Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 68 Sealed Treasure
The riot lasted for about half an hour before it was completely suppressed in Whitestone.

The Earthbow occupied the defensive towers, while the shieldbearers and crusaders took up positions on the city walls. Those who fled or surrendered were temporarily imprisoned and awaited trial.

After a lot of commotion, the allied forces outside the city finally realized what was happening and led their troops toward White Stone City, only to find that it had already been occupied by their own forces.

Because the Kyle family fled in haste, the city wall soldiers offered little resistance, and White Stone City's defenses remained largely intact. With Su Mu now holding the walls, the nobles outside still couldn't get in.

"What happened in the city? Did the Kyle family flee?"

"Is this the army from Kuraki Town? Open the city gates quickly and let us in. Let's suppress the rebels together."

"Don't delay our military operations! If you don't open the gate soon, we'll have to storm in!"

A group of nobles below shouted and clamored, vying to be the first to claim credit.

Ouling, guarding the city walls, was extremely dissatisfied. Previously, the nobles hadn't been so eager to fight the Kyle family's rebels; they'd all stayed miles away, not even a shadow of them visible. Now, seeing Su Mu occupy White Stone City, they all seemed quite capable. If they were really that strong, why not give them a taste of a direct assault?
At this moment, Ivan climbed onto the city wall and shouted in his loud voice, "What are you yelling about? White Stone City was taken by me, Argyll! The kingdom sent us to help you because you were slow to deal with the rebels. I didn't expect you to take it so soon. I don't know what you were doing before!"

Ivan and the Burning Crusaders behind him lit their flaming swords, revealing their identities, and the nobles below dared not utter a word.

They considered it perfectly reasonable to bully the small-time Kuraki, but if the Angry Bear Clan were to occupy the city, no one would dare say a word. Besides, with the Burning Crusade already stationed in White Stone City, who would dare to launch a direct attack?

Griffinson stepped forward and said, “Your Excellency, Whitestone is, after all, the fiefdom of Longletburg. It’s not appropriate for you to monopolize it like this. Besides, there seems to be an unresolved rebellion within the city. Why don’t we go in and assist in suppressing the rebellion?”

Ivan said, “Indeed, the rebellion has not been completely quelled yet. My men and the mayor of Sumu are cleaning up the mess. Everyone should go back first, and we will invite you into the city once everything has settled down.”

Please come back! "

Upon hearing Ivan's reply, Griffinson nearly cursed. What would they do inside once everything was settled? Admire the Angry Bear family's achievements, or examine how incompetent their own legion was? Even with their thick skin, they couldn't claim credit from the kingdom.

Griffinson wanted to discuss it further, but Ivan turned and left, leaving the Burning Crusaders to defend the city walls.

"Anyone who approaches the city walls without authorization will be executed as a traitor to the Kyle family!"

This was a bit domineering, but the Angry Bear Clan had always acted this way. The nobles below grumbled and cursed, but involuntarily retreated.

Griffinson, overcome by a sudden surge of malice, considered leading his troops straight in. But a glance at the Burning Crusade on the city walls dispelled the idea.

In the previous battle where he was feigned to surrender, he lost most of his griffin troops. Without any flying units, he would have to sacrifice lives to attack the city. And when Argyll appeared, virtually no nobles were willing to follow him.

The most crucial point is that there's no reason for it. Are they supposed to kill each other? Just because someone helped them conquer a city they couldn't take, are they going to get angry and start fighting amongst themselves? If word gets out, the family's reputation will probably plummet.

Seeing that there was no other way, they could only retreat and wait for White Stone City to be completely pacified before they might have a chance to enter.

After waiting for about an hour, there was finally movement on the city wall.

"The city is still in chaos, so we can only invite a portion of the nobles in for now. My lord has instructed that Baron Zoran Weber select a few reliable families and bring a small number of soldiers into the city, while the rest should return to their camps for the time being."

Upon hearing this news, the nobles all looked at the stunned Zoran as if they wanted to devour him, and rushed forward to curry favor with him.

"Zoran, we've been brothers for years, you'd better take me with you this time."

"Your brother-in-law is at a crucial moment in his succession, and he needs some military merits. Zoran, you can't just ignore him!"

The nobles surrounded Zoran, some promising resources, some listing their relatives, and some even offering soldiers.

Because Maggie promised to help with the siege, even a little military merit could be used to pull strings. If they couldn't even get into the city, then there was really no chance.

Besides, White Stone City is rich in resources, and going in now might allow us to get a share of the spoils.

Zoran was taken aback for a moment, but quickly understood that this was Su Mu's intention. Currently, there were two garrisons in the city. The Argyll family, being a marquisate, had no dealings with these minor nobles, so naturally they couldn't be allowed in.

