Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 128: Molten Gold Gorge

As a Paladin hero, Helena naturally embodied all the defining traits of her order.

Stubborn, headstrong, unwavering in her duty to uphold peace and protect the innocent—so much so that she often placed these ideals above even the authority of her own lord.

But that didn’t mean she was so naive as to live in a bubble, oblivious to the world around her.

In fact, she had always been painfully aware of the subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, rejection she faced from the other heroes under their lord’s command.

And that stung. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Because for a Paladin—especially a Paladin hero—not being liked, or worse, being outright disliked?

That was almost unbearable.

Paladins wanted to be the kind of heroes that everyone admired, that people gravitated toward, that inspired others to rally behind them, eager to join their "great cause for peace."

Because peace was their faith.

Their purpose.

To be the world’s protectors.

To shield the innocent from the horrors of war, to ensure they could live in safety, in happiness, basking in the warmth of a peaceful life.

Put simply, it was the classic savior complex.

To take on the burden of the world, to answer every call for help, to fight for justice, for light, for hope.

So in their eyes, wasn’t it only natural that people should recognize this? Should support them, follow them, even devote themselves to the same cause?

But the truth was, that kind of thinking was a sickness.

And reality had just slapped Helena across the face—hard.

The ideals she had clung to, the beliefs she had thought were unquestionably right, hadn’t earned her admiration or loyalty.

Instead, they had brought her rejection. Resistance. Even resentment.

Why?

For the first time, Helena found herself doubting everything she had stood for.

And she felt lost.

Especially now, watching Ethan—who had only just met Gideon and the others—already discussing plans, strategies, and tactics with them as if they had been comrades for years.

As if he belonged.

And yet, she had never been able to achieve that.

In their past war councils, in every discussion, she had either been met with silence or barely spoken at all. And when she did, her decisions were met with skepticism, sighs, and second-guessing.

"...Why?"

"Have I been wrong this whole time?"

The realization hit her like a blow to the chest. Helena’s face paled.

Then, after a brief moment, she clenched her jaw, turned on her heel, and left without a word.

Seeing Helena leave like that, Gideon and the others, who had been deep in discussion over strategy and tactics, all froze for a moment. Then, almost in unison, they let out quiet sighs and exchanged wry smiles.

"...Apologies, Count Valkarion. That must’ve been awkward to witness." Vestal Liora spoke up, her tone laced with regret as she glanced at Ethan. "Helena is an exceptional Paladin, but... her ideals are a little too unrealistic."

"I can see that."

Ethan chuckled, his voice calm and measured. "I’d guess Grand Duke Theodore has sheltered her too well all these years. A flower raised in a greenhouse will always struggle to grasp the reality of the battlefield."

"Ah..." Gideon let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "You’re familiar with the situation in the Unicorn Duchy, Count Valkarion. It’s not that we want to break away from the Castle faction entirely, but we do want a say in our own future—some degree of independence. And right now, Helena, with all her potential, is the Grand Duke’s only real hope of achieving that."

"...Well, enough of that."

Ignatius, the Tier 8 Blazing Griffin Knight, waved a hand dismissively before turning his gaze toward the direction Helena had gone. "Liora, go talk to her."

"Understood."

Liora rose to her feet, offering Ethan a small, apologetic bow before stepping out of the tent.

At the same time, Ignatius shifted his attention to Emily, who stood quietly behind Ethan. His expression turned serious as he addressed her.

"Honored lady, when you and Seymour encountered the Inferno Devils that day, were you able to determine how many there were? More importantly, can you confirm whether they were just Legendary Units—Devils—or if they were actually Inferno Devil heroes?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Ethan’s gaze also flickered toward Emily, his expression sharpening.

Because, to put it bluntly, if it was just a few Legendary Units—Devils—he wouldn’t be too concerned.

But if they had run into an Inferno Devil hero...

That was a whole different problem.

It wasn’t that he doubted Seraphina, the Green Dragon hero, could handle them. Far from it. But at this stage, he had no intention of exposing Seraphina and Cicero—his two Crimson Ultimate powerhouses—to the watchful eyes of Glory Lords X’s native factions.

Revealing them meant drawing attention.

And right now, Emerald Castle simply didn’t have the strength or foundation to withstand the scrutiny of the major factions. If they got noticed too soon, things could get... complicated.

Unnecessarily so.

His plan was simple:

Wait.

At least until the inevitable faction wars broke out—until Glory Lords X descended into chaos.

That was when Emerald Castle would have its chance.

When the world was in turmoil, when the major factions were too busy fighting each other to pay attention to a rising force in the shadows...

That was when they would make their move.

That was when they would seize their opportunity to rise!

Aside from that, Ethan also learned from Cicero that in the three major evil factions, a 13-Tier Legendary Unit hero was practically synonymous with a ruler.

