Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 425 Burning Altar
At the last altar in the heart of the territory, Gaunt led the swordsmen through the obstacles and out of the passage.

Flames engulfed the entire mountainside, from which came howls and roars.

Even in the face of such a horrific scene, the swordsmen remained steadfast in their beliefs, though their eyes had long been consumed by bloodlust, leaving only madness and savagery.

There were also some noble soldiers recruited from the surrounding area in the formation, all of whom were too frightened to move.

At this point, Gunter stopped pretending, waved his hand, and began the killing spree.

As the screams gradually subsided, only the kingdom's elite legions and Prince Gaunt remained on the entire meadow.

"How's it going? Have the remaining four altars been arranged?"

"Rest assured, everything is going according to plan. Those altars are under the protection of the kingdom, but their spreading tentacles can absorb the brutality of war and the blood-red curse power, and have already filled the offerings."

The speaker was Zeke, who had been sent to subdue the demon. The demon hunter was now wearing a red cloak and was hidden in the shadows, with only his purple eyes showing. He exuded an eerie aura and no longer possessed the power to suppress evil that he had before.

In truth, Zeke's fate was sealed the moment he was sent to investigate clues about Cloud City. He would either die or be corrupted.

Zeke ultimately couldn't take that step and chose to survive.

Death is terrifying, and those who have truly experienced near-death will definitely gain new insights.

Even if heroes have faced desperate situations on the battlefield, who would be willing to give up if there is even the slightest chance of survival?
Zeke thus became a bloodthirsty hunter, capturing his former comrades and partners.

His unit specialty also changed from Demon Hunter to Crimson unit, which is extremely overpowered.

But all of this was just a prelude; Gaunt's true purpose was to ignite the burning altar and create a permanent, evil passage through the heartland.

Yes, the Crimson Regime is very powerful, but it is actually a special sequence unit of the Castle Humans. It has become extremely violent after being corrupted and eroded.

If a strong commander could suppress the side effects of the blood-red mutation, this legion could become a powerful pillar of the kingdom. Besides, there are ways to enhance its strength if such bloody methods aren't used during recruitment.

As a pawn of the undead and a puppet of the deceptive artifact, Gaunt could not possibly make any real contribution to humanity.

He created all of this simply to collect blood and souls for an unprecedented sacrifice.

Gaunt raised his hands and activated the last altar, connecting it to the unknown Land of Desolation.

The entire sky was dyed red, and fiery clouds burned, spreading towards the endless land.

At the same time, all five altars in the heart of the land materialized, their stone platforms gradually cracking and seeping out eerie blood. An aura of decay spread, instantly turning the once vibrant land withered and yellow, with rotting bones constantly emerging from the surface, polluting the surrounding area.

When the altar completely drained the surrounding bloody aura, the connected ruins revealed their true form.

In the far distance of the sky, the glorious and magnificent rainbow city appears in the clouds.

Everyone in the heartland could see the pristine, holy city in the clouds rapidly descending from the sky and crashing towards the ground.

However, before it even landed, it burst into flames in mid-air, engulfing the magnificent building and destroying humanity's faith.

……

In the royal capital's parliament, members of parliament accompanied the speaker to witness the emergence of the Cloud City. Before their smiles could fade, they turned to horror, with many covering their eyes in disbelief at what had happened.

"No! How is that possible!"

"An illusion, an illusion of the devil!"

"Cloud City cannot be destroyed!"

Quentin's face turned pale, and he immediately asked the guards around him, "Where's Zeke? And the soldiers around the altar, quickly have them sever the connection to the altar!"

"My lord, the army at the altar has lost contact, and Lord Zeke has not replied. Suddenly everything has come to a standstill!"

Upon hearing the report from his guards, Quentin felt dizzy and almost fell to the ground.

"Where is the Minister of Trade? He's a traitor! Arrest him immediately!"

"The Minister of Trade left the city yesterday to attend the ceremony at the altar."

Gaunt betrayed the royal family, the Minister of Trade deceived the senators, and most importantly, Zeke, the Witcher, failed to uphold his beliefs and tricked him, leading to this unprecedented disaster.

Although Quentin had no idea what Gaunt and his conspirators were up to, it was too late now.

……

In the heart of the most prosperous kingdom of Elton, stretching from dense jungles in the west to vast plains in winter, from desert valleys in the south to frozen snowfields in the north, countless humans looked up at the sky and saw the magnificent city in the clouds appear, then quickly fall, burn in mid-air, and turn to ashes.

From hope to despair, no one could believe what they were seeing.

"Is Heaven going to kill Elton?"

"Even the angels have abandoned us; there is no hope left for the kingdom!"

In fact, many nobles had already heard rumors that a city in the clouds had appeared in the heartland, which would be the hope for the kingdom's rise.

It would be a lie to say they had no expectations.

