Chapter Summaries

Mulan led the Forward Legion to capture Dover in a surprise night attack, then found the healed breach to the otherworld and entered with Balu to recover the Book of Dawn. He followed its beacon deeper into the gray realm while Black Castle students worked to keep the passage open.

• Mulan ordered the Forward Legion to march directly toward Dover after defeating Kingsbia forces at the Twin Heaven Mountain front.
• The Forward Legion attacked Dover before dawn, and Dierjia soldiers overwhelmed the demoralized defenders and hunted down Werewolves.
• Mulan entered Dover and used Fang to reveal a faint crack where the breach had once been.
• Mulan told the Black Castle students to create a Gate Ritual outside, then stepped into the otherworld with Balu.
• Mulan placed a special bullet at the entrance and followed the Mark of Dawn, which appeared to him as a beacon.

Mulan summoned the Raven Queen’s power in the Otherworld, sending a vast swarm of crows after the vampire and Farolynch. As the two enemies mistook the crows for a terrifying entity and prepared to cooperate, Mulan watched from the shadows, surprised by how easily his plan was working.

• Mulan and Balu crossed an Otherworld storm while Mulan followed the Dawn Mark toward two distant phantom images.
• Mulan called on the Raven Queen, and countless crows emerged from the blackened storm and flew toward the vampire and Farolynch.
• The vampire fled through a cracked wasteland with the nearly drained Farolynch, but crows poured from the fissures and overwhelmed the sky.
• Mulan sensed the vampire’s fear and Farolynch’s unease, then projected eerie laughter through the crows to unsettle them.
• Farolynch asked whether the vampire’s offer to cooperate still stood, and the vampire freed him and returned blood to his body.
• Mulan watched from the shadows as Farolynch’s magic power surged and wondered whether the plan had really been that easy.

Mulan rescued Farolynch from the crows after bluffing the vampire into staying behind, and they hurried to find Shire and the others. Shire fought off skeletons with the Book of Dawn until a light-wreathed spear and the crows struck the pursuing horde, while Mulan and Farolynch raced to reach the group and escape the Otherworld.

• The vampire and Farolynch fought giant crows, and the vampire realized their assault had been staged to distract and unsettle him.
• Farolynch’s Mark of Dawn led him to Mulan, who said he had bluffed the vampire and hurried with Farolynch to find Shire and the others.
• Shire led Xin Erwei and her two children through the forest as a rising river and hordes of skeletons pursued them.
• Shire used the Book of Dawn to hold back the skeletons and vengeful spirits as his strength and magic power dwindled.
• A gunshot sounded, a glowing spear tore through the skeletons, and a flock of crows attacked the horde.
• Mulan and Farolynch ran toward Shire’s group and urged them to leave the Otherworld immediately.

Mulan rescued Farolynch, Shire, Xin Erwei, and her children from the Otherworld and brought them to the exit, where Shire faced the prospect of being exposed as a half-vampire. Before they could leave, Sebastina entered the Otherworld, recognized Mulan as the Apostle, and offered to prove her loyalty.

• Mulan used the Book of Dawn and Ring of Light to clear a path, then launched himself and the group through the Otherworld with a Ritual Array.
• Mulan warned that Shire might not escape punishment as a half-vampire, while Shire accepted his fate and Farolynch pleaded for another way.
• As crows gathered overhead, Mulan silenced them and prepared to leave with Shire, but Sebastina entered the Otherworld.
• Mulan sensed a threat in Sebastina’s knowledge of the Apostle and nearly attacked her, but Sebastina knelt and declared her devotion to him.
• Mulan agreed to trust Sebastina for now if she would do him a favor.

Mulan returned from the Otherworld with Sebastina and Balu, carrying the Book of Dawn as the recovered holy relic, while Sebastina secretly retrieved the Dollhouse and its occupants. The vampire remained trapped in the Otherworld, where the Raven Queen appeared through a projection and her ravens attacked him.

• Mulan, Sebastina, and Balu emerged from the rift, and Mulan announced that he had secured the holy relic, the Book of Dawn.
• Mulan ordered the troops to resume their duties and instructed the students to keep the neighborhood guarded after Professor Haisen sealed the rift.
• Mulan and Professor Haisen left to prepare a seal for the relic while Sebastina secretly used her scarf to retrieve the Dollhouse and provide its occupants with food and water.
• The vampire remained trapped in the Otherworld as ravens continued to follow him and his fear and mental strength deteriorated.
• The Raven Queen manifested as a projection, overwhelmed the vampire's resistance, and sent her ravens to peck at him.

