The outcome of this battle could be said to be without any suspense.
Facing Artoria’s swordsmanship, which was like a gale, those bandits who had been spouting nonsense and provoking them earlier didn’t even have room to resist.
The difference between them and ordinary people, in the end, was merely that they possessed weapons.
Other than that, they were vulnerable.
Compared to monsters, the bandits’ strength was simply pathetic.
Kay didn’t even have the interest to dismount and join the fight, leaving this battle, which could only be described as a rout, entirely to his foster brother.
In just a few breaths, this one-sided battle was over.
Those hopeless bandits never knew until their deaths what kind of existence they were facing.
The evening weather gradually turned cold, and the evening breeze stirred the hair at Artoria’s temples.
She lowered her head to look at the longsword in her hand that shimmered with a cold light; the blade’s frigid edge was still covered in scalding blood.
Still-warm droplets of blood slowly dripped down.
Watching the bright red flow into the earth, Artoria was momentarily dazed.
The sun was about to set, and the heavy twilight, like a large gray net, shrouded the entire earth.
“…Truly ugly.”
A faint voice escaped her lips, as if she were muttering to herself.
The cold wind stirred a chill, interrupting her untimely contemplation.
“Let’s go back.
Gert is still waiting for us.”
Artoria heard Kay behind her say this.
She gave a soft ‘Mn’ in response, turned around without hesitation, and walked toward her foster brother who was waiting quietly.
Accompanied by the setting sun, Artoria and Kay embarked on their return journey.
They still rode hard, whipping their horses along the way.
However, even so, by the time they returned to the village, the starry sky was already twinkling overhead.
In the village, what was reflected in their slightly weary eyes was a fire reaching into the sky.
During the time they were away subjugating the bandits, Gert and Abel, who had remained in the village, had collected the remains of the surrounding villagers.
Then, they set a great fire; the flames, aided by the wind, quickly caused the hay and firewood stockpiled in autumn to blaze fiercely.
The great fire, like a dragon of flame, greedily burned everything to ashes.
Perhaps until the flames died out, nothing would remain but black embers.
The hunter, who seemed to have aged significantly in an instant, held the hand of the tender child, his turbid eyes staring blankly at the orange-red fire.
They remained silent, not saying a word.
The once-warm village, familiar faces, kind villagers—at this moment, all had vanished into smoke.
The man and the young child, they had each other, but from this moment on, they had nothing.
The great fire buried everything.
“What are your plans for the future?”
Kay walked to Gert’s side and asked in a low voice. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“…I plan to take Abel to the east.
If we cross three hills in that direction, there is another village.
Perhaps Abel and I can live there.”
Withdrawing his gaze from the flames, Gert looked at the knight standing beside him.
“I have already prepared a clean room.
If you don’t mind, please rest here until tomorrow morning, Sir Knights.
You have been constantly running around for our sake, and I should have thanked you properly, but in this current situation…”
He gave a bitter smile and shook his head, leaving the rest of his words unspoken.
Artoria and Kay exchanged a look and agreed to Gert’s proposal.
Too many things had happened today; for the sake of tomorrow’s journey, they indeed needed to get some proper rest.
Gert led them to a house on the west side of the village.
Although it looked somewhat simple, it was completely undamaged.
It seemed that whether it was bandits or magical beasts, the previous chaos had luckily not affected it.
Looking inside, clean bedding was neatly spread across two adjacent wooden beds, and everything else needed for the night had been prepared.
Not only that, but fresh food and water were placed on the table.
After saying goodbye to Gert, Artoria and Kay quickly filled their stomachs with the food on the table.
After a simple cleaning, the two exhausted people lay on their beds and soon fell into a dreamland.
The pitch-black night was like boundless thick ink splashed across the sky.
Time passed bit by bit, and after an unknown amount of time, the first ray of morning light fell upon the quiet village.
The next morning arrived as scheduled.
Artoria had long since developed the habit of waking up early, and moreover, being in a strange environment, she naturally carried a hint of alertness.
