บท 134: C134
As Shirou walked towards Caerleon Castle's church, he noticed something that caused him to come to an abrupt stop.
"What's the matter, my king?" Artoria asked.
"Have you seen Merlin?" Shirou asked, scanning the area but finding no trace of the magus.
"Come to think of it, whenever Merlin visits a city, he has a tendency to disappear without a trace. Nevertheless, let us first pay a visit to the Archbishop, my king. Merlin must have some business to attend to."
'You're too naive! That man is certainly up to something.' However, he decided to keep his thoughts to himself and simply contemplated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
The group arrived at the church of Caerleon Castle where the Archbishop was conducting a mass.
Coming from an atheistic country, Shirou had an instinctive opposition to deities and instead advocated for humanism. However, he was respectful of others' beliefs and so he waited quietly for the Archbishop to finish his mass without disturbing anyone.
Upon finishing his mass, the Archbishop was taken aback to see Shirou and exclaimed, "Isn't this Arthur?"
"It's been a while, Archbishop," he greeted the religious leader with a smile. The Archbishop was the one who had overseen the Sword Pulling ceremony that named him as King Arthur.
The Archbishop chuckled, "It has indeed been over two months. The tales of your adventures have spread throughout Camelot. Everyone has heard of the Incarnation of the Red Dragon, the destined King Arthur, the Princess Knight, the Magus of Flowers Merlin, and the charismatic and romantic Sir Kay, who has captured the hearts of countless young maidens."
Shirou was already aware of the rumors about himself, Artoria, and Merlin's travels, but he was surprised to hear of Kay's romantic exploits. This only served to reinforce his desire to learn from Kay how to charm and woo women.
After some initial small talk, they explained their reason for visiting, having been introduced by Gawain.
The Archbishop was thrilled, "Ah, I see! With Arthur at the helm, our campaign will have a much greater chance of success."
"I wouldn't say I'm the leader, but I'm happy to offer my assistance."
Just then, a soft voice could be heard from the inner hall of the church, "Archbishop, is there a visitor here?"
As the footsteps grew louder, a silver-haired young knight emerged from the inner hall of the church.
Shirou was taken aback upon seeing the young knight and couldn't help but stare. The Archbishop then introduced him, "Arthur, this is Sir Bedivere. He currently serves as one of Sir Ywain's court officials and is one of the knights leading the Camelot army."
The Archbishop then directed his attention to Bedivere and stated, "Sir Bedivere, this is Arthur, the one who pulled the sword from the stone."
Bedivere gazed at Shirou with sparkling eyes and exclaimed, "King Arthur! I've heard tales of your story!"
"I've also heard of you, Sir Bedivere," Shirou replied with a smile.
Bedivere was taken aback and pointed to himself, asking, "Heard of me? I don't have any tales worth singing about."
"Don't underestimate yourself, Sir Bedivere," Shirou encouraged. "It's widely known that your lance skills are unparalleled in all of Britain. Even with only one arm, you are capable of fending off nine opponents at once. You are truly an exceptional knight!"
"No, that's not true," Bedivere protested, clearly embarrassed. "I'm just a court official and skilled only in handling simple internal affairs."
The Archbishop chuckled and patted Bedivere's shoulder. "Bedivere, remember that when Arthur takes the throne, he will be your king. Why are you still hiding your talents in front of him? Your lance skills are so remarkable that even Sir Brastias would commend you. Otherwise, Sir Ywain wouldn't have chosen you to lead the army."
"I always felt that Sir Ywain's decision was wrong because I knew deep down that I wasn't suited to lead the army," Bedivere said with a tinge of sadness in his voice. "If it weren't for my strategic mistakes, we wouldn't have allowed the mountain giant to escape, and our soldiers wouldn't have suffered such heavy casualties."
"By the way," Bedivere looked up at Shirou and added, "now that Arthur is here, command of the army will be passed on to you. As the future king, the soldiers will undoubtedly follow your lead, and with you present, the coalition army will have a capable commander."
"Why are you all appointing me as the commander? Don't the coalition forces have any existing leaders?" Shirou asked in surprise. Gawain had informed him that the troops had already gathered at Caerleon Castle, so it seemed strange that they still hadn't established a commander after all this time.
The Archbishop explained, "I made the decision to form the coalition, so it's natural that I should lead it. However, I don't possess the necessary skills to command an army, so I suggested that the coalition should choose its own commander. The problem is that the five kingdoms represented in the coalition are equally powerful, and each has its own exceptional knights. None of them can be easily subdued, which has led to the delay in selecting a commander until now."
"Who's in charge of each army?" Shirou asked.
