Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 231 Assistance
Upon hearing that Isildur had launched an attack on Winterhold, Sumu immediately returned to Bearhold and led his army north to provide support.

Although Rhodes was a terrible warrior, he was very important politically, as he was the nominal master of the North and had to be saved.

Moreover, Winterhold's defenses are formidable, even more so than Frostholdt in some respects. This city is a legend among the Northern nobles, and everyone believes that as long as Winterhold holds, the North will not fall.

This time, Sumu's northward march was not just about sending out harassing troops as before, but rather a large-scale northward advance, heading straight for the tail of Esidor.

[1000 Shieldbearers, 500 Earthbowmen, 600 Gale Griffins, 300 Wild Griffins, 300 Fearless Swordsmen, 200 Arcane Prayer]

This was all the resources Sumun had to send out. The remaining troops were left to guard the city, Wayne's thieves closely monitored the movements of the Eastern Ruins, and Liliana led her troops to raid the Frosttree Pass of Isildur.

Unfortunately, the Earthbow had suffered too many losses. As a low-level unit with strong output capabilities, it attracted too much aggro, and the total troop strength gradually couldn't keep up.

However, Orling brought with him Crystal Ballistae and Magic Concealment Ballistae. If a major battle broke out, he could unleash a barrage of crossbow bolts at once, sweeping across Isildur's army. With the addition of Arcane Prayers, this powerful force, effective both at close and long range, was even more suited to high-intensity warfare.

With a combined force of nearly 3000, they were already a formidable force in the plains.

If the strength of the heroes is taken into account, Su Mu is even confident that he can take on ten enemies at once and go toe-to-toe with Isildur's 30,000-strong army.

Of course, Kuraki's family wasn't the only one heading north. The Tribunal priests also agreed to send troops to launch a surprise attack on Isildur's long front. Most importantly, there was the Kingdom's army; Marshal Cullen wrote to him, ordering Conrad to lead an elite cavalry legion to strike directly at Norton.

Norton is a gateway to the North, and although Isildur attaches great importance to it, their defenses have become correspondingly weak as they mobilize troops to attack Winterfell. With Conrad's strength, attacking a fortified gateway city is a sure thing.

At that time, Isildur's troops in the North will be isolated and trapped. If they can persuade the Arcane Empire to send aid, they will be surrounded on all sides, and the offensive and defensive strategies will switch in an instant.

It must be said that Marshal Cullen was quite resourceful, able to spot the loopholes in the opponent's strategy and immediately put his decision into practice.

The situation in war often changes rapidly. Although Isildur had a large number of men and a huge advantage, he could still win if he commanded the tactics properly.

The premise of this plan is that Winterfell can hold out for a while, not too long, just 3 days, no, 1 day.

Su Mu genuinely hoped that Rod would step up and prove the honor of the Salman family in this desperate situation.

To support Winterfell, he diligently studied after taking office and personally led the Orlings, the Mystic Prayers, and the Crystal Ballistae to break through Isildur's southern defenses with unstoppable momentum.

Isildur was clearly prepared, having set up numerous traps in the valley and deployed nearly 500 Frost Treants, thousands of High Elves, and 1000 Silver Pegasus Stars. Leven also knew that once Winterhold was attacked, the Bearhold army would inevitably head north, and to stop Sumu's forces, a powerful legion was needed to defend the area.

"Hold on for half a day!"

This was the order Leven gave to the guardian hero Willie Om: if he lost the city and its territory within half a day, he would be a sinner. If he could hold out for more than half a day, he would be a hero of Isildur.

Having had previous encounters, Willie knew this battle would be difficult and had made thorough preparations for defense.

He positioned the Frost Treants on the back of the hillside, scattering them into the forest to disguise them as towering trees. The Great Elves concealed themselves in the bushes, waiting for the enemy to approach before firing, while the Silver Pegasus Star hid in caves, preparing to launch small-scale guerrilla warfare.

However, he underestimated Ouling's abilities. The Crystal Ballista attacked indiscriminately, leveling the entire forest. Regardless of whether the Frost Treants hid or not, they were all shot in half and fell on the hillside. The most outrageous thing was that Ouling was equipped with the Phantom Bow. It was basically impossible for the enemy to use obstacles for cover. The treants had no idea which direction the arrows were coming from. By the time they saw it, it was too late.

Seeing that even the most powerful army of treants could not withstand the enemy, Willie planned to wait for the Earth Bow to enter the defensive line so that the Great Elves could fire sporadically.

The first to step onto the hill were the Arcane Prayers. This powerful level 6 unit continuously cast spells on the battlefield, using Stone Skin, Atmosphere Shield, and Swiftness to maximize their buffs. Against the Great Elves who were resisting in the mountains, they could basically take one down with a single spell attack, and they were simply unstoppable.

Willie had racked his brains, but found that he couldn't stop Orling's vanguard at all. With no other option, he could only lead the Silver Pegasus Star to attack the Mystic Prayer.

Before they could even get close to Ouling, they were decimated by a barrage of meteors and fire, each one wounded.

When they actually came into contact with the Mystic Prayers, they were no match for these melee experts.

After about an hour of fighting, Orling had annihilated all the enemies on the defensive line. The enemy commander, Willie Omu, was killed in battle, blasted to pieces by dozens of praying men.

"Ignore the fleeing soldiers, keep advancing, target Winterfell!"

Some of Isidore's troops fled, but Sumu did not send his troops to pursue them. Now was not the time to expand the gains; the most important thing was to rescue Winterhold.

Although relying solely on Orling's ranged units was somewhat reckless, Su Mu wasn't planning to use this force to repel the Esidor army. As long as they reached the area, Orling could set up ballistae and fire beyond visual range.

Winterfell's defenses are quite strong. As long as we help them eliminate the air threat, it will be difficult for ground troops to break through the walls.

However, this approach carries a risk: Levin might turn around and attack Su Mu and his group. Therefore, Su Mu was equipped with advanced logistics training, so that if the enemy showed any signs of mobilizing a large army, he would fight while advancing.

This is a typical harassment tactic. As long as Leven can't easily take the city, the situation will change once Conrad takes Norton.

However, the battle turned out differently than Su Mu had expected.

After a day and night of forced march, the vanguard finally arrived in the southern region of Winterfell, only to find Isildur's army entering the city in an orderly fashion.

Hundreds of long poles hung from the city walls, strung with the heads of the resisters, demonstrating the might of the fortified army.

"Winter City has fallen?"

Su Mu could hardly believe it. From the time he received the news of the enemy's movements and began to break camp until reinforcements arrived, less than two days had passed. When he received the news, Isildur's army had not yet mobilized. There were nearly 10 fortified troops in the north. Even if not all of them were mobilized, it would take Leven at least half a day to get there.

In this current situation, it seems that Winterfell has been breached for almost a day, meaning that it has offered virtually no resistance.

Even someone as resilient as Su Mu was so angry that he was practically fuming.

"That idiot Rhodes deserves to die!"

(End of this chapter)