Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 365 Understanding Eagle Eye
The chase lasted for nearly several hours, during which nearly 10,000 troops in the tower were all killed, leaving almost no survivors.

Orling played a crucial role in this battle, while Maggie and Cedros also made significant contributions, both receiving blessings from the god of war.

[Oling used the Divine Cannon and the Arcane Prayer to unleash a deadly attack, shattering the enemy's will to defend. +1 Spell Power, and learned Intermediate Sharpshooter's Glory.]

[Intermediate Sharpshooter Glory: For every 5 points of attack and defense attributes a hero has, archers gain 1 point of damage and 1 point of defense-ignoring ability (this also applies to city defense towers). All ranged units inherit 50% of the Rapid Fire skill (Sharpshooters receive this bonus on top of their original bonus, and the effect changes to attacking two targets simultaneously).]

This raid was very intense. They didn't bring any sharpshooters, but the Arcane Prayer also inherited the effect of Rapid Fire, which is why it was able to cause such great damage.

Extremely enhanced attacks are the path that Orling is currently developing. Although it is not balanced, there is a saying that the best defense is offense. As long as you kill all the opponents, nothing can threaten you.

The Arcane Prayer can convert elemental and physical attacks, with an extremely high potential. Its only weakness is high-speed unit attacks, which is what Orin will focus on strengthening next.

If we wait until the next time we defend the northern border, we can unleash the power of the archers and, with the help of multiple city walls, demonstrate the power of ranged units.

Moreover, Ouling had a premonition that once he fully advanced to the Glory of Advanced Archer, he would be able to create a special synergy with Soul Arrow Technique, which would lead to another wave of improvement. This was the most anticipated aspect.

Maggie's application of magic on the battlefield is now masterful; +1 Defense, +1 Attack, has learned Intermediate Arcane Wisdom, and Basic Water Elemental Mastery.

[Intermediate Arcane Wisdom: Enables mastery of all types of level 5-6 magic (can be learned even without elemental mastery), allows access to arcane knowledge within the Magic Guild, and acquisition of arcane runes for personal use (with limited duration).]

[Intermediate Arcane Rune (Special Magical Inscription): A magical rune used by mages with powerful spellcasting and knowledge to enhance themselves. It has a 35% chance that after casting a spell, they will not suffer from spellcasting backlash and will immediately gain another casting opportunity (this casting will consume 200% of the normal mana).]

Another water elemental master is on the horizon – this is excellent news. Maggie is essentially a magical turret, and her magical mastery has limited her effectiveness. Now that she has mastered elemental mastery, which has the greatest impact on the battlefield, her role will be amplified infinitely.

The exorcism technique is absolutely crucial; it's often needed to remove powerful status effects from the opponent.

However, apart from Orling, Kuraki's camp has no other high-level water elemental proficiency heroes, which is a great disadvantage in many battles. Moreover, Orling's magic points are low and cannot withstand too much consumption. Now that Maggie has filled the gap, no matter how many magic heroes the enemy has, they can all come and be taught a lesson by continuously casting spells.

Although Maggie's promotion was already a huge improvement, there was one person whose promotion speed exceeded everyone's expectations.

[Sideros, combining astrological insights, predicted a great victory in this battle and put the fruits of astrology into practice on the battlefield, gaining a significant astrological boost. +2 Spell Power, +1 Knowledge, gained Intermediate Astrologer skill, gained Basic True Sight skill, and restored Basic Water Element Mastery.]

[Intermediate Astrologer: For every 5 points of Spell Power Knowledge a hero possesses, selected units (including upgraded units) gain 1 point of attack and defense, and 1 point of damage. The hero also gains a 20% increase in casting range and casting speed, and at the start of battle, applies an undispellable spell to the troops. The hero possesses the special spell Intermediate Astrology.]

[Intermediate Astrology: Predicts celestial phenomena for the next month. This ability can be activated, with a 75% chance to alter the celestial phenomena of a region, covering a wide area. There is a 25% chance to solidify the celestial phenomena of a specific city, extending the duration of a certain celestial phenomenon by one month.]

Ancient towers often house mysterious astrological towers, which allowed sorcerers to utilize their powerful divination abilities.

However, constructing such special buildings requires specific skills, and it's clear that Sederos is still lacking in those areas. But presumably, once he reaches an advanced level, he'll be qualified. Then, wouldn't it be a great leap forward if he could solidify the Monster Moon over Silver Dome City for several months in a row?

The astrologer's abilities still need to be developed, but the reason why Cedros was able to improve so much is that, on the one hand, he participated in such a grand battle at the beginning and gained a lot, and on the other hand, he had already mastered some skills, such as the basic water element mastery, which he just had to relearn.

