Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 209 Taking on Side Hustles
Su Mu stayed in Cangmu City, waiting for the next astrological month.

A strange story came along: lumberjacks had found gold dust in the stream, and everyone was overjoyed.

But when people were sent to search carefully, they could not find the specific source of the gold, as if it had fallen from the sky.

It wasn't until the magicians consulted the scriptures at the magic guild that they determined the cause.

[Gold Rush Month: All Cursed Coin earnings are doubled this month, with a chance to encounter new special gold mines!]

This is fantastic news! My previously tight budget has suddenly become much more abundant.

With just the help of Su Mu and Maggie, two high-level dream financial managers and treasures, they can earn 120000 spell power gold coins a week, not to mention the fixed income from the three cities.

Forrest instantly became a nouveau riche, no longer the timid man he once was, and now he walks with his head held high wherever he goes.

He had never been this wealthy since he started following Su Mu, and now he had more confidence to trade with the ship merchants of the Jade Kingdom.

Of course, now there is an additional task: to search for new gold mines in the plains.

There are no gold mines in the Xilin Plain. Perhaps they have been exhausted, or perhaps for other reasons. In any case, no nobles have discovered any new gold mines in recent years, and resources are limited.

Previously, Su Mu hadn't had any hope for the gold mine, but now that it's gold rush month, he can start to look ahead.

Moreover, special gold mines are different from ordinary gold mines; they are essentially upgraded versions. Meeting certain conditions will increase production and may even condense new gold coin-producing treasures, making them extremely rare. If he were to acquire another treasure, Kuraki would truly be flush with cash.

Even without gold-producing treasures, owning a medium-level or higher gold mine can enhance the strength of your territory.

Su Mu wanted to see what would happen if he spent a million gold coins in a month.

This kind of thing can't be rushed; we can only search slowly. Su Mu instructed Wayne to lead the thieves to gather information.

Previously, due to financial constraints, there wasn't enough money to recruit soldiers for Wayne. Now that there's spare money, we'll give Wayne a full-strength army to replenish the Silver Snow Bandits who were previously lost. We'll also have him establish a multi-city joint thief guild to manage city intelligence in a unified manner.

However, the search for gold mines also faces some obstacles. With the arrival of the Gold Rush Month, new wild monsters have appeared on the land, namely the Gold-Loving Beasts, which are quite difficult to deal with.

Gold-Loving Beast (Neutral Tier 5 Unit): Attack 13, Defense 13, Damage 5-20, Health 60, Speed ​​5, Size Medium or Larger.

Element: Earth.

Gold Lover: Possesses an extremely strong sense for gold coins. Consuming gold coins increases damage output and critical hit rate (up to 15%).

Extraordinary Golden Skin: Fixed increase of 50% physical immunity and fixed increase of 50% critical strike immunity.

These gold-devouring beasts are four-legged magical beasts, enormous in size, their bodies covered in magical gold dust. In critical moments, they can harden their skin to withstand fatal attacks, making them difficult to deal with with ordinary physical attacks. It's best to have mages fight them.

However, there are quite a few of them, and using magic alone to deal with them would consume a lot of magic points. Currently, apart from Maggie and Su Mu, there are no suitable candidates.

Wayne originally intended to deal with these troublesome gold-devouring beasts slowly, but Maggie found him a suitable candidate.

Maggie led Wayne into the magic guild, where they saw a woman draped in a black magic robe. Even though she no longer revealed any flesh, her figure was still perfectly displayed.

Even bandits, upon seeing each other, would be somewhat dazzled and would have to bite their tongues to bring themselves back to their senses.

"Lady Maggie, who is this?" "Liliana, Kuraki's new ally, but her special skills are somewhat unique, so we'll try to keep them hidden."

Liliana waved her hand, and hundreds of bats appeared in the dark room, flashing a bright red light and staring hungrily at the humans.

Wayne immediately understood what "special" meant: Liliana actually controlled the cemetery's troops, which was practically taboo in human kingdoms. Moreover, the Judgment Priests were stationed in the plains area; if they were discovered, things could get complicated.

"Liliana's sole purpose is to eradicate the gold-devouring beasts from the plains, while your goal is to find gold mines. The two are not contradictory, and you don't need to know each other publicly, understand?"

Wayne glanced at the powerful vampire army inside the house and immediately made up his mind.

It seems Liliana is also one of Kuraki Castle's hidden hands, not to be exposed, which is why she called him in to assist them. Since thieves are themselves part of the underworld, they understand its rules well, and his disguise skills can help this unit conceal their movements.

Wayne also felt that this was to be expected. Such a naturally alluring vampire would likely cause a commotion if she appeared in town, and the news would soon reach the ears of the Church of Light. It was indeed not suitable for her to be in the open.

To his surprise, Lady Maggie was so magnanimous as to take in this stunningly beautiful hero. This Liliana was not only incredibly charming, but her identity also possessed a certain allure that would be irresistible to any man.

To say that a half-undead hero was stationed there and led a team to clear the map without the lord's consent is something Wayne would never believe, even if he were beaten to death.

However, I've heard that Lady Maggie has been frequently visiting Valentine lately, and the two, who were previously somewhat at odds, have become very close, seemingly forming a new alliance.

In this case, Liliana's charm alone might not be enough to give her an advantage.

Wayne shook his head; these secrets were not his concern. His priority was to fulfill the lord's mission and improve himself to secure a place in the increasingly prosperous Kuraki City.

"By the way, Su Mu instructed that we keep an eye out for commanders or heroes with cavalry specialties, and report to him if we find any."

"promise!"

After Wayne finished speaking, he left, while Liliana, draped in her robe, waited for night to fall before making her move.

All the thief needs to do is provide information, and she will lead the Vampire Count into battle. While the Gold-Loving Beast is troublesome, it's no match for Liliana, and besides, the Vampire Count has a unique shield that allows him to farm without taking damage.

Liliana currently controls a relatively small number of vampires, which prevents her from playing a significant role in crucial battles.

If they can take advantage of this Gold Rush month to eliminate the wild army and perform a soul-conversion ritual, they can enhance the strength of the vampire army, and Liliana will also get some training.

Perhaps she didn't dare to harbor any disloyal thoughts before because she lacked the strength, but now that she has a large army, will the Dark Queen still be willing to submit? This is something Su Mu is observing closely.

He possesses advanced Qi-gazing skills, so he doesn't need to go through so much trouble. If Liliana really has ulterior motives and can't recognize the situation, then Su Mu won't try to keep her any longer.

Looking at the woman's perfect figure and alluring face, Maggie couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, even though she was very confident in her own beauty. This woman was truly blessed, breathtakingly beautiful; 99% charm was only the bare minimum for her.

However, in Maggie's judgment, there is virtually no possibility that Liliana would betray them.

Unlike those complex necromancers or volatile, bloodthirsty death knights, Liliana exudes a clear-eyed naiveté and an aloofness that comes with her noble status.

Perhaps it was because her source blood was of such high quality that Liliana was able to sense Su Mu's powerful abilities and follow him even more firmly. She may be the only hero who could sense the Eight Kings Palace and the art of governance solely through her own talent.

Liliana's strength is not the problem; the trouble lies in her identity. We need to think of a way to settle her down.

(End of this chapter)