Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 486 Level 5 Magic Guild and Arcane Tower
The Battle Naga Queen is incredibly powerful, even rivaling the Wind Erosion Cavalry, but she remains a formidable opponent, requiring further research to improve.

Silvertop City currently has too many projects that need to be studied, and the Armory is not even in the top priority in terms of importance or urgency.

If he had sufficient research capabilities, Sederos would still invest them in simpler projects or mobile castles first. After all, Silvertop City isn't a traditional city that mass-produces troops, and the Battle Naga Queen can't accumulate troops like Kuraki.

"Is there any way to increase research efforts? With the current number of units and buildings, it's still a drop in the ocean!"

Sedros consulted Forrest, but Forrest could only shake his head: "Research is the Tower's specialty. I can only work on the construction aspect. If you can obtain the blueprints for specialized research, I can build it."

Upon hearing Forrest's words, Sederlos was immediately inspired: "Don't build a Level 5 Magic Guild yet. I'll go find a mentor. The Throne of Wisdom has the strongest research capabilities; they must have some special methods."

Of course, the Throne of Wisdom wouldn't help them for no reason. The previous transaction was completed, everyone got what they needed, and no one owed anyone anything.

Although Cedrus and Beatrice had a good personal relationship, this was a major matter between nations, and neither of them could afford to sacrifice their national interests.

Before the meeting, Su Mu specifically asked Saidelos to stay and give him some instructions.

Therefore, the new meeting took place a few days after the completion of the Magic Castle. The master and apprentice met on a secluded snow mountain, and Beatrice opened her mouth with a secret.

"The Void Cult has more Titans than we thought. They have already contacted the Isidore Empire and the Emerald City, preparing to join forces against Elton and force Sumu to hand over the Angel Alliance."

Sederos was not too surprised after hearing this, and said calmly, "His Excellency the Duke said long ago that Somra's death did not awaken the Void God Cult."

"If they want to fight, then let them fight! Fight until the Arcane Empire ceases to exist!"

Beatrice frowned upon hearing such arrogant remarks.

"Without the Angel Alliance, the surrounding countries might just sit back and watch the tigers fight, and they wouldn't really want Elton to perish."

But Su Mu has suddenly appeared out of nowhere and now possesses the strongest combination of treasures. He wants to replace towers, fortresses, strongholds and outposts. They are very likely to join forces to deal with Elton and make the kingdom abandon Kuraki.

"If you fight alone, the situation will be quite unfavorable."

Upon hearing this, Sederlos smiled and asked in return, "In these several major battles, when have we ever had a powerful ally?"

The Void God Cult is leading the charge, excellent! We'll gather all our forces and fight them. At worst, we'll all perish together and see who gives up first!

Beatrice glanced at her stubborn disciple. She knew that Su Mu must have made this decision, but Cedros's eyes were incredibly firm, indicating that he was determined to carry it out to the end.

She used to have a bad impression of Kuraki, thinking it was a highly centralized city, but now she has a different opinion. In times of war, perhaps it is only by unifying thinking that one can be invincible.

"If that time really comes, the Throne of Wisdom will not remain unscathed; we may very well become its enemies!"

Despite the intense internal strife between the two major religions, they would still unite closely to resist external enemies should there be a risk of national annihilation.

Sederos looked at his mentor seriously and nodded: "I'm serious, mentor. No one can stop the Kuraki Legion."

I hope this never happens, which is why I came to you – to nip any danger in the bud.

Beatrice understood a little, and she asked in surprise, "Is Su Mu really planning to turn Silvertop City into a mobile castle?"
That would consume an enormous amount of resources; even an empire wouldn't dare attempt it again.

Cedrus remained silent, but his expression said it all.

"Silver-topped City needs to expedite the research of its architectural blueprints. The Cult of Wisdom may raise any requests you may have."

Beatrice waved her hand: "Impossible, this is a top secret of the Church of Wisdom, it would never be given to humans."

Sedros replied, "Nothing is impossible. As long as the exchange is valuable enough, the person behind you will definitely agree."

"Impossible! This is one of the foundations of the rise of the Cult of Wisdom. Even the Cult of Void cannot control it, let alone give it to you."

