The leader of this contingent of riders, who were constantly approaching the Roman border, was a young girl. She wore a white veil on her head that seemed to shimmer with a rainbow-colored light. As she galloped forward, her short white hair fluttered in the wind. Judging by the sheer lack of fabric, her clothes, which clung tightly to her body, could only be described as a swimsuit. In her hand, she held a seven-colored sword.
The young girl's rose-colored eyes calmly observed everything within her sight. She was the great king of the Huns, the existence known as the Scourge of God and Divine Punishment, a natural-born warrior and destroyer—Attila. Perhaps to others, the name Altera would be more familiar.
The girl didn't say much. Her purpose was to lead the warriors behind her to plunder and destroy the civilization before them. That's right, just the destruction of civilization. Although she was a born warrior, a believer in the War God, she hated war. She fought simply because the elder who raised her had said: "You are a born warrior." And so, she lived her life purely as a warrior.
The towns of Rome were already appearing in her vision. What she had to do was simple. Draw the Sword of the War God from her waist, and swing it again and again. That would be enough.
As a matter of course, the city was destroyed. And as a matter of course, Attila's advance continued.
A few days later, when Lucius, who was on the march, received the news that a border town had been plundered, an "as expected" expression appeared on his face. They had been in contact with these Huns for some time now. Even before Attila became the emperor of the Huns, the war between the two sides had been going on for a while. These people were incredibly fast in their movements, making it difficult for his legions to be effective.
"As expected of the emperor of our greatest threat. She truly gives me a headache. But that's all it is. No one can defeat me when I attack!"
Lucius was, without a doubt, the strongest Roman emperor of this era. Just as he said, when he arrived at the eastern front, Attila was indeed unable to cross the defense line by a single step. However, the attrition of the war on both sides grew larger and larger. The current Roman army was not suited for pursuit, while the steppe tribes could retreat immediately after a setback. This was destined to be a drawn-out war. Until one side's reserves were completely exhausted, the battlefield on the front lines would not change significantly. Unless... a major incident occurred within the territory of either side.
For example, when the subordinate of the governor of Gaul foolishly provoked Great Britain, leading the Knights of the Round Table to believe it was an insult to King Arthur. This, combined with Lancelot's departure to the continent over the matter of Guinevere, led to King Arthur's eastern expedition. The result was predictable.
For Aslan, it was an extremely peaceful year. But for the outside world, this was not the case for any country.
Rome and the Huns were in a long-term standoff. And as just mentioned, during this period, the Knights of the Round Table of Great Britain also successfully completed the quest for the Holy Grail. But could it truly be considered a success? A large number of Round Table Knights died as a result. Moreover, every victory won in war must be paid for with a corresponding price: plundering the resources of a village to re-arm the military, and fighting foreign tribes under the pretext of protecting Britain, all in exchange for protecting more of the populace from being slaughtered on the surface.
Artoria held fast to her original oath. A king cannot rule a country with a heart full of benevolence and indecision. So, while she sat on the throne, she never showed a hint of sadness. No one was better at ruling than the King. She handled affairs without deviation and punished enemies without bias. She was like a scale, precise to several decimal places, calculating gains and losses.
The invincible kingdom led the knights under her to have more thoughts. They feared the King's cold and ruthless decisions, and began to question her actions of sacrificing the few to save the many, even considering it a stain on the code of chivalry.
"The King does not understand the hearts of men."
After leaving behind these words, the Round Table Knight Tristan departed. Unfortunately, this statement caused some knights to gradually develop dissent, and they began to doubt whether the King could still lead them.
Later, Mordred confessed her lineage to Artoria, but Artoria, citing her capacity as a king, rejected Mordred's request to inherit the throne. This caused the Round Table Knight, her own child, to resent her.
The most critical event was that Lancelot, in order to help the King relieve her stress, often spoke with Queen Guinevere. As a result, the two developed a romance, and the affair was even exposed. This was another major blow to King Arthur's prestige. When Lancelot, Guinevere, and other Round Table Knights all hoped for their King to severely punish this matter, King Arthur chose to forgive. The deaths or departures of one Round Table Knight after another marked the beginning of the end for King Arthur's rule, which had been at its peak.
It was also at this time that the subordinate sent by the governor of Gaul, due to his inappropriate words, insulted the entire reign of King Arthur. For the court officials, this was an excellent opportunity—a chance to divert domestic conflicts. The country urgently needed a war to re-establish King Arthur's authority, and at the same time, to solve the problem of living resources and divert the grievances of the people.
An expedition!
This was the solution unanimously chosen by all. The knight Gawain, who somewhat disliked Lancelot, even used the reason of Lancelot having gone to Gaul after betraying the King to promote the cause.
Watching all this, Merlin once again told Artoria of the ending she was heading towards. "Even so—if your life, in the end, remains untarnished and is worthy of pride—is loved by all the people, then, as long as human history continues, you will become a record that exists for eternity. So... even if that ideal cannot be realized, as long as you can continue to uphold the oath you once made, there will surely be someone who can be saved because of it."
"That is enough."
As the army was being assembled, Artoria replied with only these words. She was a king who existed for Great Britain, nothing more. At the same time, Artoria finally made her most grievous mistake: when she set out on her expedition, she chose to entrust the country to Mordred.
To divert the domestic conflicts as quickly as possible, the army was assembled rapidly. At the same time, as the slanted sun was about to set one day, Merlin and Artoria said their final goodbyes. After this, Merlin would imprison himself within his tower.
As the ships sailed far away, the setting sun scattered across the sea, seeming to stain everything red. It also seemed to symbolize that Great Britain, ruled by King Arthur, was welcoming its final glory.