Chapter 43: Surprise Attack and Capture of the City! The Might of a Sweeping Victory! (Bonus Chapter for One Thousand Average Subscriptions)

Night fell.

Anya felt completely refreshed and revitalized after making full use of her supernatural abilities.

Inside the command tent.

Duncan was equipped with his bow and sword. The Raven Queen, Triss, was tenderly straightening his armor. When her fair fingers brushed against the red mark on Duncan's neck, she could not help casting a sideways glance at him, murmuring in a reproachful tone, "With a major battle looming, how can you be so indulgent?"

This must have been Anya seducing her lord; once she returned, she would have to deal with her properly.

Nearby, Anya was kneeling halfway to fasten Duncan's tassets. Hearing this, she trembled slightly, as she genuinely harbored a bit of fear toward the Raven Queen, Triss.

Duncan grasped Triss's pale, delicate hand and smiled apologetically. "It was my own weakness for beauty; it has nothing to do with her."

"It is of no consequence."

"Consider it merely stretching my muscles in advance."

Upon hearing this, Anya's peach-blossom-like eyes instantly grew moist and shimmering, making her yearn to serve him thoroughly once more.

The Raven Queen, Triss, glared at him, finished dressing Duncan in his ranger chainmail, and said in a solemn tone, "Since we are venturing deep into enemy territory alone, if things go awry, retreat immediately."

She remained somewhat apprehensive.

Triss did not yet know that Duncan had fought his way in and out of Devon all by himself. Although she had heard rumors, the details were known to only a tiny handful of people.

Duncan patted the back of her hand and said, "Do not worry, I know what I am doing."

Southampton was not some heavily fortified citadel. With his god-eye perspective guiding him, no one would be able to stop him if he chose to leave.

He had already fought his way through Valhalla itself!

What was this by comparison?

It was a pity Anya had not been in the audience at Valhalla at the time.

Severus had already transformed into his animal form and slipped inside. Duncan prepared to march straight in alone, capture the city gates to let his forces in, secure the gates with a small elite unit first, and then unleash the main army.

Everything had to happen swiftly!

Tonight, under the magic of the Raven Queen, Triss, a light mist had materialized around Southampton.

She possessed the power to change the weather.

The last time they encountered Saxon pirates at sea, it had been Triss who shifted the wind direction. Aside from direct combat, her magic had immense utility elsewhere. It felt rather like the sorcery used by Yellow Turban generals in the historical strategy games he used to play.

Through the god-eye perspective.

Duncan’s figure slipped into Southampton. On a rooftop chimney not far away, a raven was marked with the tag 'Druid - Severus'.

"There are quite a few enemies."

Duncan glanced at the marked units on the projection interface. Near the gates of Southampton were three centuriae of troops: one directly stationed on both sides of the city gates, and the other two taking turns on patrol rotation. They were heavily guarded, presumably because having suffered losses in Devon, they had reinforced their defenses here.

"Wind of Magic detected!"

On the projection interface of the dimensional space, a line of characters appeared and quickly vanished.

This indicated that the dimensional space had captured the Raven Queen, Triss, in the act of casting a spell.

Before Duncan unlocked his mana bar, he had received no such prompts. Only after acquiring a mana bar and mastering 'Runes' did these spell-identification-like prompts begin to appear.

Moreover, within the projection interface, an invisible wind of magic could be seen swirling.

Previously, the projection image merely looked a bit blurred, but now the wind of magic was clearly visible, making it possible to discern the approximate location of the casting unit.

This was immensely useful, as Duncan could now pinpoint hidden spellcasters.

"As my abilities improve, the power of the god-eye perspective is also strengthening."

——Slumber Curse (Ritual Magic).

At the feet of the Raven Queen, Triss, a strange ritual circle shimmered into existence. She grasped an ancient emblem, her voice melodic like that of a siren, though audible to only a very few. Soon, the guards grew drowsy, their consciousness blurring as they collapsed on the spot.

According to ancient Greek mythology, sirens were said to control others with their voices.

"It is time for me to act!"

Duncan narrowed his eyes, a murderous intent welling up. He signaled to Severus, mouthing the words: "Set fire."

Severus was a wounded unit.

The Sanctuary of the Hidden Brotherhood had severed two of his fingers, significantly diminishing his combat effectiveness in direct engagement. According to the plan, if the enemy discovered them prematurely, Severus would seize the opportunity to start a fire, creating chaos and buying time for Duncan to let the main army in.

*Clang.*

His sharp sword left its scabbard.

Duncan’s figure moved like a ghost, slipping in silently before slitting the throat of a sleeping enemy.

*Swish!*

He nocked an arrow and shot down the guard on the watchtower with a single bolt.

Immediately afterward, Duncan sprang forward like a hungry tiger descending upon a flock, the Oathbreaker in his hand tracing cold arcs of light as he easily dispatched over a dozen men. Assisted by the magic prepared in advance by the Raven Queen, Triss, dealing with these ordinary soldiers felt as effortless as slaughtering chickens.

"Open the gates!"

Within mere minutes, the air around the city gates was thick with the stench of blood.

Through the god-eye perspective, Duncan didn’t even need to search for targets; he simply eliminated the marked enemy units one by one.

——Gaul Warrior (1 Star).

——Polytheistic Temple Guard (2 Stars).

——British Elite Infantry (1 Star).

In the darkness.

A troop of several dozen men was rapidly approaching. Because Duncan had cleared the watchtowers beforehand, no one had noticed a thing.

It was now the dead of midnight, the hour when the enemy was most exhausted.

*Creeeak!*

A heavy wooden city gate swung open, and the elite troops under Duncan's command surged in, quickly securing the street entrances on three sides. The entire process took less than ten minutes. The Gaul warriors who charged in were even more tense than Duncan, running out of breath and pushing themselves to the absolute limit just to secure the gates as fast as possible.

