Fate: The Forged Arthur Pendragon

With master-level [Throwing], after receiving Merlin's body reinforcement via 'Second Restriction: Release,' and based on his inherent E-rank Strength, Suya ultimately achieved D-rank Strength, a level usually only attainable by a peak master. This was a power ten times beyond human limits. Without the aid of 'Qi' granted by a class, every action in this extreme state placed an immense burden on Suya's body.

At this moment, Suya felt that the sonic boom punch he'd delivered to Hammond had rendered his entire right arm numb. Even with the protection of his Noble Phantasm, this was still a power beyond his current level. Therefore, he now raised his left hand.

He used his left hand to draw the ceremonial sword from his waist, his right arm dangling uselessly beneath his cloak, trembling uncontrollably. Suya ignored this, his cold gaze fixed on Hammond, who had been sent flying by the sonic boom punch.

Then, he lunged forward, twisting his waist, and swung his left arm back to its maximum extent, releasing it with a whip-like motion, as if cracking a top!

"—Whoosh!"

The ceremonial sword, instantly accelerated to a red-hot state by terrifying brute force, shot out as a streak of crimson light! In the blink of an eye, it caught up to Hammond, who had been punched away. Like a hot knife through butter, it dissolved the last remnants of 'Qi' supporting Hammond. The sword tip entered through his ear, pierced through his brain, and dragged Hammond, still in mid-air, down to earth.

Bang!

It pinned him to the ground.

But! Even so, this peak master-level spearman was still not dead! Like a fish drowning on shore, he gasped, continuously drawing in more air, but expelling less and less. His eyes were glazed over, and everything he had thought and planned—how to escape, how to desperately maintain the army's cohesion, how to use them, how to use this King who had appeared out of nowhere to secure his own survival—all of it, at this moment, turned into a monotonous ringing in his ears. Pinned to the ground by the sword, his head fixed in place, he could only with difficulty and effort keep his one remaining eye wide open, staring north.

Staring at—

The young King, whose savage, enraged expression slowly smoothed out, his noble face becoming serene. Then, with an indifferent expression, he began to walk towards him.

Finally, a silver armored boot covered his vision.

"Circuit, link—"

"Healing, begin!"

The King's clear voice, like that of a bard, soothed the spearman's last, instinctive desire to struggle. He just felt more and more tired, more and more sleepy.

Finally, Hammond couldn't help but think—

The King he faced was so strong, so powerful, so noble, so utterly captivating! At this final moment, he was actually trying to heal him!?

Then, if… if he hadn't selfishly killed those ten knights of the King, would… would everything have been different? Would he have become the King's most loyal knight? Would he have shared the glory of the knights with the King, would he have...

"Gack!"

A sudden sharp pain in his head. Hammond's eyes snapped open. A cold dread rose from his mind! The part of his sympathetic nervous system responsible for perceiving 'pain' suddenly, unexpectedly, became dislocated under the King's healing. Then, a pain a thousand times greater than normal sensations struck him, like someone hammering ten thousand nails, one after another, into his toenails! This was the most merciful grant of death, and also the most absolute punishment!

"Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo—"

Hammond's face, already sunken and distorted, suddenly changed. Tortured by the pain, it twisted into an unrecognizably horrific mess, emitting a broken cry like a goblin with smashed toes.

The entire plain fell silent.

Twenty-seven thousand people stared in shock at the golden-haired young knight standing on Hammond's face.

Until—

Hammond, who had twisted into a ball of agonizing, broken screams, finally died.

Suya raised his left hand and pulled out the ceremonial sword, slightly bent from impacting the skull, from Hammond's head. He sheathed it at his waist.

Then, he looked up at the five thousand cavalry forming a long, serpentine formation and the seventeen thousand light infantry arrayed in phalanxes before him.

With just one glance, the entire army, these twenty-two thousand men, couldn't help but collectively take a step back! Countless routed soldiers looked at Suya, who had so easily killed Hammond, with terror in their eyes. They couldn't even sense the aura of a professional from Suya, yet this seemingly blank slate had so easily killed a peak master-level spearman like Hammond. Previously, the only one who could do that was Philotas, the hero who had been besieging and slaughtering them! In fact, even with a crushing advantage, Philotas had failed to kill Hammond several times.

And now, this King who had come to 'greet' them, he had done it!

Suya exhaled slowly, hiding his two almost numb arms within his blue cloak trimmed with white mink fur. Then, gritting his teeth, relying on his Scammer's class specialty to control his face, which wanted to contort into a grimace of pain, he forced an indifferent expression and slowly walked towards the other routed army.

Clatter, clatter...

His silver armored boots crunched over blood, over grass, over yellow earth.

Until,

Suya arrived before this routed army, before the phalanx of five thousand cavalry.

"—Swoosh!"

Without a single word, without a single gesture, simply by coming before them, he slowly raised his head and swept his indifferent gaze over the faces of the leading row of cavalry.

In the next instant, the faces of that row of cavalry trembled, and they involuntarily retreated to both sides.

Then, the next row of cavalry behind them continued to retreat to both sides, like a tide parting from the center. Row after row of retreating knights paved a clear path for Suya, a path belonging only to the King of Knights! He walked through the tens of thousands as if they were nothing, passing directly through the five thousand men to the center of this routed army.

All along the way, knights dismounted from their stirrups, armored soldiers laid down their shields and sheathed their swords, spearmen stood straight with their poles!

Over seventeen thousand men collectively looked at the golden-haired young knight who slowly walked to the center of the formation. No explanation was needed; simply seeing his bearing on the battlefield, perceiving the aura he exuded in their sight, they understood—

He was the King!

He was the King of Knights of Britannia!

And then, they saw—

The King arrived at the center of the formation, flung back his left cloak, and rested his left palm on the hilts of the two swords at his waist. His cold gaze swept around, then with his clear voice, unique to a King, like that of a bard, he loudly proclaimed:

"Dagonet!"

The moment the words fell,

"Here!"

A tall knight, clad in silver-white plate armor with a small mustache, appeared seemingly out of nowhere and knelt before the King.

"Knight Dagonet—"

"From today forth, you shall, on my behalf, command this army!"

Suya paused, raised his left hand, drew the slightly bent ceremonial sword, and held it flat, touching Dagonet's right shoulder, who was bowed before him.

"Should any defy, strike them down with this sword!"

Seeing this scene, and reflecting on its meaning for himself, Dagonet felt his body tremble as it never had before. His eyes welled up, his nose ached intensely, and even his small mustache quivered uncontrollably.

He could only bow his head deeply.

Then, with the reverence of one holding the body of God, he raised his hands!

Suya withdrew the blade, gripped the hilt with one hand, and placed the sword flat into Dagonet's palms.

Knight Dagonet, at this moment, finally completed the last ceremony left unfinished over ten years ago, pledging his allegiance to his true master!

"At your command!"

Dagonet gripped the hilt, held the longsword upright, and struck his chest with the hilt!

Thud!

"Your knight Dagonet shall, as you wish, lead your army to break through the encirclement, and lead your people back home!"

The over twenty thousand soldiers who witnessed this scene were all shocked, looking at Suya in astonishment.

In a time when no one believed in them, when all their superiors viewed them as mere cannon fodder, as expendable resources, only this King before them said—he would lead them home!

In the next instant,

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

Rustle! Rustle! King! Rustle! Rustle!

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

One by one, knights and soldiers knelt to the ground, striking their chests, offering their highest respect to the benevolent and noble King in the center of the army!

"Thud!"

Amidst the earth-shattering sound of chest armor being struck, ten thousand men followed!