Bedivere responded, "The specifics are irrelevant. What's important is that King Pellinore's army is led by Lamorak, who is a renowned knight. The army of King Mark is led by Tristan, the King's nephew."
Shirou rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 'So, four of the Knights of the Round Table are present here,' he mused. 'With both Lamorak and Tristan in attendance, it's no wonder the Archbishop couldn't easily appoint Bedivere as the commander.'
Tristan, Lamorak, and Gawain were considered the three most exceptional knights of the Round Table in King Arthur legends. Each of them possessed individual strengths that were just as impressive as Gawain's.
In particular, Lamorak was known for his unparalleled spearmanship, which was considered to surpass even Artoria's skills in that area. He was widely regarded as the ultimate master of spearmanship in their era, and his reputation had only grown over time.
Unfortunately, Lamorak's fate was quite tragic. He faced multiple knights alone and emerged victorious, but was ultimately betrayed and killed by Mordred, whom he had trusted.
It's understandable why Bedivere struggled to command the others, given that this era places a high value on personal strength. In order to earn the submission of others, you must first defeat them. Although Bedivere possesses formidable strength and excellent spearmanship, he still falls short when compared to Tristan and Lamorak.
Gawain remarked, "The Archbishop invited me to lead this campaign, but now that Arthur is here, I believe you are better suited for the role than I am."
Rather than refusing outright, Shirou took a moment to ponder and turned to Bedivere. "Bedivere, how many soldiers do we have from the Camelot side?"
"1,500 soldiers from Camelot," Bedivere replied, to which Shirou rubbed his chin in thought. "And what about the other kingdoms? Just give me the total number."
Bedivere calculated and responded, "Approximately 2,000 soldiers."
"So, we have a total of 5,000 soldiers on our side, and the other kingdoms have 2,000," Shirou concluded, rubbing his chin once more.
Bedivere: "???"
"Um... Your Excellency Arthur, it's 1,500 people," Bedivere reminded.
"I know," Shirou acknowledged. "But I brought an additional 3,500 soldiers with me and stationed them in the forest. So, when we combine our forces, we have a total of 5,000 soldiers."
"Ah, I see," Bedivere nodded.
Artoria: "???"
She looked confused. Where did the additional 3,500 soldiers come from?
Shirou smiled and patted Bedivere's shoulder reassuringly. "In any case, if someone asks you how many soldiers are fighting under the banner of Camelot, just tell them 5,000. Whether they came with me or with you, they're all part of the same army."
Bedivere nodded, his confusion replaced with understanding. "Understood, Your Excellency Arthur!"
Shirou turned to the Archbishop and made his request. "Archbishop, would you be so kind as to gather the leading knights from the other kingdoms outside the city? We're here for war, after all, and it's not wise to delay any longer. I may not be the most talented Commander, but I am willing to do my best in leading this coalition army."
"Very well, Arthur," the Archbishop responded with a smile before leaving to fulfill Shirou's request. He had long been hoping to unite the various armies, and was pleased to see Shirou take charge. With their forces combined, they could quickly set off to fight against the mountain giant and the workshop behind it.
"Bedivere, you go ahead and move our army outside the city," Shirou said.
He didn't approach Bedivere directly for military power, as he knew this wouldn't work. The system of governance in ancient Britain was vastly different from that of the modern era. In modern world, acquiring soldiers is as simple as presenting a military order. However, in ancient Britain, the military system was intertwined with the aristocratic system, making it far more complex.
As a king, Shirou had the authority to command the high-ranking nobles, who in turn had the authority to give orders to the lower-ranking ones, and so on down the line. This system of governance, known as the aristocratic system of enfeoffment, ensured that each level of authority commanded the level below it.
However, this hierarchical structure also resulted in a situation where Shirou's vassal's vassals were not under his direct control. Such circumstances were common in Western kingdoms, where powerful vassals frequently sought to overthrow weak kings.
Therefore, if one wishes to become a king in the West and maintain long-term stability, they must find a way to repossess all the power and centralize it during the period when the aristocracy dominates without striking any sensitive nerves.
"I understand, Your Excellency Arthur!" Bedivere also left.
"Let's wait in the suburbs for a while," Shirou suggested as he exited the church with Artoria, Gawain, and the disguised Morgan.
As they walked, Artoria approached Shirou and askedin a hushed tone, "My King, where did we acquire 3,500 soldiers?"
He replied with a smile, "As long as no one exposes the truth, if I say we have them, then we have them."
"Isn't this deception?" she looked troubled. "Doesn't this go against the principles of justice?"
"The justice we often speak of is not genuine justice, Artoria," he replied. "True justice requires more than mere words; it must be backed by action."
She pondered for a moment, then took out her notebook from her pocket and began jotting down notes.
...
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