Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 182 Town Defense Magic Array

An eagle soars through the clouds, looking down at the snow-covered land below.

Thousands of Frost Treemen moved through the vast white snowfield. Their giant feet could crush dozens of fully armed gunmen to death, and a single slap could knock down a wall several meters thick. The marching paths resembled ravines plowed out by the snow.

The centaur and archel forces followed the treant army, advancing along the cleared path, and were less affected by the snow.

The sky was filled with silver Pegasus troops, shimmering like clouds illuminated by the sun, drifting gracefully across the sky, keeping watch for any movement dozens of miles away.

Beneath the snow-covered path, groups of dwarves dug tunnels and built trenches, preparing to assemble new siege weapons once they reached the edge of the city's defenses.

The fortress's war machine was running at full speed, like a giant war chariot, capable of crushing everything in its path.

But they were not facing ordinary people either. At the end of the fortified army, the snowy slopes gradually turned into steep cliffs, stretching endlessly.

A colossal wall, hundreds of meters high, forged from ice, stands between the cliffs. Dozens of mountain peaks serve as satellite arrow towers for the fortress, each topped with a small, airy pavilion containing archers and giant crossbows condensed from frost magic. Ordinary flying units simply cannot penetrate its defenses.

A fortified stronghold is not just a single, solid main city; by the time the enemy reaches the city gates, defeat is often imminent. They rely on the surrounding rugged terrain and dozens of defensive buildings protecting the main city, forming layers of defense that support each other, thus achieving an impregnable position.

The use of magic circles is equally important. At the edge of the main city wall, orange-robed witches and a large number of void archmages are inscribing special void arrays to prevent the enemy from using spatial teleportation magic.

[Void Restriction (Town Defense Level 4 Magic Circle): Can temporarily restrict spatial movement magic of level 5 or lower. After a certain period, it restricts the opponent's movement by half until the magic disappears. Duration is affected by the hero's spell power.]

After establishing a castle, you can construct auxiliary defensive buildings, one of which is the defensive magic circle. This magic circle can, to some extent, limit the enemy hero's magic usage. However, to change the magic circle, you need suitable materials and magic circle incantations, and a hero who has mastered this type of basic magic must operate it to achieve the maximum effect.

Originally, Frost Fortress used a water-based defensive magic circle with direct damage skills, but now, in order to counter Leven, the Void Cult has replaced the magic circle.

【Flying Snow in the Frozen Cave (Town Defense Level 3 Magic Circle): Deals a total of 1500 points of frost damage within 150 meters of the city wall, continuously freezing enemies and inflicting the Flying Snow in the Frozen Cave status.

寒窟飞雪状态：1.速度-5（15%）；2.速度-3（40%）；3.速度-1（40%）；4.冻结在原地（5%）。】

The damage from Frostbite is average, but its slowing effect is very strong. However, compared to Void Restriction, it lacks some strategic significance.

Medea, working with the Void Archmage team, can maintain the magic circle for a long time. However, if the magic circle is cast from the beginning, Leven will definitely not move his troops in. They plan to bring in some treants midway through the war and then trap them.

"Liven Farrell is unfathomable. At most, we can put in 1000 treants. Activate the magic circle immediately, or something unexpected might happen!"

Rhodes inspected the defensive magic array, then pulled Medea aside and gave her a series of instructions, clearly showing his deep concern.

If Frost Fortress's defenses weren't insufficient, Rhodes would never have chosen to change the magic array; he's never been one to take risks. However, Medea's promise that she would use the Void Gate to take Rhodes away in the most dangerous situation finally convinced him to take a gamble with Isildur.

After Rhodes left, a ghostly figure appeared beside the orange-robed witch; it was the Nameless One.

"The Duke of the North is so cowardly that he is afraid even with strong fortresses to defend. It would be difficult to expect him to guard the North."

Previously, the Arcane Empire hoped that Saliman would be weaker so that the Empire could gain more benefits on the border. Now, they actually hope that Rhodes will be stronger, at least temporarily stopping Isildur's invasion and preventing any changes on the border.

"Rhodes is weak, so he can only rely on us. Isn't that a good thing?"

Medea smiled charmingly, as if everything was under her control. She and the Nameless One stared at the arrow tower a few hundred meters away, looking at the enormous frost ballista with admiration.

【Frost Ballista (Tier 3, Deployed in a Defensive Tower): The ballista can attack enemy troops from a distance in battle, causing a group freezing effect.

400抗击打值，攻击16，防御16，伤害为（城堡等级+3）×（3~6）+10，基础弹药20。

Defensive towers can only exert partial power.

After upgrading, the blacksmith's shop in a human castle can provide special ballistae, such as the Frost Ballista. These powerful weapons of war can be even more effective when used by artillery heroes. However, during castle defense, there aren't many heroes available to operate the ballistae; they can only provide the most basic castle attack power, supplied by the castle's magic array.

The Frost Ballista is most effective at creating a mass freeze, which can restrict the movement of large numbers of enemies.

"I heard that the Crystal Ballista has higher damage, but it's a pity that Frost Fortress doesn't have one."

"Ultimately, only artillery heroes can bring out the best. If there is a hero with the special skill of crossbowmen, dozens of giant crossbows can be fired at the same time, which even dragons cannot overcome."

The orange-robed witch was clearly familiar with the characteristics of heroes. Although she was a member of the Void Cult, she was well aware of the strengths of each faction. Humans had many heroes who had mastered artillery skills, most of whom hadn't reached advanced levels. Once this skill reached a high level, it would be extremely terrifying.

"I've already discussed it with Rhodes. He'll send a hero with intermediate artillery skills to hide in the tower and wait for the crucial moment to use their artillery skills to split the enemy's advancing line. Then I'll coordinate with them to cast a defensive magic circle, which will be twice as effective!"

It's clear that the orange-robed witch is very invested in this battle, and she's doing her best to help Rhodes even though he's performing poorly.

The nameless one had something to say, but ultimately held back.

As an assassin who had risen to hero status, he knew what to ask and what not to ask. The Void Cult clearly wanted something from Rhodes, but they hadn't gotten it yet.

This secret may only be known to the orange-robed witch.

Just as Rhodes was mustering his troops inside the city, a mournful horn sounded outside the city walls, and the earth began to tremble.

The heroes of the North ascended the city walls and looked out, where they saw a large number of Frost Treants marching forward, approaching the moat.

The silver pegasus slowly rose into the air, approaching the arrow tower as if it were about to launch a major attack.

"Quickly, use magic to send a message to Cold Night City, Bearhold, and the Northern Nobles to send troops to harass Isildor. We just need to hold our ground!"

Rhodes' face turned pale; he was clearly terrified by the enemy army and hurriedly called for help and reinforcements.

Several core nobles from Winterfell followed along. They were all veterans who had fought alongside Old Salman through countless battles. Even though Isildur's army was formidable, they believed they could rely on the fortified city for defense.

But seeing his own duke looking terrified, he immediately felt deflated.

Calling for help before even fighting? That's not like a man from the North! He should just go and fight those treant bastards first.

The castle's morale immediately dropped a bit.

(End of this chapter)