Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 273 A great harvest
This battle wiped out nearly 8000 hell troops, with only 300 of the strongest swordsmen deployed, making it an extremely brilliant victory.

However, due to the nature of governance, Su Mu did not gain any new insights.

While the position of governor is powerful, it also has its drawbacks. It relies heavily on the promotion of its subordinate heroes, and its fundamental logic is still about gathering a crowd. Therefore, Su Mu's experience is very limited.

The biggest gain from this battle was naturally the elimination of the danger in the eastern part of the North and the deterrence of the Hell forces. It is highly likely that the enemy will not invade the North again in the coming months.

As for Karl, Su Mu originally planned to deal with him all at once, but he received a message from Ouling that Karl had temporarily abandoned his territory and headed north into the snow forest, disappearing without a trace.

This person truly left Su Mu speechless. If he were to choose the hero who was best at escaping, it would undoubtedly be Karl.

Since he had run away, Su Mu was too lazy to chase after him. After all, the Arcane Empire was just north of the no-man's-land, and it was best not to provoke them given their unclear attitude.

Through this battle, Su Mu also gained a clear understanding of the strength of the strongest swordsmen. He felt that if he or Ivan led 1000 of the strongest swordsmen, they could even rival Isildur's army of 10,000.

Of course, this refers to super-powerful heroes like the Elf Dragon Knight. If it were an ordinary hero, they could even deal 50,000 or 60,000 damage.

However, the Bulwark Legion is also full of hidden talents. The combination of unit types and heroes is very reasonable, and they have a lot of magic or elemental output. Even with physical immunity, there are still too few of them. They are easily focused down and killed.

Su Mu didn't intend to fight against a country on his own, but if he could find the right opportunity to take down Orlando and teach this arrogant guy a lesson, it would be within his tolerance.

The strongest swordsman threw Grima's corpse into the holy flames, a purifying fire specially provided by the Church of Light to cleanse the battlefield.

After all, he was one of the demons of war, and perhaps he possessed mysterious means to revive, but the Purifying Fire completely severed his means of resurrection, and Grimma came to an end here.

Amidst the blood and gore, the swordsmen raised a thick shield and offered it to their lord.

Even after being slashed by so many swordsmen, the shield only had a few sword marks and was otherwise undamaged, demonstrating its strength.

Dragon Shield (Level 3 Treasure): Increases hero's attack and defense by 3 each. One of the nine components of the Dragon King's Divine Power combination treasure.

Evaluation: On your journey, you encounter an elderly weapon maker who previously received a favor from you. He then uses dragon scales to craft a beautifully designed shield.

As expected, it is a dragon shield. Without the special form enhancement of the demon, the dragon shield reveals its original appearance.

Although Su Mu possesses the more powerful Lion King Shield, there's always a greater need for treasures. With so many heroes under his command, the shortage of treasures is still significant, and they could be distributed among the ruling heroes.

The power of the Dragon Shield is undeniable; it transforms the character's abilities regardless of who wields it. Su Mu still prefers Ivan or Ouling, since they are both offensive specialists who benefit greatly from attack and defense attribute bonuses.

The other heroes are mostly mages and back-row heroes, so they don't need as many attack and defense attributes.

There's another person we could bring along, the Night Queen. However, as a half-undead, she has a lot of equipment that no one else can carry, so she'll have to use it. She already carries quite a few treasures, so giving her the Dragon Shield would be a bit of a waste.

How exactly it will be allocated depends on how the situation develops.

In addition to the dragon shield, the swordsmen also seized a special treasure.

【Mask of the Deceiver (Tier 3 Treasure): Disguise/Deception skill effect +50%, when special units are sent into enemy towns, the efficiency of reconnaissance and sabotage effects is increased by 1%.

Review: This mask escaped from the city of assassins. It's said to be able to disguise itself as an ordinary person, catching enemies off guard.

No wonder Grimma was able to transform into a demon just now; it turns out he had this treasure.

Demons are often cunning and treacherous, and they wear strange and functional artifacts. The Mask of the Deceiver was Gramar's life-saving tool in case of emergency. However, he never expected that the strongest swordsman could kill all the people who were trying to escape, forcing him to reveal his true form. Otherwise, it would have been really difficult to capture him.

While the Deceptive Mask doesn't directly enhance combat abilities, it's quite practical, and both Wayne and Liliana can use it. Considering the upcoming battle in the heartland, Su Mu decided to give it to Wayne; the enhanced disguise might prove useful.

In addition, Su Mu also breached the altar and obtained some special materials.

Otherworldly Mud (Special Material): A core material for the Abyss Altar, said to connect to a mysterious otherworld. Collecting a sufficient quantity allows for the construction of outdoor structures through special means.

