Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 34: Fame spreads far and wide! The legend spreads!

coastline.

Kveto stepped onto the land of the British Isles with an excited look on his face. He saluted Duncan and said, "Sir, the first batch of 200 people have all arrived."

At this time, he was wearing the scale armor of the Roman field army, an iron helmet on his head, holding a large shield, a heavy dagger on his waist, and a javelin on his back. He looked much stronger than the last time they met, and there was a circle of fat on his belly. It should be that he had been eating and drinking well recently, and had kept up with the training, and his physical fitness had returned to its previous state.

These first batch of privately recruited soldiers all looked in good spirits and no longer looked pale and thin as they did at the beginning.

Duncan nodded, patted his shoulder and said, "Very good."

"Come with me."

After saying that, he walked towards Clegane. After seeing the Sarmatian knight, Kveto's heart skipped a beat, because the Sarmatians played an important role in the Imperial Army. They were excellent mercenaries and an indispensable cavalry unit of the army.

In the early days, the Roman cavalry had always been a weakness. It was only after absorbing the Sarmatians that the cavalry became stronger.

Duncan stared at Clegane and said in a deep voice, "This is Kvetto, the commander of the Private Equity Corps. You will be responsible for assisting him in training this unit."

Hearing Duncan's words, Kveto couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He thought his position had been taken away again.

Clegane nodded solemnly, "Yes, my lord."

He was born an elite rider, and although he was also good at infantry combat, it was impossible for him to be used to command the infantry. He was just temporarily helping with training. It would be better for the Sarmatians to be used to form a cavalry unit.

——Exile Private Legion (high morale) (new beginning) (trained) (poor discipline)!
From God's perspective.

This reorganized legion has multiple designations. Training is roughly divided into three levels: untrained (a mob), trained, and well-trained. Discipline is also divided into three levels: undisciplined, poorly disciplined, and strictly disciplined. Above this level are elite units, but they are not considered regular troops. Their counterparts include the Spartan Hoplites, the Roman Praetorian Guard, the Imperial Eagle Legion, and so on.

Generally speaking, troops with high training levels will not have poor discipline.

Except for Barbarian Berserker.

This mixed legion consisted of more than two hundred men, including traditional Celtic warriors recruited by Severus.

The burly guards following Duncan were Celts who migrated from Gaul.

——Gallic Oath Warrior (two stars)!
This was the only two-star unit Severus recruited, named Kulin. Geis is a common element in Celtic mythology, meaning taboo, prohibition, or oath. It holds a significant weight in Celtic mythology, yet is also its most secretive aspect.

There is a weapon called the 'Sword of the Victory Oath', and Kulin is the Celtic warrior who made the oath.

When the Empire conquered Gaul in the early days, it was these Gallic Oathed Warriors who caused considerable damage to the Empire's heavy armored legions. They were considered top-level infantry units with some special abilities.

Duncan turned to look at Quetto next to him and ordered, "I remember that among the exiles, there are more than 30 who were Gallic warriors, right?"

"Give them to Kulin, and let him organize a shock infantry."

The composition of the exiles is quite complex.

People of different nationalities are mixed together, and their unified identity is "bankrupt". Most of them can be reorganized into the Empire's private army corps, but a small number of people with barbarian heritage can be mixed into special forces.

Duncan was busy until noon before he finally settled these people near the village by the sea.

In the afternoon.

The rider named Gil came with a group of people. They brought some supplies that were snatched from the teeth of Duke Dingtagil. He was also recruiting indigenous warriors and planned to counterattack to regain some lost territory.

In fact, the British Isles are not short of food because the population is not large. At its peak, there were only two to three million people, and now it is estimated to be only over one million. After the empire abandoned its provinces, many Romans moved away, and the invasion of Saxon pirates killed many more people.

Today, the British Isles are vast and sparsely populated. In addition, they are surrounded by the sea and have decent fishing. There is no need to worry about starving to death. However, there is a shortage of other supplies, especially ironware and armor. We have to wait for Anya's caravan for this.

Jill dismounted and walked over quickly. He looked at Duncan with awe and said, "Lord Duncan, the Duke has recruited thousands of men to retake Devon."

"He sent me to deliver some supplies to reward the legion."

Although Duncan only brought a few hundred people with him, he was already considered a small warlord in Britain at that time. In the early days, there were more than ten kingdoms of varying sizes on the British Isles. These were actually the chiefs of the indigenous tribes. If they had all their assets, they would probably only have one or two thousand people, and most of them were trained at the level of militia.

