In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

After he had everything ready, the ship finally docked.

Chapter Seven: The Lake Nymph, Terenor

The small boat gently docked at the shore, and everyone disembarked one by one.

Before them lay a small island, covered with lush green grass and vibrant flowers. Rows of plump apple trees rose from the ground, their branches bending slightly under the weight of their heavy fruit, gleaming like agate, perfectly like works of art.

A hint of intoxication appeared in Kai's eyes, and an alluring fragrance wafted from his nostrils. He couldn't resist the urge to pick an apple and taste it, but as soon as he reached out, he suddenly remembered Yanan's instructions and forcibly suppressed the desire.

The same was true for everyone else; although the apples looked plump and juicy, no one wanted to pick them.

"Wouldn't it be boring to suppress one's desires and imprison one's will within the cage of the body?"

A sweet voice, like a clear spring, flowed into my ears. Amidst the lush grass, a gentle breeze gathered, and a graceful figure appeared out of nowhere.

She was a young woman wearing a pointed soft hat, with a beautiful face, clear features, and a slender figure. Her long, light blue hair fell to her waist, and her light blue dress seemed unremarkable at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be nothing more than a thin layer of light blue gauze, through which a beautiful view was faintly visible. This hazy yet alluring temptation was enough to bring unimaginable excitement to any member of the opposite sex!

Having been bombarded with countless adult films in her past life, coupled with her daily encounters with Scáthach over the past sixteen years, Anaen has long since lost any interest in such temptations. Her heart remains unmoved, and her gaze is as calm as still water.

Kai, who had never even held a girl's hand before, had never seen anything like this before. He was stunned on the spot, his face turning bright red at a visible speed, his eyes darting around in a panic, not knowing where to look.

"Tyrono, I didn't expect it to be you guarding the goal. You, who yearn for freedom like the wind, don't you hate this kind of thing the most?"

Merlin stepped out, a warm, spring-like smile on his handsome face as he looked at the old acquaintance before him.

Tereno's emerald-green eyes turned to the nightmare, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Merlin, you promised Vivian you'd find her the right person for the Holy Sword, and then you swindled her out of a vast amount of precious treasure. Decades have passed, and you haven't even sent a single message back. This time, aren't you afraid Vivian will lock you up in the oak tree?"

Feeling the disdainful gaze from behind, Merlin coughed awkwardly and smiled nonchalantly, "How could that be? I came here to tell her that I have found the right person for the Holy Sword."

He turned to the side and pointed to Anan and the others behind him: "Isn't the 'Star Sword Master' you've been waiting for right here?"

"Oh?"

A look of interest appeared in Tereno's eyes. With a light tap of his bare toes, he was in front of Kai in the blink of an eye.

"Is it him?"

The rich aroma kept flooding his nostrils, assaulting what little rationality Kai had left. His eyes were completely swirled in circles, his face was as red as a boiled crab, and steam was rising from his head.

“It doesn’t seem so.” Tyrenno shook his head regretfully, then reappeared in front of Anahn.

Her fair fingertips traced her face, and an alluring fragrance wafted from her plump lips.

"Or is it you?"

Seeing Tyrenno's ambiguous smile, Anan smiled slightly and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Respected Lady of the Lake, I am not the Star Sword Wielder you are looking for. The true master of the Holy Sword..."

He pulled the bewildered Artoria to his side and smiled, "It's her."

Artoria: ? ? ?

"Hmm... I see. So it's a girl." Tyrenno thoughtfully stroked his smooth chin, leaned closer, and gazed into Artoria's azure eyes. "But your eyes are very beautiful. I like them very much."

"Ah... thank you... thank you."

“In that case,” Tyronn snapped his fingers, “I’ll give you a little something to show our friendship.”

An invisible current swept in, and a pale blue breeze flowed into Artoria's body. In an instant, she found that her body suddenly became much lighter, and it seemed that some other changes had also occurred.

She stretched out her finger, and wisps of air gathered together, forming a small vortex.

"'Wind King Barrier'," Tereno smiled. "It's just a small blessing. I hope you'll have a chance to use it someday."

"Thank you so much!" Artoria couldn't contain her joy and bowed deeply to Tereno.

Yanan watched this scene with a smile.

Among the nine fairies responsible for guarding Avalon, the wind fairy Tyrenno is considered to have a relatively good temper. Although she is a freedom-loving fairy and often does many unexpected things, she generally does not show any hostility towards outsiders.

If she happens to be in a good mood, bestowing such a blessing would be a very ordinary thing.

With a casual wave of his hand, Tyrono conjured a massive stone gate from the void, its ancient patterns etched with the marks of time.

Squeak~~

The heavy doors slowly opened to both sides, but the interior was a chaotic mess, and nothing could be seen clearly.

“Avalon is inside. Go on, Vivian is waiting for you,” Tyrono said with a smile.

"Thank you."

Yanan nodded slightly and led everyone into the stone gate.

Guinevere, who was walking at the very back, glanced back and saw that Kai was still standing there. She asked in confusion, "Kai, aren't you coming in with us?"

"Huh? What?" Kai was stunned for a moment, and before he could react, a voluptuous body suddenly pulled him into her arms.

"Ugh...!!!"

“You can go, as for him…” Tyrono looked at Kai, whom he was holding against his chest, a bright smile on his delicate face, “Leave him to me.”

"Um, but..."

Guinevere hesitated slightly, Yanan's words of advice still echoing in her ears.

“You should know best, I’m not that kind of person,” Tyrono said, looking at her with a half-smile.

A hint of confusion appeared in Guinevere's eyes, then she nodded as if she understood something.

"Well... Kai, you wait here for a bit, we'll be right out."

