Artoria Gets Carried Away / The Happy Pendragon Father and Child

"Mordred"

"Exist."

Let's cheer each other on later.

"Yes!!"

Mordred's eyes widened in shock, and tears welled up at the corners of her mouth.

Artoria felt a chill and, somewhat regretting encouraging Mordred, quickly left the spot.

Shinji, standing to the side, covered his mouth with his hand to hide his ever-growing smile.

[Actually, you're still quite troubled, aren't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't still be resisting a remake of the Battle of Artoria.]

Despite feeling a slight pang of sympathy for Artoria, Shinji would not stop filming the scene.

The set is all set, and the actors' makeup is done. Stopping filming now would be a complete waste of money!

Besides, wouldn't it be a waste not to watch such a funny family sitcom up close?

"Master... you're really gloating, aren't you?"

Joan of Arc scoffed.

"Seeing through it but not saying it, Joan of Arc."

"Master!!"

Just then, Mordred suddenly raised her hand and shouted loudly at Shinji, "If you're going to film the Battle of Camlann, then you must film me and my father well! You must film the entire process of our battle!"

"I attacked my father's legs first, smashing her kneecaps! Then she retaliated, hacking my back to pieces!"

"Then, my father used all his strength to pierce my body with the gun, pinning me to the ground!"

"Then, spitting blood, I stabbed her in the stomach with my sword, so she could never get up again!"

Mordred's voice was full of energy; to the uninitiated, it might have sounded like she was passionately cheering for her idol.

"Master, the last frame must freeze on me and Father tightly pressed together! Just like in the final scene of Heaven's Feel, where Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura embrace!"

Listening to Mordred's somewhat incoherent speech, Shinji smiled faintly, "Quite the momentum, looks like we'll get a few more takes."

Joan of Arc scratched her cheek in distress. "After hearing her describe it in such detail, I still can't figure out whether her relationship with her father is good or bad..."

Chapter 228 Artoria on Top

"Fate/Apocrypha, Scene 56, Act 32... Action!"

The moment the clapperboard sounded, the actors in front of the camera immediately sprang into action.

This is the third time that the red hill has reappeared in Fuyuki City.

Unlike the previous two shoots which were both done in a studio, Shinji chose to shoot outdoors this time.

Nevertheless, the most important red color of the Red Hills needed to be shown in post-production color grading, but the shooting location was expanded considerably.

Because the Battle of Camlann was filmed from Mordred, this film focuses more on the process of the war than its outcome.

Therefore, Shinji prepared an extremely long shot, pushing upwards from the battle of the other knights at the foot of the mountain, and finally stopping on Artoria and Mordred.

Shooting a long take is not an easy task; it requires the cooperation of every actor in the frame.

If even one actor has a problem, the entire shoot has to be restarted.

Therefore, most long takes either minimize the number of people appearing on screen or try to create some hidden editing points to segment the shot.

However, Shinji wasn't going to go for that kind of embellishment. His long take was the most straightforward type, solely to show the full picture of the Battle of Camlann.

Aside from the two main characters, Artoria and Mordred, Shinji categorized the other knights who appeared during the war into three groups.

One type is purely props, placed in the distance as background; another type is corpses in the foreground, played by extras dressed in armor and makeup; and the last type is Knights of the Round Table in battle, played by Heroic Spirit knights.

To prevent viewers from getting confused, most of the knights wore Knight armor that completely covered their bodies.

Even those who did show their faces were either versatile extras like Yan Qing and Enkidu, or they were disheveled and covered in blood, so much so that even their own mothers wouldn't recognize them.

Of course, all of the above are just background to this scene; even the most important "Knights of the Round Table" only exchanged a few more sword blows.

The real key figures are the two "war gods" at the end of the hillside.

To emphasize King Arthur's loneliness and lack of understanding, Shinji deliberately separated the duel between the two from the other knights, leaving a large gap, which can be seen as a symbol of King Arthur's alienation from the knights he trusted.

Shinji doesn't know what the situation is like in other worlds with King Arthur's history, but in the Parallel world he lives in, King Arthur is a lonely guardian.

Every time she wins a battle, she is inevitably drawn into more battles.

Hiding her true gender aroused suspicion and left her isolated and helpless, ultimately leading to betrayal from her own family.

Mordred, a young knight who seized the throne while the king was away on a foreign expedition.

More importantly, this red knight's identity is that of Morgan and Arthur's son.

Actually, it's not uncommon for sons to rebel against their fathers for the throne, both in ancient and modern times, and in all cultures.

Charles is not someone anyone can become. Faced with the question of "can the world really have Crown Prince for seventy years?", anyone would be furious!

But Mordred was different; she rebelled against her father not for the throne, but to gain his approval.

Knowing that she, as a homunculus, was destined to die young, that's why Mordred so desperately craved the approval of her father, who had dedicated his entire life to her.

Unfortunately, because of his mother, King Arthur was unable to face his child.

Thus, Mordred, who deeply admired her father and longed for his approval, underwent a dramatic change in her heart after being rejected by King Arthur.

In order to trample on her father's great achievements, she began to sharpen her venomous fangs.

