Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 14 Elemental Bow
The place the tavern owner described was just a general area; the area was steep cliffs and extremely difficult to traverse.

Fortunately, the archers were well-trained and could move along the cliff face as if it were flat ground.

"This is it! This is the place!"

The scouts discovered a cave beneath the cliff face, with strangely shaped rocks forming a mountain fortress.

【High Mountain Fortress - Earth/Fire: A mysterious place where magical power converges. You can upgrade your troops here and there is a certain chance to receive elemental baptism.

Weakness: The magical power of this mysterious place is generally weak, and it can only be used to upgrade units of level 1-3 at most (the lower the unit level, the lower the cost), and the number of uses is limited.

As expected of a mountain fortress, this building, with its earth/fire element, is second only to the wind element in its ability to enhance ranged units. Considering that they are about to engage in a defensive battle, advancing to earth element would be the best choice.

"Smit, Sheehan, and Reno, the three of you go ahead and scout ahead!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Three agile archers entered the cave, found no threat, and invited everyone to join them.

Upon entering the main hall, a magnificent statue stands in the center, depicting a hero standing on a dragon, bow drawn and arrow aimed at the moon. Everyone is awestruck by the sight, as if they were there themselves, the hero above.

Su Mu made another discovery: the bow and arrow on the statue were made of clay, and the arrows were made of red flames that had never been extinguished.

Now that he had mastered earth magic, choosing earth element was naturally more suitable. With a slight thought, the flames on the arrow extinguished, transforming into an incredibly solid zircon, filled with the aura of the earth.

Profound, cohesive, solid, and restrictive.

A mysterious voice echoed in his ears.

Welcome to the mysterious land - the Mountain Fortress. Here you can receive blessings and spend a certain amount of gold to upgrade your troop tier.

Alternatively, one can choose to undergo elemental baptism, which significantly reduces the cost, but carries the risk of failure.

If one is infused with elemental power and cannot absorb it, and the surrounding area is all soil, the outcome is self-evident.

Before he comprehended the earth element, even if he had to sell logs at a loss to raise money, he would have only chosen to advance his rank. Now that the centaurs are pressing in, even if they all become sharpshooters, they have no chance of winning. Either way, they're going to die, so he might as well take a gamble.

"I've chosen the elemental baptism for you. If it fails at the crucial moment, I'll step in to save you, but you'll never be able to advance in rank for the rest of your life."

Faced with such a powerful Su Mu, Ou Ling had no intention of refuting him; on the contrary, the fighting spirit in her eyes grew even stronger.

"If we don't fight desperately, how can we prisoners possibly gain a chance?"

Indeed, he has an adventurous spirit, which is a major factor in his ability to grow from an ordinary person to where he is today.

Su Mu raised his hand, and the earth element within his body surged, enveloping the statue in a muddy aura.

The central Yi warrior's hand moved slightly, and a stone arrow was launched, striking the ground just a step away from Ouling. The mud bow turned into sand and dust, and the entire fortress rumbled.

Five archery ranges appeared in front of the hall, and two hundred meters away, a giant tree emerged, with a leaf at the end of its branch, bearing a pattern resembling a bullseye.

All the archers heard the call—hit the target!
This level of difficulty exceeds everyone's usual training level, since leaves are very unstable as they flutter in the wind.

However, some people can still achieve complete concentration.

After observing the swaying trajectory of the leaves, the three people previously called out by Ouling went to the archery range, drew their bows, nocked arrows, and shot down the falling leaves in one smooth motion.

Two shots hit the very center, while one shot slightly off-center.

A mound rose from below the archery range, lifting the two successful archers. Intense innate magical power flowed into their bodies, and their minds recalled the archery skills they had honed through countless trials, as if reliving them once again, reaching a higher level of sublimation.

When they opened their eyes again, the two of them were holding a bow and two arrows, each shot hitting the bullseye, successfully advancing to the next level.

【Sharpshooter (Castle Tier 2, Level 2 Unit): Attack 7, Defense 3, Ammo 24, Damage 2-3, Health 10, Speed ​​6, Small Size.

