Chapter Summaries

Prince Chris received Count Dirac Siso’s warning that the Bohemian Empire had pressured him to betray his country and was massing troops near the border. Chris accepted Dirac’s implied submission and promised supplies and independent troops for Hegrande, while reserving the right to deal with the count if he tried to exploit the aid.

• Chris read Count Dirac Siso’s letter and realized the count’s conflict with the Bohemian Empire was more serious than the letter revealed.
• Gibson explained that the Bohemians had made demands Dirac refused and had sent reinforcements to the border, so the count sought Chris’s instructions and authority.
• Chris considered whether to preserve the aristocracy and decided he could accept Dirac’s allegiance without granting him land.
• Chris told Gibson that he would send captured weapons, equipment, rations, and clothing the next day, along with elite soldiers departing in three days under independent command.
• Gibson knelt and thanked Chris, who remained willing to eliminate Dirac if the count used the aid to cause trouble.

Chris struggled to govern Votradnoi and Ankandela because he lacked reliable grassroots officials, while preparing to let players lead the campaign supporting Hegrande. He began filling low-ranking temporary civil service posts with local supporters, and Old Jack became a Neighborhood Chief in Votradnoi.

• Chris relied on Clerks to help manage Votradnoi and Ankandela while he recruited and trained local civil servants.
• Chris organized player warbands into a legion, with senior officers elected by players and posts carrying the authority to issue quests and rewards.
• T0 players and warband leaders argued over their positions, sometimes settling disputes with violence, while Chris left them to manage themselves.
• Street-Sweeper's favor and Old Jack's help during the city's capture led to Old Jack becoming a grade twenty-four Civil Servant and Neighborhood Chief of Second Street.
• Chris appointed local supporters to temporary low-ranking civil service posts in Votradnoi and Ankandela to expand the cities' administrations quickly.

Old Jack intervened when he discovered Martha and her men abusing a woman and her baby, then faced down her brother Graeme and his thugs. Street-Sweeper arrived after Old Jack blew the alarm whistle and ordered him to cut down the criminals.

• Old Jack entered the tavern in uniform and asserted his authority as Precinct Chief.
• After hearing screams in the kitchen, Old Jack found Martha and two young men beating a bruised woman holding an infant.
• Old Jack arrested Martha and her accomplices after the woman said they had killed her husband and tried to force her to work as a bar girl.
• Graeme arrived with armed thugs and threatened Old Jack, who blew his whistle and warned that the Prince's men were coming.
• Street-Sweeper killed Graeme from behind and ordered Old Jack to cut down the remaining criminals.

Chris dealt with growing unrest in Votradnoi as the underworld attacked his grassroots officials and disrupted food distribution. Just as he considered a crackdown, he learned that Street-Sweeper, the Inquisitor he appointed, was leading a killing spree in the city.

• Chris reviewed the mounting disputes and aid requests while tracking casualties among the bao and jia heads and militia.
• Chris learned that Votradnoi’s power brokers were resisting the baojia system because it threatened their interests.
• Connie reported that the Bloodhand Gang had attacked an eastern district food station, injured three bao heads, and stolen two cartloads of grain.
• Connie told Chris that the gang’s attacks had become more frequent and that a black-market merchant had threatened a tax bureau clerk.
• A messenger reported that Street-Sweeper was leading people on a killing spree inside Votradnoi.

Street-Sweeper recruited solo players into his Inquisitorial retinue, promising them a share of property seized from people accused of conspiring against Prince Chris. The players launched Operation Judgment and poured into Votradnoi, leaving the frightened residents to barricade themselves indoors.

• Street-Sweeper gathered the solo players in their barracks and described attacks on civil servants as evidence of rebellion against Prince Chris.
• Street-Sweeper offered the players numbered acolyte badges that authorized them to judge alleged anti-Prince elements and split confiscated proceeds.
• Professional Grave Robber questioned whether the retinue could legally rob people, while Mountain Patrol Captain insisted they were recovering stolen funds.
• The players took all the badges, and Street-Sweeper announced that Operation Judgment had begun.
• The players charged into Votradnoi, prompting residents to retreat into their homes and lock their doors and windows.

