Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 488 Special Crystal Mine

Last time, Cederos used astrology to alter the celestial alignment and cast the Swordsman's Moon. The effect actually extended south from Kuraki, primarily covering several castle factions; Silvertop City was not involved.

After all, the output of the Swordsman's Month is absorbed by the high-level barracks. The Northern Territory only has one tower city, so even if the Swordsman's Month is opened, it will not be of much help to them. At most, it will only recruit some swordsmen in the wild.

Now that resources are running low, the Crystal Moon can be put to good use.

[Bright Crystal Month: All crystal production is doubled this month, with a chance of encountering new special crystal mines, and the number of troops recruited using crystals has a chance to double.]

The North is rich in crystal mines, and there are countless crystals in the snowfields. Under the Crystal Moon, it is easier to generate new illusions.

However, during the previous great war, the fortresses exhausted their resources, seizing and destroying a large amount of minerals, leaving only the area around Cold Night City with exploitable mines, and the remaining output was extremely low.

However, the foundation of the crystal mines was not destroyed, and after the astrological moon changed, they had the opportunity to generate new deposits.

Wayne and Goode were sent out to explore, as they were the fastest and had reconnaissance skills to observe the formation of the resource illusion as much as possible.

With the Eye of Atmosphere's reconnaissance, some areas have already been identified, and the two heroes only need to go and investigate.

The atmosphere was quite relaxed during this resource dungeon raid; Good even joked with Wayne.

“Lord Shadow, with your great fame, you’ve become a celebrity. How can you still lurk in the shadows? You’d probably be spotted as soon as you show yourself.”

"Knight Commander, you underestimate me. Even if I stood on the street, I doubt anyone would recognize me. But you, wherever you go in Kuraki, receive the warmest welcome. I saw several noble ladies staring at you with wide eyes. Shall we ask Lady Maggie to help us make a date?"

"Women only slow down my sword-drawing speed!"

The two exchanged a few jokes. The Dream Thief Legion and the Wind Erosion Cavalry were communicating with each other, even if it was through dream language, which was a good thing.

Due to the special affiliation of thieves, their morale is often significantly affected. Originally, with the enhancement of Su Mu's leadership skill, it wasn't too bad, but now with the Angel Alliance, even neutral units are affiliated to it and are not affected by the mixed morale. Now, even when traveling in groups, the Wind Erosion Knights' Glorious Will can be perfectly exerted.

From now on, both thieves and tower troops can move in mixed formations. The main and secondary heroes can cooperate with each other and enjoy the logistics bonus, which is like having divine assistance.

It's safe to say the Angel Alliance is incredibly powerful. Its effects extend far beyond just attribute boosts; they affect every aspect of a person's life. Now, characters like Goode and Wayne could potentially gain even more of Su Mu's attributes. If they were to equip themselves with powerful artifacts, they would become even more monstrous.

"The treasure shop is now open. Cedros said it's open to all Kuraki heroes. If we want any treasure, we can go and buy it."

The treasures distributed by Kuraki are based more on strategic needs and heroes' strengths, and in terms of ownership, they still belong to the duchy. For example, the Titan's Arrow was originally intended to be distributed to the heroes below, with Goode and Maggie being the most likely candidates. However, for the sake of the greater cause, they chose to make a deal with the Cult of Wisdom.

Even if the treasures weren't distributed, and were given to heroes and then taken back, they wouldn't refuse.

However, if the hero purchased the treasures himself, Kuraki would never take them back. It's just that the treasures in the treasure shop are too low-level right now, and no one wants them.

After all these battles, even if you didn't get the combined treasures, each hero has suitable options, at least level 2 treasures, so it's normal not to be interested.

"That treasure, Pandora's Box, is worth a shot. I plan to contact Marquis White Tower when I return to Silvertop City and try my luck."

If we're talking about the most worthwhile items to buy in the treasure shop, besides alchemy dust, it's this mysterious magic box.

Wayne had already found out the specific effects of the magic box. Given his personality, he still liked to take a gamble and try his luck occasionally. If he were to open it and get a high-level treasure, he would make a fortune.

【Pandora's Box (Special Treasure): Opening it will lead to a mysterious ending. There is a chance to obtain a level 1-4 treasure, or there is a chance to obtain nothing, or to encounter a special event revelation. Everything is unknown.

Evaluation: An unknown magic box, maker unknown. This kind of magic box is actually most suitable for Su Mu to open, after all, he has an advanced money-luck spell, and having already spent so much money, wouldn't opening a magic box bring him incredible luck?
However, Su Mu tried to sense the magic but could not get a response from the spell, indicating that the Luck spell could not affect the outcome of the magic box.

This is normal. The creator of the magic box has an extremely mysterious background, somewhat similar to the wandering scholar. It is sealed with a special seal, making it impossible to see through. With the effects of advanced skills, it is difficult to affect its outcome.

It might have some positive effects, but they would be negligible and not worth Su Mu expending his luck-enhancing spell power on. After all, the level of luck depends on how much money is spent, and there are costs involved; it shouldn't be wasted on something uncertain.

On the contrary, Wayne and his group could spend money to give it a try.

Therefore, Wayne took this exploration very seriously. If he could discover a super-large mineral deposit, he could mention it to Forrest and ask for some reward.

“There’s an illusionary fluctuation here. This is the broken mining area in the North. It seems a new crystal mine has been born.”

Wayne waved his hand, signaling the Dream Thief to go underground and begin scouting. A moment later, his eyes lit up.

"The mineral vein is extremely large and has been there for some time. Its magical energy has entered the later stages of condensation. This is a big business opportunity!"

As they moved forward, the surrounding scenery changed dramatically.

The earth became crystal clear, covered with dazzling red crystals that shimmered with brilliant light. The sky also became transparent, mirroring the crystals on the ground.

The whole world is like a constantly growing crystal cave, enveloping the heroes and soldiers, who cannot distinguish up from down from left from right, and can only keep moving forward.

At this point, the two heroes also entered combat mode.

Judging from this situation, the illusionary spirit is probably not weak. The changes in the crystals have already affected the soldiers' vision, which is a combination of mental magic and terrain magic.

In the last battle, Ivan was bogged down by this special magic, which made him resentful, and he didn't gain any merit until the end of the war.

But Wayne and Goode, combined, are not afraid of this special magic.

Wayne is a master of traps and has an exceptional ability to sense terrain magic; Goode has mastered Dream Rider Activation, granting him 30% resistance to mental magic. The two working together will undoubtedly be twice as effective.

"Boom!"

The instant they stepped onto the crystal soil, a giant crystal suddenly fell hundreds of meters ahead, instantly connecting heaven and earth. A crack appeared at the hourglass-like connection, and a cursed spirit emerged from the crack, staring at them mercilessly.

This cursed spirit is a dragon, its body is made of crystal, making it indestructible, and its offensive and defensive capabilities are extremely high.

"Crystal Dragon Curse Spirit!"

Compared to the surprise of the cursed spirit taking form, the illusion surprised them even more.

【Crystal Realm: A large resource area where curse power converges. After defeating the curse spirit, you can obtain a super-large resource mine and a large amount of crystal resources.】

Treasure Cave: Hidden within the cave where crystals are buried are some of the dragon's treasures.

Crystal Revolution: A continuous supply of crystals can power units recruited using crystals; their supply is inexhaustible.

Behind the cursed spirit, more than a dozen crystal dragons slowly appeared, and their numbers were still increasing.

It looks like this is going to be a fierce battle!
(End of this chapter)