Setting Out Again

Once the military council concluded, the war machine Leon had personally forged for Britain began to churn.

Leon returned to his bedchamber to find Morgan, savoring these final moments of tenderness before his departure.

"The war will be over before our daughter is born. Rest assured, I will be back in time," Leon promised, stroking Morgan's distended belly.

Over the past six months, as Morgan's belly grew, she had used sorcery to determine the child's gender once it had fully formed, subsequently sharing the news with Leon.

Upon learning his child would be a girl, Leon felt no disappointment whatsoever.

A girl is a girl; who says a girl cannot achieve great things? His daughter would surely become the second ruler of the world!

Seeing Leon's reaction, Morgan breathed a secret sigh of relief.

In truth, she had known the child's gender since it was merely a fertilized egg, but she had kept it hidden, fearing Leon might reject a girl.

It was only when she could no longer evade his persistent questioning that she finally told him.

As for why she hadn't chosen a boy from the start?

Hah.

Morgan had not expected Leon's genetic material to be so difficult to work with. Despite her best efforts, she had only produced three viable results, and of those three, the girl currently in her womb was the one who satisfied her most.

Note that by "satisfied," she meant the child was guaranteed to be born with a normal human appearance.

As for the other two, Morgan estimated that even if they were born, they would barely possess a human shape.

Regarding her husband's expedition, Morgan was not particularly worried about his safety. With the gods having fled, there were only a handful of beings left in this world capable of harming him.

According to what Morgan knew, on the island of Ireland, only that old woman could trade a few blows with Leon.

"Ah, Leon, if you encounter a Purple-Haired Old Woman who wields a spear, be careful. She is dangerous and enjoys fighting the strong."

"Mm-hmm." Leon dismissed the warning, his head buried against her.

Morgan recalled her two sons and added, "Oh, and remember to take Gawain and Agravain with you. Although they are still young, they should be able to assist you."

"Mm-hmm." Leon replied with a muffled, incoherent sound.

"You must be careful yourself. Do not get hurt, and keep an eye on Gawain and Agravain; they have, after all, called you father."

"Mm-hmm."

"Hey, I said, that's enough!"

Morgan pushed her husband away.

Honestly, she was feeling a bit engorged, but she hadn't intended for him to feed for this long.

He truly was a beast, stealing even the unborn child's food. If the baby didn't get enough to eat after birth, was he not afraid of starving the child?

"Heh heh."

Once the four thousand-man units had assembled outside the city of Camelot, Leon bid farewell to his father, Morgan, and the daughter in Morgan's womb.

Carrying his wife's blessings, Leon boarded his chariot and left the palace, traveling in a grand procession under the protection of his personal guards to meet the army outside the city.

The roads were lined with the citizens of Camelot, who had been waiting since they learned the Lion King was departing today, eager to witness Leon's majestic presence with their own eyes.

Though they knew of Leon's cruelty, they firmly believed in his victory.

His brother Joe led the way, clearing a path for the personal guards. Gawain and Agravain were still too young to be tasked with killing enemies, so Leon kept them under his own banner to run errands.

At this moment, they were riding in the same chariot behind Leon.

The two brothers exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.

Ever since they had acknowledged this "convenient" father, they had been intentionally separated. Agravain, being serious and diligent, was sent to the King's father, Luther, to handle paperwork, while the robust and valiant Gawain was assigned to Kay, training with the soldiers daily and learning the arts of battlefield combat.

Over the past six months, Leon, this "convenient" father, had been decent enough, occasionally showing concern for their lives and studies.

However, ever since their mother became pregnant, she acted as if they didn't exist, neither asking after them nor showing concern, as if she had forgotten them entirely. They could only see her in the palace when they had received an order from Leon.

This was truly...

Wonderful!

Though they were Morgan's sons, they felt nothing but disgust for the witch who was their mother.

It was not that they lacked filial piety or a sense of right and wrong, but that their mother, Morgan, did not treat them as sons; she treated them as tools to help her seize control of Britain.

If a mother does not treat her sons as sons, how could the sons treat the mother as a mother?

If they could, they would rather not have come into this world bearing the identity of Morgan's sons.

Fortunately, they had met the Lion King. Although the Lion King, like the father before him, was bewitched by their mother's beauty, he had not completely lost his reason.

In fact, he was even able to keep their mother in check on a daily basis.

Setting aside the Lion King's achievements, for this alone, they felt a sense of admiration for him.

The only pity was that the Lion King was overly concerned for them, mistakenly believing they wanted to enter the palace to visit their mother.

Was there any possibility that they simply did not like their mother?

Staying far away from their mother was the greatest blessing they could receive; they even felt that these six months without her had been true happiness.

It was a pity that as sons, they could not voice such thoughts.

It was rather pitiful for their unborn sister, who would end up with a witch for a mother...

Leon, at the front of the carriage, was unaware of the true thoughts of his two grown sons, and even if he knew, he likely wouldn't care.

At this moment, his gaze was fixed on Merlin, who was traveling alongside him, and the horse Merlin was riding.

His face was full of envy.

"Merlin, you can ride a horse?"

Leon's question was so idiotic that it left him at a loss for how to respond.

Fortunately, Leon didn't wait for a reply and asked again, "Merlin, do you know where there are large horses? Big horses I can ride into battle."

Merlin understood; so he wanted a mount.

Looking at Leon's height of over three meters, finding a suitable warhorse was truly no easy task.

The plow horses on the island were large, but not large enough for Leon to ride, and they were unsuitable for combat, meant only for tilling fields.

Moreover, given Leon's brute strength, Merlin feared he might crush his mount to death just by squeezing his legs.

After a moment of thought, Merlin shook his head.

Leon would not give up and asked again, "What about phantom beasts? Divine beasts or magical beasts would also work. Unicorns, pegasi, hippogriffs, White Dragon horses, griffins—as long as I can ride it, I can accept it."

"...My King, do you hear yourself?"

He was dreaming quite beautifully; which of these phantom beasts wasn't precious and rare? How could they be obtained so easily?

Even if one could be obtained, most phantom beasts were highly spiritual and would not easily acknowledge a master.

"Report!"

At this moment, a knight rode up from the front, interrupting their idle chatter.

The knight said to Leon, "Reporting to the King, the commander says there is a knight named Lancelot who wishes to follow the King, and he has come to ask for the King's decision."

Lancelot?

Leon raised an arm, and the entire convoy stopped immediately. The movement was smooth and natural, as if they were one, without any disorder.

It seemed he wanted to follow him to build a career.

"Let him come over."

"Yes."

Before long, Lancelot arrived on a fine steed. Upon seeing Leon, he knelt on one knee.

"Knight Lancelot, I wish to follow Your Highness. From this day forth, I shall be the blade of my King, and my life and death shall be subject to the King's command."

Looking at the Knight of the Lake who had finally defected to him, Leon nodded in satisfaction.

Lancelot's martial arts were the most superb he had ever seen in his life. Furthermore, he was upright, treated others with sincerity, and possessed noble character; he could be called the most ideal knight.

Leon had spent half a year pestering him, adopting the attitude of Cao Mengde toward Guan Yunchang—a feast every three days and a reward every two—only then slowly breaking down his defenses and completing the recruitment.

Leon stepped off the carriage in two strides and walked quickly to the purple-clad knight to help him up.

"Haha, with you by my side today, the world is as good as conquered!"

He then pulled him onto the carriage to show his favor.

Lancelot was flattered and spoke with a firm tone, "I am willing to die for my King."