Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 305 Construction Blueprint and Titan's Arrow

After pacifying several cities on the southern border, Sumu led nearly 10 people back to the interior.

Although their numbers are small, they are people who have survived the war, so their will is stronger and their endurance is much higher.

In peaceful cities, they are willing to take on a wider range of jobs.

Of course, this doesn't mean refugees have to suffer. If they have a skill, they can make the most of it.

In the world of heroes, although troop types are promoted through extraordinary buildings, population is still very useful. Extraordinary buildings are equivalent to a fixed number of promotion slots, and the total number is limited. However, the quality of soldiers trained by a city with 10 people is quite different from that of a city with one million people.

Those more elite troops can be promoted to commander, follower, or even hero. If they have a better foundation and a larger base, the probability of producing heroes will naturally be much higher.

No lord would complain about having too many people in his city; within the limits of what can be accommodated, the more the better.

Cities cannot expand indefinitely. Once a certain number of troops have been recruited, the city's spiritual energy will reach its limit, making it impossible to recruit more soldiers. This is why some ancient cities did not have thousands of cavalry regiments. Aside from the fact that humans can die, cities also have limitations in their capacity to accommodate troops.

This limitation is mainly related to the level of the main city and the total number of extraordinary buildings within the city, but it is actually more directly related to the population. This is because during the later stages of main city construction, a certain number of people (or higher-quality people) are needed to maintain the magical energy, which is simply called popularity. If the cemetery is the aura of death, then there are limitations.

The magical power of a region is limited, and the energy supplied to the superhuman forces is provided by the earth spirits. This requires the transformation of living beings (the undead, the elements). The transformation is very subtle, as natural as breathing, but it is extremely crucial.

To build a truly powerful and extraordinary city, you must have a sufficient population.

This transformation is interconnected; it's not that you can continue recruiting just by removing this group of people. Generally speaking, a city has a limit on the number of troops it can support unless they die.

The quota for extraordinary warriors is more like a kind of magical power system, which can be inherited by those who have the ability. Even if they go out, they will still occupy this quota. Therefore, the key constructive issue is how to expand the total pie of the city and territory.

You can either expand your territory or upgrade your main city; both are viable options, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Su Mu is currently implementing a streamlined construction strategy, not overreaching, and focusing on the construction of a few cities.

The new city in the heartland is called Corneliuston, a city steeped in history, dating back over a thousand years from its oldest settlements. It experienced periods of glory, but more often declined. In the war with Isildur, its walls were breached, its lord died, and its people scattered, leaving it almost a ghost town.

However, it has one advantage: it is a county-level city and has a council hall.

The discussions in Congress hadn't reached a conclusion yet, and Su Mu was too lazy to wait any longer. Since he had already bestowed Cornasston upon him, Su Mu naturally accepted it.

The city was temporarily handed over to Ouling, one of the human archery heroes who had followed him the longest, and he finally got his own territory.

Of course, the management in Sumu is not quite the same as the enfeoffment in the kingdom. It is more like a combination of a governor and a military commander, rather than directly granting land to meritorious officials.

He explained this matter to his heroes from the very beginning. He would naturally give more territory to the heroes who had made contributions, but for now, it was best to keep a tight grip on power.

No one disagreed with this; compared to being a powerful baron or viscount in a small territory, it was clearly more promising to serve the lord and make contributions.

Moreover, this is a time of war, and the territory is always at risk of invasion, so there is absolutely no leisurely life like that of a manor owner.

Cornelston took in 100,000 border dwellers and absorbed more than 100,000 people who had fled from the interior, restoring some of its former glory.

As for the city's repairs, Orling sought out several renowned craftsmen to work together to restore the extraordinary buildings. This process might take some time, at least a month or more, and it would also provide an opportunity to change the layout and improve the city's expandability.

The blueprints were designed by Forrest himself, and the craftsmen only needed to build according to the blueprints. As for the resources, they had all been delivered, and everything could proceed step by step.

After all, the foundation of the city has already been built, and it is impossible to carry out large-scale renovations. It is enough to restore it to its original state.

Forrest did not go in person because he had more important things to do.

More than 100 kilometers north of Bearsburg, Forrest and Seydros were standing in a snow-covered valley, surveying the terrain.

"The extraordinary architecture of the towers is mostly combined with alchemy, especially manufacturing plants, clock towers, and haunted towers, which require a low-temperature environment for cooling during production. The main city of the towers can absorb heat and convert it into magical energy, creating a snowy environment in the surrounding area, thus creating a cycle of ice and snow."

Of course, if the city is located in a mountainous region, it's even more suitable for building a tower-based main city, leading to better development. Therefore, many tower-building factions choose snowy mountain areas, as this creates a better environment for magical energy.

