Fate: The Forged Arthur Pendragon

The beacon fires burned through the night, even reaching Pendragon Castle, Su Ya's location at the very edge of Cornwall's unfallen territory, where smoke now billowed into the sky.

The scent of burning oak mixed with a slightly choking thin smoke. Su Ya quickly moved through the haze, where three hundred soldiers were preparing their gear, and entered the council chamber inside the keep of this Norman-style castle with Merlin.

Inside the room,

Lucan was sweeping papers and scrolls spread across the round table into his satchel as if they were trash, while Dagonet was rolling up a map.

Seeing the two of them looking as if they couldn't wait to divide their belongings and run,

Su Ya asked with some confusion, "What are you doing?"

Dagonet turned around, forcing a strained smile. "Oh, it's the King. You've arrived."

"As you can see, we need to leave here immediately."

"Where to?"

Su Ya frowned slightly, looking at the two. "Didn't we plan to raise Sir Hector's banner here first and gather some scattered soldiers?"

"I remember you saying we needed to travel for two days to get here, then stay for a day and a half to gather people from the nearby estates and villages."

"Then, at the next castle, we'd gather a thousand men, scout for intelligence, and then break through to Solsbury."

This was the plan discussed during their first meeting. Reaching Solsbury theoretically wouldn't take a week; at full speed, it could be reached in less than two days. However, to guard against Ptolemy's Togus Legion to the north, and to immediately gain influence upon arriving at Solsbury to be among the first groups to leave, they needed manpower, and Su Ya needed to learn how to convincingly impersonate a master swordsman during this time.

But now,

First, Lucan suddenly changed the plan, pushing them to reach Pendragon Castle overnight. While this rapid arrival caused them to encounter Lycaon's headhunters, it also allowed them to stumble upon the trap early, preventing them from running into the complete grand enchantment set by the Lycaon mage later.

And now, it seemed the plan was about to change again?

Su Ya recalled the beacon fires lit inside and outside the city, and his heart couldn't help but feel a slight chill.

He knew nothing of military affairs or politics, so although he was nominally the leader of this group, the marching, management, and planning of future actions were all left to Merlin, Lucan, and Dagonet.

In Su Ya's eyes, these people were all exceptionally talented, and he humbly admitted his inferiority.

However, having watched his fair share of wuxia films, Su Ya could roughly understand the significance of the scene outside.

Beacon fires,

And not just any beacons, but continuous, large-scale ones, constantly changing color by throwing in sulfur to convey various messages, fires that had burned for such a long time.

Something significant must have happened.

So,

Seeing Dagonet stammer for a long time without spitting out a word, Su Ya's heart grew heavier. He immediately asked again, "Dagonet, where are we going next?"

Upon hearing this,

Lucan's silent movements of clearing the table paused.

Dagonet, on the other hand, trembled all over. He was silent for a moment, then put down the rolled-up map, muttering awkwardly, "Forgive me, Your Majesty, Dagonet doesn't know where we can go anymore."

Su Ya frowned and asked, "What happened?"

"Solsbury, it has fallen..."

Hearing this, Su Ya was stunned, and then his heart sank, an unspeakable sense of oppression welling up within him.

"Last night, news transmitted via the beacons informed us—"

"Solsbury was attacked at 1 AM and fell two hours later."

Su Ya asked, "So the smoke outside is...?"

"No," Dagonet forced a smile uglier than tears.

"That's the signal for Bestock's fall, further east of Solsbury."

Bestock,

It was a fortress city located north of the capital, Winchester, with defenses comparable to the Golden Curtain.

Su Ya and his party were supposed to pass through the still unfallen Solsbury, reach the fortress city of Bestock, and then circle from there to the capital.

The Conqueror King's army had marched eastward from the westernmost part of Cornwall, along the three Iron Walls. Today was only the 10th day.

Theoretically, within such a short time, even the Conqueror King couldn't immediately establish effective rule and scrutiny over the conquered areas, which was why Su Ya and his group had the chance to escape through the fallen territories.

But now,

The Conqueror King had just broken through two of the three defensive lines in Cornwall.

Her personal army was still stationed at the second defensive line.

But Dagonet told him—

The last line of defense, guarding the northern part of the capital, which was behind the three defensive lines, had inexplicably fallen?

The enemy had practically already reached the capital's doorstep!?

So,

Now,

The northern route, bypassing Solsbury to Bestock, was blocked!

The eastern route, directly to the final iron wall, the 'Golden Curtain,' was blocked by the Conqueror King's own army!

The southern sea route to Southampton didn't even have a single ship!

So, at this very moment,

Which way should they flee? Where should they go? What should they do?

Su Ya couldn't help but take a deep breath, feeling his scalp tingle.

But quickly, he calmed down. He didn't blame Dagonet; they had already done enough, planned meticulously enough. But given the circumstances, complaining or blaming anyone now would be useless.

His gaze quickly fell upon the map that had slipped from Dagonet's hands.

The last trace of hope deep within him,

The last cowardly thought of relying on others, of depending on the 'group,'

At this moment,

Was crushed and extinguished by his own hands!

Su Ya took two steps forward, picked up the map that had slipped from Dagonet's hands, and spread it out on the round table.

Then, he looked at the three people in the council chamber and spoke:

"Since we can't escape and don't know where to run, instead of acting like headless chickens, why don't we stop running for now?"

"All plans are temporarily suspended."

"And—"

"Although this might sound a bit presumptuous."

Su Ya looked up at them, revealing a somewhat forced smile:

"But, gentlemen, could you teach me how to read a map?"

"Besides that, please tell me everything you can that might be useful."

"If possible—"

At this point, Su Ya paused, looking around at the three people by the round table, and earnestly said:

"From now on, all plans, please, let me decide them!"

Upon hearing this, Lucan and Dagonet were first stunned, then simultaneously turned to look at each other, both seeing surprise in the other's eyes, and a hint of hidden joy deep within their gaze.

Merlin stood silently behind Su Ya.

She looked deeply at Su Ya, her lips tightly pressed.

At this moment,

Relying on these 'Mystic Eyes' that could see what others could not,

She seemed to see a radiance gradually emerging from Su Ya.

It was a nascent will, compelled by reality, by others' expectations, pursued by destiny, thus abandoning humanity, constantly embracing the 'inhuman' side,

And then, to bear everything, to save the kingdom, to become the ideal king in everyone's eyes.

But,

Merlin, who had seen the cowardly and sincere young man who would desperately spew nonsense when near death, who would try to lie even when his deception was exposed but couldn't quite bring himself to, and who would wish to laugh loudly three times and protect her when he learned he had a trump card to turn the tables—

She didn't like this Su Ya.

So,

She frowned, silently making a resolution:

"It's okay. Once I get my cards back, I'll shove you into a mountain valley..."

Su Ya didn't quite hear what Merlin suddenly mumbled beside him. He just felt as if an unspeakable blob had suddenly fixated on him. He scratched his head with a frown and turned to look at Merlin:

"What did you just say?"

Merlin's heart skipped a beat, and a cold sweat trickled down her forehead. She immediately put on a stern face and gave Su Ya a somewhat subtle smile, like Anya from Spy x Family:

"Nothing, I fully support your decision!"