Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 916: Then Come Stop Me

Ethan didn't hesitate. He slowly extended his hand into the glowing lake.

The moment his fingers touched the surface—

A surge of energy roared up his arm like a flood. His meridians and internal circuits lit up instantly, ignited by the raw power pouring into him.

Idra and Auri reacted almost immediately.

The two little girls seemed unusually attuned to this energy. They absorbed it joyfully, their auras climbing fast. Their levels rose in real time, and their internal stability improved noticeably.

At the same time, Ethan's own Tier spiked upward.

His power grew denser, more refined. Control sharpened. Every movement felt tighter, cleaner.

But deep inside him, Lily remained still.

She didn't absorb the energy at all. In fact, she seemed to recoil from it—subtly resisting, as if the lake's essence clashed with her very core.

Ethan took note of that.

Once the energy flow stabilized, he withdrew his hand and turned to face the others scattered across the mining zone.

"We're holding this place," he said, voice calm and firm.

"Deploy enough personnel to secure the site. Make sure no energy leaks. Prioritize transferring as much ore and raw power to the warship as possible."

The team responded in unison, quickly splitting up to handle their tasks.

Ethan didn't stop there. Around the perimeter of the mining zone, he began placing down multiple Creature Dwellings—laying the foundation for a sustainable troop production system.

The Nether Sea might be under their control in name, but true dominance was far from achieved.

Vast regions remained unexplored. And deeper still, beneath the sea's surface, lay a world they couldn't yet see—one that could strike back at any moment.

In this kind of environment, elite units alone wouldn't cut it.

They needed numbers.

A growing, self-sustaining army.

Without delay, Ethan entered one of the Creature Dwellings and began rapidly cultivating new soldiers—goblins, primarily, tailored for the terrain.

The glow of the mineral-rich mountain cast long shadows over the expanding front line.

...

Over the next two weeks, the Nether Sea was eerily quiet.

No strange energy surges. No enemy sightings from the outer patrols. On the surface, everything seemed to have settled.

But Ethan never let his guard down.

With the mine's constant energy supply, he kept expanding the army. The Creature Dwellings ran nonstop, churning out wave after wave of goblin units.

Under the influence of the energy-rich environment, these new troops evolved quickly. They developed elemental affinities, and even began forming stable flight structures—true aerial combat capability.

This wasn't just an army.

It was a force engineered specifically for the Nether Sea.

But the calm didn't last.

One morning, Feylora appeared before Ethan, her expression tight with urgency.

"Master, we've got a problem."

"High-altitude scouts just picked up an incoming Abyssal Harpy squadron. Judging by the formation size, it's almost certainly an assault."

Ethan's eyes snapped open, his aura tightening and condensing in an instant.

"Alert the troops. Full formation."

The newly summoned goblin army launched into the air, forming a defensive perimeter around the mining zone.

By the time Ethan stepped out of the command center, the horizon was already swallowed by a writhing mass of shadows.

A full Abyssal Harpy swarm.

They were far larger than typical aerial beasts. Each one had a grotesque purple eye embedded in its abdomen, constantly emitting unstable beams of energy that flickered and lashed out, probing the edges of space itself.

At the front of the formation hovered a figure that looked far more human than the rest.

Her upper body was humanoid, with jet-black wings unfurled behind her. In her hand, she held a twisted, alien-looking staff. Her presence was dense, dangerous—far beyond her kin.

Ethan steadied his breath and flew forward to meet her.

"This territory is mine now," he said calmly. "Why are you trespassing?"

The lead Abyssal Harpy narrowed her eyes. A wave of Nethora Power burst from her body, spreading in a corrosive ripple that enveloped Ethan.

"Your territory?" she sneered. "Our kind has lived in these waters for generations. We only left temporarily. And now we return to find you squatting on our land?"

Her tone was sharp, laced with pressure and provocation.

Ethan didn't respond right away.

His gaze drifted past her, toward the invisible boundary between the harpy formation and the mineral zone.

Not a single one of them had crossed it.

Not even a toe over the line.

That alone told him everything he needed to know.

He let out a quiet chuckle.

Then, with a casual wave, he signaled his troops to disperse and turned, flying slowly back toward the mountain—calm, unhurried, completely in control.

The lead harpy's expression shifted. Her voice rose, laced with frustration.

"What do you think you're doing? We're not finished here! You don't get to just walk away!"

Ethan paused midair, glanced over his shoulder, and said with open mockery:

"Then come stop me."

The air went still.

The lead harpy's breathing quickened, but she didn't move.

She knew better than anyone—

The Nether Sea's native species couldn't approach the mountain.

The energy radiating from the mineral zone clashed violently with their own. Crossing that boundary meant instant annihilation.

And now, Ethan had moved all his core forces, warships, and heavy artillery inside that zone.

Which meant—

The mountain was now a fully fortified stronghold. Untouchable.

As long as Ethan stayed inside, they couldn't lay a finger on him.

The harpy swarm hovering in the sky began to stir, unease rippling through their ranks.

For the first time, they could feel it—this world's rules weren't on their side.

Then, one of them snapped.

A harpy broke formation, wings flaring as she dove toward the mountain's edge, weapon raised.

The moment she crossed the boundary—

An invisible energy barrier flared to life.

BOOM.

She didn't even have time to scream. Her body disintegrated on contact, reduced to ash in a blink.

Only a faint ripple of energy remained in the air.

The entire swarm fell silent.

Not a single harpy dared move forward again.

The lead harpy's face darkened.

She'd heard rumors—someone had entered the mountain. She'd assumed the rejection field had weakened, that the rules had changed. That's why she'd brought her forces to test the waters, to seize the resource core.

But now she knew—

The rules hadn't changed.

Only Ethan was the exception.

After a long, tense pause, she finally spoke, voice cold as ice:

"Coward. If you've got any spine, leave the mountain."

"Face us in open battle."

"Hiding behind that power doesn't make you a hero."