Battleship

"Mother?"

Hearing Morgan's cold voice ring out from behind them, the three figures before the throne turned instantly, only to see that familiar black-and-blue silhouette standing at the entrance of the great hall, completely unscathed.

Scathach cast a brief glance at the corpse of Morgan on the throne, noticing it dissolving into wisps of crystalline magical energy, and understood the situation at once.

"A clone, is it?"

"Indeed." Morgan raised an eyebrow, a cold sneer playing on her lips. "Heh, why would I ever meet you in the flesh?"

She was well aware of how abysmal her close-quarters combat abilities were. Setting aside the refined and seasoned Scathach or the brave and sturdy Gawain, she couldn't even best the unremarkable Agravain.

If she were truly cornered, even a common foot soldier could kill her; why would she be foolish enough to walk into a trap and face the three of them head-on?

Seeing that Morgan was still alive, Agravain's eyes showed a flicker of surprise, yet his face remained as calm as a dead man's.

Gawain, however, lacked such gloom and guile. His emotions were far purer; upon seeing Morgan, the tears in his eyes stopped, only to well up again, and a look of genuine joy appeared on his face. "Mother, you are still alive?"

"What, does my survival please you so much? Or were you hoping to kill this mother of yours once more?" Morgan's tone was icy, her eyes devoid of any affection as she looked at her two sons.

She held no deep feelings for Agravain, knowing well that this son had always been cold and never a good man.

Yet, she found Gawain's display of joy at her survival sickening. To weep while plunging a sword into her without hesitation—such hypocrisy was nauseating. If he truly cared for the bond between mother and son, he should never have struck the killing blow.

"I..."

Gawain was left speechless by Morgan's accusation, not daring to defend himself.

Seeing Gawain fall into despair, and not wanting him to lose his fighting spirit with a great battle imminent, Agravain stepped forward to retort: "It was you who struck first, Mother! You are not a fit mother; you were intent on killing your sons, so we need not concern ourselves with the ethics of family."

"It was you who betrayed me first!" Provoked by these words, Morgan gritted her teeth, her tone resolute yet calm. "I will never forgive traitors, not even my own sons!"

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Morgan looked toward Agravain, a flicker of admiration and recognition in her eyes.

"Agravain, it was you who hid Mordred, wasn't it?"

Though phrased as a question, Morgan was absolutely certain. She wasn't blind; the strange expressions Gawain and Scathach had worn when Agravain denied it earlier could not have been faked.

Agravain replied with ironclad certainty: "No!"

Seeing Agravain so stubborn, Morgan couldn't help but sigh. Her son might lack talent in both pen and sword, but he was a man of ability nonetheless—maintaining his guard and lying through his teeth even in such a situation.

He was truly her son.

"Heh, you really are a good son of mine. Cold-hearted and deep-scheming, lying even to your mother's final question before her death."

"Are you not also deceiving us, Mother?"

As the exchange between Morgan and her two sons concluded, Scathach lowered her guard, her tense expression slowly relaxing as she sheathed her spear and walked toward Morgan.

"Does this mean you are a clone as well?"

"Hmph."

Morgan did not speak, merely tilting her head with arrogance.

Her meaning was self-evident.

"Truly impressive."

Faced with Morgan's admission, even Scathach had to admire her superior mastery of magecraft. The clone was crafted with such exquisite realism that even she could not discern the difference for a moment.

She stopped ten meters away from Morgan, her brow slightly furrowed, her eyes bright as she scanned the area before her, seemingly sensing something.

"You said the lockdown was complete?"

As she spoke, Scathach slowly reached out, only to be forced to stop in mid-air. No matter how much force she applied, she could not move an inch further, as if an invisible wall stood between them.

Seeing this, Scathach deduced that the barrier Morgan had gone to such lengths to set up was one capable of isolating space, and it would not be broken in a short time.

"Scathach, I am truly impressed you noticed."

Morgan was filled with self-satisfaction, not stingy with her praise for Scathach, just as a victor would never deny the excellence of the defeated.

"After you entered this hall, my true self secretly laid the barrier. Fortunately, you were very cooperative, and the result was exactly as I expected. This palace is now locked down, and soon, the entire royal palace will be exiled to an alternate dimension."

Hearing this, Gawain and Agravain hurried over, reaching out to touch the air, only to encounter the invisible barrier.

"To deal with the three of us, you really have gone to great lengths."

First using a clone as bait, then launching a surprise attack once they entered the hall, and even secretly laying a barrier capable of severing space—"great lengths" was an understatement.

Despite being trapped, Scathach's expression remained indifferent; she even had the leisure to offer a sarcastic remark.

"War requires dispersing the enemy's forces to defeat them one by one. That is common sense."

