Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 26: Isn’t Duncan invincible when he rides a druid?
Tintagel Castle.

Although the dinner prepared by Duke Dintagir was quite sumptuous, the taste was very ordinary. Let me tell you a joke, it was British cuisine.

In Europe at this time, Italian and French cuisine were probably the only dishes that tasted better.

Anya looked disgusted.

She was used to a life of luxury and had a lot of bad habits that came from an old Roman aristocratic family.

Duncan wasn't picky, but he was a little restrained. He found that the 'Power of Gluttony' couldn't be consumed every day, so maybe once a week was enough.

Because it slowly increases the upper limit of life, as time goes by, the effect of the Holy Grail Blood will cause some changes in the body's muscles and bones.

He is not strong in build, but very strong, and his muscle and bone density exceeds that of ordinary people.

The castle was dark and damp.

Under the candlelight at the long table, two hypocritical political nobles were testing each other's courtesy. Anya was a seasoned socialite in the empire, and her words were very precise. She just kept flirting with Duke Dingtagir, waiting for him to take the initiative to ask for help.

Politics is indeed dirty, and Duncan is a little overwhelmed by it, or perhaps it can be said that political animals are emotionless and interests are the only driving force.

Duke Dintagir was very attentive to the noble widow, even though his wife was right beside him.

There was another person at the long table with an uneasy expression.

Igraine.

The wife of Duke Dintagir was also a beauty, but she looked quite frightened. Fortunately, it was late at night and the light was poor, so Duke Dintagir's eyes rarely fell on her.

"Is this what has already happened?"

Duncan knew that history would have some minor deviations, but seeing the Duchess's uneasy look, he always felt that something had happened.

If Merlin helps, Duke Dintagir will be completely defenseless.

A treat.

Duke Dintagir arranged for his servants to let Duncan and his party stay. Duchess Igraine left in a hurry, not even in the mood to chat with them.

It felt like she was hiding from Duke Dintagir.

Triss, the Raven Queen, followed Duncan and whispered, "There seems to be something wrong with the Duchess."

Duncan couldn't say he knew what would happen in the future, so he just said in a deep voice, "We'll act according to circumstances."

in the corridor.

Severus stopped, looked at everyone and said, "I'm leaving tonight."

"Try to recruit some manpower."

Severus mentioned earlier that he still had some connections on the British Isles. Among the indigenous Celtic tribes, many people still believed in the Druids, and they were regarded as beings who could communicate with the Celtic gods.

There are too few manpower.

Whether spending money or recruiting through connections, everyone believes that some new personnel should be added, preferably units with a certain level of combat effectiveness.

Severus volunteered to go and he planned to recruit some traditional Celtic warriors (similar to the troops of the Gallic forces).

Duncan pondered for a moment and nodded, "Okay."

"be careful."

Severus smiled and said, "Don't worry. I'm a druid."

In places where Celtic beliefs still exist, Druids are truly like fish in water. They will receive high courtesy when they visit any indigenous tribe.

Severus jumped out of the window.

next second.

His figure suddenly changed and turned into a flying bird, quickly disappearing in the surprised eyes of others.

The Raven Queen, Triss, was also surprised and whispered, "This is the first time I've seen him use Transfiguration."

Only then did the two witches realize that Severus's spellcasting ability had returned.

"The druid's shapeshifting ability?"

Duncan also looked at Severus who disappeared under the night sky. From a God's perspective, he saw a flying bird marked as "Druid". Then it landed and turned into a human form. Soon, it turned into a tall stag under the moonlight and plunged into the dense forest.

Can Severus transform?
Could he transform into a warhorse, like Red Hare or something?

What if I rode it?

Wouldn’t it be possible to kill people indiscriminately?

As we all know, the best pet for a hunter is a druid.

This idea only flashed through Severus' mind. To Severus, it was still a bit too much. After all, he was a companion of life and death, so how could he let him be a mount?

The creatures he transformed into were all ordinary creatures, and their combat effectiveness was not greatly improved.

"A two-star silver-gray elite unit should have unique skills!"

Duncan thought of the Priory Temple again. They were the real top masters. After Severus' strength recovered, his skills were also quite powerful. His transformation skills had great potential, which made up for the defect of his disabled fingers.

Thinking of this, Duncan couldn't help but turn his head and look at the witch - Anya.

Ok.

It's still a two-star blank, no changes.

Anya noticed Duncan's eyes and seemed to guess some of his thoughts. She couldn't help biting her beautiful red lips, her expression revealing a hint of grievance and pity.

If she wants to fully restore her spellcasting ability, she must either revive the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, or change her allegiance and find a god with similar authority. Currently, in the whole of Europe, it is estimated that only the Norse pantheon has such authority.

Raven Queen Triss is a special exception. Not all witches are born different like her.

Speaking of spellcasting abilities, there's another big guy on the British Isles.

The legendary wizard-Merlin!

The group returned to the room. Anya wanted to sneak into Duncan's room, but was glared at by Triss, the Raven Queen, and came back obediently.

That night, mountain torrents broke out.

She has been getting a little too excited lately and always wants to do something small.

