Chapter 445: Goldveil’s Auxiliary Battalion Armor (01)

From the many dwarf settlements that had been conquered, only the best and most skilled blacksmiths were granted the honor of serving the Divine Forge.

Such an honor was the envy of many dwarves. The salaries were high, and on top of that came extremely generous bonuses for crafting items above Rank S.

Because of this, the thousand dwarves who served the Divine Forge of Goldenveil already formed one of the most respected economic elites in the entire County.

Many of the newly minted Goldenveil’s tycoons—and even players—fought for the chance to receive an item crafted by their hands.

Of course, at the end of the day, they all served Ethan, the owner of the forge and of every material they worked with.

The items he requested took absolute priority.

At that moment, Garrick was working to master one of the armor designs he had received from the Order of the Green Sentinels, making sure the Order’s future recruits would have something to wear.

He had recently advanced to the Fourth Stage, and his senses had grown far sharper as a result.

Even over the roar of the furnaces and the ceaseless ringing of hammers, Garrick looked up the moment the Lord stepped into the Divine Forge.

He set his hammer aside, leaving the bar of Mithril he had been working on still glinting on the anvil.

He wiped his hands on a white cloth that turned black with soot in seconds, then splashed water from a nearby basin over his face, letting it run down his beard before grabbing another cloth to dry off.

"Master Garrick, I can see you haven’t been giving yourself a break." Ethan laughed at the sight of the dwarf standing there with his beard still dripping onto the floor.

"How could I? The new recruits already have their eyes on my position as Forge Master—I can’t fall behind, hahaha!" Garrick roared with laughter, pulling a bottle of Green Fairy Wine from his spatial ring.

He downed the whole thing in three gulps and let out a satisfied sigh, setting the empty bottle down on the workbench and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I’ve already finished the designs you asked for. Come on, they’re in the warehouse." The dwarf waved for Ethan to follow him.

The young Lord nodded, falling into step beside Garrick as they wove between the rows of anvils. Hammers rang out on every side.

"Have the high-grade metals you’ve been receiving from Windmere been sufficient? I know production has increased, but what I gave you must be almost gone by now, right?"

"We still have a few metric tons, but yes, the young ones only want to work with Adamantite and Mithril." Garrick scratched his beard and snorted. "But, well, steel imbued with mana and aura is still what we go through the most of. That’s what keeps the armor coming for the rank-and-file soldiers."

He came to a halt at the entrance to the Divine Forge’s gigantic warehouse.

Inside, the ringing of the hammers faded to a muffled clatter, and the air was much cooler, laden with the scent of oil and new leather.

Rows of shelves stretched all the way to the back wall, packed with finished pieces ready for delivery.

In a secluded corner, four sets of armor waited beneath heavy cloths: three for humanoids and a fourth, much larger one, made for a four-legged beast.

Since horses were difficult to use in the Eternal Forest, Ethan planned to soon seek out a breed of magical stags better suited to fighting among the trees, saving the horses for when his forces reached the Western Plains.

"These are the uniforms I’ve prepared for Goldenveil’s standard Police Force. They’ll serve them well." Garrick yanked the cloth away in one swift motion.

Even though crime in Goldenveil was low, its Police Force couldn’t go around poorly equipped.

The uniform Garrick had prepared was lightweight and designed primarily for mobility, but the black steel alloy it was made of had been imbued with magic, making it extremely durable.

Garrick was actually pretty good at working with fabric, but even so, he wasn’t anywhere near as skilled as the elven artisans, so he handled only the metalwork—a black breastplate and the steel chainmail that lay beneath it all.

A heavy, dark blue overcoat draped over the mannequin’s shoulders, reaching almost to its heels, with a beret on its head.

Beside it rested two swords: a standard blade, the same color as the uniform, and a shorter, slimmer one, ideal for fighting in tight spaces.

Attached to the mannequin was also a black mask that covered the entire face; it was made of a type of elven metal similar to glass but much more durable, allowing the wearer to see everything without distortion in colors or shapes while keeping their face completely hidden.

This mask was intended specifically for use during special operations, and its use on patrol was restricted. It featured systems to filter out poison, as well as the ability to inject healing and purification potions directly into the officer’s neck.

Ethan studied the uniform for a brief moment before smiling with satisfaction. It was good.

Garrick, who had been watching with his arms crossed over his broad chest, smiled in satisfaction when he noticed the gleam in the Lord’s eyes.

Without wasting any time, he pulled back the second cloth, revealing the archers’ armor.

It was quite different from the Police Force’s armor—and obviously from the heavy armor of the average Goldenveil legionnaire—even though the archer battalions were part of the same regular army and even followed the same ranks.

Unlike the black and gold of the Legions, the armor of the auxiliary archer battalions featured a much lighter design, combining elven silver with green accents.

The plates that made up the armor were thin—just enough to provide minimal protection for a force that needed to stay in the rear at all times and remain agile enough to avoid head-on confrontations.

The helmets were open-faced but came with masks made of cloth.

The archers also wore capes—not for any practical reason, but because the dwarven runes ensured they wouldn’t get in the way during combat and, of course, because Ethan thought capes were fucking cool.

Together with one of Goldenveil’s most skilled elven craftsmen, Garrick had also created a bow and a set of arrows—both ready for mass production—as well as short, slender swords for personal defense.

Ethan picked up the bow, surprised by how little it weighed. The pale wood had fine silver veins running along its entire length, and the string gave off a low hum when he drew it back slightly to test the tension.

He let the string go slack and set the bow down with an approving nod.

After reviewing both sets of armor and approving them, weapons and all, for mass production, Ethan turned his attention to the standard cavalry armor of Goldenveil.

[Images of the police officers’ and archers’ armor are available in the comments section of this Chapter and on my Discord: https://discord.gg/ZMhMj7Dawz]