Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King [135]

"You all look pretty good today. Did something good happen?" Outside the Holy City, Alaric carried a jar of fresh water and spoke with a smile.

His eyes swept over Fujimaru Ritsuka and their group, who were covered in dust from travel. Other than Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mash, and Bedivere, Alaric noticed someone unexpected.

"You're here too, Sir Lancelot."

Among those accompanying Fujimaru Ritsuka to the domain of Ozymandias was none other than Lancelot, who had previously been subdued by Mash's famous corrective punch.

After picking up Serenity, Alaric had debated whether to invite Lancelot to join him on the journey to Ozymandias's Holy City. However, due to Serenity's unique condition, he quickly decided against it. Yet, he was surprised to see that Lancelot had traveled with Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others to the Holy City.

"How did they manage to meet up?"

Alaric was puzzled. After all, they didn't even have a way to contact each other—or was there a way, and he had been excluded?

"Sir Alaric—"

For Lancelot, seeing Alaric again after several days evoked a mix of joy, as if reuniting after years apart, and a sense of unfamiliarity. The unfamiliarity stemmed from Alaric's decisive execution of Mordred. While this was something Lancelot knew Alaric was capable of, it still left him feeling alienated.

Before Lancelot could catch up with Alaric, Da Vinci, standing nearby, cheerfully pulled out a few light-blue crystals and seemed about to say something.

"Sir Alaric, this—"

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash stared in astonishment at Alaric, whom they hadn't seen for a few days. Beneath a simple white robe, his muscular frame was visible, paired with plain, loose trousers. His attire blended perfectly with the Egyptian Holy City, and if not for his skin tone, Alaric could easily be mistaken for a local. Even Bedivere looked shocked.

If they hadn't already known Alaric's identity, they might truly have believed he was a resident of the region.

Even Sanzang moved closer with surprise, poking at Alaric experimentally. "Hey, my disciple, these clothes suit you pretty well!"

"You're late!"

Alaric, holding his jar of water, casually pushed Sanzang aside and looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash's group with a hint of exasperation.

Based on his own experience traveling to Azrael's shrine, Alaric had estimated that under Cursed Arm Hassan's guidance, Fujimaru Ritsuka's group should have moved at a similar pace to his own. Yet, he hadn't expected them to take so long—three whole days to reach Ozymandias's territory.

It was simply too slow.

Slow enough for Alaric to transition from a Round Table knight to an Egyptian resident, to the point where he almost forgot where he originally came from. (Sarcasm)

"By the way, how was your meeting with King Hassan? Did anything unexpected happen?"

As they made their way toward the temple, Alaric asked curiously, "Cursed Arm and the others didn't come with you, so I assume they're gathering forces? We don't have much time left."

With three of the six remaining Round Table knights gone, the Lion King had lost the initiative to attack Ozymandias. Gawain was still needed to guard Camelot from invasion, and Tristan alone wasn't enough to launch an assault on the Holy City. However, the Lion King still retained the ability to dictate the timing of the conflict. Ignoring Fujimaru Ritsuka's group, the Lion King could directly initiate the deployment of the Holy Lance. When that happened, ready or not, Alaric and Fujimaru Ritsuka's group would have no choice but to attack the White Holy City.

Thus, time was of the essence. Yet, Fujimaru Ritsuka's group had taken a full three days to arrive—three days in which Agravain could have made numerous preparations, even sealing off the Holy City. Meanwhile, Fujimaru Ritsuka's group hadn't even managed to gather enough forces to launch an attack on the city.

Thinking of this, Alaric sighed softly as he held his jar of water.

However, when he posed his question, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others fell silent, leaving Alaric perplexed. "Did something go wrong?"

Their meeting with King Hassan shouldn't have had any issues. Fujimaru Ritsuka's destiny wouldn't be cut short here, so King Hassan had no reason to harm her, let alone anyone else.

"Several villages were attacked by Sir Tristan," Mash said, her voice trembling with emotion. "Not only were the villages burned, but the Lion King even used the Holy Lance!"

"The Holy Lance?!"

Hearing this, Alaric's expression turned grim.

Over the past six months, although the Lion King had frequently delivered divine judgments, she had never targeted residential areas. After all, her goal was to gather pure souls for the Holy City, not to engage in indiscriminate slaughter. These judgments were more like warnings, showcasing her absolute power to instill submission across the land.

But this time was different. Targeting residential areas proved that the Lion King no longer needed to replenish the Holy City's population.

And the use of the Holy Lance—

"Did you suffer any casualties?" Alaric immediately asked. If they had confirmed Tristan's attacks on the villages, it likely meant Fujimaru Ritsuka's group had encountered him in battle. At this critical juncture, any loss of personnel would be a significant setback.

Fujimaru Ritsuka lowered her voice and said, "To save us, Lord Arash used his Noble Phantasm to block the Lion King's judgment—"

"Stella…"

Alaric instantly understood what had occurred.

Tristan shouldn't have launched large-scale attacks on the villages, let alone burned them. This was likely a direct order from Agravain. Similarly, the Lion King's use of the Holy Lance was probably manipulated by Agravain as well.

At that moment, if anyone in Fujimaru Ritsuka's group could have blocked the Lion King's Holy Lance, it would have been Arash. As a great Persian hero, known for an arrow that once determined the borders of nations, Arash's self-sacrificial Noble Phantasm, Stella, possessed power comparable to the Holy Lance.

There are countless heroes capable of striking down stars, but Arash is the only one capable of shattering them.

"I shouldn't have let Sir Agravain go back then…"

"What about Cursed Arm and the others?" Alaric asked. While Arash's sacrifice was irreversible, losing Cursed Arm and his companions would sever their connection to the Mountain People.

"Cursed Arm and Hundred Faced went to contact other Hassans and gather the Mountain People to prepare for an assault on the Holy City," Mash explained.

As they conversed, Alaric and Fujimaru Ritsuka's group arrived at the temple, where a striking figure stood before them.

"Miss Serenity!" Alaric greeted with a smile, prompting Serenity to turn around.

"This is Miss Serenity that Cursed Arm spoke so fondly of," Alaric introduced her to Fujimaru Ritsuka's group.

Dressed in attire similar to Alaric's, Serenity's cheeks flushed red as she kept a slight distance from the group and nodded politely.

"Hello!" Fujimaru Ritsuka enthusiastically approached Serenity and greeted her with a smile, much to the surprise of even Da Vinci, who couldn't stop her in time.

"Is that… poison?" Da Vinci noticed faint traces of toxins in the air around Serenity. "It seems this Hassan has quite a troublesome condition!"

"Indeed," Alaric nodded knowingly. "Miss Serenity's body produces a powerful toxin, which prevents her from physical contact with others."

Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked in surprise. "I feel fine, though."

"Maybe you have some resistance," Alaric speculated.

After the brief interaction with Serenity, Fujimaru Ritsuka's group prepared to head to the temple to meet Ozymandias. However, just as they were about to proceed—

"Oh, right. By King Ozymandias's orders, I'm here to administer a trial on behalf of Lady Nitocris. If you wish to meet King Ozymandias, you'll first have to pass through me."

Alaric set down his jar of water and stood before Fujimaru Ritsuka's group, speaking casually.

"Huh?"

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Leave it to me," Lancelot said, drawing his holy sword as he stepped forward to face Alaric.

Seeing that Lancelot intended to fight him alone, Alaric touched the sword hanging at his waist, borrowed from Ozymandias. After a brief moment of thought, he replied, "If it's you, Sir Lancelot, then I think I'll pass on fighting."

"?"

With that, he stepped aside and gestured toward the temple. "Everyone, please proceed inside."