Under the same blue sky, ten miles behind the Coalition of the Five Kings, the King of Knights and his party waited, having received Guinevere's letter in advance and thinking of her.
"Your Majesty, are you certain you wish to follow Princess Guinevere's suggestion? Her proposal would undoubtedly put you at odds with all of Great Britain. Even many of your own knights would likely disapprove."
Guinevere's letter advocated abolishing the various kings and unifying Great Britain under the Royal Court, with knights and officials appointed centrally to govern the entire kingdom. This, she believed, was the only way to secure lasting peace.
To knights like Gawain, this proposal seemed far too extreme. Many knights serving the King of Knights were descended from the former royal lineages. Implementing such a plan would inevitably cause the King of Knights' own forces to fracture.
"Regardless," the King of Knights replied, "she will be my wife. I must first win this war for her."
Clad in silver-white armor, her face hidden beneath a lion-headed helm, the King of Knights had chosen a massive, spiraling lance as her weapon for this mounted battle.
Rhongomyniad, the lance's name, possessed power comparable to the King of Knights' holy sword, Excalibur.
As the King gripped her lance, poised to charge, the twenty-odd knights following her—Gawain, Kay, Lancelot, and others—drew their own weapons, awaiting her command.
Regardless of their reservations about Guinevere's counsel, the King had issued her order, and their duty was to secure victory for her.
"Master Merlin," she murmured, "in your vision, is Guinevere's proposed future one we can reach?"
Ten miles—neither close nor distant—lay between them and the enemy knights. To avoid detection, they needed to employ certain measures.
For instance, enlisting the unexpected aid of Merlin, who had agreed to cast a concealment spell.
"My King," Merlin replied, "the future I glimpsed earlier has grown increasingly hazy. The only clear part, however, is something I cannot reveal to you."
Such was Merlin—a powerful being, half-incubus, half-human, who cherished humanity but held no particular fondness for any individual.
The sole clear vision he withheld foretold the Round Table Knights' inevitable collapse and the Knight King's tragic demise.
Even if he had personally raised the King of Knights, he wouldn't have minded her tragic death.
At least, that was the Merlin she knew now.
Clang.
The sound came from the King of Knights clenching her unarmored left hand, the steel gauntlet clashing against itself.
Ever since she gained consciousness, Merlin had appeared in her dreams, declaring her the destined King of Great Britain. Every night, he taught her strategies for ruling the kingdom.
In a way, the King of Knights regarded Merlin as half a father.
To repay this affection, she never complained about the grueling training she endured while awake, or the relentless study of statecraft during her sleep. She willingly accepted that every hour of her twenty-four-hour day was dedicated to "work," that her entire life existed solely to fulfill the prophecy Merlin had spoken of.
She lived like a machine, never daring to relax for a moment.
Desperate to glimpse the future Merlin kept hidden, the King of Knights had hoped he would provide more specific guidance. But the bastard Great Mage she considered half a father remained silent.
Beneath her visor, the King of Knights was lost in confusion, unsure whether her rare stubborn insistence on marrying Guinevere, against Merlin's warnings, was right or wrong.
At that moment, the King of Knights recalled Guinevere's radiant smile at the banquet, her playful attempts to steal the male dance steps, and the undisguised excitement on her face when she learned the King of Knights was a woman.
The King of Knights felt a pang of guilt toward Guinevere. By marrying her, she would inevitably be denied a normal marriage.
"Master Merlin, dispel the concealment magic," the King commanded. "Lancelot, ride ahead and declare our arrival to the Coalition of the Five Kings—and declare war."
The King's voice remained steady, betraying no emotion to the knights who had served her for years. At her command, Lancelot responded with a firm "Yes, sir!" and spurred his horse forward. The instant the concealment magic lifted, the Coalition of the Five Kings, who had already sensed their presence, received the declaration of war.
Meanwhile, the King of Knights and her remaining knights continued their silent, measured advance, conserving their horses' strength until they reached the optimal charge position.
At the same time, Guinevere's party had also detected the King of Knights' arrival.
"Your Highness, your wait is over. The King of Knights has not disappointed you," Tristan remarked.
"Tristan, did you overhear my musings just now?" Guinevere asked.
"A skilled musician must have keen ears, naturally," Tristan replied.
Tristan's face, usually shadowed by sorrow from the hardships of his early life, now wore a rare smile. His otherworldly beauty was accentuated by the slight upward curve of his lips as he rejoiced for Guinevere's sake.
Tch.
Guinevere clicked her tongue, unable to suppress the smile spreading across her face.
"Han, throw the Round Table back into the Thames! Ten knights, follow me onto the Round Table! We'll crush those rabble!"
Han, the strongest knight under Guinevere's command, heard the command and single-handedly heaved the colossal, 5,000 kg Round Table onto the river's surface. But he was too late to leap onto the Round Table after Guinevere and seize one of the ten coveted knight slots.
Between Guinevere's forces and the Coalition of the Five Kings, tens of thousands of ordinary soldiers had already descended into chaos. Ordering them to clear a path without bloodshed was impossible.
Similarly, with such vast numbers, the soldiers' battle lines stretched too long. Circling around them on land would take too long, likely missing the crucial battle between the King of Knights and the Knights of the Five Kings.
"Your Highness, did you foresee this moment when you had the Round Table built?" Knight Marco asked.
"Knight Marco, you overestimate me. I possess no Clairvoyance to foresee the future. I proposed building the Round Table solely as a gift for the King of Knights. Its current use is merely a fortuitous coincidence."
The Round Table drifted downriver, rocking and pitching, yet the eleven riders, including Guinevere, maintained perfect balance.
As they drifted past the ordinary soldiers, the sparse rain of arrows and javelins was instantly shattered by the 'music' Tristan conjured with his strings.
As they drifted past the Knights of the Five Kings, they noticed the knights had already donned their helmets, prepared for a desperate battle.
They... they're not surrendering?
Caught between two forces, but with the King of Knights leading over twenty riders while Guinevere commanded only ten, the Knights of the Five Kings still held a numerical advantage and were perfectly capable of fighting.
Moreover, in this era, life was considered a small price to pay for honor among knights.
After the Five Kings resolved to fight to the death, their knights remained steadfast, choosing to demonstrate their loyalty.
They split their forces. One detachment faced Guinevere and her eleven riders on the riverbank, but instead of attacking them mid-crossing, they waited until Guinevere's group had disembarked and gained firm footing before slowly advancing.
Meanwhile, the other detachment charged at the King of Knights and her riders, who had been locked in a tense standoff for some time.
During the initial stages of war, the Five Kings were willing to sacrifice ordinary soldiers, but once knights clashed, they strictly adhered to the chivalrous rules of engagement.