Hunnic Eagle Archer

Pannonian Plain.

The Empire conquered this place in 14 BC and made it a Province. Pannonia Province roughly encompassed parts of present-day Hungary, Romania, and Serbia, situated in the heart of Europe.

"Looks like the Empire's Danube Defense Line is nearly impossible to hold."

Duncan looked at the desolate, nearly uninhabited villages in the distance and frowned slightly. If Pannonia Province also fell, the enemy would be able to drive straight into the Empire's heartland.

The Roman Empire possessed the longest and most complex borders in ancient history. Of these, the defenses formed by three great rivers were especially important: the Rhine River, the Danube River, and the Euphrates River. The Euphrates lay east of Syria and served as a boundary of the Middle East. The Rhine Defense Line faced the many Germanic tribes. At its peak, the Empire had conquered most of Greater Germania. The Danube was the most difficult and vulnerable frontier to defend, facing a particularly complex array of barbarian enemies. It was also the only great river that froze over during winter.

That might not sound very intuitive, but another comparison made it perfectly clear.

The barbarians had already crossed the Yellow River.

The Empire had effectively lost the natural barriers of the Yellow River and Yangtze River. The Central Plains now lay wide open, allowing enemies to drive straight in.

A raven shrieked.

At Duncan's side, the Witch stared at the distant forest and said softly, "This place seems to have been looted."

When the nest was overturned, no egg remained intact.

Although history had taken a different course in this parallel world, the Empire's twilight could not be changed. Barbarian armies manned the border defenses around the Danube, and more than half the soldiers in the army were of barbarian descent. In recent years, the barbarians who had integrated into the Empire could no longer bear the oppression and had risen in revolt one after another. Military mutinies had become commonplace.

"Accepting Catus's invitation clearly wasn't a wise choice."

Duncan felt that joining the barbarians offered a better future than joining the Empire.

He turned to glance at the Witch, who rode half a horse-length behind him, and asked in a low voice, "Where is the guide you mentioned?"

Crossing the European Continent to reach the British Isles without a guide was impossible. Moreover, war raged throughout the Empire, and one careless step could drag them into it. Duncan, as a man, would have it slightly better at most—he might merely be forcibly conscripted by the army. But Raven Queen-Triss was a woman, especially one of breathtaking beauty. It was hard to imagine what she might suffer.

In such turbulent times, simply traveling alone would expose her to countless dangers and troubles.

"Gaul."

The Witch answered, "He is a Druid of the Gauls. He has traveled to many places and now lives in seclusion in a village near the Alps."

Duncan was about to speak when his brow suddenly tightened. "Careful!"

"Something's wrong ahead!"

He grabbed a quiver and tossed it to the Witch, then took down his Northern War Bow. His gaze fixed on the distant forest. Near a three-way fork, ravens shrieked from within the trees, followed by birds and beasts scattering in alarm.

The distant sound of hoofbeats approached.

Separated by several hundred meters, more than a dozen riders appeared in view. The moment they spotted Duncan and the Witch, they shouted excitedly and spurred their horses forward to surround them.

"Entering combat state!"

Through God's Eye View, Duncan clearly saw what these cavalrymen looked like.

They were short and stocky, with large round heads, broad faces, high cheekbones, flat noses, thick beards, and a single earring. Apart from one lock of hair left atop their heads, everything else was shaved clean. Their eyebrows were thick, and their eyes protruded like almonds.

Quite a few of these enemies wore loose, calf-length robes slit on both sides, short fur capes over their shoulders, and fur hats on their heads. Their trousers were tied tight at the ankles with leather straps, and quivers hung at their waists.

"Fuck! Xiongnu?" Duncan's expression changed.

There was no way he could mistake them. Their facial features were distinctly different from those of Europeans, and their attire closely resembled that of the nomadic peoples of the Western Regions. Compared with the other riders in the group, they looked utterly out of place.

Raven Queen-Triss also looked grave. "They're Huns."

"They're all extremely formidable mounted archers!"

Unlike the enemies they had encountered before, quite a few riders in this small enemy squad bore One-Star markers. There was even a Two-Star Silver-Gray leader unit among them.

