Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 67 Occupying White Stone
Su Mu led his troops around to the north of Baishi City to meet a friend.

The allied forces were a mixed bag, each with their own agendas, making it impossible for such an army to unite in battle.

From the beginning, he had no intention of cooperating with the noble alliance to attack Whitestone City. But the city had to be taken, so he decided to bring in other forces.

About an hour later, a Crusader force suddenly appeared at the foot of the mountain. They were tall and burly, their armor was crimson and blood-stained, and their greatswords were broad and sharp, as if they were burning with flames.

Burning Crusaders (Castle Tier 4, Tier 2 Unit, Baptism of Fire): Attack 15, Defense 12, Damage 9-12, Health 35, Speed ​​8, Medium Size.

Element: Fire (Units receive a 50% boost from fire magic and have a 25% damage reduction against fire elemental magic; after a certain time limit, hero mana is required to maintain this effect)

Fire Blade Combo: Allows you to swing your greatsword twice in a short period of time, with a 25% chance to trigger a fire blade, dealing additional fire elemental damage equal to a normal attack.

Burning Will: Unaffected by blindness, but more susceptible to insane magic.

Assessment: These crusaders, clad in fire armor, can attack enemies with flaming swords, but their perpetually burning will often plunges them into a state of frenzy, making them easily susceptible to demonic temptations.

"Hahaha, Su Mu, how have you been!"

At the head of the procession came a burly man, dressed in red and riding a spirited horse. He was even more robust than before, like a stone pillar. He was none other than Ivan Argyll of the Angry Bear Clan.

"It's not easy for you to come all this way, and you've brought so many elite troops. It seems that White Stone City is determined to win!"

Ivan patted the shoulder of the crusader beside him, his expression as steady as a rock: "It wasn't easy getting these soldiers from my father. The Burning Crusade is a family treasure, extremely precious, and originally they wouldn't have given me a single one."

"It was only because this genius mastered the Ragefire Armor that I was able to gather these 100 Crusaders. With this force, the little White Rock City is a piece of cake!"

Su Mu looked at the Crusader baptized by fire elementals, filled with envy. A double attack was already insane, but they could even launch a triple attack. Not only that, the troops were only enhanced by fire magic, not weakened. The higher the rank of the unit, the more the elemental baptism consumed, but the greater the benefit. The Angry Bear Clan was already skilled in bloodthirsty magic, and working with this force would be twice as effective.

There are weaknesses, though; one is more susceptible to the effects of insane magic. But this level 4 fire magic isn't something that comes easily; there probably isn't a single archmage of that caliber in the entire Marquis's territory. Even if one were to fall victim to insane magic, there are exorcism spells to counteract it; there are ways to deal with it.

Moreover, the Crusaders' speed has increased, and once they charge in, they wreak havoc, which Kyle's soldiers simply cannot stop.

"What's the situation in Whitestone City now? Locke Kyle actually managed to capture Longlit Castle? Does he have the audacity to betray the kingdom?"

"This is a long story, let me give you a brief overview..."

Su Mu briefly recounted his surprise attack on White Stone City, his forced return of Locke Kyle, and the subsequent siege by the allied forces.

Hearing that Griffinson had launched a sneak attack and been tricked by Locke Kyle's feigned surrender, he couldn't help but laugh out loud: "The vassals of Longlet Castle are truly talented. No wonder you sent me all this way. I just can't work with this group of people."

As the two were still discussing, a sudden tremor came from the ground in the distance, and a giant stone gate stood in White Stone City.

Su Mu sensed the earth elemental power permeating the air and his expression suddenly changed: "Damn it, a high-level earth elemental mage has cast a portal to space and time, Kyle is going to escape!"

Because of Griffinson's failed raid last time, the Allied forces retreated a distance and could only observe White Rock City, not encircle it.

At that time, everyone thought that if they gave the other side an opportunity, perhaps Kyle would not be able to withstand the pressure and would abandon the city and run away, and then they would be able to surround and intercept him, which would increase their chances of winning.

Unexpectedly, Kyle, who was guarding the isolated city, had such a backup plan, and he was about to escape right under his nose!

Sumu brought all his soldiers with him because he wanted to test the waters after the rendezvous. Ivan's troops were a bit tired and, who had originally planned to rest, couldn't afford to now.

They soon arrived at the north wall of White Stone City and found that the guards were few in number and lacked morale.

Su Mu used his magical power to shout at the guards on the city wall: "Locke Kyle is abandoning the city. Can't you see that portal? He has no intention of taking you with him. If you still insist on holding out, you will only face death."

The commotion inside the city was too great to be concealed. At first, the soldiers might not have known what the gate was for, but when the Kyle family started hauling cartloads of resources inside, the soldiers guarding the city immediately realized they had been abandoned.

Those who were able to leave with Kyle were only the dwarves who dug the tunnels and Kyle's family guards. Those who were assigned to guard the city were basically abandoned pawns.

"I surrender, I surrender, please don't kill us!"

Soon, the north gate was opened, and the guards scattered.

Su Mu didn't bother to gather the defeated soldiers; he led his men straight to the central square.

When they arrived at the central square, a large group of dwarves and griffins were at the rear, carrying the last batch of resources through the gate.

