Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 153: …Was he serious?

"One of ours?"

Ancient War Tree Oakenmaw froze for a moment. Just then, the terrifying dragon plummeted from the sky, diving straight toward them. A shiver ran through Oakenmaw’s very soul.

"A... a Green Dragon unit hero?!"

How... how was that possible?!

Why was there such a powerful Crimson Ultimate hero here?!

Boom!

Right at that moment, the Green Dragon hero began to shrink, getting smaller and smaller until—before Oakenmaw’s stunned, disbelieving eyes—it transformed into a juvenile form and shot straight into Ethan’s arms, chirping excitedly.

"Cicero, long time no see!" Ethan said with a smile.

Clearly, this Green Dragon hero was none other than Cicero!

"Master, you’re finally back! Who’s this big guy? An Ancient War Tree?" Cicero roared excitedly, turning to look at Oakenmaw.

The latter immediately trembled all over and bowed deeply to Cicero with the utmost respect. "Oakenmaw of the Ancient War Tree clan greets the esteemed hero, Your Highness!"

"Hey there..."

Cicero grinned as he sized up Oakenmaw, then turned to Ethan with a thoughtful look. "Master, he seems pretty strong. Probably even stronger than Orryn."

Ethan blinked, then instantly understood.

This must be the system’s overall potential evaluation—the difference between an S-rank and an A-rank!

Shaking his head, Ethan didn’t dwell on it. He simply smiled and said, "Oakenmaw, let me introduce you. This is Cicero, one of my Emerald Castle unit heroes! As for the others, they’re all busy with their own tasks, but in time, you’ll get to meet them all."

"Great Lord, your domain must be incredibly powerful!"

At this point, Ancient War Tree Oakenmaw was completely awed by Cicero’s presence.

His attitude had shifted dramatically—becoming far more humble!

To be honest, even though he had accepted Ethan’s summons and crossed realms to join him, deep down, he still carried the pride of a Legendary Unit.

Just like when Ethan first recruited Green Dragon Orryn!

The only difference was that Oakenmaw hadn’t been as obvious about it.

But now...

All that pride.

All that confidence.

Vanished in the presence of Cicero, a Crimson Ultimate Green Dragon hero!

No matter how self-assured—or even arrogant—he might have been, there was no way he could compare himself to a Crimson Ultimate Green Dragon hero.

Because that wasn’t just arrogance.

That was stupidity.

That was suicidal overconfidence.

"Oakenmaw, our Emerald Castle is far stronger than you think!" Cicero chuckled, but then his expression grew more serious as he turned to Ethan. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"Master, things are getting more intense over at the Dungeon."

"Really?"

Ethan’s face also darkened at those words. He asked slowly, "Do we know when they’ll make their move?"

"They already have. But not on our front." Cicero replied.

"Not on our front?" Ethan blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"While you and Seraphina were out, I flew around and scouted the area. I found that besides the Verdant Ravine here, there are other Dungeon entrances scattered across Sylvanwood. And at those locations, Dungeon forces have already started pouring out!"

Cicero paused for a moment, his eyes gleaming. "As for why we’re an exception, my guess is that on the other side of the Dungeon entrance in Verdant Ravine, there’s a group of Phoenixes nesting there."

"Phoenixes?"

Ethan’s eyes widened in shock. "You mean the Tier 13 Legendary Units from the Conflux faction?!"

"Exactly..." Cicero nodded, then added, "Verdant Ravine is vast, sparsely populated, and teeming with wild creatures. It’s a dangerous place, with rough terrain that makes movement difficult. On top of that, our Dungeon entrance is in a remote location, and with those Phoenixes stationed there, the Dungeon army probably decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to break through on our side."

"Well, that’s some good news at least..." Ethan’s eyes flickered as he fell into deep thought.

"Oh, right, Master..." Cicero suddenly remembered something. "In the Phoenixes’ nesting grounds, I also found a Phoenix Creature Dwelling!"

"A Phoenix Creature Dwelling?"

Ethan’s pupils contracted in excitement. "Are you serious?!"

A Phoenix Creature Dwelling—

That was a Legendary Unit dwelling!

If they could claim it, Emerald Castle would have a third Legendary Unit dwelling under its control...

But before Ethan could fully revel in the thought, Cicero quickly brought him back to reality.

"Master, I don’t think we can take that Phoenix Creature Dwelling anytime soon. At least, not with our current strength."

Ethan’s excitement stalled. He frowned. "The defenses are that strong?"

"There are eighty Soul Sentinel Phoenixes guarding it."

Cicero gave a wry smile.

"..."

Ethan was speechless.

Eighty?!

What the hell were they supposed to do against that?!

"The Phoenixes you mentioned earlier—are they wild units, or Soul Sentinels?" Ethan asked.

"They’re wild units," Cicero clarified. "There aren’t as many of them—only about thirty—but among them, there are definitely some special units, like Oakenmaw or Orryn."

Ethan nodded. He understood what Cicero meant. Units like Ancient War Tree Oakenmaw and Green Dragon Orryn weren’t just ordinary Legendary Units—they had the potential to become unit heroes.

"And!" Cicero continued after a brief pause. "Since they’re the same species as the Soul Sentinel Phoenixes guarding the Creature Dwelling, they can actually fight alongside them, borrowing their power!"

"..."

Ethan had nothing to say.

What was there to think about?

Forget it.

Might as well just go to bed and stop thinking about it altogether.

...