--Alan Auxiliary Army.

--Gothic Auxiliary Cavalry.

--Hunnic Nomadic Rider.

--Hunnic Elite Horse Archer [One-Star]!

--Hunnic Eagle Archer [Two-Star]!

These enemies were harder to deal with than the Pamitia Rangers they had faced earlier. More than half of the Hun Cavalry were One-Star units, and the Hunnic leader marked as an Eagle Shooter was especially well-equipped. He wore a hard leather fur hat and Chainmail, with wrapped nomadic boots on his feet. A saber hung at his waist, a war bow was slung across his back, and two quivers hung at his side—one filled with heavy arrows for close combat, the other with light arrows for long-range shooting.

Other than his inferior helmet, his equipment was enough to rival the Mongolian iron cavalry that would march west centuries later.

Eagle Shooters were the Huns' most elite Sharpshooters.

Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 109, The Biography of General Li: The Xiongnu invaded Shang Commandery in force. The Son of Heaven sent a court eunuch to train under Li Guang in military matters and attack the Xiongnu. The eunuch led several dozen cavalrymen out and encountered three Xiongnu, then fought them. The three turned and shot back, wounding the eunuch and nearly killing all his riders. The eunuch fled to Li Guang. Li Guang said, "They must be Eagle Shooters."

Put simply, the Xiongnu had invaded Shang Commandery in force. The Emperor sent a eunuch to study military affairs under Li Guang and resist the Xiongnu. This eunuch led several dozen cavalrymen galloping out, encountered three Xiongnu, and fought them. The three Xiongnu turned and loosed arrows, wounding the eunuch and nearly wiping out all of his cavalry.

The eunuch fled back to Li Guang, and Li Guang said, "These must be Xiongnu Eagle Shooters." [The Eagle Shooters recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian were the Xiongnu's finest mounted archers.]

They had truly run into terrifying opponents.

With Duncan's current strength, even with God's Eye View activated, it would be extremely difficult for him to defeat them.

The Huns' horsemanship was superb. Even fleeing on horseback might not shake them off. The Witch's riding skills were about equal to his own, while the enemy horses were clearly better. This was the Pannonian Plain—if they were caught, they would likely be shot full of arrows like hedgehogs.

"Retreat!"

Duncan immediately turned his horse and fled. The Witch reacted quickly as well, swiftly following him. "The Huns are excellent riders. I'm afraid we won't be able to outrun them."

"Do you have a plan?"

The distance between them was steadily shrinking.

At this rate, being caught was only a matter of time.

After pondering for a moment, Duncan stared at the Witch beside him and asked in a low voice, "Can you severely injure, or directly kill, one or two of them?"

He still did not understand this world's Sorcery well enough.

But judging from his experiences over this period, those Wizards with supernatural powers were not so powerful as to be inhuman. The Forest Banshee was only One-Star, and he estimated that he could kill her alone. Besides, according to some of the legends he had heard, many monsters had been slain by mortal knights and warriors. Supernatural power in this world was more like a particularly bizarre means of attack.

After considering it for a moment, the Witch said, "I can make their horses go mad."

"I can pray for Diana's guidance and make arrows strike the enemy, but I cannot guarantee a hit on a vital spot."

"Other Sorcery requires rituals and casting time. There is no time to use it."

Fight or not?

Within Dimensional Space, Duncan constantly observed the enemy formation. Since they were pursuing them, the Hun Cavalry had clearly spread out. The foreign auxiliary forces conquered by the Huns lagged far behind, while those keeping up were mostly Hun Horse Archers with superior horsemanship and better horses.

This had stretched out the enemy formation. One Two-Star Hunnic Eagle Shooter and five One-Star Hun Horse Archers were clearly fifty or sixty meters ahead of the cavalry behind them. The entire group had been separated.

There was a chance!

Duncan turned back and tested the Parthian Shot. This was a mounted archery technique he had plundered from the Pamitia Rangers. Although the aiming Cross Star in the projected image swayed slightly, it remained within the limits of what he could handle.

"If I win and seize the Hunnic Eagle Shooter's abilities..."

"Then..."

