Chapter Summaries

Kulala and Kulalis fled their village after roaming outlaws attacked, but the snow disaster blocked them from reaching a city and the gang caught up. Zhao Si arrived in a burst of purple lightning and cut down the outlaws, leaving the survivors rescued in the woods.

• Kulala and Kulalis's family escaped their village as roaming outlaws burned homes and killed the villagers.
• The outlaws pursued the refugees on horseback, and one slashed Kulala across the back as they fled toward a city sealed by the snow.
• Avril and the townspeople saw the refugees being hunted but lacked the strength to intervene.
• Zhao Si plunged into the outlaws with purple lightning, sending them flying and slicing them apart with his blade.

After becoming Miquella's Knight, Zhao Si traveled through the Mountaintops of the Giants and killed marauders preying on remote villages. He and Malenia followed clues to the band hunting the Kulala family.

• Zhao Si rejected a fief and marriage prospects, remained at Miquella's castle, and received none of the gifts sent to him.
• Zhao Si's travels through villages left many marauder corpses, alarming observers who learned he was hunting deserters.
• Zhao Si discovered from captured marauders that deserter bands had infiltrated the Mountaintops of the Giants and were attacking isolated settlements.
• Zhao Si interrogated survivors for the locations of other marauder bands, then killed the captives and pursued the clues.
• Zhao Si and Malenia killed the marauders they encountered and eventually found the group hunting the Kulala family.

Zhao Si killed the bandits with a powerful gravity-enhanced sword technique while Patches watched in terror from hiding. He then found Kulala and Kulalis wounded and asked Helena to heal Kulala, while their parents remained missing.

• Patches, a deserter who had joined the bandits, hid behind a tree when he sensed danger in the woods.
• Zhao Si drew on his practice against Sikatiya and used his Iron Meteorite Blade to kill the bandits in a single sweeping attack.
• Patches glimpsed Zhao Si’s blade light and was left frozen with fear.
• Zhao Si found Kulala and Kulalis hiding in a tree hollow and learned that Kulala was injured.
• Zhao Si said Helena could heal Kulala and asked the sisters where their family was.
• Helena arrived and treated Kulala as the sisters cried over their missing parents.

After Zhao Si and his companions rescued Kulala and Kulalis, he learned that the sisters were the only survivors of the bandits’ attack. He resolved to take them to the Astrologer’s Ruins and use his new authority as Miquella’s Knight to protect the Mountaintops of the Giants, while remembering that Mohg might be plotting in the shadows.

• Zhao Si learned that the rescued girls were Kulala and Kulalis, and Malenia confirmed that no one else had survived.
• Zhao Si told the sisters the truth, and Kulala wept while Kulalis tried to comfort her.
• Zhao Si proposed taking the sisters to the Astrologer’s Ruins to stay with Thops and declared his goal of protecting the Mountaintops of the Giants.
• Malenia agreed to help Zhao Si mobilize the army to wipe out bandits and manage refugees in the Mountaintops of the Giants.
• Zhao Si considered the dangers of Shabriri and realized that Mohg might also be working in secret.

Patches escaped the Mountaintops of the Giants after fleeing from armed groups and reached the Altus Plateau, hoping to make his way to Limgrave. Tanith’s party captured him on the road, but she spared him after he claimed to know about Miquella’s Knight.

• Patches fled through the woods and spotted cloaked strangers installing a portal near a cliff.
• Patches escaped the Mountaintops of the Giants, discarded his armor, and traveled through villages before reaching the Altus Plateau.
• Patches rested in a cave, recovered, and headed toward Caria on his way to Limgrave.
• Bernahl’s knights captured Patches as he watched Tanith’s glittering carriage pass.
• Tanith ordered the knights to kill Patches, but he pleaded for his life and offered information about the Mountaintops of the Giants and Miquella’s Knight.
• Tanith told Bernahl to bring Patches along so they could visit Lord Rykard.

Rykard, Radahn, and Ranni recovered from their injuries but remained weakened and unable to challenge Radagon. Radahn rejected surrender and planned to use the Fire Giant’s power to fight again, while Blaidd offered him the Sword of Night and Flame.

