The Gate to the Inner World, Vortigern and Arthur's Final Battle Begins

Just as Vortigern was about to strike, his figure flickered. A clang of metal rang out, and a silver-haired man clad in gleaming white armor appeared before Mordred.

Mordred stared at the newcomer in shock. "Pantaleon?"

You did not answer Mordred's words, instead saying, "Go! Mordred! Fall back!"

Mordred's face showed reluctance. "But..."

You kept pressing your attack against Vortigern, and emphasized once more to Mordred, who stood not far behind you, "Fall back!"

Mordred could only shoot a fierce glare at Vortigern before retreating swiftly toward the rear with unwillingness in her heart.

Once Mordred had left, one of your concerns was lifted, and you focused entirely on dealing with Vortigern.

Your talent, Sword Heart Clarity, activated!

Your figures clashed repeatedly, and an invisible aura seemed to block the knights and soldiers around you—or perhaps they had the good sense to know this battle was far beyond their ability to join.

With Sword Heart Clarity and the Sword of the Holy Knight, you managed to suppress Vortigern for a time.

But you knew that in a one-on-one fight against Vortigern, with your current strength alone, defeating him was absolutely impossible. If you unleashed the Knight's Judgment Bow, there might be a chance, but its power was far too immense—essentially out of the question.

So now, the only option was to find a way to retreat and shake off Vortigern.

You and Vortigern fought on, and gradually the gap between you narrowed. Vortigern began to gain the upper hand.

You knew he wasn't going all out, and through your talent Sword Heart Clarity, you sensed that his plan wasn't to break through this line and charge straight to Camelot—he was trying to gather more information.

But Vortigern seemed to notice something. He took several steps back, putting distance between you.

Vortigern looked at you and said slowly, "Your strength is vastly different from before."

You stared at him and asked about what had happened in the north earlier. "Back in the north, why did you do that thing?"

Vortigern paused for a moment at your question, then said, "If you join me, I might tell you."

You shook your head, knowing that was impossible, and pressed your assault on Vortigern even more fiercely.

Your two figures collided repeatedly across the battlefield. With every clash, you could feel him gradually adapting to your attacks.

You knew that if this fight continued like this, you would end up at a disadvantage.

So, seizing an opening during an attack, you pulled away from Vortigern, held the Sword of the Holy Knight with both hands before your chest, and began gathering the surrounding energy into the blade.

Vortigern seemed to realize what you were about to do and immediately rushed toward you at full speed.

You activated your Noble Phantasm—the Sword of the Holy Knight!

A massive golden cone of energy erupted from the sword in your hands, surging toward Vortigern. In an instant, it swallowed his figure, covering nearly half the battlefield and devouring countless soldiers on Vortigern's side.

In that moment, Vortigern's forces were reduced by nearly half. Seeing this, you knew he would no longer choose to continue the fight, so you immediately ordered the knights to retreat.

You cast one last glance toward Vortigern's direction. He had managed to withstand your attack, though his form was somewhat battered and he bore some injuries.

When you returned to the rear camp, you saw Kay scolding Mordred. You were somewhat surprised, never expecting Mordred to willingly endure Kay's reprimand.

Kay stopped only when he saw you return, and his face instantly shifted to a warm smile.

Kay had already heard that you had temporarily driven back Vortigern, and he praised you lavishly.

You explained that it was only because you had taken advantage of the situation to eliminate nearly half of Vortigern's soldiers that he had withdrawn. Otherwise, he wouldn't have retreated so easily. Moreover, Vortigern's goal wasn't to break through this defensive line—he seemed to be stalling for something, which was why he hadn't pressed the attack.

When Kay heard that Vortigern had another agenda, he was taken aback and asked you what Vortigern was planning, but you didn't know either.

Just then, Merlin walked in and provided the answer.

It turned out that Vortigern's aim wasn't to strike at Arthur. He was merely buying time. His true intention was to open the gate to the inner layer of Britain, and he had to be stopped—otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Merlin said roughly that much and then stopped, but you could clearly tell there was more to it—far more than what he had shared. Yet Merlin seemed unwilling to tell you everything.

Even though Merlin didn't continue, through the events of these years, you had pieced together some knowledge about Britain. You felt that Vortigern seemed to be trying to prevent something from draining away. Over the years, as your strength grew, you had also clearly sensed that the power within your bloodline was gradually weakening.

And Vortigern was trying to stop that loss. You didn't know what Britain would become once that thing was gone, and at this moment, you didn't want to know—because right now, you were fighting as one of King Arthur's knights against Vortigern.

As for Merlin's words, you didn't believe them all—only a small part.

Two years passed quickly. As the conflict between Arthur and Vortigern grew more intense, your reputation swelled. At one point, you were hailed as the foremost White Knight under King Arthur.

But after that battle long ago, you never saw Vortigern again. Though rumors often placed him on various frontlines, he would vanish shortly after, as if he had never been there at all.

Over these three years, you noticed some things about Arthur, and your treatment of Mordred also felt strange.

Arthur rarely came to the frontlines during these years. After personally leading one campaign at the start, she quickly returned to Camelot to handle state affairs. Still, over the years, you and Arthur became pen pals, exchanging letters frequently. Yet you also heard some rumors about King Arthur.

"The king does not understand the hearts of men," and the like. Even in her letters, you could feel the pressure weighing on Arthur.

But later, gradually, your correspondence with Arthur dwindled for reasons unknown. She seemed to grow distant from the other knights as well. You found it puzzling, but being away from court, you couldn't very well ask.

Then, not long ago, a violent tremor suddenly shook the entire island of Britain. Following that, at the core of Vortigern's camp, a colossal tree appeared—so massive that most of Britain could see it. It radiated a mysterious white light, and under its glow, you could feel your own bloodline seemingly boiling.