The only person he could call familiar was Mayor Kuraki. But in Zoran's mind, he thought Su Mu was just relying on the camaraderie from the previous northern tour to get some credit for his assistance. Who would have thought that he had such influence, letting anyone in just because he said so, and that Argyle was so obedient.

It’s really not simple!

After a brief selection process, Zoran chose a few families with whom he had a good relationship and who had also secretly allied themselves with Garfield, and they went into the city together.

The drawbridge slowly lowered, and Zoran took the lead, entering White Rock City with great honor. The other lucky chosen ones shared in the glory, looking as if they had conquered it themselves.

The remaining nobles could only endure the cold night, watching helplessly as their colleagues entered the city. Even if they made sarcastic remarks, it wouldn't change their fate.

If Zoran were to wave and pull in another family at this moment, that person would surely run over eagerly without hesitation.

After waiting for a while longer and finding no further movement from the city walls, everyone lost interest.

"Let's all go home, go do what you need to do, and get a good night's sleep."

The nobles all left, and at this point, the Griffinson family was completely ignored.

Some even complained in their hearts that if Ak hadn't been so eager to attack the city and waited for the entire army to arrive so they could face the enemy head-on, the allied forces might be standing on the city walls by now, and they would have cursed them a thousand times over.

Having had this experience, Griffinson's ambition to become the face of Longleatburgh is over, and even his current position is in jeopardy.

……

Inside the city, Su Mu was counting his spoils of war.

[Oling led the Earth Bow to slay numerous enemies, gaining a deeper understanding of combat. Knowledge +1, and learned intermediate air magic.]

Ouling has a high level of comprehension and has mastered a new skill, so his trip wasn't in vain.

As for Su Mu himself, he also made new gains.

[The newly appointed hero conquers Whitestone City, achieving a glorious victory. Knowledge +1, and learns the basics of leadership.]

[Basic Leadership Skill: Morale of troops led by the hero +1] This skill seems somewhat useless, as there are many items that increase morale, and even magic has this function. However, if one can master the Advanced Leadership Skill, it will be a qualitative change, because the Advanced Leadership Skill can break through the ordinary morale threshold, and the troops will not be limited by the upper limit.

Of course, if that's all there is to it, the strength has increased considerably, but it's still not a necessity.

Leadership and governance are rare complementary skills. Once governance is upgraded to an advanced level, one can commission architects to construct a special building—the Palace of Kings. Then, by utilizing treasures and the heroes in attendance, one can benefit oneself and become a true Grand Ruler.

In fact, Su Mu had certain expectations regarding skill comprehension, as the probability of mastering various skills differed for each profession. He found leadership, diplomacy, luck, and magical wisdom to be the easiest skills to learn.

Although he can guide his heroes to pursue certain specializations in their training, he cannot affect his own skills. However, this is not absolute; the true highlight of an archon lies in his advanced abilities.

At the current pace, if we further develop Forrest and Orling, and strive to discover a new powerful hero, we'll be close to reaching the advanced level.

For now, we'll take it one step at a time.

[Large amount of supplies seized: Gold +33600, Logs +15, Stones +58, Crystals +18]

As expected of a family that made their fortune in the raw gemstone business, the city is overflowing with raw gemstones. And this is only what they didn't take with them, not to mention the resources transported into the Time Gate. It seems Locke Kyle is truly determined to go all the way with Eshidor.

There's not much to say about these materials; leave a portion for the Marquisate, and the rest for him and Argyle, half and half each.

They couldn't be too greedy, after all, Whitestone City was part of Langlitburg's territory, and Eugen was secretly dealing with Sumu, so they had to leave some for themselves.

Resources can be kept, but treasures must be accepted.

[Warrior's Medal (Level 1 Treasure, Sealed): Wearer's morale +1.]

Sealing Method: Every month, a warrior is sent out to tell their heroic tale around the sealed artifact. However, this will also erode the warrior's courage, causing them to doubt themselves. If the storyteller loses courage, the artifact will go out of control, causing the population of an area to decrease by 1.

Evaluation: You rescued a princess from a neighboring country from human traffickers. In gratitude, the princess presented you with a medal of honor. But years later, when you took out this rusty medal, you no longer had the courage to be brave.

Treasures are not born treasures, nor are they always lifeless after they become treasures. If one had to summarize, they are living magical spirits with their own characteristics.

For various reasons, the magical power of some treasures has become chaotic, causing abnormal harm. For example, the timber cart and the tree spirit bow were treasures on the verge of going out of control. The best solution is to seal them away, find a stable method, and repair them again.

If all else fails, one can choose to destroy the treasure or become a sacrifice for a hero's advancement; as for who devours whom, that's hard to say. However, heroes who advance through such perilous methods often possess unique abilities, since the greater the risk, the greater the reward—that's the rule of the sorcery world.

