Chapter 36: Power of the Gods! Charging Ahead!

Good news, Severus is back.

There was another person available by Deng Ken's side. He seemed to have just learned some rumors about Deng Ken and couldn't help but ask: "Have you been to Avalon?"

Deng Ken waved his hand to signal the left and right to retreat, leaving only the Raven Queen, Su Su Lisi, and nodded in a deep voice: "Hmm."

Severus hesitated to speak, and finally said slowly: "I will find a way to contact the Druid sect in Britain. They should be willing to provide support."

In fact, the Druid sect in Britain had already taken action in secret.

Deng Ken pondered for a moment and said: "Okay."

"Your identity is just right for dealing with them. See if you can recruit some more Gaulish Oath Warriors."

Cú Chulainn's combat effectiveness was really strong.

After he was equipped with sword, shield, and armor, one person could deal with five or six ordinary soldiers at the same time. If there were a few more such experts, Deng Ken could form a squad of "trapped camp" (assault troops).

Severus nodded and said: "I will set off tomorrow."

But before leaving, he looked at Deng Ken before him, hesitated for a moment, and said slowly: "Do you know about the Druid sacrificial stones?"

Druid sacrificial stones?

Deng Ken's expression was puzzled, looking like he was listening attentively.

Severus looked at the Raven Queen, Su Su Lisi, as if observing her attitude. Seeing that Su Su Lisi had no expression, he mustered the courage to say: "That is the ancient faith of the Celtic gods."

"The sacrificial sanctuary of the Gaulish tribes."

"These sanctuaries possess very peculiar abilities, which can allow the trained soldiers to receive the blessing of the power of the gods."

Blessing of the gods?

Deng Ken's expression was surprised, and he turned to look at the Raven Queen, Su Su Lisi, on the side, only to see her nod slightly, indicating that what Severus said was true.

Severus continued: "These sanctuaries serving the gods need priests to maintain their power."

"One of their most important roles is to train the army."

"Different gods possess different divine sanctuaries. Some are good at forging better weapons and armor, some can bestow courage to make soldiers high-spirited, but most of them are to train and hone the soldiers' combat skills."

The great affairs of the country are in sacrifice and war.

Although the traditional faith and sacrifice of the Celts had been destroyed by the Roman Empire, there was still the existence of Avalon on the island of Britain. As long as the Druid sacrificial stones were built, they could still exert a certain effect.

The Raven Queen, Su Su Lisi, was the authority on this aspect.

Because the temples of Diana and Artemis could train excellent archers, corresponding to the 【Hunting】 divine position, priests serving these goddesses could obtain the supernatural power blessing of the divine sanctuary.

Before the Church became the state religion of the Empire, the temples of the Roman Empire had additional blessings of the gods' authority, which was often the evolution of their core divine position's influence on the real world.

This further made the early Romans very warlike!

In the era before Christ, the war god of the Gauls, Teutates, was destroyed and swallowed, the hunting goddess Abnoba was destroyed and swallowed, and those wine gods, forging gods, horse racing gods, etc., who held corresponding divine positions, were all digested by the Roman gods, and didn't even leave a tablet.

The ancient Roman gods only integrated with the ancient Greek gods, which could be considered the continuation of the civilized era, but they were ruthless to other barbarian gods!

These Gaulish gods were almost all dead. It was estimated that there was still a tablet in the Pantheon, but the sacrifices had long been cut off.

In the same period, the situation in the East was similar.

During the Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling entered Bashu, met the eight ghosts and marshals, fought against the gods and ghosts, subdued the evil spirits, and established the Five Pecks of Rice Sect (the predecessor of Taoism).

This was the matter of cutting down mountains and breaking temples, and sweeping away blood-eating ghosts and gods.

In this battle, Zhang Daoling almost cut off the "Witchcraft" faith of the indigenous people in Bashu!

The existence of the Celtic branch, the Gaulish gods, was equivalent to the primitive "Witchcraft" in the eyes of the Empire.

