Chapter 616 King Arthur's Training in Progress

Cornwall, South,

A young girl in a linen dress stood on the green grass, holding a three-foot-long wooden sword in her hand. Facing the dim morning light, she continued to swing the sword vigorously, diligently honing her swordsmanship.

The pearly luster floated under the pale skin like frost and snow, revealing an extraordinary beauty. The blonde hair seemed like liquid gold melted by the first ray of sunlight at dawn, tied behind her head in a knight's neat posture, highlighting the heroic spirit of a boy, making people ignore her original gender. But the two strands of hair on her forehead fell in two soft arcs, hiding the naivety of a girl.

The peak of her eyebrows flew diagonally into her temples like a sword drawn from its sheath, her green pupils were like an emerald forest washed by a rainstorm, and the edges of her irises were gilded with patterns, as if sealing the radiance of dragon blood. But the tuft of untidy golden hair on the girl's head fluttered in the wind, highlighting her immature and naivete, completely destroying her dignity.

However, the girl was so focused that she didn't notice this at all. She continued to swing her sword again and again while silently reciting in her heart.

"997...998...999..."

However, just as she was about to complete her training goal of swinging the sword a thousand times today, a lazy sneer was heard:

"Is this also called swordsmanship?"

"Who? Come out!"

The girl was startled and looked around.

The clear sky is blue and vast, the warm sunlight shines on the ground, the breeze mixed with the fragrance of the earth blows gently, and the lush green grass sways like the tide.

Everything is the same as usual.

"On top of you."

The lazy voice sounded again, and the girl subconsciously looked up.

A white figure was leaning against a tree branch, waving and greeting with a smile.

His face was stained with the beauty of starlight, his silver-white hair poured down to his waist like melted moonlight, the ends of his hair gradually turned into violet mist, and with every move he made, a halo of falling cherry blossoms spread out. His eyebrows and eyes held the ambiguity of eternal dusk, his left pupil was amber soaked in honey wine, while his right pupil was precipitated with the indigo starry sky at the bottom of the lake, and the scarlet lines at the end of his eyes seemed like magic lines formed by blood beads pierced by roses.

The snow-white robe exudes the luster of mother-of-pearl, with three silver buttons in the shape of crystal orchids hanging from the collar. When the wide sleeves are rolled up, the rainbow brocade lining is revealed, and flowing runes are hidden in the folds.

This skin is a perfect blend of the majesty of the Age of Gods and the playfulness of a child; every wrinkle holds an indescribable demonic beauty.

It makes people want to get closer to him, but at the same time, they can't help but want to...beat him up!

The girl shook her head to drive the strange thought out of her mind.

Then, she clenched the wooden sword in her hand and looked at the man on the tree vigilantly:

"Who are you?"

"A kind-hearted older brother passing by. You can call me Merlin."

The voice was frivolous yet wanton, yet gentle yet gentle, and a little frivolous yet gentle.

Merlin, or rather Lorne, who had spoken, was jumping down from the tree lightly, looking at the girl in front of him with interest.

—Or rather, the newborn Celtic goddess of origin, Danu.

Ever since the war between gods in the Sea of Chaos ended, the three sisters of the lake have been troubled by something:

Although the Celtic Age of Gods was about to be destroyed, they gathered the power of all the Tuatha de Danann and the entire Age of Gods and successfully gave birth to the Great Mother Goddess Danu.

But she is incomplete, lacking two important things

——Sensibility and intellect.

This is an important part of the soul.

In other words, their mother goddess is now just an empty shell with power but no soul.

Come to think of it, it makes sense.

The goddess of origin, Danu, had fallen long ago. Although the three sisters of the Lake Fairy were fortunate enough to collect the blood and divinity of this mother goddess, the reincarnation ritual of the Danuan clan could only reshape the body but not the soul.

Especially the soul of a goddess of origin.

Therefore, even if the crisis was eliminated and the Celtic Gods' Age was reshaped, their mother Goddess Danu still could not take that step and become the true goddess of origin.

The three lake fairies naturally could not accept that after such sacrifice and effort, this was the only result they got.

So they turned to Lorne for help, hoping that this partner who had gone the furthest on the path of God could find a way to solve the problems they were facing.

After thinking about it, Lorne made a suggestion:

This Mother of Origin can be thrown into the mortal world, reliving her life, and through various experiences and insights, a soul that is compatible with the divine body can be nurtured.

However, there are three problems.

First, Danu is too strong. Even if she is left in the mortal world, she can easily solve any problem with just one shot, so it is difficult to have the effect of training.

Secondly, the Celtic Age of Gods has been reshaped and is in a period of stable development. There are no decent opponents and tribulations that can serve as a whetstone for Danu to awaken himself. It is impossible to turn the entire Celtic Age of Gods upside down just to cultivate a new soul in Danu, right?

