Recaps

A white-robed merchant learned that Pejite's king had vanished and a resistance army had overthrown the royal family, then carried the news to Mining Town's secret leaders. The mayor dismissed fears that their conspiracy had been exposed and confirmed plans to seize Pejite's prince and eliminate the foreign delegates.

• A young merchant told tavern patrons about Deus's disappearance, Pejite's collapse, the resistance army, and the refugees.
• The white-robed merchant left the tavern and entered an underground chamber where chained laborers were widening a vast pit.
• The white-robed merchant reported the Pejite rumors to the mayor, Muhadi, and the assembled merchants.
• Muhadi and the merchants worried that Pejite's events resembled their own plan and that someone had exposed it.
• The mayor argued that the rumors were likely bait and said the prince would be brought to the ruins in two days, where they would take control of him and kill the foreign delegates.
• The mayor credited the Kabu Tribe's Upper Ones and Dorok with supporting the plot, and the merchants toasted the new order.

Por infiltrated Mining Town's mine to find the hidden slave laborers, but two guards led him into the largest pit and exposed his disguise. They disarmed him and threatened to make him stay in the slave mine.

• Por used a map he had obtained from a drunken miner to search the mine for hidden slave laborers.
• Por found a brightly lit cavern where hundreds of workers were mining ceramic steel, but the guards caught him exploring.
• Por pretended to be an explorer, and the guards offered to show him the mine and guide him out after their shift.
• The guards led Por to the engine room, where he saw ragged, skeletal workers suspended high above the cavern and recognized a slave labor mine.
• One guard pressed a gun against Por's back while the other took his longsword, and they told him he might as well stay.

Por infiltrated an illegal mine by posing as a captured adventurer and learned from an imprisoned former adventurer that Mayor Gore was smuggling resources and might be plotting against the Pejite royal family. The old man begged Por to warn King Deus, but Por revealed that the royal family had already disappeared and the prince had fled to the Valley of the Wind.

• Por allowed the mine guards to confiscate his gear and lead him underground so he could investigate the mine.
• Por joined the slave laborers and mined efficiently until an old man warned him to slow down and explained that they were forced to work twelve-hour shifts.
• The old man suspected Por was an investigator and said he had been imprisoned while looking into Mayor Gore.
• The old man accused Gore of smuggling ceramic steel, rare metals, and ancient engines, and suspected he was stockpiling weapons to overthrow the Pejite royal family.
• The old man asked Por to tell King Deus about Gore's plot, and Por revealed that the royal family had been gone for months and the prince had fled to the Valley of the Wind.

Por spoke with an old slave laborer about the events in Pejite, but an overseer interrupted and whipped them both. During their rest break, Por healed the old man and the other workers, then revealed that he was a Blessed Warrior of the Erdtree who had come to free them.

• Por told the old man that his brother Kamlin was helping refugees outside Pejite City, and the old man questioned how the Pejite incident involved bug handlers and Tolmekia.
• An overseer whipped the old man and Por for talking, and the old man warned Por not to resist the guards.
• During the workers’ break, Por used a golden light to heal the old man’s whip wound and ease the laborers’ aches.
• Por told the stunned old man that he was a Blessed Warrior under the Erdtree and had come to get them out.

Por learned why the slaves feared escape and heard the old man explain that Gore was conspiring with the Dorok. The old man warned that Gore planned to seize Prince Asbel, but Por revealed he had already sent a warning through his special way of communicating.

• The slaves rejected Por's offer to save them, and the old man calmed them before explaining that escape attempts were punished brutally and informants were rewarded.
• The old man questioned Por about the Forest People, and Por said his healing power came from Lord Divine Tree.
• The old man identified the foreign soldiers as the Dorok regular army and said Gore had long cooperated with the Dorok principalities.
• Por told the old man that Prince Asbel and Haideng had come to the joint gathering, prompting the old man to suspect Gore planned to take Asbel hostage.
• The old man begged Por to warn Asbel, but Por said he had already sent the information through his special way of communicating.

