Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 204 The Glory of Heroes and Soldiers
Liliana controlled the weakened Horror Knights, a total of more than thirty, barely meeting the requirements of the Wandering Scholar.

Ordinary undead are immune to mind magic, but even the undead cannot withstand Liliana's deadly seduction. The Dread Knight stood rooted to the spot, staring at the Night Queen, obeying her commands willingly, even if she ordered him to die.

When Su Mu and the others returned to Bear Fortress, in addition to arranging necessary guards, they specially had several generals lead everyone in celebrating the victory.

The soldiers sang and danced, drank and ate heartily, and even received gold coin subsidies from the council.

Many people were resurrected through reincarnation in this great war, and having experienced life-and-death trials, their mindsets have changed.

Even so, the soldiers who were besieged by the undead army and defended the city to the death are heroes worthy of praise, and it is necessary to give everyone a few days to relax.

The nobles of Bearhold were somewhat worried, fearing that the undead might rise from the ashes, and given that the war had not yet ended, such indulgence might not be a good thing.

Ivan, however, only listened to Sumu; whatever the lord told him to do, he did. Although superhuman soldiers are no longer human in terms of ability, their emotions are still human; they experience joy and sorrow, love and hate, and even fatigue and fear.

After a series of battles, even the most resilient soldiers need to take a break and relax their tense nerves, otherwise they will turn into monsters who only know how to kill, which is not the kind of evolution that humanity should take.

"Don't worry, I've sent Orling with a small rotating squad to patrol the city walls, and Wayne has also led some thieves to gather intelligence. To the north, Leven is besieging Frost Fortress without attacking, and the undead army has just been repelled. There are also reinforcements coming from the fortress to the south, so there won't be any problems for the time being."

The soldiers fight almost every day, not knowing when they will die, and now they don't know when they will be reborn. It's good for them to relax a little.

Seeing Ivan looking preoccupied, Su Mu comforted him.

"Yes, the war has been raging and the kingdom is on the verge of collapse. The soldiers have risked their lives to defend their homeland, and they deserve this victory celebration."

The two looked down at the city below. Although the city's inhabitants had been evacuated and the once bustling shops were gone, the soldiers had formed their own groups, raising their cups in celebration. Shield bearers lowered their great shields, archers drew their powerful crossbows, griffins and swordsmen frolicked, and the group danced a war dance around the bonfire, chanting sacred names aloud.

Of course, the weapons and armor were neatly arranged in the armory, not far from where they were celebrating. Everyone remembered their duty and was ready to don their armor and go into battle immediately if there was any real danger.

"The glorious victory is not only the glory of the heroes, but also the glory of all the soldiers!"

Bringing them out of the battlefield alive is the greatest achievement of this campaign. War always results in death, but every soldier saved adds a solid foundation for our resurgence.

Ivan looked into the lord's eyes, those eyes, reddened by flames, gleaming with unwavering conviction.

He had been worried about his father and brother's injuries, as well as the trouble caused by the undead hunting down the Argyll family, but now all of that had vanished.

With a lord around, no one can bully them.

Ivan suddenly smiled, never expecting that the joke they made when they were drunk would actually come true.

[Having experienced a glorious victory, you have become more proficient in combat skills, gaining +1 Attack, +1 Knowledge, and have learned Intermediate Offensive Techniques and Basic Combo Tactics.]

[Intermediate Offensive Tactics: Increases the damage of the commanded troops' melee physical attacks by 20%.]

[Basic Magic Battle Formation: Establish a magic battle formation at the start of the battle. It can make troops move quickly and form teams within a small area, and give them the Frenzy Formation effect.]

Basic Frenzy: Grants all subordinate soldiers +1 damage and +1 speed.

After this great battle, all the generals gained something. Ivan learned a new skill: a basic magical battle formation. Normally, the Fearless Swordsman would be a bit too far off to launch his lightning strike at the start of the battle. But with the magical battle formation in place, he could directly rush to the side of ranged units and launch an attack. Normally, fragile mages or archers simply couldn't withstand the Fearless Swordsman's attack. Even if they could withstand a fatal blow, they would lose their ranged abilities, greatly reducing their power.

