Chapter 27: The Counterfeit Banquet

Bern Territory.

Across the endless plain, a cavalry unit of ninety‑eight men slowly advanced under the command of a stern middle‑aged Knight with short gray‑white hair.

Ahead of them stood Su Ya, filthy and tattered, standing on the barren field.

He wore a brown‑yellow hemp robe and shorts, a long sword at his waist, his body smeared with mud and blood, his small face black as soot, his skin riddled with wounds; yet anyone who saw his noble appearance would inevitably think,

—this is a noble.

Behind Su Ya stood a magician girl dressed in splendid, noble attire, so clean it was hard to believe.

She merely stood there, yet inexplicably gave the impression that she was the seer of Yuse Wang's coronation, the lake nymph who offered a sword to the king.

And the one she serves—

Only a king!

At this moment,

Knight, king, seer!

The three most vital components of the kingdom converge on this land already seized by the enemy!

The ninety‑eight cavalrymen behind Sir Ecto and Lu Kan glanced back and forth among the three, as if realizing they were about to witness a historic moment—a ceremony of the Knight's highest honor about to unfold before them!

At that thought, the cavalry straightened their backs, the gleam of their plate armor reflecting the twilight's afterglow, then fixed scorching, fierce gazes upon the three they were about to meet.

But,

this sacred meeting taking place at dusk,

is false.

The three about to meet,

are false.

Each of the three's identities—

Su Ya, who looks like a king and bears a convincingly regal face, is merely Arthur Pendragon's stand‑in, an illiterate murderer who knows virtually nothing about the current state of the world and has killed many.

Mei Li, who looks like a seer and has a convincingly prophetic face, is merely a gardener at Sir Ecto Manor, a gambler‑magician who attempted a reckless robbery of a safe.

Lu Kan, who looks like a Knight and wears another's face, is merely a roadside con‑artist mistakenly seized by Yuse Wang and taken to the palace, a hidden major criminal who caused a king's death by uttering falsehoods.

At this moment,

Su Ya stared intently at the approaching Sir Ecto, wondering what to say to this cheap step‑father he had never met.

Lu Kan fixed his gaze on the closing Su Ya, his mind frantically recalling Sir Ecto's various gestures, trying not to slip, his expression tightening, his smile growing more rigid.

Mei Li stared at the yellow spear Sir Ecto held, wondering how much that thing could fetch.

The three fakes met, each displaying a stiff smile.

"Son—"

Lu Kan was about to greet when Su Ya bluntly cut him off,

"Sir Ecto, why do you call me that?"

"Um—"

Lu Kan's pupils widened involuntarily, damn it, my father sees his son not being called son—does he expect me to call you 'dad'?

Meanwhile Su Ya's mind raced wildly,

If following the plot of *The Death of King Arthur*, Arthur would address Sir Ecto directly as 'Father', but given this world's bizarre style, possessing a treasure akin to the Avalon Court in the Fate system, yet strangely the future seems to diverge completely,

In the Avalon Court, Sir Ecto never lets Artoria call him father; she always calls him Sir Ecto,

In the end, Su Ya chose the latter, and he wasn't keen on calling anyone 'dad' on a whim, so he used a cautious retort to test.

Lu Kan, having been tossed the burden back, raised an eyebrow slightly; fortunately Sir Ecto himself is taciturn, and at this moment he merely feigned a sigh of relief, then silently tossed the burden back:

"Phew, as long as you're fine."

Now the awkward one was Su Ya; he had no idea how to respond, and could only murmur a nod,

"You too."

Lu Kan dismounted, stepped forward, patted Su Ya's shoulder, and praised,

"You did well, drawing the cavalry's attention and allowing us to break through successfully."

Hearing this, Su Ya was startled, glancing back at Mei Li, who at that moment returned his gaze,

Both saw a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

As a member of the routed army, Su Ya's earlier crossing of the main force at Mei Li's suggestion seemed brave, but in fact it was undeniably a betrayal to the rear troops, an act of desertion.

However, the Sir Ecto before him proactively helped smooth things over, and Su Ya vaguely sensed the other's motives went beyond that.

Nevertheless, Su Ya kept a neutral expression, shook his head, and replied in line with the other's words:

"The enemy reacted too quickly, Sir Ecto; if you hadn't arrived fast, we would have been in danger. I should be the one thanking you."

Lu Kan nodded, and before the cavalry behind him said gravely,

"This is unavoidable; you need not feel pressured. We didn't anticipate the Conquering King to be so powerful, successively capturing Exeter and Plymouth. I reckon even the Golden Iron Curtain would struggle to halt her conquest!"

"Soon, her army will breach the Golden Iron Curtain and reach beneath the royal capital!"

At this point,

A cavalry captain behind Lu Kan, clad in plate armor, sporting a small beard and a righteous expression, rode forward, dismounted, and walked to the side of the three, then suddenly said:

"Sir, is this the noble you mentioned, the one you would spare at any cost? However, pardon my bluntness, he is merely your second son."

"If that's the only reason, it won't convince the troops."

"But if the Sir believes that with your second son and this magician joining, we can muster enough force to strike at the Conquering King's might and reclaim the king's remains, we..."

The cavalry captain hesitated slightly, then said gravely,

"We are willing to fight!"

Upon hearing this, the three who were meeting froze in expression.

Su Ya's scalp went numb.

What, you damn human, spouting nonsense?!

Why are you all on the same wavelength as Mei Li, the idea king,

Why go rushing to conquer the king's carriage?

Does that place have emergency sugar syrup?

Every one of them practically wants to drag me back at a hundred-meter sprint speed to send me to my death—do I owe you money?!

Mei Li and Lu Kan, hearing this, also felt a chill,

All their efforts now are to escape, to reach a safe place; but having finally escaped, their soldiers demand to lead them to retrieve Yuse Wang's remains.

Not to mention that the place is guarded by the invincible top hero Seleucus; just the companion cavalry circling the king's banner, a single charge,

They'd all die!

(End of chapter)