Someone Wants to Steal My Home!

Deep in the mountains and ancient forests.

A dilapidated mountain stronghold stood there, somewhat resembling an early Gallic barbarian tribe from before the Common Era.

After Aetius suppressed the Bagaudae rebellion, many rebels fled to the vicinity of Gallia Belgica. Wherever there were deep mountains and ancient forests, they burrowed in. They had originally been slaves and ruined men banding together for survival. In the future, with nowhere else to go, these people would seek refuge with forces such as the Franks, the Visigoth Kingdom, and the Germanic Barbarians, ultimately greatly strengthening those barbarian groups and providing them with a large labor force.

Even in these barren mountains and forests, the exiles had forcibly cleared patches of land in the ravines to grow a little grain and vegetables.

Someone had already rushed back to notify the others.

Duncan led his horse forward and saw quite a few women and children coming to help move the supplies. Their faces were sallow with hunger, but every one of them was overjoyed at the sight of the food being brought back.

"There are quite a few women, children, elderly, and weak among them. These exiles haven't rotted to the core yet."

If the stronghold had been filled entirely with able-bodied young men, then perhaps they truly would have rotted to the core.

In that case, heavy fists were necessary!

Suppress them without mercy.

Strictly speaking, they were all refugees who had fled here three years ago. The rebels made up only a small portion; more were homeless drifters. The Empire's armies had always been ruthless toward their own people, never showing the slightest mercy when slaughtering their own towns.

This stronghold had only six or seven hundred people. Any more than that, and they would not have been able to feed them all.

The exiles were an extremely scattered group. Over the past several decades, they had mainly been made up of ruined men who had lost their land but were unwilling to become slaves or tenant farmers. Every time they rose up, they swept up some peasants, tenant farmers, and herdsmen. When they failed, they fled together into the deep mountains and forests to hide. After recovering their strength for a while, they would emerge again.

That was why they were both dispersed and numerous.

People were constantly being ruined within the Empire. The wretches at the bottom of society were squeezed dry one by one. If they still possessed the spirit to resist, some would flee and join them.

"Lord Duncan."

Kevito led the horses away and had the others look after them before guiding the group toward the largest wooden house.

There was not actually any true leader here.

That was because they were three groups of fleeing exiles who had gathered together and ultimately chosen to settle nearby. (Aetius had slaughtered the rebels who had formed sizable forces; only small bands of rebels could possibly escape.)

Under God's Eye View.

There were no red hostile markers anywhere in the stronghold. Most were blue markers. Among the Exile Rebels, some green markers had turned blue, while others remained green.

They had likely submitted.

If Duncan had not acted in this battle, the Exile Rebels would probably have collapsed completely.

"Not bad."

Within Duncan's field of view, many people were labeled "Exile Mountain Villager."

The sky gradually darkened.

Someone brought food. Raven Queen Triss sniffed it and signaled that there was no problem.

With one Druid and two Witches in the party, anyone hoping to poison them would probably need their grandmaster to do it. Besides, under Duncan's God's Eye View, there were no hostile unit markers at all.

They ate.

The exiles slaughtered a sheep, had the cook roast it, and sent it over. The mountain villagers even knelt as they raised the food and presented it before Duncan.

They first offered Duncan the fattest hind leg of mutton, then presented the foreleg to Raven Queen Triss.

The female slave they had rescued rose of her own accord to serve them, bringing water and pouring wine, cutting the meat. Raven Queen Triss did not have much of an appetite. Before Witch Anya could rise, Triss had already come to Duncan's side and naturally began cutting his meat, placing it on a clay plate.

Anya had only just gotten up and could only sit back down unwillingly, watching Duncan wolf down his food from the seat of honor.

She cast Raven Queen Triss a dark look.

Severus drank deeply and ate huge mouthfuls of meat. He looked at Raven Queen Triss, then at Witch Anya, lowered his head, and continued wolfing down his meal. He was injured, so he focused on eating and did not dare ask questions.

At first, everything was normal.

But when Duncan finished an entire sheep and several fowl, even Witch Anya widened her eyes in astonishment. The mountain villagers serving outside the hall cried out in surprise. Quite a few ran over to peek, while others said something in the barbarian tongue—words that roughly meant warrior, hero, and some ancient title for a particular figure from legendary tales.