"What if it's this?"

Sederos opened the treasure box, which was filled with lightning and extremely powerful magical energy.

When Beatrice saw the treasure inside, she was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth. Even with her vivid imagination, she couldn't believe that Kuraki would exchange it for architectural blueprints.

"Titan's Arrow!"

It's a combination treasure that can rival the Angel Alliance, and it's always been worn by Su Mu himself.

Although Kuraki has acquired more powerful combination treasures, he still doesn't think he has enough, since he has so many heroes that there aren't enough to go around.

After equipping the Angel Alliance, Su Mu could hand over the Titan's Arrow to his heroes, thus gaining another powerful general who would be better able to handle the surrounding situation.

However, Kuraki was actually willing to hand over this treasure. How much courage must he have had?
Beatrice believed that it would be extremely difficult for any faction to gather all the Titan's Arrows, and Kuraki must have put in a tremendous amount of effort, yet he was now willing to trade them away, which showed that he was determined to obtain the research building.

"The Cult of Wisdom's exploration of the Void Ruins is nearing its end. If they can equip the Titan's Arrow, they will gain the final advantage."

"I can't make that decision myself; I need to go back and discuss it with the leader of the academy."

It has to be said, Beatrice was tempted; no tower hero could resist Titan's Arrow. As Cedrus said, nothing is off-limits if the price is right.

"Then I'll leave it to you. Kuraki can offer more than just Titan's Arrow. If you have any other needs, please feel free to ask. We've already shown our sincerity."

This time, Beatrice didn't refute it. After all, if she could bring out the Titan's Arrow, the others were minor issues.

……

While Sederlos was negotiating, Silvertop City had already built a level 4 magic guild.

[Level 4 Magic Guild: Added 1 Level 4 spell.]

Resources required: 1000 gold coins, 5 logs, 5 raw stones, and 8 different rare resources.

Special Effect (Advanced Civil Engineering): Further enhances research speed and efficiency (30%).

Additional resources: 10000 gold coins, 25 logs, 25 gems, and 15 of each rare resource.

Kuraki's need for magic is not high now, so instead of adding extra magic, he chose to fix the increase in research speed, which will continue to improve the research speed.

The magic produced is a counterattack, and the library gains Chain Lightning.

【Counterattack (Level 4 Air Element Magic): After a selected friendly unit is attacked, it gains an additional spell counterattack ability for a short period of time. The duration is affected by the spell power.

Advanced Air Element Mastery: All allied units receive a buff, gaining two additional instances of spell counterattack ability for a short period after being attacked. The duration is affected by spell power.

This magic is still very useful in large-scale battles. Although Gale has the effect of turning the tables to some extent, magic can target a wider range of friendly forces and can be cast after the Exorcism Spell, so it still has strategic value.

Chain Lightning (Level 4 Air Elemental Magic): Strikes 4 units, dealing half damage to each unit, and dealing (Curse Power x 40) + 25 damage to the first target.

Advanced Air Element Mastery: Strikes four units consecutively, dealing half damage to each subsequent unit, and dealing (Curse Power x 40) + 100 damage to the first target.

Chain Lightning was Somra's signature spell, a powerful air elemental magic, which can be seen as a complement to Kuraki's current abilities. It's a good choice for heroes without academic skills.

What Kuraki was really waiting for was level 5 magic, a magic guild that only towers were worthy of. In the entire Hero World, only a few forces could possess a level 5 magic guild without advancing to a higher-level city.

Even the capital city of Elton doesn't have a level 5 magic guild, which shows how rare it is.

However, in order to study the progress of the construction, they were still waiting for news from Sederlos, because this key building was said to be associated with a level 5 magic guild.

Su Mu stood atop the watchtower, gazing out over the northern snowfields. As far as the eye could see, everything was pure white, the world pristine beyond compare.

Forrest stood behind him, accompanying the Duke as he admired the magnificent landscape.

"Such a magnificent and majestic northern frontier, yet Salman abandoned cities and lands, and the kingdom ignored it. He was truly short-sighted."