Evaluation: This mud can be freely shaped and possesses powerful magical energy, making it a good building material, but only a qualified architect can use it.

This is also what interests Su Mu about the attacking demons; the altars used for their sacrifices often contain this material, a special item unique to this other world.

The higher the level of the building to be constructed, the more otherworldly mud is required. However, Forrest is a regulated architect, so perhaps he can construct it with a smaller amount of materials; the exact amount will need to be discussed with Forrest. After cleaning up the battlefield, Su Mu met up with Ouling and retreated south.

He also sent a message to the knight commander, telling him that he had nothing to worry about.

The elimination of the disruptive forces of Hell also serves as a warning to the Arcane Empire, which, to some extent, collaborated with the Arcane Empire to cause trouble in the North. Now, the conflict has ended before it even began.

Even if 8000 hell troops were all pigs, it would take a long time to kill them. Humanity's power in the North is not that weak. If we want to launch a strong attack, we will have to pay a price. We need to consider this carefully.

The situation in the heartland is becoming increasingly urgent, and a storm is brewing. Su Mu is preparing to mobilize a large army for the final battle to defend the kingdom.

The Knight Commander also prepared to stabilize the north and lead his knightly legions into the heartland to encircle and annihilate Leven's army. Success or failure hinged on this moment; neither side could afford to delay any longer.

Su Mu plans to return to Langlit Castle and bring out all the newly recruited soldiers. This will be an epic battle, a battle that will determine the fate of the kingdom, and even he will have to devote all his efforts to it.

Before leaving, a holy blood vial must be synthesized to maintain Cedros's condition so that he can continue his magical training.

Although it's only a temporary solution, and if Cedros continues to grow stronger, even the Holy Blood Vial won't be able to sustain him. But as long as the immediate problem can be solved, step by step, Su Mu believes that a solution will eventually be found.

……

In a ruined mine of the Arcane Empire, Karl was wandering with his army, accompanied by hundreds of pseudo-humans, all of whom revered him.

News has come from the North that the war devil Gramar Reynolds, who underestimated the enemy and acted rashly, has been killed.

From his initial ambitious pronouncements to his subsequent forceful seizure of military power, determined to establish his own hellish territory in the North, he died in battle just over half a month ago.

Many of his followers, who thought Karl was timid and subservient just half a month ago, feared he would soon be bullied. After all, the War Demon had power, resources, and the trust of the Abyss Lord.

In retrospect, Karl was right; in this terrifying region, anyone too arrogant wouldn't survive more than a month.

Upon receiving news of Grimar's death, Karl feigned concern and reported it to the Abyss Lord, but in any case, now only he and one other hero remained, significantly reducing the competitive pressure.

That idiot, the War Demon, deserves to die. If Su Mu were so easy to deal with, he would have already attacked the Northern Territory. Why would it be Grima's turn? He doesn't even need to use his brain; this is supposed to be a demon.

However, Su Mu's combat prowess is becoming increasingly astonishing; he effortlessly slaughters 8000 hell troops. Even with his special disguise artifact, Grimar couldn't escape, highlighting the perilous situation.

Karl has no desire to go to the North to seek trouble. He would rather stay in the Arcane Empire, hide and develop slowly, and carry out subversive missions than fight that freak.

Just because you can't win on the battlefield doesn't mean you have no way out.

According to the scouts who escaped, the devil of war sent the deceitful Enchantress to Langlit Castle. Now that most of the city's troops have been redeployed, there might actually be a chance to teach Sumu a lesson.

After all, it's one thing for Su Muqiang to be strong, but it's impossible for every one of his subordinates to be strong.

Offering sacrifices to the Lord of the Abyss doesn't necessarily have to involve flesh and blood, or life itself; intrigue and seduction can also be used, as these are often the primal forces that the Lord prefers.

He would receive an even greater reward if he could accomplish a major upheaval through conspiracy.

Damaging buildings is just minor mischief. Even if a war-era building is destroyed, it's just a matter of rebuilding, which is not worth mentioning.

But if he could seduce humans and bring Frosthold back into his hands, he would have a significant advantage.

Karl infiltrated the Arcane Empire to conceal his whereabouts and lower their guard. He also sent spies within the Arcane Empire, who made contact with the down-on-his-luck Duke of the North.

Rhodes is now a target of bullying by everyone. Not only is he considered a traitor by Elton, but even the Arcane Empire looks down on him, regarding him merely as a puppet.

In this situation, it is easy to contact him.

Conrad will soon be leaving Frostholdt, and his chance will come.

(End of this chapter)