At first, the mountain villagers did not believe that Duncan had routed the enemy army alone.

But when they saw him consume enough food for more than ten men in one go, they believed it instead. The warriors of barbarian legends could eat just as much—for example, Beowulf.

Whenever Kevito saw Duncan now, he instinctively lowered his head respectfully.

"I finally got a proper full meal."

Duncan's Health Bar had now roughly doubled from what it had been at the beginning. In other words, it was twice that of an ordinary person, approaching that of the Barbarian Berserker he had first encountered.

Well fed and well drunk.

Naturally, it was time to rest properly.

Duncan also had to consider where to go next, because the chaos of the age was about to arrive.

The night deepened.

Duncan considered his next move in the room. Out of caution, he rested under God's Eye View, while his Human Form lay on the bed pretending to sleep.

The group stayed in the largest wooden house in the stronghold. The mountain villagers brought out fine sheepskins to make the beds and bedding.

In the projected image.

Raven Queen Triss appeared silently outside the door. Duncan immediately had his Human Form rise, open the door, and welcome her inside.

The witch sat by the window and said softly, "You want to take in these Exiles?"

Duncan nodded slightly. "Mm."

He sat across from Raven Queen Triss and said in a low voice, "Britain Island is facing an attack by the Saxons. With only the few of us, I'm afraid it'll be difficult to gain a foothold there."

No matter how strong Duncan had become, he would still have to make a tactical retreat when facing a hundred Saxon Barbarians.

After all, one person's strength was limited.

Especially in war.

He continued, "The Celts may not be willing to accept us, and I don't want to live under someone else's roof either."

"There are several Celtic kingdoms in the British Isles, along with numerous tribes."

"We're just a group of outsiders."

"Without a force of our own, how can we establish ourselves there?"

"Besides..."

At this point, Duncan fixed his gaze on Raven Queen Triss before him and said gravely, "Wizard Merlin—will he really be willing to help us?"

"He seems to serve some king on Britain Island, doesn't he?"

"With just the few of us?"

"How much can we accomplish on Britain Island? Besides, wizards were once massacred there!"

Merlin was a baptized mage.

Before this, Britain Island had also carried out a massacre of wizards, because The Church's faith had already spread there.

The one who gave the order was King Arthur's father.

Most of the massacred wizards had been traditional Celtic priests. In the conflict of faiths, King Arthur's father had chosen to stand with The Church. It was impossible to say whether this was also a struggle for power, taking the opportunity to suppress the ancient priesthood, because among the Celts, the only people who could challenge a king were those priests.

Raven Queen Triss remained silent.

After pondering for a moment, she looked at Duncan and said slowly, "I'll help you make these Exiles submit and obey!"

Triss was not only a powerful witch, but also the High Priestess of the ancient Polytheism.

She likewise intended to avoid the brunt of The Church and make plans in the British Isles. If they could not find the legendary hidden realm, then Britain Island would be the best refuge for the witches. The barbarians of Northern Europe had their own beliefs, war raged throughout the Empire's territories, and now The Church was closing in step by step. They were nearly out of places to go.

Just as Duncan and Triss were discussing their next move, In the room next door, Witch Anya quietly opened her door and came to Duncan's door.

She wore a silk-like nightgown, vast stretches of exposed skin glowing white. This casual attire from the traditional Roman court revealed half of her full breasts, making her look exceptionally seductive. This expensive fabric had been brought over through the Silk Road. Ordinary people had never even seen it; only true Imperial aristocrats could afford it.

The Empire called the eastern Han Dynasty "Seres" (the Land of Silk), holding it in extremely high regard—almost to the point of embarrassingly excessive praise. In the works of some Roman philosophers and poets, Seres was truly praised to the heavens. (Ancient Greece did the same, claiming that the people of Seres were enormous, nearly twenty feet tall, beyond ordinary humans, with red hair and blue eyes, booming voices, and lifespans exceeding two hundred years.)

Inside the room, Raven Queen Triss suddenly frowned and turned to look toward the door, her expression strange, carrying a faint smile.

She knew someone had arrived.

She quietly moved behind the door, then glanced at Duncan, her smile carrying an unreadable meaning.

A faint knock sounded.