Element: None. Ranged unit.

Sharpshooter: Can fire two arrows simultaneously without diminishing their power.

The remaining person, spurred by shame, tried again and successfully advanced, greatly boosting everyone's confidence, and they all stepped forward to try their hand at archery.

Ouling nodded. After all, they were his most trusted partners, who already possessed the skills of a master archer. All they lacked was an opportunity, and now that Su Mu had given them that opportunity, things would naturally fall into place.

He glanced at Su Mu furtively, only to find that Su Mu's expression was calm and devoid of any joy.

Su Mu remained silent. The mountain fortress was specifically for upgrading. If there was enough gold, archers could practice endlessly here. Even a blind person could become a master archer. This was a blessing from the power of the rules. The elemental baptism that followed was the real test.

Su Mu pulled out a large bag of gold coins. Including what he had saved up before and what he had done in the refugee camp, he had finally managed to scrape together more than 1000 gold coins. He had originally intended to save them for his carpentry wages, but this time he contributed them all.

The market was really shady; even though they had an agreement with the refugee camp, the exchange rate for gold was still very low.

"If there are few markets, there's no point in doing business." This is a wise saying.

To promote these archers, it would normally require at least 2000 gold. Su Mu chose the Elemental Baptism, which gave him a 50% discount from the fortress; otherwise, he would have had to select fewer people.

It now appears that the sharpshooter's improvement in offense is a qualitative leap. If their morale is high and their combat capabilities are unleashed, they will be a disaster for the enemy.

In half a day, all the archers passed the training and became sharpshooters.

Before their joyful smiles had even faded, they faced yet another test.

A sandstorm arose from the flat ground of the archery range, quickly enveloping the giant tree. When it was no longer visible, it was already 300 meters away.

Affected by the wind and sand, the leaves swayed more violently, and the yellow sand filled the air, making it impossible to see the target's trajectory most of the time. Only for a brief moment could one catch a glimpse of the target's trail, and the opportunity was fleeting.

The sharpshooter, still standing on the high platform, felt his feet sinking into the mud, steadily descending. At this rate, he would disappear completely in half an hour at most, and after about ten minutes, he would probably be unable to breathe.

[Shoot the target and comprehend the will of the earth, receive the baptism of the earth, and either ascend or die!]

The sound of death filled the ears of all the archers. Some panicked and hastily fired a few arrows, only to find that their once light arrows were now incredibly heavy, their aim completely off, and they were quickly swept away by the sandstorm. Even if they fired two arrows at the same time, they couldn't hit the target at all, completely wasting their chances.

Worse still, with each arrow fired, the person who shot it sank deeper, soon reaching knee-deep.

"Save me, Commander!"

A soldier, his mind in turmoil, fired several arrows in succession, but couldn't even touch the edge of a leaf. The mud had already buried up to his chest, and he was having difficulty breathing.

Ouling cast a pleading look at Su Mu, realizing that the sharpshooter had probably lost his fighting ability.

Without wasting words, Su Mu expended his magic power to activate earth magic, loosening the surrounding mud and sand. The man stumbled and climbed up, only to find that one of his feet had turned to mud, and he lost several toes as he stepped on the ground. He was so frightened that he screamed loudly.

"Help! Help me!"

"Shut up!"

Ouling reprimanded his subordinate and turned to look at the target in the distance.

Trapped on the archery range as well, he should be the least panicked among them, because his command skill is guaranteed to hit the target. Even if the wind and sand block his way and the leaves sway, he can still hit the target with at least two arrows, greatly increasing his chances of comprehending the blessing of the earth element.

However, Orling did not use any special skills; he simply relied on his senses and fired two arrows in quick succession, arriving the instant the leaves appeared.

Just as it was about to hit the bullseye, the wind and sand affected it, causing it to deviate slightly, barely grazing a leaf before embedding itself in the giant tree.

"No, it's not sandstorms, it's gravity. This area has a special suction force that targets the soil."

