Chapter 204: Chapter 99: Changing Divine Spirits by Human Hands The morale has dispersed, and the team is hard to lead.
Merlin was always well fed and housed by Duncan, even his cell was guarded by only an elderly guard. He could leave anytime if he wanted, with no one able to stop him.
However, Merlin had no intention of escaping.
He had been locked up for almost a month, only visited a few times by the Crow Queen-Triss to check on his injuries. Later, Severus also visited once to provide some herbs, and then he was left alone, treated like a freeloader eating free meals.
What kind of reputation did Merlin have on Great Britain? Sage? Prophet? Legendary Wizard?
When had he ever been so belittled!
He had been in self-isolation for nearly half a month, always believing Duncan would come to see him voluntarily, maybe even trying to recruit him, which is why he had been purposely ignored. But no one came; instead, he was taken by the army to attack the Camelot Kingdom directly.
This battle nearly overturned Merlin’s understanding.
He had assisted two generations of Camelot’s kings, prided himself on managing the Camelot Kingdom as unbreachable as an iron bucket, with people loyal to King Uther. Yet unexpectedly, they encountered almost no significant resistance along the way. The chieftains of various tribes surrendered at the mere sight of them, some even proactively led the way or sent troops to attack the non-compliant small tribes.
What in the world was going on?
Several military strongholds in Mongolima were seized by Gallard and Chatwin working together. These native chieftains gathered nearly a thousand troops, with over a hundred Indigo Highlands Swordsmen leading the charge. These elite mountain warriors of the Camelot Kingdom cut down their own people with such skill!
It was truly cut after cut bleeding, warriors akin to the Welsh swordsmen of later days like William Wallace.
Loyalty!
Gallard and Chatwin eagerly showed their submission, demonstrating their loyalty to the Governor with valiant combat.
They had not been so fierce even when they followed King Uther to fight Saxon pirates!
Merlin was completely stunned.
Duncan, with the Empire as his banner, inherently gave the various tribe chieftains a reason to submit. Their ancestors had sworn allegiance to the Empire for four hundred years, always as a tribal autonomous region. Now, it could only be seen as forsaking darkness for light under the flag of righteousness.
Psychological warfare!
Duncan’s series of maneuvers prioritized psychological tactics, using public opinion to tarnish King Uther’s reputation, then threatening and enticing with a large army to compel numerous tribe chieftains to submit, driving them like cattle and horses.
This battle truly made Merlin witness Duncan’s great talents, far beyond any comparison to King Uther.
Just yesterday, he saw the enforcement team chopping off a pile of heads.
Even for their own kind, they were so ruthless. It was unheard of for Merlin, neither the Empire nor the Barbarian Race nor King Uther’s army would kill to enforce discipline over such minor breaches.
This showed Merlin’s ignorance.
Duncan learned this from Boss Cao, just like how Cao Cao would cut his hair instead of his head for stepping on a wheat field. What was it for Duncan to decapitate some unruly soldiers?
In any case, Merlin was already feeling a bit socially withdrawn.
This time, let alone making a prophecy, he couldn’t even guess what Duncan intended to do. Earlier, he thought Duncan wanted to use his reputation to persuade the enemy to surrender. However, he was just a tagalong, doing nothing but eating free meals and traveling with the army, observing the sights along the way, and accompanying the enforcement team to oversee military discipline.
Merlin was so well fed for so long without any exercise that even his face got a bit chubby.
Utterly outrageous!
For a grand Legendary Wizard like himself, Duncan was feeding him like a pig, making him gain a considerable amount of weight.
What on earth had the Britons been eating before?
Only after being imprisoned by Duncan did Merlin finally taste the finest cuisine of this world. (British food, we all understand.)
Very soon.
Under the escort of two priests of the British Druid Priesthood, Merlin walked up with his head held high, now quite certain that Duncan needed him to take action. However, he wasn’t sure if it was to persuade King Uther to surrender or some other lord knight.
But Merlin was wrong once again!
To hell with prophecy!
Duncan never intended to have him negotiate a surrender. It was merely King Uther to eliminate; what kind of negotiation was needed? Once the heavy-duty trebuchets were ready, they would flatten the place.
With thirty thousand troops and resources on-site, building trebuchets was as easy as pie.
Duncan slightly smirked, gesturing at Merlin with a horsewhip, his expression playful, "Did you think I wanted you to persuade King Uther to surrender?"
"You’ve overthought it."
"Come with me. What you need to do is even more important!"
"If this task is accomplished."
"I will give you freedom; you can stay or leave as you wish."
Merlin remained silent, following voluntarily.
Duncan’s army far exceeded the standards of this era, especially in terms of morale. Never had he seen soldiers so eager to fight!
Those top-notch elite units, the Britannian Imperial Legion, had yet to take to the field.
The front-line battles were fought by native vassal armies and second-line corps, almost like training exercises, with even militia units given the chance to pursue the enemy.
Yesterday, an exile named Roland was promoted directly to militia centurion for killing a minor chieftain. (This is different from a regular legion centurion, akin to a militia captain.)
Duncan’s general guard swiftly followed.
Pairs of fierce eyes were fixed on Merlin, preventing any unusual moves from him. A young lad named Carl, at just seventeen or eighteen, kept his hand on his sword hilt. If Merlin moved recklessly, he would slash without hesitation.
The Round Table Knights might not be willing to die for King Arthur, but these general guards were almost all ready to die for Duncan!