Mulan and Haisen sealed the Book of Dawn while Mulan used the process to test Haisen and affect the watching students. After the Forward Legion rested in Dover, it continued toward Kingsbia’s Royal Capital to capture the king, as resistance to Dierjia’s advance faltered.

• Mulan and Haisen carefully contained the Book of Dawn’s power and sealed it inside a rune-covered wooden box.
• Haisen briefly saw an indistinct pattern in the relic’s light, while Mulan suspected the watching students might be affected by it.
• The Forward Legion rested in Dover for three days as supplies arrived and Kingsbia’s attempt to intercept them failed.
• The Forward Legion set out for Kingsbia’s Royal Capital with orders to take the king back to Dierjia under guard.
• Nobles and royal guards in the Royal Capital grew fearful as the approaching legion met little resistance from nearby garrisons.

Kingsbia’s leaders argued over the kingdom’s collapsing defenses, but the king rejected the chancellor’s proposal to submit to Dierjia. As the Forward Legion reached the burning Lombati Forest, Mulan’s troops survived a mass stampede of fleeing animals and heard a mysterious call from the forest’s heart.

• Marshal Gauss and the ministers argued over whether Kingsbia could defend the Royal Capital, while the king asked the chancellor for advice.
• The chancellor urged the king to send envoys to Dierjia and accept defeat, but the king refused and defended the Life Divine Religion.
• Three days later, reports arrived that Kingsbia had suffered further defeats and that cities and legions had fallen or surrendered.
• Marshal Gauss ordered Lombati Forest burned to block the Forward Legion’s route to the Royal Capital.
• Mulan formed a defensive line as animals fleeing the fire charged into the Forward Legion, and soldiers opened fire to protect themselves.
• Mulan, Haisen, Sebastina, and the soldiers heard a powerful call from deep within the forest and sensed that a wondrous being lived there.

After a forest fire drove animals toward the Forward Legion, Mulan investigated a mysterious cry and considered the fate of elves while reading Sebastina’s research. A sorrowful blue-green creature appeared in the red sky, but Mulan realized he had seen it in a dream.

• The Forward Legion gathered animals killed in the stampede, and Mulan ordered the soldiers to hold a barbecue feast rather than detour immediately.
• Haisen entered the Great Lombati Forest to investigate the mysterious sound, while Sebastina reported that Dover had escaped safely.
• Mulan read Sebastina’s account of the Raven Queen and wrote that elves may have been the first victims of the otherworld’s formation.
• Mulan saw a blue-green, flame-like creature rise above the forest and heard its sorrowful cry.
• Mulan found himself awake inside his tent and realized the creature’s appearance had been a dream.

Haisen found the mysterious creature in the Great Lombati Forest and persuaded it to leave the burning woods with him. It followed him to the Forward Legion’s camp, where it approached Mulan, revealing that he was the person it had wanted to see.

• Haisen cleared the smoke from the lake and used music and magic to communicate with the creature hiding beneath the water.
• The creature told Haisen it wanted to see a noble soul in the direction he had come from, then surfaced and agreed to leave with him.
• Haisen led the powerful blue-green creature out of the burning forest and toward the Forward Legion’s camp.
• The creature passed Haisen and approached Mulan, bowing low as the soldiers watched.
• Haisen realized that Mulan Jonester was the person the creature had been waiting to see.

Mulan met an elf that had emerged from the Great Lombati Forest, and it joined with him after sensing a mysterious urge to meet him. The elf remained connected to Mulan, while he and the others were left with more questions than answers.

• Mulan recognized the mysterious creature as a genuine elf, and Haisen confirmed that it had come from the forest seeking him.
• The elf told Mulan it had sensed his presence but did not understand why it wanted to meet him.
• Mulan invited the elf to stay by his side so they could uncover the reason together.
• The elf pressed its forehead to Mulan’s, and blue-green light surged through the camp before merging into him.
• Mulan sensed the elf’s continued presence and returned to his tent, where Haisen, Sebastina, and several bishops questioned him, but he could not answer them.

After waiting for the Great Lombati Forest fire to subside, Mulan led the Forward Legion toward Lombardier and inspired his troops to press on. The Dierjia forces overwhelmed Kingsbia’s defenses, and King Qiersuos was captured and ordered to face Queen Nisheriel in Digo.