The 209th Joint Conference of the Border Nations gathered representatives in Mining Town, where Nausicaä and her attendants prepared to take part. Mayor Gore opened the conference and hinted at entertainment for the delegates between sessions.

• Representatives from the nations assembled in Mining Town's conference hall, where Nausicaä sat with Elphias Doge and Elder Trudeau as attendants.
• Asbel noticed Nausicaä and started to greet her, but Haideng stopped him from acting improperly.
• The delegates discussed Tolmekia's conscription and plundering, the unrest in Pejite, and the arrival of Dorok warrior monks.
• Gore entered the hall, welcomed the representatives, and announced diversions he had arranged for them.
• Gore declared the 209th Joint Conference of the Border Nations officially open.

At the nations’ conference, small settlements described how Tolmekia’s conscription and disrupted trade had left them facing famine, but the other representatives stayed silent. Nausicaä offered the Valley of the Wind’s food at low prices, leaving the hungry nations with a possible source of relief.

• Gore opened the conference and invited the representatives to speak.
• Hassan of Waji Valley pleaded for food after Tolmekia took the settlement’s grain and cattle, but no one answered.
• Representatives from other small settlements described shortages caused by conscription and disrupted trade routes.
• The Valley of Sand representative displayed valuable gemstones and jewelry, showing that his wealthy, well-connected nation had avoided the food crisis.
• Nausicaä introduced herself as the Valley of the Wind’s representative and offered low-priced food to nations in crisis.

Nausicaä used the Valley of the Wind’s grain offer and claims of ancient technology to draw nations into closer partnership. Haideng publicly supported her, and the meeting ended with several representatives interested in cooperation.

• Nausicaä offered discounted Blessed Crops to famine-stricken countries and presented a list of industrial equipment the Valley of the Wind wanted to buy.
• A trade-route nation’s representative accused the Valley of the Wind of driving down grain prices and making impossible supply promises.
• Nausicaä explained that ancient technology discovered in the Sea of Corruption let the Valley grow crops quickly and in high yields.
• Nausicaä claimed the Valley had technologies for strengthening bodies, healing injuries, and treating Sea of Corruption Disease, while reserving access for close partners.
• Haideng endorsed the Valley’s caution and expressed Pejite’s interest in its equipment list, prompting other representatives to consider cooperation.
• Nausicaä privately reflected that her claims about ancient technology were divine powers of the Erdtree intended to spread faith.

At the nations’ conference, Gore recounted how he had compromised with criminals to advance his career in Mining Town, then revealed his ambition to rule the nations of the Sea of Corruption. He had Dorok warrior monks seize the conference hall and declared that Pejite’s industry and the Valley of the Wind’s ancient technologies would be his.

• Gore interrupted the conference proceedings and described his rise from a minor official to Mining Town’s mayor.
• Gore admitted that he had joined forces with underworld criminals after pressure discouraged him from investigating them.
• Gore said he no longer wanted to be mayor and announced that he would become the true ruler of the nations of the Sea of Corruption.
• Dorok warrior monks burst into the conference hall and aimed their rifles at the representatives and attendants.
• Gore claimed Pejite’s industrial system, its exploration industry, and Princess Nausicaä’s ancient technologies for himself.

Gore revealed his alliance with the Dorok and ordered the representatives killed, but Nausicaä, Doge, and Trudeau defeated the warrior monks. As Gore called on Master Kabo, Nausicaä sensed a powerful mental-force attack surging from the side hall.

• Gore exposed his resentment toward Pejite and revealed that powerful merchants and Explorers' Association figures supported him and the Dorok.
• Gore ordered his warrior monks to spare Nausicaä and Asbel but kill the other representatives and attendants.
• Nausicaä threw an attacker, then Doge and Trudeau joined her in fighting the Dorok warrior monks.
• Nausicaä used the Golden Power Hammer and her martial skills to defeat most of the monks, while Doge and Trudeau incapacitated the rest.
• Gore refused to surrender and called for Master Kabo, prompting Nausicaä to sense a dangerous mental-force attack coming from the side hall.

