Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 452 Anti-Magic Reversal, Fatal Flaw

When Orophel comprehended the rekindling of the dragon's blood, Isildur's generals were immediately excited.

They initially thought the battle was heading towards defeat; having lost the Golden Dragon, even if they tried their best to delay, they couldn't defeat Kuraki's remaining troops.

Now, however, they feel like they've been given a second chance at life. As long as the dragon knights command the golden dragons, they still have a chance to fight.

"Quickly, the rekindling of dragon blood requires a large amount of Barrier Bloodline. Send all nearby troops over!"

Although Orofel has comprehended dragon language magic and touched upon the legendary realm, it is incomplete. This potential, cultivated during his training at Dragon Cliff to erupt in dire situations, can only be reached to this stage, and it is difficult for him to continue comprehending the next two dragon language spells.

Otherwise, with just dragon language magic combined with legendary skills, they could crush all the legions of the Kingdom of Elton.

However, there is still a chance to fight now. His legendary skill has gained the effects of amplified attributes and the divinity of poison gas. This batch of golden dragons did not gain a second divinity to begin with, so it does not affect anything.

The only problem is that some of the bastion troops need to be sacrificed to revive the golden dragon. His fire unicorns have all burned, and their blood has gathered in the air, but they are still short of enough, so he has to split his forces with Lloyd.

Lloyd hesitated for a moment: "How about sacrificing the Silver Pegasus Legion first? The Unicorn Divine Beast is extremely powerful and can provide cover for the Golden Dragon."

O'Lofell immediately rebuked, "At a time like this, you're still holding back your troops? Apart from Jinlong, who among you can stand up to Kuraki's forces? You're all a bunch of useless trash. You might as well make your final contribution!"

That's a bit of an exaggeration. If it weren't for the unicorn, the fire tree, and the other bastion units persisting, would Orophier have been able to achieve his desperate advancement? He would probably have been slaughtered by the strongest swordsmen and the wind-eroded cavalry long ago.

The enemy's strength stemmed from the coordinated efforts and mutual support among its various legions and heroes. Even though the kingdom's Kenway and the valley's nobles weren't particularly powerful, Sumu's command of them to distract Isildur's flank wasn't because he considered them a hindrance and simply stood by and watched.

Such a large-scale battle cannot be won by a single legion; it requires close cooperation.

But now was clearly not the time to dwell on this. Lloyd suppressed his anger and gave all of his unicorns and silver pegasus to Orophier.

The remaining troops were already approaching Orofel, but it would take some time. Furthermore, like the Sacrifice spell, the restored health from Dragon Blood Rekindling was based on the health of the sacrificed troops, making the unicorn more suitable. The dragon knight clearly didn't want to wait any longer; he wanted to immediately use Dragon Blood Rekindling and unleash his revenge, tearing Su Mu's forces to shreds.

As the dragon language magic was cast, the entire sky was enveloped in golden light. The fiery unicorn and the unicorn melted in the golden light, their flesh and blood sacrificing themselves to rekindle the blood of the golden dragon. Although they knew their fate, they felt no sorrow. Unicorns had always been supporters of the natural order, and for the glory of the empire, they were willing to sacrifice themselves.

After sacrificing nearly 400 unicorns (including those baptized by the elements) and more than 1500 silver pegasus (including those baptized by the elements), a full 400 gold dragons reappeared on the battlefield, their bodies becoming even larger and radiating a dazzling light.

【金龙（壁垒7级2阶兵种，毒气究极神性）：攻击力27*2（108），防御力27*2（104），杀伤力40-50（66-76），生命值250（612），速度16（18），体型超大。

Elements: Nature, Flying Units, Dragonfire Attack.

The dragons resisted, displaying the might of the dragons.

Poison Gas Divinity (Golden Bloodline Bonus): Ignites poison gas with dragonfire, dealing massive damage and increasing area-of-effect damage (+50% explosion chance). It also causes surrounding enemies to continuously lose maximum health and inflict a weakened state.

With the boost from the golden bloodline, the Golden Dragon's attack and defense have reached an abnormal level, and its health has almost doubled. As expected of a legendary unit, it is simply in a state of complete domination.

