"Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg... I never thought you would intervene in the course of this world."
"Intervene? You're mistaken. I am merely acting at Merlin's request to ensure his prophecy—that the King of Knights will conquer Gaul and Rome—comes to pass. A word of warning: earning a favor from Merlin is a deal well worth making."
"Hah. But the most important factor is that you're a Magician, and you despise the Holy Church, isn't it?"
"Since you already know..."
"Then I shall submit. It's only twenty years of playing the fool."
"Oh?"
"Hah. I cannot see the future like Merlin, nor can I traverse parallel worlds like you. But I can beseech the Lord for a Divine Revelation.
"In countless parallel worlds, Camelot's fate remains the same: the Round Table shatters, the kingdom falls, and the King of Knights dies on Camlann Hill.
"In the revelation the Lord granted me, that future has not changed."
On the sea, severed limbs littered the waters. Meanwhile, somewhere on the European continent, a far more important confrontation concluded after just a few words.
As a result of the Holy Church's retreat, Emperor Lucius of Rome suddenly lost the support of the clergy, leaving him to face the enemy with only his hastily assembled force of over ten thousand knights.
"Your Majesty, we cannot afford to be complacent! We should have attacked Camelot's army while they were crossing the river, destroying them before they could complete their landing and deploy their forces."
"Are you suggesting," the Emperor retorted, "that because the Church suddenly fled and our vanguard was unexpectedly annihilated, I should ignore Camelot's formal challenge to a decisive battle and resort to a dishonorable ambush?"
At this time, Paris was still a small city, and the throne of Gaul was occupied by the Roman Emperor himself. Having received Camelot's formal declaration of war, he now deemed an ambush dishonorable, conveniently forgetting he had previously ordered his army to live off the land through plunder.
"Your Majesty, this is war!"
"My Chancellor, are you implying I do not understand war? Silence! Do you think I am unaware that this gives Camelot an opportunity? But are you truly suggesting that my ten thousand knights could lose a frontal engagement against Camelot's two thousand?"
"Enough! My mind is made up. This battle must not only be won, but won so decisively that the other kings are left speechless. They will understand that Rome is reviving in my hands!"
More than five hundred years had passed since Emperor Caesar conquered Gaul and established Rome's dominion. In that time, the Roman Empire had not only split into East and West, but the Western Roman Empire had also once fallen.
It was Emperor Lucius who, through diligent rule, had reclaimed the city of Rome from the Germanic tribes and restored much of the empire's former territory.
How dare a mere island like Britain, a land of overseas barbarians, harbor prophecies of defeating Gaul and Rome!
"If we do not win this battle, then let me die upon this field!"
Having painstakingly reversed Rome's decline and finally glimpsed the glory of its ancient past, Emperor Lucius would never accept defeat. He would rather die than live to see foreign banners flying over Rome's walls once more.
Meanwhile, at Dover, another major port connecting Gaul to Britain, over three hundred large oak ships lay anchored offshore.
This time, Camelot had committed nearly all its available forces, leaving only Agravain and a few other knights to defend the homeland.
On the sea's surface, over two thousand knights advanced slowly in formation, riding across the water.
They were prepared for an attack during their landing, but the knights guarding Dover Port merely delivered the Roman Emperor's agreement to the decisive battle.
Then, they surrendered the entire port to Camelot's control.
"The Roman Emperor... he actually accepted the challenge for a decisive battle?"
In the naval battle against the Roman Vanguard, even with every advantage of timing, terrain, and morale, Guinevere's forces still suffered over twenty serious injuries.
Fortunately, Camelot had stockpiled a large supply of healing potions for this campaign. The wounded knights would recover enough to ride into battle before the appointed day of the decisive clash.
"King of Knights, Your Majesty the Queen, I told you my proposal would work. After being transferred from Great Britain, I spent the last five years as a bishop in Rome. I understand Emperor Lucius better than anyone. With his vanguard annihilated, he must not only win this battle to quell unrest among the other kingdoms, but he must also turn it into a grand spectacle."
