Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 127 Branches of an Ancient Family
Su Mu saw Ivan in the living room. Just a few weeks ago, Ivan was fighting on the front lines with high spirits, but now he was utterly dejected.

His hair was disheveled, he was only wearing thin clothes, he reeked of alcohol, and he was extremely depressed.

"Why aren't you going to your brother's place? Why are you coming here to see me? Aren't you afraid Salman will blame the family?"

Su Mu questioned him in a cold tone, as if he were facing a stranger.

Whitestone City came under the Argyll family's control entirely because he trusted Ivan and entrusted him with its management. Even during the siege of Levin, without Sumu's support, Ivan would have been utterly destroyed long ago.

If Ivan wants to govern White Rock City on his own, and return the soldiers and resources to his family, that's fine, since his surname is Argyll.

However, allying with Saliman and using White Rock as a trading hub not only yielded no profit but also placed them under the control of the Northern nobles, which was quite unethical.

Moreover, by joining forces with their former rivals without any prior notice, the Angry Bear Clan has truly disgraced themselves.

To put it bluntly, even if Su Mu sent his men to assassinate Argyll, the other party couldn't say anything.

The reason he didn't take action was because of Ivan; he wanted to hear Ivan's explanation.

"This matter was completely out of my control. After the last great battle, I was recuperating in White Rock when Soya came to the city with my father's order, took complete control of White Rock, and reclaimed command of the Burning Crusade."

I thought he was going to cooperate with the Knight Commander to surround and kill Isabel, and I was happy to cooperate.

To everyone's surprise, a large contingent of Northern troops soon arrived and took control of White Rock City. They included humans and tower-type soldiers, possessing formidable strength, and completely eliminated any destabilizing factors in the surrounding area.

It was only then that I realized these were the troops Salman had brought.

At this point, Ivan clenched his fist, clearly a little excited.

After all, no matter what, he had risked his life to defend White Stone City. His father and brother took the city without giving any reason and even made him bear the crime of betraying his friend, which was simply outrageous.

Soya has embraced the Northern nobles and is constantly at odds with Longletburg. Ivan doesn't know how to face Sumu, which is why he's been so late in coming.

To outsiders, this was all a charade orchestrated by Ivan and his family, and even his arrival was seen as an attempt to exploit their remaining friendship to gather intelligence.

Ivan, his eyes red and veins bulging, stared straight at Su Mu: "Whether you believe it or not, I never intended to betray you!"

Su Mu looked directly at the man, then patted him on the shoulder: "I believe you."

In fact, Su Mu possessed governing skills and knew Ivan's feelings, but he was, after all, Argyll, and inseparable from his family.

Humans are complex creatures; they can be loyal, but they also need to consider their own interests. Once the scales begin to tip, a cascading wave of betrayal can occur.

Dean Richie was initially determined to defend the city, but due to the foolish choice of his closest son, he ultimately turned to betrayal.

The relationships between family members and relatives have a far greater impact than ordinary events.

But Ivan was clearly determined. Even if he was suspected, even if it would harm the family's interests, he still wanted to come and apologize to Su Mu in person and explain things clearly.

When Su Mu gently patted his shoulder, Ivan almost burst into tears.

They were originally comrades-in-arms who fought side by side and shared life and death, but now they've ended up in this situation. It's truly a bitter pill to swallow.

"Tell me, what exactly has Salman got his hands on?"

Actually, this is not hard to guess. The Argyll family has always been at odds with the North. Given their family's personality, if they were willing to submit, they would have done so long ago, and they wouldn't have waited until now.

To Su Mu's surprise, Ivan was also unclear about what had happened.

"To be honest, I don't know what happened either. Everyone in the Angry Bear Territory is against the alliance with the Northern Nobles. Only my brother and father stand against the majority."

This matter should only be known to the two of them; they didn't even tell me.

"But the reason I only came here now is because I discovered some clues. Do you remember when we went to the border area to provide support? At that time, I said that I had discovered a mysterious place. Later, I told Soya about it, and he led his family soldiers in to explore it."

There seems to be an ancient ruin inside, guarded by the undead.

After suffering heavy losses among the crusaders, they finally managed to capture the building, but Sawyer immediately ordered the area sealed off and prohibited the spread of news.

"At the time, I was a little puzzled, thinking there was some forbidden or evil magic involved."