If these 400-plus golden dragons were to pounce on the Arcane Prayer, they would instantly destroy all of them. Of course, Arcane Prayer protected by the Sanctuary would have one chance to escape death, but that would be their last chance.

Su Mu would not allow his army to fall into such a passive situation. The Golden Dragon was powerful, but it was not invincible.

His gaze wasn't focused on the golden dragon, but rather on Lloyd's army. This legion had many water elemental heroes who continuously cast exorcism spells, greatly affecting Kuraki and the kingdom's legions. No matter what kind of magic they used, it would be dispelled immediately.

However, not all of them possessed intellectual skills. After the great battle with Ivan, and then facing Kuraki and the Kingdom's army, and having to disperse them so frequently, they were nearing their exhaustion.

Because the Flame Unicorn and the other units were constantly protected by the Fiery Shield, Kuraki's side was able to increase the frequency of his Exorcism spells, giving the Isildur heroes a much-needed respite. However, as the battle progressed, Isildur soldiers suffered continuous losses, and the rekindling of dragon blood consumed a large number of troops, forcing the Isildur heroes to increase their spellcasting even further, until they finally began to falter.

After Orling unleashed Swift Acceleration and Unerring Shot, Maggie then used her Fire Manipulation technique, only to find that the opponent remained completely still. Keep in mind that this was a spell Maggie cast after dispelling the opponent's Fiery Shield; logically, the opponent should have countered, yet there was no response.

"Isildor's heroes probably don't have enough mana, at least those who are proficient in water elemental magic are restricted!"

In fact, just as Maggie judged, Isildur's water elemental heroes were already running out of steam. After all, the quality of the treasures carried by ordinary heroes was not high, and the increase in knowledge was limited. After such a long battle, it was normal for their mana to be exhausted.

At this point, only Dino, Lloyd, and other coaches still had the energy. They turned their attention to the Mysterious Prayer, and the two exchanged glances, sharing the same thought.

Even though the golden dragon has been resurrected, the Arcane Prayerers remain the greatest threat. They must use magic to control this ranged force first. One of them casts Blindness, and the other casts Bewitching, all to buy time.

If we can buy the 400 Golden Dragons a little time to rush into the Arcane Prayer formation, we can instantly destroy everything.

Reincarnation and rebirth? A number of 100 people is simply not enough. If they were to come back to life, they would be suppressed immediately.

Although Orofaur was somewhat arrogant, he was indeed the one who could turn the tide in this situation.

A large amount of magic was then released in succession to control the remaining 500 or so Arcane Prayers.

Seeing this, Jinlong didn't waste the opportunity created by the heroes and rushed towards the cliff at top speed, his life or death hanging in the balance.

However, Su Mu had anticipated that the opponent would use this move. Because the exorcism spell was used too frequently before, the opponent did not waste magic to control it, so Su Mu naturally did not use any resistance skills. Now was the best opportunity.

"Anti-Demon Technique!"

As he raised the Titan's Arrow, a khaki-colored magic cloak covered the Arcane Prayer, protecting him from all external magic.

The advanced astrologer originally possessed an undispellable spell, but it randomly became a useless spell; otherwise, Su Mu wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble.

The mental magic that had just been applied was dispelled by the anti-magic spell, which also resisted other consecutive mental magic spells, leaving Isildur's heroes helpless.

Lloyd and Dino are not heroes with mastery of water elementals. Orofel, on the other hand, has a high level of water mastery, but he has just finished casting dragon language magic and has no time to spare for anything else.

At this critical moment, the hero who had previously released the natural trap stepped out from behind Lloyd, Alec Carson. Leaning on his wooden staff, he said with difficulty, "Let me try!"

After the dragon knights arrived, the setting of traps was basically halted, so Alec was the one who rested the longest. He used the barrier's special artifact to restore his magic, and now he became the last hope. However, he had overexerted himself and was basically at his limit, only able to unleash one last dispel.

"After I cast this spell, everyone must immediately take control of the Arcane Prayer!"

"Don't worry, we won't waste the opportunity you worked so hard to create!"

With his last ounce of strength, Alek slammed his staff into the ground. An invisible wave of water drifted along the clouds and mist around the Mystic Prayer, beginning to dismantle the protection of the exorcism spell.

