Chapter Summaries

Meredith wrote Emperor Wyatt Kash Fernal a report on the Bohemian army’s stalled campaign against Count Siso at Hegrande and proposed negotiating with Prince Chris. He sealed the letter and ordered it sent home at the highest priority.

• Meredith drafted a report while the Bohemian and Bagnian armies exchanged artillery fire around Hegrande.
• Meredith described Count Siso’s refusal to accept his offers and detailed Hegrande’s defenses and the resolve of its soldiers.
• Meredith reported that Prince Chris had led five thousand elite troops south and that his forces used flintlocks, while Colonel Carlos survived a severe fall.
• Meredith outlined options to pressure Hegrande, assault it, or negotiate with Prince Chris for army passage and food aid.
• Meredith sealed the letter with the Bohemian agency’s emblem and ordered it sent back home at the highest priority.

Meredith watched Prince Chris's Army arrive near Hegrande and observed the Bohemian forces preparing to intercept it and attack the city. The chapter ended with Prince Chris's advanced cannons opening fire while the Bohemian artillery fell silent, prompting Meredith to send his bodyguard captain to investigate.

• Meredith heard that Prince Chris's Army had appeared in the eastern river valley and saw its supply wagons and eagle banner approaching.
• The Bohemian Army sent cavalry and infantry with cannons to intercept Prince Chris's Army, while another force advanced toward Hegrande after the city gates opened.
• The Bohemian artillery fired on Hegrande and the forces near its walls as Meredith watched from camp.
• Prince Chris's Army began firing sharper, more accurate cannons from the eastern ridge.
• Meredith noticed that the Bohemian cannons had stopped firing and ordered his bodyguard captain to find out why.

Little Lackey commanded a heavily armed artillery position guarding the approaches to the Expeditionary Army and Hegrande. When Bohemian cavalry charged the position, his guns opened fire, leaving the outcome of the assault unresolved.

• Little Lackey prepared an artillery position with twenty Six-Pounder Field Guns, fifty Crouching Tiger Cannons, fifty Shield Wagons, and a thousand heavily armored infantrymen.
• Little Lackey spotted Bohemian cavalry near the treeline and ordered the gun crews to stand ready.
• The Bohemian cavalry charged the artillery position from two kilometers away.
• Little Lackey’s gunners fired a ranging shot, adjusted their aim, and unleashed a salvo of solid shot at the advancing cavalry.

York’s Bohemian Cuirassiers charged an enemy artillery line but were devastated by cannon, machine fire, and muskets. The Han-Tang Warriors watched the battered survivors approach, frustrated that the attack had left too few cavalrymen for their planned heavy-infantry battle.

• York joined the Bohemian cavalry charge, which came under long-range fire from enemy cannons and Chain Shot.
• The colonel urged the riders onward as they charged toward artillery protected by Shield Wagons.
• Enemy cannons and guns tore through the cavalry, and York fell from his wounded horse as the attack reached the enemy line.
• Two hundred musketeers fired a volley, leaving only a little over fifty riders able to continue charging.
• The Han-Tang Warriors complained that the survivors were too few for their planned fight, while Little Knife’s Mountain Tiger Warband’s viral victories fueled their envy.
• A Han-Tang Warrior told his comrades to wait for the enemy infantry to arrive before attacking.

Artillery Major Ackerman realized a flank attack had trapped Colonel Saily’s cavalry and ordered the assault on Hegrande City abandoned. Black-and-White Bear watched the Bohemian infantry hesitate as reinforcements and supply wagons neared the city.

• Artillery Major Ackerman directed the bombardment of Hegrande City while its defenders continued firing back with a few cannons.
• Ackerman heard artillery from a hill on the flank and spotted Bohemian cavalry charging an enemy position with at least twenty guns.
• Ackerman sent a messenger to tell the colonel to cancel the ambush and join Colonel Lasu’s troops because Colonel Saily’s cavalry had fallen into a trap.
• Black-and-White Bear recalled that Bohemian Cuirassiers had charged the artillery position, where twenty Six-Pounder Cannons killed many of them while he escaped unharmed despite being shot twice.
• Black-and-White Bear watched Bohemian infantry hesitate at the grove as supply wagons and Count’s Army cavalry approached Hegrande City.

Black-and-White Bear watched the Bohemians attack the Expeditionary Army’s artillery position and transport convoy from several directions. As both sides exchanged cannon fire, a bouncing cannonball nearly hit him before lodging in an Ammunition Wagon.

