Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 121: Starlily, long time no see

Whoosh!

High above the outskirts of Sylvanwood, Seraphina soared through the sky, her wings slicing through the wind as she sped forward.

"See anything interesting on the way?" Ethan asked, glancing sideways at Seraphina as he took in the landscape below.

"Interesting?"

Seraphina blinked, then quickly shook her head. "Not really! At first, I spotted a few phoenixes, behemoths, and hydras, but the further we went, the weaker they got. I mean, not even a single Tier 13 Legendary Unit? Pretty disappointing!"

"That’s because you’ve gotten way too strong," Ethan said with a chuckle.

He glanced around before continuing, "The area where Emerald Castle is located is the heart of Sylvanwood—outsiders even call it a forbidden zone. But right now, we’re just flying over the outskirts. It’s normal for things to be weaker here."

After a brief pause, he added, "Seraphina, what do you think about setting up Blackmire Castle’s new home in this area?"

Before, they had just been passing through, so Ethan hadn’t paid much attention. But now that he had Seraphina slow down and take a closer look, he realized something—this outer region of Sylvanwood was rich.

Gold mines, resource nodes—there were plenty scattered all over the place.

If they could claim this land, it wouldn’t be a bad choice at all.

But there was one glaring issue: the lack of high-tier unit recruitment points. Especially for Tier 11 Royal Units and above—there were none. That made Ethan hesitate.

Gold mines, six major resource points...

Or powerful units?

Did he really have to choose just one?

"If you ask me, Master... there’s no real need to move Blackmire Castle here," Seraphina said unexpectedly, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Ethan asked, surprised.

"With my flying speed, it took me less than half a day to get here. That means Sylvanwood isn’t actually that big—it’s even kind of small. At this rate, it won’t take long before Emerald Castle’s Castle Heart expands far enough to cover this area anyway."

"You’re not planning to move Blackmire Castle again when that happens, are you?"

She paused for a moment before adding, "Besides, there aren’t any high-tier recruitment points here—just wild creatures, gold mines, and resource nodes. Not really worth it. In the end, only high-tier units can make Emerald Castle stronger!"

Clearly, when it came to choosing between resources and powerful troops, Seraphina didn’t hesitate—she prioritized strength.

Ethan thought about it carefully. She had a point.

Power was everything.

Without strength, what did wealth even matter? A fat purse and a high status wouldn’t mean a damn thing if you couldn’t protect them. In the end, someone stronger would just take it all away.

"...You’re right. That makes perfect sense."

Ethan nodded immediately, fully agreeing with Seraphina’s reasoning.

Now that he thought about it, there really was no need to set up a second castle in Sylvanwood. If Emerald Castle kept leveling up, would they have to move again?

That would be ridiculous.

Not to mention, it would be a massive waste of resources. Upgrading a castle—especially at higher levels—required an insane amount of materials. No one could afford to keep relocating like that.

"So, the best option would be to move far from the main continent... maybe out to sea, or even another continent?" Ethan murmured to himself.

The main continent, home to the Eight Grand Duchies, was just one of the three major landmasses in Glory Lords X’s world.

Beyond that, the world was dominated by vast oceans, stretching far beyond the land.

The seas were teeming with countless factions—pirate kings, maritime nations, and more than a few powerful empires. At least three of them were major players on the global stage.

For Ethan, that might actually be a solid option...

"Man, if only I could take over the Unicorn Duchy!" He sighed, letting his imagination run wild. "I could just drop Blackmire Castle right into Dunmire, their capital, and be done with it!"

Of course, that was nothing more than a fantasy.

At this stage, sure, he was strong enough to crush any player faction without breaking a sweat. But compared to the native powers of Glory Lords X? He was still a rookie—barely out of the tutorial phase.

He wasn’t ready for that fight.

Take the Unicorn Duchy, for example. From what he knew, they had at least two Orange-tier Legendary Heroes. And unlike Elyra, who had just come of age and was still inexperienced, these guys were the real deal.

Their levels had to be at least 65 or higher.

As for Tier 13 Ultimate Units? They had hundreds.

And Tier 11 and 12 Royal Units? Easily over eight hundred.

That was insane.

Two Level 65+ Orange-tier Legendary Heroes.

Hundreds of Legendary Units.

Over eight hundred Royal Units at Tier 11 and 12.

That kind of military power wasn’t just strong—it was terrifying. Even among the many nations of Glory Lords X, the Unicorn Duchy stood out as one of the elites.

Now, if he targeted one of the weaker, bottom-tier nations instead...

Maybe.

Possibly.

If he got lucky.

But even then, it was risky. Any country that had survived in Glory Lords X’s brutal world had to have some serious trump cards.

Charging in without a solid plan? That was just asking to get wrecked.

"Alright, then. Time to start looking overseas..."

With that decision made, Ethan stopped overthinking it and focused on the journey ahead.

...

A few hours later, he finally arrived at the Unicorn Duchy’s capital—Dunmire.

As the capital of the Unicorn Duchy, Dunmire was absolutely packed with people!

