Chapter Fourteen: Heresy! The Tribunal

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On the large map, the markers for the witch and the druid appeared. Duncan rode forward on three warhorses summoned to his side. The witch seemed to know roughly where he was and even waited ahead for him to approach. The Crow Queen—Triss—seemed to possess many incredible means, so Duncan wasn’t surprised she could track him.

In the recent battle, he had tried to avoid close combat as much as possible.

Anyone who’s played Mount & Blade or similar games in permadeath mode, facing reality head-on, knows this: before your character is fully trained, if you can shoot from horseback, avoid melee.

“With my current strength, I’m roughly equivalent to a high-ranking barbarian warrior.”

“In close quarters, I can at most take on three opponents at once.”

“Only a Witch Hunter like George, a three-star unit, might manage to fight off ten or more enemies at once.”

“But even such powerful supernatural beings, if surrounded by a cavalry unit, are likely doomed.”

From Duncan’s understanding of this world, the pinnacle of mortal combat was probably on par with Beowulf.

To reach that level of martial prowess, he’d likely have to keep fighting relentlessly; after all, Beowulf’s combat power was almost mythic.

——“Mastery of Throwing: You are skilled with throwing weapons such as axes, javelins, and throwing knives, greatly improving their accuracy.”

——“Shield Block and Parry Expertise: You excel at blocking and parrying with shields and are familiar with various types of shields. Gain extra combat skill: Shield Bash.”

——“Military Weapon Mastery: Proficient in using single-handed, two-handed, and pole weapons, increasing lethality when wielding non-monster weapons.”

——“Battle Style – Sweeping Strike: A combat technique of high-ranking barbarians, you excel at using two-handed weapons to inflict lethal damage to enemies within range, capable of cleaving foes in half with a single strike.”

The gains from this battle were decent.

However, there was no qualitative leap, likely because the enemy’s combat skills hadn’t surpassed the limits he’d already acquired. From now on, quantity would have to bring about quality. Duncan had only gained master-level archery after killing the Eagle Shooter; most other combat skills remained at proficient level.

This was normal—warriors of the Eagle Shooter’s caliber were scarce even in armies.

True combat masters were probably more common during the Roman gladiatorial era, over a hundred years prior, but after Christianity became the state religion, gladiatorial games were largely banned. Perhaps those ancient Roman champion gladiators possessed master-level melee combat skills.

Of course, true combat depends on many factors, the most crucial being armor and weapons. On the battlefield, unless one’s personal power is on the level of Xiang Yu or Lü Bu, even the best fighters can be overwhelmed by encirclement.

Speaking of Lü Bu, many of his exploits in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms are fictional, but the famous “Shooting the Halberd at the Gate” incident is actually true.

Duncan admitted he couldn’t pull that off yet; even with cheats, it was just luck.

“I wonder how many heads I’ll have to take to upgrade my next combat skill to master level.”

Master-level skills clearly marked the beginning of qualitative change.

Duncan and the witches continued their journey, racing toward Germania. Their destination was Belgica in Gaul, where the empire had established the Belgica province, though much of it was now Frankish territory.

Later, the Frankish foreign legion rebelled and founded the early Frankish Kingdom on this land.

Britain was relatively remote at the time.

There, the main threat was Saxon invasions, unlikely to be caught up in large-scale wars. Whether Duncan planned to pursue a lordly path or that of a ranger, he could take a breath and develop in the British Isles.

The British Isles’ geography was excellent.

While the rest of Europe descended into chaos, Britain remained relatively unaffected. Even if Duncan aimed to conquer and rule, uniting the British Isles would enable a counterattack on the continent at any time.

“Still, stick to the original plan—first go to Britain and see.”

“The next step.”

“The most important thing is the Nordic mythological monster, the troll. Gaining [Regeneration] ability from it would greatly increase my safety.”

Monsters were too few.

Duncan had crossed over for a long time but hadn’t heard many supernatural monster rumors.

Perhaps the less civilized Nordic regions had more.

Human enemies provided combat skills; supernatural monsters provided special abilities. One must grasp both firmly.

A real man must be tough.

Their intended destination roughly corresponded to later French areas like Calais and Dunkirk. From there, they could reach the British Isles. Geographically, it was in Belgica, but little Germania was already on the brink, liable to fall to barbarian attacks.

Greater Germania had no unified leader yet; many barbarian tribes collectively called Germans, warring among themselves.

But the Saxons were rising.

Decades ago, due to continuous Saxon attacks on the British province, the empire was forced to withdraw its last Roman legion.

