The eunuch fled back to Li Guang, who said, "This must be the Xiongnu Eagle Shooter." [The Eagle Shooter mentioned in the Records of the Grand Historian, the Xiongnu's top mounted archer.]
This time they were truly facing a formidable opponent.
With Duncan's current strength, even with a god's eye view, it is almost impossible to defeat them.
The Huns' riding skills are extremely proficient, and even if they escape on horseback, they may not be able to get away. The witch beside him has riding skills similar to his, but the opponents' horses are evidently better. This is the Pannonia Plain; if caught, they might end up like porcupines, pierced all over.
"Retreat!"
Duncan immediately turned his horse to flee. The witch reacted quickly and followed up, saying, "The Huns' riding skills are excellent, we might not be able to escape."
"Do you have any plans?"
The distance was shrinking little by little.
If it kept going like this, being caught was only a matter of time.
Duncan pondered for a moment, fixed his gaze on the witch beside him, and said in a deep voice, "Do you have a way to heavily injure, or directly take out one or two enemies?"
He did not yet understand this world's witchcraft fully.
But judging from his experiences so far, those wizards possessing supernatural powers were not strong to an inhuman degree. The forest demoness was only one star; he estimated he could defeat it alone. According to some legends he had heard, many monsters were killed by mortal knights and warriors. Supernatural power in this world was more of an enigmatic attack method.
The witch thought for a moment and said, "I can make their horses go berserk."
"Pray for Diana's guidance, let the arrows hit the enemies, but not necessarily targeting vital points."
"Other witchcraft requires rituals and spellcasting, and there's no time to perform them."
Fight or not?
In the Dimension Space, Duncan constantly observed the changes in the enemy formation. Because of their pursuit, those Hun cavalry were obviously more dispersed. The vassal army conquered by the Huns lagged behind a lot, and it was mainly the more proficient Huns with superior horsemanship and horses that were catching up.
This created distance between the enemy troops, a two-star Hun Eagle Shooter and five one-star Hun mounted archers leading by fifty to sixty meters from the rest of the cavalry, splitting the whole force.
An opportunity!
Duncan tested the 'Resting Horse Arrow,' a mounted archery skill plundered from the Pamitia Rangers. The aiming cross in the projected image wobbled slightly but remained within his control range.
"If I win and seize the abilities of the Hun Eagle Shooter."
"Then."
"I would have the combat skills of this era's top mounted archer."
"This wave could directly upgrade me to the forefront of mortal combat strength in the Middle Ages."
Duncan had long realized that his plundering ability must kill some powerful enemies head-on to rapidly enhance because he couldn't seize combat techniques the enemy didn't possess. During a night raid, he killed many Barbarian Race deserters but only gained three abilities, which couldn't compare to what he had seized from killing Pamitia Rangers.
Clearly, once he had captured the combat skills that the Barbarian Race deserters mastered, he couldn't gain new abilities, only enhance some of the most basic combat techniques.
It must be something the enemy has for him to seize it.
"Let's fight!"
Running might not guarantee escape, and tired horses and men make fighting harder. It's better to seek a chance to turn back and attack, maybe even counterattack in this wave.
Duncan, as if with divine insight, galloped ahead like he knew the terrain intimately, relying on decent riding skills and with a witch by his side, leaving those elite Hun riders behind.
The distance between the enemy troops grew wider and wider; the Hun mounted archers were already one to two hundred meters ahead of the other vassal troops.
Six against one, the advantage is mine.
As long as I kill that man, the woman can be taken back as a spoil of war.
"The terrain in the woods ahead is suitable for an attack!"
At the junction ahead was a rather sparse forest. Duncan calculated the distance and directly told the witch beside him, "There's a blind spot in visibility over there; we'll turn in and ambush them."
"Drive their horses mad."
"Best to heavily injure or unhorse that enemy wearing a fur hat, then leave the rest to me!"
"Finish quickly and leave immediately."
"The south side of the woods leads back to the main road, they won't catch us."
Map fully open.
Duncan now overlooked the entire battlefield, having even chosen the retreat route.
Crow Queen Triss showed a look of surprise, deliberately looking back to find that enemy wearing a fur hat, who seemed to be the leader of these Huns.
The witch nodded, whispering softly as the sound of cawing came from the direction of the woods.
Duncan lagged slightly, letting the witch take the lead.
"Now's the time!"
"Into the forest."
The two parted ways, the witch riding into the woods, Duncan veering into the enemy's blind spot, pulling the reins to slow down his horse, then readying his bow and arrow to aim at the enemy closing from outside the visual blind spot.
In an open shootout, he definitely couldn't win, but by exploiting a visual blind spot, he caught the enemy off guard and took early advantage.
Eagle Shooter.
Just bearing that title was already giving him considerable pressure.
"Take action!"
A sudden gust of wind sprang across the flat ground, with cawing of crows seemingly echoing mid-air. At that instant, Duncan felt as if he sensed something, a subtle change occurred in the projected image, as if invisible magic interfered with reality.
The warhorses neighed and went mad; the pursuing Hun riders were caught off-guard, unable to control the frightened, frenzied horses.