Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory
Chapter 330: Unless…

Chapter 330: Unless...

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Ethan’s breathing quickened. He locked eyes on the Ancient War Tree, Oakenmaw, and said, "Oakenmaw, give it your all. If you can get even stronger on your path toward becoming a Hero Unit, I’ve got a surprise waiting for you."

Honestly, even though he’d already recruited Oakenmaw a while ago, the guy had always felt... invisible.

Not just low-key—practically nonexistent.

But now, Ethan was starting to realize something: it was always the quiet ones. The ones who stayed in the background, didn’t make a fuss—those were the ones who ended up being real monsters in disguise.

Cicero was like that.

Auremax too.

And now, Oakenmaw was showing signs of being the same.

Good thing he could check evolution progress now... otherwise, who knows how long it would’ve taken to notice this hidden gem?

"I wonder just how far along Cicero is in his evolution..." Ethan muttered to himself, a strange feeling creeping up on him.

Just thinking about Cicero gave him this gut-deep hunch—like the guy’s progress might not just surprise him, but straight-up shock him.

"Rest assured, my Lord. I will give it everything I have," Oakenmaw replied, dropping to one knee with solemn respect. The guy really was the definition of humble.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a deafening roar of wind tore through the sky above.

Ethan looked up and saw Auremax descending from the clouds.

"My Lord..." the massive dragon landed in the center of the plaza, bowing his head low in reverence.

"How’d it go, Auremax?" Ethan asked.

"My Lord, the remaining eight Dungeon Lords have all gathered together. They’re on the move now—headed straight for Emerald Castle. Slowly, but steadily. Unless something changes, it’s safe to assume... they’re coming for us," Auremax reported, his voice low and grim.

"Just as I thought..." Ethan’s eyes narrowed, his expression darkening.

VMMM!

Right then, the magic portal nearby began to ripple with energy.

The air shimmered with spatial distortion, and moments later, several figures stepped through one after another. A closer look revealed them to be Seraphina, Cicero, Kyros, and Lilith.

"Master!"

"Master!"

"Master!"

"My Lord!"

As soon as they spotted Ethan, they rushed over and bowed respectfully.

Ethan’s gaze instinctively landed on Cicero—and then, his pupils contracted sharply.

He froze.

His face twisted into an expression of pure disbelief.

"What the hell..."

[Cicero Drahmoulis]

Gender: Male

Level: 49

Race: Green Dragon

Tier: Crimson Ultimate Hero

Hero Class: Green Dragon Deity

...

Overall Evaluation: B-Rank Crimson Ultimate Hero (99.99%)

"99.99%?"

"What the hell...? Are you serious?!"

Ethan was floored. He stood there, stunned, completely speechless for a long moment. Honestly, he’d already had a hunch that Cicero’s Primordial Force evolution progress would be high...

But this? This was insane.

99.99% evolution progress?

What even is that supposed to mean?

Was this the absolute cap for a B-Rank Crimson Ultimate Hero’s Primordial Force evolution?

That’s just... ridiculous.

But if he really had hit the ceiling, then why hadn’t Cicero evolved into an A-Rank Crimson Ultimate Hero yet?

Was he stuck at a bottleneck? Had he hit his growth limit?

Or was there something else going on?

"Master? Is something wrong?" Cicero asked, tilting his head slightly, clearly confused by Ethan’s reaction.

"No... it’s nothing," Ethan shook his head, forcing himself to push the flood of questions aside for now. He definitely planned to dig into this later, but this wasn’t the time or place. Better to talk in private.

With that thought, his gaze shifted over to Kyros.

[Kyros Atlantis]

Gender: Male

Level: 44

Race: Kirin

Tier: Crimson Ultimate Hero

Hero Class: Kirin

...

Overall Evaluation: B-Rank Crimson Ultimate Hero (68%)

Kyros’s Primordial Force evolution progress was at 68%. Honestly, that was pretty damn good—especially considering he was only level 44 and still a ways off from his second awakening.

But compared to Cicero?

Ethan couldn’t help it—Kyros’s numbers suddenly felt... average. Like, painfully average.

Just totally unremarkable.

"Cicero, Kyros, Lilith—welcome home," Ethan said, shaking his head to clear it and offering them a warm smile. "Everything settled with Crimsonstar Kingdom?"

"Honored Master," Cicero replied calmly, "as per your command, we’ve successfully taken control of Crimsonstar Kingdom. I’ve left Thalassa behind to handle the cleanup and stabilize the region... everything’s under control for now. However, there’s something important I need to report."

"Something important?" Ethan blinked, instantly alert. "Go ahead—what is it?"

He knew that if Cicero was calling it a big deal, it had to be serious. Maybe even more serious than the looming final battle with Sylvanwood. Whatever it was, Ethan was all ears.

"The war between the sea factions has fully erupted—it’s spread across the entire ocean," Cicero said grimly. "But the Tidesworn faction... they’re getting absolutely crushed by the Inferno Devils. Just a few days ago, I received a report from Astharel, over in the Gemspire Kingdom..."

He paused, then continued, voice low and serious.

"The Tidesworn forces and the Infernal Legions clashed in a massive battle near the Third Forbidden Sea, right off the coast of the Greenwave Empire."

"But the result? A total disaster. The Tidesworn were defeated—completely—within a matter of hours."

"And it wasn’t just a few Sea Kings who died. Their top commander—an Overlord-class powerhouse—was seriously wounded and forced to retreat."

"Now the entire ocean is in chaos. The Infernal Legions, riding high on their victory, are spreading like wildfire—slaughtering, destroying, looking for their next target. According to Astharel, the Greenwave Empire is in serious danger. Infernal forces have already been spotted along their borders... and even inside their territory."

Cicero’s expression was dark, his tone heavy.

"Wh-what!?" Ethan’s face changed instantly, his voice filled with disbelief. "They lost that fast? Is the Tidesworn faction really that weak?!"

"Master, it’s not that the Tidesworn are weak," Auremax cut in before Cicero could respond, shaking his massive head. "It’s that the Inferno Devils are just that strong."

"The Dark Alliance—those three factions: Necropolis, Inferno, and Dungeon—they’re monsters. Each one stronger than the last. Aside from the Castle and Tower factions, which can barely hold their own, most other factions don’t stand a chance in a straight-up fight."

"And let’s be honest—the Tidesworn were never a top-tier force to begin with. They’re on the weaker end of the spectrum. The fact that they even dared to go head-to-head with the Infernal Legions? Honestly, I respect the guts it took to try."

Ethan’s brows furrowed. "What about us? Has the fighting reached our side yet?"

"Not yet," Cicero replied. "But the Greenwave Empire has already issued an emergency order."

"They’ve pulled all their top-tier troops—13-Tier and 14-Tier units—from the Five Sea Kingdoms. On top of that, they’ve conscripted most of the Five Sea Kingdoms’ high-ranking heroes—orange-tier Legendarys, purple-tier Epics... even The Tidebreaker, Paxton, has been called away."

Cicero’s voice dropped lower, more serious.

"Master, if things keep going like this, we may need to rethink our original plan. Sure, with the Five Sea Kingdoms weakened, it’ll be easier for us to take them over..."

"But that also means we’ll be stepping right into the Infernal Legions’ path. And to be honest, I’d rather fight the Dungeon faction than go toe-to-toe with the Inferno."

"They’re not just powerful—they’re cunning. They’ll use anything, go anywhere, strike from any angle. They’re ruthless, deceptive, and relentless."

"Enemies like that... are dangerous. Unless..."