Which meant that in most cases, the enemy would definitely have a 13-Tier Legendary Unit by their side for protection.

And if that was the case, Seraphina might not actually win in a fight.

This time, Ethan had only brought some 11-Tier Unicorns and the 12-Tier Champion Knights he had just traded from Marquis Lucan.

These forces were fine for dealing with regular units of the same tier or even Legendary Units under lower-tier orange Legendary heroes.

But if they had to go up against high-tier, high-level orange Legendary heroes’ Legendary Units—or worse, the Legendary Units under a Crimson Ultimate hero—then things would get really tough.

Maybe even impossible.

After all, Seraphina was only in her twenties in terms of level.

She was still a long way from her second awakening.

That meant she had a lot of potential for growth, but it also meant she was still lacking in raw power.

"Before I died, I’m absolutely sure I only saw one Inferno Devil," Emily said firmly.

The moment she said that, both Ethan and Ignatius fell silent.

If there had been multiple Inferno Devils, they might have actually felt a little more at ease. But the fact that there was only one? That gave them a really bad feeling and put even more pressure on them.

"Count Valkarion, should I go report to the Grand Duke again?" Ignatius asked.

He was a cautious man. Normally, neither they nor Grand Duke Theodore were willing to mobilize the forces of the Castle faction, but at this point, they might not have a choice.

Because if they were really dealing with an Inferno Devil hero, then forget about the few of them— even a fully leveled Paladin Helena wouldn’t be enough to handle it.

The only things that could stand against an Inferno Devil hero were an entire faction’s forces or a top-tier superpower.

"..."

Ethan stayed silent.

With his personality, if things had escalated to this point, he would have either walked away or gone in alone.

But the problem was, there was no way he was going to just abandon his sister, Emily.

If Ignatius went to report to Grand Duke Theodore again, Ethan wouldn’t care—his position was unshakable.

But Emily would definitely be kicked out of the operation.

After all, right now, she was just a white-tier Common hero. Her raw strength was way too weak.

Even if Ethan vouched for her, it wouldn’t make a difference.

This wasn’t about pride or saving face.

The system simply wouldn’t allow such an obvious loophole to be exploited.

Even if she was forced to tag along, in the end, it was almost certain—no, it was guaranteed—that she’d walk away empty-handed.

She wouldn’t get anything.

Hearing this, Ethan shook his head and said, "Let’s go check it out first. With me here, it shouldn’t be a big problem."

His words carried an undeniable confidence, radiating an aura of absolute strength.

Blazing Griffin Knight hero Ignatius hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright then. We’ll take a look first. If anything seems off, we leave immediately."

...

A few days later, deep within Molten Gold Gorge, in the northwest of the Unicorn Duchy.

Molten Gold Gorge was vast and desolate, with treacherous terrain and an extremely harsh environment.

But despite its inhospitable nature, it covered an enormous area—nearly one-twentieth of the entire Unicorn Duchy’s territory.

The gorge was filled with countless active volcanoes, constantly erupting in cycles, spewing lava across the land. The scorching heat made it nearly uninhabitable, a place where few dared to tread.

No one in their right mind would willingly come to this hellish landscape.

And yet, this was exactly where Emily had encountered the Inferno faction’s Devil not long ago.

"This place kinda reminds me of Sylvanwood..." Ethan muttered, glancing at the hostile surroundings before turning to Emily.

"Molten Gold Gorge sits right on the border between the Unicorn Duchy and Staghelm Duchy. Just like Sylvanwood, it’s a dangerous forbidden zone—harsh terrain, deadly environment. It’s just... not as extreme as Sylvanwood," Emily murmured, then looked up at Ethan. "Bro, what if there really is an Inferno Devil hero here?"

"What else? We run." Ethan shrugged. "But honestly, what are the odds? A Legendary Unit hero would have to be at least a Crimson Ultimate. You know what that means? Those kinds of powerhouses are incredibly rare, even in the entire world of Glory Lords X. Even if we do run into one, as long as I’m here, escaping won’t be a problem."

He smirked slightly. "But they might not be so lucky..."

As he spoke, he glanced at Gideon, Helena, and the others ahead of them, shaking his head.

Seraphina’s existence could not be exposed to them.

At the very least, they couldn’t even suspect any connection. That was his bottom line.

He wasn’t some self-sacrificing saint like Paladin Helena, willing to sell himself out just to protect others. He wasn’t that stupid.

Besides, in Glory Lords X, death wasn’t real death.

As long as one had enough soul energy, resurrection was always an option.

It just required a long revival period—and a massive amount of gold.

...

"Master, I can feel someone watching us."

Suddenly, Seraphina’s voice rang in Ethan’s mind, filled with disgust.

"And it’s a very unpleasant presence. Definitely worse than those wretched Inferno Devils."

Even though Seraphina was hidden within Ethan’s Lord’s Space, she could still sense everything happening outside—and communicate with him freely.