My Chinese ancestors

Chapter 657 Arthur's Ambition

The plane trees on the street turned yellow due to the autumn wind.

In the breeze, the palm-sized sycamore leaves swayed, broke away from the branches, floated to the street, and fell quietly to the ground.

The weather is still warm.

On the long city wall, buckets of water were poured on the bricks. Soldiers and laborers knelt on the ground with worn rags, wiping away yesterday's bloodstains.

The patrolling soldiers occasionally stopped and looked into the distance, and vaguely saw the scouts and light cavalry of the Seres passing by across the plains.

There were also scouts from their own side who came back covered in blood, and entered the city gate escorted by the light cavalry of the Holy Light and Thunder Legions outside the city.

The scout looked dejected. After taking a sip of water, he rode across the street.

At this time, the streets and alleys in the city no longer have the bustle of the past, and the goods piled under the eaves of the houses on the street are covered with dust.

Occasionally there were the innocent voices of children, but they were quickly scolded by the adults at home. The civilians who had experienced stones being thrown on the streets, even though there was no war at the moment, were still hiding in fear at home or huddled upstairs, with only a pair of numb eyes staring at a blood-covered scout passing by their sight.

Then we followed the wide gravel-paved avenue and entered the towering and majestic imperial palace in the distance.

"How is Lancelot?"

Between the statues and fountain gardens, a tall figure walked over with several servants, accompanied by the wise knight Gawain, the mentor Merlin, and several servants.

When Lancelot was sent back yesterday, he knew that his life was not in danger for the time being, so he did not stay there. Instead, he waited until this morning to complete the defense of the city, the conscription of civilians in the city, and the distribution of supplies, and then he took Gawain and Merlin to visit the injured.

"He was sent back in time, and he should still be in a coma at this time." Merlin said quietly, "It's a pity that Kai didn't have a chance to come back."

"Once we have defeated the Seris, I will gather the dead knights back to my side!"

The most legendary ability of King Arthur is that he can bring back dead knights infinitely, but the constant deaths of his men in battle also annoys him.

Until today, he was not in a good mood.

"Merlin, my mentor and dear friend, what do you think the people of Ceres are doing since they withdrew their troops yesterday and have not made any moves until today?"

"The plans of the Ceres people are ever-changing, but their only goal is to capture the city of Nongma." Merlin knew that Arthur had been feeling rather irritable recently, so he tried his best to use a caring tone to enlighten him.

"My king, we just need to guard the city walls and prevent the Seris from crossing here and joining up with another Seris army in the west. Time will help us defeat all enemies."

King Arthur nodded, and as he took a step forward, the bottom edge of his robe swayed slightly with his steps.

Along the way, we passed the place where Lancelot was recuperating from his injuries. In addition to talking about defending the city, he also asked about another captured practitioner.

"That man eats well and sleeps well, he doesn't look like a prisoner." This matter has always been handled by Merlin himself, especially the national teacher of Dongfang Daxia. After escaping that day, he did everything himself and lived next door to the prisoners every day.

"Haha, as a sacrifice, let him eat well and sleep well."

Arthur laughed and walked into the building in front of him. There was a red carpet inside, a long table, eight chairs, a sideboard, and a fireplace against the walls on both sides.

At first glance, it doesn't look like the place where a high-ranking knight lives.

On the contrary, it is not much different from the furnishings in ordinary people's homes, and it looks practical and warm.

At this time, the servants in the hall, seeing King Arthur coming in, retreated to the sides, lowered their heads, and looked at the shoes of several people in their peripheral vision. Only when they passed in front of them and entered the bedroom on the right did they dare to stand up.

In the exquisite and elegant bedroom, Lancelot had already learned from his servants that the emperor was coming to visit him. Even though he was unable to move, he still wanted to get up and salute.

He tried several times but couldn't even lift his arms, so he asked the attendant next to him to help him sit on the head of the bed. "My respected Knight of Judgment, don't try to show off at this time!"

Before Lancelot could sit up, a majestic and familiar voice came first. Arthur walked into the room, followed by Merlin and Gawain.

Gawain, who was standing on the right side at the back, came in and smiled at Lancelot who was lying on the bed. He was obviously happy to see that his old friend did not die on the city wall.

"Meet my king!"

Lancelot spoke weakly and was about to sit up with the help of his servant, but was pushed back by Arthur who came over.

"If you're not feeling well, just lie down and rest."

Gawain waved to the servant standing at the head of the bed, asking him to leave quickly. Just as the servant left and closed the door, Arthur turned around, sat on the edge of the bed, raised his hand and patted Lancelot's bed twice.

"You don't have to do that on the city wall. You are my Knight Commander and my arm. If you die in battle at this juncture, it will be a huge loss to me and a great sorrow in my heart."

"But... I won't do that..." Lancelot was a little excited. He moved his lips and said anxiously, "The siege towers of the Seres... will be close to the city walls... The city walls will be connected to the ground, and Nongma City will soon be lost!"

"I know your concerns, but I didn't say you did anything wrong!"

Arthur withdrew his hand and sighed: "So, I sent Kai to lead two thousand cavalrymen to charge out of the city gate and destroy the siege towers of the Seres."

Speaking of the dead knight, Lancelot and Arthur fell silent one after another.

Knowing that he would die, he still left the city without hesitation. Such courage and responsibility exceeded most people, including the Twelve Knights.

……

The running scouts were stopped. When the guardian knight Boss heard what they said, his face changed and he ran towards the back garden, dragging his heavy armor.

……

The bedroom was quiet, with bright candlelight flickering on the closet in the distance.

The person sitting on the bed continued speaking.

"Lancelot, you are my most capable knight. You are not my tool. No one is. I need you all to be whole and sound."

The velvet bed groaned. Arthur looked at the open window and moved. "But war inevitably involves sacrifices. I am also very sad about Kai's departure, but as an emperor, I cannot show it. I can only wait until the Celis people are defeated and then revive Kai and Gareth."

He suddenly raised his arm and slammed it hard on the edge of the bed with his backhand. There was a bang, and his tall figure slowly stood up.

"Together we crossed the sea, walked across the icy lakes, galloped across the barren desert, fought countless barbarians and Romans, and we all won in the end. Time buried us, and now I have a chance to start over. I want to rewrite our legend here... Let each of you become the king of these lands, and I will be your emperor—"

As the words fell, heavy footsteps were heard outside and a burly figure pushed the door open with a bang.

Arthur, Merlin, Gawain in the room, and Lancelot on the bed also turned their heads to look at the door.

Over there, the guardian knight Boss had a serious expression on his face.

"My king... there is something strange about the Seris people... two thousand corpses were piled up by them, neither buried nor burned."

At the same time, on the plain west of Nongma City, scouts carrying beacon signals rushed to Nongma City at the fastest speed.

(End of this chapter)