Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 35: The Power of the Gods! Leading the Way!
Good news, Severus is back.

Duncan now had another available person by his side. He seemed to have just heard some rumors about Duncan and couldn't help but ask, "Have you been to Avalon?"

Duncan waved his hand to signal his attendants to withdraw, leaving behind the Raven Queen, Triss, who nodded gravely, "Yes."

Severus hesitated for a moment before finally saying slowly, "I will try to contact the Druid Order in Britain. They should be willing to offer support."

In fact, the Druid Order in Britain has already taken action in secret.

Duncan hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay."

"Your identity is perfect for dealing with them. See if you can recruit some more Gallic Oathed Warriors."

Kulin's fighting ability is really strong.

Armored and holding a sword and shield, he could deal with five or six ordinary soldiers at the same time. If there were more masters like him, Duncan could form a formation of a trap camp.

Severus nodded and said, "I will leave tomorrow."

But before leaving, he looked at Duncan in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and slowly said: "Do you know the Druid sacrifice stone?"

Druid sacrifice stone?
Duncan looked puzzled, as if he was listening attentively.

Severus glanced at Triss, the Raven Queen, as if observing her attitude. Seeing that she didn't react, he mustered up the courage to say, "That is the ancient belief of the Celtic gods."

"A sacred place of worship for the Gallic tribes."

"These sanctuaries possess a very unique ability that allows trained soldiers to be blessed with the power of the gods."

The blessing of the gods?
Duncan looked surprised and turned to look at Triss, the Raven Queen, who nodded slightly, indicating that what Severus said was true.

Severus continued, "These sanctuaries dedicated to the gods require priests to maintain their power."

"One of their most important roles is to train the military."

"Different gods possess different sanctuaries. Some are skilled at forging better weapons and armor, some can grant courage and boost the morale of warriors, but most of them train and hone warriors' combat skills."

The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs.

Although the Celtic traditional belief and sacrifice had been destroyed by the Roman Empire, Avalon still existed on the British Isles. As long as the Druid sacrificial stone was built, it could still play a certain role.

Triss, the Raven Queen, is the authority on this matter.

Because the temples of Diana and Artemis can train excellent archers, which corresponds to the [Hunting] priesthood. The priests who serve these goddesses can obtain the supernatural power blessing of the priesthood sanctuary.

Before the church became the state religion of the empire, the temples of the Roman Empire were blessed with additional authority from the gods, which often evolved as the influence of their core clergy on the real world.

This further made the early Romans very warlike!
In the era BC, the Gaulish god of war Titatis was destroyed and swallowed, the hunting goddess Abunabar was destroyed and swallowed, and those who held corresponding divine positions, such as the god of wine, the god of forging, the god of horse racing, etc., were all digested by the Roman gods, and not even their faces were left.

The ancient Roman gods only integrated the ancient Greek gods, which was considered a continuation of the civilized era. Most of the other barbarian gods were killed!
These various Celtic branches - the Gallic gods - are almost all dead now. There's probably only one tablet in the Pantheon, but the worship has long been discontinued.

During the same period, the situation in the East was similar.

During the Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling, the Heavenly Master, entered Bashu, met with eight ghost commanders, fought against ghosts and gods, subdued the evil demons of the heterodox sects, and established the Five Pecks of Rice Sect (the predecessor of Taoism).

This is a matter of cutting down mountains and destroying temples, in order to wipe out the blood-feeding ghosts and gods.

In this battle, Zhang Daoling almost wiped out the indigenous "witchcraft" beliefs of Bashu!

The existence of the Celtic branch, the Gallic gods, is equivalent to primitive "witchcraft" in the eyes of the empire.

Assimilate civilizations, destroy old beliefs, and spread ancient Roman gods.

The Gallic branch and the moderate Druids were branches of civilization that were slowly transformed after being severely beaten by the Roman Empire.

Avalon is also a new belief transformed by the moderates. It was born not long ago, only a few hundred years ago, so the guardian fairy looks so much like the nymphs of ancient Greece.

The brutal faith was considered a bloodthirsty barbarian in Ireland at that time.

With the development of the times and the spread of civilization, primitive witchcraft was eliminated.

During the era of the Huaxia governors, blood sacrifices were common. The story of Ximen Bao governing Ye in elementary school textbooks was from the era of witchcraft.

When Taoism destroyed the primitive witch religion, the early Taoist missionaries directly called on the Jade Emperor to act quickly and personally went on the field with swords in hand to chop people, killing witches and ghosts. Their style was completely different from that of today's Taoists.

