Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 39: Failure?

"Aside from that massive gold mine, Her Highness Seraphina has already taken control of all the resource points in Verdant Ravine... But it looks like she tried to force her way into that giant gold mine and ended up failing. She lost some troops and came back covered in injuries. She was a bit too impatient." Elynn sighed with a wry smile.

"Reckless!" Ethan’s sharp brows furrowed instantly, his voice tinged with frustration.

That enormous gold mine was guarded by nearly a hundred Thunderbirds!

That was an absolutely devastating force.

Even though Seraphina was a Green Dragon hero of the Crimson Ultimate tier, she was still young—there was no way she could take them on.

"Seraphina, get back here. I need to talk to you!" Ethan quickly sent her a message.

Moments later, a massive streak of green light tore through the sky.

RUMBLE!

A few seconds later, an enormous Green Dragon descended upon Emerald Castle, whipping up a fierce storm with its arrival. The sheer force of it was overwhelming.

Seraphina had returned!

"Roar! Roar! Roar..." As soon as she landed, she immediately moved closer, her eyes filled with affection as she nudged against Ethan.

But Ethan, despite the warmth in his heart, forced himself to keep a stern expression. "Seraphina, tell me the truth. Did you sneak off to attack that massive gold mine in Verdant Ravine?"

"Roar... Roar..." Sensing Ethan’s serious tone, Seraphina let out a soft, aggrieved whimper in protest.

With a major battle looming, she had just wanted to do more for Emerald Castle—to help however she could.

Ethan’s heart softened instantly. He reached out, pulling Seraphina’s head into his arms, gently stroking her as he murmured, "I’m worried about you getting hurt. If I lose Emerald Castle, I can rebuild it from scratch. But if something happens to you... what then?"

Whimper...

Seraphina let out a low, pitiful whine, but in her eyes, a deep warmth flickered—gratitude, reliance, and something even more profound.

The next moment, she suddenly shrank down, transforming into a small dragon about the size of a husky. Without hesitation, she burrowed into Ethan’s arms, rubbing against him affectionately and licking his face with enthusiasm.

She was unbelievably clingy.

"Alright, alright, stop licking me..." Ethan chuckled helplessly, his face ticklish from her eager affection. He gently pushed her back a little but still held her close. Then, with curiosity in his voice, he said, "Let me see how many levels you’ve gained these past few days."

[Seraphina Drahmoulis]

Gender: Female

Level: 12

Race: Green Dragon

Tier: Crimson Ultimate

Hero Class: Green Dragon Warrior

Attack: 43 (64)

Defense: 41 (62)

...

"Ugh... still three levels to go?"

Ethan rubbed his forehead in frustration, massaging his temples as if trying to ease a headache.

As expected, the strength of unit-based heroes was directly proportional to the sheer length of their experience bar.

This was going to take a while.

"Elynn, here’s 1.8 million gold coins, along with fifteen Pegasus Knights. There should still be eight more Pegasus Knights left unclaimed at Enchanted Spring, right? How long would it take to train all of them into Tier 8 Silver Pegasus Knights?" Ethan handed over the gold and the Pegasus Knights, then asked.

"1.8 million gold?" Elynn’s eyes lit up instantly, excitement flashing across his face.

After thinking for a moment, he quickly responded, "Honored Master, there are indeed a few Pegasus Knights left unclaimed at Enchanted Spring, but honestly, we won’t be able to train all of them right now. Our current crystal reserves at Emerald Castle are only enough to train eighteen Silver Pegasus Knights."

"We’re low on crystals?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, suddenly remembering that upgrading Pegasus Knights into Silver Pegasus Knights required not just gold, but also crystals.

He had been so focused on accumulating gold that he had completely overlooked this.

"Alright, then just train as many as we can. As for the remaining gold, if there’s any left over, use it to recruit the Tier 8 Energy Elemental from the Upgrade Altar of Fire in Wishing Valley."

"Understood!"

The Tier 8 Energy Elemental was also a flying unit, but more importantly, it was a special neutral unit from the Conflux faction.

In certain situations, they had unique strategic value. Plus, their attack and defense stats were slightly higher than those of the Tier 8 Silver Pegasus Knights, making them incredibly useful at this stage.

With that settled, everyone at Emerald Castle got to work, each handling their respective tasks.

Elynn focused on training the Silver Pegasus Knights and managing the keep’s infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Ethan and Seraphina hunkered down in Verdant Ravine, grinding levels with relentless determination—intent on wiping out every last wild unit in the area.

As for Cicero, he had already set off on a new expedition, heading northwest toward the far reaches of Wishing Valley.

Once Emerald Castle conquered the Unicorn Glade in Wishing Valley and dealt with the major threat lurking in Suffocating Swamp Forest, they would have complete control over this entire region—Wishing Valley, Suffocating Swamp Forest, Verdant Ravine, and even Doom Mountains.

At that point, if Emerald Castle decided to expand further, the intelligence Cicero gathered now would be absolutely crucial.

Failure?

Would Emerald Castle ever fail?

That question wasn’t even worth considering.

Emerald Castle would never fall!

Just like that, time flew by. In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.

During this time, Seraphina had gained another level and a half, reaching Level 13, with over 70% progress. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before she hit Level 15, officially entering adulthood.

