Avalon in the Mist

A bloody stench hung in the air.

A bonfire burned in the hall. Blood Axe-Nidron, who had been resting with his eyes closed, snapped them open. He heard faint screams. The burly barbarian warrior grabbed the beheading axe beside him, lifted a wineskin in one hand, and drank deeply as he walked. Mead ran down his hairy chest.

When the heavy doors were pushed open—

In the firelight, his eyes had already turned blood-red, as though a bloodthirsty beast had been trapped within his body!

"Thor!"

"Witness my battle!"

Blood Axe-Nidron's heavy breathing resembled that of a brown bear. His gaze pierced through the darkness and locked onto the southwest of the town. His heavy armor did not hinder his movements in the slightest. He broke into a mad sprint, like a tiger on the hunt, charging toward the source of the screams.

That man had come again!

After killing Hengist, king of the Kent Kingdom, Duncan had single-handedly changed the situation across Britain Island.

The newly established Kent Kingdom was gradually falling apart. Originally, the king's brother Horsa had possessed enough military achievements and personal strength to reunify the kingdom. But at the most critical moment, the Angles and Saxons had displayed the British Empire's inherited tradition of stirring up trouble. They had actually turned around and supported the late king's son, Aesc, in taking the throne.

Both Hengist and Horsa were Jutes.

The moment the king died, the Angles and Saxons began entertaining crooked thoughts. Their wavering allegiance plunged the newly founded Kent Kingdom into civil strife. With the support of the Anglo-Saxons, Aesc was now capable of standing against his uncle.

This had practically split the Kent Kingdom in two. The East Kent Kingdom was under Aesc's control, while the West Kent Kingdom was controlled by Horsa.

This troublemaking maneuver had truly inherited the British Empire's legacy, gradually dividing and weakening the Jutes.

They had originally been the first branch of the Germanic Barbarians to establish a kingdom, yet now they had fallen into civil war over the throne.

"Kill him!"

"Kill that man!"

"Cut off his head and offer it to Horsa! Then he can reunify the Kent Kingdom!"

Blood Axe-Nidron saw corpses in the darkness. Each had been killed by a single arrow through the eye socket. Beneath the shadows of an alley, amid flickering firelight, a Saxon elite axeman had also been blown apart on the spot. A Farron Throwing Axe had split open his skull, scattering blood and brains across the ground.

Groups of barbarian soldiers were gathering.

Saxon Forest Hunters fired toward the enemy, but under the cover of night, they could not possibly match the Ghost Ranger's unerring accuracy.

Corpses, corpses, nothing but corpses.

It felt as though a stifled rage was crushing Blood Axe-Nidron's chest. He grabbed a shield, held a two-handed battleaxe in one hand, and charged straight through a wooden fence blocking his path, as if that could vent even a fraction of his fury.

He had found him!

He was trying to run!

Blood Axe-Nidron let out a roar and flung a hand axe from his waist. Driven by immense force, it howled through the air and slammed into the wall with a bang.

By then, Duncan had already climbed over Devon Town's wooden wall.

A cold sweat broke out across his body. After landing, he caught his breath and thought, What the hell was that? How could he run so fast?!

--Blood Axe-Nidron (Two-Star Silver-Gray) (Elite Chieftain Guard) (Sacrifice) (Heavy Drinking) (Berserk) [Thor Warrior]!

Duncan had encountered this enemy once before.

He had charged through Duke of Tintagel's guard force, killed two or three Rager Knights in succession, and still managed to force his way out of their encirclement.

"So fierce!"

"His strength is probably no weaker than an Ascetic Order Sanctuary."

Compared to last time, this enemy had several more statuses. The Germanic Barbarians loved drinking and battle. His entire body reeked of alcohol—who knew how much he had drunk—yet his movements were not slowed in the slightest. He even ran faster than a warhorse.

Duncan kept retreating.

But under God's Eye View, the enemy climbed over the wooden wall as well, then leaped straight toward Duncan's retreating direction.

Blood Axe-Nidron had abandoned everyone else and pursued him alone.

"Is he trying to fight me to the death?"

Duncan decisively stopped, turned, and drew his bow. An arrow tore through the air toward the enemy's head.

Buzz.

The instant the arrow cut through the air, Blood Axe-Nidron raised his shield to protect his head. The arrow lodged directly in the wooden shield.

Another guy whose physical abilities far exceeded those of ordinary people.

He ran faster than Duncan. If Duncan had not been alert enough to retreat in advance, he might have been caught in a heavy encirclement. With Duncan's current physical abilities, he still could not infiltrate exactly like Assassin's Creed. His method of infiltration was to eliminate every witness.

Once everyone was dead, no one would know he had infiltrated.

"What is this? Greater Berserk?"

The last time Duncan had encountered a similar enemy was the leader of a group of routed barbarians. That man had forcibly charged up to him through six or seven arrows, only to have his skull split open by Duncan's axe.

"Not easy to deal with!"

A cavalry unit had already charged out from the town gate. More than two hundred barbarian soldiers were gathering. They had been prepared in advance and were chasing after him with torches held high.

Blood Axe-Nidron clung tightly to Duncan's trail.