The reason Locke Kyle didn't take these treasures with him was because they were sealed away, preventing heroes from using them directly.

【Divine Gift (Level 1 Treasure, Sealed): The city where this treasure is placed (or the hero wearing it) will have its Level 2 troop production increased by 5. This is unique to this city and cannot be stacked.

Sealing method: Every month, send out 5 couples (race not limited) to encourage each other around the sealed object. A specific method is required, otherwise the treasure will go out of control and cut off the feet of those who come.

Evaluation: One of the five components of the Divine Weapon combination item. It seems relatively easy to control, but if it all goes out of control, you'll be in serious trouble.

Sealed treasures can be used if guided properly. For example, Warrior Medals can be processed monthly, allowing heroes to take them into battle and then return them to await the completion of the seal.

The higher the level of the treasure, the greater the risk of it going out of control, and the more difficult it is to seal. However, sometimes, sealed treasures can accumulate magical power and unleash even greater power. Special magic and elemental enhancements are only available to sealed treasures.

However, another theory suggests that one of the methods kings used to control the nobles was to seal away treasures. After all, without treasures, heroes wouldn't be as powerful.

Dragon Wing Robe (Level 2 Treasure, Sealed): Hero Strength and Knowledge +2 each. One of the nine components of the Dragon King's Divine Power combination treasure.

Sealing method: Every two months, send out 20 flying creatures to drop a certain number of robes around the sealed object, subject to specific requirements. Otherwise, the treasure will go out of control, and the flying creatures will be sacrificed.

Evaluation: With your help, a group of knights escaped from the jaws of a dragon. They bestowed upon you a dragon-winged robe, but it seems to have been tainted by the dragon's aura, possessing an insatiable thirst for magical power.

There are a total of 3 sealed treasures, all of which have good effects.

As for the sealing method, it's not difficult to handle. With the current population and resources of Kuraki Town, it's entirely manageable.

Su Mu glanced at Ivan, and was about to speak when the other waved his hand: "These three treasures all need to be sealed. I can't use them even if I take them. It's too much trouble. You take them back and seal them."

Kuraki Town is indeed in dire need of treasures. Although Su Mu has a few low-level treasures, Ouling and Forrest are still empty-handed. They should be provided with some.

Su Mu patted Ivan on the shoulder and thanked him, saying, "I won't be pretentious with you, you rich young master. I do need these treasures. You can take an extra 10000 gold coins, which will be more convenient to use than these sealed treasures."

Ivan accepted this time, since no one ever has too many gold coins.

Besides resources and treasures, Su Mu also accepted a small number of surrendered soldiers, but these men were demoralized and their fighting spirit was broken, so they were clearly not suitable to be directly added to the army. Moreover, Su Mu looked down on these defeated soldiers who had become rebels, so he handed them over to Zoran and his men who had entered the city.

The nobles were visibly pleased to be assigned the task of managing the surrendered troops. Finally, they had earned some military merit, something to mention in their reports for their role in suppressing the White Rock rebellion. Besides, they had already pledged allegiance to Garfield, making the behind-the-scenes dealings even smoother.

The nobles were naturally extremely grateful for Su Mu's favor. With Zoran's further promotion, Kuraki Town suddenly became the most promising loyal subject of Langlit Castle, and the others all expressed their desire to recommend Su Mu for credit.

Even the most beautiful sedan chair needs many people to carry it; when you're out in the world, you still need influence, and it's always good to give the nobles a little something.

As for the ownership of White Stone City, Su Mu wanted the Angry Bear Clan to govern it temporarily. After all, given his current status, he probably couldn't take over the city. If he were to divide his forces to garrison it, firstly, he would lack sufficient troops, and secondly, he would become a target of everyone's criticism, which wouldn't be good.

The Argyll family, on the other hand, are not afraid of these unfounded rumors at all. They are powerful marquis families, not to be trifled with.

In any case, Maggie's intention was to prevent Griffinson from seizing the city, and he had practically exceeded expectations. Now that Aker has returned, he'll likely have no face to fight for power. The ownership of a city is of little importance to Maggie.

The battle of White Rock was very fruitful, thanks in large part to Ivan. I need to find a chance to get some good stuff for Argyle.

However, Ivan's gaze seemed a bit off; he kept staring at Su Mu, as if still savoring the boost from the Governance Technique. Was this guy getting addicted?

Seeing Ivan's pale face, Su Mu told him to go back and rest. Commanding fire elemental troops for extended periods would consume mana, and his meager knowledge wouldn't be enough to sustain him.

The young man is too weak and can't last long; he needs more experience.

(End of this chapter)