Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 251 Attack on the Heartland
With the help of governance skills, Sederos once again embarks on the path of a hero.

Because his body was still very weak due to the effects of the toxins, Su Mu told him to rest for a while before studying magic.

Although Cedros's new skill is incredibly powerful, it's difficult for him to improve. In his current state, even using magic is a problem.

Su Mu plans to hire a powerful priest to treat his body. The best way would be to help him restore his maximum health, which would require assembling the Holy Blood Vial, a combination of treasures. He is currently missing two treasures, but he can work on it slowly.

The alchemical dust that Cederos transported earlier was crucial. Since it wasn't a primary material requirement, the amount of dust was already close to the target. All that's left is to collect a few more batches of materials, and that should be enough.

The most difficult part was the cursed crystal. When Forrest returned with the price quote, his face was ashen.

"The city of trade seems to have figured us out. Not only do they not lower the price, but they also increase it by 10000 gold coins every time we ask."

Furthermore, they declared that the buyer must negotiate in the trading city, or they would never be able to purchase a single cursed crystal again.

"boom!"

Su Mu smashed the stone table in front of him with a single punch; he hadn't been this angry in a long time. He had originally intended to settle things peacefully by offering more money, hoping both sides could compromise and reach a deal.

As a result, the trading city, relying on its own channels, even raised prices on the spot.

Although the other party doesn't know who the next buyer is, Kuraki is definitely on the list of suspects. The fact that the trading city is so eager to extract information from Raymond speaks volumes about their intentions.

"Recently, there seems to be some turmoil in Parliament. A group of nobles suddenly proposed a bill, saying that the current timber shortage requires the help of new forest farms. In the past, the kingdom has always been at the forefront, and everyone is used to being sheltered from the wind and rain. In times of crisis, it is time for everyone to serve the country."

Needless to say, the council members are again eyeing the profits from the forest and want to test the waters. Considering the nobles who raised the issue, it's highly likely that the trading city is fueling the flames.

The other side must have already become suspicious of the profits from Kuraki City, so they took the initiative to raise the tax rate on logs to see how Kuraki and other cities would react.

"What did the nobles from the other forest farms say?"

"Some small and medium-sized forest farm owners were unwilling but dared not resist, while the wealthy nobles unanimously agreed to the matter, saying that it was their duty to serve the country."

Upon hearing this, Su Mu couldn't help but laugh, but as he laughed, his expression turned icy.

"What a convenient excuse! They control nearly 8% of the kingdom's forests. If they were truly willing to show sincerity, the national treasury wouldn't be so depleted."

Now that they've allied themselves with the trading city, feigning to collect timber taxes, they've probably already planned how to split the profits, determined to squeeze every last drop of wealth from these minor nobles.

Kuraki Forest Farm had always been supplying the kingdom with logs, and even after he took control of Langlit Castle, the supply did not stop, so it could be considered loyal.

But the words of the City of Trade stirred up the greed in Congress, which was truly unexpected.

"what should we do?"

"What are we going to do? Stop the delivery of logs as well. Didn't the trading city want to see what Kuraki's resources were? Let them come to the front lines and experience firsthand the hardships of production during wartime!"

The situation was relatively good for places like Cangmu Forest Farm, but for the other resource-rich areas on the front lines, people were risking their lives to produce goods, as they could be occupied by the enemy at any time, and the workers could be killed or enslaved.

"Since they're so ungrateful, I'm not going to give them any face either. If they dare to come to the plains to collect logs, they'd better be prepared to haul away corpses."

Forrest was somewhat worried: "Isn't it inappropriate to openly defy Congress's order?"

Su Mu patted him on the shoulder: "The reason why the trading city dares to be so arrogant is because it hasn't experienced the baptism of war. Now that the Arcane Empire has freed up its resources, it's clear that it wants to divide up the northern territory. Leven will definitely send troops westward, and the heartland will become extremely dangerous."

This gave us a reason to head west. We weren't planning on lowering ourselves to their level, but since they're courting death, they can't blame us!

These words were spoken with a heavy tone, foreshadowing a brutal war that was about to break out.

They certainly couldn't directly attack the territory of the trading city, but the enemy wouldn't think that way; they were very eager to seize this prize!

