Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 330 Gargoyle Guards
Dino arrived in Kaiyuanshi Town aboard a golden dragon, only to find it devastated.

The fortress was destroyed, the thorns were burned, blood flowed in streams, and the air smelled of burning. Judging from the scene, the other party had only been gone for a few hours.

"That useless Anos couldn't even hold such a fortified city for half a day!"

Dino was furious, his heart filled with frustration as he watched the fortified fortress being breached. He was especially annoyed that he had carried out Lloyd's important mission this time, only to have the enemy capture the city and escape before he even saw them.

"You undead scum, all you know is how to run away!"

After his initial anger subsided, Dino gradually calmed down and began to wonder why the town of Kaiyuan Stone had fallen so quickly. This fortress had a special magic array and was protected by natural thorns. If the enemy wanted to create a sea of ​​skeletons, they would have to lay several meters of skeletons under the city walls to break through.

As for flying units, that's even less likely, as the Sky-Rending Barrier prevents the enemy from breaking through quickly. A more significant weakness might be catapults and magical attacks, since the city walls provide cover, and even ranged archers can't effectively target the defenders.

Dino carefully observed the battlefield and discovered that the city walls had collapsed and there were several huge craters, as if it had suffered a powerful magical attack. Although the flames had covered some of the traces, it was still clear that the enemy commander was a hero with magical abilities.

"No wonder we couldn't hold out. The enemy was likely a powerful magic hero who used magic to break through the defensive lines. But Kaiyuan Stone Town has several thousand people. What kind of hero could possibly destroy them?"

Dino couldn't understand it. In his mind, even if the enemy possessed superior intelligence and powerful magic, the soldiers inside the city could easily spread out their defenses and let the hero exhaust his mana. How come it seemed that so many soldiers had died outside the city?

"Search and see if you can find any trace of Anos!"

The silver pegasus under his command scattered to search, but to no avail. The raging fire burned everything to ashes, and the corpses were transformed into skeleton soldiers. The battlefield was truly clean to the extreme.

"My lord, we have not found any trace of the undead forces. They did not leave any footprints."

"We clearly used a necromancy spell to transform the skeleton soldiers, so how come there's no trace of them? Could it be that we used a stealth skill again?"

In fact, Isildur's scouts had always been stationed in the northern part of the hills, but the undead army was elusive and difficult to track. Lloyd had deduced that one of the enemy heroes must be a master of disguise, and now this further confirmed their suspicions.

Where will the other person go?
Should they continue south, or turn back north? Dino stared at the map, momentarily at a loss for words.

A lieutenant suddenly stepped forward, pointing at the map: "The enemy wouldn't leave the hills from the east and enter the grasslands, would they?"

Upon hearing this, the heroes of the stronghold burst into laughter. There were newly migrated stronghold tribes there, with a large number of people and a considerable army. Would the enemy walk right into their trap?

As he laughed, Dino frowned. The undead couldn't be reasoned with like normal people. They dared to run rampant deep in the hills; no one knew what their objective was. If these mindless creatures actually ventured into the Far Forest, the large number of newly migrated imperial citizens would be severely threatened.

"No, we must notify Marshal Lloyd and have him contact the Elders' Council to expand the scope of the investigation!"

If Leven were still alive, this would be much easier to resolve; advanced reconnaissance is practically the nemesis of disguise-type heroes. Unfortunately, war is merciless.

After the arrangements were completed, Dino rode the golden dragon into the sky and looked down at the destroyed fortress. He then discovered that the entire earth looked as if it had been bombarded by countless thunderbolts and was in ruins.

He patted the golden dragon's scales: "The undead hero's spell power is really high. Fortunately, we have the golden dragon, so we are not afraid of most magic!"

……

At the summit of the snow-capped mountain, Silvertop City was beginning to take shape. Forrest and Cedrus were stationed there day and night, keeping a close eye on the construction.

The fortress has been completed. The raw materials for the earth and wood were transported from Bear Keep. Forrest led the craftsmen to build every part of the city wall with all his heart and soul. He even engraved the names of the craftsmen on every brick that was made with magic, which shows his confidence.

