Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 128: Meeting of Kings! Ireland Surrenders
time flies.

After conquering Scotland, Duncan returned to Dalda, a town that existed during the imperial period and was located across the sea from Ireland.

During this period, news came from the Italian peninsula that the army of the Hun Empire had approached the Alps. The Protector Aetius urgently summoned allies, but no one responded, including the envoys sent to Britannia.

Duncan did not respond, treated the matter coldly, did not explicitly refuse, nor did he actively respond, pretending to know nothing about it.

The Roman people were outraged!
Many people believe that it was Aetius's intention to release Attila, the Scourge of God, that angered the governor of the British province, so that Lord Duncan was unwilling to send a legion to support Italy.

The way things are in this world is that as long as you are strong enough, people will naturally find excuses for you.

There was virtually no response from the province of Gaul, the Visigothic Kingdom explicitly refused, the Franks said they wanted to recuperate, and the Germanic tribes, large and small, saw almost no reinforcements. This left the Western Empire's legions fighting alone, and some voices of dissatisfaction with Aetius emerged within the army.

Even more infuriated was the Emperor Valentinian III.

Because the Italian peninsula was obviously no longer defensible, and the Scourge of God - Attila was gone, but the military strength of the Hun Empire was still very strong. The huge empire would not collapse all at once, but would only collapse slowly. However, the legions of the Western Empire suffered heavy casualties in years of war, and without any allies, the empire was at a very obvious disadvantage.

It is said that Valentinian III was already planning to flee to another place.

If the Hun army invaded the Italian peninsula, the consequences would be disastrous. The emperor's desire to escape at this time would be a huge blow to the people's morale. However, when the war really came, Valentinian III felt a little panic. He was simply not cut out for it.

He did not trust Aetius and was even more afraid that Aetius would sell him out.

The court spies bribed by Anya sent back a lot of information. It was said that Aetius had a big quarrel with the emperor of the empire over the engagement not long ago.

If the emperor of the empire flees, it will definitely affect the morale of the army.

If he took this step, all the reputation that Valentinian III had accumulated would be gone, and his prestige would definitely be destroyed.

"The Hun army is said to have over 100,000 soldiers, but it only has 50,000 or 60,000 at most."

"If there are barbarian reinforcements, we can still fight."

"With only the Imperial Legion, Aetius can only passively defend."

Duncan put down the intelligence in his hand and asked in a serious tone, "Is Valentinian III planning to flee? Where to? The Eastern Empire?"

It's impossible that he escaped to the British province.

Too far.

Duncan had no way to rescue them either, as they were too far away. Gaul was closer, but the Italian Peninsula and Britain did not have the logistical capabilities for an expedition.

Severus said in a deep voice: "If Valentinian III escapes."

“It’s still a good thing for us.”

"Aetius's defeat in the war will undoubtedly cause a great loss of prestige. Furthermore, with the Emperor's flight, the Roman people will only become more supportive of you."

The reasons have been thought out: the British province does not currently have the ability to support Italy across the sea.

Aetius had to take the blame.

If he hadn't previously attempted to release the Scourge of God during the Battle of Chalons, Lord Duncan would have undoubtedly returned to Italy. By then, with the two pillars of the empire still in place, the Hunnic army would have been doomed to return empty-handed. And now, the voices of the people and the Senate were that Aetius had eliminated dissidents and forced Lord Duncan into the remote province of Britain.

Even Valentinian III himself thought so.

Because Aetius had directly appointed Duncan as the governor of the Gallic Legion at that time, then Duncan could have supported the empire now, but he, as the emperor, did not have such power and could not promote Duncan, which is why he was forced into such an embarrassing situation today.

If he was really devoted to the empire, Aetius should have promoted Duncan to the position and given up some of his military power.

Anyway, the Italian peninsula is in chaos now, and Anya is secretly fanning the flames and spreading public opinion. Overall, the responsibility does not lie with Duncan. After all, he is a great contributor and has already crossed the sea to rescue the empire once.

No one can blame anything!
Moreover, the British province had been abandoned and was recovered by Lord Duncan single-handedly. With such achievements, Duncan's golden body was as solid as a rock.

Duncan pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Let's see how the situation develops and then make arrangements."

The whip is beyond reach.

If Duncan occupied Gaul, he could still take action, but now, let's just wait and see.

Now, Emperor Valentinian III had completely broken with Aetius, and the engagement was just a fuse.

Duncan sat down again, looked at Severus beside him and asked, "What's the news from Ireland?"

Severus shook his head and said, "No news at the moment."

"But many tribal kingdoms are in a state of panic. Although they have formed an alliance, they are still not to be feared."

The mundane is not important.

Duncan's army has been trained and can win by crushing the enemy. What is important now is the supernatural power and the legendary Shadow Kingdom.

Night falls.

The final result of the discussion was to keep the troops in place and let Aetius deal with the mess in Italy on his own.

Historically, the Scourge of God invaded Italy again the following year, as the Hunnic Empire relied on war and plunder to survive. However, now that Duncan had killed Attila, there was no doubt that Aetius faced much less pressure, and he should be able to hold out for at least a while.

If they hold on to it, the Hun army might lose its composure.

However, his stubborn defense dealt a heavy blow to Aetius's prestige. Pressure was building on him from all sides, and the people of the empire longed for victory, not passive defense.

A strong wind blew.

At some point, dark clouds covered the moon and everything around became pitch black.

The Raven Queen, Triss, stood beside Duncan almost instantly and said in a serious tone, "Witchcraft."

"Someone changed the weather."

Duncan's expression was calm. His consciousness entered the dimensional space directly and he said slowly, "A guest has arrived."

A vague outline emerged from the shadows not far away.

Long hair flying.

It was immediately apparent that she was a woman, standing on a distant hillside. When Duncan came out, she immediately flew towards the coastline.

