Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 824: Let Them Bleed First

Back in Emerald Castle's main city,

Ethan didn't speak for a long time.

Floating in front of him was a massive, three-dimensional star map—

crowded with markers.

Each glowing point represented a potential threat.

And among them all,

the Narlost Empire blazed in the most blinding shade of red.

"Too fast…"

Ethan muttered under his breath.

Narlost's strength had already surpassed the realm of ordinary nations.

Even a probing strike from them—

had come in the form of someone like Sarenyx.

If Feylora hadn't stepped in—

Emerald Castle would've been wiped off the map.

Ethan's gaze swept slowly across the entire map.

Compared to Narlost,

Emerald Castle still felt terrifyingly small.

If the enemy launched a full-scale assault,

there would be zero margin for error.

"We have to race the clock."

That was the only conclusion he could draw.

In the days that followed,

Emerald Castle plunged into a frenzy that bordered on madness.

Training—relentless, sleepless.

Leveling up—no cost too high.

Fueled by golden liquid, blood-red crystals, and newly-forged energy cores,

the Tiers of countless members began to leap forward in rapid succession.

The entire city-state

was like a cornered beast,

desperately hoarding power.

Until that day.

Without warning, the sky darkened.

A presence descended from the heavens—

so overwhelming it made the soul instinctively tremble.

BOOM—!

The air itself shuddered.

Deep in the mines, Ethan snapped his eyes open mid-absorption.

He didn't even stop to think—

his body moved before his mind caught up.

"All personnel, evacuate the mines! Now!"

The command came out as a roar.

Seconds later,

Ethan and his core team shot into the sky.

Someone looked up,

eyes fixed on the churning clouds above.

Their voice shook.

"...It's Raimondrex."

This time, no one argued.

Panic spread like a plague.

Even though Emerald Castle had, in recent days,

constructed over a hundred layers of compound defense barriers—

in front of Raimondrex,

they were nothing but paper walls.

The next moment—

a roar exploded from deep within the cloud sea.

All hundred layers of shielding

were pierced in an instant.

A strange, terrifying force

slammed into the ground, carving out a bottomless crater.

For the first time, Ethan's breathing faltered.

He knew better than anyone—

if Raimondrex fully descended,

they had no chance.

And just then—

a second overwhelming presence

appeared on the far side of the sky.

Ethan snapped his head up.

The Narlost army was unfolding from a rift in the void, slow and deliberate.

This time, it wasn't a probe.

Leading them was a man—middle-aged, strikingly handsome, his aura tightly restrained.

But it was that restraint that set Ethan's nerves on edge.

"Just as I thought…"

Two calamity-class entities, appearing over Emerald Castle at the same time.

There was no way that was coincidence.

Ethan's mind raced, calculations snapping into place in seconds.

A head-on fight—

Guaranteed loss.

There was only one path left.

"All units, fall back!"

The order went out.

But before the retreat began, Ethan did something that, on the surface, looked insane.

"—Attack Raimondrex."

Every weapon they could still fire—

unleashed at once,

all of it pouring into the clouds above.

It was a provocation.

And a lure.

Ethan knew Raimondrex's patterns well—

It never lingered long.

But if enraged enough, it would fully descend and unleash devastation.

As Emerald Castle's main forces pulled back at full speed—

the clouds tore open.

A massive figure, vast enough to blot out the sky,

descended from the heavens.

Only now did Ethan get a clear look at the monster emerging from the cloud sea.

It wasn't a dragon in the traditional sense.

It was a Sky Leviathan.

Its body was so massive it blanketed half the sky,

yet it still retained a twisted echo of draconic form.

Twin horns jutted from its brow, and with every faint flicker,

they triggered violent lightning to race through the clouds.

Its broad wings gave a single, effortless beat—

and the air ignited.

Flames surged like a storm. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

This wasn't a creature.

It was a natural disaster in motion.

But Ethan didn't have time to marvel at its form.

"Move."

That was all he said.

Emerald Castle's forces didn't hesitate.

They pulled out of the aerial battlefield in tight formation,

like a fleet retreating before a tidal wave.

And just as they cleared the zone—

Narlost's army stepped directly into Raimondrex's strike range.

"What?!"

At the front of the Narlost formation, the handsome middle-aged commander's face twisted in shock.

He reacted on instinct, unleashing his full power.

A shadow surged behind him—

a grotesque, monstrous silhouette—

and hurled itself forward to intercept.

The next instant—

Lightning crashed down.

Flames tore the sky apart.

The two forces collided head-on.

But the outcome was never in doubt.

The man's power,

in front of Raimondrex,

was laughably small.

A deafening boom.

The shadow shattered.

The man's body was flung backward,

tossed like debris in a hurricane.

Watching from a distance, Ethan's eyes narrowed.

He could tell.

Narlost had a chance to retreat.

They could've pulled back, avoided this pointless clash.

But they didn't.

Instead—

their formation began to tighten, converge.

Energy surged, forcibly stacked layer upon layer.

They were preparing—

for a direct assault on a walking cataclysm.

"…They're going to brute-force it."

Ethan muttered.

It wasn't a rational choice.

It was the arrogance of a nation too powerful for too long—

the belief that with enough strength,

they could crush anything.

Even Raimondrex.

Meanwhile, Emerald Castle's forces had fully withdrawn behind the city walls.

The final layer of the energy barrier rose slowly into place.

Several Sky Fortresses hovered high above, locked and loaded—

but they didn't open fire.

Inside the city, the atmosphere was suffocating.

Finally, someone couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Master… the enemy's already at our doorstep."

"And we're just hiding here like this—

isn't that… kind of pathetic?"

The moment the words left his mouth,

the air went taut.

Many lowered their heads,

but no one spoke up to disagree.

They were used to fighting head-on.

Even when outmatched,

they never backed down.

But now,

all they could do was stand and watch

as two monstrous forces tore each other apart just outside their gates.

Ethan cleared his throat softly

and stepped up onto a makeshift platform.

Every eye turned to him.

"Soldiers."

His voice wasn't loud,

but it carried, sharp and clear.

"I'm not afraid."

"I'm aware."

He raised a hand, pointing toward the sky—

where lightning and fire were ripping the heavens apart.

"Right now, Emerald Castle doesn't have the power

to take on two enemies of that level at once."

"If I ordered you to charge out there now—

that wouldn't be bravery."

"That would be sending you to die."

Silence.

Then Ethan went on:

"So what we need to do

isn't prove how fearless we are."

"It's make them

bleed for us first."

"Let them tear each other apart—

wait for the real opening."

His gaze sharpened like a blade.

"And when that moment comes—"

"I'll lead you myself,

and we'll kill every last bastard who dares set foot in Emerald Castle."

This time,

no one questioned him.

One by one, they stepped back,

returning to their posts in silence.

...