Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 18 Rest and Recover! Troubled Times Are Coming

Dimensional space.

Although he was in a state close to that of a spirit, Duncan could finally relax after having been tense all day.

Of course, he also monitored the projection screen to prevent any accidents from happening while the human body was asleep.

——Humanoid No. 1 (severely exhausted) (severely bruised).

Those farmers were quite obedient, perhaps because they had been frightened by Duncan before, and they had no intention of running away.

Duncan fell asleep.

Raven Queen Triss stood up with the help of her slave girl and walked to the front of the farmers. Her expression was solemn as if she was a holy Roman priest. With just a few words, she trained the farmers into obedience and directly turned them from blue marked units to green marked units.

This means they will obey orders.

Three farmers and a peasant woman began to tremble and pick up the bodies. Their expressions were filled with fear and excitement. They stripped the robbers and threw the bodies into the cave. Clothes, weapons, coins, etc. were piled up in the corridor of the stronghold. No one dared to embezzle them privately.

The Raven Queen, Triss, promised them that they could take these things away in the future, in addition to expensive items such as silver coins, gold, and jewelry that they had looted from the bandit stronghold.

It was a mistake for a lowly peasant to own gold.

The bandits' clothes and food were already precious treasures to them, not to mention the worthless copper coins Triss had allowed them to take away. But they couldn't leave for the time being. The peasant woman looked after Severus, while the three farmers cleaned up the stronghold and helped with other chores.

These farmers have great respect for Triss and are even willing to kneel down at the witch's feet to pray. It is not known whether they are believers of polytheism.

The witch Anya is very interesting.

The peasant woman wanted to serve her, but she looked disgusted and disdainful, not wanting the other party to touch her at all. However, she took the initiative to ask the slave girl following behind Triss to come over, asked the slave girl to boil some water for her, and then washed her body in the cabin next door. She also naturally enjoyed the service of the slave girl and let the slave girl wipe her back.

This witch is really strange, maybe it's the quirk of a Roman noble lady.

Duncan stared at the projection screen without blinking, wary of the farmers marked with green marks who might suddenly turn against him. It must be said that under his mental vigilance, those farmers were very honest.

Tsk tsk.

As expected of a witch, she is well maintained, with pink and tender skin, big, round, plump and perky figure, much better than the charming neighboring proprietress in the memory of the original owner of human body No. 1. She doesn't look like a married woman at all. No wonder she can be so infatuated with the retired Royal Guard Knight.

When his eyes fell on the Raven Queen - Triss, Duncan was startled again.

In the corridor of the cottage, Triss tore off a piece of clean, soft cloth from the hem of her long skirt, asked the peasant woman to boil some hot water, then pushed the door open and walked in. She slowly came to the sleeping Duncan and carefully wiped the blood stains on Duncan's forehead, neck and arms with the wet cloth.

She slightly unbuttoned Duncan's shirt, wiped the blood off his chest, then put down the cloth and subconsciously stroked Duncan's strong chest with her fingertips.

The unintentional skin contact seemed to bring the witch back to her senses. Her face flushed slightly, and she glanced around. Then she gently stroked Duncan's sleeping face with her slender palm, and her thumb brushed across his angular cheeks, his heroic thick eyebrows, then across his high nose bridge, and gently landed on his lips.

Am I awake? Or am I not?

From a God's perspective, Duncan was also a little overwhelmed.

At this moment, human body No. 1 frowned slightly, as if feeling disturbed during his sleep. The Raven Queen - Triss stood up as if she had been electrocuted. She picked up the towel in a panic, picked up the basin of water and wanted to go out, but when she reached the door, she turned back, wet the cloth, helped the sleeping Duncan take off his boots, wiped them a little, and then closed the door.

The Raven Queen - Triss stood at the door and took a deep breath, her face slightly flushed and her expression panicked, like a thief. She turned and entered the next room, and wiped the forehead of the seriously injured Severus with a wet cloth. The druid seemed to have a fever, and the witch put the wet towel on his forehead.

No.

That just brushed my feet!

Brother, I'm sorry.

When Duncan came to his senses, Anya next door had already finished wiping her body. She didn't look at anything else, but she caught a glimpse of something big and white.

After this experience, Duncan relaxed a lot.

He found that after staying in the dimensional space for a long time, he felt mentally, no, spiritually, very tired. But now that human body number one had not yet awakened and was in a state of severe fatigue, he could only continue to stay in the dimensional space in a manner close to that of a spirit.

"Is it because my soul is too weak?" Duncan wondered secretly.