Civilization assimilation, destroying old faiths, and spreading ancient Roman gods.

The Gaulish branch, the moderate Druids, were all civilized branches that were transformed after being beaten by the Roman Empire.

Avalon was also a new faith transformed from the moderate faction. The birth time was not long, only a few hundred years, so the guardian fairies would be so like the nymphs in ancient Greek mythology.

The brutal branch of faith was in the Ireland region, which was considered a bloodthirsty barbarian at this time.

Era development, civilization education, destroying primitive witchcraft.

In the era of the Chinese Hegemons, there were also frequent human blood sacrifices. Ximen Bao governing Ye in primary school textbooks was the era of witchcraft.

When Taoism destroyed primitive witchcraft, the Taoist priests who preached in the early days were directly shaking people, calling the Supreme Lord Laozi to be urgent like a law, personally taking the field and cutting people with swords. Witches were killed, and ghosts and gods were also killed, which was completely different from the style of Taoists now.

After Zhang Jiao of the Taiping Dao, Taoism became much more honest, at least it didn't rebel much.

"If the sanctuaries of the Celtic gods all have supernatural power blessings?"

"What about the ancient Roman and Greek gods?"

As soon as Deng Ken thought of this, he couldn't help but look at the Raven Queen, Su Su Lisi, seeking answers from her. No one knew the divine authority of the gods of the Imperial polytheistic religion better than this High Priestess of the Empire.

Inside the tent.

The Raven Queen, Su Su Lisi, sighed faintly.

She stared at Deng Ken before her and whispered: "Severus is indeed right."

"But borrowing the power of the gods will definitely attract the hostility of the Church."

"I don't want you to get involved in the dispute of faith."

To borrow the power of the gods, one must plant flags and build temples, and rebuild the sanctuary domain of the gods.

Avalon had not yet completely perished.

If Deng Ken built a Druid sacrificial stone sanctuary, the Church might not care too much, and might not necessarily manage it. It was a small faction struggling on the verge of death. But if he built a temple dedicated to Diana, the Church would think that the ancient Roman gods had been restored.

These two meanings were completely different. Diana's faith was more tree-like and wind-attracting.

The Raven Queen, Su Su Lisi, only wanted to protect herself and didn't want to let Deng Ken take risks and summon the ancient Roman gods back. The risks involved were too great.

I don't know when, but in her heart, Deng Ken's safety had become higher than the survival of Diana's faith.

Dimensional space.

Deng Ken suddenly entered "Observer Mode," and then everything in the projection screen changed, as if the dimensional space had captured some supernatural laws of the real world.

A row of characters appeared on the projection screen.

—"Open Faith Camp Faction."

—"Avalon Faith (Celtic Pantheon Branch)!"

In the projection screen, a unique faith mark appeared.

—"Avalon Sacrificial Stone (Primary Sanctuary): Avalon in Celtic mythology is the otherworld. The ancient Druid faith possesses legends of immortal souls and reincarnation. This sacrificial stone dedicated to the Avalon sanctuary can strengthen the soldiers' fighting spirit, making them no longer so afraid of death.

The otherworld is also the kingdom of soul reincarnation.

The souls of dead believers will enter Avalon in the mist, just like Germanic warriors entering the Valhalla of the Norse pantheon after death.

This temple sanctuary can make the affected Celtic warriors permanently have +1 morale, and they will be more courageous in facing death."

【The blessing effect of the sanctuary increases with the temple, sacrifice, and faith.】

Interesting.

No wonder the Germanic barbarians were so fearless!

If this was the case, was the Viking sanctuary of the Germanic barbarians, the sanctuary dedicated to Odin, the main god of the Norse pantheon, also a permanent increase in morale?

After all, in Norse mythology, warriors have to die in battle to be complete. Germanic barbarians rarely die of old age normally.

Because of this rule of dying in battle, after the Duchy of Normandy was born, the whole clan directly converted to Christianity and began the Christianization of the Vikings, which could be considered as emptying the old home of the Norse pantheon.

