Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 26 Quicksand Trap
In the following days, Orling appeared even less frequently.

Some saw him appear at Griffinson's archery team, personally instructing them in archery. Others saw him enter Griffin Cliff, instructing the nesting archers.

The Earth Bows were like abandoned children, never to receive any more attention.

So Su Mu led the soldiers in training every morning, using the baron's grounds to maintain their archery skills.

Although his archery skills were really mediocre, no one complained, and the new recruits felt an increasing sense of belonging to Kuraki.

Some might argue that since Ouling was Su Mu's subordinate, forcibly seizing talent without his consent seemed inappropriate. However, the nobles disagreed. Couldn't a mere lord of Cangmu Town simply relinquish his position with a mere command from any lord?

People had already found out that Ouling was the most outstanding in the defense battle, while Su Mu was just a lucky village hero.

Besides, if he blocks his subordinate's path to promotion, the other party will hate him for life!

Therefore, Su Mu ignored the matter and was seen as weak by everyone.

In fact, Su Mu didn't bother with them at all. He had received the invitation letter from the Baron to become the guild master, and this time he could finally go up to the second floor of the Magic Guild.

The natural elements were still familiar, but the fluctuations in magical power were on a completely different level.

As he stepped onto the floor, whirlwinds and dust filled the air, and violent elements converged on two stone platforms.

【Shot Success (Level 2 Magic, Air): Increases the attack of friendly ranged units by 3 points. The duration of the effect is determined by spell power.

[Comment: With the help of the wind, your arrows will hit the mark every time!]

This skill is an air-based magic, and Su Mu doesn't have a corresponding mastery of it, which would increase its energy consumption. However, he still decided to learn this technique because it's perfectly suited to his current unit type.

It can increase attack by 3 points in the early stages, which is like a divine help.

After paying 1000 gold, Su Mu successfully learned the level 2 spell "Perfect Hit". Although it took him several days to comprehend it, it was still worth it.

He continued walking forward and saw another familiar spell.

【Quicksand Trap (Level 2 Magic, Earth): Places 4 quicksand traps in the selected area. The size and position are controlled by the spell power.】

[Comment: If your skills aren't up to par, it might just appear right under your feet!]

The problem with this magic is that it's not very controllable. Casters often throw the spell near the enemy on the battlefield, and as for where it will appear, well, that's up to the traps.

However, it is a perfect fit for itself, because the Earth Bow has Earth Sensing and is immune to earth-type slowing skills, which is simply tailor-made for it.

Imagine the enemy's high-speed centaur struggling to move forward through the trap, while the Earth Bow shoots as it moves through. If the enemy doesn't have a dispel spell, they will definitely collapse.

Without much thought, Su Mu paid the tuition to learn the skill. Since it was an earth-based skill, he mastered it relatively quickly, in just one day.

As for level 1 spells, Su Mu learned all the ones he could during his free time a few days ago.

Regardless of the cost, having one more spell means having one more skill to rely on; it's always better than having none.

After all, gold can be earned back, but magic is the scarcest resource in this world.

That magic guild master certainly possesses even higher-level magic scrolls, but given Su Mu's current status, it would be difficult to obtain them from him. Furthermore, level 3 magic demands a high level of talent; without mastery, it could easily take a month of training in the magic tower, a time Su Mu cannot afford to waste.

When he left the tower and returned to the Baron's mansion, he received another piece of good news.

After much negotiation, the mayor of Cangmu Town was appointed, with Su Mu as the final appointer.

Although the baron was cunning and treacherous, he was genuinely willing to do things for money. Through his efforts, Kuraki Town managed to maintain its existing political structure.

Perhaps the Griffinson family was held back by other matters; perhaps Orling revealed that Sumu possessed management skills and that the forest's yield would plummet without him; perhaps someone catered to his tastes by sending the Baron a beautiful maid; or perhaps the kingdom's situation had changed once again. In any case, the matter was accomplished.

Sumu was nominated for the position of town mayor in the council, but not many people attended, as it was only a very low-ranking position. If it weren't for the special element of the forest farm, there would be at least a hundred towns like this.

But to put it another way, the lives and management of tens of thousands of people in the town were handed over to him, which was actually quite a difficult task. Fortunately, the management costs were not high in those days.

Su Mu felt a great sense of accomplishment, having already secured one of the two: the boundary marker and the appointment. In addition, with the architect's family's collection, the construction of the castle was just around the corner.

Perhaps for a law-abiding knight, being a town mayor would be less desirable than spending a few more years in the central government, building connections. But Su Mu never intended to wait for his superiors' rewards step by step. The castle was built on the wasteland; if anyone disagreed, they could speak to the Earthbow.

Having obtained what he wanted, Su Mu saw no reason to stay.

He planned to regroup and return to Kuraki Town to continue training his army.

The idea was approved by Baron Eugen, who vaguely hinted that the border battles seemed to have taken a new turn, and the heartland of the kingdom had become dangerous once again.

This was not unexpected for Su Mu. If it weren't for the most difficult and unproductive undertaking, would it be his turn?
Since the noble lords dare not go to the front lines, let him develop the forest farms again. Next time, not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can compete with him for territory.

When Su Mu decided to leave, Ou Ling still hadn't returned to the camp.

This commander of the Earthbow has become a hot commodity in Longletburg, and perhaps his fate will no longer intersect with that of these rural nobles.

The archers felt anger and sighs, but in the end, they all turned to blessings for him, wishing him a bright future.

Although Longlet Castle was prosperous and wealthy, it did not belong to them. The archer had to return to the poor town of Kuraki to raise his arrows and protect his home.

I thought that things would end here and we would go our separate ways.

Unexpectedly, on the night before their departure, a squad leader from the Earth Bow, Sheen, an archer trained by Orin, came to Su Mu's house.

He entered and immediately knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably: "My lord, please, save Commander Oling!"

Su Mu raised his hand, and seeing that he didn't get up, his expression gradually became serious: "What are you doing crying and wailing like a soldier?"

Sheen then stood up and recounted the whole story: "The commander was training archers in the castle when he discovered the thieves who had previously hunted and framed us. He couldn't help himself and shot one of them dead with an arrow."

This man's identity is quite special; he is the nephew of the steward of Longlet Castle and holds a position in the council. Now, Lord Rex is furious and wants to arrest the commander and send him to the guillotine.

Neither the Griffinson family nor the president of the Magic Guild wanted to start a major conflict at this time, and preferred to hand him over to settle the matter.

"The commander sensed something was wrong and fled beforehand; now the entire city is searching for him!"

"He warned you to be careful of Griffinson!"

Upon hearing this, Su Mu instinctively felt something was amiss. The previous framing of them was definitely orchestrated by the conservatives. Ouling had been with the Griffinson family recently; why would she be meeting with the conservatives?

Even in the most coincidental circumstances, if Ouling were to witness the assassin from before, given his honed character, he shouldn't have acted so impulsively as to shoot the assassin in full view of everyone.

There must be some unknown factors involved, or there might be another possibility.

With his advancement imminent, Ouling's cursed power has corrupted him, and he is no longer under control.

Before he could figure it out, there was a violent knocking on the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

"The notorious criminal Ouling has committed murder and fled; we are ordered to search for him!"

"Open the door quickly!"

(End of this chapter)