Calling it overcrowded wouldn’t even be an exaggeration.

But the majority of these people weren’t players—or rather, players only made up a tiny fraction of the crowd. The real bulk of the population came from Glory Lords X’s native inhabitants—the citizens of the Unicorn Duchy!

Because of that, even though Ethan had arrived on a Tier 10 Thunderbird, it barely caused a ripple. Aside from a handful of obvious players who reacted with some surprise, the rest—especially the native residents of Dunmire—barely spared him a glance. It was as if they’d seen it all before.

Which, honestly, made sense. Dunmire was the capital of the Unicorn Duchy—the heart of the nation, the seat of power. A mere Tier 10 Champion Unit was nothing special here. Even Tier 11 or Tier 12 Royal Units weren’t uncommon; you could spot them fairly often.

Over time, people’s standards naturally rose.

For Ethan, that was actually a relief. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

At least he didn’t have to deal with being gawked at like some kind of circus act everywhere he went. Once or twice was fine, but after a while, it got old. Really old.

As he walked, Ethan lifted his gaze to the massive structure looming ahead—the heart of Dunmire itself. He muttered in disbelief,

"This place is only a Tier 4 castle?"

As a lord, Ethan had learned how to roughly gauge a castle’s level.

And yet, he never would’ve guessed that the capital of the Unicorn Duchy, Dunmire, was only a Tier 4 castle.

A Tier 4 castle...

That was the same level as Blackmire Castle when he first started!

In other words, Blackmire Castle was on par with the Unicorn Duchy’s capital—Dunmire?!

"...Huh."

That realization caught Ethan off guard. But he didn’t dwell on it for long. Instead, he headed straight for the Grand Duke’s Residence inside Dunmire.

Since the Unicorn Duchy was only a duchy, its highest ruler wasn’t a king but a grand duke.

The ruling family was actually descended from a ducal house of the Holy Griffon Empire.

At the same time, the title of Alliance Count within the Light Alliance could only be granted by a king or a duke from one of the alliance’s nations.

Which meant Ethan had no choice but to meet with the grand duke of the Unicorn Duchy—Grand Duke Theodore!

Just as he was making his way through the bustling crowd, a woman ahead of him suddenly turned her head, seemingly by chance.

The moment she saw him, she let out a surprised cry.

"Valkarion? Is that you?"

Ethan blinked in surprise and looked toward the woman standing not far away. His eyes widened slightly.

"Starlily?"

It turned out the woman wasn’t just anyone—she was LoS_Starlily from the Legion of Shadows guild!

The last time he’d dealt with Legion of Shadows, things hadn’t exactly ended on good terms. It had been a while since they’d last spoken.

Hearing that, Ethan shook his head with a small smile.

"Starlily, long time no see. What brings you to Dunmire?"

Starlily gave an awkward laugh. "Oh, nothing much. Just happened to be around."

She hesitated for a moment before looking at Ethan with an apologetic expression.

"Valkarion, I’ve been wanting to find a chance to apologize for what happened back then, but I never got the opportunity... No matter what, I’m really sorry. That was our fault."

It was obvious she still had no idea about Ethan’s true identity. If she did, it wouldn’t just be her apologizing—it would be LoS_Ironfist, LoS_Stormrider, and the rest of them, probably on their knees begging for forgiveness.

But that whole mess was long in the past. It wasn’t a big deal anymore, and there was no need to bring it up again.

"Let’s just leave the past where it belongs," Ethan said with a smile. "As long as we’re still friends, that’s all that matters."

"Valkarion... thank you." Starlily let out a relieved sigh.

Ethan nodded before asking, "What about Blackblade and the others?"

At that, Starlily’s expression stiffened slightly. She sighed.

"They got kicked out of the guild."

Ethan blinked in surprise, then shook his head. "Did they find somewhere new?"

"They started their own adventuring party," Starlily explained. "Wanted a fresh start, so they headed south, out to sea." She paused, then added, "But I still keep in touch with them. They seem to be doing okay."

"That’s good to hear..." Ethan nodded.

Just then, a group of men and women approached from nearby. They seemed to be Starlily’s friends.

One of them stood out—a bald man who looked to be in his early thirties. He carried himself with an air of arrogance, and judging by the way the others moved around him, he was clearly the center of the group.

He strode right up to Starlily, frowned at Ethan, and asked in a less-than-friendly tone,

"Starlily, this your friend?"

"Travis, watch your tone," Starlily shot back, stepping away from the bald man with clear irritation. "Do I need to explain my friends to you?"

Her blunt response made Travis’s expression darken.

"Come on, Starlily, don’t be mad," he said, trying to smooth things over. "I was just looking out for you."

Sensing the tension, a cute-looking girl in the group quickly stepped in to defuse the situation.

"Yeah, yeah, no need to argue!"

Another guy nodded in agreement and turned to Ethan.

"Sorry about that, man. We’re all Starlily’s friends—don’t take it personally. If you’re free, why don’t you join us for a walk?"

At that, Starlily looked at Ethan expectantly, clearly hoping he’d say yes.

...