Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 122: Count of the Light Alliance?!

"Nah, I’ve got something to take care of." Ethan shook his head, clearly uninterested.

As soon as he said that, the bald-headed Travis’s face lit up with relief. He grinned and said, "Well, in that case, I won’t force you..."

But before he could finish, Starlily suddenly spoke up. "Valkarion, what do you need to do? Can I come with you?"

The moment those words left her lips, Travis’s expression darkened. His eyes flashed with a warning glare directed straight at Ethan.

Ethan, however, completely ignored him. Instead, he turned to Starlily with a smile. "If you want to come with me, sure. I just need to head over to the Grand Ducal Palace for something."

The Grand Ducal Palace?

Everyone froze.

"Wait, you mean Grand Duke Theodore’s Grand Ducal Palace?!" The cute-looking girl couldn’t help but ask again, as if she hadn’t heard him right.

Ethan nodded. "Yeah."

"..."

Silence.

Then, in the next second, every single person in the group looked at Ethan with the same expression—pure, unfiltered disdain.

"Oh, come on. If you’re gonna brag, at least make it believable! The Grand Ducal Palace? Do you even know what that means? That’s basically the royal palace of the Unicorn Duchy! Even barons and viscounts from the duchy can’t just waltz in there, and you’re saying you’ve got ’something to take care of’ there? Pfft—sorry, I just can’t—HAHAHAHA!"

One of the guys burst into laughter, his face full of mockery.

"Heh." Travis let out a cold chuckle, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Hey, who knows? Maybe he does have what it takes. My uncle told me that only earls have the right to enter the Grand Ducal Palace. Maybe our dear friend here is even more impressive than Caesar and Xavian—maybe he’s already an earl! Hahahaha!"

So far, the title of earl only existed in Europe and the Middle East. Even the most powerful figures in North America—Caesar, Xavian, and the like—were only viscounts at best.

Entering the Grand Ducal Palace?

Even Caesar wouldn’t dare make such an outrageous claim. If this wasn’t blatant bullshit, then what was? It was downright laughable.

"Alright, enough. Can you all just shut up? What does it matter to you where Valkarion is going?" Starlily snapped, clearly irritated.

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Ethan’s arm and turned to leave.

"Come on, Valkarion. Let’s just ignore them."

Ethan shrugged, not interested in arguing. He let Starlily pull him away without resistance.

As they walked off, the group was left standing there, their faces stiff.

The laughter stopped.

"Travis... what do we do?" one of the guys asked cautiously.

"Tch!" Travis clenched his teeth in frustration, letting out a sharp scoff. "Follow them. Let’s see how long he can keep up this act. I wanna see his face when his lie gets exposed."

Hearing that, the others nodded in agreement.

Yeah.

Let him keep pretending.

Because when the truth finally came out, the one who’d look the most pathetic... would be him.

Meanwhile, Ethan and Starlily made their way toward the Grand Ducal Palace. After a brief hesitation, Starlily finally asked in a low voice, "Valkarion... are we really going to the Grand Ducal Palace?"

It was obvious—she wasn’t entirely convinced by Ethan’s claim either.

After all, a place like the Grand Ducal Palace was practically off-limits to players. None of them had the qualifications to even get close.

Ethan chuckled at her doubt. "What, Starlily? You don’t believe me either?"

"No, no! That’s not it! Don’t get me wrong, Valkarion..." Starlily quickly shook her head. "It’s just... hard to believe. I mean, they say you need to be at least an earl to enter the Grand Ducal Palace. Are you telling me you’re already an earl?"

"Nope. I’m just a baron right now." Ethan shook his head casually.

"Then how—?"

"You’ll see soon enough." Ethan smirked, then glanced over his shoulder at the group trailing behind them—especially at the bald-headed Travis. His expression was amused, almost mocking. "Looks like they’re really eager to see me embarrass myself."

Starlily sighed. "Ugh, they follow me around like a bunch of damn parasites. No matter what I do, I can’t shake them off."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What’s the deal?"

"That bald guy, Travis? He’s the heir to Vanguard Holdings. Our families are trying to arrange a marriage between us, so now he won’t leave me the hell alone. It’s so annoying." Starlily groaned in frustration.

"Vanguard Holdings?"

"You’ve heard of Vanguard Properties and Vanguard Pharmaceuticals, right? Their family built their empire on real estate and pharmaceuticals. They’re huge. Their total assets are worth over 500 billion dollars—they’re one of the biggest players in the country."

"Oh... ohhh..." Ethan gave a half-hearted, indifferent response, as if he couldn’t care less. Then he asked, "What about your family?"

Starlily hesitated for a moment before finally answering. "You ever heard of Titan Consortium?"

Ethan froze for a second, then turned to look at her in surprise. "Wait... Titan Consortium? Starlily, you’re seriously from that family?"

Titan Consortium—an absolute giant with assets in the trillions.

In all of North America, their name carried serious weight. They were the kind of corporation that constantly made headlines, the kind that owned entire city districts. In fact, the bustling commercial center where they had eaten earlier? That was just one of Titan Consortium’s many properties.

And more importantly—rumor had it that Titan Consortium was the biggest financial backer of the Legion of Shadows.

They even had a say in the organization’s decisions.

In short... they were a force to be reckoned with.

"It’s all my family’s wealth—it has nothing to do with me," Starlily said with a modest smile, shaking her head. "Besides, having money is pretty useless. In this era, power in the game is what really matters!"

