Chapter Summaries

In Windmill Castle, Eliana learned that Tolmekia was connected to the plot against Pejite, though the evidence did not reveal who had supplied the weapons. Nausicaä asked Eliana to help displaced Dorok people settle in the Valley of the Wind, and Eliana agreed after Nausicaä promised the Divine Tree would bless her son Lucian.

• Nausicaä had Sevito explain that Ohara recruited him to help the Insect Claw infiltrate Pejite, while an unknown supplier provided their weapons and ammunition.
• Yupa had Sevito taken away after he finished testifying.
• Nausicaä concluded that the seized weapons were standard Tolmekian equipment and that the plot's funder was connected to the empire.
• Nausicaä asked Eliana to persuade the displaced Dorok people to settle in the Valley of the Wind.
• Nausicaä promised that the Divine Tree would bless Lucian, and Eliana agreed to help her compatriots find a new home.

Mu En reorganized labor in the Valley of the Wind as the Blessed reduced the need for farmworkers while workshops faced severe shortages. He planned to retrain surplus farmers and rely on the Pejite refugees for skilled workers, who were about to arrive.

• Farmers cleared contaminated soil under a work-point system that rewarded groups for finishing ahead of schedule.
• A foreman urged farmers to save their work points, seek Blessed status, and attend vocational classes instead of relying on farming.
• Mu En’s reforms exposed a labor imbalance: agriculture needed fewer workers, while textile workshops, construction crews, smithies, and mills lacked enough hands.
• Mu En planned to retrain surplus farmworkers and welcomed the Pejite refugees as a source of experienced craftspeople and agronomists.
• Mu En learned that Pejite used ancient soilless cultivation techniques and hoped its refugees could help the Valley of the Wind produce food beyond the limits of fertile soil.

Meila and the refugees arrived at the Valley of the Wind, where Nausicaä welcomed them and promised food, shelter, and work. Eliana revealed herself as the former queen of Pejite, apologized for the kingdom’s fall, and announced a public trial for Ohara.

• Meila led 173 refugees into the Valley of the Wind, where Nausicaä welcomed them and promised they could build peaceful lives through their labor.
• The Valley of the Wind militiamen served the refugees hot porridge, easing their hunger before anxiety about their future returned.
• Meila assured the refugees that the Valley had enough food, land, and work to support them.
• Eliana revealed herself as Pejite’s former queen, bowed to the refugees, and apologized for failing to protect them.
• Eliana announced that Nausicaä would hold a public trial for Ohara, the Insect Claw sand bandit leader accused of abusing the refugees and plotting to overthrow Pejite.

Nausicaä presented evidence that Yiduo and others had conspired with the Torumekian Empire and the Insect Claw Sand Bandits to destabilize the Valley of the Wind. She sentenced the traitors and bandit leaders to death, then declared that Lord Erdtree would personally punish Ohara.

• Nausicaä addressed the people of the Valley of the Wind and the Pejite refugees, revealing that the recent disasters had been deliberate sabotage.
• Pao accused Yiduo of luring guards away before Barton set fire to the granary, and Nausicaä presented physical evidence and witness testimony linking the conspirators to the plot.
• Jijinsi confessed to spreading rumors, smuggling fuel, and passing messages to the bandits, blaming Yiduo and a Torumekian spy for deceiving them.
• Nausicaä sentenced Jijinsi to ten years of hard labor and sentenced Sevito, three squad leaders, Yiduo, Barton, Huo'er, and Huomu to death by hanging.
• Nausicaä named Ohara as the plot's most serious offender and declared that Lord Erdtree would carry out his punishment.

Nausicaä used power drawn from the Erdtree to revive and empower Ohara, but Mu En took that power back when Ohara tried to escape. The spectacle left the Valley of the Wind awed and the Pejite refugees kneeling before the Erdtree as a true god.

• Nausicaä drew a vast supply of Runes through the Blessing Link and entered a brief state of Divine Descent.
• Nausicaä touched Blessed Dew to Ohara’s forehead, restoring his severed arm and granting him immense strength.
• Ohara broke his restraints, struck Por aside, and tried to flee the valley.
• Mu En froze Ohara in midair and confiscated the power, leaving him a withered corpse.
• Nausicaä declared Ohara’s death the ultimate punishment and warned that the Erdtree could take back its blessings.
• The people of the Valley of the Wind were cowed, while the Pejite refugees knelt and accepted the Erdtree’s divine power.

