Medieval Era - Barbarian Invasion! Extra Update

(7,000-word bonus update. One chapter of setup finished. Another big chapter tomorrow. Moving into the next major climax. Wishing everyone a happy New Year in advance! Let's celebrate hitting over 3,000 readers following the updates.)

The waves rolled.

Duncan climbed the mast and looked into the distance, where he spotted the Saxons' warships. They resembled Viking longships with dragon prows—fish-scale clinker-built wooden vessels—but were not very large, a little over twenty meters long and around five meters wide.

The most advanced warships of this era were the Imperial Navy's quinqueremes, nearly fifty meters long and five meters wide, capable of carrying three hundred rowers at once.

During the height of Polytheism, when the Sea God's faith still endured, the Empire had once built Sky Raven Ships. But they had long since been scrapped, and no one later built such massive warships again. Thanks to its natural geographical advantages, the Italian Peninsula remained relatively advanced on the naval technology tree, having conquered Egypt as early as before the Common Era. (Shipbuilding technology in the Mediterranean Sea was among the finest of the age.)

"We should be somewhere near Dover."

The narrowest part of this strait was only about thirty kilometers across. If Duncan were alone, he felt that with his current physical abilities, he could probably swim across it.

"They're catching up!" a sailor cried out.

Among the many Germanic barbarian tribes, the Franks and Saxons were currently the strongest fighters. The Saxon Pirates in particular had earned a fearsome reputation throughout nearly a century of invasions. They were roughly equivalent to the early Viking raiders, and at their height were not much weaker than the Vikings. Their chief deities were Odin and Thor.

Duncan's expression hardened. He dropped down from the mast and held out a hand to test the wind direction.

Because of the strong winds over the sea, the Cross Star used for aiming under God's Eye View swayed about, and even the corrections from his combat skills were weakened considerably.

Naval warfare in this era was relatively primitive. When they finally engaged the enemy, it would probably come down to boarding actions.

There were too few of them.

These sailors were no match for the Saxon Pirates.

Duncan was not very confident. His main concern was the witches' safety.

They really were weak in close combat.

At that moment, Raven Queen - Triss walked over. She stared at Duncan and asked, "Are you confident?"

Duncan looked grim. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "We have too few guards. These sailors probably aren't their match."

--Saxon Pirate Ship (High Morale) (Born Sailor).

Raven Queen - Triss nodded slightly. "Then leave it to me."

With that, Raven Queen - Triss turned to gaze at the Saxon pirate ships in the distance. She walked into a concealed corner of the deck, knelt on one knee in a prayerful pose, and began preparing something—though Duncan had no idea whether it was Magic.

Magic in this world was severely restricted.

"The wind is in our favor!"

"They can't catch us!"

The sailors on deck grew excited. Someone loudly praised the sea god, and the wind over the water shifted slightly. At this rate, they could gradually shake off the enemy without worrying about the pirate ships catching up.

She could even control the wind?

Duncan watched Raven Queen - Triss rise to her feet, feeling that this woman was so dependable it put his mind at ease.

Instinctively, he turned to look at Anya behind him, whose expression was tense.

Two-Star Blank.

Compared to Raven Queen - Triss, Duncan had never seen Anya use any particularly impressive supernatural abilities. She did not seem like a real Witch so much as an exquisite household ornament.

But she truly was rich.

Born into an old Roman noble family, she was an upper-class lady of the Empire with her own fleet. Her purse was filled with gold.

Anya followed the Cult of Aphrodite, a branch of the Goddess of Beauty - Venus's faith. After merging with beliefs from Greece, it specialized in serving Aphrodite's aspect as the goddess of sex and desire. Her supernatural abilities were likely just various means of seducing and pleasing men, but unfortunately, Raven Queen - Triss had wiped them out with three lashes of her whip.

(She had been so frightened that Anya no longer dared use seductive Sorcery. It was roughly equivalent to spells that charmed humans.)

