Bab 30: Chapter 30
It was like a God send in the eyes of Lord Adinak and his Knights.
In their time of need, they appeared like thunder; a stamped of steel and horses that trampled their enemies underfoot, and making a beeline towards their location.
Billowing in the wind, the flag of a Red Dragon hung proudly fastened to the end of a long spear.
A Coat of Arms.
"Rally!" Lord Adinak gave the order, drawing his men towards Arturia and her charging cavalry. "Rally to the Red Dragon!"
Limited by the area of the bridge, and not expecting a sudden cavalry charge, all the Angles that had run up to attack Lord Adinak were completely helpless. There was no escape for those at the front line other than to jump off the bridge, but the river beneath was turbid, and their armours and weapons would weigh them down.
To escape meant death, to fight also meant death.
Their weapons were not suited to stop cavalry, even more so when said cavalry was armoured.
"Retreat you bastards!" Those at the very front of the bridge yelled hysterically at those still frozen behind them.
However, even with the prompting, they weren't fast enough.
Twisted steel swords sailed across the air, pinning those furthest back in place, or out right killing them. Within moments, a dozen or more died and blocked the path of retreat with the dead bodies they left behind.
"M-Madness," the Angles cursed in a panic, eyes growing paranoid as they looked towards the sky. Those twisted steel swords, they moved too fast; the sound of their approach only registering after the projectile had landed. "What kind of weapon is that?!"
Even with the latest news of the famed Knight Platoon of Wolfred with their armours and equipment, this sort of enemy and weapon was something that they had never encountered before. Unlike that Gerrard of the Swift Wind of the past, although his arrows were dangerous and killed hundred in a single shot, the intervals were long and delayed. However, this new enemy using this unheard-of weapon was firing off those twisted swords in rapid succession.
There was no end to them: stifling and suppressing their movements.
Yet, if they remained where they were, they would die because of the approaching cavalry.
The situation was hopeless, their deaths utterly meaningless now that they couldn't even secure the location.
Some began laughing madly, their eyes turning bloodshot before they ran forward with no regards for their lives.
It was suicide.
Met with the charging cavalry, they didn't even last a second upon first contact. Blood splattered across the creaking bridge as bodies were thrown left and right; only pieces remaining after being trampled or sliced apart by swords.
"Hold!" Arturia called, signaling with a raised a hand to halt the charge.
She then looked calmly at the fleeing enemies past the bridge and quickly came to a decision when the retreating Angles split up into smaller groups.
"Kay," she called, the voice coming from her helmed visage sounding a little distorted.
"At your service," Kay said, riding up next to Arturia.
"Gather a group of Knights and chase the enemy," Arturia said.
Because of the enemies actions of splitting into smaller groups, she was more confident in Kay's chances of victory as the pressure would be considerably lighter.
Kay flipped open his visor and gaze Arturia a smirk. "Gladly."
Placing his visor back down, he turned and shouted to the friends he had made in Roan. "Let's make a killing," he said to them while charging forward.
As for Arturia, she remained where she was as she sensed Lord Adinak's approach.
The Knights behind her gave her looks of admiration. At first, they had only come because of Sir Ector and the rest, but with the leadership Arturia was displaying, their opinions were changing when it came to her. This was especially so when they turned their attention towards Shirou, the only one in the group of Knights not in plate armour. He stood out like a sore-thumb in the middle of a sea of metal; especially with that absurdly sized black bow in his hand and a twisted sword in the other.
What Shirou had done was not humanly possible in the Knights eyes.
Shooting atop such a galloping horse with such a massive black bow, and with pinpoint accuracy? It was absurd. More so when the Knights saw swords seemingly forming from thin air.
This was not a man that they would wish to mess with, let alone antagonize. The fact that he unquestioningly followed Arturia as her First Knight only increased Arturia's standing in the Knights eyes.
One who commanded someone of such power deserved respect.
"You are, Arthur?" Lord Adinak glanced at Arturia before his attention shifted towards Shirou and paused. The man was staring increasingly hard at the black bow and twisted sword in Shirou's hands.
Releasing a breath, Lord Adinak eventually turned his attention back to Arturia. "Son of King Uther?"
