"Master, do you remember the dungeon entrance at Verdant Ravine?" Seraphina spoke up quickly, her tone urgent. "Once you go in, there’s a whole nest of Firebirds and Phoenixes aligned with the Conflux faction. And among them—there’s a Crimson Ultimate Firebird hero!"
Then her expression twisted with irritation, and she added through gritted teeth, "But that woman’s got a nasty attitude. We tried to form an alliance with them before, but she completely ignored us... like we didn’t even exist."
"The Firebird and Phoenix habitat?" Ethan blinked, trying to recall. Then it hit him—Lilith had mentioned something about it months ago. But back then, he’d been so focused on the naval expedition that he’d brushed it off. Eventually, he’d forgotten about it entirely.
He hadn’t expected that Firebird territory to actually house a Crimson Ultimate Firebird hero.
"How strong is she?" Ethan asked, curiosity piqued.
"Very strong," Seraphina answered without hesitation. Then she added, "Honestly, she’s probably even stronger than that Leviathan hero we ran into a while back."
"Stronger than the Leviathan hero?" Ethan’s eyes widened, the words slipping out before he could stop them. "So she’s post-second awakening...? If she’s stronger than that Leviathan, she’s gotta be around level 60—or maybe even higher?"
"And they’ve got a ton of regular troops too," Seraphina continued. "Last time I was there, I counted over a hundred Tier-14 Phoenix units alone."
"A hundred Tier-14 Phoenixes?" Ethan echoed, stunned.
That was serious firepower.
No wonder they’d turned down an alliance.
They probably thought Emerald Castle wasn’t even worth their time.
No matter how you looked at it—
"This could be a breakthrough," Ethan murmured, eyes narrowing in thought.
"Master, should we send someone to try again?" Elynn asked, then gave a wry smile. "But... Seraphina’s right. That Firebird hero—her attitude is seriously over the top."
"That’s to be expected. Power and pride usually go hand in hand," Ethan replied casually. "If Emerald Castle were strong enough to crush everything in its path, I’d be proud too."
He paused, then added with a knowing smile, "Besides, you’re not the right people to approach her. She’s a Crimson Ultimate hero—probably the leader of the Firebird and Phoenix clan in that region. You’re not me. It makes sense she wouldn’t want to ally with you... or even acknowledge you."
As he spoke, Ethan stood up, his eyes narrowing with resolve.
"Alright then. I’ll go to the Firebird and Phoenix habitat myself."
The room went still. Everyone’s expression shifted slightly.
"But Master, what if the Dungeon heroes spot you?" Elynn asked, clearly worried.
"If they do, they do," Ethan said with a shrug. "Their main target is Seraphina. As long as she stays out of sight, they probably won’t care about me. Besides, they don’t even know who I am."
He wasn’t bluffing—he’d thought this through.
Most of the Dungeon faction’s Hero Units didn’t think the way people like them did. Their minds were wired for destruction, slaughter, and chaos. Strategy? Tactics? That wasn’t their thing.
In fact, among the three major factions of the Dark Alliance, Dungeon was hands-down the dumbest. No contest.
Inferno was a little better—barely.
But the real masterminds? That was the Necropolis faction. The undead.
If you wanted to talk brains, cunning, and manipulation, Necropolis was in a league of its own. In the world of Glory Lords X, every faction—Light or Dark—agreed on one thing: you don’t mess with the undead lightly.
Everyone feared them.
So when you went to war with Necropolis, you had to be extremely careful.
Even with Inferno, you had to stay on your toes.
You didn’t need to overthink it.
Because, frankly, they weren’t capable of that kind of thinking.
They just weren’t built for it.
"My Lord, I might have an idea," a deep, resonant voice suddenly chimed in. It was Zyraxis, the Mana Crystal Dragon. The source of thɪs content is novel(ꜰ)ire.net
"Oh?" Ethan turned to him, intrigued. "Let’s hear it."
"Our Mana Crystal Dragon race is particularly skilled in disguise magic," Zyraxis said. "I could try disguising this Green Dragon here... as Her Highness Seraphina."
He paused, then gave a sly smile. "And with how empty-headed those filthy Dungeon creatures are, I doubt they’d ever suspect a thing."
"Disguise magic?" Ethan’s eyes lit up with excitement. He didn’t hesitate. "Let’s do it."
Zyraxis nodded, then turned to the Green Dragon, Orryn. "Don’t resist my magic. Just relax and let it happen."
"Yes, sir," Orryn replied, giving a firm nod.
A surge of powerful magic pulsed from Zyraxis, enveloping Orryn in a shimmering aura. In less than thirty seconds, the transformation was complete.
Orryn now looked exactly like Seraphina—down to the last detail.
"Whew..." Zyraxis exhaled, clearly pleased with the result.
"As expected, it’s easier to disguise someone of the same species. Lord Ethan, mission accomplished."
"Excellent," Ethan said, clearly impressed. He then turned to Seraphina, who was circling the transformed Orryn with wide eyes, clearly fascinated.
"Seraphina, I need you to imprint your Crimson Ultimate hero’s Primordial Force aura onto Orryn."
The appearance was perfect—but the aura, the presence, still wasn’t quite right.
Only Seraphina’s own Primordial Force could replicate that unique pressure and energy signature.
"Got it!" Seraphina nodded quickly and got to work.
Just moments later, the aura surrounding the disguised Orryn shifted—now radiating the exact same Crimson Ultimate hero energy as Seraphina herself.
"Master, it worked! It really worked!" Seraphina said excitedly, her eyes lighting up as she stared at the uncanny replica of herself.
"That’s perfect," Ethan said with a satisfied nod. "Orryn, walk around the castle a bit. Don’t bother hiding—let them see you."
Then he turned to the others. "Seraphina, Zyraxis, Elyra, and Auremax—you four are coming with me to the Dungeon. Everyone else, stay here and hold the fort. We’ll deal with the rest once I’m back."
"Yes, sir!" everyone responded in unison, nodding firmly.
A short while later, Ethan set out from Emerald Castle, walking tall and confident, flanked by Auremax and Elyra. Their destination: the Dungeon entrance at Verdant Ravine.
As for Seraphina and Zyraxis, he tucked them away safely inside the system space—completely hidden from view.
He also brought along a formidable escort: 100 units of Tier-13 Green Dragons and another 100 units of Tier-12 Mana Crystal Dragons.
The Gem Dragons and the rest of the standard troops? He left them behind at Emerald Castle, just in case anything went sideways.