Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 277 The Great Battle Is Imminent
While Wayne and Maggie headed north, Sumu led his troops onward and soon arrived at Graystone City, where the heartland had already fallen into chaos.

Urgent news came from the front lines that Isildur had transported another 30,000 troops from Winterfell, all of them level 3 or higher, to join forces with the elven dragon knights and garrison Cloudmist City.

Not only that, but a large number of siege weapons were also built, and even Isabel came to the front line with a large number of elven mages.

It seems Isildur is about to launch a full-scale offensive!
Conrad had already led his troops away from Frostholdt, and Congress eventually reached an agreement with the Arcane Empire to allow Rhodes to return to the North after the war.

In return, the Arcane Empire would need to send troops to attack Winterfell and cut off Isildur's retreat.

The kingdom was clearly determined to completely crush Leven's army in this battle, leaving them no way to escape.

Both sides are fighting with their backs to the wall, so naturally they will not leave any way out. It all comes down to whose army is stronger.

Ultimately, regardless of their apparent strength on paper, they still have to clash on the battlefield. It's that simple: the victor takes all.

Su Mu arrived in Graystone City and had already assembled all the troops he could muster.

[1500 Shieldbearers, 900 Earthbowmen, 800 Gale Griffins, 200 Wild Griffins, 500 Strongest Swordsmen, 400 Arcane Prayer]

He brought almost all the troops he could, leaving the rest to defend the city and ensure a minimum level of defense.

This is the strongest army Su Mu has assembled since establishing Cangmu, a large army of more than 4000 people, which he personally leads, waiting for the right opportunity to enter the battlefield.

Due to the unclear battlefield situation and the fact that all sides were deploying troops, Su Mu did not rush to move out. Instead, he sent troops to guard several resource locations in the hinterland and waited for the situation to change.

He met with Sir Murak the Swift, and the two exchanged opinions and discussed the upcoming battle.

Both agreed that the forces in the Eastern District, including those of the Highlands and the Trading City, were part of a plan to launch a counter-encirclement from the rear. If Leven dared to attack the capital's checkpoints, they would amass a large army to attack Isildur's forces from the rear, while the checkpoint commanders would cooperate, launching a pincer attack to annihilate the army.

Because until now, the kingdom has not issued any orders to deploy them, but instead sent a message instructing them to await the command of the knight commander.

The intention behind this battle is quite clear: Conrad is to lead everyone in an attack from the rear.

"It is rare for the kingdom to be so resolute, holding the capital's passes to the death and defending against the enemy."

"I've heard that the defending general this time is also very famous. He is Isaiah Green, the Rock Armor, who is known for his defensive skills and advanced earth elemental mastery. He has never lost a siege battle."

It seems that when the country is about to perish, the noble lords in the capital have also become afraid and are fully supporting the defense, even sending out the most suitable candidates in the hope of turning the tide.

"This doesn't require any famous generals to devise strategies. Anyone with a basic understanding of warfare can see that if the capital's passes cannot be held, Elton will fall. Moreover, Sunset Fortress is a formidable stronghold, equipped with Elton's strongest defensive weapons and arrow towers. It won't be easy to conquer."

If you don't even dare to defend this, then you're not even as good as Rhodes.

Sunset Fortress is the core of the royal capital's defenses, built against a mountain with a hundred-meter-high cliff below, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Inside the fortress are three magic towers and forty high-level defensive arrow towers, while dozens of satellite defense towers are located outside the fortress. There is only one road, a hundred meters wide, through which it is impossible to deploy too many ground troops.

With enough soldiers to defend the city, they can withstand an enemy force several times their size. If Levin insists on launching a strong attack, he will likely suffer a major setback.

Once we can wipe out Isildur's more than 100,000 superhuman troops, the tide of the battle will turn dramatically.

……

Conrad led his cavalry along the northern border into the heartland, his first stop being the Highland City.

After meeting with Peter John, Duke of the Iris, he received a promise of full support in the upcoming great battle.

"The High Priest of Light has sent a message to the Discipline Monks: this battle is crucial to the overall situation and is a matter of life and death for the Church of Light. We must go all out."

Duke Peter was always a man of his word; he adhered to his principles and was one of the very few nobles who completely followed the precepts. Conrad trusted his word.

"Then we'll leave it to Your Grace, Duke. If necessary, we'll need you to block Isildur's reinforcements and buy us some time."