• The Bohemians sent infantry against the artillery position from both sides and dispatched two light cavalry detachments toward the transport convoy.
• Black-and-White Bear watched the Six-Pounder Field Guns struggle to hit the Bohemian cavalry as it moved along the edge of their range.
• Signal flares revealed three hundred dismounted Bohemian infantry following the cavalry toward the convoy.
• The Six-Pounder Field Guns split their third volley between the advancing infantry on the left and right.
• After the Bohemian infantry returned fire, a cannonball bounced through the artillery position and narrowly missed Black-and-White Bear before lodging in an Ammunition Wagon’s axle.

Black-and-White Bear and the Expeditionary Army endured a fierce artillery exchange before repelling the first Bohemian infantry assaults. As Bohemian cavalry charged the artillery position’s exposed left flank, Black-and-White Bear led fewer than fifty Han-Tang Warriors to meet them.

• Black-and-White Bear dodged a cannonball as the artillery duel began, and the Expeditionary Army’s six-pound guns gradually suppressed the Bohemian artillery.
• Bohemian heavy guns damaged the Shield Wagons and caused fifteen casualties, so Little Minion moved Musketeers and armored players behind the hill while the crews repaired the defenses.
• The Bohemian infantry advanced under cover of the artillery and exchanged fire with the Expeditionary Army, whose Flintlocks and Crouching Tiger Cannons devastated the attackers.
• More Bohemian infantry charged the Shield Wagon line with Hooked Sickle Spears, but Black-and-White Bear expected the Musketeers to stop them.
• A lookout warned that Bohemian cavalry had reached the artillery position’s left flank, and Little Minion ordered Chain Shot prepared.
• Black-and-White Bear led fewer than fifty Han-Tang Warriors into a two-rank line to face the approaching cavalry.

Black-and-White Bear led the Han-Tang Warriors’ Mo Dao Heavy Infantry against a Bohemian cavalry charge, inflicting heavy losses before the riders broke through toward the artillery. The Bohemian infantry followed into the position, where player Heavy Infantry counterattacked and routed them as Black-and-White Bear rushed back too late to join the fight.

• Black-and-White Bear ordered fifty Han-Tang Warriors to meet the Bohemian cavalry with their Mo Dao, cutting down the leading horses and riders.
• The Han-Tang Warriors switched ranks and killed more cavalry, but the charge broke through their formation, killing about a dozen players and reaching the artillery position.
• The Bohemian cavalry disrupted the Riflemen’s volleys and the Crouching Tiger Cannons’ reloading, allowing the Bohemian infantry to cross the killing zone.
• A whistle signaled the Riflemen and gunners to withdraw behind the Shield Wagons, while player Heavy Infantry charged the cavalry inside the position.
• Hundreds of player Heavy Infantry attacked the Bohemian infantry, slaughtering the Hooked Sickle Spear troops and forcing the survivors to flee before Black-and-White Bear returned.

Black-and-White Bear killed a Mountain Wolf player after he mocked him, then learned the Bohemians were retreating before the supply convoy reached the city. General Otto von Sternberg and Meredith reviewed the failed interception and concluded that Prince Chris's reinforcements, heavy infantry, artillery, and winter supply problems made continuing the campaign dangerous.

• Black-and-White Bear killed a Mountain Wolf player who mocked his grooming, and the Han-Tang Warriors faced down the man's companions.
• Black-and-White Bear heard the Bohemian retreat drums and protested that the supply convoy had not yet entered the city.
• Meredith confronted General Otto von Sternberg, who reported that the interception had failed and cost twelve hundred soldiers.
• General Otto explained that nearly a thousand disciplined heavy infantry had blocked the cavalry charge, and Meredith recognized their armor was not Bagnian-made.
• A messenger reported that Prince Chris's supply convoy had broken through the last defensive line and was entering the fortress.
• General Otto warned Meredith that winter supply shortages, Prince Chris's reinforcements, and the enemy's artillery made continued fighting unlikely to succeed.

The Bohemian envoy’s attempt to negotiate with Hegrande was driven off by Chris’s Expeditionary Army, prompting Count Siso to join its attack on the Bohemian camp. General Otto seized on the defenders’ sortie and ordered his forces to attack.

• The Bohemians sent an envoy to Hegrande as winter supplies and morale dwindled.
• The Expeditionary Army camped outside Hegrande and fired warning shots to turn the envoy away.
• Count Siso watched the envoy retreat and ordered Hegrande’s defenders to join the attack.
• The city gates opened, and Count Siso’s soldiers surged out alongside Chris’s Expeditionary Army.
• General Otto ordered the Bohemian forces to attack the Bagnian troops as they advanced from the city.

