Chapter 491: Goldenveil’s army situation

The military complex of the Goldenveil Army’s Central Command was bustling with activity.

Instructors’ shouts echoed through the courtyards, mixing with the clang of clashing swords and the heavy tramp of boots on the hard-packed earth. The air smelled of sweat, dust and oiled leather.

At the moment, the First and Second Legions were standing guard over the city, while the Third was temporarily stationed at Goldenshield to protect it.

Meanwhile, the Seventh and Eighth Legions were in training, and they would add another ten thousand men to the army.

More than six thousand archers, divided into six battalions, were also being prepared. On top of that, five cavalry battalions were training with the first divine stags tamed by Goldenveil’s beast tamers.

In the distance, the stags stamped their hooves restlessly against the ground, their broad antlers gleaming in the sunlight.

Their riders were still struggling to get used to the rhythm of their gallop, and every so often one of the beasts snorted and tossed its head, nearly throwing a recruit from the saddle.

In total, the soldiers and recruits stationed in Goldenveil now numbered 28,500.

It was a considerable force, and Ethan planned to expand it significantly soon.

"The recruits of the Seventh and Eighth Legions are nearly ready for battle, my lord," Doran said coldly, his hands clasped behind his back as he walked beside the young duke.

"Most of them have already mastered the basics of the Golden Dragon Emperor’s Fencing and the Steel Skin Body Strengthening Technique."

The strengthening technique he mentioned was Rank A. Ethan had obtained it through the system and later made it part of the Goldenveil army’s training.

It used very little aura, increased each soldier’s strength by 20% and made their skin far more resilient—which made a huge difference once blades and arrows began to fly.

Besides these two techniques, there was also a Rank S movement technique called "Steps of the Calm Sea," taught only to those who had already reached the third stage.

Given the average quality of Goldenveil’s soldiers, that wouldn’t take long.

In the First Legion alone, more than 1,200 specialists had already reached the third stage, and two of them were on the verge of advancing to the fourth.

In any other army, a rate like that would be absurd. In Goldenveil, it was simply the norm.

"Good..." Ethan muttered, his gaze settling on a group of recruits endlessly repeating the same sword strike. Their arms trembled with exhaustion and sweat dripped from their chins, yet none of them dared to lower their blades.

"Once they pass through the Hell Soldier’s Gate, they should head straight to Goldenshield, along with the six thousand archers in training."

"They need to start getting used to the city walls. Those crusaders of the Faith of the Nine will most likely arrive prepared for a long siege."

"I’m aware of that, my lord." Doran nodded, his expression unchanged.

"Thalion set out with a team of scouts about two days ago. He’ll map the entire terrain around Goldenshield and make sure there are no gaps that could give the enemy access to Goldenveil. He should be back within two weeks."

"Great." Ethan smiled, though the smile soon turned a little guilty. "It’s a shame I’ve been so busy. I couldn’t even make it to his daughter’s wedding to Cain... Alice told me it was lovely."

"It certainly was." Doran smiled as well, a rare sight on his usually stern face.

"It was just a small, quick family ceremony, hardly worthy of your presence... but it was pleasant. Vaelith and Cain are already good friends, and he and the girl truly love each other, so there were no complications."

"I’m glad to hear that." Ethan let out a sigh, as if a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

The two of them stopped in front of a vast training field where the archers chosen for Goldenveil’s long-range combat squads were practicing.

At the far end, rows of wood and straw targets stretched as far as the eye could see.

There were six thousand archers in total, and five thousand of them were elves.

The reason was simple: elves had an exceptionally strong affinity with nature, and with the wind in particular.

In a way, they were unbeatable archers.

And when elven talent—with that unmatched aim and agility—was combined with the exceptional craftsmanship of dwarven blacksmiths, a fearsome marksman was born.

Ethan watched as the first row stepped into position and drew their bows. The targets stood about two hundred meters away.

A sudden silence fell over the field. The only sounds were the wind and the faint creak of leather gloves.

In each archer’s eyes, a small magic circle appeared, spinning slowly as they activated an ocular ability called Eagle Eyes.

It was a Rank A ability that Ethan had also obtained from the gacha system.

In less than two seconds, they calculated the wind, the air density, the distance, the trajectory and the speed the arrow would reach with the force behind the shot.

The powerful bows groaned softly, their strings stretched to the limit, as the archers waited for the instructor’s signal.

The instructor, in turn, looked to Ethan.

The young duke nodded.

"Fire!"

Five hundred arrows sliced through the air at once, whistling toward five hundred targets.

Loud thuds echoed across the field as the aura-reinforced arrows slammed into the wood, sending splinters flying and kicking up small clouds of dust.

All five hundred shots hit their mark, and only one or two landed slightly off-center.

Still, that wasn’t enough.

A fully trained Goldenveil archer who had passed through the Hell Soldier’s Gate had to be able to hit an enemy soldier right through the visor of his helmet from two hundred meters away, even while that enemy was moving.

Together with Goldenveil’s first combat mage teams, they would form the backbone of the army’s artillery.

Ethan raised a hand to the archers and offered a brief word of praise. At once, several of them straightened their backs, unable to hide their pride.

Then Ethan followed Doran toward the massive command center at the heart of the military complex.

They still had many matters to discuss.