Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 469 Holy Light Protection
Murak and his cavalry were stationed ten miles away from the city of the highlands. Due to its unique mountainous terrain, even if the Crimson Rebels launched a general offensive, they would not be able to conquer the duchy's city in a short time.

On the contrary, the cavalry could take advantage of the rugged mountain roads to launch surprise attacks on the Bloodstained Rebels.

Even from such a distance, with scouts gathering intelligence, Murak's speed ability combined with his Swiftness Acceleration allows him to quickly join the battle, catching the enemy completely off guard.

As a cavalry commander, Murak was well aware of his own strengths and weaknesses. He would not rashly charge into the Crimson Rebels. Even if he could kill tens of thousands of enemy soldiers, the undead skeletons and Crimson mobs would keep coming, making the attrition pointless.

As long as the cavalry legion exists and keeps a close eye on the Lich King, the Lich King will be like a thorn in his side, and will not dare to launch a full-scale attack on the city. This is the best way to contain him.

Therefore, Murak made up his mind that unless the highland city was about to fall, they would continue to harass the enemy while waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

"Sir Knight, our patrol received news from Duke Peter in the eastern region. He and the Priest of Light escaped from the town of Horeng, but were seriously injured and are resting on a hill. They hope to receive our support."

Murak took out a map and had the patrolmen point out the other party's location. It wasn't far from Horeng Town, but unexpectedly it was a bit to the north.

That's understandable. Peter was seriously injured, and if he returned to the highland city by the same route, he would definitely be surrounded by a large army and wouldn't be able to escape. He could only choose an unexpected desolate hill to hide temporarily.

This puts Mlak in a dilemma; the current situation is difficult, but he doesn't have many options.

The cavalry harassed from the flanks, and the city on the high ground put up a stubborn resistance; their fate was sealed.

If we choose to rescue Peter, whether we can actually save him is another matter. The cavalry will definitely leave the highland city, and if Gaunt launches a fierce attack at this time, it will be hard to say whether we can hold out.

Even if Peter is rescued, it's uncertain how much strength the severely wounded Duke will retain. Perhaps seeing the Duke's pitiful state will ignite the fighting spirit of the Highlands, which would be manageable. However, if the garrison returns to the city and the commander-in-chief is in such a state, their morale will be low, and that would be disastrous. Besides, getting him back to the city would be a challenge as well.

"I heard that Duke Peter has found clues to the ruins of Cloud City, and the entire town of Horeng is bathed in holy light, with the undead and the blood rebels driven away!"

Since Gaunt's return, rumors about Cloud City have been flying everywhere, and each one seems incredibly real, as if an angel is about to descend.

But Murak believed that humanity should never expect God to save them; Elton needed to save himself first if he wanted to survive. Only when he truly stood firm would the angels' arrival be a natural consequence.

With the resurgence of the Cursed Tide and the gradual return of Level 7 units, angels will undoubtedly join the castle's ranks at some point. However, if all hopes are placed on angels, the kingdom may be utterly destroyed before even finding Cloud City.

"Send out a scout team to investigate the situation in the dead of night. The rest of us will hide in the cave, pretending that we have all left, to observe Gunter's movements before making a decision."

Hiding one's tracks under the enemy's watchful eyes is not easy, but Murak's cavalry was too fast. After quickly escaping the enemy's surveillance, they immediately disappeared beyond the horizon. The thieves thought that Murak had really fallen for the trap and immediately reported to Gaunt.

Upon hearing the news of the cavalry regiment's departure, Gaunt finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately mobilized the Crimson Army to besiege the city. A few siege engines were also managed to be transported over and sent to the front lines.

He personally led the Lich King to oversee the battle, and all the Crimson Marshals went to the front lines to attack. Anyone who disobeyed the order would be executed!

The horde of blood-red thugs charged toward the city walls. These berserk troops, baptized in blood and flesh, could only consume the enemy's arrows and absorb a wave of damage for the core legion that followed.