• Rykard, Radahn, and Ranni discussed their lingering injuries and the maidens who had treated them.
• Rykard and Radahn reflected on their defeats by Godwyn and Radagon, while Blaidd explained that Asimi had helped Radahn survive.
• Ranni asked what they should do, and all three siblings agreed they would not surrender.
• Radahn declared that he would burn himself out by gaining the Fire Giant’s power and fighting Godwyn or Radagon to the death.
• Blaidd offered Radahn the Sword of Night and Flame as a possible turning point.

Radahn prepared to travel to the Mountaintops of the Giants, while Ranni ordered Blaidd to hunt down the fleeing Darriwil. Tanith brought supplies and Patches to the allied army, where he spread rumors about Miquella’s Knight, but Rykard suspected he was lying.

• Radahn accepted the Sword of Night and Flame and planned to fly to the Mountaintops of the Giants once he recovered.
• Blaidd discovered that Darriwil had fled Liurnia Lake, and Ranni ordered him to find and kill the Bloodhound Knight.
• Tanith arrived with supplies for the soldiers and had Bernahl bring Patches to Rykard.
• Patches claimed that Miquella’s Knight was massacring refugees in the Mountaintops of the Giants.
• Rykard recognized that Patches was lying and challenged him about it.

Rykard and Radahn planned to spread rumors about Miquella by sending refugees to the Mountaintops of the Giants, and Rykard ordered Patches to help. After meeting Tanith, Patches abandoned the thought of running away.

• Rykard and Radahn decided to stir up trouble for Miquella by spreading rumors about him.
• Rykard planned to send refugees, including sick people and Demi-Humans and Misbegotten, toward the Mountaintops of the Giants with Gelmir Confessors among them.
• Rykard assigned Patches to help with the mission, and Bernahl released him.
• Tanith told Patches she had high hopes for him and urged him to do his best.
• Patches left the idea of running away behind as he looked at Tanith.

Avril recognized Zhao Si but hid rather than approach him, while he brought the orphaned Kulala Sisters to the Astrologer's Ruins and asked Thops to adopt them. Zhao Si also brought Irina and Nepheli to keep them company, leaving Thops to care for four girls and offer the Kulala Sisters sorcery lessons if they were interested.

• Avril recognized Zhao Si as her savior but decided to avoid him because she felt ashamed of her current circumstances.
• Zhao Si took the sleeping Kulala Sisters to the Astrologer's Ruins and persuaded Thops to adopt them.
• Zhao Si returned to the Haligtree and brought Irina and Nepheli to live at the Astrologer's Ruins.
• Nepheli and Irina teased Thops about Sellen and asked whether they could use a magic puppet as a training dummy.
• Thops agreed that he could teach the Kulala Sisters the basics of sorcery if they wanted to learn.

Nepheli, Irina, and Thops comforted Kulala and Kulalis after their parents’ deaths, while Zhao Si and Malenia led a campaign to clear bandits from the Mountaintops of the Giants. As bandits hid in caves to evade Zhao Si, an unknown stranger approached one gang and asked about Miquella’s Knight.

• Nepheli and Irina comforted the grieving Kulala Sisters and reminded them that Zhao Si had avenged their parents.
• Thops invited the children to eat and later look at the stars through the telescope at the Astrologer's Ruins.
• Zhao Si and Malenia mobilized troops to eradicate bandits across the Mountaintops of the Giants, killing marauders and rescuing a village.
• Zhao Si pursued fleeing bandits, executed those who resisted, and displayed their severed heads as warnings.
• A gang of bandits hid in a cave and complained that Miquella's Knight had ruined their livelihood.
• A stranger in Land of Reeds-style armor entered the cave and asked the bandits to explain who Miquella's Knight was.

Zack of the Inaba clan questioned bandits about Miquella’s Knight, hoping to find the man who had witnessed Old Man’s final moments. After hearing how formidable Zhao Si was, Zack resolved to challenge him honorably and began by killing a bandit.