"Did it only open one?"

In the faith page, Deng Ken only saw the Celtic mythology-Avalon faith. The faith of the Norse pantheon was not opened, and the faith of the ancient Roman and Greek gods had already perished. As for the faith of the Church, it might be because there was no relationship, so it naturally didn't trigger.

"The power of the gods' faith in this world can provide a certain blessing, but it is not a decisive factor."

Deng Ken soon realized this.

The bit of morale added by him building an Avalon sacrificial stone sanctuary might not even be as effective as him personally going into battle to encourage the army. It could only be said to be better than nothing.

The Raven Queen, Su Su Lisi, clearly didn't want him to provoke the powerful Church for the sake of a little blessing of the gods' power.

Gods couldn't descend in person.

This little blessing of sanctuary faith couldn't even compare to better weapons and equipment, stricter army training, and more excellent general command. It belonged to a business with not much profit but great risk.

If the blessing of faith was really that strong, the Yellow Turban Army of Zhang Jiao of the Taiping Dao would not have failed.

Yellow Turban Warriors could be regarded as special units of the temple sanctuary. There were also some on the island of Britain, such as the Gaulish Oath Warriors of the Celtic sanctuary, the Druid sect, the Gaulish totem warriors, etc.

Although their combat effectiveness was very strong, their numbers were small and could not determine the outcome of large battles.

"The Franks seem to have trained a batch of Frankish Holy Knights with the support of the Order."

Deng Ken immediately understood the Raven Queen, Su Su Lisi's meaning.

The witch was considering the future for him.

He nodded slightly and said: "Don't worry."

"I will be careful."

Deng Ken didn't intend to choose a faith camp for the time being. What he wanted was to gain a foothold on the island of Britain, not to get involved in the dispute of faith too early. Avalon faith could be used, but it was impossible to establish it as the state religion.

He finally understood now.

As long as he is doing well in reality, no matter what gods or pantheon camps, they still have to look at his face!

The fairies of Avalon were clearly hugging his thigh, using his legendary degree to maintain the faith foundation that was about to perish, so as to resist the faith of the Norse pantheon brought by the Germanic barbarian invasion.

This also meant that as long as Deng Ken was strong enough, the Norse pantheon would have to bow to him in the real world!

………………

Night fell.

Anya was really hungry.

Although she deliberately avoided affecting others, Deng Ken finally had to cover the mouth of this beautiful witch.

Anyway, he was standing up and kicking.

Fortunately, the Middle Ages were relatively open. It was only after the Church unified the faith that it gradually became conservative. People at this time were a bit of Roman legacy, and they were relatively tolerant of these things. You know, Germanic barbarians loved wine. When they were drunk, they would fight and brawl, and then a group of drunk people would mess around. They didn't care at all that there were others in the warrior hall, and some even applauded and praised the brave men.

If Deng Ken had the opportunity to go to the tavern of the Germanic barbarians, he could hear the ballads sung by bards and warriors, and the lyrics were wonderful.

The night grew deeper. 【3

The Raven Queen-Tris released the messenger in her hand, turned her head to glance at Deng Ken's tent, sighed softly, and gripped the Diana sacrificial stone in her hand with a flushed face.

She was summoning other members of the witch coven.

Now that there was a base, it was time to gather the exiled witches.

The Raven Queen-Tris did not trust Anya all that much, because Anya had too many little schemes, but the fact that the fairies of Avalon had suddenly latched onto Deng Ken's leg undoubtedly made her feel very vigilant.

Because compared to the slightly scheming Anya, the fairies of Avalon were certainly more dangerous. Of two evils, choose the lesser; better to let Anya have her fill first, lest Deng Ken be bewitched by those Nymphs of the Lake again.

She wasn't afraid of Deng Ken being seduced, she was just afraid that the fairies of Avalon wanted to use Deng Ken to achieve some ulterior motives.

Tris had never even thought of pushing Deng Ken out to confront the Church; she just didn't want those cunning Ladies of the Lake to bewitch and deceive Deng Ken, causing him to unknowingly become the secular protector of Avalon and end up clashing with the Church's monastic forces.

