Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 188 Testing
Ivan and Sumu's army had just arrived at the border.

Scouts discovered that Isildur had several thousand soldiers stationed in the snow-capped mountains, ready for battle.

Since Wayne wasn't with them, they couldn't examine the enemy's formation in detail. Seeing that the enemy's lineup was well-organized and imposing, it was probably not as they had previously investigated.

Just as Su Mu was about to use the investigative technique, an unexpected incident occurred: Wayne's magical power was so weak that it was unable to sustain the investigative process.

There are two possibilities: either Wayne died, causing the governance to break down naturally; or the governance was interrupted due to powerful magic.

Either way, it's not a good sign, indicating that the troops heading east are in serious danger.

"Halt the march! There's an emergency to the east!"

Maggie stood beside him, and although she was slightly puzzled, she immediately sent a message to Ivan at the front, ordering him to halt the advance.

Thus, the two armies were separated by a snow-capped mountain. Air forces took off to keep watch on each other, and war could break out at any moment.

"What's going on? It's just across a snow-capped mountain. I've already had the Fearless Swordsmen prepare. As long as we charge through, I guarantee those centaurs and dwarves will be in deep trouble!"

Ivan returned to the central army, full of confidence. Despite having only two hundred or so fearless swordsmen under his command, he believed that a single lightning raid could crush the enemy's forces.

This time, it was Maggie who issued a warning: "I used my Earth-Seeing ability to see that the enemy's troops and defenses are far apart, and each legion is very scattered. Even if you manage to raid the enemy at the front line, you will only kill a few hundred dwarves, which will not affect the overall situation."

Moreover, something happened to the east; Wayne and the thieves seem to have been completely wiped out.

Ivan looked at Sumu in disbelief; after all, the destruction of a bandit group under the rule of the authorities contained a great deal of information.

"Has Wayne not sent back any intelligence? Even if he's surrounded, he should have had time to warn us!"

Su Mu shook his head: "That's exactly what I was worried about. The fact that Wayne is unable to transmit messages, combined with the enemy he's fighting, could very well lead to the worst possible outcome."

However, the situation isn't too dire. Wayne possesses exceptional reconnaissance and escape skills; if the enemy forgets about his reconnaissance, he can use logistics to leave.

Before the great war began, Su Mu's decision to send Wayne to scout the eastern region was a well-thought-out one. If anyone among his men could survive being forgotten, it would undoubtedly be Wayne; even Su Mu couldn't have done it.

Ivan said with some concern, "Then what do we do? The Isidore army is arrayed here. If we don't fight a single battle, the North will probably collapse!"

Maggie shook her head: "The kingdom isn't just about us being able to fight. The Salman family in the North didn't want to help this fool in the first place. If they are defeated in one blow, no one can help them. Rather than that, we should defend the plains first, ensure that we don't lose any troops, and then we'll have another chance."

Although Maggie's words were tinged with personal emotion, they were quite truthful. If so many heroes in the North could defend a fortified fortress only to have it fall in a few days, then sending reinforcements would be pointless.

Their northward expedition was merely to harass the enemy and distract them; they did not actually intend to defeat Levin Farrell with only 2000 men. If that were the case, Isidore would have been driven back long ago.

The two looked at the lord, and Su Mu made a decision after thinking for a moment: "The enemy's troops are scattered. You take a garrison of Gale Griffins to charge the front and test the enemy's reaction."

If the enemy collapses at the first contact, or if their will to resist is weak, you should drive them back and immediately retreat so we can return to Bear Fort.

If the enemy puts up a fierce resistance and receives substantial reinforcements from the surrounding areas, then deploy your fearless swordsmen, and we'll launch a full-scale attack!

Upon hearing Su Mu's command, Ivan and Maggie were both stunned, as this was completely contrary to the usual battle situation.

When the enemy retreats, we retreat; when the enemy defends, we launch a strong attack.

However, Ivan was a hero who had fought in many battles, and he quickly understood what Sumu meant.

Without reconnaissance technology, they are unable to obtain intelligence on enemy troop strength. Esidor's southern legion is likely not as weak as it appears, and Sumu fears an ambush is brewing.

"Order!"

Ivan took off with 200 Gale Griffins, and Maggie used Swift Acceleration on them, instantly creating a tense atmosphere over the snow-capped mountains.

Isildur's silver pegasus rallied a portion, led by a druid, and launched a counterattack. The two sides clashed atop the snow-capped peak. Despite unleashing all their magic, the enemy was no match for Ivan, and after losing over a hundred silver pegasus, they hastily retreated.

