Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 344 The Flames of War Spread
When the southern dwarves dug burrows to the crater, the lava had cooled and solidified, leaving the battlefield littered with bones and shattered fire elemental cores.

The destruction of this nascent fiery kingdom will delay its complete restoration by at least a month.

Ryan Silvertree, the general of the border city, looked at the raging flames before him with a grim expression.

"These despicable vampires, once I catch them, I'll skin them alive and let their skin dry in the sun!"

Their original plan was to flank the undead army from two directions and launch a surprise attack through tunnels. However, when the Ironfury dwarves dug it out, they only found an army of skeletons and not even a trace of vampires.

The scattered troops prevented them from grasping the enemy's movements for a while, and by the time they arrived at the scene, it was already more than half a day later, leaving them with only a mess.

The illusion was completely looted, leaving not a single treasure behind. The undead seemed to have engaged in a fierce battle with the Flame Guardians of the Flame Kingdom, and traces of magic were everywhere.

"It's a pity. If we had arrived sooner, we might have been able to take advantage of their weakened state and annihilate the undead army!"

Ryan brought a lot of ancient trees and silver pegasus with him this time, along with a large army from the border city. Most importantly, he has a treasure that can restrict the enemy's escape. As long as he can catch the enemy, it will definitely be a complete annihilation.

"These vampires are even more cunning than forest rats. They really are disgusting creatures of the same origin."

Unable to trap the undead as he wished, Ryan could only curse a few times.

The Ironfury dwarves stormed into the Land of Fire, leaving only empty treasure houses and ruins. This should have been the first news Isildur learned, but his enemies beat him to it, which explains his frustration.

However, at least there is a medium-sized kingdom where elemental baptism can be performed, which can greatly enhance the strength of the Isildor troops. Although there are corresponding upgrade buildings within the empire, some are old and dilapidated, and others have limited slots and insufficient supply. The addition of the Dreamflame Kingdom would certainly be better, and the Dream Anomaly is also a direction worth exploring. If it can add divinity to the Golden Dragon, it would be an absolute great achievement.

Just then, dozens of giant dragons flew across the sky and landed on the cliff.

The newcomer was none other than Dino. He had originally intended to besiege Katheri, but was distracted by the scattered skeletons and failed to catch the main culprit. Fortunately, he had wiped out the undead forces advancing into the Fal Forest; otherwise, he would have had no way to explain himself to the Elders.

"Dino, haven't you captured the undead commander on your side either?"

"I was about to ask you that too. Wasn't it supposed to be that the Ironfury Dwarves would be mobilized to attack from both sides? How come the illusion was destroyed?"

Dino gave Ryan a curt reply when he asked him.

The two sides belong to different factions and occasionally fight within the council of elders. This time, the blame was mainly instigated by the general of the border city, so naturally their relationship is not good.

"You brought so many golden dragons, yet you could only capture some skeleton soldiers. If the dragon knight were still here, he would have captured the culprit long ago."

"It's as if you didn't bring Jinlong and just let the key person escape like that?"

"My side was just bait. The real Death Knights and vampire legions are all in the south, slipping away right under your nose. Let's see how you explain this to the Elders!"

"you!"

Dino's words immediately soured Ryan's mood, and even his excitement at discovering the Land of Flames vanished.

Since the other side dared to say that, they must have some crucial intelligence, which would provide evidence even if presented to the Elders' Council. However, Ryan was in a difficult situation, and Dino's predicament was even more challenging. They had amassed a large force on the hill front, wasting a month of time and allowing the undead to launch a surprise attack on the Fal Forest.

Once it happens, it will happen again. Who knows if there will be another invasion of the undead from the ancient ruins? The higher-ups began to doubt Lloyd's ability to command.

The original plan was to capture the mastermind behind the undead and atone for their crimes, but now it's become difficult.

Dino, trusted by Lloyd and still wearing the Crown of the Oracle, did not want to let the Marshal down and had to save face for Lloyd.

"The undead that attacked this time are very troublesome, but our main enemy is still the humans. I heard that many human generals have gathered in the valley, and Elton's new marshal is training his troops there. Why don't we also send our flying legion to raid their barracks and let those greenhorns taste the dragonfire?"

This also delays the deployment of the enemy's defensive lines, thus compensating for the time lost.

Ryan didn't rush to refuse. The failure of the southern encirclement had embarrassed him. Although discovering the Flame Kingdom was a merit, the time it would take to condense it was a problem. Hastily handing over a broken kingdom was different from handing over a complete elemental baptism ground.

If we could use this buffer period to repair the Kingdom of Flame and research the special mutations in the Dream Realm, that would be another story altogether.

