Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 480 The Prophet's Sword!
At this point in the battle, Gunter also considered retreating. He had originally fled here after being besieged, and wanted to break through the encirclement and inflict heavy damage on Kuraki's troops.

Now that things are beyond saving, he naturally won't think about it anymore; ensuring his own safety is the key.

Although Kuraki has just received a new batch of reinforcements, the enemy does not have any heroes specializing in griffins, so the Demon Hunter Griffin can only perform at an average level.

If you manage to escape in the chaos, the other side may not be able to catch you.

After a moment's thought, Gaunt immediately moved closer to the Crimson Legion, while the liches scattered around attacked the Knights like madmen, determined to hold them off.

After being repeatedly worn down and subjected to a massive bombardment by Ouling, his lich forces were reduced to only seven or eight hundred, barely enough to hold off the enemy's pursuers.

Gaunt led the remaining Scarlet Legion swiftly northeast, seemingly poised to encircle the mountaintop worshippers.

In fact, he was already preparing to retreat eastward. He did not choose to reunite with Katherine. In this situation, it would be better to escape separately, otherwise the enemy could simply pursue in one direction.

Rhodes never showed himself; he used his concealment artifact to stay hidden in the shadows. He would have made a run for it long ago if things had turned sour.

As for Ullr, the battle is almost over, and he still hasn't come. It seems he's not planning to provide support. The world of the undead is so dark; everyone has their own agenda. Unless you have overwhelming power, it's difficult to get other wizards or death knights to obey your commands.

Gaunt felt inexplicably aggrieved. He had killed humans and set fire to altars in the heart of the land, all in accordance with the instructions of the Artifact of Deception and the Grand Duke of the Dead. Perhaps there were some minor personal motives involved, but overall it was all for the sake of the ancient ruins. Now, however, he had ended up in such a predicament.

But this thought quickly faded. Gaunt realized that the trouble at hand was the most deadly. The undead had been treacherous and cunning for a long time. He himself had considered using Rhodes and Katherine as human shields. If he failed, he would complain, which would only make the wizards look down on him.

Ultimately, one must survive in order to have a chance for revenge.

Sweeping across the heartland and devouring over a dozen human heroes wasn't enough; next time, they needed to stockpile more provisions. Perhaps the borderlands between the fortresses and towers would be a good place. The kingdom was in chaos, but Kuraki was too sinister; they were best left alone.

Gaunt's massive skeleton continued to move, following its predetermined path, merging with the crimson army. His scattered bone fragments merged into the earth, reforming into a new body, only the size of a human child, with a very faint aura, almost imperceptible without close observation.

This magic originates from the Lich God's transformation. It allows one to sacrifice certain attributes and temporarily escape, making it an extremely sophisticated escape spell. Even advanced reconnaissance would find it difficult to detect unless the opponent keeps locking onto his figure and continuously observes the surroundings. Otherwise, it would be virtually impossible to find him.

Despite the Scarlet Legion and Skeleton Army still having over 3 troops, their commanders have all managed to escape using various methods. Only the undead could do something like this, since these subordinates are insignificant resources.

In the eyes of Cedrus, Forrest, and the others, Gaunt was preparing to encircle Snow Cliff; his massive skeletal body was engulfed in flames, and he was leading the Crimson Legion up the snow-capped peak. Therefore, they consolidated their forces, bringing their ranks closer together to prepare for the enemy's final attack.

The situation gradually became clear. Gaunt had been bombarded by the divine cannons and lost his ranged reinforcements. Now he could only gamble on a full-scale attack, joining forces with the skeleton army to eliminate the prayers.

However, Katherine seemed to be retreating. Although Cedrus wanted to intercept her, he was still entangled with the troops that were climbing to the top and could not free up his hands.

"Keep an eye on Katherine's movements, don't let him get away!"

Ouling also turned his attention to the Cold Night Skeleton Legion, waiting for the ballista's spell power to cool down before launching an attack on the enemy.

If we can destroy the skeleton army, we can free the Arcane Prayer, and then regain control of ranged firepower, which will be the end of the battle.

After using his teleportation ability, Murak was already struggling to hold on and could only retreat with his few dozen cavalrymen towards the hillside where Orling was. Of the more than 300 champion knights who started the battle, only a few dozen remained, showing that Murak had truly given his all.

