Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 243: Enemy attack!!

It was pretty obvious now—after Ethan activated his [Holy Armament], his appearance really did resemble the Angels from the Castle faction. No wonder the Bronze Golem, Karnak, had mistaken him for one of them... thought he was an Angel.

Not that it mattered much. Ethan was here to help them anyway.

"Calm down," Ethan said, his voice low and steady. "Take it slow. Tell me exactly what happened. Where’s this Infernal Lord you mentioned?"

"Yes, sir..." Karnak took a deep breath, then launched into a full recount of everything that had gone down.

When he finished, his face was still tight with worry. He pressed on urgently, "Honored Angel, our people are scattered all over this dimensional rift. If Malphas’s forces find them, they’ll be slaughtered for sure! Especially Lord Thalrun—he’s already badly wounded. If Malphas or his Efreet and Efreet Sultans catch up to him, I fear..."

"I get it," Ethan nodded grimly. He turned to The Tidebreaker, Paxton, who stood beside him, his expression just as serious. "Paxton, we’ll split up. Kyros can hold things down here. You and I—we’re going after Infernal Lord Malphas."

No way was Ethan about to charge off alone to face Malphas.

Even Thalrun—a Diamond Golem and once a Crimson Ultimate hero—had been beaten half to death by Malphas. That alone told Ethan just how terrifying this Infernal Lord really was.

And Malphas wasn’t alone. According to Karnak, he had hundreds of Efreet and Efreet Sultans with him—at least half of them were 12-Tier Royal Units!

Hundreds of 12-Tier Royals, all under the command of a Legendary orange-tier hero from their own race?

Yeah, Ethan knew exactly what that meant.

This was going to be a brutal fight.

With his current strength, he’d need Paxton’s power—and probably Karnak’s and the other Metal Golems’ too—if they had any hope of taking Malphas down and completing this S+ difficulty, orange-quality Codex quest.

[Karnak]

Level: 56

Race: Metal Golem – Bronze Golem

Tier: Orange Legendary Hero

Hero Class: Bronze Golem Warrior

Tier: 11

Attack: 211

Defense: 233

Spell Power: 15

Knowledge: 23

HP: 40,000

Damage: 321–547

Magic Damage: ...

Hero Skills: Armorer, Offense

Hero Talents:

Magic Immunity (60% immunity to all magic except fire; takes 100% more damage from fire spells)

Bronzesteel Skin (Bronzesteel is an incredibly tough special metal in the world of Glory Lords X, offering extreme defense and high magic resistance. Bronze Golems inherit this, boosting their defense by 50%.)

Bronzesteel Reflection (Reflects up to 30% of incoming damage based on the strength of the attack.)

Starcrush Strike (A devastating single-target attack amplified by immense force—strong enough to shatter stars. Increases damage by 30% and critical hit chance by 1%. Cooldown: 10 minutes.)

Mechanical Mastery (Innate talent for crafting and engineering. Recognized as a "Machinist." Machinists have five ranks; Karnak is currently Rank 3.)

Sluggish Movement (Metal Golems move extremely slowly—only about one-third the speed of normal units of the same tier.)

Overall Evaluation: D-Rank Orange Legendary Hero!

After glancing over Karnak’s stat sheet, Ethan immediately came to a conclusion:

This guy had some serious strengths—and some glaring weaknesses.

On the plus side, he was tough as hell, packed a monstrous punch, and had strong magic resistance.

The downside? He was naturally vulnerable to fire magic... and moved slower than a snail stuck in molasses.

Units like Karnak weren’t exactly built for naval battles—or aerial ones, for that matter. But on solid ground? As long as they didn’t run into a fire mage, Karnak was basically a walking tank, an absolute beast.

Against other melee Hero Units or regular troops of the same tier, these Metal Golems would be damn near unstoppable.

But that was a problem for another day.

Right now, in this battle, Ethan figured the Metal Golems would be lucky just not to drag them down. Actually making a difference? That was probably asking too much.

"Kyros, you’re in charge here. Clean them up fast, then come find us!" Ethan shouted over his shoulder.

"Yes, Master! Don’t worry—I’ll finish them off as quickly as possible!" Kyros called back, his eyes narrowing sharply as he dove back into the fight.

One after another, 11-Tier Efreet and 12-Tier Efreet Sultans fell before him. And with every kill, Kyros’s level surged higher, kicking off a second explosive growth phase.

Which meant he was only going to get stronger.

Faster at killing.

And way more helpful when it came time for Ethan to take down Infernal Lord Malphas and complete this orange-quality Codex quest.

"Let’s move!" Ethan barked.

He left all his 14-Tier Sacred Kirins and 13-Tier Kirins behind to help Kyros mop up the battlefield. Then he, The Tidebreaker Paxton, Karnak, and the rest of the Metal Golems pushed deeper into the dimensional rift.

Their targets were clear:

Find the Infernal Legions.

Find Infernal Lord Malphas.

Find Diamond Golem Thalrun and the scattered Metal Golems.

It didn’t take long before they ran into the first wave of Infernal Legions—about fifty of them, a mix of 11-Tier Efreet and 12-Tier Efreet Sultans.

Right now, they were surrounding and attacking a group of Gold Golems and Iron Golems.

And leading the Golem side?

A Gold Golem hero—one who was clearly a serious powerhouse.

The name of the Gold Golem hero was Arbachel.

[Arbachel]

Level: 58

Race: Metal Golem – Gold Golem

Tier: Epic (Purple)!

Hero Class: Gold Golem Warrior!

Tier: 10

Attack: 188

Defense: 199

Spell Power: 13

Knowledge: 30

HP: 20,000

Damage: 233–401

Magic Damage: ...

Hero Skills: Armorer, Offense...

