Mordred's undisguised tone made Li Ye flare with anger.
"You're pretty capable, aren't you?" Mordred patted Li Ye on the shoulder as though nothing had happened.
Perhaps because they were standing so close, Mordred finally noticed the surging Dragon Blood aura around Li Ye. "Wait, why do you smell like Father King?!"
"This is naturally the King's one-of-a-kind blessing for me. What, Lord Mordred, are you jealous?"
Li Ye curled his lips and deliberately activated his Dragon Blood before Mordred. The rationality of a dragon immediately rose to the forefront.
Naturally, Mordred noticed Li Ye's drastic change. She subconsciously removed her horned helmet, revealing her handsome little face.
She stared in astonishment at Li Ye's gemlike vertical pupils.
At that moment, Mordred could sense that Li Ye was closer to King Arthur than she was. That incomparably pure Dragon Blood was the best proof!
"You bastard!! What exactly is going on?! Why would Father King give you Dragon Blood?!"
Mordred lost her composure. She threw away her sword and tried to grab Li Ye by the collar to question him, only to discover that his upper body was bare, leaving her with nothing to grab.
Furious, she could only seize Li Ye's shoulders and shake him nonstop.
Seeing Mordred so flustered and furious, even Li Ye, whose non-human draconic nature had risen to the forefront, could not help feeling a trace of delight.
"My relationship with the King is closer than Lord Mordred imagines—" Li Ye broke free from Mordred's hands.
"W-What?!"
After hearing Li Ye's outrageous claim, Mordred seemed to lose the power of speech and instinctively took two steps back.
Li Ye admired Mordred's expression with satisfaction, and much of his anger dissipated. "Lord Mordred, you're still looking for the Crusaders, aren't you?"
Seeing Mordred carrying her sword as she wandered through the wilderness, Li Ye only needed a moment's thought to understand why she had appeared here.
"Yeah! Then why aren't you looking for the Crusaders? Why are you riding a wyvern back?" Mordred asked after coming to her senses.
"Oh my, Lord Mordred, you didn't know?"
Li Ye feigned surprise. That expression annoyed Mordred, and she decisively lifted her sword to Li Ye's throat. "Cut the crap. Talk!"
Even with Mordred's sword at his throat, Li Ye did not panic. He gazed at her with perfect calm. "Lord Mordred, the King's first Holy Selection is about to begin. As a knight, don't you intend to return and witness it?"
"Is that truly the attitude you have as the King's knight?!" Li Ye's pale golden vertical pupils even gave Mordred the illusion that Arthur Pendragon himself was watching her!
"Tch!"
Mordred lowered her sword, turned away, and clicked her tongue.
"It seems my words have touched your soul. Would Lord Mordred like to travel together?" Li Ye raised a hand to summon the Green Wyvern and looked at Mordred with a smile.
"This is so damn annoying!" Mordred irritably raked a hand through her hair, stepped over Li Ye, and leaped onto the wyvern's back.
One more companion made little difference to Li Ye. Instead, it was a splendid opportunity for him to humbly seek instruction.
Along the way, Li Ye asked Mordred quite a bit about using magic power and sword techniques. Though Mordred looked unwilling, she still pointed out his shortcomings one by one.
"No, what is wrong with you? How did you become the King's knight when you don't know anything?!"
Mordred was stunned by Li Ye's ignorance.
He knew nothing about Magic Resistance, relied only on his reactions in hand-to-hand combat, and his swordsmanship was an absolute mess!
And yet such a complete novice had become the Lion King's knight and even received the blessing of Dragon Blood.
"That must be because of my loyalty to the King!"
Amid their intermittent chatter, the City of Chalk—Camelot—came into view.
Unlike when he had left, crude tents now stood outside Camelot, with figures moving about among them. Li Ye made a preliminary estimate and found one or two hundred Refugees active outside the city.
"Looks like Lord Gawain's handiwork—"
Li Ye said with a smile against the wind.
Mordred tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Gawain? That idiot gorilla only knows how to do this sort of thing."
Before she had even finished speaking, the impatient Mordred grabbed Li Ye and leaped straight down from the wyvern's back.
They fell freely for nearly a hundred meters before smashing into the ground like cannonballs, kicking up a violent gust of wind.
Before the dust could disperse, Li Ye emerged from the bottom of the crater while rubbing his shoulder, his face full of helplessness. "Mordred, you could warn me next time."
Mordred's carefree voice sounded beside him. "What's the big deal?"
After grumbling for a while, Li Ye's gaze fell upon several knights guarding the Refugees nearby.
The burly knights, clad in what seemed like heavy armor, paced back and forth without pause, their murderous aura striking head-on.
"So these are the Purification Knights transformed by Lord Agravain—"
"They look incredibly strong just from their stance!"
Li Ye circled the Purification Knights, examining them from top to bottom, then spoke to Mordred with utmost seriousness.
Mordred paid little attention to the Purification Knights. She was looking around, trying to find that familiar yet unfamiliar figure.
Li Ye did not mind. He naturally took a longsword from one of the Purification Knights. "Their obedience to orders is very high, but they won't fall into Madness Enhancement like the Crusaders?"
"Lord Li Ye, what have you returned for?"
At that moment, Agravain's voice came from the city gate.
"Of course I've come to attend the King's first Holy Selection, Lord Agravain." Li Ye sheathed the sword and turned to face Agravain in a relaxed manner.
At some point, the city gates had opened. Agravain, his expression gloomy, slowly walked toward Li Ye.
Agravain... Li Ye's expression tightened slightly. Compared to the extraordinary martial strength of the other Knights of the Round Table, only Agravain, the vice commander, gave him trouble.
Only Agravain could legitimately come into contact with the Lion King.
Unlike Li Ye, Agravain felt only surprise when he saw him again.
In less than a day, the Dragon Blood around Li Ye had grown denser and fused more deeply with his body. Agravain had even seen a faint gold glint in Li Ye's eyes.
That was clearly the sign of highly active Dragon Blood!
Agravain instantly realized that Li Ye's compatibility with Dragon Blood far exceeded his expectations!
Unaware of Agravain's thoughts, Li Ye's gaze swept lightly over the city gate behind him. "Lord Agravain, the Holy Selection has not begun yet, has it?"
"The Holy Selection is about to begin. Lord Li Ye, were you the one who brought Mordred back?"
Agravain had also spotted Mordred in the distance and immediately asked.
Li Ye said, "Of course. As knights, how could we miss the King's first Holy Selection?"
Seeing Li Ye admit it, Agravain said nothing more.
Tap, tap. "!"
As the footsteps drew closer, Li Ye felt an incomparably powerful surge of magic power and a pressure infinitely close to death!
At some point, the sun had risen.
The dazzling radiance forced Li Ye to raise a hand to shield his eyes.
That figure comparable to the sun—the Sun Knight, Gawain!!
Before you continue