Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 31 Outrageous Rumors!
The wind whispers.

After Duncan shot and killed the Germanic barbarian priest with an arrow, he gradually had a different feeling. He seemed to faintly feel the surge of magic power.

From a God's perspective, a small blue mana bar appeared on the projected image.

"So short?"

Compared with Duncan's health bar, which is more than twice that of an ordinary person, the unlocked mana bar is only a small amount, which can be easily overlooked if you don't observe carefully.

"Is everyone's magic power very low? Or am I the only one who has this little?"

After Duncan entered the forest, he stopped and felt for a while. When he closed his eyes, he could really feel the flow of magic power in his body, but once it came into contact with the outside world, the magic power would become slow and lazy, like a candle in the wind, which would be extinguished in the next second.

"Can you cast spells? No! I don't think I can cast spells yet."

Duncan tried to mobilize the magic power in his body. It was as if a breeze blew by, rolling up the falling leaves to a height of one meter. Then his mana bar was completely exhausted.

This is too weak!
If this is the magic power of ordinary priests, then witches are indeed dangerous supernatural beings. At least they can perform some decent tricks.

Duncan felt that it wasn't him who was incompetent, but that there was something wrong with the world.

Correct.

It's all the world's fault!
Rune Mastery (Occult): Originating from the mystical knowledge of the Norse pantheon, the runes mastered by priests are different from ordinary characters and possess certain supernatural powers. You can now understand and master some simple runes.

In Norse mythology, Odin, the father of the gods, sought greater wisdom by hanging himself from a tree for nine days and nights, pondering the mysteries of the universe. When he came down from the world tree, he understood the secrets of runes.

Runes can be considered a spell material (rune).

The Raven Queen, Triss, once said that true magic requires the use of rituals, props, external forces, and other factors.

For a church priest, the most important thing is a sincere faith. However, most of them lack the ability to cast spells. Monks in monastic orders must rely on holy objects to cast true spells. Duncan believes this is the difference between priests and warlocks. Priests' power largely comes from their faith in the gods.

Eastern magic is similar, with some relying on one's own magical power and some borrowed through rituals (such as Taoist rituals like summoning gods at the altar).
As long as the mana bar is unlocked, everything else will be easy.

Duncan started out with the physique of an ordinary person, but now he is even stronger than a Barbarian Berserker.

He checked the strategic map from a God's perspective and found that the captured slaves who had been released did not go far, and some even stayed at the edge of the forest.

"We can't just leave like this."

The burly warrior with a fierce look and a whip mark on his face said, "The ranger who rescued us may not be out of danger yet. We must stay here to help him."

Sarmatian riders.

After their own tribe and clan were destroyed, they became part of the empire and remained loyal to it for more than two hundred years.

These people are loyal mercenaries and have a much better reputation than the barbarian foreign legions.

The British Legion infantryman hesitated and said, "He said he doesn't need our help."

The Sarmatian rider shook his head and said, "Then you go ahead. I'll stay here alone. If he's pursued by the Saxons, I can still help."

This guy is a man!

After a moment of hesitation, four or five of the escaped slave captives actually decided to stay with him.

A breeze blew through the mountains and forests, making many people shiver with cold.

By the time Duncan approached their position, most of the slave captives had already left. The British infantryman had actually stayed behind. Holding a short spear, he climbed up a tree, looked at the fire in the distance, and whispered, "Fire."

"The Saxons are in such disarray that they shouldn't be able to stop the ranger."

At this time.

A deep male voice sounded in the darkness: "Why haven't you left yet?"

The Sarmatian rider gripped his battle axe with vigilance. Seeing Duncan's silhouette in the darkness, he breathed a sigh of relief and bowed his head respectfully, saying, "We were afraid you might be pursued by the barbarians, so we decided to stay and lend a hand."

Duncan walked out of the shadows and couldn't help but take another look at the other person.

Bloody!
He smiled and said thoughtfully: "What are your plans next?"

