Chapter 173: Chapter 80: Tearing Up the Treaty (Part 2)
"If Valentinian III succeeds, I will have an excuse to suppress the Frankish leader Molov. If not, I can just as easily crush them by eventually taking over Gaul with an overwhelming force."
Duncan’s words were brimming with authority, making the Crow Queen - Triss blush, her delicate frame trembled involuntarily, and she hurriedly pressed her hand against her abdomen.
Having fully taken control of the British Province, counterattacking the Gaul Region would not be difficult. In the future, suppressing Molov would only require caution around his Frankish Holy Knights.
However, it is the Western Gothic Kingdom that will truly dominate after this great war. If Molov wants to rise, he will first have to face Prince Torismund. The best heavy cavalry in the current European continent belongs to the Western Goths, and for the Frankish Kingdom to ascend, they must first defeat the old overlord in the Gaul Spanish Region.
The old king does not die, a new king cannot rise.
Let them fight for a while first.
As for the possible Hunnic retaliation that might follow, Duncan was not worried in the slightest. Here’s a joke, Mongolian navy, Hunnic navy, Great Britain is truly not afraid.
The disintegration of the Hunnic Empire will not take long. Attila’s sons cannot hold down the many vassal states, their prestige is severely lacking.
In a better scenario, they could rally an army in the name of revenge to attack the Western Empire again, but it would certainly not compare to the Battle of Sharon in scale. They cannot command the many vassal kingdoms and tribes and are no match for Aetius.
In a worse scenario, the Hunnic Empire might disintegrate this year; the East Goths, the Gepid, the Franks, and other powerful Barbarian Race vassals will definitely rebel.
The Huns have never treated their vassals well, ruthlessly oppressing them.
When God’s Whip - Attila was still around, his astonishing prestige was enough to suppress all dissent. After his death, no one could accomplish that.
Duncan cradled the Crow Queen - Triss in his arms, bent down, and tasted for a moment, to satisfy his craving before lifting his head, his breath slightly heavy, "My foundation is too shallow."
"Since fleeing from Pannonia, I’ve only risen in just half a year."
"For now, temporarily avoid the sharp edge of Aetius."
"Lie low and accumulate strength."
"Once I have thoroughly digested the British Legion and the entirety of Great Britain’s territories, I will have the capacity to confront Aetius head-on."
Everything in the past six months felt like a previous life.
Who could have imagined that an apprentice blacksmith whose entire village was slaughtered by imperial soldiers could become a lord dominating Great Britain in such a short time, also establishing immortal military achievements in the Battle of Sharon, directly launching a desperate raid to decapitate the legendary God’s Whip.
Everything Duncan achieved was carved from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!
No one could doubt it.
In a world of great chaos, with Hunnic western conquests and barbarian invasions, as the empire declined, he forged the foundation of his present accomplishments with a three-foot sword, making it a miraculous deed in the history of all Europe. Even if he now lay in luxury on his laurels, he could comfortably become the King of Britain and have his lineage continue for millennia.
Hearing these words, the Crow Queen - Triss was momentarily dazed, biting her lip and breathing deeply.
It also felt like a dream to her.
Who could have predicted that a boy she initially thought rather extraordinary would achieve such immortal feats in just half a year? Let alone Anya, who trembled with excitement upon hearing the news, even she at the moment couldn’t help but feel her spirit sway uncontrollably, even feeling a craving, and just wanted to savor something, thus she slowly kneeled before Duncan, parting her lips to do her utmost.
Hiss.
Duncan seemed to have pulled at a wound on his back, taking in a sharp breath, then concentrated his gaze out the window at the moonlight, admiring the magnificent natural landscapes.
With such awe-inspiring achievements in this battle, even King Uther would have to bow his head to him.
"The foundation is unstable."
"Focus on development first, take Britannia."
Duncan had a very clear understanding of himself; though his individual martial prowess might surpass even that of a Hundred-man Enemy, facing an army of thousands was beyond his solitary fight.
