Chapter 19: Recuperation! The Coming of Chaotic Times

Dimensional Space.

Although he was in a state close to a spiritual body, Deng Ken's nerves, which had been tense all day, could finally relax a bit.

Of course, he was still monitoring the projection screen to avoid any accidents while the human body was sleeping.

——Human Body No. 1 (Severely Fatigued) (Severe Bruising).

Those farmers were still quite honest; perhaps they had been scared by Deng Ken earlier, and they had no intention of escaping at all.

Deng Ken slept.

Raven Queen-Triss stood up with the support of the female slave and walked to the front of those farmers. Her expression was solemn, as if she were a sacred Roman priestess, and with a few words, she disciplined those farmers into submission, directly changing them from blue-marked units to green-marked units.

This meant they would obey orders.

The three farmers and one peasant woman began to clean up the corpses, trembling. Their expressions were fearful yet excited. They stripped those bandits naked, threw the corpses into the cave, and piled the clothes, weapons, coins, etc., in the corridor of the stronghold. Not a single person dared to embezzle anything privately.

Raven Queen-Triss promised them that they could take these things away in the future, except for the expensive items like silver coins, gold, and jewelry collected from the bandit stronghold.

For low-status peasants to possess gold was in itself a mistake.

To them, the clothes and food of those bandits were already very precious wealth, not to mention that Triss allowed them to take away the worthless copper coins. But they couldn't leave here for the time being; the peasant woman took care of Severus, and the three farmers cleaned the stronghold while helping to do some things.

These farmers were extremely respectful to Triss, even willing to kneel at the witch's feet to pray; it was unknown if they were believers of polytheism.

The witch Anya was quite interesting.

When the peasant woman wanted to serve her, she looked disgusted and disdainful, not wanting the other party to touch her at all. However, she took the initiative to ask for the female slave who followed behind Triss, let the female slave boil some water for her, and then washed her body in the small wooden house next door. She also naturally enjoyed the service of the female slave, letting the female slave wipe her back.

This witch was really strange; maybe it was the quirk of a Roman noblewoman.

Deng Ken didn't blink, staring at the projection screen, vigilant against those green-marked farmers suddenly rebelling. It had to be said that under his mental vigilance, those farmers were very honest.

Tsk tsk.

As expected of a witch, she was well-maintained; her skin was pink and tender, big and round, plump and perky, much better than the charming landlady next door in the memory of the original owner of Human Body No. 1. She didn't look like a married woman at all; no wonder she could make that retired Praetorian knight infatuated.

When his gaze fell on Raven Queen-Triss, Deng Ken couldn't help but be slightly startled.

In the stronghold corridor, Triss tore a piece of clean, soft cloth from the hem of her long dress, let the peasant woman boil some hot water, and then pushed the door open, slowly coming to the unconscious Deng Ken, using the damp cloth to carefully wipe the bloodstains and dirt on Deng Ken's forehead, neck, and arms.

She slightly unbuttoned Deng Ken's jacket, wiped the bloodstains on his chest, then put down the cloth, her fingertips subconsciously stroking Deng Ken's solid chest lightly.

This inadvertent skin contact seemed to bring the witch back to her senses. Her face flushed slightly, she stole a glance left and right, then used her slender palm to gently stroke Deng Ken's sleeping side face, her thumb brushing over his chiseled cheeks, his heroic thick eyebrows, then sliding over his high nose bridge, and resting lightly on his lips.

Should I wake up? Or not wake up?

Under the God's-eye view, Deng Ken was also a bit at a loss.

At this time, Human Body No. 1's brows furrowed slightly, as if feeling the disturbance during sleep. Raven Queen-Triss stood up as if electrocuted. She picked up the towel in a panic, picked up the water basin, and wanted to go out, but when she reached the door, she turned back, dampened the cloth, helped the sleeping Deng Ken take off his long boots, and wiped them slightly before closing the door.

Raven Queen-Triss stood at the door and took a deep breath, her face flushed, her expression flustered, as if she were a thief. She turned and entered the room next door, using the damp cloth to wipe the forehead of the heavily injured Severus. The Druid seemed to be running a fever, and the witch placed the wet towel on his forehead.

No.

That just wiped my feet!

Brother, I'm sorry.

By the time Deng Ken came back to his senses, Anya next door had already wiped her body, and he hadn't seen anything, just caught a glimpse of something big and white.

After this encounter, Deng Ken also relaxed a lot.

He discovered that staying in the Dimensional Space for a long time would make him feel very tired mentally, no, he should say, spiritually. But now Human Body No. 1 hadn't woken up yet and was in a state of severe fatigue, so he could only continue to stay in the Dimensional Space in a way close to a spiritual body.

"Is it because my soul is too weak?" Deng Ken guessed secretly.

