Approaching Sword in the Stone

It was another sunny day. The warm sunlight scattered across the land, making the lush green grass even more appealing.

A gentle breeze swept low, using its light body to softly support the tender green grass. This was a vast, boundless grassland, once a battlefield of the British Isles in countless pasts, and in the future, the site of the final battle of the legendary King Arthur.

At the horizon where the grassland met the sky, two black spots suddenly appeared.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that these two black spots were actually a young boy and a girl he was leading. Both were travel-worn, with many burrs and fallen leaves clinging to them. Especially the young boy in front, a branch was even stuck on his head, and he hadn't noticed. What a careless child...

It had been more than half a month since we left the Fairy Forest. Just the time spent walking out of the forest had taken 5-6 days, and that was with Artoria and me running at top speed. I truly couldn't imagine how such a large forest could exist, and on the British Isles no less.

But the moment Artoria and I emerged from the forest, I cast that question aside. Artoria and I laughed and ran freely across the great plains, releasing all our pent-up energy. Although we could grow and mature rapidly in that mysterious forest, the pressure of living on the brink of death every day was still something to truly resist. However, fortunately, Artoria and I had entered that forest together. We helped each other, comforted each other, and encouraged each other. We overcame one difficulty after another and finally grew to our current strength. (Although, the protagonist did most of the dangerous work, and the protagonist absolutely didn't want Artoria to take any risks...)

Artoria and I had been walking across this great grassland for several days now. Today, we finally reached the border of this grassland.

I looked at the small town with smoke rising in the distance, then happily turned to look at Artoria's exquisite face and excitedly said, "There's a small town ahead, Artoria! Let's hurry over! Not only can we eat delicious food, but you'll also have comfortable bedding to rest properly!"

Artoria looked at me with a slight smile. Even in this excited state, her first thought was still about me, wanting me to live better. Artoria was very happy but also very troubled. Why couldn't he take better care of himself? Although being thoughtful of her in every way made her feel very happy and joyful, if all of this came at the cost of his sacrifice... she would only feel sad and bitter.

Artoria gently placed her hands on my face and looked at me with a slight frown.

"Forget about my little matters, you should learn to take care of yourself, Xia! Otherwise, even if I can live well, I won't be happy!"

I looked at Artoria, who seemed to be throwing a tantrum, with surprise, then smiled and gently flicked her forehead. "Silly goose. Compared to my insignificant matters, your well-being is the most important. If you're really worried about me... just smile at me... that's enough."

"Mmm..." Artoria's cheeks flushed red. She covered her forehead, which I had just flicked, with both hands, looking at me with an annoyed expression. I didn't know if she was blushing because of Xia's stubbornness or purely because of Xia's recent affectionate touch.

Heh, I chuckled softly, then scooped Artoria up from the grass.

"Wouldn't it be faster if I carried you instead of us walking slowly? Besides... do you really think I'm an idiot? Can't you see you're just pretending and walking with your feet all bruised and bloody?" I said with a smile, hugging Artoria tighter in my arms. Seeing Artoria turn her head away in silence, her face flushed red, I could only sigh helplessly...

{Compared to this insignificant life of mine, your smile and sunshine are everything to me... You're too stubborn, Artoria...} I thought with a hint of melancholy.

"Hoo...~~~~~"

A gust of wind blew, lifting the small grass that hadn't taken root firmly, making it dance in the air. When the small grass fell back to the ground...

The pair of young boy and girl had vanished from their spot.

"Giddy up! Giddy up!" A knight riding a steed galloped swiftly through the town streets. People afraid of being run over scattered in all directions, shouting in panic and making way. The knight, however, paid no heed to the pedestrians on the street, merely urging his warhorse towards the castle where the lord resided.

At this moment, a little girl who survived by begging was suddenly pushed into the center of the street by the panicked crowd. Her light green eyes stared in terror at the warhorse rapidly approaching her. The knight seemed not to see the small child, continuing to whip his warhorse forward.

"Ah!" A woman who couldn't bear to watch screamed and quickly covered her face with both hands, not daring to look any further.

