Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 334 Enhancing Diplomacy

Along the borders of a nation, you often encounter all sorts of military units from various factions, some quite bizarre.

Sometimes you can see sprites from the Elemental City, sometimes werewolves from the fortress, and sometimes harpies from the dungeon.

In short, this is a mixed area, and it serves as a source of supplies for the refugee camps.

Along the vast border, most areas are unmanaged, default quarantine zones, but there are also some chaotic, lawless areas within them. Logically, this place is quite far from those settlements, so how come there are hellish troops here?
Forrest stared at the opposing forces and found that Hell's side was still stronger, possessing not only three-headed hellhounds but also a large number of evil god kings, and even some special units mixed in.

"The Fiery Evil God King!"

The architect had heard of this powerful fire elemental unit; it was already quite strong, but its abilities were amplified even more under the special conditions of the Crimson Moon.

In contrast, the tower looked rather shabby, with a group of dilapidated stone figures and a few dozen mages barely holding their own, and being forced to retreat in defeat.

"Sir, what should we do?"

His deputy asked Forrest for advice, and after some thought, he decided to help the Tower.

Judging from the distance, this place is very close to the border city near the tower, and it's very likely the city the troops are visiting. Helping them out would be beneficial for future exchanges.

As for the Hell forces, they are most likely Karl's troops, causing trouble everywhere along the border. The two sides are mortal enemies, and even without this incident, they would have to do their best to eliminate them, so there's nothing more to say.

"Protective Shield!"

"The Strongest Swordsman's Earth-Element Supernatural Baptism!"

After Forrest was promoted to hero, he didn't fight much and focused mainly on construction, but that doesn't mean he was weak. He possesses advanced earth elemental mastery, allowing him to perfectly complement the strongest swordsmen.

【最强剑士（城堡4级特殊超阶兵种）：攻击力16（18），防御力16（41），杀伤力16-20，生命50（80），速度9，体型中等偏壮。

Element: Supernatural (Earth).

A series of slashes, a giant sword swung, lightning-fast strikes, an indomitable will, the strongest sword.

Supernatural Baptism: Health +30, Defense +4 for each enemy killed (maximum +20)

Previously, Su Mu and Ivan used the strongest swordsmen, which were air or fire elements to maximize damage. Forrest did not have corresponding skills to match, so he chose the safest earth element, inheriting Su Mu's defensive capabilities, to advance steadily.

The two sides were locked in fierce combat when suddenly a human legion joined the fray and launched a direct attack on the Fiery Evil God King.

The demons, caught up in the killing frenzy, naturally wouldn't back down. They summoned a large number of fire demons, attempting to convert their life force to ignite the swordsmen.

With the bonus from the Crimson Moon, the Flame Demon's attack power was quite high, but due to the Hell Hero's relatively weak attributes, it barely reached 30 attack power. What was expected to be a devastating attack turned into a disaster; the Flame Demon's claws were chopped off by the strongest swordsman and trampled underfoot.

The Flame Demons can sacrifice health points to convert into attack power, but their health will decrease. Seeing that they were losing, the Evil God King launched a desperate last stand, and the strongest swordsman took advantage of the opponent's low health to cut them down like vegetables while building up his defense.

Within ten minutes, the defense of all the strongest swordsmen reached an astonishing 61. At this point, even the Flame Demon, without converting its attack power, could not break through the swordsmen's armor.

"What the hell is this!"

The evil god's servant, Bella, was stunned. She couldn't believe that the opposing hero didn't seem like a strongman. So how could his army become stronger and stronger as the battle progressed, and her dozens of evil god kings gradually became no match for him?

She was a recently converted heretic who had been planning to make a name for herself in the Crimson Moon and provide Karl with high-quality resources. She had finally found a Fire Altar, but then someone interfered with her, which was really unlucky for her.

Seeing that things were not going well, Bella abandoned the Evil God King and fled alone on her three-headed hound.

The tower troops, who had been relentlessly attacked, finally caught their breath, but still watched the humans warily.

Forrest didn't chase after the Hell Heroes; they didn't seem like wealthy people anyway. Killing these evil god kings and gaining experience would be enough.

Within minutes, after the enemy commander fled, the Hell army was completely routed and defeated by the strongest swordsman.

Forrest gazed at the heavily armored, unparalleled swordsman and nodded. No wonder Ivan was so enamored with this type of soldier; they really were effective.

Once the battlefield was cleared, Forrest sent scouts to negotiate with the other side, explaining that he was a traveling merchant connected to the Throne of Wisdom and was on his way to visit Lord Janel.

Sure enough, the other party was indeed Jenny's subordinate. Seeing the letter of visit from the City of Wisdom and the fact that they had helped drive away the Hell army, the mages were half convinced. However, the mages were still somewhat puzzled as to why Forrest possessed elite human soldiers.

"This is just a means for us wandering merchants to protect ourselves. We recruit mercenaries in various places to protect our caravans."