With the Bow of Noden in his hand, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Deng Ken had a connection to Avalon.

This was an open conspiracy.

Avalon was using Deng Ken's legend to recover a sliver of vitality.

War drums beat inside the tent.

A nineteen-year-old youth, still so brave and peerless, his vitality was too strong.

The Raven Queen-Tris was bound by a vow of chastity, so there were many things she could not do—not that she absolutely couldn't, but if she did, she would no longer be able to channel the power of Diana.

Because those few virgin goddesses required their priestesses to remain chaste to channel even a sliver of divine power.

Everything was just getting started now.

Whether for Deng Ken or for herself, the Raven Queen-Tris had to hold her bottom line; at critical moments, she still had to rely on the power of those goddesses to turn the tide. In the era of the end of the mythic age, only those few virgin goddesses of the ancient Roman and Greek pantheons still possessed a bit of residual faith power.

If the Raven Queen-Tris broke her vow of chastity, she would lose the strength to confront those existences who acted "in the name of the holy" head-on.

Those virgin goddesses were certified by their divine offices; they protected maidens who had not yet married.

However, it was not as if there were absolutely no other ways.

The next day.

After Deng Ken led the army to depart, the Raven Queen-Tris found Anya, who looked lazy and satisfied, and unceremoniously gave her waist and hips a light flick with a whip.

"Tris?!..."

Anya's charming face still bore the flush remaining from last night; she had just wanted to get up and get angry, but as soon as she saw the Raven Queen-Tris's half-smiling expression, she immediately wilted quite a bit.

No!

I just performed a great service, and you're still whipping me? Doesn't that mean my merit was for nothing?

Thinking of this, Anya's momentum suddenly soared, and just as she was about to jump up and rebel to go head-to-head with Tris, she didn't expect the Raven Queen to narrow her eyes slightly and flick her fingers, causing her whole body to stiffen on the spot, with half of her body going numb instantly.

She simply couldn't win!

With a casual trick spell, the Raven Queen-Tris could pin this delicate Roman noblewoman in place.

Waaah!

Anya wore a tearful expression, lowered her head pitifully, and said, "Lady Tris, I was wrong."

A wise person does not fight when the odds are against them.

Besides, she had just had her fill yesterday, while the Raven Queen-Tris was still hungry—hungry for many years—so she must have had some pent-up anger and might just take it out on her. Anya knew the Raven Queen's background better; it was rumored that the other party possessed a trace of Circe's bloodline.

The Raven Queen-Tris sat down slowly, looked Anya up and down, who was covered in a flush, and said indifferently, "Put your clothes on properly."

"Don't wear that court gown from yesterday outside anymore."

"What kind of decorum is that!"

Within the ancient Roman pantheon, the cults of those virgin goddesses were relatively conservative, while the cult of Venus, or Aphrodite, was relatively open; the believers dressed in a more modern fashion, sometimes wearing things more seductive than wearing nothing at all.

During early sacrifices at Aphrodite's sanctuary, the female attire would make modern people blush, emphasizing the enchanting beauty of the female physique.

Upon hearing this, Anya said aggrievedly, "Yes. Lady Tris."

She was a flamboyant person who loved power, loved being the center of attention, and loved to radiate her own charm.

Now the Raven Queen-Tris had blocked one of her paths.

A breeze blew by.

The Raven Queen-Tris raised her hand slightly, and Anya's numb body returned to normal; the other party not only possessed the power of Diana but also a portion of the power of gods like Trivia (Hecate) and Artemis.

She simply couldn't win!

Infuriating!

The tent door closed automatically. The Raven Queen-Tris's gaze was deep as she looked down at Anya before her. Her expression was hesitant and slightly awkward, but she still said softly, "Tell me about the methods the Aphrodite mystery cult uses to please a lover."

Hm?

Elements detected.

