Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 476 Interception
Ivan's army encountered resistance from undead heroes skilled in ghost traps and plague tents.

After being intercepted by Wayne last time, Rhodes put his learning to good use and borrowed a hero from the Ancient Ruins who was good at setting traps, specifically to intercept Kuraki's army.

Trap magic comes in many forms, including those that enhance damage, those that slow down enemies, and those that restrict movement to specific areas.

Wayne's Binding Spell provides an all-around boost. His special magic is primarily damage-based, but he also possesses considerable ranged defensive capabilities and control effects.

The ghostly traps before us are different; they combine mind magic with sleep restrictions, making them very difficult to deal with.

【Ghostly Shadows (Special Level 3 Magic): Traps the enemy into an illusion from which they cannot escape for a short time. It also continuously emits ghostly sounds, causing the enemy to fall into a deep sleep, only to be awakened by an attack.】

Ivan's strongest swordsman legion was trapped in a gray forest, surrounded by fog, making it impossible to see the road in the distance.

Even with their lightning-fast attacks, the swordsmen couldn't escape this area; beneath the giant trees lay countless skeletons, as if they had arrived at the edge of the underworld.

Soon, white ghostly figures emerged from the thick fog, crouching behind the swordsmen and softly calling their names. Before long, the strongest swordsmen collapsed one after another.

After the hundred swordsmen fell, a large number of enemies appeared from the thick fog and approached Ivan and his men.

Just then, the strongest swordsman sprang up from the ground and attacked the enemy with lightning speed, severing the head of the one who surrounded him with a swift stroke of his blade.

Surprisingly, the heads they held in their hands were all made of straw. The so-called enemies were all scarecrows with clown smiles painted on their faces, mocking the swordsman.

"This bastard!"

Ivan lit the scarecrow and chopped at the trees several times, but he couldn't break free from the illusion.

"The enemy's traps are illusionary. Although the strongest swordsman can withstand the mental magic within, he cannot escape the illusion."

Ivan walked for a while through the mist and discovered that the terrain had also been altered. If he had gone any further, he might have been separated from his unit. It was only because the strongest swordsmen were immune to mind magic that they were attacked; otherwise, they would likely have already been ambushed.

"We have no choice but to contact His Excellency the Duke!"

……

When Su Mu received the message, he also encountered the Cold Night Skeleton Soldiers' interception. However, under the powerful ranged attacks of the Arcane Prayer, the skeleton soldiers were no match for them and were all reduced to fragments.

However, the battle delayed their journey, and they gradually fell behind Goode's pace. If Ivan, who was trapped, was included, Kuraki's army was essentially divided into three parts.

The reason why the enemy's trap-specialized heroes failed to intercept Goode was twofold: firstly, they did not expect their speed to be so fast, and secondly, Goode's cavalry was marching in a dream, making them impossible to stop.

As for Su Mu, he is most likely wary of the attack power of ranged units, fearing that he will be unable to escape once the trap is broken.

Finally, I chose the strongest swordsman with mental magic resistance. I didn't expect him to be lethal; I just wanted to trap him.

"It seems the undead army is preparing for a full-scale attack!"

The enemy was willing to sacrifice skeletons and specially brought in heroes to set traps, hoping they would arrive later.

No one could withstand the Mystic Prayer, but due to the delay caused by the battle, it would take Su Mu and his group at least half a day to arrive.

Moreover, once the battle begins, he can no longer use his travel skills at full speed and must switch to his governing specialization in advance.

After a moment's thought, he decided to use Advanced Air Elemental Mastery, Astrologer, and Soul Arrow. This was still the most suitable playstyle for Arcane Prayer, and Kuraki was the only one who could use it. Moreover, Titan's Arrow could deal extra damage, making it the most versatile combination.

He mastered Astral Intelligence, so he no longer needed to worry about his ordinary magic being consumed too quickly. Even in a stalemate, with the support of his intelligence skills, he could use Reincarnation to continuously revive Arcane Prayers.

The prerequisite is that you cannot be controlled by the "Fire Stealing Rule" technique, otherwise you will lose everything.

Although Ivan had already explained the characteristics of the Hand of Fire, Su Mu felt it was best to be cautious. Any skill involving the Deception Artifact was extremely effective against him.

