Davidian's Holy Grail War

"Oh, right." Artoria suddenly looked up, a look of curiosity on her face, "Do you think I look better with a gun or a sword?"

"?"

Davidian froze, clutching his chin as he began to ponder the question.

Is it more aesthetically pleasing to use a gun or a sword? This is a real dilemma. Before I time-traveled, this would probably have been a death sentence.

Fortunately, our king is a man. He must have just asked that casually, without any other intention.

At that moment, images flashed through David's mind: Artoria wielding her sword and firing cannons to blow up the gates of Lentinium, and then descending from the sky with the Holy Lance to deliver a fatal blow to Vortigern. Hmm… he had his answer.

"Sure enough, it's a gun. Yes, yes, guns are cooler. That time it was against Vortigern, I haven't seen the other kings yet."

Now that you possess the Spear of the End, wouldn't it be incredibly cool to ride a magnificent warhorse, wielding your spear, and break through enemy lines one after another on the battlefield?

David could picture that scene; it was a really cool scene.

"Really?" Artoria looked at him and asked in a tone that made it clear that it was true.

"Of course, why would I lie to you?" Davidan was telling the truth; he had never even considered deceiving Artoria.

Artoria nodded, then made up her mind: "I understand, then I'll use the Holy Lance! After all, although you can use both weapons, there has to be a primary and secondary one. From now on, I'll use the Holy Lance as my main weapon on the battlefield."

So that's what she was thinking about. Davidian had this thought in mind, and understanding Wang's idea, he said:

“You have a warhorse and excellent riding skills, so isn’t it natural for you to use a spear as your main weapon? Unlike me, I can’t even ride a horse. I’m like an idiot, and I always have to charge into the enemy’s formation on my own two legs.”

"So you could learn to ride a horse, right? That wouldn't be bad. You can learn quickly with a little time. Then you can upgrade the First Legion into a cavalry legion, wouldn't that be even better?"

Artoria teased Davian with a laugh, knowing that his inability to ride a horse was common knowledge throughout the Arthurian court. If she used this to tease Davian, he would simply laugh it off and move on.

But Davidian waved his hand, and he refused:

"No, the First Legion should remain an infantry legion. Our horses are mainly used for carrying goods or pulling carts. Even so, I feel that we consume a lot of resources every time we go on an expedition. We should save as much as we can."

His words hit the nail on the head: the more cavalry legions, the better. In the current battlefield, cavalry can practically determine the outcome of a battle.

But that also depends on consumption. The current resources simply can't support that kind of consumption. I'm afraid that even if we unify the whole of Britain in the future, the First Legion will still have to continue to fight as an infantry legion.

Artoria was speechless about the consumption problem. The annual output was still decreasing, and this couldn't go on. She had to find a solution.

Chapter 95 Gawain's Absence

But even such peaceful days will eventually come to an end. Finally, they embarked on their journey again, with David leading the First Legion toward Tellbil Castle.

The decisive battle was about to take place, and Davidian wanted to use this battle to completely suppress all of Britain. At the very least, to bring an end to the fighting on their homeland.

This time the journey was much safer; they encountered almost no Saxon ambushes. Davidian had also recently received intelligence that the Saxons on the island were slowly gathering.

They realized it too. Vortigern's death deprived them of their greatest protector on the island, and if they wanted to continue living in Britain, their only option was to fight King Arthur and find a way to win.

Upon arriving at the agreed-upon battlefield, Davidian once again began the tasks he had repeated many times before: establishing camp, scouting the surrounding area, ensuring everything was in order, and preparing to welcome Artoria's arrival.

After all, this was originally the territory of those kings, and David was much more cautious here than before.

Fortunately, those guys seem to genuinely intend to defeat Artoria in a direct confrontation.

They probably know very well that starting a war at this inappropriate time has already angered the public, and if they win the war in a despicable way, they will probably lose the support of the people completely.

The reason why things are relatively peaceful under Artoria's command is because Artoria's reputation has garnered popular support, making law enforcement easier.

David and his team could then focus on dealing with various external enemies, instead of concentrating their attention on endless counterinsurgency campaigns. They knew that if they were overwhelmed by a sea of ​​people, even the strongest force would be dragged down.

Tristan returned at this crucial moment, and his timely return relieved David.

“My brother Tristan, you have returned just in time.”

Davidian smiled and gave Tristan a hug. The two exchanged pleasantries for a while before returning to Davidian's tent. At this moment, both Tristan and Davidian were in good spirits.

"When we get back this time, I'd like to introduce you to someone."

Tristan poured David a glass of water, and David looked quite happy, clearly having encountered some good news.

David was naturally delighted to hear this. Tristan must have encountered something good; otherwise, how could the sad prince, who always talks about being sad, be so enthusiastic and proactive?

"I would be very happy then. When we get back, you can introduce me to the person you want me to meet."

Davidian was certainly pleased, but he still intended to focus his attention on the current war.

Tristan was certainly not the type to let personal matters interfere with important matters at hand. He began to discuss the current military situation with Davidian:

"I am so sad—it's another allied army of the northern kings, and the ratio of our forces is one to four. Why do we always end up fighting such disadvantageous battles?"

"Why don't you say that those dozen or so kings united just to suppress our king alone? It would be exaggerated if our king alone put so much pressure on the kings of the north?"

Davidian smiled as he shared his thoughts, and Tristan laughed along. After all, it was normal to feel this kind of pressure as the Knight King who was to unify all of Britain.

"So, Gao Wenqing probably won't be able to participate in the battle this time, right?"