Ethan chuckled. She was absolutely right. In this day and age, money didn’t mean much.

Only strength in the game truly mattered.

That was the foundation.

That was everything.

Chatting casually along the way, they soon arrived at the gates of the Grand Ducal Palace.

Shing!

Sharp swords crossed in front of Ethan and Starlily. A group of imposing warriors, their armor shimmering in a dazzling rainbow of colors, immediately surrounded them. Their voices were cold and unyielding.

"Stop! What business do you have here?"

—

"They’re done for! I knew it!"

"The guards at the Grand Ducal Palace gates are 8-Tier Hidden Special Units—Rainbow Swordsmen! Damn, when will I ever get my hands on such powerful troops...?"

"Keep dreaming! You think you’re Travis? 8-Tier Hidden Special Units are practically the strongest below 9-Tier, and only someone like Travis could even hope to command them!"

"Hey, don’t exaggerate. Give me a few more years, and maybe—"

Just as the bald-headed Travis was about to use this moment to show off, the cute-looking girl beside him suddenly gasped sharply. Her face was filled with shock, disbelief, and utter astonishment as she blurted out,

"Wh-what?! He actually got in?!"

The moment those words left her mouth, the entire crowd froze.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

All eyes snapped toward the Grand Ducal Palace gates.

And there, right before them—

Every single Rainbow Swordsman had lowered their swords and was now bowing respectfully toward Ethan.

Even more shocking, one of them—clearly a Unit Hero—stepped forward and made a welcoming gesture, personally inviting Ethan and Starlily inside with the utmost reverence.

Dead silence.

A silence so absolute, it was suffocating.

...

"This..."

Travis’s face twisted in shock, his words catching in his throat. His entire body stiffened.

At the same time, the rest of the onlookers stood frozen, as if they had turned to stone.

...

"Th-this is impossible...!"

A moment later, someone finally broke the silence, their voice trembling with disbelief. Their face was filled with sheer shock and utter incredulity.

Without the title of Count, entering the Grand Ducal Palace was impossible.

That was common knowledge.

An ironclad rule.

And even if someone did hold the rank of Count, there was no way they’d be personally and respectfully invited inside by a Rainbow Swordsman Unit Hero!

Everyone knew that 8-Tier Hidden Special Unit Heroes were at least Epic-tier (Purple) Heroes.

And for an Epic-tier Hero who had pledged allegiance to the Unicorn Duchy?

They would at minimum require a Count’s title!

...

"What the hell is going on?! Are we dreaming or something?!"

Bald-headed Travis was completely dumbfounded.

His face shifted between shades of green and purple, and for a long moment, he couldn’t even get a single word out.

But honestly, these clowns didn’t matter anymore.

...

Inside the Grand Ducal Palace – Reception Hall

The Rainbow Swordsman Hero—Rhett had personally escorted Ethan inside with the utmost courtesy.

Then, with a respectful bow, he said, "Honorable Count, please wait here for a moment. I will immediately summon Grand Duke Theodore."

"Much appreciated," Ethan replied with a smile and a nod.

Rhett bowed once more before turning and leaving.

At that moment, Starlily finally snapped out of her shock. She turned to Ethan, her face filled with disbelief.

"Valkarion... What the hell is going on?! You... him... this... Am I dreaming?!"

To be honest, her brain was struggling to process any of this.

She had been in Dunmire for quite some time now, so she was no stranger to Rhett, the Rainbow Swordsman Hero.

As the Unit Hero of the 8-Tier Hidden Special Unit—Rainbow Swordsmen,

Rhett wasn’t just an Epic-tier Hero.

He was also the Captain of Dunmire’s Guard, directly under the command of Grand Duke Theodore himself!

Someone of his status wasn’t just out of her league—

Even Overlord Caesar, Xavian Serpentis, and the top two players on the Monarch Leaderboard couldn’t compare!

They weren’t even on the same playing field.

And yet...

Not only had Rhett personally allowed them into the Grand Ducal Palace, but he had treated them with absolute reverence!

This was the kind of legendary, god-tier treatment she wouldn’t have dared to dream of in her entire life!

Holy shit...

This was insane!

Ethan chuckled, about to explain—

But before he could say a word, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the reception hall.

Moments later—

The true ruler of the Unicorn Duchy,

The Grand Duke of the Light Alliance himself—

Theodore—

stepped into the room.

With a warm smile, he extended his hand toward Ethan and said,

"You must be Valkarion. May the Holy Dragon Elrath be with you. It is an honor to meet you."

Ethan stood up and shook his hand, smiling.

"The honor is mine, Grand Duke Theodore."

Then, without hesitation, he got straight to the point.

"I’m here today to request a promotion to Count of the Light Alliance."

As he spoke, Ethan displayed his Alliance Reputation.

"Count of the Light Alliance?!"

Before Grand Duke Theodore could even respond,

Starlily visibly shuddered.

Her vision blurred for a second, and a wave of dizziness hit her as her scalp tingled with shock.

She couldn’t stop herself from exclaiming out loud!

Alliance Nobility referred to titles within the Light Alliance.

Not only were Alliance titles far more prestigious and powerful than ordinary Duchy titles,

but they were also an entire rank—if not a rank and a half—higher in status!

What did that mean?

It meant that if Ethan really became a Count of the Light Alliance,

his status and authority in Glory Lords X would be higher than a Marquis of any Duchy!

He would be second only to Dukes.

And perhaps...

Only beneath the King himself!