Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 374 Mutual Cooperation and Comprehensive Development

Regardless, Su Mu decided to give it a try.

The Arcane Empire has amassed a large army, which means they are definitely going to attack Silvercap City. This is a good opportunity to probe their strength and weaknesses.

This inevitably led to the use of thieves. After listening to Goode's intelligence, he specifically brought Forrest and Wayne over to see if they could recruit new troops.

Since the creatures of the dream world cannot communicate with language, they must use diplomacy to communicate through magical power. Forrest stood in front of the camp and talked for a long time. He took out a large amount of silver and threw it in, and heard footsteps coming from inside.

Forrest promised them that they could obtain enough information from Kuraki to fully utilize their dream-stealing abilities, and that the Hero World contained enough treasures to be explored.

Lured by the gold coins, the dream thieves emerged from the camp one after another.

You employ diplomatic skills to recruit 25 dream thieves from the dream realm, determined to follow you in your quest for new treasures.

"Indeed, there are some dream thieves in the camp."

"Wayne, they'll be under your command from now on. Use them well!"

Forrest used some diplomatic skills to allow the dream thieves to communicate normally with their leader.

Forrest handed the group over to Wayne, who was overjoyed. He had finally received an upgrade in his unit type, a genuine Level 5 unit, and a special unit from the Dream Realm.

Seeing all the heroes find their place and continuously gain command of advanced units, it would be a lie to say he wasn't anxious.

Although thieves play an important role in Kuraki's game, intelligence gathering and disguise are crucial skills, it's also frustrating to always stay in the same place.

To date, the strongest force he commands is the Silver Snow Bandits. They may still be able to exert some strength in the snowy region, but they can only retreat when faced with powerful enemies.

He possesses advanced reconnaissance skills, which increase a thief's attack power by 2 (8) points and critical hit rate by 2% (8%) for every 3 attribute points. This is an incredibly terrifying offensive capability, but unfortunately, there is no suitable offensive force.

Recruiting Dream Thieves now, with their outrageously high attack power, combined with advanced reconnaissance skills and a constant +3 luck, makes every strike a fiery attack.

The most terrifying thing is that dream thieves can pull enemies into the dream realm and silently eliminate them.

Imagine sending a dream-stealing squad to infiltrate the enemy city, and on a quiet night, attack the key figures. With a swift stroke, the bodies are devoured by the dream realm without even needing to be disposed of. What a perfect bandit army that would be!

"Thank you, Lord Forrest! Thank you, Lord Goode!"

Wayne has always been humble, even addressing the newly joined Goode with respect. Goode quickly waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing more than a small favor.

After all, this matter is also beneficial to him personally. Dream thieves can reduce the chances of other types of soldiers having nightmares. This is a method of dream control, which is very useful during a lunar eclipse.

But Goode thought of something more: the Scarlet Dream Beast would go mad during its training process, which in a way was actually encountering a terrible dream (nightmare) that it could not escape until it died.

If Dream Thief exists, will it increase the chances of successfully breeding Crimson Dream Beast?
Without further ado, they left a group of Dream Thieves to maintain the Prayer Altar, while the rest returned to Kuraki with them to help recruit the Crimson Dream Beast.

With the help of the Dream Thieves, the stability of the Dream Beasts in the Dream Realm has improved, and many warhorses have been able to leave the Dream Realm alive. Even when encountering nightmares, their resistance has become much stronger.

With the help of the Dream Stealing Technique, Crimson Dream Beasts can be recruited for 1100 gold coins per beast. There is a 30% chance that the beast will fall into eternal madness during training.

A 2:1 ratio of trainers (Dream Thieves) must be stationed at the stables, otherwise the effect will not work.

This is quite easy to achieve. After all, even if the Wind Erosion Knight has a high growth rate, it can only grow to a maximum of 20 per week, and the number of Crimson Dream Beasts that can be ridden is also about the same.

There's no need to worry about the number of basic horses; Kuraki has already established channels with the horse market to purchase them at low prices and then train them.

The stables only need 10 Dream Thieves on duty to handle daily production.

The cost of each horse has been reduced by 100 gold coins, and the probability of them going berserk has also been reduced by 20%. This is fantastic news!

By this time, as the heroes have grown and their characteristics have developed, they have reached a point where they can help each other.

Diplomacy, thievery, and horsemanship—seemingly unrelated skills—actually interact, which is why Su Mu always strives to develop them comprehensively.