The warhorse, its nostrils flaring, continued its powerful gallop towards the begging girl. Its strong legs continued to run swiftly. Just as it was about to violently knock the fragile girl away and kill her! At that moment, a faint white light flashed! It directly cleaved the knight and his horse into the air, sending them tens of meters up before they crashed heavily onto the ground.

Crack! The warhorse landed first, its head shattering upon impact, blood splashing everywhere. As for the knight, he had the dead horse's body as a cushion, so he only suffered broken limbs and writhed in pain on the ground.

Clang! With the sound of a sword being sheathed, a knight in a cloak slowly walked up to the begging girl. He smiled, patted her head, gave her a silver coin, and sent her away from this dangerous place.

When the cloaked knight approached the knight still lying on the ground and howling in pain, he said coldly, "Someone like you isn't even fit to polish a knight's boots! Sir Kaylin chose the wrong person. You don't deserve to enter the King's selection arena." Then, without looking back, he flicked his cloak and left.

The ordinary townspeople, seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, also dispersed, leaving behind only a twitching knight and the lifeless body of a horse on the ground.

So...

When Artoria and I arrived at the center of this town, the first thing we saw was the dead body of a knight and a horse. Artoria looked at the knight's corpse with a shocked expression, while I immediately stepped forward and gently stood in front of Artoria, blocking her line of sight from the unknown corpse.

I frowned as I glanced at the corpse, then gently patted Artoria's head, shook my head at her, and pulled her hand away from there.

The life and death of these scoundrels are none of my concern. As long as I am here, I will try to keep Artoria from seeing such unclean things as much as possible. After all... this thought projection is nearing its limit. I hope it can last until I see Artoria draw the holy sword.

I pulled Artoria to a fur shop by the roadside and sold some of the monster pelts I had collected in the Fairy Forest. Under the merchant's almost glowing eyes, I sold them for a price that even an idiot would know was a rip-off. Those precious, soft pelts earned me a total of 55 gold coins. Although it was a bit less... it was enough for Artoria to eat delicious white bread and drink sheep's milk for half a year. Although, in my opinion, those things weren't as good as the roasted meat I cooked.

After booking rooms and food at an inn, I told Artoria to stay there and rest well, while I went out to gather more information about the Sword in the Stone and the knight selection. According to my calculations, King Uther should already be dead by now, and the prophet Merlin should have started summoning knights from all over the country to select a new king.

So, under Artoria's resentful gaze, I leaped out the window. {I'm sorry, Artoria, when I get back, I'll definitely take you sightseeing.} I thought apologetically.

The town from noon to afternoon... from afternoon to dusk... from dusk to night.

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Night fell upon the town...

Under the slightly cold moonlight, a black shadow quickly passed through a building, but then another shadow flashed by, following closely behind.

Clang! Clang! Clang, clang, clang!

The two black shadows collided in mid-air with a sound like clashing weapons. One shadow wielded a white arc of light, attacking its enemy with ferocity beyond human capabilities, relentlessly like a storm. The other shadow was even more ferocious, completely disregarding its injuries, always fighting with its crude iron sword in a life-or-death struggle.

The two black shadows fought from the air to the ground, and from the ground back into the air. The ground they passed over cracked everywhere, and the rooftops they leaped over were always covered in flying tiles, shattered by the impact of their collisions.

As their weapons clashed again, the two black shadows finally saw each other's faces clearly in the faint moonlight. One shadow had pale gray hair tied into a braid at the back. He was clad in bright iron armor and held a long sword crafted from what appeared to be superior materials. The long sword was also embroidered with incomprehensible runes.

The other shadow had black hair and rare black eyes. His body was completely tattered, and he was only holding his ground with a crude iron sword. Moreover... he appeared to be a youth under 18 years old.

Fierce attacks, terrifying judgment, and an almost superhuman sensitivity to danger. Both sides were suppressing their true strength, as they could sense that if they were to fight without restraint, it would inevitably attract a lot of unnecessary trouble and attention.