After waking up Kay, who was sleeping like a dead pig, the two quickly got ready.
After finding Gert and Abel, they bid them farewell.
Parting scenes always evoke a sense of sadness.
Having packed their bags, Artoria and Kay rode their horses and said goodbye to the hunter and the child who had seen them to the village entrance.
Accompanied by the warm sunlight, the two figures gradually faded into the distance.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and the moon waxes and wanes; no matter how dark things once were, the existence known as humanity must ultimately look forward.
…
It had been over a month since they left home, and the journey under the stars and moon was finally coming to an end.
In a small town in the south.
Artoria and Kay led their horses in a large circle around the town, finally finding an inn where they could stay.
Because of the existence of the sword of selecting the king, this originally obscure little town was now bustling with people.
Nobles and knights carrying swords were walking everywhere on the streets.
This scene was somewhat similar to those famous tourist attractions from her previous life.
They had arrived at a lucky time today, as a special festival was being held in the town.
It was actually quite funny; so many years had passed since the sword in the stone appeared, and because no one had been able to pull the sword from the stone for so long, everyone’s initial excitement had turned into skepticism. Get faster updates on NovelPing.
“Can anyone really pull it out?”
“Is the magus Merlin deceiving us?”
“Is that sword just a decoration besides being pretty?”
Thus, as time went on, it eventually evolved into the current situation.
‘Rather than waiting bitterly for that king of destiny who may or may not exist, it’s more reliable for everyone to internally elect a king themselves.’
Such rhetoric spread like a virus and was eventually accepted by everyone.
This was the origin of today’s festival.
Knights from all over who had confidence in themselves competed in martial arts during this festival, and the final winner would be pushed onto the throne of Britain by the people.
In order to participate in the festival, Kay and Artoria rushed over after putting their luggage in the inn.
The bright sunlight shone down, spilling onto Artoria’s hair and creating waves of golden light.
The boy with delicate features stood in the crowd and looked up; as far as the eye could see, the square was teeming with people, like the countless stars in the night sky.
The people around were noisy, and an air of restlessness permeated the surroundings.
She and Kay were separated by the crowd, but it didn’t matter; after all, if they wanted to regroup, they just had to return to the inn.
Artoria was really not very tall, so she tried her best to stand on her tiptoes to look ahead.
What came into view was a very wide open space, and now, all sorts of knights clad in armor with longswords at their waists were gathered there.
They were rubbing their hands together, each with high morale, looking like everyone was full of confidence.
She didn’t have to wait long before Artoria heard someone ahead announce loudly.
“The contest begins!”
With that command, the crisp sound of blades clashing rang out.
The knights in the open space were divided into pairs, each using their best skills to try and defeat their opponent.
Gazes from all directions were fixed on the battling knights, and the onlookers standing nearby whispered discussions about which knight was powerful and which had not mastered their craft.
“Good!”
With a cheer, a knight suddenly exerted force and knocked the longsword out of his opponent’s hand; the sword spun in the air and finally stabbed into the ground at an angle.
This action caused the crowd to erupt into a high-pitched cheer once again.
“…”
‘It’s simply like a farce,’ Artoria thought.
So she shook her head and slowly backed out of the crowd, turning to walk in the direction of the sword in the stone she had just inquired about.
It was in another part of the town, and by the time she leisurely strolled over, the sky was already at high noon.
Perhaps because everyone had gone to the festival to join the fun, there were hardly any people near the large square stone.
She walked up to the sword in the stone and lowered her eyes to look at this legendary famous sword.
—The hilt was mainly gold and blue, while the upper part of the blade was made of gold, and a priceless ruby was set in the center of the crossguard.
Looking down, a line of exquisite golden text was engraved on the blade:
[Whoso Pulleth Out This Sword from This Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of All England]
Artoria looked at it with a complex gaze for a long time, and finally, she made a heartfelt exclamation:
“How can this sword be so damn cool?”