Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 42: An absolute jackpot!

"H-How is that even possible?!"

A flicker of fear flashed across Ghost Mage Ephram’s face, but he quickly roared in fury. "Wight units! Vampire Lords! Get in there! Tear them apart!"

A chilling rustle filled the air.

"Ssshhh... ssshhh..."

Hundreds of shadowy wraiths surged forward, soaring at terrifying speed toward the Crusaders.

The most fearsome among them were the 8th-Tier Vampire Lords.

The moment they entered battle mode, their speed, size, and strength all skyrocketed to their absolute peak!

In the blink of an eye, they shot toward the Pegasus Knights like missiles, aiming to disrupt their attack.

But the 7th-Tier Pegasus Knight unit under Ethan’s command was far stronger than they had anticipated!

"Annoying bats! Take them down!"

One of the Pegasus Knights raised her Elven Blade, and immediately, a terrifying aura surged from the sword.

At the same time, the other twenty-nine Pegasus Knights mirrored her actions.

RUMBLE!

The sky churned, and from the earth below, a violent storm erupted.

"Attack!"

In perfect unison, the thirty Pegasus Knights struck. Their blades flashed, and in an instant, Ethan and Starlily saw streaks of cold, gleaming sword light slicing through the air.

Three 8th-Tier Vampire Lords were instantly cut down!

Their bodies disintegrated into massive, blood-red bats before crashing to the ground with a heavy thud!

"Incredible!" Even Ethan couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

Sure, they had the numbers advantage, but to instantly take down three 8th-Tier Vampire Lords? That spoke volumes about the sheer power of these Pegasus Knights after their attack and defense stats had been boosted.

Individually, they could already rival some of the weaker 8th-Tier units.

And when they attacked in overwhelming numbers? It was a complete slaughter.

"Looks like the benefits of higher-tier units are even greater than I expected..." Ethan thought to himself.

"T-This is insane!"

Beside him, LoS_Starlily was practically glowing with excitement, her eyes sparkling like stars. She was completely awestruck—and utterly in awe of Ethan.

But just then, from the distance, Ghost Mage Ephram suddenly let out a sharp, piercing howl.

"Whoosh!"

At the same time, he began chanting a spell.

A moment later, a terrifyingly powerful magic energy blade materialized in the air—then shot forward with a deafening whistle, slamming straight into one of the Pegasus Knights!

It was a Level 1 spell—Magic Arrow!

"Splurt!"

The Pegasus Knight’s relatively light armor was no match for the attack—an enormous, basin-sized hole was blasted through it, blood gushing out in torrents. The crimson liquid splattered onto the ground, staining the gray soil beneath her feet. It was a serious wound.

But the Pegasus Knight reacted instantly.

The moment she was struck by the Magic Arrow, she immediately maneuvered her Pegasus, retreating from the battlefield and soaring into the sky.

Seeing this, Ethan wasted no time—he swiftly recalled her into the system space, ensuring she wouldn’t die.

At the same time, he let out a small sigh of relief.

As long as they weren’t dead, it was fine.

In the world of Glory Lords X, injuries were minor inconveniences. As long as a unit was still alive, everything could be fixed.

But even so, Ethan’s expression darkened. He was pissed.

"Take them down!" he ordered coldly.

"Fearless warriors, charge!"

On the battlefield, five 7th-Tier Swordsmen and two 8th-Tier Crusaders lined up in formation, their presence like an unstoppable iron tide, surging toward the enemy.

Moments later, waves of Skeleton Soldiers, Walking Dead, Zombies, and even Wights collapsed beneath their blades—completely annihilated.

And that wasn’t all.

The remaining three 8th-Tier Vampire Lords and the 9th-Tier Lich were swiftly surrounded and overwhelmed by the 7th-Tier Pegasus Knights and 8th-Tier Energy Elementals.

They didn’t stand a chance.

In the end, both the Vampire Lords and the Lich were reduced to ashes.

"T-This is insane..."

LoS_Starlily blurted out, her voice trembling with disbelief.

She was stunned—completely numb from shock.

But the sheer awe, terror, and disbelief in her heart? It wasn’t fading. If anything, it was only growing stronger.

They had just completed a B-rank mission with zero casualties.

And not only that—they had wiped out an entire army led by an NPC hero.

That army included:

1,000 1st-Tier Skeleton Soldiers

500 3rd-Tier Walking Dead

200 4th-Tier Zombies

100 5th-Tier Wights

6 8th-Tier Vampire Lords

1 9th-Tier Lich

If she told anyone about this, who would believe her?

They’d probably think she was crazy.

But the reality was right in front of her. She had seen it with her own eyes. There was no denying it.

Meanwhile, Ghost Mage Ephram had completely lost his nerve. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees, trembling.

"M-Mighty lord! I surrender! Please, spare me! Let me live!"

Surrender.

That meant Ethan could gain another unit hero under his command.

And not just any hero—a Rare-tier, blue-ranked hero.

But there was a problem.

Ephram was a Necropolis faction hero.

And in the main world, which was ruled by the Light Alliance, Necropolis heroes were outcasts—they had no place in the open.

He wasn’t exactly a good fit for Ethan’s army.

Just then, a clear, melodic voice rang out from the entrance of the underground Necropolis palace.

"Honorable warrior, do not trust him!"

"The undead are nothing but liars! And as a member of the Light Alliance, it is our duty to eliminate every last Necropolis demon!"

In the blink of an eye, Ethan turned his gaze toward the voice—

And there, stepping into view, was a Vestal, clad in a radiant, holy robe.

