Chapter Summaries

Archmage Orphalian discovered that his magic could not affect the strange mana space forming the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s cage, and the attempt injured him. With Archmage Laduka nearing the limit of his defenses, Orphalian joined the mana of thirteen Great Mages to create a terrifying black sphere, preparing one last attack on the cage.

• Archmage Orphalian revealed the full spherical magic cage, but his mana could not influence its abnormal space.
• Archmage Orphalian lost part of his magic domain when it touched the cage’s mana space and suffered internal injuries from the backlash.
• Archmage Laduka warned that he could withstand only five more attacks from the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s Mana Airships.
• Archmage Orphalian gathered the thirteen Great Mages and used his magic domain to combine their mana with his own.
• Archmage Orphalian compressed the surrounding magic elements into a strange black sphere to attack the cage.

Xu Yi freed Orphalian, Laduka, and thirteen Great Mages from the Magic Cage and explained that he wanted to prove military magic machinery had made mages obsolete on the battlefield. He wagered that Orphalian’s attempt to break the Cage would have killed everyone, and the two Archmages agreed to test his claim.

• Orphalian prepared to push a powerful black sphere into the abnormal mana space when Xu Yi arrived and warned him to stop.
• Xu Yi said he wanted mages to leave the battlefield, then dispelled the Magic Cage and freed the thirteen Great Mages.
• Xu Yi told Orphalian and Laduka that the Xinfei Merchant Guild had surpassed them in magical research and that Orphalian’s spell would certainly have killed them all.
• Xu Yi wagered that he could recreate the dangerous situation; Orphalian and Laduka agreed that, if Xu won, they would stop intervening in disputes between the guild and the Candel Empire.
• Xu Yi took out a Magic Communication Box to begin recreating the situation.

Xu Yi let Archmage Orphalian test his concentrated mana against a rectangular mana space created by the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps. As Orphalian’s black sphere destabilized the space, Archmage Laduka conceded defeat to Xu Yi.

• Xu Yi warned Archmage Orphalian to keep away from the altered mana space and invited him to try again.
• Archmage Orphalian gathered the mana of thirteen Great Mages and launched a black sphere at the rectangular mana space.
• The impact revealed countless shimmering lines within the space, which the black sphere absorbed as it expanded.
• The mana space darkened and became unstable, producing strange magical phenomena around its edges.
• Archmage Laduka watched the space near collapse and told Xu Yi that they had lost.

Xu Yi restored the collapsing mana space, forcing Archmages Orphalian and Laduka to concede their wager and agree not to interfere in future disputes between the Xinfei Merchant Guild and the Candel Empire. The two forces then settled into a tense standoff around Mero City, with neither side attacking.

• Archmage Laduka admitted defeat after the mages recognized that Xu Yi had saved them from a mana space chain collapse.
• Archmage Orphalian challenged Xu Yi to restore the damaged mana space, and Xu Yi calmed it until it returned to normal.
• Archmage Orphalian conceded the wager, and he and Archmage Laduka agreed to stay out of future disputes between the Xinfei Merchant Guild and the Candel Empire.
• Xu Yi declared that the Xinfei Merchant Guild could conquer the Candel Empire, while Orphalian called him a madman.
• Archmage Orphalian and Archmage Laduka departed, and the thirteen Great Mages led the Mage Corps to camp with the empire's fifty thousand reinforcements outside Mero City.
• The Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps remained inside Mero City as the Candel Empire forces faced them without attacking.

The Candel Emperor demanded a plan to deal with the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s occupation of Mero City, but Marshal Sudiman admitted the empire’s forces could not defeat its Guard Corps head-on. Sudiman called for extraordinary measures beyond the Military Department, and the emperor agreed.

• The Candel Emperor pressed Marshal Sudiman to explain why the Military Department had no plan for Mero City.
• Sudiman recounted how the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps had routed two Archmages and thirteen Great Mages without deploying any mages.
• The Candel Emperor threatened to replace Sudiman, who asked for another chance to lead the Military Department through the crisis.
• Sudiman concluded that the imperial army must avoid head-on battles with the Guard Corps and seek other ways to exploit the empire’s advantages.
• Sudiman called for extraordinary measures and the Candel Emperor endorsed his proposal.

After the two great empires launched sweeping attacks against the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s allies, Xu Yi dismissed the public’s confidence in their victory and resolved to answer their aggression with war.