Sederlos had lived in the Arcane Empire for some time, studying in the library under his mentor Beatrice, and had become quite proficient in this knowledge.

He pointed to the vast snowfields of the North: "In some ways, these places are actually more suitable for building tower cities than castle cities. However, towers have another advantage: they are built against the snowy mountains, offering a wider field of vision."

Forrest gazed into the distance, finally pointing to the snow-capped mountains further north: "So, that towering snow-capped mountain is the perfect place to build the main city of Tower Tower! But building roads will be a troublesome matter."

Sedros nodded: "Theoretically speaking, that's true. The height of that snow mountain is rare in the North, even comparable to that of Vatra City. But the difficulty of construction has also increased dramatically, and the amount of resources required has multiplied."

Besides, that area isn't our territory; it's part of the North. Even if Bear Keep extends further, it has no jurisdiction over this area.

Forrest waved his hand: "The North is in a mess right now. The kingdom is eager for us to take over, and might even give a certain area to Kuraki. Besides, I'm only responsible for choosing the most suitable territory. Let the lord consider the rest of the problems."

The architect knew the lord's character well. If he really intended to build a tower city, he would build it to the highest standards, and the location would be a crucial factor.

Kuraki, to some extent, is situated in a vulnerable position. Although the plains are fertile, it is difficult to effectively construct defensive fortifications. Now, with the hills occupied by Isidore, Kuraki has become the front line, without even any natural barriers.

Therefore, Su Mu always emphasized defending against enemies from the outside, which meant he did not want the enemy to enter the plains and disrupt the production of the territory.

However, the location's inherent disadvantages cannot be changed, which is why Su Mu consistently prioritizes increasing troop production rather than defensive capabilities. In such an open area, building more defensive towers would be ineffective; it's far more efficient to produce more troops and send them out to fight.

Tower cities are different. If they can be embedded in the highest mountain peak, the watchtowers can overlook the entire area and are easy to defend and difficult to attack, making them absolute strategic fortresses.

Cedros took out some yellowed magical blueprints and handed them all to the architect: "These are construction blueprints I collected through some channels. You probably have other ideas, but this is how the basic walls and layout are. You might be able to refer to them."

Although Sederlos left the Arcane Empire, he did not sever ties with it. It was not difficult for him to contact alchemists in some small towns and exchange his unique alchemy skills for building blueprints.

Generally speaking, heroes of a faction will be granted the right to build and the knowledge granted by the nation. In particular, the data on low-level main cities is stored within the main city and is automatically passed on after the council hall and council are promoted.

But now, if Kuraki wanted to build the tower, it would be much more difficult, as he would need to gather information from scratch.

Fortunately, so far it's just the council hall and the fortress, which aren't too difficult. It will get harder as you go on, which is indeed a problem.

Forrest carefully examined the blueprints and quickly constructed a complete construction process in his mind, as well as areas for improvement.

[Council Hall (Tower): Collect tax payments and refine spell power to earn 500 gold coins daily.]

Resources required: 5000 gold coins, 20 logs, 20 shale stones, boundary stones. Allows town construction of a fortress, a level 1 magic guild, a market, a clock tower, a haunted house (blueprints lacking), and a hero's tavern (blueprints lacking).

This is Forrest's rough estimate, which combines his past construction experience with the spell blueprint, and it shouldn't be too far off.

That's an exorbitant price; that money could even build a brand new city. However, to build a city on such a majestic mountain and prepare for the future City of Miracles, we must lay the most solid foundation beforehand.

Forrest is quite experienced with fortresses, markets, and magic guilds, but the unique barracks architecture of towers cannot be known through mere imagination.

However, this thing is both difficult and simple in some ways.

The Arcane Empire wouldn't reveal the secrets of its architecture, but it wouldn't be overly secretive either. Heroes with tower-building talents are able to make numerous attempts. Many heroes gain corresponding arcane knowledge upon advancement, including methods for upgrading buildings.

In most cases, heroes wouldn't need this knowledge, but this is an exception. Extraordinary architecture is the embodiment of magic, closely related to the hero's magical power, and the responsibility of creating the blueprints may fall on Cedrus's shoulders from now on.

Besides, there are quite a few cartographers on the mainland, and you can easily acquire one as long as you have enough gold coins.

"Alright, let's go take a look at the snow-capped mountains to the north. If the terrain is really suitable, we must make sure the lord takes this place!"

……

Su Mu returned to Langlitburg, relieved of his heavy military duties, and gave himself a rare day to relax.

Baroness Valentine was feeding the lord grapes, one after another.

“A group of wandering merchants have fled from the capital and hope to receive our protection.”

Su Mu didn't even open his eyes: "These people must be merchants who fled during the Battle of Sunset. Such cowardly and timid fellows probably won't last long in a war-torn place like ours."

We won't take them in. They can do trade if there's business involved, but we won't allow them to acquire operating rights.

