Fate: The Forged Arthur Pendragon

On the plains of Bern territory, where fields met farmland.

"Nine out of ten cavalry squads have returned. Most of the scattered soldiers in Cornwall have been recalled."

"Currently, we have gathered over four thousand light infantry, and excluding our original hundred cavalry, we have six hundred cavalry, all high-ranking."

"There are also over a thousand wounded gradually rejoining. Some severely wounded in Plymouth who have lost mobility are also being transported here as much as possible."

"Furthermore," Merlin paused slightly in her report, standing behind Suya. "The ten-man cavalry squad sent ahead to the Bern territory to contact the routed army has lost contact. They've likely already..."

Suya nodded, looking into the distance. "I know." He watched as cavalry, organized by Dagonet into transport teams, used warhorses to drag carts, bringing bags of supplies scavenged from various manors and villages into the temporary camp.

At this moment, Merlin frowned and asked, "So, are we still going to engage with them?"

"Such an action would be tantamount to treason, wouldn't it?"

"They should have detected our presence here, but until now, they haven't sent any messengers to negotiate or surrender."

"Treason?" Suya savored the word, then shook his head. "No, not treason."

"If it were true treason, they would have already come at full force to capture me."

Merlin came to her senses. It did seem to be the case. She looked at Suya again and asked, "Then what should we do? Proceed with the original plan, and depart in an hour to receive this force?"

Suya calmly turned his head, looking down at the other side.

"I said I would meet them."

On the second day after the breakthrough plan was implemented, at nine in the morning.

Two routed armies faced each other in the Bern territory.

The five thousand-strong army on the north side was arrayed in a single line on the plain, with royal banners unfurled. The blue-backed, red-dragon patterned royal banners fluttered fiercely in the wind blowing from the horizon.

The cavalry in the front row parted to the sides. Suya, clad in silver armor and a blue cloak trimmed with white mink fur, rode his white warhorse out from the military formation.

On the other side, from the vast routed army, emerged a knight in gray plate armor without a helmet. It was Hammond, the temporary leader of the routed forces.

At this moment, Hammond's expression was grim. Last night, after tricking the ten naive knights into revealing news of the new King, he had intended to bribe another master knight who served as his subordinate in the routed army—that knight was currently the temporary commander of the five-thousand-strong cavalry regiment. With the assistance of this five-thousand-strong cavalry regiment, he could have advanced last night to the vicinity of Sir Hector's manor, captured the new King who was rallying scattered soldiers there, and taken control of the Crown Prince.

But…

"Damn knightly spirit! Damn Knight Morton!"

"Facing this false king who appeared out of nowhere, he still put on that hypocritical, disgusting act."

"F**K!"

Hammond, emerging from the routed army, cursed inwardly. He didn't believe that in this desperate situation, a brat who popped out of nowhere claiming to be the 'King of Knights' could change anything. Compared to that, using the other party's identity to stabilize this unexpectedly large army, and then fighting for a real chance to escape, was a more practical matter.

But now... Hammond looked up with a grim expression at the countless large royal banners erected on the opposite plain, and at the golden-haired young knight standing at the front of the formation, who, no matter how one looked at him, resembled a true king.

He had to admit that on this battlefield, which filled one with utter despair and confusion, seeing that banner again, seeing such a 'King of Knights,' the surge of emotion deep within his heart made his heart pound even faster.

And if even he felt this way, the gazes of the five thousand cavalry and seventeen thousand light infantry behind him felt so scorching that his back tingled. Relying solely on Hammond's strength as a peak master spearman was no longer enough to suppress the increasingly fragmented morale of the army. The number of deserters had been soaring at a rate of hundreds per day. If this continued, the army's organization would completely collapse in less than three days.

So, Hammond, having missed the opportunity to hijack the Crown Prince, now had no choice but to brace himself and step forward again, preparing to feign deference to that 'King of Knights'… and wait until that King lowered his guard, then choose the right moment to bare his fangs!

He slowly organized the deceptive words he would use to trick the King, and plastered a fawning fake smile on his face.

Against the wind that blew through the royal banners, Hammond raised his hand to sweep back his brown hair and spurred his horse forward.

Under the scorching gaze of the two armies, totaling over twenty-seven thousand men, on the plain, the golden-haired young King of Knights and the routed army's peak master-level provisional commander steadily drew closer.

1 kilometer.

800 meters.

650 meters.

500 meters.

350 meters.

Until 200 meters—

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of people,

"—Charge!"

The golden-haired young King suddenly roared, clamping his legs hard against the horse's flanks. The reins he tugged suddenly glowed with a pure white light, emblazoned with a rose pattern!

"Noble Phantasm—"

"Knight, Eduardo's Charge!"

A shuttle-shaped, blood-red white light erupted!

It blasted an ultrasonic boom ring from its original position!

"—BOOM!!!"

The golden-haired King of Knights transformed into a beam of light, like a cannon, charging directly towards Hammond, whose face flashed with a look of horrifying astonishment!

Everything before his eyes transformed into monotonous lines!

Everything in his ears became a prolonged hum!

His mouth was forcibly filled with the churning gale!

Completely abandoning self-protection,

Only the correction of direction towards the target remained!

Suya's eyes widened in fury,

Countless blood vessels rapidly converged in the whites of his eyes.

The entire world before him became a linear tunnel compressed into a single second. The two ends of the tunnel connected him and the peak master-level spearman opposite him.

Suya could see the shock, astonishment, anger, and disbelief of sudden betrayal on the other's face.

But this was precisely what he had been chewing on alone all night.

And it was this very thing that ignited the 'inhuman' fury that had been latent deep within Suya's heart ever since he arrived in this world!

"You bastard, dare to kill my chef?!"

"Die for me!"

"GRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

A furious roar, like a dragon's, exploded!

The white horse beneath him melted into a bloody pulp. The armor on his body rapidly heated, turning red, burning hot!

And Suya, empowered by this [Extreme Speed] in that single second, only had time to make one movement:

Raise his fist!

"—BOOM!!!"

His fist, in the next instant, smashed directly into the center of Hammond's face!

All the kinetic energy imparted by the erupting white light converged at this point, transforming into a Mach 1 sonic boom punch!

It was like being struck in the face by a high-speed train traveling at 1224 kilometers per hour!

The sound wave instantaneously blasted out a massive atmospheric ring, shocking the surroundings for a hundred meters!

Hammond flew backward for dozens of meters, like a ragdoll!

His entire face was caved in, like a concave shape.

One eyeball instantly exploded, and his facial bones instantly bent inwards, shattered, and collapsed!

But even so, as a peak master, he was—still not dead!

The 'Qi' woven beneath his skin spontaneously circulated, temporarily acting as a life-force, granting him the ability to continue fighting.

And as he struggled to raise his arm and wipe away the blood covering his face,

He had just opened the eye that hadn't burst,

Only to see—

The King, whose calm expression had suddenly turned into one of savage fury, slowly drew the sword from his waist.

It was a beautifully crafted ceremonial sword, used by lords to confer knighthood. Etched on its blade was an elegant English inscription:

'I will help my knight brothers until the last moment.'

Then,

The King swung back his arm and swung the sword!