Chapter Summaries

Akali refused to reveal the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s communication magic array research to Archmage Arista because it was the guild’s confidential property, prompting Arista to recognize the researchers’ loyalty to the employer that funded them. At Camilla’s laboratory, Arista examined her High-Efficiency Power Output project, and Camilla invited him to join with the promise of abundant research materials and a fifty-thousand-gold-coin annual allowance.

• Akali explained that she and her research team could not discuss the communication magic array without the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s permission, and her colleagues said they would choose the guild over the Mages’ Guild.
• Arista acknowledged that the researchers had a point, praised their work, and left the Mana Signal Tower with Camilla.
• At Camilla’s laboratory, Arista studied her forbidden-spell magic array and learned that it was designed to release power gradually for the High-Efficiency Power Output project.
• Camilla invited Arista to join her research, offering access to expensive magical materials and an annual allowance of fifty thousand gold coins, and Arista was visibly tempted.

Xu Yi defended cooperating with outside mages to speed up research, while the Xinfei Merchant Guild ignored the Sark Kingdom’s claim that its military magic machinery monopoly had been broken. In the Malo Empire, Hogan prepared to recruit local workers for the planned Magic Industrial Base and went to visit the Wolverine Werewolf Tribe.

• Xu Yi told Archmage Camilla that research partnerships could accelerate development, and argued that other countries would still lack the industrial system needed to rival the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• The Sark Kingdom’s military magic machinery exhibition drew over one hundred thousand visitors and sold thirteen thousand Mana Cannons, prompting officials and newspapers to declare the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s monopoly broken.
• The Xinfei Merchant Guild made no public response to the exhibition or the rumors that it feared the Sark Kingdom’s challenge.
• Hogan received approval from Xu Yi to recruit local workers of other races and five orc workers from different tribes to assist his negotiations.
• After preparing for half a month, Hogan officially visited the Wolverine Werewolf Tribe to discuss recruiting workers for the planned Magic Industrial Base.

Hogan led a Xinfei Merchant Guild convoy into the northern tundra to seek trade with the werewolves, but the Wolverine Werewolf Tribe rejected his offer. After setting up a comfortable night camp, Hogan learned that werewolves were approaching and prepared his guards for a possible attack.

• Hogan met the Wolverine Werewolf Tribe's leader and offered food, clothing, and household goods, but the leader threatened him and ordered him to leave.
• Hogan redirected the convoy west and used a Magic Communication Box to check in with Captain Auston, who watched the area from a Mana Airship.
• Hogan's workers built a heated camp from metal frames, leather coverings, and magic air conditioners, impressing Baron Franklin with the comforts of the Comfortable Travel Package.
• Captain Auston informed Hogan that werewolves had left their tribe and were rushing toward the camp.
• Hogan told a Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps guard to alert the others and prepare to engage the approaching werewolves.

Hogan’s caravan defeated a Wolverine Werewolf Tribe raid with the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s military magic machinery, then negotiated a labor and supply agreement with the tribe. Over the next three months, Hogan secured agreements with twenty-three northern tundra tribes for ten thousand workers, allowing construction of the Stansome Magic Industrial Base to begin in earnest.

• Hogan’s guards used magic artillery to devastate the werewolves’ nighttime attack, and Hogan ordered Captain Auston not to pursue the retreating survivors.
• Baron Franklin watched the guards’ powerful machinery defeat the werewolves and considered what it might mean for the Malo Empire’s control of the northern tundra.
• Hogan’s caravan returned to the Wolverine Werewolf Tribe, where the chief agreed to provide one thousand workers in exchange for wages and monthly supplies.
• The Wolverine Werewolf Tribe agreed to help Hogan contact other beastman tribes, and Hogan signed labor agreements with twenty-two more tribes over the following three months.
• Large Cargo Magic Locomotives delivered supplies as spring arrived, and the Stansome Magic Industrial Base began full-scale construction.

The Candel Empire Navy opened its southern ports and partnered with the Xinfei Merchant Guild to establish safer, better-supported sea routes, accelerating trade between the Stantin Duchy and the empire. Goods from the Stantin Duchy transformed daily life across the Candel Empire, though the Southern Province remained an exception.

• The Candel Empire Navy acquired five more mana-powered guard frigates but lacked the funds to replace its traditional fleet entirely.
• With Count Russell mediating, the Candel Empire Navy and the Xinfei Merchant Guild opened three southern naval ports to all ships and introduced a protection fee.
• Merchant ships received Magic Communication Devices and began following routes along the guild's island bases, where they could seek help, resupply, and obtain repairs.
• Trade between the Stantin Duchy and the Candel Empire surged as ships carried everyday goods and other products along the new sea route.
• Candel Empire commoners embraced the affordable clothing, plastic goods, and other imports, but the Southern Province was the sole exception.

