Blade & Bastard, Vol. 4 (light novel): Dungeon Chronicle

Blade & Bastard Light Novel #4

by Kumo Kagyu, C. D. Leeson (editor), so-bin (artist)

Scale’s dungeon exists in infamy as a vast maw of unknowable depth, containing monsters and legendary treasure. But the dungeon itself isn’t the whole story; after all, what would a place like that be without adventurers willing to delve into it? Trace the dungeon’s beginnings with the tale of the free knight Sezmar, who leaves his knightly order and gathers his party to adventure for the first time. Follow the son of a shoemaker, who barely survived an encounter with the red dragon, as he collects a motley band for a dodgy job. Experience Orlaya’s first adventure with her new companions after escaping the yoke of her old clan. Stalk the black-clad adventurer Iarumas as he explores alone, silently seeking something. In Scale, there are just as many adventures as there are adventurers, and the dungeon swallows them all.

Genres: Light Novel

216 pages, Hardcover

First published July 10, 2024

About the author

蝸牛くも.

Reviews

[Éric Kasprak]

Light novels are a unique medium for me, as this series served as my introduction to Japanese YA fiction. While the author’s writing can be a bit cryptic at times, I genuinely love the series, and this fourth installment is no exception. The party dynamics shift significantly in this volume—some members temporarily team up with a different party, while the protagonist, Iarumas, ventures into the labyrinth alone. Overall, it feels more like a character-focused side story than a grand adventure, but it was a great read nonetheless.

[Ghostea]

I hate side-story books. That said, volume four of Blade and Bastard comes the closest to making them pallatable. Still my fav series atm, just a slight deviation into expected mundaity.