Duncan began the preparations.
This time, he intended to take away many of Britain’s elite troops, so he had to set up defenses in advance, letting Kvito lead the army to garrison Portchester Castle. It was considered the gateway to the west of Great Britain, and as long as Portchester Castle was not lost, Southampton would be safe and sound.
Moreover, the Saxons hadn’t finished with the Picts yet. It was said that the Black Sword Warrior, known in the rumors, had killed many of their elites. The legend of the Black Sword Warrior was entangled with some myths and should belong to the top-tier special military units.
Kvito looked a bit disappointed, asking, "Not taking me this time either?"
He wasn’t much of a horseman, being originally from the infantry, so he would be more effective staying back. Duncan was definitely going to take Clegane and the Sarmatian riders with him.
"Pick out everyone who can ride a horse."
Duncan didn’t want just elite troops; besides being able to fight, there was a prerequisite that they had to know how to ride a horse, at least to the level of mounted infantry. Anyone who had ridden a horse in the previous life knew that riding a tame horse was not difficult, and those who had learned a bit could manage. But fighting on horseback was a different matter, requiring very high riding skills.
With some basic riding skills, anyone who touched a horse could become mounted infantry. This was Duncan’s plan.
As for where the horses were?
Great Britain had very few horses, but the Huns had them. They were temporarily stored there for now, and Duncan would take them back when he had the chance.
The Huns brought over a million horses during their western campaign. This time, God’s Whip—Attila had gathered a large cavalry force, and many elite riders had two horses apiece. Duncan hoped to seize some opportunities, maybe even set up the Dragon Banner Cavalry of Great Britain.
Inside the military camp.
Duncan walked up to a young man, who was about fifteen or sixteen and appeared tall, though beardless. Facing Duncan’s imposing gaze, he summoned the courage to stand up straight, trying to appear as brave as the others.
Duncan frowned and said in a stern voice, "What is your name?"
The youth shouted loudly, "Carl! Sir."
Duncan turned his head to look at Clegane, with a slightly displeased expression, "He’s not even sixteen, right? Why recruit riders so young?"
Clegane was about to speak when the naive youth quickly said, "I am already sixteen, Sir."
That was still too young.
His territory wasn’t so lacking in manpower that they needed to send a mere sixteen-year-old boy to the front lines. Among the exiles, there were many young and strong adults eager to make a name for themselves on the battlefield.
After all, Duncan hadn’t lost a single battle yet!
The naive youth took a deep breath, facing Duncan’s gaze with a firm expression, his eyes full of admiration, "Sir. My elder brother once followed you in slaying Hosa!"
"I also aspire to become a brave knight like him!"
The offspring of the general’s guard?!
The displeasure on Duncan’s face faded as he carefully examined the young man before him. His gaze gradually changed, as if recalling something. The youth’s naive face seemed familiar to him.
If he was indeed the descendant of the elite knights, then it was entirely different.
In any circumstance, they could be given preferential treatment because they were truly willing to risk their lives fighting alongside Duncan as his personal guard.
The personal soldiers of the Overlord of Western Chu Xiang Yu, the Jiangdong Youths, they fought to the last moment!
Twenty-eight men broke through the encirclement of five thousand troops.
Duncan gazed at the young man’s face, speaking in a solemn voice, "Your elder brother is Jill?"
There was some resemblance in appearance.
The naive youth’s face lit up with excitement and pride, as if feeling honored that Duncan still remembered his brother’s name. He nodded with determination, "Yes, Sir."
In the battle at Hosa, nearly half of the general’s guard perished, and all were given posthumous honors and rewards, in line with the standards of medieval knights. Jill’s family should have been awarded a small knight’s fief, likely the land of a small village, since Jill had no marriage nor offspring to inherit. The estate should have been inherited by his father’s brothers, according to the Roman tradition of adopting the offspring of a brother as an heir, seeing Jill as their father, legitimately inheriting his legacy, since the land was earned with his life.
With a knight’s fief, they could live quite well, at the upper-middle level of life.
The general’s personal guards were themselves knights or minor landowners, expected to stand their ground when it came down to it!
The casualty rate of the personal guard could sometimes reach as high as one hundred percent.
This naive youth voluntarily joined the army; he was different from those drafted.
He patted the youth on the shoulder, turned, and walked away. As he reached the camp gate, he said to Clegane by his side, "Personally oversee his training, do your best to keep him alive."
On the battlefield, swords and spears show no mercy.
This battle of the Imperial coalition against God’s Whip—Attila was as dangerous as Liu Bang’s confrontation with Xiang Yu. Though Attila wasn’t phenomenally mighty, the Hun personal guard at his side boasted formidable combat skills.
Historically, in this battle, the Western Gothic King was brought down by a storm of arrows and trampled to death by galloping heavy cavalry.
Protector of the Realm Aetius led the elite cavalry charge, lost his way at one point, and ended up in the Western Goths’ camp, almost thinking he would perish there.
As for the many minor chieftains slain, they were countless. This battle was extremely brutal, with heavy infantry clashing in fierce combat against elite cavalry charges, both forces piercing through each other’s formations. On the battlefield, there were at least two gray-silver-starred Eagle Shooters, and perhaps even the legendary Hun Heroic Eagle Shooters might have appeared.