Arturia nodded before revealing the sword in her hands. "And the one who drew forth the Sword in the Stone, the new King of Britain."
For a moment, there was silence as Lord Adinak processed all of what Arturia had just said before the man let out a gutter laugh.
"Serves those scheming bastards right! What happened to the joust?" Lord Adinak asked in amusement.
"Adjourned," Arturia said simply.
Placing a hand beneath his chin, Lord Adinak fell in thought before speaking.
"If what you said is truly so, then the number of men you've brought with you doesn't match the amount you should have had with the number of Noble families that participated in that joust. What, do they refuse to lend me their aid even now?" Lord Adinak said sarcastically.
Lord Adinak was already completely fed up with his Noble brethren's lack of support. In fact, he could argue that if he had their support sooner, then his lands wouldn't have been conquered to such a state where he had even lost his ruling castle. Regardless of that humiliation, Lord Adinak could swallow it down like a bitter medicine, but what he couldn't swallow was that over a ninth of his lands had already been overrun. Those conquered areas having had all of its people killed and replaced by the Angle inhabitants who had already began calling it a part of Mercia.
"Well, it's a little complicated," Arturia said unsurely.
"Complicated my ass," Sir Ector cleaned the blood off of his sword before grunting in contempt. "Those pretentious Nobles don't recognize Uther's words as law; still trying to find a way to get their own sons to the throne. A few even outright choosing to disregard them."
Saying that, Sir Ector sheathed his blade before turning his attention on Kay and his group of Knights pursuing the enemy. Thus, remaining silent.
Arturia for her part nodded towards Shirou's direction after taking a moment to ponder.
It was one of Merlin's lessons to read the flow of the battlefield. As the leader, she had the duty to defeat the enemies of her people. As such, all manor of strategies was taught to her by both Merlin and Shirou, one of which was exceedingly clear.
"Understood," Shirou said.
Without pause, he dismounted from his horse and propped himself at an elevated hill. Thereafter, his body became taught, the action visible from beneath his leathers.
Eyes narrowing, the twisted sword in Shirou's hands nocked itself onto the massive black bow. The draw length requiring Shirou to use his entire arm's length. Muscles rippling, and veins bulging out, an arrow was launched; the action sending up a cloud of dust and debris around him.
Surprise was the greatest advantage in war. It was the same for the current situation where they easily defeated an army of larger size so quickly. Alerting the enemy would give them time for preparation, and such preparation would only lead to casualties on Arturia's end.
It was definitely not something that she would allow with the gratitude she felt towards the men who had left Roan to follow her. More so when she considered the lives in her group that she absolutely refused to lose.
She wouldn't know what she would do at that point if someone died because of her actions, and Shirou knew this better than anyone. A King who would shut off all emotions in the end even when her Knights left her one by one.
It was not something he wished to see again, even if it was only a distant memory.
Faster than the wind itself, wisps of white tendrils trailed from the twisted sword's point.
A zipping noise, all that was heard in the silence of the valley overlooking the plains.
And from where they stood, everyone saw the plum of dirt and grime that erupted in the distance over a thousand meters away. They could feel its impact. More so when the the tragic cries of pain and despair distorted by the distance, reached their ears.
"W-What is his shooting range?" Lord Adinak asked gob-smacked. Evidently, he wasn't the only one as all of the Knights who weren't familiar with Shirou suddenly had their mouth going dry. This only became more evident when they realized that even Arturia didn't know the answer when she shook her head.
Arturia only had an inkling of an understanding of it even after having lived for over ten years with Shirou. After all, Shirou had never practiced archery in front of her, let alone his method of firing swords. Very rarely had she seen it, but based on the sound and strength put into each shot, she could make an estimate of the range.
As far as his eyes could see.
Shirou had never missed a shot.
It was almost mechanical in the way that a new twisted sword would appear in his hands after he fired. Each fell towards the ground like rain, mighty hammers that pummeled flesh into paste. And through it all, Shirou didn't even bat an eye.
He had never been one for killing, never would be.
His gaze scanned the fleeing enemies before he readjusted his position and fired once more, not a trace of sweat on his brow.
One died pinned to a boulder.
Another skewered through two other men.
The others watching swallowed nervously, knowing that they would fair no better if they were in the enemy's place.