• The Malo Empire and Frank Kingdom attacked the Drake Duchy, while another Malo army invaded Lampari Kingdom, forcing both to retreat under assaults led by Archmages.
• The Candel Empire launched attacks on Lampari Kingdom, Rulson Kingdom, and Dero Kingdom, wrecking mines, destabilizing guild holdings, and overrunning most of Wales Duchy.
• Thirteen countries led by the Mana Magical Kingdom invaded the Nozdormu Commercial United Kingdom, whose forces retreated behind the Mana Defense System after repeated defeats.
• Newspapers praised the two great empires and predicted the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s camp would be crushed, shifting public opinion across the continent.
• Xu Yi acknowledged to Archmage Camilla that he had been too idealistic and declared that he would answer the empires’ attacks with war.

Lieutenant Nokmo patrolled the cold outskirts of Greenway while reflecting on how the Lampari Kingdom’s rule had improved his family’s life. He left questioning whether he could still support the Frank Kingdom’s effort to reclaim the town when his sister wished the Lampari Kingdom would occupy it forever.

• Lieutenant Nokmo’s soldiers grumbled about patrolling in the cold and resented being made to do the Malo Empire’s dirty work.
• Lieutenant Nokmo recalled how the Malo-Frank allied forces had retaken Greenway, allowing him to reunite with his family after months without contact.
• His family told him the Lampari Kingdom had reduced taxes, helped with the harvest, and brought jobs that let them earn more than thirty gold coins.
• Lieutenant Nokmo compared his family’s warm, inexpensive new coats and improved harvest with his own thin, costly military coat and modest pay.
• Lieutenant Nokmo remembered his eleven-year-old sister saying she wished the Lampari Kingdom could occupy Greenway forever.

Lieutenant Nokmo’s reconnaissance squad watched the Lampari positions near the Grixius Mountain Ranges during the standoff. He spotted a growing formation of Mana Airships gathering above the mountains, suggesting the Lampari Kingdom was preparing for a major move.

• Lieutenant Nokmo led his squad through the forest toward the Grixius Mountain Ranges and ordered his men to conceal themselves and stay alert.
• Nokmo watched the Lampari positions through a telescope, expecting the enemy to remain out of sight.
• Nokmo spotted a Mana Airship descending into the Lampari positions, apparently carrying supplies.
• More Mana Airships appeared in the southern sky until they formed a vast black cloud above the Grixius Mountain Ranges.
• Nokmo realized that the unusual arrival of so many airships meant something was about to happen.

The Lampari Kingdom launched an offensive from the Grixius Mountain Ranges with unfamiliar Steel Magic Locomotives, which the Marfa Coalition Army’s commanders suspected were Mana Tanks. As four archmages prepared forbidden spells against the advancing troops, more than thirty Mana Airships appeared, leaving their purpose and the battle’s outcome unresolved.

• The Lampari Kingdom broke from its defensive tactics and advanced with Steel Magic Locomotives that senior Malo Empire generals recognized as likely Mana Tanks.
• General Phil ordered the four archmages accompanying the Marfa Coalition Army to intervene against the Lampari Kingdom’s advancing forces.
• The four archmages began casting the forbidden spells Doomsday Calamity, Thunder God Descends, Earth Net Crosses, and Ice Spikes Dance.
• General Phil spotted more than thirty Mana Airships flying from the Grixius Mountain Ranges toward the battlefield.
• The Mana Airships arrived in the range of the four archmages’ forbidden spells, and their next move was left unrevealed.

The Lampari Kingdom’s army overwhelmed the Marfa Coalition Army in the Grixius Mountain Ranges, killing Archmage Nargan and forcing the other three archmages to flee wounded. News of the defeat shocked the continent and left people questioning whether archmages—and the empires they protected—were truly invincible.

• The Lampari Kingdom’s mana airships scattered glittering objects around the battlefield as its mana cannons unleashed a relentless barrage on the Marfa Coalition Army.
• Archmage Nargan and the mages maintaining shields began falling from the sky, and the other three archmages descended beside General Phil.
• An archmage warned General Phil to retreat, but a nearby mana cannon shell exploded and knocked him unconscious.
• News spread that the 160,000-strong Marfa Coalition Army had been crushed by the Lampari Kingdom’s force of just over 40,000, with more than 60,000 coalition troops killed and fewer than 50,000 retreating.
• The report that Archmage Nargan had died and the other three archmages had escaped seriously wounded spread shock and fear across the continent, especially in the Malo and Candel Empires.

The Lampari Kingdom crushed the Marfa Coalition Army, reclaimed the former Frank Kingdom, and then invaded the Malo Empire despite winter conditions. After a week of fighting, the Malo Empire’s defenses collapsed, leaving its territory open to the Lampari army as the new year began.

