Crack!
That was the sound of the Roman Emperor grinding his teeth. As the two armies arrayed themselves for battle at noon on the decisive day, the perfectly synchronized march of Camelot's forces struck the first blow against the Roman coalition's morale.
Their own ranks were a chaotic mess. Only about five thousand were proper Roman Knights; the remaining five thousand were drawn from various vassal states.
At this moment, the vassal state forces were positioned on the flanks and to the rear of the Roman Shield Wall, serving as observers.
"The Camelotians have no honor!"
Having already experienced the resilience of the Roman Shield Wall at sea, even Guinevere had no desire to attempt another frontal assault.
Instead, the vassal state formations on the shield wall's flanks became Camelot's breakthrough point. Gawain and Lancelot each led a force, shattering the vassal troops within half an hour and driving them back into the Roman Shield Wall.
Did the Roman army lack a true cavalry legion? They had one, but after witnessing Camelot's two thousand perfectly disciplined knights, the Roman Emperor was unwilling to send his own to a pointless slaughter.
In that instant, upon seeing the magnificent might of Camelot's knights with his own eyes, the Roman Emperor realized the vanguard's destruction had been inevitable. Camelot truly possessed the strength to face him in a decisive battle.
Furthermore, Camelot's two thousand knights were a true heavy cavalry legion, capable of coordinated legionary combat. Although Rome's heavy infantry outnumbered them two or three to one, Camelot held the advantage in actual combat effectiveness.
With the sounding of the horns, the Knights of the Kings on the flanks were swiftly routed. The Roman Emperor was already regretting his decision.
Should they retreat? Fall back to defend the city?
The Roman Emperor could not bear such humiliation. Nor would Camelot let go of this juicy target—an army that had confidently marched out for a field battle after misjudging their respective strengths.
"Your Majesty, we..."
"Roar! Tell the Knights of the Kings that any who charge the shield wall will die!"
Javelins imbued with mana flew through the air, pinning down any of the Kings' Knights who crossed the line. This ensured the shield wall would not be shattered before the main engagement with Camelot even began.
"Bedivere, relay my orders to Sir Gawain and Sir Lancelot. They are to permit the Knights of the Kings to surrender. They must no longer drive them into the Roman Shield Wall."
Beside the King of Knights, the fully armored Guinevere sighed softly. The King of Knights was still too kind. This was a perfect opportunity to eliminate the Kings' rebellious forces, yet because driving them into the shield wall was now pointless, she had granted them a path to survival.
Guinevere looked ahead. As Bedivere delivered the royal command, Gawain and Lancelot began accepting surrenders.
Soon, Camelot's knights herded the surrendered knights to the flanks of the battlefield, turning them into mere spectators.
Amid the clamor and sighs of relief, some of the survivors were struck by the King of Knights' mercy.
They had completely forgotten that it was the King of Knights' forces who had routed them in the first place.
With the situation now a direct confrontation between Camelot and Rome, Camelot still had sixteen hundred knights ready for battle. This was after accounting for the nearly two hundred casualties they had just suffered and the two hundred knights assigned to guard the prisoners.
"My King," Gawain began, his voice heavy with regret, "I made a command error. We should not have lost so many..."
"Sir Gawain, you and Sir Lancelot each led five hundred knights to rout twenty-five hundred, with losses of fewer than a hundred men. What fault could you possibly have?"
"Exactly! You knew you fought brilliantly, so you came here just to show off to the rest of us, didn't you?"
"Enough. Save the boasting until after the main course. These five thousand Roman Knights will be far tougher than those irregulars. If we try to force a direct confrontation..."
"...we'll end up with mouths full of blood."
Guinevere was the most staunchly opposed to a frontal charge. The knights who had graduated from the Knight Academy over the past five years had all been personally knighted by her, as Headmaster, alongside the King of Knights.
Moreover, if they suffered heavy casualties, they could forget about securing the nominal submission of all Europe; they might not even be able to maintain actual control over Gaul.
"My King, let us proceed as the Queen suggests. On the battlefield, there is no room for talk of 'dishonor.' The very first line of the textbook the Queen wrote for the Knight Academy is... 'All warfare is based on deception.'"
"I know. The title 'King of Knights' is naturally less important than the lives of my knights.
"Sir Gawain, begin. You will be the first."
What was Camelot's strategy? What had Guinevere proposed?
Once the King of Knights made the final decision, starting with Gawain, the Knights of the Round Table began to ride forward, one by one, to challenge the Roman shield wall.
If the Romans could not endure the insults and sent forth their important knights to answer the challenge, the knights of Camelot would show them that the mysteries of Great Britain had not yet faded and that the strength of Camelot's knights was simply superior.
And if the Romans swallowed their pride? Well, they couldn't. They were knights, after all...
Starting with Gawain, the Knights of the Round Table took to the field one by one. There were victories and defeats in the duels, but Camelot won nine out of ten. The Knights of the Round Table whose names Guinevere remembered remained undefeated.
Even the relatively weaker Bedivere, after choosing to wield a lance, managed to unhorse his opponent.
Over a hundred Knights of the Round Table issued their challenges in succession. The ground between the two armies was stained red with blood, and the morale of the Roman shield wall plummeted to an all-time low.
The final hammer blow to the shield wall came when Guinevere removed her helmet, dispelled her mana-forged armor to reveal the dress beneath, and issued her own challenge—boldly declaring she would take on ten opponents at once!
By this point, the strongest knights within the Roman shield wall were already dead. The ten knights hastily assembled to face her could barely manage to construct armor from mana, placing them at the level of the weakest Knights of the Round Table.
So, Guinevere won. She won with ease—so decisively that some soldiers in the shield wall broke ranks and began to retreat, only to be halted by the Roman Emperor, who once again gritted his teeth in fury.
His greatest mistake was his arrogant confidence, stemming from ignorance of the enemy's true strength. His second was his conviction that his knights would triumph when Camelot challenged them to duels.
Now, as Guinevere roared, "I'll take on twenty!" the Roman shield wall wavered even more. The soldiers looked to their emperor, their resolve held together only by their trust in him and their knightly honor.
Should they send more men to duel?
The Roman Emperor knew it was pointless. Rome had become Camelot's stepping stone. In the annals of this Knight War, he and his Roman army would forever be remembered as a laughingstock.
All he could do now was sacrifice himself to salvage the last shred of dignity for his entire army.
"King of Knights, call back your pet! Now begins the life-or-death duel between a King and an Emperor!"
From his high chariot at the center of the shield wall, the nearly two-meter-tall Roman Emperor burst into laughter. This was his challenge, the last desperate gambit he could devise.
If he won, there was still a chance to turn the tide. If he fell in battle... so be it.
Responding to his call, the King of Knights, long prepared, rode forth, sword in hand. The tip of the Holy Sword pointed directly at the Roman Emperor as she spoke in a voice as sharp as a blade's edge:
"Guinevere is my Queen. For that insult, I will shatter your skull!"
The King of Knights knew better than anyone that Guinevere deserved more than half the credit for Camelot's current strength.
As they clashed, the King of Knights brought down the Holy Sword. The Roman Emperor must have regretted not finding a better blade.
His sword shattered, followed swiftly by his head.
The Roman Emperor had intended to use Camelot as a stepping stone to prove to the other kings that Rome had not declined. Instead, he became the stepping stone, allowing those same kings to witness the birth of a new hegemon.