Chapter 35: The Nobles Of The Six Southern Territories Are Acting Up
The next morning, Artoria was already awake.
She had initially intended to put on her armor and fulfill her guard duties, but Noah was holding her too tightly, and she didn't want to disturb his sleep, so she remained there watching him.
Noah released her after waking up.
Afterward, Artoria put on her armor nearby, took up her sword, bowed to Noah, and left.
Meanwhile, Noah was experiencing everything the will of Britain was granting him. Only now did he realize what that feeling of being able to control everything, mentioned in previous simulations, truly meant.
It felt as though he had two bodies.
One was his own physical form, and the other was the entire island of Britain.
Just as he could move his hands or feet at will, the island of Britain responded to Noah in the same way.
However, manipulating Britain was different from controlling a human body. While many things on the island were under his command, he couldn't make Britain pick up and run away.
Of course.
If it were possible to run, he might have already done so in the simulations—at least to race the Titan a couple of laps before fighting.
This power gave Noah a clearer vision of the changes he needed to make to Britain over the coming year.
Yet it also made him acutely aware that even with such power and a Britain at its peak—with Vortigern, Merlin, Morgan, the Knights of the Round Table, and even Mary likely lending a hand—such a force was still no match for that Titan.
"Though it might not be my place to say, truly worthy of the Vanguard of the Umbral Star..."
At this thought, Noah frowned.
To be honest, he hadn't known that completing Vortigern's storyline would conclude the volume; otherwise, he would have tried to contact Rome to see if they had any methods to defeat the Titan.
His last simulation was mainly to see if he could avoid the Titan altogether.
To determine whether the Titan's target was Rome alone or if it intended to attack both.
After all, while the Vanguard of the Umbral Star was powerful, it typically ended after destroying one civilization, or something should have intervened to stop it afterward.
But clearly, for reasons unknown to Noah, neither Gaia nor Alaya took any action, allowing it to destroy Rome and even cross the sea to land in Britain.
"Avoidance is out of the question, so I need a different approach."
With his strategy set, Noah decided to put these thoughts aside for now. He jumped out of bed, stretched, and, leveraging his identity as the will of Britain, directly contacted the White Dragon still slumbering in the far north of the island.
Vortigern, I need to discuss something with you. I'll be there shortly.
Having already gauged Vortigern's attitude through simulations, Noah now acted with much more decisiveness.
In short: First, bring the White Knight into position, then retrieve Mary, followed by Morgan, Scáthach...
As for promoting alchemy equipment, that couldn't be rushed. A year would be barely enough to roll out the main components.
However, the task of restoring these individuals to their positions could now proceed directly.
At this thought, Noah couldn't suppress a smile.
"...I just hope it doesn't startle them too much."
...
As Morgan journeyed toward Camelot.
Initially released from exile and regaining control over the Island Power, Morgan's mood had improved considerably, and her trust in Noah had deepened.
Yet, the buoyant spirits she had felt upon regaining her freedom were gradually eroded by the sights and sounds she encountered along the way.
She had long anticipated that although Noah had drawn the Sword in the Stone and ascended as the Chosen King, not only would people from other territories be resistant, but even the nobles of Camelot were likely to oppose him.
The knights and nobles of Camelot posed one problem.
Moreover, the other territories were not easily managed.
The Northern Six Territories, which valued martial prowess, were relatively straightforward—if Noah could win over Camelot's knights, demonstrating strength would likely secure their allegiance.
But the Southern Six Territories were different...
The Southern Six Territories had a larger number of nobles.
These nobles were not as inclined toward martial strength, making them more troublesome to handle.
Having known Noah for a long time, Morgan understood him well.
Noah was indeed not as rigid as those foolish knights, but compared to schemes and stratagems, he undeniably preferred to resolve issues through force.
So, placing herself in the role of Noah's advisor, Morgan anticipated that the problems of the Southern Six Territories would largely fall to her. Thus, on her journey from exile to Camelot, she took her time, deliberately detouring through the Southern Six Territories.
Her intention was to investigate the situation there in advance.
Even with prior expectations, what Morgan witnessed and heard along the way left her deeply unsettled.
She had foreseen that the Southern Six Territories might face significant turmoil following King Uther's death, but she had not expected that some nobles would begin collaborating with the Saxon Barbarians...
Some nobles even sold weapons and armor to the Saxon Barbarians, while others, after accepting bribes, secretly allowed the barbarians to cross the border...
No wonder, even in exile, Morgan had often heard Noah lament how difficult it was for the Southern Six Territories to resist the Saxon Barbarians, frequently requiring reinforcements from the Northern Six Territories and Camelot to repel invasions.
Morgan had initially assumed this was due to Vortigern.
But now, it was clear the situation differed from what she had imagined.
Worse still, a considerable number of nobles in the Southern Six Territories were hedging their bets, even attempting to curry favor with that madman Vortigern!
They seemed convinced that this would spare them if Vortigern emerged victorious, and that King Arthur, unwilling to push them into Vortigern's camp, would tacitly allow it even if aware.
At this thought, a cold glint flashed across Morgan's face.
She was almost tempted to take action right then and there.
But she also knew it was impossible to gather all those nobles and simply kill them... So she now quickened her pace toward Camelot, planning to discuss this issue with Noah after arriving and deal with those fellows then.
As for truly driving these people to Vortigern's side?
This was the one point Morgan had never worried about.
After all, she knew very clearly that what Vortigern wanted to save was only the island, and solely the island. For this goal, the White Dragon would even sacrifice himself. So if they sought refuge with that fellow... Hah, then there wouldn't even be any need to take action herself!
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