Now that he is seriously injured and the enemy no longer poses a fatal threat, he can finally rest.

"Go ahead with confidence, and watch us annihilate this blood-red rebel army and undead!"

Goode, leading the remaining Wind Erosion Knights, launched another attack. He saw the Death Knight fleeing; Rhodes was indeed elusive and difficult to catch. If he could find his trail, it would be best to eliminate him. Enemies evolve rapidly, and he might gain some new ability next time.

Compared to other heroes, Rhodes is more eccentric. His Hand of Fire, aside from being the most effective counter to the Governing Arts, is a prime example. He grows stronger the stronger the enemy, and his personality has changed drastically, completely different from the previous successor to Salman—he seems like a completely different person.

If Rhodes had continued in his previous manner, he wouldn't have been a threat even if he had grown stronger. But now he's gradually becoming a threat.

The Wind-Eroded Cavalry reunited, their target the retreating Death Knights. However, the enemy paid no heed to these cavalrymen, leaving them all behind to infiltrate the Crimson Rebels and draw all the heroes' attention to the largest legion on the battlefield.

"The undead aren't good at fighting, but they're first-rate at escaping. We'll have to rely on you from now on!"

Forrest looked at Wayne, only to find the bandit with a serious expression, staring intently at the battlefield, and not bothering to reply.

"Gunter escaped; this skeleton is an illusion!"

Everyone else could be ignored, but Gaunt was the target the Duke had repeatedly instructed him to keep an eye on from the very beginning.

Furthermore, at the very beginning of the war, the Eye of Atmosphere had already located the battlefield. Cederos's target was also Gaunt, but the specific information transmitted was given to Wayne for him to monitor.

The moment the opponent unleashed the spell, Wayne sensed something was amiss. After all, his Advanced Scouting was enhanced by the Governing Arts, providing not only increased attack power and critical hit chance, but also additional detection of hidden enemies.

But Gaunt's secret technique was indeed quite impressive. After a few minutes, Wayne finally pinpointed the source of the problem: the giant skeleton was just for show, and Gaunt had already escaped.

"What? Gaunt escaped? No one can escape! I'll notify all the heroes immediately."

Forrest immediately contacted Orling and Goode in the west, telling them to ignore Snow Cliff, as it was just a feint attack and the enemy's commanders had all fled.

Upon hearing this news, Ouling was also taken aback. He immediately adjusted the angle of the turret and attacked the Crimson Army.

No matter how Gaunt left, she can't have gone far now. As long as we bombard the area and wipe out all the enemies, we can find Gaunt's trail.

Goode also gave up on pursuing Rhodes. The opponent was as slippery as an eel and didn't stay with Death Knight at all. At this stage, without Crimson Knight, it would be a bit difficult to move freely in and out of the army.

They all focused their attention on Gaunt, because everyone knew that the Angel Alliance was only missing the Prophet's Sword, and Gaunt was carrying this treasure. If they could kill him, they could collect the complete set of treasures.

The Angel Alliance is crucial to the movement of level 7 units, so it's a must-have.

Under another round of bombardment from the divine sacrificial cannons, the blood-red army suffered unprecedented losses, and a large number of soldiers began to panic and scattered and fled.

With most of the Blood Marshals dead and Gaunt not truly commanding the legions, their rout was to be expected.

The burning skeleton, which had been built up by absorbing the attributes of the divine sacrifice, was blasted into pieces by the divine sacrifice cannon, leaving not even ashes, but only a ground full of ghostly flames burning.

By this point, anyone with a modicum of common sense would know something was wrong. With such powerful attributes and commanding a large number of troops, Gaunt could not possibly die easily even if he were bombarded head-on by ballistae.

The question is, where did he run off to?

The enemy was nowhere to be seen on the ground, so they had most likely gone underground. Undead are very good at moving underground, which makes sense.

To this end, Forrest used an earthquake, which caused the entire snow mountain to shake, and even the tunnels were almost completely destroyed.

"Over there! I'll go after them!"

Wayne discovered the movement underground and immediately led the Dream Thieves in pursuit. Gaunt was extremely cunning, using his teammates and his own army as bait, and finally chose to flee in the southeast direction. No one expected him to dare to run in that direction.

