Chapter 410: Black Sentinel Passage Fortress

Ethan didn’t head straight for Goldenveil.

Pulling on the reins, he guided the group around a curve to the north, taking the stretch of road he had also extended in that direction.

About twenty kilometers from the city, a small river separated Goldenveil from the lands of Fallenwinter and Greenleaf.

It was a relatively narrow river, only ten meters from bank to bank for most of its length. In some stretches, however, it widened a little, reaching twenty or thirty meters across.

An old bridge, built many centuries ago, had once connected the two sides. Naturally, Ethan had replaced it when he built his own road through there.

The river’s name had always been somewhat uncertain, so in the end, Ethan had decided to call it the Black Silver River.

The waters ran strong in certain sections, foaming among the rocks, but for most of their course they stayed calm and silent. They had a black hue, and in their depths lived a fish known as the Silvermouth.

Weighing up to one hundred and fifty kilograms, with delicious flesh and an incredible ability to absorb mana from its surroundings, that fish was highly coveted.

In the future, Ethan planned to capture a few specimens and deliver them to the mages of Goldenveil.

They would research a way to breed the fish artificially, paving the way for fish farms and large-scale production.

In any case, the fish owed its name to its jaw, a shiny silver that glistened whenever it rose to the surface. Together with the dark color of the water, that was what had ultimately given the river its name.

Ethan followed the road running alongside the Black Silver River, the murmur of the current mingling with the clatter of hooves. It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination.

It was a pass about seventy to one hundred meters wide. A strip of flat land hemmed in by high hills—some rising five or six meters—which gave the place the look of a canyon.

This was one of the most reliable passages for anyone coming from the north toward Goldenveil.

Essentially, it was a canyon stretching for several dozen kilometers, cutting through the most rugged part of the Eternal Forest and significantly shortening the journey.

It was precisely through this route that the army of the first Golden Lord Ethan had ever faced—the leader of Whitefall and son of Ophelia—had marched toward Goldenveil.

For an enemy army coming from the north, that passage was one of Goldenveil’s greatest geographical weaknesses. At the same time, it was an ideal spot to build a fortress.

Doing so would give Ethan control of a strategic passage and, above all, the chance to create a waterway.

All he had to do was widen the river so that ships—at least medium-sized ones—could navigate it.

It would be perfect. A fortress to protect the passage and a river to carry resources from northern Goldenveil straight to Lake Azur.

The handsome young man shook his head, setting those plans aside for the time being, and kept advancing with his army toward the spot where they had fought Whitefall.

The wind funneling down between the hills was colder there, and a few horses snorted, slowing their pace of their own accord, as if they sensed something.

"Ugh... the bones are still here." Evelyn wrinkled her nose, her eyes falling on a charred pile in the middle of the pass, right where they had burned Whitefall’s soldiers.

Scavengers had long since picked off whatever soft tissue the fire hadn’t consumed. Now, on ground covered with fresh grass, only blackened skeletons remained, weeds sprouting between their ribs.

Ethan dismounted, his boots sinking slightly into the soft earth. Evelyn followed suit at once, taking her place beside him.

The many women and soldiers around them quickly realized what he was about to do. A low murmur ran through the ranks, and several of them craned their necks so as not to miss a thing.

Even Amelia, a fifth-stage mage, shifted in her flight a few meters above the ground, a curious gleam in her eyes.

No matter how many times she’d seen it, she was always impressed by her son’s ability to build things from nothing but gold.

Ethan held out a single hand and activated his instant-construction ability.

Before his eyes, a vast list of options unfolded. He calmly applied filters—fortress type, terrain type, price, and size—discarding one option after another.

After a few minutes, his gaze finally settled on something that caught his interest.

[Name: Black Sentinel Passage Fortress

Description: An ancient fortress that once protected both banks of a great river.

It is divided into two parts, with a bridge rising more than thirty meters high connecting the two sides and allowing ships to pass beneath it.

It can comfortably house up to ten thousand soldiers, and twenty thousand at most.

Its minimum operational garrison is five hundred soldiers in peacetime. During a siege, the minimum rises to two thousand soldiers.

The fortress features powerful protective arrays, twenty magical cannons capable of firing stone or steel projectiles, as well as a water filtration system and a refrigerated food storage facility.

Effect: +200% recovery and satiety rates for soldiers stationed in the fortress, +150% XP gain rate for soldiers during a siege, +200% food conversion efficiency rate for soldiers during a siege, +300% control gain rate in nearby regions, -200% bandit activity in nearby regions.

Price: 2,500,000]

It was perfect. Ethan didn’t hesitate for even a second, confirming the construction with a click.

Then he turned and waved to his wives and concubines, as well as the many soldiers, ordering everyone to step back.

No one needed to be told twice. Riders tugged their horses back, boots shuffled over the grass, and soon a wide space had opened up around him.

Then the ground shook.

It was a low tremor at first, a rumble rising from the depths, making the horses whinny and stamp their hooves nervously.

Then the earth split open in straight, perfect lines, and black stone began to sprout from the cracks, rising without pause. Clods of dirt and torn grass tumbled from the climbing surfaces, and a cloud of dust billowed up, drifting toward the onlookers on the cold wind.

With shining eyes, Ethan watched as mighty black walls rose from the ground, the grinding of stone against stone echoing throughout the entire canyon.

They stretched from one hillside to the other, swallowing both banks of the river and completely sealing off the region. Where the foundations broke through along the water’s edge, the black river churned and foamed white against the newborn stone.

Above the dark water, a massive bridge took shape in the air, arch after arch, until it connected the two sides of the fortress at a height of more than thirty meters.

Towers began to emerge at the corners, and the dark muzzles of the magical cannons appeared one by one atop the walls.

At last, Goldenveil’s first outer fortress was rising before their eyes.