Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 130: This was a trap

"You filthy, damned creatures!"

Helena’s face burned with fury as she unleashed her full power, charging straight into the enemy ranks.

BOOM!

In an instant, an overwhelming surge of holy energy erupted from within her, engulfing the Greatsword of Judgment in radiant light.

At the same time, she roared, "Judgment of the Holy Light!"

Judgment of the Holy Light—one of the Tier 3 Light Magic spells, a devastating attack on par with Celestial Fire.

"The light will not tolerate the existence of vile corruption!"

"Die, all of you!"

THOOM!

A blinding wave of holy energy exploded outward, spreading for thousands of feet. Everywhere it touched, Tier 7 One-Horned Demons and even Tier 8 Two-Horned Demon Kings were obliterated, as if swallowed by the mushroom cloud of a massive explosion. Hundreds of Infernal Legion soldiers collapsed in rapid succession.

Yet, compared to the sheer number of demons—nearly in the thousands—this was only a fraction of their forces.

BOOM!

At that moment, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from within the Infernal Legion, dangerously close to Helena. The force lunged toward her like a predator striking its prey.

"Helena!"

Not far away, Gideon and Ignatius had finally arrived, their expressions shifting in alarm as they shouted a warning.

But Helena didn’t need them to tell her—she had already sensed it. That monstrous power was bearing down on her like a tidal wave.

So strong!

Who the hell is this?!

Every fiber of her being screamed in warning, her instincts sharpening to the extreme.

SWOOSH!

A shadow streaked through the air at terrifying speed. Helena reacted instantly, spinning around and raising her sword to meet the attack.

CLANG!

The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, a violent clash of holy energy and infernal power. The sheer force of it made Helena’s armor rattle and her hair whip wildly in the wind.

And then, she saw him.

A towering Two-Horned Demon King stood before her, his cold, merciless gaze locked onto her.

In his massive hand, he gripped a long, barbed whip—its surface covered in jagged thorns and dripping with fresh blood. Strips of raw flesh still clung to it, a gruesome testament to its victims.

"An Infernal Champion!"

Helena’s expression darkened, her fury igniting even further. Without hesitation, she launched herself at the demon, sword raised for the kill.

"We’re going in too!"

Gideon, Ignatius, and the others sprang into action, rushing to back her up.

"Let’s go clean up the leftovers and rack up some contribution points," Ethan said quickly to Emily.

"On it!"

Without wasting a second, Emily summoned her entire army of unicorns and Thunderbirds, sending them charging into the battlefield to reap the spoils of war.

BOOM!

The battlefield trembled as Helena clashed with the Two-Horned Demon King again and again. After a fierce exchange, she finally struck him with a devastating blow, sending him flying.

But instead of retaliating, the demon abruptly turned and ran.

"After him!" Helena wasn’t about to let him escape.

The moment she saw him retreat, she bolted after him without hesitation, completely ignoring Gideon and Ignatius’s frantic shouts for her to stop.

They had no choice but to chase after her.

"Ethan, should we follow too?" Emily asked, still buzzing with excitement after racking up a ton of contribution points.

Ethan thought for a moment, then shook his head. "You stay here."

Running away right after starting a fight?

Why even bother attacking in the first place?

It was obvious—this was a trap.

And considering what Seraphina had sensed earlier about an Infernal Devil lurking nearby...

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. He exhaled sharply and muttered, "Looks like that stubborn idiot just walked straight into trouble."

BOOM!

Without wasting another second, Ethan activated both Holy Armament and Celestial Fire.

His radiant wings flared open, whipping up a powerful gust of wind as he shot into the sky, immediately giving chase.

"You stay here. If you get bored, just wipe out the rest of these One-Horned Demons and Two-Horned Demon Kings."

"Got it!"

...

Hours later...

Helena had chased the Two-Horned Demon King hero, Korrak, deep into Molten Gold Gorge—

Straight to the Hell Gate.

"What... what is this?!"

"A Hell Gate?! These damned Infernal filth!"

The sight before her was like something out of a nightmare—mountains of bleached bones, pits of boiling crimson blood, and, looming in the distance, the faint, ominous shimmer of the Hell Gate.

Helena shuddered. Her face twisted in fury, her grip tightening around the Greatsword of Judgment.

"Shit... a Hell Gate!?"

Gideon and the others finally caught up, only for their faces to drain of color.

"Helena, get back here! We need to leave—NOW!"

They knew exactly what this meant.

A Hell Gate could only be forged by an Infernal Lord—a being of unimaginable power.

And considering how that Two-Horned Demon King had deliberately lured Helena here...

There was no doubt about it.

This was a trap.

"I’m destroying it."

But Helena wasn’t listening.

Her jaw clenched, her eyes blazing with righteous fury as she raised her sword and charged straight for the Hell Gate.

Heh... That reckless, foolish determination... It’s almost nostalgic.

A cold, mocking voice echoed through the air.

THOOM!

BOOM!

A terrifying force erupted beneath Helena’s feet.

The sheer pressure of it sent a chill down her spine—this was at least ten, no, a hundred times more dangerous than anything she had faced before.

"Who’s there?! Show yourself!" Helena barked, instinctively leaping back, her body flickering with light as she repositioned.

But her hands trembled.

Her heart pounded.

