Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 424 The mastermind behind the scenes
A bucket of ice water was poured over Zavin's head, instantly sobering the blood-red rebel leader.

"Speak up, don't force me to resort to violence!"

As soon as Zaven opened his eyes, he saw Su Mu and the others surrounding him, including Hammondar, whom he hated with a passion. If it weren't for this kid's interference, he might have actually managed to escape through the passage.

It's all his fault for being so blinded by greed. He thought he could capture a blacksmith, who was quite skilled and could be kept around to forge weapons for the army. Once he was completely under control, he would be a great asset.

Upon closer examination, is this the kind of talent that ordinary forces could cultivate?

The attack on Otale was most likely due to the kidnapping of Hammondar, which attracted the Sumu army to the border. They really brought trouble upon themselves.

In fact, Zaven's idea was quite right. Although Su Mu was willing to clear out the surrounding rebels, Hammondal was the main trigger. This novice blacksmith was very important to Cang Mu, and the rebels had run into the line of fire.

"Ask me anything you want to know, and I'll answer to the best of my knowledge."

At this point, it was no use being stubborn. Loyalty and faith were just for propaganda among his subordinates. When it really came down to life and death, Zavin wanted to live a little longer.

"Where does the Crimson Corridor lead to? How did your Crimson regime develop?"

"I'm not sure of the exact destination of the passage, but I know it was recently opened up. From what I can sense, it should be a powerful source of calamity, with plenty of bloody corrosive curse power."

As for the Crimson Regime, it mainly consists of a set of ideologies and selection methods. At its core, it is led by red priests who are dispatched to promote people by using the crimson curse power that spreads through the channels.

This involves significant sacrifices, but it does allow for a rapid increase in the number of troops, weeding out the weak through natural selection.

Zavin called this survival of the fittest. Civilians were just numbers. To train a Bloodthirsty thug, at least three to five people had to die, and then, to accumulate war points in the training grounds, even more killings had to be done.

They treat the lives of free people as a joke, trampling on them at will. Even more ridiculous, they use ideologies and beliefs to deceive the world, while they themselves are as cowardly as mice.

This kind of person's fate is already sealed!

"Who is the person behind you?"

Upon hearing the question, Zha Wen hesitated for a moment, but seeing the murderous intent on Su Mu's face, he finally answered.

"It was High Priest Too Spencer from the Void Cult of the Arcane Empire. He was in charge of infiltration and subversion on the southwestern border. After their defeat in Silvertop City, they harbored resentment but were unable to retaliate immediately due to other matters. Therefore, they resorted to this strategy to disrupt the kingdom's internal affairs."

Hearing Zaven's confession, the heroes seemed to be deep in thought.

The Arcane Empire was originally planning a triumphant advance, using Rhodes as a puppet to conquer the Northern Territory. However, Su Mu was too formidable, completely deceiving everyone and using Kuraki's full power to defeat Somra, thus gaining fame in one battle.

The Tower is busy exploring the Void Ruins, and using the internal conflicts of the kingdom to support the rebels from behind the scenes seems like a good strategy.

All I can say is that these people are incredibly cunning.

Su Mu asked a few more questions, and Zha Wen answered fluently, revealing all the details he knew.

Just as the questioning was nearing its end, Su Mu, who had been circling back and forth, suddenly stopped, drew the strongest swordsman's greatsword, and slashed straight at Zha Wen.

"what!"

With a scream, Zaven's arms were severed, leaving only a bare, upright staff. Su Mu then placed the greatsword against Zaven's neck, pressing it into a bloody mark.

"Still dare to lie and try to deny it? Are you really looking for death?"

"My lord, my lord, I'm telling the truth!"

"Truth? The person who taught you to say these things does understand the Arcane Empire, but he overlooked some details."

The reason why Too did not appear in the open was because he was the main force in exploring the Void Ruins and could not afford to do two things at once to create chaos.

