Chapter 52: The Terror of the Six Southern Kings
"Mary, what do you think Manaka Sajyou's purpose is in capturing Guinevere and all these princesses?"
Since returning to Camelot Castle, Noah had been discussing with Mary the information they obtained today. After all, this concerned both Manaka Sajyou and the Holy Sword of the Stars, which might very well be the key to dealing with the Titan. Therefore, Noah took this matter quite seriously.
"I don't know either."
Mary sounded somewhat helpless.
"Although due to the distortion, I've gained some insights from her, I don't have any particular clues about this matter either..."
Hearing Mary's response, Noah sighed.
"In that case, let's leave it at that for now..."
Noah formed an idea.
"After we've resolved our current affairs here, perhaps we really should go to Rome to investigate... Not an expedition, but I'll take a small team to scout out the current situation there."
Noah was quite curious about many things in Rome.
Such as the current state of that Titan, what methods Rome had devised to deal with the Titan, the matter of Manaka Sajyou, and...
Noah hadn't forgotten that in the system, the completion condition for Volume One was—to trigger all of Vortigern's storyline routes.
But Volume Two had additional conditions.
Besides triggering all the Titan Altera's storyline routes, there was also the condition of—triggering all of ???'s storyline.
So Noah was also curious about who this ??? might be.
Or to put it another way, whether this ??? was actually Manaka Sajyou.
But these questions would have to wait for now.
After all, regarding immediate concerns, compared to the problems in Rome, he needed to handle the matters at hand first.
Thinking this, Noah wrote out the following appointment:
"Summon the Six Southern Kings three days later."
The reason he hadn't summoned the Six Southern Kings immediately upon their arrival wasn't meant as a power move against them.
Rather, the preparatory work required to convene them was truly extensive.
Such as arranging the banquet, inviting many famous knights and nobles of Camelot, while also showing respect for some customs of the Southern Six Territories.
Similarly, the Six Southern Kings needed this time to reacquaint themselves with Camelot's protocols.
In short, this mutual respect required time.
If they rushed it, Camelot might manage to complete preparations with overtime work, but it wouldn't be easy for the Six Southern Kings to familiarize themselves with Camelot's etiquette in a short time.
Especially since some of the Six Southern Kings had brought new faces with them this time, making their acclimatization even slower.
So allowing a few days' interval was beneficial for everyone.
As for the real power move... or perhaps it shouldn't be called a power move, but what truly astonished the Six Southern Kings was the alchemy equipment they saw when they arrived for the gathering at the appointed time!
Since this was in Camelot, Noah had sent people to fetch them before the banquet, all using special alchemy carriage frames—these horseless vehicles were completely unfamiliar to them.
When they arrived at the venue, the glow from the alchemy lamps illuminated the banquet area brightly.
As bright as day!
This situation left the Six Southern Kings utterly stunned.
Later, at the banquet table, they gazed at foods they had never even seen before, let alone tasted, and wines whose fragrant aroma was unmistakable...
For a moment, they felt a sense of bewilderment.
Has the gap between them and Camelot grown this vast?
Though divided into two factions, the six of them simultaneously shared the same thought.
After all, this visit to Camelot had exposed them to many things they had never dared to imagine—it was akin to youths from remote villages entering a city, curious about everything.
They marveled at Camelot's unique modes of transportation.
They were astonished that Camelot could bring the brightness of day into the rooms of night.
They were amazed by the sheer variety of food and drink in Camelot.
They were also taken aback by the opulent arrangement of the banquet venue.
Although they had long known that there was a gap between their own territories, the Northern Six Territories, and Camelot, they never expected this gap to have widened so imperceptibly!
And then…
Just as they were marveling at these things, the band suddenly struck up a distinctive melody.
Accompanied by a unified blast reminiscent of a lion's roar, the people of the Southern Six Territories also stood up and turned their gaze toward the main entrance.
They knew this was the announcement preceding the King's arrival.
As they looked on, the knights of Camelot's patrol squad entered first, lining up in two rows along the pathway.
The moment these patrol members appeared, they captured the full attention of the Six Southern Kings.
After Noah developed the alloy, he had Kay equip the entire patrol squad with standardized armor and weapons. Moreover, Noah, being a modern man, had the habit of conducting several rehearsals before such an important banquet.
Thus, the patrol squad's extreme uniformity instinctively put the Six Southern Kings on edge.
After all, the land of Britain was once ruled by Rome.
They had all learned about Rome at its peak.
Well-trained legions, unified equipment, synchronized movements... all of this unconsciously reminded them of Rome's invincible armies.
Has Camelot actually formed such a force!?
Even if the Six Southern Kings were less adept in warfare compared to their northern counterparts, they were the ones who mostly defended against the Saxon barbarians.
So, they could easily discern the quality of the patrol squad's standardized equipment...
While they couldn't fully grasp the impact of the equipment forged by Noah's alchemical synthesis of 3.0 metal on contemporary arms and armor, they could clearly see that these standardized gears were exceptionally refined!
Far from the worn-out, subpar gear typically carried by ordinary soldiers.
Thus, they began to form some imagination about the combat prowess of King Arthur's troops...
Seeing the patrol squad only heightened the fear that had already been instilled in the Six Southern Kings by the many astonishing aspects of the banquet.
Even as the patrol team came to a halt and Noah's footsteps gradually approached from outside, some people from the Southern Six Territories began to sweat.
They had originally thought they were coming to negotiate cooperation with the new king on equal footing.
But now it seemed...
—Did they truly possess the qualifications for equal negotiation?
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