Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 179: Dragonblood Crystal

"They wanna turn on us? Please—they’re not even in our league."

A voice dripping with disdain came from the Chimera named Barak.

His eyes flickered coldly as he continued, "Didn’t we already look into them? That so-called Emerald Castle doesn’t even have a single Tier-13 Legendary Unit. What gives them the right to challenge us?"

Gurgling and hissing sounds echoed as waves of searing flames and corrosive acid rolled across Barak’s massive, grotesque body. The sheer heat and venomous fumes made the air shimmer, and the noise was sharp enough to make your ears ring. He looked terrifying—like a walking natural disaster.

Chimeras, by appearance, were monstrous hybrids—lion’s head, goat’s body, and a serpent for a tail that spewed fire.

And fire? That was their signature weapon.

It was said that the Elder Chimeras—those rare Tier-13 Legendary Units—could unleash flames so intense they could incinerate even dragons with near-total magic immunity. That alone spoke volumes about how deadly they were.

But that wasn’t all. Chimeras also wielded toxic acid, much like the Green Dragons. And their venom didn’t just burn—it splashed, spreading damage across multiple enemies. Area-of-effect attacks with devastating power.

"But... but they’ve got a Crimson Ultimate Hero..." Silver Pegasus Knight Vince hesitated, clearly reluctant to say it out loud.

But in the end, he did.

Crimson Ultimate Hero.

The moment those words left his mouth, the arrogance on Barak’s face vanished. Silence fell like a hammer.

Because everyone in the world of Glory Lords X knew exactly what that title meant.

Especially Barak—he wasn’t just any soldier. He was a unit hero himself. And for someone like him, a Legendary Hero of the orange tier, Crimson Ultimate Heroes were nothing short of nightmares.

They were the mountain looming above him—vast, immovable, suffocating.

And maybe, just maybe, even Barak hadn’t realized it yet, but deep down, he was afraid. Afraid of Emerald Castle. Afraid of what it could become with a Crimson Ultimate Hero at its core.

That fear twisted into something darker.

He wanted to crush Emerald Castle before it could grow strong. Snuff it out while it was still in the cradle.

In truth, this whole stunt—storming into Emerald Castle’s territory, attacking their gold mines, seizing their resource points and creature dwellings—wasn’t some grand military campaign. It was personal. Barak’s own rogue operation.

The Night Elf King, Vaelion, didn’t even know about it.

Barak’s real goal? Sabotage the alliance between Emerald Castle and the Kingdom of the Night Elves. Spark a war. And once the fighting started, he’d have the perfect excuse to wipe out Emerald Castle’s Crimson Ultimate Hero before they became unstoppable.

If everything went according to plan, it’d be perfect.

Wouldn’t it?

As that thought crossed his mind, the four eyes on Chimera Barak’s two heads narrowed slightly.

He let out a cold, mocking laugh. "A Crimson Ultimate Hero? So what? Under the crushing might of my Kingdom of the Night Elves’ army, Emerald Castle is nothing but an ant—pathetic and easy to squash."

He sneered, voice laced with contempt. "And what if we took a few of their gold mines, resource points, and creature dwellings? Shouldn’t they be honored we even bothered with them?"

Then his expression darkened, his tone turning icy. "If they really don’t know what’s good for them, then I, General Barak, won’t mind teaching them a lesson. Let’s see just how tough this Emerald Castle really is. Hmph."

The moment those words left his mouth, Silver Pegasus Knight Vince shut up completely.

His face twisted into a bitter smile—part helpless, part anxious.

He was no fool. Vince had already figured out exactly what Barak was thinking.

And he also knew that at this point, anything he said—any advice, any warning—was pointless.

Barak wasn’t going to listen.

Hell, even if King Vaelion himself showed up, it probably wouldn’t make a difference.

Because this wasn’t the first time Barak had gone rogue like this.

It had happened more than once. More than twice.

Orange-tier Legendary Heroes like Barak were rare and powerful—no question. In a second-rate kingdom like the Night Elves, someone like him was a game-changer. Even in the top-tier empires, he’d be a major asset.

So when Vaelion got his hands on Barak, of course he was thrilled. Overjoyed, even.

He valued him. Protected him. Spoiled him.

And that indulgence came with a price.

Barak had always done whatever the hell he wanted. Self-centered, reckless, and completely unrestrained.

And more than once, he’d dragged Vaelion into serious trouble.

"...Sigh."

Vince let out a long breath, muttering to himself, "Let’s just hope this doesn’t blow up into something we can’t fix..."

"Vince, did you find the other gold mines, resource points, and Creature Dwellings I asked for?" Chimera Barak asked again, his voice low but pressing.

"I did find them..." Silver Pegasus Knight Vince shuddered slightly, clearly hesitant. "But General Barak, one of them is a Tier 11 Creature Dwelling—Unicorn Glade. That’s where the unicorns live. Maybe we should just leave it alone? Attacking a high-tier dwelling like that... it’s not just risky, it sends a whole different message."

"Unicorn Glade?"

ROAR!

"Where is it?! Speak!"

Before Vince could even finish, Chimera Barak cut him off with a thunderous roar.

Vince gave a bitter smile, clearly regretting bringing it up at all. But in the end, he raised a hand and pointed southwest. "That way."

"Then we move out. Now."

...

A few hours later, inside the grand hall at the top of Emerald Castle.

Cicero returned quietly, slipping in like a shadow.

"Cicero, how’d it go?" Ethan asked, turning toward him.

"Both the Green Dragons and the Emerald Dragons have their lairs really close to the Kingdom of the Night Elves’ Moonshade Castle," Cicero said, shaking his head. "Even if we tried a sneak attack, they’d be able to respond almost immediately."

"That so?" Ethan frowned, clearly not thrilled with the news.

His plan had been pretty straightforward: wait for a Green Dragon or Emerald Dragon from the Night Elves’ kingdom to stray too far from home, then strike fast and hard. Killing even one would be a serious blow to the Night Elves—perfect revenge, an eye for an eye.

But clearly, King Vaelion of the Night Elves wasn’t an idiot.

He’d made sure all the dragons’ lairs were close enough to the castle that they could be reinforced in minutes. That made a stealth attack nearly impossible.

And a head-on assault? Not even worth considering. They’d be slaughtered.

"But, Master," Cicero said suddenly, his tone shifting. "While I was undercover in Moonshade Castle, I stumbled across something... interesting."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. "What kind of something?"

"The Night Elves control three Dragonblood Crystal resource points," Cicero said slowly, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Dragonblood Crystal?" Ethan blinked, then his expression shifted to shock. "You mean the rare resource—Dragonblood Crystal?"

Rare resources were a tier above the six basic ones—far more valuable. You could trade hundreds of units of basic resources and still not get a single unit of a rare one.

And every rare resource had powerful uses.

Like the Magic Pattern Ore they’d found earlier—another rare type, likely magical in nature. It could be used to forge weapons and armor for mages, create magical effects, even build teleportation gates.

Its value was off the charts.

"Yeah," Cicero said slowly, his voice low and deliberate. "Dragonblood Crystal is one of our kind’s favorite things to eat."

He paused, then added with a glint in his eye, "But more importantly, it holds the power of evolution. If a dragon consumes it regularly over time, there’s a chance we can evolve."

"Evolve?!"

Hiss—

Ethan’s pupils shrank instantly. He sucked in a sharp breath, heart pounding like a war drum in his chest.

Evolution. That word hit like a lightning bolt.

In the world of Glory Lords X, evolution came in two forms. The first was unit-to-hero evolution—where regular units, hidden special units, or those with unique potential could ascend and become Unit Heroes.

The second was Tier evolution—like jumping from Tier 13 to Tier 14, or Tier 11 to Tier 12.

And either one? Incredibly rare. Incredibly powerful. The kind of thing people dreamed about but almost never saw.

And now Cicero was saying Dragonblood Crystal could trigger that?

That was insane.

If it was true, the value of Dragonblood Crystal wasn’t just high—it was off the charts. Practically priceless.

"Exactly. Evolution," Cicero confirmed with a nod. "Dragonblood Crystal is a delicacy for dragons, but it’s so rare that most of us have never even tasted it. I’ve only read about it in ancient texts."

He paused again, then leaned in slightly. "But while I was eavesdropping in Moonshade Castle, I overheard something big. The Kingdom of the Night Elves sends a shipment of Dragonblood Crystal to AvLee every few years. It’s part of the payment for leasing the Green and Emerald Dragons."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

"And the next shipment?" Cicero continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. "It’s scheduled for ten days from now."

"Ten days..." Ethan echoed, his gaze sharpening like a blade. "A shipment that important... there’s no way they’d send it lightly guarded. They’ll definitely assign a strong escort to protect it."

"Which means," he went on, thinking aloud, "that convoy will be crawling with Unit Heroes and Legendary Units. And probably more than just a few."