Back at the mountainfolk camp, Anya had made quite a few plans. Yet in the end, even she had become someone else's wedding dress, turning into a part of Duncan and Raven Queen - Triss's play that warmed their relationship.

But she was not truly the obedient sort. Just because she was behaving herself now did not mean she would not stir up trouble later.

The true age of civilization on Britain Island had been brought by the Roman Empire.

The Empire established the Province of Britannia here and began urbanizing the plains. During that period, it built towns such as Londinium, Eboracum, and Londinium. There were no true large cities here; most were small- to medium-sized urban settlements. Londinium was what later became London. (It would be called London directly from now on. Using modern names for most cities was more convenient.)

Around 407 to 410 CE, Rome's last legion withdrew. The Province of Britannia was abandoned, and London began to decline. Many residents moved away, but Celts soon replenished its population, turning it once more into a large town with over ten thousand inhabitants.

Duncan's group had originally intended to head for Londinium, but it had already been occupied by the Saxons, and the surrounding region was all a war zone.

After the Roman Empire withdrew its legions, the British Isles entered the Age of Kings.

They had finally landed.

Only after setting foot on Britain Island's coastline did Duncan relax a little. Personal strength was severely limited in naval battles.

He was not Beowulf, capable of hunting Sea Monsters in the ocean or exchanging bodily fluids with Banshees and Sea Spirits in the sea like some aquatic Casanova.

Even with the power of the Blood of the Holy Grail taking effect, Duncan was currently only worth half a Beowulf at most.

After most of his combat skills had reached proficiency, his strength had entered a bottleneck. He might need to hunt supernatural monsters to gain more unique abilities.

As for pure combat technique, the threshold for master-level combat skills was extremely high. He did not know whether there was anything beyond that, but he had yet to encounter an enemy of that level.

Right.

One thing had to be mentioned: in this era, Beowulf had not yet been born. His active years were very close to King Arthur's, though he came a few years later.

"Are we going straight to the Kingdom of Camelot?" Anya asked softly.

Camelot was the kingdom from the legend of King Arthur, possessing an impregnable castle.

In this medieval world, it had initially submitted to the Roman Empire, then regained its independence after the Imperial Legion withdrew. Geographically, it lay in the southeast of Britain Island, roughly encompassing the territory from Hampshire to Wales.

Thanks to its geographical advantages, the Kingdom of Camelot had repelled Saxon attacks, though it was often harassed by Saxon Pirates.

The current ruler of the Kingdom of Camelot was King Uther, King Arthur's father.

He had once carried out a massacre of Wizards within the kingdom, so Camelot was holy ground that permitted no intrusion by evil Magic, as well as one of the regions where The Church had taken root. (The Church in Britain differed greatly from that in Europe. It was highly autonomous, originating from early church monastic orders, and its rites were also different. It was said to have originated during Saint Paul's proselytizing era. The Witcher's alias was George-Paul.)

As for Merlin, rumor had it that he was a Magic user who had been baptized. The distinction between Wizards and Magic users was probably drawn during this period; Wizards generally referred to those who used evil Magic. (After the Middle Ages, male witches received preferential treatment and became Magic users, while all the blame was cast upon female witches, a reflection of women's status in that era.)

Merlin was a neutral supernatural being.

Duncan did not truly trust him either, but establishing a foothold on Britain Island meant he could not avoid this powerful Wizard.

"Something's happening!" Severus said in a low voice.

Duncan had already entered God's Eye View. Hearing Severus's warning, he immediately expanded the Strategic Map and quickly discovered something.

But what surprised him even more was that Severus's marker had changed after entering Britain Island.

--Severus (Two-Star Silver-Gray) (Druid) (Mild Disability) [Friendly Unit].

He had leveled up.

Without the slightest warning.

Before crossing the sea, Severus had still been a Two-Star Blank unit with a mild disability. Now, all at once, he had become a Two-Star Silver-Gray elite unit.

"Has his spellcasting ability recovered?"

