Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 318 Undead Strange Movements
While Silver Peak City was under construction, Su Mu did not relax his reconnaissance of the surrounding enemies.

Currently, Kuraki's biggest threat comes from Lloyd's army in the hills. The enemy has cleared the obstacles in the hilly area, gained complete control of the mountains, and can advance westward at any time.

Compared to the barren snowfields and the Ella River Valley, the plains are still the easiest areas to breach. They lack good defensive terrain and are flat, making them ideal for advancing through fortifications.

Judging from Lloyd's previous display of strength, the enemy in this area must have at least 10 troops. Although the proportion of level 4 and above units may not be high, and it is not comparable to the army that Leven had at the time, it is still a formidable force.

As planned, Su Mu constructed Black Cliff while sending Ivan to garrison troops on the outskirts of the mountains and dispatching Wayne and scouts to investigate the enemy's movements.

But things didn't seem to go as expected. Lloyd didn't launch a quick attack. Instead, he stayed in the hills and only made a few small probes.

"Liliana has sent word that a bastion army has been discovered in the northwest of the mountains. She has carried out the attack as planned and has converted a large number of skeleton soldiers to harass the area, creating the appearance of an undead army blocking the way."

This was a plan Su Mu had already devised, and it was also a crucial step in supporting the defense system.

To establish a frontline position at Blackrock Cliff and hold the enemy back in the mountains, the only option is to force them to break through from the front. The northwest direction contains ancient ruins; while Lloyd cannot travel through that area, he can bypass it and enter the plains.

Given the current state of the ancient ruins' silence, the fortifications are unlikely to be attacked if one is careful.

As a result, the area that Kuraki needs to defend has increased significantly, and the troops on the front lines of Ivan alone are not enough to provide support.

Therefore, it's necessary to create the illusion that the ancient ruins are off-limits, and that anyone from the stronghold who dares to move northwest will face a fierce attack from the undead. In this way, Lloyd cannot enter the plains from the northwest, allowing them to focus their defense on one location.

The Undead Grand Duke naturally wouldn't help him, so Liliana became the unexpected force. After all, his vampire army hadn't been exposed yet, so the Undead Grand Duke could only continue to take the blame.

"Has anything unusual happened at the ancient ruins recently?"

"According to Wayne, the ancient ruins have been quiet, but there seemed to be some unusual activity recently. A large number of skeleton soldiers poured out of the cemetery, but did not move outwards, which is very strange."

Upon hearing this news, Su Mu immediately became alert.

Since Ullr was defeated, the Undead Grand Duke has not sent out any other troops, remaining silent for a long time. Su Mu felt that the ancient ruins must have some limitations, and that enough time must be accumulated before troops could be sent out again.

Su Mu used his curse power to activate his ruling magic, and he could still see a trace of blood-red curse attached to the depths of his soul. This was a promise he had made to the Grand Duke of the Undead, but it had faded considerably.

This change was very sudden; there had been no such change a month ago. Su Mu deduced that it might be related to the beacon tower.

He currently controls both beacon towers and had intended to wait until he had accumulated some strength before dealing with this potential threat, but now it seems he needs to prepare in advance.

"Have Liliana evacuate the ancient ruins immediately, as the seal on the ruins may have loosened."

Although there is no conclusive evidence yet, these subtle changes are already quite strange. Su Mu decided to observe the enemy's situation before making any further plans.

Maggie nodded and was about to go down to deliver the message when Su Mu stopped her: "Never mind, I'll take Lie Feng and go myself, just in case."

"Let Forrest continue construction. Cedrus has gone to resolve the blueprint issue; we'll have news soon."

After saying that, Su Mu whistled, and a fierce wind rushed down from the cliff, carrying Su Mu into the sky, and disappeared in an instant.

With Gale's current speed, the added benefits of logistics and the Swift Acceleration, it should be able to reach the ancient ruins in less than half a day.

He doesn't need to bring any army; with his necromancy and spirit-gathering magic, he's the strongest hero simply by commanding vampires.

Liliana has just raided a centaur unit at the stronghold, the vampire princes have feasted, and they have also used necromancy to amass a large number of skeleton soldiers.

Akasha stood behind the Queen and suggested, "Your Majesty, why don't we ask the lord for some more Primogems? Now that we have the new Skeleton Soldiers, you can use them as resources to build a Blood Altar."

"We haven't fully replenished the troops we lost last time, and even the Vampire Prince's forces are insufficient. To stop the Bastion army, we need to increase our strength as much as possible."

Liliana seriously considered the suggestion. She was naturally willing to improve her subordinates' strength, but the transformation of the vampire prince required Primal Stones, and even with Kuraki's backing, it would be difficult to gather that many. Moreover, given the vampires' previous mission of merely guarding the haunted gold mine, without facing any particularly powerful enemies, they had no reason to make such a request.

Seeing that the Queen was somewhat interested, Akasha continued, "We suffered considerable losses in the process of besieging the dragon knights, but we didn't take a single penny. All the treasures were offered to Lord Sumu."

To fight against the powerful Barrier Legion, we need to improve our strength!

After a moment's thought, Liliana said, "First, try to kill as many of the fortress's scouts as possible and convert them into skeletons. I will report the matter of expanding the army to the lord and wait for his decision."

Clearly, managing subordinates is no easy task. Although Liliana can effectively control the vampire army thanks to her bloodline as the Night Queen, these level 4 units, especially the princes, are undead with considerable intelligence.

If she remains confined to a remote corner and lacks the resources to develop her power, her authority as the Queen of the Night will gradually decline.

Liliana could suppress an ambitious Akasha, but she couldn't stop all vampires' desire to hunt and grow stronger. Controlling these undead in human territory, keeping them peacefully active at night, was already quite difficult; asking for more would require even greater sacrifices.

This is why the undead are difficult to use in combination with other units; after all, no living person wants to let a group of skeletons escape their control.

But Su Mu is clearly a more powerful hero. He is capable of ruling the Night King and can perfectly utilize the vampire army. He is unlikely to treat this undead legion as a expendable resource. As long as something has value, it has the right to exist.

Akasha continued to fan the flames: "You haven't seen the lord for too long. With your charm, if you were always by his side, those ordinary women would naturally have no chance. But since you're far away, you still have to rely on military achievements to win a man's heart."

Liliana shook her head and said, "Su Mu is not one of those ordinary men, but you are right. As long as the undead army makes contributions, it won't be a problem to convert more vampire princes."

Even if Kuraki lacks resources, we can still plunder everywhere and obtain Originium.

Seeing that the Queen had finally been persuaded, Akasha smiled with satisfaction. She had now come to a realization that submitting to Kuraki was not a problem. After all, Kuraki was simply too powerful, and having a powerful backer would be of great help to the current Queen.

But as the queen of vampires, she must be ambitious and continuously develop her undead army to become an indispensable force, otherwise she will be abandoned sooner or later.

The two had just stepped out of the tent when a scout brought news of the military situation.

"A wisdom stone appeared in the canyon dozens of kilometers away, and it seems to have undergone some kind of mutation due to the influence of the Crimson Moon."

"The vanguard of the stronghold has now surrounded the canyon, numbering several thousand, and is preparing to explore the area."

Liliana and Akasha exchanged a glance, revealing a dangerous smile.

"Come on! Let's try these delicious foods!"

(End of this chapter)