[Liora]

Level: 5

Race: Human

Tier: Blue (Rare)

Hero Class: Priest

Faction: Sixth Legion of the Unicorn Duchy—Blessing of Light Vestal

As expected!

She was a Tier 6 unit—a Priest hero!

Ethan’s eyes flickered with understanding, and he immediately nodded. "Of course. As a member of the Light Alliance, it’s our duty to eliminate every last demon from the Necropolis faction..."

With that, he didn’t hesitate any longer. He swiftly struck down the Ghost Mage Ephram!

In the world of Ashan, especially within the Light Alliance, the Inferno and Necropolis factions were sworn enemies—locked in an endless struggle to the death.

Whenever they crossed paths, the outcome was almost always a fight to the finish. No mercy. No retreat.

And the Unicorn Duchy? It was the very heart of the Light Alliance’s territory!

If Ethan wanted to continue growing his influence here, he had to make his stance clear—no ties to the Necropolis or Inferno factions. No exceptions.

At the same time, after slaying Ghost Mage Ephram, Ethan smiled and took out his insignia—a token proving his status as a Baron of the Light Alliance.

"Vestal Liora, you recognize this, don’t you?"

"This is..." Liora’s eyes widened as she stared at the insignia in Ethan’s hand. A moment later, she bowed deeply, her expression filled with respect. "So you are the esteemed Baron! I am Liora of Blessing of Light. It is an honor to meet you, my lord. Thank you for personally saving me—I cannot express my gratitude enough!"

"There’s no need to thank me," Ethan replied with a smile. "Is there anything else you need help with?"

"Hmm..."

Liora nodded and pointed toward the entrance of the underground necropolis. "Inside, there’s a Lich Conversion Tower—a place of pure evil. My companion... she was turned into an undead Lich because of Ephram..."

Ethan hesitated for a moment before saying, "I’m sorry. I should have arrived sooner..."

"No. Everything follows its destined course. This was simply her fate."

Liora shook her head slowly and then looked at him with determination. "Baron, please help me destroy that cursed Lich Conversion Tower. We must prevent more innocent lives from being lost."

"Consider it done."

Ethan nodded and turned to Starlily, who was still standing there in a daze. He lowered his voice. "Send a message to Blackblade and the others. Tell them there’s a Lich Conversion Tower inside the underground necropolis. Have them destroy it—that’ll complete the mission. You should go with them."

"R-Right! I’ll tell them right away!" Starlily nodded hurriedly, a hint of gratitude flashing in her eyes.

In Glory Lords X, quest rewards are determined by contribution and participation.

In other words, if you don’t contribute or participate, even if an SSS-tier quest is completed, you’ll walk away with nothing.

Right now, by letting them destroy the Lich Conversion Tower in the underground necropolis, Ethan was essentially handing them free contribution and participation points—ensuring they’d get at least some rewards.

Otherwise, from start to finish, nearly every part of the quest had been handled by him alone.

Ethan had wiped out the entire undead army, slain Ghost Mage Ephram—there was no doubt that he would have claimed all the rewards for himself.

And the others? They’d be left with nothing.

Sure, it might seem a little greedy, but after all the time and effort they had put into this chain quest, they deserved something. Even if they didn’t get a full share, at least let them have a taste of the rewards.

Even if there was no soup left... at least give them some broth.

Hell, even water would do.

"Valkarion, thank you!" Starlily said, her face lighting up with excitement after sending the message.

"It’s nothing. No one should be too greedy. Besides, if you hadn’t invited me to this quest in the first place, I wouldn’t have gotten any rewards at all. If anything, I should be thanking you. Now go on." Ethan smiled.

To him, this was no big deal—just a small favor.

For one, Glory Lords X had a strict and well-balanced system. Since he had the highest contribution, the best rewards were already locked in for him.

And two, relationships mattered. People had connections, and Ethan found Starlily and Blackblade to be decent folks. Helping them out a little, as a friend, wasn’t a big deal.

"No matter what, Valkarion, I really appreciate it."

"I’ll head over now." Starlily was both excited and grateful.

With that, she turned and jogged toward the entrance of the necropolis.

A few moments later, a pleasant system notification rang in Ethan’s ears:

"Congratulations, player ’Valkarion’, for successfully completing the B-tier quest: Vestal’s Plea for Aid.

Rewards: 200,000 gold, 20 of each of the six major resources, and a choice between one designated Tier 9 unit or two random Tier 9 units. Please select."

"Tier 9 units?"

Ethan’s eyes lit up. He didn’t hesitate.

"Random."

He had been worrying about not having enough gold from this run.

But now? Problem solved.

Talk about perfect timing!

Tier 9 units...

They should sell for a very good price, right?

If he could gather enough gold to recruit two Tier 11 Unicorns, that would be even better!

"Beep! Player ’Valkarion’ has chosen random Tier 9 units. Rolling... Beep! Roll complete!"

"Player ’Valkarion’ has received: Tier 9 unit—Genie (x2). Please check your inventory."

Genies?

Ethan blinked, then his smile widened.

Everyone knew that flying units were generally more expensive than ground units.

And Tier 9 Genies were elite flying units from the Tower faction.

His luck was fantastic!

Just then, another voice reached his ears—Vestal Liora’s.

"Honorable Baron, thank you for saving me. This is my personal gift to you—please accept it."

"Beep! Congratulations, player ’Valkarion’, you have received a Tier 6 special hidden unit recruitment building—Cathedral of Light blueprint!"

...Whoa.

Ethan’s eyes widened in shock.

A unit recruitment building blueprint?!

This was huge!

An absolute jackpot!