The Strongest Man in Britain

It is the end of the Age of Gods; mystery has yet to fully recede, and the realms where mystical creatures dwell have not yet been completely severed from the Earth.

Previously, Merlin had sent Anno there to temper his power.

Now, Anno has decided to take Artoria there as well, to hone Lia's strength.

However, unlike Merlin, he would not abandon a fourteen-year-old girl in the perilous Non-Human Realm.

Lia's circumstances are also different from Anno's; he had the company of his elder brother and friends, along with two elders to safeguard his path.

Rather than calling it tempering, it is more of a journey to broaden her horizons.

There are many entrances to the Non-Human Realm, and one lies deep within the forest where the Holy Lake is located.

It is convenient to pass by the Holy Lake, allowing Lancelot to visit the Lady of the Lake, who raised him for several years.

The Lady of the Lake treated the group to fine wine brewed from dew and fresh flowers, accompanied by fresh fruit.

Kay and Artoria, seeing such rarely known mystical creatures for the first time, were both stunned.

Kay, in particular, turned bright red and hardly dared to look at the Lady of the Lake, muttering incessantly about how a knight must not commit any impropriety toward a lady.

Uh, that does not seem to be a sign of mere surprise.

A few days later.

The group, now deep within the Non-Human Realm, encountered sentient beings for the first time—and they were old acquaintances of Anno: Orcs.

"Go, Lancelot, Kay, Lia." Anno looked at the two-meter-tall, green-skinned Orcs with disgust; this species always made him feel nauseated.

Lancelot was fine, having followed him to slay several enemies before, but since this was the first real battle for both Kay and Artoria, he decided to let the three of them face the enemy together.

Kay and Lancelot had only just drawn their swords when they heard Artoria shout and charge toward the Orcs.

The two of them: ???

"Hey! Lia!" Kay shouted, not daring to be careless, and quickly followed after her.

Lancelot also dared not let Artoria charge in alone.

The Orc grumbled in annoyance, using the spear in its hand to parry the trio's assault.

Among the three, two had only received knightly training, and even Lancelot, the only one with combat experience, had no deep understanding of Orcs, making this fight extremely difficult.

A single Orc caused the three youths great trouble, and Kay even sustained a minor injury.

In the end, after nearly ten minutes of grueling combat, the three finally managed to slay the lone Orc together; the fatal blow was dealt by Kay, a gaping hole in its chest.

The two observers in the back were critiquing the performance.

"Say, Sir Anno, you should know what kind of creatures Orcs are, right?"

Anno nodded: "Of course, Orcs are a gregarious, man-eating species."

Hearing their conversation, the panting Kay looked on in disbelief: "Uncle Anno, does that mean..."

"There is definitely an Orc settlement nearby," Anno stated firmly.

"Then, what do we do?" Artoria's expression turned grim; if one Orc caused them so much trouble, what would a whole group do?

Lancelot, however, was not worried in the slightest: "It's fine, Father will slaughter them all!"

Having spent years by Anno's side, he knew Anno's strength better than anyone.

Merlin smiled, his expression unchanged even as hundreds of Orcs appeared in the surroundings, and said lightly: "Then, Kay, Lia, let the former leader of the Britain Chalk Knights beside me demonstrate for you the pinnacle of Britain's combat power."

The Chalk Holy Sword in Anno's hand was already unsheathed, and a thick, murderous aura began to spread.