After Zhang Jue of the Taiping Dao, Taoism became much more obedient, at least it did not rebel as often.

"What if the sacred places of the Celtic gods are blessed by supernatural powers?"

"What about the ancient Roman and Greek gods?"

When Duncan thought of this, he could not help but look towards Triss, the Raven Queen, and seek answers from her. No one knew the authority of the gods better than the high priest of the Empire's polytheism.

Inside the tent.

The Raven Queen - Triss sighed softly.

She stared at Duncan in front of her and whispered, "Severus is indeed right."

"But relying on the power of the gods will inevitably draw hostility from the church."

"I don't want you to get involved in disputes over faith."

To borrow the power of the gods, one must plant flags and build temples, and rebuild the sacred domain of the gods.

Avalon isn't completely dead yet.

If Duncan erected a druid sacrificial stone, the church might not care too much, nor would it necessarily intervene, since it was, after all, a small, dying faction. However, if he built a temple dedicated to Diana, the church would think that the ancient Roman gods had been restored.

The two meanings are completely different, and Diana's faith is more likely to attract attention.

The Raven Queen, Triss, only wanted to protect herself and did not want Duncan to take the risk of recalling the ancient Roman gods. The risk was too great.

At some point, in her heart, Duncan's safety took precedence over Diana's continued faith.

Dimensional space.

Duncan suddenly entered the God's perspective, and then everything in the projected image changed, as if the dimensional space had captured some supernatural laws of the real world.

A row of characters appeared on the projected image.

——"Open the Faith faction."

——"Faith of Avalon (a branch of the Celtic pantheon)!"

A unique symbol of faith emerged in the projection image.

——"Avalon Sacrificial Stone (Primary Sanctuary): In Celtic mythology, Avalon is the land of the afterlife. The ancient Druid faith holds legends of the immortality of the soul and reincarnation. This sacrificial stone dedicated to the Sanctuary of Avalon can strengthen the fighting spirit of warriors and make them less afraid of death.

The land of the other world is also the country where souls reincarnate.

The souls of believers who died in battle will enter the misty Avalon, just like the Germanic warriors who died in battle and entered the Valhalla of the Norse pantheon.

This temple sanctuary grants a permanent +1 morale boost to affected Celtic warriors, making them more courageous in the face of death.

[The blessing effect of the sanctuary is enhanced with temples, sacrifices, and faith.]

interesting.

No wonder the Germanic barbarians are so fearless!

If this is the case, then the Viking sanctuary of the Germanic barbarians, dedicated to Odin, the main god of the Norse pantheon, also has a permanent increase in morale?
After all, in Norse mythology, a warrior's life is considered complete only when he dies in battle, and Germanic barbarians rarely die of natural causes of old age.

Because of this rule of death in battle, after the Duchy of Normandy was established, the entire clan converted to Christianity, and the Christianization of the Vikings began, which was considered to have destroyed the homeland of the Norse pantheon.

"Is there only one open?"

Duncan only saw the Celtic mythology - Avalon faith on the faith page. The faith of the Norse pantheon was not activated, and the ancient Roman and ancient Greek faiths had also disappeared. As for the church's faith, it was probably because it had nothing to do with it, so it was naturally not triggered.

"The power of faith in this world's pantheon can provide a certain degree of support, but it is not the decisive factor."

Duncan quickly realized this.

The morale boost he gained from building a stone sanctuary in Avalon may not be as great as the effect of him personally going into battle to motivate the troops. It can only be said that it is better than nothing.

The Raven Queen, Triss, obviously didn't want him to provoke the powerful church for a little power of the gods blessed by the sanctuary.

The gods cannot come in person.

This little bit of blessing from the faith in the Holy Land cannot compare to better weapons and equipment, stricter military training, and more outstanding generals and commanders. It is a business with not much profit but extremely high risk.

If the blessing of faith was really that powerful, Zhang Jue's Yellow Turban Army would not have failed.

The Yellow Turban Warriors can be regarded as a special type of soldier in the temple sanctuary. They can also be found in the British Isles, such as the Gallic sworn warriors of the Celtic sanctuary, the Druid Order, the Gallic totem warriors, etc.

Although their fighting power is strong, their numbers are small and they cannot decide the outcome of a major battle.

"It seems the Franks trained a group of Frankish Paladins with the support of the Priory."

Duncan immediately understood what Triss, the Raven Queen, meant.

The witch was thinking about his future.

He nodded slightly and said, "Don't worry."

"I will be careful."

