Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 115 The Final Leap

Forrest halted all construction, even entrusting the defense of the city to Mead. He focused on one thing: building the Palace of the Four Kings, the prison.

In the very center of Kuraki Town, workers used magical tools to dig a pit several meters deep. Forrest, meanwhile, used the architect's magical powers to cut logs and stones and carry out construction according to the architectural blueprints.

This was the first time he had constructed a dungeon without adding his own ideas, following the blueprints exactly. Even so, every time he used his magical power to build a dungeon cell, he would hear a peculiar whisper in his ear, as if those out-of-control treasures were going mad.

Logically, the sealed treasure hasn't been placed in yet, so there shouldn't be this kind of illusion.

In fact, Forrest had already realized that this architectural blueprint was the source of the loss of control.

He had heard the lord describe the plan for the Hall of Kings—a magnificent and wondrous architectural marvel, yet requiring extremely stringent conditions. The most crucial elements were territory and heroes; in other words, the rulers whose statues were erected in the Hall of Kings were all renowned and legendary figures.

Otherwise, ordinary people would quickly shatter both their mind and body due to the immense pressure they face.

With their level of expertise, they are naturally not qualified.

Of course, the Palace of Ten Thousand Kings wasn't built in a day. But they ran out of time.

Su Mu knew that special buildings could be integrated, utilizing the properties of sealed treasures to supply the magical power needs of the Royal Palace. At the same time, the Royal Palace's powerful popularity and authority could suppress the sealed treasures, and the two would counterbalance each other, thus maximizing the utilization of their properties.

The original plan was for Su Mu to explain the idea to Forrest every day, and then for Forrest to formulate the plan after he advanced to the advanced civil engineering stage, which would be much more reliable.

Now, Maggie obtains the blueprints from her dream. Although she gets what she wants, there is always a price to pay for unknown knowledge, a principle that all heroes understand.

"Sir, blood is seeping from this underground compartment! We've dug up a dead body."

Forrest walked into the pit and examined it carefully, discovering it was an ancient tomb containing bones from over a hundred years ago. Logically, after so much time, even the bones should be almost completely weathered away; how could there still be blood?

Unfortunately, the underground hole dug out by the wooden shovel was gushing out a fountain of blood.

He understood that this was architecture's warning to him.

“Go to the market and find a few live cows and sheep, set up an altar for sacrifice, and move a boundary marker stone over here and place it inside the fence!”

"Yes, my lord."

With the lord absent, Forrest was the most powerful man in the city, and his orders were quickly carried out.

The soldiers led the cattle and sheep to the deep pit, slaughtered them on the spot, and spilled their blood into the pit. They then performed the usual sacrificial rites, bowing and showing the utmost respect.

The soil seemed to possess an evil power, instantly absorbing the blood from the ground and becoming damp.

When the kingdom's boundary marker was placed inside the fence, the earth trembled violently, the blood spring suddenly stopped flowing, and everything returned to normal.

However, a sinister aura still lingered in the deep pit foundation, refusing to dissipate for a long time.

Kuraki Town now has a population of over 10, and this building is located in the most populous area. It's unimaginable what would happen if this building were constructed in the middle of nowhere.

Forrest climbed out of the pit and looked at the foundation, which was more than half-built, his dark resolve deepening.

“I know that ‘you’ possess unknown and mysterious powers, but let’s know when to stop. The sealed treasures provided are ready, and it will be mutually beneficial for us to cooperate.”

Otherwise, I'd rather destroy all the treasures than let you reappear in this world!

A chilling wind blew, as if mocking Forrest's overestimation of his abilities. However, there were no further abnormalities in the pit, and the workers were able to continue their work.

"Go and call all the workers from the forest farm over. Stop log production first, and then build the Four Kings Temple!"

Forrest is prepared to fight to the death: either build the Four Kings' Palace before the city is besieged, or he will exhaust his magic and die.

The Four Kings Palace consumed so much resources that it almost exhausted the previous reserves of Kuraki Town, even depleting a large portion of Maggie's stock.

If it cannot be built, or if an out-of-control building is constructed in the center of the city, Kuraki will be finished without even waiting for Ivo to besiege the city.

With such high risks, the rewards are naturally also substantial.

Forrest had a premonition that if he could successfully build the Four Kings Palace, he would immediately be able to advance to the advanced level of civil engineering.

With his promotion, Su Mu can also acquire advanced governance skills. Then this great battle will definitely be fought!

As the earth and wood were gradually added, the underground prison was completed. When the dark side was completely sealed off, the magnificent palace was revealed to the world.

Four massive pillars support the towering triangular roof, and the morning sunlight shines on the marble slabs, revealing a sense of warmth.

Forrest shouted excitedly and danced with joy, only to find that no one congratulated him.

Everyone stared at themselves in fear, backing away, some even shouting, "Monster! Monster!"

Forrest looked down and saw his body gradually blurring, vaguely turning into four pillars, and his head gradually disappearing, turning into a triangular dome.

He dragged his mutated body slowly toward the Hall of the Four Kings.

The sealed treasure has been imprisoned in an underground dungeon, but the power to suppress it is clearly insufficient. Before Su Mu returns, someone needs to take on this responsibility.

Forrest glanced back at the small town where he had lived his entire life, then resolutely walked into the main hall.

At this moment, he seemed to transform into the city itself, where every brick and tile contained his painstaking efforts, and he could hear the breath of the earth and wood.

Dozens of miles south of the city, the Flying Horse Guardians, who blot out the sky, arrived first and were about to besiege the city.

But the official roads in the north remained deserted; the lord was unlikely to return in time.

Ivo is indeed a terrifying man. He plans ahead of time and executes his decisions swiftly, giving the enemy no time to breathe.

If they followed the direction of the enemy's march, Ouling would likely be blocked to the south and unable to return to Kuraki.

Without Ouling's support, even if Su Mu returns with a large army, it will be difficult to turn the tide.

Since that's the case, we might as well use this Four Kings Palace for a final desperate fight to buy the lord a chance to escape.

Forrest stepped into the hall, where four statues were vaguely visible in the empty space, but their faces were not clearly discernible.

The Four Kings Palace remains silent due to the lack of high-level governance heroes.

However, the prison below has already been sealed with magical artifacts.

[Warrior's Medal (Level 1 Treasure, Sealed): Wearer's Morale +1.]

【Divine Gift (Tier 1 Treasure, Sealed): The city where this treasure is placed (or the hero equipping it) gains +5 to the production of Tier 2 troops. This is unique to this city and cannot be stacked.】

[Vine Armor (Level 1 Treasure, Sealed): The wearer has a chance to gain +1 Spell Power.]

It's a pity that it's still missing a sealing treasure, otherwise it would be perfect.

But we can't worry about that now; we must suppress the treasure immediately and achieve a new balance.

Forrest glanced at the missing spot, bit his mouthful of hard stone, and slowly walked towards it.

The entire dungeon shook, as if welcoming the new member.

His heroic journey began with the treasure timber cart; it ended with the architectural plans, seemingly returning to dust.

So be it. Having repaid the lord's kindness, I can finally be at peace.

Just as he was about to leap into the pit, a powerful giant hand patted his shoulder again, instantly waking him from the unknown bewitching spell.

"Leave the next thing to me!"

A fierce wind howled, and sunlight streamed through the cracks in the giant gate, dispelling shadows and darkness.

The Lord of the Four Kings Palace has returned.

(End of this chapter)