However, what Su Mu valued most about this skill was that advanced battle formations could comprehend combined attack techniques, which was the most effective way for lower-level troops to deal with higher-level troops. Can you imagine tens of thousands of skeletons converging into bone swords tens of meters long, slicing through the wind to kill a holy dragon?

This is the ultimate power of a battle formation. If you were to surround a large number of skeletons and hack them away, it would be very difficult to achieve the desired effect.

Of course, there are also magic circles in battle formations that enhance magicians and ranged units. Ivan hasn't learned them yet, but that doesn't mean he can't learn them later; he has a lot of potential.

Su Mu patted Ivan on the shoulder to encourage him, then turned his gaze to Ouling, who was on patrol.

After a difficult battle, Orling has gained a new understanding of the ballista's secrets, gaining +1 attack, +1 defense, and mastering Advanced Spirit Spell Artillery and Advanced Water Elemental Mastery.

【Advanced Spirit Spell Artillery: Proficiently control top-tier ballistae (up to level 7) to attack targets, greatly increasing the number of attacks and damage (3 attacks, 100% chance of double damage), and can add spirit spell abilities (Soul Arrow can be added to the ballistae), and simultaneously control multiple ballistae (number = spell power).

Learn the special magic spell crossbow

【Spirit Crossbow (Special Magic): Combines a certain number of ranged unit ammunitions, attaches them to the crossbow bolts, and fires them together. It inherits the unit's characteristic abilities, ignores 50% of the hero's defense bonus, and deals fan-shaped area damage (calculated by adding the base damage value).

It can be imbued with the energy of the four elements, turning it into an elemental attack and adding elemental magic effects (for example, if you add a barrage of fireballs, this magic effect will be triggered after the crossbow hits the enemy, which requires the hero's magic points).

The number of troops gathered is affected by the power of the spell, and is also boosted by the level of the ballista.

Ouling's long-cherished Spirit Spell Cannon Technique has finally reached the advanced level, and he has mastered the special magical Spirit Spell Divine Crossbow. This not only gives ranged archers area-of-effect attacks, but also allows them to switch to elemental attacks and add elemental magic, making them feel like they have divine assistance.

The only pity is that Orling currently does not have a suitable high-level ballista. If there is an opportunity, he should apply to the kingdom for a few powerful ballistas for this artillery specialist to carry.

As for the advanced water element mastery, its power goes without saying. Kuraki has finally acquired his own exorcism master, and his tactical importance is self-evident.

The last one to be promoted was Maggie, a dream sorceress with exceptional talent who gained unique insights during this great battle.

Maggie gains +1 Defense, +1 Spell Power, and has learned Advanced Dream Domain Studies and Intermediate Fire Element Mastery.

[Advanced Dream Domain Scholarship: Enables heroes to teach and learn magic, influenced by the Wisdom spell. Allows mutual learning of level 5-6 magic. If one meditates and enters a dream in a place with abundant magic, there is a greater chance of learning unknown magic and special knowledge (significantly increased chance, influenced by knowledge).]

Able to cast a dream barrier, creating a special effect (fixing a spell on the battlefield, which cannot be dispelled; duration is affected by spell power. Affected by Wisdom spells, currently only able to use one's own elemental magic)

Advanced Dream Domain Science is a powerful skill capable of permanently solidifying magic and forming unique barriers. Furthermore, it can synergize with Advanced Intelligence Magic; what if the solidified magic isn't just one's own magic?
That would be a truly terrifying scene; just thinking about it is exciting.

Although the battle was extremely difficult and they were almost wiped out, the gains were also very rich.

Not only do they possess powerful treasures, but they also elevate several key generals to a new level, which will be of great help in the upcoming battle against Isildur.

Su Mu was very satisfied with the promotions of his generals, and now it was his turn.

After arranging the defenses, Su Mu led 30 terrifying knights into the Magic Guild's dream world to find the wandering scholar.

(End of this chapter)