Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 170 Meteor and Fire Shower
The increased production during the Month of Mighty Troops is a base production increase. Each barracks can train 6 people, and with the upgrade of the Headquarters, through gradual accumulation, Kuraki can obtain 33 people. In addition, with the replenishment of troops from Longlet Castle and Bear Castle, 57 Fearless Swordsmen can be trained every week.

When it comes to truly mass-producing troops, Griffin Cliff has to be the place to go. Benefiting from the "Moon of Mighty Troops" buff, the Advanced Civil Engineering special effect grants 50 griffins. Combined with wild buildings and cities, you can raise 125 griffins per week.

Since a single city can only cast the "Gathering Sands into a Tower" spell once, Su Mu cast a spell at Langlit Castle, which gave the barracks an additional boost, and he gained 12 more fearless swordsmen.

The high intensity of recruitment increases the risk of building damage. Maggie senses the building's capacity in her dreams every day, anticipating potential problems. If any ominous signs appear, she immediately notifies the nearby commanders to repair it.

With this increased sleep time, she no longer had extra free time to learn unknown magic.

Su Mu was indeed able to inherit the Dream Realm's academic knowledge. However, after mastering the basics of low-level magic, comprehending high-level magic within a dream was still quite difficult. Nevertheless, he learned a crucial earth elemental magic: Meteor Shower.

【Meteor Shower (Level 4 Earth Elemental Magic): Summons meteor showers that deal (Spell Power x 25) + 25 damage to all enemies in the area.

Advanced Earth Elemental Mastery: Summons a meteor shower, dealing (Curse Power x25) + 100 damage to all enemies in the area and applying a stack of Meteor Earth effect, increasing earth magic damage taken by all enemies by 10% (cannot be stacked).

Previously, Su Mu's most powerful spell was Undead Slayer, but it had significant limitations. It could only deal with undead, and it required mastery of advanced air elements to unleash its full potential.

However, when it comes to area-of-effect magic, earth magic is definitely the best among the four elements. Combined with Su Mu's advanced earth elemental mastery and combined magic, it becomes a formidable weapon.

Good progress has been made in magic, but recruiting soldiers has run into trouble again. It's the same old problem: not enough money!

Forrest was practically begging Su Mu for money. The number of recruits during the Strong Army Month had surged, and the amount of magic power coins needed for training was close to 10. Even with Su Mu and Maggie's advanced financial management skills, combined with the income from several cities, they could only barely produce 70000 magic power coins, leaving a deficit of nearly 30000.

Fortunately, the westward trade route has temporarily returned to Longlet Castle's control, allowing them to export timber resources and exchange them for gold. Furthermore, Ivan allocated some of Bear Castle's reserves to cover the costs of troop production; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to recruit troops at full capacity.

This can be considered a happy problem. Normally, the income from the entire territory combined with the hero would be enough for recruitment, but the Strong Army Month increased the number of recruits by too much. Maggie also has the ability to deal with the risk of building damage, which is why she can enjoy an unparalleled recruitment speed.

"My lord, if you don't allocate funds soon, I'm going to offer myself to the trading group. I'm 180 pounds of fat, which should be enough to exchange for some money. If all else fails, you can try to find a rich woman, like Miss Maggie. We all agree!"

Forrest was a complete scoundrel, utterly disregarding the treasurer's dignity, and relentlessly demanding money from Sumu.

He was forced into this situation; if things continued like this, Kuraki would truly go bankrupt. But given the current circumstances, recruiting soldiers was the top priority; money could always be saved.

Su Mu could only think of other strategies, setting his sights on gold mines or gold coin-type treasures.

Compared to other mineral resources, gold mines are extremely rare, and even in the North, they are few in number. The kingdom's gold mines are mainly concentrated in the heartland, with the trading city alone boasting two medium-sized gold mines and one large gold mine. This is why the heartland of Konaston wields such a significant influence within the kingdom.

We've just ended a conflict with the nobles in the heartland, and they've quieted down for a while, so it's not a good time to cause trouble.

Finally, their gaze shifted to the north. Two hundred miles north of Bearhold lay a medium-sized gold mine, occupied by Salim's vassals, though most of the profits went into the Duke's treasury. Most importantly, this location was on Isildur's westward route. If the Walled City's army suddenly arrived, could Salim's vassals hold it? Sumu had serious doubts.