"If Silvertop City becomes a legendary city in the future, the names of the craftsmen will be remembered for generations; if the quality of the city is poor, or if there is any cutting corners, the craftsmen can be held accountable. Of course, punishment is not the point. I still hope that they can do their best. Every craftsman who builds the city will be paid multiple times the amount, which is a fair reward for their hard work."

Forrest has now assembled a skilled team of several hundred people, including those adept at logging, quarrying, and construction. Forrest wants to find a few more useful talents for Kuraki, especially architects, who are a rare breed and require a certain level of expertise.

Seelos looked at Forrest, who was full of hope, and showed admiration.

Only at times like this can one understand why Forrest is Kuraki's second-in-command. Even though his combat abilities are not strong and he is a bit stingy when it comes to managing finances, he is deeply trusted by Su Mu.

Putting aside the fact that he and Su Mu knew each other the longest, his pure and selfless heart alone is something that no one else can match.

Like other generals, they all have a competitive spirit to some extent, which is only human nature. How can one lead troops into battle without a competitive spirit? Perhaps some people are worried that their strength is too weak to keep up with Kuraki's development, which will disappoint the lord and disqualify them from governing.

Forrest never had such thoughts; his primary goal was to discover more talent for the lord and cultivate better managers. As for his own abilities, he didn't care much. He would promote those who could, and if not, he would prioritize the lord's tasks.

Such trust went far beyond the typical superior-subordinate relationship. But Forrest was remarkably tactful; he had flaws, but hadn't made any major mistakes, and while joking with Su Mu, he never overstepped the bounds.

If Kuraki were to be promoted to a duchy, Forrest would be the most suitable Hand of the King.

"Hey, what are you thinking about so intently? Have you found the blueprints for the haunted building yet?"

“Found him! I found an exiled alchemist from the borderlands. He used to be a nobleman of the Arcane Empire, but was stripped of his title for researching forbidden arts. Now he’s bankrupt and selling off his assets, and he happened to have provided the blueprints for the low-level building.”

Cedrus replied quickly and took out two sets of drawings.

[Ghost Tower: Allows you to refine and recruit gargoyles here.]

Basic output: 9/week;
Special Effect 1 (Advanced Civil Engineering): Sacrificing one week's production, gargoyles can split into smaller stone foundations, increasing production by 1-3 times in the following week.

Special Effect 2 (Advanced Civil Engineering): Adds an auxiliary building, Upside-Down Stone Statue, allows recruitment of Gargoyle Guards, and grants the unit a special skill: it can attach itself to walls or buildings, increasing the building's resistance. While in Gargoyle Guard form, all damage taken is reduced by 50%.

Gargoyle production has improved significantly, extending the cycle to 2 weeks, with a chance to produce 2-4 times the weekly output. If Sumu is stationed here, he should be even luckier.

However, knowing the lord's thoughts, Forrest still chose Special Effect 2.

Gargoyle Guard (Tower Tier 2, Tier 2 Unit): Attack 6, Defense 10, Damage 4-5, Health 25, Speed ​​8, Size Medium.

Element: None, Flying unit.

Upside-down statues: can attach to city walls or buildings to attack enemies. If they merge with the city wall to form a gargoyle, the city's resistance is increased. In the gargoyle state, all damage is reduced by 50%, and they have a counterattack effect.

Evaluation: The gargoyle race is actually a limited, inanimate race composed of demon-like stone statues, susceptible to morale and mind magic.

Cedrus had seen many solidified gargoyles in the tower, but at the time he didn't quite understand their purpose. Now, seeing the gargoyle guards, he gradually understood their function. A sufficient number of gargoyle guards would be a nightmare for any enemy attempting to scale the city.

Moreover, Silver Dome City has several city walls, which, when placed in the inner city, perfectly solve the problem of layered defense.

Forrest directed the craftsmen to begin construction, while he looked at the blueprints for the Hero's Tavern, his brow gradually furrowing.

(End of this chapter)