• Mulan led the Forward Legion through the scorched Great Lombati Forest and encouraged the soldiers by predicting its recovery and declaring their mission to end the war.
• The Forward Legion approached Lombardier as Marshal Gauss’s outnumbering Kingsbia defenders braced for battle.
• Haisen rallied the Forward Legion, and its longer-ranged artillery opened fire on the Kingsbia defensive lines.
• Dierjia forces and resistance fighters broke through Kingsbia’s defenses and reached the Royal Palace, while the king’s messengers and ministers failed to assemble.
• A Dierjia officer confronted King Qiersuos in the Council Hall and announced that he would be taken prisoner to Digo to face Queen Nisheriel.

News of the Forward Legion’s capture of Lombardier and King Qiersuos swept through Dierjia, turning its people’s anxiety about the war into celebration. In Valentine, Leo and Old Buck read about Mulan Jonester’s victory and reflected on how he had become a national hero.

• After a string of victories, the Forward Legion captured Lombardier and Legion Commander Mulan Jonester captured King Qiersuos, ending the war.
• Nisheriel received the urgent dispatch, and the Imperial Daily’s editor-in-chief ordered the printed papers scrapped and a new edition rushed out with the victory as its headline.
• Digo’s newsboys announced the victory, and crowds fought to buy newspapers and celebrated the Forward Legion’s success.
• Students and professors at the Black Castle celebrated, while news of the victory and the seized Holy Relic spread across the Empire.
• In Valentine, Leo read the local newspaper’s praise of Mulan to Old Buck, who tearfully said Mulan had grown into a great hero.

Mulan stabilized Kingsbia, warned its leaders that the Life Divine Religion could return, and led the Forward Legion home to a triumphant reception in Dierjia. In Digo, he brought King Qiersuos before Nisheriel, where Kingsbia’s defeat and vassal status were to be formalized.

• Mulan helped Kingsbia’s officials restore order, formed a police force, and ordered the arrest or expulsion of the Life Divine Religion’s priests.
• In early April, the Forward Legion left Lombardier as Kingsbians gathered to see the disciplined soldiers off, and Mulan warned the old chancellor to guard against the cult’s eventual return.
• The Forward Legion crossed the recovering Great Lombati Forest and traveled by train toward Dierjia, where crowds welcomed the returning soldiers.
• The Forward Legion held a victory parade through Digo, and Mulan brought King Qiersuos to the Digo Royal Palace.
• Nisheriel confronted Qiersuos, who bowed to her as Kingsbia prepared to sign an armistice and become Dierjia’s vassal state.

After the Forward Legion’s victory over Kingsbia, Nisheriel considered how its influence could reshape the imperial army and summoned Mulan to discuss his reward. Mulan requested to study the Holy Relic and give every legionnaire a keepsake, then inspected the iron badges being made for the soldiers.

• Nisheriel summoned Mulan to the Royal Palace and offered him a reward for winning the war.
• Mulan declined a personal reward and asked to study the Holy Relic and give every Forward Legion soldier a keepsake.
• Nisheriel proposed preserving the Forward Legion’s identity across the imperial army and asked whether its soldiers would obey Mulan again in the future.
• Mulan affirmed the soldiers’ loyalty, and Nisheriel announced that decorations and titles would be awarded at victory banquets.
• After leaving Nisheriel, Mulan visited a smithy and approved a flame-shaped badge resembling the Dawn Mark.

After Walton’s Strange Sorcery turned Mulan into a child, he hid from the Black Castle’s students and fled Chris when she discovered him. Safe in the Magic Department’s Golden Hall, Mulan began analyzing the spell’s weaknesses and postponed his duties while he waited to recover.

• Mulan disguised himself in an oversized raincoat and went to Matt’s laboratory, where Matt warned him not to let Chris see his changed appearance.
• Chris spotted Mulan under the table and lunged after him, but Matt tried to restrain her while Mulan escaped through the door.
• Mulan ran to the Magic Department’s Golden Hall and realized the Ring of Light had resisted Walton’s Strange Sorcery, giving him a clue about how the spell worked.
• Mulan concluded that Strange Sorcery could be countered through a substitute or by resisting its mental influence, though his transformed body still weakened his abilities.
• Mulan wrote letters postponing his invitations and informing the Queen he would be occupied with research, then arranged for a Service Department employee to deliver them.