As the game progresses, the upper limit of power is determined by overall capabilities, rather than by a single strong general or master. A key figure is essential, like Su Mu, but the defining characteristic of a governor is versatility; regardless of the enemy, development is the only true principle!

[After experiencing this dream-like encounter, Goode's understanding of the Crimson Moon has improved, gaining +1 Attack and mastering Intermediate Crimson Knight.]

[Intermediate Crimson Knight (Governor, limits curses to extra mana consumption): For every 8 attribute points a hero has, increases cavalry (including upgraded units) by 1 (4) points of attack and defense, 1 (4) points of damage, and 2% (8%) of health as a Dream Shield.] Normally, even cavalry-specialized heroes find it difficult to gain enough War Insight, but with the Wind Erosion Knight and the Governor bonus, Goode can easily handle enemies several times stronger than himself, naturally advancing very quickly.

Goode looked at the lord gratefully, but Su Mu smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"What's this? Want to improve? There are plenty of battles waiting for you!"

Do you dare to explore further?

"Why don't you dare?"

……

Above the snowy plateau, there stands a spire perpetually shrouded in gray mist. Within its inner ring lies a vast and profound magical power, accumulated for millennia without dissipating. This tower, known as the Circular Tower, is the power center of the Arcane Empire.

Inside the tower, two distinct groups of people were arguing heatedly.

"A full 5 troops marched south to launch a surprise attack on the northern border, only to be completely wiped out. Is this what you call territorial expansion?"
Although Elton is weakened, humans are not a race that can be easily manipulated. I advise you to be honest and focus on developing yourselves.

This was a sage from the Tower of Wisdom, a man of considerable prestige. He had always been friendly towards humanity and had never supported war. Now that the Void Cult had suffered heavy losses, he naturally had to issue a condemnation.

On the other side, the alchemists of the Void God Cult retorted, "The North has such fertile soil; if it could be brought under the Empire's control, our resources and research would advance even further."

"With Elton and Isildur locked in battle, we can take them down with minimal losses. This is an opportunity we can't afford to miss!"

"A very small price to pay? The annihilation of 5 troops? Even Somra died on the front lines, and you call him a legendary hero who is only seen once in thousands of years? Is this all the level you've got?"

"Herodotus! You old fool, how dare you insult the genie? If your territory hadn't refused to provide support for conscription, causing a significant slowdown in troop deployment, how could we have suffered such heavy losses? I think you're the culprit!"

"Victor! Did you lose your mind from alchemy? If you say the enemy is weak, yet you still can't win even with 5 troops, what? Are you going to mobilize the entire Empire's forces and go all out against Elton?"
Should the remaining defensive lines be held?

Just as the two were about to continue arguing, the sorcerer, who was originally seated at the round table and whose body was shrouded in nothingness, struck the council gavel, interrupting their speech.

"The Genie is not dead; Winter City is merely a part of him."

Having said that, he took out a silver lamp from his long sleeve, and a large amount of mist came out of his mouth, which condensed into a golden genie.

Somra was surrounded by thunder and lightning as he surveyed the entire venue.

"Elton has several powerful heroes, and many people are misled by their performance. Although my clone died, he gathered enough intelligence."

This time, I will personally go south and reduce the northern border to ashes!

Somra's voice was calm yet extremely authoritative, like a thunderous roar, and no one dared to utter a sound.

The Void Cult has decided to dispatch a massive army of over 10 troops, which will be gradually mobilized and headed directly for the Xilin Plains. Along the way, they will pass through the enemy's Silver Peak City, which is under the control of the Arcane Empire.

At this moment, a hunched-over Void Wanderer suddenly spoke up: "During this month's lunar eclipse in the Dream Realm, I encountered wandering scholars in another world. I deliberately set a trap for them, and there is a good chance that I can wipe them all out."

The Archmage of the Throne of Wisdom pondered for a moment, then cautioned, "The Wandering Scholar travels through countless worlds and is quite mysterious; his words may not be taken seriously. He will help those who are more valuable as long as there is a deal to be made."

"Don't worry, I'm confident this time!"

Having said all that, seeing the Void God Cult's confidence, the warlock on the Throne of Wisdom naturally said no more.

Herodotus looked at the enormous genie and said coldly, "Don't expect us to send more troops. If we still can't win, we'd better stay in the tower."

"Hmph! Ignorance!"

Somra transformed into a cloud of lightning, circled the circular table once, and then returned to the genie lamp.

Suddenly, the outside world was filled with lightning and thunder, and raging air elements.

This time he was really angry.

(End of this chapter)