The Duke of Dintagill had suffered a defeat and was in urgent need of restoring his prestige. He wanted to take advantage of the civil unrest in the Kingdom of Kent to regain some of the lost land. The Cornwall region was a bit poor and, like Wales, was a remote mountainous area.

If Duncan had not shot the King of Kent earlier, he would probably have been defeated.

"Counterattack so soon?"

Duncan's expression was solemn. He said in a deep voice, "It's too hasty. How much combat effectiveness can those temporarily recruited indigenous soldiers have?"

The indigenous people refer to the Celts who have not been fully Romanized. The indigenous people around London have already been Romanized.

Jill lowered his head and said, "Scout riders discovered that the Saxon garrison in Devon was evacuating."

"It shouldn't take much of a fight to take that land back."

The further east you go on the British Isles, the more mountainous and forested you are. Cornwall is a mountainous area, but towards the west, there are more plains. In the early days of the empire, paved roads were built in the British province, and more than a dozen tribal-level administrative districts and more than 30 towns were established to facilitate urban management and military dispatch.

A tribe is probably a small kingdom, roughly equivalent to the territory of a county.

After taking Devon, if they advance towards London, they will have to face large-scale legion battles, and it will be easier for the Saxon barbarians to mobilize their troops.

However, it is more difficult to defend the plains.

The essence of the British Isles lies around the Thames in London. The Empire had been developing that area for centuries, and all the major towns were concentrated in this area. There was even a university in London, but it wasn't a university in the sense we know it, but rather an adult school built by the Empire to serve only the nobility and facilitate the assimilation of the indigenous ruling class of the British Isles.

First assimilate the nobles, and then let the nobles guide the assimilation of the common people.

"Is it because I killed them so many that they completely withdrew?"

Duncan felt there was a possibility.

After all, the barbarian troops are not numerous, so it would be easier to defend if we gave up some remote areas.

If Duncan really killed a dozen people like this every day, the morale of their garrison would collapse in no time.

The enemy actually only had a few thousand soldiers, and including the militia and servants, there were probably only more than 10,000 of them.

If Duke Dintagill wants to recapture Devonshire, let him go. Duncan is not ready to take action for the time being. The exiles he recruited have not been reorganized yet. At least four or five hundred people are needed to fight a frontal war.

The exiles were stationed in an abandoned village called Tiram.

Duncan asked Kveto and Clegane to help train the army, while he himself prepared to recruit some more men from the Britons to expand it into three centuries.

Soldiers value elites rather than numbers.

With his current financial situation, he can't support too many people.

Night falls.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves could be heard outside the garrison camp, and then Kveto came running in, looking surprised and saying, "Sir."

"Someone wants to see you outside."

Ok?
Duncan stood up, followed closely by the Gallic guards. Several riders came from outside the camp. The leader had bluish skin, as if painted with some kind of dye, looking like a terrifying totem tattoo.

——Noble Rider of the Corner Land (one star).

——British Hunter.

—Canti Auxiliary Infantry.

Canty means corner land, mainly referring to the indigenous British people living around the Kent area. Later, they spread to other places. They were the most unfortunate branch of the British because the Kingdom of Kent was established on their hometown.

The team was small, only twenty-seven people, six cavalrymen and twenty-one infantrymen. They were poorly equipped, and some of them were ragged, almost like savages. Only half of them were wearing leather armor.

The leading noble rider was wearing chain mail. He looked at Duncan, as if surprised by his appearance, and looked at him carefully through the firelight.

Recently, rumors about Duncan have become more and more intense, and he is almost being hailed as a legendary hero.

"Are you the Duncan who shot the King of Kent?"

The noble rider looked a little arrogant, and his expression seemed a little unconvinced, because Duncan's physique did not seem as exaggerated as the rumors said, and Cullin and Clegane standing next to him were more like the warriors in the Aboriginal legends.

Simply put, he is broad-shouldered, big-bellied, and has a strong build and a powerful aura, looking like a ferocious beast.

Such people are more in line with the image of heroes in the eyes of indigenous people.

——Intimidation (Special Ability)!
In the light of the fire, Duncan narrowed his eyes slightly, his eyes were as deep as the abyss, and a compelling murderous aura emerged. An invisible cold wind seemed to be blowing around, causing the burning bonfire to sway and flicker.

The noble rider's horse was frightened, and he was also overwhelmed by Duncan's momentum and fell off the horse in panic.

At that moment, he seemed to be hallucinating and saw heads rolling in the darkness and blood flowing like a river.

When the man looked up again, his expression was a little flustered, but he still stiffened his neck and said, "The lord is not the same as the rumors say."

Duncan laughed when he heard this and asked, "What do the rumors say about me?"

