Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 29 Soul Archer

【Ouling (Soul Archer): Attack 3 (5), Defense 2, Spell Power 2, Knowledge 1.

Loyalty 90 (Freed from obsession, +40 on top of base, will never disobey your orders), Charisma 80, Element: Air.

Soul Arrow: Increases the damage of ranged units under your command by 10% (30%). The first arrow is guaranteed to hit and deals the maximum damage (within range, the first three arrows are guaranteed to hit). There is a chance to restore the hero's mana after killing an enemy.

Basic Air Magic: One of the four elements of the world, the roar of the atmosphere and wind. Reduces mana cost and increases casting speed when using air magic.

Since Orling was promoted from a level 2 commander, he already had a solid foundation and directly mastered two skills.

Furthermore, the Soul Arrow skill is greatly enhanced by the intermediate governance skill.

The only downside is that after the battle between Orin and the Tree Spirit Longbow, the elemental baptism dissipated, and he was no longer empowered by earth element; instead, he comprehended air magic. This may increase the consumption of the Bow of Commanding the Earth.

However, from a long-term perspective, ranged units dominated by air magic are also very strong, and Su Mu is an earth magic user, so the hero's elemental diversity is also quite good.

Also, the Governance Technique doesn't provide any bonus to the four elemental magics, otherwise Su Mu could have easily swept through the Xilin Plains with just two heroes.

Feeling the power of the hero, Ouling was filled with disbelief. He had been prepared to be devoured, after all, he was an abandoned person who happened to appear on Su Mu's way back. He just subconsciously wanted to remind Su Mu to be careful of the nobles of Langlit Castle.

Unexpectedly, Su Mu miraculously came back to life, pulling him back from the clutches of death.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm not a god. If the treasure hadn't devoured you when you were about to advance, activating your Burning Curse ability, and if you weren't already a talent under my rule, I wouldn't have been able to intervene and help you."

Ultimately, it's because your foundation is solid; it's just that your obsession was exploited by the treasure, which led you to this state.

The nobles' grand ambitions are only based on your usefulness; you can believe them, but you must understand where your roots lie!

Having gone through this experience, Orling completely saw through the true colors of the nobles. He desperately wanted Baron Lille's approval, but the latter didn't treat him like a son at all, merely a tool to be used. And his idea of ​​using his abilities to gain an appointment and thus elevate his status was nothing but wishful thinking.

"In times of peace, even if you have enough skills, you still have to follow the rules to gain the approval of the nobility, but times of chaos change the rules."

Ouling had nothing to say; this lesson was profound enough to make him give up his illusions.

He raised his arm, revealing the mark of the Tree Spirit Bow, and swore an oath based on his magical foundation.

"As long as you are here in Kuraki, Orin will always be loyal!"

……

After walking for another three days, Su Mu and the others finally set foot on the land of Cangmu Town again. Breathing in the fresh earthy scent of the forest, they showed rare expressions of relief.

Although Longletburg was prosperous, it was a constraint for them; the forest area was far more open and free.

After receiving the appointment order, Su Mu was finally able to enter the council hall with dignity, hang the appointment letter high, and gain the approval of the earth spirit.

[Council Hall: Collect tax payments and refine spell power. Earn 500 gold coins daily (due to a lack of boundary markers, it is temporarily impossible to construct faction buildings).]
Assessment: The legitimacy of the regime begins here.

Even without a council hall, Su Mu effectively controlled Cangmu Town. However, their tax collection was somewhat illegitimate, and they were unable to actively purify gold for magical synthesis.

These gold coins, refined by the council chamber in conjunction with the earth's spiritual energy, conform to the most mainstream usage channels in the world of heroes. Simply put, it's a matter of purity. This purity isn't just the purity of the gold itself, but rather the optimal ratio of magical energy combined with gold. This can only be done in the council chamber, or by heroes or treasures with special skills. Forrest collected some taxes, but their gold could only be exchanged in the city, which effectively devalued it considerably.

This is why Su Mu was willing to waste precious development time to make a trip to the county town to accomplish this task.

Of course, he could be a rebellious lord, but the Kingdom of Elton still maintained control. The capital city exerted influence over the county towns, and the county towns over the main city and the towns, which could completely sever the earth's spiritual veins and render the council hall ineffective.

This is why, when conquering other cities, or sometimes occupying the parliament or council, buildings are automatically downgraded. This is the power of a kingdom's rule.

If Langlitburg cuts off the supply of earth spirits, and he also faces the attack of the Isidore Empire, unless he is the reincarnation of the Dragon God, he will surely die.

Now things are much better. A major problem has been solved, and the administration of Kuraki Township is back on track.

Ouling stood on the right side of the council hall, watching Su Mu activate the appointment letter. After a moment of silence, he said, "Bringing me back will bring you trouble. Although the nobles don't know the news yet, they will probably retaliate once they find out."

Su Mu waved his hand: "Don't worry about the future. If war breaks out again, Langlitburg will be too busy to take care of itself. If he dares to come and demand people, it wouldn't be surprising if he were ambushed and killed by the fortified army along the way."

Upon their return, they received the latest news from the front lines.

Isabel of the Isidore Empire led the Holy Unicorn Legion in a surprise attack on the Fal Forest, routing Elton's guerrilla forces and leaving even the Forest Knight Commander's fate unknown.

Commander Lloyd used the deadwood of the Tree People to create a firebreak, finally stopping the continuous wildfires and saving a small portion of the forest.

The Isidore Empire was collectively enraged by humanity's shameless behavior and prepared to launch a full-scale conquest of the kingdom.

To put it simply, the Isildur Empire gained nothing and was even stabbed in the back, so naturally it wouldn't let the matter rest.

Meanwhile, the resistance army organized by the kingdom finally set off leisurely from the capital, with cavalry and crusader warriors as the core force and priests of the Light Order assisting, marching in a mighty force from the central region toward the border.

In this way, the Lusen Hills become the front line. Once the enemy breaks through this area, they will face the Shilin Plain, the withered snowfield, and the Ella River Valley. The Isidore Empire can advance directly to the capital from any of these routes, which is a situation that Elton cannot accept.

Therefore, the kingdom's army wanted to defend against the enemy at the Lusen Hills and block the fortified army in the high mountains.

This is a mixed blessing for the Marquisate. The hilly terrain is too vast to prevent small enemy units from infiltrating, and the Shirin Plain will become a de facto front line. However, the fact that the Kingdom's legions will be at the forefront, avoiding direct confrontation with Isildur's army, is already extremely fortunate.

Since the start of the war, two marquesses' territories have fallen, and dozens of barons have gone missing.

This was completely different from the usual aristocratic wars where soldiers would kill and release, then capture again, only needing to pay a ransom. It also made them realize that this was a war of annihilation!

Forrest rushed into the council chamber.

"Something's wrong! A lot of wild wolves have been spotted on the outskirts of the forest. They've gathered together and are hunting down humans who are passing by."

There must have been quite a few forest wolves that could give Forrest a run for his money.

The key question is: who brought them together?
"A beast tamer? A druid?"

Just go and take a look; it's a good opportunity to test the Soul Archer's combat strength.

(End of this chapter)