Chapter Summaries

Mu En investigated the suspected insect tamer and prepared the Valley of the Wind for both infiltration and invasion. He began testing ten militiamen to choose a captain for the first Blessed warriors, and their bare-knuckle contest erupted into a melee.

• Nausicaä, Mito, and Yupa brought ten selected militiamen to Mu En in the rain.
• Nausicaä explained that Yupa had learned an insect tamer might be hiding in the castle, but the search found only a burned protective suit.
• Yupa warned that the alleged insect tamer could be a false lead, and Mu En decided to prepare for both possibilities.
• Mu En continued the Valley of the Wind's reforms and arranged for Gol to speed up production of needed items.
• Mu En challenged the militiamen to fight until one remained standing, and Por started the melee by knocking a soldier unconscious.

Mu En tested the Valley of the Wind militiamen by ordering them to fight until only one remained standing, then blessed eleven soldiers and prepared to give them a combat ability. Por became their captain after surviving the brawl, and the chapter ended as Mu En granted them Order's Blade.

• Mu En ordered the hesitant militiamen to fight, and Por and Kamlin were the last two standing.
• Por rose after both men fell and asked Mu En to make him captain; Mu En approved and healed the soldiers with Erdtree's Favor and Law of Regression.
• Mito lined up the soldiers, and Mu En transformed eleven of them, including Mito, into Blessed warriors.
• Mu En told the new warriors they would fight for the glory of the Erdtree, and they pledged themselves to him.
• Mu En granted the warriors their first combat ability, Order's Blade.

Mu En’s Order’s Blade transformed into a physical golden sword that the Blessed soldiers tested, revealing its adjustable shape and energy cost. He appointed Por captain and Kamlin vice captain, put Yupa in charge of training, and ended by challenging the whole squad to fight Yupa together.

• Por and the other soldiers formed golden swords with the altered incantation and tested them on trees, rocks, and one another.
• Kamlin discovered that hard impacts dimmed the blade, while Por found that he could change its size and shape by adjusting its energy output.
• Mu En concluded that the new incantation suited the physically powerful Blessed and could be reformed or attached to a physical weapon.
• Mu En ordered Yupa to train the ten soldiers and named Por captain and Kamlin vice captain, with a leadership challenge scheduled for three days later.
• Por asked whether defeating Yupa would excuse him from training, so Mu En said the whole squad could rest if they beat Yupa together but would be punished if they lost.

Yupa defeated Mu En’s ten Blessed soldiers and began training them rigorously, while Mu En prepared a new wooden currency for the Valley of the Wind. The chapter ended with Mu En asking Nausicaä to help restore the granaries so his plans could move forward.

• Yupa knocked out all ten Blessed soldiers with a wooden training sword, then ordered them to keep fighting until someone landed a hit.
• Yupa criticized the soldiers’ swordsmanship and threatened to punish the whole group if they failed to meet his standards by dark.
• Nausicaä told Mu En that Yupa had once driven away her childhood friends by putting them through the same rigorous training.
• Gol delivered carts of wooden discs that Mu En branded with a golden mark, creating counterfeit-resistant work points.
• Mu En asked Nausicaä to help Beruto speed up the crops and refill the granaries, and she agreed.

The Valley of the Wind’s growing number of Blessed accelerated farming and mining, while Beruto introduced a work-point system for obtaining supplies. The chapter ended as residents marveled at Sura’s food haul and asked how he had earned it.

• Mu En expanded the number of Blessed in the valley, who helped cleanse contaminated soil and mine Ceramic Steel.
• Beruto announced that grain would no longer be handed out as usual, alarming the residents gathered for ration distribution.
• Sura, a newly Blessed miner, exchanged his recorded work for ten wooden work-point discs.
• Sura spent nine points on grace wheat, festival vegetables, olive oil, and fine salt, astonishing the crowd.
• A resident grabbed Sura and asked how he had obtained so many valuable supplies.

The Valley of the Wind began exchanging work points for food and necessities, and Beruto enforced rewards according to labor while exposing villagers who had slacked off or stolen. The villagers accepted their earned points with joy as Mu En’s reforms took hold.

• Sura told the villagers that their daily labor would earn work points they could exchange for food, supplies, and chances to receive a blessing.
• The villagers crowded toward Beruto’s exchange point, eager to check their points and trade them for goods.
• Beruto confronted three men who complained about their rewards and used the ledger to show that one had slacked off, another had wasted materials, and the last had stolen wheat.
• Beruto fined the thief and sent the three men away as the villagers condemned their behavior.
• The line returned to order, and villagers accepted their work points happily, while Beruto recalled the words, “Labor is most glorious.”

After discovering something terrifying in the Sea of Corruption, Selene fled the Valley of the Wind and ordered Ohara’s sand bandits to destroy it. She continued toward the forest, intending to warn the others.

