From the very beginning, when Ethan and his team—Cicero, Elynn, and Eldorin—took control of the Ancient War Tree’s Creature Dwellings, they had already made so rough estimates about the overall strength of the native forces in Sylvanwood.
Back then, their best guess was that Sylvanwood’s total military power was about three to five tis that of the Behemoth faction in Fury Wasteland.
In concrete numbers, that ant roughly sixty 14-Tier Mythic Units and sowhere between three hundred to five hundred 13-Tier Legendary Units.
But now, Cicero was saying that Sylvanwood’s actual strength was more than ten tis what they had estimated.
Which ant... it was thirty to fifty tis stronger than the Behemoth faction in Fury Wasteland?!
What kind of insane power level was that?!
Would that an around six hundred 14-Tier Mythic Units, plus several thousand 13-Tier Legendary Units?!
And that wasn’t even counting the hero units!
If they factored those in—six hundred Mythic Units, thousands of Legendary Units, plus fully maxed-out orange-tier Legendary heroes, or even Crimson Ultimate heroes—this was a force capable of wiping out entire civilizations!
After all, even the most powerful nations in Glory Lords X barely reached this level of military strength.
So were even weaker.
Was Sylvanwood really on par with, or even stronger than, a major world power? How was that possible?
Ethan was stunned. He couldn’t help but ask, "Cicero, what the hell is going on?!"
"Master, take a look at this..." Cicero didn’t waste ti explaining. He opened his mouth and breathed out a stream of dragonfire, shaping it into a floating map in midair. At the center of the map, a glowing region pulsed with light.
Cicero extended a claw and pointed at the spot. "Based on my scouting over the past few days, Sylvanwood is structured around this central area, divided into four major regions—north, south, east, and west. Our Erald Castle, Fury Wasteland, and the southern extensions of Doom Mountains all belong to the southern region of Sylvanwood."
"The Behemoth faction in Fury Wasteland, the Chaos Hydra faction to the northeast, and the Venomspike Manticore faction to the west are so of the strongest forces in Sylvanwood’s southern region."
Cicero paused for a mont before continuing. "Among them, the Behemoth faction in Fury Wasteland and the Chaos Hydra faction to the northeast don’t have any hero units. However, the Venomspike Manticore faction to the west does. I’ve observed a hero unit from their ranks—a 12-Tier Venomspike Manticore."
"A 12-Tier Venomspike Manticore hero?" Ethan was taken aback. "Is it a Crimson Ultimate hero?"
"No..." Cicero shook his head. "I only got a glimpse of him from a distance, but from what I could sense, he hasn’t reached Crimson Ultimate level."
"That’s a relief..." Ethan exhaled, then asked, "What about the other regions?"
"The other three regions are roughly as strong as ours."
"The western region belongs to the forest elves. I didn’t find any Creature Dwellings for Legendary Units there, but I did spot a significant number of Green Dragons, Erald Dragons, and several hero units from the Forest faction."
"Green Dragons and Erald Dragons?"
Green Dragons were the standard 13-Tier Legendary Units of the Forest faction. Erald Dragons were the sa—both were elite units nurtured by the elves.
In terms of combat power, there wasn’t much difference between the two.
"But why are Forest faction hero units showing up there? Do they have a ruling lord?" Ethan frowned.
As far as he knew, Sylvanwood was supposed to be unclaid territory. But now, not only were there nurous Forest faction hero units, but also a large number of Legendary Units stationed there. That was definitely strange.
"I have no idea," Cicero shook his head.
"What about the other regions?" Ethan pressed.
"The north is a vast, frozen wasteland—harsh and unforgiving. But within the Snowy Castle there, a group of incredibly powerful mages resides. They command a significant number of 13-Tier Arcane Colossi and 14-Tier Titan Giants."
"Mages... Titan Giants... Arcane Colossi?" Ethan’s eyes flickered as he fell into deep thought.
Titan Giants were Mythic Units created by the master mages of the Tower faction, forged from rare and expensive tals, with star silver being the most crucial component.
