There’s no doubt that this is the power of the Hermitage’s Holy Hall.
——Blood of the Holy Grail (Pseudo) [Special Ability]: Although not the true Holy Grail, the Blood of the Holy Grail still bestows mortals with unimaginable power, allowing your physical qualities to surpass human limits and gradually improve over time, enhancing overall basic attributes.
So, does that mean the Grail in the hands of the rumored Hermitage is a fake?
It seems that King Arthur also sought the Holy Grail once.
The real Grail is likely lost.
This should be the key to why the Holy Hall of the Hermitage possesses such abnormal physical prowess, where even Duncan, with his Adrenaline Burst, can barely withstand a few moves.
——Combat Form - Raid: With astonishing speed and unimaginable explosive force, launch a deadly strike on the enemy. This is the combat technique of the Divine Concealment Assault Assassin. There is no pattern, seizing fleeting opportunities to unleash full power at any time, launching a raid on the enemy.
This combat form is more akin to a charge raid, consisting of only one move, with no defense, and the force cannot be retracted once initiated.
Fast, accurate, ruthless!
Centered around the basic move ’stab,’ it excels in using short weapons, where life or death often occurs in an instant. Success or failure could lead to being hacked to death by nearby enemies. (A merciless raid assassination, with no opportunity for the attacker to evade or change moves.)
This is the early combat technique of assassins, generally trained only by those prepared to die.
In the Middle Ages, there were not all those fancy moves. Even in the later Crusades, the most important aspect of combat was still the Basic Sword Form. Those moves in martial arts novels are more suitable for individual duels. When facing an army, if you dare to pose those fancy moves, you’ll be hacked to pieces in minutes.
When you duel, you don’t have to defend against so many enemies, allowing space to perform various moves, but on the battlefield, you only need the most basic stabs, cuts, chops, etc.
After this battle, all of Duncan’s basic combat forms turned blue, with the core moves of stab, chop, and cut in deep blue. The basic form of stab directly appeared with a light golden frame.
The Imperial army mainly defended with shields, swinging short swords, refining their skills through countless practice. At this moment, Duncan struck with a flash-like stab, as if he had been diligently practicing this move for over a decade.
This has essentially become muscle instinct.
"It seems that the later it gets, the harder it becomes to improve combat skills."
"But basic moves will still slowly improve bit by bit, the current limit is still unknown."
Most weapons like knives, swords, and axes share the same basic forms, with only long-handled spears and lances having their own additional basic forms. Sometimes Duncan reflects that there seems to be a unity in all techniques, as these basic forms are the origin of all moves.
"If there’s any drawback, it’s that Western life-and-death combat doesn’t have elaborate step techniques, it emphasizes adaptability."
Duncan made great progress in this battle.
Because the Crow Queen - Triss, whether intentionally or unintentionally, left those enemies not fully dead, allowing their heads to be reaped by him.
He somewhat suspects Triss has guessed that he increases his power through slaughter.
A Master Level of combat skills probably must be built upon a Corpse Mountain and Blood Sea!
In a God-like perspective, Duncan marked out the enemies one by one.
——Gaul Rebel Raiders.
——French Light Infantry Axeman.
The entire bandit stronghold totaled twenty-seven people, not very large in scale, with five marked in blue, labeled as ’slaves,’ ’farmers,’ and ’farmwives.’
Three farmers were locked in a room in a corner.
The other bandits scattered around the stronghold, with two or three on patrol, but they were already drowsy.
The most dangerous target was the ’French Heavy Axeman’ (Bandit Leader), a one-star unit, staying in a room with a unit marked as ’slave.’ Another room contained a unit marked ’farmwife,’ along with three other marked enemy units, but not bandits.
Twenty-two enemies should be manageable.
The sky was pitch black.
Duncan stealthily approached, observing all enemy locations through a God-like perspective. The patrolling bandits were lazy and cursed, occasionally turning to look at the rooms of the ’farmwives’ and ’slaves.’
Duncan shot an arrow, hitting a bandit right in the head, causing a sound that alerted the others.
Without hesitation, Duncan continued drawing his bow and shooting arrows, each one hitting its mark, all headshots. Most bandits were unarmored, with only a few special units wearing leather armor and scale armor, but they were likely indulging, oblivious to the commotion.
They probably had no chance to don armor.
Duncan scaled a wooden scaffold, glancing at his Energy Bar. Without injuries, this task would have been much easier.
——French Throwing Axe.
A bandit, drawn by the sound, just exposed his head before being instantly shot.
The French Throwing Axe embedded right in the forehead, and Duncan calmly walked up and pulled it out from the enemy’s head.
The French Throwing Axe in his hand spun in a circle, flying out again with a thud, scoring another headshot.
All six patrol and sentry bandits around the stronghold perished without mercy!
Duncan picked up the Throwing Axe, glancing around.
Some bandits slept in the cave dwellings, while those of higher status stayed in the stronghold’s wooden huts.
Ahead, there were faint sounds of a woman’s moan of pain.
Duncan’s gaze turned icy as he stealthily approached, lightly knocking on a door. An impatient voice came from inside and a nearly naked Saxon Hunter approached the door, ready to curse as he opened it.