Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 233 Treasure Speculation
Su Mu and Ou Ling returned to the border area, regrouped their troops, and dealt a heavy blow to the routed enemy forces.

We had originally planned to quickly support Winterfell, but now that Winterfell has fallen, heading north has become completely pointless.

Although most of Isildur's defeated troops had fled, Ivan led his troops in a scattered pursuit and still managed to achieve some success.

Liliana reaped the most rewards, her undead forces continued to expand, and her vampire army was also strengthened. For Necropolis heroes, it's often a matter of fighting to sustain themselves, a snowballing effect that's very effective. Furthermore, with the Bastion concentrating its forces on attacking Winterfell and unable to attend to other matters, Liliana was able to capture several cities in quick succession.

"Liliana sent word that she had captured two fortified cities and seized a shipment of Isildur's provisions and supplies, which she burned entirely."

She also ordered her men to use the Black Crystal Axe to destroy nearly a hundred kilometers of Frost Tree Road, which the enemy probably wouldn't be able to repair in the short term.

Maggie reported this matter to Su Mu privately. Su Mu actually possessed the art of governance and could also use magic to transmit information, but his understanding of the battle situation wasn't very clear. Maggie, being Liliana's contact, was naturally the one to relay the intelligence.

While provisions and supplies are not that important to the superhuman troops, they are not dispensable either.

It would be best to capture them, but transporting them is too troublesome, and the resources are sealed, so burning them is a good option.

This will at least keep Isildur's army quiet for a while.

Of course, the biggest gain came from Conrad's side. The Knight Commander led his troops to successfully recapture Norton and annihilate Isildur's remaining forces.

This left the Northern Walled Army isolated, unable to rendezvous with Lloyd outside the hills.

If the enemy fails to capture Winterfell, the kingdom can organize an encirclement and employ a wolf pack attack tactic. No matter how many enemies there are, they will eventually be exhausted.

"Boom!"

Ivan slammed his fist on the table. He was fed up with Rhodes. Such a good strategic plan, and the opportunity had slipped away. He was really unwilling to accept it.

After thinking for a moment, Ouling still asked, "Even if the other side occupies Winter City, it's still an isolated city, and now the tree path has been cut off. Can we...?"

This matter needs to be explained by Maggie, who is familiar with the kingdom's territory: "The duchy has a parliament in its city and is a territory with a high degree of independence. It is a country within a country, and even the capital cannot completely interfere with it."

Previously, the Grand Mage of the Royal Capital could use earth magic to prohibit the use of spatial magic between county cities, but this was not possible for Winterfell. Even with the same blockade, Winterfell could still use the portal, only with a slight limitation on the number of people that could be teleported.

In other words, Isildur now has a permanent residence in Elton!

Upon hearing Maggie's words, all the generals shook their heads.

The Duke of the North's folly has gone too far, practically handing Isildur a huge gift.

Previously, whether in the valley or the plain, the enemy had only occupied cities at the county level. Isidore was also worried that if a large number of troops were transferred in, it would be terrible to be trapped like a turtle in a jar.

Now it's different. A city with a parliament can support 100,000 superhuman troops and can send reinforcements at any time. Isildur will definitely use it as a bridgehead for westward expansion.

"Of course, due to the existence of the boundary stones, the enemy's teleportation will require more resources, and they cannot recklessly increase their troops. However, in the near future, the pressure on our defense will definitely increase!"

This is an unfortunate situation. Isildur has amassed nearly 10 extraordinary troops in the North. Even though their main objective is to advance westward, will they first concentrate their forces to eliminate the threat from the south? Nobody can say for sure.

All the generals looked at their lord, Su Mu, who made a decision: "If Eisidor really wants to go south, we will abandon Bear Fortress, retreat south, and fight them in a chaotic battle on the plains."

Bear Fort is now almost entirely devoid of civilians, serving purely as a military town, so abandoning it isn't out of the question. While the enemy is indeed formidable, Leven's primary objective is westward expansion; he doesn't seem particularly eager to advance southwards—this is obvious to anyone with eyes to see.

Levin might be interested unless the plains are wide open, otherwise he won't waste his time.

"Alright, everyone go back and rest for a while. We'll wait for Marshal Karen's new instructions before taking any further action."

That's pretty much the end of the discussion. They can't hold out in this battle on their own; it all depends on how the kingdom decides to proceed.

Now that Isildur has broken through the North, shouldn't the nobles in the heart of the kingdom feel some sense of crisis?
If internal power struggles and infighting continue, the country may perish!

In the end, Orlando and Maggie stayed behind to discuss how to deal with Orlando, the dragon knight.

"His defense is too strong; he must possess a powerful defensive artifact. When my crossbow bolts struck the enemy ranks, they seemed to be blocked by a powerful protective force, making it difficult to inflict any damage."

As Su Mu listened to Ouling's detailed description, an image of a giant shield appeared in his mind, carrying the power of protection and possessing super strong defensive capabilities, with a golden serpent god coiled around the center of the shield.

Maggie added, "We learned from the fleeing soldiers of Winterfell that Leven is extremely proficient in water magic, and can even summon extraordinary ice elementals to fight, and can carry water elemental troops with ease."

Summoning elemental warriors—that's definitely a level 5 spell. It's unclear whether Leven possesses the Intelligence spell, but if he can carry water elemental units without loss, he likely has an elemental spellbook; the level, however, is unknown.

If it is just an ordinary elemental magic book, you can freely use magic of level 5 and below, but if it is a more powerful arcane book, it may contain level 6 magic.

Su Mu felt that Elivin's abilities should not be able to carry the Book of Arcane Elements.

Even so, they are still difficult to deal with. Levin, combined with the dragon knight Orlando, is a true fusion of monsters, making them incredibly powerful. Not to mention the undead Grand Duke lurking to the east, making it a battleground on all four sides.

Su Mu felt that his treasures were already abundant enough, but the other party had accumulated the wealth of an entire empire, so he was still far behind.

"Don't be discouraged. At least we still have the plains in our hands. If the enemy's battle lines are stretched out, they will eventually make mistakes. If we find the right opportunity, we might be able to take a bite out of them!"

Su Mu wasn't too discouraged. Since he started building Cangmu, he had been racing against time. Since there was no opportunity, he would just focus on development.

After the parliament was built, Forrest was exhausted. After this period of recovery, he should be able to fight again and it's time to continue construction.

There is still room for improvement in Griffin Castle, Shipyard, and Temple of Light, and the special buildings in the Hall of Eight Kings can also be upgraded.

Advanced Alliance Leadership is more effective on large battlefields, and its usefulness increases as the number of subordinates grows.

Orling trusted his lord from beginning to end, and even though Isildur had an army of 100,000, Orling believed that they would not be defeated.

The lord himself is the greatest motivator, as can be seen from the Winterhold incident, which shows how influential a qualified commander can be.

As the atmosphere gradually relaxed, good fortune followed.

The messenger outside reported that Wayne had returned safely from the capital and brought back the purified angel necklace.

(End of this chapter)