Duncan is not planning to choose a faith camp for the time being. What he wants is to gain a firm foothold on the British Isles and not get involved in faith disputes too early. The Avalon faith can be used for a while, but it is impossible to establish it as a state religion.

He finally understands.

As long as you do well in real life, no matter what gods or pantheon camps you have, they will still act according to your wishes!
The fairies of Avalon were obviously clinging to him, using his legendary power to maintain their faith, which was about to be destroyed, in order to fight against the Norse pantheon brought by the invasion of the Germanic barbarians.

This means that as long as Duncan is strong enough, the Norse gods will have to bow to him in the real world!
………………

Night falls.

Anya was really greedy.

Although he had deliberately avoided affecting others, Duncan finally had to cover the mouth of this beautiful witch.

Anyway, he stood up and kicked.

Fortunately, the Middle Ages were relatively open, and only after the church unified the faith did it gradually become more conservative. People at this time still had some Roman influences, and were relatively tolerant of these things. You have to know that the Germanic barbarians loved wine, and when they got drunk, they would fight and brawl. Then, a group of people would drunkenly fool around, not caring about the other people in the Warrior Hall. Some people even applauded and praised the warriors.

If Duncan had the opportunity to visit the tavern of the Germanic barbarians, he would be able to hear the songs sung by the bards and warriors, and the lyrics were truly wonderful.

The night is getting darker.

The Raven Queen, Triss, let go of the messenger. She turned her head to look at Duncan's tent, sighed softly, and clenched the Diana sacrificial stone in her hand with a flushed face.

She was calling out to the rest of the coven.

Now that we have a base, it's time to gather the exiled witches.

The Raven Queen - Triss did not trust Anya that much, because Anya was very cunning, but the fairies of Avalon suddenly clung to Duncan's thighs, which undoubtedly made her very alert.

Because compared to Anya, who has some ulterior motives, the fairies of Avalon are definitely more dangerous. Between two evils, choose the lesser one and let Anya have a full meal first, so that Duncan will not be tempted by the nymphs in the lake again.

She wasn't afraid that Duncan would be seduced, but she was afraid that the fairies of Avalon would use Duncan to achieve some ulterior motives.

Triss never thought of pushing Duncan out to fight against the church, and didn't let those cunning fairies of the lake bewitched and deceived Duncan, making Duncan unknowingly become the secular guardian of Avalon and confront the church's monastic forces.

With the Bow of Norden in his hand, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Duncan was related to Avalon.

This is a conspiracy.

Avalon is recovering a little bit of its vitality with the help of Duncan's legend.

War drums beat in the tent.

A 19-year-old boy is still so brave and has a very bad temper.

Triss, the Raven Queen, was bound by a vow of chastity, which prohibited her from doing many things. It wasn't that she couldn't do them at all, but that if she did, she wouldn't be able to mobilize Diana's power. Because those virgin goddesses all needed chaste priestesses to mobilize even a sliver of their divine power.

Everything is just beginning now.

Whether for Duncan or for herself, Triss, the Raven Queen, must hold the line, relying on the power of the goddesses to turn the tide at crucial moments. In the final days of mythology, only the virgin goddesses of the ancient Roman and Greek pantheons still held a vestige of faith.

If Triss, the Raven Queen, breaks her vow of chastity, she will lose the power to confront those who "claim the name of holiness" head-on.

Those virgin goddesses were ordained by the priesthood and they protected unmarried girls.

But there are other ways.

the next day.

After Duncan led the army to set off, the Raven Queen - Triss found Anya, who had a lazy and satisfied look on her face, and whipped her waist and hips without any hesitation.

"Triss?!..."

There was still a blush on Anya's charming face from last night. She was about to stand up and get angry, but when she saw the half-smile on the face of the Raven Queen - Triss, she immediately became much more depressed.

No!

I just made a great contribution, and you still hit me. Then all my contribution would be in vain, right?
Anya's morale soared when she thought of this. She was about to stand up and rebel, and fight Triss head-on, but she didn't expect the Raven Queen to narrow her eyes slightly and lightly brush her fingers. She froze in place, and half of her body became numb.

There is no way to win!

With just one trick, Triss, the Raven Queen, could freeze this delicate Roman noblewoman in place.

Ying Ying Ying!
Anya looked like she was about to cry. She lowered her head pitifully and said, "Lady Triss, I was wrong."

A good man does not suffer immediate losses.

Besides, she had just had a hearty meal yesterday, while Triss, the Raven Queen, was still hungry, having been hungry for years. She must be furious, and might even be taking it out on herself. Anya knew the Raven Queen better; it was rumored that she had a trace of Circe's bloodline.