Molov has the foundation built by generations of his Frankish ancestors.
Prince Torismund has the family assets of the Western Gothic Kingdom, along with a group of elite feudal knights.
As for Aetius, there’s no need to even mention, decades of prestige, a Roman Protectorate, he’s in his prime, with his trusted followers spread throughout the imperial army.
And Duncan’s foundation may not be even stronger than that of a powerful barbarian chieftain, because time is the best sediment.
He amassed endless glory into one body!
Invincible in battle.
Unconquerable in attack.
But as long as Duncan fails once, loses a battle once, then his invincible golden body will be shattered.
Even with his current family assets, just losing one battle would take a very long time to recover from, and the main issue is that his base is too small. When Cao Cao was defeated at Red Cliffs, he could make a comeback because his northern foundation was strong. Duncan’s base on Great Britain is just five county territories, and with the soldiers he has, fighting a hard and bloody battle would probably take a long time to recover from.
Moreover, Monotheism is like a thorn in his back; Duncan’s own safety is actually above all else, because if anything were to happen to him, everything would collapse, which is why Severus strongly opposes him taking the risk of crossing the sea for expeditions, fretting over Duncan’s safety.
When one person’s strength is holding up a crumbling edifice and carrying everything, that one person’s safety becomes particularly important!
The Crow Queen - Triss also understands this.
So she unwaveringly insists on accompanying him, but after all, she is a woman and not highly skilled in martial arts. It’s impossible for her to follow him to the battlefield, so she can only bring out the last of the Polytheism assets to form Duncan’s elite general guard.
As for Anya, there’s even less reason to mention her, she’s already gone all in.
If she hadn’t gone all in so completely, she wouldn’t have even been able to barely contend with the Crow Queen - Triss, much less being just a two-star whiteboard.
"Next, let’s lead the army back to Great Britain."
"Hiss."
"Let the wretched mess on the European continent be theirs to clean up."
Anya is still better, without any grittiness at all.
Duncan doesn’t mind if the European continent erupts into conflict; his foundation is in Britain, and if they all deplete their elite forces, he’ll just sweep the field.
One night without words.
The next day, as Duncan was organizing the army’s return to Great Britain, a messenger hurriedly arrived.
"Governor!"
"Bad news!"
"The Saxons have broken the treaty. After repelling the Picts, they’ve joined nearly ten thousand troops to attack Portchester Castle."
"Lord Severus is caught in a tough battle and can only hold the city!"
What?
Duncan paused in astonishment, suddenly feeling like laughing. The Battle of Sharon had been a bloody war of over two hundred thousand troops, creating a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, even staining the Marne River red. Now, hearing the messenger say that the Saxons had gathered nearly ten thousand troops to attack Portchester Castle, the thought flashing through his mind was, "This is not even a large army?"
It seems that Great Britain is just a novice village, rarely having battles involving more than ten thousand troops, usually consisting of skirmishes with a few thousand soldiers, sometimes even with a few hundred men clashing; most are Saxon pirate raids on coastal towns.
Sometimes a pirate warband of just a few dozen would dare to attack a coastal town with over a thousand inhabitants.
They probably don’t even know the result of the Battle of Sharon.
The people of the Kingdom of Kent were probably thinking that Duncan led elite forces across the sea, and might have perished at the hands of the Huns, most likely suffering heavy casualties, and thus, their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has come.
With Portchester Castle besieged, there’s no doubt that they had already launched their attack before the Battle of Sharon ended.
Duncan immediately prepared to set off, holding only one thought.
Destroy the kingdom!
At this moment, someone dared to invade his homeland; truly oblivious to their own doom!
For Duncan at this time, the Kingdom of Kent no longer needed to exist.
Duncan left Clegane, Brad, Edmundson, and others to reorganize the troops while he selected eight hundred elites from the many legions to form a new Thousand-Man Legion. Along with his Personal Guard, it amassed to roughly a thousand soldiers.
.........