Therefore, arriving at the battlefield a little later, allowing Cedrus and Goode to pressure the opponent's last resort, was actually a safer approach. He had great faith in the heroes he had personally selected; with them on the field, the opponent wouldn't be able to win the battle easily.

……

The battle for the snowy mountains has begun, and the first to be taken down are the Crimson Brutals. In the eyes of the undead, these humans are even less useful than skeleton soldiers; they are the perfect target for depleting the Arcane Prayer's ammunition.

The Night Fog Skeletons used the snowy environment to sneak up on the mountaintop. Their first opponent was the golden army led by Vera.

Her electric current spells, combined with the lightning core of the Arcane Golden Man, greatly enhanced her lightning magic. A single chain lightning strike could kill hundreds of skeleton soldiers, making her extremely terrifying.

Although Katherine's Chosen ability can steal unit attributes, it cannot increase health. Her Chain Lightning jumps back and forth, just enough to shatter the last remaining life of the skeleton soldiers.

However, this is contingent on the Arcane Prayer providing suppressive fire to prevent the number of skeletons around the golden figures from accumulating. Otherwise, these hundreds of golden figures alone would be no match for the tidal wave of skeletons.

Vera had just electrocuted a group of skeletons, and another group immediately crawled up. Enraged, she cursed, "These skeleton soldiers are endless! Have they emptied out the entire heartland?"

Seeing the skeletons covering the entire snowfield, it was simply outrageous.

Vera had explored some graveyards in the Arcane Empire before, but she had never encountered a real army of skeletons.

After joining Kuraki, Vera witnessed firsthand what high-intensity warfare truly meant.

Leaving aside the previous hill battles, this deployment is somewhat like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

These few hundred men, less than a thousand strong, dared to intercept the Crimson Rebels? As a result, they were surrounded by the Crimson Rebels and the undead. Most importantly, Sederos remained calm and showed no intention of retreating. He deployed his forces to attack, and for a time, no one could get close.

Vera had previously thought that Cedros was a hero with divine blood, and that he was relatively close to her, but she never expected his strength to be so extraordinary.

With the Astrologer's buff, the Arcane Prayer unleashed a single spell cannonball, instantly killing any enemy unit, even Scarlet Crusaders and Red Priests. While Cedrus's stats didn't usually seem that strong, the power of his spells was terrifyingly high at this moment.

The Silvercaps City troops brought supply wagons, and although the Arcane Prayers were suffering heavy losses, they could barely keep up with the replenishment. If the enemy continued this piecemeal tactic, they might actually be able to hold out.

If one Sydros is this strong, there are several heroes like Kuraki, not to mention their Duke Sumu.

Vera's mindset underwent another subtle shift. She even wondered if she could also achieve merit and gain the appreciation of Cederos or even Sumu, thus becoming such a powerful hero.

With hope comes motivation. Chain lightning continued to strike, repelling the approaching blood-red griffins and cold-night skeletons. She was determined to fight the lord to the end.

With the soldiers of Silvertop City fighting valiantly, the battlefield was temporarily at a standstill, and neither the Crimson Legion nor the Undead Legion was able to climb the cliff.

Of course, this is related to the insufficient troop strength currently deployed. Rhodes and his men are all observing and waiting to see if there are any new developments.

Seeing this, Gunter knew that if he didn't spend some money, the other two foxes probably wouldn't go all out.

"Where has Su Mu's army gone?"

"Su Mu's Mystic Prayer Legion is being blocked by the Frost Night Skeleton Soldiers, but their movement is still swift and they will arrive in just half a day; Ivan's strongest swordsman legion, on the other hand, is being held up by a trap and will probably be a long way off."

If no pressure is applied, once Su Mu arrives, he and Rhodes and Catherine might abandon him and retreat, working together from within and without.

"We can't delay any longer! Send all the Scarlet Legion troops forward! For every Arcane Prayer killed, I'll give 10 gold coins; for every person who climbs the snow mountain, I'll give 500 gold coins!"

"The Lich King, form ranks and advance! Prepare for ranged fire suppression!"

"Tell Rod that if he doesn't take action soon, Su Mu will come after him, and he'll have no choice but to flee like a stray dog!"

As the blood-red rebels and the undead were all surrounded, the entire snow-capped mountain was dyed red.

(End of this chapter)