Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 861: The Only Way Through

Ethan closed his eyes for a brief moment.

When he opened them again, his gaze was calm—utterly still.

The system's analysis had already finished running comparisons.

The conclusion was clear. Brutal.

A direct firepower exchange—guaranteed defeat.

The only path to break the deadlock—

Destroy the core vessel.

In other words—

They had to breach the Doomsday Ark.

And end this in close-quarters combat.

It was a reckless, high-risk move.

But it was the only one with any chance of success.

Ethan didn't hesitate.

He raised his hand and initiated the main Sky Fortress's separation protocol.

A deep mechanical unlocking sound echoed through the ship's interior.

A moment later, a small, high-mobility assault craft launched from the belly of the fortress.

This wasn't a standard escape pod.

It was equipped with a diverted main-core energy module and multiple heavy weapon systems.

Even detached from the mothership, it could fight independently.

A true—

"Penetration spearhead."

"Emerald Castle, all units—listen up."

This time, Ethan didn't use the broadcast system.

He patched directly into the internal command channels of every Sky Fortress.

His voice rang out in every command deck simultaneously.

"We don't have the luxury of dragging this out."

"If we keep holding, the line will collapse."

"All units—"

"Execute separation protocol immediately."

"Target: Doomsday Ark."

A beat of silence.

Then—

Confirmation signals poured in like a downpour.

No hesitation.

No questions.

One by one, Sky Fortresses opened their separation bays.

Dozens of high-mobility assault crafts launched in sequence.

Their engines ignited in unison.

Dozens of glowing trails converged into a single, high-speed charge across the sky.

At the front of the Doomsday Ark's bridge, Aurelkar narrowed his eyes.

For the first time, his brow furrowed.

Those weren't standard ships.

They were small, fast, and their flight paths were sharp and erratic—like a swarm of metal arrows loosed from a bow, weaving through the storm of cannon fire with terrifying precision.

This kind of assault tactic—

Was completely outside his expectations for Emerald Castle.

"All weapon systems—full activation."

Aurelkar's voice was low and cold.

The moment the order dropped, several officers on the bridge visibly paled.

In standard fleet doctrine, the safest response to a high-speed swarm assault was:

Shut down part of the external firepower systems, and divert energy to reinforce the defensive barrier.

Let the shield absorb the charge's momentum, then clean up the survivors.

But if they poured all energy into offense—

The defense layer would weaken significantly.

It was textbook-level risk.

"Your Majesty," one officer stepped forward, unable to stay silent. "If they get close to the hull, we'll lose our firepower advantage. I recommend we reserve at least half our energy for shielding."

"He's right, sire," another added quickly. "Emerald Castle's combat strength has already exceeded all prior estimates—dropping defenses now is extremely dangerous."

A brief silence.

Then Aurelkar turned sharply.

"Silence."

His voice sliced through the air like a blade of ice. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"The Doomsday Ark's firepower is enough to erase the sky."

"If they dare charge—"

"Then let them be vaporized mid-flight."

The order was enforced without room for debate.

Energy indicators across the bridge surged upward.

Battery arrays lit up in waves.

Blinding beams of energy poured out like a storm, turning the sky into a searing white curtain of death.

But—

The assault crafts didn't charge head-on.

They were small, agile, and their flight paths were wildly unpredictable. Using short-range jumps and burst propulsion, they weaved through the firestorm like needles threading a burning loom.

More importantly—

These crafts were core components of the Sky Fortresses themselves. Each carried high-density energy reserves and stabilized shield modules.

Even if they were grazed by edge fire, they could maintain structural integrity for a short time.

Explosions bloomed across the sky.

Debris rained down like falling stars.

But still—

A large number of assault units broke through the fire curtain.

In less than thirty seconds—

Nearly half had made it past the barrage, closing in on the Doomsday Ark's outer hull.

They had entered—

The ship's firepower blind zone.

"Damn it…"

Aurelkar's breathing grew noticeably heavier.

He watched, eyes narrowing, as the assault crafts latched onto the hull like magnets. The outer gun arrays couldn't adjust—blocked by the Ark's own structure. They had no clean firing angles.

At the same time—

One of the crafts stabilized its position.

Inside the cockpit, Ethan didn't hesitate. He rerouted every last drop of remaining energy into the Ultimate Annihilation Cannon.

The barrel flared instantly, light swelling to a blinding peak.

The next second—

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

A barrage of destruction slammed into the deck armor.

The metal groaned, torn apart by brute force. Shockwaves rippled through the hull, rattling the entire structure.

Craters burst open across the surface. Narlost troops stationed there were thrown into chaos.

The blasts hurled armored units into the air. Fire and shrapnel rolled across the deck like a storm.

But almost immediately, Ethan noticed something was wrong.

The cannon was at full power.

Eight consecutive max-output shots—

And all they'd done was scar the surface.

The deeper layers of the hull remained intact.

"…This level of defense…"

Ethan's pupils contracted.

He finally understood—

The Doomsday Ark wasn't a warship in the conventional sense.

Its armor wasn't just thick—it was layered with high-grade energy stabilizers and spatial compression shielding.

Single-point firepower wouldn't cut it.

There was no time left for restraint.

Ethan quickly rerouted all remaining energy from the assault craft into his Powered Combat Armor.

Energy cells lit up one by one. Golden light surged across the armor's surface, steady and blazing, until the entire suit hit full charge.

Then, without hesitation, he triggered the craft's self-destruct sequence.

The thrusters fired in reverse.

Using the recoil, Ethan launched himself backward into the air.

The now-unmanned craft, burning like a meteor, slammed straight into the Doomsday Ark's deck.

—BOOM!!!

The compressed energy core detonated in a sealed chamber.

There was no fireball.

Instead, a collapsing shockwave imploded inward, crushing the surrounding structure.

The heavy armor split open.

Metal peeled back like paper—twisting, snapping, vaporizing.

A massive crater tore through the center of the deck. The Narlost soldiers nearby didn't even have time to scream—

They were erased on the spot.

The shockwave rippled outward.

More troops were flung aside, wounded, or sent tumbling off the edge.

The sight ignited the fury of Emerald Castle's forces.

Almost instantly—

One assault craft after another followed suit, initiating self-destruct charges mid-dive.

Explosions bloomed across the Doomsday Ark's deck in rapid succession.

The thunder of detonations became a constant roar.

Weapon modules were blown apart. Several gun arrays went offline entirely. For the first time, the Ark's hull showed visible, undeniable damage.

In the chaos, Ethan's eyes locked onto his target.

—Aurelkar.

That figure at the bow, unmoving, like a black mountain pressing down on the world.

"This is it."

His armor's propulsion module flared.

Ethan became a streak of golden lightning, diving straight from the sky.

At that moment, Aurelkar's fury finally erupted.

He raised his hand.

The energy in the surrounding space twisted violently, sucked inward and compressed into a massive, unstable sphere in his palm.

The next instant—

He hurled it straight at Ethan.