In fact, they had long been incapable of defense.

Afterwards, the British Isles belonged to the Celts. The kingdom from Arthurian legend was likely one of the native small states, probably in the Welsh region.

In the legends, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table repelled Saxon invasions after twelve battles, maintaining peace for a time. But eventually, Anglo-Saxons conquered Britain, later developing into England.

After crossing the war zone, the party entered Frankish territory. The Franks were a branch of Germanic barbarians, divided into three tribes: the Salian, Ripuarian, and Chatti (Hessian).

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The Ripuarians had already been conquered by the Hunnic Empire.

“Up ahead should be Parisians,” Severus said, turning his head.

Parisians?

It was the ancient name for Paris. At this time, it was still a small settlement on the Île de la Cité, with only a few hundred inhabitants and an old town less than half a square kilometer.

Later, as the Roman Empire urbanized its conquered territories, Parisians grew to over ten thousand.

Britain also began urbanizing then, introducing the provincial capital concept, but these cities were later destroyed by Saxon invasions.

Many barbarian tribes sought to preserve the legacy of Roman civilization, but war caused widespread regression.

“Looks like productivity in this era is indeed very low.”

Duncan had seen bleak scenes all along. Romans had perfected urban water systems before the Common Era, yet towns along the way lacked decent drainage. Among the barbarians, the Franks were relatively advanced students of Roman civilization, but their farming remained primitive.

Nevertheless, early feudal manors had begun to appear.

The empire had basically lost control of the land. Most townsfolk were barbarians. The journey was far from peaceful; they encountered other barbarian raiders deep inland multiple times. Under pressure from the Hunnic Empire and population growth, more barbarian tribes flooded into imperial territory.

Parisians was a typical medieval small town.

The Franks were distinctly martial, true Gaulish roosters. Some wealthy free men dressed much like characters from the TV series Vikings. Yet many serfs and slaves were ragged. The barbarian warrior class was transforming into early feudal nobility, acquiring land through war and legal means.

“Is that a vineyard?”

Duncan’s group rode into town. Guards stopped them for questioning but caused no trouble thanks to Severus.

The Franks had learned irrigation, viticulture, and horticulture from Roman civilization. Compared to other barbarian tribes, they were rapidly developing, straddling civilization and savagery—laying the foundation for the later Frankish Kingdom.

They were one of the less drunken tribes and, after Christianization, soon gained Church support.

Parisians had drainage ditches, making the town relatively tidy—cleaner than medieval Paris, at least not reeking.

The current Salian Frankish leader was Childeric I, father of Clovis I, founder of the Frankish Kingdom. Later came Pepin the Short’s usurpation and the Carolingian era, culminating in Charlemagne—the medieval history phase.

Charlemagne was the King of Hearts in the deck of cards.

The town guard’s gaze lingered a moment on the witch’s shapely figure, swallowing involuntarily before letting them pass.

He dared not provoke Severus, whose attire marked him as no ordinary man.

The inn.

The Germanic inn was a prominent two-story wooden building with mud-plastered walls. The Franks retained some Germanic traditions: drinking, horse racing, and gambling.

The Germans were heavy drinkers, favoring mead and beer. Given enough alcohol, these barbarians could drink themselves to death.

The inn hall was chaotic, with drunkards boasting of having headshot a Hun knight with a Frankish throwing axe.

Severus led the way, exchanging words with the innkeeper. The group took a corner table. The witch deliberately sat deep inside to avoid attracting male attention.

She had partially bound her chest but couldn’t fully hide her figure.

To these barbarians, such a curvaceous woman was irresistibly attractive, even masked.

Soon, a slave brought food and drink—a dark-skinned female slave resembling an Egyptian, possibly a mixed-race descendant brought from Egypt by the empire.

The empire had many slaves. A few years ago, Burgundy had a slave and serf uprising, quickly and ruthlessly suppressed.

Architectural styles were backward in this era. Except for Italy and Greece, most of Europe, especially Gaul, had crude wooden houses. The inn resembled an inn among the northern Nords from Duncan’s previous Skyrim experience, perhaps even worse.

The benches creaked under one’s weight.

Duncan glanced at the witch beside him, then swept the inn’s patrons, whispering, “Has the person you’re looking for arrived?”

The Crow Queen—Triss—shook her head slightly.

“No, but my messenger has notified Anya. She should be nearby soon.”

Anya of Cologne, the Thorn Rose, was a co-founder of the witches’ coven. Unlike Triss, she was not a pagan priestess but had married a pagan imperial general descended from Emperor Julian the Apostate’s era.