Mulan studied in the Golden Hall while the elf offered to help with the Strange Sorcery, but Walton arrived and dispelled it by taking a photograph. After a confrontation over the camera, Walton brought the photograph to Nisheriel, then Mulan returned to Matt’s workshop and continued making badges with the students.

• The elf told Mulan it might transfer the Strange Sorcery to itself, while Mulan wondered whether it could read his thoughts.
• Walton flashed a camera at Mulan and used it to undo the spell, restoring Mulan’s body to normal.
• Mulan attacked Walton and destroyed the camera with Ring of Light, but Walton escaped with the film.
• Walton showed Nisheriel the photograph and handed her the film in exchange for fifty thousand Gold Di and an order to destroy it.
• Mulan returned to Matt’s underground workshop, where he helped the students engrave flame-shaped badges, and the elf remarked on their significance.

Mulan Jonester received the title of First-Rank Viscount and the honorary office of Forward Legion commander in perpetuity, then told the legion its temporary formation would be disbanded. The soldiers swore they would return if called and vowed that the legion would live forever, awakening a mysterious flame sensed across the land and provoking a reaction among the holy relics.

• Mulan arrived at the Digo Grand Cathedral, where Queen Nisheriel awarded him a medal, the rank of First-Rank Viscount, and the honorary office of Forward Legion commander in perpetuity.
• At the legion’s victory banquet, Mulan announced that the temporary Forward Legion would disband and its soldiers would return to their original units.
• Mulan urged the soldiers to remember their legion, and they promised to return if summoned and swore that the legion would live forever.
• Mulan distributed glowing legion badges as the soldiers roared, “Forward Legion! Unstoppable!”
• Walton, Sebastina, and others sensed a strange flame beyond Digo City, while the Book of Dawn ignited and triggered a reaction among the other holy relics.

Farolynch, Shire, Xin Erwei, and her children returned to Great Oak Town after the war and settled in Xin Erwei’s old family home. Shire found purpose in his new companions, while the town began recovering and Farolynch and Xin Erwei reunited as a family.

• Shire explained that the war had cost him his family’s fortune and noble status, but Farolynch reminded him that he had gained loyal companions and a shared purpose.
• Farolynch reassured Shire that his lack of bloodlust made him more faithful to the true path of the Different-Bloods than ordinary vampires.
• After several days of travel, Farolynch and the others reached Great Oak Town, where Xin Erwei reunited with Uncle Lumi beneath the ancient oak.
• Uncle Lumi welcomed Xin Erwei and her family home and told them that Mulan and the Forward Legion had driven out the cult and rebel troops.
• Shire hypnotized Xin Erwei’s children and tucked them into bed, then complained about hearing Farolynch and Xin Erwei together in the next room.

Mulan traveled under the Shadow Demon identity with Redhead and three others, where he encountered two unusual men aboard a ferry in Bassman. He revealed that a newly published Black Castle periodical discussed elves, leaving the elderly wizard astonished that it could be bought with money.

• Mulan boarded a ferry with Redhead and three others, whose altered identities and appearances helped conceal that they were wanted men.
• An elderly gentleman questioned Redhead about how the four had survived, then withdrew after they angrily drove him away.
• Mulan recognized that the elderly man and his student were likely Lighthouse Wizards after overhearing them debate Spirit Speech and elves.
• Mulan claimed that Mulan Jonester's article in the second issue of Truth and Magic proved elves existed, then recited its account of them.
• Mulan said the magic periodical was published by the Black Castle and could be bought, and the elderly wizard stood up in astonishment.

Mulan persuaded the Lighthouse Wizard Hope to help repair Redhead and his companions’ badly corroded souls, proposing a way to use magical anesthesia to reduce rejection and pain. Hope agreed to attempt the treatment, and Mulan suggested they publish their results in the next issue of Truth and Magic.

• Mulan described Truth and Magic’s extensive article on elves to Hope, then explained that Redhead and his companions urgently needed help with their damaged souls.
• Hope examined Redhead and agreed to help after learning how severely his soul had been corroded.
• Mulan and Hope discussed using a gel to repair the soul’s defects and deceiving the soul into accepting treatment by anesthetizing its senses.
• Mulan persuaded Hope that the soul-repair method was worth trying, and they began preparing the alchemical treatment with Redhead as their patient.
• Mulan proposed writing up the results for the third issue of Truth and Magic, and Hope eagerly embraced the idea.