Chapter Summaries

The Xinfei Merchant Guild crushed the Dero Kingdom’s forces without suffering casualties, then established a military base there as the continent accepted the guild’s growing influence. Xu Yi and Kennard discussed how the victory prompted even the two great empires to seek closer ties with the guild.

• The Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps defeated the Dero Kingdom’s forces with small military weapons and Mana Airship bombardments, suffering zero casualties.
• King Wakeli abdicated after surrendering, was arrested for directing and permitting the riots, and was taken to the Stantin Duchy for a joint public trial; four-year-old Prince Phipley became king.
• The Xinfei Merchant Guild stationed three thousand guards at a new base in the Dero Kingdom, while the Candel Empire supported the move and the Malo Empire proposed a strategic partnership.
• Xu Yi told Kennard that the Dero campaign had brought countries seeking closer ties, and Kennard noted that this outcome had been predicted.
• Xu Yi declined to meet the countries’ representatives individually and asked Kennard to arrange a joint meeting with their ambassadors.

After the Dero riots, Kennard proposed weakening the Dero people or destroying their kingdom, but Xu Yi rejected conquest as too burdensome for the Xinfei Merchant Guild. He authorized Kennard to use limited guild resources to pursue a gradual dispersal strategy, leaving the Dero Kingdom under the Guards Corps’ control for now.

• Xu Yi told Kennard that the Guards Corps’ presence would help control the Dero Kingdom and prevent further unrest.
• Kennard argued that three thousand guards could not reliably control the distant kingdom and proposed weakening Dero cohesion by dispersing its people and increasing other ethnic groups’ presence.
• Kennard suggested destroying the Dero Kingdom and annexing it, prompting Xu Yi to consider the guild’s limited capacity and his lack of interest in governing a country.
• Xu Yi rejected outright destruction and authorized Kennard to use limited guild resources to pursue his gradual plan.
• Kennard smiled, saying Xu Yi had made the choice he expected.

Xu Yi rejected Kennard’s ambition to turn the Xinfei Merchant Guild into a state by conquering the Dero Kingdom, while worrying about the missing Deep-Sea Voyage Exploration Fleet. At the coast, he learned that something was flying in from over the sea and saw that it was a dragon.

• Xu Yi reflected on Kennard’s proposal to destroy the Dero Kingdom and decided he had no desire to lead the guild toward ruling the continent.
• Xu Yi visited the coastal lookout tower and asked Bensack whether he had spotted anything from the sea.
• Xu Yi worried that the Deep-Sea Voyage Exploration Fleet had been gone for nearly ten months without sending a message.
• As Xu Yi prepared to leave, Bensack spotted something flying toward them over the sea and called him back.
• Xu Yi looked through the telescope and saw a dragon.

Xu Yi encountered Cassandra, a female dragon who knew about the Xinfei Merchant Guild and said its fleet needed help. She began to show him and the guild’s mages what had happened.

• Xu Yi spotted a dragon approaching over the Endless Sea and ordered the Guards Corps to prepare while he went to meet her.
• The dragon stopped when Xu Yi approached, and she asked whether he knew the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• Xu Yi identified himself as the guild’s president, and Cassandra told him the fleet the guild had sent out needed help.
• Xu Yi followed Cassandra to shore, where Archmage Camilla, Archmage Clay, Great Mage Turner, and Great Mage Truchi joined them.
• Cassandra introduced herself and produced a small square box, asking whether anyone had a Mana Illusion Projector.

Xu Yi learned from Cassandra that the Sains Continent was one of several continents and that dragons lived on the Demoncloud Continent. Cassandra agreed to stay after discovering that Xu Yi could provide the later episodes of her favorite series, while Noval’s message revealed that the deep-sea fleet had encountered dragons on an island.

• Cassandra told Xu Yi that several other continents existed and that dragons lived on the Demoncloud Continent, where gnomes were also widespread.
• Archmage Camilla questioned Cassandra about the name Demoncloud Continent and then fell into thought.
• Cassandra asked Xu Yi for the later episodes of “The Feuds of the Pollock Dynasty,” and he agreed to provide them in exchange for her answering questions about the fleet.
• Archmage Camilla offered to look after Cassandra while Xu Yi went to handle the fleet’s report.
• Xu Yi watched Noval’s recording, which showed an island about ten thousand kilometers from the Sains Continent and reported that the fleet had encountered dragons there.

Xu Yi watched Noval’s projection describing the fleet’s discovery of the Dragon Race and plans to establish a base near the Demoncloud Continent. He and Kennard weighed the opportunity for a new market against doubts about the report’s authenticity and the difficulty of supporting a distant expedition, leaving Kennard to prepare a reinforcement plan while Xu Yi sought to verify the news.

