Tap.
Tap.
One figure after another stepped forward, coming to stand at Agravain's side. Every one of them wore a resolute expression.
"..."
"Nejin!"
Bohr teased, "You lost that bet, remember? Back then, you swore you'd convince the Snake-Neck Tribe to join Britannia. Since you lost, you owe me a drink."
Nejin glanced at him and said, "Don't worry, I won't back out. But Bohr... you're not planning to run, are you?"
Bohr laughed openly. "Run? Not a chance. The King gave me a brand-new life, and this is the first place where I've ever felt something truly different. I'm not leaving. I'll stay here and protect everything that belongs to the King."
Bohr, Nejin, Mashi, and Wei.
The four candidate Round Table Knights all stood there with solemn expressions, though each carried a different kind of smile. None of them intended to leave. They had already joined Britannia. They were already part of Britannia. How could they possibly abandon it now?
No.
No.
That was absolutely impossible.
They were already part of Britannia. What they intended to do was stand with Britannia through life and death—not flee from it.
That was their resolve.
"Victory," Agravain said calmly, "will belong to us. There's no need to think any further. Prepare for war."
"Right!"
Everyone nodded. They had long since made their preparations.
Thinking back to everything that had happened half a year ago, and to the growth of Britannia he had witnessed with his own eyes, Agravain felt that the Britannia before him was utterly different from the one in the past.
To him, this was the true Britannia.
Centered around the King. Following the King. Everyone stood behind the King. No one would betray him. No one would run. A King who understood the hearts of men, who grasped human nature, who truly possessed the loyalty of his people—
that was what a real king was.
"Heh-heh..."
A smile of emotion crossed Agravain's face. The feeling was completely different now. Or rather... he was burning with fighting spirit.
The smile at his lips deepened.
Agravain had already made his preparations.
To follow the King—
this was only the beginning.
"Hmph."
With the corners of his mouth lifting, Agravain quietly watched the enemy ahead and murmured, "Victory will ultimately be ours."
Meanwhile, Galahad, directing troop deployments below, wore a faint smile as well.
"Agravain," he said softly, "you're right. In the end, victory will be ours."
Agravain.
Galahad.
A sharp gleam rose in both their eyes at the same time. They had waited a very long time for this chance. No matter what, this was the grace the King had granted them—the chance to begin again.
And with that chance, the only one they would ever follow was the King. Only by following him could they see the future they longed for. They had already made their preparations. The future would lie beneath their feet.
Failure?
Defeat?
No.
A King who understood the hearts of men was the one they would serve for all eternity. How could they possibly shrink back here? He was their King—the King they treasured above all else. There was no chance they would retreat. Absolutely none.
"My King..."
Agravain looked up and said seriously, "Victory will be ours. Without question."
He clenched his fist, his gaze razor-sharp.
...
Clang!
Clang!
The battle erupted in an instant, fierce combat bursting forth in a matter of moments, as if the battlefield itself were venting all its violence.
"Hah..."
"Hah..."
Gareth breathed a little heavily, gripping Five Warriors, her eyes sharp and unyielding.
After all, the opponents she faced were officers of the Flying Pirates.
Under the pressure of so many enemies closing in at once, even someone as strong as Gareth was steadily being worn down. That was only natural.
"...Haaah."
Letting out a slow breath, Gareth's expression remained utterly focused.
This was no joke.
"Gareth!"
"You holding up?"
Gaheris blocked a streaking attack, then moved to Gareth's side.
Gareth slowly straightened and said seriously, "Brother, I'm fine."
Gaheris smiled faintly. "Gareth, don't go dying here. For the King's victory, we're not just supposed to deliver it—we're supposed to witness it with our own eyes and celebrate it afterward. Don't forget that."
"No problem."
With that answer, Gareth smiled as well and stood tall again.
How could she possibly fall here?
No.
Absolutely not.
Brother and sister looked at one another and saw the same unshakable resolve in each other's eyes.
"Then—"
"Let's begin."
Gareth and Gaheris exchanged a smile.
It didn't matter who the enemy was. All they had to do was crush them.
The King—
would surely bring them absolute victory.
Whoosh!
The two charged again.
...
"Hah!"
"Hah!"
Boom—!
Gawain and Bors pressed forward with even greater ferocity, their overwhelming power pouring down in waves, as though they meant to consume everything in their path.
Heat rolled around them like a tide.
Whoosh!
Bors stood with sword in hand and laughed out loud. "This is incredible! So this is the strength of the Whitebeard Pirates? They're really strong—too strong, even! Opponents like this are exactly what get the blood pumping!"
Clenching the massive knight's sword, Bors looked utterly exhilarated, as though defeat meant nothing at all.
Gawain cast a glance his way. "Bors, you'd do better to calm down a little. The enemy is the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Bors answered confidently, "That's exactly why it's exciting. This is incredible!"
There was absolute confidence in his voice.
Though Bors was known as the Secular Knight, her trust in Arthur came from the depths of his heart—his very soul. Bors had never once believed the King could lose.
That was right.
Not for a second.
Not in any moment, not ever.
Bors had never believed the King could be defeated.