He felt as if he had 'ascended in dimension'.

Compared to others in the real world, he seemed to be in a higher dimension, but he could only descend to the real plane in the form of a human body.

Wasn't there a saying in his previous life that perhaps Earth was just a playground for higher-dimensional life?

Ten minutes later.

Witch Anya also walked into the wooden house. She also gave people a sneaky feeling, and she even stole a glance at Triss's direction.

No!

What are you guys trying to do?

Anya crept to the unconscious Deng Ken, curiously looking up and down at the man in front of her, seemingly even commenting on him, whispering to herself: "He looks quite handsome."

"No wonder he could make Raven Queen-Triss's heart flutter."

"What a pity."

"She wants to keep her chastity for the goddess... Platonic love is very boring..."

"Might as well be my lover... Hehe..."

The tiger-wolf words of a married young woman.

This gorgeous witch was even bolder. Seeing Deng Ken unconscious, she first touched his face, then touched his chest muscles, then glanced below, and slipped out like a thief.

People in the Roman era had very open minds; it was an old imperial tradition.

In the early empire, there were many extravagant tyrants, the representative figures being Nero and Caligula, known for the Roman Empire's erotic history. This imperial emperor was finally assassinated by the Praetorian Guard, which set a precedent for the Praetorian Guard to assassinate the emperor. (Note: Caligula was Nero's uncle, and they were tyrants of the same lineage.)

Spartacus could also be considered relatively close to the historical background of that time.

Anya was considered to be from a very old, declining noble family. Her ancestors were said to have had a close relationship with the Demon Queen Agrippina the Younger, who was the mother of the tyrant Nero. It is rumored that she poisoned two husbands to death, one of whom was an imperial emperor.

In some rumors, Anya's ancestor was the priest who helped with the poisoning, thus obtaining noble status.

Anya's bloodline family composition was very complex. During the late imperial civil war, she even married a barbarian general for self-preservation. They changed their appearance and returned to the Roman court during the time of Julian the Apostate, and then declined again after Julian was assassinated, until she married her later husband.

Unfortunately, her husband soon died in the war of barbarian invasion, but Anya had considerable means. Although she had no offspring, she legally inherited her husband's family estate.

Thus, she became a wealthy widow in the noble class.

But the Roman Church had already begun the liquidation of heretical witches, so she had no choice but to secretly fund Triss's witch coven to seek self-preservation, and even to escape the Church's territory in the future.

If it weren't for these relationships, with Anya's two-star white-board strength, it would be almost impossible for her to become one of the founders of the witch coven.

Strictly speaking, she was considered a first-round angel investor.

This Roman noblewoman's background was not simple at all. She even once had a trade fleet traveling between Europe, Alexandria in Egypt, and Carthage in North Africa. If it weren't for the turmoil in North Africa in recent years, and the Western Roman Empire having almost lost all of its grain-producing areas in North Africa, her net worth would probably be even higher.

But a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Seeing that the followers she recruited included retired Praetorian knights, and she even put a bag of gold on him, one could see that she was very rich.

Rich, but without the military power to protect herself.

Witch Anya was clearly already interested in Deng Ken, or rather, she now urgently needed a big thigh to ensure she could escape the Church's liquidation.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see the collapse of the empire.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the wives and daughters of those nobles all became playthings for barbarian generals, and some even turned from high-and-mighty noblewomen into low-status female slaves who were toyed with by others. Anya also had the hidden identity of a witch; if she didn't find a way to protect herself, the ending would only be more miserable.

If she hadn't been forced to the point of no return, how could a noblewoman who had been pampered for years take the risk of acting with Triss?

She couldn't bear to give up her comfortable life, yet she was afraid of the stake.

Bandit Stronghold.

After leaving Deng Ken's room, Anya went to check on the unconscious Severus, and she whispered to the Druid: "Don't die."

There was also a slight connection between the two.

Severus's ancestor was a general under Julian the Apostate, who had once assisted this imperial emperor in suppressing rebellions and made great contributions in the war against the Alemanni. Later, the imperial emperor Julian died suddenly, and Severus's family declined rapidly. By his generation, he was basically no different from a barbarian.

These people, including Raven Queen-Triss, basically belonged to the 'remnants of the previous dynasty'. Raven Queen-Triss's sect was even a strong supporter of Julian the Apostate at that time.

Raven Queen-Triss was already over a hundred years old.

She was different from other witches; she was born with incredible power. When the Trivia sect found her as a young girl, she was directly chosen as the sect's high priestess, and then secretly became the high priestess of polytheism, a title that used to belong exclusively to the Roman Emperor.

After polytheism completely collapsed, Raven Queen-Triss was also forced to live in exile, hiding, changing her identity, and after the polytheistic sect was completely banned, she secretly united with other priestesses to establish the initial witch coven.

