Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 215: Declare war

"...And besides..."

Right then, the Naga Swordsman hero, Thalric, spoke again, his voice low and deliberate.

There was a flicker of greed deep in his eyes.

"Even in the worst-case scenario—if that Kirin egg really can’t hatch—so long as the Crimson Ultimate hero’s Primordial Force is still intact inside, we can’t just walk away from it."

Sure, stealing a Crimson Ultimate hero’s Primordial Force from another Crimson Ultimate hero was a reckless move—borderline idiotic, even.

The cost-benefit ratio was terrible. You’d waste a ton of that precious energy just trying to extract it.

But still...

No one could deny that even this so-called foolish tactic was enough to tempt a lot of people—especially orange-tier Legendary heroes.

Tempt them? Hell, it made them greedy. Desperate. Willing to throw themselves into the fire for a shot at it.

Why? novelbuddy.cσ๓

Simple.

Because in the world of Glory Lords X, a hero’s Tier was practically set in stone. Moving up was damn near impossible. But the Primordial Force of a Crimson Ultimate hero? That was one of the rare, almost mythical ways to break through those limits.

Take Thalric himself, for example.

He was already an S-rank orange-tier Legendary hero. But if he could get his hands on even a small amount of that Primordial Force, he could evolve—easily—into an SSS-rank orange-tier Legendary hero.

And that? That was the peak. The absolute top of the food chain—just one step below the Crimson Ultimate heroes themselves.

That’s why, even knowing full well how dangerous it was to mess with a Crimson Ultimate hero, Thalric had no intention of backing down.

He wanted that Kirin egg.

He wanted to crack it open and rip the Primordial Force out of it.

Use it to push himself to SSS-rank.

As for becoming a Crimson Ultimate hero himself? He didn’t even dare to dream that far. He knew better. That wasn’t just about stealing some energy—it involved layers of complexity, things far beyond his reach.

Bottom line?

If you thought you could become a Crimson Ultimate hero just by stealing some Primordial Force...

Forget it. Not happening.

"..."

At that moment, Elandor XVII shot Thalric a long, knowing look.

Yeah. He’d figured out exactly what Thalric was after.

But he didn’t say anything.

For one, they didn’t even have the Kirin egg yet—no point arguing over something that wasn’t in their hands.

And two?

Even though he was the king, Elandor XVII knew damn well that in the Crimsonstar Kingdom, the one who really called the shots... was Thalric.

In the world of Glory Lords X, power ruled.

Unless he wanted to go to war with Thalric outright, Elandor had to play it smart.

Challenge him head-on? That’d be suicide.

With a sigh, Elandor XVII turned to another Naga Swordsman—this one a Tier 11 warrior from the deep-sea Naga clans who bore a striking resemblance to Thalric.

His voice dropped into a commanding tone.

"Tarneth. I’m putting this in your hands."

"Take thirty Tier 14 Kirin and head to the Stellamaris Kingdom’s dimensional rift. Find the lord who commands the Green Dragon hero. Tell him this—Stellamaris must fall. And that Kirin egg? He’s handing it over."

Then Elandor’s tone turned cold, sharp as ice.

"If he refuses... then we’ll settle it on the battlefield."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Naga Swordsman called Tarneth gave a firm nod, rose to his feet, and left without another word.

...

"My Lord, the envoy from the Crimsonstar Kingdom has arrived!"

Inside the Stellamaris Kingdom’s pocket dimension, Queen Thalassa rushed in, her face pale with worry as she delivered the news.

"Crimsonstar Kingdom’s envoy?" Ethan echoed casually, barely glancing up.

So, they finally showed up.

He’d been expecting this.

Without missing a beat, he said calmly, "Where is he? Bring him in."

"He’s... he’s just outside the dimensional gate," Thalassa stammered, clearly rattled. "But, my lord... maybe you should go out and see for yourself."

That made Ethan pause.

His brows drew together slightly.

She was spooked. And Thalassa wasn’t the type to panic easily.

Without another word, Ethan turned and strode toward the exit of the pocket dimension.

—

Outside, the dimensional gate opened onto a seemingly ordinary island.

But what greeted Ethan was anything but ordinary.

The entire area—stretching out for nearly 200 miles in every direction—was caught in a violent, apocalyptic display of power.

Towering waves, thousands—no, tens of thousands—of feet high, rose and crashed in a relentless rhythm, churning the sea like a living storm.

The sky was nearly blotted out by the sheer scale of it.

And at the center of this chaos, the island stood alone, surrounded on all sides by the wrath of the ocean.

It wasn’t just a show of force.

It was a warning.

A threat.

And in the heart of those raging waters, Ethan saw them—dozens of Sacred Kirin, each one radiating terrifying power, their cold, intelligent eyes locked onto him.

They weren’t just beasts.

They were weapons.

[Sacred Kirin]

Tier: 14

Race: Kirin

HP: 21,000

Attack: 188

Defense: 167

Damage: 289–333

Magic Damage: 256–310

Innate Abilities:

Stormburst Rain – A devastating area-of-effect magic attack. Wherever they go, the storm follows.

Tideform – Can shift between physical form and water-elemental spirit at will.

Water Magic Immunity – Immune to all water-based magic below Tier 5.

Watersurge Empowerment – While in or near a body of water, all stats are massively boosted. Minimum 15%, max 60%. Currently at full 60% boost.

Tsunami – Sacred Kirin can command the sea itself, unleashing cataclysmic tsunamis. Their tsunami abilities stack—up to 30 Kirin. When fully stacked, the destructive force reaches the level of Tier 4 Magic.