Third, the connections between the ages of gods are becoming more frequent, and a war between gods could break out at any time. They don’t have enough time to wait for the Mother of Origin to finish her life in reality, which will last for an unknown period of time, and gradually awaken her spiritual wisdom...

So, Luo En had an idea and thought of a perfect trial field.

——Dream!

It is called a dream, but in fact it can also be said to be another reality written by him and the three lake fairy sisters.

The law of death in the Celtic Age of Gods is not complete. A small number of souls will stay in the fairyland, and most of them will only have the remnants of weak wills left and will flow back to the inner sea under the island of Avalon to start a new cycle.

This is both a cemetery of death and a womb of new life.

If he and Vivian's dream power is used as an introduction, the fate power of the three lake fairy sisters is used as a framework, the residue of countless souls is used as materials, and the island of Avalon is used as a reference point... a world that is both real and illusory can be created in the inner sea of the star.

Here, Celt does not have to be safe, crisis can exist, acting as Danu’s whetstone;

Here, all things follow the laws of birth, aging, sickness and death, intelligent life has emotional ups and downs, and Danu can gradually awaken his own intellect and sensibility.

Here, the flow of time is not affected by the outside world, and one can slowly try and make mistakes until Danu condenses a complete soul.

At the same time, the gods of Danu who once participated in the great sacrifice will also be born into this world, bid farewell to the past completely in reincarnation, reunite under the banner of the new goddess Danu, and become her helpers.

Zhuangzi dreamed of a butterfly, and the butterfly could also dream of Zhuangzi.

There is no absolute boundary between dreams and reality, and they can influence each other.

Back then, Zeus shaped the inside and outside of the Greek Age of Gods through the Titans' dreams in Tartarus; Loen reshaped the image of Dionysus, the god of wine, in the minds of the people through the great sacrifice he launched in the Pure Land of Bliss. These were all manifestations of this.

With these successful experiences, this trial of Goddess Danu was not just limited to a dream.

When everything is settled, the data here will be connected and integrated with reality. The goddess Danu, who lived her life in dreams and gave birth to a complete soul, will lead her Knights of the Round Table and the Wild Hunt army back from the utopia of Avalon to reshape the order of the entire Celtic Age of Gods.

This is the script that he and the three lake fairy sisters decided on.

As the initiator of the plan and a pioneer with successful experience, Loen is naturally responsible for the task of guiding the goddess Danu to awaken.

Tsk, it’s the teacher’s old job again…

Luo En shook his head and gave a harmless smile to his destined disciple:

"Altria, right? The second daughter of the Ector family?"

"You know the Jazz?"

Altria was surprised and let down her guard a little towards the man in front of her.

Hector is not her biological father, but her adoptive father.

For some special reason, the knight adopted and raised her.

But the strange thing is that Hector would never allow her to call her adoptive father "Father".

Therefore, she could only address him as "Sir" until now.

Luo En nodded and said:

"Hector said you were in need of a swordsmanship teacher recently, so I was invited to come and take a look. In addition, it is also your "father's" wish that I teach you to be a good person."

Father?

Uther?

Altria frowned. She didn't have much impression of this so-called "father", most of which were related to history.

Britain is in turmoil today.

It all started with the collapse of the empire on the mainland. Britain, under the protection of the empire, saw its power decline, and the unrest on the mainland brought new foreign enemies to the island nation.

In search of the necessities of life—food, clothing, shelter—in short, the Saxons, a foreign race, crossed the ocean in search of land.

Britain is an island nation ruled by numerous nations and kings.

Although there were constant disputes between tribes, due to the war with the Picts living in the north, the kings of the tribes worked together to guard against invasion from the north.

However, there was a king who caused a rift in this unity.

That king used foreign races to promote his own desires—to unify Britain.

His name is Vortigern, the humble king. He was born in Britain and is the incarnation of a white dragon who wants to destroy Britain.

Vortigern brought in the Saxons, throwing the entire island into the eye of a typhoon of chaos.

The fortress city of Londinium, a hub of Britain built when the Empire ruled the island, was destroyed.

Uther Pendragon, who was praised as the greatest king, was defeated in the battle with Vortigern not long ago, and his figure was hidden forever.

Vortigern gave the Saxons land, and although he temporarily calmed the foreign invasion by letting them rest, countless kings continued to resist.

…and so Britain entered the Dark Ages.

Fighting has become a part of daily life. The land is not fertile to begin with, and the crops on the island are quite scarce. People are living in poverty, and it is obvious that if this continues, the island will be destroyed in the near future.

But people have not lost hope.

Because, Uther's assistant, the great magician who has always protected Britain, declared to the people:

“Although King Uther has fallen, his successor has already been chosen. This person is the next king.

When the new king, the incarnation of the Red Dragon, appears, he will gather the Knights of the Round Table, and the White Dragon will be defeated.

The king is still alive, and the proof will appear soon."

The magician's words spread throughout the island.

