I, Guinevere, am going to crush you, you curry stick, today!

“It’s just that Terena is too suspicious, and she specifically gave me a bottle of elixir. I had no choice but to find an opportunity to make it seem like you accidentally drank it… All the rumors that followed have been unfair to both of you.” He beckoned Tristan over, and the young man hesitated for a moment before obediently kneeling on one knee. Marco patted the other’s shoulder with his withered hand: “You two like each other, that’s good. I’ll try to live a little longer and arrange things properly for you. After I die, you and Isolde don’t need to worry about anything. Of course, marrying your uncle’s wife isn’t a good thing to talk about, cough… If you don’t want to hide it, more people will know, and some people will inevitably say some hurtful things… Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it.” His voice was calm, like the sunlight streaming in through the window. “Everyone has their share of troubles in life. But we always have to keep going.” After a moment, the young man nodded, then he smiled and waved. “Go on. Once you’ve dealt with Terena, everything will be alright. And Isolde, you should go to your room and rest too… it’s time for your afternoon nap.”

"Ah."

"Yes."

I closed my eyes. Two footsteps passed by and disappeared, followed by the soft, almost inaudible sound of a door closing. The wind still rustled, and the old man sat quietly amidst this sound, his hand supporting his head, most of his face hidden in deep shadow. After a moment, his gaze swept across the portrait on the wall, but did not linger.

"The Seven Nightmare Children... the only chance of survival, will everything really go as smoothly as I think...?"

As if talking to himself, or as if asking someone, he mumbled a name, tapping his temples with his knuckles, but the wind blew and everything disappeared.

As I looked away, for a fleeting moment, the person in the portrait seemed to come alive, their eyes fixed intently on the old man. At the same time, a vibrant flower petal drifted past the window…

P.S.: I was stuck for two or three days, but I've finally finished explaining this part. Next chapter, back to fighting the boss... But thinking about it carefully, this boss seems a bit weak; the guy with the ahoge (antenna-like hair) could solo it. So how should I proceed with this... ahem, how should I write it? (pondering)

Chapter Fifty-Nine: War and Situation (Part Six)

Pong!

Faced with the witch's attack, which shifted from defense to offense, Artoria simply stood still, flipping her hand to bring her iron sword horizontally behind her, easily blocking the two descending swords. Then, she tightened her grip on the sword, and a tremendous burst of magical power erupted from its blade, sweeping out and completely obliterating the sparks and lightning that erupted from the clash.

Artoria's long ponytail swayed wildly in the gust of wind generated by the clash of weapons. She sheathed her longsword, clasped it in her hands again, and held it in front of her. She watched her opponent, who was being swept away by the aftershocks of magic, and was retreating. "Your swordsmanship is exquisite, but your foundation is too weak. You can't beat me."

"you……"

Terenas was about to retort, but she was still involuntarily retreating, unable to utter a complete sentence, when she heard the other person say, "Your magic doesn't seem to have any effect on me either. So... shall we continue?"

For a moment, the witch felt that the other person was deliberately mocking her. But the expression didn't seem to suggest it—which only made her angrier.

"You think you've got this in the bag, don't you?"

She stopped abruptly, less than a meter from the wall behind her. Terenas took a couple of breaths, sheathed her twin swords, and smiled, but there was no smile in her eyes: "But you know what I like most is to torture you self-important guys one by one until you break down!"

Whether it was her imagination or not, when she said the last sentence, she seemed to glance in the direction of Fina and the others, as if she were plotting something. Artoria keenly noticed this fleeting glance, and a sudden sense of unease rose in her heart, but she didn't know what caused it.

Her breathing was even and calm, showing no sign of panic. She nodded: "Then..."

With one step, he shot out like an arrow—

"continue."

The blade reflected the sunlight and fell with a whoosh. Terena crossed her twin swords to parry, and with a thunderous roar, the witch crashed through the wall behind her and fell into the house. Amidst the flickering light and shadow and the flying dust, Artoria followed without stopping and rushed in!

……

"The outcome of this battle is already decided, so it seems we don't need to help anymore."

Royal's voice was still weak. He had already dismounted and was leaning against the horse, clearly not fully recovered, but his right hand still gripped the spear tightly. He looked at the two people rushing into the house one after the other and nodded: "I knew that Brother Altos's swordsmanship was excellent, but I didn't expect him to have this trick up his sleeve. Haha, seeing Terenas's incredulous expression was truly exhilarating!"

This was obviously referring to the fact that Terenas' magic was ineffective against Artoria. He was clearly quite curious, but since their relationship wasn't close enough to pry into each other's secrets, he didn't press the matter further, only offering a sincere compliment. Guinevere smiled and said, "Of course Artoria is very strong."

