The Undying Death Knight failed to achieve the ending of the Heroic Spirit

"They are all a bunch of opportunistic spineless people."

Menechel curled his lips and commented disdainfully.

"But the country cannot function without them." Altria was optimistic.

Menechel looked at Altria in surprise, as if it was hard to imagine that she could say such words.

And Altria's eyes were very calm: "Although Lancer is an enemy, she also taught me a lot."

She, who because of her rationality ended up being alone and eventually betrayed and died, was like a lamp, making the originally dim road ahead clearer.

However, she, and the future like that...

"Wang Jian, you still can't pull it out?" Menasher suddenly asked.

"Yeah." The tuft of golden hair on Altria's head fell down listlessly as she nodded.

"Then leave Morgan's affairs to me."

All parts of Britain were celebrating the arrival of the royal army with great enthusiasm, except for one place - the Stark region.

No news was sent back from the Toren City, which was the core center of Stark. Even the scouts sent out did not return.

——There is probably no one alive there.

Menechel thought about what Kai had said.

Different from the situation he had encountered where he was forced to abandon the city by Saber, in Kai's description, the city of Tolen was breached almost as soon as the enemy was discovered. There was only white fog, and then everyone in the city, including Kai himself, was killed.

"But your body..."

"Don't worry, I'm still a Servant now."

Although Menachere still spoke confidently, Altria was still worried.

The white hair was not mixed with black hair, but a bunch of withered and dull hair stuck together. Just looking at it made her heart wrenched.

This was the Menachere she had never seen before. This was the man at his weakest during his last few years of life, recuperating alone in the North.

"This is the nature of a Servant like me. After using my Noble Phantasm, my body will enter the final period of its life." He smiled indifferently: "On the contrary, the 'Servant I' has also matured. Now I am like having two brains that can think about problems more thoroughly."

"Moreover, my fighting ability has basically not diminished. Neither Kai nor Morgan were my opponents when they were alive, let alone now. I will set out tomorrow and should be back before dawn the day after tomorrow."

Menechel spoke to Artoria, showing that his body had almost recovered, but the more he did so, the more uneasiness Artoria felt. Even after Menechel left, the uneasiness did not subside.

The more confidently Menechel spoke, the more uneasy Altria became.

He had never shown even a hint of weakness in front of her. Even when he died in her arms, he was extremely proud, with his beautiful and energetic silver hair raised, so much so that others and she forgot that he also had a weak side.

She recalled that in the last year, Menechel wrote to her so frequently that he wrote to her every month. Were those seemingly plain and trivial letters, those letters about his apprentice (Mordred) also a signal? He was drowning in the water of suffering and raised his hands to ask her for help, but she was so far away from him that in her eyes, the act of asking for help was just a common waving goodbye.

She took out the holy sword, which was now half-buried in the stone. Altria took a deep breath, closed her eyes and recalled the feeling of pulling out the King's Sword for the first time. As she exerted her strength, the sword trembled slightly, and the exposed sword was covered with a layer of light gold. However, the gold could not penetrate the stone sheath.

Altria gritted her teeth, and her hand holding the sword trembled from the force.

However, the holy sword still only emitted a dim fluorescence and no longer changed.

"Don't try again."

Merlin's voice sounded, and the hazy smoke outlined his vague face.

"You can't pull it out. You are not King Arthur now."

Even though she couldn't see the look in their eyes, the gaze in them still hurt Altria's heart.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I...I don't know..."

——"As long as you (I) am the king, such a future is inevitable. So I came here to change such a future."

Even though she didn't want to admit it, Lancer's words still left her with a grudge.

"No need to apologize, Altria. This isn't your fault."

"We think you are the savior and put all our hopes on your shoulders. These are not your responsibilities."

"This time, please follow your inner guidance."

Seeing that Altria was still hesitating, Merlin added: "You have already felt it, right? Menechel was just saying goodbye to you."