People are looking forward to the appearance of the future king.

The knights either felt reassured by those words, or wondered if they could be chosen and become the legendary son of prophecy.

Vortigern sought the king's successor even more violently.

However, that was a few years ago.

These legendary stories were all told to her by her adoptive father, Sir Ector.

And she is none other than the descendant created by King Uther with secret magic, the legendary [Son of the Red Dragon].

After some recollection, Altria finally remembered the identity of the man in front of her.

Merlin, the great wizard who has always protected Britain and issued the prophecy.

Altria frowned and looked at Lorne suspiciously:

"Aren't you a magician? And you also know swordsmanship?"

"It should be enough for me to understand a little and teach you."

Lorne smiled modestly and winked.

"If you don't believe me, you can come over and try."

Altria had just that in mind, she gripped the wooden sword tightly with both hands and prepared to attack:

"Be careful!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Altria rushed forward and launched a standard stab.

"Too slow..."

Loen dodged it easily, broke off a branch and hit it on the back of Altria's hand.

The girl couldn't help but frown as the pain hit her, but she quickly held it back and attacked at a faster speed.

"The speed is good enough, but the accuracy is a little lacking."

Loen continued to evaluate, waving the branches in his hands to point, flick, lift and collapse, turning into flowing sword moves, which completely dispelled Altria's attacks.

“Come again!”

The girl refused to accept the defeat, so she poured the magic power in her body into the wooden sword, treating the man in front of her as a real opponent.

However, after launching hundreds of powerful attacks, she not only failed to touch the opponent's clothes, but also made herself exhausted and out of breath.

It is obvious that the two sides' understanding and mastery of swordsmanship are clearly not on the same level.

"It's my turn."

A low voice was heard, and before Altria could react, she was hit hard on the head by a branch falling from the sky.

The girl's eyes went dark and her consciousness fell into endless chaos.

Are you fainting already?

It seems that after being stripped of her power and divinity, she is no different from an ordinary human girl.

The training work is a long and arduous task...

Lorne shook his head, dropped the branch, carried his former rival and now his student on his shoulders, and took her towards the manor in the distance.

~~

The next day.

Artoria woke up when she felt the morning sunlight shining through the gap in the door.

It was still dark around me. I was wearing a blanket just to protect myself from the cold...

The girl sniffed, it was the scent of flowers mixed with the scent of wine... She had smelled it on someone before.

Apparently, it wasn't a dream.

Teacher?

Altria muttered.

Then, she accidentally saw the sun rising into the sky outside the window, and thought to herself that something was wrong.

A whole day? He was unconscious for so long!

Altria quickly but carefully packed up the blankets, tidied her clothes, washed herself with water, and went to the stable to prepare hay for the horses one by one.

With her daily care work complete, she heads to the backyard of her home, where her adoptive father, Hector, usually waits.

It was her and Hector's habit to start sword practice on an empty stomach in the morning and eat breakfast after finishing.

The old knight was waiting in the backyard.

The strict posture of the man who was to greet her and teach her the theory of swordplay remained unchanged.

Sincere teachings continued every day for several years since she was old enough to pick up a sword.

That was the truth, and it remained unchanged until the last day.

From what she knew, her adoptive father Hector should have been a stronger and more tenacious knight.

He did not achieve any particular feat on the battlefield, and he was not one who pursued fame and fortune, so his name was not widely known. However, for her, if she had to name an "ideal knight", it would be Hector.

Humble, gentle, polite, and full of sense of justice.

But he was too old, so old that he could hardly lift the sword.

Nowadays, oral explanations can only replace actual combat drills.

And this must be the reason why Hector found a new swordsmanship teacher for her.

Altria glanced at the white-haired creature that was drinking in the yard early in the morning with a wine jug, frowned, and walked straight towards her adoptive father:

"Sir, I'm late. Sorry."

"It's okay, you can sleep a little longer."

Hector smiled, his eyes were filled with the tenderness of a kind father, as well as a sense of satisfaction and reluctance to see his children grow up.

After a pause, the old knight formally introduced:

"Altria, I have nothing more to teach you. From now on, Lord Merlin will be your teacher and will be responsible for teaching you new courses."

Looking at the white-haired drunkard who was drinking so heavily early in the morning, Altria always felt that he was unreliable.

But thinking of the result of yesterday's duel, she finally stepped up to the steps, bowed her head to the great wizard, and formally established a teacher-student relationship.

Luo En responded with a smile, feeling quite emotional.

The goddess Danu, who had almost wiped out him and all the Norse gods in the war between the Norse and Celtic gods, now had to bow down to her old rival.

What a strange fate.

Therefore, I will work harder to stimulate your humanity and awaken your emotions.

Looking at his new beloved disciple, Loen raised the corners of his lips, his eyes flashing with malicious intent, and he was full of anticipation for the interesting future.

(End of this chapter)