But beauty is like a knife scraping bones, and Duncan cannot indulge himself too much at this time. Doing it occasionally is good for the body and mind, but doing it too often will affect his fighting ability.

Alcohol and sex have made me so haggard. From today on, I will quit drinking.

——"Day 23 of the journey: 93 heads."

He took out his little notebook and wrote it down.

I haven't gained much from the battles in recent times, but I have gained a lot of new abilities after entering the British Isles.

It seems that he needs to further expand his fighting skills and hunt and defeat different enemies.

This battle adds several new abilities.

——"Natural Sailors: The Saxons are natural sailors, skilled at fighting in the waves of the ocean. Unlike other invading barbarian tribes, the Saxons chose to conquer the British Isles. Strengthen your sailing talent to quickly master the corresponding sailor abilities."

——"Naval Combat Mastery: You can maintain your sense of balance amidst the waves of the ocean. Saxon pirates excelled in naval combat, able to maintain their balance on deck. Some elite pirates were even able to fight from the mast."

——"Lance Charge Mastery: This is a combat skill of the Barbarian Noble Knights. They can kill with a single blow when charging with a lance. Even heavily armored units cannot withstand a full-strength lance attack."

I haven't acquired any particularly powerful abilities recently.

Maybe it's because I didn't encounter any masters, but I improved my basic combat style a little bit by accumulating little by little.

However, the projection page under the God's perspective also has some special changes.

"Battle Formation - Wedge [Command Skill]: This is the combat skill of the Barbarian Noble Knights. The human form can command the cavalry to form a wedge formation. The power of the cavalry formation depends on the overall strength, training, and discipline of the combat units. Only units that obey orders can be commanded."

——"Battle Formation - Phalanx [Command Skill]: One of the regular basic formations."

——"Battle Formation - Diamond Formation [Command Skill]: This formation is used by the Macedonian light cavalry. It can handle enemies coming from any direction and avoid being at a disadvantage. This requires the commander to possess a high level of training and discipline."

——"Battle Formation - Circular Formation [Command Skill]: One of the conventional cavalry archery formations."

Battlefield command ability?
Duncan checked the formation page, which was mainly divided into three types: cavalry, infantry and archers. Among them, there were more tactical formations for cavalry, perhaps because a lot of barbarian noble knights were killed today.

There are few infantry formations, namely loose and tight formations, as well as the Roman standard shield wall formation and tortoise shell formation, the latter of which requires a higher degree of training.

There is not much to say about the archer, there is relatively little room for command.

The coordination of more advanced infantry shields and archers is not possible at present. This is probably because the corresponding command skills have not been acquired, and it requires high-level disciplinary support.

"All tactical commands are independent of my own abilities."

"It all depends on the training and discipline of the combat units."

In other words, if Duncan gave orders and was commanding a group of farmers without any training or discipline, the situation would still be a mess.

His talent is more for himself and cannot affect others.

Duncan searched for a long time but couldn't find any mark for the "Commander" ability. It seemed that it was a matter of improvisation, and in the end, it was the soldiers' military proficiency that counted.

However, when a unit was reorganized, he could see the extra mark of discipline.

If there's a "Discipline" tag, it means the troops have a high level of military proficiency, not just a bunch of weapons-wielding ragtag groups. Training, discipline, and morale.

This is the entire content of the tactical command page in the projection screen. If these three conditions can be met, it will be a legion that can serve as the main combat force.

"In the end, it all depends on the soldiers we recruit."

Duncan has not yet truly commanded an army, and the battle fought by the exile rebels can only be considered a minor skirmish. If they really encounter a regular army, the exile rebels will surely be crushed.

If the exiles really want to be used to form an army, they must be reorganized, and the combat-capable units must be concentrated to form a new combat organization.

"Another idea is to form an elite force."

"Select those strong men with one-star and two-star marks and directly form a legion. They can also have extremely strong combat effectiveness."

But once on the battlefield, personal strength is weakened, and it is particularly important to equip armor.

Everyone is fragile and without armor or shield, even a two-star strongman can be killed in a few hits.

"Let's see what Anya's next plan is."

"If she can get Duke Dintagir to ask for help, the reorganized exile army from the mountain stronghold can be transferred here with good reason."

In the battle of the Exile Rebellion, Duncan defeated a private army of nobles.

The supplies captured at that time were mainly food, but there was also enough field army equipment to arm more than 30 people. The quality of the imperial field army's scale armor was still very strong. Combined with the weapons and equipment originally possessed by the exiles, it was no problem to organize a mercenary force of about 200 people.

The number of exiles in the western part of the empire is extremely large, and with the massive invasion of barbarians, the number of exiles will only increase.

Because barbarians also need slaves.

As long as Anya can take over a piece of land, even in name only, they can easily migrate people here. I can't say how many people there are, but tens of thousands of people can be recruited easily.

Duncan's foundation is still too weak.

Within the empire, this number of people cannot make much waves, but on the British Isles, hundreds or thousands of troops can affect the overall situation.

By then, we can just gather some cannon fodder and claim to have tens of thousands of people.