After saying that, Guinevere turned and walked into the door.

"Wait...wait!! Don't leave me behind, I want to go too..."

Kai finally broke free after a great deal of hardship, but all he found was an empty flower field; there was no stone gate in sight.

His face was deathly pale, and despair filled his eyes.

A warm, soft body pressed against his back, and a sweet scent filled his nostrils.

"A rigid knight can never win the heart of a noblewoman."

"Let me show you the joy of freedom."

Chapter 8 Excalibur

If the Peach Blossom Spring described by Tao Yuanming truly exists, then Yanan believes there is no place more fitting than this small island before him.

The sky was a clear, bright blue, and a crystal-clear stream flowed quietly along its course. Lush green grass and colorful flowers lined the banks, where a snow-white unicorn strolled gracefully. Tall trees rose from the ground, their straight branches pointing straight to the sky. Handsome fairies flitted among the trees, their silvery laughter ringing out from time to time. A thin mist carried an intoxicating fragrance; a gentle breath could prolong one's life.

"What a beautiful place..." Guinevere couldn't help but murmur, a hint of intoxication appearing in her pale golden eyes.

Artoria nodded in deep feeling and couldn't help but sigh, "I feel like I could stay in a place like this for a lifetime and never get tired of it."

"You're wrong about that. Even the most beautiful scenery can become boring if you look at it for too long. Having emotions means having desires, which is a flaw in the nature of all intelligent beings."

A crisp sound came from behind. Everyone turned around and found a petite figure that had appeared behind them at some point.

She was a little girl who looked about seven or eight years old. She wore a soft, pointed hat and a magnificent robe adorned with stars. She sat on vines floating in the void. Her delicate features resembled those of a finely sculpted porcelain doll. Her long, silvery-white hair cascaded down to her bare toes. Her pale golden eyes were filled with a sense of vicissitude that was completely incongruous with her appearance, as if she had already seen through the end of the world.

"Greetings, Your Highness Vivian, the noble primordial elf." Anan placed his hand on his chest and gave a slight bow to the legendary noblewoman of the lake.

Guinevere and Artoria quickly followed Anaen's example and bowed to the oldest elf before them.

"Did Scáthach send you?" Vivian's tone was calm and indifferent, like a still pond that could not be disturbed.

“No, Mother doesn’t know I’m here. I’m only here for my own reasons,” Yanan said with a smile.

"Hmph, it's been so long, Scáthach already has such grown children." The primordial elf, who had lived through countless ages, curled her lips into a mocking smile. "But it's true, for an old woman of her age, no matter how glamorous her appearance, it can't change her gradually decaying heart. I wonder if the feeling of motherhood can give her a second spring in her life."

Yanan: ......

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that he could detect a hint of smugness in Vivian's voice.

“You’ve misunderstood. I’m not my mother’s biological son. I was just adopted by her by chance.” He coughed lightly. “But in my heart, my mother is still the most respectable person in the world.”

"Your so-called respect is going against her will and sneaking out of the Shadow Kingdom?" Vivian looked at him with a half-smile.

Yanan's eyes widened slightly. How could anyone else besides him know about this?

As if suddenly remembering something, he nervously glanced around.

"Stop looking, Scáthach isn't here," Vivian said calmly.

She shook her head slightly: "Actually, Scáthach's decision not to let you leave the Land of Shadows is for your own good. I hope that on that day, you won't regret your past choices."

"Actually, I know why my mother did this."

Vivian's pale golden eyes narrowed slightly: "You know?"

Yanan smiled helplessly: "I didn't know before, but I found out later. Even so, I won't regret the choice I made. There are always some things in life that are more important than others."

"I hope so," Vivian said calmly.

Those pale golden eyes shifted slightly, focusing on a certain white-haired good-for-nothing who was trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible: "Merlin, it's been so long, don't you have anything to say to me?"

"Ahem, it's been a long time, Vivian. I'm so glad to see you still as sweet and lovely as ever," Merlin said with an awkward laugh.

"You've kept me waiting for decades," Vivian said calmly.

"But for you, decades are just a blink of an eye..."

Boom!

A golden bolt of lightning suddenly struck down, hitting the ground in front of Merlin and leaving a three-foot-wide crater with wisps of blue smoke rising from it.

"I didn't quite hear what you just said. Could you please repeat it?" Vivian tilted her head and said.

Cold sweat trickled down Merlin's forehead, and he forced a dry laugh. "What I mean is, I feel deeply guilty for wasting the time of a beautiful girl like you, but the Star Sword Master isn't easy to find. I've been searching very hard for years, but I haven't found one yet, so I had to train one myself. Look, I just finished training one and brought it to you, didn't I?"

Countless petals rained down on Artoria's head. Merlin, who had appeared beside her at some point, greeted her warmly like a shop assistant promoting discounted goods: "This is the Red Dragon of Britain, a true descendant of Camelot, who upholds the chivalrous spirit of justice under the tutelage of the great sage Merlin, the embodiment of kindness and benevolence, Artoria Pendragon!"

Vivian automatically ignored the long, useless introduction and focused her gaze on Artoria:

"Are you confident you can pull out the holy sword?"

“I…” Artoria hesitated for a moment, but then suddenly noticed that Yanan nodded at her, his mouth slightly open, and he uttered five words.

You can do it!

Her azure eyes gradually hardened, and the pure, lily-like girl took a deep breath, looking earnestly at the primordial elf before her: "I believe I can draw the holy sword."

"Although it's a bit immature, the willpower is not bad." A slight smile appeared in his pale golden eyes. "Then let me see if the Holy Sword will acknowledge this belief."