Mu En explained the Erdtree Burial System and assessed the results of harvesting Ohara’s Runes, while the execution also established his divine authority over the Valley of the Wind and the Pejite refugees. The people worked harder and stopped making demands, though some refugees became fanatically devoted to him, and the resettlement plan was ready to begin.

• Mu En explained that he could reclaim the Runes within the Blessed to complete Erdtree Burial, but judged harvesting Ohara’s Runes a poor trade for the life of a gifted person.
• Mu En discovered that Ohara’s soul had retained its awareness after Erdtree Burial and kept it at the Stone Platform as an experimental sample.
• Mu En credited Nausicaä with advising him to display divine majesty to deter discontent among the Valley’s people and the Pejite refugees.
• Mu En observed that workers slacked off less and that refugees had stopped demanding to leave for Pejite or reclaim supposed personal property.
• Mu En saw that some refugees were praying with fanatical intensity, then determined that the resettlement plan could begin.

Kamlin organized the refugees’ disinfection, healing, and registration for work in the Valley of the Wind. After explaining the conditions for receiving food and future settlement, he confronted a self-important man who demanded special treatment based on his family connections.

• Kamlin directed the refugees to bathe, disinfect themselves, and change into clean clothes.
• Blessed villagers used purification and healing prayers to treat the refugees’ minor injuries and illnesses.
• Kamlin sorted refugees by trade and said those without skills could receive training, with meals charged against future work.
• Kamlin explained that children would receive free food until adulthood, while adults had to work to keep receiving food and qualify to settle in the valley.
• A man who claimed to be the deputy head’s cousin demanded courtesies for people of status, and Kamlin questioned his actual position and skills.

Kamlin rejected the Pejite nobles’ demands and insisted that refugees in the Valley of the Wind work for food and shelter. After seeing the other newcomers thrive, the nobles abandoned their protest and began offering their skills.

• Kamlin dismissed the self-proclaimed Explorers' Association officials and told the refugees that anyone unwilling to work could leave the valley.
• The nobles formed a silent protest, but Kamlin gave them no food for more than thirty hours.
• Other refugees returned from work with work points, warm meals, and the promise of homes and schooling from Nausicaä.
• The hungry nobles watched the workers eat and heard Nausicaä’s offer of a lasting home for those who contributed.
• A young noble left the protest to seek brewing work, and the rest soon followed by offering their own skills.
• Kamlin watched from atop the wall as the Protest Alliance dissolved.

Mu En and Nausicaä oversaw a ceremony honoring three warriors and reviewed the Valley of the Wind’s recovery and growth. The valley was flourishing, but its leaders remained busy preparing for the challenges ahead.

• Nausicaä commended Kamlin, Elphias Doge, and Por for their roles in rescuing and resettling 174 refugees, and Mu En rewarded each with a second Blessed Dew.
• Nausicaä reported that the valley had secured enough food for more than six months, though much farmland needed time to recover after accelerated crop growth.
• Nausicaä said Gol was preparing a new factory and that the weapons workshop was working to repair and copy Storm Assault Rifles while reducing reliance on purchased parts.
• Nausicaä described how the new immigrants’ skills and labor had helped the valley prosper, and Mu En attributed their effort partly to the safe, equal treatment they received.
• Nausicaä lingered to talk privately with Mu En until Gol called for them, prompting her to leave and return to their duties.

Gol explained that Order's Blade could serve as a precise, versatile milling cutter for copying weapons and machining difficult materials. Mu En approved the idea, gave Gol twenty blessing slots, and tasked him with forming a research department to explore prayer power's uses across different trades.

• Mu En declined to relax the existing standards for granting blessings, but Gol clarified that he wanted additional slots and access to every prayer for research.
• Gol described how Order's Blade let Blessed warriors machine precise replacement parts for Storm assault rifles and cut ceramic steel.
• Mu En recognized that prayer power could help overcome the Valley of the Wind's industrial limitations and encouraged others to discover further applications.
• Mu En granted Gol twenty blessing slots and put him in charge of forming the Law Application Research Department with candidates chosen by Gol, Nausicaä, Mito, and others.
• Gol enthusiastically accepted responsibility for researching prayer power's uses across industries and other fields.