Su Mu doesn't object to speculative businessmen, but if they want to profit from the war and are indecisive, then sorry, it's better to take in a group of honest refugees.

They didn't even dare to stay in the capital, let alone Longlet Castle.

The next battle will definitely take place on the plains. No matter which direction Lloyd plans to advance from, he will definitely have to test the waters first. Sumu has already transferred his army back to the plains, preparing to confront Isidore's forces head-on.

Although Kuraki is not defensible, the area that needs to be defended is not too large. Further north are some dilapidated towns, connecting White Rock City and Bear Keep. Although White Rock City is now in ruins, if Isildur advances directly from the hills into the northern plains, he will pass through the ancient ruins, where the Undead Grand Duke resides, making it difficult even for Isildur's army to pass.

To some extent, the Undead Grand Duke also helped guard key territories. Recently, the other side seems to have been inactive, perhaps gathering strength, but for the time being, they don't appear to pose a significant threat.

As long as he can withstand the frontal attack from Kuraki, Sumu doesn't believe that Esiduo's troops will dare to venture deep into enemy territory alone.

The enemy's clearing of the hills is not yet complete, so Kuraki must take advantage of this time to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

Oling is in full charge of Kaunaston. He should restore troop production as soon as possible. This will give Kuraki four county cities to supply troops, which will be a significant boost.

Another key task is to explore the possibilities of tower construction. Sederos now possesses the Holy Blood Vial and has gained some combat capabilities. Although he can lead human troops, it would be best for him to control the tower units. Furthermore, the Arcane Empire to the north harbors ambitious intentions and must be guarded against.

Bear Fortress is already quite predictable and is unlikely to serve as a stronghold for defending the north. It would be better to try building a new city, which would significantly improve Kuraki's overall capabilities.

The tower's units, magic guilds, treasure shops, and watchtowers are all excellent additions.

Forrest has not returned yet; further discussions are needed.

However, spending money would definitely be more expensive, but Su Mu didn't care at all; in fact, he was secretly pleased, as this would further increase the probability of his Luck spell. As long as he didn't consume too many Boundary Stones, there wouldn't be any problems.

Considering it's a basic council chamber, it shouldn't consume too many boundary stones, so it's not a big problem.

Aside from the improvement of the buildings, it's about upgrading the treasures.

Now that the final piece of the Titan's Arrow has been collected, it's time to assemble it, even though one treasure is sealed in the Eight Kings' Palace. However, the Eight Kings' Palace suppresses the negative attributes of the sealed item, so as long as we don't fuse it for advancement for the time being, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Titan's Arrow (Combination Treasure): When equipped by a hero, Attack and Defense +12, Spell Power and Knowledge +10.

Offensive spells gain a 20% increase in effectiveness; spatial magic gains special effects; lightning magic is enhanced. Masters the level 5 special spell, Titan's Arrow.

[Comment: Titan's arrow of thunder, shot from the clouds, is unstoppable!]

Titan's Arrow (Level 5 Special Air Elemental Magic, requires only a combination of equipment, no Wisdom spell needed): Deals 600 magic damage, does not consume mana.

Advanced Air Elemental Mastery: Deals magic damage equal to 600 + Hero's Cursed Power * Hero's Cursed Power.

After combining the treasures, the negative effects of the individual treasures were eliminated, and the attributes were improved in all aspects. Moreover, the destructive power of the special air elemental magic Titan Arrow exceeded Su Mu's expectations.

This is practically a magic spell designed specifically for heroes with high spell power. Even though it's a single-target spell, the area it hits is actually quite large, and it can kill more than ten high-health units.

The main reason is that the attributes are too attractive; Su Mu has a particular fondness for these kinds of high attribute bonuses.

Upon seeing the Titan's Arrow, Su Mu no longer cared about eating grapes. He excitedly took the combined treasures and went to the shooting range to test the arrow. A series of loud explosions came from the distant mountains. The townspeople thought it was thunder and hurriedly went back to pack their clothes.

Su Mu was very satisfied with this set of treasures; it was worth all the effort he had put into collecting them.

The only downside to good things is that they're expensive, but that price is worth it.

So he then instructed Randall to prepare for the advancement of the Holy Blood Vial, telling him to just name whatever materials he needed, as he wanted to see just how powerful the advanced Holy Blood Vial would be.

At this time, the royal envoy arrived at Longlet Castle and announced the parliament's resolution.

Upon seeing that the visitor was Gail, Sumu immediately knew the outcome.

In fact, Marshal Raven had also sent a letter telling him not to worry and to do his best to defend the plains.

The Emerald Kingdom was not as peaceful as one might imagine, and perhaps by sheer luck, he had helped the Three Saints resolve some troubles.

Since that's the case, he readily accepted it.

(End of this chapter)