Moreover, the Crimson regime draws upon the power of the Crimson Curse, so even if the Void God Cult were to plot in secret, it would still need to unite with other forces.

"Your seemingly flawless statement is actually full of loopholes!" Hearing Su Mu's rebuke, everyone suddenly realized the truth. Tatiana was still surprised by the breadth of Kuraki's intelligence network, which even knew about Too's whereabouts. Forrest, however, knew that Sederos had been in contact with the Cult of Wisdom and was fully aware of the situation within the Void Ruins.

Of course, this was top secret, and it was only reported to Su Mu privately by Sidelos; there were some details that even Forrest didn't know. But since Su Mu dared to speak so confidently, he must be certain.

Driven to this point, Zaven still tried to argue, but Su Mu slit his throat with his sword, spurting out a jet of blood.

"Your time is running out. Tell the truth, or die!"

The massive blood loss made Zavin dizzy, but being a hero, he could hold on for a while. However, he knew Su Mu wouldn't give up, and it seemed he couldn't hide it any longer.

"I said, I said!"

"It was a minister of the kingdom who contacted me, gave me a special crimson scepter, guided me to become a Bloodrage Knight, and connected me to a special portal."

"He told me that as long as I could spread the bloody regime and cause widespread riots and wars, he would give me more power."

"Uh……"

As he spoke, Zaven began foaming at the mouth, and large amounts of blood oozed from his skin, as if his body had been pierced by tens of thousands of needles.

"Oh no, there's a silencing curse!"

Su Mu immediately used his magical power to protect Zha Wen's soul and heart, but his connection with the blood-red magical power was too deep, and his condition was beyond cure.

"That minister...he said...the earth will be stained with blood, the burning altars will be set ablaze, fiery clouds will descend...disaster will return..."

Su Mu listened to his fragmented words, pressing his lips to his mouth, but could not glean any further information.

At the last moment, Su Mu used magic to blast everyone away, creating an absolute space to imprison Zaven.

Zaven was like an inflating balloon, his flesh and blood multiplying continuously until he quickly became a fleshy monster. Then, with a "bang," he burst open, causing the earth to shake violently.

Fortunately, Su Mu set up a barrier in advance; otherwise, the damage would have been extremely severe.

Tatiana was filled with disbelief. She never imagined that a hero could be controlled in this way. The corrosive power of this crimson curse was too strong, it was completely unrelated to humans, and it was more like the methods of hell.

"Your Grace, did he say which minister it was at the end? I'll go back and report to my father, and have him notify Parliament immediately!"

"No, he was cursed with a silence spell, a death magic that stimulates the eruption of crimson magical power. If he were at his peak, he might have lasted longer, but being severely injured, he was quickly eroded."

Su Mu sighed, then changed the subject: "But I also roughly know who the mastermind is!"

"who is it?"

"The altar, the ministers, everything that has happened recently—isn't that obvious enough?"
Gaunt was not greeted by Cloud City, but by a desecrated temple of war and fire.

Upon hearing Su Mu's words, Tatiana froze, unable to believe it. Gaunt was, after all, the eldest prince, the heir to the throne; even if he were insane, he couldn't possibly do such a thing, could he?
"He is likely no longer the original eldest prince. The capital has special buildings belonging to the Church of Light, and he dares not return, which is why he is exploring outside."

The rebellion only began to spread after he activated the altar, and it only intensified; he was trying to undermine the foundation of the kingdom!

Although it sounds unbelievable and somewhat alarmist, considering Su Mu's past achievements, Tatiana was willing to trust the Duke this once.

"Then I will immediately contact the River Valley family and warn Congress!"

“I had already contacted Marshal Raven and others at the beginning to warn Congress that something was amiss, but the allure of Cloud City was too great, and the members of Congress could not resist the temptation and fell into the trap.”

Su Mu gazed at the setting sun in the west, where the sky and earth turned fiery red.

"As for now, it's probably a bit too late!"

(End of this chapter)