Nausicaä battled Master Kabo as Dorok monks attacked the conference room, while Gore escaped. After Nausicaä drove Kabo through a window, explosions rocked Mining Town’s airport, suggesting the attack was still unfolding.

• Nausicaä countered Master Kabo’s mental attack, and the clash devastated the conference room and injured the representatives.
• Gore ordered Master Kabo to kill everyone except Nausicaä and the prince of Pejite, then fled with his guards.
• Nausicaä rushed Master Kabo, and Elphias Doge helped her break through the monk soldiers’ formation.
• Master Kabo told Nausicaä the Dorok had cooperated with Gore for their people’s survival, but Nausicaä rejected his explanation and struck him through a window.
• Haideng and Nausicaä prepared to reach the guards as explosions shook Mining Town’s airport.

Por and three Blessed Warriors attacked a mine during the Conference of Nations, where Por awakened as a Golden Folk and freed the enslaved miners from their overseers. He urged the prisoners to seize their own freedom as the revolt began.

• Por received Lord Divine Tree’s order to act as the Dorok soldiers and guards left the mine.
• Por confronted the overseers, awakened as a Golden Folk, and killed the fat overseer and others with Radagon's Rings of Light.
• Por blocked the guards’ bullets with a Shield of Immutability as three Blessed Warriors joined him in killing the remaining guards.
• Por addressed the prisoners, telling them that the Erdtree had given them an opportunity but that they had to claim freedom for themselves.

A disguised Dorok airship and Dorok warrior monks attacked Mining Town, while Por helped the slave laborers turn the battle against them. The three other Blessed Warriors joined the uprising, leaving the old explorer with little chance to prove himself in combat.

• The Dharma Protector-Class Airborne Battleship destroyed the Sea of Corruption nations’ airfield and sent the marketplace into panic.
• Dorok warrior monks ambushed Pejite guards inside the Bridge, overwhelming them with attacks from the mine tunnels.
• More than a thousand slave laborers charged the warrior monks, seeking revenge for Gore’s abuses, while Por healed the wounded from a distance.
• The old man praised Por and prepared to fight, but Por pointed out that the other three Blessed Warriors had already joined the slave laborers at the front.

Nausicaä and her allies freed the mine slaves, but Gore escaped aboard a flying pot with the mysterious Master of the Kabu Tribe as a Dorok warship began bombarding Mining Town. With reinforcements absent and the town under fire, Nausicaä prepared to attack the warship herself.

• Por reported that the mine slaves had been rescued, but Gore was nowhere underground.
• Mu En warned Nausicaä that Gore had fled toward the lower levels and that the Master of the Kabu Tribe was dangerous and strange.
• Nausicaä met Makas, a former chairman of the Pejite Explorers' Association, and told him and Haideng that Gore had likely fled below.
• Gore and the Master of the Kabu Tribe escaped Mining Town aboard a hidden Dorok flying pot.
• The Dorok guardian warship bombarded Mining Town, causing destruction and panic despite the Ceramic Steel walls.
• Nausicaä told Por to lead people into the mine tunnels for shelter and declared that she would bring down the warship.

Nausicaä flew out to protect the people of Mining Town from a Dorok warship, using the Wings of the Crucible to reach the ruined camp. She then took her glider and charged toward the warship, ready to fight as a Wind Rider.

• Trudeau and Por tried to stop Nausicaä from facing the bombardment, but she said only she could save the people and trusted Lord Divine Tree to protect her.
• Nausicaä climbed to an opening in Mining Town's outer wall and saw the approaching Dorok warship preparing to attack the refugees.
• After evading the warship's fire, Nausicaä leaped from the wall and used the golden Wings of the Crucible to glide toward the temporary camp.
• Two Blessed villagers brought Nausicaä her glider, and she sent them to take shelter in the desert.
• Nausicaä launched her glider and charged at the Dorok warship.

Nausicaä evaded the Dorok protector warship’s guns and appeared before its crew as the prophesied Blue-Clad One. She broke through the bridge window and landed inside, where the startled soldiers recognized her as an intruder.

