Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 388 All-Out Attack
High-level catapults are relatively rare because they involve not only the application of magical power but also a combination of craftsmanship and magic.

The Tower faction, for example, specializes in alchemy and is capable of creating many extraordinary weapons of war. Moreover, the Arcane Empire has a vast territory, so it's not uncommon for it to have several cities that are proficient in alchemy and manufacturing.

"These ice-throwing sleds are quite powerful. If the enemy continues to attack like this, the city walls may not be able to hold."

"Let the clay gargoyles attach to the city walls to enhance their resistance."

The enemy was unwilling to get close and wanted to use ice-throwing siege engines to breach the walls of Silvertop City. The level 5 siege engines were quite powerful, and within ten minutes, several large holes had been smashed through the outer walls. The most troublesome thing was that they could not be repaired immediately.

Ouling had already aimed the divine cannon at the hilltop, but due to the immense distance, he wasn't entirely confident of a hit. He never imagined he'd encounter a weapon of war with an even greater range than the ballista; it was truly astonishing.

At this point, we can only tough it out and see how well Silver Top City is constructed.

Cedrus received the order and dispatched clay gargoyles, which transformed into upside-down stone statues that attached themselves to the outermost city wall, becoming one with it.

This is practically risking their lives, but the gargoyle guards can be given special status effects to enhance their resistance.

Maggie made the first move, using her water manipulation technique. Although the ice chariot was a siege vehicle, it was also a water elemental weapon of war, and the water manipulation technique could withstand a lot of magical damage.

With the addition of gargoyle guards' 50% damage reduction, the city withstood a large number of attacks.

Previously, a single ice bomb could create a large hole and leave a large frozen area. Now, with the clay statues of ghost guards protecting the walls, ice bombs can no longer easily create large holes, greatly improving the walls' sturdiness. Even if damaged, the ice cannot spread over the mud and rocks.

The most unique feature is the countermeasure of the clay gargoyle guards, which has a chance to inflict a curse backlash on the enemy's catapults. The level 5 catapults are very powerful, and they will naturally suffer considerable damage after being subjected to the curse backlash.

One of the vehicles exploded on the spot while being loaded with ice bombs, blasting over a hundred soldiers in the tower and several other catapults into pieces, causing the Arcane Empire to suffer heavy losses in an instant.

"How is this possible! How can they still aim and cast spells from such a distance? Just how overpowered are their hero abilities?"

"It wasn't a magical attack, but rather a special magical countermeasure from the city wall. It ignored distance and returned along the magical energy channel. The catapult was destroyed because of its own high attack power."

Although Ovid was sometimes greedy for credit, as a high-level Void Wanderer of the Tower of Circles, he had a fairly comprehensive understanding of special magic.

They initially thought that without an army in front, it would be difficult to approach Silvertop City with just catapults. However, Somra had a backup plan, having brought a hero specializing in ballistics beforehand. He used ice-throwing carts to launch an attack from behind the mountain, and was well prepared.

The one operating the catapults behind the mountain was a pure alchemist, but he was more proficient in ballistics. His hands were made of alchemical materials that were easy to channel magic, making them very flexible. This allowed him to operate multiple catapults at the same time and launch attacks on the same target.

【兰文·麦金利（炼金弹道师）：攻击7（14），防御4，咒力4（8），知识6（10）.
Elemental water.

Advanced Ballistic Aiming: Use magical power to control multiple catapults to attack targets, increasing the number of attacks, damage, and range.

Intermediate Intelligence: Increases the hero's maximum mana by 50%.

Advanced Alchemy Magic: Increases the damage of attack spells by 15%. Affected by your class, the catapult you operate will receive a magic boost and its range will be expanded.

Intermediate Wisdom, Advanced Water Elemental Mastery, Advanced Earth Elemental Mastery.

Lan Wen was very confident in his skills; even after opening a huge hole in the outer wall, he was able to control the ice-throwing chariot to pass through the hole and continue the attack on the inner city of Silver Dome. The precision with which he could control it from thousands of meters away demonstrated the exceptional skill he possessed in ballistics.