Tristan brought up this point again, and being a sentimental man, he had naturally long ago considered Gawain's predicament. After all, he was fighting against his own father and the army he knew so well; it must be very difficult for him too.

David nodded; that was indeed the case. When he discussed it with the King, he had taken into account that King Lothar was Gawain's father, and therefore did not allow Gawain to participate in this battle.

This has nothing to do with Gawain's personal will; even if he really wanted to join the war, Davian and Artoria would stop him.

With the thought of King Loth, David had already made up his mind. Since something had to be destroyed anyway, let the destruction befall the enemy of my king.

"So your timely return has really relieved a lot of my pressure. After all, Lancelot has returned to France to handle the trade issues between the two sides, and Gawain and Gaholis are unable to participate in the war because of King Loth's problem."

This time it's just the four of us: me, you, Bedivere, and the King. The pressure at the front will be immense. Can we handle it?"

David also wanted to see what Lord Tristan was thinking, since even Tristan would feel pressured in the face of such a disadvantageous situation.

"Of course, for the sake of our king, for the sake of that man's ideals, isn't it only right for a knight of King Arthur to step forward?"

"I, Tristan, the Sorrowful Knight, will fight with all my might in the battle to come. The mere coalition of the northern kings is nothing but a single, decisive battle!"

Tristan opened his eyes, all tenderness and poetry vanishing from his face, leaving only the coldness and power of a ruthless knight.

As the King's knight, he is now going to show those northerners what the destiny of Britain truly is!

Meanwhile, in the allied camp, King Leons was feeling triumphant. He had amassed such a large force to avenge King Arthur's defeat.

Their forces outnumbered the enemy's four to one, and they had fifteen powerful kings with them. King Arthur, on the other hand, had just defeated the remnants of Vortigern's army the previous year, and in his eyes, their victory this time was almost a certainty.

To be honest, they had also heard the rumors that Vortigern had transformed into a dragon, and that just five people had managed to defeat such a giant dragon.

But in their eyes, this was simply too absurd. They had seen plenty of small magical beasts like wyverns, but a magical dragon capable of devouring a fortress and summoning dark clouds and torrential rain was still unbelievable to them.

People have always been like this: they will never choose to believe exaggerated facts unless they see them with their own eyes.

"This time, we will definitely defeat King Arthur and achieve victory. He will not be the one to unify all of Britain."

He believed that this time, he could definitely defeat King Arthur and end his undefeated legend. How could there be such a thing as an invincible chosen one? Even if there were, they would surely be crushed by them.

King Lothar smiled beside him, already able to guess what King Liens was thinking at that moment. But he didn't mind; let King Liens be the leader.

Anyway, he doesn't have to bear the main responsibility, and that's fine. What he doesn't know is that someone in the opposite camp is already after his life.

That person has decided that no matter the cost, he must kill King Lothar in this battle.

Finally, with Artoria's arrival, the battle between the two sides is about to begin.

Chapter 96 Duel

"Looks like they can't wait." Artoria smiled, looking at the well-organized allied forces. She had only been here for two days, and they were already so impatient.

Honestly, we'll have to teach the northern kings a lesson with a complete and utter defeat later.

"War always happens relatively quickly, but preparations for war often take a long time, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Bedivere was right beside the king, and he had been working tirelessly for this battle, exhausting himself. He also hoped to win this battle decisively and completely subdue the kings of the north.

King Leons rode his warhorse to the front and called out, "King Arthur, come out! I'd like to have a word with you."

Artoria wouldn't refuse such a reasonable request, and she rode her beloved horse, Don Starion, to the forefront of the battle. King Lyons, leader of the Northern Kings, and King Arthur, the most powerful king of the South, met at this moment.

“I should have met you last time, King Leons. You don’t look that much older than me.”

Artoria smiled, and the last time she was referring to was, of course, the battle at Kemreid.

In that battle, Davidian, along with the Kingdom's army of Kemreid, drove Lyons out. Therefore, Artoria never met King Lyons; this was their first encounter.

"I am about the same age as you, so a war between us might be quite suitable. Actually, I sometimes envy you. Although you don't have many troops, your people are very united."

This is an advantage the North doesn't possess. In a one-on-one fight, there's probably no king in all of Britain who could suppress you now.”

King Liens was indeed seeking revenge for the arrow wound, but he also genuinely admired Artoria. To have risen from nothing to where she was now was truly a testament to Artoria's talent.

Artoria nodded in acceptance of the praise, but then said, "In that case, are you still going to gather the allied forces to fight me? King Liens, you're the kind of person who won't stop until you see the end."

"Of course, if I do nothing, I am not myself. We can lose, but we must never surrender without a fight, for that would be an insult to the king's dignity."

King Liens' expression was quite serious. He could lose, but he could not refuse to fight; this was a matter of dignity for a king.

"Enough talk, let your army come," Artoria said, and the two of them turned their horses around and returned to their own armies.

The next moment, King Leons raised his sword and swung it down, and the massive army of the Northern Alliance charged directly towards King Arthur's army.

This time, they abandoned tactics and chose to overwhelm King Arthur's army with the simplest human wave tactic. As long as they could win, even if it was three against one, they would not suffer any loss.

This is the advantage of a coalition of fifteen kings: they have deep pockets and can afford to spend as much as they want; even if there are sacrifices, they can withstand them.

When he saw the kings' reckless charge, Winchenrib's face darkened. He wanted to curse them, "Damn it! These bastards are using this tactic! What's the point? Aren't they just forcing us to respond with the same tactic?"