Duke Windsor learned that his ban on goods connected to the Xinfei Merchant Guild had driven merchants from the Southern Province and reduced commercial tax revenue. After reading Baron Domingo’s report on agricultural magic machinery, he reconsidered his position and ordered preparations to go out.

• Duke Windsor confronted two financial officials after the Southern Province’s commercial tax revenue fell and merchants moved their operations elsewhere.
• The officials explained that his ban on Xinfei Merchant Guild-related goods had pushed merchants toward other provinces.
• One official warned that the spring harvest could improve if Duke Windsor changed his mind and presented Baron Domingo’s agricultural report.
• Duke Windsor angrily rejected the report and ordered the officials to leave, insisting he would not allow Xinfei agricultural machinery into the province.
• Duke Windsor reread the report, reflected on changing times, and told his butler to prepare for him to go out.

Duke Windsor saw how the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s ban had driven young villagers to seek factory wages in Tural Province, leaving their fields understaffed. After hearing that imported grain and farmland machinery could ease the harvest, he ordered Riken to contact the Cantona Chamber of Commerce.

• Duke Windsor and Riken traveled through quiet Canberra City and saw many closed shops.
• Riken spoke with an old farmer and learned that the village’s young people had left to earn wages at factories in Saranier City.
• The old farmer explained that the workers earned far more than farming could provide and criticized the governor’s ban on Xinfei Merchant Guild investments.
• The old farmer said his family would struggle to harvest its fields, but cheap imported grain could cover their grain rent.
• Duke Windsor heard about farmland magic machinery and ordered Riken to contact the Cantona Chamber of Commerce about harvesting fields.

The Xinfei Merchant Guild’s shipments of affordable, high-quality goods sold out immediately in the Candel Empire, prompting a surge of investment by other guilds. As two vast industrial bases drew workers from across the empire, the Xinfei Merchant Guild remained absent from the factories, and its own activities were left unexplained.

• Commoners across the Candel Empire eagerly bought the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s goods, and merchants quickly purchased the first shipment of more than thirty thousand tons.
• Over seven months, the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s transport fleet made 113 voyages and delivered 589,000 tons of cargo, while demand continued to exceed supply.
• Xu Yi shifted the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s shipyard toward building cargo mana-powered ships, but it could produce only three a year.
• Xu Yi helped 37 merchant guilds from the Lampari Kingdom and the Stantin Duchy establish factories in the Candel Empire, though the Xinfei Merchant Guild could not openly invest there itself.
• Factories near Wimbledon City and in Tudor Province developed into two enormous industrial bases that attracted workers from across the empire.

Xu Yi reviewed the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s expanding markets and routes, then argued that poor infrastructure was the main obstacle to spreading magic industry across the continent. He left the guild’s long-term expansion dependent on building stronger transportation and communications networks.

• The Xinfei Merchant Guild’s sales of farmland and household magic machinery in the Malo Empire had grown sharply, with projected earnings exceeding five million gold coins that year.
• Xu Yi planned to expand the guild’s reach through existing sea routes, Nevall’s upcoming voyage to Stansome Port, and a new overland passage through the Sark Kingdom.
• Xu Yi judged direct access to eastern and northeastern countries impractical because the route crossed the Candel Empire, while reaching them by sea would be too costly and slow.
• Xu Yi proposed establishing secondary bases in distant regions but recognized that the guild lacked the strength and connections to support them.
• Xu Yi credited road construction and mana sedans with transforming transportation and labor movement across southwestern countries, and identified communications as another essential foundation for continent-wide industrial growth.

Xu Yi reflected on the time and expense needed to expand the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s magic communication network, then eased his worries by taking a vacation with his children. When Freya said she wanted to become a president so she could command others, Xu Yi began teaching her what the role would require.

• Xu Yi considered the limitations and enormous costs of extending the magic communication network beyond the Stantin Duchy.
• Xu Yi realized that his plans would take time and decided to relax instead of constantly pushing himself.
• During a week at home with his children, Xu Yi asked Freya what she wanted to do when she grew up.
• Freya said she wanted to be a president so she could make other people obey her orders.
• Xu Yi began Freya’s first lesson on the path to becoming a president.

Nielsen struggled to sell Xinfei Household Magic Machinery to Viscount Wilbur, who favored cheaper competitors and had accepted a bribe from the Longley Merchant Guild. Just as Nielsen considered other ways to reach the Odor Duchy, Wilbur rushed back and asked to resume their discussion elsewhere.