"I'll possess the combat skills of one of the finest mounted archers of this era."

"This one fight will raise me directly to the first tier of medieval mortal combat prowess."

Duncan had long discovered that his plundering ability required him to kill powerful enemies head-on in order to improve rapidly. He could not seize combat skills that the enemy did not possess. During the night raid, he had killed quite a few fleeing barbarians, but only gained three abilities from them—not even as much as he had obtained from killing the Pamitia Rangers.

Obviously, once he had taken all the combat skills possessed by those fleeing barbarians, he could no longer gain new abilities from them. He could only improve some of his most basic combat techniques.

The enemy had to possess it before he could seize it.

"Let's do it!"

They might not escape anyway. Fighting after both man and horse were exhausted would be even harder. Better to find an opportunity to turn around and strike. Perhaps they could counterkill them.

Duncan was like someone with divine sight, galloping ahead and leading the way. He seemed intimately familiar with the terrain here. With nothing more than ordinary riding skills, and even while bringing a Witch along, he managed to leave those elite Hun Cavalry behind.

The gap between the enemy groups grew wider and wider. The Hun Horse Archers had already pulled one or two hundred meters ahead of the other auxiliary forces.

Six against one. The advantage is mine.

As long as they killed that man, they could take the woman back and have some fun with her.

"The forest ahead is good terrain for an ambush!"

There was a relatively sparse patch of forest near the fork ahead. Duncan calculated the distance and said directly to the Witch beside him, "There is a blind spot over there. We'll turn in and ambush them."

"Make their horses go mad."

"Try to severely injure them, or make that enemy in the fur hat fall from his horse. Leave the rest to me!"

"We leave immediately after the fight."

"We can circle back to the main road from the south side of the forest. They won't catch us."

The map was fully revealed.

Duncan overlooked the entire battlefield at this moment. He had even selected their escape route.

Raven Queen-Triss looked surprised. She specifically glanced back before finding the enemy wearing the fur hat. He appeared to be the leader of these Huns.

The Witch nodded and murmured under her breath. Raven calls came from the direction of the forest.

Duncan slowed slightly, letting the Witch ride ahead.

"Now!"

"Into the forest."

The two split left and right. The Witch rode into the forest, while Duncan turned into the enemy's blind spot, pulled hard on the reins to slow his horse, then held his saber across his saddle and nocked an arrow to his bow. He aimed at the enemies pursuing from beyond the blind spot.

He absolutely could not outshoot them in a head-on exchange. He could only exploit a blind spot, catch them off guard, and seize the initiative.

Eagle Shooter.

That title alone placed immense pressure on him.

"Do it!"

A sudden gale swept across the open ground, and ravens seemed to cry out in midair. At that instant, Duncan seemed to sense something. A subtle change appeared in the projected image, as though invisible magic had interfered with reality.

The horses neighed and went mad. The pursuing Hun riders were shocked and could not control their startled, frenzied mounts at all.

Two riders fell from their horses.

The others nearly fell as well. The sole exception was the Hunnic Eagle Shooter. He instantly wrapped himself around his horse's neck, clamped down with his powerful legs, and flexed the knotted muscles in his arms as he pulled hard on the reins. He actually forced the maddened horse to gradually weaken and collapse to the ground.

"Is that even human?!" Duncan was stunned.

Reality was reality. Few archers capable of drawing powerful bows were weaklings, and they were generally fierce in close combat as well.

Whoosh!

At that moment, an arrow shot from the forest. The Witch supported it in her right palm, and it tore through the air in an instant with force no weaker than an arrow fired from a powerful bow. It caught everyone off guard. The Hunnic Eagle Shooter seemed to sense something. Without even seeing the Witch, he relied entirely on combat instinct and, at an incredible angle, used his astonishing horsemanship and agility to dodge to the right side of his horse.

Thud.

But the angle of the arrow fired by the Witch's spell was extremely tricky. It still struck the Eagle Shooter's left shoulder. At once, his left shoulder went numb, and soon half his body began to stiffen.