• On December 6, the Lampari Kingdom’s army captured Saint Luce City and drove the surviving Marfa Coalition troops north.
• On December 9, General Phil surrendered the remaining Marfa Coalition Army at Slode Valley, and the Lampari army soon retook the former Frank Kingdom’s territory.
• On December 23, the Lampari Kingdom’s army crossed the border and invaded the Malo Empire.
• From December 24 to December 30, the Malo Empire lost over one hundred thousand soldiers and several mages while failing to stop the Lampari offensive.
• On January 1, 3783, the Malo Empire’s defensive line had collapsed, leaving the Lampari army free to advance deeper into its territory.

At the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s Main Base, Xu Yi inspected wartime production and reflected on the losses of archmages before hearing that the guild’s planned spending could push it into its first major deficit. The chapter ended with Sebas urging him to stop providing free assistance to the Lampari Kingdom and its allies before the guild went bankrupt.

• Xu Yi inspected the military magic machinery production base and urged Lawens to maintain its efficiency and avoid mistakes.
• Xu Yi reflected on the three archmages killed in the war and regretted losing their talents to the magic industry.
• Sebas presented the guild’s preliminary budget, which projected a deficit of twenty to forty million gold coins.
• Sebas warned Xu Yi that continuing free aid to the Lampari Kingdom and other nations could bankrupt the guild within two years.

At the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s New Year meeting, Xu Yi acknowledged the financial strain of the war but insisted the guild must keep supporting its allies and end the conflict quickly. He then met the returning Guard Corps, whose captain described defeating several Archmages as almost too easy to believe.

• Sebas warned the guild executives that continued war spending could drive the Xinfei Merchant Guild toward bankruptcy, while other leaders argued that the war was necessary and promised future profits.
• Xu Yi rejected reducing support for the Lampari Kingdom and the guild’s other allies, and executives described falling orders, blocked trade routes, and heavy losses.
• Xu Yi concluded that the war had to end as quickly as possible, then finished the meeting without explaining how he planned to achieve that.
• Xu Yi went to the Guard Corps’ training base and greeted Hart as the corps returned safely from its mission.
• Hart told Xu Yi that the corps had defeated several Archmages according to plan, though he was still bewildered by how easily it had happened.

Xu Yi prepared Captain Hart and the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps to keep developing tactics against mages as war with the Two Great Empires escalated. The Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces captured Babrara City after a month-long siege, bringing the Candel Empire's Southwestern Province under enemy control.

• Xu Yi told Captain Hart that the Guard Corps would train further to counter Archmages before its next assignment, and explained that Stille had left for the Demoncloud Continent to investigate Illusion Films and develop its market.
• On January 16, the Rulson Army attacked across the Candel Empire's border, defeated its border forces, and advanced to Mero City to join the Xinfei Merchant Guild Guard Corps.
• The Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces defeated the Southwestern Province Army Corps, then marched toward Babrara City and overcame six attempts to stop their advance.
• The Allied Forces besieged Babrara City for a month, while Xinfei airships and cargo locomotives protected their reinforcements and supplies from Candel Empire attacks.
• After a final breakout attempt cost the Candel Empire more than fifty thousand soldiers and many mages, its remaining forces and five Archmages abandoned Babrara City, and the Southwestern Province fell.

Marquis Descartes arrived in Babrara City to lead the Candel Empire’s peace delegation, aware that the empire’s defeats had forced it to seek terms from the Xinfei Merchant Guild and the Rulson Kingdom. Miss Soriel welcomed him and said President Xu was waiting, leaving Descartes hopeful that the talks would be taken seriously.

• Marquis Descartes and his delegation arrived in Babrara City and were met by Xinfei Merchant Guild guards.
• Marquis Descartes reflected on the Candel Empire’s decision to seek peace after its army failed to stop the allied advance into the Southwestern Province.
• Marquis Descartes recognized that the empire wanted a pause in the war to develop its Military Magic Machinery and catch up with the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
• Miss Soriel greeted Marquis Descartes on behalf of the Xinfei Merchant Guild and led him toward President Xu.
• Marquis Descartes learned that President Xu was present and took it as a sign that the guild was serious about the peace talks.

Xu Yi rejected the Candel Empire’s preliminary peace agreement as insulting and left the talks, making clear that the Xinfei Merchant Guild would rather continue fighting than accept its terms. The chapter ended with Marquis Descartes and the Candel delegation left alone in the drawing room.