Anya was also a clever person; she immediately widened her eyes, looking at Tris with a shocked expression, and stammered, "You want to... bypass the vow of chastity?..."

The Raven Queen-Tris's face flushed red, and she no longer had her initial air of superiority.

She noticed Anya looking her up and down, with her gaze lingering quite bluntly between her heaving peaks, and immediately let out a cold snort, her long, narrow phoenix eyes narrowing slightly, which made Anya shiver involuntarily.

While surprised, Anya immediately had a wicked thought.

Let you bully me!

Anya tried her best to keep her expression serious so the other party wouldn't notice, but inside, she was already overjoyed.

Now you've fallen into my hands.

Anya tilted her head slightly, her mouth twitching uncontrollably; she forcibly covered up her upturned lips, and when she looked back, she was already wearing an extremely sincere expression.

This round must be won back!

Meanwhile.

Deng Ken had already led his army toward the Dorset region because he had received some rather ominous military intelligence this morning.

Jill led people to rush over overnight and reported in a panic, "Lord Deng Ken!"

"It's bad."

"The Duke of Tintagel fought the Saxon pirates yesterday. The Duke led his personal guard knights to charge the enemy's rear and was hit by several arrows from Saxon archers!"

"Fortunately, the personal guard knights protected him with their lives so he could return safely, but he has been seriously injured and is bedridden."

What the hell?

He was fine two days ago and even took back a piece of territory; how did he get shot and seriously injured today?

Deng Ken hurriedly got up and asked, "Is the Duke of Tintagel alright?"

Don't die suddenly; at least hold on until I get my start!

Jill said with a complex expression, "He is seriously injured."

"But fortunately, his life is not in danger."

That's good.

Deng Ken couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

No.

Don't you know how much you're worth?

Deng Ken was so strong and didn't even dare to charge the enemy lines directly; the Duke of Tintagel only had the strength of a one-star white board, so why was he learning from fierce generals and leading an army to charge the lines!

After some questioning, the sequence of events soon became clear.

It must be said that the Duke of Tintagel had improved significantly; in this battle, he actually seized an opportunity, first crushing a group of Saxon pirate riders head-on, and then taking advantage of the stalemate to circle to the flank and rear to charge the right wing of the Saxon pirates.

Tactically speaking, his decision had no problems at all.

The Duke of Tintagel was more daring and willing to fight than before.

But the problem was that a cavalry charge was like a hot iron rod coated in glycerin—steaming hot—and one had to pierce through the enemy in one go, preferably by breaking in from the flank and rear to form a pincer attack, making the enemy unable to attend to both ends, which easily caused chaos and subsequently led to the collapse of enemy morale.

But the problem was that the Duke of Tintagel stabbed in, but didn't stab through; worse yet, he charged in and couldn't get out.

Cavalry charge.

The front row must be opened by fierce men. The Duke of Tintagel's spearhead wasn't sharp enough; the cavalry he led chiseled in but didn't chisel through, and they were directly trapped in the midst of the chaotic army.

Then, he was targeted by elite Saxon forest hunters.

The Duke of Tintagel was hit by six arrows, and there were several more stuck in his shield; if the quality of the armor he wore—standard noble heavy scale armor with neck, shoulder, and waist protection—hadn't been so high, he probably would have died on the spot.

In the end, he was saved by his personal guard knights at the cost of their lives, but he had been bedridden ever since he returned.

He wouldn't die.

But he had an arrow in his butt, one in his thigh, three in his chest and back, and another arrow had hit his iron helmet, almost taking him out on the spot.

With the Duke of Tintagel injured like this, he could no longer continue to command the army.

Cornwall was only the size of a county; the Duke of Tintagel had no sons, only three daughters, and no commanders under his command who could stand alone. So, he thought of asking Deng Ken for help immediately and sent his own attendant rider, Jill, over. Now the situation could only rely on Deng Ken to step in and stabilize the situation.

Deng Ken had to go now, whether he wanted to or not.

If the Duke of Tintagel suffered another major defeat, he would likely have to face the Saxon barbarian army directly.

