After confirming the decision to "Save Private Lamorak," Artoria and her knights immediately formulated an action plan.
Initially, Artoria intended to directly dispatch troops to attack Cornwall, thereby rescuing Lamorak while simultaneously seizing this fertile, coastal territory.
However, under Agravain's strong insistence, to prevent this from being a trap deliberately set by Vortigern, they ultimately changed their battle plan. The original full-scale siege was altered into a solo infiltration and rescue mission carried out by Gawain, Lancelot, Tristan, and a few other Knights of the Round Table.
Meanwhile, their main force would continue advancing according to the original plan to draw Vortigern's attention.
Thus, on this night, several Knights of the Round Table led by Gawain, cloaked by the night and the stars, rode towards Cornwall carrying Artoria's hopes.
However, after expending considerable time and effort evading the blockade of Vortigern's army and infiltrating Cornwall, what they saw were tens of thousands of Anglo-Saxon soldiers stationed within the city.
"Why are there so many Anglo-Saxons here?!"
Standing on a rooftop, Gawain poked his head out to observe the Anglo-Saxon soldiers clamoring and drinking in the streets below, speaking with a hint of a headache.
"Why didn't Vortigern send them to the front lines to defend the cities? Why pull them all to Cornwall? Just to keep an eye on Lamorak?"
"Look on the bright side, Sir Gawain. At least this proves that Lamorak's situation is not a trap laid by Vortigern and Morgan."
Tristan narrowed his eyes slightly. He very much wanted to habitually play his harp right now, but considering they were currently on a secret infiltration mission, he had no choice but to forcefully suppress his inner restlessness.
"Judging from the situation, Lamorak should be imprisoned in the castle's dungeon. So right now, we only need to figure out how to enter the castle and rescue Lamorak without alerting these Anglo-Saxon barbarians," Tristan stated.
However, after he finished speaking, the knights fell silent. They just looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.
"Um... do any of you know how to use stealth?" Gawain scratched his head awkwardly and asked.
Hearing this, the other knights all shook their heads in denial.
"No. As a knight, I have no reason to learn the despicable methods of an assassin."
"I am a poet. Such vulgar and shady matters are truly not fit for elegant society."
"How about we just force our way in? We are very strong, after all."
Well then. The entire Round Table was either Saber, Lancer, or Archer class. Not a single one had an affinity for Assassin.
"Then what do we do?"
Seeing his companions' matter-of-fact expressions, Gawain's teeth started aching again.
He himself was a muscle-brained gorilla who bore the name of the Sun; no matter how you looked at it, he had nothing to do with something like stealth.
"Actually, I have an idea."
Just then, Lancelot, who had been the first to deny knowing stealth, spoke up after some thought.
"Oh? What is your idea, Sir Lancelot?"
Hearing the widely recognized strongest knight of the Round Table claim to have a method, Gawain and the other knights instantly cast hopeful gazes at him.
Feeling the anticipation of his colleagues, Lancelot smiled wickedly and spoke slowly.
"It is very simple. Just kill everyone who sees us. Isn't that perfect stealth?"
?
Gawain, Tristan, and the other knights slowly mentally typed a question mark.
Despite being overly ridiculous, the Knights of the Round Table, who truly had no other options, ultimately adopted Lancelot's proposal.
First, they quietly approached the castle from the rooftops in the city. Then, after opening the castle gates, everyone stopped pretending. Wielding their weapons, they swept down towards the lower levels of the castle with overwhelming momentum.
Since the Vile King's soldiers stationed in Cornwall were basically all Anglo-Saxons, Gawain, Tristan, and the others—who inherently disliked these invaders—showed no mercy when killing them.
Thus, under the slashes of the Holy Swords and the shots of the Demonic Bow, the group successfully broke into the castle dungeon without leaving a single survivor, and found Souya bound by iron chains in the deepest part.
"Lamorak! We have come to save you!"
Casually slaying the last Anglo-Saxon soldier, Gawain looked at Souya in the cage before him, his eyes instantly turning excited.
But why is Lamorak looking at me so weirdly? "Are you... really here to save me?"
Are you sure you aren't here to kill me? Looking at the Knights of the Round Table before him, whose full body armor was covered in blood, whose weapons were still dripping blood, and who were all exuding a fierce, murderous aura, Souya felt a sharp pain in his back teeth, unable to suppress the urge to complain.
What are you guys doing! Running a dungeon raid while saving someone?! "What are you saying, Lamorak? Of course we are here to save you."
Gawain gave Souya a somewhat confused look, then without hesitation, he swung his sword to cut the iron lock and pushed open the door to enter the cell.
Following his steps, the other knights also filed in, observing Souya with slight curiosity.
At this moment, his upper body was bare, and his lower half was clad in linen trousers. His exposed skin was covered in marks from whipping and abuse. There were also several bloodstains on his handsome face, and his clear eyes carried an indescribable exhaustion and dimness.
Souya wasn't faking this; it was a 'ruse of self-injury' decided upon before the plan began. This was both to dispel the doubts of the Knights of the Round Table and to make them believe that Souya and Vortigern truly had an irreconcilable enmity.
And it worked. Upon seeing Souya in such a miserable state, even needing Gawain's support to stand firm, Tristan—who was one of the only two who doubted Lamorak's motives—relaxed slightly.
Again, Tristan felt that if this were truly Vortigern's scheme, there was absolutely no need to go this far. It did not fit the logic of the battlefield.
"Thank you, Brother Gawain, and everyone."
Leaning on Gawain, Souya smiled weakly at the other knights, his gaze lingering slightly on Lancelot and Tristan.
Ah, father-in-law and Tristan of Sadness. I have heard so much about you. "Alright, save the pleasantries for when we get back. The most urgent task now is to continue stealthing out and bring you to safety," Lancelot waved his hand in response to Souya.
"That is true. Let us not delay and leave now."
Hearing Lancelot's words, Gawain nodded and then hoisted Souya onto his back.
Thus, after a brief exchange of greetings, the knights who had successfully rescued their target sprang into action once more.
However, at Souya's request, they did not immediately fight their way out. Instead, they charged up the stairs into the castle to retrieve Souya's 'Queen's Fortress' and the Holy Lance, Rhongomyniad.
Logically speaking, Souya could have simply dematerialized all these items and stored them within his body. However, to make the act more convincing, he pretended they had been confiscated.
Naturally, the knights had no objections to this.
Then, right in front of Souya, they demonstrated their so-called 'perfect stealth'.
"Wait, so the reason you look like this is entirely because you just slaughtered your way in through the front?"
Watching Lancelot casually dispatching enemies with a single strike at the front, Souya couldn't quite hold back anymore.
"Why didn't you sneak in? Aren't you afraid of being surrounded by the Vile King's soldiers?"
"No, Lamorak."
Unexpectedly, before Souya could finish, Gawain beneath him raised a hand to interrupt him.
"This is us using stealth."
The latter said with a completely straight face.
Hearing this, the other knights, including Tristan, all nodded simultaneously and gave the exact same answer.
"Yes, this is our perfect stealth."
Souya: ...Amazing.
[Ultimately, with the help of Gawain, Lancelot, and the other Knights of the Round Table, you successfully left the Cornwall dungeon.]
[It was just that in the end, due to the knights' bold actions, the so-called stealth was exposed anyway. Fortunately, the journey was perilous but safe.]
[You finally returned to King Arthur's camp.]
[Upon landing, you saw Artoria running towards you with an anxious expression on her face.]