Crazy Britain:They’re All Raising Me

Chapter 287: Is This the Romance of Men?



"What is going on?!"

Seeing the increasingly chaotic battlefield below, Nocknare, who had been sitting quietly on the high platform watching the dazzling duel, suddenly stood up.

"This is just a sparring match, why are they fighting like this?!"

"My lady, you don't understand," Aiken, standing nearby, said in a low voice.

"As the book from the Oriental military texts you recently had us study says, 'In literature there is no first, but in martial arts, there is no second.' True warriors are like this."

"My lady, you are not a warrior, so you wouldn't understand. But for a warrior, finding a great teacher is hard, and finding a worthy opponent is even harder. Now they have a rare match of equals, and as the battle becomes more heated, they can't stop until there's a winner."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Surprised, Nocknare glanced at Aiken, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of red light. When she turned her gaze back to the battlefield, she saw that blood had already been drawn. Guinevere's side was stabbed by Finn's spear, leaving a bloody wound in his flank, and Finn's shoulder had also been partially torn off.

By now, neither of them seemed to have any intention of stopping. If things continued like this, one of them would likely fall soon.

Nocknare anxiously shouted, "Quick! Aiken! Go stop them!"

"This... My lady, I'm afraid that's not possible."

Looking at the battlefield, which was now soaked with blood, Aiken shook his head.

"Both of them are top-tier warriors in our army. Now they are completely caught in a death match. Even if we tried to pull them apart, we wouldn't have the strength to do it. Whoever goes will die!"

"What?" Nocknare's eyes widened. "You useless fool! I'll go myself!"

With that, she rolled up her sleeves and was about to jump down to stop them.

"Impossible, my lady! Absolutely not!"

Seeing this, Aiken was immediately frightened, quickly stepping in front of Nocknare.

"You are the leader of our King's clan! If anything were to happen to you, what will happen to the Northern Faeries?"

"Besides, they are already fully caught in a life-and-death battle. Even if someone were to try pulling them apart, unless we have overwhelming strength to subdue both of them, anyone trying to stop them will be killed by the other!"

"Then what do you suggest we do? Are we really going to let them fight to the death?" Nocknare anxiously asked.

"My lady, I do have a suggestion," Aiken said seriously. "You could first activate your mountain formation to enhance both of their defenses, preventing them from accidentally killing each other with a misstep. If either of them lands a fatal blow, your mountain formation would save their life. When the loser realizes their defeat, the battle will naturally end."

"Then we can just have the healers step in and treat them."

As Nocknare and Aiken frantically brainstormed ways to save the lives of the two on the battlefield, Guinevere and the faerie Finn were completely unaware of their surroundings, growing fiercer in their battle.

The intensity of their combat increased when they suddenly saw the earthy-yellow glow emanating from each other's bodies.

[You received the buff "Unmovable as a Mountain" from General Nocknare]

[Unmovable as a Mountain: Your endurance and self-healing speed have increased, granting you a "Great Defense Boost" status.]

This was the message Guinevere received, while Finn, although unable to see the specifics of the buff, being Nocknare's most powerful officer, understood what the yellow glow represented.

Now, if they had any hesitation before, they had none left.

Sword light and spear shadows entangled, with blood and sweat flying in all directions. Their battle intent became even fiercer.

As Guinevere's injuries mounted, he showed no sign of slowing down, growing even more determined. On the other hand, Finn, as his wounds increased, began to slow in his attacks. What was once a one-sided fight gradually began to even out.

Despite this, Finn had accumulated far more injuries on Guinevere than Guinevere had on him when Finn initially had the advantage.

At this point, the battle had turned into a protracted tug-of-war. The question was whether Guinevere would fall first due to his severe wounds, or if Finn's condition would deteriorate and allow Guinevere to turn the tide and claim victory.

After all, a true warrior is one who stands until the end.

The answer arrived soon enough.

In their final clash, Guinevere and Finn were both thrown backward by the force of their weapons' collision. Their blood-soaked swords and spears flew from their hands.

This time, neither of them managed to maintain their balance. Both fell to the ground, their already battered bodies spilling even more blood.

The once fiercely contested arena fell into brief silence.

After a few seconds of this silence, Nocknare's voice shattered it.

"Healers! Healers! Where are the faeries skilled in healing miracles? Hurry and treat them!"

She called out loudly, urging the faeries responsible for healing to tend to the two fighters.

However, her actions were halted by Aiken.

"My lady," Aiken said, looking directly at her, his voice filled with unprecedented seriousness, "Please wait. Their victory has not yet been decided."

"What are you talking about? Can't you see they're both heavily injured?" Nocknare exclaimed, eyes wide. "Does this so-called victory matter more than their lives?"

"Yes," Aiken nodded seriously, his expression as solemn as a priest's. "You see, my lady, you are not a warrior, so you may not understand."

"Sometimes, for a warrior, victory and defeat are everything."

"This...," Nocknare hesitated, feeling a stir in her heart.

So this is how it is? Men... Are they really such clumsy creatures?

She turned again to look at the two fallen figures on the battlefield, murmuring to herself,

"So... this is... men's romance?"

"…You... don't listen... to him... blabbering... hurry... get the healing faeries... help me..."

At that moment, a faint voice from the arena caught Nocknare's attention. It was Finn, his voice weak but still audible. He raised his hands as if surrendering, muttering,

"This is so weird... I've been wondering... why hasn't anyone come... to pull us apart... after all this time?"