• Nausicaä used her glider and the wind to dodge the warship’s shells and machine-gun fire.
• Nausicaä fired the glider’s plasma engine to surge through the gunfire and reach the warship.
• Nausicaä released the glider, grabbed her weapons, and survived an explosion above the deck with golden wings of light.
• Dorok monk-officials and soldiers recognized Nausicaä as the Blue-Clad One from their prophecy.
• Nausicaä folded her wings, crashed through the bridge window, and landed inside as the crew shouted that there was an intruder.

Nausicaä defeated the Dorok monk soldiers on the warship’s bridge and forced Master Kabo to stop the bombardment of Mining Town. When she tried to take him hostage to secure the Dorok’s withdrawal, Master Kabo unleashed a surge of mental power.

• Nausicaä used her Ceramic Steel longsword and Crucible tail to incapacitate the monk soldiers on the bridge.
• Nausicaä threatened to destroy the control equipment unless the monk-officers stopped the bombardment.
• Master Kabo arrived and ordered the bombardment suspended.
• Nausicaä urged Master Kabo to leave, but he refused, saying the Dorok’s survival was at stake.
• Nausicaä swiftly placed her sword against Master Kabo’s neck to take him hostage.
• Master Kabo released powerful mental energy, manifesting black curses around him.

Nausicaä and Mu En fought the corrupted Master Kabo, whose black spiritual power was made from resentful, cursed souls. Nausicaä used the Law of Regression to destroy the shadow and free its victims, while Mu En realized the Valley of the Wind’s toxins were likely another kind of order.

• Master Kabo’s black shadow seized Nausicaä, but she broke free and fought back as it repeatedly reformed.
• Mu En told Nausicaä to use the Law of Regression, and its golden light made the black shadow burst apart and freed its trapped souls.
• Nausicaä completed the incantation, unleashing a powerful wave of golden light that erased the remaining shadow from Master Kabo.
• The freed souls swept through the airship, knocking the Dorok warriors and monk officials unconscious, while Nausicaä absorbed some of their ownerless spiritual power.
• Mu En recognized that the black power resembled the Valley of the Wind’s toxins and concluded that the toxins were likely another order.

Nausicaä defeated Master Kabo’s soul, but he vanished after hinting that the Dorok were pursuing power to prevent another sea of flames. In Mining Town, the refugees learned the warship was no longer a threat, while Haideng suspected the town’s missing guards had been sent on another mission.

• Nausicaä absorbed purified spiritual power and realized she might now be able to reach the Knight Level, but she confronted the weakened Master Kabo instead of attempting a breakthrough.
• Master Kabo warned Nausicaä that her ally would act soon, then revealed he was only a soul and vanished through the Bridge wall.
• Mu En suspected Master Kabo had been stalling for time and that the Dorok were pursuing the power behind a coming sea of flames.
• In Mining Town, Por and Trudeau told Asbel that Nausicaä was still fighting a powerful enemy, while Haideng questioned why the town’s guards were missing.
• Por announced that Nausicaä had defeated Master Kabo and that the Dorok warship was no longer a threat, but the group still needed to bring down the damaged Bridge and capture its soldiers.

A hidden Dorok warship rose from beneath the Mining Town, revealing Gore’s concealed weapon and leaving the town’s people stranded amid the ruins. Haideng realized the warship was heading northwest toward Pejite, where the real war was about to begin.

• Makas saw a mysterious apparition plunge into the Mining Town’s central platform, and the site began to shake violently.
• The central platform rose as the ground split apart, revealing a massive Dorok warship hidden beneath the town.
• Por relayed Nausicaä’s message that Gore was not aboard the decoy warship, and Haideng concluded Gore had used the town to conceal his ultimate weapon.
• The giant warship lifted off and flew northwest without attacking the people below.
• Haideng recognized that Gore’s target was Pejite and warned that the real war was about to begin.

After Gore’s bombardment devastated Mining Town, Haideng urged the gathered representatives to join the rescue efforts, where the Valley of the Wind’s Blessed healed and aided survivors. As despair mounted among those trapped and injured, a winged messenger descended and answered the prayers of the survivors in the name of the Erdtree.

