Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 230 Winter is coming
Legend has it that when the Void Throne left Mechana, it left behind three divine bottles, each containing a powerful genie.

Although they are called genies, they are actually heroes who have evolved from gods and monsters, only more powerful.

The genies of the first two divine bottles have already appeared, serving the Arcane Empire for a long time. They have lifespans of thousands of years and are quite powerful.

But no matter how powerful they are, they have not transcended the mortal realm and have ultimately reached the end of their spiritual existence.

The genie of the third magic bottle should have appeared a thousand years ago, but something unexpected happened, and he was sealed away and scattered to other places, and could not be found no matter what.

For thousands of years, the astrologers and prophets of the Arcane Empire have worked together and finally, relying on clues from the Void God's power, created a map for the search, and the location was roughly determined to be near Winterfell.

For nearly a century, the Arcane Empire has been cooperating with the Salman family in their search for the lost genie, but they have yet to find any trace of him.

It turns out that the genie was not only sealed in a bottle, but also hidden in the Frozen Heart, a treasure of the Salman family. No wonder he couldn't be found.

Medea happily picked up the magic bottle, completely melting the frost, and saw clearly the ancient writing inscribed on it.

"The power of the void and lightning, the genie destined to save arcane magic, the exiled Soram!"

Medea carefully wrapped the bottle, which was still protected by a powerful seal. She wouldn't touch it rashly. Returning the divine bottle to the cult would be a great achievement; the Arcane Empire had powerful archmages who, working together, could definitely break the seal.

To be honest, Medea felt a flutter in her heart. Legend had it that the genie would pledge allegiance to the first person to break the seal, granting them all their requests. If she were the one to break the seal, perhaps Soram would obey her commands.

But the bottle could seal the genie, so it must not be that simple. She alone could not break the seal, so I didn't think about it anymore.

"Now that we have found the divine bottle, once the void restriction is lifted, we will return directly to the Arcane Empire to avoid any unforeseen circumstances."

"And while we're at it, bring Rhodes back to the capital so he can witness the power of the Arcane Empire and serve it wholeheartedly in the future."

Having completed the mission, the Nameless One relaxed and even smiled, a rare occurrence for him: "The North has lost vast territories, and Rhodes, the Duke of the North, is no longer a figurehead. Where else can he go if he doesn't submit to us? Do you think the Northern nobles will help him reclaim his lost lands?"

"Hahahaha, that's true."

Medea laughed too, deciding to give Rhodes another hand for the sake of obtaining the divine bottle. But now he needed to prove his worth, otherwise the Arcane Empire wouldn't keep an idle person around.

……

Marquis Eddard came down from the city wall and continued to deploy the griffin army behind him. Everyone knew that this time there was no way to avoid it and there was no way to retreat, so their defensive attitude was very firm.

Most Northern nobles still believed that as long as Winterfell could be defended, the kingdom would definitely send troops to its aid.

After all, this was the capital of the principality, a historically famous city with several successful defenses, which is how the Salman family made its name.

Despite their dissatisfaction with Rhodes, the crowd still felt that Salman deserved to be the Duke, and the legendary history of Winterfell was undoubtedly a major factor.

"As long as Winterfell stands, the cold night will not engulf the North!"

This is the belief of all people in the North.

Marquis Ed shouted slogans to boost the morale of his soldiers.

Rhodes arrived before the army and, upon hearing Saliman's proud family motto, felt a slight wavering in his heart.

He never wanted to be a duke of a fallen kingdom; he longed to stand with Winterfell. His only regret was that the nobles of the capital hadn't come to his aid, and the kingdom's army had arrived too late, unable to even hold off small groups. Most hateful of all were the nobles of the plains; Su Mu, clearly capable of victory, had destroyed the Frosttree Road, yet he feared troop losses and dared not offer assistance.

If they truly lacked the ability, so be it; like the useless nobles around them, they were annihilated on their way to reinforcements. Rhodes didn't expect anything. The Bearhold troops fought against the bastion army and were not at a disadvantage, but they refused to obey orders to come to the rescue. Otherwise, Frost Fortress would not have been breached, and he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

If anyone is to blame, it's the Tribunal and Su Mu; the deteriorating situation in the North is due to selfish motives on their part.

Marquis Ed led Rhodes to the command platform, hoping that the Duke would boost the morale of the soldiers.

"Everyone, hold on! The Kingdom will come to our aid..."

Before he could finish speaking, the city wall shook violently, and a lot of soil and stones fell down, almost burying Rhodes.