As the three undead heroes fled in different directions, the enemy army naturally crumbled without a fight. Everywhere were fleeing, blood-red rebels, shouting and yelling, some kneeling and begging for mercy, hoping to surrender and be spared. However, the Kuraki Legion gave them no chance, swiftly cutting down their enemies without leaving a single one alive.

None of the rebels who managed to break through to this place with Gaunt were innocent. Their hands were stained with the blood of their own people in the heartland, and they had used the lives of their comrades to advance their careers. They were utterly wicked, and killing them would have been easier.

As for the undead legion? There's no need to say more; these skeletons are a desecration of corpses, and their ultimate fate is complete annihilation.

Within half an hour, the battlefield fell into dead silence. Nearly 6 members of the Crimson Rebels and the Undead Alliance were all annihilated; not a single one escaped judgment. Forrest began to busy himself with the reincarnation and rebirth of Kuraki's troops, restoring their lives.

The battle losses weren't too great; the main losses were in the Arcane Prayer and Wind Erosion Cavalry. The remaining Golden Men and Tower troops were negligible, as these low-level units weren't worth wasting mana on and could be recruited later.

The Wind-Eroded Cavalry, in the subsequent battles, chased and hacked down the Crimson Rebels, recovering a considerable number of lives. Those who fell in battle, however, could not be resurrected; troops killed by the Death Knights could not be brought back to life. Approximately 300 Arcane Prayers died, but fortunately, their low health meant they recovered quickly through reincarnation, so it was not a major issue.

In this way, the main force of the Crimson Rebels was completely wiped out, and even the undead army behind them was eliminated, so the heartland was temporarily safe.

The rest depends on whether the pursuing forces can bring down the culprit!

……

On a frigid, icy mountain path, a snow leopard was running desperately. It seemed to have eaten something dirty and was a little agitated, frantically charging into the distance.

If one possessed X-ray vision, one could see a tiny skeleton curled up inside the snow leopard's stomach—it was Gaunt.

He originally thought that he had managed to escape undetected for at least half an hour, but in just a few minutes, Wayne saw through his plan and chased after him in the direction he had fled.

Fortunately, he knew his opponent was skilled in reconnaissance and did not use ordinary escape methods. Instead, he used divine power to condense his body into delicious bones, luring animals to devour them. Then he concealed his own magical energy fluctuations, making it impossible for his enemy to pursue him.

With so many wild beasts in the snow-capped mountains, even with Wayne's keen eyesight, he wouldn't be able to find any trace of him.

To the southeast, he had a thousand ways to escape this dangerous area. No one could have imagined that he wouldn't flee towards the ancient ruins, but instead chose the most dangerous route.

Just now during the battle, Rhodes revealed that Silvertop City possesses advanced reconnaissance buildings covering a vast area, which is why it can always seize the initiative and grasp the overall situation.

Gaunt had been wondering why such a small target as Duke Peter could be found, and now he understood why.

Therefore, he dared not go north, otherwise he would be walking into a trap.

Just as Gunter was feeling smug, he suddenly noticed that the scenery before him had opened up. The snow leopard had crossed mountains and valleys and finally reached the warm mountain area. If it ran a little further, it would probably be able to get close to the human village.

When the Kuraki Legion gathers at the border, he will have penetrated deep into Kuraki territory. The enemy can search him thoroughly!
However, before he could be happy for long, a large army suddenly appeared in the snow leopard's field of vision. Densely packed vampires flew in the sky, seemingly searching for something.

Gunter's heart tightened. Liliana's vampire, one of Kuraki's hidden hands, he never expected to encounter her here.

It seems the other side also received orders to hunt him down, and they've laid a wide net to hunt him down.

Gunter was quite puzzled. The undead clearly had three commanders, so why wasn't the enemy chasing the other two, but instead relentlessly pursuing him? Could it be that they had truly killed too many civilians from the heartland, making the humans hate them? But Su Mu wasn't exactly a saint either; when had he ever cared about opening up the heartland?

"Don't get caught!"

The snow leopard moved slowly, continuing its journey southeast. During this time, a vampire count spotted the animal, but since the area was near a snowfield, the appearance of a snow leopard was not unusual and therefore did not arouse any suspicion.

