Chapter 92: Chapter 92: The Gate to the Otherworld (Two Chapters Combined)
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The group carefully moved forward on the muddy path. Artoria walked to Asher's left, holding a red spear in her hand. This was a weapon Asher had temporarily given her, as the journey might be dangerous, and she needed a more powerful weapon to protect herself and others.
Milo wore a light pink dress, her long slender legs showing, and her pink hair cascaded down to her waist. She didn't look like someone going to a battlefield at all, but rather like she was on a leisurely trip. This made Asher pay special attention to her situation. This girl now represented the tribal leaders, and if circumstances allowed, he could show her a little consideration.
Milo evidently noticed Asher's steps leaning towards her side, and a faint smile appeared on her seemingly innocent face. "The King is truly kind." She brushed away a strand of loose hair and continued, "However... don't underestimate me too much."
Asher slowly approached the village. Knights were on guard around him, vigilant for any rustling in the bushes. Behind this village, Bedivere, due to his detour, would still take some time to arrive. Therefore, during this time, they only needed to first confirm the number of enemies.
The further Asher walked, the more he felt something was wrong. It was too quiet, eerily quiet.
"It's really strange... we haven't seen a single foreign tribe member along the way," Artoria whispered.
"I've thoroughly checked my surroundings, there are no ambushes," a knight said.
"That's precisely why it's more unsettling..." Sir Lamorak said softly.
It was just like the calm before a storm. If the operation hadn't already begun, he would even suggest that the King evacuate from here right now.
"Could it be an empty fort strategy?" Asher murmured to himself.
He couldn't think of what kind of ambush the enemy could lay, and so far, the prediction hadn't been triggered. This meant he hadn't encountered any danger yet.
"King! Something's happened in the village!" At this moment, the knight walking in front spoke with surprise, stepping back half a pace to block the group that was about to move forward.
"What's wrong?"
Asher took two steps forward, and upon seeing the scene before him, his pupils slowly widened.
In this place where foreign tribe military camps were stationed everywhere, corpses lay all over the ground. They must have experienced an unusually desperate battle before dying. Their eyes were wide open, and blood stained the ground everywhere. Not a single foreign tribe member survived!
"How could this be...?" Artoria also showed surprise. The appearance of these dead enemy soldiers was truly horrific, with despair in every single one of their eyes. What did they encounter to show such unwilling expressions?
"Confirm if there are any survivors in the village. Gather here in half an hour." Asher gave the order.
The knights began to search the vicinity carefully, while Asher's gaze also scanned the surroundings.
He had never seen a dead person before; this was the first time. But for some reason, he didn't feel any nausea or fear. Even though the eerie environment made him want to get goosebumps, he remained calm.
A faint sound of water came from a dry well not far away, sounding particularly strange in the quiet twilight evening.
"Lily?" Asher turned his head and noticed Artoria had walked to the dry well at some point, her fingers stroking a horse tied next to it.
The horse was lying on the ground, making no sound, as if it was about to die.
"There's still a living horse?" Asher observed the horse in front of him with doubt.
It was a snow-white steed, seemingly shimmering with a faint glow. It looked sickly at the moment, allowing the stranger to stroke its fur, appearing as if it could pass away at any moment.
"It looks very pitiful," Artoria said.
Perhaps due to physical pain, tears fell from the steed's animal eyes, as if it understood human emotions.
"Let it go," Asher said, drawing the Caliburn and cutting the chains on the steed's four legs.
It had been on the verge of death, but after Asher cut the chains, the steed seemed to come alive, standing up with great vitality.
Artoria patted its head. "Go on, this place isn't suitable for you."
However, the steed did not leave. Instead, it gently rubbed its head against Artoria's face, appearing very affectionate.
"It seems to really like you." Asher was surprised that there would be such an intelligent steed that, even after being urged, refused to leave and stayed by Artoria's side.
"Otherwise, let's keep it. The original horse can be brought back by someone else," Asher said.
It was rare to find such an intelligent steed. Since it refused to leave, they might as well keep it.
Artoria nodded lightly, stroking the steed's fur, her eyes soft.
"My King, would you like some water? You've been traveling for half a day, you must be thirsty, right?" Milo appeared before Asher at some point, handing him her water skin.
Looking at the gentle smiling girl in front of him, Asher nodded slightly and took the water skin.
The water skin felt a bit light...