The King has entrusted Conrad with full authority over the deployment of troops on the eastern front in this major battle, and Conrad has also drawn up a detailed plan.

Whenever Leven sends troops to attack the pass, he immediately leads Sir Swift, Earl Kuraki, and the entire Eastern District to launch an attack from the rear. Even if Leven doesn't send troops, the Knight Commander has a battle plan. Once the war begins, they will form a pocket, surrounding the more than 100,000 troops at the fortress, slowly whittling them down.

If the enemy tries to break through, Conrad will not force them to stay, but will instead set up layers of obstacles to wear down their manpower.

The Arcane Empire agreed to send troops to attack Winterfell. This agreement was reached through diplomatic means by the Speaker of the Parliament, and should theoretically be binding. Furthermore, the Emerald City is providing support from the south; its fortress army has already arrived in the southern hinterland, with 40,000 troops stationed there, ready to march north and provide reinforcements at any time.

The fact that the kingdom was able to secure reinforcements from both major powers at the same time was certainly not solely due to the threat from Isildur; the kingdom must have paid a hefty price to persuade the Arcane Empire and the Emerald City to join.

The conditions in the north are naturally those in the northern border region, and the Emerald Lands have probably paid a heavy price as well.

However, if we can successfully defeat the fortified army in the heart of the territory, it will all be worth it.

This was a rare opportunity, and Conrad spared no effort to ensure that every step was adequately prepared.

While he wouldn't claim to be perfect in every aspect, he was confident that he could lead his cavalry regiment to a decisive victory if given a fair chance to fight.

……

The city of Cloud Mist was shrouded in wisps of smoke, enveloped in magical clouds and filled with endless air elements.

Affected by the previous counterattack, Leven has recalled all his troops. Once the new reinforcements from Winterfell arrive with enough siege equipment, he will prepare to attack the capital's gates.

Isabel and Orlando have arrived in Cloud City, and the three of them are standing on the city wall discussing the next military deployment.

"Sunset Fortress is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Although I brought 30,000 troops this time, including several thousand Unicorn Legion troops, it won't be of much help in the siege. We need to think of another way."

"There will definitely be magic arrays that prevent teleportation inside the checkpoint, making it difficult for us to break through their defenses with teleportation. If we rely solely on flying units, we're afraid we'll suffer heavy losses."

Isabel's words were actually quite tactful. She wasn't afraid of heavy losses, but rather of failing to breach Sunset Fortress even if her flying forces were wiped out. After all, the human defenders were formidable, and being located deep within the kingdom, surrounded by human cities, meant the enemy had a constant stream of soldiers. If the siege dragged on, she would be surrounded and annihilated, a very troublesome situation.

Orlando agreed with this. He had previously thought the human forces were easily defeated until he encountered Su Mu and suffered some minor losses. He then suffered another major defeat when encountering the undead in the North. He thought he had no more rivals, but upon arriving in the heartland and engaging in a close battle with the Swift Knight, he finally curbed his arrogance and acknowledged that human heroes could also be powerful and not to be underestimated.

Looking westward, Levin saw an endless sea of ​​clouds and continuous mountain ranges that would be difficult for ordinary troops to cross.

He calmly said, "In a major battle like this, who dares to say they have a 100% chance of success? We can only wait for the right opportunity and take a gamble."

Sunset Fortress is indeed difficult to attack, but we are not fighting alone this time; someone from the south will come to our aid.

This is a national war; some people don't want Elton to decline, while others want to see it die.

Moreover, the Elder Council also provided a secret treasure, capable of turning the tide in crucial moments!

Levin didn't say what it was, but as a member of the Elder Council, Isabel clearly knew something, and nodded, her expression becoming excited.

Since the commander-in-chief had already made his decision, the elven dragon knight naturally wouldn't say anything more. His goal was to gain the merit of destroying a nation, and he was willing to take the risk for it.

……

On the southern inland rivers, rugged sailboats sped forward, filled with orcs and powerful shamans. Thunderbirds blotted out the sky, cyclops toyed with boulders, and everyone was eager for a fight.

After being suppressed by humans for so many years, they finally had a chance to fight back. The strongholds in the wilderness gathered together and prepared to launch an attack.

Of course, the terms offered by the barrier were also very generous, not only providing a lot of gold coins and resources in advance, but also promising to share the Elton Kingdom after the matter was accomplished.

In short, nothing else matters, the people of Elton must die!
"Okara, sama!"

"wulaka!"

"Long live the stronghold!"

(End of this chapter)