Ethan let out a low breath.

"...Shit."

"Tier 4 Magic?"

Ethan hadn’t really taken a close look at the Sacred Kirin’s stats before—he’d just kind of skimmed over them. But now that he was actually paying attention... even he couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

"Holy shit..."

Tier 4 Magic.

He didn’t need to guess how powerful that was—just look at Cicero. Even with all the strength Cicero had now, he still couldn’t cast Tier 4 spells.

Which meant, to put it bluntly—

Tier 4 Magic was stronger than Cicero himself.

Before Ethan could process that fully, a voice rang out—low, a little cold, and dripping with arrogance.

"Which one of you is the Lord of Emerald Castle?"

Ethan turned toward the sea beyond the island—and his eyes widened.

Something massive was rising from the water, waves crashing and roaring around it like thunder.

A towering figure emerged, glistening with seawater—an 11th Tier Naga Swordsman hero.

[Tarneth]

Subordinate of King Elandor XVII of the Crimsonstar Kingdom

Level: 53

Race: Deep Sea Naga

Tier: Orange Legendary Hero

Class: Naga Swordsman

Attack: 245

Defense: 188

Spell Power: 71

Knowledge: 33

HP: 32,000

Damage: 313–457

...

Overall Rating: C-rank Orange Legendary Hero

"Damn... he’s this close to a second awakening?" Ethan muttered, scanning the stats.

Then he looked up, his voice calm but firm. "I’m the Lord of Emerald Castle. If you’ve got something to say, say it. What does Crimsonstar Kingdom want with me?"

Tarneth narrowed his eyes, his tone forceful. "I’m here on behalf of His Majesty, King Elandor XVII of Crimsonstar Kingdom."

"A royal decree?" Ethan’s brow furrowed, his expression cooling.

Big words for someone standing on my doorstep...

"That’s right," Tarneth said with a nod, his gaze locked on Ethan, voice full of pride. "And the king’s orders are simple."

"First—those remnants of the Stellamaris Kingdom you’re sheltering? You can’t protect them. They must die."

"Second—that Kirin egg? You’re handing it over."

"Do that, and Crimsonstar Kingdom will let this go. But if you don’t..."

His tone dropped, voice turning cold and sharp as a blade. "Then you’ll have to deal with the consequences."

He paused, then let out a low chuckle, his expression twisting into a mocking smirk.

"I know it’s not what you want to hear, but hey—reality doesn’t care about your feelings. Take your time. Think it over."

"After all, Crimsonstar Kingdom isn’t some weak little Stellamaris."

ROAR!

As if on cue, Tarneth let out a thunderous roar—and it was like a signal.

From the depths of the ocean, Sacred Kirin began to rise—14th Tier beasts, one after another, their sheer presence shaking the sea itself.

BOOM!

The ocean trembled, waves crashing violently as the Kirin emerged, each one radiating terrifying power.

They marched forward, hooves pounding the water’s surface like war drums, until they stood behind Tarneth—silent, imposing, and deadly.

Their eyes locked onto Ethan, cold and unblinking.

"Heh..."

Tarneth, the Naga Swordsman Hero, let out another low chuckle, looking down at Ethan with a smug, condescending smile.

"Lord of Emerald Castle," he said coolly, "you’ve seen the power of Crimsonstar Kingdom for yourself. Just these thirty 14th-Tier Sacred Kirin alone... that should be enough to make you feel hopeless, shouldn’t it?"

"And this?" He gestured behind him, to the towering beasts and the churning sea. "This is only a fraction of what Crimsonstar Kingdom has to offer."

"Let me spell it out for you. We’ve got three Orange-tier Legendary Heroes. Nearly fifty 14th-Tier Mythic Units. And hundreds of 13th-Tier Legendary Units. If you really think you can stand against us, I promise you—there’s only one outcome for you and your people."

"You’ll all die."

"Die, huh?" Ethan’s voice dropped, cold as ice, a chill creeping across his face.

"Well then... let’s find out."

He stared hard at Tarneth for a long moment, then his expression smoothed out, calm and unreadable.

"Go back and tell your king," Ethan said flatly. "No more threats. I’ll see him on the battlefield."

"You—!" Tarneth’s arrogance shattered in an instant. His face twisted, the color draining from it, then flushing back in waves of red and purple.

"Lord of Emerald Castle... are you serious?" he asked, voice tight, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Ethan tilted his head slightly, eyes sharp. "What do you think?"

"I don’t know who gave you the balls to come here and talk to me like that," he said, voice low and dangerous. "But fine. If that’s how you want to play it..."

"Then let’s make it official."

"I, Ethan, Lord of Emerald Castle—"

"Hereby declare war on Crimsonstar Kingdom."

His words cut through the air like a blade, cold and absolute.

Tarneth’s face twisted again, his composure cracking completely.

And just then, a familiar chime echoed in Ethan’s ears.

Ding!

Congratulations, player ’Valkarion’, you have successfully triggered the third stage of the special hidden chain quest: "Awakening of the Kirin."

Objective: Crush the ambitions of Crimsonstar Kingdom.

Quest Details: Unknown (explore to uncover).

Difficulty: SS-Rank.

Time Limit: None.

Quest Progress: 3/3.

This is the final stage of the special hidden chain quest.

Special Notice: SS-Rank quests are extremely difficult. Please prepare accordingly. Proceed with caution...

Ethan’s expression darkened slightly, his eyes narrowing.

SS-Rank... and it’s the final stage?

...