The captives present exchanged glances. Before the British infantryman could speak, the Sarmatian rider declared in a deep voice, "Revenge! Take back our homeland!"

"We'll follow whoever can lead us against the Saxons!"

He was completely disappointed with Duke Dingtagil.

More than 3,000 people fought against about 1,000 people, and were defeated so badly that the entire army was almost wiped out.

This defeat directly led many people to side with King Uther.

Anyway, the big leader - Uther is still quite capable of fighting. At least he can fight the Saxons back and forth and avoid being defeated again and again.

Duncan pondered and said, "I am recruiting people to prepare for the counterattack against Southampton."

The Sarmatian rider's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he knelt on one knee without hesitation and said, "In the name of our ancestors' dragon banner, I, Clegane of Hamp, am willing to follow you, Your Excellency!"

He didn't care about the other people present and directly became a green marked unit.

At this moment, the other captives present were a little at a loss. They didn't know who Duncan was. Even if Duke Dintagill was not good at fighting, they would rather surrender to King Uther.

interesting.

Duncan looked down at Clegane who was kneeling on the ground in front of him. There were five or six whip marks on his body and a bullet scar on his bare chest. He looked like a veteran rider.

Even though he was still injured, he was still as ferocious as a wolf.

The Sarmatians are indeed tough!

Duncan seemed to have a sudden thought. He ignored the hesitation of the others and, with a clang, drew the Oathkeeper from his waist. Under the bright moonlight, the Damascus steel blade was terrifying, its edge gleaming and murderous. Duncan placed the blade flat on the shoulder of the kneeling Sarmatian rider.

"Humility, Compassion, Bravery, Sacrifice, Honor!"

Duncan only said five words, and then his eyes, as deep as the abyss, stared directly at Clegane in front of him. The intimidating look made the sturdy rider feel awe, but he still bravely raised his head and chest, with a straight back, his expression excited and trembling slightly, as if he realized something.

Duncan looked around, raised his hand and slapped him. The sound of a crisp snap echoed far into the night sky. His expression was solemn and serious, and he said in a deep voice, "I am Duncan from Imperial Pannonia."

"The Lord of Southampton."

"An ally of the Duke of Tintagel! A leader who responded to the alliance and helped the Britons defend against the invading barbarians! The man who shot the King of Kent at Tintagel!"

"In the name of God and the gods, I knight you!"

In the dark woods.

The other prisoners present were all stunned where they were, especially the British Legion infantryman, whose face was filled with an expression of regret and shock.

The information impact in an instant was too great.

Is he the lord?

An ally brought in by the Duke of Dintagill? Reinforcements sent from the Empire seeking help? Did he also shoot the King of Kent?
No wonder the barbarian soldiers in Devon were so uneasy.

Before anyone else could react, Clegane had already stood up excitedly and stood directly behind Duncan, as if he were a knight guarding the lord.

No matter whether others believe it or not, he already believes it.

There was no need for a tough guy who dared to break into a Saxon-occupied town single-handedly to fool them about such things.

The British Legion infantry hurriedly knelt on one knee, and the other prisoners also reacted and knelt on one knee, looking at Duncan in front of them with anticipation.

But nothing happened.

Clegane was the first to swear allegiance to Duncan, and was very brave, so he was knighted. In his eyes, the other captives were just ordinary soldiers, not worthy of knighting at all. You know, knighting means giving a large piece of land.

Before Southampton was even conquered, there wasn't enough territory under his name to go around.

Duncan looked at the other captives and said calmly, "Since you are all willing to follow me, then follow Clegane to Cornwall."

"My fleet will soon bring food and weapons from Carthage."

After saying this, he looked at Clegane, who stood with his head held high and his chest puffed out, and ordered in a deep voice, "I have another privately-funded imperial army in Gaul, with about three hundred men, some of whom are temporary conscripts."

"Since you have been knighted, please organize and train them on my behalf."

The Sarmatians were British legionary instructors, and the imperial military tradition was for them to train cavalry and occasionally infantry.