The most surprising thing is the Eye of True Sight.

[Basic True Sight: Before battle, there is a chance to peek into the enemy's spellbook and understand their magical abilities. Grants buildings or units true vision, the ability to see through stealth and camouflage (this effect can be permanently applied to special buildings), and grants the user special magic, Eagle Eye.]

[Basic Eagle Eye Insight (Special Magic): Casting this magic grants the hero the ability to see through enemy magic weaknesses, causing a 30% chance for the enemy to fail to cast buff spells and costing 8 mana (can only target one spell at a time, can be dispelled)]

This skill is a matter of opinion; it's like a hybrid of Eagle Eye and Reconnaissance. However, it possesses powerful counter-magic abilities, essentially solidifying a magical mirror—of course, only against buff magic.

Although it can be dispelled, it can be preserved if combined with Su Mu's anti-magic technique. The specifics still need to be tested in actual combat.

The generals all gained a lot from this battle. Murak captured the escaped Lisa and brought the tower hero to Winterhold.

"The heroes under your command are all valiant generals! This battle was fought brilliantly, even annihilating Somra. I'm sure that Marquis Sumu's fame will spread to every corner of the continent!"

Murak patted Su Mu on the shoulder, expressing his sincere admiration. Although he had confidence in Su Mu, he hadn't expected to end the enemy in this way. Seeing Su Mu's frantic use of reincarnation, the strongest swordsman's casualties should not exceed 50, and even the most severely damaged Arcane Prayer would only lose a hundred at most.

The enemy's entire force of over 20,000 was completely wiped out.

Regardless of how Su Mu won, such a record is astonishing.

Su Mu wasn't particularly excited. He took out the fragment of the magic lamp and whispered something to Murak.

"Oh? Is that so? No wonder Somra is so audacious. It seems a fierce battle is on the way."

"Winter City has been ravaged and is almost indefensible. I plan to retreat to the newly built city of Silvertop and await the Arcane Empire's revenge."

"Congress is unlikely to provide much support until the situation becomes clearer."

"I'm prepared, and I don't need their support this time!"

Murak glanced at Sumu, sensing his unwavering determination and his disdainful tone toward Congress.

Respect is mutual. Since Congress offers no support, Su Mu has no reason to expect anything from it. He will most likely choose to defend his territory independently. If the resources of the principality are available, Su Mu will probably start construction immediately without consulting Congress.

Now, both sides are practically top-tier. Congress needs Su Mu to defend against foreign enemies, but dislikes his constant orders. Su Mu, on the other hand, sees through Congress's cowardice and appeasement. Both sides are merely maintaining a semblance of civility.

Murak wanted to try to persuade him, but when he thought about avenging the Knight Commander, he was immediately filled with rage.

"Enough, enough, let everything burn in the flames of war!"

It is clear that the actions of Parliament this time have alienated the majority of the cavalry and even some of the old nobles have shown signs of distancing themselves from Parliament.

Yes, you may be weak and unable to win. But who would want to serve a boss who sacrifices their reputation and pushes out a hero who works for them just to compromise?

Anyone would think, what would I do in that situation? Even a figure as renowned as Conrad met such an end, what about us?
Therefore, Murak and many other lords paid no attention to the orders of the parliament, and instead felt that Sumu should be the ruler of the Northern Kingdom.

"Where's Rod? Has he been caught?"

"He has vanished. The surrendered soldiers in the tower say that they lost track of Rhodes before the war even began. It is said that he entered a secret house where all the guards turned to skeletons. There was a gloomy altar there, which led to a tunnel beneath it, leading to an unknown place."

"He actually escaped right under Somla's nose? That's unbelievable."

It seems that Rhodes has also encountered a special opportunity, but it doesn't sound very appealing.

Fortunately, Su Mu conquered Winterfell; otherwise, if Rhodes had returned to his position as lord, who knows how he would have wreaked havoc in the North.

Meanwhile, news of the victory in Winterhold reached various parts of Eldon. The Parliament was greatly shocked, and even the envoy secretly sent to the Arcane Empire had not yet crossed the border when the battle was won. So they simply stopped going north and went directly to Winterhold to reward Marquis Sumu.

By this time, Congress had also realized Su Mu's intentions. They were willing to meet any other demands, but they insisted on not providing the boundary markers and required Su Mu to guard the border.

Su Mu was too lazy to pay attention to the other party. The promised reward for guarding the hills and the follow-up to the last appeasement were all just a smokescreen. He still had to rely on himself.

Liliana brought good news: she captured four cartloads of boundary stones during another raid in the Fal Forest, though the losses were quite significant.

But if you factor in the resources, it seems that the number of boundary stones needed for the construction of Congress is almost complete.

(End of this chapter)