It felt as if something—something beyond comprehension—was right behind her, lurking in the shadows, watching her every move...

"Come out? Are you talking to me? Well then, let me grant your wish!"

A cold, mocking voice rang out from behind Helena. Her face changed dramatically, and she instinctively swung her sword in a fierce arc.

BOOM!

At that moment, flames erupted into the sky, a terrifying wave of fire exploding outward like a sudden thunderclap.

BANG!

A blazing fist shot out from within the inferno, intercepting the Greatsword of Judgment mid-swing. A deep, resonant impact echoed through the air as shockwaves rippled outward.

Yet, despite the sheer force of the clash, the opponent remained completely unmoved.

Only Helena’s golden hair whipped wildly in the wind, her massive sword trembling violently in her grip.

And then—rising from the flames—an overwhelming presence emerged.

A towering Efreet.

Its form loomed before Helena, whose pupils shrank in sheer terror. Her face went pale.

"Heh..."

The figure chuckled, its voice laced with amusement. "A freshly ascended Paladin? Your strength is far too weak."

"An... Efreet?!" Helena gasped, her composure shattering completely.

An Efreet—a Tier 11 unit of the Inferno faction. A full tier above her own Paladin class. Its potential and innate power were nothing short of monstrous.

And this one... this one was far beyond her level.

Its strength was terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.

"An... Efreet?!"

Not far away, Gideon, Ignatius, and the others finally caught up—only to freeze in place, their faces draining of color. Their bodies trembled as fear took hold.

A Tier 11 Royal Unit hero... that alone meant it was at least an orange-tier Legendary hero.

And a being of this level... could very well be an Infernal Lord.

An Infernal Lord, backed by the Inferno faction’s Devils, with Infernal Legions swarming the battlefield...

Their vision darkened.

They understood.

This was the end.

There was no way they could win this fight.

"Gideon, Liora, Ignatius—what do we do? Do we try to save her?"

Griffith, a Tier 6 Royal Griffin hero, asked in a trembling voice, his fear evident.

"...We leave."

Gideon shook his head.

"Leave?"

"That’s an Infernal Lord. Even if we all charge in together, we’re just throwing our lives away. And unlike other factions, Inferno doesn’t take prisoners. They don’t capture heroes. They kill them. Helena’s already trapped—there’s no point in all of us dying with her."

With that, Gideon turned around without hesitation.

This wasn’t the real world.

In Glory Lords X, death wasn’t permanent. You could revive—but at a heavy cost.

And against an Infernal Lord, they didn’t stand a chance. Even if they fought with everything they had, it would be suicide.

So rather than die alongside Helena for nothing... they would retreat.

If this were the Stronghold, Tower, Conflux, Tidesworn, or Fortress factions, there might still be a chance. Those factions sometimes captured enemy heroes—keeping them imprisoned until they either died of old age or were forced to surrender.

But Inferno?

Inferno didn’t do prisoners.

It didn’t matter if you were an orange-tier Legendary hero or even a Crimson Ultimate hero—if they saw you, they killed you.

And if you didn’t accept death? Then they’d kill you again.

Over and over.

Until you were reduced to Level 0. Or until you were completely, utterly erased.

To them, the idea of imprisoning enemy heroes was weak. Pointless. A waste of time.

And Dungeon was the same way.

Schemes? Strategies? Inferno and Dungeon didn’t care.

They only believed in one thing—slaughter.

Nothing else.

Ironically, it was the Necropolis, one of the three major evil factions, that did believe in taking prisoners.

In fact, fighting against Necropolis was terrifying for one reason—getting captured.

Because if no one came to ransom you, it didn’t matter if you were a Common white-tier hero, a Rare blue-tier hero, a Legendary orange-tier hero, or even a Crimson Ultimate hero—you’d be locked away until you withered and died.

The Necropolis was made up of the dead. As long as they had enough soul energy, they were theoretically immortal.

Which meant time and lifespan meant nothing to them.

No one could outlive them.

And that meant that once you were captured... your life was over.

You’d be trapped in eternal darkness, locked away in cold, endless solitude, until the day you finally ceased to exist.

A fate worse than death.

That was why, when fighting Necropolis, every faction’s heroes understood one thing—if you were about to be captured, if there was even the slightest chance of it happening...

You killed yourself.

Immediately.

No hesitation.

Because in the eyes of the other factions, Necropolis was even more terrifying than Dungeon or Inferno.

That thought alone sent a shiver down Griffith and Ignatius’ spines.

They hesitated for a moment—then clenched their teeth and ran.

"Trying to run? You think it’s that easy?"

The Efreet hero Malphas let out a cold laugh, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Kill them all. Leave no one alive."

"As you command, Lord."

An Inferno Devil materialized, bowing with eerie elegance before leading a squad of thirty Tier 11 Efreets and Tier 12 Efreet Sultans in pursuit.

Malphas remained where he stood, unmoving.

That Inferno Devil wasn’t a hero, but high-tier Inferno units possessed exceptional intelligence. As long as they received orders from a Lord, they could act freely.

And Malphas?

Malphas wasn’t just an Infernal Lord.

He wasn’t just an orange-tier Legendary hero.

He wasn’t just a Tier 11 Efreet unit hero.

He was all three.

Which meant his power was on an entirely different level.

He didn’t need protection.

He didn’t need guards.

...