Whenever a dragon head flag appeared on the battlefield, there would definitely be an elite cavalry unit. From now on, cavalry could fly the imperial dragon flag.

"Yes, my lord!" Clegane pounded his chest with his right fist without hesitation.

call.

It was not until Clegane left with the other captives, who looked lost, that Duncan had time to continue thinking about his pitifully short mana bar.

The human form was originally a blacksmith's apprentice.

He had thought of this scene a long time ago, but he didn't expect to use it here.

It's like buying a horse's bones with a lot of money.

These days, knighthood is real power. Unlike the Middle Ages, where knights were everywhere, many were knights with no more than a title, and there were also foot knights. Nowadays, knighthood is often given land, similar to the titles of nobility during the Qin and Han dynasties, directly linked to land. While not very large, it's still the level of a small landowner.

Duncan was not prepared to take too big a step. His plan was to divide the country into classes of knights, freemen and tenants, and to minimize the influence of slaves as much as possible.

In the current era, it is impossible to abolish slavery. The solution is to minimize the number of civilians being exploited into slavery.

"really."

"I'm no different from the people I saw online in my previous life. I want to be an emperor, but I don't want to be busy with government affairs every day."

"To put it bluntly, I just want to be a free and easy prince who has the power of an emperor but doesn't have to take care of things."

Duncan really started to build his foundation, and was actually glad to have Triss, Anya, Severus and others around him, because if he came all alone, he didn't know how many trivial matters he would have to deal with.

This time he brought two tubes of arrows, about 120 arrows, which he placed near a tree hole in the forest. Now he had to go and replenish the arrows.

The morning light falls.

The town called Devon was in chaos, and there were traces of a fire not far away.

Blood Axe-Nedron was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot as he watched his soldiers carrying out the bodies of their fellow tribesmen one by one. The one in the front was the barbarian priest, who was killed on the spot by an arrow in the throat and an arrow in the forehead. The other bodies were in a similar situation, killed by arrows in the vital parts. Two of them were shot in the head by Fran's flying axe, and their skulls were split open.

"It's that Imperial Knight!"

Duncan was so conspicuous on the battlefield that some people remembered the knight with superb archery skills.

Blood Axe Nidron said in a low voice, "Is he alone?"

The centurion on the side said: "It should be."

"But he released some of the captives and slaves."

Come when you want and leave when you want.

The man was like a monster, sneaking in quietly, killing people, and then retreating immediately without even a trace of his shadow.

If it weren't for the high walls and fortresses, there would be no way to stop him.

Blood Axe-Nedron's expression was extremely solemn. Looking at the soldiers with terrified expressions and shaken morale, he didn't know what to do for a moment.

He came here alone to kill us!

He could only shout angrily: "Increase the vigilance!"

"Double the number of people patrolling the watchtower!"

His intuition told him that the man might come again tonight.

After just one night of killing, rumors spread in Devon. Whether it was the Britons they conquered and enslaved, or the migrating Germanic barbarians, they all said that a nightmarish ghost ranger had appeared. He sneaked in quietly, killed many Saxon soldiers with a rage of revenge, and then left calmly in the dark of the night.

Because King Kent died suddenly not long ago, many factors combined to make the rumors more and more intense.

As for the rumors about the British, they were even more outrageous.

They said that the ranger was an elf, which was why he could appear and disappear so mysteriously. He was the elf prince of the British Isles, the son of the Fairy King Oberon and Titania. Because the Saxons invaded and massacred the Britons, even the legendary fairies could no longer bear it.

So they sent the elf prince, who transformed himself into a human, to help them resist the invasion of the Saxon barbarians.

Of course, there's another version of this outrageous rumor, saying the ranger is from the misty Avalon and is the offspring of a fairy from Avalon. There's even a legend that he's a descendant of Queen Medb, a queen in ancient Irish mythology, known for her bravery and many concubines.

In the mess of rumors, the British unanimously linked Duncan to legendary mythical figures.

Because they have suffered for too long.

