Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 147 Huge Expenses

Even with a base of 6 people per week at the temple, plus the castle's growth rate bonus, there are only 12 people per week, which is extremely rare.

But Orling was very excited; he had already begun to incorporate monks into his team and train them with the Earthbow.

Compared to the Earthbow of the Church, the damage output of a level 5 unit is several times higher. Even without considering the difference in attack and defense, each monk can deal 26 damage, and with the added effect of Vengeful Spirit, the power is even greater.

Although the rapid-fire effect is gone, the monk's single shot is equivalent to four arrows, which is no joke.

The perfect unit that Orling wanted most was naturally the Arcane Prayer. It had high damage fluctuations, was not afraid of melee combat, and could add magic every once in a while. It was simply tailor-made for him.

I heard that the Philosopher's Stone has been placed in the Trade Space, and they will be able to obtain the material once Beatrice returns to the Arcane Empire.

Forrest has returned to Kurama City and begun the initial construction. He is just waiting for the core materials to be obtained so that the Mystic Sanctuary can be completed immediately.

During this period, Orling has accumulated more than 100 Earth Bows, bringing the total to 321 Earth Bows, barely recovering some of its strength.

If we were to ask who is currently the most prominent among the generals, it would undoubtedly be Ivan.

He not only led the shield soldiers, but also commanded the thunder swordsmen.

A full 70 Thunder Swordsmen wielded their swords freely in the training ground, sweeping away thousands of soldiers.

This is also because we are entering the month of calamity, and all types of troops are restricted. Otherwise, if we had accumulated more experience, the Thunder Swordsmen could have reached 100, and no unit below level 5 would be able to defeat them.

The only place unaffected was Griffin Cliff. Thanks to the special effects of advanced earth and wood, the growth rate of griffins remained unchanged during the Month of Calamity. Combined with the magic of earth and wood gathering sand into a tower, they frantically recruited wild griffins, reaching 425, making them the most numerous unit type at present.

【Building a Tower from Sand (Level 2, Earth): Uses sand to replicate buildings in the main city. The effect and duration are affected by the level of Earth magic.

Advanced Earth Elemental Mastery: Level 1-4 buildings, 100% productivity, can only be maintained for 3 weeks, 1-week cooldown.

Su Mu has perfected the use of the earth elemental spell "Gathering Sand to Form a Tower." It can last for three weeks every month and increase the production of a certain type of unit by three-quarters, which is even more powerful than a divine gift.

Moreover, the territory is home to two heroes with advanced earth elemental proficiency, who can even amplify the two cities of Langlit Castle and Kuraki City.

After the previous construction and the renovation of the temple, Forrest has successfully mastered advanced earth elemental mastery and gained +1 knowledge.

For architects, spell power and knowledge are clearly the focus, but Forrest's defensive capabilities are also quite high. If he encounters a city defense situation, he can use various buildings that increase morale and defense to fight a very good defensive battle.

The current consensus is to help architects improve their logging skills.

With Beatrice's failure and the Void Cult seeking stability, Rhodes completely abandoned his westward expansion plans and became willing to do business with the Plains Nobles in the borderlands.

Thus, Lord Nite Sack of Graystone City became a laughingstock. Salim had intended to use him as a pioneer against Longlet Castle, but by giving up his exclusive control of the passage, the small city naturally became useless.

"Lady Maggie, listen to me, I was also bewitched and fell into Salman's trap. He coerced and tempted me, threatening my family, and I had no choice but to comply."

"Give me a chance, and I promise to do a good job in the trade. All the taxes from the next few months—no, a year—will be handed over to the county seat!"

Seeing that he had lost support, Nite realized he was in grave danger and immediately brought a large amount of treasure to Longlet Castle to try and persuade them. However, none of the nobles dared to accept his money, and they all refused to see him. This fellow was the first to stand up and give false testimony, almost ruining the Marquis's life. If it weren't for the Knight Commander's keen observation, Maggie would have been held accountable. Such behavior was tantamount to betrayal and could not be forgiven.

Having no other choice, he went to the council to see the Marquis and offered a large amount of treasure in exchange for forgiveness.

