Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 174: Archmage

That said, even though it’s a Tier 13 special hidden unit,

the Ancient War Tree isn’t without its flaws.

Its weaknesses are pretty obvious—it’s vulnerable to fire and painfully slow.

If someone hits it with high-tier, powerful fire magic, or if it gets caught in a chase or guerrilla-style battle where speed is everything, those weaknesses get blown way out of proportion.

And when that happens, the chances of it losing go way up.

But honestly, that’s to be expected.

Nothing in this world is perfect. Not even Mythic Units are flawless—so what chance does a mere Tier 13 Legendary Unit have of being without drawbacks?

Still, if a unit’s strengths are overwhelming enough, they can cover up—or even completely cancel out—its weaknesses.

And the Ancient War Tree? Yeah, it’s definitely strong enough to pull that off.

Thinking about that, Ethan’s curiosity toward the Arcane Colossus cooled off a bit.

Just then, a hearty laugh rang out behind him.

"Lord of Emerald Castle! You made it! Hahaha, welcome, welcome!"

"Chieftain Balthazar, good to see you..."

Ethan turned around, smiling as he greeted Balthazar.

At the same time, he noticed someone standing behind Balthazar—a white-bearded archmage, eyes gleaming as he studied Ethan with interest.

[Eldrin]

Level: 71 freewebnøvel.com

Race: Human

Tier: Orange Legendary Hero

Class: Archmage

Attack: 77

Defense: 55

Spell Power: 311

Knowledge: 188

HP: 18,000

Damage: 155–211

Magic Damage: 344–582

...

Overall Rating: Orange Legendary Hero

"...Damn."

"A Level 71 Orange Legendary Hero?!"

Ethan swallowed hard. His face stayed calm, but inside, he was reeling.

Level 71. Orange-tier. Legendary.

What did that even mean?

To put it bluntly—

Even if all seven of Emerald Castle’s top unit heroes teamed up, they probably wouldn’t last more than a few rounds against this guy.

Out in the wider world, someone like this would be the ultimate trump card of a major kingdom—maybe even a superpower.

This guy was terrifying.

And he was just casually hanging out here in Sylvanwood?

Ethan’s eye twitched.

Yeah... he’d definitely underestimated how dangerous Sylvanwood really was.

"Let me introduce you," Balthazar said with a grin. "This is Archmage Eldrin, ruler of the northern Snowy Castle! He’s an incredibly powerful mage—and also a master craftsman. These Arcane Colossi? All his handiwork."

He paused, then turned to Eldrin and gestured toward Ethan.

"Archmage Eldrin, this is the Lord of Emerald Castle I mentioned earlier—Valkarion. He’s a great friend to our Behemoth clan. If it weren’t for him, we’d probably have been wiped out by Thal’Zor and Vorrak by now."

"Lord of Emerald Castle, a pleasure to meet you. I’m Eldrin," the archmage said warmly, offering Ethan a kind smile.

"Archmage Eldrin, the pleasure’s mine," Ethan replied, returning the greeting with equal respect.

Just then, Eldrin’s gaze shifted past Ethan, landing on the figure standing quietly behind him—Seraphina.

His eyes lit up with recognition. "Well, I never thought I’d live to see the day... A Crimson Ultimate–tier Green Dragon hero, standing before me."

He gave a slight bow, his tone reverent. "Honored Green Dragon, Archmage Eldrin offers you his deepest respect."

"Hello. I’m Seraphina," she replied calmly.

"Now that the Lord of Emerald Castle is here, let’s get down to business," Balthazar said, cutting to the point.

"Agreed," Eldrin nodded.

Ethan didn’t object, and the group—Ethan, Seraphina, and Eldrin—followed Balthazar deeper into the Behemoth Lair, eventually arriving at a stone chamber nestled within a cavern.

"Apologies for the humble setting," Balthazar said with a sheepish chuckle once they were seated. "Not exactly royal hospitality."

Eldrin smiled, then got straight to the point. "Chieftain Balthazar, Lord of Emerald Castle—I won’t beat around the bush. I’m here to propose an alliance."

"An alliance?" Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly, interest piqued.

"Yes," Eldrin said with a firm nod, his expression turning serious. "The Dungeon forces are running rampant through Sylvanwood. They’ve gotten far too bold. We need to push back—show them who really rules this land."

"The Dungeon army, huh..." Balthazar’s gaze darkened. "What’s the situation in the east?"

"...It’s bad," Eldrin said grimly, glancing at Balthazar. "The Dungeon army has dug in deep. They’ve forced Thalor to retreat again and again. He’s already reached out to me for help."

"Thalor can’t hold them off anymore?" Balthazar’s face tightened, clearly shaken.

"Who’s Thalor?" Ethan asked.

"He’s the ruler of the eastern region of Sylvanwood," Eldrin explained. "King of the Kingdom of the Elementals—the strongest power in that part of the forest."

"Kingdom of the Elementals?" Ethan froze for a second, then blinked in surprise. "Wait—an actual kingdom?"

"Exactly," Balthazar nodded. "Sylvanwood is divided into four major regions—north, south, east, and west. Two of them have already established full-fledged kingdoms. The east is home to the Kingdom of the Elementals, and the west belongs to the Kingdom of the Night Elves."

