Chapter Summaries

Ashina and the Raider Cavalry wiped out the caravan’s guards, and Field questioned Cooch and Lance about his younger brother Adrian before having them killed. Field spared the surviving workers by taking them into his service and learned that Greyhound was a skilled carpenter.

• Ashina killed Gareth and his squires with a rapid spear assault while the Dragon-Breed Wolf devoured Gareth.
• Field halted the bloodied Raider Cavalry, rewarded them, and arranged for the wounded to rest.
• Field questioned Cooch and Lance, who revealed Adrian’s troops, Knights, and Chosen One, Allison.
• Field ordered Silver Claw to kill Cooch and Lance after declaring that he forgave them.
• Field recruited the surviving caravan workers into his service and offered Greyhound work as a carpenter in Nightfall Territory.

Field plundered a caravan, gathered supplies and slaves for his territory, and set out with Tate and his family. At the border of Highcastle Province, he encountered a Church party led by Elisa, a third-rank Holy Light Chosen One who had heard of his plans for Nightfall Territory.

• Field and his cavalry seized goods worth about five thousand gold coins, including elixirs, armor, cash, and horses.
• Field reunited with Tate, then bought three hundred slaves and supplies for three months using the money he had saved.
• Tate organized the slaves into groups to carry the goods, and the party set out for Nightfall Territory.
• At the border of Highcastle Province, Field found a Church contingent preaching to the slaves.
• Elisa introduced herself to Field as a third-rank Church Chosen One and said the Church had prayed for him when it heard he planned to develop Nightfall Territory.

Field refused Elisa’s proposal to establish a Church presence in his territory, while trying to learn about divine artifacts and secure Church supplies. He then led his expedition into the Gray Fog, where the convoy was attacked by corpse ghouls and Tate realized how dangerous the journey was.

• Field learned that contracted Chosen Ones no longer appeared on the Mini-Map and met Elisa, who proposed establishing a Church and garrison in his territory.
• Field rejected Elisa’s proposal and tried to persuade her to travel with him, trade supplies, and share information about divine artifacts.
• Elisa explained that the Church sought to recover lost divine artifacts in the Northern Frontier Province, but refused Field’s requests for supplies and artifact locations.
• Field ordered fifty strong slaves to take spears, then led his roughly three-hundred-and-fifty-person party into the Gray Fog.
• Corpse ghouls attacked the convoy as it entered the Northern Frontier Province, and Tate urged the slaves to stay orderly while fearing for his family’s carriage.

Field returned to the Grand Winery with Tate and the surviving slaves after Ashina destroyed the Corpse Ghouls that attacked their journey. He found the territory safe and its first fields being cultivated, then assigned Tate to oversee the slaves and prevent unrest.

• Silver Claw threatened the slaves while Corpse Ghouls surged from the Gray Fog, and Ashina revealed herself by burning the horde to ash.
• Field ordered Tate to organize the slaves and hurry toward the Grand Winery as the monsters grew more active.
• The party reached the Grand Winery after losing thirty-nine people, a warhorse, two packhorses, and seven goats, while all their food and cavalry survived.
• Field inspected the newly cultivated fields and explained that Tate would advise him on internal affairs, manage the slaves, and assign their work.
• The slaves, guards, and Kao welcomed Field back, and Kao wept with relief at his safe return.

After returning from the battle against the Corpse Ghouls, Field arranged rest and supplies for his people and discussed Nightfall Territory’s priorities with Tate. He focused on clearing corruption and educating the slaves, leaving Tate impressed by his concern for ordinary people.

• Field credited Ashina and the warriors for protecting the territory, then ordered lodgings for Tate and the Freemen and a settlement plot for the slaves.
• Field gave the Cavalry Unit and Iron Hammer’s men three days off and ordered food distributed to the slaves.
• Field returned to the Grand Winery, rested, and inspected his spellbook before Tate came to ask about the territory’s administration.
• Field said the territory should first reclaim corrupted farmland and houses, then educate the slaves and identify those who had committed crimes.
• Tate praised Field for planning reforms that addressed the needs of people at the bottom of society.