However, before he could even boast, the ice-throwing sleds suffered a peculiar backlash, with four of them destroyed, resulting in heavy losses.

This is a weapon of war with a resistance value of 6000, yet it was backfired to this extent. Lan Wen found it unbelievable.

"Lanwen, are you alright?"

The alchemical ballistics master crawled out of the shattered ice, one of his alchemical arms damaged and his body partially injured. Fortunately, he was still in command of a portion of his troops and did not directly suffer the damage; otherwise, the backlash alone would have likely forced him to return for recuperation.

“Those gargoyles are strange. They not only reinforce the city walls, but they can also backfire on the catapults attacking the buildings! If we continue to fire from a distance, the last few ice-throwing chariots will probably be destroyed.”

Although the Arcane Empire is wealthy and powerful, a Tier 5 Ice Thrower is not something that can be wasted.

The first batch consisted of 15 vehicles, with about 15 more to follow. However, Somra's early advance has resulted in only half of the ice-throwing vehicles being available at present.

"Moreover, this kind of long-range shooting consumes ammunition very quickly, eight times the original amount. If we keep firing like this, we will run out of ammunition very quickly, and I can only fire a few more rounds at most."

The ammunition for high-level catapults is not easy to replenish. They are not only projectiles condensed from magical energy, but also the cores of alchemical creations. Only a maximum amount can be carried at a time, and preservation requires special buildings or devices.

If they could fight a round and then return to the city to replenish their supplies, it wouldn't be a problem. But now, requiring them to shoot from such a long distance is basically pushing Lanwen to his limit, resulting in extremely high energy consumption. And with the backlash from the clay gargoyle guards, it's unlikely he can continue.

Looking at the frozen outer wall, Somra was not in a hurry and asked, "What's the news from Kuraki City?"

Ovid took out the communication orb, closed his eyes and meditated for a while, and then gave the latest intelligence: "I heard that Kuraki has sent out a large number of scouts and is still trying to break through the blockade channels. His shield soldiers have also gone out of the city to fight, but they were driven back by the magic siege."

They seem to have sent heroes to contact Elton's Legion in the valley to jointly resist the hill troops.

"Somewhat surprisingly, some thieves were found outside the city of Gurado, and rebels launched assassinations within the city, with many high-ranking commanders dying in their sleep."

It seems they're getting a little anxious!

Actually, despite the fact that Somla went south to besiege the city, a day had already passed from the complete encirclement to the probing. In particular, several hours had passed from the preparation to the throwing of the ice sleds.

With his main force trapped, Kuraki contacted Field Marshal Elton and sent scouts to raid his rear. All these actions indicated that Kuraki had run out of options.

"You're saying that if a leader were to risk coming to the front lines, even with few soldiers and generals, he would dare to challenge the empire? Isn't he afraid?"

Upon hearing Somra's words, the heroes immediately understood. It seemed that Sumu had personally come to Silvertop City, determined to defend this northern city to the death. The Genie's sense of lightning was extremely sensitive; even though the lightning hadn't appeared, Titan's Arrow had already revealed its location.

So if Su Mu could be captured and killed, the defense of the entire Xilin Plain would completely collapse.

"Perhaps it's not a matter of whether he dares or not. With his troops, he can only dance on the edge of a knife. If he wants to contend with two great empires at the same time, he must have extraordinary courage. I still admire him for that. It's just that we marched so fast that we didn't give him another chance."

Ovid did say something fair: sometimes that's just how it is with raw power. No matter how skilled an individual soldier is, if you don't have enough troops, the area you can defend is just too small.

Kuraki's dual-front strategy necessitates taking risks.

"Besides, even if he mobilized all his troops, it would be a drop in the ocean. This man is a madman! He acts on impulse. But this kind of human general is not uncommon. He thinks he is the most loyal and righteous, but in reality, once he dies, he is gone. After being buried in the grave for hundreds of years, who will remember him?"
He's just a fame-seeking idiot; he's useless.