Smiling with complete certainty, Bors said lightly, "Sir Gawain, the King's victory is only natural. Since that's the case, then let's hand him that victory ourselves."
A fierce light flashed in his eyes, his killing intent proud and blazing. Gawain gave a faint smile of his own.
"Of course."
Victory—
had always belonged to the King. No matter when, that would never change.
…
"..."
On the deck, Kay seemed to sense something. Pressing a hand to his brow, he murmured thoughtfully, "This feeling..."
"Kek..."
A faint smile touched his lips.
Kay more or less knew what it was, though even he hadn't expected it to turn out this way.
Lamorak remained silent, as if she too had realized something. She glanced at Kay, but said nothing.
Arthur looked at him and asked, "Kay, what is it?"
Kay smiled. "Arthur, I just sensed something. The feeling of a Round Table Knight."
"Hahaha..."
Looking at Kay's easy smile, Arthur still had no idea what exactly had happened. But knowing Kay as he did, he also knew Kay wouldn't explain it even if asked. So Arthur didn't press the issue.
"It doesn't really matter, whatever it is."
He quietly stared ahead. By now, the island was beginning to take shape in the distance.
Even from here, Arthur could feel the terrifying aura clinging to it.
Calling it killing intent wasn't quite right.
No—
it was something stranger than that. Something eerie and dreadful.
It felt like the island itself was made up of evil spirits. Just sensing it was enough to make one shudder.
Kay smiled faintly. "We've finally arrived."
Then, inwardly, he thought:
My King... victory will be ours. After all, you've finally become a true human being. That was what we struggled and fought for back then—and now, at last, it has succeeded. We will never let this end in failure.
His expression was calm, but his eyes were firm with resolve.
Kay had never expected success to come this quickly.
But no matter what, now that it had happened, he would never allow it to be undone.
Not Kay alone.
Every Round Table Knight was the same.
Each of them bore confident faces and unwavering resolve. Having come this far, how could they possibly not be prepared?
Crash...
As the ship slowly approached shore, the island ahead finally revealed itself in full.
Prison Island.
...
The atmosphere was deathly still.
Ochoku and Silver Axe both remained composed.
Ochoku looked around and said slowly, "So then—who exactly is in charge of Britannia right now? Aren't they going to come out and show themselves?"
He had no intention of carelessly entering Britannia's waters.
Don't be ridiculous.
Did anyone seriously think Britannia's waters were somewhere one could enter at will? One wrong move, and the price would be horrifying.
At any rate—
Ochoku was not going to do something so idiotic.
"Hahahaha!"
"Kill!"
One of the pirate captains suddenly charged straight into Britannia's waters, his eyes burning with greed and madness.
The next instant—
RUMBLE—!
The entire Volcano Island seemed to erupt. Countless streams of magma burst from the volcano, turning into roaring molten dragons that lunged forward and swallowed the captain whole.
Sizzle!
With that horrible sound, the pirate captain was consumed in an instant.
Everything had happened too quickly. The power was so terrifying that no one had even had time to react.
"Hmph."
Then came a proud, disdainful snort.
Morgan le Fay stepped through the air itself, one footfall at a time, as though she were walking on solid ground. With arrogant composure, she said, "Since when did every stray dog and alley cat think they had the right to set foot in Britannia?"
Hearing her voice, everyone turned to look at her.
Even the people on Volcano Island, those who had lived in Britannia for some time—were stunned.
They had never seen Morgan before.
To be more precise, they had hardly even heard of her. The inner affairs of Britannia were never something Morgan cared about. She had no interest in such matters at all. To put it plainly, she was a complete shut-in.
And now they had chosen this moment to come make trouble?
Then they had come here to die.
For many of them, this was their first time laying eyes on Morgan.
"..."
Silver Axe stared at her, his gaze sharp. "We meet again, Morgan le Fay."
Morgan looked at him, hesitated briefly, then asked, "Who are you?"
"..."
The atmosphere turned downright bizarre.
Everyone stared at Morgan in shock, trying to find some sign in her expression that she was joking.
But the truth was that she wasn't joking at all.
She genuinely didn't remember Silver Axe. More accurately, she had never cared enough to remember him in the first place. Morgan had never been interested in outsiders. Once they were gone, she forgot them.
"Hah...hahaha."
Silver Axe let out a cold laugh. "Very good. Then I'd like to see whether you can still act like this when Britannia is destroyed."
With a cold snort, he barely contained his fury. Still, he restrained himself well, not allowing Morgan le Fay to provoke him into losing control.
"You think Britannia can hold?"
"Hard to say."
"Britannia's definitely strong, but the number of people in this pirate alliance is just too massive. No one knows how prepared they really are."
"Exactly."
Everyone around them whispered and argued among themselves.
Some of them did have a few thoughts of their own—but they didn't dare act on them yet. After all, unless Britannia was clearly losing, they had no intention of making a move. For now, they would watch.
Crash—
At that moment—
with the sound of flowing water, a figure slowly rose up from the sea.
And the instant that figure appeared, everyone present froze in disbelief, their faces filled with utter shock.
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