Crow Queen - Triss learns swiftly, seemingly having some foundation from the past.
Around, many mountain villagers gathered. They dared not look at Crow Queen - Triss much; their gazes mostly fell on Duncan. Some even followed with wooden swords to learn those Basic Forms.
Duncan to-date does not know any advanced Combat Forms; his fighting ability relies on the most basic things.
"Select a few people for training."
Duncan saw Kvito in the crowd, casually picking up a crude wooden sword.
Kvito was quite excited. He glanced around, seeing many itching to try. Hence, he went up first, calling a few of his close subordinates.
One sword struck out.
Duncan casually stepped aside, causing Kvito’s thrust to miss. With his current Combat Skills, to force him to Roll to evade would require at least an expert.
As Kvito swung his sword, Duncan raised his sword to parry. In the parrying instant, his figure advanced, resembling a butterfly, directly appearing beside Kvito. The wooden sword in his hand was already resting on Kvito’s neck, even leaving a faint red mark.
This was without exerting force; if with full force, the wooden sword would likely cut through Kvito’s neck.
There was an uproar all around.
Duncan’s counter was extremely simple, just a parry, sidestep, advance, blade sweep — the most basic Sword Lifting Technique. Then Kvito was already a ’dead man’.
The physical quality, Combat Skills, and reaction speed of the two were not on the same level.
Duncan casually picked up a shield, indicating to the six before him: "Come at me together."
These six were eager.
Soon, someone shouted, seemingly to muster courage, sweeping towards Duncan, the wooden sword aiming at his waist.
The wooden shield blocked, a reverse thrust — one person clutched his waist, squatting and groaning. Another made a downward chop; Duncan abruptly advanced, the shield swung, a bang sounded, that person fell flat on his back, nearly passing out.
Chop, strike, thrust.
There were no flamboyant moves, just the most basic Combat Forms. Duncan, not using a god view, toppled all six. But Kvito’s desperate strike also let the wooden sword brush past his arm, leaving a shallow red mark.
Cheers rose from all around.
The watching Exiles cheered Duncan’s extraordinary Combat Skills and also cheered that Kvito could actually wound Duncan.
"Indeed, without a god view, my ability is just standard panel attributes."
This pile of combat specialization, simultaneously handling six was already quite taxing.
Of course, if fully armored, the result would be entirely different.
Duncan reached out to lift the fallen Kvito, saying solemnly, "We will stay here for a few days, during which I will train your Combat Skills."
"Gather the young and strong from the mountain village."
Kvito showed delight, but hearing he would leave, he couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.
In these chaotic times, it’s not easy to have a strong backer.
Duncan naturally had other plans for them, but it needed much preparation. Without a fleet, it was impossible to transport the Exiles to Great Britain. With many people, there’s eating and drinking. What Great Britain’s situation was, he still didn’t know. He surely had to scout ahead.
In the Middle Ages, Great Britain certainly had no problem accommodating tens of thousands of Exiles for restoration and nurturing.
After some hustle and bustle, it was already afternoon.
Duncan observed this mountain village, through a god view, arranging defenses, basically slightly deploying at a few strategic points. This way, encountering battle, there could be more reaction time.
Not all Exile groups were rebels.
Kvito dispatched people to nearby towns to gather intelligence and then tried to contact Anya’s prepared merchant ships.
With the supplies snatched yesterday, they likely had no problem enduring the winter.
Crow Queen - Triss wandered around the mountain village. Her appearance was stunningly beautiful, making people afraid to meet her gaze. Just in one afternoon, after interacting with Exile villagers, more than ten transformed into units marked in green.
Some mountain women even wanted to kneel and perform ceremonies upon seeing her, addressing her as ’Priest Mistress’.
Ancient Roman priests rarely knelt, except to the Divine Spirits of belief. Romans mostly offered to ancestors too, placing ancestor tablets behind statues in Shen Kan to enjoy the offerings together.
Crow Queen - Triss did not like being worshipped on kneeling.
However, Barbarian Race priests had a kneeling custom, requiring some effort to finally stop those naive villagers from wanting to kneel upon meeting.
Here, many were followers of Polytheism.
Common church followers gradually abandoned ancestor veneration and ancestor offering. True Roman-culture-influenced belief mostly had small family temples, offering to house gods (specific beliefs), and also ancestor spirits.
Back then, church followers were prosecuted for the crime of ’not offering to ancestors’, which was grave disrespect in ancient Rome.
Early churches, to accommodate Roman Empire’s religious policies at the time, introduced many rituals akin to Roman traditional offerings, but these customs were ultimately condemned by church leaders as heresy.
The chaotic faith system of Polytheism could unite to persecute Christians was also due to reasons.
Exiles were those unable to live on.
They were not so concerned about belief. Whoever could let them survive, you could make them believe in whoever you wanted.
Duncan’s group stayed here for three days.
Finally, after contacting Anya’s prepared ships, the five people disguised for the nearby town port. Saxons were not only invading Britain, but also small Germania; however, Britain was ungoverned, while small Germania had to face Franks and Empire Border Defense Army.
Currently, small Germania hadn’t completely fallen; at least, the Empire still had several military towns.
Clear skies over the sea.
On the eighteenth day of crossing, Duncan and team crossed half of Europe, finally boarding a ship to Great Britain.
The British Province had been abandoned.
Decades ago, the Empire withdrew the last garrison troops, so now Great Britain was ungoverned, belonging to a chaotic battle zone. Saxons commenced over a century of migration invasion, while traditional Celtic people’s living space was increasingly oppressed, eventually transforming into Wales and Scotland.
Of course, as legend goes, King Arthur reclaimed the lost lands once.
He and the Round Table Knight Order, through twelve battles, repelled the invading Saxons from Great Britain, but after his death, Saxons again gained an absolute advantage.
Duncan was now to scout the situation of the British Isles.
A flock of sea gulls flew over.
Crow Queen - Triss stood on the deck, gazing at the distant Great Britain, her expression uncertain, pondering something unknown, occasionally shifting her gaze, resting on Duncan, her sight never moving away.
Anya seemed excited; after all, she was merely a Roman noblewoman, seldom leaving the Italian peninsula, now curiously looking across to the land, seemingly finding everything novel.
As the weakest witch Duncan had seen, Anya tried several times to walk over and hold his arm to show intimacy, but once Crow Queen - Triss’s gaze swept by, instinctively she stayed put obediently.
"We are soon reaching Britain." Severus’s deep voice sounded.
Druidism originated from Celtic culture.
Now on the European continent, Germanic Barbarian Race rose, Huns encroached step by step, Celts gradually weakened. Gaul, after accepting Empire culture transformation, genuine Druids were extremely rare.
He certainly wanted to preserve Druidic heritage; if not for the church’s ruthless heresy purges, the judgment of the old era, he wouldn’t risk everything.
"Britain ah..." Duncan gazed at distant land, murmuring, "Has King Arthur been born yet?"
A breeze brought a faint scent of blood.
The sailors’ cry sounded: "Saxons! It’s the Saxon pirate ship!"
Since trying to invade Great Britain across the sea, Saxons naturally were adept at sailing.