Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 227 The Castle (Level 3 Main City)
Upon seeing the parliament completed, Su Mu led Forrest, Maggie, and other heroes into the hall.

The entire council hall is simple yet solemn, and very grand, capable of accommodating at least several hundred people to discuss politics at the same time.

Although the core heroes of Kuraki are just a few, there are actually quite a few officials managing the city. Whether it's municipal administration, economy, agriculture, war, or commerce, a large number of outstanding talents are needed to manage them.

Su Mu used his aura-reading technique to select some key officials, while the rest were basically managed by Forrest.

Forrest was even known as the Executive Deputy City Lord, and most of the officials in various systems were trained by him. However, military affairs were controlled by different heroes, and Forrest had relatively little involvement in them.

The military and government are separated, each focusing on its own strengths; this is Kuraki's current situation.

Su Mu really wanted to train another governor hero, but there was no suitable candidate. Talent and choice are equally important, and even he was powerless to do so.

After Kuraki takes control of the council, many construction projects can be put on the agenda. Previously, there might have been concerns about insufficient resources, since the cost of advanced civil engineering is several times that of ordinary construction, and the higher the level of construction, the greater the consumption.

Raven was right; a major reason why many architects are not given important roles is that the investment and income are not proportional.

But Kuraki was rich, so he naturally didn't care about that.

Therefore, whatever you do, you must first develop the economy; only with money can you have the confidence to develop.

【Castle (Level 3 Main City): The main base increases the base growth rate of creatures by 100%, strengthens the town's defenses, has two secondary arrow towers, and allows the construction of defensive magic arrays.

Resources required: 5000 gold coins, 10 primal stones, 10 logs

The castle required a considerable amount of wood and stone, but with Kuraki's current wealth, it was easily achievable.

The real resource drain comes from advanced civil engineering. Since Su Mu was focused on maximizing growth rate, Forrest didn't mention the special effects of expanding city defenses. After all, his philosophy was similar to Su Mu's: if you're going to do something, do it to the limit; trying to develop everything at once often results in developing nothing at all.

Since we chose the base growth rate during the base camp period, let's stick to it to the end.

【Castle (Advanced Civil Engineering Choice) Special Effect: Increases the base growth rate of the city by 300% and allows the construction of War Shrines.

Additional costs: 50000 gold coins, 50 raw stones, 50 logs, and 10 each of rare resources.

[War Shrine: At the beginning of each month, select one type of building to enhance its blessing effect and increase its weekly training output (affected by all building bonuses, but not by magic bonuses).]

Consumes 10000 gold coins and 20 logs.

In short, expanding the main base into a castle increases the base output (advanced earthwork) from 2.5 times to 4 times – a massive boost. It's equivalent to having two county cities simultaneously. If combined with the effects of various barracks and advanced earthwork, it becomes even more terrifying.

As for the War Shrine, you should definitely choose the high-level troops, as you can reliably obtain double troops for a week, which is quite considerable.

The gold coin consumption has increased exponentially; upgrading an ordinary city with advanced civil engineering would likely bankrupt the city. But to be honest, you get what you pay for—it's worth the money!
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's do it!"

Forrest led his engineering team, working day and night. Building the castle required far more effort than any other building, and it necessitated a complete overhaul of the walls, the addition of spell-sensing points, and the use of magic arrays—it was a massive undertaking.

After a week of expansion, and with the help of the Earth Condensation Magic, Forrest finally completed the construction of the castle.

In the central square, there is an open space of several hundred square meters, which belongs exclusively to the magic circle.

[Magic Circle: Special magic circles can be inscribed here to form a defensive system for the entire city.]

Resource Consumption: 10000 Gold Coins, 10 Logs, 10 Stones, 10 of various rare resources. Another effect of choosing the Castle's Advanced Civil Engineering option is to focus on arrow towers and magic circles. Rumor has it that the Void Throne of Mechana is inscribed with eternal level 6 magic, which is why this ancient snow city stands firm and faces any threat with confidence.

Su Mu did not underestimate the role of magic circles and arrow towers, but for Kuraki at the moment, massing troops was everything.

After completing the castle, Forrest pressed on and built the level 3 magic guild.

These buildings all have fixed sites. Forrest had already considered the space needed for expansion. He was the one who understood the lord's ambitions best, and even the castle was not their final destination.

【3级魔法行会：新增1项3级魔法与2项2级魔法，可扩建附属塔楼招募魔图师，研究1级魔法卷轴。

Resources required: 1000 gold coins, 5 logs, 5 raw stones, and 6 different rare resources.

Special Effect (Advanced Civil Engineering): Produces one additional level 3 spell, allows the creation of level 2 spell scrolls, and consumes 8 of various resources.

Speaking of this magic guild, they have been researching special magic since level 2. Su Mu has been busy with war and hasn't been to the place where the books are stored for a long time. Now that the magic guild is upgrading, he can go in and take a look.

Maggie was asleep, and Su Mu did not disturb her.

He led Forrest across the first two floors and up to the third floor.

With the added advantage of Dream Domain's academic knowledge, Su Mu learned almost all the low-level magic. Forrest stayed in Cangmu every day and was also familiar with the low-level magic in the tower. Their main goal was to learn new level 3 magic.

As they stepped onto the third floor, they felt a wave of water sweep over them. The moment it touched their bodies, the two found themselves on a high platform inscribed with profound magical teachings, waiting for the heroes to learn them.

"It's this magic!"

【Instant Teleport (Level 3 Water Elemental Magic): Can teleport a unit to any location on the battlefield, but cannot pass through city walls and moats. The number of units teleported is affected by spell power (50 * spell power).

Advanced Water Elemental Bonus: Teleports one unit to any location on the battlefield; the number of units teleported is affected by spell power (100 * spell power).

Both were overjoyed, never expecting their first level 3 spell to be teleportation. This water-based spell was a god-tier skill for sieges and surprise attacks. In an era before level 7 units were available, teleportation could counter any ranged archer.

Imagine the enemy archer is just about to draw his bow and nock an arrow when a horde of fearless swordsmen suddenly appear beside him. How can he possibly perform well then?
The reason why low-level archers are considered casualties on the battlefield is that powerful water mages can send melee units to their front, or high-speed units can launch surprise attacks at any time, thus rendering them useless in terms of strategy.

Fortunately, Oulingxin had mastered the Magic Mirror Platform; otherwise, he would have been completely countered by this magic.

Su Mu had always wanted to use Dream Domain Studies to cultivate this method, but firstly, advanced magic is not easy to comprehend, and secondly, he did not have mastery of water elements, so it was not easy to learn.

This is great! Magic can be obtained directly within the city, and all heroes can train in it.

After the initial surprise of teleportation, the two became much more tolerant of magic.

Generally speaking, having one decent level 3 spell is already a blessing, and even having a support spell wouldn't be a problem.

Sensing the aura emanating from the magic platform beside him, he realized it shared the same origin as teleportation.

Listening to the surging and rippling water, I actually felt a little excited.

(End of this chapter)