He felt like he had been 'upgraded'.

Compared to other people in the real world, he seems to be in a higher dimension, but he can only come to the real plane in the form of a human body.

Wasn’t there a saying in the previous life that perhaps the earth is just a playground for higher-dimensional life?

Ten minutes later.

The witch Anya also walked into the cabin. She also gave people a sneaky feeling and glanced in Triss's direction.

No!

What are you doing?
Anya tiptoed over to the sleeping Duncan and looked him up and down curiously, seeming to comment on him. She whispered to herself, "He's quite handsome."

"No wonder the Raven Queen, Triss, was so moved."

"Pity."

"She wants to remain chaste for the goddess... Platonic love is boring..."

"Why not be my lover... Hee..."

The lewd words of a married young woman.

The gorgeous witch became even bolder. Seeing Duncan unconscious, she first touched her face, then her chest muscles, then glanced down and slipped out like a thief.

People in the Roman era were very open-minded and had old imperial traditions.

The early empire saw many extravagant and tyrannical rulers, notably Nero and Caligula, the Roman Empire's most erotic figure. Caligula was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard, setting a precedent for the Guard's assassination of emperors. (Note: Caligula was Nero's uncle, making him a descendant of the same tyrant line.)
Spartacus is relatively close to the historical background of the time.

Anya was born into a very old and declining noble family. It was said that her ancestors had a close relationship with the witch queen - Agrippina the Younger, who was the mother of the tyrant Nero. Legend has it that she secretly poisoned her two husbands, one of whom was the emperor of the empire.

According to some rumors, Anya's ancestor was the priest who helped poison the body, and thus gained the status of a noble.

Anya's family bloodline is very complicated. During the later civil war in the empire, they married barbarian generals to protect themselves. They returned to the Roman court under a new guise during the reign of Julian the Apostate, and then declined again after Julian was assassinated, until she married her future husband.

Unfortunately, her husband soon died in a war of barbarian invasion, but Anya was quite capable. Although she had no children, she legally inherited her husband's family estate.

Thus, she became a wealthy widow in the aristocratic class.

However, the Roman Church has begun to purge heretical witches, and she has no choice but to secretly fund Triss's witch gathering in order to protect herself and even escape from the church's territory in the future.

If it weren't for these relationships, with Anya's two-star blank strength, it would be almost impossible for her to become one of the founders of the witch coven.

Strictly speaking, she is an angel investor in the first round.

This Roman noblewoman had a rather impressive background. She even once operated a trading fleet that sailed between Europe, Egypt and Alexandria, and North Africa and Carthage. Had it not been for the recent unrest in North Africa, which nearly wiped out the Western Roman Empire's grain-producing areas, her worth would likely have been even higher. However, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. The fact that she recruited a retired Knight of the Imperial Guard among her followers, and even placed a bag of gold on him, clearly indicated her wealth.

He has money, but no military force to protect himself.

The witch Anya is obviously interested in Duncan, or she is in urgent need of a strong supporter to ensure that she can escape the church's liquidation.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see the fall of the empire.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the families, wives, and daughters of the nobles were reduced to playthings for the barbarian generals. Some were even reduced from high-ranking noblewomen to lowly slaves at the mercy of others. Anya also had a hidden identity as a witch. If she didn't find a way to protect herself, her fate would be even more tragic.

If she hadn't been forced into a desperate situation, how could she, a noble lady who had lived a life of luxury for many years, risk acting with Triss?

She was reluctant to give up her comfortable life, but was also afraid of being burned at the stake.

Bandits in the mountain stronghold.

After leaving Duncan's room, Anya looked at the unconscious Severus again and whispered to the druid, "Don't die."

There is also a slight relationship between the two.

Severus's ancestor was a general of Julian the Apostate, who had assisted the emperor in suppressing a rebellion and had made significant contributions in the war against the Alemanni. However, with the sudden death of the emperor, Severus's family quickly declined, and by his generation, they were essentially barbarians.

These people, including the Raven Queen Triss, were basically the "remnants of the previous dynasty". The Raven Queen Triss's sect was a strong supporter of the apostate Julian at the time.

The Raven Queen, Triss, is over a hundred years old.

Unlike other witches, she was born with incredible powers. When the young Trivia sect found her, she was directly chosen as the high priest of the sect, and then further secretly became the high priest of polytheism, which was a title previously reserved for Roman emperors.

After the complete collapse of polytheism, the Raven Queen Triss was forced into exile, hiding from place to place and changing her appearance. After the polytheistic sects were completely banned, she secretly joined forces with other priestesses to establish the first witches' coven.

