Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 97: Combined Strategic Artifact

"Cyclops King and Naga Queen, huh?"

Ethan paused for a second, excitement flashing across his face. "Looks like my luck isn’t half bad this time!"

Forget about the Cyclops King being just a regular 12-tier unit—this guy was basically a walking missile launcher! A nightmare for any backline troops—archers, healers, support units—and even flying units weren’t safe from its wrath.

Whether it was soaring through the sky or sprinting across the ground, the Cyclops King’s massive boulders never missed their mark. One hundred percent accuracy, guaranteed to turn anything into a pile of mush.

And if that wasn’t enough, it also had two racial abilities—Earthshaker and Terrain Shift—that were so powerful they might as well be special talents, even though technically they weren’t. All these factors combined made the Cyclops King easily one of the top-tier units among all 12-tier troops.

Getting this guy randomly? Ethan had definitely hit the jackpot!

As for the Naga Queen, while she wasn’t as versatile or multi-functional as the Cyclops King, Ethan still considered her nearly as valuable.

If the Cyclops King was the ultimate nightmare for ranged and flying units, then the Naga Queen was the absolute terror of melee fighters!

[Naga Queen]

Faction: Tower (Royal Unit)

Tier: 12

HP: 10,000

Attack: 120 (174)

Defense: 105 (159)

Damage: 180~211

Special Talent: Whirlwind Strike (With her eight arms, the Naga Queen can simultaneously attack enemies from all directions! Deals full damage to the primary target and 60% damage to all secondary targets.)

Even without Ethan’s attribute boosts, the Naga Queen boasted an insane 10,000 HP and a maximum base damage of 211 points!

She was the textbook definition of a high-health, high-damage berserker!

In fact, among all the standard 12-tier Royal Units across every faction (excluding hidden or special units), the Naga Queen had the highest HP and highest damage output—hands down.

But there was a catch. If Ethan had to pay out of his own pocket, he’d never willingly recruit a Naga Queen. The resources and gold required to recruit her were so steep that if you just added a little more, you’d practically be knocking on the door of a 13-tier Legendary Unit!

So why wouldn’t he just save up a bit longer and go straight for a Legendary Unit instead?

But if the system was handing her out for free? Hell yeah, he’d take her in a heartbeat! It was a no-brainer.

After all, there was a reason she was so expensive.

In a straight-up, one-on-one fight, a single Naga Queen could probably take on two or even three Wyvern Monarchs of the same tier without breaking a sweat!

Sure, part of that was because the Wyvern Monarch was notoriously weak—arguably the weakest among all 12-tier Royal Units—but it was also undeniable proof of just how insanely strong the Naga Queen was.

Still, she had one glaring weakness:

She was slow as hell and clumsy as a brick!

The Naga Queen was built purely for head-on, brute-force combat. Throw her into a complicated, multi-element battlefield scenario, and she’d quickly become nothing more than a giant punching bag or a sitting duck!

Also, the Naga Queen had zero magic resistance.

That meant magic attacks could deal massive, devastating damage to them!

In short, this was a unit with extremely obvious strengths and weaknesses. But luckily, their strengths were exactly what Ethan—and Emerald Castle—needed right now.

And that was more than enough!

"Alright, now for the last reward..." Ethan’s eyes drifted toward the quest panel, landing on the words: "One specified Tier-3 Strategic Artifact, one random Tier-3 Strategic Artifact." His gaze flickered thoughtfully.

"A specified Tier-3 Strategic Artifact?"

Normally, choosing something specific was always better than random.

Random meant uncertainty—there was always the risk of getting something completely useless or incompatible.

For example, if he randomly ended up with an Undead or Inferno faction artifact right now, it’d be no better than scrap metal. Sure, it’d have the fancy label of a Tier-3 Strategic Artifact, but it’d be completely worthless to him!

Choosing specifically would neatly avoid that risk.

"But what should I pick?" Ethan rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

His knowledge of the "Glory Lords X" world was limited to what he’d known from the game back in his original world. But clearly, this parallel world’s "Glory Lords X" was similar yet not identical—it had evolved, expanded, and developed countless new elements he knew nothing about.

He was completely in the dark.

"Should I just pick one of the Tier-3 Strategic Artifacts I remember from the game? Or maybe..." Suddenly, Ethan had a flash of inspiration. He turned quickly toward Cicero. "Cicero, let me ask you something!"

"Of course, my lord."

"If you could choose any Tier-3 Strategic Artifact you know of, which one would you want the most?"

"A Tier 3 Strategic Artifact?"

Cicero paused for a moment, then immediately replied without hesitation, "Of course! It’s one of the components of our Green Dragon Clan’s legendary artifact—Green Dragon’s Might. Specifically, it’s the Green Dragon Scepter, a Tier 3 Strategic Artifact!"

"Green Dragon’s Might? Green Dragon Scepter? What’s that?" Ethan felt the names sounded oddly familiar, prompting him to ask curiously.

"Green Dragon’s Might is the sacred artifact of our Green Dragon Clan! It consists of five major components: the Green Dragon Crown, Green Dragon Necklace, Green Dragon Scepter, Green Dragon Shield, and the Green Dragon Sword!"