Later, I overheard the old man talking to Sawyer, and it seemed to be related to our family's past, to the kingdom's long-forgotten history. I thought the matter was over and done with. But later, Salman met with my father and mentioned the family's origins and that ancient building again.

I suspect that my father and brother agreed to the alliance largely because of this matter.

Upon hearing this, Su Mu suddenly realized that he had never expected to find something he had been searching for so long, only to have it come to him so easily.

Based on the behavior of Salman and the Furious Bears, Argyle is very likely a descendant of Roar of the Earth.

Upon returning from the ruins of the Undead Grand Duke, Su Mu immediately searched through numerous historical texts, seeking information about the last ducal family. However, all the books stated that the family had perished and disappeared in the northern part of the plains.

It now appears that, in order to avoid disaster, the Roar of the Earth left behind only the Argyll family as its descendants.

No wonder Carlos insisted on making him swear an oath before the Tower of Heroes in the Ruins last time. Perhaps it was related to the carving that Argyle gave him. The other party had already sensed the bloodline of his old friend.

"The earth roars, Bearsden family, your ancestor was one of the three dukes of the North!"

"What? That traitorous family that wreaked havoc on the kingdom? How is that possible!"

Ivan stared in disbelief, dumbfounded.

It's not surprising that he was blamed; anyone would find it hard to accept being labeled as having ancestors who rebelled.

So Su Mu explained the whole story to him in detail and analyzed, "Saliman must have found out about your origins through some means."

However, I think the Bear Stearns family must have had their reasons, and there might be other stories behind it.

"Sawyer and your father were afraid that Salman would take this to Congress, so they had no choice but to give in to his blackmail."

The story of the Three Dukes was heard from the undead poet, and Su Mu even had a corresponding memory of it. However, after he mastered advanced governance techniques and his strength greatly increased, he found that his memories were gradually becoming blurred, as if he had forgotten the history he should have been familiar with.

With his current magical power and knowledge, let alone such crucial memories, he can still remember books he read a few years ago.

The reason for this situation is definitely that a terrifying treasure or hero influenced his thinking, and he gradually became immune to it as his strength increased.

No wonder Dylan warned him not to easily believe in unknown knowledge.

Accumulating strength and becoming more powerful before exploring the ruins is the safest course of action. Is the Undead Grand Duke the mastermind behind it all? It seems unlikely.

After hearing Su Mu explain the situation, Maggie also became somewhat worried.

"The key now is not about history. The Salman family has a lot of influence in Parliament. If they determine that the Argyll family are descendants of rebels, they can revoke their titles."

Once their marquisate is revoked, the Angry Bear family will lose everything.

Although Su Mu always felt that titles were not important during the war, they were still the basis for the legitimacy of governance. If he were stripped of his title, he would not be recognized by the kingdom, and Argyll's status would plummet.

Upon hearing this news, Ivan was momentarily at a loss.

He is indeed exceptionally talented, but he can only guarantee his own survival. The Angry Bear Clan has a whole bunch of members. Does that mean he'll have to live a life of hiding and running away from home from now on?
However, with Su Mu's Cangmu Town around, at least there's a place to take in the family. But the fall from a marquis family to a fugitive is just too great.

No wonder Soya didn't dare tell him and had to bear it all alone.

Su Mu thought about it and realized that since he didn't know what evidence Salman had or what the mysterious underground building was, it was indeed not wise to act rashly.

But sitting idly by and waiting for death is not his style; at the very least, Ivan cannot continue down this path of depravity.

"I'll send Wayne over to gather intelligence, find out about the building, and settle some personal scores along the way."

"As for you, having lost the Burning Crusade, would you be willing to come to me as my commander and lead a swordsman unit?"

Ivan immediately stood up, his burly and imposing body like a towering tower. All the despair in his eyes vanished, replaced by an unwavering will: "From now on, I am a member of Kuraki. As long as I am here, no one can cross the swordsman's ranks!"

In truth, Ivan had already considered following Su Mu after this great battle. Now, stripped of his command by his family, he could only worry but couldn't help. Although he knew his brother and father meant well, even intending for him to become independent and preserve Argyll's legacy, pride as high as Ivan's was such that he couldn't possibly back down after learning the truth.

He had complete confidence in Su Mu; even if the enemy were Salman, the Undead Grand Duke, or even the Arcane Empire, no one could defeat the defensive magic under a high-ranking ruler.

"Alright, go see the newly promoted swordsman, your future soldier!"

(End of this chapter)