• Noval’s projection explained that his fleet had befriended the Dragon Race, learned about the Demoncloud Continent, and begun building a nearby base while sending a small team to explore.
• Xu Yi and Kennard questioned why Noval had sent no human subordinate with the report and considered whether the projection or Noval himself had been tampered with.
• Kennard urged the guild to invest as much as possible in the new continent, arguing that it offered a vast market beyond the Sains Continent.
• Xu Yi pointed out that the guild could not abandon its existing operations and identified long-distance communication as a major obstacle to supporting the expedition.
• Xu Yi ordered Kennard to prepare a detailed plan for verifying the report and assembling a strong reinforcement fleet, and cautioned him against pursuing multiple continents at once.

Xu Yi reflected on his impossible dream of traveling through space before Archmage Camilla summoned him to discuss Cassandra and the Abyssal Demon Race. The chapter left Xu Yi flying toward Cassandra after Camilla warned him to be cautious around the dragon.

• Xu Yi considered his hopes of exploring space and decided that his family and the world around him mattered most.
• Archmage Camilla summoned Xu Yi to a hill, where they watched Cassandra engrossed in a Mana Illusion Projector’s serial drama.
• Archmage Camilla explained that Cassandra was a red dragon, a race known for its gentle temperament, and said dragons came in several kinds.
• Archmage Camilla told Xu Yi that the Abyssal Demon Race had once ruled the continent and was prophesied to return after ten thousand years on the Day of the End.
• Xu Yi remained skeptical of the legend, while Archmage Camilla planned to ask Elder Lysania about the elves’ records and warned Xu Yi to be careful with Cassandra.
• Xu Yi flew toward Cassandra after Archmage Camilla left.

Xu Yi questioned Cassandra about the Abyssal Demon Race after winning her over with a Mana Illusion Projector and films. Cassandra explained that the race had been driven from the world by the elves over nine thousand years earlier, and her confidence left Xu Yi less worried about their promised return.

• Xu Yi joined Cassandra in watching The Feuds of the Pollock Dynasty, and she only noticed him when the episode ended.
• Xu Yi offered Cassandra a Mana Illusion Projector and collector's edition films, and she agreed to answer his questions.
• Xu Yi asked Cassandra about the Abyssal Demon Race, and she said they had once fought the dragons and been driven out by the elves.
• Cassandra said she had never seen the demons because they had disappeared over nine thousand years earlier, before her birth.
• When Xu Yi asked about the demons' promise to return after ten thousand years, Cassandra dismissed the threat, leaving him reassured.

Xu Yi learned that Cassandra and the other dragons were captivated by Mana Illusion Films, prompting him to consider a new opportunity. Later, Xu Yi watched the Xinfei Mana Racing Car Championship with Servini, who worried about press scrutiny, and she asked which car Cassandra was driving.

• Cassandra told Xu Yi that many dragons lived on the island and that nearly all of them enjoyed Mana Illusion Films, especially The Feuds of the Pollock Dynasty.
• Cassandra explained that dragons mostly searched for food and slept, and Xu Yi realized their lack of entertainment made the films especially appealing to them.
• The Xinfei Station championship drew huge crowds, and the dais was nearly full as Xu Yi arrived with a concealed guest.
• Xu Yi watched the race with Servini, who said newspapers closely followed her actions and that not everyone in the Lampari Kingdom supported her.
• Servini ended their discussion of the press and asked Xu Yi which racing car Cassandra was in.

Xu Yi introduced Servini to Cassandra, the dragon disguised as a human girl, who was competing in a Mana Racing Car race. As Cassandra raced, Servini agreed to partner with the Xinfei Merchant Guild in developing the Demoncloud Continent, though the chapter left their personal feelings unspoken.

• Xu Yi explained to Servini that Cassandra was a dragon who had learned to drive and entered the race to test her skills against human competitors.
• Xu Yi told Servini that a reinforcement fleet would soon sail to the Island Where the Dragon Race Lives and that he planned to establish a forward base if the Demoncloud Continent existed.
• The twelve Mana Racing Cars started, and Servini watched Cassandra’s fiery red car join the race.
• Servini expressed interest in jointly developing the new continent but asked how the Lampari Kingdom could participate without an ocean-going fleet.
• Xu Yi offered to sell ships to the Lampari Kingdom on credit, with the cost deducted from future profits, and Servini agreed to partner with him.