"Among these, the Green Dragon Shield, Necklace, and Crown are Tier 2 Strategic Artifacts, while the Green Dragon Scepter and Green Dragon Sword are Tier 3. When combined together, they form our clan’s ultimate treasure—a Tier 4 Strategic Artifact known as Green Dragon’s Might!" Cicero explained enthusiastically, as if describing his most cherished possessions.

His eyes even sparkled with longing as he spoke.

A single Tier 3 Strategic Artifact wasn’t particularly special to him, but Green Dragon’s Might and its five components held unique and profound significance for the Green Dragon Clan.

That’s why he wanted it so badly.

"A combined Strategic Artifact? Wait a second—isn’t this basically a knock-off of Dragon King’s Dominion?" Ethan suddenly realized, muttering to himself.

Dragon King’s Dominion was originally the ultimate combined artifact from the game "Glory Lords X." Not only was it incredibly powerful, but it was also the ultimate artifact for all dragon-type units in the game!

"Seraphina, have you heard of Dragon King’s Dominion?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Of course!"

Cicero nodded immediately, answering without hesitation, "Dragon King’s Dominion is a Tier 5 Strategic Artifact! It’s the ultimate artifact for all dragon-kind, and also symbolizes the authority of the Dragon King! Whoever possesses Dragon King’s Dominion gains the power to command all dragon units—even the Tier 14 Mythic Units! The only exceptions are the Crimson Ultimate dragon heroes."

"So it really exists?" Ethan was shocked. "Do you know where it is now?"

"No idea."

Cicero shook his head. "Countless years ago, Dragon King’s Dominion was held by the Draconic Empire. But later, Inferno allied with Necropolis and Dungeon factions, and together they conquered the Draconic Empire. They shattered Dragon King’s Dominion, scattering its components across the world..."

After a brief pause, Cicero continued, "As for the individual pieces of Dragon King’s Dominion, they’ve long since vanished without a trace. But if I had to guess, they’re probably scattered among the major factions. Each faction probably has one or two pieces hidden away." Cicero shook his head again, sighing softly.

"Dragon King’s Dominion was known as the strongest artifact of all! Even the Angelic Alliance of the Castle faction, Inferno’s Armageddon’s Blade, and the legendary Titan’s Thunder of the Titans—all pale in comparison. But sometimes, being too powerful isn’t necessarily a good thing..."

"Back in those ancient times, because of Dragon King’s Dominion, the Draconic Empire was the undisputed powerhouse among all factions. Even when Inferno and Necropolis joined forces, they still couldn’t match the Draconic Empire."

"As for weaker factions like Tower, Stronghold, and Fortress, even if they teamed up three or four against one, they still couldn’t beat the Draconic Empire. Perhaps it was precisely because of this overwhelming dominance that the empire eventually collapsed under its own weight."

"The Dungeon faction, known for its secrecy and cunning, eventually sided with Inferno and Necropolis. Together, these three factions launched what history calls the ’Dragonfall War.’"

"Some even speculate that the Castle faction’s Angels, the Tower faction’s Giants, and even forces from the Lost Realms participated in that war."

"The Lost Realms?" Ethan paused, confused. "What’s that?"

"It’s a general term for factions that vanished into history over countless years," Cicero explained. "Some of these Lost Realms were incredibly powerful, comparable to the Angels of Castle or the Giants of Tower. But due to bad luck or various unfortunate circumstances, their kingdoms collapsed and disappeared forever."

Ethan sighed softly, shaking his head. "Time really is the cruelest and most ruthless force of all."

Throughout the long history of the "Glory Lords X" world, countless kings rose to glory, and countless others fell into oblivion.

That was the merciless law of time.

"So, in this current era, what are the main factions?" Ethan asked again.

He only knew the nine factions from the original "Glory Lords X" game: Castle, Forest, Tower, Inferno, Necropolis, Dungeon, Stronghold, Fortress, and Conflux.

Beyond that, he had no clue.

"The strongest factions nowadays are naturally Castle, Inferno, Necropolis, and Dungeon," Cicero replied immediately. "Then there are slightly weaker ones like Forest, Stronghold, and Tower. And below them, you have factions like Conflux, Fortress, and Tidesworn."

"So there’s just one extra faction, Tidesworn? That’s not too different from what I remember," Ethan breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Elynn. "Elynn, tell everyone they don’t have to stand around here anymore. Let’s head back."

After a brief pause, he nodded toward Cicero and the others. "Let’s go home. Time to celebrate our victory!"

"Yes, my lord!"

"Victory! Victory! Victory!"

Climbing onto Seraphina’s massive dragon form, Ethan and the Emerald Castle army began their triumphant return. At the same time, Ethan confirmed his choice with the system. "I choose the Tier 3 Strategic Artifact: Green Dragon Scepter!"

"Ding! Player Valkarion has selected the Tier 3 Strategic Artifact—Green Dragon Scepter. Processing... Ding! Selection complete!"

"Player Valkarion has received the Tier 3 Strategic Artifact—Green Dragon Scepter! Please check your inventory."

After receiving the Green Dragon Scepter, Ethan activated his final reward—the random Tier 3 Strategic Artifact.

"Ding! Player Valkarion has activated the random Tier 3 Strategic Artifact reward. Randomizing... Ding! Randomization complete!"

"Congratulations, Player Valkarion! You’ve obtained the Tier 3 Strategic Artifact—Divine Arm!"

...