Vortigern won't do either

Leon's Liberation Strike destroyed the largest fortress in Scotland, showcasing his power and successfully cowing the local inhabitants.

Following Leon's orders, Merlin notified the royal capital, instructing Luther to appoint noble officials to the region—if not to fully integrate it into their rule, then at least to ensure this year's taxes were collected.

Leon specifically suggested establishing a special tax department managed directly by the court, striving to ensure that "nothing is certain except death and taxes."

After the city fell, Leon conscripted over six hundred knights from Scotland to form a new battalion. These men were the sons and retainers of local nobles, having received formal military training since childhood, and could be deployed into battle after a brief period of organization.

Carrying the grain looted from the Scottish Highlands, Leon led these two battalions southeast.

The enemies to the east were the Saxon barbarians from across the sea, as well as the White Dragon of Britain, the Vile King Vortigern, who had lured the barbarians to the island from the southeast.

"Merlin, who exactly is Vortigern that you treat him with such gravity?"

When Leon mentioned the enemy to the east, even at the mere mention of the Vile King's name, he saw that Merlin's face was no longer its usual relaxed self, but filled with solemnity.

Seeing Merlin's "facing a formidable enemy" expression, Leon became interested in this opponent he had yet to meet.

"Lion King, this Vortigern is no small matter. Even for you, if you treat him with carelessness, you might just capsize."

Hearing Merlin say this, Leon's interest grew even further.

Merlin said, "My King, you may already know Artoria's true identity... Artoria is the Red Dragon born in Britain, the king naturally destined to rule Britain, while the Vile King Vortigern is the White Dragon who stands as her antithesis."

"He summoned foreign races, occupied the fortress city of Camelot, and intends to take Britain into his own hands, attempting to destroy the land and return the island to its primordial darkness, turning it into a hell where humanity can never dwell."

"Vortigern is Britain itself, manifesting in the world as the will and avatar of the island. He is the tribal lord who drank dragon blood, having long since shed his humanity to become a demonic dragon, turning the entire island into his own flesh."

Merlin's lengthy explanation clarified the true nature of the Vile King Vortigern.

Leon nodded. He understood: if Artoria was the Holy King who brought prosperity to Britain, then Vortigern was the Demon King who would lead it to ruin.

Although Artoria's throne had already been snatched away by him by force.

Wait—

"Camelot?" Leon caught the keyword and hurriedly asked Merlin, "You said Vortigern occupies Camelot, so what is this Camelot of mine?"

Merlin scratched his head in embarrassment and explained, "Haha, actually, after Vortigern took the city of Camelot, I discussed it with the others. Since the legitimate heir, Artoria, was still around, we simply established a new city as the seat of the nation to contend with him."

Leon nodded.

Got it. Like Delhi and New Delhi.

"Then why keep calling it Camelot? Couldn't you have changed the name? Adding 'New' to make it New Camelot would have worked. Whose bright idea was it to mislead me?"

"Heh heh, keeping the name Camelot makes it seem more legitimate, doesn't it?"

To deal with the Vile King Vortigern, Merlin and the others really were pulling out all the stops.

Compared to the caution Merlin displayed, Leon's most direct reaction after figuring out Vortigern's true identity was—

"That's it?"

"My King, you must not underestimate him."

Seeing Leon's lack of concern, Merlin hurriedly urged him, hoping Leon would not look down on his opponent.

Vortigern was the entirety of the British Isles; individual strength, no matter how great, was like the difference between an ant and a human when compared to him. Anyone could see there was no chance of victory.

"The Holy Spear is a device that maintains the surface of the world; it can be called a divine artifact that counters Vortigern."

This was the reason Merlin had insisted Leon bring the spear before they set out.

"Since I have a divine weapon in hand, what do I have to fear?"

Despite Merlin's intense hype for Vortigern, Leon didn't consider him a formidable enemy in the slightest.

King Arthur had defeated Vortigern, and Leon could suppress Artoria with one hand; what did Vortigern amount to in his eyes?

If he wasn't allowed to underestimate him, then let the opponent show some real skill. Why should he value an opponent who could be finished off in a few moves?

Merlin's grandiloquent speech was nothing more than Type-Moon-style boasting.