Duncan was the core pillar of everyone!

Such a dangerous mission should not have fallen to him, but since his strength was the greatest, everyone else would risk their lives to ensure his safety.

They were effectively Duncan's personal guard, the kind who would fight to the death at a critical moment.

A signal!

A faint flicker of firelight danced in the distance.

Soon, a large army began moving rapidly through the darkness toward Southampton—Triss knew the city gates had been secured.

"Fire!"

"Someone come and put it out!"

Cries of alarm echoed from afar.

This was Severus's signal. If patrol guards approached, he would immediately start a fire to cause a distraction and buy a little more time.

In fact, he was the one shouting at the top of his lungs for people to put out the fire.

Success.

Everything had gone safely and smoothly, even better than Duncan had anticipated.

"Charge!"

Blades flashed from their scabbards.

Over a dozen Gaul warriors wielding shields rushed forward, hacking down a patrol that had detected the anomaly. Soon, a larger commotion erupted, plunging the entire city of Southampton into complete chaos.

"The enemy has broken in!"

"The city gates have fallen!"

The thunder of galloping cavalry rang out. Duncan's general's guard, joined by over a dozen light cavalry, charged straight through the city gates, rampaging through the dark streets and wiping out small pockets of patrolling soldiers.

The British legions poured in, instantly seizing control of the gate guard posts.

"Recapture the gates!"

Amidst the firelight not far away, panicked enemies hastily donned armor and rallied their troops. Before they could fully assemble, Duncan shot down an elite Saxon axeman with a single arrow, then led a two-hundred-strong elite force straight toward the harbor.

Seize the ships!

All these warships belonged to him now!

Corigan led the British legions in an attack from the north, cutting their way through the streets toward the barracks, while Duncan led a detachment of elites straight to the harbor from the south, slaughtering the small garrison stationed there and capturing the entire fleet of Saxon pirate warships in one fell swoop.

The enemy forces throughout Southampton had thrown themselves into chaos like headless flies.

Those with quick reactions broke through the city gates in other directions and fled into the night, while the slow ones were practically trapped in a pocket. Organized units near the barracks began throwing down their weapons and surrendering; by the time they heard the commotion, the enemy was already upon them, and they hadn't even had time to put on their armor—surrendering was their only option to avoid immediate death.

"No wonder night raids on enemy camps in ancient times achieved such glorious results!"

A contemplative look appeared on Duncan's face.

This battle had gone far too smoothly. He hadn't even needed to exert his full strength; it felt as though the enemy had completely unraveled on their own and ultimately collapsed into a total rout and surrender.

"The enemy's command system has completely collapsed."

Under the cover of night.

A hundred or two enemy elites attempted to regroup, but Duncan picked off a few of their officers with arrows, throwing them into immediate confusion before they routed and surrendered. Even more chose to surrender because the pitch-black darkness left them with no idea where to run.

As dawn broke, the entirety of Southampton was firmly under Duncan's control.

"Six hundred men launched a night raid against over two thousand."

"Two to three hundred killed."

"The rest completely routed, and over fifteen hundred prisoners captured."

"Our own casualties amounted to a mere eight men."

The victory was so glorious that even Duncan found it hard to believe. Those eight casualties occurred because they had charged too fiercely and been surrounded by the enemy.

The casualties were essentially limited to Gaul warriors who carried the 'potential unauthorized charge' tag.

A resounding victory!

This was the smoothest and most successful major victory Duncan had fought since crossing over into this world!

Armaments, rations, warships, and various supplies plundered by the Saxon pirates from others—the gold and jewelry alone filled over a dozen chests. They contained a mix of gold and silver, many women's trinkets, silver utensils, and even a pure silver crucifix.

There was no telling how many people the Saxon pirates had looted to accumulate such a vast fortune.

This raid made even Anya's delicate body tremble slightly at the sight.

"There's no need to wait for me to liquidate the lands and manors near Rome; the wealth plundered by these pirates is more than enough to establish our foundation!"

The Saxon pirates had spent years plundering, only for Duncan to reap the rewards in a single sweep.

In the dungeons.

The Raven Queen, Triss, released dozens of young, beautiful British slave women. This was the lord's manor of Enfeith, the Possessor of Virgins.

The fellow had risen as a pirate, and after his death, his wealth had fallen into the hands of his subordinates.

When Duncan captured the city, they were still reveling, enjoying the legacy left behind by Enfeith, only to be wiped out in one fell swoop.

A dozen or so one- and two-star pirate commanders were shot dead by Duncan's volley of arrows.

These fellows died very cleanly, failing to inflict even a scratch on Duncan's forces and collapsing like limp noodles. He himself had shot down five or six of them single-handedly.

As the sky grew brighter.

Duncan inspected the entirety of Southampton, securing prisoners and dispatching troops to take over command. He sought out Corigan and asked, "How many warships are there?"

Corigan replied, his face flushed with excitement, "Over a hundred warships!"

"More than enough for us to take the Isle of Wight."

The enemy possessed pirate vessels, mostly small boats that could only hold a few dozen people, but with their sheer numerical advantage, they were fully capable of forming a naval combat force.

Duncan resolutely issued the order: "Have the men prepare."

"We take the Isle of Wight at dawn!"

Once Southampton was secured, their next target was the Isle of Wight, followed by an advance on Portchester Castle. Capturing that stronghold would secure an advanced military fortress for them.

If the Saxons wished to advance westward again, that fortress would act as an unmovable spike in their side.

The Kingdom of Kent had only been established a few years ago, yet Duncan had pushed straight through in a single campaign, effectively conquering nearly half the Kingdom of Kent.