The Germanic barbarians had ravaged them for decades, and when such a powerful figure suddenly emerged, it was hard for them not to associate it with the mythology of the British Isles.

Among the many rumors, the most popular and recognized one is that Duncan is from Avalon and is the prince of the Goblin King - Oberon. This is a fusion of two outrageous rumors.

As for Duncan, he is actually from the Empire?
It does not matter.

An even more outrageous rumor arose in Britain: the Fairy King Oberon was actually the son of Gaius Julius Caesar, the head of the empire. While conquering Britain, Caesar encountered a mythological goddess in the wild. This goddess, revered by the natives, captivated Caesar at first sight, and the legendary Fairy King Oberon was born.

Official history may not be correct, but unofficial history is definitely unofficial enough!

Caesar was a romantic man. He was seduced by Cleopatra when he conquered Egypt, so why couldn't the fairies of the British Isles win his heart?
Of course, this rumor was not recognized by the empire because Caesar's legitimate successor was Octavian.

What the hell is the Goblin King Oberon?

Night falls.

Duncan found a big tree to lean against and dozed off until night fell, then he walked out of the woods.

He was unaware of the outrageous rumors circulating about him. He simply intended to harass the enemy, harvest a few heads, and further improve his basic combat skills. With his current physical condition, he had little to fear if he went out on his own to conduct guerrilla warfare, unless he encountered a legendary figure. As long as he wasn't greedy and avoided the enemy's main force, it would be easy to escape.

It would probably be a bit difficult for Duncan to fight the mammoth war elephant alone now, as his strength is about that of 0.6 elven princes.

After all, the fighting skills and agility displayed in some clips of the Elf Prince are not like those of a mortal, and are even more exaggerated than those of a three-star demon hunter.

"I don't know how powerful those legendary monsters are."

"Beowulf fought for his life against the giants, didn't he? I still need to grow some more!"

Duncan is not intimidated when facing ordinary people now, but he is a little bit weak when facing giants.

The trolls in the Middle Ages were not the trolls in the previous Warcraft games. They were mythical monsters that had a certain blood relationship with giants.

Strictly speaking, they should be translated as 'trolls'.

Cave giants, ogres, trolls, giants, etc. all refer to the same type of creatures.

They are the prototypes of the trolls in Dungeons & Dragons and are very difficult to kill. The legendary image of this monster is very similar to the special trolls in Heroes of Might and Magic.

Even in Dungeons & Dragons, this monster has a Challenge Rating of at least 8, making it tougher than many teenage dragons. (Compare it to cave trolls.)
If Duncan really wants to fight, he will probably have to ask the Raven Queen, Triss, for help.

Besides, according to the legend, Beowulf did not fight alone, he brought a whole team of elite soldiers with him.

The moon is dark and the wind kills the night.

Duncan looked at the patrol guards in Devon Town, which had more than doubled in number. He was not panicked at all and waited quietly for midnight when the enemy would feel tired.

As long as the enemy doesn't retreat, he will keep taking heads.

Anyway, we can retreat to Cornwall at any time.

But today was a little different. When Duncan started killing at midnight, a figure invisible to the naked eye suddenly appeared in the air.

——Valkyrie.

This was the first time Duncan saw her outside the battlefield. The Valkyrie with bird-winged silver helmet was quietly floating above the town, as if waiting for Duncan to help her with the performance in Valhalla.

"No."

"Has my reputation really spread to Valhalla? Are the Valkyries even guarding it specifically?"

Duncan was surprised, but he did not stop. He shot a patrolling soldier to death with an arrow, then shot the next enemy in the head with a flying axe. He leaped down, and the Oathkeeper flashed a cold light, directly beheading the Saxon infantry axeman.

From a God's perspective, the shadow of the Valkyrie was hovering above him.

As soon as Duncan left, the Valkyrie flew down and took away the soul of a barbarian warrior. Since meeting Duncan, the performance of Valhalla has been soaring.

………………

(End of this chapter)