Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 114 The Hall of the Four Kings of Prison

After winning the battle of White Stone City, Su Mu led his troops back.

The victory in this battle had already given him a glimpse into advanced governance techniques, but he was still lacking in the basics.

Advanced skills often represent a qualitative leap, and this is especially true for the art of governance. It can unleash the personal combat power of a ruler, evolving from enhancing the ruler's abilities to the ultimate form of royal power.

The key to this is the special building – the Hall of Ten Thousand Kings.

Of course, this building is not static; it has many unique characteristics belonging to the governor, and it is not very powerful in the early stages, requiring gradual construction and accumulation.

【The Hall of the Four Kings (Special building, requires a hero with advanced Governance skills to use): Temporarily grants all ruled individuals a total of two highest-level skills (all currently ruled individuals, the effect of the Governance skill bonus), with a maximum selection range of four people. The statue is placed inside the Hall of the Four Kings, and the quota cannot be changed within 1 month.

Special requirements: Requires 4 sealed treasures to permanently suppress it here, eliminating the need for further sealing methods.

Special effect: The hero ruled in the Four Kings' Palace will permanently gain one of the abilities of a sealed artifact (which will be lost upon changing the artifact).

Resource consumption: 10000 gold coins, 30 logs, 30 stones, and 10 of each rare resource.

Commentary: The ruler sits on his throne, overlooking his subjects and fertile lands. Every conquered territory becomes a source of power.

When Su Mu realized the opportunity for advancement, he already had the idea of ​​building a royal palace and intended to integrate the abilities of the Forbidden Castle into it. This was because, in his memory, the strongest hero of the Archon class was one who perfectly ruled over people and treasures, and then conquered the world.

But he was still clueless about how to do it, but with Maggie, the all-around dreamer, by his side, he didn't have to worry.

Intermediate Dream Realm Studies not only teach magic, but also introduce new knowledge, including architectural blueprints.

Furthermore, given the relationship between Su Mu and Maggie in power, Maggie was able to think what he wanted.

After several nights of dreaming, Maggie finally obtained the blueprints for the Four Kings' Palace of Hell that she wanted. Such a difficult building would consume a lot of magic points just by browsing through it, and only an architect like Forrest could possibly build it.

As Su Mu said, building this structure is somewhat dangerous. Dealing with sealed treasures will taint one with an aura of madness. If Forrest's foundation is not solid enough, he will be turned into an emotionless tool by the structure and used for its purposes.

Moreover, the knowledge within the dream realm is filled with corrupting power that can erode a hero's will and bewitch them.

At that time, the Four Kings Palace will not only fail to become the palace of the rulers, but will also become a terrifying and out-of-control place, posing a great danger.

Normally, Su Mu would prefer to proceed cautiously and steadily, and he might even wait until he is certain of his promotion to senior administrator before devising a plan.

But Ivo's army launched an attack, giving him no chance, leaving him no choice but to take a gamble.

Scouts have already reported that Ivo is leading an army of over 2000 men straight towards Kuraki Town.

Orling is currently stuck in the Wright City area and has not yet been able to return.

If Ivo's marching speed were faster, he might even reach Kuraki Town before Ivo and Orin, which would be a catastrophe for them.

"Dump the baggage and march quickly!"

Ivan did not come along; his magic was exhausted and he could not recover in time. However, he allowed himself to be ruled, which can be considered as leaving a backup plan for Sumu.

They hadn't faced Ivo, the Son of the Forest, directly yet, but after the repeated defeats of Hillel and Levin, he must have analyzed some of their skills. Yet he still dared to lead the team into battle, which meant he must possess extraordinary strength.

Most importantly, Su Mu has memories of the Timber Wars and feels a certain familiarity with the name Ivo.

This is quite terrifying, because those who make a name for themselves in a long war are all legendary heroes.

Considering the opponent's strategy and the surprise attack plan, he was by no means a mere brute.

"Hopefully we can make it in time!"

……

Orling had already led his troops back to Kuraki, but the area around Wright City was heavily guarded, with even the official roads being monitored by high-ranking sentries.

Therefore, even if Ouling uses invisibility, it will be difficult for him to cross this territory without alerting the enemy. The Arrow of Vengeance has appeared multiple times, so the enemy should also know how to use invisibility and has specifically countered it.

He intended to force his way into Light City with the Earth Bow, since with his skills, unless the opponent was a very powerful hero, they would have no way to stop him.

But Ouling remained cautious. He first sent out scout squads to patrol the area, and then dispersed his troops to search for trails that could allow them to sneak across the mountains.

Unexpectedly, a day passed and the scout team never returned. A large number of Pegasus Archers appeared in Wright City, flying high into the sky to search for the Earthbow troops.

Left with no other choice, Ouling immediately hid his troops deep in the mountains, not daring to show their faces.

"Ivo's army has arrived!"

Seeing this, Ouling was extremely worried.

If Ivo blocks Wright City, he won't be able to break through at all. Moreover, judging from the enemy's lineup, they have flying units and a large number of ranged archers, including extremely powerful phantom archers. Once the enemy surrounds Kuraki Town, it will be all over.

Euling was anxious but couldn't think of any good solutions, so he could only watch helplessly as Ivo led his army north.

He could only take advantage of the gaps in the enemy's departure to gradually clear the eyes of the high-ranking sentinels and follow behind Isildur's army.

……

On the snow-covered lands of the North, a down-on-his-luck nobleman on horseback was traveling north.

He passed through a human settlement, mingled with a caravan of merchants, drank and sang with them, and the next day he even tricked dozens of nomads into traveling north with him.

[Intermediate Diplomacy: Wilderness units weaker than yours have a 50% chance of joining your army. Surrender costs are reduced by 60%. Access to the Library of Sages is available once all four stats reach 10.]

This man was none other than Kyle, who had fled from Whitestone City. To evade capture by the human kingdom, he simply changed his name to Karl.

The Kyle family is gone, and he has no intention of going back to rely on Isildur.

After all, Levin and Nellie both died in the battle because of his desertion. Even with his silver tongue, he couldn't escape death.

Most importantly, he really didn't want to fight Su Mu anymore; this man was truly his nemesis.

No matter how much he improved, what troops he led, or even if he had Isildur's reinforcements, he was still utterly defeated.

If it weren't for my exceptional insight and superior escape skills, I would have died on the battlefield long ago.

Even if there were a dozen boxes of gold in front of him, and he were asked to make an enemy of Su Mu, he wouldn't be willing.

Avoid this jinx, use diplomacy to recruit troops and develop your own strength. Once you have accumulated enough troops, then come back to cause trouble for Su Mu.

He had also heard that Ivo had personally led a large army to besiege Kuraki Town. He knew Ivo's strength very well; he was considered an unparalleled genius of Isildur, a master archer who transcended his era.

But for some reason, he had a premonition that Ivo would suffer a crushing defeat in Kuraki Town.

“Lord Karl, if we go any further north, we will cross the border of Elton and enter the buffer zone between the Empire and the Kingdom, a no-man's-land.”

"I've heard this area is in chaos, and even demons have appeared. Are we really going to go?"

Kyle paused for a moment before remembering that his name was now Karl.

"Don't worry, with me here, even in the land of demons, I'll make you a force to be reckoned with!"

The crowd cheered in unison, revealing their long-suppressed ambitions.

"Follow Lord Karl!"

(End of this chapter)