Ethan shook his head,

quickly and decisively abandoning any fantasies of claiming that Phoenix Creature Dwelling!

Thirty wild Phoenix units, plus another eighty Soul Sentinel Phoenixes—this kind of firepower was already on par with, if not outright surpassing, the Behemoth lineage of Fury Wasteland!

There was no way they could take that head-on and come out on top!

Not to mention, in Glory Lords X, attacking Creature Dwellings, gold mines, and resource points all came with strict time limits.

The shortest was just thirty minutes,

while the longest was twelve hours at most!

For Legendary Units Creature Dwellings, the attack window was usually around six hours. Meaning, within six hours, they had to completely wipe out every Soul Sentinel inside.

If they failed, once the time limit expired, the Soul Sentinels would respawn at full health and full strength—good as new!

Meanwhile, the attackers? They didn’t get that luxury.

Cicero, Seraphina, and the others were strong, no doubt about that! But they weren’t machines. They had limits. No one—not even Crimson Ultimates—could keep up high-intensity combat forever. The longer the fight dragged on, the more exhaustion would set in.

But Soul Sentinels? They were one of the few exceptions in the entire world of Glory Lords X.

They were manifestations of the game world’s core will—bound by different rules entirely.

And besides, there was a massive difference between fighting a handful of Legendary Units and facing an entire army of them.

Right now, with Emerald Castle’s current strength, they could probably hold their own against fifty Legendary Units if they went all out. Cicero, Seraphina, Elyra, and the other Crimson Ultimate heroes, along with the orange-tier Legendary heroes, would be the backbone of that fight.

But if the enemy numbers climbed past that threshold—sixty, seventy Legendary Units?

Not only would Emerald Castle lose,

they’d get completely steamrolled.

And once that happened, the entire war effort would collapse.

Why?

Simple.

First, once Legendary Units reached a certain critical mass, their combined power became downright apocalyptic.

A single Legendary Unit hero couldn’t even begin to compare to the sheer devastation an entire battalion of them could unleash.

Second, battles had tipping points. The moment you crossed that threshold, everything fell apart. One second you were holding the line, the next, it was total annihilation.

Like the proverbial last straw that broke the camel’s back.

Like a dam collapsing from a single tiny crack.

"Alright, let’s put the Phoenixes on hold for now..." Ethan shook his head and turned to Cicero. "What about the Dungeon army? How strong are they?"

"Very strong," Cicero answered without hesitation. "Just from a quick glance, I spotted at least two to three hundred Red Dragons, plus a good number of Black Dragons. And that’s not even counting the rest—12-Tier Shadow Matriarchs, 11-Tier Manticores, 11-Tier Shadow Witches, 10-Tier Minotaur Kings, 10-Tier Foul Hydras, 9-Tier Minotaurs, 9-Tier Brisk Raiders... the list goes on. There are tons of them."

"That bad, huh?" Ethan blinked, then let out a bitter laugh.

Honestly, that kind of force was terrifying. If they actually went to war, a regular kingdom like Unicorn Duchy wouldn’t last five minutes before getting wiped off the map.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

This was a faction army.

And not just any faction—this was Dungeon, one of the strongest forces in the game.

So really, what was a measly three hundred Legendary Unit Red Dragons to them?

Hell, even if they had three thousand.

Or thirty thousand.

They could field them all if they wanted to.

They just didn’t need to.

"How about their unit heroes? How many Dungeon lords showed up?" Ethan asked again.

"Didn’t get a precise count, but at least four or five," Cicero replied, his eyes flickering with thought. "And I also sensed the presence of a Crimson Ultimate hero from Dungeon."

"A Crimson Ultimate hero from Dungeon?" Ethan froze for a second, his expression shifting. His face grew serious as he asked, "A Red Dragon hero? Shadow Dragon? Or Black Dragon?"

"No idea." Cicero shook his head. "I didn’t stick around long enough to find out—I didn’t want them to notice me, so I left immediately."

"Fair enough. That was probably the right call. Keeping a low profile is definitely the smarter move for now..." Ethan nodded, then muttered to himself, his gaze flickering with thought. "If Dungeon is already making moves, then Inferno shouldn’t be far behind, right?"

"Lord Ethan... are you saying that Dungeon and Inferno are preparing to go to war with the Main World?" Ancient War Tree Oakenmaw couldn’t help but speak up, his massive form trembling slightly with shock.

Even though he had spent most of his existence in deep slumber and had only recently been summoned, he was well aware of the sheer terror that Dungeon and Inferno represented.

In fact, a long time ago, his homeland—his birthplace—had been utterly destroyed by the ruthless armies of Dungeon...

"That’s right. Inferno and Dungeon are joining forces to take revenge on the Light Alliance..." Ethan sighed, nodding. "The world of Glory Lords X is about to descend into absolute chaos."

Oakenmaw fell silent, his expression heavy.

The pressure was immense.

Even a Legendary Unit like him couldn’t remain unaffected by the storm that was brewing.

"There’s something else," Ethan continued. "Cicero, since you’ve been scouting around, did you get a good read on Sylvanwood’s true strength? Can they hold out against Dungeon’s assault?"

As soon as he asked, Cicero’s expression turned... strange.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally looked at Ethan and spoke slowly.

"Master... I think Sylvanwood is at least ten times stronger than we originally estimated."

Ethan’s pupils contracted sharply. He froze on the spot.

Ten times stronger than their initial predictions?!

...Was he serious?

...