[The people of Goldenveil gaze at the imposing new Goldenveil barracks with reverence]

[+11 prestige]

The new Goldenveil barracks sprawled across an entire city block, its tall gray concrete walls enclosing more than eighty thousand square meters of ground.

Elegant towers rose at each corner, standing like silent sentinels beneath the blue sky. At the center loomed the main concrete building, more than five stories tall, dignified and even beautiful, despite being built like a fortress.

The entrance sat right at the front of this main building, framed by an arch tall enough for a giant to pass through.

Just beyond it, a stone path stretched inward. At its center rested a pedestal, perfectly sized to house a statue.

Heavy footsteps echoed along the stone as Ethan advanced, Doran walking close behind.

A soft sigh slipped from his lips as he pictured a massive statue of himself standing atop that pedestal, gloriously greeting every new recruit who would one day pass through that arch.

He crossed the spacious main courtyard, where corridors branched off in every direction toward the barracks’ various facilities.

The complex even boasted a horsemanship field and a barn large enough to house a hundred horses.

Naturally, Ethan’s horse had been granted his own residence there.

Pampered throughout the town and allowed to roam the streets freely like a little nobleman, he was quite a happy horse indeed.

Soon, Ethan would find a way to acquire several mares and start a proper harem for one of his best friends, who was still young and full of vigor.

Even though much of the barracks would sit temporarily unused, simply because the guard was too small to fill it all, Ethan didn’t mind.

After depositing a few magic cores to ensure the arrays surrounding the barracks functioned perfectly, he left Doran behind and wandered toward the library.

To his pleasant surprise, the shelves stood full of books, just like the ones back in his mansion.

A shame the armory and storeroom remained empty, but Ethan soon remedied that by emptying his system inventory.

Meanwhile, Doran studied every corner of the imposing structure before heading to his new office.

The space was second only to the Lord’s own, infinitely grander than his previous cramped quarters.

One of the people happiest about this change was probably the captain’s wife, who had just arrived to bring him his afternoon coffee.

She burst through the office door and threw herself into his lap, eyes sparkling with excitement.

Young, extremely beautiful, and vain, though without a drop of malice or arrogance in her heart, she felt immensely happy and proud to know her man commanded such a powerful structure, almost a palace in its own right. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

She had been right to heed her father’s advice and, at eighteen, ignore the thirteen-year age gap between them to throw herself into the captain’s arms.

Now, her greatest desire was to give him a child as soon as possible. However, since she possessed Rank B talent, Doran had decided to follow Ethan’s advice.

First, he would help her reach the third stage. Only then would he get her pregnant.

Of course, nothing lasts forever, and soon enough the festive mood within the guard dissolved.

Ethan had to meet alone with Doran to discuss the subjugation of the two human settlements near the barony’s territory.

Obvious curiosity filled Doran’s gaze as Ethan settled into the sofa across from him in the captain’s office.

On the table between them, Ethan spread out a map containing everything the guard had uncovered in recent months.

After a moment’s thought, he marked two more points on it.

"My lord... what is this?" Doran studied the two new marks with a puzzled expression.

"Human settlements. They hold at least a thousand citizens each, with a guard force no smaller than Goldenveil’s," Ethan finally replied.

"Which guards would be best suited to serve as scouts? They need to- no..." He took back his own words. "We will scout them personally to get a better sense of their defenses and judge whether or not they can be subdued with ease."

Doran did not question his lord’s words.

If Ethan wished to conquer other settlements, then may the gods have mercy on those souls.

For by his name and his sword, no one would stand in the way of his lord’s conquest.

"When do you wish to depart, my Lord?" Doran asked, his eyes still fixed on the map.

With the combined strength of the two of them, any danger truly capable of threatening their lives would render Goldenveil’s current guard utterly useless as support anyway.

For that reason, Doran felt no concern about setting out without them.

Ethan did not answer the question immediately.

He glanced toward the window, where the sun already hung low in the sky, bleeding the horizon into shades of deep orange and crimson.

"Tomorrow morning." Ethan rose with a sigh. "Before the end of this month, I want both of them under my total and absolute control, so we can begin transferring their populations to Goldenveil."

"As the Lord wishes." Doran stood as well, a determined yet slightly anxious look etched across his face.

"Excellent. Make certain the guard and the militia are prepared to march within a week of our return, at the latest. I also plan, once these people have been integrated into Goldenveil, to begin exterminating the nearby goblin camps."

A faint smile touched Ethan’s lips as he marked six more points on the map.

After explaining exactly what each of those six locations represented, Ethan left the mighty fortress barracks with a satisfied look on his face.

Wherever he walked in Goldenveil, he became the target of gazes filled with reverence and respect.

From the young who dreamed of joining the guard and serving as blades against Goldenveil’s enemies, to the men and women who prayed both in the name of the gods and in Ethan’s own name.

It was a strange sensation, but not an unpleasant one.

Ethan’s lips curved slightly as he made his way to the mansion, where he could finally get a proper night’s rest.

Tomorrow would be a big day for him, and the coming week would prove monumental for all of Goldenveil.

He knew that, against an enemy with a population as vastly superior as the barony of Whitefall, he couldn’t afford to falter.

The barony was led by a Golden Lord whose fortunes were entirely tied to conquest, and a large portion of its population was likely made up of soldiers. The city relied more on plunder than on agriculture.

Ethan needed to multiply Goldenveil’s population over the winter and reach at least five thousand souls by the arrival of summer if he wanted enough soldiers to face this enemy.

He knew he may have to kill innocents to achieve that goal. But in the end, that was the path of a monarch and a conqueror.

The path he would follow.

Finally, Ethan stepped into his own room, sinking comfortably onto the bed as he savored the warm, heavy weight of Elena’s voluptuous body clinging to him. Her soft, full breasts molded against his side, the plush flesh squishing deliciously against his ribs.

The girls had decided to take turns as to who would sleep with him, unless they specifically wished to serve him together.

That night, Elena had his warmth all to herself.