Even though she bears the mark of the sword, Terena's greatest strength is not her swordsmanship, but her endless array of techniques. In her brief encounter with Royal and Artoria, she displayed magic that Guinevere was previously unaware of: lightning, fire, and shadow manipulation. Each of these techniques, taken individually, would be enough to overwhelm and expose numerous flaws in Guinevere's defenses.

To be renowned in this era teeming with powerful figures, Royal was no weakling. Even though his injuries hadn't healed and his combat strength was somewhat diminished, he was still not someone that ordinary people could rival. Yet, even such a figure was struck by lightning and lost consciousness. If it weren't for Artoria's timely intervention, he would have already died at Terena's hands.

Unfortunately, everything has its counter. Artoria possesses the Dragon Heart, and even though it's not fully awakened, it's enough to make her ignore most instant-cast spells. As for those spells that could harm her, they all require casting time. If Terena had hidden beforehand and waited until she was ready before unleashing a powerful attack, she might have actually injured or even severely damaged Artoria. But the current situation no longer allowed the witch to create distance.

As Royal said, the outcome of this battle was already a foregone conclusion. But Guinevere looked at the houses from which the sounds of clashing weapons continued to emanate, her eyes still filled with worry and disbelief.

Those who care are confused.

Even though Terenas seemed to be at a complete disadvantage, she had known Terenas for many years. Even if this friendship was full of calculations from the beginning, or even if the friendship itself was just her wishful thinking, she still had a certain understanding of Terenas' personality and way of doing things through long-term contact.

Terenas was an extremely cautious person, only acting when she was absolutely certain of success. She was like a cunning fox—foxes are traditionally seen as symbols of shrewdness and suspicion. It is said that when crossing a frozen river, these animals always listen for any cracks in the ice before proceeding cautiously. Therefore, armies often took several foxes with them when setting out in winter; seeing a fox cross meant the ice was solid and safe for people and horses to cross.

This is why Guinevere couldn't help but doubt and worry. Even if she hadn't anticipated Royal joining forces with the others, and Artoria's magical resistance was an unexpected event, could someone like her really be defeated so easily?

Did Terenas really leave no tricks up her sleeve?

But what if she had prepared a backup plan that could turn defeat into victory?

What could it be?

"Terena's swordsmanship."

Royal suddenly spoke, interrupting the girl's chaotic thoughts. She turned around and saw that the middle-aged man was no longer paying attention to the battle, but was crouching down to observe the silver-haired boy's condition. Because she had caught him successfully, the boy had not suffered too much impact and did not have any serious injuries, but perhaps because he had just witnessed his companion being killed, felt a lump in his throat, and was then saved when he thought he was going to die, his emotions had fluctuated greatly, and he had fainted.

Guinevere's gaze lingered on the silver-white hair and the one-armed man, and a name came to mind.

This is most likely Bedivere, who will one day be one of the Knights of the Round Table.

However, she remembered that in the anime she had watched in her previous life, Bedivere was voiced by Noto, so she had always thought of her as a dashing female knight. But now she looked... like a man?

But that's not the point. The girl shook her head, suppressing the slight regret in her heart, and looked away at Royal, who said in a deep voice, "It's the swordsmanship that the King of Scotland is good at. I mentioned it to you two before. I stayed in Scotland for a while and met that king by chance. We even sparred a few times. The last time, he used these two swords."

“But according to the King of Scotland himself, he acquired this swordsmanship by sheer chance during his travels in his youth. Because of a previous agreement, even his eldest son, Pat, was not taught this dual-sword technique. Apart from the King of Scotland himself, only his daughters in the world know how to use it… Terenas is clearly not that daughter.” Royal paused here.

"Am I right, Princess Guinevere?"

The girl was taken aback. But this wasn't something she had to hide, and seeing that her identity had been discovered, she immediately admitted it frankly.

"How did you recognize me, sir?"

Seeing the question in the other person's eyes, Royal smiled: "Any skill in this world will have an impact if you are exposed to it for a long time. I don't know why you only carry one sword, nor have I actually seen you fight, but just from the way you walk, it is clear that you have been practicing this dual-sword technique for a long time. Comparing this with what the King of Scotland said, it is not difficult to draw a conclusion."

This is some kind of Sherlock Holmes-esque deduction—identifying someone as a Royal Volunteer Horseman at a glance!

Guinevere shook her head, feeling only admiration. She wondered when she would be able to develop such a keen eye, and thinking this, she couldn't help but feel a little envious.

"So, Miss, you didn't teach this swordsmanship to Terena, did you?" Royal asked again.

“My father didn’t mention any agreement to me, but he told me that once I learned it, I could only use it myself and not pass it on to anyone else.” The girl nodded: “I did not teach it to anyone without permission.”

“I believe you wouldn’t lie about something like this, Miss. If that’s the case…” Royal’s eyes darkened.

