Novel23 Chapter 202: Hell Soldier’s Gate (01)
Chapter 202: Hell Soldier’s Gate (01)
"Your fencing is getting better, Doran!" Aerick bellowed, launching an upward strike as a blue dragon soared skyward with a thunderous roar.
"Haha, how could it not improve? We’ve done little else but train this past month!" Doran replied with equal enthusiasm, planting his feet firmly on the ground before charging forward, a golden dragon erupting from his blade in answer.
The two dragons collided at the center of the arena, a massive explosion erupting outward and engulfing everything around them.
For a brief moment, space itself split between dueling currents of golden and blue light.
When the glow subsided, both men stood panting, sweat trickling down their temples as they exchanged a satisfied smile.
"Ah... looks like I’ll still have to work a little harder to gain the upper hand, hahaha..." Doran gasped, sheathing his sword with a sharp click.
Aerick did the same, laughing softly. "It won’t take that long. Just master the more advanced forms of the Golden Dragon Emperor’s fencing, and soon enough I won’t stand a chance against you."
Gradually, training side by side, Doran and Aerick had become friends, much like their wives had grown close to each other.
As such, they began visiting each other’s homes regularly, and now, were no different from sworn brothers.
Both stood at ease, but their eyes soon caught an approaching figure. Their bodies stiffened in unison, snapping to attention.
"My lord, it’s good to see you here!" Doran bowed, drawing a gentle smile from Ethan.
"I can see the guard is training well," Ethan remarked, sweeping his gaze over the arena with an appraising look.
There were about three hundred soldiers in the field, nearly two hundred of whom had already reached the second stage. Among them, seven were elves and one was a dwarf.
The sight drew a satisfied smile from Ethan, though for him, this was only the beginning.
What truly mattered, for now, was that the time had finally come to put the Hell Soldier’s Gate to use.
The powerful artifact had been sitting in the system’s inventory for quite some time. Its use was costly, but Ethan was confident he could afford the expense.
There were about three months left until the end of winter, perhaps four.
That was all the time they had to mold the guard into a well-trained force, one capable of turning any numerical disadvantage into nothing more than a herd of prey throwing themselves into a meat grinder.
"Follow me," Ethan said, motioning to the two before taking the lead toward a large, empty hall in the barracks.
"What I’m about to show you is of immense importance to Goldenveil. Only the most loyal guards will know of this and undergo this training.
This is an absolute secret, one that must be kept without question. Understood?" Ethan said, stopping inside the hall.
Receiving solemn nods from both, Ethan retrieved the Hell Soldier’s Gate from the system’s inventory.
In the next moment, Aerick and Doran, who had been confused yet relaxed, shuddered from head to toe.
A massive gate, over four meters long and three meters high, materialized before them.
It was clad in obsidian-black concrete, with red lines resembling tree roots sinking into the marble floor, draining all the aura that fueled the barracks.
For a moment, the arrays seemed on the verge of collapsing, but the aura and mana soon settled, just as the gate began to transform.
Its interior, once a deep black, started to glow with a pulsating crimson light.
Ethan’s eyes shone the instant he channeled his aura toward the gate.
[Attention, you have authority over the Hell Soldier’s Gate! Bound item!
Set the test for your soldiers!
Expected number of soldiers:
Temporal distortion rate:
Danger level:
Scenario type:
Simulation time:]
[Attention: You can grant authority for others to modify the simulations of the Hell Soldier’s Gate.]
[Attention: The level and complexity of each simulation will directly affect the final price in magic cores.]
Ethan struggled to control the pounding of his own heart.
"My lord... is this a combat simulation artifact??" Doran asked, shocked, his eyes wide as he stared up at the colossal structure.
The barracks where he had served in the Fallen Sun Empire had one, but it didn’t even come close to what now stood before Ethan.
"Yes," Ethan smiled. "Go find Cain and another one hundred and forty-nine of the most loyal guards. Now, it’s time to begin the true training of Goldenveil."
"Yes, my lord!"
Doran didn’t hesitate, nodding firmly before hurrying off to gather the guards, his heart pounding with anticipation.
Excited, Ethan set the simulation duration to one month, the danger level to intermediate, and the time distortion rate to roughly ten times.
In other words, if a month passed in the outside world, ten months would pass within the simulated universe.
It was a truly Op artifact!
His excitement held firm even when he saw the price: fifty lower-grade magic cores for one month.
For now, it was a steep cost to pay, but with Goldenveil’s growth and access to the spiritual vein, that expense would disappear entirely.
***
As Ethan prepared to forge an elite force of soldiers never before seen in those lands, something strange was unfolding in the Eternal Peaks.
To be more precise, it was happening within a castle nestled at the very heart of the Eternal Peaks, a region that remained frigid even at the height of summer.
The wind howled between the spire-like towers, carrying with it a biting cold capable of freezing any mortal in seconds.
Surrounding the castle, a powerful blood-red aura flowed from every corner, converging at the center into an intense crimson glow.
Inside that black castle, a woman rested upon a coffin of the same hue.
Deep shadows shrouded her figure, leaving only two details visible.
Blood-red eyes, carrying an ancestral hunger, slowly opened, and as her lips parted to whisper something, sharp fangs glinted in the twilight.
On her finger, she wore a ring that, if Ethan were there, he would quickly recognize as a more delicate, feminine version of the Blood Emperor’s ring.
"Ah~ my prophesied dear husband..." Pale, delicate hands rose from the darkness, fingers trailing slowly through the air as the silhouette of a voluptuous body emerged from the shadows, her hourglass waist tapering before flaring into wide, womanly hips. "I am ready for you..."
She dragged her tongue slowly across her naturally blood-red lips, her whole body trembling with anticipation, the soft swell of her huge bosom rising and falling with each quickened breath.
At long last, the millennia of waiting had come to an end.