Gol gathered ten craftsmen for the newly formed Law Research Department and introduced them to six incantations granted by Lord Divine Tree. The discussion ended with a promising idea: using Wrath of Gold to power a hammer or stamping press.

• Gol assembled the ten selected craftsmen in the castle workshop and demonstrated how Order's Blade cut through metal.
• Gol explained the six incantations and encouraged the craftsmen to suggest ways to apply them to industry.
• The craftsmen proposed using the incantations for mining, waste treatment, heat protection, and reducing workers' fatigue.
• A young craftsman from Pejite asked whether Wrath of Gold's shockwave could be precisely controlled.
• The young craftsman suggested using Wrath of Gold to operate a power hammer or stamping press, and Gol urged him to continue.

Gol reported that Blessed craftsmen had reproduced a Storm assault rifle by combining Order's Blade with machine tools and using Wrath of Gold to forge and stamp parts. Mu En was encouraged by the breakthrough, but Gol warned that scarce metals, gunpowder ingredients, and fuel made continued production—and building aircraft—impractical for now.

• Mu En was surprised when Gol returned after three days with a homemade Storm assault rifle made by Valley of the Wind craftsmen.
• Gol explained that the Blessed used Order's Blade to carve parts by hand and sharpen machine-tool cutting heads, allowing them to produce precision components faster.
• Gol credited Beiteli with suggesting Wrath of Gold for forging, and described how Nausicaä had shown them how to cast it as a confined shockwave for forging and stamping metal.
• Mu En realized that Nausicaä's method might help Blessed warriors cast other incantations more quickly and considered how other supernatural powers could support industry.
• Gol warned Mu En that the Valley of the Wind had run out of refined metal ingots, was nearly out of gunpowder ingredients, and lacked fuel, making further rifle production and aircraft construction difficult.

Mu En explained to Gol and Beiteli why the Valley of the Wind could not build an aircraft or establish an industrial system quickly, and urged them to develop incantation-powered craftsmanship instead. After rewarding their work, he considered the valley’s need for more people, ancient knowledge, and resources, and began planning its next steps.

• Mu En told Gol that industrial development would take years and that he did not blame him for the slow progress.
• Mu En explained the materials, machinery, workforce, infrastructure, and fuel needed to build aircraft, showing why the Valley of the Wind could not create an industrial chain with its small population.
• Mu En praised Gol and Beiteli for proving that incantations could work with craftsmanship, then rewarded them with golden dew.
• Mu En instructed Gol and Beiteli to research more uses for incantations and train additional craftsmen, while Nausicaä would address the shortage of materials.
• After Gol and Beiteli left, Mu En identified population, ancient knowledge, and resources as priorities and began considering new plans.

Mito led a council meeting to organize the Valley of the Wind's priorities: encouraging childbirth, taking in refugees, exploring the Sea of Corruption, and preparing for a trade gathering. After assigning the work, he told Yupa that Lord Divine Tree wanted to speak with him privately.

• Mito reviewed his streamlined role and the new council assignments with Eliana, Trudeau, and Yupa.
• Eliana questioned whether encouraging childbirth could help, and Mito explained that prayer-ripened crops might reduce Sea of Corruption sickness in children.
• Yupa worried that an outpost and regular exploration could provoke the insect swarms, but agreed to join the exploration team.
• Trudeau asked about the caravan for the gathering in Mining Town, and Mito directed him to prepare a list of goods, especially blessed crops.
• Mito stopped Yupa after the meeting and said Lord Divine Tree wanted to speak with him privately.

Mu En ordered Yupa and Mito to expand the militia and recruit more blessed warriors as the Valley of the Wind prepared for threats from the Torumekian Empire and other unknown forces. Yupa and Mito agreed to carry out the conscription and training plans.

