We start from where we left off with the scene of the Goguyreo lords/ministers holed up at Lord Yeon’s residence and him telling them that Northern Wei troops would be allowed into Gooknae Castle to protect them against Damdeok army. All of them are incensed to hear of this and we see them squaring off against Lord Yeon forces with weapons raised.

But Hwachun minions soon surround them and holds them as hostages. Lord Yeon is furious as Dae Jang Ryo makes known his plan to use them as bait to lure Damdeok here. He wants Damdeok life and his sacred symbols and wants Lord Yeon to “assist” him. Lord Yeon feels betrayed but he is helpless to do anything.

We move to the Oracle temple as the second-in-command questions Kiha about her intentions regarding Damdeok’s return to Gooknae Castle. Kiha decides to kill her in the same way like she did to the High Priestess and blames it on her for always questioning her decisions.

We then move to Damdeok and his army who are now encamped a few miles away from Gooknae Castle. They get suspicious after Hyun Go gives word that his messenger hasn’t send any word from within while there’s no welcoming party to welcome them back. Damdeok instructs his men to go see if the city gates are closed to confirm that it is a ploy.

Meanwhile, inside Gooknae Castle, Hwanchun minions gallops around telling people to stay indoors and shuts the city gates. Oracle temple disciples meanwhile are sent by Kiha to pass a message to Damdeok. Men sent by Damdeok finds out that the city gates are indeed shut.

Damdeok meets the Oracle temple disciples who relays Kiha message to him. Everyone is furious to learn of Kiha’s ridiculous decision of not allowing Damdeok back into the city. Damdeok asks if this was a decision decided by the council, the messenger eventually reveals that the council are being held hostage at Lord Yeon’s residence.

Damdeok decides to play tactics, first ordering the Julno tribe chief to lead the five cities closest to Gooknae Castle to prevent possible foreign attacks. Hyun Go then chides Damdeok for always being at the forefront, after guessing his intention of going it all alone again.

Damdeok eventually leads a small force with Jumochi, Sujini and Cheoreo among them as they advance to Gooknae Castle.

Damdeok heads into Gooknae Castle alone as he plays mind games with Lord Yeon. Jumochi appears frustrated while Sujini looks on teary as Damdeok is gonna meet with Kiha. Meanwhile Cheoreo is in the background taking all of this in.

Outside the city gates, Sujini and Jumochi up to their antics again as they fool the city guards and sneak into the city without anyone noticing them except for Cheoreo.

We then move to the Oracle temple as Damdeok ask Kiha if she did indeed kill the High Priestess. When he gets the answer from Kiha, he is totally convinced that Kiha is against him. They start showing their memories of the past and Damdeok replies that he had come here with a small tint of love for her but it’s totally gone now. Kiha seems to be regretting her actions but there’s clearly no turning back as Damdeok storms out in fury.

Meanwhile, General Ko leads the rest of the army and lies in wait outside the west gate of Gooknae Castle. Sujini and Jumochi rejoins Damdeok as the trio heads straight for Hwachun headquarters. Kind of cool to see them walking like this. They then storm into the evil dwelling in three directions and the Hwachun minions get their asses whipped big-time. General Ko also at this moment, storms into the city and heads straight for Lord Yeon’s residence. Damdeok instruction is to just surround the residence and wait for his arrival.

Great fighting scenes as Damdeok and his small elite force including Jumochi, Sujini, Cheoreo destroys all the Hwanchun minions at their base. Damdeok proceeds to retrieve the heart of Jujak which is surprisingly left in the base unguarded. So does this mean that Kiha doesn’t need this anymore to unleash her fire power? That’s interesting…

Meanwhile the Goguyreo ministers/lords are getting anxious but eventually feel relieved upon knowing that Damdeok is on his way in to save them. They are happy to know that Damdeok still regards them as ministers/lords. Damdeok makes his way soon and reaches Lord Yeon’s residence.

They square off and start negotiating. Dae Jang Ryo makes clear that he wants the sacred symbols that Damdeok has. Damdeok eventually throws them to ground for him after Dae Jang Ryo uses black magic and kills one of Gogyureo’s ministers. Two of the Goguyreo lords eventually commit suicide to lessen Damdeok’s burden after learning that their sons were most probably killed by Dae Jang Ryo instead. We then see all hell break loose as all of them start fighting again, great action once again.

Damdeok faces off against Dae Jang Ryo black magic not once but twice but is easily brushed off. As Damdeok is facing danger, the Blue Dragon sacred symbol comes alive as Cheoreo is drawn to it. Time stands still as Cheoreo holds his spear with the Blue Dragon symbol glowing brightly. Dae Jang Ryo changes target and strikes Cheoreo but the latter flings his spear at Dae Jang Ryo who is helpless against it as he flies out of orbit! Everyone is surprised at this as we cut to Damdeok looking intently at Cheoreo, knowing that he is the Gwan Mi Fort overlord and Blue Dragon owner.

Meanwhile, a general who was with Damdeok arrives at Ho Gae’s camp and tells of Damdeok’s great achievements at West Baekje. Ho Gae’s general can’t believe it but kind of believes it after the general shows his displeasure. Word soon spreads around Ho Gae’s camp about Damdeok’s great achievement.

Ho Gae meanwhile has led a small force to the place where they can locate the White Tiger symbol owner, Ba Son’s brother. Dalbi believes that Ho Gae still has good in him as he feeds them with good food and doesn’t ill-treat them. Ba Son is then led to id a set of armour which her brother is supposedly the creator. Ba Son ids that as her brother’s creation as she get teary-eyed.

We break at episode 17 with the Julno chief chiding all the council for not believing and trusting in Damdeok to result in this predicament. Is Hwachun really gone and Dae Jang Ryo killed? Unlikely of course since there’s still quite a long way to go.