"You’re too naive," Ethan said with a cold smirk, a glint of frost flashing in his eyes. "You made it this far and still thought you could run? Anyone who dares attack Erald Castle ends up the sa—dead and forgotten. Looks like you’re no exception. Ti to hand over your life."
As the words left his mouth, Ethan’s power surged.
The air around him trembled, thick with pressure. His palm lit up, energy condensing into a blinding core that pulsed with lethal force. The battlefield fell silent for a breath—then the storm hit.
The warriors of Erald Castle didn’t stand idle. One by one, they unleashed their own power, channeling it into a massive energy sphere that hovered above them like a second sun.
With a unified roar, they launched it.
The sphere streaked through the sky like a teor, slamming into Ardun with devastating force. The impact tore him apart instantly—his body shredded into fragnts, the surrounding air vaporized into dust.
It was over.
Ethan exhaled, the tension in his shoulders easing. He stepped toward what was left of Ardun’s body and crouched down to search.
It didn’t take long.
Among the scorched remains, he found a damaged communication device—small, but pulsing faintly with spatial energy. It wasn’t just a transmitter. It was a link—likely connected directly to Ardun’s empire.
"This thing needs fixing," Ethan muttered, slipping it into his inventory. He didn’t dwell on it. After burning the remains, he turned and led his team back to Erald Castle.
Once inside the main city, Ethan and Feylora handed over the chanoid fragnts to the science division, ordering a full analysis. The tech was advanced—possibly a breakthrough if they could reverse-engineer it.
anwhile, Ethan headed out alone to the plains just beyond the city walls.
The wide grasslands had once been used to store surplus grain. Now, they were packed with refugees—thousands of them, huddled together in makeshift camps.
As soon as Ethan stepped into view, the crowd surged forward, dropping to their knees like he was a god descending from the sky.
"Lord Ethan, thank you for taking us in. We would’ve starved without you..."
"The Vorgar Empire is too powerful. When they attacked, we couldn’t even fight back. We just watched them slaughter everyone..."
"They’ll be here soon. We’re afraid they’ll launch a full-scale invasion. You have to prepare!"
"Vorgar are nothing but thieves! Their energy core’s dried up, so now they’re just raiding anyone they can. It’s disgusting!"
The flood of voices grated on Ethan’s nerves.
He didn’t care for their pleading or their complaints. Honestly, if they hadn’t flooded into Erald Castle in such massive numbers, Vorgar’s army might not have been drawn here in the first place.
He already had his hands full with the Narlost Empire. Now Vorgar was knocking too.
Ethan took a deep breath and forced a smile.
Then he gave the order to distribute food and began selecting able-bodied refugees to join the Erald Castle militia.
"I’ll shelter you," he thought coldly, "but I’m not running a charity. If you want to stay, you work. Fight, build, haul—whatever it takes."
Once the arrangents were in place, Ethan turned his attention to sothing else.
He entered a private dinsional space—one he’d created himself.
It wasn’t large, only big enough for a dozen or so people, but it was powerful. The space was stabilized by high-tier energy, and several glowing orbs floated in the air—each one capable of leveling a mid-sized world.
Inside, Ethan placed his palm on a strange device embedded in the ground.
In response, the space shimred—and a group of goblins erged.
But these weren’t the usual low-tier pests.
Each one radiated elental energy, their bodies pulsing with raw power. They were elite units—crafted, trained, and enhanced for war.
And they were going to be the key to Ethan’s next move.
"Facing two civilizations this powerful... I can’t afford to slack off," Ethan muttered to himself. "Erald Castle has to grow stronger. Using these Creature Dwellings—that’s one of my answers."
And it wasn’t just this one.
There were plenty of Creature Dwellings scattered throughout Erald Castle, each tied to a different race, each summoning its own unique forces based on their innate traits.
Over the past few weeks, many of them had already been activated—and the results had been impressive.
Ethan’s power surged, flooding out of him like a rising tide.
As his energy spread, the space around him trembled. Glowing runes lit up across the ground, pulsing in sync with his aura.
A second later, goblins began pouring out of the summoning circle—dozens at a ti.
They weren’t uniform. So were wreathed in fla, others crackled with lightning or shimred with frost. A few had skin like stone, radiating the weight of earth itself.
These weren’t your average summons.
Ethan knew exactly what he was working with. This Creature Dwelling wasn’t so natural formation—it had been modified, enhanced. Built on the foundation of a primal beast nest, but fused with advanced tech and system-level architecture.
Most Creature Dwellings ca with strict limits.
Once their stored energy ran dry, or if the summoner’s level shifted too far, the whole structure could shut down—or worse, collapse entirely.
But this one was different.
It evolved alongside its owner, syncing with Ethan’s level in real ti. It could even regenerate its own energy reserves, making the risk of depletion almost nonexistent.
He’d run dozens of tests already. And this latest round? The results were better than he’d hoped.
With just a few more tweaks to fix so minor structural flaws, this model could be mass-produced.
And once that happened, Erald Castle’s combat power wouldn’t just increase—it would multiply.
...
In the days that followed, Erald Castle entered a rare period of calm.
The flood of refugees was finally under control. Those with strong bodies and steady minds were drafted straight into the military.
anwhile, the Creature Dwellings ran day and night, churning out new combat units without pause.
But what really got Ethan excited—was the lab.
The War Machine project had finally hit a breakthrough.
The latest batch of units wasn’t just functional—they were smart. Each one ca with basic decision-making and execution protocols. The control interface had been streamlined, too, making them far easier to operate.
They were ready for real mass production.
And that wasn’t all.
The scientists had also developed a new type of Powered Combat Armor.
It wasn’t a traditional exosuit. This thing was more like living tal—flexible, adaptive, and bonded directly to the user’s body.
Inspired by the chanoid tech they’d recovered, the armor ca with a hidden energy core and could even operate independently for short bursts after being removed from its wearer.
Once production scaled up, Erald Castle’s overall strength would double again—at minimum.
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