Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 46: The Rear is Unstable! The Duke is on the verge of death (+ additional chapters)

Who would have thought?
After Clegane was knighted, the first person to rise up and leap to power was actually a defeated general they captured.

That’s the barbarian foreign legion!

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Empire's history knew they were truly regular armies. Some powerful vassal states within the Empire relied on the Barbarian Foreign Legion to establish themselves. Furthermore, the Barbarian Foreign Legion generally only acknowledged their loyalty to the one individual they pledged allegiance to, ignoring all others. Even if someone declared themselves king in the future, the Barbarian Foreign Legion would remain a loyal army.

The Gallic Empire rebellion in the third century was supported by barbarian armies.

Galavan is a man with brains.

While Duncan was leaving his troops at Portchester Castle, he had already begun to reorganize the barbarian foreign legion.

In this epic victory, Duncan captured about 3,000 barbarian troops, most of whom were ordinary infantry. Galavan could have recruited many of them to become the barbarian foreign legion, but he immediately stopped this action after recruiting about 500 people.

the reason is simple.

Duncan currently has three armies under his command. The first echelon is his basic foundation, the Legion of Exiles, with a number of about six or seven hundred people. The second echelon is Duke Dingtagil's troops, which have the largest number of people. Various British mixed legions, auxiliary legions, and militia forces have a total of two to three thousand people. The third echelon is the barbarian foreign legion formed by Galavan.

Galavan neither wanted nor dared to let his barbarian foreign legion exceed the number of exile legions.

"This guy is a talent and can be trained as a priority."

Duncan really feels like he has discovered a treasure now, and Galavan has also received a good education, which should be due to his family background.

How do you describe this feeling?

When I was playing the Total War series of games, there were no outstanding generals in the family. Then I commanded an army to encircle and suppress the rebels, but there was no general to lead the army. After a battle, I suddenly got a prompt that a wild general with two-star and three-star command capabilities was found.

Galaven's strength is average, but his courage is far beyond others.

Duncan now has more than 1,200 troops under his direct command. Duke Dintagill's army is still nominally loyal to him. If there is a real rebellion, most of them will probably side with Duncan.

There was no way. Duncan's military power, legendary speed, and reputation were well-known, and those soldiers knew who to follow!
However, Duncan got his start with the help of Duke Dintagill. As long as the other party knew what was happening, he would not make things difficult for him. It was just a duke of the British Isles. He could just give him one or two counties.

Duncan had a lot of things to deal with next, but fortunately he had the help of the Raven Queen - Triss, Anya, Severus and others, and he finally managed to stabilize the territory he had captured.

“I feel like we can’t expand blindly any more for the time being.”

"I started too recently, and I haven't completely digested the places I've conquered. Especially these Saxon captives. If I don't digest them all, they'll be a burden."

As a lord, Duncan needed to manage his territory, appoint officials, prepare food and grass, reclaim wasteland, etc. The management of the Saxon pirates was very simple and crude, that is, the land was rewarded to the army, and the captured Britons were turned into slaves and asked to cultivate the land.

But Duncan couldn't do that; he wanted to completely absorb the territories of Devon, Dorset and Hampshire.

"This war isn't over just by defeating the Saxons."

"Even if I repel the Anglo-Saxons and retake the entire British Isles, I will still have to face their coastal harassment for nearly a hundred years."

"Their base is in Germania. The more territory they play, the more ground I have to defend."

Again.

It is easy to take it down, but it is difficult to defend it.

The entire British Isles were a fucking coastline, and the Saxon pirates' warships could land anywhere. If they just looted a town or village and ran away, Duncan would really have his work cut out for him.

"Build high walls, store up abundant food, and slowly claim the throne."

Duncan immediately thought of a saying from the Ming Dynasty. The most important thing for him now was to digest the Saxon captives, reorganize the barbarian foreign legions, and then migrate more exiles to the British Isles, so that his foundation would become more and more solid.

There was a sound of rapid footsteps.

Outside the tent, Anya and Severus entered at the same time. They looked at each other, and it seemed that they both had something very important to tell each other.

Severus was the first to speak: "The envoy from the Kingdom of Kent has arrived!"

"They want peace!"

Seeking peace?

Is this to scare them?

Duncan exchanged a glance with the Raven Queen, Triss, then looked at Anya in front of him and asked, "What happened?"

Anya was also thinking about what Severus had just said. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Duke Dintagir's injury has worsened."

"It is said that he can no longer get up or speak!"

what? !

Didn’t he just personally pick up his sword and kill one or two castle guards two days ago?
Why did the injury get worse today?

Severus had clearly checked his injuries and knew they were not life-threatening at all. He would be healed after applying proper medicine and resting for a month or two.

Duncan and Triss looked at each other, and then they both looked at Anya in front of them.

No!

You two looked at each other, and then stared at me for what?
Anya looked a little aggrieved and whispered, "It wasn't me."

"Although I bribed the guards around him and planned to get rid of him if he disobeyed me one day, it can't be now."

They have only just arrived in the British Isles for less than a month and have not yet established a firm foothold. Why are they in such a hurry to get rid of Duke Dingtagil? It will also easily arouse suspicion.

Duncan's expression was solemn. He stared at the Raven Queen, Triss, for a moment and whispered, "Merlin?"

The Raven Queen, Triss, remained silent and whispered, "It's possible."

