Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 184: A little trick

"Where’s the Dragonblood Crystal?" Ethan asked coolly, his tone calm but unmistakably firm.

Kaelen, the Bladedancer Elf hero, visibly flinched. "How do you kno—" His face went pale, but he quickly gave up trying to lie or resist. With a resigned sigh, he handed over a chest. "It’s all here. Every last Dragonblood Crystal."

He hesitated for a moment, then fixed Ethan with a deep, intense stare. "Lord of Emerald Castle... you’d better think this through. If you really take the Dragonblood Crystal, there’s no going back. Some lines, once crossed, can’t be uncrossed."

"Sure, you’ve taken out fifteen of our Emerald Dragons, ten Green Dragons, and fifty unicorns and War Unicorns. That’s a heavy blow, no doubt. But even after all that, Emerald Castle still isn’t a match for the Kingdom of the Night Elves."

Kaelen’s voice hardened, his eyes narrowing. "Let me give you a word of advice, Lord of Emerald Castle—what you’re doing is suicide. You’re playing with fire, and you’re gonna get burned—"

WHAM!

Before he could finish, Seraphina lashed out with a claw, slamming it into Kaelen with brutal force.

CRACK!

SPURT!

A sickening crunch echoed as blood sprayed across the ground. Kaelen was sent flying, crashing to the dirt in a heap. The sound of bones snapping echoed in the air—who knew how many had broken?

"ROAR!!"

Seraphina let out a furious snarl, her face twisted with rage.

"Say one more word of that crap, and I’ll rip you apart!"

Kaelen trembled, his face drained of color. But even as he coughed up blood, he gritted his teeth and forced himself upright, glaring defiantly. "Go ahead then... kill me if you’ve got the guts..."

SMACK!

Another gust of wind, another savage claw strike—

THWACK!

SPURT!!!

A vicious slash tore through the air, blood flying as Seraphina’s claws ripped into him again. The ground was soaked in red. Her eyes burned crimson, her breath thick with seething Draconic Force, waves of dragonfire rolling off her in waves.

She glared at Kaelen with pure, murderous intent. If Ethan hadn’t been standing right there, hadn’t said a word yet, she would’ve already torn this arrogant little insect limb from limb.

"That’s enough, Seraphina," Ethan said, stepping in and gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "The angrier you get, the more satisfaction he gets out of it."

"But Master, he’s way too full of himself!" Seraphina growled, still fuming.

Ethan chuckled softly. "Then let me teach you a little trick to wipe that smug look off his face."

"What trick?" she asked, eyes still blazing.

"Strip him naked and hang him from the front gate of Emerald Castle. That’ll shut him up."

Ethan’s voice was calm, his expression unchanged from start to finish. But the moment those words left his mouth, Kaelen’s entire demeanor shattered. His eyes went wide, his face drained of all color.

"No—you can’t do that!"

"You... you..."

The defiance in his eyes vanished, replaced by raw panic. Fear.

He never imagined that a noble lord like Ethan would stoop to something so humiliating... so shameless. And yet, he couldn’t deny it—this tactic, as low as it was, would work.

If he really got stripped and hung up like that for days in front of the castle gates...

That would be worse than death. Far worse.

The moment that thought crossed Kaelen’s mind, all the fight drained out of him.

He lowered his head, voice trembling with forced humility. "Lord of Emerald Castle... I apologize for my earlier behavior..."

Ethan didn’t even glance at him. Instead, he strolled casually over to the chest containing the Dragonblood Crystal and flipped it open.

Ding!

A system notification chimed in his ear.

"Congratulations, player Valkarion, for discovering a special resource — Dragonblood Crystal, 500 units!"

"Five hundred units?" Ethan blinked in surprise.

Then, a flicker of excitement lit up in his eyes.

Dragonblood Crystal wasn’t just any resource—it was one of the rarest, far more valuable than the six basic resources. Normally, even hundreds of units of basic resources couldn’t trade for a single unit of something this rare.

Which meant... these 500 units of Dragonblood Crystal were worth the equivalent of fifty thousand units of basic resources.

Fifty thousand!

That was insane.

He’d hit the jackpot.

As Ethan reached into the chest and pulled out a piece of the Dragonblood Crystal, he turned it over in his hand, examining it closely.

The crystal was a deep, blood-red hue, pulsing faintly with an ancient, profound Draconic Force. Just by holding it, he could feel the energy resonating with his own bloodline—his Draconic Force stirring restlessly inside him.

In other words... this stuff wasn’t just valuable—it might actually be useful to him personally.

At the same time, a detailed description of the item appeared in his vision:

Dragonblood Crystal — Special Resource.

Legend says these crystals were stained by the blood of a Dragon King. They contain a unique power that, in extremely rare cases, can trigger the evolution of a dragon’s bloodline—unlocking even greater strength.

"So it really can evolve a dragon’s bloodline... Damn, this stuff’s incredible."

Ethan let out a low whistle of appreciation, then carefully placed the crystal back into the chest. He closed the lid and handed the whole thing over to Cicero.

"Cicero, take this back and handle the distribution."

In the world of Glory Lords X, basic resources could be stored directly in the system inventory. But special resources like this? No such luck. They had to be physically carried and stored.

"Understood," Cicero nodded, taking the chest and securing it.

Then Ethan turned, his gaze settling on the silent Pegasus Knight, Hadrian.

"And you?" he asked, voice calm but firm. "You gonna surrender, or keep being stubborn? Pick one."

"I surrender!" Hadrian blurted out without hesitation.

He’d seen enough to know exactly what kind of man the Lord of Emerald Castle was—cold, efficient, and absolutely ruthless.

Resist?

Kaelen had tried that. Look where it got him—beaten bloody and humiliated.

No thanks.

Better to surrender now and wait for Vaelion to come bail them out later.

"You’re smarter than he is," Ethan said with a faint smirk. He turned and climbed onto Seraphina’s back, raising a hand.

"Let’s go. Time to head home."

"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! ROAR..."

...

A few days later, the news that Emerald Castle had completely wiped out one of the Kingdom of the Night Elves’ elite armies reached Moonshade Castle.

When King Vaelion heard it, he lost it.

Completely.

The throne room shook with his fury as he roared in rage, his voice echoing through the halls.