Ouling was very confident in his archery skills. In fact, the instant the arrow flew, he transformed into the arrowhead, locking onto the enemy as well. What seemed like a gust of wind and sand had blown it astray was actually a shot made of solid stone. Combined with his full force, the slight gust of wind and sand had no effect on its trajectory; it possessed an attraction force that could draw in stones!

After saying that, he drew his bow again, silently sensing the frequency of the giant tree and the sand, and fired two more arrows.

This time, he didn't even aim at the leaf, but naturally adjusted after entering the dust, hitting the edge of the leaf directly.

The mud beneath his feet slowly receded, and the fortress had tacitly acknowledged that he had met the requirements.

"Not enough, still not enough! I clearly sensed the gravity, so why did I still fail to hit it?"

Ouling fell into deep thought, oblivious to the dangerous environment around him. His eyes were filled with the swaying leaves beneath the giant tree. Even the swirling sand and the overwhelming gravity could not sway his will.

Mud? Gravity? Stone arrow? What's affecting the aim?
"neither!"

Ouling closed his eyes, emptying his mind, feeling the soil creeping up from his feet, up his waist, and down to his arms.

The earthen bow, stone arrows, and clay statues, like the archer in the center of the hall, fell into complete silence.

Then an arrow flew, piercing through the sand and soil, and struck Shi Yuan directly!

The leaves were nailed to the giant tree with a dull thud, and then turned to sand.

Giant trees and leaves are all made of soil.

Ouling opened his eyes. His body was covered with a thick layer of mud armor, but his eyes were unusually clear.

Even in the face of extreme danger, the earth's will remained unmoved, steadily releasing its arrow. The target and the arrowhead seemed drawn together by a magnetic force; how could they possibly miss?

【Ouling: Attack 15 (16), Defense 12 (13), Ammo 48, Damage 6-8, Health 66, Speed ​​8, Small size.

Loyalty: 55, Element: Earth. Ranged unit.

Characteristics: adventurous, responsible, hardworking

Earthbow Master: Earth-Blessed Archery. Your first two arrows are guaranteed to hit (4 arrows with the Governance bonus), dealing maximum damage and imposing a gravitational pull on an area around the enemy, reducing their speed by 1 (-2 with the Governance bonus).

With significantly increased defense, gravity-based deceleration, and a full-scale upgrade, Orling is arguably the biggest winner in this fortress upgrade, though he's still a hair's breadth away from becoming a hero.

"Calm your mind, feel the weight of the earth, merge into the soil, and use your inner eye to find the flaw in that moment!"

"A true sharpshooter never aims with his eyes."

Ouling's words seemed to have a magical power, and the restless archers quieted down one after another. Even as their bodies sank deeper and deeper into the mud, they were no longer as afraid as before.

They obeyed their leader as if he were their father, for the years had bound them together.

The same three people closed their eyes for a few minutes, and without even opening them, the stone arrow fell straight into the leaves and hit its mark.

The crowd immediately erupted in cheers.

Orling was right. What this place needs is not aiming and observing, but connecting with the earth.

What an archer needs most is a feel for the ball; the moment the arrow leaves the bowstring, he knows whether he will hit the target. That is what makes a true master archer.

Ouling is indeed a genius in this field.

With his guidance, apart from two people who failed to complete the task and were rescued by Su Mu, the remaining 38 people were all promoted.

【Earthbow (Castle Tier 2, Level 2 Unit, Elemental Baptism): Attack 7 (8), Defense 6 (7), Ammo 36, Damage 3-4, Health 15, Speed ​​6, Small Size.

Element: Earth (Units are amplified by 1/3 by Earth magic, including both bonuses and debuffs; after a certain time limit, it requires hero mana to maintain). Ranged Units

Sharpshooter: Can fire two arrows simultaneously without diminishing their power;
Earth Sensing: When an arrow hits an enemy, there is a chance to create a mud pit in a certain area, slowing the opponent by 15%, while the user is immune to earth-type slowing effects.

Commentary: Since we receive the blessings of the earth, we must also accept its curses.

Thus, the elemental baptism is complete.

(End of this chapter)