Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 466 Demon-Hunting Griffin
Having dealt with internal affairs, Kuraki finally launched his westward campaign.

The Southern Route Army was commanded by Su Mu himself, with Ivan and Gude as his deputies, leading 500 of the strongest swordsmen, 200 arcane prayer warriors, 150 gold elementals, and 80 wind-eroded cavalry.

The Northern Army was commanded by Cedrus, with Vera Cyber ​​and Liliana as his deputies. Their two legions had different missions. The Tower Forces, leading 500 Arcane Prayers, 100 Golden Men, and 100 Gargoyle Guards, would encircle the rebels from the north, blocking their escape route. Liliana, on the other hand, would lead all the vampire princes and counts to launch a fierce attack on the undead and Crimson Rebels in the heartland, disrupting their plans.

Kuraki alone certainly couldn't possibly suppress such a large-scale rebel army.

Parliament has contacted various legions, including the Duke of Peter, Sir Swift, the Highgarden Demon Hunters, and the guards of the Trading City, to form a joint quelling force to launch the most intense siege against the rebels.

In terms of military strength, the Kingdom definitely has the advantage, but the Crimson Rebels are good at instigating and fight recklessly, often breaking through the Kingdom's encirclement.

Gaunt is extremely cunning and grows incredibly fast. Rumor has it that he seeks out heroes with special skills, concentrates his forces to attack them, captures the lord, takes him to his Crimson Camp, devours him alive, and then acquires the corresponding skill.

The hero's mournful cries echoed throughout the hillside, chilling even the thugs to the bone.

The story was told in a rather authentic way, and Su Mu felt that Gaunt must have obtained some of the abilities of the Deception Artifact. Since Rhodes had the ability to steal fire, Gaunt might also be able to obtain magical power from other heroes.

Having dealt with ancient ruins for so long, Su Mu gradually figured out the tricks of deceiving artifacts and undead. The opponent's chosen heroes either have extremely strong stealth bonuses or steal the abilities of other heroes and units for their own use, which is indeed very abnormal.

Simply put, it turned the enemy's curse power into one's own. Although there was some backlash, it was resisted by the artifact of deception.

It's understandable that the Kingdom's forces couldn't defeat Gaunt; the opponent's deception skills were as overpowered as his governance skills, making them something ordinary heroes couldn't handle.

"When Prince Gaunt was in the capital, he was just a newly promoted hero with relatively weak abilities. He had only learned some court swordsmanship and defense techniques. He loved reading biographies of the kingdom and regarded the powerful monarchs in history as his idols."

"In the initial battles, the Kingdom Legion had a certain degree of suppression against the Crimson Rebels, forcing them to flee in terror and hide everywhere. As time went on, the battles became increasingly difficult. The enemy possessed multiple advanced elemental masteries and could unleash indiscriminate curses, such as insane magic. The undead were naturally not afraid, but the Kingdom Legion was in great trouble."

"Moreover, Gaunt possesses the Prophet's Sword and another undead artifact, leading a large legion of liches to bombard human troops relentlessly. I've heard that a special blood-red lich king has appeared on the front lines, combining some of the abilities of the Red Priest, making him even more monstrous. When his massive army rolls over, the castle's soldiers are often wiped out before they even get close."

As the ancient ruins are gradually unlocked, the power of the Soul Tower will be enhanced on every undead hero. With the current bonuses, advanced Soul Summoning can basically reach 100% soul summoning power, making the snowball effect extremely terrifying.

Gaunt seemed different again. He didn't have many skeleton soldiers under his command; they were mainly Crimson Rebels. However, the number of liches was far beyond what was usual, making him quite terrifying.

"Could it be that combination treasure?"

"Or perhaps a special necromancy skill, or a blood-red troop skill?"

Due to insufficient information, Su Mu was unable to determine the other party's situation and could only remain vigilant to prevent any mishaps.

