As that thought crossed his mind, Ethan lifted his head slightly, his gaze shifting between Elyra and Treant Eldorin.
He still had one last Hero Tier Upgrade Scroll left... and now was definitely the time to use it. The only question was—who should he give it to? He narrowed it down to Elyra and Eldorin.
Gold Golem Arbachel and Treant Bromir? Not even a consideration.
They were still just purple-tier Epic heroes—too weak at the base level. Giving the scroll to them would be a total waste.
Zyraxis was already an SSS-tier orange Legendary hero. He didn’t need it, and honestly, he hadn’t earned it either. Same with Karnak—he joined halfway through the campaign and hadn’t put in enough work to deserve this kind of reward.
Lilith... she was a maybe.
She had the credentials—plenty of merit, and her base stats weren’t bad either. She was a C-tier orange Legendary hero. But her combat style leaned more toward small-scale skirmishes, not the kind of large-scale battles they were facing now.
So, in this situation, she ranked lower than Eldorin and Elyra.
Elyra was a mage-type Hero Unit.
Eldorin was a defense-type Hero Unit.
Either one could bring serious value to the table right now.
But choosing between them... that was the hard part.
Ethan hesitated, torn.
Then, finally, he made his decision.
"Eldorin..." he said, turning toward the towering Treant.
He pulled out the last Hero Tier Upgrade Scroll—the orange one.
Even though, on a personal level, he leaned more toward Elyra, Ethan knew he had to be fair. He was the lord, after all. And to be honest, giving the scroll to Eldorin made more sense in terms of raw value.
Eldorin was currently a D-tier orange Legendary hero. Chapters first released on novel·fiɾe·net
With a bit of luck, he could jump straight to A-tier—that’s three whole sub-tiers in one go.
Elyra, on the other hand, was already S-tier. No matter what, the scroll could only bump her up to SSS-tier. There was no way it could push her into the Crimson Ultimate tier.
So yeah, after weighing everything, Ethan handed the scroll to Eldorin.
"Thank you for this honor, my lord!" Eldorin said, his deep voice trembling with emotion.
He stepped forward, then dropped to one knee, his massive wooden hands reverently accepting the glowing scroll.
A surge of raw, ancient power burst from the scroll, erupting into a blinding light that engulfed Eldorin completely. At the same time, a system notification chimed in Ethan’s ear.
"Hero Unit Eldorin of player Valkarion has used a Hero Tier Upgrade Scroll (Orange). Evolution in progress..."
"Evolution complete!"
"Ancient Treant Eldorin has successfully evolved into Ancient War Treant. Hero level decreased by 5."
The blinding light around Eldorin intensified, then shattered like glass—
And from within, a new presence emerged, like a creature reborn.
A massive, towering figure—easily tens of thousands of feet tall—rose up, its colossal form casting a shadow over the land. The sheer pressure it exuded was overwhelming, radiating the ancient, primal energy of the forest itself.
Race: Treant, Ancient War Treant
Tier: Orange Legendary Hero
Hero Class: Treant Scholar, Ancient King of the Treants
Spell Power: 113 (145)
Magic Damage: 289–357
Hero Skills: Armorer, Wisdom, Sylvan Magic Mastery, Earth Magic Mastery...
Hero Talent: Entangling Roots Lv.2 (Anchors in place and lashes out with massive roots, dealing heavy AoE damage. Damage is sustained over time. Max level: 3.)
Overall Rating: A-tier Orange Legendary Hero (31%)
"A-tier? Damn, he really did jump three sub-tiers. That’s some serious luck right there—feels like I just hit the jackpot," Ethan muttered, staring at Eldorin’s new stats.
Luck’s always a gamble when it comes to random upgrades —
But damn, Ethan hadn’t expected both heroes to hit the absolute max potential of the Hero Tier Upgrade Scroll. That was a massive win.
And even though Eldorin had dropped five levels after evolving into an A-tier orange Legendary hero, he was still sitting at level 48. That meant he wasn’t far off from hitting level 55 and triggering his second awakening. With a bit of luck, he might even reach it during the early stages of the upcoming battle.
And once Eldorin hit that second awakening?
As a defense-specialized hero, his value in the looming siege could skyrocket—maybe even rival, or surpass, Elyra and Zyraxis. He had the potential to become the strongest among all the orange-tier Legendary heroes.
For Emerald Castle, which was about to face its toughest challenge yet, this was a damn good turn of events.
"Thank you for your blessing, my lord!" Eldorin said again, dropping to one knee, his voice thick with emotion.
Honestly, he’d never been the ambitious type. He didn’t fight for attention, didn’t chase rewards. He’d never imagined something would fall into his lap.
But that only made the moment hit harder.
Even someone as laid-back as Eldorin couldn’t deny the thrill of a Tier upgrade. And getting this kind of recognition—it meant something. It meant Ethan saw him. Saw the Treant race. Valued them.
That realization filled him with pride.
"Eldorin," Ethan said quietly, his tone calm but firm, "you’re one of our core forces in the battle ahead. This is the final showdown—but it’s also your chance. Your mission is to reach second awakening as fast as possible."
"I will carry out your will, my lord!" Eldorin replied, nodding deeply.
Elynn had already hinted at what was coming when she gathered them earlier. And while Eldorin might not be confident in every kind of fight, when it came to defense?
And now, he was ready to take it seriously.
Meanwhile, Ethan’s gaze shifted again—this time toward the Royal Units standing nearby.
Race: Ancient Behemoth
Overall Rating: Mythic Ace Unit (53%)
Overall Rating: Legendary Ace Unit (41%)
Race: Ancient War Tree
Overall Rating: Legendary Ace Unit (77%)
Overall Rating: Legendary Ace Unit (59%)
"Seventy-seven percent...? S-Seventy-seven?!" Ethan froze for a second, then his whole body jolted as he stared at the Ancient War Tree, Oakenmaw, with a look of disbelief.
He hadn’t just been glancing at Balthazar, Orryn, and the others out of idle curiosity. Part of it, sure, was to check on their evolution progress—but the real reason?
That god-tier magical artifact that boosted the evolution progress of regular units by 20%.
He hadn’t exactly been expecting miracles. He knew the odds of any of his 13-Tier Legendary Ace Units breaking past the 80% evolution threshold were slim. But still... a tiny part of him had held onto hope.
What if just one of them made it?
Because if that happened... he’d have another Crimson Ultimate hero on his hands.
Okay, none of them had crossed the 80% mark.
But Oakenmaw—this massive, ancient war tree—was sitting at 77%?
That was way beyond what Ethan had expected.
I mean, 77% and 80%—that’s practically nothing in between. Just 3%.
Three. Freaking. Percent.
And if he could somehow push that last 3%?
Then boom—he’d have his fourth Crimson Ultimate hero locked in.