Raid the Enemy's Home! (Six updates complete)

Training, rewards, reorganization.

Those who could still be saved were treated with everything they had; those beyond saving were given a final blade to end their suffering.

War was this cruel.

Duncan led his army to rest in Exeter for a day, then continued east with the reorganized force of over 2,600 men, closing in on Dorset, which the Saxons had occupied. Perhaps the two great victories had rekindled the Britons' courage to resist the Saxons, or perhaps Duncan's Legendary Points were continuing to spread their influence, but people gradually began joining his army voluntarily, bringing their own weapons and equipment.

By the time Duncan captured Dorset, his force had grown to over 3,000 men.

"The enemy abandoned the city and fled."

Clegane rode over and dropped to one knee before Duncan. "My lord. The Saxons have almost completely abandoned this place."

"The main force withdrew to Hampshire."

In the battle of Exeter, Duncan's army had beheaded more than a thousand men and captured six or seven hundred. Lacking cavalry to pursue the routed soldiers, roughly three thousand had escaped.

Most of Duke of Tintagel's troops were militia and Auxiliary Legion soldiers. Duncan did not dare send them in reckless pursuit, fearing that the militia would fall into disarray while chasing the enemy. If they had had another fresh force at the time, they might have captured one or two thousand prisoners and expanded their victory even further.

The militia of this era had poor combat strength. In open battle, a single charge would send them fleeing.

Duncan reined in his horse and stopped. "How many enemy troops are in Hampshire?"

"Are there any enemy reinforcements?"

He had killed the brothers Hengist and Horsa, dealing a devastating blow to the Jutes, one of the three Germanic branches, from which they had never recovered. Among the many invading barbarians, however, the Angles and Saxons still retained considerable strength and controlled most of the land in England.

"An estimated two or three thousand." Clegane shook his head. "But they should have no reinforcements. I heard the Picts have invaded again."

"They've already crossed Hadrian's Wall."

"The Saxon tribal chieftains are urgently raising troops to fend off the southward-moving Picts."

Hmm?

The native barbarians of Scotland had invaded again?

Duncan instantly realized that the situation greatly favored him. The Picts were one branch of the Celts—the savage branch mentioned earlier. It was said that they were exceptionally fierce and brutal in battle, so much so that even the proud Roman Legion feared them. Hadrian's Wall had been built to guard against their invasions and raids.

Many records described the way Pict Warriors fought as "terrifying as mad beasts." They also liked to cut off the heads of enemies they killed and hang them from their belts.

In the Total War series, the Britain faction had a bizarre unit called the British Head-Throwers, modeled after the Picts.

They really did have the custom of throwing human heads to Intimidate their enemies, though it was not particularly lethal. It was purely meant to frighten people and crush morale.

The moment they met, heads came raining down from the sky. Ordinary people truly could not withstand that.

The Saxons plundered the Britons, and the Picts plundered the Saxons.

This was basically the food chain evolving.

In the Medieval Era, the more barbaric a civilization was, the fiercer and more fearless its individual soldiers tended to be. Lives were cheap, and the average lifespan was barely thirty. The Germanic Barbarians had run into the most brutal branch of the Celts. They had bitten into a hard bone this time.

Severus, standing nearby, said in a low voice, "This is an opportunity."

"We can seize Hampshire in one push."

If Duncan captured Hampshire and then expanded toward Wales, he would more or less restore Duke of Tintagel's territory to its former peak.

An opportunity like this could not be missed.

Duncan decisively ordered the army to quicken its march, with Hampshire as their target.

Mounted scouts spread out.

More intelligence soon returned. One enemy force was stationed at Portchester Fortress, a fortified stronghold built by the Roman Empire in the third century that had now fallen under Saxon control. Another force of roughly two thousand was stationed in the port town of Southampton. The scouts had also discovered a large number of Saxon warships around the Isle of Wight and Southampton.

"It's the fleet of Saxon Pirates!" Anya's eyes lit up.

Raven Queen Triss and Anya had caught up with the group that morning. Five former Temple Guards with One-Star and Two-Star strength had accompanied Triss. They had previously lived in seclusion in Gaul, and some had even joined another Exile Camp.

Duncan incorporated these former Temple Guards into the General's Guard. Their combat strength was enough to rival elite Roman Praetorian Cavalry.

Anya could not help looking at Duncan. "If we can seize their warships, then we won't have to fear pirate raids in the English Channel."

"We could even take the initiative and reopen Britain Island's maritime trade."

Duncan fell into thought at her words.

That fleet might belong to Virgin Taker Enfes, since he commanded a large number of elite Saxon Pirates.

The pirates had gone ashore to fight, so naturally their ships had remained near the harbor.

"If this raid on their home base succeeds..."

"We'll have a fleet too."

Duncan was naturally tempted, but how to fight was now the problem. The roles of attacker and defender had changed, and the Britons' legions would not find siege warfare easy. There were still too few elite troops. He did not even want to imagine how many militia would die in an assault, or how many units would suddenly suffer a morale collapse in the middle of battle.

In his battle against Horsa, they had been able to withstand so many waves of fierce assaults only because they had the advantage of defending a city. The militia and auxiliary infantry could be used like regular infantry.

Severus seemed to have guessed something. He said in a low voice, "I can find a way to open the city gates!"

Polymorph?!

Everyone present immediately thought of the Druid's Polymorph.