Maggie looked at the man kneeling and begging for mercy without the slightest pity. If it were the old her, she might have listened to the opinions of others after taking the money and reduced the punishment to show magnanimity.

Well now.

“Nite has committed treason, colluding with nobles from other regions in an attempt to frame this Marquis. All his property is confiscated, the jurisdiction of the Lord of Graystone is revoked, and he is ordered to leave within seven days.”

"By the way, Lord Saxton, please remember to hand over the management of the forest farm. Don't keep me waiting."

After Maggie finished speaking, the entire room fell silent. The nobles around her looked at each other, not daring to even breathe loudly, let alone beg for mercy from Nite.

Nite looked at the nobles, his despair growing, and he began to reveal his true colors: "I am a viscount appointed by the king. Unless I defect from the empire, you have no right to dismiss me. And you, are you just going to let her do whatever she wants? Garfield's reputation has plummeted. If she is so harsh on her vassals, who will serve her?"

Watching Nate roar wildly, Maggie remained unmoved. She waited until he finished speaking before standing up and looking around: "What, do any of you nobles share the same opinion as him?"

"No, no, no! How could that be? Nite, as a viscount, is guilty of colluding with the North and deserves this punishment."

"He still shows no remorse and should be severely punished."

The nobles shook their heads, hastily distancing themselves from the relationship.

Having received a satisfactory answer, Maggie turned her head and looked coldly at NEET: "I'm not discussing this with you, but informing you of the verdict."

"How can a marquis treat his vassals with the teachings of a traitor like you?"

“Oling has already taken my orders to take over Graystone City. If you continue to resist, I will treat you and your men as traitors.”

As for the chests you're trying to smuggle to the Trading City, those are Graystone City's treasures. If I see even a single penny missing from the city's treasury, you might as well not even be leaving!

The blatant threat made NEET's face turn pale, and he trembled with fear.

Who is Orling? He's a hero who could defeat the Void Cult and leave Salman speechless. Dealing with the guards of Graystone City would be a piece of cake for him.

Maggie's meaning was clear: pay money to ransom them, and she would let the Saxton family go, but only if they paid a sufficient price.

In peacetime, Nite might have been able to leverage his network of connections to pressure Maggie from the powerful nobles. But now, with Longletburg at the height of its power, who would risk offending Maggie for the sake of a mere viscount?

"Alright, Lady Maggie, I'll hand over all the castle's money, please let us leave!"

Maggie waved her hand, as if shooing away flies.

"roll!"

NEET fled in panic.

According to the treasurer's calculations, Graystone City can provide 44000 gold coins, 45 logs, 30 raw stones, 10 crystals, 6 gems, 12 mercury, and 9 sulfur.

As a gateway city to the heart of the kingdom, Graystone City has a considerable amount of commercial tax revenue and has accumulated a wealth of gold coins.

For Maggie, confiscating wealth was more important than killing to establish authority. Besides, the viscount, now penniless and without a city, would probably suffer more than being killed if he led a large group of people to flee to the trading city and lived a life of poverty for the rest of his life.

This fortune somewhat alleviated her severe financial pressure, giving her a sigh of relief.

Currently, both Langlit Castle and Kuraki City are recruiting soldiers at full capacity, and it takes more than 50000 spell power coins every week to barely keep up with the demand for troops.

With the support of the county town, Cangmu, and the two financial management techniques, they have a weekly income of 35000 spell power coins, a difference of 15000.

Recently, logs have been used to make wood ash, making it impossible to exchange them for other resources, and funds have become extremely tight.

The month of calamity led to a decrease in troop production, which barely allowed the economy to break even.

If you were to ask Maggie what skill she most wants to learn right now, it would probably be advanced financial management.

It's just wishful thinking; it's obvious that her financial management skills need improvement.

Once Orling takes over the forest, Forrest can find another forest to improve his logging skills. By utilizing the westward route, he might be able to obtain more resources to alleviate his immediate crisis.

Just then, Ivan brought back bad news.

"Whitestone City is facing a food shortage, and the Argyle family is struggling to survive. As the number of deaths increases, there are even signs of it being haunted!"

(End of this chapter)