In this battle, the Duke of Tintagel could actually have fought to a draw; it was just that he slightly overestimated his own martial prowess.

At least a two-star powerhouse was needed to lead cavalry to force a charge. In any era, when cavalry attacked, they were led by a fierce general; otherwise, the spearhead thrust wouldn't produce the result of intimidating the enemy.

A burst of galloping hoofbeats.

Deng Ken rode his horse and led his men on the road, followed by Clegane, Culain, and others, totaling sixteen cavalrymen. The other infantry were led by Severus and Kveto, and it would take about a day or more for them to arrive. In this era, infantry marching speed was very slow, and because of the hasty departure, the logistics and supply train had to find a wagon team and conscript civilians to transport them.

In the age of cold weapons, provisions were extremely important.

People would be half-useless after one day of hunger.

Most of these sixteen cavalrymen were elites; after Clegane was equipped with scale armor, he had become a one-star silver-gray combat unit.

On the road, Jill also gave a rough overview of the enemy's situation.

The person the Duke of Tintagel fought was not Hossa, the brother of the King of Kent; if he had encountered Hossa, he wouldn't have taken the initiative to attack. The opponent was one of the Germanic barbarian generals, Enfes the Maiden-Taker, who was hailed as the fighter among fighters. He was a barbarian commander known for his ferocity and was also quite famous throughout the British Isles for his love of slaughtering cities and taking maidens. One of his most famous deeds was demanding ten maidens by name when conquering a certain indigenous tribe in Britain.

This guy had an elite chieftain guard under his command and started out as a Saxon pirate in his early years, also showing prowess in naval warfare and looting.

Giddy-up!

Deng Ken led the sixteen cavalrymen straight to Exeter, which was considered the largest town in Devon, possessing a relatively sturdy wooden wall similar to the northern towns in Mount & Blade: Calradia—a pile of wood put together into a high wall, so there was no need to worry about fire.

Looking at it this way, the Saxon barbarians' retreat some time ago might not have been because of his personal martial prowess; they might have intended to lure the enemy deep and use a feigned retreat tactic to fish the Duke of Tintagel out.

Under the God's-eye view.

Deng Ken had already seen the situation on the battlefield.

Below the east gate of Exeter, a team of Saxon spearmen was pushing a battering ram to hit the gate. The city's defenses here were far inferior to the fortress of Cornwall, and the wooden gate was already teetering.

—British Legion (Morale Shaken) (Heavy Casualties) (Commander Seriously Injured).

—British Coastal Militia (Morale Shaken) (Commander Seriously Injured) (Command in Chaos).

—Canti Auxiliary Legion (Morale Shaken) (No Command).

—British Militia (Morale Low) (Command in Chaos).

On the strategic map.

Although the Duke of Tintagel's troops hadn't suffered many casualties, their morale had already been shaken. If the gate were breached, their rout would only be a matter of time. The Duke of Tintagel's army had lost a small field battle and now could only defend with their backs to the town of Exeter. Fortunately, there was still a town to hold, or they wouldn't have been able to hold out until Deng Ken arrived.

In cold weapon warfare, morale was very important because after the main combat troops were dead, the other units would rout on a large scale after suffering ten or twenty percent casualties.

In the medieval era, only main combat troops could withstand relatively high casualty ratios.

If this morale wasn't saved soon, they would lose quickly.

Deng Ken overlooked the entire battlefield.

He reined in his horse, turned his head to look at Culain, Clegane, and the others behind him, and said in a deep voice, "Do you dare to charge with me?!"

Clegane's blood instantly rushed to his head, and he roared, "Wherever the Lord goes, I go!"

Culain remained silent, only drawing his long blade.

These people were all eager to achieve success, especially after following a brave commander.

They could fight.

More than half of Deng Ken's sixteen cavalrymen were one-star strength, mostly indigenous noble riders, and their armor far exceeded that of the infantry; even their warhorses had simple protection.

"Follow me!"

He took the lead and charged down the hillside!

………………