As soon as Eldorin said this, Ethan felt a sudden sinking feeling in his gut. He turned to Eldorin with a strange expression and asked, "Eldorin, remind me again—what resource do we need to recruit Ancient War Trees?"
Eldorin froze for a second, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. "Um...I think it’s crystals too..."
"I knew it!" Ethan groaned, his face stiffening as he shook his head in a mix of amusement and despair.
In fact, the distribution of Creature Dwellings and resource points in the world of Glory Lords X followed clear patterns.
Predictable patterns!
For example, in forest regions, most Creature Dwellings and resource points required crystals.
In swamp regions, sulfur, stone, and wood were the main resources.
Castle-aligned or urban areas were more balanced, needing all six major resources equally.
It wasn’t that the game deliberately set it up this way; rather, factions naturally gravitated toward areas that suited their resource needs. For instance, if a faction acquired a high-tier Creature Dwelling that required crystals, they’d naturally move toward forested regions rich in crystal deposits. It was the fastest way to recruit powerful, high-tier units.
Eldorin and Bromir’s former kingdom had done exactly that.
They weren’t necessarily native to Gleaming Forest—or even the Sylvanwood region—but once they gained access to the Tier 13 Legendary Unit, the Ancient War Tree, which required crystals, it was only logical they’d settle in Gleaming Forest.
They naturally expanded toward areas abundant in crystal resources.
This was the difference between ordinary kingdoms and powerful empires.
Ordinary kingdoms were still constrained by resource availability, while powerful empires had largely transcended such limitations.
As for Emerald Castle, they were barely scratching the surface of becoming a proper kingdom. Honestly, they were just at the threshold—just barely.
In fact, if it weren’t for Cicero and Seraphina, the two Crimson Ultimate heroes, Emerald Castle wouldn’t even be close to that threshold.
After all, surviving the test of time was itself proof of strength. If they couldn’t hold out, they’d have vanished long ago—just like the ruins deep within Gleaming Forest, the so-called Lost Realms.
In short, having plenty of crystal resource points and access to the Tier 13 Legendary Ancient War Tree dwelling was fantastic news for Emerald Castle.
But for Ethan personally, it was a bit of a nightmare!
The Tier 13 Green Dragons were already burning through crystals like crazy. If they added Ancient War Trees into the mix... Ethan shuddered at the thought and quickly pushed it aside.
He turned to Elynn, changing the subject. "Alright then, Elynn, what’s your current take on the Lost Realms in Gleaming Forest?"
"My thinking right now is straightforward," Elynn replied firmly. "If possible, we should just storm in, wipe out that Dungeon faction, and fully secure Gleaming Forest. After that, I’m considering planting some crops in Wishing Valley."
"Crops?" Ethan blinked, surprised.
"Yeah, crops," Elynn nodded seriously. "Before, Emerald Castle didn’t have many people, so food wasn’t really an issue. But now, as we keep growing, food is becoming increasingly scarce. We don’t have a stable food source yet, and if we don’t address this soon, it could become a serious problem down the line."
This time Ethan stared blankly for a moment before finally nodding. "You’re right, Elynn. Honestly, I completely overlooked the food issue..."
Truth be told, Emerald Castle had always been strong, but their population and army size had never been large enough to worry about logistics. They’d never really needed to think about food before.
But now things were different. As Emerald Castle grew stronger, their population and troops expanded rapidly. Food was quickly becoming a critical issue.
After all, an army marches on its stomach.
The world of Glory Lords X was a realistic one—everyone needed to eat. If they couldn’t even feed their people properly, how could they possibly expand their territory?
More importantly, Wishing Valley had vast stretches of fertile land, making it an ideal breadbasket. Once they got farming up and running, Ethan could even consider trading surplus food.
As for potential customers...
Ethan glanced thoughtfully toward Fury Wasteland.
The orcs of the Stronghold faction would definitely make excellent customers for food trade!
