Chapter 413: Seed of the Divine Soul (01)

"Seo-ah? Hmm... she must be at the Palace of Beasts..." Ophelia said, still nestled in Ethan’s arms, tilting her head slightly as she thought. "Some of the beast tamers sent a notice to the palace saying the beast from that Rank S egg would hatch today. She went to check it out with Arwen."

The handsome young man nodded, his hands still resting on her delicate waist.

"Eat lots of fruits from the Tree of Life and ask Arwen to infuse plenty of life energy into you..." he said, his thumb slowly tracing down the side of her body, from the dip of her waist to the obscene flare of her hip.

"I hope this child inherits your shadow magic... Oh, and don’t use too much of your mana either."

"I know, love." Ophelia smiled and lifted her face to look at him.

In general, pregnant women who were experts shouldn’t deplete their mana. The same applied to aura, in the case of warriors.

The reason was simple.

The mother’s magical energy nourished the child.

The more magical energy the mother had, the better the chances that the child would be born healthy and with greater talent.

Because of this, Alice barely used her own mana beyond basic circulation training, keeping her reserves as full as possible at all times.

Now that she was pregnant, Ophelia would also have to use her shadow magic far less, focusing mainly on nourishing the fetus.

Ethan’s left hand stayed firmly on Ophelia’s hip as he slowly turned her in his arms until her back was to him.

She let herself be guided without resistance, her voluptuous body fitting neatly against his. The soft swell of her huge ass settled against his groin, the plump flesh giving a little as it pressed against him.

His right hand slid down to her belly, his palm spreading flat over her slim, toned stomach.

Obviously, there was still no sign of the pregnancy there. Just smooth, firm skin, warm beneath his palm.

Ethan caressed it in slow circles, almost as if he could feel the tiny life beginning to grow inside.

"It’s good that the two children—yours and Alice’s—will be close in age. That way, they’ll have each other to play with," he murmured, burying his face in the crook of Ophelia’s neck and nudging aside a few strands of black hair with his nose.

He drew in a deep breath, filling his lungs with her rich scent, sweet like green fairy wine mixed with roses.

It was different from Alice’s soft fragrance. Much stronger and more distinctive, but not at all unpleasant.

Ethan stayed like that for a moment, simply holding her, feeling her body soften against his.

Ophelia leaned her weight back into him, covering the hand on her belly with her own and intertwining her fingers with his.

Then, with an almost reluctant sigh, the two finally parted.

Ophelia would soon have to return to training the maids, and he had his own responsibilities waiting as well.

After exchanging one last kiss with the former spy queen of Earth, he left the office.

Of course, he stopped by to check on his other wives, setting aside a few minutes to spend with each of them before finally leaving the palace.

A relaxed smile lingered on his face as he walked through the streets of Goldenveil, accompanied only by two third-stage Golden Rose guards.

The sun beat down on the cobblestones, and the chatter of merchants hawking their wares mingled with the scent of fresh bread wafting from the bakeries.

Some citizens stopped to bow when they recognized him, and he responded with gentle, unhurried nods.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the Palace of Beasts, where several paladins of the Order of the Silver Wings—responsible for Arwen’s protection—stood guard before the gates.

The moment they saw him, they snapped to attention, backs straight and weapons at the ready.

That didn’t stop a few of them from casting flushed glances his way, though.

Besides the paladins, a considerable guard force was stationed on site. After all, Goldenveil’s forces were now capturing third-stage beasts on a regular basis and confining them within the Palace of Beasts.

Aside from housing tamed beasts of immense value, the place also held wild third-stage beasts that would undoubtedly cause a terrible catastrophe if they ever escaped into the city.

Because of this, at least a few dozen guards kept watch over the palace at all times, day and night.

Ethan cast a fond glance at the paladins of the Silver Wings, making a few more of them blush, before stepping into the gigantic black fortress. Its walls swallowed up a considerable portion of Goldenveil’s metropolitan area.

Beyond the gates, the noise of the city faded, replaced by the distant roars and cries of beasts from somewhere deeper within the grounds.

The first thing he noticed was that the thousand beast eggs he’d received from the System had already hatched.

Not far from the entrance gate lay a wide pasture where hundreds of spirit horses were grazing.

His eyes sparkled as he approached the wooden fence, the smell of trampled grass and horsehair growing stronger with every step.

These were summoning eggs—obviously, since horses aren’t born from eggs—so the animals were already fully grown and came with a set baseline loyalty.

The tamers had already set the females aside, along with a few males with good genetics.

These would be the breeding horses, dedicated solely to increasing the herd.

As for the rest—about six hundred males—they were, quite frankly, magnificent.

Each stood considerably taller than an ordinary horse, with a far more powerful build, thick muscle shifting beneath glossy coats with every step they took.

On average, they weighed around 1,100 kilograms and could run at over 80 kilometers per hour.

Not only that, but they could also conjure mana barriers to protect themselves, and every one of them was at the peak of the second stage.

If they advanced to the third stage, they could easily exceed 100 kilometers per hour and would have the stamina to cover hundreds of kilometers without stopping to rest.

As mana beasts, they had attribute points far superior to those of a human at the same level, especially with Goldenveil’s magical density fueling their bodies.

Ethan stood there watching the horses for a brief moment, his forearms resting on the top rail of the fence.

One of them, a dark-maned stallion, raised its head and stared right back at him. It snorted loudly, ears flicking, before lowering its head to graze again.