“Ouling, once we receive the ballistae from the kingdom, you will lead a portion of the legion to advance from the west of Kuraki and join us.”

"Yes!"

For now, they'll surround the area; it's not time for a decisive battle yet. Su Mu also plans to go to the altar to observe what Gant is up to. He's heard that the altar once manifested a shattered city in the clouds; perhaps they can obtain some information about the angels.

The transport of the sacrificial cannons will still take some time, especially since Kenway has already begun training the demon-hunting griffins using the manuals. The High Court will cover part of the construction costs, Congress will cover part, and the remaining costs, including troop promotions, will be borne by Kuraki.

That's not a big deal. As long as it can improve the griffin's combat power, Su Mu is willing to spend the money.

【Demon Hunter Griffin (Castle Tier 3, Tier 2 Unit, Baptized by both Air and Dark Elements): Attack 15, Defense 12, Damage 7-10, Health 35, Speed ​​12, Large Size, Flying Unit.

Elements: Air Element / Dark Element
Gale Strike: Surrounded by magical wind blades, gain +2 speed while flying, and launch endless counterattacks against enemies with malice. When encountering an enemy in the air, if the enemy counterattacks, the griffin will launch a counterattack in advance (this effect will not trigger if the enemy does not counterattack or has a skill that prevents counterattacks).

Airborne Overlord: When the Griffin takes off and soars, a violent storm is generated around it, which reduces the speed of enemy air units by (Griffin speed/3).

Demon Hunter Eagle: Strengthens the body, transforms feathers into dark wings, gains +3 attack and defense, +3 damage. After the black wings attack an enemy, the enemy will suffer +30% counterattack damage for a certain period of time (can be dispelled).

Magic Resistance: +15% magic resistance, triggers an atmospheric shield with primary air elemental bonus every so often.

Evaluation: Transformed into a black-winged demon-hunting griffin, it possesses terrifying aerial superiority capabilities.

The Demon Hunter units are indeed very powerful, but the Demon Hunter manuals are consumed even more. If the unit level is too high, the failure rate becomes uncontrollable. Therefore, the Gale Griffin, as a Tier 3 unit, meets a series of conditions and is the most suitable unit for large-scale promotion.

In order to cooperate with Kenway and Highgarden's witchers, Sumu even left some treasures that would increase knowledge for the marshal.

During the last battle in the valley, Su Mu didn't take too many treasures. Among them were some helmet-type treasures that increased knowledge, such as the Crown of Chaos and the Crown of Wisdom. Su Mu donated all the Divine Beast Crowns he obtained, handing them all over to the demon hunters from Highgarden.

In terms of conflict, Su Muzhen didn't take those people in Congress seriously; they were the ones creating the disputes. If the High Court was willing to provide assistance, Su Muzhen wouldn't mind cooperating with them.

With Kuraki's wealth, while it might not be enough to rival a nation, he certainly had enough gold coins to provide some support to human nobles.

However, Su Mu also knew very well that one's position was earned through struggle, and it was impossible to expect Congress to recognize its mistakes on its own.

The nobles throughout Elton possess a number of hidden technologies and magics: Highgarden's demon-hunting techniques, the various magics and light elemental baptisms of the Church of Light, the ballistae and siege engines of the capital, the warships of the valley, the ice techniques of the North, and the morale-boosting and special arrow towers of the castle core.

The Castle race is considered one of the most creative among all factions, second only to the Tower race. However, compared to the Tower's alchemists, humans are also quite skilled in metallurgy and craftsmanship, making them the most versatile.

If they can unite as one, the castle will undoubtedly be the strongest force, bar none.

Unfortunately, infighting is a traditional skill of this race.

Just as Su Mu and his men were leading their troops westward and had passed Graystone City, they suddenly heard some terrible news.

"Gaunt led the Crimson Rebels in a surprise attack on the northern city in the heartland; Duke Peter is missing, and the Disciplined Ascetics suffered a crushing defeat!"

(End of this chapter)