Lin Ruoyu realized the Count's Army was leaving Hegrande City as the Expeditionary Army advanced, but the players pressed on and suppressed the Bohemian forces with artillery, rifles, and Heavy Infantry. General Otto stayed calm, intending to let the enemy Heavy Infantry become isolated so he could destroy them.

• Lin Ruoyu saw the Count's Army pour out of Hegrande City and tried to slow the players so they could cover its exit, but they ignored him.
• Black-and-White Bear led the Heavy Infantry forward in formation as the Expeditionary Army's Six-Pounder Field Guns bombarded the assembling Bohemians.
• Bohemian guns fired on the Heavy Infantry, while the player artillerymen returned fire at the enemy gun positions.
• Riflemen players advanced along the Heavy Infantry's flanks and unleashed a continuous barrage that pinned down the Bohemian ranks.
• General Otto watched the Bohemians fall back and told his adjutant he wanted the enemy Heavy Infantry isolated before destroying it.

The Expeditionary Army’s Iron Cone broke through the Bohemian camp’s barricades, but the heavy infantry rushed inside and fell into a trap of pike squares and matchlock troops. Outside, Lin Ruoyu ordered a feigned retreat to lure the Bohemian sword-and-shield fighters and cavalry into range of the wagon formation’s guns.

• The Han-Tang Warriors and other heavy infantry players smashed through the barricades and routed the Bohemian defenders, with Black-and-White Bear cutting down a sword-and-shield fighter.
• Black-and-White Bear sensed danger inside the camp, but the players ignored his order to halt and pursued fleeing Bohemian soldiers among the tents.
• Bohemian pike squares emerged on both sides as matchlock troops fired from ahead, trapping the heavy infantry inside the camp.
• Black-and-White Bear led the Han-Tang Warriors against the pikes while players with Crouching Tiger Cannons, bows, and pistols attacked the matchlock troops.
• Bohemian sword-and-shield fighters drove back the skirmishers as light cavalry approached the wagon formation, and Lin Ruoyu ordered a feigned retreat to draw them closer.
• The skirmishers abandoned weapons and fled as the Bohemian cavalry moved to cut them off before they could reach the wagon formation.

Call Me Aku helped the skirmishers retreat by firing on the run, then took cover behind a wagon as their volleys devastated the pursuing Bohemian infantry. When Bohemian cavalry charged and enemy artillery struck the wagon line, Aku suspected Lin Ruoyu had left them in a dangerous position and ordered the players to form a hollow square.

• Call Me Aku reloaded his flintlock while running and shot down two pursuing Sword-and-Shield Fighters.
• Aku dropped flat as the skirmishers behind the wagons unleashed a volley that killed or wounded players and dozens of Bohemian fighters.
• Aku took cover behind a wagon and watched the skirmishers’ second volley drive the battered Bohemians back.
• A player spotted Bohemian Light Cavalry charging from the left, and Aku called for the players to fire as their cannons opened up.
• A Bohemian cannonball struck the wagon wreckage, and Aku cursed Lin Ruoyu before ordering the skirmishers to form a hollow square.

Aku organized the players into a hollow square to withstand a charge by the Bohemian Light Cavalry. After the formation survived the first assault while scattered players and smaller groups were overwhelmed, Aku rallied the survivors to form a Great Square Formation.

• Aku assembled over a hundred players into a hollow square and ordered its ranks to fire at the approaching Bohemian Light Cavalry.
• The cavalry split around the square, fired pistols into the players, and charged into the formation, causing heavy casualties and a close melee.
• Aku called unaffiliated players to fill the gaps, but some stayed outside while cavalry attacked the scattered fighters and smaller formations.
• The hollow square held against the assault, and the Bohemian cavalry withdrew to regroup for another charge.
• Aku called the surviving players to rally around him and form a Great Square Formation.

Aku led the players’ hollow square against the Bohemian Light Cavalry, whose charges broke through the thinning flanks and turned the formation into a close-quarters melee. The players kept fighting inside the square as more cavalry and the returning Sword-and-Shield Fighters converged on the battle.

• Aku ordered the players to brace their bayonets and fire as the Bohemian Light Cavalry launched its second charge.
• The players fired and thrust their bayonets, stopping some riders while others pressed into the formation.
• Aku realized the players had weakened the flanks by reinforcing the front and urged them to let the cavalry enter the hollow square.
• Bohemian cavalrymen broke through the left flank and then the front, triggering a chaotic melee inside the square.
• The players used their flintlocks and bayonets to fight the mounted cavalry at close range as casualties mounted.
• The Sword-and-Shield Fighters returned, while more Bohemian Light Cavalry rode toward the wagon camp to intercept them.