"A Wizard?!" (Hunnic)

Terror filled the Eagle Shooter's face. During their invasion of Europe, the Huns had wiped out many Germanic Barbarian tribes. They had burned, slaughtered, and plundered their way across the land, leveling many barbarian Temples and seizing the gold and silver vessels offered within.

The Eagle Shooter's proudest trophy was a solid gold drinking vessel, said to have once been a ritual offering presented by the Gauls to the so-called God of Wine. (Note 1: The Gauls had three great passions: drinking, horse racing, and gambling. Sucellus was the agricultural god, God of Wine, and forest god worshipped by the Gauls.)

The Huns' westward campaign swept across Europe.

They had encountered quite a few Wizards with strange abilities, most of them Priests of the Germanic Barbarians. But those methods were not worth mentioning. Any Wizard who dared resist would be shot dead in a storm of arrows. During the plundering of Greater Germania, several dozen of their cavalrymen had even trampled an old Witch capable of summoning venomous insects to death beneath their horses.

That old Witch killed one man and wounded two before they trampled her into a puddle of flesh beneath their horses.

The Huns had Wizards too.

They were skilled in incantations and spells, and could even cure illnesses. Strictly speaking, their Wizards were closer to Shamanism.

Of course, a shaman who defied a leader's orders would still be hacked to death.

Whoosh!

An arrow tore through the air.

Duncan's target was clear: the Hunnic Eagle Shooter. An arrow struck directly into the man's chest, but because the Eagle Shooter wore armor, it did not inflict severe damage.

--Hunnic Eagle Shooter [Two-Star] (Poisoned) (Paralyzed).

Duncan's arrow was definitely not coated in poison, so the Witch's Sorcery had to be taking effect.

The Hunnic Eagle Shooter suddenly went stiff.

Hit!

Duncan swiftly nocked another arrow. Ignoring the Hun Horse Archers aiming at him, he fired again and pierced straight through the Eagle Shooter's head.

The enemy's health bar vanished instantly.

It seemed the Huns were much like the Barbarians. Their vitality was slightly greater than that of ordinary people, but a hit to a vital point could still kill them instantly.

Several arrows streaked through the air toward him.

One arrow suddenly veered away as it flew toward Duncan, but the Hun Horse Archers' archery was too formidable. Even with the Witch secretly protecting him, one arrow still struck Duncan in the back. He grunted, then spurred his horse into a wild dash along the planned escape route.

"When will I become strong enough to catch arrows barehanded?"

Within Dimensional Space.

Duncan glanced at the projected image. His health bar had dropped by about one-fifth. Since he wore a studded leather cuirass beneath his tunic, the arrow had only wounded flesh and would not kill him.

--Parthian Shot!

Duncan turned and drew his bow. The arrow ripped through the air, and with the skill activated, the aiming Cross Star became even steadier.

Bang!

A headshot.

A Hun Horse Archer in the distance died on the spot, his corpse tumbling from the saddle.

The skill had no cooldown.

But it consumed far more of his Stamina Bar.

--Parthian Shot!

Duncan turned again and loosed another arrow. Amid a sharp whistle through the air, another Hun Horse Archer who had just raised his bow to aim was shot through the head on the spot. Duncan's speed at aiming and firing completely overwhelmed his. Both were shooting arrows, but Duncan had an aiming Cross Star and could practically fire one arrow per second.

The Hun riders' faces instantly filled with Terror!

One against six.

Three dead, three wounded.

They had not seen the Witch and assumed Duncan had killed all three by himself.

For a moment, these Huns actually did not dare counterattack. They fled toward their reinforcements.

Duncan did not pursue them either.

He retreated despite his arrow wound. Just as he urged his horse into a gallop, Raven Queen-Triss burst out of the forest and caught up with him.

Duncan looked surprised. "Why didn't you retreat south?"

According to their original plan, the Witch was supposed to retreat through the southern forest path after making her move, while Duncan intended to fight as he withdrew, relying on God's Eye View. If he wanted to leave, he still had a chance of getting away.

The Witch rode alongside him, panting. "If I left at a time like this..."

"How would you face so many enemies alone?"

I've got cheats on, you know.

Duncan ultimately said nothing. He merely gave the Witch a long, deep look.