• Haideng rebuked the representatives for thinking of escape and surrender instead of helping the people buried in the ruins.
• The Valley of the Wind’s Blessed lifted rubble, opened escape routes, and healed injured survivors, inspiring others to join the rescue.
• Representatives from the nations mobilized their guards, while merchants, travelers, and residents worked to search the wreckage.
• Rescuers encountered devastating scenes across Bridge Mine, and the Blessed struggled to help the many trapped and injured people.
• A blue-clad messenger with golden feathered wings appeared above Mining Town, declared that the Erdtree had heard the prayers, and cast Erdtree Heal.

Nausicaä used power borrowed from the Erdtree and the Crucible to heal Mining Town’s survivors and empower them to rescue everyone trapped in the rubble. After the rescue, she called on the survivors to prepare for war against Gore and began discussions about forming an alliance.

• Nausicaä reached Knight Level, used Divine Descent, and spread Erdtree Heal across Mining Town.
• Nausicaä granted Crucible power to survivors and rescuers, who lifted rubble and freed the trapped people.
• The rescue ended with no one dying from delayed aid or severe injuries, and survivors thanked Nausicaä and the Erdtree.
• Nausicaä urged the survivors to clear the ruins, count their losses, and prepare to settle their blood debt with Gore.
• Nausicaä told Haideng that she had only borrowed the Erdtree’s authority, then proposed that the nations form the Allied Forces of the Sea of Corruption Nations.

Nausicaä persuaded the delegates to form a coalition against Gore and proposed using their gunships to create an opening for her to board his warship. The delegates agreed to mobilize their forces at Mining Town, while Nausicaä’s authority over the alliance grew.

• Nausicaä proposed a coalition to resist Gore’s rebellion and attack on Pejite, and no delegate dared oppose her.
• Nausicaä said she would bring down Gore’s warship by boarding it, and proposed that the nations send gunships to draw its anti-aircraft fire.
• Haideng raised the problem of communicating with distant nations, and Nausicaä explained that the Dorok behind Gore would likely remain in Pejite for several days.
• The delegates tacitly approved Nausicaä’s plan to gather gunships at Mining Town and make it the coalition’s front-line base.
• Nausicaä announced that she would gather her god-blessed warriors to spearhead the attack, and the delegates increasingly accepted her as the alliance’s leader.

The Golden Sect, led by Kamlin and supported by Meila and Wawar, transformed Pejite City's refugee shantytown by defeating its gangs, organizing relief and work, and beginning to rebuild the area as an outer city. As the refugees gained order and hope, the Erdtree summoned all Blessed Warriors because war was about to begin.

• The Golden Sect purged the gangs exploiting refugees outside Pejite City and established order, medical aid, and paid work.
• Kamlin and Meila organized relief expeditions into the Sea of Corruption, while Wawar enforced strict discipline in the Mercenary Corps of the Wind.
• Mu En granted blessings to faithful recruits, enabling the Blessed Warriors to defeat the remaining gangs and expand the Golden Sect's influence.
• Kamlin began rebuilding the shantytown as Pejite City's outer city, replacing tents and shacks with wooden houses and planned streets.
• The Erdtree ordered all Blessed Warriors to assemble as war approached.

Mu En judged that the threat of the Doroks and Torumekia seizing the Giant God Warrior made his gradual plan too slow, so he moved to unite Eftal and secure the Endure Battleship. As Nausicaä’s forces approached Pejite, allied gunboats launched a surprise attack, and the battle began.

• Mu En assessed the military imbalance between his Blessed Warriors and the Dorok Principalities and Torumekian Empire, then decided to unite the nations around the Sea of Corruption and obtain a weapon powerful enough to deter both.
• Nausicaä briefed the Champions aboard the captured Dorok warship: Por, Kamlin, and Wawar would lead a boarding assault to seize the Endure Battleship, while Yupa would lead a ground team to locate the Giant God Warrior.
• The Champions accepted their assignments, determined to bring Eftal under the Erdtree’s order.
• Nausicaä spotted Pejite on the horizon as ancient gunboats bearing the nations’ flags attacked the Dorok warship by surprise.