Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 141 The Warlock, Doomed

Sumu originally intended to hand over the shackles of war to Ivan, hoping to wait for the enemy to come to them.

Oling, however, proposed to take the initiative and lead the Earthbow to raid the enemy forces. On his own, he would indeed be unable to grasp the enemy's movements, but with Wayne, the bandit leader, and by spending some resources to set up reconnaissance and guards, they could roughly understand the Void Cult's marching route.

As expected, the Void Cult changed its troop formation to target Ivan, replacing him with a large number of mages.

Of course, Beatrice's forces included not only the archmage army, but also a large army of gargoyles deployed on the flanks as auxiliary troops.

Because his magical power was relatively low, and Beatrice possessed a concealment artifact, he only discovered the enemy's flying force after casting War Shackles. If these gargoyles were to circle around to his front and force him into melee combat, Earthbow wouldn't fare too well.

Tier 2 units are gradually becoming less effective against the enemy's strength. If it weren't for his Soul Arrow technique, which grants him control over the battlefield, he would be a real challenge.

He learned about the Mysterious Prayer from the lord. Such a comprehensive and powerful super-tier unit, if he could personally control it, would make him not afraid to fight against the legendary golden dragon.

The lord and Forrest had set their goals and almost completed all the planning. The remaining tasks, such as collecting materials and executing the plan, were naturally Ouling's responsibility.

If Beatrice is captured, the Void Cult would have no choice but to pay a ransom.

Beatrice watched as the Crystal Crossbow hurtled towards the mage formation, only to undergo a strange trajectory change during flight, shooting directly into an empty area on its flank. Her expression instantly changed drastically.

"Damn it, they've discovered the gargoyles!"

"Whoosh!"

The giant crossbow seemed to pierce through a curtain of water, distorting the air. A large number of special gargoyles suddenly appeared, and before they could react, they were pierced into stone fragments. The powerful shockwave shattered the gargoyles, turning them into a shower of flying stones.

The Crystal Ballista's attack instantly killed nearly a hundred gargoyles, leaving Beatrice looking as if she had seen a ghost.

She had witnessed how advanced archery combined with a large number of advanced troops could deal excessive damage. After all, the more people there were, the higher the damage would be, which was not a problem.

But Orling, alone with a crossbow, inflicted such terrifying damage, comparable to three Titan's Arrows. Is that even human?
She scrutinized Ouling closely and discovered that not only was he exceptionally skilled in archery and artillery, but he also wielded a tree spirit bow in his left hand and had a divine beast's mane wrapped around his arm, possessing two ranged amplification artifacts. Even so, the ballista shouldn't have inflicted such damage!
"Quick, charge up there and destroy that ballista!"

Now that her whereabouts had been discovered, Beatrice no longer bothered to hide and ordered the gargoyle legions on both sides to quickly approach and destroy this terrifying weapon.

Fortunately, the Void Archmage is immune to group attacks. At most, a single crossbow bolt will kill the nearest mage, unlike killing a gargoyle which would cause massive damage.

While the Earth Bow was immobilized by the Amnesia Spell, the Void Archmage advanced another 400 meters, while the Gargoyle, relying on high-speed flight, flanked from both sides and was already within a kilometer.

She brought over 500 gargoyles and over 200 Void Archmages to this battle, which was a sufficient force. The enemy only appeared to have around 200 Earth Bows. As long as the gargoyles got close, the Void Archmages could use Banish, and even if the enemy's Earth Bows had strong attack capabilities, it would be useless.

Beatrice had a vague feeling that the Earth Bow probably had an abnormally strong attack capability. After all, Orling could cause this kind of damage just by controlling the ballista. If he led hundreds of ranged units, how terrifying would that be?
We must restrain the other party.

"Protective Shield!"

To ensure melee combat capability, she added protective shields to all troops, making it easier to entangle the gargoyles once they charged into the enemy ranks.

Orling fired two more crossbow bolts, and casually used an exorcism spell and a speed boost.

More than 200 gargoyles were killed. The giant crossbow was like a merciless grim reaper, relentlessly reaping the lives of the tower's elite.

The sacrifice of these troops was not in vain; Beatrice saw through Orling's magical proficiency. With exorcism spells from high-level air elementals and low-level water elementals, the opponent might be able to cast an atmospheric shield to block ranged attacks. However, this wouldn't be very effective against a Void Archmage, since Void Banishment could slowly whittle him down.

However, we cannot allow Orling to gain a high-speed casting state, otherwise the Amnesia spell cannot be perfectly chained, and he may be attacked the moment the Archmage enters the range.

Normally, with her own defensive capabilities and the ethereal form of a Void Archmage, she wouldn't have been unable to withstand a single attack. However, after witnessing Ouling's powerful crossbow barrage, she felt somewhat uneasy, fearing that her troops wouldn't be able to withstand a single volley.

So she decided to use the magic most powerful for herself.

"The Slowing Technique!"

Use high earth to slow down the enemy, then follow up with another round of amnesia to ensure the enemy loses their ranged abilities.

The Slow spell can both dispel the enemy's acceleration and limit their ability to strike first. Besides, she only wanted to delay them a bit; Beatrice's real killing move was yet to come.

After the gargoyle approached within 400 meters, its form suddenly disappeared into the void. When it reappeared, it was less than 100 meters away from the Earth Bow, about to land and engage in hand-to-hand combat.