• Nielsen explained the Xinfei Magic Air Conditioner's speed and low mana consumption, but Viscount Wilbur dismissed its advantages as insufficient to justify its higher price.
• Viscount Wilbur brushed Nielsen off, leaving Nielsen convinced that government support for Xinfei Household Magic Machinery in the Odor Duchy was unlikely.
• Mendieta told Nielsen that Naiden of the Longley Merchant Guild had bribed Viscount Wilbur with at least three thousand gold coins, and Nielsen refused to offer a bribe in return.
• Nielsen decided to approach other figures in the duchy rather than abandon the market or violate the President's strategy.
• Viscount Wilbur hurried back to the tavern and asked Nielsen to continue their discussion somewhere more private.

The Nozdormu Commercial United Kingdom destroyed the Kachiton Duchy in three days, alarming its neighbors and prompting the Grand Duke of Odor to seek military magic machinery from the Xinfei Merchant Guild. Meanwhile, the Sark Kingdom proved it could manufacture military magic machinery by routing the Angelia Kingdom, but the Lampari Kingdom’s declaration of war against Sark halted other countries’ plans to approach it.

• The Nozdormu Commercial United Kingdom defeated the Kachiton Duchy in three days and captured the Grand Duke and his family.
• Viscount Wilbur asked Nielsen to arrange a sale of Xinfei military magic machinery to the Odor Duchy, and Nielsen agreed to meet the Grand Duke of Odor.
• The Sark Kingdom declared war on the Angelia Kingdom and its White Bear Legion won seven battles, advancing five hundred kilometers with machinery the Sark Kingdom had manufactured itself.
• Countries across the continent began preparing to seek military magic machinery from the Sark Kingdom after its success against Angelia.
• The Lampari Kingdom formally declared war on the Sark Kingdom, stopping other countries from moving toward it.

The Lampari Kingdom declared war on the Sark Kingdom, setting up a closely watched contest between two armies equipped with military magic machinery. On the fifth day of the war, Captain Aver’s armored vehicle withstood heavy attacks as his squad awaited a report from scouts in the sky.

• The Lampari Kingdom declared war on the Sark Kingdom while Sark forces were fighting the Angelia Kingdom.
• Other nations watched the conflict as a test of Xinfei-made military machinery against Sark-made equipment.
• Captain Aver’s squad took shelter in a mana armored vehicle under a rain of arrows and fireballs.
• Sarkmaran reported that the vehicle’s protective magic array had plenty of energy remaining despite the attacks.
• Pete received a communication and saw blue lights flash across his control panel, announcing that the awaited report had arrived.

Captain Aver and Pete used reconnaissance data to plan a route to the Sark Kingdom’s supply depot, while the veteran crew prepared for their first operation with Mana Armored Vehicles. The special mobile squad set out to raid deep into Sark territory.

• Pete compared the map with the Control Panel’s reconnaissance data and located enemy positions and a supply depot seventy to eighty kilometers away.
• Captain Aver ordered the crew to prepare for a long-range raid, gather intelligence from enemy weapons, and receive Pete’s calculated route.
• Marco identified the recovered shell fragments as thin sheet iron, while Captain Aver found that the enemy arrows varied in construction.
• Pete plotted a route that avoided Sark Kingdom troop positions and sent it to the other vehicles.
• Captain Aver gave the order to move, and dozens of Mana Armored Vehicles sped out of the grove toward the Sark Kingdom’s heartland.

Captain Aver’s Mana Armored Vehicle squad raided the Greedy Wolf Legion’s supply depots and evaded repeated attempts to trap them. The legion consolidated its supplies, and the squad secretly withdrew to Lampari Kingdom territory.

• Captain Aver ordered twenty-five Mana Armored Vehicles to withdraw after destroying a supply depot guarded by a reinforced regiment.
• A cavalry captain found the depot in ruins, discovered tracks leading west, and pursued the raiders to another depot, which was also burning.
• The Greedy Wolf Legion pursued and tried to encircle the raiders, but they repeatedly escaped and destroyed thirteen supply depots and thirty-seven guard posts in one day.
• Unable to spare enough troops from the front, the Greedy Wolf Legion consolidated its supplies at its largest logistics base and reinforced its defenses.
• The mysterious raiding force disappeared, having already left the Sark Kingdom and returned to Lampari Kingdom territory.

Captain Aver reported that his squad had harried the Greedy Wolf Legion with their faster Mana Armored Vehicles, and General Teuton hinted that the Northern Garrison had new tactics to test. Aver returned to the barracks and enjoyed the army’s improved comforts as he rested ahead of another mission.

