Just as Vortigern was about to make his move, you flashed forward. With a sharp clash of metal, a silver-haired man in gleaming white armor appeared before Mordred.
Mordred stared at the newcomer in surprise. "Pantaleon?"
You did not answer Mordred. Instead, you said, "Go! Mordred! Fall back!"
Mordred was unwilling. "But..."
You continued launching attacks at Vortigern while once again emphasizing to Mordred, who was not far behind you, "Fall back!"
Mordred could only glare fiercely at Vortigern before retreating swiftly to the rear with unwillingness in his heart.
Once Mordred had left, you immediately had one less concern and began focusing fully on dealing with Vortigern.
Talent, Sword Heart Clarity, activated!
The two of you collided again and again. An invisible force seemed to surround you, keeping the knights and soldiers away. Or perhaps those knights and soldiers simply knew their limits, understanding that this was not a battle they could take part in.
Relying on 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 battle against Vortigern, you could never defeat him with your current strength alone. It might have been possible if you used the Knight's Judgment Bow, but its power was simply too great. It was basically not an option.
So now, you could only think of a way to retreat and shake off Vortigern.
You and Vortigern continued fighting. Gradually, the gap between you narrowed, and Vortigern began to gain the upper hand.
You knew Vortigern had not yet used his full strength. Through the talent Sword Heart Clarity, you also knew that Vortigern was definitely not planning to break through this line of defense and charge straight for Camelot. You wanted to gather more information.
But Vortigern seemed to sense something. He took several steps back, putting distance between the two of you.
Vortigern looked at you and slowly said, "Your strength is greatly different from before."
You looked at Vortigern and asked him about what had happened in the north. "Why did you do that back then in the north?"
Vortigern paused suddenly before replying, "If you join me, perhaps I will tell you."
You shook your head. You knew that was impossible, and your attacks against Vortigern grew even fiercer.
Your two figures clashed continuously across the battlefield. With every collision, you could feel him gradually adapting to your attacks.
You knew that if your battle with Vortigern continued like this, you would instead fall into a disadvantage.
So, during one exchange, you pulled away from Vortigern, held the Sword of the Holy Knight before your chest with both hands, and began gathering the surrounding energy into the blade.
Vortigern seemed to see what you intended to do and immediately charged toward you at high speed.
You activated your Noble Phantasm, Sword of the Holy Knight!
A massive golden cone of energy burst from the Sword of the Holy Knight in your hands and shot toward Vortigern. In an instant, it swallowed Vortigern's figure, covering nearly half the battlefield and consecutively devouring countless soldiers from Vortigern's side.
In an instant, Vortigern's forces on the battlefield had been reduced by nearly half. Seeing this, you knew Vortigern would absolutely not choose to continue fighting. You immediately ordered the knights to withdraw.
You gave Vortigern's direction one last look and saw that he had actually withstood your attack. He only looked somewhat disheveled and had suffered a few injuries.
When you returned to the rear camp, you saw Kay reprimanding Mordred. This surprised you somewhat, as you had not expected Mordred to willingly accept Kay's scolding.
Only after seeing you return did Kay stop reprimanding her, instantly changing his expression and greeting you with a smile.
Kay had also 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. Otherwise, Vortigern would never have withdrawn so readily. Moreover, Vortigern's goal was not to break through this line of defense. He seemed to be stalling for something, which was why he had not continued his assault.
Kay was surprised to hear that Vortigern had other plans and asked what Vortigern intended to do, but you did not know either.
Just then, Merlin walked in and provided the answer.
It turned out Vortigern was not planning to strike at Arthur. He was merely buying time. Vortigern's true intent was to open the gate on the island of Britain leading to the inner layer. He had to be stopped, or the consequences would be unimaginable.
After saying that much, Merlin did not elaborate further. Yet you could clearly tell there was more to it, that it was far from the whole story, but Merlin did not seem willing to tell you everything.
Although Merlin said no more, based on what you had observed over the years, you more or less understood some things about Britain. You felt that Vortigern seemed to be trying to prevent something from draining away. Over the years, while your strength had increased, you had also clearly sensed the power within your bloodline gradually weakening.
Vortigern was trying to stop that thing from draining away. You did not know what Britain would become once it was gone, but you did not want to know at that moment either, because you were currently fighting Vortigern as King Arthur's knight.
You did not fully believe Merlin's words, only accepting a small part of them.
Two years passed quickly. As the battle between Arthur and Vortigern grew increasingly intense, your reputation also grew greater. For a time, you were even hailed as the foremost White Knight under King Arthur.
But after that battle long ago, you never saw Vortigern again. Though you often heard reports from other fronts that Vortigern had appeared here or there, he would vanish again shortly afterward, as if he had never been there at all.
Over those three years, you noticed certain things about Arthur, and Arthur's treatment of Mordred also seemed somewhat strange.
Arthur had not come here often in recent years. After personally leading an expedition once at the beginning, she had immediately returned to Camelot to handle governmental affairs. Yet during those years, Arthur had become your pen pal, and you often exchanged letters. However, you also heard certain rumors about King Arthur.
Things like "King Arthur does not understand the human heart." From her letters, you could also sense Arthur's pressure.
But later, for some reason, Arthur gradually exchanged fewer letters with you. She also seemed to grow somewhat distant from the other knights. You were puzzled by this, but it was not convenient to ask about it outside.
Then, not long ago, violent earthquakes suddenly spread across the entire island of Britain. Immediately afterward, at the heart of Vortigern's camp, a gigantic towering tree appeared—so enormous that more than half of Britain could see it. Mysterious white light continuously radiated from it, and beneath that light, you could feel the power in your bloodline boiling.