Lin Ruoyu unleashed twenty-four improved rockets on the Bohemian forces, devastating the battlefield and prompting the Count's Army to prepare a pursuit. Before he could order a second salvo, an enraged player shot him in the back.

• Lin Ruoyu prepared twenty-four second-generation rockets and ordered the artillery crews to fire at the melee.
• The rockets struck the Bohemian Sword-and-Shield Fighters, cavalry, and players, engulfing the battlefield in explosions and flames.
• Aku watched the destruction and lamented that the fighting had been cut short.
• Lin Ruoyu called for the Count's Army to pursue and demanded a second salvo within thirty seconds.
• A player angry that Lin Ruoyu had killed his warband brothers shot him in the back.

Black-and-White Bear routed another Bohemian spear unit but found his forces scattered, while Meredith fled through the camp and Popoli was recognized by players as Chris’s gunpowder supplier. Popoli revealed that he knew where the camp’s ammunition depot was, offering the players a way to strike another target.

• Black-and-White Bear broke through the Bohemian spearmen with his Mo Dao, and the Han-Tang Warriors routed the unit before he stopped them from pursuing.
• Black-and-White Bear led his few remaining men through the camp looking for allies, then ran into Sword-and-Shield Fighters and Matchlock Riflemen and fought them.
• Meredith fled from pursuing Foot Knights, mounted a horse offered by Popoli, and left Popoli and his Cuirassiers behind to face them.
• Popoli surrendered to the Foot Knights and persuaded them to stop by saying he knew Prince Chris and was his business partner.
• A veteran player recognized Popoli as Chris’s gunpowder smuggler, and Popoli told him that he knew where the Bohemian camp’s ammunition depot was.

Otto watched the Bagnian Heavy Infantry overrun his camp and set it ablaze while his troops struggled to respond. The Main Powder Magazine exploded as Lin Ruoyu bombarded both Bohemian forces and allied Bagnian Skirmishers with rockets.

• Otto's matchlock riflemen and spear infantry broke under cannon fire, arrows, and attacks by Chris's heavy infantry, while he held his reserves back.
• Bagnian Heavy Infantrymen rampaged through the Bohemian camp, killing soldiers and setting tents and stores on fire.
• Otto ordered troops to guard the eastern granary and the Third Battalion to clear a firebreak, but the flames spread through the stable area.
• Otto saw three Bagnian Heavy Infantrymen attacking the Main Powder Magazine while fleeing gray-uniformed soldiers blocked his blue-uniformed reserves, and he realized there was a traitor in his army.
• Lin Ruoyu fired High-Explosive Incendiary Rockets at Bohemian troops and allied Bagnian Skirmishers, then the Main Powder Magazine detonated.

Count Dirac Siso led the pursuit of the routed Bohemians until he learned that Lin Ruoyu had died. Seeing the Prince's Army without its commander, Siso considered taking it for himself, but the players moved the Wagon Camp toward the enemy camp without paying him any attention.

• Dirac Siso enthusiastically charged after the fleeing Bohemians, hoping to prove his loyalty to Prince Chris and earn a higher noble rank.
• A hooded rider told Dirac Siso that Lin Ruoyu had died, and the count rode to the Wagon Camp to see for himself.
• Dirac Siso found Lin Ruoyu lying dead in a carriage and began to wonder whether he could take command of the apparently leaderless army.
• Dirac Siso urged the soldiers to resume the attack, but the players ignored him while preparing to advance toward the Bohemian camp.
• Home Alone received Old Lin's instruction to lead the troops forward, and the Wagon Camp began moving as Dirac Siso rode ahead and blocked its weapons.

The Bohemian Seventh Legion retreated after a disastrous defeat, while the Expeditionary Army’s scattered players and decimated Heavy Infantry prevented it from destroying Otto’s forces. The Count’s Army protected the Wagon Camp, but Lin Ruoyu’s death left him unable to command most of the players.

• General Otto ordered a full retreat after the Bohemian camp’s powder magazine was destroyed and its forces were routed.
• The Bohemians’ disorganized pursuers failed to cut off their escape, while Count Siso advanced with cannon fire to deter Otto from counterattacking.
• Otto learned that his army had lost nearly a third of its strength and ordered the baggage train, wounded, and dead taken back into the Empire.
• The Expeditionary Army had lost nearly all its Skirmishers and Heavy Infantry, while many players who left the Wagon Camp remained scattered in the wilderness.
• Lin Ruoyu’s Iron Cone tactic helped defeat the Bohemians, but a shot in the back killed him and destroyed his authority over most players.