Chapter 11: The Hunnic Eagle Shooter

Pannonian Plain.

The empire conquered this place in 14 BC and designated it as a province. The approximate range of the Pannonian province is today's Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and other regions, belonging to the central part of Europe.

"It seems the empire's Duonaohe defense line can no longer hold."

Deng Ken looks at the desolate village in the distance, almost devoid of people, his brows slightly furrowed. If the Pannonian province also falls, the enemy can drive straight into the heart of the empire.

The Roman Empire possessed the longest and most complex border in ancient history, among which the defense lines of three major rivers were particularly important: the Laiyinhe, the Duonaohe, and the Euphrates. Among them, the Euphrates is in eastern Syria, which can be considered the boundary of the Middle East. The Laiyinhe defense line faces numerous Germanic tribes; at the peak of the empire, it had conquered most of Greater Germania. The Duonaohe can be considered the most difficult and vulnerable place to defend, facing a complex array of barbarian enemies, and it is also the only major river with a freezing period in winter.

This might not be intuitive to say, but describing it with another sentence makes it very clear.

The barbarians have already crossed the Yellow River.

The empire is now almost equivalent to losing the natural barriers of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, and in the Central Plains, it is flat and open, allowing for a direct drive.

The cawing of crows sounds.

Beside Deng Ken, the witch gazes at the forest in the distance and says softly: "This place seems to have been sacked."

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.

Although the historical trajectory of the parallel world is different, the general trend of the empire's twilight cannot be changed. The border defense lines along the Duonaohe are all garrisoned by barbarian troops, and the proportion of barbarian-born soldiers in the army has reached more than half. In recent years, the barbarians integrated into the empire could not bear the oppression and rose up one after another, and military mutinies were a common occurrence.

"Accepting Ka Tusi's invitation is clearly not a wise choice."

Deng Ken feels that joining the barbarians has more of a future than joining the empire.

He turns his head to look at the witch half a horse's length behind him and says in a deep voice: "Where is the guide you mentioned?"

To cross the European continent to the British Isles, a guide is indispensable, and now the empire is engulfed in the flames of war everywhere, and one might be drawn into it if not careful. As a man, Deng Ken is slightly better off, at most being forcibly conscripted by the army, while as a woman, especially one with a beauty that could topple cities, it is hard to imagine what kind of encounters the Raven Queen, Te Lisi, might have.

In such a turbulent era, just traveling alone would lead to countless troubles and dangers.

"Gao Lu."

The witch replies: "He is a Druid of the Gauls, who has traveled to many places, and now he lives in seclusion in a village near the Alps."

Deng Ken is just about to speak when his brows suddenly lock, and he says in a deep voice: "Careful!"

"The situation ahead is not right!"

He picks up a quiver and throws it to the witch beside him, then takes down his Northern War Bow, his gaze fixed on the forest in the distance. At a fork in the road, the cawing of crows comes from the woods, followed by startled birds and beasts.

A burst of hoofbeats comes from afar.

At a distance of several hundred meters, more than ten riders appear in sight. After seeing Deng Ken and the other from afar, they shout excitedly and then drive their horses to surround them.

"Enter combat state!"

Under the God's Eye view, Deng Ken sees the appearance of these cavalrymen clearly.

They are short and stocky, with round and large heads, wide faces, high cheekbones, flat noses, thick beards, and wear one earring. Except for a lock of hair left on the top of their heads, the rest is shaved off. Their eyebrows are very thick, and their eyes are like protruding almonds.

Many of these enemies wear loose robes split on both sides to the calves, short fur cloaks on their shoulders, leather hats on their heads, trousers tightened at the ankles with a leather belt, and quivers tied at their waists.

"Damn! Huns?" Deng Ken's face changes.

He absolutely cannot be mistaken, because the enemies have facial features clearly different from Europeans, and that attire is very close to the nomadic peoples of the Western Regions, appearing out of place compared to the other riders in the team.

The Raven Queen, Te Lisi, also says with a solemn expression: "It is the Huns."

"They are all very powerful mounted archers!"

Unlike the enemies encountered before, this small squad of enemy cavalry actually has quite a few one-star marks, and among them, there is even a two-star silver-gray leader unit.

