Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 138 It’s freezing cold
Valentine got up early, baked some snacks by the fireplace, made a glass of fruit juice, and put them on the table.

The lord's breakfast was very simple, hardly befitting a nobleman. Su Mu didn't have many needs when it came to clothing either, often just a loose-fitting robe sufficed.

"Crench!"

Valentine opened the window to find the balcony piled high with snow. It had been snowing for a full week since the north winds arrived, leaving the entire land a blanket of white.

She packed up a few more thick cotton-padded coats and hung them on the coat rack. Although powerful heroes don't need to keep warm, these woolen clothes are more suitable for winter and make the lord look more dashing.

Sometimes Valentine wondered why Su Mu, at his age, rarely cared about the opinions of those around him or his attire. But the lord was an exception. Perhaps that was why he was able to rise from nothing, from a forestry manager in Cangmu, to become the Viscount of Thorns.

However, as young people in their twenties, they still share some common qualities: they are not afraid of the cold and have a lot of energy.

Her gaze unconsciously drifted to the blazing flames in the fireplace, lost in thought.

The dry firewood piled up below was struck by a flint and ignited through friction. With a "bang," a raging fire burst into flames, the intense heat turning the sealed shell red-hot and continuing to rise, the crackling sounds particularly prominent in the quiet winter day.

The temperature of the flames was so high that when the intense heat reached its peak, thick smoke billowed up from the chimney, forcefully pushing aside the snow piled on the roof and scattering onto the white roof, turning the white house yellowish.

Affected by the high temperature, the ice and snow slowly melted, forming trickles that flowed back down the chimney, like a gentle rain, readjusting the temperature of the fireplace and extinguishing the flames.

However, the night was long and the weather outside was freezing cold, and it would be too cold inside without a fire. So he could only diligently tend the fire until the snow on the roof was melted away, the flame was steady, and the entire hall was brightly lit, dispelling all the chill, before he was satisfied.

The fireplace rim was a bit dirty from the smoke. Although Valentine had wiped it clean last night, some marks were still visible, so she had to wash it again with water.

After tidying up the house, Valentine picked out a fox fur coat, put it on, and went out shopping.

Valentine now manages several commercial shops. She uses her intelligence to earn gold coins and frequently contacts and talks with noble ladies to inquire about gossip and news from all classes in Longlet Castle and Kuraki City.

Although war is the domain of noble knights, men cannot live without women, and the casual remarks of noblewomen often represent the expectations and aspirations of a family.

For example, the new training officer at Griffin Cliff runs to the camp every day, neglecting the newlywed young woman, but this also shows that he has the ambition to improve; the bandit leader Wayne occasionally goes to the tavern for a hangover, and there are always a few beautiful dancers lying around him, but he never brings them back to the bandit guild; the finance minister of Kuraki Forrest is only focused on studying his construction techniques. At someone's request, Valentine mentioned to him several times the noble ladies' admiration for him, but this blockhead is completely oblivious.

These seemingly minor pieces of information actually revealed a person's inner characteristics. Following the lord's instructions, Valentine slowly made contact, combining her own thoughts with the information, and then informed Sumu.

With excellent communication skills both internally and externally, Valentine is practically becoming the head steward of Kuraki Inner Castle.

Of course, it was also Valentine's duty to hear outsiders' opinions of the lord, but sometimes it was difficult to keep up the good work.

For example, the Marquis's daughter often visited her, and the two had a very close relationship, like sisters, and often stayed overnight to play together.

That is true, but Valentine knew the inside story. Miss Maggie possessed Dream Realm knowledge, and the lord had no choice but to summon her to enter the Dream Realm together in order to learn magic. As for other actions, there was nothing else.

Outsiders, however, felt that she had ulterior motives and that it had a negative impact.

She would take the blame for this, and Valentine couldn't possibly reveal the hero's core secrets. All they could say was that their relationship was too good, and they couldn't bear to part. After many days of study, Su Mu mastered several spells and gained a great deal.

【Death Ripple (Level 2 Magic, Earth): Deals (Curse Power x5) + 10 damage to living units, regardless of whether they are friend or foe.

Advanced Earth Elemental Mastery: Deals damage equal to 5 spell power + 30.

Su Mu is a master of advanced earth elemental magic, and earth magic was the first magic he learned. Death Ripple is a powerful spell, but it's most effective on undead heroes. However, if a single unit has high health and the enemy is a group of weaker enemies, it can be used to clear the field.

【Anti-Magic Spell (Level 3 Magic, Earth): Selected friendly units are only affected by Level 4-5 magic. The duration of the effect is affected by spell power.

Advanced Earth Elemental Mastery: Selected friendly units are unaffected by level 1-5 magic (benefits are retained, negative magic is dispelled. They can still be dispelled by Advanced Exorcism, but the target's spell power must be at least half the caster's spell power).

This magic perfectly showcases the characteristics of earth-based defense. Earth elements not only have level 1 physical defense and physical resistance, but now their magic resistance is also maxed out.

Moreover, with Ivan's defensive techniques and the advanced earth element's anti-magic spell, Su Mu becoming a Thunder Swordsman like Black Dragon is not just a dream.

Earthquake (Level 3 Magic, Earth): Randomly destroys multiple sections of city walls, affected by Earth Element Mastery level.

Advanced Earth Elemental Mastery: Destroy four city walls.

For a long time, Earthquake has been the strongest siege magic, bar none. Su Mu used to either fight in the field or defend cities, and in the few siege battles he had, he didn't have many good ways to break through cities. After learning Earthquake, he can change this situation.

Su Mu was already quite satisfied with learning these three earth-based spells. To complement his advanced earth element and Ouling's advanced air element, Maggie also tried her best to comprehend the magic of these two elements in her dreams.

However, due to the limited time, Maggie only taught Su Mu these few spells for now. Su Mu already possessed high-level earth magic, so he used them with ease, without any unfamiliarity, and mastered the methods directly without any extra practice.

These past few days, I haven't been able to do anything but study magic.

The snow was so heavy that many roads were closed, and it only stopped slightly today. People in the town came out of their homes and went to the town's designated relief points to receive food and clothing for the winter.

Although everyone was somewhat prepared, they hadn't expected it to be so severe. This taught the city's residents a lesson: they needed to stock up on extra food to weather the storm.

The cities on the plains are doing alright; Su Mu made preparations early and at least provided the people with enough food. The larger prefectural cities in the north are unharmed, supported by granaries, and should be able to hold out for a week. However, the smaller towns, already embroiled in war, have suffered greatly due to food shortages and the severe cold, with many people freezing to death.

Especially in Whitestone City, it is said that the nobles were unwilling to distribute grain, resulting in the deaths of several thousand people.

It's not that the nobles had absolutely no grain; it's just that the trading city raised prices, and the nobles, fearing they wouldn't be able to get enough grain, were unwilling to sell, which led to this tragedy.

Moreover, Forrest and his colleagues discovered a peculiar situation.

The land is affected by freezing temperatures, and production appears to be limited.

(End of this chapter)