Ethan had also leveled up, now sitting at Level 23, with his attack and defense attributes reaching 23 points each.

Meanwhile, Elynn had successfully trained 18 Tier 8 Silver Pegasus Knights for Emerald Castle. Additionally, the Upgrade Altar of Fire in Wishing Valley had yielded three Tier 8 Energy Elementals.

As for the remaining gold, every last coin had been poured into Emerald Castle’s infrastructure.

Emerald Castle – Level 1 Castle

Constructed Buildings:

[Town Hall]

Effect: Generates 1,000 gold per day.

[Centaur Stables]

Existing External Centaur Stables: 34

Monthly Recruitable Tier 1 Centaurs: 490

Recruitment Cost: 40 gold per unit

Town Dwelling Status: Built

[Dwarf Cottage]

Existing External Dwarf Cottages: 11

Monthly Recruitable Tier 3 Dwarves: 58-88

Recruitment Cost: 750 gold per unit

Town Dwelling Status: Not Built

[Homestead]

Existing External Homesteads: 4

Monthly Recruitable Tier 5 Wood Elf Archers: 0-28

Recruitment Cost: 4,000 gold per unit

Town Dwelling Status: Not Built

[Enchanted Spring]

Existing External Enchanted Springs: 2

Monthly Recruitable Tier 7 Pegasus: 6-10

Recruitment Cost: 26,000 gold per unit

Town Dwelling Status: Not Built

Since Level 1 castles could only construct recruitment buildings for Tier 7 units and below, and each natural month allowed for only one recruitment building to be constructed within the castle, Emerald Castle currently had just one functional recruitment building—the Centaur Stables, which produced Tier 1 Centaurs.

Well... technically, there was one more.

[Dragon Cliff]

Existing External Enchanted Springs: 0

Annual Recruitable Tier 13 Green Dragons: 1

Recruitment Cost: 15 million gold, 800 crystals

Town Dwelling Status: Built

Yes, Dragon Cliff was technically "built", but with a recruitment cost of 15 million gold and 800 crystals, Ethan could only stare at it and sigh.

For now, it was nothing more than a glorified decoration.

Might as well pretend it didn’t exist.

"Now that we have 18 more Tier 8 Silver Pegasus Knights, it’s time for another trip to the Legion of Shadows guild."

For Ethan—and for Emerald Castle—time was everything.

Time was gold.

Time was survival.

The sooner he could secure more gold and Pegasus Knights from the Legion of Shadows, the sooner he could train even more Tier 8 Silver Pegasus Knights.

And only with enough of them would he have a real shot at conquering the Unicorn Glade in Wishing Valley—securing access to the Tier 11 Unicorns.

A Tier 11 unit was an absolute game-changer.

With them on the battlefield, nothing could stand in his way.

And if he placed them under Seraphina’s command, her insane hero-tier attack and defense bonuses would push their power even further—elevating their strength by an entire tier or two.

At that point, as long as Blackmire Castle didn’t suddenly throw two or three fully grown Tier 13 units at him, even if they sent three or four Tier 12 Royal Units, Ethan wouldn’t have to worry.

By then, Emerald Castle’s raw power would be enough to crush everything in its path.

No more delays. Time to move.

"Cicero, we’re heading out! We’re crossing Sylvanwood!"

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

After collecting the 18 Tier 8 Silver Pegasus Knights and three Tier 8 Energy Elementals from Elynn, Ethan and Cicero set off once more—crossing Sylvanwood for the third time.

But unlike before, they were experienced now. They knew the paths, the dangers, the shortcuts.

And this time, the territorial wild bosses scattered throughout Sylvanwood barely even reacted to their presence.

It was as if they had gotten used to them—choosing to ignore them entirely.

In truth, once a unit’s tier reached a certain level, even the strongest wild bosses couldn’t be bothered to pick a fight.

After all, unless it was a life-or-death battle, even a young Tier 13 unit wasn’t something you could just kill off easily.

If neither side could eliminate the other, then there was no point in fighting at all.

...

A Day and a Half Later – Silver Horn Tavern, Unicorn Duchy

"Valkarion, how many Silver Pegasus Knights did you bring this time?" LoS_Starlily asked curiously.

"Eighteen."

"That many?!" LoS_Starlily’s eyes widened in shock.

"It’s not that much," Ethan replied with a casual smile, throwing in a small lie. "We had some extras back home—I just didn’t bring them all last time."

"Ah, that makes sense..." LoS_Starlily nodded, accepting the explanation without question. Then she looked at him and asked, "Eighteen Silver Pegasus Knights... that’s 6.48 million gold. How do you want to sell them this time?"

"How are you pricing crystals?" Ethan asked.

"Crystals?" LoS_Starlily blinked, then hesitated before answering, "Market price is around 25,000 to 30,000 gold per crystal. If you’re buying, I can go as low as 22,000 gold per crystal for you."

"Let me do the math..." Ethan started counting on his fingers, taking his time before finally speaking.

"I’ll take 80 crystals, 30 Pegasus Knights, and convert the rest into gold..."

Then, as if realizing something, he suddenly rubbed his forehead in frustration. freёwebnoѵel.com

"...Still not enough."