My Mother, King Arthur

Arthur took a deep breath.

He confirmed that arguing further with Father King was pointless. The man was as stubborn as stone, completely lacking in empathy.

"I can provide these supplies."

Arthur said earnestly, "Regardless, I am the Crown Prince of Camelot—so Father King. I am willing to provide Camelot with an additional sum of supplies—enough for the entire kingdom, the army, and their families."

Camelot was, after all, only one of the nations of Britannia, with a population of only tens of thousands. It was not a heavy burden for Arthur, who commanded the millions of people in the entire Germanic War Zone.

"..."

Before Artoria could answer, Arthur continued:

"Of course, these resources are not being provided to Father King for free."

"My request is for the Knights of the Round Table."

"Naturally, not all of the Knights of the Round Table. I only want the top twelve Knights of the Round Table. Father King, you must order the twelve seats of the Knights of the Round Table to be sent to my command."

"What do you say, Father King? This is a good deal, isn't it?"

"..."

Artorius believed this was a win-win plan.

He would obtain a scarce group of top-tier experts, and Artoria would receive the supplies to ensure the people of Camelot lived well.

With this elite force, Arthur would have an additional trump card when facing challenges from the Germans and Romans. His chances of victory would increase, and his plans would proceed more smoothly. Their Pendragon family would also attain supreme glory—

They would replace "Capet," replace "Hohenstaufen," replace "Plantagenet," and replace "Rurik."

In the future, they would also replace "Bourbon," replace "Habsburg," and replace "Romanov."

Even when entering new eras, enduring Napoleon, two World Wars, and countless upheavals and chaos in both the overt and hidden worlds, Artorius would, through his wisdom and abilities, ensure the glory, continuity, and greatness of the entire Pendragon family.

Whether in the overt or hidden world.

In the future, when all these resources and technologies matured, Artorius would go further, completely saving "all of humanity." Allowing humanity to escape the control of the Counter Force and achieve true salvation and freedom.

This would certainly include gambits with the Counter Force, battles and exchanges with extraterrestrial civilizations, and conflicts. It would also include the obstruction from other human organizations.

But even so, Artorius would persevere.

To pioneer the future, break out of Earth, and head towards the universe. To oblash anything like the Star of the Chicken, U.O. of the Chicken, or Outer Gods of the Chicken, until the "Human Universe" plan was completed. Then he could finally rest easy!

This was the entirety of Artorius Pendragon's plan.

The "Usurp Destiny Plan," which had surfaced, was, despite its grand scale, merely a part of the "Grand Plan."

—Even this "part" had already incurred the displeasure of the Counter Force. Therefore, for the subsequent Grand Plan, Arthur hadn't even told Little Mo.

Because it was simply too dangerous. The more people who knew, the greater the risk.

"Compared to Father King foolishly crashing headfirst into a wall and ending up with a bloody head, I believe strategy is necessary.

What was that saying by the great man?

'Preserve the people and lose territory; the people and territory will survive. Lose the people and preserve territory; the people and territory will be lost.'

Therefore, we must preserve our living forces.

We must ensure our own survival. After all, if I can't survive, even if I establish the Human Universe and usher in a beautiful new era, I won't be able to enjoy it.

Therefore, this round of transaction with Father King, bringing the Knights of the Round Table under my control, is the first step towards the new world and establishing the Human Universe!

Such a magnificent first step!

A small step for mankind, a giant leap for the Pendragon family!

"Yes, just agree to it. It's beneficial for both of us, isn't it, my dear Father King?"

Arthur looked at his Father King cheerfully and with great anticipation.

The other party's expression struggled, then calmed. Then they looked at their beloved son, Artorius, with seriousness and determination.

"Your conditions are excellent, my dear child," she said.

"I can tell you truly want to help. You truly want to contribute to Britannia."

"However, I refuse."

She looked at Arthur with her crystal-clear eyes and said earnestly, "Those resources... did you obtain them through plunder, exploitation, and oppression?" she asked. "I know, Arthur. In your Germanic War Zone, you have always implemented high-pressure policies, destroying those who disobey. Or forcing them to pay you grain and taxes. I cannot accept such resources."

Artorius: "..."

The Dragon of Frost of Europa was silent for a few seconds:

"Father King."

He tried hard to control his emotions, but he couldn't:

"I manage my territory very well!"

He said loudly:

"In my territory, everyone who works hard can live!"

All valuable people will live well! The army, soldiers, artisans, magicians, scholars, and technical talents—they will all be well taken care of!

Farmers and laborers can support their families through their own efforts. Women are organized for textile production, and children are organized for labor and learning within their capabilities!

Even those who are worthless! The disabled, those who have lost their ability to work, the elderly—I haven't abandoned them! They can all obtain 'survival,' which is too luxurious for this era, under my care!

What more do you want from me?! If I were to govern Germania in that idiotic way of 'sharing hardships together,' I'd have my entire family wiped out by dissatisfied German madmen the next second, do you know that?!"

Artoria shook her head, looking at Artorius with a helpless gaze, as if looking at a child who had gone astray.

Although Arthur looked at her similarly.