As a wild animal, the snow leopard is extremely fast, and coupled with its head-on collision with the vampire, it quickly escaped the search.

After a series of jolting, Gunter was overjoyed, but suddenly an explosion occurred, tearing the snow leopard to pieces. He was thrown dozens of meters away and fell to the ground.

When he looked up again, he saw Su Mu and Liliana standing in front of him, smiling and staring at him.

"What a cunning fellow! You almost got away. Luckily, Wayne pointed out the direction, and I changed my skills, otherwise it would have been really difficult to catch you!"

After Liliana dealt with the skeleton army blocking their way, Su Mu wanted to go and support the main force, but he heard that the main battle had ended, Gaunt had escaped, and Wayne sent a message asking them to cooperate in intercepting him.

This was indeed somewhat unexpected, considering that so many elite legions and undead heroes chosen by the gods were defeated before he even arrived.

However, upon closer reflection, it makes sense. Kuraki Heroes have reached a certain stage of development; they are all battle-hardened elites, renowned heroes among humanity even without relying on governance skills. Most importantly, they cooperate and unite as one, having previously fought against all odds, possessing exceptional resilience. This gives them a psychological advantage against the Crimson Rebels and the undead.

In future battles, Su Mu even felt that he wouldn't need to lift a finger; the heroes would be victorious on their own.

This battle is a good example of how they have all become capable individuals.

"Duke Kuraki, spare my life! I had no choice!"
Seeing the kingdom in peril, I sought to gain the support of the undead legion by lifting the curse, but who could have imagined that they would betray me, launch a surprise attack, and seize control of my soul.

I was manipulated into committing a terrible crime, but my heart remains loyal to the Kingdom! Please, save me!

Gunter knelt on the ground and slowly moved toward Su Mu, his soul fire emitting a pleading sound.

"I know the secrets of many ancient ruins, and I am also aware of the destruction of Cloud City. I still have value if I stay."

"If you can bring me back to the capital, the royal family will reward you!"

Su Mu coldly stared at Gunter, whose body had turned into a dwarf and whose thoughts were so despicable. How many more times did he want to use this little trick?
Su Mu waved his hand, and a large number of vampire princes descended, seized Gaunt's skeleton, and began the execution.

Gunter suddenly pulled a short dagger from his back, the Prophet's Sword, which was afflicted with the Frost Curse. He had originally intended to get close to Su Mu and deliver a fatal blow, hoping to escape in the chaos if he could severely injure him.

But Su Mu didn't give him a chance at all. With so many vampires, why would he need to do it himself? Besides, his signature skill wasn't melee combat.

With a single hand, lightning struck, causing the heavens to tremble. A Titan's Arrow descended from outer space, striking Gaunt on the head and instantly shattering forty percent of his skeleton. The remaining portion was consumed by the vampire prince, rendering him completely incapable of resistance.

The princes presented the half-eaten head to the all-powerful monarch.

"You've been marked by the divine artifact; you're destined to die a horrible death!"

"I'll be waiting for you in the underworld!"

Hearing Gunter still yelling, Liliana couldn't help but chime in: "Shut up!"

Then, with a heavy blow, Gaunt's skull was completely shattered, and his soul fire scattered. The vampire queen then drew out the darkened dagger, cleansed it with the power of her source blood, and temporarily restored its glory.

The sword is a full two meters long, entirely silver, with a powerful prophetic stone inlaid on its hilt, radiating a dazzling light.

[Prophet's Sword (Tier 4 Treasure): Hero Attack, Defense, Spell Power, and Knowledge +5 each. One of the six components of the Angel Alliance combination treasure.]

Liliana knelt on one knee, raised the sword with both hands, and presented it to the Duke.

"Great conqueror, only the Prophet's Sword is worthy of your glorious achievements!"

He took the Prophet's Sword from Liliana, raised it with one arm, and commanded his army. Wherever his gaze fell, the vampire princes all knelt in worship. Even without his disguise as the Night King, the undead considered him a true king.

The Vampire Queen submits, ruling over the human race, the chosen undead are slain, and the Angel Alliance is secured.

Defend the northern border, fight against the empire, pacify the ruins, suppress the rebels, and dominate the world.

Even with Su Mu's steady mindset, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

But our current achievements are not enough!

(End of this chapter)