Asher weighed it, feeling that the water skin's weight was a bit off.
Milo seemed to have noticed Asher's confusion and smiled, saying, "I drank a little on the way. The King wouldn't mind, would he?"
Her single sentence almost completely blocked Asher's answer. If he refused, it would mean he was disgusted that she had drunk from it, and as a king, he would never do such a thing. Milo confidently judged that the king would not be so disrespectful.
Artoria's brows furrowed slightly, but she said nothing.
In terms of details, this girl indeed did better than her. As a court steward, there was still much to learn... Artoria silently noted this lesson in her heart.
Asher quietly drank a few mouthfuls of water, handed the water skin back to Milo, and politely said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." The girl's smile was light.
Do girls in this era not have the concept of indirect kissing...? Asher looked at the friendly smile on the pink-haired girl's face and thought to himself.
A faint rustling sound came from the surrounding leaves, and the ground seemed to be vibrating.
Asher felt his steps were a bit unsteady. Milo and Artoria quickly moved closer to Asher's side. One held a red spear, the other girl held a whip. Sir Lamorak also immediately positioned himself in front of Asher, forming an absolute defensive wall.
Asher looked around but found nothing.
After the ground vibrated, there was no other movement.
"...Mon—monster! There's a monster!"
Suddenly, a scream echoed from a distance, breaking the silence.
Almost instantly, all the knights moved, approaching the wooden house from which the scream had come.
The wooden door was tightly shut and couldn't be opened directly. Sir Lamorak kicked open the wooden door, and upon seeing the scene inside, everyone was stunned.
One of the dozen accompanying knights was now completely unconscious, his body stained with blood, and sharp claw marks remaining on his armor.
Looking at the scene before him, with almost no time to think, a flash of an image suddenly crossed Asher's mind. He reacted quickly, drawing the Caliburn, pushing Artoria aside, and blocking the sharp claw that attacked from the darkness with his sword.
And this attack exposed the assailant to everyone's gaze.
It had messy silver hair, long pointed ears, and incredibly sharp teeth, looking just like a beast.
"A spirit from the Otherworld?!" Sir Lamorak exclaimed in shock, looking at the creature in disbelief.
Someone actually opened the Gate to the Otherworld?!
Undoubtedly, those foreign tribes were killed by this spirit.
But he quickly reacted, raising his spear without hesitation and thrusting it at the spirit, which skillfully dodged the attack.
The spirit looked at the people in front of it, revealing a strange smile, and took a step forward.
The knights all gathered around Asher, warily staring at this oddly shaped spirit.
Just when everyone thought it was about to attack, the spirit suddenly stopped, staring intently at Asher, its eyes filled with fear.
After observing for a while, it slowly retreated two steps and quickly disappeared from their sight.
The others remained gathered around Asher, still not letting their guard down, carefully watching their surroundings. After a while, Sir Lamorak finally put away his spear.
"It escaped."
Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Facing human enemy soldiers, they could fight freely, but facing such a bizarre creature, they would be constrained even in battle—because the opponent was too agile and hard to hit.
Did it suddenly run away?
Or did it decide it would be a prolonged struggle and thus retreated?
Asher pondered silently.
At this moment, Sir Lamorak's voice pulled Asher back to reality.
"My King, notify Bedivere to return to Camelot as soon as possible. Someone has opened the Gate to the Otherworld. We need to re-discuss how to repel the foreign tribes."
Asher came to his senses and nodded, "Yes, let's leave here as soon as possible."
At present, this was the only thing they could do. They could have people come later for a detailed search; there was no need for them to stay here now.
However, when the group reached the entrance, they were quickly met with new difficulties.
All the horses tied to the trees were killed.
Every horse had sharp claw marks on its body. Clearly, that spirit was intelligent and retaliated against these strange visitors before leaving.
"We can only wait for Bedivere's troops to arrive," Sir Lamorak said helplessly.
Without horses, it would be difficult for them to return to Camelot on foot.
But even if Bedivere arrived, they would still need two people per horse.
He truly didn't know whether this should be considered a victory or a defeat.
When they arrived, all the foreign tribes had already been killed, meaning the nearby territory was returned to Britain for free.
But in reality, they had done nothing.
It was completely different from what he expected... Asher sighed inwardly.
Asher then heard the sound of hooves near his ear. Turning around, the white steed gracefully approached Artoria, affectionately rubbing its head against her face.