After her husband’s sudden death, fearing persecution from the Church, Anya joined forces with other witches for protection, founding the coven.

Severus’s lineage was similar; his ancestors had served as generals under Julian the Apostate.

In a way, Emperor Julian the Apostate was the last great sage of paganism. His parting words revealed his wisdom.

(This would be a good time for a reader to copy those words into the chapter notes to save space. He was the last wise pagan emperor.)

This emperor loved only one person, cared for his people, promoted commoners, lived simply, and was humble and kind—a remarkable figure. During his Persian campaign, he burned his transports to commit to a decisive battle. When his army was trapped, he rode without armor to aid the rear guard but was likely assassinated by Christians, pierced by a spear.

Roman legions were the best spear users in Europe.

Though killed, he severely damaged the Persian army, killing two generals and over fifty nobles, leaving Sassanid Persia weakened and unable to confront Rome for a time.

Protected by many pagan priests, he died suddenly. His death marked the complete failure of paganism.

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Duncan nodded slightly and focused, entering the God’s Eye view.

——Frankish Elite Axemen (1-star).

——Saxon Forest Hunters.

——Gothic Caravan Guards.

——Visigoth Mercenary Soldiers (1-star).

In God’s Eye view, the units around the inn were neutral. No hostile red markers appeared. The marked ones were combatants; others were mostly peasants, slaves, or militias.

They posed little threat; a trained soldier could handle many.

The Hunnic Empire claimed a 500,000-strong army, but real soldiers were only around a hundred thousand, mostly low-level troops, with many slaves and auxiliary forces wielding basic weapons and no armor, just pushed into battle.

Since nothing urgent was happening, Duncan expanded his view to observe all of Parisians.

Blacksmith, quarry, inn, residences, commercial district, governor's mansion, vineyards—all marked clearly, revealing the town’s layout like a detailed map.

“The garrison is only about a hundred men. Looks like most have been redeployed.”

Nominally, the land still belonged to the empire, but it was beyond control. Imperial lords were like warlords. The Franks were still imperial foreign legionnaires, joining Visigoth cavalry to confront the invading Huns.

Duncan disliked the era’s food; it was hard to swallow. Only Roman Italian cuisine suited him. So, in God’s Eye view, he made his character wolf down food, activating the passive “Gluttony” ability.

Normally, eating a little to fill the stomach was fine, but to truly "gluttonize" was torturous.

Others in the inn quietly noticed him, as he consumed two days’ worth of food in one sitting.

The witch’s expression was subtle, surprised at his appetite but silently poured water and cut meat for him, like a caring maid. The Crow Queen—Triss—had always concealed her beauty, knowing it invited unwanted trouble in chaotic times.

After some time, Duncan’s God’s Eye view suddenly marked a unit.

——Witch—Anya (2-star) [Neutral].

After so long, Duncan again saw a marked supernatural “Witch” unit.

Hmm?

A two-star blank?

Not all witches bore the skull mark.

Duncan shifted the view toward Parisians’ gate, seeing a cloaked woman riding a horse, followed by three mounted guards.

——Sarmatian Foreign Riders.

——Private Mercenary Cavalry.

——Imperial Retired Guard Knights (1-star).

This must be the person the Crow Queen—Triss—was waiting for.

This witch was highly valued, from an old imperial noble family, ancestors who conquered Cologne. She needed Anya’s help to cross the sea to Britain.

However, after Emperor Julian’s death, pagan noble families’ power waned. Anya’s family had once commanded imperial field legions; the French noble title “Count” derives from this.

By medieval noble standards, she was a countess descended from Roman nobility.

At this time, witches had not yet faced the slanders of the later medieval period. Most were pagan priestly descendants; only nobles could serve as priests.

Many Roman emperors were high priests; Caesar was lifelong high priest.

Duncan suddenly put down his cup.

Soon after Anya’s arrival in Parisians, a small squad of red-marked units appeared and entered.

——Witch Hunter (1-star).

——Inquisitor (2-star).

——Hidden Assault Assassin (1-star, silver-gray).

——Monastic Order Monk (1-star, silver-gray).

——Monastic Order Templar [Blood of the Holy Grail] (2-star, silver-gray).

Damn!

In God’s Eye view, Duncan couldn’t help but swear quietly but remained calm on the surface. He drew his weapon and signaled two companions to leave first.

If they were trapped in the inn, the Inquisition would hack them to death.

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