Chapter 409: Already stealing my spot

Faelith stepped into the central hall of the elven silver mine, and her eyes went wide with sheer shock.

The air inside was cool and carried the faint scent of stone and metal. Each of her steps echoed off the high ceiling before fading into the vastness of the place.

The ground floor alone was large enough to swallow a thousand workers without ever seeming crowded, and a wide staircase rose toward five more floors above.

On either side of the hall, wide gates and doors opened onto the refining, processing, and storage areas.

And at the far end, closing off the hall, five steel-sealed gates guarded the way into the mine itself, which had been almost completely renovated.

Faelith turned slowly on the spot, her lips parted as she took in every corner of the hall.

Ethan watched her from a step behind, the corner of his mouth turned up, clearly pleased with her reaction.

"Let’s take a look at the main office. There are usually manuals and guides there," he said, stepping closer and letting his fingers rest on the slender curve of her waist.

The beautiful elf nodded and let him lead her, her body fitting naturally against his side as they walked, her hip brushing against his with every step.

The two climbed a metal staircase, their footsteps ringing all the way up, and before long they reached the fifth floor, where they found the main office without difficulty.

It was spacious and, to Faelith’s surprise, even more luxurious than her own office back in her mansion.

A dark wooden desk dominated the center of the room, a thick carpet muffled their footsteps, and a large window overlooked the entire hall below.

Everything was neatly organized, and the shelves lining the walls from end to end held dozens of hardcover books.

Ethan pulled one of them out, a smile spreading across his lips as he leafed through the first few pages.

They were manuals on the extraction, refining, and transport of elven silver, and the techniques inside were far superior to Faelith’s own.

He handed the book to her. She read just a few lines before her eyes widened, her fingers gripping the cover a little tighter.

"There’s no need to rush for now. It’ll take a few months for the workers in Greenleaf to learn the new techniques and be able to use these facilities at maximum efficiency," he said, leaning his shoulder against the shelf beside her. "For now, just focus on stabilizing your new population and training new workers."

Faelith nodded, her eyes still scanning the pages for another moment before she closed the manual and slid it back into its place.

Then her beautiful green eyes returned to Ethan, lingering on him a little longer than necessary.

Five thousand young men had already been selected from each of the three cities—Windmere, Greenleaf, and Fallenwinter—to go train in Goldenveil. Fifteen thousand in total.

Ethan had promised that, within a month, they would return as a powerful legion.

All of those young men were ready to leave, and Ethan had now finished everything he needed to do there.

The time for him to go was drawing near.

"Will it be a while before you come back here?" she asked, her voice softer than before and her expression far from cheerful.

"No." Ethan shook his head.

"I’ll be back in less than thirty days to make a few more improvements—you don’t need to worry. Besides, I’ll soon be setting up a means of transportation that will allow people to travel from Greenleaf to Goldenveil in just a few minutes. You’ll be able to visit me whenever you want."

He raised a hand to the elf’s face, his thumb gently caressing her cheekbone before tracing the line of her jaw.

Faelith closed her eyes for a second, pressing her cheek into his palm as if she wanted to hold onto that warmth a little longer.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay there much longer.

Doran had already left Fallenwinter with the five thousand humans who would form Goldenveil’s Sixth Legion, leaving only a detachment of about five hundred men in the city.

Thalion was also ready to depart from Greenleaf with the five thousand young elves who would form the Fifth Legion.

There were still a thousand soldiers left in the city.

Thalion would take five hundred of them along with the young elves, while Ethan would set out with the other five hundred—and, of course, his personal guard and his many beautiful mages.

After a quick meal with Faelith, Evelyn, Amelia, his guard, and the other mages, Ethan finally set out by noon, leading five hundred men down the road.

Faelith stood at the city gate and watched until the last row of soldiers disappeared around the bend in the road.

The roads were finished and ready for use, so the journey would take no more than a few hours, especially since everyone in the column was at least at the second stage, capable of keeping a steady pace of ten kilometers per hour.

Ethan’s mother no longer needed to hide, and now she floated peacefully right beside her son, keeping pace with the horse without the slightest effort.

Evelyn rode on his other side, while a flushed Mireya shared Ethan’s horse, seated right on his lap.

Her back rested against his chest, and every sway of the horse rocked her gently into him.

"When are you going to start preparing to advance to the fourth stage?" she asked, turning her face slightly to look at him over her shoulder.

Mireya had already reached the peak of the third stage, and she felt that absorbing just a few more powerful souls would be enough to take the next step.

Ethan and Evelyn were also at level 120, and Ethan was getting ready to accept his advancement quest.

"During the coming winter," Ethan replied, raising his eyes to the sky.

It was already the end of the seventh month of the year. In no more than one or two months, the snow would begin to fall.

A sigh escaped his lips.

One of his hands held the horse’s reins. The other rested on Mireya’s slender waist, his fingers spread across that narrow curve, feeling every slight movement of her body as it rose and fell gently with each step the animal took.

Every time the hooves came down, the soft, full weight of her plump, juicy ass pressed down into his lap, her hips shifting against him in a slow, steady rhythm.

The beautiful death knight nodded, her eyes fixed on the road stretching ahead, toward a horizon that seemed to have no end.

She was eager for Ethan to focus on his own progress, since doing so would mean slaying beasts.

And she, in turn, could absorb their souls and advance to the fourth stage as well.

But her thoughts didn’t linger there for long. Her eyes drifted to Evelyn, who was riding alongside them with an expression of pure envy etched on her face.

"Ah... Fuck. I barely recognized you as my master and you’re already stealing my spot," Evelyn grumbled, drawing a laugh from Mireya and also from Amelia.

Mireya, still blushing to her ears, didn’t make the slightest move to get off his lap. If anything, she settled a little more snugly against him.