Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 156: Yeah… it’s worth a shot

"Not bad..." Ethan nodded thoughtfully.

The number of Creature Dwellings—or rather, the sheer lack of regular units—was definitely their Achilles’ heel.

In a typical kingdom like the Unicorn Duchy, you’d expect at least five hundred Tier-13 Legendary Units. And as for Tier-11 and Tier-12 Royal Units? Easily in the thousands—three to four thousand, minimum.

But Emerald Castle?

They barely had three Legendary Units, even if you counted every last one.

And their Royal Units? Maybe twenty, tops.

The gap was massive. Absolutely brutal.

And that was their most dangerous weakness.

So right now, their top priority had to be building up their regular forces—fast. No question about it.

Which made this near-complete Metal Golem production facility a godsend.

A fat, juicy prize.

The kind of thing you sink your teeth into and come away with a full belly and a satisfied grin. That’s why Ethan was so laser-focused on it.

"But the Dungeon army is a serious problem," Bromir said, unable to hold back. "If we split up now and they show up at our doorstep, we’re screwed."

"Bromir’s right. That’s definitely a big concern..." Ethan nodded again, then turned to the others. "What do you all think?"

"My lord, I have a question," Lilith said hesitantly. "I can tell you’re thinking about splitting up. I’m not trying to question your judgment, but... since we already have enough Hero Units and high-tier troops, and what we’re really lacking is just regular units, why not just lay low for a while and focus on building those up?"

"Good question." Ethan smiled, then looked around at the rest. "What about the rest of you? Don’t worry about saying the wrong thing—I’m not that petty. Just speak your mind."

"Master, I actually think Lilith has a point," Elyra said after a moment of thought. "First off, the sea is completely uncharted territory for us. We’ve never been out there. Emerald Castle doesn’t even have a navy. If we go, we’re starting from scratch. That’s a huge hurdle."

"Plus, we’re talking about something from tens of thousands of years ago. Who knows if it’s even still around? That Golem Foundry might not even exist anymore—or someone else might’ve already found it. So we’d be spending a ton of time, maybe even risking our lives, chasing something that might not be there. Honestly, staying put and focusing on development might be the smarter move."

She was a little worried Ethan might take it the wrong way, but Elyra still wanted to help refine his plan as much as possible.

Because whether you’re a great leader or a loyal follower, just nodding along without thinking doesn’t help anyone.

Real progress comes from pooling ideas, spotting the gaps, and connecting the dots.

As someone who cared about Ethan—not just as a subordinate, but as family—helping him avoid mistakes was her duty. It’s what she was supposed to do!

"Elyra makes a solid point too."

As expected, Ethan smiled in approval, then glanced around at the others.

His gaze finally landed on Seraphina. "Seraphina—hey, don’t zone out. What do you think?"

"Me?"

Seraphina gave an awkward little laugh, her voice dropping to a mumble. "I... I’m not sure. I mean, I think Elyra and Bromir both made good arguments, but... but it also feels like we’d just be wasting time."

"Wasting time?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, amused. "Why do you say that?"

"It’s just... I don’t know how to explain it," Seraphina said, clearly struggling to find the words.

This wasn’t really her area of expertise to begin with, so the fact that she even brought it up was already impressive.

"Alright, I won’t put you on the spot," Ethan chuckled, then turned to Elynn with a knowing smile. "Elynn, I’m guessing you understand what I’m getting at—and what Seraphina’s trying to say. Mind explaining it to everyone?"

"Yes, Master."

Elynn nodded, then looked around at the group before speaking. "Laying low and focusing on development might seem like we’re building strength, but in reality, we’re just standing still. And during that time, we’re not actually doing anything productive—we’re just waiting."

"Standing still?" Elyra and Lilith frowned, clearly not convinced.

"Think about it," Elynn continued. "Even if we’re not actively doing anything, the gold mines, resource points, and Creature Dwellings under Emerald Castle’s control will still produce gold, materials, and recruitment slots on schedule. That doesn’t change."

"But if all we do is sit around and wait for those things to produce, what are we actually doing during that time? Nothing. We’re not expanding. We’re not claiming new mines or resource points. We’re not building more Creature Dwellings. In fact, with our current consumption rate, we might even fall behind."

She paused for a moment, letting that sink in, then added, "I read something in a book once: If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind. And I think that applies perfectly to Emerald Castle’s situation. Passive development isn’t really development—it’s stagnation."

"If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind?" Elyra, Lilith, and Bromir echoed the phrase, their eyes flickering with realization.

None of them said anything right away.

Because deep down, they all felt it—Elynn had a point. A damn good one.

"The real issue here boils down to one thing—the Dungeon army."

Cicero spoke up calmly, his voice cutting through the tension. "If the Dungeon army really sets its sights on us, then with Emerald Castle’s current strength—even if everyone’s present—we’re in serious trouble."

No one argued.

Because it was the truth.

The terrifying thing about the Dungeon army wasn’t just the sheer number of high-tier units. It was that they had both quantity and quality—powerful units and equally powerful unit heroes.

And they were brutal. Bloodthirsty, merciless, chaotic, and completely fearless in battle.