Morgan knew nothing of war, but having spent so much time by Leon's side, she had learned a thing or two through osmosis. She might not be able to lead an army, but she could certainly devise a grand strategy.

Looking at the three trapped individuals, her original intent had been to kill them on the spot; the secret lockdown was merely a contingency.

The initial ambush had been dodged by the three of them, and while she was certain of victory if she continued to fight, it would be too time-consuming.

Leon could return from Europe at any moment, and she needed to accelerate her pace.

With the barrier within the palace now set, she would seal the three of them away and banish them from the planet before returning to Britain to handle the tasks ahead.

"Now, you may wait here for your deaths."

Morgan delivered her final ultimatum and turned to leave.

Watching Morgan's back as she left without a moment's hesitation, a look of anxiety surfaced on Gawain's flower-like face. He slapped the invisible barrier, calling out loudly for his mother, but it was all to no avail.

Agravain, standing to the side, grabbed his shoulder to help him calm down: "Gawain, compose yourself. If it were just the two of us, then all would be lost, but isn't Queen Scathach here as well?"

"Queen..."

Gawain looked at Scathach with hopeful eyes and received a nod of affirmation from her.

"I can break it, but it will take a considerable amount of time. By then, Morgan may have already fully occupied Britain. You must prepare yourselves for a desperate battle."

Agravain's expression was solemn: "That is no problem. Father is outside, and Mother is no match for Father. Even in the worst-case scenario, things will not be too dire."

"Indeed, have faith in Father's great power," Gawain chimed in, feeling deeply in agreement.

Before Scathach could say anything more, they saw faint blue lights flickering across the palaces outside. Magical energy, radiating a serene luster, swirled around the entire royal palace, drifting into the surroundings and slowly rising toward the sky.

"Morgan is going to strip the palace away."

Following a violent tremor, the world before the three of them suddenly became a dizzying blur.

Once they regained their footing, the three of them slowly recovered their vision. Looking outward, they saw a brand-new world that could neither be observed by the naked eye nor understood by the mind.

Scathach's expression tightened, her brows furrowing slightly as she became lost in thought: "Morgan has truly sent us to a completely different world!"

Seeing Scathach's rare display of gravity, Agravain immediately pressed for an answer: "What kind of world is it? Is it difficult to return?"

"Yes, it is very troublesome." Scathach took a deep breath and said slowly, "This is the reverse side of the world, a realm that the physical world of the present cannot reach. It is a space that cannot be observed and contains all possibilities—the Imaginary Number Space!"

Morgan stood atop the pristine white city walls, looking down at the royal city. The entire palace had been sent by her into the Imaginary Number Space. At this moment, the royal city looked incredibly unsightly, having lost nearly half its area, leaving only a vast expanse of brownish earth enclosed by the outer walls.

"Next, it is time to open Avalon and summon the soul and will of another Britain."

However, before that, she still had to return to her magic workshop. First, to see how her son was faring, and second, to retrieve the special vessel she had prepared long ago.

France coast, Roman legion camp.

As the smoke cleared, the sturdy figure of the Lion King appeared in the eyes of the surrounding people.

Leon ignored the soldiers who had surrounded him, his gaze first falling upon the warship lying not far away.

The very first glance made him fall deeply in love with it.

The warship was estimated to be nearly 180 meters long, crafted entirely from an unknown type of steel, and coated in a grey-blue paint. It was covered in mechanical devices that defied explanation, a piece of technology completely out of place with the current worldview.

At the front of the warship sat a turret of the same color; the light cannons from before must have been fired from it.

To see such a thing in the Middle Ages—Leon loved this Moon World beneath his feet to death, and in his heart, he had already claimed ownership of the warship.

This thing is destined to be mine.

Moving his gaze away from the warship, Leon looked at the white... er, big cat standing at the very front.

From a human perspective, this big cat could be called incredibly beautiful.

It had a slender frame, with sleek, long white fur covering its body. Its limbs, wrapped in soft, short fur, appeared delicate, while its neck and shoulders were fluffy, perfectly accentuating its well-proportioned physique. Only the killing intent in those blood-red eyes added a touch of ferocity.

"You are the legion commander here. Given that you are of the Yaling Hundred Species, I will give you a chance: surrender or die?"

On his way here, Leon had heard Merlin mention detailed intelligence about this place. This white cat fairy was the most important figure in Merlin's briefing.

This fairy was a trusted general of Lucius, appointed as the commander of the vanguard legion. It was also one of the Yaling Hundred Species, a descendant closest to the primordial fairies, a reversionist possessing power rivaling the ancestors—it could be said to be an existence that simulated the concept of planetary organs.