A tall man stood on the stone platform. He was taken aback when he saw Su Mu, but he quickly noticed the Crusaders burning with flames in front of him, and his expression changed drastically: "The Angry Bear Clan, the Burning Crusade!"

"Quickly, get out of here! Head inside the door and don't get entangled with them."

"My lord, some of the rare resources and newly captured treasures have not yet been transported in."

"What an idiot! Why didn't you pack these valuables first!"

The soldiers couldn't be blamed for this. Who would have thought that once the portal opened, enemy troops would storm into the city, and in such large numbers that people would believe they were preparing to attack the city tonight?

Kyle had no choice but to order the remaining sealed Ivan under his command to move forward and try to block the street.

Ivan paid no heed to any of that, leading the Burning Crusade straight in. Any resistance they encountered was slaughtered; the seal on Ivan didn't even have time to cast its spell before they were all wiped out. Trying to replicate the seal on the city gates? They don't even know who they're facing.

The Crusaders' superior attack power and increased speed ensure they are the first to approach the enemy and launch an attack; flames burn in the air, annihilating all heretics.

Seeing that the Crusaders were unstoppable, Kael could only send his griffons and dwarves to form a second line of defense to buy time to move the treasure.

Resources are one thing, they can be plundered elsewhere, but treasures are unique to Longlit Castle. If they weren't temporarily sealed away, he would have wanted to take them with him long ago.

More than 200 griffins descended instantly in front of the square, and more than 300 dwarves also formed a large formation to block the Crusaders' path.

The opposing team clearly only wanted to put up a fight and didn't have much of an offensive drive, which is when the Earth Bow came into play.

The 150 Earthbows were all aimed at the griffins at the rear of the battlefield, where the power of the arrows was maximized in the open and unprotected terrain.

After a barrage of fire, more than 40 griffins perished, and a large amount of swamp appeared on the ground, restricting the enemy's speed.

Kayle was furious watching Earthbow unleash its full power.

"Griffin Legion, break through to the rear and contain the ranged archers!"

The griffins spread their wings and flew towards the Earth Bow, but due to their speed limitations, they encountered another wave of fire in the air, instantly losing two-fifths of their forces.

Finally, they landed, only to find a group of shield soldiers surrounding the Earth Bow, blocking its path.

"Stone Skin Protection!"

After casting defensive magic on the shieldbearers, Su Mu didn't give any orders and just watched the two sides fight.

Before entering the city, Su Mu reached an agreement with Ivan, allowing Ivan to command the shield soldiers this time, and he temporarily infused them with a mysterious magic.

For this collaboration with Whitestone City, Ivan underwent some training, advancing to intermediate-level defensive techniques and acquiring a defensive treasure.

He originally thought he could impress Su Mu, but the moment the ruling technique possessed him, he felt an infinite defensive ability building up inside his body, as if he were walking on a copper wall.

【伊凡·阿盖尔（怒焰骑士）：攻击2，防御4（5+5），咒力1，知识1。

Element: Fire.

Intermediate Defense: Reduces the physical attack damage received by troops by 10% (30%).

Raging Flame Armor: For every 5 points of defense a hero has, the effect of Defense spells increases by 50% (150% increases the base value of Defense spells), and it can enhance the effect of fire shields (affected by fire magic level, not yet active)].

As a result, the shieldbearer receives a 10-point increase in hero defense and a 6-point increase in magic defense, boasting a defense of up to 24, 60% physical attack damage reduction, and an average counter-attack damage of 11.

After landing, the griffin faced the group of shield soldiers. It thought its sharp claws could easily tear the giant shield, but instead, it was hit by a powerful recoil after creating a spark.

Locke Kyle was stunned by this scene. He stared intently at Ivan, thinking that the heir of the Angry Bear family had brought some kind of defensive artifact.

Ivan felt an indescribable thrill. As a hero specializing in defensive magic, what could be more exciting than commanding a turtle shell?
The enemy was impossible to damage, and even when attacked, they would suffer damage in return, leaving the enemy with no way to attack.

"Shieldbearers, give it your all! Let these little bastards see what true defense looks like!"

The Earth Bow behind them took the opportunity to fire another round, and combined with the damage from the previous reflected damage, another 80+ griffins fell.

This time, Kyle lost his temper and casually swung a fireball, which hit the shieldbearer formation. He hurriedly ordered the dwarves behind him to retreat.

"Stop moving things, come inside!"

He quickly escaped into the portal, and the troops still resisting, seeing that their commander had left, had no choice but to abandon the trucks and rush toward the gate.

Once the military loses order, it becomes a disaster.

The dwarves jostled and trampled each other, and many died before they even reached the door.

Seeing the situation was dire, the griffin troops also took flight, attempting to retreat inside the gate. However, they were pursued by stone arrows trailing behind them, which shot down the remaining flying force.

As the Burning Crusade was about to advance to the gate, the portal collapsed with a "boom," leaving behind only some troops who had not yet been able to evacuate. There were even some people around the square using trailers to transport supplies. When they saw the gate close, they could only howl as they retreated into the city.

The dwarves threw down their hammers in despair, but the Crusaders had no intention of sparing them. They grinned menacingly and surrounded the enemy.

Before long, only raging flames remained in the square.

The remaining troops scattered and went out to hunt down the fleeing men.

Whitestone City, completely occupied!

(End of this chapter)