章節 73: Chapter 73: Cleansing at the Shallows
"Exciting News! Get Ready for a Massive 35-Chapter Release on Patreon after 5 Days!"
In Celtic mythology, rivers and streams sometimes served as ominous signs, marking the boundary between life and death. The washerwoman on the riverbank was not always as simple as she seemed.
...
When Tom came to his senses, he found himself no longer at Hogwarts. Instead, he was trekking through the wilderness with about twenty people. His clothes were no longer the school robes but a peculiar outfit—fortunately, his wand was still with him.
The people around him were robust and tall, with golden hair and beards. Their healthy complexion suggested abundant nutrition. Adorned in vibrant clothing and adorned with a plethora of jewelry, each person wore a peculiar bronze helmet—some shaped like bullhorns, others featuring reliefs of mythical creatures. Some even had horns and trumpets hanging from their waists.
Tom blended in with this peculiar group.
Behind them, a group of slender individuals followed, seemingly slaves carrying provisions for the group.
\[Instance: Shallows Cleansing Activated!
Mission Objective: Please appease the War Goddess with blood and victory!
Mission Rewards: Abundant Magic Stones (100 Magic Stones for each tribal warrior slain, 10 Magic Stones for each young warrior, 1 Magic Stone for each slave, 1,000 Magic Stones for each heretical priest slain)
Completion Reward: Qualification for Soul Ring Enhancement at a designated position x1\]
Tom examined his clothes, feeling strange and unfamiliar—even among these vibrant individuals, he stood out as the most flamboyantly dressed. Their attire resembled that of various Viking novels, but Tom knew it was the clothing of ancient Celtic people.
What was even more intriguing was that he noticed everyone around him held him in great reverence; their gazes seemed to avoid meeting his.
"Noble Druid, do you have any instructions?" a leader-looking man, exceptionally robust, inquired respectfully, directing his attention to Tom.
Tom shook his head, and the leader did not press further, continuing to command the group forward.
The brief conversation brought good news: language was mutually understandable. Tom could comprehend what the people around him were saying, and the name "Druid" confirmed his earlier speculation: these people were indeed Celts, as "Druid" was the Celtic term for their priests.
What was even better, Tom found that his physical fitness had improved significantly. At least he could keep pace with these people without falling too far behind.
The group of warriors traversed the wilderness, arriving at a blood-red riverbank after a day and night. A gruesome sight greeted Tom: the water in the shallows was red, tainted by the blood of the small river. Piles of mutilated corpses lay along the river, some so disfigured that even their mothers wouldn't recognize them.
Tom felt his stomach churning, but after a while, he gradually calmed down.
Standing in the bloody water was a towering woman. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her gaze, peering through messy hair, fixed on the warriors with a predatory stare.
Pointing at the group, she let out a sharp laugh before speaking in a piercing voice, "I am Morrigan, the Queen of Specters, also known as the Cleansing Woman on the Riverbank. I reside deep in the Knoknalaria Mountains. I appear by the stream, washing away the sins of men."
The leader unsheathed his battle-axe, pointing it at Morrigan. "So all these men soaked in the stream are your doing? Your so-called cleansing of sins means dismembering them into pieces?"
Morrigan laughed like a crow. "I didn't kill these men. I didn't even touch a hair on them! Take a closer look at their faces!"
The leader scrutinized the pile of corpses, realizing that some resembled his comrades. Morrigan bent down, rummaging through the bloody offerings. Eventually, she handed something to the leader, who, upon closer inspection, found it to be his own severed head.
Instinctively tossing the head far away, he swung his axe at Morrigan. However, the moment the axe made contact, she transformed into a flock of crows, led by a massive raven, soaring into the sky.
Encountering such an event, the atmosphere in the group grew somber. Many glanced at Tom, seemingly expecting him to handle the situation.
"It's just an illusion. These mountain spirits and water creatures have only these tricks up their sleeves. Once we please the goddess with blood and victory, all of this will dissipate like morning dew," Tom declared, boosting the morale of the warriors using the mission objectives.
It worked quite well.
Tom and the group marched for a day and a night, only eating a bit of tough jerky and salted fish. Water was sourced from the stream. In the end, they reached a vast lakeside.
The lake appeared azure and crystal clear, stretching endlessly.
By the lakeshore was a massive camp. Tom roughly estimated there were at least five thousand people here, with no fewer than three hundred fierce warriors in his immediate vicinity. The rest comprised ordinary warriors and slaves in approximately a 1:1 ratio.
The camp's leader seemed to be a chief from a nearby large tribe. He welcomed Tom's group and allocated them a batch of warriors and slaves. Tom was even placed in a prominent position in the center of the camp, surrounded by fellow Druids of similar status.
Tom finally enjoyed a hot meal—meat was mostly roasted, lightly seasoned with salt; soup consisted of various fish and vegetables, while the staple food was coarse bread. Unlimited servings of pickled vegetables were also available. And, of course, there was alcohol.
The water was undoubtedly from the lake, but since Tom witnessed the people in the main camp bathing in the lake daily, he insisted on drinking boiled water and brewed beverages.
After spending a few days with the Celtic people, he discovered that these individuals were born warriors, a true martial nation with abundant combat skills. Tom deduced from the fragments of information provided by other Druids that the Celts were currently at the height of their power—around the 3rd century BC.
Tom knew that the Celtic people, the most valiant and warlike nation in ancient Europe, had left their mark across the continent. They reached as far east as Chechnya in Russia, Slovakia, and Austria. To the west, they controlled the entire Low Countries, and from Normandy to the Alps, France was also their territory—all achieved around the 6th century BC.