Author's Notes:

Reader Group: 103434270

The bounty is still ongoing. Monthly votes: 253, Blades: 272

I got a bit carried away writing this chapter and added an extra 400 words.

Chapter 69: I Love My Father

Artorius was telling the truth.

Under his mobilization, the entire Germanic War Zone was operating at high speed. Everyone was driven, encouraged each other, and working desperately for survival and "a better survival"—

Working hard, producing hard, and "killing and plundering hard"—killing and plundering those who "did not belong to the Germanic War Zone" and were "not their own people."

This "attitude towards life" and "way of life" perfectly fit "this era," and for the next thousand years, this would be the "normal situation" in Europe. Even in modern times, this situation still exists and is still "normal," just wrapped in layers of gorgeous, highly deceptive outer coverings.

Artorius did an excellent job.

As a ruler, as a leader, he was excellent.

He rewarded and punished clearly, he was generous, he led from the front in war, and he governed his territory with wisdom and brilliance. To his own people, he was the best leader. The kind of leader you could cry out to even when dying: "Big Brother, I'll follow you in the next life!"

But to his enemies.

He was a devil, a natural disaster, a nightmare, the embodiment of terrifying destruction, the mad and ruthless "Dragon of Frost" in the German Black Forest—a hero to some, an enemy to others. In this little ice age, when everyone was working hard to survive, could he be considered wrong?

Those Germanic tribes who did not belong to the Germanic War Zone treated Arthur's people the same way.

There were also the Romans, the Slavs, and the nomadic peoples from the steppes.

Everyone was accustomed to this kind of thing!

This was the divergence between Artorius and Artoria.

Artoria, the idealist, taught by King Uther and Merlin, imbued with the "ideal king" persona, could not accept her beloved son's practical pragmatism and utilitarianism. More importantly:

"Arthur, you're talking about 'Camelot,' not 'Britannia'," she said to Arthur. "You can't provide the resources to protect Britannia, can you?"

Arthur: "..."

"Yes, I can't either," he said after a moment of silence. "At least, not for free, not to those kings and lords."

Arthur didn't say the rest of his sentence, which was that he needed those people, manpower, knights, and soldiers. To get resources, they had to pay.

And then, this manpower and these soldiers would become part of the Germanic War Zone, fighting desperately for Arthur's ambitions and everyone's wishes. Just like all the ambitious people in this world.

There was a misconception here.

King Arthur didn't not care if the people starved. It was just that she was confident that the Holy Grail could save her country, restore the concentration of True Aether to its former levels, and bring Britannia back to its good old days.

In that case, why should the people suffer, be used as war tools, or be cannon fodder? For temporary gain, they would lose long-term peace and even their lives, leaving their homes to go to the cold, war-torn Europe.

"But, Father King, can you really find the Holy Grail? What if you can't? Or what if you find it, but it's not that useful?" Arthur continued to question her unyieldingly, only to see his Father King smile happily:

"Let me tell you some good news."

Artoria's expression turned cheerful: "We already know the whereabouts of the Holy Grail.

Percival sent word, and the location of the Holy Grail has been confirmed. Now, all that's needed is for a pure and holy knight to go there to obtain it.

Arthur, your plan has completely failed."

As she said this, Artoria showed pure joy and a sense of relief. She must have felt that her long endurance, her long suffering, and her long troubles were about to end. Britannia would return to its good old days.

Upon hearing this, Artorius Pendragon, on the contrary, felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

The Holy Grail had been located.

No wonder Galahad had bid him farewell. So that's how it was.

—In that case, the historical trajectory would be exactly the same as originally!

In that case, Galahad would die.

This wasn't even the worst ending—the worst ending would be if Father King obtained the Holy Grail—that would be the Sixth Singularity, the Lion King ending!

"Arthur."

Seeing Arthur's dumbfounded look, Artoria's heart softened.

She took a step forward and hugged Arthur's neck: "So, Arthur, you won't have to work so hard anymore.

From now on, you won't have to sacrifice for the people, nor will you have to bear the weight of the country."

"I have arranged everything."

Father King embraced Arthur tenderly. "You will return to Britannia, return to my side, won't you, Arthur?"

She looked at Arthur with full expectation. The response she received was Arthur's equally tender embrace.

Ah, ah, ah.

Indeed, this was her Father King.

Gently, he bore everything upon himself. Even if he was fooled, raised wrongly, and used as a tool to save his country. He was still a guy who tried his best.

The only difference from the original history was probably herself. She had placed many beautiful emotions upon herself…

So this time, it was Artorius's turn to refuse.

"The Holy Grail plan is destined to fail."

He looked calmly at Artoria. "The Counter Force will not permit any errors in Pan-Human History. Britannia is doomed to perish. This is a 'certainty' etched into Pan-Human History. That half-incubus should have told you this."

"Arthur?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the Holy Grail is a trap," Arthur continued calmly. "It's a trap set by the Counter Force. Obtaining the Holy Grail will not end well."

"Arthur?!"

"So, Father King, forget about the Holy Grail and be realistic."

"Arthur—"

"—Answer my question first!"

Arthur interrupted her with a louder voice than Artoria's:

"If the Holy Grail is useless, what will you do, Father King?!"

"The Holy Grail…"