"I heard the Duchess was imprisoned."

This is because the rear is unstable. Merlin has always hoped that King Uther would annex Duke Dintagill so that the Britons can be united under the dragon head flag. He is highly suspected of doing this secretly because Duke Dintagill, who knows the truth, will definitely not let King Arthur be born smoothly.

What a joke, King Uther turned into his appearance under the magician's magic, then slept with his wife, and she became pregnant. How could this child survive?

Duke Dintagir's injuries suddenly worsened after he imprisoned the Duchess, and this was definitely related to Merlin.

The Raven Queen, Triss, looked at Duncan with a firm expression and said, "What are you going to do?"

She was making her stance clear. Meaning, if she faced Merlin, she would go all out.

As if worried that Duncan might doubt her own strength, the Raven Queen, Triss, whispered, "The rest of the coven will be arriving soon. We don't have to fear his spells at all."

Merlin should be the most powerful spellcaster of the current era.

Duncan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No rush."

"Let's deal with the Kent Kingdom's request for peace first."

When he said this, he actually meant that he had already thought about negotiating peace. Duncan was afraid that King Uther would suddenly attack him from behind.

Severus nodded and said, "The envoys from the Kingdom of Kent wish to negotiate peace, but not with Duke Dintagir."

"Instead, he specifically requested to sign a peace treaty with you."

At this point, Severus paused and continued: "According to Roman tradition."

As if worried that Duncan didn't quite understand, Anya explained, "There's usually a deadline for seeking peace, paying tribute, and signing a peace treaty."

"They probably want to focus on repelling the Picts first, buying time to unite with the other Saxon chieftains."

"We should be able to make them bleed profusely!"

understood.

Similar to the peace treaties in the Total War series, Roman tradition means giving money and land, because the empire has always valued money over people.

Anya is an expert in this area.

She walked over to a crude map and said in a serious tone, "They're so eager to make peace, I guess they're also unstable internally."

"Do you want money or land?"

Duncan humbly asked, "How about money? How about land?"

Anya was feeling quite assertive at the moment. After all, this was her area of expertise. The beautiful Roman noblewoman smiled charmingly and said, "If they want money, I can make them bleed profusely."

"After all, the Saxon pirates have been plundering the British Isles for so many years, so their wealth must be very rich."

"If you want land."

"I need you to lead the army and attack Wiltshire immediately."

"Their military strength is probably not enough to hold this territory. We can then take over Wiltshire at the negotiation table!"

"of course."

"If you do that, I can only ask for a tribute of 10,000 to 20,000 gold coins as a token of my appreciation."

After Duncan took Wiltshire, he almost occupied the lower left part of the British Isles. Going further up, he attacked the Welsh region and was almost connecting with King Uther's kingdom.

Severus then said in a deep voice: "Wiltshire has a good strategic location."

"After we take it, this small peninsula will be our territory."

Duncan looked at the map and said decisively, "We need the land. We can rob them of their money later!"

Just do it.

Duncan immediately ordered his army to attack, while Anya was responsible for dealing with the envoys from the Kingdom of Kent. She was good at enchantment spells and could test the enemy's bottom line without anyone noticing.

Triss, the Raven Queen, returns to Cornwall.

Duncan said in a serious tone, "Try not to confront Merlin head-on right now. Wait until I finish dealing with things here and then go back."

"If possible, try to save Duke Dintagir's life."

"Let him hold on until I get back."

If Duke Dintagill really died, Duncan would be the legitimate heir to everything here.

The noble knights of the General's Guard swore allegiance to Duke Dintagir.

Raven Queen Triss nodded and said, "I know."

"Don't worry."

"The other founders of the coven are arriving soon. Merlin won't dare act rashly."

Without the help of the gods, Triss would probably be at a slight disadvantage.

After all, the other party is the only legendary wizard in the British Isles.

Severus led his army to set off, followed by Quetto with the British Legion, and Duncan was in charge of Southampton. This time there was no need to attack by force, but to surround them and find a way to take it away from the negotiation table.

Duncan assigned the elite Gallic warriors to Anya, asking her to put some pressure on the other side.

As for himself, he worked hard to reorganize the barbarian foreign legions and directly asked these barbarian mercenaries to swear allegiance to him. Those who were able to fight would stay, and those who were not would serve as laborers.

time flies.

Good news came from Severus: the enemy had actually abandoned the city and fled.

Soon, Anya also brought back good news. The Kingdom of Kent was willing to give up the ownership of the land, and at the same time pay tribute of 20,000 gold coins. The two sides signed a short-term peace treaty.

It is said that war reports came from the north, and the legendary black sword warriors of the Picts also appeared. Before the battle, those northern barbarians threw hundreds of pickled heads. For a while, heads rained down, which scared the Saxon soldiers.

The news sent back by the Raven Queen Triss was not very good. Duke Dingtagir was poisoned and his wounds were completely festered. Investigation showed that it was the relatives of the innocent guards who were killed who were seeking revenge and directly applied poison when changing the dressing.

King Uther disguised himself as Duke Dintagir and sneaked in. The guards had no idea and just thought that the Duke had returned, so they killed him to vent their anger.

The lover of one of the slain guards was a maid serving Duke Dintagir.

All this is too coincidental and too self-explanatory, which makes people think that Merlin is behind it!
………………

(End of this chapter)