Thinking of this, Ethan quickly nodded. "Alright, Elynn, I’ll leave the farming project entirely to you. Let’s bump it up the priority list."
"Yes, my lord!" Elynn immediately nodded.
"Good! Now, onto the second matter..." Ethan’s eyes flashed as he turned toward Eldorin and Seraphina. "Have you gathered enough intel on the Lost Realms and that Dungeon faction?"
At this, Elynn’s expression grew unusually serious. "My lord, things are a bit trickier than we initially thought..."
"Oh?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"We’ve confirmed that the enemy has at least five Tier 13 Legendary Units—Red Dragons!" Elynn said quickly.
"Red Dragons?" Ethan was stunned for a moment. "You mean the Dungeon faction’s Tier 13 Ultimate Units, actual Red Dragons?"
"What about their unit hero?" Ethan asked.
"We don’t know yet..." Elynn shook her head.
"You don’t know?" Ethan was taken aback again.
At this point, Eldorin stood up, looking ashamed. "My lord, the enemy was too powerful. We didn’t dare linger too long, so we only managed to confirm the presence of five Red Dragons..."
"Are you absolutely sure they’re real Red Dragons?" Ethan interrupted. "Could they be illusions or disguises?"
"No way!" Eldorin shook his head firmly. "Red Dragons can disguise their appearance, but their strength can’t be faked. My lord, I swear on my life—those five dragons we saw were definitely genuine Tier 13 Legendary Red Dragons!"
Hearing this, Ethan fell silent, deep in thought. This update is available on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
"Hmph!" Seraphina suddenly snorted disdainfully. "Just five Red Dragons? My lord, let me handle them! I can wipe them all out by myself!"
As a Crimson Ultimate hero, Seraphina could easily handle twenty or thirty units of the same tier. Naturally, she didn’t take mere Red Dragons seriously.
"Seraphina, hold on a second," Ethan shook his head gently, then turned back to Elynn. "Elynn, what’s your take on this?"
"I..." Elynn hesitated briefly before speaking uncertainly. "I suspect this Dungeon faction might be connected to the underground entrance in Verdant Ravine."
"The underground entrance in Verdant Ravine?" Seraphina blinked, confused. "But wasn’t that sealed off?"
"Sealed doesn’t mean inaccessible," Cicero suddenly spoke up, his eyes thoughtful. "Tier 3 water magic like Instant Teleportation, demon race spatial magic, strategic artifacts with teleportation abilities... There are plenty of ways to move freely between the surface and underground worlds without breaking the seal."
"In other words," Ethan’s expression darkened, "they might have a unit hero capable of commanding Tier 13 Legendary Units, just like us?"
"Very likely," Cicero nodded calmly. "Otherwise, given the Red Dragons’ temperament and preferences, they’d never willingly come to the surface world."
"Besides, ordinary units can’t occupy Creature Dwellings," Cicero added. Ethan fell silent again, realizing he’d overlooked this crucial detail. Only unit heroes or special units evolving into heroes could occupy Creature Dwellings.
"A unit hero, huh..." Ethan muttered, feeling a headache coming on.
He wasn’t afraid of wild Tier 13 Legendary Units—even special hidden ones—but a hero capable of commanding such powerful units was a different story entirely. He had to take them seriously.
"Unless they have their own castle or stronghold, Tier 13 Legendary Units rarely submit to heroes below Orange Legendary rank," Cicero continued calmly. "If we’re dealing with an Orange Legendary hero plus five Red Dragons, we can still handle it, but it’ll definitely be tricky."
Cicero paused, then looked at Ethan. "My suggestion, my lord, is to launch a probing attack first. See if we can draw them out. But honestly, it’s not a huge issue. The surface world is our home turf—we can afford to play the long game and see who outlasts whom."
"Good point!" Ethan nodded decisively. "Then it’s settled. Seraphina, Cicero, Eldorin—you’re coming with me to check out the Lost Realms in Gleaming Forest. Everyone else stays behind to guard Emerald Castle, as usual."