So if the Dungeon army really did come for them...

Even just fifty or sixty Legendary Units—Red Dragons—plus a single Dungeon Lord?

They’d be wiped out. No question.

Not even a sliver of hope.

So the real heart of the matter was figuring out how to deal with the Dungeon army.

Once that was handled, splitting up wouldn’t be such a big deal anymore.

"Cicero, what are you thinking?" Ethan asked.

"I suggest you head to the Fury Wasteland and have a talk with the Behemoths," Cicero replied.

"The Behemoths?"

Ethan blinked, then his eyes lit up. "You mean..."

"They’re facing the same threat we are," Cicero said. "Truth is, no faction living in Sylvanwood can stay out of this if the Dungeon army starts moving. So if we’re all dealing with the same problem... why not solve it together?"

"I think it’s worth a shot too," Elynn chimed in, nodding. "The biggest issue with the Behemoths in the Fury Wasteland is that they don’t have a unit hero. Or rather, they don’t have a unit hero strong enough to make them submit."

She glanced at Cicero and Seraphina, then added slowly, "But for Cicero and Her Highness Seraphina, that shouldn’t be a problem. At the very least, forming an alliance shouldn’t be too difficult."

"I see what you’re getting at."

Ethan rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

In the world of Glory Lords X, even regular units had their pride.

And the higher the tier, the stronger that pride.

Normally, 11- or 12-tier Royal Units wouldn’t even consider serving under a purple Epic hero. In fact, they might outright look down on lower-tier Epic heroes.

Same went for Legendary and Mythic Units.

13-tier Legendary Units would only follow orange-tier Legendary heroes. And 14-tier Mythic Units? They might not even acknowledge a low-tier orange Legendary hero.

But Crimson Ultimate heroes were a different story.

No matter the unit’s tier or rank, they all had a deep-seated respect—maybe even fear—for Crimson Ultimate heroes. At the very least, their pride wouldn’t stop them from submitting...

Hearing all this, Ethan murmured to himself, "Yeah... it’s worth a shot."

To be honest, in his eyes, the difference in combat power between wild units and those under a hero’s command was absolutely massive—almost absurd.

Why?

Simple.

Even if two units were both Legendary, whether or not they were led by a unit hero made all the difference. And depending on the hero’s strength, Legendary Units under a Crimson Ultimate hero could easily take on three, four, even five wild Legendary Units at once.

Yeah, it was that ridiculous.

Especially when it came to the Behemoths of the Fury Wasteland. That faction alone had over a dozen 14-tier Mythic Units—Ancient Behemoths—and nearly forty 13-tier Legendary Units—regular Behemoths. fгeewebnovёl.com

What did that mean?

To put it bluntly, if Ethan could somehow convince them to serve under Cicero or Seraphina, then even if the Dungeon army sent a hundred 13-tier Red Dragon Legendary Units to attack them, they’d still get their asses handed to them.

No contest.

With that thought, Ethan didn’t hesitate any longer. He turned to Seraphina and said, "Seraphina, take me to the Behemoth Lair in the Fury Wasteland. As for the rest of you—stay here and wait."

"Yes, my lord," Seraphina responded immediately, rising to her feet.

"Yes, respected Lord!"

"Be careful on the road, Master."

...

The others nodded in unison.

ROAR!

Moments later, a thunderous dragon’s roar erupted from Emerald Castle, shaking the skies like a war cry from the heavens.

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, a massive dragon soared into the sky, wings slicing through the clouds as it shot northeast—toward the Fury Wasteland.

It didn’t take long before the dragon descended deep into the heart of the Wasteland, landing right in the middle of the Behemoth Lair.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

BOOM!

Almost instantly, several massive beasts burst out from the lair—some covered in earthy brown fur, others gleaming with a platinum sheen. They moved with shocking speed, surrounding Seraphina in a tight formation.

These were the Stronghold faction’s elite units—Legendary and Mythic Behemoths.

The brown ones were the 13-tier Legendary Units—Behemoths.

The platinum-colored ones? Those were the 14-tier Mythic Units—Ancient Behemoths.

And the difference between them was obvious—not just in color, but in size, presence, and sheer pressure. You could tell them apart at a glance.

"You again?! Damn dragon, are you here to fight again? The mighty Behemoths aren’t afraid of you!"

One of the platinum-colored Ancient Behemoths suddenly roared, its voice booming like thunder. Without warning, it lunged at Seraphina, claws outstretched.

It looked like a walking mountain, but its speed was insane—far faster than anything that size had any right to be.

In just a second, it had crossed over a hundred feet, swiping its massive claw straight at Seraphina with enough force to tear through steel.

But Seraphina wasn’t having it.

She snapped.

"Get out of my way!"

BAM!

Her dragon claw slashed through the air, colliding head-on with the Ancient Behemoth’s strike.

CRACK!

SPURT!

Blood sprayed as the beast’s massive paw was shattered, bone snapping under the force of the blow.

The Ancient Behemoth staggered back, blood dripping from its limb, eyes glowing red—not with pain, but with excitement. It was getting fired up.

"Enough!"

Just then, a deep, commanding voice echoed from the depths of the Behemoth Lair.