Field went out with Ashina to inspect Nightfall Territory and found that his decree against people relieving themselves in the streets had failed. He imposed fines and lashes, ordered the manure collected, and told Old Turtle Dove to use it to fertilize the fields, leaving the old man horrified.

• Field gave Tate a map and asked him to suggest where houses could be built after the territory reclaimed the eastern forest and quarry.
• Ashina joined Field on a visit to the farmers and slaves instead of going treasure hunting.
• Field found excrement scattered across the roads and summoned Kao and Old Turtle Dove to explain why his earlier decree had failed.
• Field ordered fines or lashes for anyone caught relieving themselves outside and assigned slave women and children to collect the manure.
• Field told Old Turtle Dove to pile up the manure and use it to fertilize the crops, and Old Turtle Dove was appalled.

Field ordered new farming methods for the slave fields and went to the kitchen to teach Dinner Plate how to make dry-pot beef. Meanwhile, Sparrow prepared to serve lunch to the slaves.

• Field ordered the slaves' fields fertilized with compost and planted using ridge-and-furrow methods, while freemen could keep farming their own plots as they wished.
• Field showed several slaves how to dig a furrow, then discussed Nightfall Territory's food supply and the poor quality of its cooking with Ashina.
• Field entered the Grand Winery's kitchen and ordered Dinner Plate to cancel his ham dish and prepare dry-pot beef under Field's instructions.
• Sparrow, protected by five guards, prepared barley porridge and black bread for the slaves, with ten freemen helping to serve.

Bai Yu and Hei Yu received a generous meal in the Nightfall Territory, where Lord Field’s guards enforced an orderly food line. Bai Yu was stunned by the sisters’ daily ration and wondered if the lord had made a mistake.

• The slaves rushed toward the food wagons, but Field’s guards stopped them and ordered them to form lines.
• Sparrow organized ten lines and warned the slaves that anyone who cut in would go to the back.
• The guards knocked down slaves who tried to push ahead, impressing the crowd with their strength.
• Bai Yu comforted her frightened twin sister Hei Yu as they waited near the front of the line.
• Sparrow told the slaves that Lord Field had provided their food and urged them to work hard for him.
• Bai Yu learned that each person would receive porridge and two chunks of bread for the day, and she wondered if Field had given the wrong order.

Bai Yu and Hei Yu received food under Lord Field’s orders, while Sparrow ensured they were given their full rations. The slaves returned to work with bread hidden for later, and Sparrow joined the servants as they cautiously examined Field’s unusual dry-pot beef.

• Bai Yu and Hei Yu received porridge and bread, and Sparrow made the serving villager give them the two loaves ordered for each slave.
• Bai Yu ate one loaf with her porridge and hid the other so the sisters would have food if they went hungry later.
• The guards sent the slaves back to the fields, and Sparrow returned to the Grand Winery’s kitchen for lunch.
• Sparrow’s coworkers showed her the dry-pot beef Field had set aside for them, and Scissors compared its appearance to burnt dung before apologizing for insulting the gift.

Field prepared to retake the logging camp while Ashina warned him that an unknown Corrupted Creature had watched the territory during the night. As the troops approached the camp, Wildcat and two guards began quietly killing Corpse Ghouls.

• Sparrow pretended the dry-pot beef tasted awful, but the servants devoured it once they realized how delicious it was.
• Field decided to deal with the territory’s timber shortage and asked Ashina to protect the troops as they retook the logging camp.
• Ashina told Field that a new Corrupted Creature had watched the territory and could block her perception, so Field ordered more cautious patrols and planned further recruitment.
• Field led the troops east toward the logging camp, passing the corrupted lake and advancing under the Mist-Driving Lamp’s light.
• Wildcat and two guards crept up on a Corpse Ghoul and killed it before it could scream.