• Mu En summoned Yupa and Mito through the mental link and ordered them to recruit young farmers into the militia and select top soldiers to become blessed warriors.
• Yupa warned that ordinary soldiers might not endure training as harsh as the blessed warriors' regimen.
• Mu En ordered less intense training for ordinary militia, better food for all soldiers, and fewer high-risk exercises for blessed warriors.
• Mu En said conscription would also ease pressure on farmers as new farming methods reduced the labor needed to grow crops.
• Mu En told Yupa to promote the blessed warriors as heroes and present military service as a path to honor and the blessing, while Mito coordinated resources.
• Yupa and Mito agreed to carry out Mu En's orders.

Lucian struggled to focus during lessons because he dreamed of exploring the Sea of Corruption and finding his missing father. After class, Tom told him that the Blessed warriors would demonstrate their skills, and Lucian agreed to watch.

• Lucian daydreamed about the Sea of Corruption and resolved to find his father there.
• The teacher called on Lucian, who answered fifteen minus eight correctly before returning to his distracted thoughts.
• Lucian finished his meal and headed toward his room instead of joining the other children at play.
• Tom and Meili invited Lucian to watch the soldiers train and spar in the castle square.
• Lucian agreed to go see whether the Blessed warriors lived up to the stories about them.

Lucian watched Yupa criticize the militiamen’s training and demonstrate the discipline of the Blessed Warriors. The chapter ended as Yupa and the warriors prepared to fight in a promised challenge.

• Lucian watched ten militiamen fire their rifles and practice swordplay, but judged their outdated weapons and lack of armor to be serious weaknesses.
• Yupa rebuked the militiamen and challenged their idea of what an elite soldier should be.
• Yupa summoned the Blessed Warriors Squad, whose precise movements and discipline impressed Lucian and the crowd.
• Yupa drew his Ohmu Twin Swords and reminded the warriors that they would earn three days off if they defeated him.
• Yupa and the Blessed Warriors began their fight.

Por, Kamlin, Elphias Doge, and the other blessed warriors challenged Yupa to a training-ground battle using only their bodies and swordsmanship, with Order's Blade permitted. Their coordinated attack initially pressed Yupa, but he wounded four warriors and broke the encirclement, leaving Por, Kamlin, and Elphias Doge to face him.

• At Yupa's command, the blessed warriors formed a silent encirclement, with Por as the bait and Kamlin and Elphias Doge leading flanking groups.
• Yupa rushed Por and spun through the first attack, shattering the swords of Kamlin's group before Elphias Doge's group forced him to spend his momentum.
• Por summoned Order's Blade and charged Yupa, allowing the blessed warriors to begin a coordinated assault with golden sword light.
• The warriors attacked in succession, using their coordination to block Yupa's escape routes and force him to defend from several directions.
• Yupa severed one warrior's hand and injured three more, forcing all four out of the fight.
• Por, Kamlin, and Elphias Doge remained back-to-back as Yupa's attacks overwhelmed their encirclement.

The blessed warriors fought Yupa with a new tactic and forced him to concede after a massive golden sword trapped him. Watching their victory inspired Lucian and the other young people to want to become blessed warriors.

• Yupa overpowered Por, Kamlin, and Elphias Doge, breaking Elphias Doge's blade and wounding Yupa with Kamlin's thrown weapon.
• Kamlin and Por seized Yupa's arms and held him in place while the remaining three warriors prepared a new Order's Blade technique.
• The three warriors formed a giant golden sword, which Elphias Doge swung at Yupa and the two warriors restraining him.
• Yupa conceded before the giant sword struck, and the exhausted warriors celebrated their victory.
• Lucian watched the warriors celebrate and decided he wanted to become a blessed warrior too.

Beruto successfully recreated tofu from Mu En’s favor soybeans, discovering a nutritious new food for the Valley of the Wind. He looked forward to serving tofu dishes to the children under Mito.

• Beruto experimented in the castle kitchen and watched soy milk separate into tofu pudding.
• Beruto followed Mu En’s instructions, soaking and grinding favor soybeans, straining and boiling the soy milk, then adding limewater to make tofu pudding.
• Beruto pressed the curds in a linen-lined wooden box and produced a firm, snowy-white block of tofu.
• Beruto tasted the tofu, enjoyed its mild sweetness and fragrance, and imagined different ways to prepare it.
• Beruto grinned as he thought of the treats awaiting the children under Mito.