Back in Lune, Ryo is trying to reclaim his cozy life when he receives a sudden summons from the guild master and learns that thousands of imperial troops have invaded the Kingdom of Knightley. What does Ryo do? Panic, of course! But not Abel, who knows that skirmishes of this magnitude are pretty common, so the Kingdom wastes no time deploying twenty thousand soldiers of its own. When a betrayal from within rocks Knightley’s ranks, the enemy’s forces continue their momentum into the Kingdom, and the royal capital falls in just one day. At this rate, the Kingdom looks like it will become another vassal state in the Debuhi Empire’s vast holdings—not to mention how much danger the new crown prince is in! To protect his friends and country, Ryo must eliminate the invaders. Hell-bent on reclaiming the throne, he and his allies set out for the battlefield on Gold Hill. The prologue to the adventures of the strongest, freewheeling water magician reaches a spectacular climax!