Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 264 Hope Rekindled
Sumu was greatly encouraged upon receiving the news from Ivan in the north.

Recently, in order to support Ivan and his group's northward advance, Sumu has tightened its defenses and temporarily handed over the resource areas to Maya for management.

After about a week, Maya sped up production and managed to barely replenish the goods on the resource list.

The Walled Army occupied Cloudmist City, sweeping away the surrounding castle forces. Many nobles suffered, their castles were destroyed, their families were plundered, their subjects were enslaved, and refugees were everywhere.

According to Forrest, Kuraki and Langlitburg have received hundreds of thousands more people, all of whom fled from various places, mostly from the hinterland. It seems that Sumu has fought several brilliant offensive and defensive battles in the hinterland, which has been quite effective.

Once Levin had calmed down, he also had time to deal with the provocateurs from before.

Several resource sites in the eastern region were the hardest hit by enemy raids. Hundreds of half-human or even hundreds of silver winged horses would often attack, suddenly breaking in and looting everything while the miners were working.

The enemy didn't occupy the area for long. After the raid, they withdrew with their resources. If any workers dared to move in, they would seize the opportunity to attack again.

After several waves of this, even the most greedy businessman will have to consider the cost.

After completing the order, Maya, finally fed up with the harassment, came to Sumu to negotiate. She provided workers and materials, and guaranteed Sumu would provide protection for the Tier 2 material processing, thus gaining most of the resources.

Maya demanded priority in the transaction and promised to provide Kuraki with priority in supplying him with whatever he needed.

Thinking about it this way, the other party, relying on the city of trade, still has a wide range of channels, so cooperation between the two parties would be mutually beneficial.

Most importantly, why not plant a seed in a trading city?

Of course, Su Mu didn't trust Maya much either. He always remained wary of these profit-driven individuals, knowing they could be used but not befriended, or rather, mutually exploitative—Su Mu understood this clearly. As for why Maya was so bold as to conduct private transactions behind the backs of the Trading City, that was Maya's own business.

To complete the final construction of the strongest swordsman training ground, a large amount of Primal Stone resources are needed.

So Su Mu led his army back to guard the resource area and allowed the miners to resume production. He then exchanged all the resources for raw stones and crystals in order to gather the materials for the training ground.

Within a few days, news of the Knight Commander's recapture of Frost Fortress spread far and wide, and the nobles finally saw a glimmer of hope.

It seems that Isildur is not omnipotent; ultimately, someone can defeat them.

This greatly increased resistance in the hinterland, and Leven's fortified army was caught in its greatest struggle to date.

10 troops seems like a lot. The cities in the heartland have at least a million inhabitants, and the garrison is in the tens of thousands. Although the troops were scattered throughout the territory during the previous peacetime, they are now basically assembled to protect the core territory and are frantically increasing their numbers.

If Elton were given time, he could easily muster an army of hundreds of thousands from the heartland.

To put it bluntly, while Elton's national strength is not as great as Isildur's, it is still a powerful unified kingdom and not so easy to conquer. Previously, they were completely intimidated, but once a counterattack like the Knight Commander's was received, hope was rekindled in their hearts.

War is often fought not by force, but by psychological warfare and willpower.

Elton's confidence is gradually recovering, and if everyone can unite as one, then the fortified army will be in danger.

……

Su Mu has been stationed at the resource area for the past few days, and things have been peaceful. The news of the victory has put immense pressure on the enemy, who is temporarily unable to attend to the eastern region.

The fortified army attempted to capture the capital's checkpoints, destroying dozens of arrow towers, but failed to advance further. They hastily retreated back to Cloud Mist City, leaving behind hundreds of corpses.

When it truly came to a life-or-death moment, the capital city took things seriously. The king mobilized a large army to guard the passes, distributed various military supplies, and assembled renowned generals to defend the city to the death—it was going to be a tough fight. Moreover, a powerful reinforcement arrived from the heartland: Sir Murak the Swift. He had previously been harassing the Bastion Legion along the southern border of the North.

Its characteristics are swiftness like the wind, freedom of movement, the ability to fight when it wants and to retreat immediately when it doesn't. It mainly leads the Windbreak Crusaders, Gale Griffins, and cavalry units.

He fought his way through the North, advancing as he went, eventually bypassing the mountains and reaching the highlands. Together with the ascetic monks and Duke Peter, he annihilated the remaining enemy forces on the northern front, achieving a great victory.

In this way, Levin was left isolated deep in enemy territory. Even if he wanted to retreat, there would be significant problems, and he could be pursued and attacked by the Highland City at any time.

Upon hearing the news, Su Mu also led a group of Arcane Prayers to launch a counterattack against the surrounding enemies, annihilating several legions of thousands of men and severely dampening Isildur's morale.

The counterattack was so successful for two reasons: first, the recapture of Frost Fortress gave everyone hope; second, the kingdom summoned a great mage who used high-level confusion magic to obscure Levin's reconnaissance abilities, preventing the enemy from having a comprehensive view of the situation as before.

When the barriers lose sight of the situation and the scale of the operation is too large, it becomes impossible to manage everything, which is why they are broken down one by one.

After suffering a setback, Leven immediately withdrew his troops, concentrating all his forces near Cloudmist City, waiting for an opportunity.

On the battlefield of pursuit, Su Mu happened to encounter Murak's troops, among whom the Windbringer Crusaders were the most distinctive. They wore blue cloaks, moved swiftly, and were adept at both pursuit and assault, especially under Murak's command, where they thrived.

【Windbringer Crusader (Castle Tier 4, Tier 2 Unit, Baptism of Air Element): Attack 14, Defense 12, Damage 10-12, Health 35, Speed ​​9, Medium Size】

Element: Air (Units receive a 50% boost from air-based magic and have a 25% damage reduction against air-based magic; after a certain time limit, it requires hero mana to maintain.)

Wind Blade Combo: A greatsword forged from wind blades that can attack twice in a short period of time, dealing additional wind elemental damage equal to its speed value.

Breath of the Wind: When dealing enough damage to an enemy (each attack exceeding 20% ​​of the enemy's maximum health), you gain +1 speed (maximum speed 5).

Assessment: Being hunted by these crusaders surrounded by raging winds, you have absolutely no chance of escape!

Murak is a speed-focused hero who can not only increase the speed of the entire army, but also better utilize speed to convert into lethality.

Windbreak Crusaders are basically the kings of pursuit, especially against low-health units; they are a nightmare for them.

Moreover, this group of troops never sought personal credit; killing the fortified soldiers was their greatest achievement.

“Count Sumu, my master thanks you for driving the enemy away. He has specially allocated one of the stone mines we have captured to you. Please accept it.”

The Windbreak Crusaders leader handed over the map and explained his purpose.

Su Mu smiled and asked, "This is the resource area of ​​the trading city. Isn't Murak afraid of offending them?"

The commander said righteously and sternly, "In such times of war, territory should be given to heroes who are capable of defending it. My master has always disliked the actions of the trading city. If there is any punishment, my master will bear it alone. You can rest assured!"

Su Mu laughed heartily. It was rare to find someone who wasn't afraid of the trading city. He really wanted to meet this Swift Knight.

Now that I've received the gift, how can I not do my best to help?

Su Mu led his troops and, together with the Windbringer Crusaders, pursued a bastion legion that had failed to retreat in time, until they forced the enemy back to the Magic Cloud Zone before ceasing their attack.

He gazed at the thick, magical clouds in the distance and an idea came to him.

Perhaps there really is a chance to surround and kill Leven!
(End of this chapter)