Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

So infuriating! Once she gathered all nine tails, she would definitely take revenge!

Under the threat of the Sword of Inquiry, Tamamo-no-Mae felt her heart turn utterly cold.

Some time later.

Merlin, who had fled in panic earlier, crept back once more.

"Damn incubus, my ass hurts!" Tamamo-no-Mae groaned in despair.

"Headmistress, your tail got taken to make a fox scarf, so it shouldn't hurt anymore."

Merlin attempted to console her.

A dignified nine-tailed fox reduced to this state—it was truly pitiful.

In comparison, she had merely been doused with the Drowning Spring of the Maiden, suffering no excruciating pain.

Hum~

A surge of magical energy slowly gathered.

Merlin was dumbfounded when she saw the nine-tailed fox, now with only three tails, actually manifest two more.

Five tails in total!

However.

Tamamo-no-Mae calmly pressed the extra two tails back in, continuing to feign having only three.

Tails were her very essence—merely severing external manifestations couldn't affect her core.

In fact, it had allowed her to prematurely manifest the fifth tail.

Gritting her teeth, she spat, "Heh, I swear I'll have my revenge!"

"Good, that's the spirit!"

Merlin gave her a thumbs-up.

This was exactly the kind of teammate she had chosen!

Fuyuki Grand Hotel.

The British contingent frowned as they gazed into the distance.

A faint ripple of energy pulsed from afar.

Servants were fighting!

Mordred was utterly astonished. "Who the hell is fighting?"

This was China, home to countless Heroic Spirits. Who would dare cause trouble here?

And Qin Shi Huang had only just left.

Did they really think the Emperor was in a forgiving mood?

"There was an Assassin."

Artoria's brow furrowed slightly.

The Assassin's presence had flared abruptly, only to vanish in an instant.

No—not vanish. It had been completely erased!

On this peaceful, quiet night, a Servant had perished!

Not just the Assassin.

She faintly sensed another familiar divine presence.

It must be Illya fully establishing a contract with Heracles, enabling her to summon that demigod hero.

A complete demigod hero would elevate the little magus loli to the pinnacle of the world's power pyramid.

Beyond that, there was an extremely obscure fluctuation, nearly imperceptible.

It seemed someone had slain the Assassin.

Fuyuki City was growing increasingly dangerous.

As she pondered these thoughts,

Mordred suddenly spoke up: "Father, China has been avoiding discussions with us. We need to try a different approach."

Britain's visit to China was precisely to seek cooperation and resolve their domestic economic crisis.

The mounting pressure day by day made it impossible for them to return empty-handed.

At the very least, they needed to secure major deals in finance, energy, and civil affairs before going back.

But now,

After watching Alaya's The First Emperor of All Ages exposé video, King Arthur and Qin Shi Huang clashed head-on, ending their talks in discord.

The other party even rushed back overnight to Xianyang, China, effectively shutting Britain out.

Only minor officials incapable of decision-making were left to deal with them.

"Oh? What are you suggesting?" Artoria's saintly blue eyes fixed on her.

Could this rebellious knight have some brilliant plan to break the deadlock?

"It's simple—marriage alliance!"

Mordred lifted her chin slightly, meeting her gaze calmly. "This is the Age of Heroic Spirits. Every Heroic Spirit is a supreme strategic weapon. A marriage alliance could solve all our problems!"

???

Sir Gawain, the Sun Knight's head filled with question marks.

In Chinese history, "marriage alliance" referred to the Central Plains dynasties marrying off princesses to foreign tribes to maintain peace.

Now, it was Britain seeking China's help.

Meaning Britain would have to offer a princess in marriage!

Britain's only princess and prince was—

Mordred!

And Mordred would never consider Qin Shi Huang, which meant her target could only be that newly appointed Imperial Teacher!

Good grief, you're trying to stir up trouble again, aren't you?

"Once, our Britain shone with unparalleled glory, but that era has long passed. Seeing Father treated coldly by China, sitting silently in that chair..."

Under the gaze of all Britain's representatives, Mordred declared righteously, "At that moment, I thought—if I could save Britain, I would willingly sacrifice everything."

"Now, I must consider whether this is our only chance. I believe Britain's former dominance was largely due to Father's efforts."

"But today, to restore Britain's glory—we must answer the call!"

She stood tall, radiating a spirit of selfless devotion to Britain.

Such spirit could move heaven and earth, inspire—

Bullshit!

Before the King could even draw her lance, Gawain was already tempted to unsheathe his Excalibur Galatine and carry out righteous justice.

How could I, the radiant and just Sun Knight, have a sister like you?

Why must you compete with our King for a man?

After watching the Perfect King video,

Gawain knew full well that Mordred was merely a tool created by his mother Morgan to kill King Arthur.

Her birth stemmed from Morgan's direct manipulation, King Arthur's blood, the vast magical energy of Britain's White Dragon, and—

A mysterious force from another time and space.

It was the mystical power Morgan extracted from Nameless, derived from his journey through human history, and bestowed upon Mordred to stand against King Arthur.

Alas,

Under King Arthur's overwhelming charisma, not only did little Mordred defect, but even he turned coat, becoming a fervent royal devotee.

Yet Mordred became a twisted heir, enacting a tragic father-child conflict during the Battle of Camlann...

These were all events of the distant past.

Though Nameless and Mordred shared no blood ties, they were bound by countless threads of gratitude.

Now, little Mordred actually wanted to repay this debt through marriage!

Truly the Knight of Treachery, effortlessly achieving what we wouldn't even dare imagine!

Gawain cautiously glanced at our King from the corner of his eye, only to find her maintaining perfect composure.

That peerlessly charismatic face showed not a trace of anger throughout.

Damn, this was clearly the calm before the storm!

Under Gawain's nervous anticipation and Mordred's unyielding gaze,

Artoria's saintly blue eyes remained unperturbed as she softly murmured, "A political marriage then..."

Yet in her mind flashed the ending scene from The Perfect King video.

Back then, when Bedivere failed to return the sword, what exactly happened to her afterwards?

The events following that might very well explain why Nameless never came to see her again!

Hum~

The holy spear she had previously put away materialized in her hand once more, brimming with boundless might.

Its name was—

[The Lance that Shines to the End of the World: Rhongomyniad]

Like the Divine Sea-Subduing Needle Nameless used to seal the Celestial Court gods in the First Emperor of All Ages video, this was the anchor that stabilized the planet beneath their feet.

Yet it possessed a powerful corrupting force, capable of eroding humans into cold, emotionless deities.

After the Battle of Camlann, Artoria had given [Avalon] to Nameless before succumbing to her mortal wounds.

She had intended for Bedivere to return the sword, but in the end, it was never returned.

When Bedivere returned for the third time, she had already vanished.

This suggested she might have been corrupted by the holy spear, becoming an undead deity walking the earth!

"Huh???"

Mordred instantly retreated several steps.

Pulling out the child-stabbing spear again?

Yet as she watched warily, the King made no move to attack, instead appearing lost in thought.

What was going on?

Mordred followed her gaze out the window.

BOOM!

A brilliant pillar of light descended from the heavens, striking violently toward the eastern sea.

Like apocalyptic divine retribution, it brimmed with annihilating power.

The ocean itself was vaporized, creating a void reaching down to the thousand-meter-deep seabed!

Mordred stared dumbfounded.

This was China's Celestial Court defense system—who could it possibly be targeting?

Were they declaring war on the States?

Which side should we take?

***

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