That was the first thought that sprang to Duncan's mind. Otherwise, there was no explaining why Severus, who had been mildly disabled, had suddenly grown so much stronger. Britain Island should still have been a region of Celtic faith. After entering Britain, some changes had occurred in Severus that could not be seen with the naked eye.

"Because Britain Island still retains Druidic faith, Severus has recovered part of his spellcasting ability?"

Something even more surprising happened.

Severus approached a stretch of woodland ahead. Then, at his strange call, a stag actually ran out.

The stag was extremely wary of people, but it was not afraid of Severus.

He approached the stag alone, signaling the others not to come closer. Then he murmured something under his breath, as though he were speaking with it.

Communicating with animals?!

A Druid's supernatural ability?

Duncan became even more certain that Severus had recovered his spellcasting abilities. He still did not understand this world's supernatural forces very well, but the last time Raven Queen Triss had gone berserk, she had also made use of an ancient Sacrificial Stone from Ancient Rome.

Their supernatural abilities fluctuated wildly and were highly unstable.

Only Anya in the group had consistently remained at the Two-Star Blank level, operating steadily at a low level close to that of an ordinary noblewoman.

"War has broken out upstream."

Severus soon returned, while the stag disappeared into the woods.

Looking at Duncan, he said, "Corpses are floating down the river. They're not far from us."

In fact, Duncan already knew.

After expanding the Strategic Map in God's Eye View, he had spotted an area where fighting was underway. But it was rather far away, so he could not see it clearly. The two sides caught in the melee had become a tangled mess.

Raven Queen Triss turned to Duncan and asked softly, "Should we go take a look?"

At present, the Saxon invasion had already seized vast tracts of land. London had not yet fallen, but it was on the front line of the conflict.

The other force resisting the Saxon invasion was the Kingdom of Camelot.

London was the last remnant of Roman Empire power here. After the Imperial Legion withdrew, those who had adopted Roman culture voluntarily formed the "British Legion" to defend their homeland. Their training standards were close to those of the Imperial Field Army, but their equipment was far inferior.

In addition, when the fighting had been more evenly matched in earlier years, the London region had also formed the Coastal Defense Legion. It was a militia force, equipped even more poorly than the Imperial Border Guard.

Back then, they could still defend the coastline, but now Saxon Pirates had already driven straight inland.

Raven Queen Triss had probably already guessed that Duncan grew stronger through slaughter and battle. She would occasionally mention the Spartans and tell Duncan that the Spartans had been destroyed amid slaughter.

An era when gods and men lived together.

The Spartans of Greece worshipped Ares, the God of War. They were a true warrior people. Many warriors would transform rapidly through the slaughter of war and grow into the finest soldiers.

Later, Sparta fell, and faith in Ares, the God of War, was severely wounded as well. Athena, the Goddess of Victory, began to rise, directly becoming the chief deity of the domain of war. Thereafter, warfare increasingly relied on wisdom and strategy, and Spartan traditions became history for good. (The Twelve Olympians of Ancient Greece all received Adoration according to the times. When the groups served by certain chief deities perished, they received fewer and fewer sacrifices, until only the title of a chief deity remained.)

After the rise of the Roman Empire, faith in Athena gradually merged with that of Minerva.

Around 43 BC, after the Roman Legion invaded and ruled Britain, the Romans built many large bathhouses in Bath for steam baths and swimming. The Romans regarded this place as a sacred site of springs and Minerva, the Goddess of Wisdom.

(The Empire's bathing culture was extraordinarily developed. The Colosseum and public bathhouses were indispensable parts of the early Empire. Romans loved cleanliness; they were not like the people of the Middle Ages, who did not bathe.)

Minerva's war divinity was not clearly defined, but several of her Temples had been converted directly from training grounds.

This was inherited from Ancient Greek culture.

Artemis's grand Shrine was also a training ground, specifically used to train exceptional archers.

"Did she misunderstand something about me and the Spartans?"

