Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 24 The Tree Spirit's Bow

The ball came to a perfect end, and most people didn't get what they wanted, yet they still flocked to it—that's the allure of power.

After Oling came down, they exchanged information: "That man is from the Griffinson family, named Pep. He is very interested in the timber business in the Cangmu Forest area and is also curious about the training methods of the Earth Bow. I only said that it was a miracle in the wild and did not say anything else."

The Bow of the Earth is one of the biggest secrets of the forest farm, and naturally, it cannot be told to anyone.

There are many ways to upgrade troop types, even elemental baptism has many channels. Therefore, even if Pep guessed it was a mountain fortress, he had no evidence.

As for the Griffinson family wanting to get involved in the timber business, that's perfectly normal. Although they're all old-fashioned, they each have their own interests. Anyone who's not blind can see the scarcity of logs and their future potential. The Kuraki Forest, despite its dangerous location, is extremely tempting.

Su Mu listened calmly to Ouling's timely report.

Now, almost every noble with connections knows that it was Ouling who led the archers to victory against the centaurs. Ironically, he, the lord, has escaped the vortex and become an insignificant nobody. If it weren't for Su Mu's heroic status, he would probably be completely forgotten by now.

"Continue to associate with them and gather information from all sides."

After a moment of silence, Ouling said, "The Battle of Kuraki was clearly your achievement. I can't stand their endless praise. I have to sit there and smile and appease them. I just can't sit still."

Seeing Ouling's troubled expression, Su Mu patted his shoulder with a smile: "You can't even handle that? How can you ask for a title then? Look at those barons, ladies, noblewomen, even sixty-year-old grandmothers can be praised to the skies."

To gain something, you must give something in return!

Su Mu then instructed Ouling to take the gold and deliver it to the Baron, so that he could make his move.

The baron, having received the money, immediately changed his attitude, declaring that Su Mu was the only suitable candidate to be mayor of Kuraki.

The Baron kept Ouling behind for a long talk, presumably to express the old guard's high regard for him, and even to make some promises from important figures. He also upgraded Ouling's residence to a higher level, almost on par with Su Mu's.

Su Mu ignored these matters. He understood the power mentality of the Langlitburg nobles very well, but wasn't their awareness of crisis too weak?
Did they really think that relying on the defenses of the Fal Forest could extinguish the invasion of the Isidore Empire? The kingdom recruited soldiers and assembled its army, but was unable to set out. After the loss of the border city, the Shilin Plain was like a virgin with her legs spread wide, extremely vulnerable to attack.

Su Mu even considered accumulating enough resources to abandon this place and find a more suitable location to build a castle.

It's laughable that the people of Longletburg are still playing power games.

After that incident, Su Mu appeared at the gathering center less often, and instead frequently went to the Magic Guild to read the history of Elton and the Esildor Empire.

Thousands of years ago, these two regions were quite wild and untamed, inhabited by orcs and savages who hunted and invaded. At this time, a powerful hero appeared in the Kingdom of Eldon, Asoron Eldon. He rallied the human race to fight against the orcs, which attracted the attention of angels. The strongest human troops joined his army and drove the orcs out of the country.

Thus, the kingdom's capital became known as the Land of the White Feather's Descent, and Asoron established the Kingdom of Eldon.

As for the Isildor Empire, it was founded by the descendants of ancient golden dragons and has existed for even longer, exceeding ten thousand years. However, when the orcs ran rampant, they also occupied many of the empire's lands, so the Isildor Empire joined forces with the Kingdom of Elton to drive out the orcs.

The two sides were initially allies, but after eliminating their common enemy, disputes began to arise.

Humans disliked the elves' lazy and carefree nature, while the elves loathed the humans' greed and arrogance. They could maintain restraint while cooperating, but once the orcs were driven back, the conflict erupted completely.

This story is old-fashioned, but history keeps repeating itself.

The two sides clashed fiercely at the border, the flames of war scorching the mountains. At the critical moment, Asoron appeared with angels, repelling the formidable forces. He then used magic to build a fortified city at the pass—the Border City—separating the two territories.

Finally, based on past cooperative relations, the two major powers tacitly agreed on the border line of the border city, which remains to this day.

Of course, affection is nonsense; angels are the truth.

If you ask why the Isildur Empire, with its larger territory and deeper history, didn't fight back, the answer is simple: like many ancient and decadent empires, it was internally ruled by a council of elders, and the golden dragon had been absent for a thousand years, existing in a state of mystery.

No one dared to gamble on the disappearance of the golden dragon, but since the golden dragon did not appear, it would be very difficult to defeat the angel.

However, the Kingdom of Elton was newly established, and apart from its ultimate combat power, its other foundations were very weak, making it unsuitable for a prolonged war. It was best to gain a slight advantage. The Fal Forest was originally the largest timber production base of the Isildor Empire, but it was forced to belong to the kingdom, and the enmity between the two sides was formed at this time.