Ironclad Justice and five players used their Inquisitor Attendant Medals to raid a Black Snake Gang hideout, kill its members, and seize valuables and incriminating records. Across Votradnoi, other medal-bearing players began slaughtering suspected criminals after discovering they could kill without losing Reputation Points as long as they avoided civilians.

• Ironclad Justice presented a search warrant at a Black Snake Gang hideout and had a doorman killed before the gang could raise the alarm.
• Ironclad Justice and the five players killed the gang members gathered inside, blocking the exits so none could escape.
• The players searched the hideout, broke open concealed compartments, and found gold, documents, deeds, and loan-sharking records.
• Ironclad Justice ordered the players to keep the deeds and burn the loan-sharking contracts before they left with a cartload of valuables and papers.
• Players across Votradnoi used their Inquisitor Attendant Medals to attack suspected criminals after learning that killing non-civilians did not cost Reputation Points.

Chris sealed Votradnoi overnight to support the Inquisitor’s purge, trapping the city’s gangs while the players hunted them through the streets. By dawn, the city had been swept of gang members and other targets, but Chris worried about the innocent people caught in the violence.

• Connie reported that all four gates were sealed and the Second Infantry Regiment was guarding the exits and underground passages.
• Chris ordered Connie to tell the Inquisitor that Votradnoi would remain sealed until six the next morning, giving the players a free hand to purge the city.
• Panicked gang members tried to escape and attacked soldiers, but the Second Infantry Regiment drove them back with volley fire.
• The players expanded their purge, killing gang members and also targeting suspected criminals, foreign spies, wealthy merchants, and local officials.
• Chris watched the city burn and accepted the cost of using the players, while hoping they had not killed too many innocent people.

After a night of violence in Votradnoi, Old Jack organized the West District militia to remove bodies and blood from Second Street. He compensated Aunt Martha for the damage to her bakery and decided the purge might have left the neighborhood better off.

• Old Jack found the streets outside his home covered in corpses and frozen blood after the night’s battles.
• The District Chief ordered Old Jack to gather the militia, remove the bodies, and scrub the street in exchange for extra supplies.
• Old Jack recruited twenty militiamen with promises of flour and meat, then warned them not to steal from the dead.
• Old Jack went into Aunt Martha’s bloodied, ransacked bakery and discovered that she was alive and furious about the damage.
• Old Jack promised to help restore the bakery and gave Aunt Martha a bag of flour as compensation before concluding that the purge had killed the bad people while the good survived.

Chris reviewed the aftermath of the players’ purge and considered moving into the cleaned city and starting aid for its vulnerable residents. Meanwhile, Knife-in-the-Butt led the expeditionary corps’ vanguard on a rapid march toward Hegrande, bringing about an unexpected encounter near the city.

• Chris read a report recording more than three thousand deaths, including twelve civilians, and judged the players’ purge successful.
• Chris considered repeating Judgment Day in Ankandela, moving into the city, and beginning welfare assistance for vulnerable residents.
• Knife-in-the-Butt won the vanguard command by killing five rival candidates, and his Mountain Tiger Warband became the expeditionary corps’ vanguard.
• Knife-in-the-Butt led five hundred players toward Hegrande on a forced march with minimal equipment and supplies.
• The Mountain Tiger Warband covered sixty kilometers on the first day and sixty-five on the second before an unexpected encounter occurred near Hegrande on the third afternoon.

Knife-in-the-Butt led the Mountain Tiger Warband into a surprise attack that routed a Bohemian vanguard on the mountain road. The players then ambushed the larger Bohemian force from the forest, but had to retreat when its officers led a charge against them.

• Knife-in-the-Butt halted the exhausted players at the forest and signaled them to prepare when he heard the Bohemian vanguard approaching.
• Knife-in-the-Butt ordered two companies to fire volleys while other players flanked through the woods, overwhelming the Bohemians and driving the survivors into flight.
• Knife-in-the-Butt left players to tend the wounded and ordered the pursuers to return after spotting the Bohemian main force below the ridge.
• Old Cat and other players fired from the pine forest at the Bohemian officers, carriage, and supply train, causing chaos among the column.
• Bohemian officers rallied their soldiers and charged into the forest, forcing the concealed players to retreat.