Suddenly, that sound of cutting wind became chilling; like the Devil's hand brushing against the back of their necks. It was more so for the fleeing men in the distance. Hardened as they were to war, they would never again hear an arrow's whistle and react the same way.
Shields could stop arrows, but shields could not stop those twisted metal contraptions heated red from the friction of the air.
He didn't care for their reactions, always maintaining a strong front as he fired shot after shot.
Because there was one gaze that always watched him more worriedly than the rest.
And it was not one he wished to see pale due to his own reservations.
With hands gripping tightly on to leather reins even as her lips pursed together beneath a helmed visage, Arturia watched without a single word. She knew Shirou better than anyone. From the child who grew up and put up with her, to the boy who left his place of origin without question on the behalf of a little girl swinging her sword in the fields, he had never changed. That youth who became the most adored of an entire town just for the way he acted on a regular basis, to the man he was now; she knew that it was impossible that he was unaffected by killing.
Yet for her, not a change could be seen on his expression.
He fired, and fired again, not knowing how many lived he had ended upon the loosening of his fingers.
By this point, everyone else watching became numb to the sight, staring at Shirou who reduced an entire flat plain within the Valley of the River Trent into a field of red. Those twisted swords were numerous and spread out erratically, pinning bodies in place. Some stood standing, others pinned to trees and boulder, while the less fortunate weren't even in one piece.
No man who ventured forth into that area wouldn't affected by the sight. In fact, the Angles Kay and the others were in pursuit of seemed to glance over and pale considerably with their bodies involuntarily stiffening.
"It's done," Shirou said, standing up and walking back towards his mount near Arturia.
Every Knight he walked past gave him way without question, both respect and trepidation within their eyes.
Finally, he arrived next to Arturia who gave him a nod of thanks for his efforts.
There wasn't much in her thanks, but it conveyed all the emotions that she wanted to pass to him. More so when she insisted he ride with her when she discovered an injury on his horse from the recent charge.
Llamrei was more than strong enough to carry two, and when Shirou mounted on, Arturia subconsciously rested a hand on Shirou's minutely trembling arm. Even if Shirou had been trying to hide it, she alone had noticed it because of how attentive her gaze was on him.
"Sorry," she whispered.
Shirou shook his head.
His ideals and principles aside, he had already come to a decision long ago. His reason for searching, and the place he had arrived at now, it was all for this.
To see her again.
And if he had to choose to sacrifice his ideals over the woman he devoted his life to, the answer was only natural. Although it might pain him to do so, there were things that Arturia couldn't do on her own. And better for him to sully his hands with the blood of thousands rather than her. Instead, she could focus on defeating the people that really mattered, shining at her brightest.
Affirming his resolve, he then shifted his weight over Llamrei to make his and Arturia's positions less questionable in the eyes of those around him.
"H-He is?" Lord Adinak questioned slowly while starring at Shirou.
Arturia straightened her back when she heard Lord Adinak's inquiry.
"My Knight," she spoke, a hint of pride in her voice that she didn't even notice.
"Oh…" Lord Adinak trailed off.
Based on the attire Shirou was wearing, Lord Adinak had the impression that Shirou could be employed for hire. In which case, it was truly unfortunate now that Arturia said that Shirou was her Knight.
Clearing his throat, Lord Adinak spoke again.
"Then Arthur, what do you plan to do now?" Lord Adinak asked.
Arturia gave Lord Adinak the impression that she was confused. Indeed, this was so when she voiced her own question.
"Are we not going to reclaim the lands lost?" She asked.
Lord Adinak felt as if the Heavens were finally answering his pleas. For a grueling three years now, he'd had to watch as those under him had to die month after month with no help coming in from the other Nobles. Now, with the coming of the new King, he could foresee a future out of the dark shadows of the past years.
Tough as he was, his eyes began to water upon hearing Arturia's words. It had been too long since he had received hope from a situation that was so bleak. Even the Knights that had followed him couldn't help but show their emotions. Yet this didn't last long. Instead, they quickly composed themselves.
"Then we'll have to trouble you," Lord Adinak said bowing.
The man then moved over to stand in front of Shirou.
"And you as well," Lord Adinak said with respect.
Shirou nodded in agreement as many stared at him.
