This time, the injuries are truly severe.
After Duncan and his party entered the forest, they abandoned their horses. Duncan carried Severus directly, while Anya supported the weakened Triss. The four of them stumbled and found a massive oak tree to rest.
—— The abandoned Druid's Circle.
On the God's Eye view map, there was such a mark. There weren't any buildings nearby, but around them was a ring of oak trees. Judging by their age, they might have been nearly a hundred years old.
Duncan took off his clothes, laid them on the ground, and helped Severus to lie down comfortably.
Triss struggled to stand up and instructed Duncan on how to use the herbs the Druid carried to re-treat the wounds. Anya tore her own long dress, using the softer interior as bandages, and then assisted Duncan in bandaging Severus again.
"I'll go collect some firewood."
Anya stood up to find nearby kindling, occasionally getting scratched by thorns. This witch, who looked like a noblewoman, immediately wore a tear-stained expression, not seeming to fake it, purely because the thorn's scratch made her almost cry from pain, even though she was over a hundred meters away from the group.
A pampered Roman noblewoman, with her husband once being an imperial general.
Duncan secretly observed through the God's Eye view.
When Anya returned, she wiped the tears from her eyes, holding an armful of firewood in her arms, scooping some with her long dress, and limped to place it by the oak tree.
She really was a two-star whiteboard witch.
In the projection, Duncan's marks showed 'exhausted', 'weak', 'severely bruised'. The Life Bar had dropped by about two-fifths, and the Energy Bar's maximum reduced by nearly one-third. Beside him, Severus was 'critically injured nearly dying', 'severely bleeding', 'mildly disabled'. Crow Queen Triss appeared 'magic power overdrawn', 'severely weak', 'mentally weary', 'slightly retaliated'.
Anya remained in a good state within the group; when they had started things were okay, but after fetching firewood, she returned with an added 'slight bruise'.
The witch had mud on her forehead, probably from a big fall when Duncan wasn't paying attention.
Duncan tried to feed some water to Severus.
He looked at Triss beside him and said in a deep voice, "We must first find a safe place to recuperate for some time."
"Otherwise, Severus won't hold on for long."
Crow Queen Triss, pale-faced, looked at Duncan and said, "You're in charge at this moment."
Duncan nodded.
He set up a small campfire before the three, placed Severus beside it, closer to the shade of the tree, and reached to feel the Druid's forehead, finding no fever, just severe blood loss. Subsequently, he turned to Anya by the fire, appearing a bit perturbed and said in a deep voice, "Stay and look after them."
"I'll return quickly."
By now, it was dark.
Upon hearing Duncan's words, Anya showed an uneasy expression, seemingly worried that he might leave them behind and flee on his own. After looking at the weakened Triss, this witch gritted her teeth and nodded, "Alright."
Though looking delicate, when facing events, she appeared to make some decisive choices.
Duncan gave no further explanation.
He turned and looked at Triss for a moment, and saw trust in her eyes.
With exhaustion weighing down his body, he picked up the Northern Land battle bow, fastened the Franks throwing axe on his waist, then drew the 'Oathkeeper' longsword, glancing up at the sky briefly before disappearing into the dense woods.
There were eleven arrows left.
Duncan's silhouette moved along the rugged mountain path, occasionally pausing for a short rest due to the slow recovery speed of his Energy Bar post-injury.
The weak state was gone, yet the exhausted state would endure for ten more hours.
Severus couldn't wait that long.
A rain shower might wash over him, and Severus might meet his end by tomorrow.
"The bow can still be drawn."
"But can't be pulled to the fullest; the Energy Bar is somewhat depleted."
Dimension Space.
Duncan gazed at the projection before him, expanding the God's Eye view map, and soon a building marker emerged miles away on the map surface.
—— Bandit Stronghold.
They lacked food, lacked clean water, lacked a proper place for shelter and recovery.
Heading to other towns was now more dangerous.
"Severus needs good rest and further treatment, otherwise he won't hold out."
From the moment Severus let the horse go, he became Duncan's comrade in arms.
Go!
Duncan headed toward the Bandit Stronghold. He stopped in the vicinity because he saw the stronghold's marker on the large map.
Until the moon rose.
He finally reached the edge of the stronghold, which didn't seem very large, merely a very rudimentary wooden fortress surrounded by some fences, with a small cave inside. In recent years, the Gaul region experienced frequent rebellions, with many insurgents turning to banditry wandering the wilderness.
—— Weapon Master (Sword): Your mastery over sword-type weapons is second nature; it's like it is a part of your body. It greatly strengthens your combat skills with sword-type weapons.
After killing the Hermitage Holy Hall, under military weapon mastery, a master-level branch appeared.
Military weapons encompassed most conventional melee weapons. In this battle, the enemies primarily specialized in swordsmanship, while others likely didn't reach master standards, thus a master-level combat skill differentiated for sword-type weapons.
—— Throwing Mastery: You are proficient in using all throwing-type weapons, greatly enhancing hit accuracy with javelins and throwing axes.
Many Roman troops trained in javelin throwing, while the Franks soldiers excel at throwing axes.
—— Arrow Deflection [Special Ability]: A deeply refined combat skill, a battle instinct formed by the body. You can use any weapon to deflect arrows, and try to deflect throwing weapons. The success rate depends on your comprehensive combat skills, and your own physical attributes.