Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 201: A chance to start over

In the world of Glory Lords X, the seas and the land alike are plagued by a mysterious phenomenon known as the Demon Fog. Once it rolls in, the area it covers becomes completely obscured—unless you’ve got some rare magical means or specialized tools, you can’t see a damn thing through it.

That’s exactly why the Demon Fog zones out at sea have become the perfect natural hideouts for pirates. Like a curtain drawn over their secrets, it keeps them safe from prying eyes.

But the ocean’s no playground. It’s crawling with mutated deep-sea monsters, elite combat units, and relentless natural disasters. And when you throw the Demon Fog into the mix? It’s like giving a tiger wings—deadlier than ever.

Anyone foolish enough to charge in blindly is basically signing their own death warrant. Best-case scenario? You crawl out with heavy losses.

Just like Draven, the three Pirate Kings who haunt the coastal waters near the Unicorn Duchy have all stashed their main bases deep within the Demon Fog. It’s the perfect cover.

And they’re not stupid—they’ve got multiple hideouts scattered around, just in case. Never put all your treasure in one chest, right?

Take Darek, for example—he’s the most elusive of the three Pirate Kings. Even Draven and the third king, Seyric, have no clue where Darek’s real base is. Every place they’ve seen? Just decoys. Disposable outposts he can abandon at a moment’s notice.

Right now, Draven’s fleet is cutting through the waves, heading straight into the heart of the Demon Fog.

On the deck, Ethan stood with a half-smile, watching Draven sweat bullets.

"Three Legendary-tier Kirin units, twenty Tier-12 Royal Naga Swordmasters, and fifty Tier-11 Royal Naga Swordsmen. And that’s just part of your forces? Damn, I gotta say—I didn’t expect you to be packing this much heat." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

He wasn’t wrong to be impressed. Draven had already lost two Kirin to Ethan, and yet he still had three more? That meant this wasn’t even the full extent of his power.

Add in those elite Naga units, and it was no wonder Lucan—the Marquis of the Unicorn Duchy himself—was wary of Draven. Maybe even afraid.

With this kind of force, Draven could seriously threaten the Duchy’s coastal defenses. As long as he avoided direct confrontation and stuck to hit-and-run tactics, he’d be a nightmare to deal with. A festering thorn in their side.

"L-Lord Ethan, I swear, this is all I’ve got left!" Draven stammered, his face pale and drenched in sweat. "If you take everything, Darek and the others are gonna get suspicious!"

He was terrified Ethan might snatch his remaining Kirin too. If that happened, he’d be screwed.

Sure, he still had a decent number of Tier-11 and Tier-12 Royal Units, but let’s be real—those alone aren’t enough to turn the tide in a major naval battle.

Only Legendary Units can do that. They’re the real trump cards. The backbone of any serious power.

And right now, Draven’s Legendary Units were barely enough to count on one hand.

"Relax," Ethan said, shaking his head with a calm smile. "If I wanted to take them, I would’ve done it already. I’m not here for that... not yet."

He paused, then asked, "What about Darek and Seyric? What kind of forces are they working with?"

"Seyric?" Draven scoffed. "He’s a joke."

"Only got one Epic-tier hero under his command—purple grade. If he hadn’t lucked out and stumbled across a Tier-12 Wyvern Monarch dwelling in the Demon Fog, he wouldn’t even qualify as a Pirate King. No way he deserves to be ranked alongside me or Darek."

He hesitated for a moment, then his expression turned a little more serious.

"Now, Darek... he’s a different story. He’s got an orange-grade Legendary hero under him. Hasn’t gone through a second awakening yet, but still—he’s insanely powerful."

"An orange Legendary?" Ethan blinked, genuinely surprised.

That was rare. For someone at Draven’s level to have access to an orange-grade Legendary hero? That was no small feat.

Even in established kingdoms—hell, even in the most powerful empires—an orange Legendary hero would be a big deal. They’d hold real power, maybe even a seat at the top.

So why the hell would someone like that waste their talents playing pirate, constantly on the run and hunted by everyone?

It didn’t make sense.

"Yeah..."

Draven nodded, his voice low but steady. "Word is, that orange-grade Legendary hero used to be one of Darek’s top lieutenants—someone he brought back from an alternate dimension. And get this—they’re from a rare, Tier-9 hidden unit: the Tideborn Spirit."

"Tideborn Spirit?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is that?"

Draven leaned in slightly, his tone turning a bit more animated. "It’s a mutated evolution of the Wavecaller Spirit, which is an 8-Tier unit from the Tidesworn faction. The Tideborn can manipulate seawater—create whirlpools, even summon massive tidal waves. On the open sea, they’re one of the most cost-effective units you can get."

"And when you’ve got enough of them grouped together, they can channel the ocean’s power to go toe-to-toe with even higher-tier units. Combine that with a Legendary hero who specializes in commanding them, and Darek’s Tideborn army becomes damn near unstoppable at sea. No one wants to mess with that." Draven’s voice carried a mix of awe and envy.

But Ethan? He wasn’t impressed.

Sure, controlling whirlpools and tidal waves sounded flashy. Devastating, even. But it didn’t change the fact that the unit was still just Tier-9.

And in the world of Glory Lords X, tier suppression was no joke. It was the most brutal, unforgiving mechanic in the game. Period.

No matter how fancy your abilities were, if you were out-tiered, you were screwed. End of story.

So to Ethan, Draven’s praise sounded more like the ramblings of someone who hadn’t seen real power. Just hyping himself up to feel better.

"Alright, what else?" Ethan asked, his tone casual but sharp. "How many Legendary Units does Darek actually have?"

"At least ten," Draven answered without hesitation, his voice firm. Then he added, "And his Tier-11 and Tier-12 Royal Units? Easily over a hundred."

Ethan didn’t respond right away, but his brow furrowed slightly.

Ten-plus Legendary Units. Over a hundred high-tier Royal Units. And that was just Darek. Add in Seyric, plus the Inferno Devils lurking around...

That was no small force.

It wasn’t enough to shake the world, but it was definitely enough to cause serious problems—especially in the chaos of the Demon Fog seas.

Then, as if sensing an opportunity, Draven’s eyes flickered with something—hope, maybe desperation.

"My lord..." he said suddenly, voice low and cautious. "If I were to pledge myself to you... would you be willing to let the past go? Give me a chance to start over?"

He looked up at Ethan, sweat still clinging to his brow, but his gaze was steady now. Pleading, but not pathetic.

He knew he was gambling everything on this moment.

...