Duncan rose and looked toward Raven Queen Triss, but Triss gestured for him to open the door while she stepped into the shadows.

What did this mean?

Anya had come dressed so scantily—was she planning to seduce him?

What was Raven Queen Triss trying to do now?

Why was she standing behind the door?

Duncan was puzzled, but he still obediently opened the door. The moment it opened, Witch Anya entered without invitation, bringing with her an intoxicating fragrance. With a charming, seductive expression, she breathed softly, "I didn't disturb your rest, did I?"

Raven Queen Triss wore a faintly mocking smile as she said, "Of course not."

Witch Anya's expression changed!

At that moment, Raven Queen Triss raised her fingertips, seeming to silently recite an incantation. Anya instantly froze rigidly in place.

Raven Queen Triss emerged from the shadows by the door and unhurriedly approached Anya. She frivolously lifted Anya's chin with a finger and looked down at her alluring, gorgeous face, which had clearly been carefully made up. Something like a rope then slithered around Anya like a snake and bound her tightly.

Anya's face filled with fear. Looking pitiful and helpless, she said, "Lady Triss."

She had not expected Triss to be in Duncan's room.

It was already late at night. She had assumed Duncan's room was empty, never expecting that Duncan and Triss had been talking intimately until midnight.

Sneaking around in the dead of night—naturally, she had come to steal a taste.

Raven Queen Triss's gaze was icy. She withdrew her hand and said in a hollow tone, "Call me High Priestess!"

High Priestess.

The title made Witch Anya tremble all over, because during the era of Polytheism in the Empire's history, only the Emperor of the Empire had held that position.

Anya was genuinely a little frightened now. Her voice trembled slightly as she said, "High Priestess."

Raven Queen Triss said nothing. She circled Anya once, sizing her up from head to toe—not as though she were looking at a person, but more like a piece of merchandise, a beautiful female slave.

She suddenly turned to Duncan and asked, "Do you like her?"

"She does look beautiful."

Should I say I like her? Or not?

Duncan swallowed nervously, not knowing how to answer. Raven Queen Triss was truly frightening right now. Especially when she quietly spoke the title "High Priestess," even the candle flames in the room flickered.

An invisible undercurrent stirred within the Wind of Magic.

Fuck.

Raven Queen Triss exuded an overwhelming pressure at that moment, like some lofty queen from a female-lead novel. Her slightly narrowed phoenix eyes, her long willow-leaf brows faintly furrowed, and the chilling gleam in her gaze made even Duncan—who had recently endured countless battles—feel a shiver of dread in his heart.

Before Duncan could answer, Raven Queen Triss casually removed Anya's luxurious nightgown.

"Indeed, very beautiful."

"As expected of a follower of Aphrodite."

Raven Queen Triss brushed a hand across Anya's chest, her fingertips lightly teasing it, making the witch's entire body shudder as terror filled her expression.

She turned to Duncan. Her eyes gradually softened, gentle as water, and her voice carried a faint trace of apology as she slowly said, "You were right. I truly must remain chaste for the goddess."

"Why not give you to him as a gift?"

Anya stared at her in disbelief, trembling as she said, "You heard everything?"

No.

She had wanted to seduce Duncan, but not like this—certainly not as an object, handed to him by Raven Queen Triss as a gift.

Then what was she?

Why had things turned out like this? How had a few words turned her into a gift?

But Raven Queen Triss gave her no room to object. She directly pushed the seductively dressed witch onto the bed.

Her gaze was calm. When she looked at Duncan, it was gentle like a moonlit lake rippling beneath the still night. One slender, pale hand softly held Duncan's rough palm, while the other gently caressed his cheek. She slowly said, "You've had a hard journey."

"Since she came here herself, use her to soothe your weary body and mind."

Duncan had walked this road atop a trail of corpses.

Raven Queen Triss had seen it all. Her voice was soft as the wind sweeping through the night sky. Her gaze held love, tenderness, maternal tolerance, and many complicated emotions—but not the slightest spark of jealousy.

She led Duncan to the bedside, forcibly pressing down Anya's head as she said indifferently, "What about those methods you use to please men?"

"Didn't Aphrodite's priests teach you?"

