Golden Gorse Plain.
Alexia slightly raised her head, gazing at the colossal sword in the sky, her own, yet summoned by Suya.
Initially, she was somewhat bewildered, until she sensed that her true sword still hung in outer space. Only then did she realize what Suya had done.
But at this moment, seeing this divine weapon revealed for the first time, she couldn't help but smile, as if recalling the doting smile on her father's face fourteen years ago when he handed her this sword.
That was Philip II, King of Macedon, who, to fulfill her small wish, gambled the future of his entire kingdom in a transaction.
Just as history describes King Arthur's dream as the pursuit of the Holy Grail,
Conqueror King Alexia's dream was to reach the Okeanos Sea at the world's end!
And the direction of that sea was no longer vague;
It was in the heavens!
Thus,
Alexia slowly lowered her head, her kingly aura intensifying. She looked at Suya's solemn expression, a proud look on her own face:
"Suya Pendragon, We must admit, this was a spectacular performance!"
"To answer your will, We should have ended all your illusions with a stronger Sword of Kings!"
"But,"
"This is not the day for this sword to be drawn, nor are you the god this sword points to."
"So, Suya Pendragon, this is the last question of today's banquet—"
A majestic, resonant voice, like the clash of metal and stone, echoed in his ears:
"How will you save Britannia from under Our iron hooves?"
Suya slightly raised his head, his brows slightly furrowed. In truth, he had never considered this question. Even at this very moment, his masquerade as a king was solely to save himself and the twenty thousand loyal Britannian soldiers behind him.
But compared to the more grand and righteous latter, Suya could discern that his truest desire leaned more towards the former.
He pondered for a moment, then replied:
"This question, I can only answer it once I become king."
Hearing this answer, Alexia shook her head. With her acknowledgment, Suya was undoubtedly a king, but she did not intend to take credit for it, merely looking at Suya with tender affection:
"So be it,"
"Today's banquet ends here."
"This cup of wine, We shall drink with you again on the day Britannia falls."
At this point, her voice sharpened, and she coldly swept her gaze over the twenty thousand Britannian soldiers before her. Then, she raised her head, her eyes passing over the gazes peering at this place, sending her thunderous, majestic voice resounding into the distant royal court:
"King Uther's humiliation must be avenged. We will continue to attack Britannia, just as King Uther's boast:
Within 40 days, he would surely breach Our army, capture Us alive, and make Us his queen!
We shall surely breach the Britannian capital within 40 days,
And within three years, Britannia shall be destroyed!
If, before then, you cannot defend the last inch of Britannia's soil,
Knight King—"
"By then, there will be no such favorable terms as today."
"We shall imprison you in Our harem for eternity!"
She leaped onto her divine chariot. Behind her, her vassals also mounted their warhorses.
Immediately after,
"—Rumble!"
Dust and thunder erupted simultaneously.
And as the dust cleared, Conqueror King Alexia's tall figure, along with her army, vanished from before Suya and his companions like scattered lightning.
Within the extent of their vision, there was no longer any obstruction.
A clear path leading directly to the Golden Iron Curtain,
Appeared before everyone.
The Britannian soldiers, who had been despairing and numb, now looked at this clear path, and tears welled up in their eyes.
Then,
On this Golden Gorse Plain, scarred by wildfire and gunpowder, where not a single gorse flower bloomed,
Everyone's gaze turned to the golden-haired young knight standing in the center of the battlefield, who had 'scared away' the Conqueror King's army single-handedly.
Merlin seemed to remember something and immediately knelt before that resolute figure.
Following her action, Lucan and Dagoneht also knelt before Suya, and then, the over three thousand cavalry and eighteen thousand Britannian soldiers behind them.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
A continuous scraping sound of armor arose,
Amidst this uniformly resounding clamor, and the admiring gazes of countless knights,
The figure standing before the entire army was bathed in the dawn's breaking light, the rising sun,
Unending light and warmth radiated forth!
Suya only heard the sound of dice rolling in his mind.
Then,
He slowly raised his hand.
This miracle, forged from an entire night of tireless effort, did not, as it did last time, mark him on the entire world map, creating an extremely exaggerated commotion, as if yearning to conjure ten thousand people on the spot to trample him.
Instead, it quietly landed in his hand,
In the palm of Suya's hand, at this moment, appeared a pool of vibrant scarlet blood, like molten lava.
But this was not human blood.
It was the blood of the monster hidden deep within his heart.
Conqueror King Alexia did not acknowledge Suya as a human king, but rather acknowledged the monster he was forced to unleash. Thus, the miracle of this night was born upon 'its' body.
Looking at the pool of blood in his palm, lines of text immediately appeared before his eyes:
[Noble Phantasm: Lament of the Sword (A)].
Its description was quite vague, merely a short five-line poem that felt extremely familiar to Suya.
[Description:
All kings' blood, shall end with the sword!
You shall, with pain, repay your usurpation!
You shall, with eyes, repay your arrogance!
You shall, with blood, repay your betrayal!
On the day I return to the world, all rebellious vassals shall perish.]
At this moment,
Suya suddenly felt a headache. His vision blurred, and another figure, identical to himself, even more real than himself, seemed to suddenly appear before him, on this Golden Gorse Plain.
He stood with his back to the rising sun, before Suya, his face hidden in shadow, revealing only a pair of gleaming scarlet vertical pupils.
'Himself' stared at Suya with scarlet eyes, a mischievous curve to his lips, and chuckled:
"My dear self,"
"How long more will you lie to yourself?"
"And where can you escape to?"
"Since King Uther, who brought you shame, has died by your hand, and Arthur, who stole your heart, has already returned it—"
"Then now,"
"Shouldn't we depart immediately to draw that sword."
"And then..."
"Enough!"
A vein violently throbbed on Suya's forehead. Amidst the ethereal voice, he seemed to have his toes stepped on, crying out sharply in pain.
With that sharp cry, his vision immediately cleared, as if everything just now hadn't existed, and there was nothing in his raised hand.
"Eh, what's wrong?"
A hushed, clear yet peculiar tone sounded by his ear.
Suya turned his head and saw Merlin behind him looking at him strangely, prompting:
"I say, though lying is fun, sometimes, you can't get too immersed in it..."
Suya blinked, his face flushed, and he quickly coughed.
"Ahem,"
"Well, then, we should depart."
Of course, this was an excuse.
Suya had no desire to go to the capital. Being able to read the map now, he knew that since there was no longer any obstruction from the Conqueror King's army, he could simply bypass the Golden Gorse Plain, reach Southampton, and then take a ship directly to London, which was beyond the capital.
Geographically, that place was even safer than the capital.
At this moment, he couldn't help but ponder what excuse to use to part ways with Lucan and the others.
However, just then,
"No, no need to depart, it seems someone has already come to meet us—"
Merlin suddenly pointed to the front of the plain, her expression slightly solemn.
"And, they come with ill intent!"
Suya was startled. He followed her gaze and saw,
With their backs to the sun, casting monstrous shadows,
A six-hundred-strong cavalry troop bearing the royal guard's banner appeared at the edge of the plain.
The leader had long black hair flowing freely, a sinister and somber expression, dressed in dark armor, riding a dark warhorse, truly like a black knight.
His weapon was not the usual lance or sword of a knight, but a scarlet chain.
Led by this black knight,
The troop of royal guards galloped towards the defeated army.
Then,
The black knight swept his gaze around, and coldly asked the crowd:
"Who here is the Knight King?"
Hearing this, the soldiers froze, and couldn't help but turn their gaze towards Suya, who stood at the front.
The black knight followed their gaze, frowned slightly, then waved his hand:
"Bind him!"