—Ushaha (Guardian of the Shadow Realm) [Three Stars Silver-Gray]. Duncan followed.

Behind him, Triss, the Raven Queen, silently chanted a spell, and a light mist emerged without anyone noticing. It was followed by the projections of the guardian fairies of Avalon. They appeared in the nearby sacrificial stones and followed Duncan in a manner close to spirits.

In the distance came the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.

Duncan landed on the ground and looked ahead. A tall and beautiful woman appeared in front of him. She was holding a dark red magic spear, wearing black leather armor, and had a sharp look in her eyes, her gaze fixed on Duncan not far away.

——Scathach (Queen of the Kingdom of Shadows) (Hero Mentor) (Demigod) [Bloody Skull Mark]!
——Cu Chulainn (Legendary Hero) (Son of Light) (Demigod) [Four-Star Gold]!
——Queen Maeve (Legendary Hero) (Queen of Connaught) [Four-star silver-gray]!
After the era of the Tuatha de Danann faded, the Land of Shadows gradually became a legend.

In fact, because the beliefs are too scattered, the legend of Cu Chulainn is the mainstream in Ireland, and the existence of Scathach has, to some extent, replaced part of the beliefs in Morrigan, the goddess of war.

Celtic beliefs had a strong hero worship, and the protagonists of the stories told by bards enjoyed god-like worship.

In addition, the Celtic goddess of war, Morrigan, often appears in the image of a raven. After the rise of the church, the legendary heroes were absorbed into the church framework, and the Shadow Realm was interpreted as the "edge of purgatory". Morrigan was demoted to a "pagan evil god" and finally preserved in the form of a "banshee" in folk beliefs.

Weaken the original gods and elevate the legendary heroes.

The church's conspiracy.

It’s not that Duncan looks down on the Celtic gods, it’s just that they are really not that good.

In the secular world, the Shadow Kingdom's influence is greater than that of many gods. With so many people dividing up the tiny island of Ireland, the consequences are predictable. Well, that doesn't even include the church's missionary work and theft. If you include that, it would be half of Ireland, divided among everyone.

Each god was given a territory of one or two counties, and then relied on a holy area or holy forest to survive.

What level is it roughly?

In the past life, the faith and influence of the shamanism in Northeast China were much stronger than theirs.

The fox fairy, the head of the immortal family, cannot be compared, and their beliefs are much stronger than his.

I guess they can only be compared with the shamans such as weasels, hedgehogs, snakes, and rats. If we talk about the territory of faith, the five great gods should be even better.

The island of Ireland covers an area of 146 square kilometers, and the total area of the northeast region is approximately million square kilometers.

This description is already very respectful.

On the small island of Ireland, half of the table is really not enough to accommodate everyone.

From the beginning to the end, the Tuatha de Danann were confined to the British Isles. They could not defeat the ancient Roman and Greek gods in Europe, and they could not defeat the Norse gods led by Odin in the north.

Now that the church has risen, they are still no match for the church.

The fog rises.

Behind Duncan, Thetis cast a spell and a throne appeared behind Duncan. Below him was a round table with a chair for him to sit on.

This move directly seized the initiative.

Scathach, who was not far away, looked shocked. She glanced at the six guardian fairies standing behind Duncan, seemingly guarding him, and said in surprise, "The rumors are actually true... The King of Britain has the gods of Avalon serving him..."

Behind her, Queen Maeve, who was famous for her romantic life, looked at Duncan with curiosity, her eyes bright.

This time, the lineup is completely full!
Duncan was a little surprised and couldn't help turning his head to look at Thetis, but he saw her just smiling and waving as she disappeared into the mist with the other guardian fairies.

This is when all decision-making power is given to Duncan.

Noodles!

The authority of the king!

Faced with such a situation, the legendary heroes of Ireland were also very surprised. Scathach pondered for a moment, put away the bloody magic spear, and took the initiative to sit in front of Duncan, which was considered to be suppressed.

Cu Chulainn's expression was quite defiant, but since his mentor had already sat down, he had no choice but to sit down as well.

Queen Maeve is a valiant and beautiful woman holding a spear and a shield. She is tall and very plump. She has a bad reputation in the legend and is not a serious sacrificial unit. She was promoted to a heroic spirit because of the legend.

She should be the most relaxed one, with her eyes all on Duncan. No matter what, she couldn't become a god and enjoy sacrifices.

The situation is better than people.

The initiative was already in Duncan's hands. What made the two demigods even more uneasy was that in the mist, the shadow of a goddess wearing a helmet and holding a spear of victory emerged. She looked down at the two of them with cold eyes, and she hovered in the air behind Duncan like a guardian, and then disappeared bit by bit.

Goddess Sulis, aspect of Athena.

She didn't leave.

But other people can no longer see her existence, which means that Goddess Sulis has also handed over power to the King of Britain.

Duncan's momentum was at its peak at this moment.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, looked down at Scathach and the legendary Cu Chulainn in front of him, and said lightly: "Since you are here."

"I think he's already thought about it."

"The Celtic faith must be unified!"

"Other matters can be discussed."

This night's talks.

This means that Ireland has completely surrendered, the Celtic faith has been unified under the banner of Duncan, and it has been rebuilt with the misty Avalon as its core. The Druids will completely turn to the field of "agriculture".

It was also on this day that the misty Avalon welcomed its seventh guardian fairy, who was probably the most powerful demigod at present.

Celtic beliefs began a comprehensive transformation!
While the Norse pantheon was still clinging to Valhalla, the misty Avalon had already taken root at the bottom of society and was competing with the church for grassroots faith.

The boat is small enough to turn around.

The faith of Avalon has only one goal: to survive and pass on the Druid sect.

………………

(End of this chapter)