Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory
Chapter 456: Twenty thousand years

Chapter 456: Twenty thousand years

Meanwhile—

Ethan had just arrived at the battlefield where Oakenmaw and Orryn were engaged in combat.

"My Lord! You came here yourself?!" Orryn landed in front of him, clearly anxious. "This place is too dangerous! Maybe I should stay behind with some of my kin to protect you?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You? Protect me? You sure about that?"

Orryn blinked—then his face froze as the realization hit him. "Ah... apologies, my Lord. I forgot. You’re far, far stronger than I am."

"But still, you should be careful! If anything happens to you, Princess Seraphina will skin me alive!"

Ethan chuckled, shaking his head. "Don’t worry. I’ll hold her off for you."

Then his gaze shifted toward the distance, where Oakenmaw was pushing through the chaos to reach them. "Orryn, Oakenmaw—what’s the situation?"

"To be honest, my Lord... not great," Orryn said, his face twisted in frustration. "It doesn’t feel like they’re here to fight us. It’s more like they’re here to die—just to corrupt the land and spread something called Infernal Blight."

"Infernal Blight?" Ethan frowned. "What the hell is that?"

"It’s a unique and vile ability of the Inferno faction," came Oakenmaw’s voice, low and weary. "My Lord, I must apologize. We failed to complete the task you gave us. The fault is ours. We await your punishment."

"Forget that for now. Just tell me—what exactly is Infernal Blight?" Ethan waved him off, his tone serious.

"My Lord, look over there..." Oakenmaw extended one of his massive vine-like limbs, parting the scorched remains of what used to be a forest. He pointed toward a distant stretch of land, his expression grim. "That... is Infernal Blight."

Ethan followed his gaze—and in just a blink, his face darkened.

"That used to be a sea of trees... endless forest. Now it’s—what the hell happened?!"

What he saw was devastation incarnate: thick black smoke choking the sky, wildfires raging out of control, rivers of molten lava carving through the earth, and the air—thick with the stench of sulfur so strong it burned the throat.

Everything was in ruins. The natural world had been completely annihilated.

"The Inferno realm was born from the raw, chaotic, and maddening power of the Destroyer Chaos Dragon, Urghash," Oakenmaw explained, his voice heavy. "Over time, nearly every Inferno creature has come to carry that same primal, frenzied, destructive energy within them."

"When that power manifests inside them, it makes them stronger. But when they die, that energy erupts—like a plague—corrupting everything around it. It tears nature apart, leaving behind nothing but fire, ash, and madness. That’s what we call Infernal Blight."

Ethan stared at the scorched land, his brow furrowed. "So... it’s basically suicide?"

"Exactly," Orryn said with a grim nod. "Most of the time, Inferno doesn’t fight to win. They fight to destroy. They want to die—just so they can spread this Blight and revel in the chaos it causes."

"To them, the low-tier units are just cannon fodder. Sacrifices. But they don’t care. They enjoy it. They’re completely insane."

Ethan fell silent for a moment, taking it all in. Then he asked, "Can Infernal Blight be reversed?"

"It can," Oakenmaw replied, "but it’s not easy. What we’re seeing now—this level of Blight—is still manageable. Give me a month or so, and I can purge the chaotic energy and restore the land."

"But if it escalates—if it reaches Level 2, 3, or even 4..." He paused, his tone growing darker. "Then even Prince Cicero himself would have a hard time fixing it."

"Level 2, 3, 4?" Ethan echoed, brows furrowed.

"Mhm..." Oakenmaw nodded slowly.

"All major factions classify disasters like Infernal Blight and Deathblight into seven levels," he explained. "What we’re seeing now is Level 1. As for Level 2, 3, or 4... with our current strength, we might be able to deal with them—but it would take a very long time."

"But once it hits Level 5 or higher... that’s when it becomes a true Cataclysm," Oakenmaw continued, his voice low and grim. "I don’t know all the details, but I’d guess it would take at least an Overlord-tier being—maybe even stronger—to clean up something like that."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. "And what about Level 6 or 7?"

