Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 213 Discovery of a Gold Mine
News of the fall of the North spread throughout the land within days, and everyone knew that Frosthold had fallen and Isildur had seized another territory.

Rhodes's plan to resist with the Frozen Wall ultimately failed. After this battle, he was completely defeated by Leven Farrell, unable to even defend a fortified city, let alone fight in the field.

Apart from a few fiefdom nobles belonging to Saliman, the rest of the Northern nobles almost no longer obeyed Rhodes's orders. Even if he shouted himself hoarse and used Parliament to put pressure on him, no one was willing to support him anymore.

The title of Duke of the North has been completely ruined, and he has become a fugitive.

The Salman family, in the past, experienced many ups and downs, and their methods were even criticized for being despicable. But they never yielded to anyone, and even in the face of death, they would still bite back at their opponents. No one dared to underestimate them.

The crest of the Hongbo Swordsmen family, with its armor bearing nearly a thousand sword and blade marks, serves as a reminder to future generations of the family's arduous history.

Unfortunately, the glorious name came to a complete end with Rhodes' generation.

Rhodes currently controls Winterfell, but if Isildur's army advances, who knows if Rhodes will still dare to defend the city.

The reason for such a huge reaction to the fall of the North is that Isildur could penetrate deep into the heartland through the withered grass and snowfields, posing a potential threat to the capital.

The war has dragged on for so long, and regardless of victory or defeat, it's merely fodder for gossip among the people of the capital and its heartland. Even the most difficult military situations seem to only result in collecting more taxes to support the front lines.

Now, being suddenly told that the enemy could break into their heartland at any moment, plunder their property, kill their relatives, and burn the city to the ground, their perception changes drastically.

Only when misfortune befalls them can humans truly empathize.

These days, Su Mu has received more instructions and communications than at any time in previous years, all containing phrases like "go north to reclaim lost territory" and "guard the eastern entrance to the hinterland."

But Su Mu remained largely unmoved, simply carrying out his own plan.

Since Isildur had consolidated his forces and was focusing all his efforts on breaching Frost Fortress, Orling stopped probing attacks and directly led his main force to attack the defenders on the south side. He used ballistae to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy, killing thousands of low-level troops and even annihilating a 1000-strong Silver Pegasus Star Legion.

With the Orlings launching surprise attacks on the border, Levin Farrell was restless and had to detour around every legion he encountered.

Isildur intended to amass a large force to wipe out this ranged unit, but after the Silver Pegasus Legion probed and was destroyed, he never mentioned it again. Unless you have tens of thousands of level 4 or higher troops, don't mess with them.

Not only Orling, but Liliana's vampire army also entered the Northern Territory.

Forrest has already bought up all the good goods that the wandering merchants of the Emerald Lands had.

One of the treasures could create a dark canopy, shrouding the path traveled in clouds and making it impossible to observe. This item could only be used by the undead, so its price was very low. Forrest bought it for only 8000 gold coins, and Su Mu gave it to Liliana.

【Nightfall Veil (Level 2 Treasure): Envelops the hero in a permanent shadow, making them undetectable by ranged scouting, and causing the hero's path to be shrouded in clouds for a period of time.

Comment: Darkness is my constant companion; no one can see through my tracks.

This treasure was perfect for Liliana's undead army. As night fell, they slipped into the northern region. Even with advanced reconnaissance skills, it was impossible to determine whether the darkness was truly empty or if the vampire army had already infiltrated.

With this powerful vampire army, Liliana has already attacked several cities.

Stories of terrifying vampire monsters circulate throughout the North, and no one dares to venture out at night.

While Liliana's stats were average, her skills were incredibly powerful; even ordinary bastion legions were no match for her. When faced with large armies, Liliana knew when to advance and retreat, avoiding harassment of these powerful forces and focusing solely on the weaker centaurs, dwarves, and wood elves. Furthermore, Liliana was among the first troops to attempt using the Black Crystal Axe. After a heavy snowfall, she severed dozens of kilometers of Frostwood Road, completely paralyzing Isildor's supply lines.

This forced Isildur's entire air force to retreat, held the road for a full week, and deployed a large army along the entire front to delay Leven's vanguard's advance.

While such attacks may achieve their harassment purpose, they cannot change the overall situation.

After the fall of the North, the Council of Elders of Isildur was overjoyed and sent tens of thousands of troops to support them, as well as several capable heroes to come and help.

So Su Mu recalled Liliana and Ouling to avoid provoking trouble for the time being.

Wayne reported the latest military intelligence: "Rumor has it that the Elder Council has sent a newly promoted dragon knight to command a unicorn army, and he has already arrived in the North."

The heroes all looked surprised: "Isildor still has dragons? Wasn't Dragon Cliff supposed to have been sealed away long ago?"

"According to the wandering merchant, it should be a kind of illusion. Elves advance and learn skills in this area, but they can't bring the green dragon out of the barrier. His name is Orlando Greenleaf, that's the only information we have so far."

Without a level 7 unit, the Elf Dragon Knight cannot fully utilize its strengths and is not as terrifying as imagined.

However, the heroes of the Barrier race have a special talent: they can naturally assimilate high-level skills and convert them into trait bonuses for lower-level units, doubling the effect and creating a terrifying boost.

If I'm not mistaken, Orlando is the same; he leads an army of unicorns, whose combat power is probably quite formidable, and they may even inherit some of the green dragon's natural attributes.

Judging from the current offensive capabilities of his troops, he is no longer afraid of level 6 units, but there are too many Isildur troops. Without going all out, they can easily be overwhelmed by the enemy.

I've heard that the new commander-in-chief, Karen, has already dispatched troops to the Northern Frontier, and the Judgment Priests have also gathered more of the Light Legion. The heartland is finally making a move, summoning a large army to march north. This is a national war; everyone will contribute. Su Mu plans to wait until the kingdom's forces are fully assembled before launching a joint attack, which will greatly increase their chances of victory.

Isildur now commands enough troops to launch a war of annihilation, so his retreat to Bearhold is a prudent move. Even some rumors cannot shake his position.

Moreover, news has come that the king is preparing to bestow further rewards upon Lord Kuraki.

Such was the situation; had the North not fallen and the heartland not faced an unprecedented crisis, Congress would never have remembered that there was such a capable nobleman on the plains.

This wasn't a question of whether they wanted to use it or not, but rather that they had no choice but to use it. Therefore, the Diet responded positively to Kuraki's demands.

In other words, his disobedience and independent command became insignificant under Isildur's pressure, and Congress had to appease Kuraki.

But Su Mu knew in his heart that he had never been a nobleman with a solid background, nor was he a direct descendant of the king. He was only brought to power in this situation as an emergency measure, and in the future, he would still be a dispensable pawn.

Fortunately, he wasn't as stubborn as the natives of Elton. If the kingdom had done right by him, Su Mu naturally wouldn't abandon him. If the nobles wanted to use this opportunity to cause trouble and continue exploiting him, then they'd have to ask if the Titan's Sword was still sharp.
The news from the kingdom is excellent. Forrest's negotiations went well, and a deal for boundary stones has been finalized, which will be delivered soon.

What surprised Su Mu the most was that a gold mine had actually appeared in the plains.

"The location is southwest of Bear Fortress, inside an abandoned mine!"

(End of this chapter)