The noble rider hesitated and said, "Rumor has it that you are mighty and majestic, like a giant, able to subdue wild horses with your bare hands and kill tigers and leopards. Your archery skills are unfathomable, and you can eat an entire cow in one meal."

Are the rumors already so outrageous?

Duncan smiled and said, "Why are you here?"

The noble rider hesitated and gritted his teeth before saying, "We have heard your legend and intend to join you in the fight against the invading Saxon barbarians."

"but……"

"The rumors are too exaggerated. I still want to see it for myself, otherwise I won't be able to convince my subordinates."

At this point, he continued, "We still have more than 300 people."

"Stay in the valley for now."

It turns out that he is an exiled small lord. No wonder he is a bit arrogant and actually wants to test Duncan's strength.

Just as Duncan was about to stand up, Kulin stepped forward. The barbarian warrior with a tattooed totem on his chest knelt on one knee and said, "Sir, leave it to me."

After seeing Kulin stand out, the Celtic warriors on both sides couldn't help but look disappointed and retreated again.

The news that Clegane had been knighted had already spread throughout the camp.

The others were naturally eager to make a move. Although Duncan hadn't yet recaptured his territory, the title of knight had already put Clegane ahead of the others. Kvetto was especially envious and jealous. He would have come to Britain with him earlier.

It was obviously me who came first!
Although the Celtic warriors led by Cullin were small in number, they also had their own ideas. They were indigenous people and were more eager to make achievements on this land.

Clegane was now waiting to form a cavalry unit and then return to his homeland with them to recruit some more Sarmatian riders who had integrated with the natives. He himself had fellow townspeople and playmates who had grown up together, so recruiting some squire riders in the name of knights would be no problem.

The brocade clothes do not return home, just like the brocade clothes walk at night.

First establish a career through military exploits, then return to your hometown to show off, and bring some people out to strengthen your personal guards.

A set of smooth and flowing things, and also expanded his own team.

Outside the camp.

Duncan glanced at him and nodded slightly.

Kulin looked excited. He didn't even draw his weapon. He just waved at the other party with the scabbard in hand.

This is so humiliating!

The noble rider from the Corner Land was furious, drawing his sword and shield, and charging towards Kulin's burly figure. He was quite capable, judging by his training from childhood, but his skills were more in horsemanship, and his foot combat was of average proficiency.

clang!
Bang!

Fighting alone, the strength of the two-star warrior was fully revealed. The noble rider's one-handed sword was blocked by Kulin with his scabbard, and then he hit the opponent with his body and easily knocked him to the ground. He didn't even have time to raise his shield. The whole person was thrown to the ground. Just when he raised his head with unwillingness, the scabbard was already on his neck.

This man's lower body wasn't stable, so he might be better off on horseback. "With your skill level, you dare challenge Lord Duncan?" Kulin said with a hint of disdain.

He was a traditional Gallic sworn warrior, an elite heavy infantryman of the first echelon, able to fight against the elite imperial guards. In BC, he dared to charge the Spartan heavy infantry phalanx head-on, and was one of the very few top-level Gallic infantrymen who could possibly kill through the Spartan phalanx.

To be honest, the noble riders from the Corner Land were no match for him. He was capable of killing them even if they charged head-on on horseback.

Severus recruited few people, but their overall strength was very strong.

Of course, the real elite troops have not arrived yet. The polytheistic old temple guards recruited by the Raven Queen Triss are the real highlight.

Duncan stepped forward and took the initiative to reach out and pull up the horn rider who was full of shame and anger.

He glanced at Kulin next to him, and Kulin immediately stepped back with a look of awe, no longer showing his initial arrogance and disdain, and returned to the team of Celtic warriors.

This guy is quite good at acting.

Duncan patted the corner rider on the shoulder and asked, "What's your name?"

The rider from the corner land said respectfully, "Talon-Sari."

Duncan pondered for a moment and said, "Bring the people from the valley here and reorganize and train them. My fleet will soon be transporting more food and weapons from North Africa."

It still depends on Anya to get started.

Rich women are so attractive.

Only a third of Talon's troops were actually combat-ready; the rest were at the level of militia, effectively reorganized into auxiliary legions. After Duncan's army was reorganized, fewer than three hundred men could truly be considered regular infantry, while another two hundred or so were auxiliary troops, unable to fight a full-scale battle.

Everything that happened today seemed to be a signal. When more than ten people came on the third day, Duncan finally realized that something was wrong.

"Is my reputation really that great?"

"Why are there so many people coming to me all of a sudden? And Welsh archers too?"

