Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 146 Temple
In the past few days, Sumu mobilized a large number of soldiers and farmers in Langlitburg to make log ash and sprinkle it on the land in preparation for a new round of farming.

Although the snow was thick, it did not pose a challenge to the extraordinary troops. In just a few days, they cleared hundreds of acres of land, planted wheat, and will be able to harvest it in half a month.

During this time, Maggie also unleashed several waves of fire magic, with remarkable effects. Her control over fire was exquisite; the melting snow from the winter snow irrigated the fields, eliminating the need for fertilization and watering.

After observing farming for several days, Su Mu discovered that the civilization in the magical world was actually quite advanced. Not only was the energy of the fields abundant, but even some farming tools were quite efficient. No wonder they could support so many people.

However, the month of calamity had a significant impact, and fortunately Forrest found a solution in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Of course, most civilizations suffer enormous losses when faced with severe natural disasters, and some may even face extinction. This winter's heavy snowfall may just be a harbinger, and even more devastating calamities may follow.

However, judging from the response to this disaster, magic remains the primary productive force in the world of heroes. We must conduct detailed research on extraordinary resources and magical energy in order to address different challenges.

He sent Cedros to study at the Tower for this reason. After all, the Tower is a magical holy land among many forces, possessing the most comprehensive information and history. If there is an opportunity to build a Tower city in the future, preparations must be made as soon as possible, because a royal city cannot be built in a day.

In fact, many cities were not rigorously researched and designed when they were first built, which led to certain bottlenecks later on.

Forrest lingered in Longlet Castle for many days. Su Mu originally wanted him to renovate the county town like Cangmu City, but he encountered great trouble.

"When this city was originally designed and built, the development of magical power was not taken into consideration. The energy flow between the boundary stones and the earth spirits has an upper limit. Moreover, the barracks area and the commercial area are very close to each other, resulting in an uneven distribution of magical power. It can no longer withstand further expansion."

You can only choose one bonus from the four types of war buildings, and you cannot build auxiliary buildings.

If we want to achieve comprehensive development like Kuraki, we must demolish and rebuild! Otherwise, building each additional special building will require several times the resources, which is not worthwhile.

This is still the prefectural capital, which is considered a relatively good situation. The expansion and construction of ordinary cities probably wouldn't withstand the coming month of disaster.

Although Forrest was an architect, he still had to follow the rules of extraordinary architecture. The reason why Kuraki City was built so well was because he personally took charge of everything from the very beginning. Every brick and stone was Forrest's hard work. He opened up the transportation channels for the earth spirits and perfectly integrated the boundary stones into the city, which enabled the supply of such high energy.

In his words, as long as there are enough boundary stones, the kingdom allows it, and the prerequisite buildings are met, Kuraki City can even build a level 7 combat building and summon angels. That's his confidence.

However, if the expansion is forced, it will cause operational problems and bring unexpected disasters, especially since this is a month of calamities.

In short, a weak foundation leads to instability and collapse.

However, Forrest had mastered advanced civil engineering, and he offered his advice: "Langlit Castle has a council, and now the Church of Light has also delegated the right to build temples. We can use the most valuable slots on temples to increase their weekly output."

"Once we obtain the Philosopher's Stone in Kuraki Castle, we can build the Mystic Sanctuary. Training monks there will yield the greatest benefits."

This seems to be the best option. Su Mu's only consideration is whether or not to focus on the sword soldier camp, but the Archbishop of Light brought the divine body, and there are still enough level 4 troops, so there is no need to worry too much.

"Then let's do it your way and build a temple!"

[Temple: Monks are allowed to be trained here.]

Basic production: 3/week (Castle bonus: 6/week);

Recruitment cost: 400 gold coins per person
Special Effect (Advanced Civil Engineering): Projects a second pavilion above the city, increasing the base training population by 3 per week, requiring 1,000 people to be stationed there for prayer. Can mitigate certain disaster effects; the more people there are, the better the effect.

Special Costs: 9000 Gold, 10 Primogems, 10 Logs, 4 Gems, 4 Crystals, 4 Sulfur, 4 Mercury. As a building controlled by the Church of Light, the temple is a secular extension of the religious supernatural power. Now that the country is in crisis, its jurisdiction has been delegated to noble lords, and they will be more tolerant in terms of doctrine.

Although everyone believes in the light, the scope of the light is too vast, and the scriptures to be studied need to be deciphered. In addition, the fact that nobles funded the construction and sent people to practice there all had certain political significance.

Of course, the situation has only just been opened up at this stage, and with Isildur's army at the gates, the monks and nobles are naturally united. If peace is restored in the future, there will likely be another power struggle.

Su Mu took preventative measures, as the temple's abbot was trained by mages from the magic guild. Light magic is, in essence, a kind of magic, and the priest profession merely mythologized its existence.

If there were truly virtuous people who had awakened to the light, Su Mu would not hesitate to share power with them. Unfortunately, they were all hypocrites who deceived the world and stole fame, so it was better to be more worldly.

As the consul, his power undoubtedly lay with the electoral monarchy.

However, the Church of Light still had a base of support in the kingdom. After the temple was fully completed, nearly tens of thousands of people lined up to pay their respects and pray.

What started as an unremarkable church or monastery became radiant and dazzling as more and more believers visited, giving people hope and strength.

Maggie stood outside the courtyard, sensing the peculiar energy, and commented, "The power of the cult is indeed unparalleled. As long as the number of believers gathers to a certain extent, even if the believers do not have magical energy, they can still generate powerful light magic."

Su Mu waved his hand, indicating that he had a different opinion: "Ordinary people in the Hero World also have a foundation of magical power, although it is very weak, it has great potential. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain the phenomenon that they can grow into powerful soldiers after undergoing extraordinary architectural training."

Other races are one thing, but humans, in particular, have a very high potential for growth.

Rather than calling it divine power, it's more accurate to say it's the combined power of a multitude of spells.

Maggie stole a few glances at Su Mu, not daring to say anything more. Although the nobles were sometimes quite blasphemous, they still had a certain reverence for the religion. Su Mu was the only one who so openly revealed the rules of divine authority and magical power.

After the city dwellers finished singing praises of the light, they returned to their hard work for the day. Newly trained monks were also dispatched to join the large army of farmers, using simple healing methods to enhance the people's endurance.

Everyone was flattered; monks who were usually high and mighty in other cities were now doing such lowly work.

But the more this is the case, the stronger people's confidence becomes, believing that the light is so close to them, and this cold winter doesn't seem so hard to endure.

Farmers, merchants, officials, and soldiers—each had their own roles, yet they united as one and worked together to overcome difficulties. While they may never achieve perfect equality, a basic sense of fairness was deeply ingrained in their hearts, and this was the foundation.

As the people are, so will the future. Maggie reflected on the heroes who had been ruled, noting that each had brought about the current situation by utilizing their unique strengths.

Whom would Su Mu favor? Even Forrest, who was one of the earliest followers and had a reputation for greed, dared not cross his line.

In this era where everyone is competing to be the worst, he's a breath of fresh air.

Even setting aside management aspects, Su Mu is capable of winning battles; he has never been defeated in foreign campaigns and can protect his people. In a kingdom plagued by constant warfare, this is perhaps his greatest advantage.

Perhaps that's the charm of a ruler.

(End of this chapter)