Colonel Carlos repelled an ambush on his column but judged the mountain road too difficult for his formation and ordered a retreat. The players watched the Bohemians withdraw and decided to circle around the rear guard.

• Colonel Carlos ordered his soldiers to steady themselves after attackers fired on the column and struck his adjutant’s carriage.
• After a Bohemian guard was shot, Carlos directed his riflemen to fire toward the attackers’ position in the woods.
• Captain Morris drove the attackers from the woods, and Carlos ordered his men to hold the perimeter and cover the retreat rather than pursue.
• Carlos turned his column around and led the Bohemians back down the mountain road.
• The players decided to leave a few men watching the rear guard while the rest circled around it.

Old Cat infiltrated a Bohemian patrol to inspect its copied grenades and learned that snow could make them misfire. When the patrol rushed to support its captain’s squad, Old Cat used the grenades against them and vanished into the forest.

• Old Cat hid in the snow and watched a twelve-man Bohemian squad, identifying an officer disguised as a private.
• He distracted the patrol, incapacitated its last soldier, and took the man’s helmet, grenades, and insignia to complete his disguise.
• Old Cat learned from another soldier that the copied Bagnian grenades could misfire in winter when snow got into their caps.
• After hearing gunfire from the captain’s squad, Old Cat fell behind the patrol and pulled the cords on two grenades.
• Old Cat tossed the grenades into the running squad and hid as the explosions killed two soldiers.

Little Knife led the Mountain Tiger Warband toward the fighting but could not effectively command the scattered players, who kept harassing the retreating Bohemians. When Captain Morris fell back and the enemy closed in, Colonel Carlos von Stein halted his retreat and ordered his troops to prepare for battle.

• Little Knife stopped his column to survey the forest, then decided to keep moving because its thick trees blocked his view.
• The players pursued the Bohemians through the forest, while Little Knife recognized that the Mountain Tiger Warband's poor coordination made it difficult to direct them at a distance.
• Colonel Carlos von Stein ordered a broken supply wagon abandoned, hoping its cargo would slow the pursuing enemy.
• Carlos's musketeers exchanged fire with player skirmishers, who used rocks and trees to evade their shots.
• A messenger reported that Captain Morris had fallen back with his men and that the enemy had caught up, so Carlos ordered his troops to take a hill and form up for a fight.

Little Knife's Mountain Tiger Warband attacked Carlos's Bohemian force, using scattered flintlock fire against its cramped pike square and artillery. Carlos ordered his infantry to charge, but the players formed small defensive teams in the woods, leaving him uneasy.

• Little Knife assessed the Bohemian formation and its three cannons, then ordered the Mountain Tiger Players to attack despite the difficult terrain and approaching night.
• The Bohemian cannons fired into the woods but hit no players, who had already scattered into cover.
• Little Knife ordered five hundred players to fire, devastating the front ranks of Carlos's spearmen and forcing Carlos and his adjutant behind shields.
• The Bohemian matchlock musketeers exchanged fire with the players, but Carlos saw his troops taking heavier losses.
• Carlos ordered sword-and-shield fighters and rearmed spearmen to charge while the musketeers provided covering fire and the cavalry waited.
• As the Bohemians advanced, the players formed small teams behind trees and rocks and fired rapidly, making Carlos suspect something was wrong.

Little Knife’s players lured the Bohemian Army into breaking formation, then used Aku as bait to draw dozens of pursuers into a powder trap. The ambush succeeded, and Little Knife sent Aku toward a second trap as nearby Bohemians approached.

• Little Knife watched the Bohemian soldiers scatter across the mountainside after abandoning their formation to pursue the players.
• Aku shot a Bohemian soldier and led the pursuing troops through the snowy forest toward the stump marking the prepared trap.
• Little Knife detonated the buried explosive charges when the Bohemians surrounded Aku’s hiding place, killing or disorienting many soldiers.
• Little Knife and the other players opened fire on the confused Bohemians, while Aku reloaded and shot a fleeing snaphaunce gunner.
• Little Knife told Aku to fall back toward a second trap, and Aku killed a wounded Bohemian who grabbed his ankle.