——Alan auxiliary army.

——Gothic auxiliary riders.

——Hunnic nomadic riders.

——Hunnic elite mounted archers 【One Star】!

——Hunnic Eagle Shooter 【Two Star】!

These enemies are harder to deal with than the Pamitian rangers encountered before. More than half of the Hunnic cavalry are one-star units, and that Hunnic leader marked as an Eagle Shooter is even better equipped. He wears a hard leather fur hat, chainmail, leggings and nomadic boots on his feet, a saber at his waist, a war bow on his back, and two quivers at his side—one with heavy arrows for melee and one with light arrows for long-range.

It can be said that except for the helmet being slightly inferior, this guy's equipment is enough to rival the Mongol iron cavalry that would conquer the west hundreds of years later.

The Eagle Shooter is the most elite sharpshooter of the Huns.

"Records of the Grand Historian," Volume 109, Biography of General Li: The Xiongnu invaded Shangjun in large numbers, and the Emperor sent a court official to follow Li Guang to learn military tactics and fight the Xiongnu. The official led dozens of cavalrymen, galloping, and encountered three Xiongnu. They engaged in battle. The three Xiongnu turned and shot, wounding the official and killing almost all his cavalry. The official fled to Li Guang. Li Guang said: "These must be Eagle Shooters."

Translating this passage: The Xiongnu invaded Shangjun in large numbers, and the Emperor sent a court official to follow Li Guang to learn military tactics and fight the Xiongnu. This official led dozens of cavalrymen, galloping, and encountered three Xiongnu. They engaged in battle. The three Xiongnu turned and shot, wounding the official and killing almost all his cavalry.

The official fled to Li Guang, and Li Guang said: "These must be Xiongnu Eagle Shooters." 【Eagle Shooters recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian, the top mounted archers of the Xiongnu.】

This is truly encountering a ruthless character.

With Deng Ken's current strength, even with the God's Eye view activated, it is almost difficult to defeat them.

The Huns' riding skills are very high, and even if they ride horses to escape, they might not be able to get away. The witch beside him has riding skills similar to his own, and the opponent's warhorses are clearly better. This is the Pannonian Plain; if they are really caught, they will likely be shot into hedgehogs.

"Retreat!"

Deng Ken immediately turns his horse's head to run. The witch's reaction speed is also very fast, and she quickly follows: "The Huns have high riding skills, we probably can't run away."

"Do you have any plans?"

The distance is shortening bit by bit.

At this rate, being caught by them is only a matter of time.

Deng Ken ponders for a moment, gazes at the witch beside him, and says in a deep voice: "Do you have any way to seriously injure or directly kill one or two enemies?"

He does not know enough about the witchcraft of this world.

But judging by his experiences during this period, those wizards with supernatural powers are not as powerful as to be inhuman. The forest banshee was only one star, and he estimates he could single-handedly kill her. And according to some legendary content he has heard, many monsters were killed by mortal knights and warriors. Supernatural power in this world is more of a rather strange means of attack.

The witch thinks for a moment and says: "I can make their warhorses go mad."

"Pray for Diana's guidance, let the arrows hit the enemy, but it may not hit the vital parts."

"Other witchcraft requires rituals and spellcasting, and there is simply no time to perform them."

To fight or not to fight?

In the Dimensional Space, Deng Ken is constantly observing the changes in the enemy's formation. Because they are pursuing them, those Hunnic cavalrymen have clearly dispersed a lot. The foreign auxiliary troops conquered by the Huns have fallen far behind, and those who have caught up are basically Hunnic mounted archers with higher riding skills and better warhorses.

In this way, the enemy's team has been pulled apart. A two-star Hunnic Eagle Shooter and five one-star Hunnic mounted archers are clearly fifty or sixty meters ahead of the cavalry behind, and the entire team has been separated.

There is a chance!

Deng Ken turns back to test the "Parthian Shot," which is a mounted archery technique looted from the Pamitian rangers. Although the aiming crosshair in the projection screen is slightly shaking, it is still within his feel.

"If I win and seize the Eagle Shooter's ability."

"Then."

