construction work and said the Xinfei Merchant Guild might invest in Noxus Town.
• The worker claimed Xinfei Merchant Guild investment had transformed Amplistown, and Old Mawol doubted that a merchant guild could have such influence.

Mawol visited the Amli Merchant Guild’s road construction site to ask about work for his nephew, while Supervisor Narl awaited Ambassador Hakane’s convoy. Hakane arrived with a huge cargo convoy and learned that the Norton Duchy had canceled plans to cooperate with the Xinfei Merchant Guild.

• Mawol asked the site workers about recruiting his nephew, and Supervisor Narl said the guild might hire local workers in a month.
• Narl reflected on the crew’s slow progress and hoped the Norton Duchy would soon approve local hiring.
• Ambassador Hakane arrived with a convoy of Large Cargo Magic Locomotives, accompanied by Vice President Riley.
• Riley told Narl the road work was progressing but slowed by a shortage of workers.
• Hakane learned the Norton Duchy had canceled its plans with the Xinfei Merchant Guild and mocked the decision to approach other Lampari Kingdom guilds instead.

Supervisor Narl watched a huge fleet deliver supplies for the Anko Mana Merchant Guild’s new factories in the Norton Duchy, accompanied by Xinfei Merchant Guild personnel. He realized that even after the duchy chose a different partner, the new factories still depended on Xinfei’s standards and expertise, while its products had become essential to his own life.

• Supervisor Narl saw more than twenty Medium Freight Mana-Powered Ships arrive at Mirror Lake’s dock and recognized Xinfei Merchant Guild members among those disembarking.
• Supervisor Narl learned that the Porter Merchant Guild had brought supplies for the Anko Mana Merchant Guild, which planned to build three household magic machinery factories near Noxus Town.
• Supervisor Narl discovered that Xinfei Merchant Guild engineers and workers had come to assist with the factories, which had to meet Xinfei’s standards.
• Supervisor Narl considered how the Anko Mana Merchant Guild still relied on Xinfei and realized that the Amli Merchant Guild also depended on Xinfei’s construction materials and machinery.
• Supervisor Narl reflected that Xinfei’s products had become indispensable in his daily life and doubted that the Norton Duchy’s choice to avoid Xinfei was wise.

Xu Yi considered the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s growing need for mineral resources and the possibility of gaining control of the Sark Kingdom. When Leslie Stark arrived asking for a ship to roam the seas, Xu Yi offered him a place in the guild’s new armed fleet instead.

• Xu Yi reviewed the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s limited mineral purchases from the Rulson Kingdom and considered how to secure more resources, including those in the Sark Kingdom.
• Betty told Xu Yi that Leslie Stark had arrived and wanted to see him urgently.
• Leslie told Xu Yi that he had spent more than half a year at sea and asked for the ship Xu Yi had promised him.
• Xu Yi explained that a large mana-powered ship cost over two million gold coins and advised Leslie that a large vessel would be safer than a smaller one.
• Xu Yi said he would provide Leslie with a ship if he agreed to cooperate, then offered him a role in the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps’ upcoming armed fleet.

Servini reviewed the Lampari Kingdom’s rising revenue and military strength, then questioned Duke Festarlin about whether the kingdom could defeat the Sark Kingdom and asked Count Samo about magic machinery smuggled there. She left both men wondering what she planned after dismissing two million gold coins in smuggled goods as insufficient.

• Servini read a report showing the Lampari Kingdom’s monthly revenue had exceeded five hundred thousand gold coins and reflected on the Northern Garrison’s victories against the Sark Kingdom.
• Servini concluded that the kingdom needed to keep building its national strength with the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s support before it could defeat the Sark Kingdom.
• Servini summoned Duke Festarlin and Count Samo, then asked whether the Lampari Kingdom could completely defeat the Sark Kingdom with its current strength.
• Duke Festarlin said victory remained impossible because the Lampari Kingdom lacked the Sark Kingdom’s logistical strength, even if its equipment advantage continued.
• Servini asked Duke Festarlin to publicly express confidence in the kingdom’s long-term development, and he agreed.
• Servini asked Count Samo about magic machinery smuggled into the Sark Kingdom through Servini City and called the estimated two million gold coins in goods that year insufficient.

Xu Yi explained to Heinz that the Lampari Kingdom’s free trade zone with the Sark Kingdom would let the Xinfei Merchant Guild sell magic machinery and secure mineral resources. He also gave Heinz an appointment letter naming Alex captain of the guild’s second transport fleet, leaving Alex a chance to prove himself.

• Heinz angrily accused the Lampari Kingdom of betraying the Xinfei Merchant Guild by opening trade with the Sark Kingdom, but Xu Yi said the free trade zone was his proposal and would benefit Lampari.
• Xu Yi explained that the Sark Kingdom’s military pressure and demand for magic machinery had made it accept unrestricted trade, while Lampari and the guild would profit from machinery sales and access to minerals.
• Xu Yi revealed that the agreement granted the Xinfei Merchant Guild mining rights to two mines near the Murto Mountain Ranges and that he had arranged limited household-machinery technology sales to secure the deal.
• Heinz hesitantly raised Alex’s situation, and Xu Yi handed him an appointment letter making Alex captain of the guild’s second transport fleet, with a possible future role at the Kuraka City branch if he performed well.
• Heinz promised to warn Alex not to make another mistake, while Xu Yi reflected that Alex had avoided prison and received another chance because of Heinz.

Xu Yi visited the Shipyard, advised the engineers on improving the Shipboard Mana Cannon, and proposed a way to find other gnomes on the Sains Continent. Lumi agreed to become publicly known to draw them out, and Xu Yi told her she would be a star.

• Xu Yi arrived at the Shipyard and watched Fario hit a sea target with the Shipboard Mana Cannon while the other testers missed.
• Xu Yi urged Potteru and the engineers to use Fario’s firing experience and precise test data to improve the cannon.
• Xu Yi asked Lumi about her loneliness and suggested there might be other gnomes still living on the Sains Continent.
• Xu Yi explained that publicizing Lumi could attract other gnomes, and Lumi agreed despite the attention it would bring.
• Xu Yi told Lumi to report to Stille every day because she was going to be a star.