It was the same steed they had found by the dry well earlier. It hadn't been killed and had now come to Artoria's side.
"This is...?" Sir Lamorak asked.
"A horse we found by the dry well earlier." Asher looked at the steed, his eyes filled with surprise.
Did that spirit not notice this horse when it left? Otherwise, how could it still be alive?
Sir Lamorak looked at the horse, and after observing it for a while, he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:
"It seems like a very intelligent horse, My King. The sky is getting dark quickly. Why don't you and Lady Artoria ride this horse and leave first? We will follow soon."
"Can you protect the King well?" Sir Lamorak asked Artoria at the end.
The girl showed a confident smile. "Of course."
Asher: "???"
So, what about my opinion?
Artoria mounted the white steed and extended her hand to Asher.
"Let's go. I will escort you back to the Royal City."
"The others will catch up later, don't worry." Seeing Asher still hesitating, Sir Lamorak offered comfort.
"Does the King not believe in our strength?"
Asher thought to himself, Since you've said that, how can I say I don't believe you?
Besides, there was truly nothing for him to do by staying here now. Instead of waiting for the main force to gather, it would be better to return to Camelot first.
He was a bit curious about the "Otherworld." Morgan was the goddess of death, so perhaps she knew who opened the Gate to the Otherworld.
Once Asher mounted the horse, Artoria looked at everyone and said,
"Then we'll set off first."
At the very end, she gave Milo a faint glance, then rode the horse, taking Asher away.
"What a boring provocation," Milo smiled faintly, but her fists quietly clenched, and a hint of malice flashed in her eyes.
---
Asher looked at the rapidly passing scenery, his hands wrapped around Artoria's waist, his mind pondering what had just happened.
A spirit that had single-handedly killed all the foreign tribes actually fled upon seeing them?
That was too strange!
He absolutely had to ask Sister Morgan about this when they returned.
For some reason, when he heard "Otherworld" just now, he felt a deep sense of unease.
However...
I really don't want to see Sister Morgan so soon.
Asher sighed inwardly.
Because of the dream he had two nights ago, Asher felt awkward meeting Morgan now.
Although she often liked to tease him, she never really crossed the line... yet he dreamt of Morgan doing that to him.
Just thinking about it made him feel quite guilty.
Amidst his reflections, the two soon arrived at the Royal City.
This steed's speed was much faster than Asher had imagined, and it obeyed only Artoria's commands, which was quite peculiar.
The city guards bowed slightly upon seeing Asher, opening the city gate to let the two enter. Soon, Asher arrived at the palace unimpeded.
"Do you want to see Royal Sister now?" Artoria asked.
She had probably overheard Asher's words earlier, knowing he wanted to see Morgan to inquire about certain matters.
"I'll prepare myself mentally first," Asher said.
Meeting Morgan le Fay right now would make him recall the dream he had two nights ago.
"You need to prepare yourself mentally to see Royal Sister?" Artoria's small face showed confusion, unable to quite understand Asher's thoughts.
"Yes, it's very necessary to be mentally prepared, after all, the night before last—"
Asher suddenly closed his mouth.
Close call, almost spilled the beans...
"What happened the night before last?" Artoria's small face showed confusion.
"Nothing." Asher shook his head, subtly changing the topic.
"Anyway, you take this horse to the stables first. I'll go find Sister Morgan myself later. You must be very tired after running around all day, right?"
Artoria didn't think much of it and nodded.
"Okay, if anything comes up, you can always find me."
After saying that, she led the white horse away.
After watching Artoria leave, Asher retracted his gaze.
He'd go find Sister Morgan once he was mentally prepared...
Thinking this, Asher was about to turn and walk into the palace.
"Are you thinking about me?"
However, just as he thought this, a lazy voice suddenly came from behind him.
Asher's body stiffened slightly at the sound.
Such a coincidence?
For a moment, he even thought Morgan had been by his side the whole time and had never left.
Morgan le Fay stared intently at Asher's back.
"I probably know what you want to ask. Come to my room."
At the end, she pressed her finger on Asher's shoulder and said slowly,
"It's not very convenient to talk about those things here."
"You know what I want to ask?" Asher turned his head in surprise.
"Of course, I know everything you're thinking," Morgan le Fay said with a mysterious smile.
"Everything."
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