This was expected as his performance was bound to draw attention. Even Merlin at the side gave him a knowing glance. This was the attention magic would bring upon the common people. Merlin for example had only used his magic in public in a couple of occasions, yet his name was now known throughout the lands.
Merlin though, would not interfere in Arturia's campaign, only watch as an overseer.
However, Shirou was different.
With Shirou's and Arturia's agreement, Lord Adinak then led everyone towards one of the settlements he had created a temporary barrack at after Kay and the rest returned.
The barrack was simple in make, sturdy cut trees and branches held together by wound rope and dried mud. Watch posts were positioned on all four corners of the barrack with two entrances at both the front and rear.
Entering, Arturia noted down the expressions of the Knights holding down the fort and saw little light in them. Most were downcast, and even outright avoided her gaze.
Lord Adinak was not impressed with their reactions, but he couldn't fault them because of how the situation had tuned out before Arturia's intervention. Still, he wouldn't tolerate it at this turning point.
"At arms!" Lord Adinak yelled, smacking the back of a Knight brooding by the northern watch post. "We have with us today the hope of avenging our brothers and countrymen!"
Lord Adinak's words were like trumpets in their volume, rousing everyone in the barrack. However, when Lord Adinak presented this hope in a group of mounted Knights numbering only in the hundreds, the reaction was less than pleasing.
They turned, they looked, and then they went back to brooding.
"You damn bastards, do you not know who this is?!" Lord Adinak yelled with a vigor.
Walking through the barrack, Lord Adinak gathered every able-bodied man inside into the middle of the area.
"This is our new King," Lord Adinak introduced Arturia. "Son of Uther, he is Arthur Pendragon. He who drew forth the Sword from the Stone."
A quiet murmur spread through the Knights in the barrack before all their gazes sharpened. They all knew what it meant for one to draw forth the Sword from the Stone.
The King chosen to lead the kingdom to prosperity.
Even if it were just a legend to keep their faith, they had nothing else to lose anymore. The enemies didn't accept prisoners, therefore surrendering meant death just as much as fighting. After all, the enemies didn't invade their land for commodities, but for the habitable land itself to call home. For such a reason, they didn't want any of the previous inhabitants to remain.
Because of this, Lord Adinak's men and even the other powers in the area would have to band together to resist. Even cowards had to fight simply because there was no other choice.
"We follow the King," Lord Adinak and the Knights began pledging loyalty one by one.
Despite the lack of coronation, these people eventually decided to place their faith in the words passed down at the end of Uther's reign.
A Victorious King.
Lord Adinak soon led Arturia, Sir Ector, Kay, Shirou, Merlin, and Bedivere, into a tent lit up by small candles within. Said candles were flickering atop a flat wooden table with a sheep-skin map stretched across its length.
This tent was the command center of Lord Adinak's operations and the site where Lord Adinak spent most of his days stressing.
The map over the table had numerous red markings, and only a few blue markings remained in the territory carefully drawn on the map.
"I don't have much left of the territory," Lord Adinak said solemnly. "That bridge over the River Trent we've just defended has given us more time before the enemy can take the rest of my lands. Look here,"
Lord Adinak pointed on a specific position on the map. Based on the geography it was exactly where the bridge they just defended was.
"By defending the bridge, we've reduced the enemy to another stalemate as they can't use the majority of their numbers to surround us, but I want you all to pay attention to is the castle in front of it."
Lord Adinak slid his index finger from its point on the map to another location.
"My ruling Castle," Lord Adinak explained. "We'll need to recapture it as most of my armoury and weapons are stored there. With it, I'll once again be able to arm more men rather than rely on wooden planks and sharpened sticks as you saw outside."
Indeed. Some of the Knights in the barrack were barely armed with anything. Arturia had even seen one in the process of tying a rock down to the end of a thick branch. It was primitive at best and would not last multiple use. It was definitely a problem that needed to be fixed.
Still though, Arturia was curious about something.
"Why did you leave your armoury behind?" She asked.
Lord Adinak grimaced.
"It wasn't for lack of trying," Lord Adinak said. "My castle was nigh-impenetrable. Built on top of a layer of hard rock, those bastards weren't able to tunnel inside. Its walls were also reinforced numerous times and filled with open slits to allow my men to attack invaders from within."
