Chapter 68: Colluding With Demonic Beasts—It Might Be Worth A Try
Because of his simulated memories, Noah had a very clear understanding of what was going to happen in the North.
First, the Picts would invade Selkirk Territory.
Then, not long after that war, the North would experience the most terrifying, large-scale magical beast tide in history!
In Noah's simulated memories, his subjugation of the North was mostly a result of him resolving these two incidents. A smaller part was due to the stability gained by offering concessions on refined salt.
But even the concessions on refined salt were only effective because these two events had caused such immense damage to the entire North, allowing him to exploit the weakness.
After resolving these two matters, during the negotiations, the North would have King Pellinore challenge him. As long as he could easily defeat King Pellinore, the Northern Six Kings would be thoroughly convinced of his superiority.
That was how things would proceed normally.
But if these events were to happen for real, then Noah planned to do something extra.
In the simulation where he had chosen the "Will of Britain" trait, the reward he had selected was the trait itself, not the memories.
And with the Will of Britain, Noah, if he so wished, could have his will sweep across the entirety of Britain. He knew the location of every single magical beast on the isle with perfect clarity.
Therefore, he could find the magical beast hordes long before the super-sized magical beast tide in the North even began.
This way, he could move the battlefield away from the people's residential areas.
And also...
"Mary, what do you think? Is it feasible to use the magical beast tide to sweep away the northern nobles?"
Noah asked Mary in his mind, and Mary only gave him a reply after a moment of silence.
"...From a planning perspective, it's not complicated, and execution shouldn't be a problem either—as long as you can collude with the magical beasts and arrange everything."
Mary didn't quite approve of Noah's wild idea.
After all, the reason magical beasts were magical beasts was that one couldn't communicate with them or tame them. Even when they formed hordes, they lacked any coordination.
They were berserk, irrational, and even considered to be savage species without intelligence.
Of course, you could try to use them.
But the risk of losing control was far too great.
At least in Mary's experience, she didn't know of anyone who could command a large number of magical beasts and make them act according to a plan.
That was why Mary's tone was so sarcastic.
But that was what she thought. Noah, however, smiled after a moment of contemplation.
"Talk to the magical beasts, huh... Well, let's give it a try."
Among the tags Noah had obtained from the simulations, there were none that allowed him to converse with magical beasts, nor were there any that could help him tame them.
Even the Will of Britain couldn't do it.
Because to Britain, magical beasts were not native species, but rather outsiders, invaders.
But...
Noah was also a Star Performer.
So, since Mary said it would work as long as he colluded with the magical beasts, Noah decided to give it a try.
If it was feasible...
Then after resolving the problem with the Picts, the northern nobles—who, unlike the southern nobles, almost all had sizable private armies—would be much, much easier to deal with.
...
Selkirk Territory, behind the great fortress.
King Rivalen of Leonois had been waiting here with his knights for quite some time. Then, on the distant fields, the banner with three crowns held high finally came into view.
It was sky-blue, emblazoned with three golden crowns, representing that its master was the king who ruled over the other kings of Britain!
King Uther's banner was not like this; King Uther's banner was half white and half green, with a Red Dragon printed on it. The three-crown banner, on the other hand, was a brand-new royal banner designed for Noah by Merlin after he became King Arthur.
After Noah became King Arthur, although the people of Britain's twelve territories might not have recognized Noah himself before seeing the light screen today, they had memorized his banner not long after he became king.
After all, it was the new royal banner of Britain, holding an absolutely transcendent significance in the land.
Seeing this banner and the troops behind it, aside from Rivalen who had been mentally preparing himself and was long since ready, his knights grew tense subconsciously.
Then, Vortigern, or rather, White, arrived directly with Camelot's main force.
Seeing White at the head of the column, Rivalen took the initiative to step forward and greet her.
"Greetings, knight from Camelot. May I ask why you have come here?"
Rivalen still had to ask what needed to be asked.
But White could tell at a glance that Rivalen had brought fewer than thirty knights with him. The fortress's rear gate was wide open, and no troops were assembled. It was obvious he had no intention of fighting the King and was simply asking because he hadn't received any news.
Rivalen's attitude was very clear.
So White didn't make things difficult for him, much less try to intimidate him. She simply told him the situation.
"You can send someone towards Pictavia to investigate the situation there—Pictavia has assembled a considerably large force with the intention of attacking Selkirk Territory. The King had me set out with Camelot's main force before the public execution began."
—At the same time, those Picts will also see the broadcast of the public execution. So when they see the King and Britain's elite troops are all in Camelot, they will naturally think they've found an opportunity, right?
Hearing White's explanation, Rivalen was first enlightened, and then it suddenly dawned on him.
"The Picts are going to launch a major attack on us!?"
"Yes."
White confirmed it directly. Rivalen then looked at the knights behind White; their expressions didn't look like they were lying, so he immediately had Camelot's main force welcomed into the fortress.
He hadn't intended to fight Camelot in the first place, so now that he knew their purpose for coming, he felt even less of a psychological burden.
However, as Camelot's main force entered the fortress, Rivalen still dispatched a knight to lead men to investigate the situation in Pictavia.
It wasn't that they hadn't conducted reconnaissance in the past, but that the scope of their patrols wasn't that large.
After all, it was impossible for them to scout the entirety of Pictavia. So if the Picts had truly premeditated this, assembling their forces outside the patrol range and then bypassing the scouting circle to approach directly, there wasn't much they could do.
After all, in this era, sending messages and receiving reinforcements simply took time.
In the past, before King Uther died, Camelot would have had arrangements in this area.
Now that King Uther was dead, and with a new king having just taken the throne during a period of instability throughout Britain, it was understandable that the Picts had seized the opportunity.
However, after sending men to investigate, Rivalen looked at Camelot's main force and thought again about what White had said regarding the follow-up arrangements for the public execution. This made Rivalen admire Noah's wisdom, even before having met him.
"If the King foresaw all of this, then this new king might truly be a rather remarkable fellow."
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