"Whether he wins or not, he will not let himself become a useless person and drag you down."

"If you retreat here, you will never be able to return, whether it's [Altria] or [King Arthur]."

——"It's ridiculous, isn't it? The most famous and strongest knight king was killed by a little girl. I saw the flame of rebellion in Mordred's eyes, but I still let it burn."

What came to my ears were Lancer's self-deprecating words.

——"That throne was a prison made of his blood and life. At the moment of death, what I felt was liberation."

His lips were pursed into a line, and his hand gripping the holy sword loosened. Will I become like that?

The confusion dissipated.

She stood up, and Merlin touched the scabbard, and the dull holy sword slid out of the stone scabbard.

Artoria grabbed the holy sword, and the last light on the sword dimmed.

"Just guard the rear, leave it to me."

……

As the sky brightened, the city gates opened.

One can vaguely see the scorched earth traces left over from yesterday's battle, the golden weapons and iron horses, and the murderous atmosphere are blown towards this side by the wind.

The armor of the army in the distance was of different colors, and their positions were too loose and messy. This was an expeditionary force that was put together temporarily. Some of the knights even came from areas outside Camelot.

Will we really win?

Will do,

Of this alone Menechel had no doubt.

Several knights on both sides of the city gate greeted Menechel who walked out of the city. With his eyesight, he could see that in the army in the distance, there were crowds of people looking over here, as if they were still confirming the people who were leading them on the expedition.

There was no expression on his face.

The next moment, a war horse came out of the city gate behind him, and the war horse quickly followed and came to Menechel's side.

But no one said anything.

Because the one riding the warhorse is a golden-haired knight wearing a crown and gorgeous armor.

The Knight King, Altria.

The warhorse took a few quick steps and then kept walking at the same speed as Menechel.

Menechel couldn't help but glance at the man on the horse.

It was clearly agreed that he would lead the troops, but last night, Altria suddenly changed her mind.

She said, "Even without the King's Sword, I am superior to most knights. I am not a cowardly king who hides in the back."

He wanted to stop her, but Altria silenced him with just one sentence.

"If you lose, then the rest of us won't be able to turn the tables. So, it's better to concentrate our forces and launch a general attack from the beginning."

When the enemy is in the open and we are in the dark - especially when the enemy is a corpse that does not need to eat or sleep, fighting a protracted war is not a good option. The long-term strategy is to gather all our strength and launch a lightning-fast general offensive.

But it is extremely difficult to find a body in the vast Stark area.

Advancing in two directions, Menechel and Altria each led a group of knights and drove towards the central Toruń Square City from two directions.

The exchange of information between the two sides in the snow-capped mountains was transmitted through the causal line between Fujimaru Ritsuka and Minachell.

At this time, the girl was sitting behind Altria, wearing thick armor, but it couldn't hide her excited eyes.

This is the best option, but the risk is also very high. If you fail, there is no chance of a comeback.

"Let's go." Artoria, also wearing a head armor, said, "Next, it's the battle to restore Camelot."

I feel like it's written in a weird way, but I can't change it. This makes me feel weird, probably because I can't write about pre-war mobilization.

Chapter 387: Europa Decisive Battle Advances on Two Fronts

The further north we traveled, the colder the temperature became. Halfway through the journey, the dark gray frozen soil under our feet was covered with a thin layer of snow.

When I looked up, the sun was no longer visible. Thick and gloomy black clouds were pressing on the top of the mountain, whose shape could be vaguely discerned. Fine snow fell from the clouds, making every step difficult.

After taking a few more steps forward, the steep cliffs on both sides pressed towards the narrow path in the middle, and the blue-gray rocks and the snow piled on the rocks that seemed to never melt appeared in front of Menachel.

The scouts who were sent out to explore the way came back one after another. Menechel sat in the center of the camp. He did not need to rest, but his soldiers and horses were already feeling tired.