After Cassandra finished last in the Xinfei City mana racing championship, she asked Xu Yi for a mana racing car and agreed to help the Xinfei Merchant Guild explore business with the Dragon Race. Xu Yi arranged gifts for the dragons to test their interest in the guild’s products, and Servini agreed to gain experience in the venture.

• A Xinfei Cycling Team driver won the championship, while Cassandra completed the race in last place and angrily confronted Xu Yi about her car.
• Cassandra asked Xu Yi for a mana racing car and promised to help the guild’s people; Xu Yi explained that maintaining it far from the guild would be difficult.
• Xu Yi proposed sending gifts to the dragons on Fire Rock Island to test their interest in mana sedans, projectors, and other products, and Cassandra agreed to distribute them.
• Cassandra asked Xu Yi to include other products she had enjoyed, and Xu Yi reluctantly agreed to let her take some.
• Servini praised Xu Yi’s plans to trade with the Dragon Race, and she agreed to join the venture as experience for developing the Demoncloud Continent.

Xu Yi learned that the three elven elders wanted to explore the Demoncloud Continent and secure new living space for their people while preserving their foothold on the Sains Continent. When Cassandra went missing, Akali reported a breakthrough in her communication research and credited Cassandra.

• Elder Elusia, Elder Lysania, and Elder Windini brought 150 elves and asked Xu Yi to assign them to the fleet bound for the new continent.
• The elders told Xu Yi they hoped to explore the Demoncloud Continent and eventually establish territory there, with the Xinfei Merchant Guild's support.
• Xu Yi urged the elders not to abandon the foundations their tribes had built on the Sains Continent, and they agreed they would keep earning money there to fund their plans.
• Xu Yi found Cassandra absent from her valley and used a Magic Communication Box to ask Hart where she was.
• Akali answered and announced a breakthrough in her Mana Communication Network research, saying Cassandra had helped make it possible.

Xu Yi visited the Magic Research Institute’s Experimental Base and discovered that Cassandra was helping Akali’s team test mana-signal feedback using dragon-speech magic. Akali decided to join the Reinforcement Fleet and travel to the dragons to continue her research, leaving Xu Yi to wonder how the fleet had acquired so many extra missions.

• Xu Yi and the three elf elders watched Cassandra form an element sphere with dragon-speech magic, which the researchers probed with a strange machine.
• Xu Yi explained that the researchers were studying mana-signal feedback for a future magic communication network, and Cassandra agreed to speak with Elder Windini while watching illusion films.
• Akali told Xu Yi that Cassandra’s magic had given her research into aerial signal relays a major breakthrough, but Xu Yi said Cassandra had to leave on schedule.
• Xu Yi suggested that dragon experts might help the research in the future, and Akali seized on the idea of traveling to the dragons herself.
• Akali insisted on joining the Reinforcement Fleet with a research group, and Xu Yi resigned himself to the fleet’s growing list of unexpected duties.

The Xinfei Merchant Guild sent a heavily armed reinforcement fleet to Fire Rock Island to support its first deep-sea expedition and prepare to explore the Demoncloud Continent. After the fleet departed, a report confirmed that the expedition had encountered both a new continent and the legendary Dragon Race, stirring the Sains Continent.

• Xu Yi's reinforcement fleet departed with guild guards, kingdom and elf delegates, researchers, and construction crews bound for Fire Rock Island.
• Xu Yi reflected on the difficulties of exploring the Demoncloud Continent and hoped Akali's research with the Dragon Race would advance long-distance magical communications.
• Xu Yi returned inside after watching the fleet disappear beyond the horizon.
• The Xinfei Magic Industry Weekly reported that the deep-sea exploration fleet had set sail again for a new continent and had encountered a dragon.
• Readers across the Sains Continent questioned the report at first, then reacted to the apparent confirmation of the new continent and Dragon Race.

Russell met with the Candel emperor, who discussed newly reported continents beyond Sains and the empire’s limited place in the wider world. The emperor tasked Russell with finding out whether the Xinfei Merchant Guild would sell oceangoing mana-powered ships to the Imperial Navy.

• Russell hurried through the palace to meet the Candel emperor in his private study.
• The Candel emperor showed Russell a map and said the empire occupied only a small part of the known world.
• The Candel emperor discussed reports from the Xinfei Merchant Guild about the Demoncloud Continent and three other possible continents.
• Russell vowed to follow the emperor in pursuing expansion, and the emperor pointed out that the Imperial Navy lacked ships capable of reaching new continents.
• The Candel emperor asked Russell to sound out the Xinfei Merchant Guild about selling oceangoing ships and promised to consider increasing the navy’s budget.