Mordred had long seen that Britain had reached its limit, delivered the most crucial blow at the most critical moment, causing Britain to completely collapse.

"Actually, could this be Mordred's doing? Even if she didn't rebel, Britain wouldn't last long, and King Arthur's rule would eventually lead the country to decline."

Standing beside Shinji, Joan of Arc whispered, "Rather than letting you sit on the throne and witness the collapse of the country, wouldn't it be more romantic for me to let you die on the battlefield?"

I don't think so.

"Because Mordred's love for her father wasn't strong enough?"

Shinji, sitting in the Director's chair with his legs crossed, grumbled, "No, I just think Mordred doesn't have the brains."

"Master, what you say makes so much sense. I have nothing to say in response."

Joan of Arc's lips twitched slightly.

"To put it bluntly, they're both impatient and arrogant," Shinji analyzed. "If even one of them could patiently listen to the other finish speaking, this scene of fatherly love and filial piety wouldn't have happened."

"Indeed, if one of them were a real man, they might have gotten together."

Joan of Arc of Arc, with a maternal smile, nodded in agreement with Shinji's point of view.

"That's not necessarily true."

If I remember correctly, Mordred was male in the early FSN lore.

It's clear that gender is meaningless to Artoria unless the two of you are "completely honest with each other," just like in the Fate Route.

Only by experiencing it once will Artoria become shy, and only then will you have the chance to win her over.

Looking at it this way, isn't that just a virgin's way of just going through the motions?

Shinji raised an eyebrow and began calculating the probability of him escaping being killed after harassing Artoria.

After being criticized by Chloe, Shinji realized that his life had been too bland for the past two years and he wanted to try something different.

"Master, just calculating that Britain isn't enough. You also need to include Miss Sakura, Miss Flora, and all the Knights of the Round Table."

Joan of Arc's words shattered Shinji's illusions.

"Joan of Arc..."

"I don't have mind-reading abilities, it's just that the expression on your face was too obvious, Master."

"..."

Shinji touched his nose and tried to hide his embarrassment by studying the Sony logo above the monitor.

Artoria, who was engaged in battle in front of the camera, was unaware of her Master's wicked thoughts; otherwise, the person she would be attacking right now would not be Mordred, but Shinji Matou.

If Artoria turned her head, she could see Shinji's expression with her eyesight, and based on her understanding of her Master, she could definitely guess what he was thinking.

But Artoria's attention was entirely focused on her own little Mo in front of her.

Perhaps it was because the set design was so similar to the scenes in my memory.

It could also be the emotional investment made before the performance.

Another factor is that her co-star in the filming of the Battle of Camlann was not Yan Qing, but Mordred herself.

In short, Artoria was gradually getting into character and empathizing with the mindset during the Battle of Camlann.

Upon learning of his betrayal during the expedition, he had no choice but to lead his exhausted troops back to his homeland and invade his own territory.

He cut down the knights who had once submitted to him one by one, and the iron hooves of his warhorse trampled the land he had once fought so hard to protect.

And those knights who followed him to the very end also fell one by one.

In the end, all that was left was himself, and --

"Mordred--!!"

Completely immersed in the role, Artoria launched an attack on her own child, thus beginning a battle Britain to destroy Britain.

Chapter 229 The Harmonious Pendragon Father and Son

"Hmm... Father's actions have changed!"

As Artoria's rival, Mordred immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Artoria's movements became sharper, and her attacks gradually shifted towards a formal knightly duel, rather than just a show for the camera.

"Is this... a true duel with me, Father?"

Mordred raised her eyebrows, looking at the face that was almost identical to her own. A thrill spread through her heart, and her thoughts drifted away.

That is the story between a knight named Mordred and King named Artoria.

As a young girl, guided by her mother, she had secretly spied on the king's figure from a very young age.

Courageous, indifferent, steady, and as strong as steel.

The mother originally wanted the girl to observe her mortal enemy, but the girl developed a deep admiration for that King.

Because the king is a flawless being, perfect in character, swordsmanship, and tactics.

Such a perfect king cannot be defeated.

Therefore, there is only one answer.

The girl decided to pledge her loyalty to the king, to become his knight, his blade, and to cleanse him of his filth.

The time she spent as Knights of the Round Table was the happiest period of her short life.

Unfortunately, happy times are always fleeting.

When Mordred learned that she was not only Morgan's son, but also Arthur's son, she was initially overjoyed.

Because the King of Knights she longed for was such a close figure to her; she was the sole heir to that king's bloodline.

In other words, she is the only candidate to be the "successor" of that King of Knights.

However, the king she admired rejected her.

"I see. Although this was my sister's treacherous scheme, you are indeed my son. However, I will not acknowledge you as my son, nor do I intend to pass the throne to you."

In his usual indifferent tone, Wang declared his attitude to the girl.

This deeply wounded the girl's heart.

Whether or not she is the heir is irrelevant, but the statement that she does not acknowledge the girl as her child is unacceptable to her.

"You really mean to deny that I am your son, King of Knights?!"

Faced with the girl's questioning, Wang did not turn around, but simply walked further and further away with his back to her.

"Fine. I'll make you regret this!!"