Marquis Eddard cleaved the roof in two with his sword, and their gazes turned outwards to the endless ranks of the fortified army.

There were nearly 5000 Frost Treants on the ground, tens of thousands of Battle Dwarves, and tens of thousands of Centaurs. In the distance, thousands of Great Elves were lying in ambush. In the air, countless Silver Pegasus Stars flew, forming about a hundred square formations, gradually advancing towards the walls of Winterfell.

Since teleportation was no longer an option, Leven abandoned any tricks and launched a full-scale attack on the city, determined to take Winterhold.

Unlike the previous siege of Frosthold, a unicorn army appeared on the horizon, commanded by a general who seemed to be flying in the sky with a giant green dragon beneath him.

As they met the green dragon's gaze, its malevolent vertical pupils emitted a deathly threat, and its majestic roar instantly reverberated across the battlefield. Hearing the dragon's roar, the human soldiers' legs went weak, boundless fear surged within them, and their morale plummeted.

"How could there be a dragon? Wasn't the Dragon Cliff of the fortress destroyed a long time ago?"

Even seasoned heroes panicked the moment they saw the dragon, let alone Rhodes, who was already terrified.

His initial spark of resistance vanished completely with the dragon's roar.

"Ed... Marquis Ed, you stay at the front and command. I'll go to the magic circle to prepare the treasure. You must lead everyone to hold on!"

Watching Rhodes leave in a hurry, Ed felt a sense of foreboding. But thinking about the legendary deeds of Winterfell in the past, perhaps Suliman really did have some key treasure that could help him win this battle.

"Brothers, hold on! The enemy's ground forces can't get in. Just defend against their air forces."

Even if the enemy has dragons, there are only a few at most. If they dare to come closer, they'll get hit by a giant crossbow bolt.

"We stand on Winterfell, a city that has never fallen. We can hold it!"

Hearing their commander's shout, the soldiers regained their courage.

That's how people are; no matter how difficult the task, once there's a precedent or role model, they can unleash extraordinary power. The legend of invincibility gives all warriors hope; they feel fearless even when facing dragons.

In fact, no dragon flew over from the other side. After the green dragon roared, it slowly disappeared without a trace. The main siege force was still the Silver Pegasus Star; the Floodwave Swordsmen still had a certain advantage against these guys.

……

Rhodes rushed to the magic circle with dozens of guards by his side. They were all staunch supporters of the Salman family and were clearly aware of their commander's thoughts.

"Quickly, prepare the stargate teleportation; I'm about to activate the restriction."

At this moment, the sounds of fighting could be heard from the city walls. The continuous earthquakes and catapult attacks made the whole earth tremble.

But Winterhold lived up to its reputation as the capital of the duchy, possessing first-rate defenses. Level 3 magic and giant catapults were simply unable to breach its defenses. Isildur could only rely on air attacks, suffering heavy losses in the process.

At this moment, a guard captain stepped forward and advised, "Your Grace, Winterfell's defenses are extremely strong. If we hold out for a while longer, the kingdom will surely send reinforcements. Perhaps..."

"Shut up! Congress has long abandoned us! The Speaker awards medals to those non-resisting nobles and doesn't even set foot in the North."

Su Mu and the Tribunal priests only care about their own forces and will not come to their aid at all.

Besides, they have a dragon to help them; we can't win."

"Once the city falls, Leven will move his army in, and we won't be able to leave! Do you want to be burned to death by dragon flames?"

Rhodes roared at the top of his lungs, causing his guards to sigh.

Since even the Duke has lost the will to resist, what can they do? Protecting Rhodes' safety is their final act of loyalty to Saliman.

"Open the formation!"

With a wave of his hand, Rhodes instantly severed the supply of magical power to the magic circle, which was tens of meters high. The void restriction became a rootless technique and slowly disappeared after a short while.

Medea didn't waste any words and immediately opened the stargate, leading the cult's soldiers and Rhodes to retreat first.

In such a chaotic war, it would take the enemy a while to realize that the restrictions had disappeared, by which time they would have already fled the battlefield.

But these soldiers who still hold onto their beliefs may never see the promised rescue.

About ten minutes later, Isildur clearly noticed that the magic circle had failed, and Leven used water magic to immediately move the Frost Treant into the city.

The human soldiers were attacked from both sides, and the entire city was engulfed in flames.

Betrayal, roaring, pleading, or dying rather than surrendering—when faced with a desperate situation, everyone has different choices.

But no matter what you do, you can't change the outcome.

Winter is coming, and Salman's reign is coming to an end.

(End of this chapter)