The Xinfei Merchant Guild’s latest report on the Demoncloud Continent renewed interest across Sains, and Xu Yi considered how to involve others in its exploration. With oceangoing Mana-Powered Ships still years from being available to other powers, he saw a five-year window for the guild to build an early advantage before the Age of Discovery began in earnest.

• The Xinfei Merchant Guild published its tenth report, describing construction at its Dawn Island forward base and inviting people from across Sains to help explore the Demoncloud Continent.
• Countries and merchant guilds responded with cooperation applications and large orders for Mana-Powered Ships.
• Aike Kruger questioned Xu Yi’s proposal to expand ship production by subcontracting components and sharing some shipbuilding techniques with partner guilds.
• Xu Yi urged Kruger to weigh the proposal’s long-term benefits, while recognizing that the shipbuilding guild now had to make its own decisions.
• Xu Yi estimated that other powers would need at least five years to assemble oceangoing fleets and concluded that the Xinfei Merchant Guild should use that time to establish an advantage by developing the continent with others.

Xu Yi examined how competition, rising wages, and scarce raw materials had ended the Xinfei Household Magic Machinery Merchant Guild’s era of windfall profits. As nations struggled to secure resources, he recognized that war was becoming an increasingly likely solution.

• Merchant guilds across the Sains Continent sought household magic machinery technology, and the Xinfei Merchant Guild released thirty-seven more technologies for sale.
• Xinfei Household Magic Machinery sales reached 1.7 million gold coins in May, but profit margins fell as competition and production costs increased.
• Xu Yi traced rising labor costs to the wage standards he had established and to Ankato’s later wage increases at the household machinery guild.
• Raw material prices climbed as nations restricted exports, though the Candel Empire continued supplying the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• Xu Yi noted that countries lacking domestic resources would have to seek other solutions, with war among the most likely.

As wars and annexations spread across the continent, Duke Boris sought Xu Yi’s help after the Candel Empire incorporated the strategically important Norton Duchy. Xu Yi assured him that the Xinfei Merchant Guild would support the Rulson Kingdom, partly to preserve a buffer between its Main Base and the Candel Empire.

• The Nozdormu Commercial United Kingdom, Wales Duchy, and Malo Empire expanded their territories through invasions, while the Candel Empire incorporated the Norton Duchy.
• The Norton Duchy’s annexation exposed the Rulson Kingdom’s northern flank to the Candel Empire and alarmed Duke Boris.
• Xu Yi argued that the Candel Empire might not invade because the Rulson Kingdom offered too little value to justify the cost.
• Xu Yi promised that the Xinfei Merchant Guild would not stand aside if the Rulson Kingdom faced difficulties.
• Duke Boris welcomed Xu Yi’s promise, while Xu Yi privately recognized the need to keep a strategic buffer between the Guild’s Main Base and the Candel Empire.

After the Xinfei Merchant Guild announced a military base near the Candel Empire’s border, Emperor Candel learned from Marshal Campbell Sudiman that the empire could not defeat the guild in a direct war. The emperor agreed to avoid attacking Rulson for now, but vowed to find another way to deal with Xu Yi.

• The Xinfei Merchant Guild and the Rulson Kingdom announced the sale of six mines and the guild’s plan to station its Guard Corps at a base near the Candel Empire’s border.
• Emperor Candel angrily questioned whether Xu Yi’s military magic machinery could let the guild defy the empire.
• Marshal Campbell Sudiman explained that the empire’s soldiers could not overcome the Guard Corps and that the guild also had far superior supply production and transport.
• Emperor Candel accepted that the empire should avoid direct conflict with the guild and set aside an attack on the Rulson Kingdom.
• Emperor Candel asked whether the guild could invade the empire, and Marshal Sudiman said it lacked the strength to do so.
• Emperor Candel resolved to find another way to challenge Xu Yi and the Xinfei Merchant Guild.

Akali led a Xinfei Merchant Guild team onto the Demoncloud Continent to establish a Mana Signal Tower and a forward base, and their early tests showed the continent’s mana signals matched those on the Sains Continent. As Akali waited for Cassandra to return from scouting, a black dragon appeared in the sky, and she realized it was not Cassandra.

• Akali organized her team to test mana signals, survey the coast, and search for suitable Mana Signal Tower sites.
• Cassandra flew off in dragon form to look for large, flat areas nearby.
• Sena and the others tested the mana signals and found no differences within five kilometers, easing the team’s concerns.
• Akali’s team built a comfortable camp using supplies from the deep-sea fleets and prepared to establish a forward base.
• Akali spotted a dragon returning from the distance, then realized it was black and not Cassandra.