It tilted its head, looking at the Britain Lion King who had revealed his true form, its eyes trembling with endless terror. Although it had heard that the Lion King was very tall, seeing it in person still left it shocked.

Coupled with the opponent's overbearing and powerful aura and the boiling, wanton killing intent, it was clearly a vicious beast waiting to devour its prey.

I am absolutely no match for him!

The moment it saw the Lion King, it made its judgment. Even with the entire army, they were no match for the Lion King!

But even if it was no match, the pride in its heart and its loyalty to the Emperor would never allow it to commit any act that violated its honor.

So, when faced with the choice given by the Lion King, it assumed a combat stance, extending its sharp claws, which were wreathed in white lightning.

"I refuse! My only lord is Lu—"

Before it could finish its sentence, it saw the giant figure strike. The speed was so fast that only a blurred afterimage remained in its eyes. A cold light flashed, and it suddenly felt a sense of lightness in its body.

The world in its vision began to spin. Its peripheral vision caught the headless torso standing in place, spraying blood.

Immediately after, before its thoughts could even react, streaks of cold light flashed before its eyes—sharp, dense, and countless.

"If you won't, then die."

Leon shook the blood off his sword. The air was filled with a bloody mist, and a pile of minced meat fell to the ground with a sickening splat, splat sound.

This high-ranking legion commander had been instantly decapitated by Leon. To show how much he valued the Yaling, he had even hacked at the fairy's head and body repeatedly, mincing them into a fine paste.

The surrounding soldiers and mages looked on in disbelief as their strongest legion commander was killed in seconds by the enemy, dying in such a gruesome manner. Their breath hitched.

They were finished.

Leon didn't bother with the small fry, instead turning his gaze toward the several giants who were nearly as tall as the warship.

"What about you lot? Do you want to surrender to me? Those who surrender will be spared."

Giants were a rare sight in this era, let alone on a continent where mystery had all but vanished. It seemed Lucius still had a few tricks up his sleeve to have managed to get his hands on these.

If these giants were willing to surrender, Leon intended to keep them in the Spirit Tomb during peacetime and unleash them onto the battlefield during wartime; they would be near-invincible weapons of mass destruction.

Recovering from the shock of seeing their legion commander killed, the giants exchanged glances upon hearing Leon's words, then immediately gripped their weapons and gritted their teeth in refusal.

"We are—"

The gruesome fate that had befallen the faeries was now replicated by Leon upon the giants.

A dense flash of cold light swept through, and in the blink of an eye, the massive figures of the giants were gone from the camp, leaving behind only mountain-like piles of flesh and an intensely thick stench of blood.

"Forget it, I don't have the time to listen to your nonsense right now."

Flicking the residual blood off his blade once more, Leon couldn't help but sigh; that fellow Lucius truly had some talent to have won such loyalty.

As he turned, sword in hand, to face the surviving soldiers and mages in the camp, they all looked as if they were about to collapse to the ground.

Trembling under Leon's overwhelming pressure, these men couldn't even hold their weapons, let alone resist; many had already turned to jelly, the stench of urine mixing with the blood to create a foul, nauseating odor.

Watching the Lion King approach step by step, an officer clad in high-grade armor struggled to take a single step forward before his knees gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Noble... noble Lion King, we are willi—"

"Don't bother saying you're willing to surrender; your commander chose death over submission."

Leon's lips curled into a bloodthirsty grin, his white teeth gleaming with a chilling, bone-deep coldness that made hearts tremble and souls shudder.

The words he spat out plunged the soldiers into an abyss of icy despair.

Leon was in a foul mood right now.

He desperately needed to vent!

A short while later, blood flowed across the earth, deepening the color of the soil.

The entire camp was now a scene of utter devastation, with body parts scattered haphazardly across the ground.

Leon scanned the area, and seeing that no one else remained in the camp, he exhaled a breath of stale air, his expression relaxing.

This wanton slaughter had allowed him to vent the suppressed emotions in his heart, and he felt much more refreshed.

He climbed onto the warship he had been longing for, took a rough look around, and couldn't help but feel satisfied with the precision of his attack.

The entire warship only had a twenty-meter-wide hole in the middle, nearly cutting it in half, but the most critical engine room and artillery turrets remained almost entirely intact, with minimal damage elsewhere.

With some repairs, it should still be usable.

"Neltharion, stay here for a while and help me guard this warship."

"Roar~"

Hearing Leon's command, the dragon flew to the side of the warship, rested its limbs against the hull, and spread one wing to cover it.

Leon was quite satisfied with this.

He had just received word from Merlin that the Roman Emperor Lucius had learned of the total annihilation of this camp and was coming to meet him in person with his own troops.

"Lucius..."