They talk about human extinction and world-reshaping at the drop of a hat, but when you look closely, it's all just flavor text.

The so-called "destruction of the world" refers entirely to conceptual matters; the physical planet in the real world doesn't even lose a layer of skin.

When Leon played games in his past life, he always wanted to complain about this. If you want to talk about destroying the world, build a weapon that turns the Earth into space debris—then you could say you've actually tried to be a boss in the Moon world, that you've actually destroyed the world.

These big shots can destroy all of humanity and the world with a flick of their fingers, but what does that even mean?

This boss has a planetary-level mana source, that item has stellar-level energy reserves, parallel worlds, time travel, space displacement, perpetual motion machines, omniscience and omnipotence that pities humanity, alien starships that love humanity...

Heh!

And yet, this group of supposedly heaven-defying big shots keeps huddling in the small pond of Earth to show off their presence, as if they aren't crowded enough.

They never talk about sending humanity into space to have the most WAAAGH-worthy WAAAGH!! in the galaxy.

Either the scale is too small.

Or they're just full of hot air!

If you say Vortigern is Britain itself, then have Vortigern make the island of Britain stand up. If he can walk a few steps without issue, Leon would nod and admit that Vortigern is indeed Britain.

Have the island of Britain stand up and take a stance to fight him—that would be enough to make Leon cautious.

But can you do that?

No way!

When it comes down to it, isn't this all just theory and concepts?

Isn't it just blowing hot air!

Thinking this way, Leon looked down on Vortigern even more.

Seeing Leon's expression, Merlin knew he hadn't taken his advice to heart. He sighed inwardly, knowing he would have to be more vigilant and pay closer attention himself.

It still falls to me, I just hope we don't lose too miserably...

Under Leon's command, Merlin used Clairvoyance to locate the Vile King Vortigern, and Leon led his troops forward to confront Vortigern head-on.

Much like his previous operations, Leon first crushed the enemy's morale with a single strike, then led the charge to take the head of the enemy commander.

But what was different was that this Vortigern actually had some real skill.

At the very least, he was stronger than Leon had imagined.

Leon had run him through with a spear, and just as he was about to show off to Merlin, Vortigern forcibly pulled himself off the spear, baring his wide, open chest, and fled using both hands and feet.

"Tsk tsk, Merlin, this is the true essence of Britain? I poked a hole in him, and he shamelessly abandoned his army and ran away. This Britain is truly weak."

Is this really the great enemy of King Arthur?

Merlin was stunned by this scene, his composure failing him on the spot.

In his perception, the bottomless pit of magical power within the Vile King Vortigern, the near-invincible traits gained from assimilating with the island, and the surging, oppressive aura all showcased the overwhelming might of the White Dragon of Britain.

If it were him, he would surely have been defeated utterly in an instant.

Yet, this White Dragon, so powerful in his eyes, the most formidable and lethal enemy of Camelot, had been defeated by Leon in a single exchange.

Defeated so easily!

Even though he had overestimated Leon as much as possible, the power Leon displayed time and again continued to shatter his perceptions.

The slap to the face came too quickly. Hearing Leon boast like this and recalling his own previous thoughts, Merlin turned his head away, refusing to look at Leon's smug expression.

With Vortigern fled and the enemy leaderless, the outcome of this war went without saying.

Leaving a portion of his men to guard the surrendered Saxon captives, Leon immediately pursued Vortigern. Encountering layers of resistance, Leon fought valiantly, winning four consecutive battles and thoroughly crushing the Saxon army.

For these Saxon barbarians, Leon stuck to his old routine.

He selected the capable to form a peacekeeping force, took the heirs of nobles as hostages, plundered grain and treasure to reward his troops, and ordered these nobles and the peacekeeping force to scour the mountains and seas to capture Vortigern and attack the Saxon city-states that chose not to surrender.

During this time, Leon intervened a few times with significant results, once again demonstrating his martial prowess, leaving everyone inside and out in complete submission.

He pushed all the way to the coast.

Leon stood on a reef, looking out at the boundless ocean.

He put on a look of feigned profundity.

"Merlin, do you know what lies on the other side of the sea?"