Although Anya was not a priestess, her family, and even Agrippina the Younger in the early empire, who was the mother of the tyrant Nero, secretly worshipped Venus, who was also the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.

The fused deity aspect of this deity governs love, beauty, desire, and fertility.

Anya secretly worshipped the image of the goddess of sex and desire.

In imperial history, those beautiful women known for their beauty, promiscuity, and skill in seducing men often had intricate secret relationships with this sect. The secret sect of Aphrodite granted a peculiar sexual tension, and the women serving the sect aged slowly. Another similar secret sect inheritance was in Egypt, related to the legendary Cleopatra.

Of course.

All of this was swept into the dustbin of history after polytheism completely failed.

These remnants of polytheism were now hiding everywhere just to escape the pursuit of the Inquisition. Raven Queen-Triss, because of the dark future of the prophecy, was trying to find a place where they could save their lives.

As for Raven Queen-Triss's vow of chastity, polytheism still had some goddesses who remained untainted, and their representatives were those virgin goddesses.

Normally, the era after Zeus (Jupiter) should belong to those more orthodox polytheistic deities. (For example, Artemis, Athena, etc.)

But unexpectedly, monotheism rose and wiped them all out in one go.

………………

Severus was running a fever.

There was no other way at the moment; he could only rely on himself to hold on.

Although there were supernatural powers in this era, there were no priests who could heal wounds and illnesses like in fantasy worlds, unless someone could find that kind of legendary holy object, such as the Holy Grail. If he could have a cup for Severus, he should be jumping around very soon.

Druids also didn't have any healing magic; their era ended as early as when Julius Caesar slaughtered a large number of Druid priests in the Gao Lu region.

Severus knew some ancient Druid rituals, among which there might be ritual magic to heal wounds, but he was unconscious now and couldn't heal himself. The traditional polytheistic faith in the Gao Lu region was basically almost gone now.

"Can only see if your life is tough enough. Brother." Deng Ken took care of the heavily injured Severus every day.

Most of the Church's priests were ordinary people.

Even during the period when the saints and apostles were walking and preaching, there were only a few people within the Church named 'Saint' who were rumored to be able to heal the wounds and illnesses of others.

It wasn't just Raven Queen-Triss whose strength plummeted; even monotheism rarely produced 'saints' (people named after saints).

The good news was that two days later, Severus finally broke his fever and woke up.

This Druid was as strong as a barbarian. Although he was very weak, he finally regained consciousness, and it wasn't just a flash in the pan.

"Water..."

A hoarse voice woke Deng Ken up.

He hurriedly put down his notebook, looked at the awakened Severus, and immediately brought the water bag over.

——Eleventh Day of Crossing: 67 heads.

This bandit stronghold was located in a remote area and was considered safe. No survivors were left at the time, so the enemy might not necessarily be able to catch up, and might not necessarily dare to continue the pursuit.

As soon as Severus woke up, the other two witches flew over.

There were only a few combatants in the team. Besides Deng Ken, only Severus could fight in melee. Although Raven Queen-Triss could explode with power, the price was high; she had been weak for two whole days and still had backlash. Witch Anya was a vase, purely financial support, and so far, it hadn't been seen that this two-star white-board witch had any special abilities.

"His injuries have healed a lot." Raven Queen-Triss breathed a sigh of relief.

Deng Ken had known long ago.

He had just entered the God's-eye view and saw that Severus's marker had changed to 'Severely Injured', without the 'Dying' negative status.

"After recuperating for a period of time, he should be able to continue the journey."

A Druid is a Druid after all. After waking up, Severus could barely get out of bed and walk the next day, and by the third day, he could walk slowly. This guy's physique was indeed very strong, and there might be some supernatural factors, because he had once asked Deng Ken to take him to that abandoned 'Druid Circle'.

The group recuperated in the bandit stronghold for seven days and finally set foot on the journey to the British Isles again.

However, they also brought along a female slave.

The other farmers were dismissed. Deng Ken figured out a way to get a few horses, added eight more heads to his notebook, and headed toward the direction of Germania Minor.

During this period, the outside world was becoming more and more turbulent, and both Upper and Lower Pannonia had fallen.

There was even worse news: one of the nomadic peoples, the Vandals, was already restless, seemingly seeing the empire in chaos and intending to fish in troubled waters. Historically, the Vandals captured Rome, looted it for two weeks, and almost destroyed this ancient city.

Anya was running fast. If she sat and waited for death, even if she didn't die from the Inquisition's pursuit, she would be captured and abused by the Vandals.

No matter which dynasty was destroyed, the wives and daughters of those princes and nobles could not escape the fate of becoming playthings.

……………… ===== CHAPTER 20 =====