Furthermore... the man with gray hair was not confident that he could truly defeat the enemy before him, because he could feel... he could feel the demonic madness and hysterical persistence within the other party.

The two figures separated and leaped onto a rooftop. The black-haired, black-eyed youth leaped onto a high platform, his eyes, so cold they could freeze the air, continuing to fix on the knight's every move. The knight, however, met the youth's gaze without fear.

"My name is Bedivere. Who are you, and why did you suddenly attack me?" the knight shouted his name loudly. This mysterious youth had attacked him the moment he lowered his weapon and relaxed. If it weren't for years of experience and rigorous training that had honed his reflexes, and if he hadn't quickly raised his sword scabbard to his chest... he might have been killed in one blow. Thinking of this, the knight named Bedivere couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Not only was he fierce and ruthless, but he was also a top talent in terms of patience and willpower.

When I heard the knight's name, I was clearly stunned. When I leaped out of Artoria's window to gather information, I saw this tall knight in a trading area. Looking at his handsome face, I immediately recalled the humiliating pursuit from more than two years ago. He was one of the pursuers, although he hadn't personally attacked.

However, he still posed a threat to Artoria's existence, so he had to be killed. With this thought, I used the stealth techniques I learned in the Fairy Forest, concealing my entire body. My heartbeat and breathing were reduced to a terrifying limit.

I had been waiting for the perfect moment to strike, but my sure-fire attack was thwarted by the opponent's sword sheath, which suddenly blocked my path. It was humiliating that my weapon couldn't pierce his sheath. If only my weapon were a little better...

Thus, I began a drawn-out struggle with this knight. To prevent Artoria from noticing or worrying, I kept her at a distance, fighting and running away from the inn where she was resting.

But when I heard his name was Bedivere, I was completely stunned...

The man I desperately wanted to kill was actually one of the earliest Knights of the Round Table to follow the King of Knights, the very one who accompanied King Arthur until his very last second...

For the first time, I felt a bit flustered and awkward.

I left behind the words, "I deeply apologize for your earlier rudeness. I mistook you for someone else. Goodbye!" and then vanished into the night at nearly twice the speed I had used to escape, leaving only Bedivere behind, stunned by my ridiculous declaration.

Bedivere stared blankly at my rapidly disappearing figure, replaying my absurd "mistaken identity" statement in his mind. "Young man... you... are not very professional as an assassin..." Bedivere muttered, then chuckled bitterly and shook his head, returning the way he came.

Meanwhile, I had already arrived back at the inn with a series of leaps and bounds, climbing directly in through the window.

The candle in the room still cast a faint glow. The girl sprawled on the table, her head resting on her arms, was sound asleep. Seeing this, I let out a wry smile...

Then, I gently picked up Artoria and placed her on the bed. After tucking her in, I sat by the bedside and let out a soft sigh. That knight was strong. While I couldn't sense much killing intent, his awareness and physical reactions were top-notch. If he were the knight guarding you.

{If that's the case... I can finally leave your side for a while with peace of mind.} I gently caressed the sleeping Artoria's face, then stealthily kissed her cheek.

Perhaps it was the candlelight, or maybe the thick bedding was a bit stuffy, but the girl's cheeks were flushed a faint red. It made me feel even more parched. {Maybe... just one more kiss? It's just on the cheek... or, how about kissing her lips?} As I thought this, my gaze involuntarily drifted to the girl's slightly parted cherry lips...

Gulp! Looking at those lips, which seemed to beckon me to taste them, I swallowed with difficulty.

Feeling the heat that had been rising within me every night for the past year, I impatiently stood up and quickly walked towards the window.

"Tch!"

With a sound of frustrated annoyance, I quickly opened the window and leaped out, landing on the rooftop of a tall building to feel the cold night wind...

"You... you damn fool controlled by lust! Who do you think you're dealing with?! Quiet down, damn body!" An unwilling voice echoed from the rooftop, along with the exasperated tone, there was also a hint of the turmoil only a teenage boy would experience~

Your trials are far from over, young man~~!!