The bonfire lit by magic temporarily dispelled the cold. Menechel looked at the bonfire, his brows slightly furrowed as if he was worried.

With the sound of light footsteps, a knight wearing a large coat over his armor trotted to Menechel's side.

"Grand Duke, the Europa Mountains are ahead."

Europa Mountains.

He shook his body as if he felt cold, shaking off the fallen snow that had landed on his body.

The Northern Expedition army began to separate from Lihe City. The knights led by Artoria, mainly cavalry, would cross the Toran River and pass through the city of Bilú, while Menechel's army would cross the Europa Mountains and sweep the small towns and fortresses along the way from the east. The two routes would advance simultaneously to sweep away Morgan and other frozen corpse remnants hiding in the Stark area. Eventually, the two sides would meet in the holy city of Toruń in the north.

The Europa Mountains are snow-capped mountains surrounded by cold air currents and dark clouds all year round. The long and deep mountain streams block the wind and snow, but also block the light source. Even if there are local people from the north leading the way, it is very easy to get lost in the dark and cold mountains if you are not careful, and become one of the thousands of frozen corpses.

"Have you spotted any enemies?"

he asked.

"No. Until the middle, the scouts didn't find even a frozen corpse along the way. It was as if they disappeared out of thin air. Later on, we were unable to investigate due to heavy snow and wind." The person who reported to him was a knight from the North, who seemed to be Ezequiel's deputy.

“Not even one…”

Menechel's eyes moved. Even the oldest man in the North couldn't tell how many people had disappeared in the Europa Mountains, but now those bodies that were almost coexisting with the snowfield suddenly disappeared.

Is it to gather strength to counterattack the Southland? Or is it to hide in the vast snowy land and fight with Camelot forever?

"Could it be that they went to the king's side and prepared to defeat them one by one?"

The black-armored knight put forward his own opinion.

Camelot's Northern Expedition was divided into two groups and advanced simultaneously. No matter which side Morgan chose to attack, the other side could quickly approach and double-team him.

Menichel wasn't sure, but judging from the fighting power displayed by Morgan, no matter which side he attacked, he would not be able to achieve complete victory, and at most he would be in a stalemate.

With the help of the causal line, Menechel conveyed his situation to Artoria.

……

In the city of Bi Lu.

After a thorough sweep and exploration, it was found that there was no sign of living people here. When Artoria led her knights to the fortress, there were no human bodies or even livestock left in the city of Bilū. Only cold and solemn buildings were left in the huge city, and the frosted city gates creaked in the wind.

After receiving the information, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at Altria with some concern, and her heartbeat kept accelerating because of nervousness.

After a brief silence, Artoria called for the messenger knight.

"Rest in the city tonight."

“We must be prepared to fight at any time.”

The messenger knight was quite surprised when he heard the order, because it was just past noon, and if he hurried, it would be entirely possible to reach the next fortress.

But even though he was puzzled, he still obediently retreated.

Fujimaru Ritsuka was also a little confused, but Da Vinci smiled knowingly: "I see."

"Are you worried that the frozen corpses will take advantage of the situation?"

Compared to Menechel's route, Artoria's route controls the main road leading to the southern border. If the retreat is cut off and they lose their supplies, their chances of winning against the frozen corpses that do not need food and are not afraid of the cold will be better than zero.

If you rush forward in pursuit of progress, it would be good if you can reach the next city before sunset and the weather turns cold. However, if you cannot or if you are attacked by frozen corpses in the city on the way, you will most likely be defeated.

And sure enough, that night, along with the howling of the cold wind, the sharp shouts of the Night Watch Knights were heard:

"There is an enemy attack!"

Frozen corpse.

The mountains were filled with frozen corpses.

By the time they were discovered, they were less than 400 meters away from the city gate.

The fires in the city suddenly lit up as the night watch knights shouted loud warnings. Artoria, who was not sleepy to begin with, immediately gathered the knights and rushed to the city wall where the frozen corpse was found.