The morning of the third day was even more amazing.

Most of the people who came in the past few days were refugees who had lost their land and whose homes were occupied by Saxon pirates. They were mainly exiled Canti, Brigante, Vent people, etc. They were indigenous tribes and branches of the British. After being defeated in the war, they were forced to flee to the mountains and were determined to regain their homes.

Today, when Duncan saw more than a dozen one-star 'Welsh Archers', he finally realized the huge impact that legendary status had on him.

The Welsh region was not occupied by barbarians, they came purely for Duncan's reputation!
That was King Uther's territory.

The captain of the Welsh archers was also bewildered. Facing Duncan's question, he answered honestly, "I don't know either..."

"The Druid priest said that if we want to deal with the Saxon barbarians who invaded us, we should come here and seek refuge with Lord Duncan!"

"We came here together."

Their main purpose was to achieve great things. The mountain people had a hard life, and they also wanted to rely on their military achievements to make a breakthrough in class.

Druid?
Avalon in the Mists?!

Duncan immediately thought of the fairies guarding Avalon. He had also heard some outrageous rumors about himself, many of which were connected to Avalon. Because of this, those among the indigenous people who still maintained traditional beliefs flocked to him, rapidly increasing the size of his army to nearly 600.

The legendary degree that Duncan possesses seems to not only enhance the dimensional space, but the influence brought by the legendary degree in the real world is also gradually emerging.

In just half a month, his name had spread throughout Britain.

………………

Avalon is helping me?

Duncan recruited these Welsh archers and organized them into a long-range force of nearly a hundred people. They all brought their own dry food, weapons, leather armor, arrows, etc.

The British Hunters were considered second or third tier archer units, and after reorganization became the 'British Auxiliary Archers'.

Most of the more than 300 people brought by the Horn Knight Talon were farmers, herdsmen and militiamen. They were directly mixed into two teams of centuries, and after reorganization, they became the "British Maritime Militia".

“Logistics are a bit tight.”

When Quetta came over with the account book, Duncan realized that with so many people eating and drinking, his family's wealth was almost unsustainable.

Anya, where are you?

I miss you so much!

Even with only about 600 men, maintaining them is a real struggle. Just daily food, maintenance, and training alone cost hundreds of gold coins a month. And that's without paying them. If they were to maintain the troops according to the Imperial standard, the cost would increase several times over. A single 100-man Imperial Field Army would cost nearly a thousand gold coins a year.

The Imperial Field Army is known for its high military expenditure, far exceeding the military expenditure of other forces.

Of course, these were all regular troops, the main combat troops. The Imperial Auxiliary Corps simply couldn't afford to spend that much. The Imperial Army paid salaries roughly quarterly, and a standard field unit's expenses were around 350 gold coins. Spread out evenly, it wasn't much, and even a bit tight, relying on spoils of war and rewards to survive.

The barbarian troops received only half of the empire's pay, but were given a share of the spoils of war and land.

Duncan's recruits didn't need to be paid for the time being, but they still needed to have daily necessities. Feeding five or six hundred men a day was a significant expense. Given Duncan's style, he couldn't afford to feed them on a daily diet. He had to provide at least one meal of meat (or fish) a day, even if it meant emptying his family's coffers.

Because there were so many people eating, it even attracted nearby British residents, forming a small market outside the camp, and fishermen also brought their catches to exchange for some money for their families.

Duncan also had to prepare weapons and equipment for them. After spending all the money, his wallet was almost empty, but many people still had no armor and could only use simple shields.

The bag of gold left by Anya was slowly spent.

"Can't wait any longer!"

"Direct combat training."

When Duncan realized that his wallet was almost empty, he decided to take the initiative without hesitation.

Scouting cavalry gathers intelligence!

Clegane and Talon each led a team of reconnaissance cavalry, about twelve people in total. Duncan only had so many cavalry under his command, and he probably had to rely on robbing people to get war horses. He really couldn't afford to buy horses.

Those indigenous chiefs and lords all had their own horse guards, but Duncan was only accompanied by a team of Celtic warriors fighting on foot, and his family background was much less than theirs.

The Duke of Tintagel had recaptured most of Devonshire and even Exeter.

His troops are now in a stalemate with the enemy near Dorset.

To put it in simple terms, Duke Dintagir was making rapid progress and had already recaptured the territory of an entire county. He was currently testing the waters with the Saxon pirates in the neighboring county, hoping to find an opportunity to wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop.

The day passed quickly.

Just as Duncan was about to take action.

"fleet!"

"A fleet is coming!"

Cheers came from the coast, and Duncan stood up instantly and rushed towards Haikou.