After hearing the analysis from the heroes, Somra seemed to want to wait, but a hint of crimson flashed in Thunder's eyes, and he immediately changed his mind.

"The second, eighth, and tenth legions of the Golden Men, advance straight at the city gate from the center line. The first legion of the Diamond Men is positioned in the center and continues to advance. Remember to release the solidified atmospheric shield."

"The Archmage's Third, Fifth, and Fourth Legions will provide flank cover for the attack, using firepower to suppress the enemy on the city walls. If necessary, they can use magic scrolls for bombardment."

"The Black Stone and White Stone Legions will serve as the first wave of flying assault troops, aiming to fly up the city walls and entangle the enemy's melee units. The Divine Monster Lord Blue Mist and the Prayer God Corps will be the ultimate means of breaking through; once they strike, they will take down the enemy's city walls!"

"Naga Legion, don your armor, grab your scimitars, and charge straight in! Throw ice carts, don't worry about the losses, smash the walls to pieces!"

"Prepare for a full-scale attack!"

...The clay gargoyle guards successfully mitigated the attack from the ice-throwing chariots. Cedros and the others breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the enemy would regroup and continue to wear them down.

They were prepared for a protracted battle, after all, the tower troops were deployed to a great distance and seemed unwilling to be shot at by ballistae.

However, before the heroes could celebrate, the distant snowfield began to shake violently, and the entire earth began to tremble. Nearly 10 troops, scattered in three directions, advanced towards Silvertop City.

"They've committed their entire army!"

Sederos basically roared, because the sheer scale of the scene—100,000 superhuman troops charging into the city—was comparable to a comet falling from the sky.

Enemies were everywhere. Not to mention the ordinary-sized soldiers like the Golden Men and Gargoyles, the Divine Monsters and Nagas were several meters tall, and some special units were even ten meters tall. The sight of these behemoths charging on the battlefield was simply suffocating.

In ordinary melee combat, 800 fully armed warriors would already be a dense, dark mass, let alone in a battle of this scale, where even the snow is barely visible.

The outer wall has just been punched with several huge holes that are completely irreparable. It is indeed a good opportunity for the enemy to break through.

They all looked at the lord, only to see that Su Mu was not flustered at all. Although they were used to fighting difficult battles, they were still somewhat unsure of themselves in the face of so many extraordinary troops attacking the city.

Su Mu prepared to lead the Mysterious Prayerers to reassure everyone.

“Oling, you aim the giant cannon at the archmage legion, I'll handle the gargoyles. Divide their forces, and deal with the remaining gold and diamond golems when they get closer to the point.”

"Order!"

Su Mu, in collaboration with Kuraki's strongest ranged hero, began a massive purge of distant enemies.

The enemy is still far away and spread out, not yet within the range of the Earth Bow.

However, Su Mu's astrologer-like magic amplifies his range, and Ouling's artillery and ballista range boosts allow them to barely scout out the vanguard rushing towards the snowfield.

The enemy was clever; instead of placing their elite troops at the front, they piled up the golden figures to draw fire. Su Mu, however, chose to let these troublesome monsters with high resistance to both physical and magical attacks go, and instead attacked the enemy's weak points.

The gargoyles initially prepared an atmospheric shield to defend against Silvertop City's long-range attacks.

However, Su Mu first tested Titan's Lightning. As expected, one of the enemy heroes had the Thunder God accessory, which protected the charging troops. Under the roar of lightning, the enemy was completely unharmed.

Su Mu has no legendary skills and cannot amplify damage, so Titan's Lightning is completely countered.

Wearing a purple cloak and riding a white snow horse, Yuna Harry raised her treasure, absorbing all the lightning in the air into it, and looked at Su Mu provocatively.

For this battle, she not only brought the Electric God's Armor, but also a special treasure to increase speed. In this way, she could absorb the lightning damage at the front and transport the troops to the front as quickly as possible, thus setting up a special defense.

After all, in a battlefield of this scale, even as a secondary hero, the Electric God accessory could hardly cover the entire situation.

But if Su Mu ignores her, he will break through as quickly as possible, putting her in a dilemma.