In the sea battle, all the Roman Knights had been wiped out, but nearly half the priests were taken captive. Most of them belonged to the conservative faction led by Bishop Edward.
Even as a captive, he spoke with righteous conviction, claiming his faction didn't really target Mages but focused on eliminating "True Heretics" like Dead Apostles.
Regarding Guinevere's Purification Plan, he actually thought she was too lenient, as if his faction's conservatism was only directed outward.
"Enough. Silence. Since I promised to let you live, and the King has decided to form a pact with you, we will honor our agreement and make you our representative after we occupy Rome."
If the decisive battle went smoothly, all the European kingdoms, including Rome, would lose their ability to fight back in one fell swoop.
The problem was that Camelot's population was limited—less than ten million people and fewer than three thousand knights. They couldn't swallow the whole of Europe like a snake swallowing an elephant, at least not for the next twenty years.
The biggest issue, however, was the impending decline of Mystery in Great Britain. For the foreseeable future, their energy couldn't be spent on suppressing rebellions across Europe.
Therefore, Guinevere's plan was to plunder, demand tribute and submission from the other kingdoms, and only directly control Gaul.
To achieve this, certain "collaborators" were essential.
As for her hatred for the Holy Church...
"Bishop Edward, are you certain the Holy Grail is in Rome?"
"Queen, such a sacred relic naturally returned to Rome with the legions after they withdrew from Great Britain."
When Bishop Edward was captured, he had offered nearly a hundred different exchanges to save himself and his fifty-odd followers. These included his faction's cooperation with Camelot's rule and his guidance to help Camelot retrieve the Holy Grail, which was currently stored in the Holy See's treasury.
Anyone with a modicum of sense would know that Bishop Edward's cooperation was suspicious. Guinevere, having met him once before, knew he was not the sort to yield so easily.
But... this was the Holy Grail. The genuine article, rumored to have held the Lord's blood, capable of healing all illnesses, dispelling all evil, and granting any wish.
With such bait, even Guinevere's heart pounded.
Over the years, she had searched the place where Galahad eventually found the Holy Grail in her past life, but she had found nothing. She had assumed it was simply not her destiny to find it.
"Bishop Edward, if the Holy Grail in the Holy See is genuine, I might truly consider making an example only of the Holy Church's Radicals. As you said, the Camelot Disaster five years ago was entirely their doing, wasn't it?"
Guinevere hated the Holy Church and wanted it to pay a price, but she knew it was an organization spanning all of Europe. She had never truly believed she could annihilate it completely.
Killing all on sight—that was a thought from her most extreme moments.
As for her promise to Bishop Edward now... Guinevere was a girl, and a beautiful girl who lied best. Whether she kept her word after getting what she wanted was entirely up to her.
"Then... Queen, why haven't you ordered them to take down the heads? Are you truly unwilling to compromise on the matter of the Radicals?"
While some had surrendered, others had met their end. Guinevere showed respect to the fallen Roman Knights, allowing the King of Knights to order their bodies collected and buried.
But for the deceased Church members, Guinevere had commanded her knights to sever their heads, which were still mounted on their raised banner-spears.
"Bishop Edward," she said coldly, "this is what they deserve."
After a brief stop to rest and regroup at Dover Port—without disturbing a single blade of grass, person, or animal—the army of over two thousand knights and more than two hundred mages set sail.
They would reach the outskirts of Paris before the next day and engage the combined forces of Rome and the Coalition of Kings in a decisive battle by noon.
Gawain, Lancelot, Bedivere, Kay, Tristan...
Among the vast knightly host, Guinevere saw that the Twelve Knights of the Round Table were far from complete. Galahad and Mordred were still children.
The future conquest of Rome that Guinevere knew from her past life had been brought forward.
Yet Guinevere and all her forces remained unshakably confident. Though outnumbered five to one, Camelot's victory was certain!