"What could I do... he's been fighting so hard... I couldn't even call for help... I was afraid that the moment I did... he'd just stab me with a sword... I was so desperate..."

"Anyway... I guess... I've won, right...?"

With his last strength, Finn tried to raise his head, but upon seeing Guinevere, who had silently risen and was leaning on his sword, looking like he could fight for another few hundred rounds, Finn resigned himself and let go, laying down peacefully.

"Alright... I lost... I admit it... A real man doesn't fight a madman... I surrender... Where are the healing faeries... help..."

Afterward, Finn was quickly carried away by the approaching healers. Before he left, he shot Aiken a furious look and muttered, "I won't forget this...", then closed his eyes and passed out peacefully.

Nocknare slowly turned her head and looked at Aiken, who was now awkwardly counting ants on the ground.

"Is this what you meant by... men's romance?"

"Well..." Aiken averted his gaze, feeling a bit embarrassed and nervously looking around. "Sometimes, people define romance differently... But, instead of this, I think we should focus on getting the healers to treat Commander Guinevere, don't you think?"

"Oh right!" Nocknare slapped her forehead and immediately turned her attention to Guinevere, who had gotten up again. However, just as the healers approached him, he pushed them away.

"Not... yet..."

Guinevere steadied his pounding heart, gripping his sword tightly. He walked a few slow steps forward, then looked around, taking a deep breath before shouting loudly.

"Who else is there?!"

"Come on! Anyone with guts, get up here! Let's fight!"

This time, when he looked around, the faerie soldiers did not remain silent like before.

Of course, it wasn't because Guinevere looked weak that they suddenly wanted to fight him. After all, the soldiers under Nocknare's command were not like the shameful ones from the Southern Faeries, especially those from the Wind Clan.

"Brilliant! Our Commander is the best!"

With a cheer from the faerie Dilumudo, a wave of applause and cheers spread across the battlefield, drowning Guinevere in the sound.

Although they were annoyed by his constant shouting, during the battle, his strength, skill, and unmatched perseverance had earned him the admiration of every soldier present.

"My lady, you see, this is what I meant by men's romance," Aiken said, looking at the cheering battlefield. "Finn didn't understand it earlier, but that just means he isn't quite a man yet. Look at our Guinevere, how manly he is!"

Looking at Guinevere, Aiken's voice was filled with respect.

"I've never seen anyone grow stronger in every battle like him. He looks so full of energy now, maybe he could fight another round."

"Mm..." Nocknare, reminded by Aiken's words, stroked her chin thoughtfully, then suddenly asked, "By the way, Aiken, you've been serving the King's Clan since the Mab era... So, you must know a lot about the events from that time, right?"

"That's true, I've been serving the King's Clan for over 1800 years," Aiken nodded. "Why do you ask, my lady?"

"Well, before today, who had the most victories in our Northern Faerie's training battles?" Nocknare asked.

"Hmm... If we're talking about the ones I've personally witnessed, the faerie with the most victories was Captain Finn, who was just carried away by the healers." Aiken thought for a moment and answered, "But now, after today, that record belongs to Guinevere."

"Oh?" Nocknare's eyes lit up. "So, Guinevere has just made an unprecedented achievement?"

"Well... not exactly," Aiken shook his head. "I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but according to the stories passed down by my elders, there was another man who achieved the same feat as Guinevere."

"Really? Who was it?" Nocknare asked, surprised.

"It was the man known as the strongest human knight in Britain's history, the one whom Queen Mab was most fond of—the human, Yusse of Lentiniën."

Aiken explained, "It is said that this knight won Queen Mab's heart by defeating all the faeries during a training match here in the North Faerie Clan, achieving a nine-game winning streak, a record that no human had ever reached, and thus he caught the eye of Queen Mab."

"Oh, I see..."

Hearing this, Nocknare nodded thoughtfully. "No wonder he was so admired. But my Guinevere... his greatness is no less than Yusse's..."

She paused for a moment, then her eyes gleamed, and she suddenly changed her tone.

"No, I should say, Guinevere must be even more outstanding than Yusse."

With that, a flame of ambition quietly burned in her eyes.

"Because I will do what Mab could not, achieving feats that Mab could never reach... So the man I choose will naturally be a warrior far greater than the one Mab favored!"

"Aiken!"

At this, Nocknare suddenly turned to her old deputy.

"Let's give Guinevere another victory, and let him achieve an unprecedented ten-game winning streak!"

"Huh?" Aiken was momentarily stunned, then shook his head.

"This... might be a bit difficult, my lady. After all, you know, in our Northern Faerie's training battles, there's an unwritten rule that after each victory, the next faerie to step up must not be weaker than the one previously defeated... but Finn was already our strongest soldier. If he loses, who can we find to challenge him?"

"Here's one!" Nocknare looked at Aiken with a mischievous smile.

"I remember you said you were the strongest faerie warrior several hundred years ago, right?"

"Well... I prefer not to brag about the past," Aiken replied. "Since your birth, I've dedicated myself to assisting you and haven't fought in a long time. If you ask me to fight now, I'm not sure if I can handle it."

"Even better!" Nocknare smiled broadly, slapping Aiken on the shoulder. "Your strength and rank are both above Finn's, and you haven't fought in hundreds of years. You should be the one to challenge Guinevere for his last match, wouldn't that be perfect?"

"Huh?"

Aiken looked at Guinevere, who was covered in blood but still exuding an aura of strength, then turned to Nocknare, unsure.

"I fight Guinevere?"

"Really...?"


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.