The remaining bastion heroes immediately prepared to cast spells; as soon as the anti-magic spell was broken, they would unleash mind magic.

However, a shocking scene unfolded: the water curtain covering the khaki cloak instantly shattered and disintegrated, as if a spring rain had fallen silently, while the Mystic Prayer remained unaffected.

Alec watched helplessly as the magic was cast, but it had no effect. His head buzzed, and he instantly collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

The remaining heroes, some of whom refused to believe in the evil, tried to use mind magic again, but it was completely ineffective and was blocked by the exorcism spell.

"It's the power of magic! The enemy hero's magic power is too high. Alec's is less than half of the enemy's, so he can't dispel the anti-magic spell!"

This is the effect of the advanced earth elemental buff. In fact, most heroes proficient in earth elemental magic know this effect, since magic resistance is also a signature skill. But with the battle going on for so long, after several twists and turns, everyone's physical strength, willpower, and thinking have reached their limits, so it's naturally difficult to consider everything carefully. Who could have imagined that the magic the opponent hadn't used all day would suddenly come into play at this moment?

Su Mu smiled as he looked at the astonished hero, Esidor.

The entire game was spent concealing a powerful anti-magic strategy, waiting for the enemy's key hero to run out of mana before protecting the ranged archer. After all, while the Arcane Invoker has high damage output, it's not immune to mind magic like the strongest swordsman.

Having suffered a similar loss in the last battle of Silvertop City, Su Mu was pondering how to deal with Esidor's army.

In the early stages of the magical exchange, the opponent did attempt a few rounds of control, but with little success. After all, the Exorcism Spell was constantly in use, capable of dispelling both the Fiery Shield and mind magic—double the fun!

In other words, Maggie hasn't mastered advanced water elemental mastery yet, otherwise the opponent wouldn't be able to cast any useful spells.

Even so, Maggie's continuous casting of restrictive and buffing spells put immense pressure on the opponent, forcing the Isildur heroes to dispel the spells, which resulted in their significant energy expenditure.

When the opponent was exhausted, Su Mu then used his anti-magic technique, rendering Isidore's hero powerless.

Of course, this is only the first step: ensuring a favorable attacking environment for ranged shooters. The real killer move comes next.

As the golden dragons spread their wings to attack the Arcane Prayer, Gale once again took flight, its black wings carving a chasm in the air, blocking all the golden dragons on the other side. Though only a few hundred meters apart, the distance felt like an insurmountable chasm to the golden dragons.

Orophel's legendary skill greatly enhanced the Golden Dragon, but unfortunately it didn't increase its speed, and it didn't address the Golden Dragon's most fatal weakness: it couldn't resist level 5 magic.

Normally, even level 5 magic would have difficulty harming such a massive dragon army, but after Lie Feng advanced to Demon Hunter King, the Sky-Splitting Black Wings he obtained were just the right counter to the golden dragons.

After its initial release, Gale had actually accumulated enough magical power, but Su Mu had not allowed it to act again, in order to prepare for any eventuality.

Su Mu wanted to end the battle early, but Oulofier grew stronger with each fight, and Su Mu had just mastered a legendary skill, which proved useful.

The intense golden light was blocked by the black wings, and the radiance enveloped the entire sky, but could not reach the cliff where the Mysterious Prayer stood.

Absolute magical protection, an absolute no-fly zone—the rest depends on the prayer's performance. With unerring accuracy and the blessing of prayer, the arcane prayer's combat power reached its peak, but it wasn't enough!

Maggie's magic robes billowed in the wind, and countless rings of fire flashed around her, transforming into scorching flames that clung to the Arcane Prayer's bow and arrows. These intense flames instantly drew upon all their power, condensing it into incredible magical arrows.

The stars shone brightly, and the crimson flames filled the sky.

The moment the Mystic Prayer released his arrow, even the world trembled.

【Desperate Strike (Level 4 Fire Elemental Magic, Enhanced by Advanced Fire Magic): Reduces the defense of the selected friendly unit to zero and converts 100% of it into attack power for one continuous attack.