But the past years had brought so much disappointment that they dared not believe the light had returned. It wasn't until Cloud City floated above the heart of the land, bringing a breathtaking scene to all of humanity, that their hope was rekindled and they felt their dreams had come true.

But before they could even celebrate, all the beauty shattered before their eyes; this helplessness and despair felt all too real.

Even the strongest heroes and lords wept bitterly, feeling that everything was over.

……

Sumu and others in Otale also witnessed the apocalyptic scene.

Although Su Mu had anticipated that something bad would happen, he had not expected it to be like this.

Angels are the faith of mankind, and Cloud City is naturally the most sacred building. What could be more despairing than the people of the heartland witnessing Cloud City fall?

From this day forward, the morale of humanity in Elton is at -1, almost irreversibly. To regain their strength, they will likely need to find the true City in the Clouds to allow humanity to stand tall again.

Su Mu gazed at the burning cloud city falling from the sky, and could hardly see any trace of forgery. It was as if a real cloud city had been shot down from the sky, and countless angels had lost their wings and died.

He had no idea how the entity behind Gaunt managed to do it; it didn't seem like a magical disguise at all, but rather like real history.

Could it be that the angels suddenly disappeared because they were destroyed by a powerful enemy?
But if that's the case, there should be some trace left behind. Why is there no record of Elton to date?
History, shrouded in mist, gradually emerges from the shadows, and perhaps the truth lies behind this conspiracy.

"It seems the heart of the kingdom is about to descend into chaos! The previous plans will probably need to be revised!"

"Tatiana, let's go first!"

Tatiana stood there, unable to react for a long time, until Su Mu called out to her, which brought her out of her daze.

"Ah! Yes, I will return to the valley immediately!"

Although she didn't know what was going on with Cloud City, she at least got information about the mastermind from Duke Kuraki, and she had to warn her father to be careful of the Congress.

……

"Hahahaha! What a wonderful feast!"

Gunter raised his hands high, enjoying the fireworks display in the sky with great excitement.

Because he had royal blood and understood the significance of Cloud City, he became even more insane after his fall from grace.

Although he is now controlled by the undead, he has completed the mission of the deceitful artifact, connecting the lost ruins of the kingdom and fully activating the burning altar, thus giving him a new identity.

Who would have thought that the kingdom's lost secrets would be in the hands of the undead and the artifact of deception?

These altars are not false places, but ruins of fallen angels, filled with powerful magical energy.

Following the deception's instructions, he ignited them one by one, absorbing enough war and blood-red curse power to connect with unknown miracles and build an indestructible burning altar.

【Burning Altar (Artifact Special Building, 5 units): Grants the chosen hero a cursed gift. The more power gained, the stronger the curse becomes, but the curse can be applied to enemies under certain circumstances.

Number of chosen ones affected: 1/5.

【Gaunt (Chosen of the Lich King): Attack 4, Defense 3, Cursed Power 4, Knowledge 4.】

Frost Curse: It can devour the heroes you kill, stealing some of their attributes and traits, and cursing yourself and your troops to suffer from the corruption of insane magic.

Intermediate Lich King: For every 5 points of Cursed Power Knowledge a hero has, the attack and defense of Liches (including upgraded units) are increased by 1 point, and the unit's explosion radius is increased by 20%.

Advanced Water Element Mastery.

Evaluation: This frozen staff reminds you of the lost years of the human prince, but the merciless frost has sealed your heart. You need to infuse it with new passion, ignite endless wars, and disrupt humanity's peace to find a sliver of solace.

Gaunt was well aware that his talent was mediocre and far from meeting the requirements for God's selection. If he hadn't spearheaded the plan to burn the altar, he would never have had the chance to be chosen in his entire life.

However, sometimes bloodline is more valuable than talent. He was born into the Finaxia family and has royal blood flowing through his veins, making him the most suitable candidate to activate the ruins.

Therefore, he was favored by the artifact of deception and granted power.

However, compared to others, he is still very weak at the moment. But he has an extraordinary ability to accumulate knowledge and skills, and he will soon catch up with others and become a unique chosen one.

In some ways, he is no longer a pure undead, but rather a hybrid existence corrupted.

The Artifact of Deception isn't just for the undead, he'd heard that from Stuart. The Ancient Ruins wanted to use the Artifact of Deception, but they were also wary of it.

As the burning altar was ignited, the seal on the ancient ruins was further broken.

This is not their strongest form yet. If they can turn Elton into a blood swamp and then devour the barrier of the Fal Forest, the Artifact of Deception will be fully revived.

At that time, everything will be shrouded in the shadow of fraud.

This was unimaginable in the past, but as the tide of magical power surges, increasingly powerful forces are returning to the world of heroes.

And he, the new Lich King Gaunt, will become the star of disaster that leads the era!

(End of this chapter)