For a moment, Ethan simply watched in silence as the images of golden dragons flowed along with the swords.

It was as if the enormous dragon at the head of the army, whose form was so subtle it was almost impossible to perceive, formed a protective shield.

A shield that bound the Aura of every guard into a single entity. The same entity that now empowered the strike of each sword.

In a real battle, vanguard against vanguard, only the front line of each army could fight, while the ranks behind waited their turn.

But... what if, through a kind of human array, the power of the soldiers waiting in the back lines could be channeled to the front?

It was a rare type of technique, one that only the most powerful empires had mastered, and the only way armies could survive encounters with specialists.

This was Op...

Op as hell!

"My lord!"

Doran, completely absorbed in the work of art he and his now best friend were forging together, finally noticed Ethan’s presence.

He dropped to his knees in a single swift motion.

Aerick followed suit at the same moment.

Ethan waved his hand, signaling for them to rise. "What is this technique?"

"Ah..." Aerick scratched the back of his neck, a faint smile forming on his lips.

"It’s something new we’ve been playing around with. Basically, a union between the basic concepts of the Blue Blade Dragon Emperor’s sword art and imperial fencing..."

Right after saying that, he pulled a book from inside his martial robes and handed it to Ethan.

The young lord’s eyes sparkled the very moment his fingers touched the cover.

That was an SS-Rank item!

[Name: Golden Dragon Emperor’s Fencing.

Description: A fencing style created by uniting Western and Eastern Aura concepts, carefully crafted by two geniuses using legendary skills created by powerful experts as a foundation.

It has twelve forms in total, though these forms, created by combining different martial arts, have not yet been fully tested.

It can be used in both one-on-one duels and massive group battles.

Cost: Variable

Special Ability: When used in a united army, it creates the image of a golden dragon, defending against part of the damage dealt by enemies.

Rank: SS]

It was at that moment that Ethan began to understand a fundamental truth about the real value of skills and talented people.

There was simply no comparison between the two.

Give ten Rank D warriors ten Rank S skills, and they would be able to defeat Rank S talents wielding only Rank D skills, provided they stood at the same level.

But give those same ten Rank S skills to those Rank S talents, and they would turn those ten into thirty Rank S skills.

Even if they only had Rank D skills to begin with, as long as they survived the fights, they would soon accumulate countless Rank S skills of their own.

A Rank S skill book was just a Rank S skill book. But a Rank S talent was, possibly, dozens... perhaps hundreds of Rank S skills.

Of course, that was an exaggeration, since even for Rank S talents, creating Rank S skills was an extremely difficult task.

Still, they possessed the power to turn all the silver they touched into gold.

"You two did very well." Ethan returned the book to Aerick’s hands. "Teach the guards in such a way that they cannot pass this on to anyone else. Not easily, at least. Make three copies of this book and keep them all locked away. One of them will go directly into my safe."

The two guards nodded at those words, their expressions hardening with seriousness.

This was not the kind of technique that could fall into public domain.

It needed to be taught in a way that limited the chances of it spreading, protected with the utmost care.

Much more satisfied than before, Ethan opened the system inventory.

From within, he retrieved two Rank A swords he had won during his many spins with premium tickets, along with two bottles of green fairy wine, carefully stored in his spatial ring.

The moment the two men laid eyes on those bottles of incomparable wine, accompanied by the two blades of far superior quality to their own Rank B weapons, their eyes filled with gratitude.

Ignoring the emotional gazes of the two warriors, Ethan simply changed the subject.

"And how are the preparations for the attack on the goblin camps coming along?"

"They’re going well, my lord. Some guards are already taking care of planting the scapegoats. Soon, a great civil war will break out among them."

"Very well." Ethan nodded, his lips parting to say something else. But at that very moment, a guard hurried into the training courtyard, slightly out of breath.

"My Lord, Mr. Ron has arrived! Would you like to see him right away?"

Upon hearing that, Ethan’s eyes lit up.

***

Ron, this time, was dressed even more lavishly than before.

He was accompanied by two third-stage warriors and wore, on his index finger, a ring of infinitely superior quality, received directly from the hands of the royal family after agreeing to supply them with a hundred bottles of green fairy wine.

That was a type of spatial ring intended only for royalty, capable of easily holding a hundred tons of goods within it.

Since this was his last visit to Goldenveil until the end of winter, he had brought many things.

Still, the moment he crossed the city walls, he froze in place. A bitter smile spread across his face.

What the hell was wrong with this place?

First, that crazy mansion... and now, this massive barracks!

And it wasn’t just that. The population seemed to have at least tripled!

How the hell did Ethan manage to gather so many people so quickly?

As questions continued to pile up in Ron’s mind, Ethan’s figure appeared on the horizon.

"Ron... my friend, I believe you’ve brought a lot of money this time, haven’t you? Since this is your last visit to us until the end of winter..."