The two were only seventy or eighty meters apart. Duncan ran fast, but this guy ran even faster, as if he possessed inexhaustible stamina.

This had to be one of the barbarian tribe's finest Berserkers.

Duncan turned and fired another arrow. It struck the enemy in the abdomen, but the man did not even grunt. Instead, he pulled out another hand axe with his backhand. He had come prepared. Only the Franks favored throwing axes; the Saxons were not skilled at throwing them.

A sharp whistling tore through the air.

Duncan rolled away. The throwing axe landed where he had been standing, burying itself deep in the earth.

"That strength is insane!"

Duncan's Farron Throwing Axe had an effective range of only thirty or forty meters, yet the enemy could throw one fifty or sixty meters with such devastating force.

"He's using a two-handed axe like a one-handed weapon. I can't fight him head-on!"

Duncan stopped wasting time by pausing to draw his bow. Under the cover of night, he sprinted directly toward the woods.

Behind Bloodaxe Nidlong were hundreds of pursuers. A squad of more than ten Saxon Pirate Riders had already caught up, though they could not yet determine his exact location and could only spread out to search. Around two or three hundred soldiers from Devon Town surged out carrying torches. They, too, split into several groups and closed in from different directions.

Moving like a cheetah, Duncan plunged headfirst into the dense forest.

Bloodaxe Nidlong did not hesitate. He charged in after him. If he lost Duncan now, catching him again would be difficult.

Beneath the night sky, within the lush forest.

Once inside the woods, Duncan was no longer anxious at all. He leaped up onto a small slope, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the relentlessly pursuing enemy.

Whoosh!

The arrow tore through the air.

Under God's Eye View, Duncan could see as clearly as he could in daylight. Bloodaxe Nidlong heard only the whistle of the arrow, and then pain erupted in his knee the next second, making him stagger. Even with armor protecting him, an injured kneecap severely hindered his movement. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out the arrow.

"Come out!"

"Let's have a fair fight!"

"Under Thor's witness."

"Let's see who the true warrior is!"

Bloodaxe Nidlong roared like a wounded beast, but Duncan remained unmoved. Watching the barbarian riders rapidly approach from outside the forest, he shifted position once more and fired an arrow into the enemy's back.

Pfft.

Blood spilled out.

Bloodaxe Nidlong wore heavy armor, yet even after taking two arrows, he remained ferocious. Using the faint starlight to lock onto Duncan's position, he sprinted forward and hurled the decapitation axe in his hand.

Bang!

The decapitation axe struck the large tree beside Duncan, nearly embedding itself several centimeters into the trunk. Even its handle buzzed and trembled.

Bloodaxe Nidlong roared and suddenly accelerated. Without a weapon, he raised his shield instead and pounced on Duncan like a starving tiger upon a lamb, trying to engage him in close combat.

Duncan retreated lightly, leaping down the slope before drawing his bow again.

Pfft.

An arrow struck Bloodaxe Nidlong's right leg. At such close range, the Northern War Bow shot straight through his leg armor.

Clang!

Oathkeeper flashed with cold light. Duncan moved like lightning. As the enemy charged in, his blade pierced through the arm guard, leaving a bone-deep wound near the wrist.

Bloodaxe Nidlong let out a muffled groan of pain and swung his shield at Duncan. The tremendous blow howled through the air, but it missed completely. The shield shattered, smashing only the nearby rocks to pieces.

Duncan was far more agile than him.

In the darkness, Duncan possessed innate Darkvision. His figure moved like a butterfly flitting among flowers. He stepped forward and thrust, driving his blade into the enemy's right shoulder.

The outcome had been decided.

Bloodaxe Nidlong had lost the use of both legs and one hand.

After only a few exchanges, the barbarian warrior, as savage as a beast, staggered unsteadily, no longer possessing the terrifying momentum he had at the start.

Duncan never fought him head-on.

The Farron Throwing Axe flew from his hand. From less than five meters away, it cleaved into the opponent's chest.

"Cough... cough..."

Bloody froth sprayed from his mouth.

Bloodaxe Nidlong could no longer move. Half-kneeling on the cold ground, he looked at Duncan with unwillingness and fury filling his face.

His berserk state was probably about to fade.

He was still alive only because of the berserk state's unusual power. Duncan stood where he was and fired three more arrows to finish him off. Only after the enemy had entered a near-death state did he pull the decapitation axe from the tree trunk.

--Combat Style: Decapitation!

Blood spurted like a fountain.

Expressionless, Duncan swung the decapitation axe down. Bloodaxe Nidlong's savage head rolled onto the ground, while his headless corpse crashed down and blood splattered several meters away.

A cold wind swept past.

Like a ruthless hunter, Duncan cut off a branch and impaled Bloodaxe Nidlong's head upon it.

The sound of hoofbeats was already ringing out beyond the woods.

He did not linger for more kills. His agile figure slipped into the darkness and soon vanished into the vast night.

Several minutes later.

Groups of Barbarian soldiers entered the woods holding high their burning torches, only to find a headless corpse. At the site of the earlier battle, a savage head had been impaled on a wooden stake and nailed into the muddy ground.

