Ethan merely smiled and gestured for Doran to stand.

"Focus on advancing to the third stage and training the guard well. We still have many great battles to fight." His hands fell firmly on Doran’s shoulders, and Doran simply nodded, jaw tight with resolve.

"Select the five most determined and loyal members of the guard. I have some things for them as well."

With nothing else to do there, Ethan left. It was now time to give his women some attention.

"Captain?" Cain rose to his feet, still struggling to grasp what had just happened. The aura around him pulsed with each heartbeat, wild and untamed in its newness.

"It’s all right." Doran stood, closing his eyes as he steadied his own surging energy. "Get ready. As soon as I finish my advance, I’ll teach you the next forms of imperial fencing."

Cain’s eyes lit up at those words.

Yes!

Doran had never taught them beyond the third form. Finally, it was time to see what the other forms held!

***

Soon, Ethan found himself walking alone through the streets of Goldenveil.

A makeshift drainage system had been set up, so the streets were no longer as muddy, even on rainy days.

They weren’t like a paved street or one made of stone, but they were still quite pleasant to walk along.

Children played in the street as dusk approached and the village gradually lit up with the fading light, warm glows spilling from windows one by one.

Goldenveil’s now more than eight hundred citizens were already getting ready for bed. The stalls in the square were closing, and a few respectful glances fell upon Ethan as he passed by.

He didn’t need to worry much about protection, since even the least loyal citizen of Goldenveil had a loyalty rating of fifty.

The mother of one of the guards he had executed alongside Alaric.

Even if there were some strong internal resistance, what could they do?

In raw power, Ethan was second only to Mireya.

He didn’t regret giving those pills to Doran and Cain, and he was sure he wouldn’t.

He had learned, by observing the many citizens of Goldenveil, that even among those who loved him deeply, there were limits to loyalty.

Many citizens had a limit of ninety, and most were stuck at seventy or eighty.

Those with a limit of one hundred were truly loyal people, or his wives, who did not seem to be affected by this variation.

These were the people Ethan should value and care for most, for they would choose death over betraying Goldenveil. A thousand times, if necessary.

With a slight sigh, he simply continued on his way, entering the silver gates of his enormous mansion.

Inside the mansion, there was a special arena.

Created specifically for the last Lord of the Sword, a powerful master swordsman, it was well-equipped.

An open-air training courtyard surrounded by a beautiful garden, racks of weapons, armor, and even five rooms reserved for meditation and advancement.

"Ah... when is Ethan going to arrive? The battle is over already, isn’t it? That idiot didn’t even call me to participate!" Evelyn complained, irritation clear in her voice.

She was sitting in the center of the courtyard, her legs spread in a perfect split as she stretched.

Her leather shorts dug deeply into her ample, shapely buttocks, the taut fabric wedging between those thick cheeks and carving out each round curve.

Between her spread legs, the material was pulled flush against the plump mound of her puffy pussy, every soft contour of her outlined.

With a soft grunt, she leaned to the right, her hands sliding down her long, tanned legs until they reached her delicate feet.

Her breasts pressed heavily against her thigh, her cleavage deepening into a tight, sweaty valley.

She held the position for a moment, her body glistening, before returning upright with a slow exhale.

"That perverted scoundrel will be back soon; he just went to sort something out with that man, Doran," Mireya said, standing beside the arena with her arms crossed.

Her words caught Alice’s attention. She was sitting on a bench next to the beautiful and graceful Elena, listening to the dark beauty’s experience with her own advancement to the third stage.

After all, mages and warriors had very different experiences.

While a warrior formed their own aura, with unique color and power, a mage needed to form a magic circle around their mana core, something akin to a power amplifier.

Elena was already an empress when she reached the third stage, so she had access to many treasures to increase her chances of forming a powerful circle, even though she herself had no interest in power.

"Why do you call husband something like that?" Alice asked sweetly, more curious than annoyed.

Her long golden hair was carefully tied back, and her beautiful face featured pink lips and piercing blue eyes.

"Because that’s exactly what he is!"

"Because that’s exactly what he is!"

Two identical phrases echoed at the same time. Evelyn and Mireya had repeated the same thing in perfect sync.

"Oh... don’t worry, dear. They just haven’t managed to see the true grandeur of our Lord yet, fufufu~~" Elena laughed softly, turning to Alice, who looked unhappy with the way those girls referred to Ethan.

The dark beauty embraced the pale beauty tenderly. Huge chocolaty tits met huge snowy tits in a squeeze that looked obscene despite being a pure embrace.

Elena’s soft, heavy breasts mushroomed against Alice’s equally generous pair, the contrasting skin tones pressing and deforming together, dark nipples barely hidden behind thin fabric pushing into the pillowy white flesh of Alice’s cleavage.

It was only less than perfect because of the size difference between the two women, but even so, the way those four massive breasts squeezed between their bodies was something any man would dream of witnessing.

"Yeah... poor ignorant girls..." Alice shook her head, joining in on the joke.

She knew those two didn’t mean it and were just being a little toxic, no big deal. Well, at least she knew Evelyn didn’t mean it. Mireya was still a mystery to her.

Just at that moment, the door leading to the arena opened, and Alice’s eyes sparkled.