"The Kingdom of the Night Elves in the west..." Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly. He leaned in, curiosity piqued. "How strong are they?"

"Very strong," Balthazar replied without a moment’s hesitation. "Thalor commands two orange-tier Legendary Heroes, five purple-tier Epic Heroes, and over a hundred Legendary Units—including 13th-tier Phoenixes."

He paused briefly, then continued.

"As for the Night Elves’ king—Vaelion—he’s no slouch either. He’s got two orange-tier Legendary Heroes under his command, plus more than thirty 13th-tier Elder Chimeras and over thirty 13th-tier Emerald Dragons."

"And on top of that, more than twenty 13th-tier Green Dragons."

Three different types of Legendary Units?

Ethan visibly stiffened at that, a flicker of shock and suspicion flashing through his eyes.

That was... unusual.

In most established kingdoms, having even one or two types of Legendary Units as your core force was already considered impressive.

But the Kingdom of the Night Elves had three distinct types?

That wasn’t just impressive—it was elite. High-tier, top-of-the-line.

In fact, the more types of Legendary Units a faction could field, the deeper their foundations ran. It was a direct reflection of their strength and resources.

"And those two orange-tier Legendary Heroes... that’s gonna be a problem," Ethan muttered, eyes glinting with thought.

Everyone knew that heroes could massively boost the stats and combat effectiveness of regular units. No exaggeration—two armies of equal size, one led by a hero and the other not? It’s night and day.

The higher the hero’s tier and level, the more devastating their army became.

Take Seraphina, for example. Her Green Dragons—13th-tier Legendary Units—could easily take on two enemies at once without breaking a sweat.

Hell, even three-on-one wasn’t out of the question.

And that’s just Seraphina.

Now imagine someone like Archmage Eldrin—level 60 or 70, second awakening, and a melee-type orange-tier Legendary Hero?

The kind of power boost they’d give to their troops would be downright terrifying.

So yeah, on paper, the Kingdom of the Night Elves and the Kingdom of the Elementals might only have around a hundred Legendary Units each...

But in reality? You’d have to treat them like they were packing the punch of four or five hundred wild Legendary Units.

"Thalor’s Kingdom of the Elementals has serious firepower," Eldrin said grimly. "Out of all four regions of Sylvanwood—north, south, east, and west—his kingdom is probably the strongest. But even so, they’re getting pushed back hard by the Dungeon army. So hard, in fact, that Thalor actually reached out for help..."

Eldrin paused, his expression darkening.

"Thalor’s a proud man. Under normal circumstances, he’d never ask for help. Never. But now..."

The weight of the situation hung heavy in the air.

"Chieftain Balthazar, Lord of Emerald Castle," Eldrin continued, his voice low but firm, "the Dungeon army isn’t just some passing threat. If we sit back and do nothing, thinking it’s not our problem, we’ll be next. You know the saying—when the lips are gone, the teeth freeze. I trust you both understand what that means."

Ethan and Balthazar exchanged a look.

Then both nodded.

"I’m in," Ethan said.

"Same here," Balthazar added.

To them, the Dungeon army was like a rabid beast, tearing through everything in its path. Sure, it hadn’t bitten them yet—but if the Kingdom of the Elementals fell, they’d be next in line.

After all, the eastern and western regions shared a border. If the east collapsed, the south—where they were—would become the front line overnight.

And that would be a disaster.

No matter what, they couldn’t let the eastern region fall. If it did, there’d be no one left to take the hits for them.

"Good," Eldrin exhaled, visibly relieved. "I’ll give you a little more time to prepare, but please—don’t delay. My forces are already deployed to the eastern front, but things are still looking bad."

"Don’t worry, Archmage," Balthazar said with a nod. "We understand how serious this is."

Then he asked, "What about Vaelion, the Night Elf King? Did you reach out to him too?"

It was a casual question—after all, they were all part of Sylvanwood. In theory, they should be standing together against a common enemy.

But the moment the words left his mouth, Eldrin’s face darkened. He let out a cold snort.

"Hmph. I did. And he turned me down."

"He refused?" Balthazar blinked, then scowled. "That bastard."

The Kingdom of the Night Elves was tucked away in the western part of Sylvanwood—basically the rear of the battlefield. For the Dungeon army to reach them, they’d have to first crush the eastern region, then either the south or the north.

In other words, Vaelion was sitting pretty, far from the front lines. No wonder he was content to sit back and watch, offering no help, no troops, nothing.

"Hmph," Eldrin snorted again, his voice laced with contempt. "Let’s deal with the Dungeon army first. Once that’s done, I’ll settle the score with him."

For now, with the enemy at the gates, he had no choice but to swallow his anger. But that didn’t mean he’d forget.

Vaelion was using them as a shield—letting others bleed while he stayed safe in the back.

That kind of cowardice wouldn’t go unpunished.

There was no such thing as a free ride in this world. Once the Dungeon army was pushed back into the depths where it came from, Eldrin would make damn sure the Night Elves paid for sitting on the sidelines.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Then he stood up.

"Chieftain Balthazar, Lord Ethan—time is short, and now that we’ve reached an agreement, I’ll take my leave. I’ll be waiting for your good news."