Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 209: Queen

Ethan shot him a glance, then slowly turned to Draven and said, "Draven, take back the troops you lent me. Also, go clean up the battlefield."

"Yes, sir!" Draven straightened up, nodding immediately.

He was practically trembling with excitement.

He wasn’t afraid of Ethan giving him orders—hell, he was hoping for it!

To him, this was a sign.

Especially after witnessing Ethan’s true power with his own eyes...

Now, more than anything, he wanted to cling to Ethan’s massive leg like his life depended on it.

Because let’s be real—titles like "Pirate King" sound cool, but at the end of the day, it’s just a glorified rat scurrying around in the shadows. That kind of identity? Not worth much in the grand scheme of things. But becoming one of Ethan’s people? That was a whole different story.

Crimson Ultimate-class heroes, commanding elite units of terrifying strength...

That was the kind of power that built empires.

If he could get in now, ride this wave early, and Ethan really did rise to become the supreme ruler of a dominant nation one day, then Draven—Draven would be a founding father. A legend.

Who wouldn’t want that kind of future?

Meanwhile, flanked by Cicero and Auremax, Ethan walked past the purple Epic-ranked hero of the Stellamaris Kingdom, who was still bent over in a deep bow, and made his way toward the Coral Fortress.

It wasn’t long before he reached the top of the fortress walls.

[Coral Fortress (Stellamaris Kingdom)]

Type: Military Arcane Fortress

Level: Basic Fortress

Weapon Systems: 240 Arcane Cannons, 1,280 Arcane Particle Turrets, 120 Tidewatch Towers, 4 Dreadpiercer Cannons

Damage Types: Magical, Physical

Troop Capacity: 500,000

Durability: 500 million HP

Arcane Energy Reserve: ?

Main Cannon: Dreadpiercer Cannon

Main Cannon Damage: 271–350

Secondary Cannons: Arcane Cannons

Secondary Damage: 101–144

Tertiary Weapons: Arcane Particle Turrets

Damage: ...

Arcane Barrier Durability: 0/200 million (Completely Destroyed)

"Damn... this thing’s insane..."

Ethan couldn’t help but gape a little as he read through the fortress’s stats, clearly impressed.

For a basic-tier fortress, the Coral Fortress was packing some serious heat—easily on par with Tier-14 Mythic Units in terms of raw power. In other words, unless you had Tier-14 troops of your own, you’d have a hell of a time trying to take this thing down.

Especially those four Dreadpiercer Cannons mounted as the fortress’s main guns...

Their damage output was comparable to that of a hero unit before their second awakening.

That’s no joke.

If a real battle broke out, Ethan figured those cannons alone could dish out enough firepower to match a dozen Mythic Units.

Which meant, realistically, you’d need at least that many Mythic Units—or a literal army of expendable fodder—to even begin to withstand the fortress’s barrage and pose a threat.

And that’s not even counting the two hundred million durability of the Arcane Barrier, or the five hundred million HP of the fortress itself.

That kind of defense? That kind of endurance? Plus the sheer firepower?

This thing was a fortress in every sense of the word—offense and defense perfectly balanced, with almost no weaknesses. Unless you had overwhelming superiority, you’d be throwing yourself into a meat grinder.

And that... that was the true value of a fortress.

A nation’s final shield.

Of course, fortresses like this didn’t come cheap. Not even close. Building one, maintaining it, keeping it operational—it all required an astronomical amount of resources. The kind of cost that would make even a wealthy nation sweat.

Even a mid-tier country like the Unicorn Duchy, with decent overall strength, could barely afford to maintain three of these things—and all of them were just basic-tier.

As for the Stellamaris Kingdom? A shattered remnant of a once-great nation, already fallen once and barely holding on?

This single Coral Fortress was already bleeding them dry. They were on the verge of not being able to sustain it anymore.

But Ethan? Ethan was eyeing it like a kid in a candy store.

He didn’t care how much it cost—if it was powerful and got results, that was all that mattered.

Just then, a soft, cautious voice spoke up behind him.

"I am Thalassa, Queen of the Stellamaris Kingdom. I greet you, honored one. Thank you for coming to our aid and saving us in our time of crisis..."

Ethan turned his head and saw a young Tideborn Spirit hero standing before him. She carried herself with a regal air, but there was still a trace of inexperience in her eyes. She was bowing respectfully, holding the posture with practiced grace.

At the same time, her hero stats popped up in front of him.

[Thalassa Atlantis]

Current Queen of the Stellamaris Kingdom

Level: 46

Race: Tideborn Spirit (Tier 9)

Hero Tier: Epic (Purple)

Class: Ocean Mage

Attack: ...