With Severus's abilities, sneaking into Southampton in the middle of the night should not have been a problem. The question was, how could he open the gates alone to let everyone else in?

At the critical moment, they would still need to deal with the guards near the gates.

Raven Queen Triss pondered for a moment, then said gravely, "I can cast a spell to put some enemies to sleep. With someone coordinating with me, we should be able to seize the gates."

Duncan turned to Triss and shook his head. "Not enough."

"There are at least a squad of elite soldiers at the gates."

"The two of you alone won't be able to handle them. I have to go personally."

With Duncan's current martial strength, one man could be regarded as a force of a hundred. With Severus's assistance, Triss casting spells, and a small number of Two-Star elites, they had every chance of taking the gates directly. Once they broke into the town, the battle ahead would become much easier. They could even take advantage of the chaos to seize the Saxon Pirates' warships.

Duncan immediately ordered, "Have Kevito gather the elite troops."

Unfortunately, Cú Chulainn was seriously wounded and still recovering. For this kind of battle, the Gaulish Vow Warriors were clearly more suited to it. The first-echelon Sword and Shield Champions were first-rate in a chaotic melee.

Anya nodded. "Then move quickly."

"Don't let those ships get away."

"With an escort fleet, I can fully revitalize trade along the entire coast of Britain."

She had not expected Duncan's rise to be so swift.

Now that Duncan had taken Hampshire, he controlled three counties and commanded several thousand troops. With the Saxon Pirates' warships added to that, he had completely opened up the connection between Britain Island and the European Continent. In the future, his territory's income would certainly have to rely on maritime trade.

Anya was selling off all the manor lands she owned on the Italian Peninsula. Once the funds came through, she would become the largest merchant operating from Britain to France, then Spain and North Africa. She could even run trade routes through the Mediterranean Sea.

Severus set out overnight to scout the enemy, while Duncan urgently assembled the elite troops. He personally selected every combat unit marked with a star.

Night fell.

Raven Queen Triss was preparing a unique spell. Apparently, this Sleep Spell required certain special casting materials before it could be used.

In Duncan's view, it was merely a low-tier Mass Sleep Spell. The restrictions on supernatural powers in the late mythological era were too severe. Even a Divine Selection like Raven Queen Triss needed all sorts of ritual materials to cast low-tier Magic.

He wondered what General of Heaven Zhang Jiao's spells had been like centuries ago. Could he simply shout, "Thunder God, aid me"?

Dimensional Space.

Duncan let his thoughts wander as he observed his second Human Form.

He was afraid that his Human Form would be gone before the Dragon Egg even hatched.

Fortunately, the ice cave where the Dragon Egg was buried was well hidden. It was pitch-black, sealed off on all sides, with no adult dragons tending to it and no other creatures approaching. It was probably an abandoned dead egg. The entire ice cave was only three meters in diameter, with just one Dragon Egg inside. Thick ice surrounded it, and he had no idea what lay beyond.

Duncan checked on it whenever he had time. Since the Dragon Egg had not fully hatched and the Dragon Hatchling's body inside had yet to fully form, he could not enter it for the time being.

"It looks like Dimensional Space can possess different species."

"If even dragons work..."

"Then Demons? Angels? Elves? Vampires?"

"They should all work."

"I just don't know what conditions are needed to acquire a Human Form."

"It can't be something mystical, can it?"

For Duncan, his first nonhuman Human Form being a dragon was like pulling an SSR. There was no way he would give it up easily.

Wasn't it just soul compatibility?

At worst, he could practice walking on all fours like a dragon. If that still did not work, he could directly control it through Dimensional Space from God's Eye View. In any case, he could now turn one Human Form into an autonomous proxy. Compared to a Human Form of the human race, a nonhuman dragon Human Form clearly started at a far higher level.

"Nineteen days left. That's enough time for me to take Hampshire and establish a foothold on Britain Island."

Soft footsteps sounded.

Anya sneaked in. Duncan thought she wanted a midnight snack, so he consciously entered his Human Form, preparing to practice his drilling tactic.

But the moment Anya settled into Duncan's lap, she nibbled at his ear and giggled. "I have some news."

"I wonder if you'd be interested?"

Duncan looked up in confusion, his hand kneading dough. "What news?"

Anya's breathing quickened slightly as she breathed into his ear. "I secretly bribed an attendant by Duke of Tintagel's side."

"I learned a recent secret."

In Anya's eyes, Duke of Tintagel was nothing more than a stepping stone. If he refused to submit to Duncan, he would have to be dealt with sooner or later. She had already begun making preparations in advance. She was clearly better suited to playing the villain.

After all, they said a woman's heart was the most venomous. She was not afraid of earning a bad reputation.

Of course, she would not let Duncan know about any of this yet. After all, he was the Britain hero standing in the spotlight.

Anya gasped softly and bit Duncan's ear. "After Duke of Tintagel returned to recover from his injuries..."

"One day, he suddenly flew into a rage and even executed several guards."

"Then he imprisoned the Duchess."

Huh?!

Elemental Perception.

Duncan looked up warily, as if something had occurred to him.

Had the truth come out?

Could King Arthur really be gone just like that? Duke of Tintagel very likely knew someone had raided his home!

Otherwise, he would not have suddenly imprisoned the Duchess.

Had Anya already become this powerful and well-connected? Just how many people around Duke of Tintagel had she bribed?