Oakenmaw paused for a moment, then said, "From what I know, a long, long time ago, the Inferno faction launched what history now calls The First Blight War. That was the first—and only—time a Level 6 Infernal Blight ever occurred."

"In that environment, the Inferno Devils’ power was said to double just from the Blight alone."

Ethan’s eyes widened.

"Exactly," Oakenmaw said. "Even when the three major powers of the Light Alliance joined forces, they were nearly wiped out. It was only when the other factions realized the threat and stepped in that Inferno was finally beaten back and forced to retreat to their own realm. It was one of the few times in history that Inferno suffered a major defeat."

"But even then, the Level 6 Infernal Blight they left behind... it took the Angels of the Castle faction over twenty thousand years to fully purify it."

Ethan blinked. "Wait—how long?!"

"Twenty thousand years," Oakenmaw repeated with a bitter smile. "That’s why, in any major war between factions, Level 4 Cataclysm is considered the absolute limit. Anything beyond that... is a nightmare."

"But if we’re talking about pure devastation," he added, "Deathblight might be even worse than Infernal Blight."

"Deathblight?" Ethan asked, confused. "What’s that?"

"Infernal Blight corrupts the environment and empowers Inferno units," Oakenmaw explained. "But Deathblight... it drains the life force from all living beings. It doesn’t just destroy nature—it kills everything."

"Once a Level 5 Deathblight forms, Tier 1 through Tier 6 units can’t even survive inside it. The moment they enter, their life force is sucked dry, and they’re turned into undead."

Ethan felt a chill crawl down his spine.

"That strong?"

Sure, plenty of Mythic or Legendary units could wipe out low-tier troops in seconds—but this was different. This was the Necropolis faction. And when it came to them, it didn’t matter what Tier you were. If they built up a sea of undead skeletons, they were practically unstoppable.

"Exactly," Oakenmaw said with a nod. "That’s why all factions treat Deathblight outbreaks even more seriously than Infernal Blight. There’ve been maybe three or four recorded cases of Level 5 Deathblight in history. But Level 6? Never. Not once."

"So if they ever manage to create a Level 7 Deathblight... that’s game over?" Ethan muttered.

"Pretty much," Orryn chimed in, nodding grimly. "My Lord, that’s the consensus across all factions. A Level 7 Deathblight is basically the end of the world. Unless someone can awaken the power of the Dragon Gods themselves... no one can stop it."

Ethan’s expression darkened. "Then why is it only Infernal Blight, Deathblight, and... Dungeon that have these environment-altering Cataclysms?"

"Well, actually, Dungeon doesn’t have one," Oakenmaw said, shaking his head. "That’s why a lot of people consider Dungeon the weakest of the three Dark Alliance factions."

"But that’s a huge misconception."

His eyes gleamed with a strange light.

"Dungeon controls the richest natural resources in all of Glory Lords X. They have the most Creature Dwellings, and the largest territory by far. If they were truly the weakest, how could they hold onto all that for so long?"

"More importantly," he added, "Dungeon is the only faction with direct access to The Abyss—the most mysterious place in the entire world of Glory Lords X. No one knows what’s really down there. Not even the Dragon Gods, supposedly. But Dungeon does. That alone should tell you how dangerous they really are."

He shook his head again, his voice low and serious.

"My Lord, Dungeon may not have a Cataclysm like the others... but they have The Abyss. And in my opinion, that’s even more terrifying. Never underestimate them."

"I get it now..." Ethan nodded slowly, then turned his gaze back toward the battlefield, eyes sharp. "But where are the Inferno Devils? If this is the front line, why haven’t we seen more of them?"

"My Lord, those cowardly bastards are still hiding in the shadows," Orryn growled, his voice full of fury. "Waiting for the perfect moment to ambush us!"

"Ambushes?"

"Yeah..." Orryn nodded, his jaw clenched. "While their legions are out there tearing the land apart, we’re forced to respond. And that’s when they strike—when we’re distracted. That’s how they fight. Dirty. Dishonorable. Like the scum they are!"

His whole body practically trembled with rage.

...

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