Raven Queen Triss slowly sat down, looked up and down at Anya, who was blushing, and said calmly, "Put on your clothes."

"Don't wear that court dress you wore yesterday outside."

"How dignified!"

In the ancient Roman pantheon, the cults of the virgin goddesses were relatively conservative, while the cult of Venus or Aphrodite was relatively open, and the believers dressed in more modern styles, which were sometimes more seductive than being naked.

In the early days, sacrifices were held in the sanctuary of Aphrodite. The women's clothing would make modern people blush when they see it. It emphasized the enchanting beauty of women's bodies.

Hearing this, Anya said aggrievedly, "Yes, Lady Triss."

She is an outgoing person who likes power, likes to be the center of attention, and likes to radiate her charm.

Now the Raven Queen, Triss, has blocked her way.

A gentle breeze blew.

The Raven Queen - Triss raised her hand slightly, and Anya's numb body returned to normal. The other party not only possessed the power of Diana, but also possessed part of the power of Trivia (Hecate), Artemis and other gods.

She can't win at all!
Annoying!

The tent door closed automatically. Triss, the Raven Queen, looked down at Anya with a dim gaze. She hesitated and looked a little embarrassed, but she still said softly, "Tell me about the secret ways Aphrodite teaches to please her lover."

Ok?
Element awareness.

Anya was also a smart person. She immediately stared at Triss with wide eyes, her expression shocked, and stammered, "You want to... bypass the vow of chastity?..."

The Raven Queen, Triss, blushed crimson, no longer showing the arrogance she had at the beginning.

She noticed that Anya was looking her up and down, her gaze lingering between the undulating hills. She snorted coldly and narrowed her narrow eyes slightly, scaring Anya so much that she couldn't help but tremble all over.

Anya was surprised and immediately had bad thoughts.

Let you bully me!
Anya tried her best to keep her expression serious so that the other party wouldn't notice, but she was already beaming with joy in her heart.

Now you are in my hands.

Anya tilted her head slightly, the corners of her mouth couldn't help twitching, and she forced herself to cover up the upturned corners of her mouth. When she looked back, she looked extremely sincere.

We must win this game!
at the same time.

Duncan has led his troops to the Dorset area because he received some somewhat bad military intelligence this morning.

Jill and his men rushed over overnight and reported in a panic, "Lord Duncan!"

"Oh no."

"Duke Dintagir led his army in battle against Saxon pirates yesterday. The Duke and his knight guards attacked the enemy from behind, but were shot several times by Saxon archers!"

"Thankfully, the Royal Guard Knight fought bravely to protect him and he returned safely, but he was seriously injured and bedridden."

What the hell?

He was fine two days ago and even took back a piece of territory. How come he was shot and seriously injured today?

Duncan quickly stood up and asked, "Is Duke Dintagill all right?"

Don’t die suddenly, at least hold on until I can get back on my feet!
Jill said with a complicated expression: "The injury is not light."

"But fortunately, it's not life-threatening."

That's good.

Duncan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

No.

Don’t you know how much you weigh?
Duncan is so strong, but he doesn't dare to charge directly. Duke Dingtagir is just a one-star blank slate. Why would he imitate a brave general and lead the army to charge?

After some inquiries, he soon understood what had happened.

It has to be said that Duke Dintagir has made great progress. He actually seized the opportunity in this battle. He first defeated a group of Saxon pirate riders head-on, and then took advantage of the stalemate in the battle to go around to the side and rear to attack the right wing of the Saxon pirates.

Tactically speaking, there was nothing wrong with his decision.

Duke Dingtagil is more courageous and combative than before.

But the problem is that a cavalry charge is like a hot iron rod covered with enema, steaming hot. It must penetrate the enemy in one breath. It is best to break through from the side and rear, forming a two-pronged attack, making it impossible for the enemy to take care of both ends. This will easily cause chaos, which will then lead to a collapse in enemy morale.

But the problem was that Duke Dingtagil stabbed in but didn't penetrate. What was worse was that he rushed in but couldn't get out.

The cavalry charged.

The front row must be led by strong men, but Duke Dingtagir's knife was not sharp enough. The cavalry he led dug in but failed to break through and were directly trapped in the chaotic army.

Then, he was targeted by the elite Saxon forest hunters.

Duke Dingtagir was hit by six arrows and several arrows were stuck in his shield. If it weren't for the high quality of his armor, the standard aristocratic heavy scale armor with neck, shoulder and waist guards, he would probably have died on the spot.