When Ouling saw this, he was also startled. He thought that the other party had the level 3 water magic teleportation and had moved the troops over directly.

His Soul Arrow technique will be greatly weakened in melee combat, unless the unit possesses the characteristic of not losing damage in melee combat, in which case it can continue to inherit the Soul Arrow technique's lethality. If he is restrained by the enemy, it will indeed be very dangerous.

Fortunately, Beatrice cannot teleport. This seems to be a special magic of the Void Cult that allows her to become invisible after taking action and move her troops forward.

【Ethereal Trajectory (Level 2, Special Magic): After a unit moves, it gains an inertial movement speed increase of 3-6 (meaning it can only move forward), appearing in a specific area. This magic cannot be dispelled by basic or intermediate exorcism spells.】 This magic has the advantage of not being dispelled by ordinary exorcism spells, making it a somewhat targeted skill.

Beatrice saw that Orling didn't have any high-level water skills, so she decisively used her ethereal trajectory and then used the timing difference to pounce on the gargoyle, which was a very clever combination.

Unfortunately, she encountered Orling and the Bow of the Earth.

As the gargoyle approached, Ouling stopped pretending and immediately used an exorcism technique to dispel the amnesia.

Beatrice wanted to slow down Orling by slowing him down for a moment. If the exorcism was delayed even a little, the gargoyle would have a chance to pounce, and the amnesia would be rendered useless.

Unfortunately, the Earth Bow possessed Earth Sensing, ignoring the earth element's slowing effect. Orling was completely unaffected; he was waiting for the gargoyle to enter his range before attacking. Seeing that the opponent had a spell like Ethereal Trajectory, he couldn't delay any longer.

As the chaotic thoughts of the Earth Bow gradually returned, it heard Ouling's shouts and raised its stone arrows to launch an attack.

The remaining 200-odd gargoyles, with almost no resistance, exploded into dust in mid-air, filling the sky with lime.

With the troublesome black stones gone, only two elite ranged units remained, and both sides gradually came into firing range.

At this point, Beatrice could no longer care about tactical mistakes. The gargoyles had at least bought her time to advance. Judging from the Earthbow's offensive capabilities, her Void Archmage probably wouldn't be able to fight the opponent head-on and would have to banish him.

So she used the ethereal trajectory on the mage troops, allowing the archmages to blink and directly enter within 500 meters to launch a banishment attack.

Not to be outdone, Orling used Swift Acceleration and Atmospheric Shield to extend the time of Earth Bow's Revolving Spell Arrow and gain ranged resistance.

However, after just one round of attacks, the Void Archmage struck first.

To play it safe, Beatrice had most of the mages use Banish, while a small portion of her troops attacked directly. This caused nearly a hundred Earthbows to fall from the sky, rendering them unable to attack and causing them to suffer continuous damage.

[Void Banishment: Pulls enemies into an unknown void, dealing continuous true damage. The higher the level of the caster compared to the enemy, the greater the success rate, and vice versa. The banishment is lifted if the caster dies.]

The Void Archmage's special abilities typically grant him overwhelming control over lower-level units, making him an extremely effective killing move in one-on-one situations. Combined with Beatrice's powerful High Sage skills, he becomes virtually unstoppable.

After this round of attacks, nearly a hundred Earthbows were trapped, and nearly 40 people died directly. Victory was just around the corner.

But Orling had anticipated the opponent's actions in advance. The Earth Bow was only a moment too slow. He activated the Soul of Vengeance, allowing the Earth Bow to summon a spirit before being banished, which was then aimed at the Void Archmage.

100 people were controlled, 40 were killed? No problem, the Vengeful Spirit will solve the battle immediately.

Nearly 300 ghostly blue arrows were fired in quick succession, heading straight for the archmage and causing devastating damage the moment they touched him.

With the Void Archmage's defense of over 30, he couldn't even withstand a single arrow and exploded on the spot, his flesh mangled beyond recognition.

With the caster gone, the Void Banishment was lifted, and the Earthbow fell from the sky, its body covered in bruises and wounds. Had it been just a minute later, it would likely have died in the void.

It must be said that this type of soldier is quite powerful.

Beatrice was utterly shocked. She had expected the Earth Bow to be powerful, but she hadn't imagined it could be this strong. What kind of ability was this, amplifying the damage several times over?

But there's no time to think about that now. Without troops, the enemy can't withstand her attacks simply by using ranged archers.

Without the slightest hesitation, Beatrice activated the passive magic on her Titan Armor, attempting to escape the battlefield.

Although the shackles of war cover the battlefield, the Stargate is an effect of the cult's special architectural arrangement, and the enemy may not be able to restrict it.

Sure enough, a void gate gradually appeared behind him, its interior filled with dazzling stars, connecting to an unknown distance.

Just as she strode quickly toward the star gate, she saw a beam of light gather in the sky and shoot down, striking the star gate. The stars instantly distorted, and another building appeared in the void—a magnificent palace with a long stone table and a glowing throne at the end. The entire starry sea seemed to be ablaze.

"Do not!!"

Beatrice almost stepped into the stargate when the void inside completely distorted, and the edge of the stargate was burned by fire, disappearing without a trace.

She lost her footing and fell from the clouds, suffering a terrible fall.

When she looked up again, she was surrounded by the Bow of the Earth, with Orling holding the longbow and aiming it at Beatrice's head.

"Warlock, you are doomed this time!"

(End of this chapter)