My Mother King Arthur

"It's already this late."

Arthur pushed himself up. The clothes scattered beside him were quickly put on. After that, he yawned, stood up, and walked out of the camp.

It was still early morning, and almost no one was awake. They were in a forest by the roadside. Besides Arthur, Mordred, and the guide and envoy from Ireland, there was hardly anyone else. Arthur had left the soldiers who rowed the boats and the pirates at the landing site.

Arthur had ordered them to build a stronghold there.

This stronghold would become the advance base for the Empire's future trade, invasion, and colonization of Ireland. Of course, for now, it was only for trade and cultural exchange.

After wandering outside for a while, everyone else woke up. Then they started cooking in the marching pots. It was ordinary stew with flour paste and grains. Soupy and watery. Besides being fresh and filling, it didn't have many advantages. But for soldiers, and people of this era, it was already a rare delicacy.

Besides the fresh flour soup, breakfast also included game hunted from the forest and their own hardtack. The former was grilled over a fire, and the latter was torn apart and thrown into the soup to be eaten after it softened.

In this era of abnormal global climate, every bit of food had to be saved. This was true even for the Germanic military region, which possessed agricultural technology that was fifteen hundred years ahead of its time.

Of course, perhaps in another two years, as more land was cleared, the situation would improve—in the current Germanic regions, the tribal farming techniques of most tribes were still terrible. They still practiced the most traditional slash-and-burn agriculture. Changing all of this would not be accomplished overnight.

"Speaking of which, this is Connacht territory now."

During breakfast, the Irish guide winked at them, seemingly preparing to share some local legends:

"Speaking of Connacht, the most famous is naturally the legendary Queen Maeve."

He cheerfully and incessantly recounted the deeds of this notorious queen. Especially the stories between this woman and Cú Chulainn, the "Child of Light" of Ireland.

"Speaking of which, this was Queen Maeve's palace back in the day. It's said that people still occasionally see Maeve here."

"Eh, is that so? So many years have passed."

"No way."

After that, it was just the guide's assurances and everyone else's doubts, which had become rather pointless. Arthur didn't want to listen anymore.

"Is this why I saw Maeve last night?"

Arthur thought to himself. Then he issued an order:

"We're not looking anymore. We're returning to Britannia tomorrow."

Hearing Arthur say this, his retainers, though surprised, dared not object. The Irish guide, however, was a bit panicked, worried that he had done something wrong to displease the great lord of the superior nation.

If the great lord of the superior nation was displeased, would he be implicated?

Of course, Arthur didn't care much about the psychological activities of an ordinary guide.

The expedition from Britannia left happily like that.

Not long after they left. Someone who Arthur had sarcastically called a "lustful female dog," "green tea queen," and "pink-haired bitch" arrived in a furious manner, riding an iron chariot.

"Where are they, where are they?!"

Surrounding her were "soldiers" mass-produced from her blood and genetic material. These products of "Divine Era Magic" could not exist in Ireland for too long. So she had to finish quickly.

"Where did that brat who refused to defile my body go?!"

"Damn it, I'll never let him go! I must capture him and teach him a lesson!"

Her eyes were red with rage, and she searched the woods where Arthur's party had camped, both inside and out, but found nothing.

This made her even angrier.

Yesterday, in the Inner Sea of Stars, she had thought about it again and again, and the more she thought, the angrier she became.

After Arthur left, and after a brief period of chaos, she had figured everything out.

She had been tricked, completely tricked.

That child had been a "kindred spirit" from the very beginning. The shyness he had feigned before was all fake. The reason he acted that way was to fool her, obtain information, and "conquer her."

But as soon as she brought out the "Golden Honey Wine" with its seductive properties, that child had completely turned on her.

Because he had skipped the steps and gone straight to the result, which made that child find it uninteresting. A purely physical relationship was not what he sought. So he had mocked her and left.

"Damn it, I must get revenge! I'll do this to him, then that to him, and then that to him! Make him understand the "power" of Queen Maeve, and make him cry tears of regret and admit he was wrong! Only then will it be alright!"

She vowed to herself. It was just a pity that she couldn't find him, so she could only continue to rage ineffectively.

"Aaaargh!"

Like this.

At the same time.

"When we return to Britannia, I'll go find that white-haired scammer. That's the last piece of the puzzle."

Riding his warhorse at full speed, Arthur thought to himself as he surveyed his surroundings.

Just like Brittany and Wales, Ireland was the "last home of the Celts."

This needed a slight correction.

Arthur's previous understanding, as well as some literary works and the "Counter Force" saying that the Age of Gods ended at the cost of the complete annihilation of the Celts, was not entirely accurate.

Because in the remote corners like Brittany, Wales, and Ireland, Celts still existed.

Therefore, it was wrong to say that the disappearance of True Aether would lead to the death of all Celts—the Celts eventually squeezed into the Seat of Humankind. It was just that the cost was too great.

All parts related to the "Age of Gods" and "True Aether" were excised. It was like undergoing an amputation surgery from the neck down.

The surviving Celts, no longer possessing the strength to join the grand tapestry of history, could only eke out a meager existence in harsh, forgotten corners of the world. In "Pan-Human History," they held no significant position. They weren't even extras, just background characters collecting their pay and leaving.