Three hundred years later, they crossed the channel to occupy the present-day lands of Britain and Ireland, as well as the western Iberian Peninsula. Moving eastward, they settled in Asia Minor and Galatia. Even the Romans trembled before them. In 297 BC, the Celts invaded Greece, sacking the sacred city of Delphi...
They achieved all this because they were extremely belligerent. While other nations fought for specific purposes, the Celts fought for the sake of battle itself. At feasts, verbal disputes could escalate into duels. Life here was child's play.
Nearby tribes gradually gathered here, and the population in the camp approached ten thousand. Their enemies also appeared.
The number of enemies was not fewer than theirs. They camped by the lake, and the next step was to send challenges, agree on a time, and finally assemble forces for battle. It bore a resemblance to the noble wars of the Shang and Zhou periods.
Tom didn't foolishly propose a surprise attack because it clearly went against the values of these Celtic people.
On the day of the battle, Tom witnessed the Celtic war machine: chariots.
More than fifty chariots rolled out of the camp, with a similar number on the opposite side.
Then it became somewhat like a turn-based game.
Both sides sent out slaves to fight first. After one side was defeated, warriors and young soldiers stepped forward to disperse the slaves charging from the other side. This repeated, only to exhaust the strength of the opposing warriors.
The land between the two armies was dyed red with blood. Surely the spirits of both sides were pleased, and the sky was exceptionally clear.
When Tom arrived at the front lines, it was already noon. By this time, the slaves on both sides were nearly exhausted, and it was now the turn of warriors, young soldiers, and Druids.
Chariots began to charge, and chaos ensued. Tom, for a moment, was somewhat dazed: the vibrating ground, splashing blood and mud made him feel the most primitive and savage power.
Chariots clashed, and people fell. Then soldiers rushed in, and the battle evolved into a melee—a true melee without formations, without strategy. It was a brawl, relying on the bloodlust within, charging forward, entangling with the enemy.
The Druids on both sides also displayed their abilities, accelerating arrows with the wind, dispersing enemies with fire, binding enemies with water, or simply creating walls to divide the battlefield.
"Armor protection! Armor protection!" Tom added several layers of iron armor spells to himself, but it was still futile. His iron armor spells were shattered with almost every swing of an axe, while Avada Kedavra struggled to kill warriors who fought on the battlefield stark naked, their skin dyed blue.
After narrowly dodging a stray axe and a heavy hammer, Tom couldn't help but realize: it seemed like his side was at a disadvantage? The enemy had a powerful priest who, every time she acted, knocked down the warriors like wheat. In the long run, even if Tom's side fought better, they were powerless to turn the tide.
After the defeat, the instance certainly couldn't be cleared: the goddess wanted both blood and victory! Offering only blood wouldn't suffice!
So, Tom said:
"Transformation—Roar!" A massive three-headed dog appeared on the battlefield, effortlessly swatting away the warriors and young soldiers around it. Under its claws, they turned to mincemeat.
"Great Druid!" The enemies around exclaimed and scattered, while the warriors on Tom's side cheered.
Tom's enlarged size enhanced his combat power but also attracted more firepower. Stones, and even spells, came at him, but for the thick-skinned three-headed dog, these were nothing.
After growing in size, Tom saw the battlefield situation more clearly. He spotted the priestess protected by the warriors on the other side. She was a woman dressed in an extremely peculiar manner, seemingly wearing strips of cloth, with strange oil paintings on her face. Tom charged towards her.
"As long as we deal with her, the instance can be cleared, right?"
Seeing Tom charging towards the enemy high priestess, the chief on Tom's side personally joined the battle, leading the royal guards and the remaining chariots to clear a path for him.
Blood and flesh flew as Tom led the charge, breaking through the chaotic battle and approaching the enemy high priestess.
The enemy priestess cast several gusts of wind and fireballs in succession, all of which Tom dodged. As Tom got closer, she chanted a series of eerie tunes. Immediately, scales grew densely on her skin, her eyes elongated, and her tongue turned into a snake-like shape.
The high priestess pounced on Tom.
Both sides tactfully cleared an area for the mages to engage in close combat.
Tom, like a small car, collided with the high priestess. Not daring to resist head-on, the priestess leaped, her slender limbs hanging on Tom's back, entering his blind spot. Tom jumped around, unable to shake off this resilient priestess.
Then the priestess's nails began to lengthen, deeply piercing into the muscles on Tom's back. With the support of the spell, Tom's blood flowed like a river. At the same time, the priestess approached Tom's back, and her mouth leaned in, starting to suck Tom's blood.
Tom's breath was gradually weakening. If this continued, Tom would be sucked to death. Tom realized this and, with a determined heart, rolled into a ball of flames.
In an instant, a blazing fire erupted on Tom's back. The priestess on his back was also engulfed in flames, emitting a miserable scream. She tried to jump off, but the nails that had just penetrated too deep got stuck in the bone fissures, leaving her no choice but to endure the burning with Tom. Soon, the priestess, with tender skin and flesh, turned into charred remains, while Tom was ablaze, running everywhere, like entering an uninhabited territory, leaving devastation in his wake.
The enemy's morale collapsed, and the entire army dispersed instantly. Tom achieved victory.
\[Instance cleared!\]
This was the last sentence that jumped into his mind before he fell unconscious.
You can read +82 advanced chapters on my P@treon page for just 4$ !!
P@treon.com/young_sunlight
Collection/Tag is : TDDH
(End of this chapter)
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票