Swordsmen are just one type; fire elementals, gargoyles, goblins, thieves—I have them all here. Everyone does their job!

Forrest was prepared and summoned some soldiers from other races. In fact, they were not considered combat troops; the real trump card was the strongest swordsman. However, the other side was clearly unaware of this and gradually believed his words.

To be honest, the morale of this mixed-arms unit was a bit low. Luckily, he brought a morale-boosting item with him, otherwise it would have been really difficult to manage.

Both sides arrived at the Altar of Fire together. Since it was an illusionary structure created by the Crimson Moon, it had additional bonuses. Unfortunately, they did not have any heroes with fire element proficiency on site.

Forrest accepted all comers, first recruiting all of the dozen or so fire elementals in his inventory into his ranks. Then, he and the tower left behind soldiers to guard the area, while he and the rest of his men headed to the border town of El.

This city is not far from Elton's territory, and there are several crystal mines nearby. It is a rich snowy land, so there is not much empty territory left.

When Forrest met Lord Janel, he presented her with a magical invitation card from the City of Wisdom, along with an alchemical scroll and a batch of materials.

"I am a traveling merchant who has traveled all over the country. I am particularly interested in the culture of towers. I came here for two reasons: first, I hope to complete trade, and second, I hope to broaden my horizons and visit the tower architecture."

Upon seeing the invitation from the City of Wisdom, Jenny basically considered Forrest one of her own. After all, not many people could receive an exclusive magical invitation, which at least showed that this traveling merchant was trusted by the sorcerer.

Furthermore, El City is basically a poor and remote area, relying solely on crystal mining to maintain its economy. There are few traders, so attracting a group of itinerant merchants would also benefit the city.

So the host and guest had a good time, and Jenny treated Forrest very well, even showing him around the tavern, the fortress, the manufacturing plant, and the mage tower.

"My council building here is newly built and rather simple, not comparable to the magnificent towers of the City of Wisdom. Feel free to visit if you wish. I'll take you to the market later, hoping to facilitate some transactions."

"No problem, no problem. What I enjoy most is exploring extraordinary architecture and broadening my horizons. Don't worry about trade; I've already found plenty to buy."

As Forrest walked, he sensed the fusion of alchemy and construction techniques. He wasn't actually observing how houses were built or constructed. The most crucial element of extraordinary architecture was the integration of magic. Even his use of civil engineering to expand special buildings was about sensing the flow of magical power within them.

The Stone Golems are a standard assembly line factory, with the foundation being the manufacturing core. After listening to the explanations of several alchemists, Forrest understood most of it.

As for the Mage Tower, the difficulty is not high. The key is that it's a building built by alchemists or warlocks. It can be said that any hero familiar with alchemy can build their own Mage Tower, and may even receive corresponding bonuses.

El City has no more advanced buildings. The Prayer Shrine seems to require some special items to build, which will require Cedros to explore.

Forrest decided to hand over the Altar of Fire to El City, since it was a building within the Arcane Empire and it wasn't of much practical use to him, so he wasn't greedy.

For Jenny, all the buildings within her territory were assets. Although fire elementalism might not seem very useful, alchemy always had its special uses.

An unexpected bonus was that Jenny actually had access to alchemical dust; as expected of the Arcane Empire, its resources in this area were abundant.

In return for helping the Tower troops and gifting them buildings, Jenny gives him 2 packs of Alchemy Dust for free. The remaining resources can be purchased for 30000 gold per pack.

With no special resources attached, it was purely a gold coin transaction—this was the most desirable trading method, and Forrest was overjoyed. He then went to the market to purchase a batch of local crystal resources, exchanging them for some logs and stones, becoming El City's largest customer of the year.

Jenny was also very satisfied. After all, trade is a two-way street, and alchemical dust wasn't her source of goods. She was just an intermediary, yet she received such a large return, which was quite satisfactory.

Both parties got what they wanted and agreed to continue their relationship.

As for Forrest's need for Tier 2 resources and his reasons for accumulating crystals, Jenny didn't care at all.

Often, everyone acts in tacit agreement; once that's revealed, it loses its meaning. Regardless of who the human connections are, invitations, aid, and gold coins are all readily available, and that's enough. For a barren border city, establishing a trade route would be the greatest gain.

When Forrest left Ayr, the wealthy merchants and rulers in the tower even gave him a send-off, a level of friendliness that was truly unique.

[You gained insights into new diplomatic methods while interacting with other factions, +1 Knowledge, and learned Intermediate Diplomacy]

[Intermediate Diplomacy: Wilderness units weaker than yours have a 50% chance of joining your army. Surrender costs are reduced by 60%. Access to the Library of Sages is available once all four stats reach 10.]

After seeing the tower's architecture, Forrest had some new ideas. If the lord could successfully collect the Heavenly Gift Combination Treasures, could he add some alchemy to it and turn it into a new auxiliary building of the Eight Kings Palace?

Perhaps we can go back and discuss this with Cedrus!
(End of this chapter)