• Captain Aver avoided the Xinfei Merchant Guild engineers and reported to General Teuton after his squad returned from its mission.
• Aver explained how the Mana Armored Vehicles and reconnaissance airship let his squad evade the Greedy Wolf Legion’s light cavalry and disrupt its rear lines.
• General Teuton praised the squad and told Aver to rest before an even more important mission in two days, hinting that the Northern Garrison would test new tactics.
• Aver bathed, ate well, and returned to the barracks, reflecting on how the Xinfei Merchant Guild and the kingdom’s improved logistics had transformed soldiers’ lives.
• Aver enjoyed the breeze from the Magic Fan and fell asleep.

After the Lampari Kingdom’s Northern Garrison destroyed the Greedy Wolf Legion’s logistics base with Mana Airships, Commander Tade concluded that his forces could not sustain the fight. He ordered a retreat to Norman Pass and requested Great Mage support, leaving the Sark Kingdom facing a worsening military crisis.

• Commander Tade learned that five Mana Airships had destroyed the Greedy Wolf Legion’s logistics base and most of its supplies.
• Commander Tade weighed retreating against holding Entak Peak until reinforcements arrived, but recognized that resupply would take too long.
• Commander Tade ordered the Greedy Wolf Legion to abandon Entak Peak and withdraw to defensive positions at Norman Pass.
• Commander Tade told Upton to emphasize the Mana Airship threat in the report to the Military Department and request Great Mages for the front.
• Commander Tade recalled Xu Yi’s prediction that military magic machinery would transform warfare and recognized how thoroughly the Northern Garrison had surpassed his forces.

The Lampari Kingdom crushed the Sark Kingdom and secured major territorial, financial, and commercial concessions in a ceasefire. When Xinfei Merchant Guild representatives arrived to recruit researchers from the Sark Kingdom’s Military Magic Machinery Research Institute, Great Mage Moyev opposed them but discovered that his subordinates wanted to go.

• The Northern Garrison defeated the Sark Kingdom’s forces and advanced to the gates of Luodunlun City, prompting the Sark Kingdom to seek peace.
• The Lampari Kingdom agreed to talks, and the Sark Kingdom ceded seven cities, promised twenty million gold coins in reparations, and opened its territory to the Lampari Kingdom and the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• After the ceasefire, the Northern Garrison stationed itself in the ceded cities while a Lampari delegation traveled to Luodunlun City to negotiate a comprehensive agreement.
• Ms. Fivenn led Xinfei Merchant Guild representatives to the Military Magic Machinery Research Institute to receive researchers promised under the ceasefire agreement.
• Great Mage Moyev refused to let the group enter, but Fivenn reminded him that his subordinates could choose for themselves.
• Moyev turned and saw his researchers gathered behind him, looking eager to join the Xinfei Merchant Guild.

Xu Yi explained how the Xinfei Merchant Guild had used Teresa to mislead the Sark Kingdom into researching military magic machinery, then acquired its researchers and materials after the kingdom’s defeat. With Servini’s authority strengthened by the Lampari Kingdom’s victory, they turned to plans for a magic communication network, but Servini unexpectedly asked Xu Yi to hand Teresa over to her.

• Servini teased Xu Yi for taking researchers and research materials from the Sark Kingdom, and Xu Yi explained that they had deliberately fed Teresa information to inspire the kingdom’s military magic machinery research.
• Servini questioned Xu Yi about his feelings for Teresa, and he said he had once sympathized with her but never fell for her after learning she was a spy.
• Xu Yi recounted how the Sark Kingdom used leaked information to develop military magic machinery, attacked the Angelia Kingdom, and then lost to the Lampari Kingdom.
• Xu Yi said the Xinfei Merchant Guild valued the researchers and materials it gained, while Servini had secured territory and reparations for the Lampari Kingdom.
• Servini’s victory raised her prestige and cleared the way for plans such as establishing a magic communication network.
• Servini asked Xu Yi to hand Teresa over to her.

Xu Yi reflected on the economic consequences of the Lampari Kingdom’s victory over the Sark Kingdom and prepared to expand the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s influence northward. At a banquet for foreign ambassadors, he announced that the guild would openly sell military magic machinery to every country on the continent, leaving the room in uproar.

• Xu Yi agreed to let Servini take Teresa, who had been exposed as a spy, and considered the economic advantages of the Sark Kingdom opening its market to the Lampari Kingdom.
• Xu Yi concluded that the war would help the Lampari Kingdom absorb the Sark Kingdom economically and give the Xinfei Merchant Guild a route to expand northward.
• Xu Yi went to the Chanel Restaurant, where ambassadors from countries with diplomatic ties to the Lampari Kingdom had gathered at the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s invitation.
• Xu Yi announced that the Xinfei Merchant Guild would openly sell military magic machinery to every country on the continent.
• The ambassadors erupted in uproar after hearing Xu Yi’s announcement.