Raven Queen Triss most likely believed that Duncan possessed the power of the God of War or war itself, or perhaps some special ability of the Spartans that allowed him to improve rapidly through battle and slaughter.

Duncan didn't know how to explain it either, so he simply let the assumption stand.

He glanced at the Strategic Map, pondered for a moment, and said, "Let's go take a look. We can find some horses while we're at it."

"Try not to get dragged into their war."

There were only five of them. Duncan was at full strength, Severus had upgraded into an elite unit but was lightly crippled, and Raven Queen—Triss had terrifying burst damage, but her wind-up time was far too long and she needed the support of relics from the old era.

Witch—Anya was much like the female slave they had rescued from the Bandit Stronghold: basically the equivalent of half a combat unit.

Her Two-Star Blank strength was mostly inflated.

"Five people only count as three combat units."

Duncan didn't dare act recklessly. He approached along the Strategic Map and spotted armies fighting in the distant plains.

—Saxon Pirates.

—Saxon Elite Raider (One-Star).

—Saxon Spearman.

—Saxon Elite Axeman [Blessing of Thor] (One-Star, silver-gray).

—Saxon Hunter.

—Germanic Priesthood.

It was Duncan's first time seeing non-combat units organized on a battlefield. They seemed to be encouraging the Saxon warriors around them. Their attire closely resembled that of Polytheistic priests from Northern Europe. There were both men and women, though their numbers were small—only around a dozen. They could also bestow blessings upon the Saxon warriors.

They could use Inspiration to put barbarian troops into a "High Morale" state.

"They're a bit like the priests from The Church who accompanied the Crusade during the Middle Ages."

"Are they supernatural units?"

Duncan was quite curious. He had yet to unlock a Mana Bar, and Raven Queen—Triss had said that many Wizards and priests had no spellcasting ability at all. Only a tiny number could perform some simple Sorcery.

—Barbarian Chieftain Guard (One-Star).

—Saxon Noble Knight (One-Star, silver-gray).

From the God's Eye View on the Strategic Map, the Saxon army's composition was quite complex, with all sorts of combat units. They also had a cavalry force. The Chieftain Guard protected their commander, while the Saxon Noble Knights were well-equipped and already counted as true heavy cavalry.

Fortunately, their numbers were low—only around thirty or forty men.

Opposing them were the native inhabitants of Britain Island, and some of their units closely resembled Imperial Legions.

—British Legion (low-tier Field Army).

—Coastal Defense Legion (low-tier border garrison).

—Sarmatian Auxiliary Rider.

—Rager Heavy Cavalry (One-Star).

—British Monastic Order.

The most eye-catching among them was a heavy cavalry unit made up of knights, marked as "Duke of Tintagel's Knight Guard." They were all One-Star units, with elite knights among them. Their equipment was excellent: every one of them wore full scale armor, and their warhorses were armored as well, making them much like ironclad cavalry.

There were roughly a dozen of them, mixed with some armored riders and a small number of light cavalry.

"Wait!"

Duncan racked his brain, seeming to recall something. He murmured, "Duke of Tintagel?"

"Wasn't King Uther said to have slept with Duke of Tintagel's wife?"

"And that was how King Arthur was born?"

If Duncan remembered correctly, King Uther had Merlin the Wizard transform him into Duke of Tintagel while the duke was away. He then secretly entered the castle and spent the night with the duke's wife, who eventually became pregnant with King Arthur.

Could this be that time?

Duke of Tintagel was resisting the invaders at the front lines while King Uther took the chance to sleep with his wife. Later, Duke of Tintagel died, and his wife married King Uther.

From then on, power in the Kingdom of Camelot became completely concentrated in King Uther's hands.

"So, has King Uther slept with his wife yet?"

Duncan observed the battlefield and found that the Britons' army was in a terrible situation. The Cantiaci, serving as an Auxiliary Legion, were already close to collapse.

They were a relatively primitive tribal people.

