Souma presses Elfrieden's siege on the Amidonian principality, whose soldiers fight tooth and nail to keep him at bay. The violence on the front lines is bad enough, but a surprise attack at the rear will confound the bloody battle further. Souma and Carla must fend off Gaius themselves in a life-or-death test of nerves, loyalty, and steel. When hard-fought victory finally dawns over the capital, it's time for the realist hero to get to work. Souma now needs to win over the citizens of the former enemy nation, and he has a most unusual plan that just might do the trick.