A few days had passed since Ethan and Doran returned to Goldenveil, and in that short time, a great deal had changed.

The guard had announced an expansion to one hundred members, welcoming fifty fresh recruits into its ranks.

Among them, the young talents who had arrived in the city after Ethan used the population cards from his latest batch of premium gacha tickets stood out the most.

In total, the Goldenveil guard now boasted two S-rank talents, one A-rank, ten B-ranks, and eighty-seven C-ranks.

Ethan still had plenty of talent enhancement pills sitting in his inventory, having used only four so far. One on Evelyn, one on Elena, one on Doran, and another on Cain.

As soon as he found the time to decide who else in the guard deserved them, he would have a much more powerful force at his disposal than before.

Of course, the change wasn’t limited to the military. Goldenveil as a whole felt different now.

The many empty lots inside the great wall had filled up quickly with new houses.

More than twenty percent of the walled area was now fully built up, six hundred of the nearly two thousand five hundred lots already claimed.

Once all of them were finished, Goldenveil would sustain no fewer than eight to ten thousand inhabitants, even accounting for the land set aside for farming and infrastructure.

For that reason, Ethan didn’t bother expanding the wall just yet.

The important thing, for now, was that the people filled the streets with lively markets, hawking fresh fruit and hunting meat.

Even the Blue Sea Tavern was bustling now, never holding fewer than ten adventurers under its roof.

Goldenveil’s fame was spreading fast among adventurers across the neighboring regions, thanks both to the city’s beauty and the rich rewards offered for its quests.

In that short interval, adventurers had delivered more than ten groups of lower-tier beasts, along with the corpse of a third-stage beast, several second-stage ones, and dozens of first-stage ones.

The rewards paid for these deliveries had drained Ethan’s wealth quickly, reducing it to just two thousand five hundred gold coins, but he was happy.

Naturally, everything went straight to the distillery managed by John.

The corpses of first-stage beasts would go into a house-brand beer aimed at adventurers, while the second-stage ones would fuel the production of Green Fairy Wine.

As for the blood of the two third-stage beasts, that would be used to craft a premium version of the same wine.

When winter ended and the drinks were ready to be supplied to Ron and sold at the tavern, Goldenveil’s wealth would, without a doubt, skyrocket.

Unfortunately, at least for now, that wasn’t Ethan’s priority.

At that moment, he stood in the guard barracks, his eyes sweeping across the men gathered before him.

At Doran’s command, the guard had reorganized and the militia had assembled. Every trained man between the ages of twenty and forty had taken their post.

By the end of the gathering, two hundred militiamen had joined the hundred guards, forming a contingent of three hundred soldiers.

They stood in formation across the barracks’ spacious courtyard, eyes fixed ahead and weapons at the ready.

Even the militiamen were equipped with leather armor and high-quality weapons.

Only Ethan, Doran, and three others wore steel armor, but he intended to change that soon.

Facing his men, the Lord stepped forward, clad in gleaming silver plate with his helmet raised, leaving Evelyn, Alice, and Doran behind him.

"Winter is coming." Ethan’s voice rang cold across the courtyard.

"But it is not winter you should fear. A few weeks ago, we were attacked, and four good men were taken from us. This enemy knows who we are, knows where we are, and will not give up.

We must prepare as soon as possible to defend what is rightfully ours, to protect the prosperity of every man and woman who worked to build this Goldenveil."

He raised his gauntleted fist, the polished steel catching the pale morning light.

"Today, we will march. But we will march for the future of Goldenveil!"

The three hundred soldiers, already informed of the march’s destination, saluted in unison.

"For the glory of Goldenveil, for the glory of Lord Ethan!"

Then they formed three long lines and set out along the trail already blazed by Ethan and Doran.

Soon, the whole city of Goldenveil gathered to watch their brave men depart.

The older ones wore worried expressions, while the children stared wide-eyed, as if finally seeing the heroes of their dreams.

Ethan took the lead of the column, mounted on his black steed, with Evelyn settled in his lap and Alice clinging to him from behind.

The beautiful horse bore the weight of all three without showing the slightest sign of strain.

The animal was a little fatter than usual, but still as strong as it had always been.

"Regretting coming in armor, my perverted lord?" Evelyn asked softly, turning her face to meet Ethan’s eyes.

She gave a brief, teasing wiggle of her hips, grinding her plump, tanned ass over his armored lap in a playful provocation, the full mounds of tanned flesh squashing against the hard contour of his codpiece.

Almost at once, she flinched and went still.

The icy bite of the steel seeped through her rear and chased the warmth from her skin, leaving her squirming uncomfortably on his thighs.

"What do you think?" he replied with a slight, bitter smirk.

Of course he was regretting it. But what did that matter?

He looked so fucking cool in that armor.

"The husband looks good in silver armor," Alice commented from behind him, her small fingers tracing the polished metal with innocent curiosity.

Evelyn didn’t say a word.

She wore only a breastplate that sensually squeezed her huge tanned tits, forcing the large mounds to nearly spill over the rim of the metal, the swollen upper flesh bulging above the edge wobbling obscenely with the rhythm of the ride.

She’d be lying if she denied it.

He looked hot in that silver armor.

As much as she hated wearing one herself, Ethan in any armor would always be fucking sexy.