Advanced Fire Elemental Mastery: Reduces the defense of the selected friendly unit to zero and converts 200% of that defense into attack power, lasting for one attack.

Maggie is a hero with advanced fire elemental mastery, one of the earliest skills she learned. However, fire elemental skills have historically been considered somewhat lackluster, weaker than other elements. Furthermore, fire magic is relatively scarce in the castle faction, making it difficult to utilize effectively.

However, combined with her Dream Domain academic knowledge, she was able to freely learn fire elemental magic, which solved a series of problems.

After the Battle of Silvertop Castle, Maggie became the Duchess, and she had even less involvement in the daily affairs of Longlet Castle, spending more time maintaining the stability of the inner court and getting more rest. As a result, she mastered more advanced spells among many, such as Desperate Gamble, Hellfire, and Doomsday, all of which are fire elemental spells, making them easier for her to learn.

I originally thought that as an all-around magic user on the battlefield, she would be more likely to use dispel magic, and perhaps wouldn't need these fire spells.

But when Su Mu gave her a look at the last moment, Maggie instantly understood. Their cooperation in many battles had become extremely seamless, and their compatibility had increased even more after she became a duchess.

Thus came this desperate gamble before absolute defense. Before casting the anti-magic spell, Maggie had already secretly cast a series of spells to amplify the attack of the Arcane Prayer, waiting for the moment to manifest.

Orophel's haste led him to sacrifice his nearby army, and Earthbow quickly cleared out the surrounding entanglements. Now, there are no other troops left to help them.

Only 400-odd golden dragons remained, intercepted in the air, emitting their final golden light.

Without the protection of the Wind Dragon, these 400 newly revived golden dragons are practically sitting ducks!

Under the tempering of stars and flames, the golden dragon disintegrated once more, exploding violently in the air, its golden blood splattering across the sky and obscuring the entire firmament.

"No!"

Orofel roared in fury. He never imagined that what should have been a time to slay powerful enemies, turn the tide, achieve perfect golden glory, obtain all dragon language magic, and become a legendary dragon knight of the Barrier would turn out like this.

The Dragon Blood Reignition spell is already an extremely terrifying magic, so why are there still people who can break it?

"There's still a chance! We still have a chance!"

Orofel retreated back into Lloyd's army, grabbed the bastion hero by the collar, and roared like a madman: "Let your troops hold out for a little longer, my Dragon Blood Reignition will be able to be activated again soon, just hold on a little longer!"
Isildur's legions cannot be so useless!

However, the heroes of the fortress looked at him mercilessly, their faces weary and filled with despair.

Lloyd sighed and pointed to the distant army: "There's no hope left!"

Orophel followed the gaze and saw that Isildur's army had completely collapsed. The strongest swordsmen, who had just been routed, had regrouped and were using their ring attacks to inflict devastating damage. Without the Fiery Shield, the strongest swordsmen were practically unstoppable, and tens of thousands of troops had already been wiped out.

Goode's Wind-Eroded Cavalry also set out in full force, each charge causing maximum damage and turning Isildur's army into a chaotic mess.

Meanwhile, Orling took out his ballista and, in combination with the Earth Bow, attacked a large number of bastion troops. The Spirit Spell Ballista had an area-of-effect attack, and with the addition of powerful air elemental magic, it immediately caused a series of explosions.

These powerful combined attacks caused Isildur's forces to decline rapidly, leaving him with only 40,000 to 50,000 men.

Even worse, Kenway and the Valley's army also got entangled, dragging the fortified troops into the quagmire.

The opposing team, with their coordinated efforts and high morale, grew stronger and stronger. On the other hand, the fortress had lost its most elite legion, and the Golden Dragons had been wiped out, leaving it with almost no fighting power.

"Useless! All of you are useless! A bunch of cowards!"

"I really don't understand how you became heroes? You're already desperate because so few people died? What's the point of fighting a war!"

Orofel grabbed Lloyd, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at him: "Give me the rest of your forces. If we lose this battle, the Far Plains will be doomed! But I still have a way to turn things around!"

It was clear that Orofel knew what Lloyd was worried about. The Red Tree Chieftain was not afraid of death, but he feared becoming a sinner against the Barrier.