Duncan was truly frightened now. He did not dare move at all, merely silently withdrawing from Dimensional Space and entering his Human Form perspective.

The experience felt better this way.

He had never seen Raven Queen Triss this forceful before.

Kind of scary.

"Mm..."

"Triss!... You can't humiliate me like this... I'm also one of the founders of the Witch Coven... Ngh..."

"I'm not your female slave!... Mm... And even less am I a gift for you to give to a man!..."

Anya was nearly crying.

This proud aristocratic lady looked as though tears might spill from her eyes, yet she was utterly unable to resist Raven Queen Triss, completely like a little chick being held down.

Raven Queen Triss said calmly, "Didn't you long to become his lover?"

"Now I'm granting your wish."

Raven Queen Triss looked down condescendingly at Anya. Her shadowy gaze shattered the last of Anya's resistance. Behind those cold, tranquil eyes lay true arrogance. As the last High Priestess of Imperial Polytheism, Raven Queen Triss had never regarded Anya as worthy of notice.

She simply was not worthy of competing with her!

At most, she was a gift delivered to their door. Since she had come anyway, she could conveniently be used to soothe the weariness of the one in her heart.

He had escorted her through slaughter across more than half of Europe. He had long accumulated suppressed negative emotions within him after all the killing amid blood and fire. Only a woman's warmth could comfort him, and since she had sworn chastity to the goddess, she naturally needed a gift to take her place.

Since Anya had chosen to deliver herself to their door, of course she would not be polite.

It was unreasonable, but very Rome.

"You think you're worthy of competing with me?"

This proud yet childish Roman aristocratic lady thought that with those little tricks of seductive beauty, she could secretly compete with her and even steal a taste. The thought made Raven Queen Triss want to laugh.

A gentle breeze drifted past.

Raven Queen Triss turned her gaze toward Duncan, her eyes still soft as water, like a virtuous wife advising her husband. She softly said, "Do not let slaughter blind your eyes."

"The Spartans perished in slaughter."

"Please enjoy the gift I prepared for you to your heart's content... Only a woman's comfort can soothe the slaughter of blood and fire!..."

Duncan was truly stunned.

He had never seen a woman like this. It could even be said that, in that moment, he had nearly fallen at the feet of Raven Queen Triss's charm. It was a feeling difficult to put into words.

At last, he understood why the Human Form had fallen in love with Raven Queen Triss.

And why, at the final moment of being seduced by the Lady of the Lake, he had suddenly come to his senses, abandoned everything, boarded that ship, and set off on an adventure across the distant sea.

He understood even more why, at the very end, the Human Form had embraced Raven Queen Triss's corpse and turned to ash with her beneath the Dragon Breath!

She was Raven Queen Triss.

The final High Priestess of Imperial Polytheism.

A one-of-a-kind existence!

No one could replace her. Her love ran that deep; her pride, her generosity, everything about her was unlike ordinary people. Even death had not made her let go of the one in her heart.

Two people who would never abandon their comrades were destined to become partners who fought side by side, lived and died together.

Never abandon, never give up.

They remnants of the Empire had, without realizing it, already lived and died together once.

Raven Queen Triss smiled.

She understood the look in Duncan's eyes. No words were needed anymore. Anya could never threaten her position.

She rose slightly onto her toes and took the initiative to kiss Duncan. Then, with a light lift of her finger, the rope fell into her palm and transformed into a long whip, lashing across Anya's hips and waist.

"Is this how Aphrodite's priests taught you?"

Raven Queen Triss lashed her three times in succession, beating Anya until she sobbed and trembled all over. Then she leisurely walked to the window and sat in a chair, gazing down indifferently at the beautiful witch as she said calmly, "Don't disappoint me."

"I happen to want to see what the Cult of Aphrodite is capable of."

Hiss!

Duncan suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.

Raven Queen Triss had truly frightened him now. He did not dare move an inch. Under the moonlight streaming through the distant window, she resembled a radiant moon goddess of ancient Greece, elegantly nodding ever so slightly, seemingly quite satisfied with Anya's earnest performance.

Since she was already here.

Since she had dared to come, Raven Queen Triss had no objection to making full use of her.

Compete with me!

Do you think you deserve to?

(PS: The next chapter will be a bit of a test of my writing skill. I'll do my best.)