Aleks Kotov

Vol 7, Chapter 25

◆ Eagle Cliff, Head of Administration Tamilla POV ◆


"My lady, the quarterly reports have arrived."

Tamilla inclined her head in acknowledgment to the aide, who carefully placed...

Vol 7, Chapter 24

The deck of the ship was empty, yet I felt a gaze from the shadows. Flashes from the burning camp made them dance in rhythm with the fire. Even if I managed to extinguish the flames, there was no w...

Vol 7, Chapter 23

◆ Old Camp, Night, Corporal Noah POV ◆


An empty beer keg flew out of the tent. Right after it, a soldier crawled out, his musket catching on the tent flap. His superior, who was hold...

Vol 7, Chapter 22

"When the shelling ended, they pulled me from the battlefield… but we lost most of our knights. So I would call that battle… at best, a draw," Erin finished her tale.

"You look go...

Vol 7, Chapter 21

Half of a knight's strength is his horse. For metal mages, it made little difference whether their armor weighed twenty kilograms or a full hundred, but for the horse…

A simple horse, the k...

Vol 7, Chapter 20

Soot flaked off the large cast-iron cauldron, scattering across the ground.

In a second, the blackened pot, used to cook for a hundred men at once, regained its original dull gray.

I kn...

Vol 7, Chapter 19

◆ Frozen River, Surroundings of Renvel, Dolan POV ◆ 
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Beneath the water, brown strands of grass writhed. Sparse, slimy, combed as if by a giant's hand, they coiled around the b...

Vol 7, Chapter 18

"We cannot allow them to approach the castle and begin a siege. We must strike them on the march. Here, near the river."
The Marquise's long fingernail tapped the map, leaving a dent.

...

Vol 7, Chapter 17

◆ Great Desert, Battlefield, Border Fortress of the Theocracy, Necromancer POV ◆


The scorching wind howled among the dunes. It smelled of death.

Heaps of bodies surrounded the ...

Vol 7, Chapter 16

◆ Lands of Marquis Etienne, battlefield, Marquis Henri POV ◆

Almost-Third-Duke surveyed the coming battlefield from the height of griffon flight. As expected, his dear sister had decided ...

Vol 7, Chapter 15

Warm hands smoothed over my uniform. Streams of heat flowed around me, carefully drying the fabric. Truth be told, the mage girl's hands were a bit too active, especially considering we weren't...

Vol 7, Chapter 14

 ◆ Castle of the Third Duchy, Marquise von Klaus's and Asha's POV. ◆
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Etienne's knights rose from the table, hands reaching for their swords.

"We're leaving!" he a...

Vol 7, Chapter 13

◆ Renvel, Ancestral Castle, Second Duke's POV. ◆

The Second Duke turned a small metal figurine of an old man thoughtfully in his hand. On closer inspection, one could see not only that t...

Vol 7, Chapter 12

◆ River of the Third Duchy, Asha's POV. ◆


"So the Healers' Guild is like a sort of labor union?"

"It seems you haven't been listening to me at all, young man…" the elderly he...

Vol 7, Chapter 11

◆ Healers' Guild of the Fourth Duchy, Asha's POV. ◆


"So, Randall sent you to recruit more healers?"

The former Count nodded with dignity.

"And the Captain wants to begin ...

Small news

Well, the order was ready and I went to pick up my new glasses (which is why today’s chapter is later than usual). Got them and… guess what?

That’s right, now I’ve got a headache from...

Vol 7, Chapter 10

◆ Coastal Waters of the Fourth Duchy, Captain Flint's POV. ◆


The ship shuddered like a madman in convulsions. The timbers creaked, and the lower deck reeked of soot.

The captai...

Vol 7, Chapter 9

◆ Poisoned Battlefield, General Til's POV. ◆ 
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The green wall closed behind him.

Maybe it was the thick rubber of the suit, maybe it was the slime... but moving wa...

Vol 7, Chapter 8

"Two tunnels destroyed."

A belated third explosion rumbled.

"Three," Til corrected, shielding himself from the falling dirt.

"Casualties?" I asked first of all.

"No reports ...

Vol 7, Chapter 7

◆ Royal Palace, Dastan the First's POV. ◆


The life of any magical world moves in a spiral. At first, it is weak. Its mages can hardly manage more than parlor tricks.

It seems l...

Vol 7, Chapter 6

 ◆ Kingdom of Steel, First Prince's POV. ◆
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Day after day, night after night, they marched forward. No rest, no sleep, no pauses. Paving their path with bodies.

With each...

Vol 7, Chapter 5

◆ Inner Sea, King Dastan's POV. ◆

A flash lit the sky beyond the horizon, the waves glowing blood-red. The rumble caught up with the ship, filling its black sails with air as hot as from...

Vol 7, Chapter 4

◆ Commonwealth, Academy Port, King Dastan the First's POV. ◆
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​The ship under black sails entered the port near the Academy without hurry or commotion. Taking its place at the pier, ...

Vol 7, Chapter 3

◆ Frontline ◆

"I'm glad you were able to visit us in person, Uncle Avram…" Tamilla greeted him, though her voice faded beneath the thunder of an artillery salvo.

"Especially in a...

Vol 7, Chapter 2

◆ Center of the World, Espluar, Asha's POV. ◆


The noisy revelry was distracting and made it impossible to think. She wanted to go down to the lower deck and knock every...

Vol 7, Chapter 1

◆ Center of the World, Expedition Ship, Asha's POV. ◆

The demon's creaking scream echoed through the cabin.

"You're lying. All demons lie," the captain hissed.

"Alright, fine...

Vol 6, Chapter 25, END OF VOLUME SIX

◆ Center of the World, Espluar, Asha's POV. ◆

The darkness of the hold was barely pushed back by the bluish glow of a magical lamp swaying on the wall. It flickered and sputtered, threat...

Vol 6, Chapter 24

Snow crunched underfoot. The damp white mass clung stubbornly to my boots. Morning was cool, and the timid rays of the sun, barely piercing the overcast sky, had not yet managed to melt it.

T...

Vol 6, Chapter 23

"He's gone, damn it!" I swore and kicked the hollow cannonball.

My toe throbbed in protest.

Just as I feared, black powder was ill-suited for this kind of ammunition. A second chance to...

So, guys, big of a problem.

So, guys, big of a problem. Today I finally broke my glasses.

There’s no way to repair them, and the new ones won’t be ready anytime soon.
In theory, I can work with just one eye, but...