The reason it took so long was that I wanted to find a safe opportunity.

But Orofel didn't care. He ignored all those so-called natural citizens in the rear. What he wanted was Sumu's death, and the golden glory of the land. Even if the entire bulwark legion was wiped out, the dragon blood had to be reignited, and the dragon flames had to burn the land of Cangmu to ashes.

His golden legend cannot be defeated!

"marshal!"

"marshal!"

Several of the bastion heroes were clearly dissatisfied with Orophier, but Lloyd couldn't bear the consequences of defeat. After some hesitation, he decided to hand over all his forces to Orophier. This way, he could use dragon magic to resurrect the golden dragon.

But the Dragon Blood Reignition has only just been released, and level 6 magic takes even longer. What can Orofel use to reverse this?

Flames erupted around the dragon knight, his golden blood evaporated, and his body gradually transformed into a dragon.

Under extreme pressure and humiliation, he actually comprehended the second dragon language magic. It must be said that Orofel's understanding and affinity with dragons is top-notch, and he deserves the title of legend.

【Wings of the Atmosphere (Level 6 Dragon Language Magic, can be used on dragons): Casts a Dragon Language spell on a dragon, granting it +5 speed, +1 counterattack chance, and reduces damage taken from ranged units by 50%.

This can grant heroes increased speed and flight ability for a short period of time.

Orophier was no longer prepared to fight head-on; he had to get through the most difficult moment so that he could use the Wings of Atmosphere to turn the tables and kill the Mystic Prayer.

Before he could even rejoice, several massive crossbow bolts pierced through the clouds and mist, striking his body. The magic he hadn't even had a chance to unleash came to an abrupt halt, and the dragon knight plummeted from mid-air, scattering golden fragments across the earth.

Without the support of troops, even if he is a dragon knight, his defense is not enough.

Moreover, changing commanders on the eve of battle is not so easy. It is possible to make Lloyd sacrifice his legion, but it would be difficult to command troops again.

Even if a small number of the bastion soldiers came under Orophel's command, they were no match for Orophel's barrage of crossbow bolts.

One miraculous comeback was enough; Su Mu wasn't about to let him repeat it a second time. He had already ordered Ouling to keep an eye on Orofiel, waiting for the right opportunity.

As soon as Orofel landed, Goode immediately led the Wind Erosion Knights to surround the area and clear out the enemy's minions.

"No! Impossible! I will not lose!"

"I am a dragon knight who emerged from Dragon Cliff, capable of turning the tide no matter the dire situation!"

"Wings of Atmosphere, third stage of dragon language magic, I still have a chance!"

Orofel knelt on the ground, his body pierced by several giant crossbow bolts, golden blood flowing from his body.

It must be said that he was truly tenacious; he would struggle to find a chance to survive whenever there was even the slightest opportunity.

But what Su Mu dislikes most is giving opportunities; once is enough. If Oulofier can't seize the opportunity, then he will only face death.

Of course, the biggest reason for his failure was not this.

In a daze, a figure appeared on the golden land.

"You think you can win the battle on your own and with the Golden Dragon, and you treat all the bastion legions as dispensable burdens, only to be used in emergencies when needed, and then complain that they are in the way when not needed."

He thinks he's invincible, that his legendary status is solely due to his miraculous ability to turn the tide in dire situations—how utterly laughable!

"If it weren't for Lloyd and Dino holding you back, I would have wiped out all of these golden dragons long ago!"

He claims to be acting for glory, but in reality, he's extremely selfish. And he thinks he can lead the Bulwark to turn the tide? He's just a brute riding a lizard; he'll never amount to anything!

Orophier coughed up blood, and through the blurry vision, he glimpsed a large number of heroes gathered on both sides of the figure.

A master architect treading on earth and stone, a phantom archer wielding a phantom bow, a raging overlord surrounded by crimson flames, a dream sage floating with endless magic books, and a magical knight riding a scarlet dream beast.

They all revolved around the king and obeyed his rule.

The power of lightning descended from the sky and gathered in Su Mu's hands. A golden dragon prostrated itself before him, and his figure became even more majestic and sacred.

War is never a battle fought by one person alone!
(End of this chapter)