Guinevere pursed her lips. The two of them had been pondering the same question since earlier, and she casually chimed in, "...And where did she learn it? Aside from practicing alone, I've never fully demonstrated this swordsmanship to anyone else. Moreover, many of her techniques are flawed; clearly, she hasn't learned it comprehensively..."

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she lowered her head and looked at the long sword hanging at her waist. The gem on the hilt reflected the sunlight, shimmering with iridescent colors.

"Could it be..."

……

P.S.: This double update serves as proof of my diligent reputation!

Chapter Sixty: The Villain's Self-Cultivation

boom!

Inside the small house, which had been uninhabited for an unknown period of time, cobwebs covered the walls and the house was in a state of decay. With a loud crash, one wall collapsed, raising a cloud of dust. A woman in a purple robe stumbled and staggered into the house. Before she could even steady herself, another figure rushed in as well.

In the dust-obscured vision, only the cold light of a sword tip could be seen growing larger and larger, stabbing straight at her. Terena gritted her teeth, and the longsword formed from flames suddenly exploded. A strong wind swept across, slightly deflecting the opponent's thrust. Immediately afterward, the Thunder Sword swept upward from below!

Clang, clang, clang—a series of sharp, almost continuous sounds rang out. Artoria's sword hilt sank, smashing through the lightning-infused blade. Several bolts of electricity, like snakes, lashed at her body, but the moment they touched her clothing, they instantly transformed back into their original magical power, dissipating into the atmosphere. The iron sword thrust again, and Terena's last remaining sword snapped in two. In the narrow space, the two moved forward and backward, each step leaving a footprint in the thick layer of dust, the footprints overlapping and extending outwards.

"Do you know—whose swordsmanship is this?"

With a flick of her wrist, lightning flashed, flames ignited, and the twin swords materialized once more. Just before crashing into the opposite wall, Terena nimbly dodged to the side like a fish. But after she dodged, she realized that Artoria seemed to have anticipated her move, her iron sword already slashing down. Another clash, as if she had taken a direct hit from a demonic boar, half her body was numb… “What kind of monster is this!” she cursed inwardly, but didn’t forget to shout aloud.

"Your skill with these two swords!" The tip, the blade, the guard, the hilt—just an ordinary iron sword—became an inescapable nightmare in Artoria's hands, a death scythe that relentlessly pursued her vitals, no matter how she parried or countered. "You really have no recollection of it!?"

One was fat, the other thin; one tall, the other short. The two circled the house. Although she knew that leaving the house and fighting in an open space would be more advantageous, Terena couldn't shake off the young boy. Every time she tried to move towards the collapsed wall, he and his sword would always appear perfectly in front of her, thrusting, parrying, slashing, or cutting—simple, straightforward, and seemingly without any extraordinary attacks, yet always forcing her to retreat. Before she knew it, her forehead was covered in sweat, which rolled down—cold sweat.

No longer caring about anything, she screamed, "Guinevere taught me this swordsmanship! Do you understand what that means, you poor little thing—" The pattern of two swords crossing on the back of her hand quickly faded, replaced by the interlocking lightning and fire marks on her other hand, which shone brightly: "She betrayed you from the very beginning!"

Upon hearing this, the opponent's sword indeed paused for a moment.

opportunity!

Terenas released her hands; the twin swords had already disintegrated and disappeared when her sword imprints dimmed. Now, she clapped her hands together forcefully, causing the bracelets to shake wildly and produce a series of crisp sounds. At first glance, they might seem incredibly noisy, but upon closer listening, the sounds seemed to follow a peculiar rhythm.

"All of you—"

A sense of foreboding rose within her again, far stronger than before. Artoria felt her heart pounding, but looking at the witch before her, she still sensed no threat. Just as she was about to instinctively ask a question, suddenly, she seemed to hear that familiar voice in her ear:

"Al, do you know why the evil knight lost in the end in the story I just told you?"

"Because...he lost to justice?"

"Wrong, it's because villains always die from talking too much."

The few words they had exchanged by the campfire flashed through her mind. For some reason, Artoria suddenly lost the urge to ask. She swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth. With a flash of sword light, before the witch could react, she swung her sword, and blood splattered across the sky!

"...All of you, die here—!"

Terenas had only uttered half of her sentence when, whether from pain or rage, her voice suddenly rose, almost like a scream. The heavy gold bracelets on her wrists shattered with a crackling sound! Boom—centered on the half-blood-soaked witch, a ball of fire suddenly swept outwards, engulfing Artoria and the entire room!

******

"Could it be..."

Her gaze drifted down to the longsword at her waist. Guinevere's mind raced. Terenas probably hadn't witnessed her practice, and given the agreement she'd made with the master of this sword technique, her father wouldn't pass it on to anyone else, especially not a witch of unknown background…

If that's the case, then Terenas's methods were most likely not the most honorable.