Overall Rating: SSS-Rank Epic Hero (Purple)

"Another Tideborn Spirit hero?" Ethan blinked, a little surprised. He stepped forward and gently motioned for her to rise. "No need for formalities, Queen Thalassa."

He paused, then added, "Let me introduce myself. I’m Valkarion, Lord of Emerald Castle. Nice to meet you."

"A powerful and noble lord..." Thalassa’s eyes flickered with curiosity and a hint of awe. "It’s an honor to meet you, Lord Valkarion."

"Alright, that’s enough," Ethan cut her off mid-sentence, his tone calm but firm. "Queen Thalassa, let’s talk in private. Or, if there’s anyone else in Stellamaris Kingdom who actually has a say in things, bring them too."

He turned to the two standing nearby. "Cicero, Auremax—wait here."

With that, Ethan began walking toward the highest point of the Coral Fortress.

He wasn’t interested in exchanging pleasantries. Right now, the priority was figuring out how to deal with the inevitable counterattack.

Why was he so sure there’d be one?

Simple.

First, this was clearly a special hidden chain quest. That meant there had to be at least two or more stages to it. So far, they’d only completed the first. There was no way this was over.

Second, Draven had already told him something important earlier—

Pirate King Seyric wasn’t just some random sea dog. He was a planted piece, a pawn of the Crimsonstar Kingdom, stationed near the coastal waters of the Unicorn Duchy.

And Crimsonstar Kingdom? That was no joke.

The Unicorn Duchy was landlocked on three sides, with only a small southeastern coastline that opened to the sea. And just beyond that stretch of ocean? That’s where Crimsonstar Kingdom sat—an oceanic empire made up almost entirely of islands and open sea.

Their entire military was built around naval warfare. Every unit they fielded was ocean-based. Their sea power was so overwhelming that it would take the combined naval forces of three to five Unicorn Duchy-sized nations just to match them.

And more than that—Crimsonstar Kingdom was the one that orchestrated the fall of Stellamaris Kingdom in the first place. They were the ones who shattered it, who drove it into ruin.

They were the true enemy behind the curtain.

Which meant, thanks to Pirate King Seyric, Crimsonstar’s top brass probably already knew everything about what was happening here in this alternate dimension—and what was left of Stellamaris.

So why hadn’t they shown up in person?

Maybe they didn’t want to draw attention. Maybe they didn’t want to be mocked for taking a bunch of exiles seriously.

Or maybe... they just didn’t care.

To them, the remnants of Stellamaris were nothing more than scattered rats. Not even worth the effort of a full-scale invasion.

They probably figured that between the three Pirate Kings and the Inferno Devils, it’d be more than enough to wipe out whatever was left of Stellamaris in this pocket dimension.

Why get their hands dirty when someone else could do the job?

As for the Kirin Creature Dwellings hidden in this alternate space... sure, Crimsonstar Kingdom probably wanted them too. But that was a whole different beast.

That kind of prize? It was a double-edged sword. A hot potato no one wanted to hold for long.

Why?

Because, strictly speaking, this alternate dimension—the Arcane Mistsea—technically lies within the coastal waters of the Unicorn Duchy.

Which means it’s their territory.

Sure, the Unicorn Duchy might be weak at sea, but their land forces? That’s a whole different story—they’re no pushovers.

And their Legendary Units? Angels.

Angels don’t care if they’re fighting on land or sea—they dominate either way.

So, picking a fight with the Unicorn Duchy over a single Legendary-tier Creature Dwelling? That’d be a dumb move. Not worth it. Not when the cost could be a full-blown war with a land power that can actually hit back hard.

Meanwhile, Queen Thalassa of Stellamaris froze for a moment at Ethan’s words. Then she turned to an elderly merman standing beside her, her expression tightening.

"Mareth, come with me," she said quietly.

The old merman gave Ethan a long, thoughtful look, then slowly nodded. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

...

A few minutes later, at the very top of Coral Fortress—

"Mareth of the Merfolk, at your service, Lord Valkarion," the old man said, bowing deeply with practiced respect.

Ethan gave him a quick once-over, and immediately, a simplified hero stat panel appeared in his vision.

[Mareth Velsk]

Level: 53

Race: Merfolk

Tier: Epic (Purple)

Class: Merfolk Wisher (Tier 8)

Attack: ...

Overall Rating: C-Rank Epic Hero (Purple)

Ethan’s eyes flicked between the two of them. "So," he said, voice calm but sharp, "do you have anything worth saying?"

Thalassa and Mareth exchanged a glance. After a moment, the old merman stepped forward and began, "Honored Lord Valkarion, we are deeply grateful for your intervention on behalf of Stellamaris Kingdom—"

Ethan raised a hand, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"Save it," he said flatly. "I’m not here for thank-yous."