Su Mu prepared to deal with the creatures leeching off the kingdom. ...

"Hurry! Speed ​​up! Reach the foot of the snow-capped mountain before dark!"

A large number of Frost Treemen marched through the snowy night, braving the swirling snow and forming a long dragon as they headed toward Cloud City in the heart of the land.

The heartland of the Kingdom of Elton is actually a collection of cities in various complex terrains, all guarding the capital. The surrounding area is densely populated, economically prosperous, and reveres chivalry and magic.

Bordering the barren snowfield lies Highland City, an ancient defensive fortress with tens of thousands of troops, possessing formidable defensive capabilities. Even after Leven conquered Winterfell, shaking the world, Highland City merely reinforced its defenses, showing no intention of retreating.

The lord of the Highlands is Duke Peter John of the Iris, the leader of the Disciplinary Ascetics. He is granted a title by the Church of Light and is essentially the highest-ranking member of the Church of Light within the kingdom's aristocratic system.

Although he doesn't usually obey royal orders, he will hold his ground until the very last soldier unless the Church of Light issues an order to withdraw.

After settling matters in the North, Leven was eager to send troops into the heartland, first bypassing the Highlands.

This is a tough nut to crack. The ascetics are devout and fearless in battle. In addition, the city of highlands has special defensive structures, making it difficult to conquer quickly even with a large army.

Therefore, after petitioning the council of elders, Levin sent his troops south to seize the heartland of Cloud Mist City. Although this risked being cut off from their retreat, Levin had a way to deal with the ascetics if they dared to leave the city.

After a series of white clouds passed by, the dragon knight Orlando flew to the side of Commander-in-Chief Levin. After a brief greeting, they began to discuss the next battle plan.

"The Arcane Empire has assembled a large army, claiming to help Elton get justice. I think they are just after the lands in the North."

"With such vast lands as Elton, what harm is there in giving them some? As long as it doesn't hinder the army's westward advance, everything is negotiable."

"I'm afraid they'll be greedy and take the opportunity to cause trouble, ruining our grand plan."

"It's alright. The Elders' Council has already sent people to negotiate and has once again transferred reinforcements to Winter City. Lloyd's forces are also advancing north, which serves as a check on them. The Arcane Empire dares not act rashly."

Levin held the Arcane Empire in contempt, only daring to boast from the sidelines about his immense strength and how his side could win by simply supporting one side. Usually, such characters are useless; in a real fight, they might not even be stronger than humans.

At least Elton's current level of resistance shows he's quite capable.

“We will bypass the Highland City and enter the land shrouded in magical clouds. At that time, you will need to lead the Centaur Star to launch a surprise attack and seize this magical city.”

The sky above Cloud Mist City is filled with magical clouds, which are constantly shrouded in powerful air elements, making it an ideal place for the Silver Pegasus to launch an attack after being baptized by air elements.

【Magic Cloud (Level 2 Special Terrain): When fighting in this area, air elemental magic becomes advanced, and air elemental baptism grants units +3 speed and increases damage by 50%】

Orlando nodded without refusing, though he was slightly angry: "It's a pity that the Stormrage Centaur suffered heavy losses, otherwise they would have had a greater advantage in this battle!"

Levin had heard that the dragon knight had suffered a setback at the hands of the unknown vampires, but he didn't want to get involved in the ancient ruins, so he advised the other party to focus on heading west.

"After capturing Cloud Mist City, we can continue south and seize the northwest area of ​​the Trade City's territory. Although it's not a large area, it has several resource-rich sites."

"That area must be quite close to Langlitburg, right? Will Sumu send troops?"

“I checked with my scouts and found that Longlit Castle hasn’t sent out any troops yet; they’re just guarding Graystone City on the border. We’re not really going to occupy the resource-rich areas; we’re just trying to make it easier to negotiate with the Arcane Empire later. We’ll give them some incentives so they won’t hinder our plans.”

Orlando is now quite wary of Plains Lord Sumu; he has remembered Sumu's name ever since they clashed at Bear Fortress.

To be honest, Orlando wasn't afraid, but at this crucial moment, he was quite happy that he didn't have to deal with this turtle shell.

"Alright, I will lead the Silver Pegasus Star and guarantee that we will take Cloud Mist City within three days!"

(End of this chapter)