The Cantiaci still retained certain traditions of "group marriage." Different clans and tribes would each provide a group of young men and women—for example, ten men and ten women marrying one another. They could pair freely among themselves. Any one man could mate with any of the ten women to produce offspring, and any one woman could enter marital relations with any of the ten men. (To prevent population outflow.)

Britain Island's cultural traditions only gradually began to change after its conquest by the Empire.

Yet in some remote regions, extremely primitive tribes still remained. There were even cannibals, as well as the even older tradition of "mixed marriage." There had been many savages on early Britain Island.

The era of Caesar recorded many things about Britain Island. Over the following centuries, the Romans had worked tirelessly to change the traditions of these primitive tribes.

The practice of group marriage gradually declined as a result.

"Did they bring in all the auxiliary troops from the native tribes?"

They had the numerical advantage, but poor equipment and low morale.

From Duncan's strategic perspective, three native Auxiliary Legions were easily routed. They probably couldn't even defeat the Young Legion of Ancient Rome. A unit of Saxon Barbarians wielding axes hacked them apart until they wailed for their fathers and mothers. Their large-scale rout even crashed into the central army, throwing the British Legion into a state of "Chaos."

There were too many fodder troops.

Without a powerful core fighting force, the moment the fodder troops collapsed, it immediately triggered a chain reaction.

"Is Duke of Tintagel trying to get himself killed?!"

As the rout of fleeing soldiers threw the central formation into chaos, the Saxons' Chieftain Guard and noble knights began to move as well, targeting Duke of Tintagel's personal guard directly.

They fucking wouldn't even last until Duncan and the others got there. The Britons' legion would probably suffer a total rout first.

A complete stomp!

This was a genuine stomp.

Because this era was very close to the Uprising of the Five Barbarians, the barbarian tribes around the empire were also incredibly formidable in battle.

However, Asia's Uprising of the Five Barbarians should have ended some time ago, while the empire's Barbarian Invasion had only just entered its peak. Hundreds more years of barbarian free-for-all awaited in the future.

"The Saxons' advantage is far too obvious."

"Without King Arthur, without the Knights of the Round Table—a knightly force approaching the standards of the Middle Ages—Britain Island would likely have fallen even faster."

The Knights of the Round Table could be regarded as an elite heavy cavalry order numbering over a hundred.

In this era, once they were deployed, it was like casting the dice—the fate of victory or defeat across an entire local battlefield would be decided outright.

According to the legends, Duke of Tintagel was someone fated to die.

If he did not die, King Arthur's mother could not rightfully marry King Uther.

Duncan had already foreseen a rout.

Suddenly.

He seemed to see something. His entire body stiffened as he muttered, "What the hell is that?"

—Valkyrie (Three-Star Golden) (Female Warrior) [Neutral Unit]?!

A vague female figure, invisible to the naked eye, appeared above the battlefield. She seemed to be waiting for something. Beneath her bird-wing-shaped silver helmet, her eyes watched the Germanic Barbarian warriors below, as though awaiting the moment they fell in battle.

The Ancient Greek Pantheon had fallen. The Ancient Roman Pantheon had fallen.

Under the Polytheistic faith system.

The final surviving faction among the Western pantheons—Scandinavia, the Norse Pantheon—officially entered the stage!

This was the last Polytheistic faction still putting up a desperate resistance, as well as the core of Germanic Mythology. It endured for another thousand years before finally being utterly destroyed by The Church!

—Medieval Era: Barbarian Invasion!

Against the grand backdrop of the empire's collapse, aside from the immense pressure exerted by the Hunnic Empire, the many Germanic barbarian tribes also followed an unseen guidance and began a massive invasion of the [Fully Christianized] Roman Empire.

Thus, the Medieval Era opened its magnificent curtain on an age that would last for hundreds of years!

Secular royal power, the faith of all people, Polytheism and Monotheism, the final Polytheistic faction—the Norse Pantheon—the prophecy of Ragnarok; with the Barbarian Invasion as its prologue, the final war of the pantheons began!

