Naturally, Ysara and Mireya had much to talk about, and for hours that was all they did. Words spilled out between tears and stifled laughter, punctuated by tight embraces neither of them wanted to release.

Almost five hundred years apart. Five hundred years of despair, of cold nights when both had wondered if they would ever see each other again.

For a mother and daughter who loved each other so deeply, even entire days of reunion passed as if they were mere seconds.

Not wanting to interrupt them, Ethan simply handed Mireya’s pendant to Ysara and, with his mother at his side, went to see his other wives.

After a brief conversation with them—amidst exchanged caresses—it was time to get back to work.

"Ah..." A long sigh escaped Ethan’s lips as he crossed Goldenveil, his right arm intertwined with Amelia’s left. His forearm sank ever so slightly into the plush side of one of her enormous breasts, the soft, heavy flesh cushioning against his skin.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Ysara this happy... truly happy," Amelia whispered, her free hand caressing her son’s strong arm, her fingertips gliding tenderly over his firm skin.

He nodded. "The same goes for Mireya. She was pretty broken, until... I... well..."

"Until you fucked her sanity back into her?" Amelia finished for him, recalling Mireya’s story with a mischievous smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Ethan let out a slightly awkward chuckle.

"That’s no lie." He looked toward the horizon, the sky over Goldenveil painted in golden hues by the afternoon sun.

He wasn’t proud of having subdued her with a few slaps on the ass, but well, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t enjoyed it himself.

Finally, after a few more moments of walking, Ethan arrived in front of Goldenveil’s barracks.

Soon, he would open seven hundred and forty premium gacha tickets and, obviously, significantly increase Goldenveil’s population, gaining many new soldiers in the process.

He wanted to expand the Goldenveil barracks into a massive military complex, and he also wanted to build a barracks in Windmere capable of supporting at least two full legions, though that was still a plan for the future.

Windmere’s population hadn’t even reached three thousand yet.

They needed at least twenty to thirty thousand inhabitants to support a full legion.

With wages at the iron mines rising and more than a thousand workers already focused on mining and refining iron into steel, the village’s population was set to skyrocket soon.

Ethan stopped in front of the barracks’ main gates.

The Goldenveil barracks stood in the city’s central district, occupying an area of twenty thousand square meters and capable of housing up to five thousand soldiers.

Currently, the Goldenveil army numbered four thousand five hundred men, five hundred of whom were stationed in Windmere.

There was still plenty of space in the barracks, but that wouldn’t last long.

Ethan took a quick look at the wealth accumulated in Goldenveil’s vaults.

After building the Golden Tower and the Divine Forge, and distributing money among various organizations in the city, he had been left with only five hundred thousand gold coins—a figure that had been pushed back up to seven million five hundred thousand after the little gift he’d received from his mother.

Glancing at the guards at the gates, Ethan ordered, "Call for Doran. He must order all the soldiers to leave the barracks temporarily."

"Yes, Lord Ethan! Countess Mother!" The two guards bowed sharply and hurried through the gate, the clang of their armor echoing off the stone walls.

"What do you want to show me, dear?" Amelia asked, watching the soldiers file out in hurried formation, led by the same man who had initially taken her to Ethan.

"You plan to stay here for quite a while before returning to the Blue Tower, don’t you?" Ethan asked.

Of course, he had no intention of letting his mother return to the Blue Tower.

He wanted to make her his wife, and also have her help Alice become a good master of the Golden Tower.

Ethan had no plans whatsoever to let Amelia or Ysara leave.

"At least for a few years... how can I let my little grandson or granddaughter grow up without a grandma?" Amelia replied, a tender gleam in her eyes.

"Great." Ethan smiled, taking a step forward.

Doran, naturally, had already realized what his Lord was about to do, his eyes shining with anticipation.

Apparently, he was going to get a new office.

Ethan tapped the barracks, activating his instant-construction ability, and didn’t hesitate to start adjusting the filters.

He already had the magic tower and the palace of the fallen God-Emperor’s capital, and he planned to soon build the great academy of that same capital.

Why not have the barracks as well?

After a few seconds of searching, Ethan found exactly what he was looking for.

[Name: Steel Vein Military Complex

Description: An ancient military complex built by the most brilliant engineers of its own era—and perhaps of all history.

It was created to support the armies of the God Emperor and, at its peak, served as the central command base for an army of ten million men.

It was equipped to accommodate up to one hundred thousand soldiers within its walls.

It features training facilities for heavy infantry and specialized combat forces, as well as auxiliary regiments.

It boasts high-level medical facilities that passively heal everyone inside, in addition to granting work bonuses to healers.

Soldiers trained at the Steel Vein facilities receive bonuses to stat gains, XP, and promotion chances.

The core of this structure’s array is fragmented, with one of five fragments currently present. Gathering the other four fragments will significantly increase the power of its effects.

Effects: +150% soldier training speed, +200% soldier training efficiency, +200% learning rate, +400% loyalty gain rate for trained soldiers.

Price: 2,000,000 gold coins]

Ethan looked over all those numbers, his eyes shining brighter and brighter.

Of course, that capacity of one hundred thousand soldiers didn’t mean Goldenveil was limited to only that number.

There were plenty who didn’t stay in the barracks—those stationed at checkpoints, others out on patrol.

This was the military complex that had once served a city of up to fifteen million people, one that had likely maintained a defense force of no fewer than several hundred thousand soldiers.