In historical wars, the number of troops was very inflated, and the proportion of truly professional soldiers was not large.

At the current stage, Duncan should focus on improving his personal strength. If there is a chance, he can consider helping Duke Dintagir to repel the Saxon invasion.

Duke Dintagir suffered a great defeat today, and the Saxon army will launch a large-scale invasion in the next two days at the latest.

"The smaller the battlefield, the better it is for me now."

From God's perspective.

Duncan's consciousness controlled his human body to rest, and suddenly his brows furrowed. On the projection screen, a unit marked as 'familiar' appeared outside the castle.

——Familiar - Night Owl (1 star) (Animal Form) [Neutral].

Ok?
Duncan didn't expect to encounter another supernatural unit so soon. He stood up, picked up his bow, hesitated for a moment, and quietly knocked on the door of the Raven Queen - Triss.

Leave professional matters to professionals.

Duncan was quite self-aware of this. Even as a monarch, he could only learn from Liu Bang and make the best use of his people. If he himself took the lead, killing people would probably be his best skill.

He might be able to lead troops in battle, but if he were to take charge of military logistics and local affairs, I'm afraid it would be a bit difficult for him.

He is more suitable to be a fierce general like Xiang Yu.

This time when she met Duke Dingtagir, it was obvious that Anya was more sophisticated than him.

The door opens.

The Raven Queen, Triss, smiled sweetly. Seeing Duncan carrying his bow, her expression changed slightly. "What happened?"

Duncan whispered, "Something's happening outside."

"I saw a night owl that looked a little strange. It has been flying around here several times."

The Raven Queen, Triss, stood up and said in a serious tone, "Take me to see it."

Duncan's spirituality was extraordinary.

Especially when it comes to the perception of danger, Raven Queen Triss has no doubt about it.

"Not a druid."

A rune stone appeared in the palm of Triss, the Raven Queen. Her eyes seemed to penetrate the darkness as she saw the familiar. She spoke in a focused voice, "It's a familiar summoned by the wizard."

"A creature that doesn't belong to the real world."

At this point, she explained softly, "Only very powerful wizards can summon creatures that do not belong to reality."

"I'm afraid there's only one wizard in the British Isles who can do this."

Merlin!

When Raven Queen Triss was in Paris, she also contacted Anya through some unknown means. Duncan didn't know how she notified her at the time and thought she was controlling the birds in the wild.

Creatures that don't belong to the real world?

Are there other planes?
Right.

The Valkyrie we see today through the God's perspective is obviously not within the scope of the real world.

This is the British Isles, with Avalon shrouded in mist.

Supernatural powers are significantly more common.

Triss, the Raven Queen, explained: "Merlin is Cambion, half man, half demon. He was born with powerful magical powers."

"He is the only one who can summon familiars."

Duncan seemed to understand and subconsciously glanced at Triss in front of him. Merlin was half human and half demon, so what about her?

She was also born with powerful supernatural powers.

Triss, the Raven Queen, seemed to have guessed Duncan's thoughts. She hesitated slightly, but still whispered, "I have the blood of a banshee."

Having said this, she couldn't help but observe Duncan's expression.

Banshee.

She did not have a good reputation in this era, and her bloodline was more inclined towards the Nightmare Banshee, who was known for her ability to seduce men. That was why she became a priest who took a vow of chastity and served the polytheistic virgin goddess.

This is the briefing.

The Raven Queen, Triss, wanted to see Duncan's attitude towards his own origins and whether he was afraid or taboo about the legendary banshee.

But Duncan's expression at this time was very subtle, even a little excited.

This discovery made the Raven Queen Triss blush slightly.

The familiar flew around the castle and quickly disappeared into the dark night. It was unknown what Merlin was observing through it.

at the same time.

In the area of Britain near Wales, an old wizard appeared in the wilderness.

"Goloas is not dead."

Merlin's expression held a hint of regret, and he sighed slightly, knowing that the predicted future had changed again.

He is a wizard who is very good at prophecy.

In other words, he himself was following the possible future predicted by the prophecy, waiting for the birth of King Arthur.

Merlin predicted the death of Duke Dintagir. The best case scenario, of course, was that he died at the hands of the Saxons. In this way, King Uther would not have to take action. As long as King Uther married the Duke's widow, he could complete the unification of the British.

But he didn't die.

Then we can only wait for the second prophecy, that Duke Dintagir died unexpectedly in the power struggle with King Uther.

A wizard who is good at prophecy spells can easily become deeply trapped in his own predictions.

The prophecy monster will die from the prophecy!

What Merlin is doing now is fulfilling the prophecy he hopes to see. Igraine is pregnant with the future king of the British Isles. The next step is to ensure that King Arthur is born and grows up smoothly.

Because Merlin had foreseen King Uther's death.

Duke Dintagir will die.

King Uther will also die.

After years of chaos, the British Isles will welcome a greatest king.

This is the prophesied future he wants most.

But now, all the predictions are messed up.

Someone is about to overturn the table!
It’s just a remote province of the empire, why would there be so much trouble? Duncan was ready to kill his way through it.

………………

(End of this chapter)