The great elves on the ground assisted in the retreat, and the arrows that struck the wings of the Gale Griffin were like hitting a steel plate, having no effect whatsoever.

Ivan, caught up in the killing frenzy, charged down from the air, tearing the centaur and dwarf troops to shreds and routing their forces.

After this harassment, the enemy army gradually rallied, but instead of launching a counterattack, they retreated to the second line of defense. It seemed they were trying to regroup, but they appeared hesitant and cowardly. Ivan raised his arm and shouted, and the fearless swordsmen sharpened their weapons, seemingly preparing for a full-scale assault.

Maggie frowned slightly above the encampment. She thought Ivan had gone too far in the killing and forgotten Su Mu's instructions. Just as she was about to send a message, she saw the griffin army returning from the horizon.

A few minutes later, Ivan landed at the camp, his face ashen: "I probed the enemy's battle formation several times, but I couldn't see any trace of the Frost Treants. These lackeys in front of the enemy's lines are just to mislead us."

"The southern legion that Leven sent has grand ambitions!"

Fearing he wouldn't be able to probe the enemy's deployment through aerial combat, Ivan deliberately went to the ground. Despite his repeated victories, he grew increasingly terrified. This proved the lord's guess was correct; Isildur truly had a plan.

If Levin wants to wipe out their main force, he can't do it with just 5000 low-level troops; he'll need high-level troops. Therefore, Frost Fortress won't face too much attack pressure.

"That bastard Rhodes! If I find out he's intentionally withholding military intelligence, I'll chop him up the next time we meet!"

The North is still in rescue mode, either because the siege is genuinely difficult, or because Levin has played a trick; in any case, there must be an information gap involved.

"The whole army retreats!"

Having already detected the other party's conspiracy, and with problems arising in the east, Su Mu decided to temporarily return to Bear Fortress to reconsider the situation.

Just then, a special magical fluctuation came over. Su Mu closed his eyes and concentrated, and learned the information transmitted by Ouling.

As expected, Wayne, having forgotten about scouting, suffered a crushing defeat. The enemy possessed a powerful undead hero who had blocked their westward journey. Although the enemy's specific objectives were unclear, Orling took a gamble, making the most of his reserve forces.

"Go! Turn back quickly! The undead are attacking Bear Fortress, and this time the enemy is extremely powerful."

Ivan and Maggie had never seen their lord so serious; the information about Ouling was probably extremely critical. Even so, Su Mu didn't panic completely, and still took out the magic map, searching for an opportunity to strike.

It now appears that with Isildur's army to the north and undead forces to the east, the situation is dire.

He also had to call for help: "Write a letter to the judge priest, telling him that the spirits of the dead have returned and need the help of the priest of light!"
"Then ask the kingdom for help, saying that Isildur has colluded with multiple forces and their military power is too great, requiring reinforcements!"

Of course, these are all external assistance; the real battle still depends on our own people to hold the line.

Hopefully, Ouling can arrive in time.

……

Separated by a mountain, the fortified army retreated in panic, and the vanguard was indeed stunned. Faced with a hero like Ivan who was immune to physical attacks, defeat was inevitable.

But this was because they thought they really only had this small force, and naturally dared not be careless in the face of life and death.

Further on, there's a mountain with a dense forest. The ground is covered with a large number of frost-covered tree roots, which look like ordinary trees, but in fact, they all exude a natural aura.

Once Ivan's forces pursue for a few thousand more meters and enter the encirclement of the mountains, a large number of tree people will awaken. The Silver Pegasus Star is already in position by the Hidden Lake, waiting for the battle to begin before joining the army. At that time, wouldn't it be a piece of cake for tens of thousands of core legions to face two thousand troops?
Moreover, Li Wen had made special preparations to deal with Su Mu, ensuring that he would not return alive.

"such a pity!"

A druid who had transformed into a snow eagle, Ice Roar Bourne Green, stood on a tree branch, watching the castle army retreat, feeling resentful.

"The enemy's war instincts are too sharp. Even though we had all the intelligence under control, they still noticed something was wrong. Where exactly did things go wrong?"

He figured he couldn't possibly come up with the idea that the undead had acted prematurely, revealing their intentions. Otherwise, this ambush might have actually succeeded.

He wanted to lead his team out to find Su Mu and fight him, but the encirclement was too loose, and it might be too late to catch up now.

Or should we head north to support Leven and launch a full-scale offensive?

But Bonn wasn't sure if Su Mu had really left. By the time the news came back, the fighter jet had been completely lost.

"Let's take a longer-term view. The North is like a leaky house; it won't last much longer!"

(End of this chapter)