Blood-Axe Nidron's hair and beard stood on end, his fury unmistakable. Even in death, his bloodshot eyes remained wide open like those of a vicious ghost.

He had died with his eyes open.

A terrified Barbarian Centurion tried several times to close Blood-Axe Nidron's ferocious eyes, but each time he did, the head's eyes opened again.

After an unknown amount of time.

The figure of a Valkyrie gradually emerged. No one else could see her, while she expressionlessly dragged away a furious and unwilling soul, soon vanishing into the night sky.

By then, Duncan had already retreated far away and still had the energy to inspect the abilities he had taken.

—"Tireless Carousing (Special Ability): The Germanic Barbarians loved drink and battle, while Thor of the Norse Pantheon was even more addicted to alcohol. Warriors favored by him would further strengthen their power after drinking heavily, while reducing their sensitivity to pain and temporarily enhancing their stamina and endurance. They would not truly become drunk, but would additionally trigger the negative status Reckless. Thor himself was also a reckless Deity." (Note: Many Barbarians worship the God of Wine, believing that drinking would strengthen their power.)

—"Greater Berserk (Advanced Ability): A branch of Adrenaline Burst, an advanced ability of the berserk state. Only the bravest warriors in battle could receive the blessing of a Deity and unleash strength beyond ordinary imagination. In legends, Thor often charged into enemy formations alone, and he favored those fierce Barbarian warriors who ignored fear. Additional negative status: Fury. Charges ahead on its own and ignores fear."

(Note: Thor possessed the greatest brute strength among the Norse Gods. Only Barbarian Warriors who worshiped him could enter an even deeper berserk state.)

The Norse Pantheon truly worshiped brute force.

Duncan looked at the two abilities he had just taken. He had not expected the gains to surpass even those from killing the King of Kent.

"Was it because, in legend, the Norse Pantheon's main enemies were Giants?"

Duncan felt that it might have something to do with the mythological system. Many of the Barbarian Warriors' supernatural abilities were simply miracles born of sheer strength.

"If I'd fought him hand-to-hand, he might have had a chance to pull off a miracle with brute force."

"But why would I wrestle a berserk Barbarian for no reason?"

Duncan was no fool. The enemy was obviously in a berserk state, so naturally he had to avoid the edge of his assault and wait until the enemy's bloodlust and courage had run dry before making his move.

Though every archer had the heart of a melee fighter, now was not the time.

The night had grown deep.

Duncan continued retreating until there were no enemy units nearby, then finally slowed to a stop.

Hmm?

Why was it getting foggy?

Having just shaken off his pursuers, Duncan suddenly noticed that mist had risen all around him at some unknown point. Even the swamp in the distance flickered in and out of sight beneath the fog.

"Something's wrong!"

Under God's Eye View, Duncan stared intently at his surroundings and discovered that the projected map was undergoing some sort of change.

The forest was gradually disappearing, replaced by mist that blanketed the entire map!

"Where's that sound of water coming from?"

Duncan vaguely heard water, along with the sound of oars cutting through it. When he passed through the mist, a lake appeared before him. He remembered there being no rivers or lakes anywhere nearby at the start.

—Avalon in the Mist [Blessed Land]!

Under God's Eye View.

Everything in the projected image began overlapping with reality, as though two different spaces were slowly merging bit by bit. Some powerful supernatural force had opened the entrance to a mysterious realm here.

Avalon was a sacred land in Celtic Mythology and the central faith of the ancient Druid religion.

It was also the final resting place in the legends of King Arthur, the paradise of the Otherworld, said to be guarded by nine fairies.

Avalon in the Mist of Irish mythology, Tir na nOg, the Garden of the Hesperides of Greek mythology, and the Garden of Eden of Jewish mythology—these places were all legendary realms beyond reality.

"Something like a Blessed Grotto?"

"A plane outside the real world?"

That was all Duncan could guess, because Eastern mythology also had places that did not belong to the real world. This was the end of the Mythological Era, and the last territory of ancient Celtic Mythology was Britain Island.

A small boat slowly appeared ahead.

—Thetis (Lady of the Lake) (fairy) (elf) (Three-Star Silver-Gray).

The small boat came ashore.

Under the gradually brightening moonlight, a beautiful woman appeared, dressed in a white gown and resembling a Nymph from Ancient Greek mythology. She smiled and bowed to Duncan, gesturing for him to board the boat.

Celtic Mythology had become extremely weak by now. As a legendary Guardian Fairy, she was not even as powerful as a Valkyrie.

After hesitating for a moment, Duncan stepped directly onto the small boat.

Avalon in the Mist.

The final sacred land of the ancient Druid faith. Duncan also wanted to know what had become of the myths and legends.

The mist gradually enveloped everything nearby.

The small boat traveled deeper into the mist across the lake. After an unknown amount of time, an island appeared in Duncan's sight.

By the riverbank.

Five beautiful and captivating Ladies of the Lake, each with distinct features, were waiting. Behind them stood many wondrous creatures that looked like fairies.

From God's Eye View.

In Duncan's projected image, the label in the corner of the interface had changed from "Real World" to "Avalon in the Mist (Blessed Land)."