This war ended several centuries later, with the Norse Pantheon essentially wiped out.

[PS: This chapter finishes explaining the final portion of the grand historical backdrop for Volume One. Although this is a purely feel-good novel, and this is the medieval world of the first volume, I have been very serious about laying out the historical background.

Most other system novels turn reality into a game, with the system driving the plot and the protagonist serving as a tool, making a real world look like an RPG. But the concept of this book is to turn games into reality. What Duncan sees is a game interface, but behind it lie real and cruel Realms of Reality.

That is where the Trans-dimensional Player came from.]

[Note 1: Human Form No. 1 became a Heroic Spirit because the Norse Pantheon still survived.

After Monotheism destroyed the Norse Pantheon, it achieved religious unification.]

[Note 2: Norse Mythology spread to Iceland in the 7th century and thus survived, only to be completely replaced and destroyed in the 16th century.] (Raven Queen—Triss's prophecy—was actually a path left as a retreat for the Norse Pantheon. It was not left for the Witches.)

[Note 3: The Edict of Milan was promulgated, the Ancient Olympic Games were banned, the Sacrificial Fire was extinguished, and the gates of the Pantheon were shut tight. The chronological order was roughly from AD 300 to 394, while the true large-scale invasion by the Germanic Barbarians officially began around AD 400.

The Ancient Greek Pantheon and Ancient Roman Pantheon factions declared their destruction in the same year.

The civil war among Polytheistic factions became a confrontation between Polytheism and Monotheism.

Thus, the grand historical backdrop of Volume One completed its logical loop. Medieval Era—Barbarian Invasion (the end of mythology)—was officially fully established.

The war between secular factions was the overt thread, while the war between religious factions was the hidden thread.

The Franks originated as barbarians, but ultimately came to believe in The Church. This meant that they had lost the hidden struggle against the Norse Pantheon. The invading barbarians had been won over by The Church and directly changed their faith.

The barbarians physically destroyed the empire, while The Church secretly destroyed the Norse faith of the invading barbarians. This was the backdrop of the Medieval Era's chaotic wars.

You fight your war; I fight mine. Sacrifice the empire and forge the Roman Curia.

You destroy the empire physically; I destroy the Norse faith spiritually, converting every invading barbarian into a follower of The Church.

Primitive religions were far less efficient at Proselytizing than The Church.

But they had martial advantages such as sacrificial traditions.

Yet the empire was too powerful. With a single word, it could establish a state religion and decide whether Polytheism or Monotheism would rise. Therefore, the empire had to die.

The empire could be destroyed, but faith had to be unified.

Judgment upon Heretics.

This was a grand move by The Church.

The coffin lid had to be nailed shut, and the remnants had to be purged.

Lest some shocking news suddenly emerged one day—the Ancient Rome (Ancient Greece) pantheon faction had been restored.

It had already been restored once during the time of Renegade Julian.

This was the point in time where the protagonist entered the story.

The witches' flight had begun because of this.]

[PS: The power system in Volume One was basically based on the settings of Lord of the Rings, and the limitations on witches' power also borrowed from that system.

The supernatural beings of the Norse Pantheon were roughly equivalent to the Human Forms of the Maiar in Lord of the Rings.

In other words, they were on the level of Wizards like Gandalf. A few Deity-level beings could reach the level of Sauron and the Elf Queen.

From the very beginning, what I wanted to write in Volume One was the oldest style of fantasy.

Not Japanese-style fantasy, with priests spamming heals, nor the later webnovel fantasy style.]

[PS: Writing a game-based otherworld story with a fantasy slant really felt, to me, like a wandering son leaving home, stumbling and crashing until his head was bloodied, only to finally return to where his dreams had first set sail. It ended up being much easier and more natural to write.]

[Lastly, I remembered a line from a video—"In God's name, sweep across Europe!"]