A weary historian dies and finds himself in a different world awakened in a life as the notorious young Duke of a southern state. His nation is weakened, his army underfed, and his neighbors revolve around his lands menacingly. No one believes his land is going to hold out until winter.

But this newfound duke is no naive simpleton his enemies recollect. He carries with him the experience of centuries of war and empire, of starting and ending monarchies. From Caesar to Napoleon, from the Mongols to world wars, he has learned from each of them—and his strategy is to make history his very own arms.

He organizes his smashed levies into well-trained formations, rebuilds his castles, and turns his villages into supply centers. Where others see defeat, he senses opportunity. As he triumphs, rumors spread: of a pennant red as winter snow that shall not go to ground, of a bloody duke who writes his name in gore and flame.

Is he a savior who's constructing a new empire, or a tyrant who's going to bring the world to endless war?

Not the quiet of peace, but the tense, breathless quiet of a fortress waiting to be tested again.


Wind scraped across the new triple walls, whistling through the kill holes and crenellations Justinian had carved into existence. Torches flickered along the battlements, casting long shadows over soldiers who studied them with pride and a hint of disbelief.


Snowkeep no longer looked like a frontier duchy's capital.


It looked like a citadel utopia, both a hub for trade, life, and defense.


And all of it came from a crumbling duchy.


Justinian was fast asleep, all his energy spent from thinking about how to expand his capital with his new ability.


The entire capital was quiet, with only the sounds of the clanking of metal plate armor ringing around the walls. Even with the ceasefire, Lucan didn't trust that their opponent wouldn't try something dishonorable.


Chapter 101 - Cassia Vesuvian (1)