When did the kingdom fall into crisis? It began when the North fell, and the Isildur Empire swept in, set foot in the heartland, and launched a fierce attack on the capital. The Arcane Empire to the north, which had initially tried to mediate, couldn't resist its greed and wanted to divide the land, so it also joined the invasion.

Even neighboring countries, including the Emerald Lands, felt that Eldon was beyond saving, believing that the North was in ruins and the kingdom was powerless to resist foreign enemies.

"When your strongest defenses are breached, everyone will see your weaknesses!"

Forrest understood Su Mu's idea. The reason for building Silver Top City was to expand the defensive gateway to the north and keep enemies out. Otherwise, if the Xilin Plain became a battlefield, they might be able to hold onto one city or one place, but the rest of the region would definitely be destroyed. Even if Cang Mu was strong, and one city was worth several, it would be difficult for them to develop.

The best solution would naturally be to have a mobile city wall that is always at the forefront, and Silver Dome City was created for this purpose.

"But isn't the price of Titan's Arrow a bit too high? This is a combination of treasures that we've worked so hard to collect. Is it really worth exchanging it for a building blueprint?"

Even if the Void God Cult unites with other forces, we are not afraid at all. We can disperse them first, and then we can plan and study accordingly.

Su Mu didn't answer immediately, but just gazed at the dark clouds in the far distance. Snowflakes fell one by one, piling up on the mountaintop and quickly forming avalanches, bringing disaster to the mountains. This scene happened every day on the snowfield, but this was only what was visible; countless others went unseen.

He turned to Forrest, looked him straight in the eye, and said his thoughts: "To get the best and most needed items, you have to offer the things that the other party desires most, the very best of them."

If we don't value these things, would we find the religion inherited from the Throne of Wisdom rare?

Although they are adversaries, they are not completely hostile. But what will the Church of the Void think if they take the Titan's Arrow back? After Su Mu said this, Forrest thought about it carefully and agreed. However, it's easier said than done. When it comes to actually paying for it, it still hurts: "With 3000 gold coins, taking out 10 wouldn't feel like a problem. But now I only have 30 gold coins, yet I have to take out 10 for a trade. This kind of determination is not something an ordinary person can make."

Su Mu nodded: "Ordinary people are unwilling to take out their most treasured possessions unless they are in dire straits, and you and I are no exception."

But the storm will not stop; it will only intensify. Even though we have largely repelled our surrounding enemies, they still possess formidable strength.

The ancient ruins contain artifacts of deception, the Arcane Empire possesses a divine Titan, and Isildur has gathered all its forces, ready to launch a counterattack on the Hills at any moment.

Most dangerously, the natural disasters continue to spread. Cedrus, observing the stars, told me that an extremely terrifying force is descending from the east, perhaps in a few years, perhaps in a year.

We are surrounded by enemies on all sides, and there's no time to develop our strength. We must seize every opportunity to improve our power in order to survive.

Since Cedrus is a senior astrologer, his statement is highly credible.

But Forrest couldn't understand where the enemy came from. Could it be the calamity that was corrupting Isildur? But with the enemy blocking the way, there seemed to be no need to rush.

In fact, Su Mu had a sense of crisis after killing Gaunt and witnessing the burning altar.

In his memory, the War of the Timbers had lasted at least a century, and even with his flapping wings and altering the timeline, it shouldn't have been this intense. He even wondered how Elton had managed to hold out before.

As he became more and more integrated into the world of heroes, many of his previous memories became blurred.

Perhaps, some deity has taken notice of this place?
Su Mu was unsure, but he sensed that danger was drawing ever closer. Cang Mu could no longer proceed slowly as planned, but had to develop at the fastest possible speed.

"The Titan's Arrow is indeed precious, but the Cult of Wisdom is only keeping it temporarily. Once I defeat the Cult of the Void, they will have no choice but to return the treasure."

"If you still feel it's a pity, I'll tell you a story."

In the chaotic past, there once was a king who stormed the capital of an old kingdom, plundered its treasures, and occupied its harem, lingering there for a long time. But he now faces a powerful enemy, an enemy he cannot defeat at present.

Therefore, he had no choice but to relinquish the capital, retreat to his own territory, and secretly develop his power while waiting for an opportunity.