• Xu Yi considered the Candel Empire’s request for peace and attended the talks because he was willing to accept a satisfactory settlement.
• Marquis Descartes presented the empire’s preliminary agreement, which offered the Rulson Kingdom preferential access and the Xinfei Merchant Guild favorable trade and legal treatment.
• Xu Yi dismissed the agreement and told Marquis Descartes that the parties could meet on the battlefield instead.
• Xu Yi and the Xinfei Merchant Guild personnel left the drawing room, and Count Didamans criticized the empire’s offer before leaving with the Rulson delegation.
• Marquis Descartes and the remaining Candel Empire delegates sat alone in the room, stunned.

Marquis Descartes’s failed attempts to negotiate gave way to the Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces’ rapid conquest of Candel Empire territory and a wave of provincial secessions. As the allied forces entered Central Province and threatened Wimbledon City, the Xinfei Merchant Guild finally agreed to peace talks, giving the desperate empire a chance to negotiate.

• Marquis Descartes learned that the Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces had captured Mobigan City and, after their requests for talks were refused, concluded that the Candel Empire could only wait on the battlefield.
• The Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces captured Talaman Province in twenty-one days, killing Duke Lagor and defeating or driving back the Archmages sent to reinforce the province.
• Duke Elman Windsor declared Southern Province independent, and Tural Province seceded from the Candel Empire to join the Stantin Duchy, stripping the empire of its southern coast and much of its magic industry.
• Thirteen more provinces declared secession as the Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces advanced, and on August 16 they captured Saint Antonis City and entered Central Province.
• Five days later, Marquis Descartes arrived at Saint Antonis City and learned that the Xinfei Merchant Guild had agreed to another round of peace talks.

Xu Yi presented the Candel Empire with strict ceasefire terms and gave it one week to respond, while Marquis Descartes tried to buy time for the empire. After the delegation departed, Xu Yi and Count Didamans discussed how the war had strengthened the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s position and profits.

• Xu Yi gave Marquis Descartes a ceasefire agreement requiring the Candel Empire to open its economy to the Xinfei Merchant Guild and prohibit research into military magic machinery.
• Marquis Descartes objected to the terms, and Xu Yi said the guild had signed nearly identical agreements with seventeen countries and allowed the empire one week to consider them.
• Count Didamans presented the Rulson Kingdom’s ceasefire agreement, which Marquis Descartes took back with the guild’s terms for the emperor and the Elders' Parliament to review.
• The Candel Empire’s delegation left Saint Antonis City after two days, asking the allied forces to suspend hostilities while it deliberated.
• Count Didamans said Marquis Descartes was stalling, and Xu Yi explained that the war had brought the guild new allies, restored its commerce, and yielded valuable resources and profits.

After the Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces halted outside Saint Antonis City and entered peace talks with the Candel Empire, Xu Yi explained to Stille why he had no intention of capturing Wimbledon City: destroying the empire would fracture it and obstruct the spread of magic industry. He then asked Stille about her inspection of the Demoncloud Continent, and she said it had gone wonderfully.

• The Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces rejected the Candel Empire’s proposed terms, negotiated for five days with Marquis Descartes, and sent him back with a new ceasefire agreement and half a month to consider it.
• While the allied forces remained at Saint Antonis City, Xu Yi and Stille relaxed on a beach in the Tural Autonomous Territory and Stille questioned his decision to delay the advance.
• Xu Yi explained that capturing Wimbledon City would not destroy the Candel Empire and that breaking the empire into smaller states would make spreading magic industry harder.
• Stille agreed that the Xinfei Merchant Guild could not absorb a fragmented empire and complained that promoting the New Moon Merchant Guild’s mana projection devices in the region had been difficult.
• Xu Yi advised Stille to focus on the Demoncloud Continent and asked how her inspection had gone; Stille replied that it had gone wonderfully.

Stille reported on the Demoncloud Continent’s development potential, while Xu Yi weighed its limits and considered how the war with the Candel Empire could affect the Xinfei Merchant Guild’s plans. After peace talks failed, the Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces advanced toward Wimbledon City but were surrounded on the Tara Plain by a vastly larger enemy army.

• Stille told Xu Yi about the Demoncloud Continent’s dragons, local races, human visitors, and potential as an untapped market.
• Xu Yi considered the continent’s resources and weak population, and concluded that the guild still depended on the Sains Continent as its main market.
• Stille asked Xu Yi how long the war would last, and he explained that he wanted the Candel Empire to remain stable and compliant.
• The sixth round of peace talks between the Candel Empire, the Rulson Kingdom, and the Xinfei Merchant Guild ended without an agreement on October 2.
• On October 5, the Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces captured three cities in the Candel Empire’s Central Province and advanced toward Wimbledon City.
• On October 16, the Rulson-Xinfei Allied Forces encountered a 200,000-strong Candel Empire army and 250,000 Malo Empire troops, who surrounded their 60,000 soldiers on the Tara Plain.