But the creation of Titan Giants wasn’t an instant success. It took years of failures before they finally produced a viable prototype.
That first successful prototype? The Arcane Colossus—a 13-Tier Legendary Unit.
While the Arcane Colossus wasn’t as overwhelmingly powerful as the Titan Giant, it was still a force to be reckoned with.
Among both Legendary and Mythic Units, the Arcane Colossus and Titan Giant were so of the most formidable creatures in existence.
In fact, they were widely regarded as the mortal enemies of Red Dragons and Black Dragons because of their mastery over Thunder’s Power—the only magic in Glory Lords X capable of breaking through the dragons’ natural magic immunity.
That alone spoke volus about their strength.
And with a cadre of mages—NPC heroes—leading them, benefiting from the full stat boosts that heroes provided, this was an absolutely terrifying force.
But the real question was—why were Tower faction mages in Sylvanwood?
First the Tower faction’s mages...
Then the Forest faction’s elves...
Was this just a coincidence?
Or was there sothing bigger going on that Ethan wasn’t aware of?
Rubbing his temples as a dull headache began to form, Ethan turned back to Cicero and asked, "What about the eastern region?"
"I didn’t investigate too closely," Cicero admitted. "That area has several large Dungeon entrances, and the invading Dungeon Army seems to be concentrated there, expanding outward."
"The Dungeon Army’s main invasion is happening in the east?" Ethan turned his gaze in that direction, his eyes narrowing. "That ans we should be safe for a while..."
Sylvanwood’s situation was a tangled web of powerful factions, each vying for dominance. But in a way, that complexity served as a natural barrier protecting Erald Castle.
As long as the Dungeon Army didn’t break through the Dungeon entrance near them, it didn’t matter how intense the battles in the east got—it wouldn’t affect them.
They could just sit back and watch, adapting only when necessary.
If what Cicero said was true, and Sylvanwood’s overall strength was as overwhelming as it seed...
Then the Dungeon Army’s forces this ti—both in power and scale—might not even be enough to pose a real threat!
"Anything else?" Ethan asked, looking at Cicero again.
Even though what Cicero had already revealed about Sylvanwood’s strength was terrifying...
Ethan had a gut feeling that Cicero wasn’t done yet.
And sure enough—
"Yeah..." Cicero nodded, his expression growing uncharacteristically serious.
Extending a claw, he pointed at the glowing center of the map and said slowly, "Here..."
"There’s a dinsional rift in this area. I tried to enter it, but before I could even find the entrance, I was warned and forced to leave."
"...Hiss—"
"No way!"
Ethan and Ancient War Tree Oakenmaw both gasped in shock, their voices filled with disbelief.
Cicero was a Crimson Ultimate Hero. No one could question his strength.
And he wasn’t so fledgling, pre-awakening version of himself anymore.
He had already reached his first awakening—his adult stage—at over level 20!
Yet even he had been warned and driven away?
Did that an there was a second-awakening Crimson Ultimate Hero inside?
Or... sothing even stronger?!
The room fell into a stunned silence.
No one spoke.
No one knew what to say.
"...Is this SS-rank quest really this difficult?" Ethan muttered, rubbing his temples again.
An SS-rank quest was supposed to be tough, sure.
But this?
A second-awakening Crimson Ultimate Hero showing up?
Was this really just an SS-rank quest?
This was insane... absolutely insane...
No wonder Cicero had said Sylvanwood’s strength was ten tis what they had estimated.
At first, Ethan had thought that was an exaggeration.
Now, it seed like Cicero had actually understated it.
Shaking his head, Ethan wisely decided to change the subject.
"Cicero, take a look at this."
He pulled out the orange-tier to, The Iron Factory of Despair, and handed it to Cicero. "Can you read the text?"
"Hm... This looks like ancient Tower faction tal script... Oh! I see now! Master, this is a journal written by a Diamond Golem hero."
"A Diamond Golem? You an a 12-Tier Royal Unit Diamond Golem?"
"Yes..."
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