"You’re serious? Storm King, are you telling me there’s a Kirin Hero—one of those 13-Tier Legendary Units, just like Sea King Maelthorak?!" Grand Duke Zurei practically jumped out of his seat, his face going pale.
It made sense. Thundervale Kingdom wasn’t exactly close to the coastal regions—far from it, actually. There were three entire kingdoms between them: Umagral, Storm, and Gemspire. So Zurei being in the dark about Emerald Castle wasn’t surprising.
But then Astharel gave a slow, knowing smile, his eyes narrowing as he slipped right back into his performance.
"Not just one," he said smoothly. "Emerald Castle has three Crimson Ultimate Heroes. The Kirin, yes—but also two Green Dragon heroes."
"Three Crimson Ultimate Heroes?!"
"Holy hell... Opriston, are you insane?! You want to mess with a lord who’s got three of those monsters under their command? You trying to get us all killed?!"
"I’m out. I don’t care if the Greenwave Empire crushes me under their boot—I’m not joining you lunatics on some suicide mission. You’re all out of your damn minds!"
Zurei was shouting now, his face twisted in disbelief and fury.
And honestly? You couldn’t blame him.
Three Crimson Ultimate Heroes? That was no joke.
Just look at the Greenwave Empire—they only had one, and that alone made them one of the dominant powers of the sea. A true superpower.
Three? That was enough to make even Sea Kings like Byolarn or Maelthorak break into a cold sweat.
And Opriston wanted to go after them?
It sounded like pure madness.
"Zurei, calm down and let me finish," Grand Duke Opriston said, completely unfazed by the outburst. He turned instead to Regnar XI and Astharel, his tone steady. "You two know more about Emerald Castle than he does. Tell me—do you think this can work? Is there a real shot at success?"
Regnar XI paused, his eyes flickering with thought. Then he nodded slowly.
"Yeah, Emerald Castle has three Crimson Ultimate Heroes, sure. But they’re still a new faction. A rookie lord’s domain. That Kirin Hero, and the two Green Dragons—they haven’t undergone their second awakening yet. So honestly... if Sea King Maelthorak can fully recover, we don’t really have to be afraid of them."
"Let’s not forget—Maelthorak is a Sea King of the Tidesworn faction. That alone puts him in a whole different league."
"As for those three... they’re still a long way from reaching true King-tier power."
"They haven’t had their second awakening?" Zurei’s expression finally eased a little at that.
What really terrified him were the Crimson Ultimate Heroes who had undergone their second awakening—those were the ones people called gods.
They were powerful, sure. But not unstoppable. Not divine.
And that... that was something he could work with.
"So, what’s your decision?"
Grand Duke Opriston’s smile widened as he looked around the room, his voice calm but laced with urgency. "This is it—our last shot. The Primordial Force of a Kirin-class Crimson Ultimate Hero... it’s enough to fully restore Sea King Maelthorak. And when that happens, we’ll all be heroes. Just think about it—at his peak, Maelthorak could suppress even Sea King Byolarn. That’s the kind of power we’re talking about. That’s our real chance at changing everything."
Regnar XI let out a long breath, then gave a firm nod. "I’m in."
Truth was, ever since he’d leaked the information about Kyros, he’d already marked Emerald Castle as an enemy. Now that Maelthorak was making a move, it was practically doing him a favor. Add in Opriston’s promises and the dream of a new world order? It was a win-win.
He had no reason to say no.
"I’m in too," Zurei said, nodding quickly. "But I’ve got one condition—Sea King Maelthorak has to show up in person. Otherwise, I’ve got every reason to doubt this whole thing’s legit."
He was clearly getting excited now.
Sure, he’d been scared at first—who wouldn’t be, hearing about three Crimson Ultimate Heroes? In his mind, that kind of power was untouchable, godlike. Way out of his league.
Now it was different.
Four of the Five Sea Kingdoms, united. And if Maelthorak joined them?
Then it was just three Crimson Ultimate Heroes who hadn’t even hit their second awakening yet.
And in Zurei’s eyes, if they hadn’t awakened a second time, they didn’t even deserve to be called Crimson Ultimate Heroes.
Maybe this really was worth a shot.
And even if it all went to hell?
He was far enough inland—Storm Kingdom, Gemspire Kingdom, and Umagral Kingdom were all between him and the front lines. He’d be the last to fall, if it came to that.
If they were going down, he’d go down last. No real loss.
That’s the nature of war—or ambition, really.
Fear comes from weakness.
Greed? That comes from strength.
So what if they were Crimson Ultimate Heroes?
If they weren’t strong enough yet, and the opportunity was right in front of them...
Then hell yes, they were going to take it.
Even kings from the so-called "bottom tier" of nations—if you gave them the right chance, they’d go just as crazy as anyone else.
"Of course," Opriston said with a grin. "To be blunt, that Kirin Hero is Maelthorak’s last hope. He’s not about to let someone else handle it. He’ll show. You can count on that."
Then he turned to Astharel.
"I’m in too," Astharel said, nodding smoothly. "So... what’s the plan?"
He kept his tone even, his expression calm—but inside, he was already calculating. No one in the room had the faintest clue...
That he was the mole.
"This has to happen fast," Opriston said, his voice dropping into something darker, more intense. "We can’t afford to wait. Maelthorak and I already worked out the plan. We’ll set up a joint operation—say it’s a coalition effort to fight off the Inferno Devils. Use that as the bait to lure the Kirin Hero out of Emerald Castle..." Read full story at novel·fire.net
He raised his hand and made a slicing motion through the air, eyes gleaming with madness and bloodlust.
"...and then we strike."
Just like he’d said from the beginning—this was a gamble.
But if he won? He’d soar.
And if he lost... well, he wasn’t planning on losing.
He was all in now. Mind, body, soul.
He was going to kill that Kirin Hero—no matter what it took.
Because this wasn’t just about revenge or power anymore.
This was the future of Umagral Kingdom.
This was their shot at rising from the shadows and claiming their place among the greats.