"Then how'd you lose the castle?" Bedivere asked.
"We grew hungry," Lord Adinak said.
Thereafter, a silence followed.
"Those bastards camped directly outside our castles walls, and intercepted out food supplies. Day by day after our food had run out, we grew weaker. It was to the point that my men could barely fend off the make-shift battering rams the enemy sent to the gates. Eventually, those gates were pried open; myself and a couple of my Knights the only ones to escape in the chaos. Now I'm here."
Arturia put on a troubled expression, but nodded her head with Lord Adinak's explanation.
"We'll have to recapture the castle then," Arturia said decisively before crossing her arms to think. "With the walls around the castle, it'll be hard to use our cavalry advantage unless we somehow lure the men inside, out."
Arturia's expression twisted into a frown. She couldn't act rashly as she had to take into account the lives of the Knights following her. To charge in, although she was confident that she herself could break down the gates with a single use of mana-burst, a majority of the Knights who followed her could not.
"That approach is too difficult," Kay shot Arturia's proposal down.
"The enemies that have taken over the castle should have stored a supply of food within. Unlike them though, we can't use a similar tactic of starving them as their reinforcements would be quick on their way," Sir Ector explained.
Falling silent once again. Bedivere for his part looked back and forth between the men in the room, unknowing of what he could say to contribute. However, it was then that Shirou decided to open his mouth.
"For such things, just leave it to me," he said calmly.
LINE BREAK
Night had fallen over the barrack, and the majority of the people within it were now sleeping. Only two were still awake, and that was because one had decided to forge Lord Adinak a pair of war hammers to match his build after the man's sword had broken in the previous battle. In which case, he needed the weapons to be permanent, so he built them himself.
Flames danced within the fires of the forge as Shirou hammered away at the melted down armours worn by the Angles. The metal smoldering, and glowing a fiery red as sparks flew with each flick of the hammer over the anvil.
Not too far off from Shirou sat Arturia. She had her legs sprawled in front of her, and was using her elbows to support her weight as she leaned forward.
No matter how much Shirou insisted for her to rest, she would refuse, not saying anything as she watched him hammer away in the night.
Small trails of smoke left grey wisps to ascend to the stars above.
"What would you do if you were King?" Arturia asked after a moment, her expression attentive.
Shirou paused in his hammering only for a moment before resuming.
"I wouldn't make for a good King," he said absentmindedly before soaking the heated metal in a basin of water and then putting it back in the heat.
The sound of crackling flame only grew louder.
He didn't notice the way Arturia only stared at him harder in the process.
"No," she whispered softly, shaking her head. "You would make for a great King," she insisted sincerely, a hand to her chest. "You're kind, compassionate, and don't judge others before lending your aid. Anyone could see that, and it shows in the gratitude of the others around you."
She was clear enough on this fact. Even in childhood, it was always him that acted first and her that followed. The first meeting that they had with Emily and the Son of Wolfred was a prime example.
His body paused as he could feel the emotions that Arturia put into her words. Slowly placing the freshly forged hammers onto a rack, he turned his gaze towards her.
It was to see an expression filled with sincerity and a little bit of self-doubt.
"I wouldn't make for a good King," he repeated word for word, yet there was something in his gaze that caused Arturia to think of a deeper meaning. "Because there's something that I cherish above the prosperity of the Kingdom and even the people themselves." Because I have you.
"A-And that would be?" Arturia asked in a fluster.
In the moonlight, her features shone with an ethereal glow.
From the way loose strands of her hair floated just behind her ears, to the way her mouth hung a little open as she waited for an answer; all fell within his sight along with the reemergence of a woman from his memories.
"Love."
His answer was simple, for it encompassed his everything. No matter his ideals and motivations, it all stemmed from the root of that word.
A Love that transcends time.
From the confused expression on Arturia's face, it was clear that she didn't understand his meaning. Or perhaps the notion of giving up an entire Kingdom for a single person just wasn't fathomable for her mind to come up with.
In any case, it didn't change anything.
Sitting down next to her, he grew lost in his memories as he stared at her face.
It was the same, everything was the same.
From the armour she wore, to the expressions she could make. This was Arturia Pendragon. This was Saber.
