UWTD 368 Unification (III)

The light mood continued, but bad news arrived the next day.

“My King, the Saxons have breached the eastern strongholds!” The messenger rushed back, exhausted and scared.

“How many are there?” Artoria’s brow tensed.

“50,000, my king.”

The invasion that threatened Britain came a lot earlier than the last time.

Artoria gathered her camp together at lightning speed. The march forward had halted, and soldiers heard the fragmented news. All eyes converged on the lone tent they had set up for a meeting with great nervousness—a meeting where their highest authorities would decide the future of their army.

Inside the tent, a heated discussion ensued.

“My King, we have to stop them,” Kay stated his straightforward opinion.

But one lord, who commanded the shield bearers, shook his head.

“Facing an army five times our size is impossible at the moment. Our soldiers aren’t up to snuff for such a scuffle. If we reach out to other lords, the—?”

“Reach out to whom?!” The second in command of the cavalry shouted. “They have already felled two fortresses in a week. And many lords are gathering under their banner. Do you think any other lord will help us?!”

“The lords that are joining the Saxons are the ones who felt threatened by our king’s advancements in unification,” Bedivere added.

“Those bastards! Do they not know what they are destroying the land? They’ll burn it down once the Saxons run through this place.” Kay gritted his teeth.

“That seems to be their intention,” Artoria said, a deep frown on her young forehead. “The lords want to use the Saxons to deal with us. Then they plan to unite and destroy the remnants of the barbaric tribes, taking both Britain and wrestling for lands beyond the sea as well.”

“Do they have no conscience? Do they not know the way Saxon handles defeated cities?” The lords became furious as the talks went on.

So, before it got to where anger boiled over, Artoria made the final decision.

“We cannot leave the Saxons be. Get in contact with every lord in the west. Even if they are an army of barbarians, they’ll need rest and time to gather resources. We have to strike them before they do. Adam, I’ll need your help in securing additional resources and information on enemy movements.”

“As you wish,” Adam said.

“Let’s all get to work. For a better Britain.” Artoria ended the meeting.

The lords and knights left the tent one by one. Each more furious than the other, they dove into the tasks assigned to them. They all got in contact with the lords and knights they knew best. They wrote letters and spread the word on the west side of the land. This was no longer Artoria versus the lords. It had become the land of Britain versus the barbaric invaders.

A week had passed, and Artoria’s army had started its march towards the Saxon-controlled eastern ports. Late at night with the moon at the zenith, she called Adam into the tent for an audience.

“How are things looking, Adam?” She asked, her expression a mixture of tense and calm.

“The invasion happened earlier because of outside influence.” Adam sighed.

“Can’t say I didn’t expect something like this. But not like this.” Artoria sank into her decorated chair.

“I am afraid it gets worse.” Adam shook his head. “The counter force is using Vortigern as their proxy. They have given him a golden cup, it’s called the holy grail.”

“A holy grail… to think they’d use that.” Artoria’s face darkened.

In her eyes, the Holy Grail was an item that could’ve solved all her problems. A powerful wish-granting tool that could turn the world upside down. She had tried her darndest to win one, but couldn’t. And now, she had to face that item’s power.

“He is using that to bring in stronger soldiers, magically empowered ones. They could march for days without rest and attack without fear of death.” Adam stated.

“Sounds like his ideal army.” Artoria clenched her hand. If she had Excalibur, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

This time, she had neither pulled Caliburn out of the stone nor did she have the time to get Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. Facing Vortigern, empowered by the counter force and the holy grail, far exceeded what she could currently handle.

“You are my only option right now.” Artoria looked straight at Adam.

“Don’t worry, I planned to act even if you didn’t ask.” He smiled, handing the young king a jar full of cookies. “After all, we made a contract.”

“…Thanks, truly.” Artoria received the jar and looked down.

“You don’t have to look so down. It’ll be you who will save the country after all.” Adam added.

“How?” Her green eyes looked up.

Adam’s power was too vast, and if he made a move, this unstable world would crumble. But his opponent had already given him the solution to the problem they sent his way.

“Well, I can let you access your servant form for a limited time.” He said.

“Is that possible?” Artoria’s eyes widened.

“As long as that grail stays in Vortigern’s hands, it is,” Adam reassured her. “We have gathered an additional 5000 troops who have experience, so the gap has lessened in numbers. We need to supplement the magical element now, and you’ll bring that in.”

“Is there any way to do that?” Artoria’s army was still outnumbered 3 to 1. But the enemy’s strength was much greater because of the grail.

“Of course there is. It is how you will access your servant form.” Adam conjured a golden cup.

“The holy grail…” Artoria stood up in shock. The golden cup in front of her had a similar magical signature. It wasn’t easy to fake that divine presence and fool her senses.

However, Adam shook his head while handing the grail to Artoria. “It isn’t the real grail, but a copy. If I try to create a real one, this world would fall apart under the constant attack from outside.”

“This is a fake…” Artoria almost let out a laugh. The grail in her hand floated and sank into her chest. The invigorated flow of mana through her body like an opened dam.

Her powers, physical strength, and mental clarity, everything leaped higher and higher with each passing moment. This wasn’t simply accessing her servant form. Artoria’s powers have increased from what she knew. She could conjure Excalibur and her armour, she could enter spirit form to recover, and her mana capacity has skyrocketed because of the constant flow from the grail.

After Adam left to handle the supply chain and soldier accommodations, Artoria still sat in a daze.

“He isn’t anything like the grail…” She felt the power rising inside her body. She had shot too low in her estimation of Adam’s power.

He created a copy of the holy grail like nothing. A being far beyond a holy grail. That’s who heard her wish and helped. It wasn’t anything short of surreal to her when she first met him. But each time she saw his feats, she couldn’t help but wonder what he was.

However, Artoria only had one thought in her mind.

“I shouldn’t lean on him too much.” She wasn’t worried that he might do something bad to her or twist her wish.

He hadn’t shown such tendencies and had been a good helping hand throughout. But she thought that relying on him too heavily would cost her.

‘I want to save this place with my own hands. I owe these people that much.’ Artoria knew she needed Adam’s help to keep the counter force at bay. But she had to fight for her long time wish in the world and not waste his efforts.

The sword of promised victory appeared in her hands. Excalibur. Artoria swung the sword that didn’t feel foreign to her younger body at all. She had grown a little from her time as King Arthur. But the sword still felt like a part of her.

‘I have to get the real Excalibur in this era if I want to stand against the ordeals in place for me.’ Artoria closed her eyes and prepared for the day of war.

***