Colonel Carlos recognized that the Bagnian skirmishers had lured the Bohemian Army into the mountains and were attacking its scattered units. As a unit sent up the army’s highest-level distress flare, Carlos ordered the emergency retreat signal lit.

• A messenger told Carlos that Third Company had gone silent and Fifth Company was retreating after heavy losses, so Carlos ordered Seventh Company and the Mountain Rangers to support it.
• Explosive gliders struck near Carlos’s position but caused little damage, while the attacks convinced his adjutant that the enemy was an elite force and urged a retreat.
• Carlos recalled the Bohemian units to camp after learning how effectively the Bagnians used flintlocks, terrain, and guerrilla tactics to inflict casualties.
• A red distress flare rose over a distant hill, and Carlos realized the Bagnians had deliberately drawn his forces apart to trap them.
• Carlos ordered three bonfires lit in a triangle to signal an emergency retreat.

Little Knife and his scattered Mountain Tiger Warband survivors fought their way through the chaotic night battle, repeatedly ambushing Bohemian soldiers and fleeing as fresh enemies appeared. They ended the chapter still lost in the woods after discovering the Bohemian camp and narrowly avoiding being caught in another players’ raid.

• Little Knife led Aku and two players in a charge that routed more than thirty Bohemian soldiers, though he suffered a serious shoulder wound and injured his back.
• When a new Bohemian force pursued the wounded players, other players ambushed the soldiers and gave Little Knife’s group time to escape.
• Little Knife gathered lost survivors as his dwindling team moved through the woods, shooting soldiers in blue and exchanging passwords with players in green.
• Aku mistook the Bohemian camp for reinforcements, but Little Knife recognized the clearing where they had fought earlier.
• Third Company, led by Iron Hammer, charged the camp with torches and a cannon, then abruptly withdrew as Little Knife’s group joined the attack.
• Little Knife’s group retreated under scattered gunfire and stopped to treat a player who had injured his foot.

Colonel Carlos’s Bohemian force was overwhelmed by green attackers in a night assault, and he fled the camp before plunging from a cliff into a river. He survived and reached the bank with his pocket watch stopped at 1:23, while the camp still burned behind him.

• Carlos hesitated between retreating and holding until dawn as the camp came under fire and lost more soldiers.
• An explosion destroyed the western defenses, and Carlos ordered the remaining troops to break out southeast as the green attackers stormed the camp.
• The breakout fell apart amid the attackers’ reckless assault, and Carlos’s guard captain died protecting him.
• After the players began pursuing him to capture him alive, Carlos ran to a cliff and jumped into the darkness.
• Carlos survived the fall into the river, crawled ashore, and found his pocket watch stopped at 1:23.

Lin Ruoyu struggled to control the unruly players in his expeditionary army while learning that the Mountain Tiger Warband had suffered devastating losses fighting a Bohemian advance force. He ordered supplies sent to support the battered warband, two days ahead.

• Lin Ruoyu found players racing mounts, running a marketplace, and gambling with a supply wagon, so he punished the offenders and deducted their warbands' military merit.
• Lin Ruoyu received a delayed report that the Mountain Tiger Warband had routed over two thousand enemies, suffered heavy casualties, and captured four hundred prisoners.
• Lin Ruoyu concluded that the Mountain Tiger Warband was too depleted to serve as the vanguard and worried that the report understated its losses.
• Lin Ruoyu learned the warband was two days away and ordered a unit to carry supplies to them on a forced march.

Philip, a captured Bohemian soldier, searched a ravine for the dead while a wounded Bagnian player watched over him. The bodies revealed how a small band of Bagnians had routed a much larger Bohemian force, leaving Philip afraid to resist his captors.

• Little Knife’s wounded survivors made prisoners search the mountains for fallen players and mark the bodies with red flags.
• Philip uncovered a Bagnian Rifleman and three dead Bohemian Sword-and-Shield Fighters, whose wounds showed the Rifleman had killed them in brutal close combat.
• Philip found five Bagnian bodies surrounded by heaps of Bohemian soldiers and inferred that a dozen or so skirmishers had defeated a mixed Bohemian company of roughly a hundred men.
• Philip watched his injured overseer curse him and abandoned the idea he had been considering.