Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 986: The Order from the Abyss

As the order went out, the entire abyss began to tremble.

Auras rose from mountain ranges, river valleys, and cracks deep underground. One powerful figure after another shot into the sky, their forces brushing and colliding in the air as they gathered.

In just a few minutes—

The heavens were crowded with silhouettes.

Nearly every presence was terrifyingly strong. Among them were even several who had already stepped into Tier 33 and above.

The moment they saw the cockroach-shaped existence, everyone lowered their heads.

Then, in perfect unison, they dropped to their knees.

"Your Highness."

One of the powerhouses spoke with deep respect.

"We don't know what killed our lord."

He raised his head slowly.

"Where should we strike?"

In the endless abyss, above a dark throne carved from shadow itself, the roach-man Zerathrax hovered in silence.

Dark-red light flickered in his compound eyes, as if he were running a thousand cold calculations at once.

The air carried a strange energy pulse—the abyss's own native, murky power. And within that power, a familiar rhythm that should have been there was now completely gone.

It was The Nexaris Overlord Xarathos's life energy.

Zerathrax's brow creased. His sharp mouthparts clicked softly as they opened and closed.

He hadn't seen the battle. He couldn't sense the details of what had happened. But the energy tether inside him—the link that connected him to Xarathos—had snapped completely not long ago.

The sensation was like a pillar holding up the world collapsing without warning.

Dark air spiraled around him, and even space seemed to be waiting for his judgment.

While Zerathrax was still thinking, an urgent aura rushed in from the distance.

The next instant, a small but overwhelmingly powerful creature arrived in a blur. It looked like a gigantic ant—black carapace covering its body, tiny scraping sounds coming from its joints as it moved.

The moment it landed, it dropped to one knee.

"Your Highness!"

His voice trembled with excitement.

"The ant legion has fully assembled. Just give the order, and we can march at any time!"

He had barely finished when Zerathrax's compound eyes brightened.

A cold, eager feeling spread through him. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He reached out and seized the ant-man by the shoulder. That arm was plated in hard shell, and the grip was strong enough to make the air crack faintly.

"Good."

Zerathrax's voice was low and icy.

"I appoint you commander of the vanguard."

His compound eyes narrowed.

"Immediately lead the ant legion. Pull a portion of elite troops from Nexaris's main forces as well, and investigate the cause of The Nexaris Overlord Xarathos's death."

Halfway through, his tone sank even darker.

"Whoever killed him… I want the truth."

The ant-man didn't hesitate for even a breath.

He bowed his head in salute, then turned and hurried away.

Not long after, the abyss's black sky filled with densely packed armies.

Countless ant warriors formed ranks in the air, their shells reflecting a dim, dark-red sheen—like a slow-moving ocean of steel. With low horn calls rumbling through the darkness, the vanguard legion soon vanished into the far distance of the abyss.

Zerathrax remained where he was, hovering.

His compound eyes turned slowly toward the distant void.

Because he understood better than anyone—

Nexaris wasn't a normal world.

From the moment it was born, it had been split into two sides.

One side was the realm of light and order, ruled personally by The Nexaris Overlord Xarathos.

It held the largest legions, the most advanced technology, and the core strength of the entire civilization.

The other side was the region known as the Dark Abyss.

An endless world of darkness.

A place where everything lay in silence and slumber.

The abyss was ruled by Zerathrax.

Together, the two halves formed the complete Nexaris.

But the Dark Abyss didn't move lightly.

If Zerathrax hadn't personally sensed Xarathos's life aura vanish completely, he would never have mobilized armies on this scale.

But now, everything had changed.

The abyss was waking up.

Far away, beyond an entirely different starfield…

Ethan's army had already reached Nexaris.

As the fleet slowly passed through the spatial rift and appeared above the world, Ethan finally got his first clear look at the civilization's capital.

It was a city on a ridiculous scale.

A massive metal wall stretched from the horizon and disappeared into the distance. Hundreds of tall towers stabbed straight into the clouds, and atop each tower floated intricate energy mechanisms. Beams of light crisscrossed between districts, weaving into a colossal network that seemed to blanket the sky itself.

Ethan paused, genuinely caught off guard.

He'd seen plenty of cities. But something this grand—and this precise—was a first.

"Looks like Nexaris is even more advanced than I thought," he muttered.

Then he noticed something else that didn't sit right.

The entire city had almost no defenders.

The wide streets were empty. A lot of defensive systems were still active, but actual soldiers were few and far between.

Obviously—

After the earlier war, Nexaris had sent the vast majority of its forces out.

Ethan couldn't help the small smile.

"Guess we showed up at exactly the right time."

He lifted a hand.

The army behind him immediately began to advance.

Before long, the troops flowed into Nexaris's main city.

But the instant they stepped into the central district, a violent wave of energy suddenly erupted from all around them.

Figures burst from nearby buildings.

They moved fast—too fast for it to be spontaneous. They'd been waiting in ambush.

In seconds, they formed a tight encirclement, trapping Ethan's forces in the middle.

At the front stood a tall man.

He was built like a wall, and complex energy patterns shimmered across his skin. Most eye-catching of all was the blood-red energy gem embedded in his chest.

It looked like a burning heart.

Every "beat" sent out a powerful pulse that made the air vibrate.

The man took a slow step forward.

Pressure rolled over the area instantly.

"Who are you?" His voice was low and authoritative. "To trespass into Nexaris's capital…"

His gaze pinned Ethan.

"Are you tired of living?"

Ethan's expression cooled.

White lightning surfaced around his body in faint arcs.

The energy in the air began to tremble.

The next second—

Ethan raised a hand.

Heavenly Demon Lightning detonated.

A blinding bolt shot from his palm like a roaring thunder dragon, tearing straight toward the man.

The man clearly hadn't expected Ethan to attack without a word.

His pupils shrank.

On instinct, he mobilized every ounce of power in his body.

The blood-red gem flared violently.

Energy surged around him, condensing into a thick defensive barrier.

But—

When the white lightning actually slammed into that shield, the result was nothing like what he expected.

Crack.

A crisp, brittle sound rang out.

That "solid" barrier shattered like glass in front of Heavenly Demon Lightning.

The violent thunder kept driving forward.

The man didn't even have time to bark a second command—

He was blasted off his feet.

The next instant—

Boom!

His body smashed into the trunk of a massive metal tree in the distance, then slid down like a puppet with its strings cut.

The air fell into a brief, stunned silence.