Hero Talents:

Magic Immunity (40% resistance to all magic except fire; takes 100% more damage from fire spells)

...

Mechanical Mastery (Innate talent for crafting and engineering. Known as a "Mechanist"! There are five ranks of Mechanists; Arbachel is currently Rank 3.)

Sluggish Movement (Metal Golems move at only one-third the speed of regular units of the same Tier!)

Negative Status:

Overheated (Extreme heat has reduced all attributes by 30%!)

Overall Evaluation: SSS-Rank Epic (Purple) Hero!

[Gold Golem]

Tier: 10

...

[Iron Golem]

Tier: 6

...

Clearly, with just these Tier 10 Gold Golems and Tier 6 Iron Golems, there was no way they could stand up to the Tier 11 Efreet or the Tier 12 Efreet Sultans!

The only reason they were still holding the line was because among them, there was a Gold Golem hero—Arbachel—who was a full-fledged Tier 10 powerhouse!

"A negative status effect?"

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. He noticed that Arbachel was carrying a debuff he’d never seen before—one that slashed all his stats by 30%.

That was brutal.

No wonder the Metal Golems were getting stomped by the Infernal Legions. Not only were they naturally weak to fire magic, but now they were fighting under a crippling debuff too. Who could survive that? No one could...

"Arbachel!"

At that moment, Karnak’s eyes lit up the second he spotted his kin.

"Karnak, sir!"

The Gold Golems and Iron Golems immediately rallied, their spirits soaring.

Among their Metal Golem lineage, Karnak’s strength was second only to Thalrun’s. And now with Arbachel here too, as long as they didn’t run into an Infernal Lord, they actually had a shot at winning!

"Honored Angel, I must go help my people!" Karnak said urgently to Ethan.

"Let’s go together," Ethan nodded, then turned to The Tidebreaker, Paxton.

"Got it!"

Without missing a beat, Paxton unleashed his forces and charged straight at the hulking Infernal Legions ahead!

BOOM!

A massive army of terrifying Nagas surged out behind Paxton, conjuring a roaring tsunami that crashed forward, sweeping over the battlefield and smashing into the Efreet and Efreet Sultans like a tidal wave, sending them flying!

"Enemy attack!!"

"Roar! Roar! Roar! Kill them all!!"

The Infernal Legions reacted fast. A monstrous Tier 11 Efreet and a savage Tier 12 Efreet Sultan lunged straight at Paxton.

But Paxton didn’t even flinch—he cut them down one after another, slicing them to pieces with a single swing each!

Unlike Paxton and Infernal Lord Malphas, who fought with that fast, elusive, long-range artillery style,

The Tidebreaker Paxton’s way of fighting was way more direct—and brutal.

It was like a tiger charging down a mountain, every strike landing with bone-crushing force.

"BOOM!"

The Tidebreaker Paxton raised his weapon, and from it erupted a monstrous torrent of water, roaring forward like a raging dragon.

At the same time, a massive, terrifying surge of energy exploded outward—like a volcanic eruption—blasting straight into the ranks of the Infernal Legions.

"Tidal... Rend!"

A towering column of water shot into the sky, roaring like a furious serpent.

With just one devastating blow, more than half of the Efreet and Efreet Sultans in front of Paxton were either dead or crippled.

"Charge!"

At his thunderous command, the army of 11th-Tier Naga Swordsmen and 12th-Tier Naga Swordmasters behind him surged forward like a tidal wave, tearing the wounded Infernal Legions to bloody shreds.

In just moments, the Infernal Legions—who had been ruthlessly slaughtering the Gold Golems and Iron Golems just seconds ago—were wiped out by nearly three-quarters!

The tide of battle flipped in an instant.

Seeing this, Arbachel and the other Gold and Iron Golems were overjoyed, their eyes lighting up with hope.

"BOOM!"

Meanwhile, Ethan just shook his head with a small, knowing smile. Without missing a beat, he activated Holy Armament, transforming into his battle form. Wielding a sword of pure Celestial Fire, he took off alongside Auremax, diving straight at the remaining Efreet and Efreet Sultans.

"Auremax, let’s go!"

"ROAR!"

Auremax let out a thunderous dragon’s roar that shook the heavens. Magic particles swirled and danced wildly through the fiery world around them.

In an instant, a terrifying surge of Draconic Force enveloped Auremax’s claws. With a single devastating swipe, he crushed four or five enemies standing in his way, killing them on the spot—smashing them into dust.

"BOOM!"

The ground split open with a deafening rumble, forming a deep, narrow chasm like a wound in the earth.

Blinding white light burst forth, and beneath Ethan’s feet, a radiant, holy path unfurled in midair. Sword of sacred light in hand, wings spread wide, he soared forward—charging straight into the last scattered remnants of the enemy forces.

"RAAAH—!"

Shrill, desperate demon screams tore through the air.

One by one, the Efreet and Efreet Sultans were engulfed by the pure, searing flames of Celestial Fire, burning them to nothingness in an instant.

Just like how fire magic naturally countered Metal Golems, Light Force was the bane of all Devil-kind.

In fact, Light Force and Infernal Force had a natural interaction—each dealing 30% more damage to the other.

But that wasn’t all. Holy Armament came with a special passive ability:

Heavenfire Burn.

(Heavenfire Burn: Deals 300 HP damage per minute to enemies for 10 minutes. Damage is doubled against Inferno faction units and Inferno Hero Units. No effect on Light-aligned units.)

Cooldown: 10 minutes.

Against Inferno units, Heavenfire’s burn damage was doubled.

Stack that with the Light Force’s natural bonus damage against Infernal enemies, and Ethan’s attacks were hitting like a freight train—outpacing even Auremax’s raw power.

A few Royal Units? They didn’t stand a chance.

Under Ethan’s assault, they couldn’t even last a few seconds.

...