Although Anya was not a priest, her family, and even Agrippina the Younger in the early empire, the mother of the tyrant Nero, secretly worshipped Venus, also known as Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

This fusion deity's aspect governs love, beauty, desire, and fertility.

Anya secretly worships the statue of the goddess of sex and desire.

Many of the beautiful women throughout the empire, renowned for their promiscuous beauty and ability to seduce men, had secret ties to this cult. Aphrodite's secret cult imbued women with a unique sexual energy, and women who served it aged slowly. Another similar secret cult, established in Egypt, was linked to the legendary Cleopatra.

of course.

All of this was swept into the dustbin of history after the complete failure of polytheism.

These remnants of polytheism are now hiding from the Inquisition, while Triss, the Raven Queen, is trying to find a place where they can survive because of the dark future predicted.

As for the vow of chastity of Triss, the Raven Queen, there are still some goddesses in polytheism who are untainted by the mud, and they are represented by the virgin goddesses.

Normally, the era after Zeus (Jupiter) should be dominated by more orthodox polytheistic gods (such as Artemis, Athena, etc.).
But they didn't expect that monotheism would rise and wipe them all out.

………………

Severus had a fever.

There is no other way at the moment, he can only rely on himself to fight.

Although there are supernatural powers in this era, there are no priests who can heal injuries like in the fantasy world. Unless someone can find the legendary holy object, such as the Holy Grail, if Severus could have a glass of it, he would probably be alive and well again soon.

Druids didn't have any healing magic; their era ended long before Caesar massacred a large number of Druid priests in Gaul.

Severus knew some ancient druidic rituals, which might have contained some magic that could heal his wounds, but he was unconscious and unable to heal himself. The traditional polytheistic faith in Gaul was now almost extinct.

"It all depends on how lucky you are, brother." Duncan took care of the seriously injured Severus every day.

Most of the church's pastors are ordinary people.

Even during the period when the saints and apostles were traveling and preaching, there were only a few people in the church who were named "Saints" and were said to be able to heal other people's injuries.

It wasn't just Raven Queen Triss whose power plummeted; even within monotheistic religions, the emergence of "saints" was becoming rare. (People with the name "saint").
The good news was that two days later, Severus' fever finally subsided and he woke up.

This druid was as strong as a barbarian. Although he was very weak, he finally regained consciousness, and it was not a last-ditch effort.

"water……"

A hoarse voice woke Duncan.

He quickly put down the notebook, glanced at the awakened Severus, and immediately took the water bag.

——The eleventh day of the journey: 67 heads.

This bandit stronghold was located in a remote area and was relatively safe. No one was left alive at the time, so the enemy might not be able to catch up or dare to continue chasing.

As soon as Severus woke up, the other two witches rushed over.

There are only a few capable fighters in the team. Apart from Duncan, only Severus can fight in close combat. Although the Raven Queen - Triss can burst out, the cost is very high. She has been weak for two days and is still suffering from the backlash. The witch - Anya is just a vase, purely for financial support. At present, it is not clear what special abilities this two-star blank witch has.

"His injuries have improved a lot." Raven Queen Triss breathed a sigh of relief.

Duncan knew it all along.

He had just entered the God's perspective and saw that Severus's mark had changed to 'severely injured' and there was no longer the negative status of 'near death'.

"After recuperating for a while, we should be able to continue our journey."

A druid is a druid after all. After Severus woke up, he could barely get out of bed and walk on the second day, and could walk slowly on the third day. This guy is indeed very strong, and there may be certain supernatural factors, because he once asked Duncan to take him to the abandoned "Druid Ring".

The group rested in the bandit stronghold for seven days and finally set out on the journey to the British Isles again.

But they also took a female slave with them.

The other farmers were dismissed, and Duncan managed to get a few horses, added eight heads to the small book, and then headed towards Little Germania.

During this period, the outside world became increasingly turbulent, and both Upper and Lower Pannonia fell.

There was even worse news. One of the nomadic tribes, the Vandals, was already stirring, seemingly taking advantage of the empire's chaos. Historically, the Vandals had captured Rome, burning and looting it for two weeks, leaving the ancient city virtually destroyed.

Anya ran fast. If she had just sat there and waited for death, even if she didn't die from the Inquisition's pursuit in the future, she would have been abducted and tortured by the Vandals.

No matter which dynasty was destroyed, the families, wives and daughters of the princes and nobles could not escape the fate of becoming playthings.

………………

(End of this chapter)