The capital was his most coveted treasure, yet he willingly relinquished it even though he had it in his grasp, all so that he could truly conquer this territory a few years later!

Forrest wasn't exactly a learned man, and he racked his brains but couldn't recall any such king in the world of heroes. Yet, he still asked a question: "Why didn't that powerful enemy take the opportunity to kill him? Instead, he let him develop in secret!"

"You're right, why not kill him? Arcane, Isildur, Emerald Land, didn't they want to kill me in the first place?"

They couldn't bear to part with their most precious possessions, unwilling to let jade clash with stone, which has made it impossible to target Kuraki alone now!

Forrest scratched his head. He already understood the Duke's meaning: act when the time is right. In the struggle for supremacy, one shouldn't be afraid to take risks for great things or be unwilling to part with small gains. What difference would it make if he gave up the Titan's Arrow? As long as Kuraki develops, he will have many more combination treasures.

"Your decision will definitely be Kuraki's final decision, and I will support you unconditionally."

In fact, as long as Su Mu made up his mind, Forrest would never have objected. He was just being stingy and greedy, and he was also a little reluctant to spend the money, which is why he offered a few words of advice.

Su Mu would never have said so much to other heroes, but Forrest was different; he was the hero he relied on most. If one day Forrest were no longer with Cangmu, his son would inherit the title, and Forrest would act as regent. Therefore, Su Mu was happy to enhance his decision-making abilities.

Just as the two were chatting, a magical letter arrived at the top of the tower.

“Sederos is back. He has obtained the top-tier architectural blueprints and resources for the Throne of Wisdom, which can be used to build the Arcane Tower.”

……

"No wonder no one can replicate the wonders of the Arcane Throne. Even with the blueprints, without their exclusive materials, it's impossible to build. This is a perfect structure that would require more than a dozen generations of alchemists to research and succeed. I admire it!"

When Forrest saw the blueprints, the related structures, and the resources required, he was awestruck.

Arcane Tower (Level 5 Magic Guild Joint Building): Allows you to specify a research topic, tripling the original research speed. The target can be changed once a year. Can be used to research Level 6 Magic Guilds, higher-level castles, and legendary buildings.

First-tier Arcane Ring: Research Speed ​​x3, Resources: 400000 Gold, 80 of various rare resources, 30 Alchemy Dust, 1 Philosopher's Stone, 1 Arcane Star Chart, 1 Forgotten Tablet.

Second-tier Arcane Ring: Research Speed ​​x6, Resources: 800000 Gold, 130 of various rare resources, 50 Alchemy Dust, 1 Sage's Gem, 1 Arcane Star Chart, 1 Corner of the Obelisk.

Three-layered Olympic rings: ...

It cannot be enhanced by advanced Civil Engineering skills, nor by Alchemy skills. However, construction requires the combined power of advanced Civil Engineering and high-level Alchemy (or equivalent Tower Hero skills) to complete.

Prerequisite buildings: Level 4 Castle (minimum), Level 5 Magic Guild, Library

The Arcane Tower is not just a joint building, but a cornerstone to legend. Possessing it gives you hope of building a level 6 magic guild.

Of course, the materials here are extremely rare, especially the exclusive materials later on. Su Mu only recognizes the Philosopher's Stone and the Mysterious Star Chart, which are the materials needed to construct the Mysterious Sanctuary and are extremely precious.

In comparison, Arcane Sanctuary only requires one item, while Arcane Tower requires three items even at the first stage.

When Su Mu saw the Obelisk Corner, the exclusive material for the second-tier Arcane Ring, he even felt a slight impulse. As expected of the Arcane Empire, they actually possessed such a treasure.

From this perspective, the lost legends are not entirely without clues; they are simply too precious and have been hidden by various factions.

The research speed of the Arcane Tower has been increased, but unlike the previous efficiency increase (linear addition), it is a multiplicative increase on top of the original increase, which is terrifying.

It combines all the enhancement modes of Silvertop City: Level 4 Magic Guild, Wind Tunnel Acceleration, Hero Bonus, Void Power Array (under construction, up to 8), Divine Monster Lord (currently around 20%), and Mage Tower 100%. Finally, it is further enhanced by the Arcane Tower, achieving a terrifying 30x boost.