He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Is this your idea, or Marshal Lloyd's?"

Dino said, "The Marshal has given me full authority to suppress bandits in the south. My sword is aimed at the legion's targets!"

Having said that, he revealed the crown of thorns on his head, displaying its divine properties, which surprised Ryan.

Lloyd's willingness to entrust this treasure to Dino shows he has high hopes for him. Moreover, with such a powerful artifact and the divine golden dragon by his side, it's likely no one in the human kingdom can stop him.

“Alright, I’ll go with you. The Golden Dragon Force will be under your command, the remaining flying legions will be responsible for sweeping, and the Ironfury Dwarves will be responsible for raids.”

We need to go to Elton and try and cause some trouble!

The two men quickly reached an agreement and led their army south.

Before the great battle, Fao sent a team of Nightmare Knights to the valley ahead of time to meet with the mysterious man.

Because heroes have a certain degree of command over troop types, this Nightmare Knight commander had already noticed the death of his commander, and although shocked, he did not panic.

For these undead, supreme authority has always remained in the ancient ruins. Therefore, the destruction of the Death Knights is merely the death of the acting leader, and has little impact. They continue to carry out the Grand Duke's orders.

After several days of travel, they arrived at a desolate river where only a boatman was rowing the boat.

“My lord, would you like to cross the river? Just give me one silver coin and I can carry you and several other gentlemen across.”

The Nightmare Knights have already put on a simple disguise; the Nightmare Beasts are hidden in the illusory dream world, and ordinary people cannot see their extraordinary nature.

The commander didn't say anything, but simply tossed a few coins, boarded the boat alone, and headed towards the center of the river.

The meeting place is in the middle of the river; once they arrive there, someone will come to meet them.

"Your subordinates are all skilled fighters, strong and extraordinary, with a chilling aura about them, they must have seen blood."

In this world, it's really hard to get by without some skills.

The commander was getting impatient and ignored the other party, simply waving his hand to tell the boatman to hurry up.

"I see that bag you're carrying is quite heavy. Besides silver coins, there must be some good stuff inside. Could you let the old man take a look? After all, the fare for the boat is quite high, and your few silver coins probably won't be enough."

The commander immediately stood up and noticed that the wooden boat was leaking. The boatman not only didn't seem to care, but also demanded more money.

The Nightmare Knight, never having suffered such humiliation, wanted to summon a Nightmare Beast from the Dream Realm, drew his longsword, and was about to kill the opponent.

However, the gates to the dream world remained closed. The surroundings were utterly still, even the gently flowing river appeared gloomy. The knight companions who had been following them underwater were now nowhere to be seen.

The water had already reached my calves, and my money bag was gone.

The Nightmare Knight felt a chill. If someone had told him before that the undead could drown, he would never have believed it, but now it might actually come true.

The boatman emptied the silver coins and found a token at the bottom with a black feather stained with blood.

"Yes, it is the eldest prince's keepsake, although it has some unusual features."

But I don't care about any of that. His promise still stands. So, tell me, what does he want us to do?

"The eldest prince has been framed and imprisoned, and the palace is controlled by treacherous officials. He wants you to clear the obstacles and wait for his return."

The boatman just smiled: "You think you can build a royal capital with just one silver coin? Are all the people of Finaxia this naive?"
Stop talking unrealistically, your time is running out!

The water had reached the commander's chest, and he was having trouble breathing; his soul fire flickered and seemed about to go out.

However, he had a special way of pulling off the pendant around his neck, and instantly his whole body was shrouded in black mist, giving him a bit of the aura of a prince.

The true essence of deception lies in being able to deceive even oneself.

"Dream Thief Martin, help me stop the second prince from inheriting the throne, delay his progress, at least until I return before the royal family makes a decision."

Upon hearing the eldest prince's words, the boatman finally responded.

"Your father has been lost in the dream world for 10 years, and we have been unable to find any trace of him. Without the king's decree, no one can designate an heir."

The deeper I'm drawn into that image, the worse it might get.

"How about this, I'll cause some trouble for the new commander in the valley, create a rift between the second prince and the speaker, so that he won't be able to succeed to the throne smoothly."

"There might be some issues with the military, but that's not within my jurisdiction. After all, I only sign contracts with heroes born from white feathers; the rest is your human affairs!"

Martin's voice grew softer and softer, not because there was something wrong with his voice, but because the Nightmare Knight had already sunk to the bottom of the river with the ship and could no longer hear what the other person was saying.

It's a joke that a Nightmare Knight could drown in a shallow river less than a few meters deep.

A strange blood moon hung high in the sky, and even the river seemed to go berserk.

That's the power of a lunar eclipse—anything can happen!
(End of this chapter)