• The chapter recounted how Old Man’s disciples pursued him to the Lands Between, where he cut down those who found him before dying at the Combat Festival.
• Zack introduced himself to the bandits and asked what they knew about Miquella’s Knight and his connection to Old Man.
• The bandits described Zhao Si’s speed, weapons, and abilities, agreeing that he was terrifyingly strong and recounting the deaths and injuries he had caused.
• A bandit suggested that Zack provoke Zhao Si by attacking a village, but Zack refused and declared he would challenge the knight openly.
• Zack thanked the bandits, drew his katana, and killed the man in front of him with a swift iaijutsu slash.

Gilbert, an agent of the God of Vengeance, learned that the bandits’ hatred in the Mountaintops of the Giants was directed at Miquella’s Knight and set out to find him. He joined Zack, who was also seeking Zhao Si, and the two traveled together toward their target.

• A wounded bandit wept beside a mound of heads until Gilbert appeared and asked what had happened.
• Gilbert explained that he served the God of Vengeance and pursued targets revealed by people’s intense hatred.
• The bandit named Miquella’s Knight as the source of the Mountaintops of the Giants’ hatred, and Gilbert agreed to seek him out.
• Gilbert encountered Zack, who said he was looking for Miquella’s Knight because he wanted to die in a glorious fight.
• Gilbert and Zack agreed to travel together in pursuit of Zhao Si.

Zhao Si planned to counter rumors that his forces were killing refugees by spreading trusted testimony rather than inviting accusations. Meanwhile, Patches posed as a refugee and falsely confirmed the rumors, alarming the people around him as Gilbert questioned his claim.

• Zhao Si told Helena that hostile forces, likely Rykard's, were spreading rumors that his side was massacring refugees, and he decided to use the Mountaintops of the Giants' residents to refute them rather than open the door to unverified reports.
• Zhao Si relied on the residents' trust in Malenia and Miquella, using his reputation as Miquella's Knight to spread the truth and keep the rumors from taking hold.
• Zack asked Gilbert and Patches whether the successors of the Flowing Sword were blind, and Patches described Zhao Si as having cloudy gray eyes.
• Gilbert asked Patches whether Zhao Si was killing refugees, and Patches falsely declared that the rumors were true, causing panic among the nearby refugees.
• Gilbert questioned what Zhao Si would gain from killing refugees, while Patches continued his deception for Tanith's sake.

Patches learned about Tanith while Zhao Si continued gathering intelligence and caring for Helena in the Mountaintops of the Giants. Their conversation turned to Ranni’s wish to die, and the group ended the night joking together in camp.

• Patches heard that Tanith had once been a passionate dancer who captivated Rykard, while his colleague warned him not to pry into Rykard’s principal wife.
• Armored spies with eyes and ears on their surcoats gathered intelligence on Miquella’s Knight’s, while Zhao Si struggled to match their information network.
• Zhao Si massaged Helena’s tired legs and reassured her that Miquella and Sellen might make prosthetic eyes so they could both see the Lands Between.
• Helena asked why Ranni wanted to die, and Malenia and Melina also wondered why Ranni would reject the healthy body they wished they had.
• Malenia and Helena teased Zhao Si in the tent, while Sikatiya urged them to hit or stab him harder.

Ranni and Blaidd assessed their losses and considered how to counter Miquella’s growing advantage. Ranni proposed allying with Miquella against Leyndell, but Blaidd doubted they could offer anything that would make an alliance worthwhile.

• Blaidd apologized to Ranni for Zhao Si’s interference and the Bloodhound Knight’s escape, and Ranni told him to track down the knight.
• Ranni asked whether Blaidd could hold off Maliketh, and Blaidd admitted he could only try to delay him.
• Ranni considered joining forces with Miquella to attack Leyndell because Radagon had taken Rennala away.
• Blaidd warned that Miquella had little reason to form an alliance with Ranni’s faction and said rumors about Radagon being Marika would likely be suppressed.
• Ranni asked about Goldmask, and Blaidd told her that Goldmask may have discovered the secret in Leyndell but that no one knew what happened to him.

