Chapter 433: Green Sentinel Knights (01)

At the top of the wall guarding the west bank of the Black Sentinel Pass Fortress, an army officer rested his hands on the cold stone and narrowed his eyes.

In the distance, figures on horseback galloped toward the fortress, carrying banners that snapped fiercely in the wind.

Even from so far away, he recognized the gold and the coat of arms embroidered on them.

They were the banners of the Goldenveil family.

He pulled a small device shaped like a pair of binoculars from his belt and raised it to his eyes, infusing it with aura.

The lenses glowed for an instant. The blurry image sharpened, revealing the face of the man riding at the head of the group.

The officer lowered the device and turned to his subordinates.

"It’s Lord Ethan!" he declared, already striding down the steps of the rampart.

His golden cloak whipped behind him, and his black armor gleamed in the sunlight as he marched toward the heavy gates of the section guarding that side of the Black Silver River.

"Open the gates—Lord Ethan is approaching!"

At once, the thick chains holding the gates shut began to slide with a groan of metal, shaking dust and flakes of rust loose from the gears high up in the towers.

The heavy black gates lowered slowly, creaking with every inch, until they fit perfectly into the stone frame on the ground.

The crash was loud enough to make the ground tremble beneath the soldiers’ boots, sending a cloud of dust rolling out in every direction.

On the other side, Ethan calmly pulled on the reins. His horse eased from a gallop to a gentle trot, snorting and tossing its mane as the dust continued to settle.

Hooves rang against the flagstones as he rode through the gates, and he felt the magical density around him increase, as if the very air had grown heavier.

In the courtyard, the many centurions and soldiers stopped what they were doing to salute him, striking their closed fists against their breastplates in a single motion.

Ethan waved to them with a faint smile, dismounting in one fluid motion and handing the reins to the nearest soldier.

"Where is the captain of this battalion?" He looked around, scanning the courtyard.

It took no more than a few seconds to spot the captain emerging from the doorway of the fortress’s main building, still hurriedly adjusting the buckle on his sword belt.

The man crossed the courtyard almost at a run and snapped to a halt before him with a sharp click of his boots.

"Lord Ethan! Captain Merrick of the First Battalion of the First Legion of Goldenveil, at your command!" he declared forcefully, puffing out his chest.

"It’s good to see you well, Captain Merrick. Has the guard duty been peaceful?"

"Yes, my lord. Just yesterday we cleared out a bandit camp not far from here. A hundred of those damned outlaws were preparing to raid one of the trains traveling from Goldenveil to Fallenwinter." He lifted his chin, a hint of pride slipping into his voice.

"You did well, Captain." Ethan nodded, then his tone grew firmer. "But now you must leave your post guarding the fortress and return with your men to Goldenveil. A new contingent will take control of the fortress shortly."

"Uh... right now?" The captain blinked, a strange expression crossing his face as he glanced over his shoulder at the ramparts and then back at Ethan.

"Yes," Ethan said, leaving no room for doubt. "Get your men ready to march and leave the fortress immediately."

The captain didn’t hesitate.

He pounded his fist against his chest once more, turned on his heel, and began shouting orders to his men, his deep voice echoing across the entire courtyard.

Soon, the soldiers began to move.

They gathered their personal belongings and loaded everything they couldn’t carry by hand onto wagons.

It was good to return to Goldenveil, since their families were there. But it also stung a little to lose the fifty-percent pay bonus they earned for being stationed at a fortress outside their hometown.

Still, no one complained or questioned Ethan’s orders.

It didn’t take long for the battalion to leave the fortress in an orderly formation, the sound of boots and wagon wheels gradually fading until it was lost on the road.

When the last soldier passed through the gates, a heavy silence fell over the fortress.

All that remained was the rush of the river below and the wind snapping at the flags.

Only then did Ethan move, activating the divine-level order creation card he had received.

The card glowed between his fingers, and a translucent screen appeared before his eyes.

[Attention: Do you wish to create a new, fully customized order or a random historical order?

Your choices for order traits will determine what type of order is created at the end of the order creation screen]

[Custom] [Historical]

Ethan chose "Custom" without a second thought.

[Enter a name for your order:]

"Green Sentinel Knights."

He said the name aloud, and the letters etched themselves onto the screen in an instant.

[Select three base traits for your order]

At that moment, a screen with hundreds of options appeared before the lord. There were so many that it took him a few seconds just to figure out how to navigate the list.

These were traits—both negative and positive. Some negative traits might not make sense in certain contexts, but in others, they were perfect.

Given Goldenveil’s current situation, Ethan didn’t have to think twice. He swiped through the list and selected the three traits that seemed most suitable for an order of knights.

[Unwavering Loyalty, Incorruptible, Honorable to the Death]

The "Honorable to the Death" trait had many downsides. It could cause problems in real combat situations where dirty work was necessary, but Ethan liked it. A knight who wouldn’t bend was worth more than ten who sold their own honor.

Besides, he would have specialized divisions to handle that kind of dirty work anyway.

[Define three combat traits for your order]

A new list appeared before him, this time containing thousands of traits. The options streamed past his eyes like a torrent, but he read through them calmly before making his choice.

[Children of the Forest (+200% movement and combat bonus in forest regions; passively heal while in the forest)

Relentless Scouts (Significantly increases the ability to pursue, detect, and track down enemies)

Masters of the Blade (General combat buff related to swords and sharp-bladed weapons. Increases talent, learning rate, and mastery of the blade)]

Ethan continued the process of creating the order, unable to hide his surprise at just how detailed it was.

He could define not only various traits but also the order’s general style, its modes of operation, its priorities, and even the bonuses and type of mount.

For the Green Sentinel Knights, Ethan chose something very specific: the Green-Horned Giant Wolf.

The creature could move through dense forests without losing speed, possessed extremely high combat power, and could wield forest magic at a level no less than that of the elves.

It was a rare race, one that accepted leadership well and easily forged bonds of brotherhood and trust with other races. It was widely considered the most intelligent wolf race in the entire world of Estria.