A few days later, the atmosphere atop the walls of Coral Fortress was thick with tension—sharp, cold, and heavy, like the calm before a storm.
Ethan stood at the forefront, his gaze locked on the distant sea. Beside him, Cicero, Seraphina, Elyra, Thalassa, Balthazar, and Auremax lined up in silence, their expressions grim.
They all stared through the shimmering rift in space—an interdimensional portal—watching the ocean beyond with quiet intensity.
Then, the sea began to stir.
Suddenly, the waves surged sky-high.
Massive waterspouts, crackling with terrifying magical energy, erupted from the ocean like sea monsters breaking free from the depths. They roared with deafening fury, spiraling and thrashing across the surface in a chaotic frenzy.
In an instant, the entire vast ocean was in upheaval.
Countless figures began to rise from the sea. Some were massive, others smaller, their auras ranging from faint to overwhelmingly powerful. But what truly shocked everyone was the sheer number of them—so many that it was impossible to count. They swarmed across the ocean like a black tide, blotting out the water beneath them.
The sight was overwhelming. Terrifying.
On the walls of Coral Fortress, many soldiers and heroes visibly flinched, their faces draining of color.
"Oh my god... What the hell—how many troops did Crimsonstar Kingdom send?! This is insane!"
"Shit... Those are Sacred Kirins—Mythic Units! I count at least twenty, maybe thirty!"
"And those are 13-Tier Kirins... looks like close to a hundred of them!"
"Plus 12-Tier Naga Swordmasters, 11-Tier Naga Swordsmen, 10-Tier units—damn it! There’s way too many!"
Panic rippled through the ranks.
Aside from Ethan, Cicero, Seraphina, Elyra, and a few others, even the elite heroes of Stellamaris Kingdom—and Queen Thalassa herself—were visibly shaken.
Gasps and cries of disbelief broke out across the wall. The tension snapped. No one could keep calm anymore.
Just then, a thunderous roar echoed from the sea. A deafening explosion shook the air as the ocean itself split apart under an immense, crushing pressure.
A massive chasm opened in the water—dark, deep, and bottomless. It looked like the maw of the abyss itself.
A wave of sharp intakes of breath swept through the defenders.
The lower-tier heroes of Stellamaris Kingdom were frozen in place, eyes wide, faces pale, their bodies trembling.
And at that moment, a familiar chime rang in Ethan’s ears.
Congratulations, Player "Valkarion"!
You have successfully triggered the third stage of the hidden chain quest: "Awakening of the Kirin."
Objective: Crush the ambitions of Crimsonstar Kingdom!
Warning: The quest has begun. Repel or eliminate enemy units and heroes. Failure to meet the kill quota or exceeding the time limit will result in mission failure.
14-Tier Sacred Kirin: 30 units. Minimum kill requirement: 10.
13-Tier Kirin: 100 units. Minimum kill requirement: 50.
12-Tier Naga Swordmasters...
Quest timer started. Time remaining: 2 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed as he read the quest panel. A cold smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Well damn... they’re really going all in, huh?"
"They must think pretty highly of me to send this much firepower." Read complete version only at nοvelfire.net
And honestly? They weren’t wrong.
Just the thirty 14-Tier Sacred Kirins and a hundred 13-Tier Kirins alone were enough to level entire kingdoms. This was a force capable of wiping out civilizations.
If he didn’t have reinforcements, there’d be no way in hell he could win this.
A cold, mocking laugh echoed from the depths of the sea.
At the same time, the massive abyss that had split the ocean began to shift—twisting, churning, transforming into a colossal whirlpool that swallowed the horizon.
And at the very center of that vortex, right as the laughter faded—
A shockwave burst forth, rippling through the air like a cannon blast.
Then, rising from the heart of the maelstrom, a monstrous figure emerged—towering, terrifying, and utterly inhuman.
A deep-sea Naga giant, dark teal in color, with four muscular arms and a body that stretched tens of thousands of feet into the sky. Each of his hands gripped a massive, rune-etched magic longsword, and his entire form radiated with overwhelming water-elemental energy. The pressure rolling off him was suffocating, like the weight of the ocean itself pressing down on your chest.
The strongest warrior in Crimsonstar Kingdom.
A 12-Tier Naga Swordmaster, and an S-rank Legendary Hero—marked in orange, the highest rarity.
As he rose, Ethan’s system interface lit up, displaying the enemy’s stats in full:
Warlord Hero of Crimsonstar Kingdom
Rarity: Orange Legendary Hero (S-Rank)
Class: Naga Swordmaster
Physical Damage: 533–781
Magic Damage: 267–333
Wave Splitter Slash – Instantly strikes the same target three times in rapid succession. Each hit deals slightly less damage than the last.
Warden of the Abyssal Naga – Boosts base Attack, Defense, and HP of all 11-Tier and 12-Tier Naga Swordsmen and all Deep Sea Naga units under his command. Starts at 5%, scaling with level. Currently at 37%, maxes at 45%.
Ocean Mastery – Grants full mobility in aquatic environments and the ability to summon tsunamis. Damage output rivals top-tier Tier 3 magic.
Rebirth of the Severed Limb – Can rapidly heal wounds and even regenerate lost limbs or body parts using the power of the sea.
Weakness Lock – With hyper-precise observation, can pinpoint an enemy’s weak spot and deliver a devastating, potentially fatal blow.
Overall Rating: S-Rank Orange Legendary Hero
"Holy shit..." Ethan muttered, his body tensing as he read the stats.
He couldn’t help it—Thalric was a monster.
Eight innate talents. Nearly 800 base damage. Close to 50,000 HP.
The guy was a walking natural disaster.
But the shock only lasted a moment. Ethan quickly forced it down, steadying his breath and narrowing his eyes.
He’d prepared for this.
Even a monster like Thalric wasn’t enough to shake him now.