By examining historical records, fragments of information, and damaged portraits, one can glimpse the epic battlefields.

Crusaders swept their swords across the sky; cavalry charged across the wilderness, shattering mountains and splitting rocks; tree-men stretched for miles, indestructible; unicorns drank the purity of the moon, naturally sacred. Then came the angels, making a grand entrance, descending from the city in the clouds to the mortal realm, and securing their rule in one fell swoop.

The war was epic, and the heroes embarked on a legendary journey.

However, thousands of years have passed, and everything has turned to ashes; we can only admire miracles in books.

Today, the weak kingdoms and declining empires fight each other like children waving sticks compared to thousands of years ago.

Su Mu knew, however, that the chaos was only the beginning of everything.

To survive, one needs sufficient power.

After spending several days indulging in the magic guild, Su Mu reappeared at the market. The baron accepted the money, but the matter encountered resistance at the higher levels and negotiations are underway.

Other minor matters, however, have made progress.

Sumutuo learned of a magical wooden bow that could shoot arrows that hit their mark every time with great force. Legend has it that it came from the forest and was forged by a tree spirit blacksmith.

The castle's merchants were certainly not ignorant; they knew this was a genuine magical artifact capable of enhancing a hero's abilities, making it a highly sought-after commodity.

The auction was originally planned for a lucky day, but a few unexpected things happened.

After Su Mu entered the hall, the trade manager came forward and said, "Lord Su Mu, Baron Eugen introduced you, saying that he is quite knowledgeable about treasures. Please take a look."

In the center of the open space, a longbow made of an unknown type of wood hung on a shelf, its base made of magical runes, isolating it from both internal and external forces. Without knowing its true nature, one would never suspect that this longbow was a treasure.

"It was fine a while ago, but recently this bow has been acting strangely. Several guards who came near it have died instantly, their hearts pierced by arrows, but no arrows have been found."

Su Mu paced back and forth, looking at the clean floor, yet sensing a strong smell of blood.

He could even imagine how desperate the innocent people lying on the ground must be.

Ordinary people struck by treasures usually don't even have their bodies preserved intact. But this bow and arrow are sealed by magic, so it can only shoot thin arrows. The arrows pierce the heart, causing massive bleeding and death. This process will take some time, accompanied by wails and pain.

Judging from the expressions of those around them, everyone was as still as a cicada in winter, presumably deeply saddened by the tragic death of their companion.

But here's the problem: the treasure was clearly sealed, so how could there still be incidents of people being injured?

In the world of heroes, treasures are formed from magical power, and most possess sentience. Take, for example, the wooden cart Forrest used for his promotion; it nearly devoured his magical power, turning it into nourishment. Therefore, to control a treasure, a hero must possess sufficient magical power to ensure its success.

This bow is so dangerous that it might have been forged by an archery master who lost control of it, and the elven blacksmith extracted its magical power and spiritual essence.

Using a human as a bow sounds terrifying, but anyone who has ever been involved with magic knows it's never a safe path. It's either mastering spells or being devoured by magic; we're all just materials of the elements, no different from each other.

“We invited heroes from the Magic Guild, but they said the seal hadn’t loosened and there was another reason for the anomaly, but they couldn’t find the source.”

Su Mu circled the longbow a few times, but couldn't see anything unusual about the treasure, so he used his Qi Observation Technique.

【Tree Elf Bow (Burning Curse, Level 1 Treasure): Increases the hero's archery skill effect by 5%, requires the hero to have the archery skill.】

Characteristic: A strong competitive drive.

Evaluation: One of the three components of the Phantom Bow combination item; relatively speaking, it's the easiest to obtain.

Although this treasure is one component of a set, it is not the only one; many exist. Relatively speaking, combat-type treasures are more violent and have a more severe backlash; if they cannot be subdued and suppressed, they will cause great trouble.

Since the merchant guild has acquired this treasure and intends to auction it off, they must have some means to deal with it. Moreover, the magic guild has many capable members, so they shouldn't be unable to subdue a level one treasure.

To pinpoint the problem, it's something that's been happening recently.

Although Su Mu did not mention any ability to identify treasures after obtaining the intermediate level of Qi Observation, his understanding of treasures actually deepened a little.

The Burning Curse, which should have been a celestial event for a hero's advancement, appeared on a treasure, indicating that someone had used it to advance to a hero's level.

This may have triggered the Tree Spirit Bow's innate magical power, causing it to undergo a strange transformation.

Treasures are a bit different from people; they don't have subjective likes or dislikes, and they follow certain laws of magical power when killing.

"A competitive obsession?"

"what is it?"

Unable to discern anything from the treasure, Su Mu prepared to observe his surroundings.

He turned his back, away from the longbow, and pondered whether Orling might be able to subdue it.

At that moment, his hair stood on end, as if thorns were pricking his back, as if a sharpshooter had aimed an arrow at his heart and was about to shoot it.

Even if he were a hero, he would be seriously injured by this arrow!
(End of this chapter)