Unconsciously, the yearning he felt at that moment manifested in the form of an action.
An arm wrapped around Arturia's shoulder and pulled her close, tucking her head into the crook of his shoulder; the height difference between the two having grown more apparent over the years.
Arturia's eyes widened in surprise, a startled gasp escaping her throat as she could feel the heat rushing to her head from the sudden action. His scent directly entered her nose from the close proximity; the robustness of his body beneath the fabric of his clothes even more apparent as she placed her hands on it in an attempt to break free. Yet, when she was about to do so, she saw the expression on Shirou's face and fell silent, her body relaxing against his, and her arms falling to her sides.
After all, as Shirou stared up at the moon, Arturia could see the melancholy on his face and feel the tenderness in his touch through the fabric of her blue gown.
She had never seen that sort of expression before, and only now that Shirou held her in his arms did it appear.
Love.
The word which Shirou spoke earlier resounded in her mind, causing her to almost fall into an inexplicable euphoric daze, a blush over her face as she tried to keep it straight.
W-Was it her?
The thought just wouldn't leave her mind. Yet doubts sprung up as well.
The word 'Love' didn't just encompass one's feelings for another, maybe it was an object or place?
Yet, could it be her?
That single thought just wouldn't leave, and just thinking about it caused her mind to go into disarray from all the problems that could occur as a result.
But at this moment, within his arms, nothing seemed to matter. Arturia leaned further into his warmth, the two staring silently up at the moon thinking of the future to come.
At the edge of the barrack, Merlin released a sigh seeing the scene of the two. Without doubt, the future he had once glimpsed had already changed.
In the days that followed, Arturia had suddenly found herself to be selfconscious whenever she was near Shirou, and that didn't change even as they eyed Lord Adinak's castle in the distance.
"How do you plan to do this?" Lord Adinak asked curiously. At his waist, were two war hammers that Shirou had made previously. Lord Adinak was not only impressed with them, the man even decided to treat them as family treasures.
With the magic Shirou had displayed before, Lord Adinak was of the mind that anything that a Wizard makes couldn't be ordinary.
Behind Lord Adinak, were all of his available Knights as well as Arturia's own group.
"I'll open the gates and give a signal for you all to charge in," Shirou said simply.
"This," Bedivere said unsurely. "That doesn't really explain much."
"Trust me," Shirou said. "Just wait for my signal."
Saying that, Shirou dismounted from his horse and made for the castle on foot.
With the attention Lord Adinak and Arturia's group was drawing in the middle of the day, Shirou swiftly made use of it to circle around the castle's back while everyone was distracted.
This castle was not only important for Lord Adinak to obtain the weapon stores within, but it was also strategically required. It was the fortress base that the Angles would have to recapture to gain any more footing in Lord Adinak's land, and similarly it would allow Lord Adinak to launch his own initiative.
Arriving at the castle's back, Shirou quickly made sure that there were no sentries at the top of the wall. Verifying that there was no one there, he let out a sigh of relief.
The back of the castle had a wall that was entirely vertical stone. Therefore, it wasn't a spot for others to invade from as it was impossible to climb; reducing the need for sentries in this particular location.
For him though, it was different.
He traced a pair of blades in which he stabbed evenly into the wall. Thereafter, he traced sword after sword and made a flight of stair up the side of the flat wall.
When he arrived on the top, it was to meet face to face with a bewildered man who had just so happened to be passing by the area.
Staring at each other, it only took a moment before the man opened his mouth in order to sound an alert.
Shirou wouldn't let him.
Even before the man could shout, there was already a blade floating inches away from his face.
The message in Shirou's eyes was clear. Make a sound, and that blade would fall.
The man swallowed, but only watch helplessly as Shirou left. However, the man felt like crying when he realized that the sword in front of him remained firmly in front of him no matter which direction he moved at.
Arriving near the front gates, it was the most heavily defended part of the castle. Archers were stationed near the upper walls, and an entire platoon of Angles laid in preparation over the murder holes in the arched passageways.
Hiding behind a few storage crates, he noted the location of the defending guards and made a decision.
"Trace, on."
LINE BREAK
"What signal do you think he meant?" Bedivere asked, only to fall silent when an explosion blasted the very gates from its hinges.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone