Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 183: Now comes phase two

From where he was standing, Ethan could clearly see—

Elyra’s spell this time—Divine Storm—wasn’t particularly powerful in terms of raw damage, but its range was massive, and the control it offered was insane.

Which meant, as long as her mana held out, Elyra could single-handedly hold off the entire army of Unicorns and War Unicorns.

That gave the rest of the team a golden opportunity to go in for the kill.

Whoosh!

Right then, Cicero made his move.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!

A deafening roar cracked through the sky. Ethan looked up just in time to see a massive storm domain tear open above them—lightning flashing, thunder crashing, tornadoes howling like wild beasts. The whole thing looked like the wrath of nature itself unleashed.

And in the blink of an eye, the storm swallowed up three Legendary Units—Green Dragons—dragging them into its heart.

"Sacred Realm..." Ethan muttered under his breath.

Cicero’s Sacred Realm had two forms.

The first was the forest form they’d seen before—defensive, and nearly immune to magic. A nightmare for any high-level mage.

But this second form—the one now raging in the sky—was the storm form. Its core power came from the raw fury of nature: wind, lightning, thunder.

And storms like this could evolve into full-blown tornadoes, lightning storms—

Even thunder-tornadoes.

Devastating. Cataclysmic.

This was Cicero going all in. No more holding back. He was unleashing everything he had.

BOOM!

ROAR! ROAR! ROOOAAAR—!

From the outside, it was impossible to see what was happening inside the Sacred Realm. The storm was too thick, too violent. But it only lasted a few minutes.

Then—two mangled Green Dragon corpses came crashing down from the sky, slamming into the ground with bone-shattering force.

At the same time, the Sacred Realm slowly faded away.

And there was Cicero, standing tall, blood dripping from his claws.

The last Green Dragon had been torn in half—literally. One half in each hand.

Blood soaked his arms. Flesh hung in tatters.

"It’s... it’s over..." Kaelen, the Bladedancer Elf hero, whispered, his voice trembling.

His face had gone completely pale.

In just that short span of time, the Kingdom of the Night Elves had lost seven Green Dragons and nearly ten Emerald Dragons.

It was a massacre. A total bloodbath.

And the worst part?

There was no escape.

They were trapped.

Whether it was the Behemoth clan or Seraphina and her team, their speed far outclassed that of the standard Green Dragons and Emerald Dragons.

And to make matters worse, the Night Elves had made the wrong call from the very beginning—they chose to run. They lost their fighting spirit.

That gave the enemy complete control of the battlefield from the start.

In war, even if both sides are evenly matched in strength, the moment fear creeps into your heart, you’ve already lost.

Now, even if they wanted to turn around and fight to the death, it was too late.

There was no chance left.

Because the forces they had left weren’t even enough to fill the gaps in the Behemoth clan’s teeth, let alone pose a real threat.

"You... why are you attacking us?!" Pegasus Knight hero Hadrian shouted, his voice echoing across the battlefield. He looked up at Ethan in the sky, then turned his gaze toward Balthazar, who was still tearing through the Emerald Dragons in the distance.

His face twisted with anger and disbelief.

"Lord of Emerald Castle, our Kingdom of the Night Elves has no grudge against you! Isn’t this going too far?!"

Ethan’s expression didn’t change. His voice was calm, almost cold. "Are you seriously trying to play the victim right now?"

"In just the past few days, your Kingdom of the Night Elves has raided dozens of our gold mines and resource points. You’ve taken nearly forty Creature Dwellings. And among them? Three were Tier 11 dwellings. So you tell me—why shouldn’t I attack you?"

"That’s impossible!" Kaelen, the Bladedancer Elf hero, turned pale. "Lord of Emerald Castle, there must be some kind of misunderstanding. Our Kingdom of the Night Elves never intended to go to war with you."

"Oh really?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, a faint chill flashing in his eyes. "Then what about your Chimera hero, Barak?"

"That bastard’s been having the time of his life rampaging through my territory these past few days."

"General Barak?!" Kaelen’s pupils shrank. His face froze.

And just like that, he shut up.

Because while most of their commanders wouldn’t dare act without orders, Barak was a different story.

Everyone knew Barak was one of the hardliners. He’d been itching for a fight, hoping to use this chaos to swallow up Emerald Castle and eliminate its two biggest threats—the Crimson Ultimate-ranked Green Dragon heroes.

In other words, Ethan might be telling the truth.

Barak had gone rogue. Without waiting for Vaelion’s approval, he’d launched a private assault on Emerald Castle.

And not just a small raid either.

He’d looted dozens of gold mines and resource points, seized nearly forty Creature Dwellings—and among them, three Tier 11 Royal Unit dwellings.

Everyone knew Tier 11 dwellings were strategic assets—high-tier treasures no faction would ever tolerate being touched.

Touching one was basically a declaration of war.

But Barak hadn’t just touched them.

He’d taken three.

Three!

What the actual fuck?!

"That brain-dead idiot!" Kaelen’s vision went dark with rage. He clenched his teeth so hard it looked like he might snap his jaw.

"Fucking moron!" he spat, trembling with fury.

Just then, Elyra seemed to have completely drained her mana. Backing away from the War Unicorns and regular unicorns, she shouted out in desperation:

"Someone help me! I’m out of magic—I can’t cast any more spells right now!"

ROAR!

BOOM!

With a powerful flap of his wings, Cicero soared in and landed right in front of her, shielding her from the enemy.

"Elyra, go to Master. Leave the rest to us."

"Yes, Cicero!"

Elyra nodded without hesitation. In a flash, she leapt into the air and flew toward Ethan. As she landed beside him, she looked a little sheepish.

"I’m sorry, Master... I’ve used up all my mana."

Ethan chuckled and gently ruffled her cheek.

"Silly girl, what are you apologizing for? We’ve been dominating this battle thanks to you!"

And he wasn’t just saying that to make her feel better.

Elyra had single-handedly held off fifty unicorns—fifty!—including elite 11th-tier unicorns and 12th-tier War Unicorns.

Do you know what that means?

To put it bluntly, without her holding that line, the rest of the enemy force—the Green Dragons and Emerald Dragons—might still have been strong, but compared to Seraphina, Cicero, Orryn, and Balthazar?

They weren’t even in the same league.

In other words, Elyra had, all by herself, thrown the entire Night Elf Kingdom’s elite escort force—tasked with protecting the Dragonblood Crystal—straight into the abyss.

If those fifty high-tier unicorns had joined the fight, sure, they might still have won in the end—but it would’ve been a hell of a lot messier. More casualties, more chaos, and way more risk.

"Really?" Elyra asked, eyes wide.

"Why would I lie to you? Of course it’s true."

"Hehe... that’s good to hear." Her face lit up with a goofy grin, clearly relieved.

She’d been worried Ethan might be disappointed in her.

But thankfully, all that fear? Totally unnecessary.

"Master, I don’t think they can hold out much longer," she said after a moment, glancing down at the battlefield below, her eyes gleaming.

"Yeah..." Ethan nodded, surveying the scene from above.

Of the ten Legendary Green Dragons from the Night Elf Kingdom, only three were still alive—Seraphina and the others had torn through the rest.

And over on Balthazar’s side, of the fifteen Emerald Dragons, fewer than five remained.

Meanwhile, on their side—the Emerald Castle forces?

Aside from a few Green Dragons and Behemoths with some moderate injuries, not a single unit had fallen.

This wasn’t just a win.

This was a landslide victory.

"Now comes phase two," Ethan murmured to himself.

In truth, stealing the Dragonblood Crystal and wiping out the Night Elf Kingdom’s Legendary Units—

That was just step one.

Everything up to this point had been carefully orchestrated to set the stage for what came next. The real plan. The one he’d been laying the groundwork for all along.

The only question now was—how was that other piece he’d set in motion doing?

Ethan glanced southeast, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

He was clearly waiting for something.

Meanwhile, the battle was wrapping up.

First, Seraphina and her Green Dragon legion finished off the last of the enemy’s ten Green Dragons—completely annihilated.

Then they swooped over to assist Balthazar and the Behemoth clan, helping them crush the remaining Emerald Dragons—wiping them out to the last.

Finally, the whole squad regrouped and rushed to back up Cicero.

And with overwhelming force, they tore through the final wave—those fifty 11th-tier unicorns and 12th-tier War Unicorns—like a storm ripping through dry leaves.

Just like that, the battle was over.

Emerald Castle had claimed total victory.

And not just a win—a flawless, crushing triumph.

As for casualties?

Aside from a handful of Green Dragons and Behemoths who’d taken some moderate hits, not a single unit had died.

And in this world—Glory Lords X—injuries were no big deal.

Getting hurt was as common as eating or drinking. Just part of the job.

As long as you didn’t die, you were golden.

In other words, no deaths meant no real losses.

"Auremax, let’s head down," Ethan said calmly.

"Yes, Master."

The Gold Dragon Auremax nodded and began his descent toward the battlefield below.

At the same time, Cicero, Seraphina, and the others had already surrounded the two enemy heroes—Hadrian, the Pegasus Knight, and Kaelen, the Bladedancer Elf.

RUMBLE!

"Master, what should we do with them?" Cicero asked once Auremax landed beside him. "Should we just kill them?"

The moment those words left his mouth, both Hadrian and Kaelen flinched.

They didn’t say a word, but a flicker of emotion passed through their eyes—something that looked suspiciously like... hope?

Because for them, death wasn’t the end.

They could be resurrected.

If Ethan killed them now, their souls would return to the Night Elf Kingdom’s Castle Heart, where they could be revived at the Hero Altar. Sure, they’d lose a level or two, but that was a small price to pay compared to being captured and used as pawns.

But before that hopeful thought could even fully form in their minds—

Ethan crushed it.

He shook his head and said coolly, "No. Keep them alive. They’re worth more to me breathing than dead."

Kaelen’s face went pale. "Lord of Emerald Castle, this is all a misunderstanding—"

"Save it," Ethan cut him off without a hint of interest. "You think I’m gonna listen to excuses after I’ve already made my move against you?"

Kaelen froze, his words dying in his throat.

Then, like a balloon losing air, he deflated completely. Shoulders slumped, voice low and bitter, he muttered, "Then what the hell do you want from us?"