However, this is, after all, territory in the North, and it can't be taken by force. They still need to negotiate with Rhodes. Su Mu even thinks that, given Rhodes' current state, he might very well give up this area.

Isildur took the opening in the North very seriously and sent Liven Farrell, the chieftain of the Frost Treants, a powerful treant spellcaster renowned for his ice magic arrays. It was rumored that he possessed all level 4 water magic, and possibly even the extremely rare level 5 magic. This was one of the advantages of the Barrier; even without special methods, high-level cities could establish level 5 magic guilds, and the druids' mastery of nature magic was not much inferior to that of the Tower.

Rhodes had just inherited the duchy and hadn't yet obtained the key to the duchy, so he was reluctant to take the lead in resistance. He wanted to consolidate his power before launching a counterattack, but Isildur gave him no time at all, as a large number of Frost Treants were already advancing step by step, encroaching on the terrain.

Similar to the previous Firewood Forest, this time Frost Tree seeds, which are easier to grow, are being sown in the frigid North, gradually moving towards the heart of the North.

【Frosty Forest (Special Terrain): Barrier races are unaffected by snow when marching in this area, and enemies are affected by water elemental damage by 20% when fighting in this area】

Other factions may possess magic to alter terrain, but the Walled City's tactic of planting trees for rampant growth is unique. Whether it's grassland, swamp, mud, or snow-capped mountains, the Walled City can create advantageous terrain, making them even more difficult to eliminate once they establish a foothold.

If Rhodes really chooses to retreat, Bear Castle will be exposed to the advance of Isildur's forces, which is something that needs to be considered.

"Time! We need time!"

If Sumu had two to three thousand troops within his territory, along with three to four hundred high-ranking soldiers, he would have the courage to challenge Isidore's vanguard in the north.

Su Mu unfolded the map and connected Kurama City, Longlit Castle, and Bear Castle with lines, forming a stable triangle. The situation had changed; Longlit Castle and Kurama City were now in a temporary peace, while Bear Castle, closer to the north, faced multiple enemies: the undead, the bastions, and even demons causing trouble on the border.

That's right, Rhodes sent out a plea for help, one reason being that a border city had been captured by the demon army, and he couldn't even provide assistance. For the Duke of the North to act in this way is simply outrageous.

Don't say the Key to the Duchy is gone. With the wealth of Winterfell, it's enough to arm a powerful Floodwind Swordsman Legion. But Rhodes doesn't want to cause trouble right now; he's essentially a weak person, no wonder he lost Fal Forest before. Even now, with the Void Cult as his backer, he's just a puppet, nothing more.

His gaze shifted to the west side of Bear Fortress, where an abandoned logging camp appeared to still have some timber. Su Mu planned to send Forrest there to explore; if it could help him get a promotion, he'd be willing to spend some money to rebuild it.

This meritorious architect from Kuraki has indeed suffered a lot. He fought so many battles, but he was the only one whose gains were relatively low. He deserves some compensation.

Now that Ivan has taken control of Bear Fortress, Sumu can explore the surrounding resource areas as appropriate.

As for the remaining war, let's hold back for now and recruit soldiers for two weeks first.

If anyone dares to cause trouble, he will drop everything he is doing and chase after them to beat them until they submit!

Having finalized the plan, Su Mu prepared to enter the Dream Realm. He also tried his best to help maintain the safety of the buildings, otherwise Maggie alone would be overwhelmed. After all, building up an army during the Month of Mighty Soldiers comes at a price, and it would be extremely foolish to allow the buildings to be damaged.

Just then, Wayne suddenly burst in and reported some unusual news: "After Gabe and Philip reached the border, they left the escort area without permission and headed into the heart of the trading city. It seems they were met by someone and have escaped our control."

Gabu ultimately felt that a deal reached through a beacon tower was not trustworthy at all, and fearing that Sumu and Rod had reached an agreement to sell him out, he hurriedly ran away as soon as he reached the border, preferring to trust the nobles in the capital.

Su Mu waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Since he wants to die, we don't need to worry about him. Rod might spare his life out of brotherhood, but if he's captured by the Void God Cult, that's another story. It all depends on his luck."

(End of this chapter)