They were the Eagle Shooters crowned with the name ’Hero,’ typically boasting astonishing achievements, like killing a barbarian chieftain in battle.
On the Empire’s side, Aetius invested almost all of the Western Empire’s elite Eagle Banner legions.
Anyone who had played Total War knew what the Empire’s Eagle Banner legions represented!
This is the last of the empire’s assets.
God’s Whip, Attila, ravaged the northern part of Gaul, shocking all the Barbarian Races of the Western Roman Empire. Everyone realized that they could not resist the Huns’ army on their own.
Aetius seized this opportunity, rallying everyone in shared hatred, using his superb political skills to establish a unified front against the Huns. Germanic barbarians from various parts of Gaul and Spain, and even Celtic tribes from Britain, sent troops to aid. The longtime adversary of Aetius, King Theodoric of the Western Goths, personally led his troops to join the battle.
The reinforcements from Great Britain were not limited to just Duncan’s forces; numerous Celtic tribes also dispatched over a thousand warriors, a gesture in return for the times the empire, after abandoning the British Province, repeatedly diverted legions from Gaul to help them repel Saxon pirates.
Twenty years ago, the empire still dispatched legions across the sea for battles, quickly redeploying to Gaul afterward to defend against the barbarians, a state of constant mobilization and urgency.
This truly was a gathering of the Eighteen Lords!
Even the unruly barbarian chieftains eagerly responded to Protector of the Realm Aetius’s call, leading troops to converge on Gaul, which would become the territory of future France.
This battle would decide the fate of all of Europe; should the empire be defeated, the Roman Empire’s legacy of hundreds of years would collapse instantly.
God’s Whip, Attila, had already forced the Eastern Empire to pay tribute, only then shifting attention to the Western Empire. Had it not been for the difficult-to-breach defenses of Constantinople, and the Huns lacking the Mongolians’ siege techniques, that city might have fallen, as it was already under siege at the time.
The great battle was imminent.
Duncan focused his efforts on reorganizing his forces. About two days later, a nearly thousand-strong contingent arrived in Southampton.
The native inhabitants of Great Britain. Newest update provided by novel✦fire.net
Mostly mixed descendants of Romans and locals, belonging to various tribes, some still loyal to King Uther. Yet upon hearing that God’s Whip, Attila, was leading an expedition west, they decided to cross the sea for one last stand for the Roman Empire.
Though the empire had ruled Great Britain for over four hundred years, even in its twilight, there were still those willing to traverse the sea to battle for the empire.
The Saxons also temporarily halted hostilities, primarily focusing on the Picts. On the European mainland, a few Saxon chieftains who migrated to Little Germania responded to the call, gathering forces to engage small raiding parties of Huns.
This time, the Huns truly pushed everyone to desperation!
A rugged-faced middle-aged man looked at Duncan, hesitated, then slightly bowed his head and knelt on one knee, saying, "Lord Duncan!"
He wasn’t a lord loyal to Duncan, but Duncan’s reputation on Great Britain was just too vast.
Upon meeting him today, his eagle-like gaze and imposing demeanor filled him with involuntary awe and immense pressure, leaving him with no choice but to follow the etiquette of meeting one of the British Isles’ kings.
Duncan had just finished training, his aura of aggression still lingering. The Gaze of Fear exerted tremendous pressure, and he looked down at these natives, saying slowly, "Do you wish to borrow my ships to cross the channel?"
The most ships on the British Isles were indeed in Southampton.
The leading middle-aged man nodded, "Yes. Otherwise, we fear missing the opportunity to strike."
Duncan nodded indifferently, suddenly saying, "Once you enter the Gaul Region, you will follow my command. Any objections?"
He was openly seizing military command right before everyone’s eyes.
The native nobility present did not express any discontent, at least not openly. Some even seemed pleased, accepting the outcome willingly.
Only the leaders showed hesitation, one brave enough to say, "We are willing to follow Lord Duncan’s command!"
"We are not your sworn subordinates. Once the war ends, we will return to our own territories."
They stated their intentions clearly.
They would follow his command in battle, but once it was over, they’d return home, not becoming his permanent troops.
This was their final stubborn resistance.
They were responding to the empire’s call to arms, not seeking to join Duncan. Though his fame was immense, it hadn’t reached the point of complete submission. Among them were those who swore allegiance to King Uther, but he was injured, unable to respond to the empire’s final call as one of the lords.
Even if King Uther were unharmed, he likely wouldn’t attend.
This battle was the Western Empire’s final heroic stand, the glory of hundreds of years of empire that motivated the native Britons to embark on this distant sea voyage.
Just like when the Great Tang Empire fell, there were still those beyond its borders rallying under its once-glorious banner.
The Western Empire did not fall gloriously, and the end was somewhat bleak.
Yet this did not prevent Duncan from leaving his mark on history as the empire settled into its twilight.
"Cavalry, proceed with me!"
"Infantry, join the auxiliary corps."
Duncan’s eyes, sharp as an eagle’s, donned his inner leather armor with the assistance of his attendant, layering the heavy lord’s armor over it, saying deeply, "You are all now part of my general’s guard!"
"Today at noon, prepare to set sail for Gaul!"
All of these British noble knights were Heavy Cavalry, and Duncan intended to use them as his vanguard behind his cavalry force.
He aimed to seize an elite cavalry from the Huns.