Anya's fleet!

The beloved witch Anya is finally back.

There were no decent ports nearby, and docking took a while. Anya's fleet consisted of six cargo ships and three smaller boats, none of which had a deep draft. They primarily traded with the Mediterranean. The coastline surrounding Britain was still controlled by Saxon pirates, so their approach was somewhat dangerous, but fortunately, they encountered no trouble.

Anya stood on the deck, wearing a luxurious court dress of a Roman noble, looking like a proud peacock!

In recent years, the influence of the church has grown, and traditional Roman clothing has also changed. Anya is wearing the clothing of noble ladies from the early empire, which is a bit like the aristocratic long skirt in Spartacus, a little bit revealing, making her look beautiful and graceful.

After the church was established as the state religion, the imperial costumes changed, the arena was closed, the Olympic Games were stopped, and the atmosphere gradually became conservative.

The people used small boats to transport the things on the cargo ships, including shields, javelins, heavy daggers and other weapons, as well as food, cloth, dried meat and other supplies. The cargo ships were all filled to the brim.

Anya stepped onto the shoreline, raised her head proudly, looked at Duncan with a charming smile and said, "I sold all my property in North Africa at a low price."

"I can only rely on you from now on."

"This is the first batch of supplies that arrived. It will probably take some time to sell the manor land in Rome."

He really spent all his family fortune.

Although Anya has all the old aristocratic habits, she has the courage to do things far beyond other men.

This batch of supplies solved Duncan's urgent problem. The only regret was that there was no armor. Even Anya couldn't get the standard armor and protective gear of the Imperial Field Army.

However, one of the ships had leather armor, which was enough to arm quite a few people.

Duncan didn't say anything, but just held Anya's hand tightly, interlaced their fingers, then raised her hand high and gestured to the others around him. Soon, cheers rang out.

Amid the cheers of the crowd, Anya's beautiful face flushed slightly with excitement, and she seemed to be enjoying the feeling of being the center of attention very much.

"I also brought some people for you."

When they returned to the camp, Anya leaned close to Duncan's ear and whispered, "They were the former merchants accompanying the empire."

"You can give them the spoils you don't need."

——Merchant accompanying the army.

——The Imperial hired guard.

Duncan had already seen it, because their guards were dressed as members of the Imperial Private Corps, and some of them were holding crossbows.

Empires are built on war.

As early as BC, the imperial legions would be followed by a large number of military merchants when they went on expeditions. They could buy the spoils at a discount and transport the supplies needed by the legions from other places, which to some extent replaced the duties of many civilian laborers.

Of course, it's all about profit.

The merchants accompanying the army are in a business with huge profits. They can make money without risking their lives. The spoils they purchase can bring more than double the profit if they are transported to other places. These spoils converted into cash are usually distributed among the entire legion according to military merit.

Everyone is a beneficiary. As long as the legion commanders do not engage in corruption and the spoils are distributed, the legion soldiers will have bulging pockets after a victory.

Rome often gained huge profits from foreign wars. It received huge war reparations from the war against Carthage and completed its dominance in the Mediterranean. The war reparations from the war against Macedonia alone amounted to 1.2 million. After that, it also had to pay huge tributes every year, which was almost equivalent to the country's tax revenue for three years at that time.

From BC to the present day, military merchants have gradually developed in this way. They even helped deal with the spoils of war after the barbarian Huns looted the empire.

As long as there is money to be made, they will do anything!

Inside the camp.

With Anya's return, the merchants she brought with her immediately took over the army's logistics. While few Britons were literate, the Romans were generally well-educated. Anya's merchant guild was able to maintain trade routes between Carthage in North Africa and Alexandria in Egypt, managing the logistics of a mere five or six hundred people without any problems.

Before leaving the tent, Anya suddenly hooked her little finger in Duncan's palm, and a subtle expression asking for a reward appeared on her beautiful face.

Anya was starving after running around and being exposed to the wind and sun for a while.

The Raven Queen - Triss turned a blind eye and just watched Anya walk away slowly with her waist and hips twisted like a full moon, her eyes dim and no one knew what she was thinking.

Her meeting with Merlin hadn't gone so smoothly.

Or to put it more bluntly, Merlin is a centrist who leans towards the church. He doesn't want to get involved in these troublesome matters and has no obligation to help her.

When Duncan saw that the Raven Queen, Triss, didn't mention Merlin after she came back, he knew that this trip would not be so smooth. He didn't care whether Merlin helped or not, because the other party was not in Duncan's plan.

In such troubled times, you can only rely on yourself!

………………

(End of this chapter)