Dozens of divine cannons and crossbows were set up on the city walls of the highland city, all aimed at the rioters below, and began to slaughter them.

As a principality city that believes in light, it naturally has extraordinary ballistae like the Divine Sacrifice Cannon, which can inflict extra damage on heretics. If the Lich King is hit, he will only be left with a pile of broken bones.

Therefore, Gaunt did not send out the Lich King immediately, but instead stood in the rear and advanced slowly.

His plan was to wait for the main army to advance, then have the Crimson Griffins storm the city walls, followed by the Lich King pushing forward and unleashing a wide-ranging Death Cloud attack. At that point, he wouldn't care about friendly fire; he'd just indiscriminately attack any enemy. As long as they could capture the highland city, any sacrifice would be worthwhile.

However, before he could even begin to plan, a cavalry unit emerged from the forest to the south, sweeping along the moat with lightning speed and routing the Crimson Brutals and Blood Crusaders.

Although they have the Blood Heroes in command, they are far inferior to Murak and are no match for him.

Even though the heroes shouted desperately to stop the troops at the front from escaping, it was to no avail. One of the bandit heroes was even killed by Murak because too many of his men had been killed.

With spears piercing men's heads, the cavalrymen moved along the edge of the battle lines, leaving the enemy helpless.

"Advance! Kill them all!"

Enraged, Gaunt no longer cared about steady progress and ordered the Lich King's army to advance, unleashing a ranged attack with the Death Cloud.

But Murak was prepared. His high-speed knights, shielded by an atmospheric barrier, operated at the edge of the formation, ensuring that only a very small number of Lich Kings could bombard them, thus minimizing damage. Once a Lich King got close, Murak led his cavalry to retreat, giving the enemy no chance whatsoever.

Gaunt was helpless against the high-speed cavalry regiment and could only rage in frustration.

He ordered the Lich King's army to attack the Highland City, and at that moment a magical array rose within the city, with a dome of light enveloping the entire land and resisting the encroachment of the dark clouds of death.

【Holy Light Protection (Town Level 4 Defense Magic Circle): Creates a Holy Light Dome for a limited time, reducing the opponent's ranged attack by 50% and offering a 50% chance to purify curses. If the attacking enemy is a heretic, it reduces their damage by 30% (this applies within the protection's range, including ranged attacks). The protection effect weakens over time until it disappears.】

As the only Holy Duchy in the entire kingdom, it is clear that it can deploy some targeted magic arrays to deal with the undead and the Scarlet Legion.

Although the Highland City has no shortage of other magic circles, the protection of the Holy Light is more reassuring in the face of Gaunt's undead and blood army.

Even though the mutated Lich Kings are a more powerful force, and the Frost Parasite Curse can spread curses, they are truly helpless against the protection of the Holy Light. Their ranged attacks are weakened, their damage is further reduced, and with the added penalty for ranged attacks, even thousands of Lich Kings are utterly ineffective.

If a large army were to be stationed around the moat and breach the city walls, it could indeed limit the Highland City. However, with the ground forces destroyed by Murak, the Crimson Griffins alone cannot pose a threat to the city walls and will be quickly wiped out.

"It seems there are still powerful heroes in Highland City!"

"I swear to kill that bastard, Murak!"

After uttering a few harsh words, Gaunt withdrew his troops. Since he hadn't managed to trick the enemy, and with the cavalry harassing them, plus the level 4 defensive magic array, it was indeed going to be a tough fight.

He ordered the Bloodthirsty mobs to taunt and insult the cavalry, mocking the knights for their cowardice.

However, Murak didn't care about any of this, and even followed the Bloodthirsty mobs closely, slaughtering anyone who got too close. In the end, there was no one left to even shout for help.

“Tell Gaunt that he will be punished sooner or later for what he did to the people of Elton!”

"His death is imminent!"

(End of this chapter)