"I will be equivalent to possessing the combat skills of the top mounted archer of this era."

"This wave can directly promote me to the first-tier level of mortal martial prowess in the Middle Ages."

Deng Ken has long discovered that his looting ability requires him to kill some powerful enemies head-on to improve rapidly, because he cannot loot combat skills that the enemy does not possess. During the night raid, he killed quite a few barbarian stragglers, but the skills he gained were only three, not even as good as the loot from killing the Pamitian rangers.

Clearly, once he has looted all the combat skills mastered by the barbarian stragglers, he cannot gain new abilities and can only improve some of the most basic combat techniques.

It must be something the enemy has for him to loot.

"Fight!"

Running away might not work, and it's harder to fight when people and horses are exhausted. It's better to look for an opportunity to turn back and strike; maybe he can counter-kill a wave.

Deng Ken acts as if he has a third eye, galloping in the lead. He seems to be extremely familiar with the terrain here, relying on ordinary riding skills and carrying a witch, he manages to leave those elite Hunnic cavalry behind.

The distance between the enemy teams is getting larger and larger, and the Hunnic mounted archers have already left the other auxiliary troops one or two hundred meters behind.

Six against one, the advantage is with me.

As long as the man is killed, the woman can be snatched back for fun.

"The forest terrain ahead can be used for a wave!"

There is a relatively sparse forest at the fork in the road ahead. Deng Ken calculates the distance and says directly to the witch beside him: "In the blind spot of the forest, we turn in and ambush them."

"You make their horses go mad."

"It would be best to seriously injure or make that enemy wearing the fur hat fall off his horse, and leave the rest to me!"

"Leave immediately after the fight."

"The south side of the forest can circle back to the main road, they can't catch up with us."

Map fully revealed.

Deng Ken overlooks the entire battlefield at this moment, and even the retreat route has been chosen.

The Raven Queen, Te Lisi, has a surprised expression. She even turned her head to take a look, and only then did she find the enemy wearing the fur hat, who looks like the leader of these Huns.

The witch nods, whispering faintly, and crow calls come from the direction of the forest.

Deng Ken falls slightly behind, letting the witch walk in front.

"Now!"

"Into the forest."

The two separate left and right. The witch rides into the forest, and Deng Ken turns into the enemy's blind spot, pulls the reins tight to slow the warhorse down, then stands sideways, nocks an arrow, and aims at the enemies chasing from outside the blind spot.

He absolutely cannot win in a head-on shooting match, so he can only use a blind spot to catch the enemy off guard and grab the initiative.

Eagle Shooter.

Just this title alone puts considerable pressure on him.

"Do it!"

A gust of wind suddenly blows on the flat ground, and there seems to be the cawing of crows in the air. At this moment, Deng Ken seems to feel something, and a subtle change occurs in the projection screen, as if invisible magic is interfering with reality.

The warhorses neigh and go mad. The chasing Hunnic riders are shocked and cannot control the frightened and chaotic warhorses at all.

Two fall off their horses.

The others are also almost thrown off. The only exception is that Hunnic Eagle Shooter, who instantly hugs the warhorse's neck, clamps his stocky legs tight, and exerts force with the muscles on his arms, holding the warhorse so tightly that the mad horse slowly crawls down powerlessly.

"Is this still a human?!" Deng Ken is shocked.

Reality is reality after all. There are few archers who can draw a strong bow who are weaklings, and they are basically fierce men in melee combat.

Whoosh!

Just then, a sharp arrow shoots out from the forest. The witch supports the arrow with her right palm, and the arrow breaks through the air in an instant, with power not inferior to a strong bow, catching people off guard. The Hunnic Eagle Shooter seems to have sensed it. Without seeing the witch at all, he relies entirely on combat instinct, and with an incredible angle, relying on amazing riding skills and agility, he actually dodges to the right side of the warhorse.

Pfft.

But the arrow shot by the witch using a curse has an extremely tricky angle, and the arrow still hits the Eagle Shooter's left shoulder. At the same time, he immediately feels his left shoulder go numb, and soon half of his body becomes a bit stiff.