• Selene recalled the terror she had sensed in the forest and fled the Valley of the Wind without informing her subordinates.
• Selene found Ohara’s sand bandits raiding a village and watched them attack and loot its inhabitants.
• Ohara recognized Selene, bowed to her, and reported that his men were ready to march on the Valley of the Wind.
• Selene ordered the bandits to leave the Valley of the Wind scorched and in ruins, and Ohara’s men eagerly set out.
• Selene continued toward the forest, deciding she still had to tell the others.

Yupa put ten Blessed warriors through three days of brutal, magically healed combat training, turning recruits into capable fighters. As their training ended, Por prepared to begin the arranged challenge for the position of captain.

• Yupa watched the ten Blessed warriors fight in pairs, then had Tika heal their severe injuries with Erdtree's Favor.
• The chapter explained how Yupa used repeated fights against himself and between the warriors, with healing and rewards, to teach them footwork and combat techniques.
• The warriors completed three days of training and gathered for the challenge for the captain's position.
• Por transformed his Order's Blade into a shortsword, addressed his nine companions, and asked who would fight first.

Por and Kamlin used intimidation and trickery to discourage the squad from challenging their leadership, but Elphias Doge stepped forward anyway. Por defeated him with a deceptive strike, and Yupa confirmed that Por and Kamlin would remain captain and vice captain.

• Kamlin threatened Gelong with revealing that he had insulted Yupa, and Gelong backed down from challenging Por.
• Por warned the soldiers that winning captaincy offered little reward and losing meant extra punishment from Yupa, then urged them to work together to defeat their instructor.
• Elphias Doge challenged Por after taking his claim that a good warrior should want to be captain seriously.
• Por distracted Elphias Doge with advice about teamwork and struck him on the back of the head while he listened to Kamlin.
• Yupa declared that Por and Kamlin would remain captain and vice captain, then left to spar with Nausicaä.

Yupa agreed to give Por and Kamlin separate swordsmanship lessons after they helped unite the blessed warriors against him. As Nausicaä and Mito planned the Valley of the Wind’s trade strategy, a messenger reported two collapsed refugees outside the valley entrance, and Nausicaä went to investigate.

• Por and Kamlin asked Yupa how their efforts to unite the blessed warriors were going, and he agreed to teach them swordsmanship separately starting the next day.
• Nausicaä and Mito discussed changing the Valley of the Wind’s trading plans to sell blessed crops and obtain supplies for development.
• Yupa, Por, and Kamlin met Nausicaä and Mito, and the two trainees promised to become reliable defenders of the valley.
• A messenger reported that two refugees sharing a Horseclaw had collapsed outside the valley entrance.
• Nausicaä wondered if the refugees came from Pejite and went to see them.

Meila and her sister Meili reached the Valley of the Wind and warned Nausicaä that dangerous enemies were approaching. After learning the Valley already knew, Meila begged Nausicaä to save her people, and Nausicaä invited her to explain what had happened.

• Meila and Meili rode through the mountain pass toward the Valley of the Wind, exhausted and starving.
• The sisters collapsed outside the gate, where militiamen gave them food and water.
• Meila insisted on speaking directly to the Valley's chief and learned that the young woman before her was Nausicaä.
• Meila warned Nausicaä that a dangerous band of villains was coming, but Nausicaä said the Valley already knew.
• Meila knelt and begged Nausicaä to save her people, and Nausicaä helped her up and promised to hear what had happened.

Meila told Nausicaä and the Valley of the Wind leaders how the Insect Claw Expedition Group had betrayed Pejite’s refugees and described its powerful weapons. Facing a force they could not withstand defensively, Mu En proposed taking the offensive.

• Meila rested in the Golden Forest while Nausicaä and the others discussed matters through a mental link with the strange tree.
• Nausicaä recounted Meila’s account of Insect Claw’s betrayal, attacks on settlements, and the refugees’ escape.
• Mito and Gol explained the danger posed by Insect Claw’s Storm rifles, explosives, and improvised cannon.
• Yupa suggested holding the valley’s defenses and asking allies for help, but Mito warned that the group’s firepower could overwhelm the walls.
• Mu En proposed that the Valley of the Wind take the offensive.

Nausicaä scouted a sand-bandit camp and reported its location, numbers, and captives to Mu En. Yupa led the Blessed warriors toward the camp, where they prepared to attack under the Erdtree’s protection.

• Nausicaä took to the sky in her flying wing to scout the sand bandits’ camp southwest of the Valley of the Wind.
• Nausicaä spotted nearly two hundred captives and watched bandits execute several people before reporting the camp’s location and defenses to Mu En.
• Mu En warned Nausicaä to prioritize her safety as she relayed the bandits’ sentry posts and patrol routes to the approaching Blessed warriors.
• Yupa led ten Blessed warriors on foot alongside Meila, and Por reported that they were nearing the camp.
• Por ordered the warriors to wait for nightfall and attack in groups, then rallied them with a shout for the Erdtree.

Por, Kamlin, and the other blessed warriors infiltrated the sand bandits’ camp and began a surprise attack after one patrol spotted them. The assault left the camp’s defenders overwhelmed, though the battle was still underway.