"Therefore, my plan remains correct."

With this thought, Arthur returned to the harbor in Dublin as quickly as possible. By this time, the sky was already darkening. Artorius was about to enter his dreams once more.

So this whole idea that True Aether is gone and the Celts are extinct is just ridiculous. Ireland, Wales, and Brittany all have Celtic populations. They've survived all the way to the present.

If you're talking about the Nasuverse, well, the Celts in the Nasuverse also survived into modern times. Otherwise, where would Gray and Bazett have come from?

Author's Notes:

First update of the day!

In the previous chapter, I cosplayed Prime Minister Zhuge and changed a line, adding "I have never seen such a shameless person."

Go to sleep after reading. The holiday is over, everyone!

Chapter 48: The Path Illuminated by Dreams

"Goodnight, Brother."

It was Little Mo who said good morning, and it was naturally Little Mo who said goodnight.

With a contented sigh, Little Mo closed her eyes and soon began to breathe evenly. After confirming his adorable little sister had fallen asleep, Arthur prepared to close his eyes as well.

"Who will I dream of tonight?"

He thought to himself.

"Will I be able to find the path to the Shadow Country?"

Before falling asleep, Arthur was filled with anticipation. He was also a little envious of Merlin.

As a half-incubus, his ability to enter dreams was far superior to Arthur's. Merlin could likely find the Shadow Country much more easily than he could.

"If not, I'll have to ask that scammer to help me figure it out when I see him," Arthur mused. He unconsciously pulled Little Mo, who was snuggling closer, a little tighter.

For an ordinary person, sleeping like this constantly would lead to a stiff neck for the woman and frozen shoulder for the man. But Arthur and Mordred were different. Their physical condition ensured that they wouldn't have any problems even if they slept upside down.

"Still, I might not be able to reach the Shadow Country smoothly. I might end up in another region of the Inner Sea of Stars," Arthur continued to think:

"In that case, will I be able to see that pink-haired bitch again?"

If it were her, that would be fine too. It could make up for yesterday's mistake.

Although Arthur believed that Maeve must have been furious after he left yesterday, it didn't matter. Just looking at his exquisite appearance, she'd have to endure it no matter how displeased she was.

"The purple-haired old woman would be nice, of course. But it's a bit frustrating to see her and not be able to touch her... Huh?"

As he drifted off to sleep, or rather, lost consciousness, Arthur sensed something was wrong.

Someone was beside him!

The thought struck him, and he immediately reached for Clarent, ready to strike without a word.

As a general who had slain countless enemies on the bloody battlefield, Arthur had certainly faced his share of assassination attempts. Killing in dreams was a basic skill.

However, the opponent's speed was too great.

The moment Arthur sensed something was wrong and gripped Clarent, his forehead was struck with a heavy blow.

"You, you bastard, is this it?"

Arthur gritted his teeth against the dizziness, forcing his eyes open: "At least, at least let Little Mo—"

He thought this as he prepared to swing his sword, but what he saw before him surprised him greatly.

It was a stunning beauty wearing a purple, lustful tight leather armor, a black mask, and with flowing purple long hair.

This was the one who had just brutally beaten Arthur's head, leaving him in a daze.

"Purp—"

Overwhelmed by shock, Arthur almost blurted out what was on his mind—

But before that.

"!"

The opponent's eyes flashed, and her gaze towards Arthur became even more dangerous.

With two "thuds," she delivered a follow-up blow to Arthur's head.

And so, Arthur smoothly "fell asleep."

Dream.

"My head hurts so much."

Waking up again, Arthur found himself in a dream.

"Seriously, I should have been more careful."

His Highness the Prince regretted it inwardly.

He knew that after the Age of Gods, the people of Ireland had moved to the Inner Sea of Stars, but he didn't know they could shuttle back and forth between the Inner Sea of Stars and the real world.

If he had known, he would never have made calling the "purple old woman" a habit, muttering it whenever he felt like it.

At the very least, he wouldn't be courting death like this after landing on Irish soil.

"But there's no point in thinking about that now."

Arthur continued to think, "If they didn't strike immediately and kill me, it means there's room for negotiation."

"This is a dream. They pulled me into a dream, so they must have taken a liking to my handsome and dashing appearance. Did they fall head over heels and want to... you know, have their way with me?"

"Hmm, I don't dislike this development. If the opponent is the purple old woman, I've actually always been your admirer~"

As Arthur happily "thought" this, a flash of red light appeared not far away, and then, a crimson spear gleaming with cold light, hurtled towards Arthur—

It was the weapon used by the purple old woman Arthur had been thinking of, Scathach, named "Gae Bolg."

The next instant, the greatsword Clarent slashed out with a "whoosh," clashing with the spear. A crisp sound rang out. The next instant, Arthur stepped back, his greatsword meeting another blood-colored spear of the same design.

At the same time, Arthur saw her.

The beauty with excitement and killing intent flashing in her eyes, a joyful smile on her face, wielding two spears and dancing with them skillfully.

"Scathach!"

Artorius Pendragon shouted with delight, swinging his greatsword fiercely at her—

This time, it wasn't a clash of martial skills.

Although he had only taken two blows, Arthur had already confirmed that his martial skills were no match for hers. Secondly, his fighting style was not suited for one-on-one combat.