In the end, he was rescued by the Knights of the Guards at a desperate moment, but he became bedridden after returning.

No one can die.

But he was hit by an arrow in the buttocks, one in the thigh, three in the chest and back, and one arrow hit the iron helmet on his head, almost killing him on the spot.

Duke Dingtagir was injured so badly that he could no longer command the army.

Cornwall was only the size of a county town. Duke Tintagel had no sons, only three daughters, and no capable generals or commanders. So, he immediately turned to Duncan for help, sending his own rider, Gil. Now, he could only rely on Duncan to stabilize the situation.

Duncan has no choice but to go now.

If Duke Dintagir suffered another major defeat, he would probably have to face the Saxon barbarian army head-on.

In this battle, Duke Dingtagir could have actually fought to a draw, but he overestimated his own military strength.

Only a warrior of at least two stars could lead the cavalry in a forced charge. Regardless of the era, cavalry attacks were always led by a fierce general, otherwise the sharp blades would not be able to intimidate the enemy.

The sound of galloping horses.

Duncan rode on horseback, followed by Clegane, Cullin, and the others, sixteen cavalrymen in total. The remaining infantry were led by Severus and Quetto. It would take more than a day to arrive. Infantry marched very slowly in this era, and with the hasty departure, the logistics and supplies had to be transported by caravans and conscripted laborers.

In the era of cold weapons, food and fodder were extremely important.

A person is half useless if he is hungry for just one day.

Most of these sixteen riders are elite. After being equipped with fish scale armor, Clegane has become a one-star silver-gray combat unit.

On the way, Jill also gave a general account of the enemy's situation.

The man the Duke of Tintagel was fighting wasn't Horsa, the King of Kent's younger brother. Had he faced Horsa, he wouldn't have taken the initiative. His opponent was one of the Germanic barbarian generals, the virgin possessor - Enfers. Known as a fighter among fighters, he was a barbarian commander renowned for his valor. He was also renowned throughout Britain for his penchant for massacring cities and taking virgins. One of his most famous deeds was demanding ten virgins from a native British tribe while conquering them.

This guy has an elite chieftain's guard under his command. He started out as a Saxon pirate in his early years and also made some achievements in naval warfare and plundering.

drive!
Duncan led sixteen riders straight to Exeter, which was the largest town in Devonshire and had a relatively solid wooden wall, similar to the northern towns in Calradia. A pile of wood was used to form a high wall, so there was no need to worry about fire.

From this perspective, the Saxon barbarians' retreat some time ago was not necessarily due to his personal strength, but it is possible that they also intended to lure the enemy deep into their territory and use the tactic of feigning defeat to lure out Duke Dintagir.

From God's perspective.

Duncan had seen what was happening on the battlefield.

At the east gate of Exeter, a team of Saxon spearmen were pushing a battering ram against the gate. The city defense here was far inferior to the castle fortress in Cornwall, and the wooden gate was already crumbling.

—British Legion (morale shaken) (suffered heavy casualties) (commander seriously wounded).

——British maritime militia (morale shaken) (commander seriously injured) (command confusion).

——Canti Auxiliary Corps (morale shaken) (no command).

——British militia (low morale) (disorganized command).

On the strategic map.

Although Duke Tintagel's troops suffered few casualties, their morale had been shaken. If the city gates were breached, their flight would only be a matter of time. Duke Tintagel's army had suffered a minor defeat in the field battle and was now forced to defend itself against the town of Exeter. Fortunately, there was still a town to defend, otherwise they would not have been able to hold out until Duncan arrived.

In the era of cold weapons, morale was very important in battles, because after the main combat soldiers died, the other troops would suffer only 10% to 20% casualties and would flee on a large scale.

In the Middle Ages, only the main combat troops could withstand a relatively high casualty ratio.

If we don't save the morale, we will lose soon.

Duncan overlooked the entire battlefield.

He reined in his horse and stopped, turning to glance at Cullin, Clegane and the others behind him, and said in a deep voice, "Do you dare to charge with me?!"

Clegane's blood instantly surged, and he shouted, "Wherever the Lord goes, I will go!"

Kulin remained silent and just drew his long sword.

These people are eager to achieve great things, especially after following a brave commander.

Can fight.

More than half of Duncan's sixteen riders are of one-star strength, mostly aboriginal noble riders, and their armor is far superior to that of infantry, and even their war horses have simple protection.

"Come with me!"

He took the lead and rushed down the hillside!

………………

　It will be on the shelves at midnight on the 6th, and there will be more updates.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)