If a high-level mage's basic research level is 1 per person per day, then an arcane mage's is 3 times that of a regular mage. If 500 arcane mages are placed to conduct research simultaneously, they will have 45000 research points per day.

Even though the Void Teleportation City requires 200 million research points, Silvertop City was able to build it in just over 40 days, which is simply insane.

And research giants like the Forbidden Library are no longer completely untouchable.

Of course, such a terrifying research value is primarily due to the bonuses from various buildings in Silvertop City; Forrest and Sederlos deserve much of the credit. In fact, even the Throne of Wisdom would need several years to research a project of this scale.

Larger forces may be able to gather more researchers, but the difficulty increases as time goes on, and efficiency will drop sharply.

In particular, the mobile magic city requires a lot of resources and has strict requirements. After a long period of attempts, the Arcane Empire never rebuilt it.

Silver Peak City, however, is different. It perfectly combines construction and alchemy, transforming it into an aerial fortress. This will be a trump card that changes the course of the Kuraki War.

If anyone dares to besiege us again, we will send out Silvertop City flying units.

"Titan's Arrow was given to the Throne of Wisdom, and in exchange, they gave me the blueprints and the resources for the second level of the Arcane Ring."

It must be said that Sederlos was far too familiar with the Arcane Empire. Even when the throne wanted to exchange items from the first level, he disagreed and insisted on exchanging the Titan's Arrow for the best resources.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get started!"

Forrest cast a spell, adding another layer to the towering Magic Guild, the dazzling tower almost reaching the clouds, the air filled with intense magical energy, giving it a sacred feel.

[Level 5 Magic Guild: Added 1 Level 5 spell.]

Resources required: 1000 gold coins, 5 logs, 5 raw stones, and 10 different rare resources.

Special Effect (Advanced Civil Engineering): Further enhances research speed and efficiency (50%), and can construct a combined building (selected Arcane Tower).

Additional resources: 100000 gold coins, 55 logs, 55 gems, and 25 of each rare resource.

It's really burning money. Even with Su Mu's extravagance, he was still taken aback by the scale of resource consumption. Fortunately, these buildings can't be completed in a day and must be built step by step, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to come up with so many resources.

But no matter how difficult it is, Su Mu will not hesitate to take the opportunity to build a level 5 magic guild.

When the heroes stepped into the mysterious Magic Guild and arrived at the top floor to witness the latest magic, they saw patterns of the earth drawn on the glittering stone slabs, and a huge bomb condensed in the air, exploding in response, after which the entire space fell into absolute silence.

【Thunder Bomb (Level 5 Earth Elemental Magic): Strikes enemy troops, dealing Earth Elemental damage equal to 75 spell power + 100.

Advanced Earth Elemental Mastery: Strikes enemy units, dealing Earth Elemental damage equal to 75 spell power + 300, and reduces the Earth Elemental Magic Resistance of enemies in the area by 20% (stackable, up to 100%).

Evaluation: The most powerful single-target spell below legendary level; simple, pure, practical, and effective…

The terrifying Thunder Bomb! It's completely unexpected that a level 5 magic guild would produce such a spell.

In an additional attic, the library also hides a level 5 spell: surging waves, rippling sea, and countless seawater coalescing into powerful warriors.

[Summon Water Elemental (Level 5 Water Elemental Magic): Summons a water elemental with 2 spell power to join the battle.]

Advanced Water Elemental Mastery: Summons an Ice Elemental with 4x Spell Power to join the battle.

Evaluation: The summoned creature will disappear after the battle (or disappear after a sufficient period of time). With special treasures or skills, the strength of the summoning magic can be further enhanced.

This summoning spell is of a fairly standard level, but with advanced mastery, it can summon ice elementals, which is a decent addition.

Furthermore, Su Mu knew some inside information: if he collected all the special treasures, he could unleash even greater power, even summoning elemental-baptized troops. He even possessed a special spell among level 6 magic that could summon a fire phoenix, which was incredibly powerful.

Regardless, level 5 magic is definitely another boost to Kuraki's strength. Perhaps he'll have to show his skills and deter the villains.

(End of this chapter)