"Wizard?!" (Hunnic language)

The Eagle Shooter's expression is horrified. In the process of invading Europe, the Huns wiped out many Germanic barbarian tribes. They burned, killed, and looted all the way, razed many barbarian temples to the ground, and snatched the gold and silver utensils worshipped in the temples.

The most prized trophy of this Eagle Shooter is a pure gold drinking utensil, which is said to have been a ritual vessel offered by the Gauls to the so-called "God of Wine." (Note 1: The Gauls have three major hobbies: drinking, horse racing, and gambling. Sucellus is the god of agriculture, wine, and forests worshipped by the Gauls.)

The Huns conquered and swept across Europe.

They have also encountered many wizards with strange abilities, most of whom were priests of Germanic barbarian tribes, but those means were not worth mentioning at all. Even wizards who dared to resist would be shot to death by them with volleys of arrows. Even when looting Greater Germania, dozens of their cavalrymen used warhorses to trample an old witch who could summon poisonous insects to death.

That witch killed one person and wounded two, then was trampled into a puddle of meat by their horses.

The Huns also have wizards.

They are proficient in spells and curses, and can also cure diseases. Strictly speaking, their wizards are closer to shamanism.

Of course, shamans who disobeyed the leader's orders would also be hacked to death.

Whoosh!

The arrow breaks through the air.

Deng Ken's target is very clear: the Hunnic Eagle Shooter. A sharp arrow hits the opponent's chest directly, but because the Eagle Shooter is wearing armor, it does not cause very serious damage.

——Hunnic Eagle Shooter 【Two Star】 (Poisoned) (Paralyzed).

Deng Ken's arrow is definitely not poisoned, so it must be the witch's witchcraft taking effect.

The Hunnic Eagle Shooter's figure suddenly becomes stiff.

Hit!

Deng Ken quickly nocks an arrow, not caring that a Hunnic mounted archer is aiming at him, and shoots another arrow, directly piercing the Eagle Shooter's head.

The enemy's health bar disappears instantly.

It seems the Huns are about the same as barbarians, with slightly stronger vitality than ordinary people, but hitting a vital part can still kill them instantly.

Several sharp arrows fly through the air.

One arrow suddenly deflects while flying toward Deng Ken, but the Hunnic mounted archer's archery is too strong. Even with the witch secretly protecting him, one arrow hits Deng Ken's back. He groans instantly and gallops along the planned retreat route.

"When will I be strong enough to catch arrows with my bare hands?"

In the Dimensional Space.

Deng Ken takes a look at the projection screen. His health bar has dropped by about one-fifth. Because he is wearing a short robe with studded leather armor underneath, this arrow only injured his skin and flesh and won't take his life.

——Parthian Shot!

Deng Ken turns back and draws his bow. The arrow breaks through the air. When using the skill, the aiming crosshair is more stable.

Bang!

One arrow, headshot.

A Hunnic mounted archer not far away dies on the spot, and his body falls from the horse's back.

The skill has no cooldown.

But the stamina bar consumes more.

——Parthian Shot!

Deng Ken turns again and shoots an arrow. In the whistling sound of breaking through the air, another Hunnic mounted archer who had just raised his bow to aim is headshot on the spot. His speed of aiming and shooting is completely crushed by Deng Ken. It is also shooting arrows, but Deng Ken comes with an aiming crosshair, almost one arrow per second.

Those Hunnic riders are instantly full of horror!

One against six.

Three dead, three wounded.

They didn't see the witch and thought Deng Ken killed three people in a row.

For a time, these Huns didn't dare to counterattack and fled in the direction of reinforcements.

Deng Ken doesn't pursue.

He retreats with the arrow wound, and just as he gallops, the Raven Queen, Te Lisi, rushes out of the forest and follows.

Deng Ken says with a surprised expression: "Why didn't you retreat from the south?"

According to the original plan, the witch would retreat to the rear from the southern forest path after taking action, and Deng Ken, relying on the God's Eye view, wanted to fight while retreating. He still had a chance to get away if he wanted to.

The witch rides to catch up, panting: "If I had retreated then."

"How could you deal with so many enemies alone?"

I'm still cheating.

Deng Ken ultimately says nothing, just taking a deep look at the witch.

……………… ===== CHAPTER 12 =====