Ovid and Somla also witnessed this scene and were satisfied with Yuna's contribution.

"She's really gone all out for the level 4 treasure. If we can take Silver Peak City, even though Titan's Arrow can't be disassembled, we can find her two high-level treasures."

"Su Mu is indeed here, but his Titan Lightning is ineffective. Let's see what he does!"

Ovid didn't think Su Muzhen would be stumped, after all, his opponent was a hero who had proven his strength. But that was then, and now Silver Peak City was under siege, giving him no time to regroup.

This is why many generals cannot fight large-scale battles. Facing an army of thousands, more than 10 people, the strategy needs to be comprehensive and tests the experience of the commander-in-chief.

With the Titan's Lightning failing, Silvertop City seemed to have no choice but to send gargoyles inside. Once they reached a certain distance, Ovid prepared to activate Instant Teleportation.

The enemy doesn't have a strong ground force; once they're overwhelmed, defeat is practically inevitable.

"After advancing another kilometer, I will use teleportation to send the flying units over and entangle the prayers. Even if it means taking a hit, I will suppress the enemy's ranged units."

Ovid's plan was thorough, but unfortunately the script didn't turn out the way he envisioned.

First, Orling's Divine Sacrifice Cannon bombarded the incoming mage legion, with 10 crossbow bolts taking away nearly 2000 mages. This time, Orling perfectly followed up with the Exorcism Spell, dispelling the atmospheric shield and then releasing the Spirit Spell Crossbow, which, in conjunction with the damage from the Earth Bow, caused an area-of-effect attack.

The mage group clearly hadn't expected that the enemy wouldn't attack the besieging ground troops, but instead targeted them first.

Instantly, the earth collapsed and mountains crumbled, blood and flesh splattered everywhere, and the entire snowfield was dyed red. The magic robes and their owners were buried in the giant pit, leaving not even ashes behind.

It was only at this moment that they truly witnessed the power of Orling's artillery, and Ovid and the others gasped in astonishment.

However, it wasn't over yet. Su Mu directly abandoned Titan's Lightning and unleashed Meteor Shower, dealing fatal damage to a wide range of gargoyles. In just one wave of Meteor Shower, more than 400 gargoyles were killed.

"Spread out, spread out quickly!"

Yuna shouted loudly, urging the troops to spread out as much as possible to avoid additional damage from area-of-effect magic.

Only then did she reveal a hint of fear. She had thought that by suppressing the opponent's Titan Lightning, it would be difficult for the enemy to launch any magical attacks.

Su Mu's meteor shower was unexpectedly brutal. The only thing that made her feel fortunate was that they were not the most severely damaged troops. The mage legion in the distance was even so frightened that they dared not advance any further.

After all, the red moon was shining in the sky, and the morale of the troops was already low. It was only thanks to Ovid obtaining the treasure that boosted morale that they were able to maintain it.

But after being attacked by Ouling, they were instantly routed.

What puzzled them was the seemingly unbelievable unity of the Silvertop City's garrison. It was a tower building, not a castle, and there was no Brotherhood there; how could they have such high morale?

Fortunately, I brought enough troops this time, with a total of 25000 gargoyles, so the mere 400 casualties were negligible.

If Ouling focuses on the mage legion, then he won't be able to restrain the gargoyle troops. As long as the flying units rush in, no matter how powerful the enemy archers are, they'll be a bunch of trash.

"Charge! Victory is within reach!"

The gargoyles quickened their advance, enjoying the speed once again, and finally arrived within two kilometers of the city.

This distance is difficult for ordinary archers to hit, and even advanced troops can only shoot within half the range. Yuna is confident that she can withstand this wave.

To her surprise, Maggie once again used her exorcism technique to dispel her atmospheric shield.

And an elite legion appeared on the outermost city wall.

The Mystic Prayers were bathed in light, their prayers swirling in the air. They raised their hands, gathering spellcasting projectiles and aiming them at the speeding gargoyles.

It's time to show them what Kuraki's true strength is all about.

(End of this chapter)