Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 852: From This Moment On, This Place Is Mine

Ethan suddenly looked up.

"Tell me."

"When can this thing be built?"

"And—can it be mass-produced?"

The excitement on the researcher's face dimmed noticeably.

"Master… this level of equipment already far surpasses the Ultimate Annihilation Cannon."

He gave a wry smile.

"Mass production is nearly impossible."

"But—"

"Without compromising stability, we can produce at most… twenty units."

A brief silence followed.

Then Ethan let out a low, unrestrained laugh that echoed through the lab.

Twenty units.

That was enough.

For power at this level, quantity was never the deciding factor.

"When can production begin?"

The researcher raised a hand and pointed to the armor still wrapped around Ethan.

"We need the full combat data from your last engagement."

"And… some structural elements still need fine-tuning."

Ethan didn't hesitate.

He raised his hand and disengaged the armor lock.

The Powered Combat Armor slowly detached from his body, unfolding and reverting into a cooling metallic framework.

"Take it."

Almost at the same time—

Outside the lab, Emerald Castle's outer energy barrier had been fully restored.

And not just restored—

Several new layers of defensive structures had been added on top of the original.

Ethan didn't stop moving.

With the Sky Fortress's armor production now entering prep phase, he needed to secure even more power to support what came next.

His original plan was to head deep into the mines and collect more of that golden energy fluid to further stabilize his condition.

But just as he was about to leave, Feylora suddenly stepped in front of him, raising a hand to stop him.

"Master."

Her tone was uncharacteristically serious, with a trace of urgency she couldn't quite hide.

"The battle earlier broke out too suddenly. Some intel didn't make it to you in time."

Ethan turned slightly, giving her a sidelong glance.

"During our patrol on the outer perimeter, we discovered a very unusual space," Feylora continued. "It's rich in high-purity mineral resources, and… there's a type of extremely rare metal there."

She paused.

"If we can bring those resources back, it might not just benefit the War Machine project—there's a real chance we could fully expand the Powered Combat Armor production line."

The moment those words left her mouth—

Ethan's eyes lit up.

Without a second thought, he reached out and grabbed Feylora's arm.

"Where?"

"Take me."

Feylora didn't dare delay. She immediately led Ethan out of Emerald Castle.

—It was a long journey.

Spatial jumps couldn't lock onto the location precisely, so they had to recalibrate their course across multiple relay points. By the time they finally reached the target zone, a full day had passed.

The moment the cave came into view, Ethan came to a sudden stop.

It was too quiet.

Not just lifeless—

Even the space itself felt suppressed, like something heavy was pressing down on reality.

The air was so dense it barely moved.

"This place…" Ethan narrowed his eyes. "It's not just a mining site."

He could feel it clearly—an immense spatial force was lurking deep within the cave. Dormant, sealed… or maybe just sleeping.

But he didn't back down.

Tier 30 power flowed steadily through his body.

Ethan raised his hand and pressed his palm into the air.

Buzz—

A surge of violent spatial energy erupted, and a twisted vortex was forcibly torn open.

"Let's go."

Without hesitation, the two of them stepped through.

A brief moment of weightlessness—

Then their vision snapped wide open.

They stood in a vast, alien world.

The sky was dim and gray. The land was barren. As far as the eye could see, there were endless mountain ranges and exposed mineral veins stretching across the surface.

There wasn't a single trace of life.

"I've already scouted this place thoroughly," Feylora said quietly. "There are no active units inside this space. No energy signatures either."

"If we want to mine it, all we need is a team. Large-scale extraction should be completely viable."

Ethan gave a slight nod.

His attention was already drawn to the clear, resonant hum of metal echoing through the air around them.

That kind of vibration—

Definitely not from ordinary ore.

Just as the two were about to head deeper—

Vmmm—

A low, grating rumble suddenly rolled out from deep within the distant mountains.

The next second—

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—!

The ground shook violently. The mountain split open, and a massive shadow slowly rose from within the rock layers. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Chunks of stone crumbled and fell.

The grinding roar of metal echoed across the sky.

A colossal figure emerged in full.

It was a stone giant, its entire body gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Its form looked like it had been forged directly from the mineral veins themselves. Every movement it made sent heavy energy tremors rippling through the air.

And embedded in its chest—

A massive blood-red gem pulsed steadily, like a beating heart.

An endless surge of power poured out from that gem, flooding the space around it.

"Who—"

A deep, furious voice boomed across the land.

"Dares trespass on my territory?!"

A crushing wave of pressure slammed down.

Ethan's pupils narrowed sharply.

Because he could feel it—clear as day.

The energy radiating from this thing—

Early-stage Tier 30.

Feylora's face paled instantly.

"No way…"

She murmured under her breath, stunned.

"There was no life signature here the last time I came…"

But before she could finish—

Ethan stepped forward, rising slowly into the air.

"That's enough."

His voice wasn't loud, but it cut clean through the lingering tremors in the space.

"I don't care who you are."

Hovering above, Ethan looked down at the towering creature below, his tone cold—bordering on merciless.

"From this moment on, this place belongs to me."

"Get out of this space."

"Or—"

"I'll take your head."

The stone giant's eyes contracted sharply.

It clearly hadn't expected an outsider to speak to it like that—on its own turf, no less.

Rage exploded instantly.

The blood-red gem in its chest flared, drawing in energy at a terrifying rate—compressing it wildly, with zero restraint.

The next instant—

BOOM!

A blinding energy beam tore through the air, screaming straight toward Ethan.

The force behind it was monstrous.

But—

Ethan didn't flinch.

Not even a flicker of panic crossed his face.

In fact, there was a faint trace of mockery in his eyes.

He simply raised one hand.

And in his palm, casually formed a small, unremarkable energy sphere.

Then—

Like tossing away something utterly meaningless, he flicked it forward.

The two forces collided midair.

But there was no drawn-out clash, no power struggle.

The moment the energy sphere touched the beam, it unraveled—like it had been absorbed—then reversed course, riding the flow of energy straight back toward the giant.