• Por and Kamlin silently killed two patrolling bandits and took one of their rifles.
• Ten blessed warriors reported eliminating the camp’s outer patrols, but Elphias Doge warned that someone inside had spotted his team.
• Por ordered the teams to attack, and Elphias Doge cut down a bandit who appeared around a wall.
• The warriors vaulted into the camp, rushed the tents, and killed the bandits inside before they could resist.
• The bandits finally realized they were under attack and shouted an alarm.

Por and the blessed warriors attacked the Insect Claw Expedition Group’s camp, killing more than half the bandits before Ohara rallied the survivors at the tower. Por survived Ohara’s explosive shot with the Shield of Immutability, and the bandits opened fire as the final battle began.

• The blessed warriors struck from between the tents, cutting down sand bandits and throwing the camp into chaos.
• Ohara’s second-in-command blew the assembly whistle, drawing the remaining bandits to the central tower.
• Ohara challenged the attackers, and Por emerged to accept a duel.
• Ohara fired an explosive round at Por, but Por’s Shield of Immutability absorbed the blast.
• Ohara ordered the bandits to open fire as nine blessed warriors attacked.

Por and the blessed warriors fought the sand bandits at the tower, where bullets and stone walls stalled their assault. Nausicaä blinded the defenders with a burst of intense light, and Elphias Doge cut through the tower door as the warriors charged.

• Por led the nine other blessed warriors in attacking the sand bandits, who retreated into the central tower after grenades slowed the charge.
• Elphias Doge failed to break through the stone tower wall, and the warriors struggled to approach the door under gunfire as their shields lost energy.
• Por shielded a comrade from bullets and pulled the warriors back behind the low walls.
• Nausicaä ordered the warriors to close their eyes, then sent a white bird to drop spheres that flooded the tower with blinding light.
• Por ordered the charge, and Elphias Doge sliced through the wooden door and its bolt with Order's Blade.

After the battle, Mu En ordered the remaining Insect Claw bandits killed and assessed the wealth, weapons, mounts, and other spoils seized from them. He valued the surviving refugees most and watched as Nausicaä, Meila, and Yupa went to meet them.

• At Mu En's order, the blessed warriors killed the surrendered Insect Claw members, sparing only Ohara, his deputy, and selected squad leaders.
• The warriors cleared the battlefield and gathered a treasure chest, two sacks of coins, eighty-three Horseclaws, firearms, explosives, and Ohara's Ohmu-shell sword.
• Mu En considered giving Ohara's sword to the first Golden Knight, who might be Nausicaä or Yupa.
• Mu En noticed that the blessed warriors who had killed more enemies had grown stronger, but decided not to tell them why.
• Mu En regarded the surviving refugees as the most valuable spoils, while Nausicaä led Meila and Yupa to speak with them.

Nausicaä and her warriors rescued Meila and the refugees from Insect Claw, then began feeding and sheltering the survivors. As the camp settled for the night, a hidden presence moved beneath the sand toward the Sea of Corruption.

• Meila introduced Nausicaä to the refugees and explained how the Valley of the Wind had defeated Insect Claw and come to save them.
• Nausicaä reassured the refugees that they were safe, while Por organized food and supplies for the starving survivors.
• Ohara, bound and injured, tried to attack Nausicaä with his mental power, but his attack struck Mu En instead and he collapsed unconscious.
• Meila helped Nausicaä count the refugees, assign tents, and care for the wounded as the survivors ate and went to sleep.
• Something traveled beneath the sand around the campfires and continued west toward the forest of the Sea of Corruption.

After reviewing the battle, Mu En decided the Blessed needed conventional weapons and a modern armed force alongside their training. Nausicaä led the refugees and their escort toward the Valley of the Wind with captured supplies and prisoners.

• Mu En identified the Blessed warriors' reliance on stamina and mental energy, as well as their need to pose when casting incantations, as weaknesses exposed by the battle.
• Mu En concluded that the Blessed should serve as a spearhead while the Valley of the Wind built a modern armed force equipped with firearms and artillery.
• Nausicaä received Por's report that the supplies were loaded and the injured refugees had been treated.
• Nausicaä organized the 173 refugees, ten Blessed warriors, supplies, and prisoners for the journey, using Horseclaws and desert sleds to transport provisions.
• Nausicaä, Yupa, Por, and the others set out for the Valley of the Wind.

The villagers gathered in the castle square after learning that Nausicaä had returned victorious from the battle against the sand bandits. As they saw the captured prisoners and enormous piles of weapons, food, coins, and treasure, they wondered whether she had robbed a wealthy merchant caravan instead.

• Villagers at the tavern argued over whether their forces could defeat the sand bandits.
• A messenger announced that Nausicaä had won the battle and returned to the castle gates.
• Villagers rushed to the square, where Nausicaä and Yupa stood with three blessed warriors.
• The villagers saw captured prisoners, including the unconscious Ohara, and numerous Horseclaws.
• Nausicaä's troops displayed weapons, provisions, coins, and a treasure chest full of valuables.
• The villagers wondered whether Nausicaä had fought bandits or robbed a rich merchant caravan.