The other person's whereabouts were elusive; they would only come to Scotland for a period of time each year, and the number of times they met was even fewer. Although Guinevere didn't harbor too many suspicions about this long-time friend, she was not just a teenager in appearance. Having lived two lives, she had made various guesses about Terena's motives.

If it were for power, fame, or wealth, none of that would matter. As one of the Nine Witches of the Lake, Terenas possessed considerable strength, and if she were willing to serve, Leodogran would certainly not mistreat her. There were no proverbs like "spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones" here, but the underlying principle was universally understood. For this reason, Guinevere had tried several times to introduce her to her father, but Terenas had declined each time. After this happened repeatedly, Guinevere began to wonder what Terenas's true intentions were, and eventually, she began to believe that Terenas truly were the kind of reclusive, detached hermit of legend.

But now that I think about it, what if the other party's target was me from the very beginning?

All of this is worth considering and pondering.

Strictly speaking, the only things he received from Terena were the Mark of Wind and this Holy Sword. Both could potentially have been tampered with, but the former couldn't be confirmed immediately, while the Holy Sword—

The girl gently bit her lip, reached out, untied the belt binding her sword, and took it down, scabbard and all. Royal watched from the side, seemingly lost in thought, not speaking rashly. Their gazes lingered for a moment on the golden scabbard: "Miss, do you recognize these characters?"

"I don't know him. But..."

"but?"

Guinevere didn't answer the question. She looked at the scabbard, and for some reason, she felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if... she had seen it somewhere before.

After meeting Gretel, she felt a sense of familiarity the moment she saw the scabbard in the darkness. But what puzzled her even more was why, despite spending so many years with this sword, she had never felt it was familiar before.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

It is said that true swords possess self-awareness and can respond to their master's call. Guinevere didn't know if this was true or false, nor did she know if the strangely familiar holy sword in her hand was truly more than just an inanimate object.

She simply asked softly, on a whim.

The next moment, there was a response. Under her and Royal's gaze, the sword trembled slightly. The sword was not drawn, yet specks of light flew in from all directions, like fireflies dancing on a summer night.

However, it was still daytime. The intense sunlight could not obscure these faint lights. Little by little, the light fell on the scabbard and was absorbed into it. The entire scabbard began to become translucent, with light flowing from the inside out, like the brilliance of stars. Before Guinevere could react, everything went white before her eyes. This sudden light enveloped her completely.

……

At the same time, the wooden house in front of them exploded with a loud bang, releasing a wave of heat and flames. Royal, who was wondering about the strange thing that was happening to the girl, suddenly looked up, swayed, and stood in front of the unconscious Bedivere and Guinevere. With a swing of his spear, he swept away the fire that was rushing towards them.

"Little brother……"

The scattered flames lasted only a moment before extinguishing, revealing the two figures facing off once more. Artoria remained unharmed, her clothes billowing in the wind, her golden ponytail fluttering behind her head, her longsword held high, her expression serious. Terena, however, appeared to have suffered a fatal wound; most of her body was stained crimson, a huge gash running from her left shoulder to her right rib, blood still flowing, and the stark white bone was even faintly visible.

"You... you..."

Noticing Royal, Terena gritted her teeth, seemingly wanting to say something. But then she noticed the girl behind Royal, enveloped in light, whose expression suddenly brightened, her eyebrows and the corners of her mouth raised as if she were smiling, though the intense pain from her wounds made the expression somewhat strange.

"Fina?"

A beat too slow, Artoria also noticed the commotion. Her expression changed, and she immediately asked, "What's going on?" Although worried, most of her attention was still focused on Terena, lest the other party take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

The latter, however, seemed to have no intention of doing anything.

With a flick of her wrist, she lightly touched her wound, covering it with a still-writhing black shadow. Within a few breaths, the bleeding stopped, and the previously gruesome wound began to slowly heal. Hearing Artoria's question, Terena chuckled, "Want to know how this happened?"

As if to repay all the frustration and humiliation she had suffered, she stood there, looking back and forth between Royal and the other man's expressions: "Because from the very beginning, my target was her, the Scottish princess you call Fina. I was even willing to postpone the entire plan for ten years. Ten years of waiting, all for this moment!"

With his injuries and the need to look after the two people behind him, Royal could only watch helplessly as Terena opened her arms and spoke eloquently. He felt both angry and anxious, and couldn't help but look in Artoria's direction.

Why not take action?

What are you waiting for?

Without uttering a word, Royal's gaze undoubtedly conveyed those two questions. Whether or not she noticed the two questions implied in his gaze, Artoria simply shook her head slightly.

this is a good chance.

She wanted to know what had happened to Fina.

Only by knowing this can we take effective measures.