Ranni learned that a one-eyed girl was riding Torrent and wondered whether the prophecy of her future lord could still come true, while Radagon struggled to find a way to treat Rennala. The chapter left Radagon considering whether Miquella's Knight might be able to help.

• Ranni asked Blaidd about Miquella's Knight and learned he had become famous, while Blaidd said Rykard's plan had no chance of succeeding.
• Blaidd reported that a brown-haired, one-eyed girl had been seen riding Torrent, and Ranni connected her to the Snow Witch's prophecy before deciding to wait.
• Radagon found Marika's golden message calling him a decent human being but could not understand what she meant.
• Radagon had the Perfumers try to treat Rennala, but their Soothing Perfume Powder only helped stabilize her sleep.
• Radagon looked toward the Haligtree and wondered whether Miquella's Knight could help Rennala.

Radagon considered asking Miquella to treat Rennala, whose madness he believed was a problem of the soul, but their strained relationship made him hesitate. Meanwhile, Zack and Gilbert arrived at Zhao Si’s tent, one seeking news of his master and the other declaring revenge.

• Radagon concluded that Rennala’s condition would require knowledge of the soul and considered asking Miquella for help, since the Primeval Current School had been driven from the Academy.
• Radagon struggled with how to approach Miquella, whose rejection of the Golden Order had damaged their relationship, and decided to investigate the Haligtree first.
• Zack of the Inaba clan and Gilbert, an agent of the God of Vengeance, came to Zhao Si’s tent and called him outside.
• Zack asked Zhao Si whether he had spent a long time with Zack’s master, Old Man, while Gilbert announced that Zhao Si was the target of his revenge.
• Zhao Si asked the two visitors whether they had nothing better to do.

Zack challenged Zhao Si so he could experience his master’s swordsmanship, while Gilbert came to kill Zhao Si on behalf of the God of Vengeance. Zhao Si killed Zack with a single strike and prepared to face Gilbert.

• Zhao Si asked Zack why he had come, and Zack explained that he wanted Zhao Si to cut him down so he could grasp his master’s swordsmanship.
• Gilbert said he had come to fulfill his assignment as a Vengeance Agent, though he admitted he did not know who had sent him or where the God of Vengeance was.
• Zhao Si told Gilbert to leave because he was too weak to kill him, but Gilbert insisted he would serve the God of Vengeance.
• Zack charged Zhao Si with two blades, and Zhao Si cut him down with a single flash of purple light.
• Gilbert watched Zack die and trembled as Zhao Si offered him time to beg the God of Vengeance.

After Zhao Si defeated the God of Vengeance’s agent, Melina spotted a flaming meteor streaking toward the Giant’s Forge, and Zhao Si rode out to intercept it. The meteor was Radahn, who had chosen to face his fate at the Mountaintops of the Giants.

• Gilbert died without receiving a response from the God of Vengeance, while Sikatiya discussed the goddess and her agents with Melina.
• Zhao Si had the bodies cleared away, then spotted a purple-flamed meteor heading toward the Giant’s Forge.
• Zhao Si sent a letter to Miquella and rode toward the Mountaintops with Malenia, while Helena and Melina prepared to follow.
• Radahn and Rykard told Ranni they lacked bargaining chips for an alliance with Miquella, and Rykard joked that marriage might help.
• Radahn declared that it was time to bring matters to a conclusion, then armored up, took his greatsword, and flew toward the Giant’s Forge as Ranni and Rykard recognized he was heading to his death.

Radahn reached the Giant's Forge and asked the last Fire Giant for the Giants' flame so he could challenge the Erdtree. The Fell God revealed herself and agreed to fight beside him, leaving them poised to face the Golden Order together.

• Radahn crashed into the Mountaintops of the Giants, where the Fire Monks watched without acting.
• Radahn showed the last Fire Giant the Sword of Night and Flame and asked to borrow his flame.
• The Fire Giant remembered the friendship between the Fire Giants and the Astrologers before the Golden Dynasty destroyed his people.
• The Fell God spoke through the Fire Giant, identified herself, and recognized the sword as a pact between her, the stars, and the moon.
• The Fell God agreed to fight alongside Radahn rather than keep hiding from the Golden Order.